Ascendant (45 page)

And not one of
them, nor all of them together, were as handsome as Koren Bladewell, in the
eyes of the crown princess. When a match was ended, and the victor held up his
sword triumphantly, chest swelled with pride, face flushed from exertion, eyes
twinkling, smiling up at the crown princess, Ariana could not help comparing
that son of the Duke or Baron to a common farmboy, and find the royal boys lacking.
Their fine clothes and polished armor, their shining combed hair, their soft
hands that had never done an honest day of work in their lives, could not
compare to Koren's disheveled servant's clothes, and his tangled curly hair,
and his rough hands, hands rough from a life of honest labor.

If her mother
thought that sending Koren away would make Ariana's feelings cool, her mother
was wrong. Mother and daughter had argued after Koren left, mother insisting
the journey away from the castle had been the wizard's idea, Ariana not
believing a word of it. The wizard suddenly had decided, while spring rains
were soaking the ground, to ride many leagues on muddy roads, to an isolated
hunting lodge? And it was merely a coincidence that the wizard decided to go on
this 'sabbatical' just after Ariana almost kissed Koren? Ariana wasn't fooled.
Nor was she discouraged. Perhaps there was much of her father in her, for
people trying to keep something away from her only made her want it all the
more. Her father had wanted to marry the daughter of a minor Baron, a land-rich
but money-poor family that could bring nothing to the marriage but the girl who
the king admired and loved. Adric Trehayme's advisors and his court had all
been against the match, to no avail, for Adric was king and he would do as he
wished. Most people, to this very day, considered Adric to have been impulsive
and rash in that decision. Ariana, facing the suffocating constraints of her
role, found much to admire in her father's action, and thought she understood
why he had done that. Tarador was embodied in the king or queen, and the king
or queen needed to think of Tarador first and above all, but sometimes, the
person who held the office of king or queen needed to be themselves, or there
would be nothing left of them.

Being away
from Koren, and seeing all the eligible royal boys vying for her attention,
brought Ariana to a decision, a decision she kept to herself. Once she became
queen, she would grant Koren Bladewell a knighthood, and a grant of land. Land
near Linden, so he would not be far away. She would brush aside the protests of
her mother, and her advisors, and her court wizard if needed, and grant Koren
the honors he should have had already. Until she became queen, she would bide
her time, and tell no one of her decision. No one, except for one person, the
future Sir Koren Bladewell. If she could not make Koren a knight now, she could
at least tell him of her intentions, and trust him to keep quiet. Now that she
had made her decision, she could hardly wait to tell Koren, so much so that she
almost wrote a letter to be delivered to him in Relannon. No, a letter simply
would not do, letters could be read by prying eyes. And she wanted to see
Koren's face when she told him, see the surprise and joy on his face. She
imagined seeing his face like that, over and over, and although she was burning
up inside to tell him, she
would
wait for the right moment. She would
wait until after the Cornerstone festival, after the Dukes had all departed,
and the castle was back to normal. The weather should be delightfully warm by
then, she would invite Koren out to a picnic lunch in the gazebo by the lake of
the royal gardens. Perhaps for his fourteenth birthday, which would be soon.
Yes, that would be the perfect setting, so she would wait for the perfect day,
and everything would be perfect.

Until then,
she kept the smile frozen on her face, and waved, and politely talked about
nothing, and waited.

Now that all
the Dukes and Duchesses had arrived for the Cornerstone festival, Koren was
doubly busy, as were all the servants in the castle. Only two Dukes, close
friends and allies of the Trehaymes, stayed in the royal palace, the other
families maintained homes in the city. Koren was exhausted from running into
the city and back, carrying gifts and messages to and from the wizard. Then
there were the dinners Paedris was invited to, the lunches Paedris hosted in
return, the daily rides out into the countryside, and the quiet meetings
Paedris had with the army generals and captains. The only break Koren got was
that the weapons master was too busy for Koren
’
s training; the sparring ring was constantly
busy with young royals eager to prove their prowess.

After he found
the Cornerstone, and Carlana announced a festival to celebrate
Ariana
’
s
great
accomplishment, he had been angry. Then, like everyone in the castle and the
surrounding city, he had become swept up in the excitement of the festival;
every day, wagons streamed through the city gate bearing food, entertainers,
even a circus with strange, giant animals that Paedris said were
‘
elephants
’
. Now, with two days
remaining before the festival, Koren only wanted the event to be over, so he
could rest. Let Ariana be given credit for finding the Cornerstone, she would
have to sit through endless speeches and wear hot, scratchy clothes. Koren
mostly wanted simply to sleep.

Koren feeling
worn out was not good enough for Niles Forne, who now had his Duke living in
the city, and Regin Falco was questioning why his son
’
s advisor had been unable
to get rid of a simple servant boy. The commoner boy was getting far too much
attention from the princess. Excuses would not do, Duke Falco insisted Koren be
gone by the end of the summer. One way, or another.

As long as
Koren thought he had friendship and support from the crown princess, Forne
reasoned, there would be little reason for the boy to leave. How then, to show
Koren that he was nothing but a lowly servant to Ariana and her mother? Forne's
latest plan was why Kyre sought out Koren in the stables.

“
Hey, Koren, I haven
’
t seen you around lately.
”
Kyre said, trying to lean
casually against the worn stall door.

“
I
’
ve been busy.
”
Koren barely looked up
from his work.

"I have
an idea,
”
Kyre
said, as if it had just occurred to him.
“
The
Regency Council, that is the royal family and all the Dukes and Duchesses, are
meeting tomorrow, to talk about the war, and strategy and all that stuff. You
want to come as my guest? Paedris can
’
t
make you work while you
’
re
with me, right?" He winked.

"Oh, I don't
know, uh, I don't think I'm supposed to wear my fancy servant's clothes if I'm
not with Paedris, and he said he's skipping the Council meetings, they're all
just posturing and speeches."

"I've got
clothes you can wear. Come on, it will be fun. You can learn a lot, watching
the dukes and duchesses arguing." Which is why Kyre's father was making
him go. "You may hear something Lord Salva needs to hear. And, Ariana will
be there."

"Oh, uh,
sure." Koren was eager to see the princess again. "Ok, I'll go."

“
Hold!
”
Duke Bargann grumbled,
pointing one of his pudgy fingers across to table at Koren, who was sitting in
the row of chairs behind Kyre and his father.
“
Who is this boy? I don
’
t recognize him.
”

Regin Falco
drew himself upright in his chair, and fixed Bargann with an icy stare.
“
He is a close friend of my
son, and a guest of the Falco
’
s.
Kyre can attest to his good character.
”

Bargann
snorted, and waved his hand.
“
I
don
’
t care if
he
’
s your
knight champion, Falco. Meetings of the Regency Council are for royalty only.
That
’
s the
law. Regent Carlana, you allow this?
”

Carlana
winced. A petty dispute to start the meeting was the last thing she needed, and
she silently cursed Koren for causing the trouble. Defending the Falco
’
s in formal session of the
Council almost made her choke on her words.
“
If Duke Falco wants-
“

Bargann cut
her off.
“
I
don
’
t care
what Falco wants, the law is clear. I remind you, it is the law that put you on
that throne now, instead of your daughter.
”

“
Mother!
”
Ariana leaned to whisper
harshly in her mother
’
s
ear.

“
Not now, Ariana.
”
Carlana whispered back.
She could not understand why Bargann was arguing with Falco, those two were
strong allies. What was really going on, she wondered?
“
The law is the law, and we
must follow the law more than anyone else. You are the crown princess, you need
to speak.
”

Ariana
swallowed her anger, the taste bitter in her mouth. She stared straight ahead
to avoid looking at Koren while she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.
“
The law is clear. Koren
must leave.
”

Koren
’
s face burned with shame,
he looked down, avoiding everyone
’
s
eyes. He had been hoping, expecting, even, that Ariana would speak up for him.
Instead, he had been dismissed. Koren pushed his chair back and stood up.
Remembering his manners, he bowed to Duke Falco, then to the throne, although
he couldn
’
t
look at any of them. Taking extra care not to stumble over his own feet, he
walked out of the hall with what little dignity he had left.

Apparently,
much indeed had happened while he had been away.

Hours later,
Kyre found Koren chopping wood, out behind the stables. Koren had changed into
his grubby work clothes, and must have been chopping wood for a while, because
he had a large pile of wood already cut, split and stacked.
“
Koren, I
’
m sorry. It
’
s my fault, I knew the
law, but no one has enforced it for years. Bargann was being a jerk. Ariana
should have told Bargann to be silent.
”

“
She could do that?
”
Koren asked, so surprised
that he almost sank the axe into his foot, instead of a log.

Kyre shrugged.
“
She's the
crown princess, and Carlana is the Regent. The law is the law, but sometimes
the law is whatever the royal family says it is. Allowing only royalty into the
Regency Council is more of a tradition than a law.
”

Koren acted
like he didn
’
t
care, while his teeth clenched in anger. Ariana could have saved him from being
humiliated in front of the assembled royals, instead she had dismissed him?
“
It doesn
’
t matter, it was probably
boring anyway.
”

“
I think Carlana is mad at
you for causing a scene.
”
Kyre placed a new log on the chopping block.
“
I
’
d
stay out of her sight for a while, if I were you.
”

Koren took aim
with the axe, and split the wood with one angry blow.
“
I haven
’
t been to the palace in a
long time, and I
’
ve
never seen the Regent while I
’
m
doing laundry, or splitting wood."

Koren slowly
climbed the stairs of the tower, carrying dinner for Paedris. The scent of the
roast beef  and potatoes was making his mouth water, but he was so tired
from chopping wood, that all he really wanted was to skip eating, and crawl
into bed. The door was open, the wizard was looking at a pile of scrolls on the
table, shifting them from one pile to another.
“
Ah, Koren, there you are. Set the food down
over there, please. We have much to do tonight, and time is short.
”

“
Tonight, sir?
”
Koren groaned. The sun
was already setting when Koren had crossed the courtyard from the royal
kitchens.

“
Yes.
”
Paedris said as he dug
through a chest and pulled out a well-worn pair of traveling boots.
“
We are leaving tonight.
”