Fantasyland 02 The Golden Dynasty (28 page)

I watched him go then stupidly looked beyond
the warriors to the leader of the pack. As suspected, the leader of
the pack was turned in his saddle. He was far away but I could see
him and I knew Lahn’s eyes were on me because he couldn’t miss me,
Zephyr’s coat shone in the sun like a beacon not to mention, I was
the only blonde in the bunch.

Fantastic again.

I watched him turn to face forward and I
sucked in breath.

Then, with nothing for it, and because my
Pop taught me well, I got my head out of my ass and turned to
Diandra whose eyes were on me.

Then I said, “Uh… hey.”

She burst out laughing.

I stared at her and when her laughter waned,
her eyes caught mine. “Our king grows impatient with his queen, I
see,” she remarked.

Uh… what?

“Um…” I mumbled.

She faced forward and announced, “It took
years before Seerim saw the errors of his ways, putting his hands
on me in anger. He didn’t do it often but when he felt the need, he
didn’t hesitate to do it. It was only after he hit me so hard he
bloodied my nose that he stopped. Something about him shedding my
blood struck something in him and he never did it again. Not once.
In fact, when he’d get angry, all I had to do was flinch, thinking
he might hit me and his anger would vanish,” she lifted a hand and
snapped, “just like that. It appears, my dear, our king is learning
this lesson much more swiftly than my Seerim.”

“I’m not trying to teach him a lesson,” I
said softly and in all truth.

“Well, maybe not, but you’re doing it all
the same,” she replied.

I pulled in another breath. “Diandra –” I
started on the exhale, wanting to apologize but more, wishing to
give her an apology and her kind eyes came to me.

“Don’t speak of it,” she whispered. “I
remember, my beautiful Circe, it was long ago, but I remember the
tumult of my mind when I was brought here, claimed and forced into
a life I did not understand. I have had twenty-two years with these
people, I have built a life with my husband, I have come to love
him deeply, we have built a family and I have become Korwahk. But I
have had much time to adjust. I was like you many years ago and I
remember it because it is something you do not forget. You have
done far better than me and I am very proud of you but our emotions
get the better of us on occasion and if you cannot allow them to do
so with people who care about you, you are in trouble.”

I felt my eyes fill with tears, “Diandra
–”

“
Though,” she cut me off, a twinkle in
hers, “
I
didn’t have an
excellent interpreter to guide my way like you do. So along with
being proud of you I am also quite proud of me because as far as I
can tell, I’m doing an excellent job.”

Then she grinned huge and at that, it was me
who burst into laughter.

When my laughter slid to a giggle I saw her
smiling, looking ahead and she noted, “We make camp tonight, I’m
sure of it.”

“Sorry?” I asked.

“
You have a very appealing laugh, my dear,
it is like a song that rings into the very air, travelling far, I
would suspect, considering while you did it, your husband turned on
his mount and watched. I am getting old but my eyesight is just
fine and by his scowl I would guess he has not heard your laughter
for some time and misses it, wants it for his own and therefore,
being of The Horde, when he wants something, he will do something
about it. So, we make camp tonight. I’m sure of it.”

It took a lot out of me but my eyes didn’t
move to Lahn as I repeated, “Sorry?”

She looked at me. “Have you been receiving
his attentions since our unpleasant… erm, incident?”

“Um… no,” I muttered.

“I would guess he misses that too,” she
stated.

I felt my stomach drop.

“
Diandra, I think… well, actually, I
don’t
think that I’ve ever laughed
with Lahn and he can get attention whenever he wants from a variety
of Xacto who follow at the back of this convoy.
”

“
You don’t have to have had something to
want it or need it but when you have something you liked… very
much… and it is taken away, and you want it back, it can become a
hunger. Your husband is hungry, Circe. Warriors don’t stay hungry
long before they find ways to assuage it so he will need his cham
because
you
will
need
your
cham for
what he intends to do so we make camp tonight,” she repeated, “I’m
sure of it.”

I sucked in breath and looked ahead.

This was not great news.

“Now, my dear, before you face what you will
face tonight, you must go in prepared,” she stated and I knew what
was coming.

“Diandra, I’m not sure I’m ready –”

“Ready or not, Circe, you have no choice.
You are queen and must know this as queen but you are married to
the king and you must understand what drives him and you must
understand all of this for your marriage, for your husband, for
your people and for you.”

I sighed. Then I muttered, “All right, my
friend, let’s get this over with.”

“Circe, I’m trying to keep you alive.”

I blinked then my head snapped toward
her.

Then I breathed, “
What?
”

She was looking at me, she saw she had my
devoted attention therefore she nodded before facing forward again.
“I have explained much about Korwahk and its people. They are
savage, primitive even in some ways. They have no government but
they have riches, they have land and they have a king. That king
has no court but that does not mean there are no courtly intrigues
and politics.”

I looked forward too and said, “Diandra,
sweetheart, I’m not following.”

“That man, Geoffrey, do you remember
him?”

I looked at her again and when she looked at
me, I nodded.

She faced forward and I did as well as she
went on, “He is from Middleland. Middleland is ruled by King
Baldur. He came into his kingdom as a very young man and ruled
before I left the Vale but also Seerim tells me of him as he is
known far because he is a greedy man, wicked and even cruel. He
cares little for his people and a great deal for gold. And
land.
And any kinds of riches he can
get his hands on. The kinds of riches Korwahk has in
abundance.”

Oh shit.

As was her way, Diandra went on, “I have
seen this Geoffrey, not often, but I have seen him more than once.
Now, there are many men who come from far away to watch the Wife
Hunt. They are despicable; they watch it for sordid reasons and
they have no honor. The Dax cares not about them. His focus is The
Horde and they bring coin that they use with his merchants so he
allows it.”

I’d noticed those men. And any man who
watches a Wife Hunt like a spectator sport definitely had no
honor.

Diandra continued, “Then there are other
men who come who do so to study The Horde, its practices and the
Korwahk people. This is usually for academic reasons but those
reasons
could
be
nefarious. These men, the Dax considers carefully before he lets
them observe but he does not share openly with them. He is cautious
about what they learn and anything they learn, he controls. It
would not do for training and tactics to be revealed. The Horde is
successful because no one knows the entirety of what makes a
warrior and how they wage war. Indeed, you likely missed it but
there were no outsiders at the warrior selection or ensuing
celebration and there never are. It is forbidden. Another reason
Geoffrey’s visit to you was not taken kindly and had you not been a
new queen not of the Korwahk before your claiming having recently
been claimed in a rite that distressed you who, it is highly
likely, would be alarmed by any violence close to your person, it
is also highly likely your honor guard would have dealt with him
differently and
swiftly
. We have
not seen him since and I would not need to try very hard to guess
why.”

Oh man. I had a feeling Geoffrey was toast.
What an idiot.

“Then,” she carried on, “there are men who
come as ambassadors from other lands. These, the Dax deals with
too.”

Wow. There was a lot more to this Dax
business than I realized.

Diandra carried on. “I have little doubt
that the news the Dax has installed his Dahksahna at his side is
news that has travelled far and wide. It has been but two weeks but
horses will have lathered and boats will have sailed with missives
and messengers. The news will travel this earth within months and
plots will be hatched within moments of it being reported. And this
news will be the news that our new queen is the golden queen of
legend. That makes you a valuable commodity, my dear.”

I felt ice slide through my veins as I
looked at her again. “A commodity?”

“
What would the Korwahk people and The
Horde trade should their golden queen be kidnapped and held for
ransom?” she asked back and I blinked.

“Oh my God,” I whispered.

“Held and tortured, parts of her traded for
wild riches in hopes of gaining her returned alive if not
intact?”

I looked forward again and swallowed.

“Riches would not be traded, Circe, you
should know that. The Horde would ride and blood would be spilled.
A great deal of it. Warriors would fall, widows would be made,
children would lose fathers.”

“Okay,” I was still whispering, “I’m getting
it.”

“
No you aren’t, not the half of it,”
Diandra replied, I closed my eyes and opened them when she kept
talking. “That Geoffrey thought you were from Middleland and having
problems adjusting, seething against your claiming, hating your
king. He told you he was your friend but he wanted to earn your
trust, even though he is not trustworthy, in order to turn you
against your people, whisper in his ear their secrets, provide him
the information he needs to give Baldur to take these lands, and
their riches, and do it by wiping out The Horde.”

“Okay,” I repeated, my voice trembling, “I’m
getting it.”

“No, I’m sorry, Circe, you aren’t,” she said
softly. “He is one of many. Men from anywhere and everywhere will
send agents to do the same. But even amongst the riders in this
procession, there are those who plot against the Dax and, they too,
will see you as an instrument to his downfall. They will watch you,
my dear, and they will seize on any intimation you give that you
might conspire against our king. And to do this, there are eyes and
spies everywhere, watching your every move. Including now.”

This immediately made me think about The
Eunuch but my thoughts were turned when Diandra kept talking.

“Our Dax is our Dax because he is strong,
because no one can defeat him in battle, but he is also
exceptionally bright. He would never remain the Dax if he did not
continue to keep the peace, to keep his nation wealthy, to deal
with these outside influences with cunning. If he did not, and
there have been those who have not, the challenges would be so
thick he would face another clash of swords even before the last
warrior fell until he was so exhausted, his head would be gone
before he could lift his weapon.”

Yikes!

Diandra went on, “Dax Lahn does not fear
your turning traitor, he fears your abduction. You did not know it
and I did not know it until my husband and I nearly shouted our
cham down but Seerim informed the Dax we were going to the
marketplace and the Dax commanded a guard to follow. Teetru sent
word we were intending to walk through the camp and again, a guard
followed. Our decision to go visit your friend Narinda was not
overheard by Teetru, none of your girls were around, so when we
left, they did not see us and did not know where we were going.
When Teetru discovered us gone, she sent word to the Dax. Later,
too much later, he heard from Feetak that you were with Narinda but
when Feetak went to his cham, we were with Nahka and he had no idea
where we were. By the time this was discovered, you and I were
wandering the Daxshee and through very bad luck, we somehow evaded
the warriors who had been sent out to find us. This is an extremely
unfortunate set of circumstances that, as the minutes ticked by,
especially since he saw Geoffrey make contact and knows the ways of
King Baldur, which usually are insidious but no one would put it
past him to be violent, made your king very anxious. So, by the
time we arrived at your cham,
his
emotions got the better of
him
.”

I felt my mouth get tight and I said through
stiff lips, “That’s still no excuse.”

“
Yes, my dear, in your land with the father
you described you were fortunate enough to have, I can see you
believing that but, again, I remind you with some hesitation as I
know you dislike it, that you are married to a
Korwahk Horde
warrior
.”

I turned to look at her and when she turned
to me, I locked my eyes with her. “That’s still no excuse,” I
repeated quietly, she held my eyes then she heaved a sigh before
nodding.

She looked forward again and so did I.

Then I remarked, “You’re only agreeing in
order to agree to disagree, aren’t you?”

“It seems wise at this juncture,” she
replied and I smiled.

Then I couldn’t help it, my friend was funny
and after she shared some not so fun information (to say the
least), I needed to release some emotion and I decided I’d do it a
better way this time. So I burst out laughing again.

Diandra laughed with me.

When I sobered, before I could stop them, my
eyes went to Lahn to see he was again turned on his mount toward
me.