The captain of the guard and the finance minister arrived next. They scurried behind the table along the wall, burying themselves in the shadows of a thick maroon tapestry. she eyed the captain. The thought of him covering up attempts on her life left a sour film in her throat. Her stomach rolled. everyone attending this meeting--except her--had probably been aware of the danger.
Henry and the general in charge of the military arrived at the same time, followed by elise carrying an opal-colored goblet. Thinking everyone except the king had arrived, Aurelia moved to push in two extra chairs on her right.
"desist!" Chris snatched a chair out of her hand and plopped down on the hard seat. she raised an eyebrow. Henry was always trying to persuade his son to attend meetings in order to "learn through experience," but Chris had not been present for several weeks. she doubted he would ever take over his father's role as king's adviser.
"Thought I'd show robert how the vital decisions are made." Chris motioned toward the door.
she looked up, stunned to see his cousin slip inside the room. "With royal permission, of course," robert said.
elise frowned at Chris, and for a moment Aurelia thought her stepmother might turn robert away because of his cousin's careless attitude; however, the queen's eyes turned to Henry instead, and the joy on the adviser's face must have convinced her to allow his nephew to stay. she stated smoothly, "you are welcome. There is nothing on today's agenda to exclude the presence of a guest. you are Henry's nephew, I believe?"
"yes, your majesty." robert gave a slight bow. "Thank you."
she nodded and turned away.
rather than taking the empty seat beside Chris, robert slid past Aurelia and his uncle without comment. He pulled out the chair across from Henry and scooted it back from the table, burying himself in the corner by the wall. Aurelia quelled an unwanted wave of distress at having been ignored.
Finally, the king entered the room. His gray head hung low, and his feet shuffled. everyone stood up at once upon his entrance. He slumped down at the head of the table and began talking before the rest of the council members even had a chance to return to their seats. "I planned to begin this meeting with your usual reports; however, I have just received troubling news from king edward of Anthone, who is staying with us for a while. He tells me his forces have failed to keep citizens of the Outer realms from entering his country."
robert's head jerked up. Aurelia wondered if robert, too, was thinking of the seaman's story from the day before. It seemed strange that the Outer realms would become the topic of a council meeting this soon after hearing the tale of the refugee boy.
"A shame." elise spoke up. "but edward has never done well protecting his borders. We are fortunate the border we share with Anthone is all desert."
"still there must be a concern on our part," the general said. "If people from the Outer realms are smuggling themselves into Anthone, sooner or later they will try to enter Tyralt."
Aurelia thought about the boy in the story. Why should anyone in need be turned away?
The king sighed. "yes, both of you have a point, but you have not listened to the entire issue. my concern is not that a few members of the Outer realms sneak into Tyralt but that edward is now lifting his exclusion law."
Aurelia's head snapped up at her father's words. much as she disliked edward of Anthone, she found herself trying to squelch a desire to grin. she would have expected the sixty-year-old monarch to be even more obsessed with tradition than her father, but the old scavenger was defying regional policy. That would set every kingdom along the coast up in arms.
"Tell him the change is out of the question," elise demanded. "We cannot afford to open the gates to the Outer realms. Think of all the problems which come with refugees. We have enough beggars and thieves on the streets without inviting foreign criminals."
"They wouldn't be criminals, elise, if we allowed them to enter Tyralt legally," Aurelia argued.
Ignoring his daughter's outburst, the king replied to his wife, "I am afraid telling edward of Anthone to change his mind is not an option. I asked him to wait to speak with other leaders in the region, but he refused."
elise raised her voice. "Once again he leaves us to deal with problems he incurs."
"perhaps it is time to rethink our policies," Aurelia said. "Two days ago . . . " she started to tell her father about the protest in the market square.
but elise interrupted. "The king of Anthone cannot be firm about his decision, my dear," she said to her husband. "After all, he came to you. He must be open to discussing some type of arrangement."
Aurelia eyed her stepmother's goblet, wishing it contained something to induce silence.
The king frowned. "I need time to think about the only request edward has of me."
A strange hush fell over the room as the listeners waited for details that did not come. Henry tapped his hand softly on the table. "you believe his change in policy is a veiled threat, your majesty?"
Aurelia's eyes widened, her brief enthusiasm for edward's spark of independence snuffed out. she wanted to throttle the man.
"my dear," elise said to her husband, "the request cannot be that bad. We can't just allow him to disrupt the region. What is--"
"Father, you must reject any request made under intimidation," Aurelia argued.
The queen's gaze settled on her stepdaughter's shoulders. "I shouldn't have to point this out, young lady, but this is not your decision."
"I have as much right to an opinion as you."
Her stepmother's eyes narrowed in icy fury. "The only right you have is to marry someone who will not allow you to destroy this kingdom."
"do embroider your mouth shut, elise!"
"Aurelia!" the king boomed, facing his daughter for the first time during the entire meeting. red lines etched the whites of his eyes, and veins popped out on his forehead.
"Our precious region could do with some disruption," Aurelia continued. "maybe if we were not enslaved to tradition, Tyralt might actually improve."
"Aurelia . . . " Her father's voice steadied. "It is obvious to me that you have not yet recovered from yesterday's illness. you are excused from the rest of this meeting."
Warning bells went off in her head. If she left, what message would she be sending to the rest of the council? To elise? she was angry with her father for hiding the truth about the assassination attempts, she realized. He had treated her like a child. Fury wrapped around her brain, and she wanted to scream in outrage.
Her eyes flicked toward robert. He had been watching the queen, but for a second his gaze met hers with a blue calm. He gave the slightest shake of his head, sending her a message.
she could not attack her father for his secrecy because she had promised to hide her knowledge of the assassination plot. The legs of her chair scraped back across the bare floor, and she left the room, the voice in her head counting and counting and counting to smother her anger.
robert watched everyone watch her go. A wide smirk stretched across Chris's face. Henry wrinkled his brow in concern. blank facades hid any emotions felt by the captain, general, and finance minister. The queen took a sip from her goblet and smoothly placed it back on the table. The only person who appeared greatly shaken by the exchange was the king, who leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
"I can see I allowed myself to bring this issue to the council without enough thought," he said. "We will cease to discuss it today and progress to other topics." Then he lapsed into silence.
"perhaps the captain of the guard can share his report," the queen said, rescuing her husband.
The captain began shuffling through papers, and the discussion drifted into a string of reports until the meeting broke up.
"That was the most entertaining council meeting I've ever attended," Chris joked, elbowing robert in the stomach. "you must be good luck."
"does the queen always talk that much?"
"Never. usually the king won't stop. 'Course Aurelia alw
ays has to have her say, just like back when we had class together. she and her father argue sometimes, but I've never seen her take on the queen before."
"The king was certainly upset," robert commented.
"yes. Father says the king had a tough time running things after the prince died, but I don't remember His majesty ever letting someone take over a meeting."
"do you have any idea what edward of Anthone wants from him?"
"No, but I'll be certain to tell you as soon as I find out." Chris smiled at the prospect.
"something was bothering the king."
"besides the fact that his daughter was almost murdered twice in the last three nights?"
Murdered. Was it any wonder the king had looked on edge? robert barely lifted a hand as his cousin departed down the hallway. The plot on Aurelia's life had run under the surface of the entire meeting. robert's sole purpose in attending had been to observe the way the most powerful people in the kingdom reacted to the crown princess. The relationship between the queen and her stepdaughter could certainly be described as explosive.
He set off in search of Aurelia, hoping she had not allowed her anger to propel her too far afield. He tried her rooms first. No one was there except a flustered young lady's maid who could not keep track of her mistress.
robert headed next to the royal stables. A rare feeling of warmth and peace filled the stables' interior. Wooden boards and beams separated each stall into its own private nook, not only for the horses but for the human visitors as well. One could hang a horseshoe on an outer corner as a signal to the staff and spend hours without interruption. The sight of metal arching over a nail outside his own horse's alcove told robert he had found Aurelia.
she sat high on the edge of Horizon's stall, her earlier attire exchanged for a unique riding outfit. Its white shirt and brown vest were loose rather than fitted, and tan trousers stuck out from beneath a simple brown skirt. black riding boots on her feet rested beside a gap in the stall boards.
she was holding out a handful of hay toward Horizon. The stallion snorted, tossing his head and sprinkling Aurelia's hair with fresh green strands.
robert laughed, moving quickly forward and climbing up on the painted white boards beside her. "He's not impressed with you, your Highness."
she bent her head toward robert and shook it, releasing a cloud of hay into his face. "That's only because he has yet to take the time to get to know me." As robert waved away the cloud, she glared at him. "And it's Aurelia, not your Highness, to him and to you."
"Aurelia." His voice softened as he reached to remove a final strand of green from behind her ear.
"Ahem." The sound of a man clearing his throat startled robert into almost toppling from his perch. drew Fielding, dressed entirely in shiny black satin, stood in the shadow of a tall beam. His black boots rested on the dusty floor and his head remained higher than the heads of both companions perched on the stall boards. White teeth gleamed in a wide grin. "glad to see you, lad. you're just who we've been waiting to talk with."
robert struggled to regain his composure. "Have you?"
"sure. I'm here to collect." drew stepped forward, holding out a hand to Horizon. "Tell us about this horse. He can't have been bred around here." The stallion sniffed the horseman's fingers and jerked away.
robert slid a hand over Horizon's cold nose and warm forehead. "No, but his mother was."
"Fantasia!" Aurelia exclaimed, referring to the bay's fine-boned mother. "Father gave her to the Vantauges upon the family's departure from the palace." pounding on the stall boards in triumph, she turned to drew. "I told you he was part ours. Look at his head. No wonder it's similar to bianca's. They both have the same dam."
"Bianca?" robert inquired, rubbing the smooth black hair on Horizon's forelock.
"my mare," Aurelia said. "she has the same slender head, but she isn't the rebel your fellow is."
"The rebelliousness comes from his father," robert explained. "my mother nursed a trapper through pneumonia, and he gave us a wild red horse in thanks. The trapper claimed the red was a pure geordian desert stallion, won in a gambling match. my father never believed the story. The horse didn't live long, tangled a leg in a barbed-wire fence after siring his only colt.
"Horizon has never been as reckless as his sire," robert continued, dropping his palm to the stallion's red-brown cheek, then snatching away his hand as the horse snapped sideways with large teeth, "but there are times when I believe he must be descended from desert horses." The shrill whistle of a challenge when Horizon met another stallion, the ease with which he broke loose from the paddock during a brushfire, the way he ran in the fields without cramping or sweating. "He's never been exactly tame."
directing his next words to drew, robert said, "I was hoping you could tell me more about him."
"you mean you were hoping I could prove that trapper's story somehow by looking at this horse." drew chuckled. "Truth is, I can't disprove it, which is saying something. Whoever the sire was, he wasn't bred around the capital. I've heard about the horses in the geordian, but I don't know what to believe. They're said to be swift, with terrific stamina as well as racing speed. desert tribesmen don't share their horsemanship outside the region. If this fellow is an example of one of those horses, I may have to plan a trip there myself. He's something. Have you run him on a course?"
robert shook his head. "I've never raced competitively, and I don't trust him with other riders. He goes well when I need him. I've never been beaten when I wanted to outrun someone."
"I'd like to see him on the palace racecourse," drew stated, running his hand in a smooth stroke down the stallion's graceful neck. "Just to time you on him at a dead run, no other horses around. Trained jockey or not, it would give us an idea if he's got real racing speed."
robert shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have time to spend riding around an arena right now."
"Oh, come on, robert," Aurelia teased. "If you've got time to waste watching a council meeting, you ought to give this fellow a real run." she stretched a hand toward the stallion, and Horizon snorted in her face.
"you only want me to do this because you're a stronger jockey, and you want to embarrass me on the racecourse," robert accused.
Aurelia plucked a rope halter off the wall and twirled the loose end. "What's the worst that could happen? He could throw you, but with that hard head of yours, you'd be no worse off."
robert stared her down. "I have other priorities right now. If and when those are resolved, I'll think about your suggestion." The twirling rope came to a halt, and he regretted using the word if.
"speaking of priorities," drew said, breaking the stillness, "if you'd still like to visit that scarred stallion, I've found a way for you to manage it."
"you have access to elise's stables?" Aurelia's face lit up. "How are we getting in?"
"Oh no," robert said, "you're not going. I don't want you near that horse. plus you'd hardly go unnoticed. A change of clothes won't be enough to keep your identity secret around that place."
she slapped the halter back on its hook and leaped onto the ground. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared up at robert. "I suppose I could gain access through the front gate."
"No." He jumped down in front of her. "If you arrive with an entourage, that team of horses might disappear." Her chin jutted, and he could hear air rush into her nostrils; but she did not argue. robert turned to drew. "When do we go?"
Wrinkles creased the horseman's forehead, and his eyes ran back and forth between the two young people. "Tonight," he replied.
Chapter Eight
DEPTH
AURELIA MADE Her WAY TOWARD THE LIBRARY AT the back of the palace. she hoped to arm herself with a novel for the coming night's insomnia. It was not fair, she thought, that robert could go investigate tonight and she was left to battle the terrors of her own imagination. A cold draft gusted down the open hallway, and she wrapped her arms around her chest to stave off the chill. This original
section of the palace with its barren walls and ceilings was impossible to keep warm. To her surprise, the library door stood open. No one except her father and her ever came here.
"Father?" Aurelia peered through the door into the dim corner of the library. The patterns of colored glass in the lone window kept out most of the afternoon light. A gray head turned toward the door, then turned back, bending low along an overflowing bookshelf. The figure's weary eyes and strained face muscles did indeed belong to her father.
"yes." The word came out in a muffled response as he shuffled through layers of sewn book covers.
"I . . . I'm surprised to see you here," she stuttered.
He sighed. "I admit I haven't come here in the last several months. I always know I am in trouble when I am too busy to read."
"I could return later if you would like to be left alone." she edged away, her reason for coming paling beside the memory of the morning's confrontation.
"No." He tugged a thick book from a shelf and straightened to face her. "We should discuss the council meeting."
she lifted her head and stepped forward. "I'm sorry for speaking out of turn, but my opinion is as valid as anyone's."
"Not when you disrespect your stepmother," he answered.
Arguing with him about elise's merits was fruitless. Aurelia groaned inwardly, sinking into a dark chair with a curved back. The scents of dust and leather clung to the furniture. A silver lamp with a hollow wick sat on the table at her side, and she stared into the glowing glass tube.
Lately she felt as though she could not reach her father, as if an invisible wall stood between them. perhaps now, without others in the background, she could bring down that wall. she took the opportunity to tell him about the protest in the market two days before. "The guards should be reprimanded," she finished.