KINGSBORO
“In the north it seems,” Anthony Pembroke began, and when his brother, who looked like him only with dark haired raised an eyebrow, he restated, “no it is true it would be more appropriate to say, that Myrne Herreboro has born a son.”
“Anthony,” Queen Isobel asked from where she sat at the council table, “why do you act as if you were in Edmund’s court and not give the woman her true title. She is Queen Myrne and her son is the Prince.”
“If she and this Osric can hold their land,” Sir Anthony said.
“They hold two kingdoms,” Isobel said, “with the support not only of their own lords, but of Rheged, Elmet and Ossariand, and the two kingdoms they hold are two more than you do, so it is time to call them King Osric and Queen Myrne.”
“There was a time,” Anthony said to Cedd, “when a Queen did not sit in King’s Council.”
“There was a time when a lord knew his place,” Queen Isobel said. “In your life time you only knew Queen Tourmaline who died young and Queen Essily who did not even receive her title, so I cannot blame your tongue for not knowing when to keep still, but I am from Sussail where we know what a ruler is, so have a car, Anthony, before I show you.”
Here Cedd could not help but laugh into his beard until Isobel’s eyes flashed, and Cedd said, “Apologize to the Queen.”
“Forgive me, your Grace.”
Isobel nodded in curt acceptance.
“But,” Lord Francis said beside his brother, Anthony, “before we drifted from our original point of conversation we were speaking of the situation in the north and what it means for us.”
“What it means for us,” Lord Buwa of Southmountain said, “is we have not established our allegiances.”
When Isobel looked to him, Lord Buwa said, “Your majesty, we have an allegiance with Sussail, which we assume is allied to Daumany, but if Daumany should go to war with the north.—“”
“But it is already at war with the north,” Cedd said. “Rufus eats at Ambrdige every night.”
“But does that mean we must eat at Ambridge every night?” Anthony said. “I have no love of Edmund, and Inglad is on our northern border. Surely he is waiting to hear something from us. Everyday we do nothing—”
“Idris has already done something,” Francis said, “and he is the King’s brother in law. Word is that Imogen will bear him a son soon. Morgellyn has declared for no one yet, but can she not declare for Edmund and Inglad.”
“We must wait, it seems,” Cedd said.
“But how long, your Grace?” Lord Buwa demanded.
“As long as we can without going to war,” Cedd said. “I thought we were done with Daumans and done with wars. I don’t ever want to see young men heaped up as corpses, farms destroyed, women raped, children made orphans.”
Cedd shook his head.
“Not in my Westrial, not during my reign.”
Isobel had been standing at the window, looking over the Great Market. Late spring, and the sun shone on the city with all of its people far from battle and the troubles of war.
“Friends,” she said, “might I have a word with my Lord?”
They all looked at the Queen suspiciously, but Francis said, rising, “Of course, your Grace.”
“No,” Isobel said, “it is not right that you all should leave. We will go out in the hall. It is fair news, but the King must here if first.”
The Queen left the room, and Cedd followed her out into the hall.
“Isobel,” he began, but she placed a hand on her stomach.
“Isobel?”
“I have missed my courses for the sixth time. It is tradition among my people to make absolutely sure of a birth before announcing it.”
Cedd help Isobel away from him, looking her up and down as a smile dawned on his face.
“He will be strong and healthy, and no son of either of your sisters. I am bearing you and Westrial a son.”
OHEAN
Ohean and Anson had set out weeks before from the Rootless Isle, bidding goodbye to Pol, and taking Austin and Connleth Arragareth with them. Now they traveled slowly, for Ohean had said they were destined to meet companions, and destined to assist them.
"Assist them in?" Conn had said.
"We will know when we meet them," Ohean said. "But it is the only reason you are here. The only reason any of is. This is the heart of all things."
They were coming, Ohean knew. He was used to this second sensing, but ever since the Ethame, all of his powers were stronger. If he leaned into the Wind, he could know all things, perhaps even the very end of this journey.
But then when that goes, my humanity goes as well. We must, at all costs, stay human. He knew that tomorrow They would arrive, whoever they were, and then Ohean would know why he was needed and what he was supposed to do. Right now he was reading a man’s cards.
“And you have the Knight of Fire,” Ohean said. “Right here, on the east corner, the Knight of Fire means something will arise to tweak your temper, but if you can hold onto your anger, then great victory will come your way…”
Looking around the tavern to see Conn, Anson, and Austin, he sensed very strongly that they were a unit or the beginning of one. He had experienced them in many worlds and in many lives together, lives he would not tell them about, but where they had been long standing friends, other worlds where, at this moment, they were also together. This is why they had been brought together here
In his youth, in his real youth, not this simply being younger than forty, Anson had no patience and no peace. Even as a general in the first Dauman Wars, he had learned that much power did not make peace. It made the need to control, to see into things, and now he was just beginning to learn the way of the Serpent and the Dragon, of real magic. He felt the desire to use it, push the envelope a little and look into the future, to see who was coming tomorrow.
The next morning Ohean was awakened by a sharp knock on the door of the vardo.
“What is…?” he began.
“I’ll get it,” Anson said, crawling out of bed in his under things, hair rumpled.
“Lay back down,” Ohean said.
Anson did not look as if he was sure about the propriety of lying back down, but he did so warily, watching Ohean as he did, and then sunlight streamed in from the door as the wizard opened it, and he clapped his hands.
“You are here!” he cried “You are both here! Now we can begin!”
“Sir…” Conn heard the unsteady voice of one woman begin. “We were just looking for directions—”
“Enough,” Ohean said. “Come in.”
“I’ll tie up the horses,” another woman’s voice said, and then Austin could hear her coming up the vardo steps.
The inside of the vardo darkened now, and Conn, sitting up in bed, focused on a tall woman with very dark and very dirty hair, a travelstained cloak, hanging from her shoulders.
“I am Ohean,” Ohean said, “and this, sleeping in the pallet over there, is Anson.”
“Pleased,” Anson said, sitting up and saluting, while he tried to smooth down his hair.
The young woman smiled and she said, “My companion who—” the door came open again, and the woman continued, “This is my friend and journeying companion. Her name is Dissenbark. And I,… my name is Theone.”
