The Mirror of Her Dreams (12 page)

There were no mirrors. No mirrors. The walls were decorated with peacock feathers, and she couldn't see herself anywhere. The bed was rumpled; but that had never been enough to tell her who she was, anybody could have rumpled the bed, if she were to see herself now she might bear no resemblance to what she was expecting, that was why she
had
to find some reflection of herself, had to prove somehow that-

The light had dwindled almost to twilight: it was barely enough to bring back her recollection of this place. With an effort of will, she took hold of her fear. Where she was didn't match the way she remembered it. She had an impression of changes- subtle, insidious, vast in implication-of ways in which reality had been rearranged. The dying of the light was the first one she was able to define; and she clung to it because it was reasonable, an indication of nothing more portentous than passing time.

Then she noticed there was a fire in the bedroom hearth.

It hadn't been set recently: the flames were small over a deep bed of coals; the bars of the grate shone with cherry heat; the air was warmer than it had been.

That, too, could be explained, she told herself, insisted to herself. Judging by the light, she had been asleep for several hours. Someone had come in and lit the fire for her while she slept. It was that simple.

But the idea that people had been changing things around her while she slept was too frightening to be simple.

She pushed her feet out of bed and sat up. The soft, woven texture of the rug under her soles reminded her of her moccasins. She put them on, straightened her sleep-creased flannel shirt, and stood up.

Nothing terrible happened. Her body felt normal. The stone and mahogany and feathers showed no signs of dissolution, of translation. Her panic took a few steps backward, and she began to breathe a bit more easily.

All right. Someone had been here while she slept. Probably Saddith. That was easy to check.

Although movement seemed to require an unreasonable amount of courage, she went to the nearest wardrobe and opened it.

It was full of clothes.

At a glance, most of them appeared to be gowns; but she saw robes, skirts, blouses, shawls, and a shelf or two of undergarments. They were the kind of clothes she had seen the ladies of rank wearing around Orison.

The other wardrobe was also full. And on the dressing table she found an impressive array of combs and brushes, fired clay jars containing creams and rouges, crystal vials of perfume.

Her fear actually turned and walked away, though it stopped in the middle distance to keep an eye on her. A little girl who had once enjoyed playing with her mother's dresses and cosmetics gave a small smile. She almost caught herself thinking, This might be fun after all.

But then from the sitting room she heard a woman's giggle, a man's rumbling whisper. As startled as if she had been caught doing something forbidden, she practically ran out of the bedroom.

The woman was Saddith, and Terisa's sudden appearance took her by surprise: an involuntary twitch nearly made her drop the tray she was carrying. 'My lady!' she said, rolling her eyes comically. 'I thought you were still asleep.'

The man was one of the guards Geraden had introduced her to earlier-Ribuld, the one with the scar down the middle of his face. He, too, had been surprised by Terisa's entrance: his hand on Saddith's shoulder, and the disarray of her shawl and hair, suggested that he hadn't been expecting an interruption; had, in fact, been intending to enjoy himself as much as possible while Saddith's hands were trapped by the tray she carried. Nevertheless he promptly showed Terisa a grin which was probably intended to be reassuring.

In the doorway behind Saddith and Ribuld stood Argus, Ribuld's companion. 'Better and better,' he muttered with a gap-toothed leer. 'One for each of us.' Terisa froze, caught by instinctive alarm. As soon as Saddith regained her own equilibrium, however, she took pity on Terisa's fright. 'Mend your manners, clods,' she said mildly. 'My lady is not diverted by your sort of humour.' Without apparent effort-or malice-she swung one clogged foot sharply against Ribuld's shin.

Gasping and grimacing, he hopped backward. For an instant, he clutched at his shin with both hands. Then he forced himself to stand upright. A scowl of mingled chagrin, anger, and amusement puckered his scar.

Behind him, Argus sniggered like an adolescent. 'My lady,' Saddith went on primly, 'do not let these louts distress you. They are neither as fierce nor as manly as they would have you think.' Argus faced this remark with open astonishment: Ribuld tried to ignore it. 'And they will not dare to displease you. Though they are plainly dull, between them they possess wit enough to know that if they displease you
I
will be displeased-and then'-she gave the guards an arch smile over her shoulder-'neither of them will ever walk normally again.'

This time, both men made studious efforts not to react. 'Now, my lady,' continued the maid, 'I have brought some small supper for you, if you care for food. Not knowing how you are accustomed to dine, I thought it best to begin simply. But if this fare is not to your liking, I will gladly bring you whatever I can.'

Saddith's mastery of the situation enabled Terisa to unfreeze. Geraden had told her that he meant to try to have these two men assigned to her, for her protection. So far, he hadn't shown himself to be possessed of especially good judgement. On the other hand, he had been relieved of responsibility for her-which seemed to imply that Argus and Ribuld weren't here at his request. With an effort of concentration, she found her voice, 'What're they doing here?'

Those two?' Saddith sniffed disdainfully. 'I cannot imagine. That is to say, I know precisely
what
they are doing. But why they have chosen to do it here, I have no idea. Doubtless King Joyse told the guard captain that you should be warded, either for protection or for honour, and the captain displayed his poor sense by assigning those two the duty.'

In his loud whisper, Argus muttered, 'I don't think we should let her talk about us like that, Ribuld. She would sing a different tune if we had her alone.'

'If we had her alone, you over-grown slophog,' Ribuld replied with equal subtlety, 'she wouldn't need to act like this. You wouldn't be scaring the lady Terisa with your lewd attentions.' Then he looked at Terisa and changed his manner to a loose approximation of respect. The truth is, my lady, we're not on duty.'

'No?' Saddith was moderately surprised.

The captain doesn't know we're here-and I'm sure the King doesn't. We're doing this for Geraden. He stopped by the wardroom earlier this afternoon and asked us to look after you. As a personal favour. He didn't say what he was worried about, but he was obviously worried.'

He shrugged his heavy shoulders. 'If you don't want us around, you can tell us to go away. We might do that. But I think we might want you to explain it to Geraden first. He may be the clumsiest man in Mordant, and too young for his age on top of it, but we don't like to disappoint him.'

'You might say,' Argus added with an attempt at formal enunciation and pious sentiment which his missing teeth doomed to failure, 'he comes from a good family.'

This explanation left Terisa groping. She didn't know what to do. Helplessly, she looked to Saddith.

The maid considered Terisa, glanced sardonically over at the two guards, then sighed, 'Oh, let them stay, my lady. There is less harm in them than they might want you to believe. And I doubt that they would willingly insult Geraden by displeasing you. As this lout says'-she indicated Argus with a toss of her head-'the family of the Domne is well regarded-and especially Artagel, who is said to have the sharpest sword in all Mordant.' She winked knowingly at Terisa. 'Among other things.' Then she resumed, 'Even a brave man might blanch, if he insulted Geraden and had to face Artagel in consequence.'

It was Geraden who had wanted to answer her questions, Geraden who had seemed to care what happened to her. Now he had defied-or at least subverted-King Joyse's orders by arranging protection for her. As if she were giving him a vote of confidence, she murmured, 'All right.'

In response, Argus nudged Ribuld and grinned. 'What did I tell you? She wants us. Under those funny clothes, she's got the itch. She's just too fancy my-lady-Terisa to show it yet.'

Saddith turned on him, started to unleash a retort. But Ribuld forestalled her by grabbing Argus' arm and jerking him towards the door, growling, 'Oh, shut up, limpwit. There isn't a woman in Mordant desperate enough to itch for the likes of you.' Argus tried to protest; but Ribuld opened the door and thrust his companion out into the passage. In the doorway, he paused long enough to say over his shoulder, 'We'll be out here all night, my lady'-struggling to sound respectful against his natural inclination-'if you need us for anything.'

The door cut off Argus' burst of laughter.

Saddith rolled her eyes in affectionate ridicule, then moved to set her tray down on one of the tables. 'As I was saying, my lady, if this fare is not to your liking, you need only tell me. The cooks of Orison are an unruly lot, but I am sure they will attempt to provide whatever you wish.

'First, however,' she went on, 'you must have light.' Briskly, she went to the hearth, found a twig among the kindling, lit it, and used it to begin lighting the candles and lamps.

As the illumination in the room grew, the glow from the windows seemed to fade to darkness almost immediately, closing away any view Terisa might have had of the world outside. Unexpectedly, she felt a mild disappointment. She had missed an opportunity to look out and see what Orison was, where and how it was situated, what kind of environment surrounded it. Earlier, she had shied away from that knowledge: now she wanted it. Her nap must have done her more good than she realized.

That probably also explained why she did seem to be a little hungry. Dismissing the question of the windows, she went to look at the food.

It was familiar and surprising: as familiar as the language spoken by the people of this strange place; as surprising as the fact that these people spoke a language nearly identical to her own. To all appearances, the plate held a thick slice of ham garnished with borage and accompanied by brown bread, Swiss cheese, and string beans; the goblet contained a pale, red wine. And, in fact, the ham was unmistakable, as was the bread. Under closer inspection, however, the borage smelled more like thyme, the beans were of a slightly different shape and colour than any she had seen before, and in spite of its firm texture the cheese tasted like tofu. The wine carried a gentle tang of cinnamon.

Perhaps she should have feared that the food of this world would make her sick. In view of Geraden's belief that she had enemies, perhaps she should have feared that the food was poisoned. But such considerations seemed entirely unreal. The people she had met looked like normal human beings. They spoke her language. And, as far as she was concerned, she certainly wasn't substantial enough to be an object of malice. With no more hesitation than she had showed walking across the room to look at the food, she sampled the beans and found that they tasted like asparagus. Then she started on the bread and wine.

'Does it please you, my lady?' Saddith had finished lighting the candles and lamps in both the sitting room and the bedroom, and now stood watching Terisa.

'It's very good,' Terisa replied like an obedient girl.

The maid smiled her approval. Then I will leave you now, my lady. If you do not wish to rest, and the evening seems long, summon me.' She indicated a bell-push which Terisa hadn't noticed because it was hidden behind one of the peacock feather displays. 'We will find some entertainment for you. Perhaps you will want me to help you try some of your gowns. Several of them will become you nicely, I think. Or perhaps you will want other company. Both the lady Elega and the lady Myste wish to meet you, although they thought to wait until tomorrow so that you could spend tonight recovering from your translation. Both would be fascinated to make the acquaintance of a woman of Imagery.'

Terisa ignored this reference to her purported mastery of mirrors. 'Who are Elega and Myste?'

They are my lord King's daughters. He has three, of whom Elega and Myste are the eldest and youngest. The second, the lady Torrent, lives with her mother, Queen Madin, in Romish of Fayle. The Queen is the daughter of the Fayle.'

That answered Terisa's question. She didn't know what Romish or Fayle were, any more than she understood Domne or even Orison. But she knew now that she didn't want to meet Elega or Myste tonight. She didn't want to see anybody who would bring her more questions and no answers. She only wanted Geraden -or possibly (a piquant thought) Master Eremis, who may have considered her lovely. Since she couldn't ask Geraden to take any more risks for her, she declined Saddith's offer. 'I think I'll rest tonight.'