Aurelia (4 page)

Aurelia swung open the door. "I do this not for your forgiveness, but because I have no wish to argue until the festivities are over. Let's get on with it, shall we?"

"Hear, hear!" Chris chimed in.

Aurelia hoped Chris would manage to help her escape the palace grounds without turning it into a performance. As they approached the front gate, he took off his mask and slung out a hand in a casual greeting. "Hey, Filbert, seen any dangerous characters pass through here tonight?"

Filbert grinned, failing to ask the identity of the rooster's companions. "Not as terrifying as you." He reached out a hand as if to pluck a feather from Chris's plumed tail.

"Test not my fowl wrath!" Chris jerked away, pushing Aurelia and robert before him and herding them to safety. soon all three friends wound down the sloping road without an armed escort.

"Who was that at the gate?" robert asked. "He looked quite familiar."

"daria's brother," Aurelia explained. "you might not have known him very well. He joined our class after you left."

"but isn't he a couple years older than we are?" robert asked.

"Three years," Chris said, "and even at that, he barely managed to complete his course work. He has a good aim with a rifle, and he's loyal. you couldn't get him to criticize His majesty even in jest. but he's not the brightest fellow to ever stand a post."

Just the type of man my father promotes,
Aurelia thought,
someone who does what he is told without asking questions.

"It was fortunate for us, then, that he was at the gate," robert said.

Chris clapped a hand to his chest in mock agony. "you question my skill, cousin. I could have talked us through that gate with the king himself standing guard. Filbert just allowed me to reserve my wit for more important challenges."

The three companions paused at the bottom of palace Hill to take in the festive view. dusk was creeping over the city, and the excitement in the air grew with the approaching darkness. painted lanterns hung from tree limbs in a shimmering palette. revelers swept along in costumes even more varied than the lanterns. Judges in black robes brushed elbows with thieves dangling fake jewels and pocket watches. From peddlers to princes, banshees to bats, nightingales to nursery rhyme characters, nothing within imagination's realm was off-limits. The only common factor was that every face wore a mask: masks of cloth, seeds, feathers, papier-mache, and dozens of other materials. some scarcely surrounded the eyes. Others completely covered faces.

perhaps no one wanted to remain anonymous as much as Aurelia. In disguise, she was simply another person enjoying the magic of the evening. men and women welcomed her as an equal, slapping sugary drinks and alcoholic concoctions into her hands. she drank the punch and passed Chris the alcohol.

The crowds thickened as they neared the corridor leading to the city center. The wealthiest families owned the buildings lining this road, and the most exquisite of these homes were brightly lit. scarves draped down from balconies, and wreathes of flowers graced the necks of garden statues. Windows and doors had been thrown open, causing the mingling of rich smells and music: baked chocolate with violin chords, orange peels with flute solos, maple syrup with string quartets--a wafting swirl of enticement.

Aurelia, Chris, and robert drifted from house to house, dancing at parties, tossing rings and darts in games of chance, and sampling salty-sweet pretzels dipped in melted chocolate.

eventually they joined in a group of singers following a small band of walking musicians and tumbling performers. This group wound its way around several city blocks, then formed a large circle under the cherry blossoms by the great marble fountain. The singing grew louder as a crowd already at the fountain joined in. The performers led everyone in five or six more songs before guiding the entire group into a tavern.

As Aurelia and her friends waited for crowd members to pass in front of them, a girl wearing a sleek black dress and the fabric wings of a starling crashed into Chris. Her mask consisted of little more than purple heart-shaped patches worn around the eyes. recognizing her at once as one of melony's friends from court, Aurelia hoped the recognition was not mutual. Fortunately, the starling did not look in her direction. giggling up at Chris, the girl tapped him on the shoulder.

Chris encircled the starling's thin waist with his bare arm. "How did you find me?" he asked.

giggling again, the sound grating on Aurelia's nerves, the starling said, "I know you well enough not to fall for that disguise. I'm afraid you were not raised to blend in." she slid her hand up to caress Chris's face.

Oh, please.
The falseness behind the starling's voice and actions made Aurelia want to strike her with a talon or two.

shooting Chris a knowing look, she tugged robert away, calling over her shoulder, "Let's leave these two lovebirds alone."

Together, she and her remaining companion struggled through the cluttered streets. They wove around vendors' stalls for a while. but Aurelia had already drained the slim purse she had bothered to bring along, and robert had no need for glass beads or decorative weavings. The tight crowd and combined smell of food and drink grew stifling.

They stopped to catch their breaths beside the large fountain depicting rearing horses. robert knelt as if to help her mount one of the magnificent stone steeds. she took his hand and climbed up to walk along the fountain's circular rim.

"Away, away!" shouted a man wearing a dark mustache and holding a painter's palette. Aurelia realized she had interfered with his portrait of a pair of revelers posing beside the fountain. He waved a paintbrush in anger, splattering red drops all over the white costume fabric of his paying customers.

Apologizing and smothering her laughter, Aurelia steered robert away from the crowds, back toward the river. "I've had enough." she sighed as they wound their way up along the bank beside a curtain of willow boughs.

Nodding his approval, robert walked beside her without speaking. The celebration sounds dimmed, and the number of paper lanterns decreased until only a scattering lit their way. He moved out on a carved bridge and leaned over the edge. people who did that always made Aurelia nervous, but she forced herself to hold her tongue, having learned from experience that protest only encouraged them.

He pulled back slowly, continuing to gaze down at the dark water and the reflection of a single lantern's light. "This is what I missed the most," he said, startling her by breaking the companionable silence. "The river. I always felt so connected with it, connected with the world here on this bridge."

Hearing him voice her feelings made her uneasy. "but now you've seen the world," she said, unable to keep the envy out of her voice.

"Only another corner of it and the route on the way there." He turned around, resting his elbows on the railing and peering up at the patch of sky above his head. "I think the more you see, the more you realize you have yet to see."

"you sound like our old instructors." she wrinkled her nose. "The more you learn--"

"The more you realize how much you don't know," robert finished for her. "Chris said you aren't taking classes anymore. I always assumed you'd attend university, or at least have the professors come to you."

she choked over her father's words as she voiced them. "Apparently I can better serve my kingdom if I commit my time in more useful ways." she knew the darkness could not hide the bitterness and disappointment in her voice. A variety of threats, bribes, and frequent reminders about her duty had conspired to keep her watching as other classmates went on to join the university ranks.

To robert's credit, he attempted a switch to a less sensitive topic. "Who was the girl who approached Chris back there? you seemed in a hurry to avoid her."

"Hmm." This was no more an enjoyable subject but encouragingly less personal. "Tedasa. she is a friend of melony's and one of the most eligible young ladies at court." Aurelia did not bother to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

He laughed. "I've rather been enjoying the company of an eligible lady all evening."

"Ah, you are mistaken," Aurelia corrected him. "One thing I have not been all evening is a lady. That is why it has been enjoyable."

"Nonetheless." He refused to let the subject drop. "you did not seem inclined to spend any more time in our unexpected companion's presence than you had to."

Aurelia was uncomfortable sharing her honest opinion when she knew it might get back to Chris.

"she didn't go to school at the palace with us," robert prompted.

"Her father is a foreign dignitary. He spends his time traveling. When her mother died last year, he rescued his society daughter from the wealthy boardinghouse where she was staying and brought her to court."

"you're still not telling me why you dislike her." robert tapped the bridge railing with the flat of his hand.

exasperated, Aurelia gave in. "she lives and breathes her father's money. If your cousin doesn't watch himself, he'll find she's built her nest right on top of his inheritance. she's not just another lady's maid he can dangle without consequences."

"Jealous?" There was an odd tone in robert's voice.

"Hardly." Aurelia scolded him with her eyes. "I don't like people being used, especially those I care about."

robert leaned back to peer up at the sky. "I wouldn't worry about Chris. I can't imagine him doing anything as respectable as courting a wealthy debutante."

"He didn't seem that worried about spreading his feathers for her tonight." The sarcasm was back in her voice.
An unattractive habit,
she thought.
I ought to correct it.

robert smiled. "Ah, but then you see, he didn't; a rooster did. you are not the only one capable of walking that hazy tightrope."

"If you stay on the tightrope long enough, sooner or later you are going to fall."

"enough," he said. "When the conversation has dwindled to metaphors, it is time to find a new topic."

"you say that only because you were losing your argument."

"Who says that every point of a discussion has to be an argument?"

"No one." she grinned. "but with you it always is."

"Only when I'm talking to you."

He was telling the truth. most of her memories of him involved verbal debate, whether during class discussions, in-depth study sessions, or casual conversations. she and robert were too much alike: competitive, intrigued by new ideas, and determined not to give in when they felt they were right. What saved them from hating each other was that they could each be persuaded to change sides when confronted with a strong enough argument. perhaps that was why they enjoyed debating so much. There was always a chance either might persuade the other to take up his or her case.

"Fine, then, let's talk about you," she suggested, both because she was curious about his new life and because she did not want the conversation to loop back to her. "What is life on the frontier like?"

He shrugged. "It's a lot of hard work, but I like it. Not the farming that much. Father and I also train horses. The stubborn ones enjoy trying to land me on the ground, which is how I get the bruises I mentioned last night. still, there's always a need on the frontier for a good mount."

she nodded to show she was listening and did not want to interrupt.

"The life suits my parents," he continued. "I think they are happier having their own place, something they've worked to build. It may not rival the palace for glory and comfort, but they have each other."

"And control over their own destiny." she could not keep the longing from her voice.

"exactly," he said. "I think that's why they wanted to leave. They'll never come back. I'm not sure they could even be persuaded to visit."

That surprised her. "Not even to see family? you don't think your father will ever visit your uncle again?"

"I guess Father thinks uncle Henry is just as capable of coming to see him, and I doubt it would ever occur to uncle Henry to travel to the frontier."

Aurelia blushed. she supposed robert was right. Travel without roads was too difficult, and the rugged land was too sparsely populated to ensure safety for a lost or weary traveler. No one she knew would consider the trip unless he or she had plans to live there. It had never occurred to her that people on the frontier might feel just as reluctant to make the same journey in reverse.

"but
you
came," she said.

"yes." The clipped response indicated he was not going to elaborate.

"do you think you'll want to stay there? On the frontier, I mean."

"I don't know. How do I know if it's where I really want to live when there are so many places I've never been?"

envy congealed inside her. she could imagine it in her veins, an ugly green-and-purple acid squeezing her heart and lungs.

Don't,
she thought, trying to push it away
. Don't think about things you can't have. It will just make you miserable.
"you'd like to travel, then?"

"If I can find a way to make a living at it for a while." He smiled wryly. "I'm not inclined to be a soldier, and I can't imagine I'd make much of a peddler seeing as I don't like asking for anyone's hard-earned coin."

They lapsed into silence, and robert tilted his head back up at the cloudy sky. "That I don't miss," he said so softly she suspected the words were more for him than for her.

"What?"

He took a moment to answer. "The sky here is always overcast, like it can't let the sun out more than a day."

"It's past midnight." she looked at him, confused. "There'd be no sunlight anyway."

"True, but on the frontier there are enough stars to restring a broken soul." He dropped his gaze back to her. "It must sound silly to you, being used to this, but the clouds make me feel closed in now. I miss seeing the sky and the sense of space I have out there."

"I wish I could see it."

Her words seemed to startle him out of his reverie. "Why don't you go, then? It will all be under your leadership someday. shouldn't you find out about it?"