THREE DROPS OF BLOOD (5 page)

"So you put her on Wynystrys, behind the shield, to protect Megassa." Meghianna
nodded, pursing her lips as she thought. Mrillis waited, fascinated by her thought processes, even
as he sorrowed over another bit of her lost innocence. "And to protect me."

"Yes, indeed. To protect you."

"That's why she isn't held prisoner in the Stronghold, even though it might be a more
secure prison. To keep her from being anywhere near me. And..." She exhaled slowly, loudly. "I
think you keep Megassa away from me, because you think she might hurt me, too?"

"There is always the possibility. Do you ever wonder why we are so careful of you, why
we teach you duty and consequences and fill your head with such serious things?"

"Because Lady Ceera chose me as her heir before I was born, and there is so very much
to learn before I can become Queen of Snows. Papa says the Court is filled with people who
would want to make me silly and do my thinking for me, and waste all that time I need to use for
studying."

Mrillis surprised both of them by laughing, tipping his head back, the sound coming out
of him so strongly his chest ached. He was delighted at the grin and the sparkle in the child's
eyes. As long as she could laugh and not fear the reactions and thoughts of the adults entrusted
with her care, he knew she would be well. He regretted taking her childhood away from her, but
she had spoken a large part of the truth. There was so very much to teach her before she could
fulfill her destiny. And yet, there was more truth to the course he and the child's guardians had
taken. Despite being only six years old, Meghianna was no doubt wise enough to
comprehend.

"There is that, yes." He wiped a last few laugh tears from his eyes. "But has it ever
occurred to you that the enormous magical potential in you can bend toward evil choices just as
easily as good?" He waited until the sparkle of humor in her eyes faded into interest and the
unfocused gaze that signaled deep thought. "You and Megassa are both great-granddaughters of
the Nameless One. His poison could still linger in your blood, bound to your flesh and bone with
spells so quiet, so deeply buried, no one can sense them no matter how carefully we watch. But
just as your grandmother Nainan taught us, free choice and the power of the will can battle that
magic when nothing that outside forces can do will prevail. We train you to protect you, to teach
you to choose the right, to follow the Estall. Just as Megassa can be a tool for our enemies,
because of her heritage, you can also be touched by that magic, that enemy, and in the end, only
you can protect yourself. Only Megassa can choose the right."

"Then shouldn't she get the same training?"

"Indeed, she should."

"Does she have
imbrose
?"

"No one knows." He decided Meghianna had endured enough bitter, heavy truth for the
day. Later, when the girls were older and the elder girl's
imbrose
manifested, and
Megassa expected to show her own magical talents--that was time enough to reveal to
Meghianna, certainly not to Megassa, that her
imbrose
had been stunted from birth.
They had learned their lesson too bitterly well, with Endor. Megassa would never be allowed to
hold her magical heritage. Whether any children born of her flesh would be allowed to keep their
imbrose
would depend on how well she proved she was free of her family's heritage of
evil.

Four brisk taps on the door, a pause of three heartbeats, then four more taps, followed by
a rattling of the latch signaled the Warhawk was free of his Council meeting. Mrillis watched the
brightness come back to Meghianna's face. She was a child again, not a grown woman, matured
beyond her years by the weight of her duty. His heart ached with the guilt he knew every Queen
of Snows had ever carried, when they recognized their heirs and set about to train them. How
had Le'esha endured the burden of training Ceera and taking her innocence and freedom away
from her for the good of the World?

"Papa!" Meghianna crowed, and leaped from her seat to run to the door. She yanked on
the heavy iron latch, which resisted her, and whirled around to frown at Mrillis. "Please?"

"Must you leave?" he said, pouting to tease her. With a flicker of thought, he untied the
knot of Threads that kept the door sealed more securely than a dozen locks and bars, and yanked
on the latch, so the door swung open with enough force to bounce against the wall.

The sound of the bang was muffled by Meghianna's squeal of delight as she leaped into
her father's arms. Efrin roared laughter and spun her around twice before setting her down.

"There's my Meggi, all dusty from spending her day crawling through scrolls and
records. No ink stains on those pretty fingers, I hope?" He nodded once, exaggerated satisfaction
on his face, when she fluttered her fingers for his examination. "Well, what shall we do
today?"

"I want to give Megassa a pony so she can learn to ride," the child announced. "She's
going to train to be a soldier with Captain Gynefra, Papa, so she truly does need to learn to ride
right away."

"A soldier, huh?" Efrin straightened up, rubbing his bearded chin, and cast a questioning
frown at Mrillis. "Very busy morning?"

"Gynefra wrote a report about the incident in the stable. I suppose it's too much to hope
you read it," Mrillis said.

"I have reports stacked as high as my knee. We spent the entire council session
discussing the latest Encindi movements and what we should do--finally--to keep them
contained, instead of reacting
after
another farm or estate has been burned. Who has
time to read reports?" He bent over enough to look his daughter in the eye and braced his hands
on his thighs. "Well, I suppose soldiering is a good choice for your sister. Do you approve?"

"I think... it doesn't matter right now. Megassa doesn't like not having anything to do.
Lots of people tell her she isn't allowed to do anything, because she's--" A blush darkened her
face. "I know it's not a bad word when it's used right, but Nalla said I still shouldn't use it."

Mrillis mouthed 'bastard,' and had to fight a snort of laughter when Efrin rolled his eyes
and muffled a grin behind his hand.

"So, she's bored. Well, boredom more often leads to mischief than a bad heart, my
mother always used to say. Do you think your sister will like soldiering?"

"I think she will like it because she gets to be with Captain Gynefra, and she likes
Captain Gynefra."

"Very wise observation, my dear." He bowed to her, low enough their foreheads
touched, earning a giggle.

The boy is still too young for this,
Mrillis decided. It amused him a little, that he
still thought of Efrin as 'the boy,' and puzzled him that he never really saw Meghianna as a child.
He wasn't prone to visions, as Ceera had been, but it seemed to him that a ghostly image of
Meghianna as a grown woman hovered in the background during every encounter with the girl,
and it colored every exchange. Whether that was a blessing or a barrier, he could never be
sure.

* * * *

"Papa, I think you should spend time with Megassa like you do with me. It's only fair,"
Meghianna said, looking into the dark, round eyes of the pony Efrin had let her choose for her
sister's use. They stood in the doorway of the stables, where they had plenty of light to examine
the neatly brushed, plump brown creature.

"Fair? I suppose you're right."

"It's not her fault she was born, is it?"

"I can see I'm going to have to sit in on some of your lessons with our dear Lord
Mrillis," her father exclaimed, and yanked on the pony's bridle, earning a disgruntled snort from
the creature.

"Oh, Lord Mrillis didn't tell me all that. Nalla did. And I overheard some things. And I
know you wouldn't break your promise to my Mama, so I think you were tricked, so you
shouldn't feel guilty or embarrassed. Should you?" It occurred to Meghianna, as she tipped her
head to the side and studied her father, that perhaps this was one of those times when she should
have kept her concerns to herself. Adults sometimes reacted oddly to what she thought was
perfect sense.

"If only the world could see through your eyes," Efrin said on a sigh. His mouth curved
up on one side. "We would all be much happier and kinder to each other, I think." He went down
on one knee before her. "Would it make you happy?"

"I think you wouldn't be so lonely when I'm at the Stronghold. And..." She swallowed
hard, wishing she could push away the thought that came to her.

How many times had Nalla teasingly scolded her for asking too many questions, and
listening to adult conversations instead of ignoring them like most children did?

"What?" He caught her chin gently with two fingers and tipped her head up so their
gazes met again. "Are you lonely, my Meggi?"

"I'm too busy to be lonely. Except just before I fall asleep," she hurried to add in a burst
of honesty. That earned a widening of her father's grin and a snort of laughter. "I know you don't
dare let Megassa come to the Stronghold, just like you can't let people know where her mother is
hidden. You're afraid our enemies will control her. And use her to hurt me. But what if they use
her to hurt you, too, Papa?"

"Ah, and do you think your papa is afraid of that happening?" He stood, signaling for
the stable hand, who came to fetch the pony and put him in a stall next to Mist.

"I think my papa is a very brave man." She slipped her hand into Efrin's, and they
walked out into the sunlight.

"But?" He swung her arm extra hard, making her giggle.

"But everybody reminds me that my papa is also the Warhawk, and politics is an
invisible monster that whispers in everyone's ears and ties their hands and makes everything
complicated."

"You are growing up far too fast."

"I don't think so. I think it will be a long time before I am old enough and smart enough
and know enough to be Queen of Snows. That is a good thing, isn't it, Papa?"

"A very good thing." He squeezed her hand. "The invisible monster says I would be
very smart to have had Megassa killed when she was born, or even had her and her mother killed
before she was born. But while the monster whispers that in one ear, it whispers in my other ear
that protecting myself and my throne and the future that way is impossible. Some people say to
destroy the problem before it grows strong and smart, and other people would say that is proof
that I am unworthy to be the Warhawk, if I killed an innocent child and her insane mother."

"And some of those people say both things at the same time, I think."

"Ah, you are far too wise! I should put the Warhawk crown on your head." He swept her
up to sit astride his hip, putting them at eye-level again. "What do you think of that?"

"It is very heavy and too big for my head. And I would much rather be only the Queen
of Snows. And not for a very long time," she added, pressing her little hands against her father's
cheeks. "Papa, why didn't I ever see Megassa before?"

"She wasn't living here, until last fall. She has been living in a very far off castle on
Moerta. I thought she was safe. And we were all safe from her," he added, nodding, almost the
moment that thought occurred to Meghianna. She liked those times when it seemed she and her
father thought the same things, as if their minds touched without any
imbrose
. "Nobody
but the lord of the castle knew who she was. We hoped that ignorance was enough to protect us
all. And her."

"But something bad happened?" She smiled as he carried her through the archway into
her walled garden.

"Our enemies found out where she was. Her guardian sent me regular reports, telling me
if she was healthy, if she was smart, if she was happy. I don't hate her. I know she's innocent, but
it's rather hard to look at her." His eyes darkened with pain and guilt Meghianna recognized, but
couldn't quite understand, even after all Nalla and Mrillis had explained to her. "Those enemies
tried to kidnap her. And when they couldn't, they tried to kill her."

"People died, Papa?" she whispered. She rested her head on his shoulder when he sat
down on her favorite bench, next to the stone shelter that held all her gardening tools and
protected the spring she used for watering her garden.

"Good people died to protect her. And once our enemies knew where she was, I knew
she wouldn't be safe anywhere but here, where enchanters could watch her and protect from
magic attack. And Captain Gynefra could protect her from knives and arrows and swords."

"She needs a papa and a sister, doesn't she?"

"Are you sure
you
don't need a sister, more?" He wrinkled his nose at her and
tipped his head down so their noses and foreheads touched.

"I think... if she knows you like I know you, Papa, Megassa will love you as much as I
do. She is going to be a soldier. She can protect you when I'm not here. When we are grown up,
of course," she added with a decisive nod.

"Of course," Efrin sighed.

* * * *

Megassa showed more interest in getting to know her new pony and learning to ride him
than she did in meeting her father. That bothered Meghianna, until Lord Mrillis explained that
when people were hurt in their hearts, they were slow to trust and to make friends. Megassa
knew her father hadn't wanted to see her when she came to the fortress the fall before, and that
hurt her. It would take time, Mrillis warned, before Megassa and Efrin could be friends, then
learn to love each other. He told Meghianna he approved of her reasoning, and that soothed away
her fear that she had caused problems for her father with her request.

Efrin made an effort to go riding with his daughters every three or four days. His roar of
laughter when Megassa made her pony perform tricks for him encouraged her to try more tricks,
and take chances with risky riding. Efrin realized first what Megassa was going to do, the day
she wore leggings and a boy's tunic on their ride, and knelt in the saddle before they had left the
gates of the fortress. He rode up close to the pony, watching the little girl rather than the road
ahead of them. When Megassa scrambled up to stand in the saddle, his face went white and he
rode close enough his warhorse almost stepped on the pony. Meghianna decided that meant he
did indeed care about Megassa. When she slipped, Efrin snatched her up into his saddle almost
before she let out her little cry of fear.