Moons' Dreaming (Children of the Rock)

“
There
’
s no other choice. We
’
ll have to kill her.
”

From his position by the door in the small audience chamber, Dael, captain of the Rhenlan guard, looked on helplessly as King Hion made his pronouncement. Now he understood why this meeting of the king
’
s council had been convened here, rather than the more public space of the great hall of Edian Castle. Better to announce this decision in comparative privacy, and let the public spectacle wait for the death itself.

Light streamed in through the tall windows on the southern and eastern walls, drawing unexpected glints and sparkles from the king
’
s jeweled belt and the silver inlay in his son Damon
’
s dagger hilt. Ledo, Hion
’
s brother, wore so much gold thread that his sleeves glowed in the sunshine. In contrast, Vissa
’
s black gown was enlivened only by its red sash and the embroidered patterns on sleeves and hem that indicated her rank as first among the Redmothers of Rhenlan. The Brownmother beside her wore a brown-marked robe far less elaborate than that of the court Redmother, but her manner conveyed similar dignity. Next to the stately women, the three men looked like bright-hued butterflies.

Not one of the king
’
s councilors spoke up to protest Hion
’
s decision.

Dael swallowed, his mouth dry even though he had no right to be surprised. He had seen this tragedy coming. He had also been fool enough to hope that somehow the situation would change, or that someone on the council would make the effort to find a way to avoid this logical, but heartless, solution.

Prince Damon fixed his steady gaze on the king.
“
You realize, Father, that she
’
s hardly more than a child.
”

“
She
’
s a Shaper, the daughter of a ruling house.
”
Hion leaned forward in the oaken chair that served as this chamber
’
s throne, and rested his hands on his knees.
“
If her mother had taught her the first thing about responsibility and loyalty we wouldn
’
t be facing this crisis.
”
His gaze traveled the circle of his advisors; first Damon, then Ledo, Brownmother Thena, and finally Vissa.
“
Isn
’
t that so, Redmother? According to tradition?
”

“
It is a very new tradition, Your Majesty,
”
the old woman replied, her expression pinched with disapproval.
“
But technically, you are correct.
”

“
No one asked how old the law was. It
’
s a law. That
’
s all that matters,
”
Damon said.
“
Surely there are precedents.
”

“
There is no precedent in my memory.
”
Given the perfection of a Redmother
’
s trained memory, the statement was inarguable, and Damon fell silent.

In spite of himself, Dael felt a faint stirring of hope. Prince Damon inevitably supported his father
’
s policies; any protest he made would, in the end, only clarify and bolster Hion
’
s original intentions. Duke Ledo rarely said a word in council meetings, for fear of losing favor with his brother or nephew. Brownmother Thena clearly felt out of her depth in this discussion; her areas of expertise and responsibility were the health and welfare of the citizens of the town, not the fate of foreign princesses. Dael himself was not an official member of the king
’
s council, so his opinion would not be welcome in this discussion. He attended the meetings only to provide information when requested, and because it was the most efficient way for Hion and Damon to keep him informed of decisions that he, as captain of the guard, would have to enforce.

Redmother Vissa, however, possessed the wisdom, and perhaps the strength of will, to change Hion
’
s mind.

“
Before the fire bear plague, this situation would never have occurred,
”
Vissa said, her mouth a thin, bitter line.
“
Before the plague, Keepers were content to keep their lands and herds, and Shaper families were honored to govern their own small kingdoms. No one argued over ownership of land!
”

Ledo
’
s eyes widened at the tone of Vissa
’
s critical words. Dael
’
s brief surge of hope faded into despair once more. He agreed with the Redmother
—
life had been safer and saner, a person
’
s duty to the gods clearer and easier, before the plague. Unfortunately, Dael had observed over the years that appeals to tradition rarely worked with Hion. Vissa had never learned that lesson. Perhaps she couldn
’
t. Her life was devoted to maintaining the continuity of their culture; to her, old ways were, by definition, always better than new.

“
We live after the plague,
”
Hion replied,
“
not before it. New situations require new traditions. Redmother Vissa, you are old enough to remember the villages that had to be abandoned, the chaos that threatened until the Eighteen Kingdoms were consolidated into three larger, more manageable tracts. We must not allow that chaos to threaten again. Recite the terms of the law.
”

The Redmother grew still, her expression blank as she searched her mind for the words the king sought.

“
In the event of a border dispute,
”
Vissa recited at last,
“
in the absence of a high king or queen, and to avoid disrupting the lives of the Keepers of either kingdom, the Shaper families concerned will either exchange goods for land, exchange land for land, cede the territory in question to an adjacent neighbor, or arrange a union of their families in marriage and bequeath the territory to the offspring of that couple. If either side proves false to its vows in this matter, both land and life are forfeit.
”

Damon shook his head. To Dael, his expression seemed sincerely regretful.
“
If only Queen Dea had been reasonable.
”

Hion scowled.
“
She
’
s not fit to rule. Anyone can see she
’
ll never make proper use of that forest. We made a more than generous offer, and how were we repaid? With treachery.
”

Ledo cleared his throat.
“
Are we quite convinced that Princess Emlie was part of the plot?
”

“
Tell him, Captain,
”
Damon commanded.

Dael braced himself and took a single step forward, away from his unobtrusive post by the doorway. Leave it to Ledo to ask that question; one for which Hion had already determined the answer. In the spring, a pair of merchants from a tiny village in Dherrica, only a stone
’
s throw across the border from Rhenlan, came to Edian to ask for assistance in driving off a band of Abstainers. Hion sent two guard patrols to take care of the matter, a generous and sensible response to a common threat. What Dael hadn
’
t expected was that Hion would then claim the village and its surrounding lands for Rhenlan, on the grounds that he was obviously better able to protect the population. Dea obviously hadn
’
t expected it, either. She sent Princess Emlie with arguments to counter Hion
’
s demands, and for a while, a peaceful settlement, perhaps marriage for the two heirs, had seemed imminent. Then negotiations had broken down, and Dael had been forced to deal with the results.

“
Several men in the force that attacked our patrol were members of the princess
’
s escort,
”
Dael told Ledo.
“
When I confronted her, she admitted that she had sent them to the border, to secure a way for her to leave Rhenlan.
”

“
Without our knowledge,
”
Damon said,
“
and in spite of our efforts to negotiate a reasonable settlement of our differences.
”

Dael nodded. He did not believe that the young princess had a malicious intent to deceive Hion and Damon; she had simply been overwhelmed by an impossible situation, and sought to escape her responsibilities. However, to say that Emlie hadn
’
t meant any harm did nothing to change the consequences of her decisions.

“
There
’
s no denying two of our guards are dead,
”
Hion said bluntly, and dismissed Dael to his post with a wave of his hand.

“
A clear breach of the truce,
”
Damon agreed.
“
We must respond accordingly.
”

“
It will accomplish nothing.
”
Vissa turned away from the young prince and appealed directly to Hion.
“
If Emlie d
ies, how will you ever reach an
agreement with Dea? Once there is blood between you
—
”

“
There already is,
”
Hion snapped.

Dael clenched his fists at his side, torn between his loyalty to Hion and his conviction that, in this instance, his king was making a mistake. Hion had dedicated his life to protecting all of his people, from the lowest guard to the richest merchant, and held all ruling Shapers to the same high standard. Dea had failed to defend the villagers, and Emlie had failed to properly exercise her authority over the guards under her command. Queen and princess both had, however briefly, forsaken their vows. When vows failed, only law could provide a semblance of justice
—
but Dea and Emlie, in their refusal to accept any of Rhenlan
’
s offered terms, had turned their backs on the law, too.