Текст книги "Dragonfly"
Автор книги: Julia Golding
сообщить о нарушении
Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 21 страниц)
Chapter 6
Ramil had also bathed and changed but, unlike Tashi, he was expected to dine with Fergox that
evening. An armed guard escorted him down the dark, cramped corridors of the old castle keep
to Fergox's private chambers: no one here was taking any chances that he might escape again.
Ramil found the ruler of most of the known world reading by the fire, the leather-bound book
looking oddly small in his strong fists. Fergox threw it aside on his approach.
"Are you a scholar, Prince Ramil?" he asked, waving Ramil to a chair opposite him.
A servant carried in a small table and began to set it for supper.
"I can read, sir," replied Ramil, "if that's what you mean."
103
Fergox smiled and tapped the cover of his book. "A soldier's answer. The ac Burinholts never
prized learning. Your scholars are much undervalued. That will change."
Ramil swallowed his bitter retort. Fergox was already reordering the kingdom he had not yet
conquered.
102
"You are probably wondering what I have got planned for you," Fergox said in a friendly fashion, pouring two glasses of red wine. He sounded like a benefactor planning the career of a favorite
ward.
"It had crossed my mind, yes," Ramil answered sardonically.
"Ha!" Fergox raised a glass to him. "I like you. Plenty of spirit. I always rather admired the Burinholt dynasty."
"You have a strange way of showing your admiration: kidnapping me, locking me up with a tiger,
dragging me all the way from the border."
Fergox raised an eyebrow in interest. "My man locked you up with a tiger, did he? What, you
and my little Tashi?"
"Who?"
"The Princess Taoshira."
104
Ramil nodded, wondering at the familiarity of tone.
"That was very imaginative of him. I suppose there was no other way of smuggling you across
the border. Orboyd is really one of my most useful spies."
The servants entered with the dinner. Produce from all over Spearthrower's empire had made
its way to his table. Ramil did not recognize some of the dishes but had no desire to display his
ignorance so ate everything without question.
"But back to the subject of your future," Fergox said, pouring some more wine. "I am in your debt, Prince. It was a lucky turn of fortune when your father and the old witches negotiated your
match to little Tashi. You cannot imagine how much easier it made
103
my plans, for it brought the Blue Crescent Princess so close to my snares. I was going to have to
lure her from her island somehow but you did it for me."
Fergox reached out to a globe by his side and gave it a languid spin. "And it has all turned out far better than I could have hoped. As you may guess, the Blue Crescent is none too pleased that
you let the Princess be taken." He gave a rough laugh at Ramil's scandalized expression. "And some, thanks to the whispers circulated by my men, think you are to blame. Rumor has it that,
rather than wed her, you killed her in the forest and ran for the border."
Ramil put down his knife and fork, his appetite fled.
"There will be war between your two countries come spring. Your father will be only too
relieved to receive my offer of alliance. It will appear to him most . . . timely."
105
"You are trapping him so you can take Gerfal without a fight?"
"Of course. I do not want to squander my men on your little kingdom when I have my sights set
on the much bigger prize to the west. He'll need my armies to defeat the Blue Crescent forces.
The price will be acknowledging me as overlord."
"Why not crush Gerfal, like you did Brigard?" Ramil tossed back his wine angrily.
Fergox gave him a cold smile. "What would be the point? I have a large empire to control. If I
can achieve my aims without wasting resources on unnecessary battles, then I will do so."
104
"And what about me?"
The warlord refilled Ramil's glass. "I will tell your father that you came here to seek my aid
against those Westerners. I received you as a cousin with open arms, welcomed you into my
household, took your unwelcome bride off your hands and even offered you one of my blood as
your wife instead to cement the al iance."
"He'll never believe it," Ramil said defiantly, hoping his father would not think him capable of such treachery. This story made him out as a traitor to Gerfal, bringing war upon them by ill-treating a princess.
"Perhaps not, but that won't matter. This is the public story; what he knows in private is neither here nor there. By spring he will have no choice but to accept it or end up fighting on two
fronts." Fergox smiled at Ramil's expression. "Don't look so sad, Prince Ramil. You will still have your throne.
106
It could be much worse."
"A throne, but no power." Ramil drained his glass, trying to rid himself of the foul taste in his mouth.
"Some power," corrected Fergox. "And, if you please me, my favor."
Ramil resisted the temptation to tell the Spearthrower what he could do with his "favor."
"And what of the Princess Taoshira, my unwanted bride as you called her?"
Fergox cocked his head quizzically, his eyes calculating. "Do you care what becomes of her,
Prince Ramil?"
"She was under my protection, my guest–"
Fergox nodded, as if this explained everything. "Ah yes, Gerfalian chivalry, I had forgotten. I have no plans
105
to harm her, if that is what worries you. Quite the opposite: I intend to give her an important
role in shaping the future of her country."
"And that is . . . ?"
107
Fergox picked up the book he had discarded and brandished it at Ramil.
"Did you know that the Blue Crescent Islanders do not believe in God?"
"They believe in a Goddess."
Inspired by his subject, the warlord's eyes lit up with religious fervor.
"Exactly. They are in thrall to a demon, an abomination. They let women rule them, their sons do
not inherit, they live in the darkness of ignorance.
Princess Taoshira is going to bring them to the light."
Ramil shifted uneasily in his chair. "And how is she going to do that?"
Fergox turned his attention back to his food and speared a piece of venison.
"By turning to the true faith, of course. Holin the Warmonger, the Father of all other gods, has
shown me the way."
Ramil had heard of the Holtish name for the supreme being. Spearthrower introduced worship
of this bloody deity in every country he conquered.
Images of him had been set up in temples, a warrior priesthood introduced, icons painted, many
bearing a striking likeness to Fergox. It had become the most powerful religion in the world,
attracting willing and reluctant adherents every day.
108
"And how will you persuade her? From what I have seen of the Princess, she is very devoted to
her own faith."
"Pah!" Fergox spat out a bit of gristle. "She's young.
106
She'll listen. When I bribed the priest on Kai to choose her, I made sure they picked someone
from a family free from the influence of that foul court. I know she's had four years of it, but she
is not beyond redemption. Those other three witches will be burned at the stake when we
conquer the Islands, but my Tashi will ride in to Rama at my side to institute the new religion."
"What do you mean 'by your side'?"
Fergox looked up at the earnest young questioner and winked. "I also asked them to pick me a
comely wench. She's to be my wife." He scratched his chin, thinking about it. "Number five, but the prettiest armful of the lot.
Number one wife is becoming a bit of a scold, thinks she's superior to the rest. I think I'll execute
her when I return home." He picked up a pen and scribbled a note in the margin of his book, as if making a memorandum to unleash the imperial axeman on his unfortunate spouse.
Ramil tried not to imagine what it would be like to be number five wife to Fergox. He wouldn't
wish that on his worst enemy, let alone the little Islander. Could the warlord be dissuaded from
the plan?
"But you surely will not hope to defeat the Blue Crescent navy? You won't be able to walk in and
take over!"
109
"You forget, Princeling, that the navy will be at the other side of the world bombarding Gerfal. I think we will have no trouble just walking in, as you put it. You're not eating. Is there something
wrong with your meal?"
107
Ramil shook his head. The problem was the company.
"And if the Princess does not convert, what then?" Fergox gave a heartless smile. "She'll discover I can
be very persuasive."
The next morning, Tashi was surprised to find that her ceremonial robes had been restored to
her. There was a new white shift in place of the one that had got ruined on the journey, but the
orange tunic, dragonfly robe, and orange sash were lying on the clothes press, cleansed of any
stain.
But not my boots, she thought with a sigh. I don't think I'll ever see them again.
Having no one to wait on her, Tashi went through the rituals, even remembering the absent
fingerbowl as she mimed washing her hands. She then struggled into her clothes, feeling sure
the layers must be all uneven at the back and the sash badly fastened. She stroked the heavy
brocade with its turquoise and gold dragon-flies, admiring afresh the skill of the craftswoman
who had made it many years ago on the orders of a previous princess. It really did make her feel
royal when she wore it. A mirror stood in the corner. She walked over to inspect herself. It was
odd to see the old Fourth Crown Princess staring back. She'd almost forgotten what she looked
like.
110
Mergot came in without knocking. She hesitated near the doorway, no longer so sure now that
the girl
108
was dressed up in the strange clothes, looking so foreign. She held out a green veil, stick of kohl,
and a pot of white make-up, not daring to come nearer.
"You're to put these on," she said, placing them on the floor and retreating.
"I'll be back in an hour to fetch you."
Tashi sat in the window and carefully applied her make-up, obscuring her individuality under the
mask of the ruler. She supposed that the return of her robes amounted to an invitation to
appear in her official capacity. Perhaps it meant that Fergox was going to treat her as a state
prisoner and grant her the privileges that went with that status, giving her the chance to contact
her sisters and open negotiations. She threw the veil over her hair and pinned it in place. She
was ready.
Bare toes peeped out from under the robe. Almost ready.
True to her promise, Mergot reappeared an hour later, accompanied by four guards. They made
the sign against evil, two fingers to their forehead, as Tashi stood up to receive them.
"My lord asks if you are fit enough to walk downstairs," Mergot muttered, not looking at her.
"I am," Tashi said simply.
111
"Then follow me."
The guards made way as Tashi emerged from her bedroom. They walked in pace with her down
the steps and across the snow-covered courtyard. The frosty bite of the stones hurt her feet but
she kept her face impassive, trying to remember she was a Blue Crescent
109
princess and proud of it. Physical discomfort was nothing. Emotions were to be hidden. Ice cold
and strong, she told herself, that was what she had to be for her people.
All who had gathered there–farriers, servants, soldiers–stopped what they were doing when
the foreign Princess appeared among them. Their eyes were fearful; many reached for the hilts
of their weapons. Tashi almost laughed at the irony: they were scared of her! A girl of sixteen
with no weapons or special powers, a prisoner in the land of her enemies far from home, and
yet they still trembled as she passed.
Mergot led her to the threshold of the great hall of the castle and stopped.
"You are to go in there," she said, pointing.
Tashi bowed her head in acknowledgement and pushed the door open. It swung back to reveal
the great hall of the castle, decked in imperial banners.
Fergox sat on a throne at the far end, surrounded by his senior officers and nobles. Soldiers
stood to attention on both sides of the room. A group of red-robed priests, heads shaved leaving
only a topknot on the crown, waited about halfway down, holding an icon of the Spearthrower's
war god.
112
Standing at Fergox's right hand, looking very uncomfortable, was Prince Ramil. He gazed at her
and shook his head slightly, a gesture that was both a warning and regret.
Tashi had no choice but to enter. She took a breath and began the long lonely walk down the
chamber. The paving stones were worn, as if many supplicants
110
had passed this way over the centuries. Her robes swished softly, almost the only sound in the
room. She reached the foot of the throne and stood without bowing, waiting to see what Fergox
would do.
"Princess Taoshira," announced the warlord, "Holin, the Warmonger, has smiled on you. He sees the purity of your heart and knows that you are not beyond redemption. Renounce your old
faith and kneel to his image, and you shall go free."
Tashi swayed as if he had struck her: this was the last thing she had been expecting. A demand
for a ransom or treaty, threats and bargains: she had been prepared for all these, but an order
that she recant was startling and offensive. Seeing her surprise, Fergox smiled and beckoned the
priests.
They moved in behind Tashi, pacing forward to the beat of a solemn low chant. Unnerved, she
turned to find the icon elevated in front of her, the frowning god with his spear and axe looking
down on her like Fergox's angry twin. The chief priest struck his staff on the ground.
"Pay homage to Holin!"
Tashi faced Fergox and clasped her hands in an appeal. "Lord Fergox, I am a ruler of my country
and should be treated with the respect due to my rank. I stand here as a helpless prisoner. You
should not abuse your power over me with insults to my faith."
113
Fergox descended the step and took her shoulders. He pulled her round to face the priests
again.
"Come now, my little princess, all you need do is kneel and this will all be over," he said in her ear.
111
Tashi shook her head. "I cannot do what you ask, sir."
He frowned. "I feared as much." He nodded to the priest and raised his voice. "The delusion remains. The girl must be cleansed before she can accept the truth. I entrust her to you and your
brethren." He gave Tashi a little shove between the shoulder blades.
"But, sir!" Tashi cried. "I am a state prisoner! You cannot treat me like this!"
Fergox continued to walk back to the throne, not even paying her the courtesy of looking at her
as he spoke. "You are an infidel in need of salvation. I can treat you as I see fit." He sat down.
"It's for your own good."
Two acolytes seized Tashi's arms. The chanting grew louder, swelling around her so that her
protests could no longer be heard. The chief priest snatched off her veil and orange sash and
cast them into the fireplace. He then ripped off her dragonfly gown and orange tunic, tearing the
priceless fabric as he did so. When Tashi was clad only in white, he put round her shoulders a
long black robe.
"The mark of the penitent," intoned the chief priest to his audience.
114
He held up a cloth to be blessed by sacred water sprinkled from a gold cup.
"The falsehoods of the demon goddess will be wiped from your heart as we wipe the mark of
her from your face." Tashi tried to duck but the two acolytes pinned her arms to her sides. With
rough movements of the cloth, the chief priest removed the white paint from
112
her face. "You return to us as a humble petitioner for the mercy of the all-powerful
Warmonger."
"No!" Tashi shouted. She wanted everyone to hear that she resisted this and would until her last breath. "No, no! I am the Mother's servant. I am–"
The chanting grew louder.
"You will come to our temple to seek enlightenment," announced the chief priest. "You will dwell there to be schooled out of your errors until you are ready to avow publicly your
repentance."
"I won't!" Tashi sobbed. "I won't! You can't make me!"
The body of priests bowed to Fergox and filed out of the chamber, forcing Tashi along in their
midst. Silence fell as the doors closed on them.
"Well," said Fergox, jumping to his feet and rubbing his hands as the dragonfly robe smoldered in the fire, "I thought that went very well." He clapped Ramil on the back. "She'll make an excellent penitent. I am looking forward to forgiving her."
115
The priests placed Tashi in a cell in the temple crypt. It was freezing cold but they appeared to
think that earthly comforts would impede her conversion.
She curled up in the corner, hiding her face under the sleeve of the robe, aware that many
people were coming and going by the grating in her cell door to stare at the foreigner. Her heart
was filled with bitterness and shame.
She realized now that she had only been allowed her robes so she could be ceremonially
stripped of them before
113
the eyes of Fergox's court. She had unwittingly played into his hands by coming dressed as the
Fourth Crown Princess.
I should have gone as barefoot Tashi in rags, then perhaps they would have spared me, she
thought miserably.
But no, that seemed unlikely. Fergox was set on defeating her, forcing her to submit to his
bloodthirsty god. There was no question of sparing her.
And would she bow to this god eventually? The Mother seemed to have abandoned her; did it
matter whom she worshipped now?
She groaned softly, then bit her lip to stop any further betraying noises. Yes, it did matter. Not
for the Fourth Crown Princess, not even for the Blue Crescent Islands, but for Tashi. Fergox had
taken away everything she'd had since she was twelve–respect, power, position–but she would
not let him take away the girl who had said her prayers to the sun each morning, accompanied
116
only by her goats.
Tashi shivered, hearing sniggering at the door. It was easy to make such proud statements; so
much harder to live by them. She rubbed her cold feet, trying to bolster her resolve.
I have known a mother's love and so surely the great Mother of us all is worth serving even
when she appears to have turned her favor away?
That wasn't enough, not nearly enough against the humiliation she was suffering. What else
could she use to protect herself against despair?
A true believer goes on believing even when all else is lost.
114
It's the last thing I have to hold on to. If I let go of that, then I have lost my soul. I've killed Tashi.
But grim determination didn't stop her feeling wretched. Nor did it stop her tears. She did not
care what the onlookers thought. She was still, after everything, only a young girl. Only human.
She hoped they would remember that.
Alone in his chamber, Ramil fumed, pacing up and down. He had watched that whole sorry farce
unwillingly–a naked sword poked in his back by the guard behind him. It had been made very
clear to him that if he spoke, or even tried to leave, the guard would run him through on
Fergox's orders.
Ramil thumped the wall. The poor Princess had walked to her doom without any idea what lay in
store. She had been humiliated before everyone, but at least she had not gone quietly. He
mentally applauded her defiance. Under that Blue Crescent reserve there was a fine, spirited
117
girl. He wondered how he had not noticed back in Gerfal. But what must she be thinking and
feeling now, holed up somewhere with those priests? He was desperate to do something for
her, to let her know that she had a friend in the castle. It would do no harm to his own pride to
explain that he had been forced to watch her ritual shaming. He could not bear her thinking he
collaborated in it with Fergox.
Ramil looked around his room for inspiration and
115
noticed the desk under the window. A sheet of paper lay ready for any letters he cared to write.
Pushing the inkpot aside, he picked up the paper and set to work.
"Princess, Princess!"
Tashi raised her head to the door. It was getting dark and even colder. She felt as if her feet and
hands had turned to ice. But no one all day had called her "Princess." "Witch," "demon" and other even worse names, but not that.
"Who is it?" she asked tentatively.
"Ramil."
Tashi was not sure she was pleased to hear his voice. He'd seen what had happened and made
no effort to stop it. Her cheeks flushed at the memory.
"To what do I owe the honor?" she replied, taking refuge in sarcasm.
118
"I ... I wanted to give you this." He held out something white. "It's all right. I got permission from the priests to be here. I told them I was going to rescue you from evil ways. I don't think I and
the red brethren had quite the same thing in mind, but they agreed I could see you
nonetheless."
Stiffly, Tashi got to her feet and moved to the door. The only light came from the lantern out in
the corridor where he stood. It was very hard to see what he had in his hand.
"Go on, take it," Ramil urged.
She reached out and took a tiny paper model.
116
"What is it?"
"A dragonfly." Ramil sounded sheepish. "I'm not very good at it. Yours was much better but it was the best I could do."
The crude dragonfly quivered in her hand.
"Thank you." Tashi found that she was crying again. Before this journey, she hadn't wept for years, and now she couldn't stop the tears coming. "I am very touched that you thought to do
this for me."
"Come here." Ramil stretched his arm as far as he could to brush the tears from her face. His thumb gently traced the line of her cheekbone. She really was very pretty, he realized. "I just
wanted to tell you that you were magnificent in there. And you have never looked more royal to
me than now."
119
She shook her head.
"No, Princess, I mean it. And what is more, I regret every stupid thing I've said and done in your presence. I'm to blame for this and I promise you, Your Highness, that I'll think of a way of
rescuing you. If you'll let me, of course."
Tashi leant her face against the door, comforted by his hand just touching her cheek. "I don't
understand what I've done–why he is doing this to me,"
she said bleakly. "Is he making the same demands of you?"
"Not exactly," admitted Ramil. "He's using us to make our countries go to war and then he is going to take them over. Me, well, me he wants as a puppet prince married to one of his
Spearthrowing daughters,
117
God help me, and you he wants to present to the Blue Crescent Islanders as his bride."
Tashi shuddered, revolted by the thought of Fergox touching her again, let alone marrying her.
"But I can't, I don't ... he thinks I'm an infidel."
"He believes you'll convert. He wants to use you to smooth the way to the change of state
religion in your home."
"I'd rather die first."
120
Ramil nodded. It was exactly as he expected. "I promise I won't let it happen."
Tashi gave a sad laugh.
"I know you don't think I have it in me, but I'm going to get you out of here. It will just take time and planning. We can't rush into it like we did on the road; we'll work together, not separately. I
came tonight to beg that you will not give up hope."
"I'll try not to, Prince Ramil."
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Call me Ram. It's what my friends all call me."
"In that case, I'm Tashi." She paused. "But that's not what my friends call me back home."
"What do they call you?"
"The Princess Taoshira, Fourth Crown Princess of the Blue Crescent Islands and dependent
territories. We're very formal, you know."
Ramil smiled. "I've noticed. And I also think, Princess Taoshira of the rest of it, that you are
making a joke."
Tashi nodded, her face wrinkling into an answering
1 17
121
118
smile. "But you can call me Tashi. It's my family name. I don't feel very much like the Princess
Taoshira right now."
"Thank you, Tashi." Ramil dug in his pocket. "Oh, and I should have given this to you when we first met. I hope it's not too late." He handed her a second paper model. Tashi took it from him, looking puzzled. "It's a horse."
She put her hand over her mouth to disguise her amusement. "And very like it is too, sir."
"It's my personal sign. It's me."
Tashi stopped laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have offended you–"
He put his finger gently to her lips. "No, no, you forget, I am not an Islander but an ignorant
boor. We do not take offense easily. Just look after it for me, will you? And remember, I'm
coming back for you."
She appreciated the sentiment but knew better than to expect so much.
"Good night, Ram," she said sadly. "And Goddess bless you."
Ramil saluted. "Farewell, Tashi. God be with you."
119
122
