“He'll have pointed ears. Every guard we talked to said he didn't, but he must!”
“If it is Rufurt. But you were right, ears can be changed. The difference between a pointed ear and a round ear is just a slight extension of cartilage.”
They reached the landing and the guards who had preceded them and the guards who were already there parted and permitted them to approach the one cell that was occupied. In that cell, sprawled on a pile of straw which had not been changed since their own imprisonment, a short, squat man with a big nose lay with closed eyes. The sunbeam from the high barred window did not quite reach his face but fell short of it, settling on his water dish. As Rowforth had done with others, the prisoner was fed and watered as if he belonged on all fours.
John stared long and hard. His senses said “Rufurt,” but he knew how unreliable senses were. They would have to get him out into the light.
“Rufurt!” he said.
The prisoner sat up. Then he scrambled to his feet and rushed to the bars. He stood there panting, his eyes wild. Truly he now resembled animal more than human being.
“John! Kelvin! Kelvin the Roundear! I knew you would come! When I called to you I knew you would come and rescue me!”
John stared at the ears. They were round. This could not be the man he had spent years with in Rud's dungeon! It could not be, and yet he felt that it was.
The prisoner focused sunken eyes on Zanaan. They widened, reflecting an inner surprise that seemed to border on terror. “Zoanna!”
That did it! This had to be Rufurt. But how?
“I am Zanaan,” the queen said. “I am said to look much like Zoanna, but I do not share her personality. But you-- you look much like my husband Rowforth.”
“I am Rufurt! Rowforth is in my world!”
“Your ears,” John said, feeling foolish. “Round.”
The prisoner touched those appendages with dirty fingers and scrubbed at caked brown material at their tips. Scars were revealed, healing but visible.
“He cut off my tips! The one who looks like me did it! And Zoanna watched! Then they took me in the boat and they threw me in the water and I went into the Flaw. I came up sputtering by the waterfall, exactly as you did, John! Then I climbed out, and I recognized things from your description and I wandered all around. I found appleberries and other fruits and-- and then I reached these valleys, just as you did. I didn't know whether to climb down and meet your flopears or keep going, but then three men came and roped me and tied me up! They called me Rowforth and I knew then what had happened. I knew that I was in trouble and all I could hope for was that you would come back here and get me out. Just as Kelvin got us out before.”
“That clinches it,” John said. “Your Majesty, let King Rufurt out. He's not the vile man you were married to.”
But Zanaan, who also knew her husband well enough to tell him from another of similar appearance, had already instructed the guard to use the key. The key was in the lock and the tumblers falling. With a loud squeak the barred door was opened and good King Rufurt was free at long last.
*
If this was Rufurt, then what was happening back home? Oh, Heln! Kelvin thought with sudden alarm. Jon! Lester! Mother! What is happening there?
*
John woke, unable to sleep, and lay tossing on the bed. Finally he rose, dressed, and left the bedchamber where his two sons, each in a different bed, were sleeping. He walked the halls, uncertain as to why he was being tormented. The statuary and furniture loomed up in the darkened palace, just as it had when he had paced the hallways at night in Rud's palace.
So this is Hud, and Hud is all. Everything I need to think about. Kian will probably stay here after he and his girl make up their differences. Will I? Zoanna was everything I wanted, I thought, when besotted by her sex appeal. Zanaan has her beauty and not her nature. She has everything good that Zoanna didn't. But Zoanna had something too. The evil creature had an art! She used enchantment on me, or at least doped my wine. I believed her to be my ideal, but I was wrong. Others had been just as wrong. But now here is Zanaan, the good, perfect woman that I longed for. So why this hesitancy? Why is it that I'm still thinking of Charlain?
And there was the other aspect of it! He had been smitten with the queen, but then he had escaped her and found Charlain, and now the aspect of the queen lacked power over him. Charlain was married elsewhere now, so that was over-- but his heart refused to admit it. His heart still wanted only that one woman. He never would have left her, had he not expected to die. He had not wanted her to be associated with him then, lest she also be killed. He had stayed with her because he loved her, and he had left her for the same reason. So it really didn't matter whether Zanaan was evil or good; he had lost his fascination for her likeness.
The irony was that Zanaan, freed from her evil husband, was now available, while Charlain was not. He would do better staying here, and away from there. Only mischief could come of his return to that other frame.
His feet had unconsciously taken him to a door. He paused, uncertain. He knew whose door this was-- but no longer wished to knock on it.
Then he heard voices beyond it.
Zanaan's voice: “Oh, darling, I know you've given her your word and you don't want to hurt her, but-- “
A man's voice: “It is true. I did that. I owed her, and once I thought I loved her, but that changed after I met you. But now that Kian is back, if she wants him-- “
“Oh, yes! I know she does! I could see it in her eyes. I thought she loved you, but when she saw him, I knew! But the idiot kept denying her, and it is true that Hades has no fury like that of-- “
“And we can marry too. You and I. Mr. and Mrs.-- “
“King and queen. I see no reason why I should abdicate. And you'll make a good king, a fair and just king! Do you think you can bear being called ‘Your Majesty'?”
“I can stand it, if that's the price of you.”
“I rather think it is, Jac.”
There was the sound of a kiss.
“Oh Jac, Jac! We'll be so happy, you and I! Not like the usual royal marriage.”
“Yes. Happy. The former royalty-hating bandit-- “
“Revolutionary!”
“If you prefer. The former revolutionary and the queen!”
“Darling!”
“I thought I came to the palace to conquer, but I was conquered.”
“You were everything the king wasn't. It seemed so promising! And then Kian didn't come back, and Lonny was near suicide, so you had to-- “
“And you know, I lied about having known many women.”
“Liar! Hold me! Hold me tight!”
“Oh Zanaan! Zanaan!”
“Oh Jac! Oh Jac!”
John tiptoed away from the door. They were going to be happy, he thought, and so was the land.
He didn't feel envious. He felt relieved that this was happening. So he let his feet take him away from the door to the royal pantry and back to his bedchamber on the second floor. He was happy for Jac and the queen. He only wished that he had some similar prospect for himself.
*
When he woke in the morning John thought he had dreamed the episode of the preceding night. Kelvin was getting dressed in his conventional clothes: new brownberry shirt, greenbriar pantaloons, cushiony cotilk stockings, and heavy walking boots.
“Where's Kian?” John asked.
“I don't know, Dad. He woke me up and started talking about Lonny and how he couldn't live without her. About how he was going to go to her and somehow make her understand. I must have drifted off again because I've just now awakened and he's gone.”
“What time was that? Early or late?”
“Much too early or much too late. Do you think he'll marry her? We really need to get home. At least I do.”
“He will, and I do too. There's something strange about King Rufurt being here. If Zoanna is alive and Rowforth is impersonating Rufurt . . .”
“Kelvinia may
be in more trouble than Rud ever was with Aratex!”
“I'm afraid you're right, Son. What in the world can that woman be up to! It seems obvious she's alive. I was so sure she was dead, but maybe that was wishful thinking.”
“Can we even be sure of that?” Kelvin wondered aloud. “I mean with so much magic and science around-- “
“We can be very certain she's not dead. If zombies exist I don't think they snatch look-alikes from other frames. At least I hope they don't.”
“Father, do you think she's really planning a war? Maybe has already started one?”
“That's why we must get back. If Rowforth has taken Rufurt's place, the two of them will be ruling the country without bloodshed. Unless they are causing it as rulers. And that is an ugly possibility.”
“She could be up to anything. Maybe she's trying for revenge?”
“Could be. Son, don't say anything to Kian about this. I really think he'll want to stay here now, and really, considering that Zoanna is his mother, here is the best place for him.”
“You don't think he'll fight for Zoanna again?” Kelvin was incredulous.
“No, he wouldn't do that. But if he's here with his bride he won't have the temptation. If Zoanna's alive, I think you know what we shall have to do. We don't want him there for that.”
Kelvin shuddered. “No, not for that!”
“I think we'll attend his wedding this day. Maybe he will come to appreciate Zanaan as the mother he should have had. If he doesn't wed Lonny today, you and I and King Rufurt had better go home anyway. I don't think we dare wait longer.”
“All right, Father. But will he-- “
“He'd better!” John said.
*
Later in the day they did indeed attend the wedding. With them, cleaned up and fancily dressed as the others, was King Rufurt. In fact, they were the ones conducting the ceremony of the double wedding of Kian to Lonny, and Jac to Zanaan. If the king had any private sentiments about marrying the woman who so resembled his evil wife to another man, he concealed them well, just as John Knight concealed his sentiments well. Kelvin was privately glad it had worked out this way, because of sentiments he too was glad to conceal.
“Kian Knight from our frame,” King Rufurt said, “do you wish to marry Lonny Burk of this frame?”
“You know I do,” Kian said, gazing into Lonny's eyes. It was more than evident that any misunderstandings the two had had yesterday had been resolved in the intervening night.
“And you, Lonny Burk, do you wish to marry Kian Knight?”
“I do, oh I do!” Lonny agreed, her good nature restored.
“You, Jac Smite, et cetera, do you-- “
“I do!” Jac said.
“And you, Queen Zanaan, lovely and good widow or divorcee of absent abdicated discredited reprehensible former King Rowforth of Hud, do you wish to marry Jac?”
“I do indeed want to marry Jac!” She and he exchanged secret smiles. It was evident that the marriage of compassion and convenience between Jac and Lonny would never have worked out; neither of their hearts had been in it.
Now John Knight took the floor. “Does anyone here have objection to either joining?” he asked the onlookers.
There was a stillness in the ballroom reminiscent of what might have existed at the dawn of time in a primeval frame.
Kian and Jac produced silver rings and slipped them on the fingers of the brides.
It was Kelvin's turn. “Then,” he said as forcefully as his threatening-to-quaver voice could manage, “you are married. For as long as you wish it, or until time bites its end.” The last words were John Knight's contribution to the service, and perhaps to other minds than Kelvin's they made sense.
“Kiss, kiss,” Heeto urged, as if fearful they would forget that detail, and the grooms and brides did.
Someone started the applause, and then the music played, as the group that had been organized for yesterday's festivities acted for today's. The piangan and silver pipes sounded beautifully.
“Goodbye, Kian, good luck, long life,” Kelvin said, shaking his brother's hand, feeling that it might be for the last time.
“Goodbye? What are you talking about?”
“There may be trouble at home,” John said. “We have to find out.”
“But-- “
“If I'm here, maybe he's there,” Rufurt said.
“Rowforth? You mean-- I'm coming too!”
“No you're not!” John Knight said. “You're going to stay here with this delightful, beautiful girl and have a proper honeymoon. If there is trouble and we need help, one of us will be back.”
“But really, you can't leave like this!”
“We have to,” Kelvin said. “You see to your wife; I'll see to mine.”
Lonny squeezed Kian's hand. “I think that's a great idea, Husband.”
“I have my gauntlets, the Mouvar weapon, the levitation belt, and the chimaera's sting,” Kelvin explained. That one sting he had not included in the shipment to the other frame. “I doubt there's any trouble I can't handle with those! Probably Rowforth is in the palace, and-- “
“Rowforth! My husband!” the queen exclaimed, overhearing.
“I'm your husband now, dear,” Jac reminded her. “You divorced him, if he didn't die first.”
“Yes, of course, but-- “
“We don't know that he's there,” John said. “But there's a chance that he might be.”
“You'll bring him back?” Heeto asked. “For punishment?”
“If we can. If we don't have to destroy him ourselves,” Rowforth's look-alike said.
“We'll be back in any case,” John Knight said. “Not to stay, you understand, but just to visit and let you know what happened.”
“When?”
“As soon as our problem is cleared.”
“I still think I should come.”
“No!”
Kian looked relieved in spite of himself. Jac, who had been fidgeting throughout the exchange, now said: “If need be, we will both go to their rescue, Kian.”
“And if need be you can have all of Hud's armed forces and all the fighting men our treasury will buy,” Queen Zanaan added.
It seemed a satisfactory solution. Once again, and then several more times, everyone said goodbye.
Then it was time to travel fast, and without mistake in the transporter.
CHAPTER 27
Return
Kelvin sat in the middle of the boat, rowing with the help of the gauntlets while King Rufurt filled the stern seat and John Knight sat at the bow. It was just as well that his brother hadn't returned with them, he thought, or they'd have been overloaded.
They passed the roaring falls into star-filled spaces, the Flaw. The gauntlets rowed through the turbulent water without difficulty. Then around the bend, past eerily glowing walls, their boat and themselves lit by the lichen's radiance. A swirl in the water that Kelvin had noticed on previous trips-- a sort of dimple, actually-- and then finally the boat landing.
“I think we'd better be cautious,” John Knight said. “There could be enemies waiting for us here.”
“I'm very cautious,” Kelvin agreed, drawing the Mouvar weapon. That would handle magic, and the gauntlets and his sword were ready to tackle anything else. After the adventures he had just undergone, a possible scrap with armed men or even an attack by magic could hold few terrors.
“Perhaps you'd better stay hidden down here,” Kelvin suggested to the king. “Until after we see how things are above.”
King Rufurt looked up the stairs and a set of stubborn lines appeared at the corners of his mouth. “I'm still ruler.”
“Yes, that's why we don't want you to fall into the hands of Rowforth again.”
“Rowforth and Zoanna. Damn Zoanna! My former queen!”
“We're all subject to sorcery,” John Knight said soothingly. “Even those of us who never wanted to believe it possible.”
“I'll go check,” Kelvin said, touching his belt
. He rose above the boat landing. In his right hand was the Mouvar weapon. Strapped on his left side was his sword, while strapped between his shoulder blades was the lightweight sting the chimaera had given him. He was as armed, he thought, as a human being had ever been.
They had brought King Rufurt back here through the transporter. Kelvin had been alert for any warning tingle from the gauntlets, but there had been none. Did that mean that Rufurt's surgically rounded ears made him eligible to use Mouvar's system, or was the prohibition against pointears a bluff? Maybe he should make Jon happy and bring her here, and see whether the gauntlets tingled for her. Her life must have been relatively dull, recently, far from the action, helping Heln prepare for the baby.
He nudged the lever forward with his finger, keeping the Mouvar weapon in his hand. He rose above the first flight, and then the second flight of dusty, ancient stairs. Finally he was at the hole that let in daylight to mingle with the softer radiance of the lichens. He accelerated and shot outside fast, in case someone was waiting there.
He paused in midair. Two men in guardsman uniforms sat at a block of masonry playing cards. One of them looked up with open mouth while the other played a card.
“Kelvin, you can really fly that thing!”
“Practice,” Kelvin said. “You are waiting for me?”
“King's orders. You are to go directly to the palace, now that you're back. Your brother get married all right?”
“Yes, after some delays. Nice wedding. Everyone was there.”
“Your father return with you?”
Kelvin hesitated. He didn't want to reveal too much to these guardsmen, good men though they were. His brother, he knew, would simply have lied, but somehow lying for him was not natural. “He's not with me,” he temporized. That was true, as far as it went. John Knight and the genuine king had remained below, letting Kelvin scout the territory alone.
“We have a horse for you. Do you want to ride?”
“I thought I'd fly and surprise someone,” Kelvin said. He reholstered the Mouvar weapon, placed his hand over his central buckle, and accelerated out of their sight.
What do I do now? he thought, looking down at blurring farmland. Do I just go to the palace? I should have asked questions. Why didn't I think of that?