Kethril (24 page)

She knew how to use her power, position and
beauty to its full advantage and King Cranwer didn’t stand a
chance. “Of course. I give you my apologies and make no excuses for
the negligence of my guard. I’ll not delay you any further.” He
turned to Tathan. “I owe you a debt of gratitude and give you full
pardon for the killing of the Prophet of Telemooo. It will be
unpopular, but I’ll deal with it.” He held up a hand. “I must ask,
did you kill any guards in your escape?”

“I did not, Your Majesty,” Tathan
answered.

“Thank you for that. I also pardon you for
any other crimes you may have committed in my kingdom thus far, may
I never find out what they be. I ask that you never come back to my
kingdom though.”

“We’ll see,” Tathan replied with an impudent
wink.

“Tathan!” Anilyia yelled. “I have no
patience for you right now!”

He jerked back at the rebuff. “I’m sorry,”
was all he said.

“Your companions are headed to the village
of Yema near the southern mountains,” King Cranwer informed them.
“There is a well maintained highway you can travel on to get there.
I’ll add some traveling expenses and supplies to your things.”

“Thank you. That’s very generous.” Anilyia
squeezed his arm. “We’re still going to take care of the ship for
you and hold up our end of the agreement.”

King Cranwer took her by the upper arms and
kissed her on each cheek, ignoring the blood on her face. “Thank
you. I worry for your safety, but you’re obviously in no more
danger on the quest than you are here. Go to my daughter’s room and
clean up. Your things will be ready.”

“Thank you, Majesty. Come along, Tathan.”
Anilyia curtseyed and stepped over the bodies as she left the room.
At no time did she show any sign of how badly every nerve in her
body was screaming at all the dead bodies. Tathan followed,
ignoring the suspicious looks given him.

Soldiers lined the hallway, ready to handle
any threat except the one that had nearly gotten the princess
killed. The way they stood at attention, only following Tathan and
the princess with their eyes, was impressive. One of the
lieutenants followed them to make sure no one tried to arrest
Tathan again, mostly because they didn’t want to have to clean up
any soldier’s blood.

Princess Chirelle’s suite wasn’t far away.
When guards put their pikes in front of Tathan, Anilyia pushed them
aside. “He is the only one capable of keeping me safe. He will come
in even if it means seeing me naked.” She grabbed Tathan by the
collar and led him inside. The guards didn’t know how to react, but
they looked panicked by the idea of a man entering royal
chambers.

Inside, both princesses held hands to chest
in the universal gesture all women have when shocked by
impropriety. The ladies-in-waiting were in their nightgowns and
scurried away at the sight of a bloodstained man in the
chamber.

Anilyia didn’t even bother to speak as she
headed to the bath room. It was twice the size of the one in her
room, but the bath was empty. There were buckets of water in the
room though and she had to get the blood off. It was making her
skin crawl. With no regard for decorum, she began stripping out of
the nightgown. When one of the ties wouldn’t release, Tathan lent a
hand and the nightgown was off faster than any handmaiden would
ever be able to manage.

As the princesses and other women came in,
they were appalled by the brazen disregard for decency that both
the princess and Tathan were showing. Anilyia finished stripping
and knelt in one of the tubs of water, which elicited more gasps.
Irritated beyond patience, she turned to them. “Well, if you’re not
capable of doing your jobs and taking care of a woman who’s clearly
been through a traumatic experience and has blood dripping from her
hair, then I have to do it myself.” With that, she began splashing
water on herself.

Women ran over to begin washing her. An
older woman came in with a rune stone and began heating buckets
while others took them to the bath. Anilyia made introductions.
“Tathan, this is Princess Chirelle and Princess Millia. You will
address them by title and avoid seducing them. Is that clear?” she
asked. The water in her bucket was red from all the blood while the
women were soaping her and doing their best to hide her modesty
from the scoundrel in the room.

“Totally,” Tathan replied with a slight bow
in the direction of the two.

“Chirelle, Millia, This is Tathan of the
Shadows, famed seducer of women.” She couldn’t resist the dig. When
he stared at her, she returned the look with no thought of backing
down.

Millia broke first. “What happened?! We
heard an alarm raised and guards lined the hall outside our room.
Someone said you were kidnapped.”

There was enough water in the deepest part
of the bath for the servants to rush Anilyia in. They continued
cleaning her and the goosebumps that had appeared on her arms and
legs began to go away with the warmer water. “Masked men came into
my room and tried to kidnap me. Tathan killed them. I’m leaving as
soon as I’m clean. Can someone get my new travel clothes for me, or
my old ones? I don’t care which.” Anilyia helped scrub her own
hair. She wanted the blood out so she could leave.

“You’re going so soon?” Chirelle asked in
panic. “But I like you. You were supposed to stay for at least a
week!” She hugged herself for comfort.

“I’m not willing to sit around and be
kidnapped again. I want to go home and Tathan is the only one who
can keep me safe. I’m certain of that.” Water splashed over her
from a bucket, rinsing off most of the soap and causing her to
gasp. Anilyia was sure the handmaidens did it on purpose for
upsetting their princesses, but she didn’t care. It actually felt
good. Pushing wet platinum hair from her face, she looked at
Chirelle and Millia. “I like both of you very much and even though
I don’t think it will happen, I’d love to see you again. You’re
both welcome in Mayncal anytime you like.”

They poured more water over her head and the
last of the soap rinsed off. “I have the new traveling clothes
here,” a handmaiden said, rushing in and setting them on a bench.
Anilyia stepped out of the tub and let the ladies begin drying her.
They were still doing their best to stay between the princess and
Tathan’s line of sight.

“I’m frightened for you,” Chirelle said.
Anilyia shrugged off the towels and rushed over to give the
princesses a hug, her hair getting them wet in the process. They
didn’t care and hugged back. “Must you leave right away?” Chirelle
asked plaintively. Anilyia nodded and stepped back. The handmaidens
seized the opportunity to dress her. “I have something for you,”
Chirelle told her.

“As do I. Don’t leave until I return!”
Millia added. Both princesses dashed out. It only took a minute to
dress Anilyia. The handmaidens took her into the sitting room and
had her sit while they brushed her hair and applied light makeup.
Makeup was one of the things she had missed since being kidnapped.
The Rojuun considered it dirty and Liselle didn’t own any.

Chirelle came in from her bedchambers. “This
was my grandmother’s, but the colors don’t quite fit me. It’s one
of the few pieces I have that’s exceptional enough for you.” She
opened a thin rectangular box to show a gold wire necklace set with
emeralds and finely cut garnets. It was exceptional workmanship,
fit for a princess or even a queen. “It’s also sturdy enough to
wear in your travels.”

She sat behind Anilyia who held up her hair
so the necklace could be put on. Anilyia touched it, feeling the
tightness of the gold wire with admiration. “It’s so beautiful. I
have nothing to give in return!” she exclaimed. It was not a cheap
gift by any means.

Just then, Millia dashed in with another
box. Her ladies-in-waiting were very disapproving of all the
un-princessly activities going on, such as running. “Oh good, you
haven’t left!” She knelt at Anilyia’s feet, set the box on the
floor and opened it. An elegant half-round arm sheath made of wired
gold was set inside. There were a number of red carnelian stones
set throughout it. “This has magic in it that will help keep you
safe.” She pushed the left sleeve of Anilyia’s travel shirt up to
the elbow and put the sheath on her arm. Leather lined the inside
of it to keep the gold from cutting into the arm. It was attached
with four leather-lined gold chains along the inside of the
arm.

“This is really too much!” Anilyia
protested, running her fingers over some of the gems. Both items
were extremely valuable, even to give to a princess.

“It’s fine. We have more jewelry than we
know what to do with, so it’s not as impressive as it may seem,”
Chirelle assured her. Anilyia knew that wasn’t completely true.
They might have plenty of jewelry, but the items they gave her were
not simple.

She looked at Tathan, who was standing with
no expression on his face. Anilyia couldn’t read what he was
thinking, but didn’t care too much at that moment. “Tathan, do you
have anything I can give them? I’ll repay double what it’s
worth.”

“That’s not necessary,” Millia
protested.

Chirelle agreed. “It’s not! We want you to
have these things!”

When Anilyia pleaded with her eyes, Tathan
gave it some thought. He asked the princesses, “Are the two of you
getting married, and will you be separated?”

They stopped and became silent. Millia broke
the silence. “Chirelle is leaving next month to marry a prince of
Cralmen. It’s a good marriage that will strengthen both countries.
I leave next year to marry a prince of Inizor, the three countries
are ocean bound and we’ve formed an alliance that will bring
everyone wealth.” Both princesses looked miserable by the
arrangement. Anilyia understood how they felt.

Tathan reached into his jacket. Anilyia knew
he had secret pockets in it that were magically sealed and could
hold more than one might imagine. The pockets also made the items
immune from damage in case the jacket or person was hit by
something . . . like a sword.

He drew out two identical mirrors with
surfaces about as large as a man’s spread hand. They had elegant
silver handles and backs. Gold filigree decorated the edges and
tiger-eye gemstones were set in the filigree. He gave them to
Anilyia. “Give one to each princess. I’ll whisper the activation
words in their ears.”

Anilyia did so, handing one to Millia who
still sat on the floor in front of her and one to Chirelle, who had
moved to her right side on the couch. “These are beautiful. If
there’s an activation word, then that means they’re magical?” the
older Kethril Princess asked.

Tathan crooked a finger for Chirelle to come
to him. She stood nervously and moved next to him. When Tathan
shooed off the servants, they ignored him. It wasn’t until Chirelle
nodded that they moved back. They nearly rushed forward again when
Tathan had the nerve to touch the princess, brushing back the hair
from her left ear and holding her right cheek with the other hand
while he whispered into the ear.

Chirelle’s breathing became shallow and her
face flushed at the feel of his hands. Anilyia narrowed her eyes at
Tathan because she knew exactly how the Kethril princess felt.
Chirelle nodded and moved back to the couch, taking and squeezing
Anilyia’s hand fiercely to gain control.

Tathan crooked his finger at Millia, who
went through the exact same process and reaction. Anilyia was
certain the rogue was enjoying himself and was just as certain that
any woman in the room who wasn’t a princess would gladly have him
flayed alive if given the opportunity. When Millia came back to sit
on the left side of the couch she gave Anilyia’s other hand a
squeeze.

Tathan looked at Anilyia, again ignoring her
glare. “Have them go alone to separate rooms and activate the
mirrors.” Anilyia didn’t say anything before the princesses jumped
up and headed to separate rooms, Chirelle to her bedchambers and
Millia to Chirelle’s office.

They came out a minute later, both sobbing
joyfully, and gave Anilyia a hug. “They’re so wonderful! It’s the
best gift ever!” Millia exclaimed into her shoulder.

“Now we’ll be able to see and talk to each
other for the rest of our lives!” Chirelle agreed into the other
shoulder. Anilyia raised an eyebrow at Tathan.

He shrugged and answered the unspoken
question. “Just a little something I picked up in Dralin. They can
see and hear each other with those mirrors no matter how far apart
they may be in the world.”

Anilyia’s eyes widened. The gift was
extremely
valuable. Only the most powerful wizards made
magic that strong. It was also the best gift imaginable for the
Kethril princesses. The three hugged for a few more minutes before
Anilyia finally stood to go.

Millia put her hand on the arm sheath.
“There is no activation word because it’s always active. It will
give you some protection from magic,” she explained. “The person
who crafted them made two to match, but they don’t actually work
together. In fact, they cancel each other out if one person wears
both. I have the other one, so we’ll be like sisters,” she said
with a shy smile.

Anilyia hugged her fiercely. “We
are
sisters in my eyes and you will always be welcome should you make
it to Mayncal.”

They broke the hug and Chirelle took
Millia’s place. “The necklace I gave you will protect you from
magic against the mind. It’s always active too and will complement
the arm sheath,” Chirelle told her as they released.

“Thank you both so much for taking me in and
treating me so well. I needed you so much. I can’t even begin to
tell you how bad,” Anilyia said sincerely.

They hugged and said goodbye a few more
times before Anilyia made it into the hallway with Tathan behind.
The same lieutenant who escorted them to the princess’s chambers
led them outside to their waiting horses.