Do you always have to be an Elene? Elysoum was asking the knight.
I am an Elene, your highness.
But you Elenes are so boring, she said. Why dont you be Valesian for just one afternoon? Its much more fun, and it wont take very long, you knowunless you want it to. She paused. Are you really a virgin? she asked curiously. Berit turned bright red.
Elysoun laughed delightedly. What an absurd idea, she exclaimed. Arent you even a little curious about what youve been missing? Ill be happy to take that tiresome virginity off your hands, Berit-Knightand it wont even hurt very much.
Sparhawk took pity on the poor fellow and intervened at that point. Ah, there you are, Berit, he said, stepping round the corner and speaking in Tamul for the Empresss benefit. Ive been looking all over for you. Somethings come up that needs our attention. He bowed to the Empress. Your Imperial highness, he murmured, Im afraid Ill have to commandeer your friend here for a while. Matters of state, you know. The look Elysoun gave him had daggers in it.
I was sure your highness would understand, he said, bowing again. Come along, Berit. The matters serious, and were late. He led his friend off down the opalescent corridor as Empress Elisoum glared after them.
Thanks, Sparhawk, Berit said with relief.
Why dont you just stay away from her?
I cant. She follows me everywhere. She even trapped me in the bath-house oncein the middle of the night. She said she wanted to bathe with me.
Berit, Sparhawk smiled, as your preceptor and spiritual guide, Im supposed to applaud your devotion to the ideals of our order. As your friend, though; I have to tell you that running away from her only makes matters worse. We have to stay here in Matherion, and if we stay long enough, she will get you. Shes very single-minded about it.
Yes, Ive noticed that.
Shes really quite pretty, you know, Sparhawk suggested tentatively. Whats your difficulty with the notion of being friendly?
Sparhawk!
The big Pandion sighed.
I was afraid you might look at it that way. Look, Berit, Elysoun comes from a different culture with different customs. She doesnt see this sort of thing as sin. Sarabians made it quite clear that he wants some of us to accommodate her, and shes chosen you as the lucky man. Its a political necessity, so youre just going to have to set these delicate feelings aside. Look upon it as your knightly duty, if it makes you feel any better. I can even have Emban grant you an indulgence if you think its necessary.
Berit gasped.
Youre starting to embarrass us, Sparhawk said. Elysouns been making Sarabians life miserable about the whole thing. He wont step in and order you to do as she asks, no matter how much she nags him, but he quite obviously expects me to speak with you about it.
I cant believe youre saying this, Sparhawk.
Just go ahead and do it, Berit. Everybody expects you to. You dont have to enjoy it if you dont want to, but do it. Do it as often as you have to, but make her stop screaming at the Emperor. Its your duty, my friend, and after you and Elysoun have romped around the bedroom a few times, shell start looking for new playmates.
But what if she doesnt?
I wouldnt worry too much. Patriarch Embans got a whole saddle-bag full of indulgences if it should turn out that you really need them.
The failed uprising had given Emperor Sarabian the perfect excuse to escape from his government. Feigning cowardice, he had flatly declared that he felt safe only within the walls of Ehlanas castle, and then only if the moat remained full and the drawbridge raised. His ministers, being accustomed to arranging his every move, found that terribly inconvenient. Sarabian had not been motivated entirely by a desire to breathe the air of relative freedom, however. Interior Minister Kolata had been revealed as a traitor during the coup-attempt, but Sarabian and his Elene friends had decided that the time was not yet right to publicly reveal his treachery. So long as the Emperor remained inside Ehlanas castle, Kolatas presence there as well was fully explained. He was in charge of the police, after all, and the protection of the Emperor was his paramount duty. The Interior Minister, closely supervised by Ehlanas cohorts, directed the police forces of the Empire from inside the walls. His meetings with his underlings were always just a trifle strained, since Stragen customarily sat beside him with one hand idly resting on the hilt of a dagger.
It was early one morning when Ambassador Norkan, the Tamul emissary to the court of King Androl and Queen Betuana of Atan, was escorted into the gleaming imitation throne-room in the castle. Norkan wore his usual golden mantle and a puzzled expression. Though he tried to conceal the fact, he quite obviously disapproved of the fact that his Emperor was dressed in western-style doublet and hose of a rich plum color.
Have you gone and stolen my Emperor too, Queen Ehlana? he asked with a perfunctory bow. Norkan was a brilliant man, but he had an unfortunate tendency to speak his mind quite openly.