《The Blade That Cut the Mouse's Tail》


 Chapter 1: Mouse in the Tower

    ¡°Bear ye out no unkind deed upon the meek and fraught!


    All beasts upon the earth esteem, their stature matters not.


    Better to remove the hand that proves a wicked thought;


    The blade that cut the mouse¡¯s tail will not be soon forgot.


    And when that clever trim-tailed creature scales the tower wall,


    She will chew right through the old bell rope and send it to its fall.¡±


    From The Bellman¡¯s Elegy, Kuno of Yarbruck


    Mouse sat in the corner of the council room, her eyelids drooping heavily in the unseasonable heat. The air of the chamber was stale and stifling, the windows closed tightly against a summerly breeze that would have been welcomed if not for the obvious threat of carrying council voices to unsanctioned ears. Her head tipped forward, bending to the oppressive warmth, before she was startled awake by the sharp bite of Ludger¡¯s staff driving into the top of her foot. The old man did not need to look at her to find his target; his aim was seasoned by frequent practice. Mouse winced at the blow, stifling a groan of pain, but knew that she was like to have to pinch herself to avoid yet another. She pulled herself up straight in her chair and trained her ears to the conversation passing around the large oak table in the center of the room.


    ¡°And what would Your Majesty propose?¡± one of the councilors was saying, a thinly veiled note of vexation in his voice. ¡°We have already increased taxes twice in a twelvemonth. To do so again¡ª¡±


    ¡°Spare me your indignations, Lord Cook,¡± the Empress¡¯s voice cut through the thick air. ¡°Unless you are prepared to start shitting gold, it will have to come from somewhere.¡± The High Treasurer¡¯s cheeks flared red at this, but he made no reply. Lord Cook had earned his nickname due to his well-fed stature and ample girth, with the Empress remarking that if he spent half as much time counting coins as he apparently did in the kitchens, the kingdom would be sure to have twice as much silver and thrice as much mince as it presently did.


    Mouse liked Lord Cook, and she did not think him so terribly fat. But it did not matter what Mouse thought; all that mattered was that when the Empress cut her hair, Mouse cut her hair, and when the Empress¡¯s caravan set out upon the road, it was Mouse who rode in the royal carriage and the Empress who sat safely among the linens.


    ¡°Majesty, may I suggest an alternative means of procuring the necessary sums?¡± Lord Eadic chimed in, his fingertips steepled together as he leaned forward in his chair.


    ¡°An alternative to what?¡± the Empress replied wryly, slouching back in her high-backed chair. ¡°Lord Cook laying us a golden egg out of his fat arse?¡± This drew laughter from the others seated around the table, and even Mouse was forced to bite her lip, but the High Treasurer¡¯s cheeks puffed out in anger and only Lord Rambert¡¯s hand upon his shoulder kept him from rising in fury.


    Lord Eadic waited for quiet before continuing, the fleshy tips of his fingers still pressed together. ¡°Majesty, it has come to my attention that the Chatti pay only for imports what the rest of the empire pays,¡± he said. ¡°And yet, these same imports come by way of Arosian roads, which, as I¡¯m certain you know, are costly to maintain. A modest increase in what they pay for foreign goods¡ª¡±


    ¡°As you say, Lord Eadic,¡± the Empress replied before the he could finish. The hook-nosed councilor bowed his head, unable to suppress a smile of satisfaction from creeping onto his lips. Mouse did not care for Lord Eadic. He was calculating, she thought, not unlike the Empress, and even for his station, wore too much self-importance upon his sleeve.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Lord Cook protested urgently, ¡°I cannot concede that¡ª¡± But the Empress cut him off with an indolent yawn.


    ¡°That is all for today,¡± she drawled. ¡°I am tired.¡± And rising from her chair, ¡°Now for god¡¯s sake, somebody feed Lord Cook before his testiness becomes a matter of national consequence.¡± If Lord Cook was angered before, he was incensed by this, but his power of speech seemed to have to abandoned him, and he sat in silent red-faced fury as the Empress made her exit. ¡°Have Dag ready Wind¡¯s Whip,¡± she said to the High Seneschal as she moved toward the door. ¡°I should like to go for a ride.¡±


    Though the perturbation of being adjourned so prematurely was plain on the faces of many of the High Councilors, Mouse, for one, was glad that the session had ended. She found sitting for hours in one of the hard wooden chairs of the chambers almost as uncomfortable as sitting a horse. Now she only need escape the Empress¡¯s notice, lest she be forced to take up the saddle and ride alongside her. However, before the Empress had made her exit, she chanced to look at her heel and notice the absence of her beloved blue hound. Peticru had left his post by the Empress to lie languidly in the corner of the room near Mouse, his paws twitching from time to time, as if in chase as he slumbered upon the cool stone floor. ¡°Up, you lazy dog,¡± Mouse whispered, nudging him with her foot in an attempt to rouse him before his master could miss him further. But Peticru merely picked up his head for a moment, looking at Mouse with all the indifference of a dog who had no better place to be than exactly where he was, before returning to repose.


    Lord Eadic, taking notice of this, quipped, ¡°Peticru may be no hunting hound, but he certainly seems to have become something of a mouser.¡± Some of the other Councilors laughed at the jest, and even the Empress¡¯s lips curled into a smile. But Mouse did not laugh. It was a stupid thing to say, she thought, made stupider by the fact that her name was not even Mouse. It was merely another of the Empress¡¯s unkind nicknames bestowed for her own amusement.


    ¡°Come now, my beasties,¡± the Empress beckoned, as much to Mouse as to the dog. But Ludger was quick to interpose: ¡°Perhaps Your Majesty can spare the girl. For, you see, it has come to my attention¡ª¡±


    The Empress silenced him with a hand. ¡°I have heard enough speeches from the mouths of old men for one day,¡± she sighed. ¡°Take her. Besides,¡± she smirked, ¡°it is just as well, for I dare say Johannes shall be eager to join me, even if it is the horse I sit astride.¡± And with that, she turned and departed.


    The High Councilors filed out the chamber, with Mouse, as usual, the last to leave. She hated attending council session. They were boring at best, and more often than not ended in flared tempers, offended sensibilities, and curses being slung back and forth across the table. They were grown men, all of them, learned and practiced in their respective spheres, yet they were often too busy vying for the Empress¡¯s favor to make any attempt to actually bring prosperity to the Empire. Worst of all, the Empress would sit at the head of the table with a supercilious smile upon her lips and some insensible witticism at the ready, as if it were not her own people who suffered for the ineptitude of her council. Though she was not yet twenty, she had already held the throne for three years, and for three years, Mouse had watched her disregard grow. The Empire had loved her father, and it was perhaps for this reason that she was able to hold her seat with so little resistance, but only a fool would fail to recognize that her sins would not go unpunished forever.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    But such was Mouse''s lot, for she was the Empress''s lady-in-waiting, and as perhaps the closest person to her, it was her duty to make herself intimately familiar with all the proceedings of the court. She did not only write letters and commit the names and faces of every nobleman and his mistress to memory, she was also required to attend every council meeting, every conference, and not just to listen, but to understand what passed therein.


    If enduring this all was not bad enough, Mouse would then be forced to sit in conference with Ludger, where he would prod her with questions, the  answer to which she never seemed able to adequately produce and the point of which she could little understand, for his questions were of a far more critical nature than Mouse could think necessary. Though she spent much time under his instruction, Mouse could make no claim to be particularly fond of the old man, but at least, she reminded herself, he was a better jailer than the Empress, whose careless speech, changeable temperament, and unchecked arrogance were difficult to tolerate.


    Mouse paused at the door for a moment, wondering what would happen if instead of following Ludger out into the hall, she were to yank the heavy wooden door shut behind him and force open one of the heavy glass windows. She wondered how long it would take her to drag a chair across the room, climb out the window, and scale the southern wall, making her way to the piked gate and darting through Sallowman¡¯s alley before disappearing down the cobbled streets of the village outside.


    But what then? she asked herself. How long would it be before she missed the safety of the castle walls, the warmth of her chambers, and the taste of food cooked by someone who did not suffer from a chronic case of pox?


    She could become an archer, she told herself, take up her bow and join a neighboring army. She had decent aim, after all. But that, she supposed, might require her to ride, and she gave up the idea almost as quickly as it had come to her. A fletcher, then, she thought. She did not mind working with her hands, and she would always have plenty of shafts. Perhaps she could even use the plumage of some exotic bird to fetch a handsome price for her work. She might not know how to fletch an arrow yet, but she could learn.


    Or, she wondered, she might simply travel about from land to land. She could meet interesting people from far away places. She could listen to their stories and sing their songs. She could sit at an inn or around a campfire rather than in stuffy council chambers and tedious banquets. But she did not have much time to wonder, for Ludger was waiting, and Mouse knew that the longer he waited, the more tightly his boney fingers would dig into her elbow as she walked alongside him down the hallway to his offices.


    ¡°Come, child,¡± his voice rasped impatiently as Mouse hesitated to cross the threshold. But at last, she steeled herself and stepped reluctantly through the door, past the guards. She could feel their eyes on her, her skin prickling with unease. The guards could not look at the Empress¡ªnot the way they looked at other women¡ªbut they could look at Mouse, and there was never a time she regretted the fact that her appearance so resembled the other than when she was the last to pass by them.


    The sound of Ludger¡¯s staff ringing against the stone floors echoed off the vaulted ceilings as the two strode side by side down the hall toward the Golden Tower. There was nothing lavish about the Golden Tower; it had been named not for its opulence, but rather, for the way the pale stone of the walls seemed to glow a warm golden hue in the light of the setting sun. It was far more beautiful outside than within, Mouse reflected, glancing at the untended braziers mounted on the walls, but she would take a golden sunset over a gilded gallery any day of her life.


    At last, the old man stopped at a tall wooden door, whereupon he produced a key from within his robes, and, leaning on his staff, waited for Mouse to unlatch the lock. She did not understand why he could not unlock it himself, but there were a great many things that Ludger did which she did not understand, and Mouse knew that asking too many questions would get her nothing more than a swift cuff of the staff and a bruised shin the next morning.


    Once inside, Mouse returned the key to the old man¡¯s wrinkled palm and climbed up into her usual seat in the window. It was her one small victory, to be able to sit against the glass and look down at the archery grounds below, hoping to catch a glimpse of some young yeomen at practice on the pitch. Noblemen practiced archery there from time to time as well, but they were not as fun to watch, or so Mouse thought, for they lacked the patience to do anything truly impressive and the imagination to do anything truly interesting. It was not just the way they practiced archery either. Mouse found nobles to be damp and disappointing almost as a rule. They all made the same pilgrimages, only to complain about the weather or the length of the journey. They all danced the same dances, only to whinge that their feet hurt and moan that the room was too crowded. Mouse found being in their company day and night nigh insufferable, but worse still was knowing that she was, in a way, one of them.


    Mouse had been orphaned in infancy and had never known her parents, but she had been brought up in the castle, along with some other distant cousins of the crown who were all of an age with the Empress. She had been brought to the young Empress with the intention that she would one day serve as one of her ladies, but it soon became clear that she was destined for something more. For while the other girls all stayed fair, only Mouse grew dark like the Empress, and it was not long before she had been singled out for the role she now occupied, not just as the Empress¡¯s lady-in-waiting, but also her decoy.


    Though Mouse had certainly never wished for such a life, she knew that things could have turned out much worse than they had. She could have been thrown out into the streets before she could walk or sold to some disgusting pig of a man. She could have been cast into the gutter of Sallowman¡¯s alley to starve or freeze or rot of some putrid disease. When she considered this, she had little of which to complain. But there were many times, especially as she grew to know the selfishness and unkind nature that hid beneath the Empress¡¯s regal exterior, when she felt little gratitude for the stars that crossed her, and she often wondered what her life might have been like if she had stayed fair like the other girls.


    ¡°What did you learn today, child?¡± The sound of Ludger¡¯s voice traveled across the room to the window where Mouse sat, but she did not bother to turn and face him.


    ¡°That the council is as useless as ever, and the Empress as impassive,¡± she answered, at once sardonic and sincere. But no sooner had the words left her mouth than she felt herself begin to shrivel under the embarrassment of her own fatuous remark. She looked down at her lap, ashamed of the bitterness which echoed in her words, and thought for a few moments before speaking again.


    ¡°Her Majesty is preoccupied with our current economic troubles,¡± she said at last, ¡°but she sees them only as temporary. That is why she is so willing to jeopardize our relationship with the Chatti, to make them pay more than what they rightfully should.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°She does not want to be bothered with seeking a long-term solution; she prefers to pass the problem on to those who cannot contest her rule.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Ludger grunted. ¡°And what do you think?¡±


    ¡°¡®Returns come only from investments, not remediations,¡¯¡± Mouse answered, quoting one of the tomes that sat on the shelf across from her. ¡°Expecting the Chatti to pay for the crown¡¯s unscrupulous spending will only serve to injure the peace.¡±


    The old man said nothing, and Mouse was left to wonder once again if she had just said something very stupid or whether she had said something of which the old man approved.


    His steely grey eyes seemed to consider her for a moment, and then he slipped a hand under the dark acacia desk, and when he pulled it back out, held something within it. It was a wooden box, one that, if Mouse was not mistaken, resembled that which the Empress kept on the painted table of her vanity. The old man rose from his chair, and walking around the side of the desk, held it out before placing it in Mouse¡¯s hands. Mouse looked down at the box, running a thumb over brass latch that held it shut. The wood was smooth and there was ivy engraved along the lid. She was overwhelmed with curiosity, but she dared not open it without being bade do so.


    ¡°Keep it safe, somewhere no one will find it,¡± Ludger said as Mouse traced a finger along the engraving of the lid, wondering what was inside, ¡°and after the next council meeting, go and fetch it before coming here. But do not carry it openly. You must conceal it. Do you understand?¡± Mouse looked up at him and nodded. ¡°Good,¡± the old man said. ¡°Now, do not open it until you have returned here.¡± Mouse felt a wave of disappointment at these words and nearly opened her mouth to protest. She was desperate to know what was inside, to know why Ludger had given this to her. But instead, she swallowed her disappointment and nodded once again at the old man, for if there was one thing Mouse excelled at, it was doing as she was told.

 Chapter 2: A Thorn Among Roses

    ¡°You¡¯re overdrawing,¡± Mouse heard Leifr call out from behind her. But his warning came too late, and the arrow slipped over her finger, sailing through the air and past the dummy without finding its mark. Mouse let out a sigh and reached for another arrow, nocking it in place and drawing her elbow back as she raised the bow. The wood gave a gentle groan as it bent to the tension of the string, and Mouse held her breath as the string pressed into her cheek.


    ¡°Tip of your nose, girl,¡± Leifr called. Mouse relaxed her right arm just enough so that the bowstring no longer touched her cheek. ¡°Aye, but keep your elbow up,¡± Leifr said. But again, his counsel came too late. Mouse loosed the arrow, and this time it found its way into the straw, but hung at an awkward angle far from the center. Mouse gritted her teeth in frustration but took up yet another arrow and drew again.


    She could hear Leifr trudging through the grass toward her. ¡°Elbow up, I said, not back,¡± he grumbled as he drew near. Mouse stood still, waiting for the feel of an exasperated sigh on her ear that she knew would soon follow. ¡°You¡¯ll have me hoarse,¡± the old archer muttered, kicking at her left foot until she straightened it and nudging her right elbow upward with a finger. ¡°Steady now,¡± he said, stepping back a few paces, ¡°and don¡¯t neglect to follow through.¡±


    This time the arrow came closer to the center of the dummy, but still farther than Mouse would¡¯ve liked. She dropped her arms and reached for another arrow, but Leifr stopped her. ¡°You¡¯ll not waste any more of my griffins,¡± he said with a frown. Mouse opened her mouth to protest, but he would not hear her. ¡°Come back when you¡¯ve put your eyes back in,¡± he grunted. And with that, he yanked up the quiver and strode off across the green. ¡°And don¡¯t forget to pick up your shafts!¡± he barked over his shoulder. Mouse watched him go, frustrated by his mulishness but more frustrated at her own ineptitude. She had not felt herself since her interview with Ludger the preceding day, so distracted had she become, and so overwhelmed with curiosity, and while she had hoped that a few rounds on the archery range would improve her state, it had only seemed to make things worse. In fact, the more she tried to turn her thoughts from the box that now lay tucked beneath her mattress, the more she seemed to dwell on it. She plucked at the string of her bow absentmindedly, cursing herself for raising Leifr¡¯s temper.


    Mouse had not always enjoyed archery. In fact, she had hated it at first. She hated everything she was made to do as a course of developing herself as closely to the Empress as possible; the Empress¡¯s love of shooting all but secured Mouse¡¯s contempt of it. But the Empress¡¯s natural skill for the bow meant that Mouse was forever trying to match her, and in doing so, had found that she was able to secure a few moments of solitude for herself from time to time, in the name of improving herself to the royal standard. Archery was a solitary sport and one that allowed her to be out of doors, free of the confines of courtly decorum. And besides, Leifr was one of the few people on the castle grounds that Mouse felt treated her kindly. That is not to say that he showed her any particular cordiality, as evidenced by his coarse manner some moments ago, and he certainly did not spare his words with her, but he treated her the way he would treat anyone else who stepped onto the range with a view of sharpening their aim. He helped her, in his own squally way, and Mouse was grateful for it.


    Mouse had risen early, finding it difficult to sleep, and she was the only one, save Leifr, on the range. She was glad of it now; there were fewer witnesses to observe her shameful performance. It was uncommon for Mouse to strike the dummy so seldom these days, and knowing that Leifr had been watching was painful enough. She could not have beared to perform so poorly in front of anyone else.


    ¡°Gods, have you ever seen such a crooked spine?¡± a voice came from behind Mouse, rousing her from her reverie. If the sneering sound of his voice was not enough to give Johannes away, his maliciousness certainly was. Mouse tried her best to ignore the preening nobleman coming up from the short end of the green, hoping that if she did, he would simply go away, though she knew the improbability of it. She had not noticed his approach, which was to say something of how fixed her mind was elsewhere, for he had an aptitude for making himself noticed; if she was a mouse, then he was a peacock, and no display of finery or feathery could requite his horrible squawking.


    ¡°It is no wonder he spends all his time on the pitch, he probably sleeps standing up,¡± he jeered, looking over Mouse¡¯s shoulder after the seasoned archer. It was true that years of practice had warped the bowman¡¯s frame, and his right shoulder sat decidedly higher than his left, but Mouse did not think him crooked; she saw this merely as a sign of his dedication to his craft, a kind of badge that, after countless hours of application, could not be removed. ¡°Is that the sort of man you like?¡± Johannes asked, leaning in so close to Mouse that she could feel his warm breath on her ear as he spoke. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll let you bend my back.¡±


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Mouse looked down at the bow in her hand, wondering how hard she would have to swing it to break over the pompous aristocrat¡¯s cheek. Johannes was probably the only person in the world who Mouse hated more than the Empress. He was not just cruel; he was lewd and lascivious and repellant in every way. Worst of all, he was handsome, and he had managed, through pageantry and adulation, to gain the Empress¡¯s favor, meaning he was impervious to censure or decrees of common decency. Mouse was perhaps his favorite subject of torture, for not only was she captive to suffer his ill-intended advances, but any attentions paid her, no matter how undesirous, were certain to gain the notice of the Empress. So it was that Johannes had learned to stoke the flames of ire and invidiousness at once, and nothing, or so it seemed to Mouse, gave him greater pleasure.


    ¡°Excuse me, sir. I must unstring my bow,¡± Mouse said with every degree of composure she could maintain, hoping that he would not notice her hands quaking with perturbance. She did not like him to see that he had disquieted her, and though she felt there was little she could do to disguise it, she would not grant him an easy victory.


    ¡°I daresay, you do seem rather tightly strung,¡± he said, leaning closer and pressing himself against her, so that his chestnut hair brushed against her cheek. Mouse felt her skin prickle in irritation as she recoiled from his touch. Everything in her wanted to run, to flee, to put as much distance between herself and the oily, arrogant nobleman as possible, either that or to strike him so hard upon his pretty head that he could not remember why he had come to bother her in the first place. Though Mouse was tired of his misery and misuse, for now, she had no choice but to endure him. But there would come a day, she told herself, when the Empress would tire of him, when all the good grace which had been bestowed upon him would finally be exhausted and he would amount to nothing more than another common lord of the court propped up only by the Toth blood in his veins.  Then, and only then, would Mouse be able to stand up to him, to flout his advances, and perhaps return his grievances. It did not seem right to Mouse, nor was it, that the Empress¡¯s lady-in-waiting should be made subject to such daily tortures. She was Lady Maudeleine Toth, and all she had ever done was what had been asked of her, what she had been commanded to do¡ªnothing more, and certainly nothing less. Why then was she made to constantly cower and submit?


    But as Mouse¡¯s mind ran through all this, another thought suddenly occurred to her. Though some time had passed since she had climbed from her own bed, it was still early, too early for Johannes to be prowling about the castle grounds. He was often nowhere to be found until well past the time when the bell tower¡¯s shadow shrunk up to no more than an inch, and to see him on the archery green at such an unripe hour gave Mouse pause for concern. She pulled away from the pinching grasp of his fingers and turned to look at him.


    ¡°What is your purpose here, Johannes?¡± she asked, hoping to remind him that he may have matters to attend to which did not directly involve her own harassment. The nobleman¡¯s green eyes glimmered in the morning sun as they traveled across her face.


    ¡°I am to see a man about a horse, if you must know,¡± he said, a smile tugging at his lips as he lifted a lock of dark hair from her shoulder and spun it between his fingers. ¡°Oh, but don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not for you,¡± he smirked. He knew how much she hated riding. Everyone knew. Everyone had seen how she clung awkwardly to the horse¡¯s back like a leech, terrified of falling off. In fact, Ludger had told her more than once that her shameful riding would be the death of the Empress, for no assassin could possibly mistake the two when mounted, even if he was missing one eye and blind in the other. It was not that Mouse did not like horses, for she was fond of most creatures, whether great or small, but she simply did not find she had any business sitting atop one while it ran as though trying to outpace a violent westerly gale.


    ¡°If that is so, then I should not wish to detain you from your business further,¡± Mouse said, hinting to the nobleman and hoping that he would finally tire of his sport.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Johannes murmured, pressing the lock of Mouse¡¯s hair to his nose. ¡°Yes, I suppose I must be going.¡± He dropped her hair from between his fingers. ¡°But I look forward to seeing you at banquet tonight,¡± he said with a leer, ¡°and pray, wear something fetching, for I will certainly bring my appetite.¡± Mouse tried to suppress a look of disgust, at least until Johannes¡¯ back was turned, though she could not be certain of her success. Once he had gone, she finished unstringing her bow and watched him stalk across the grass, still wet with dew, to be certain he would not return. She stayed silent until she was certain there was no chance of his hearing her, and then allowed herself the indulgence of every common-tongued curse she had learned in the kitchens as she watched him go.


    It was now with a certain kind of dread that she recalled the evening¡¯s banquet, but perhaps, she realized it would not be so terrible as she imagined. After all, with so many new peers in attendance, the Empress would be busy making every due attempt to excite her guests, while Johannes would have as many ladies to philander as was like to occupy the whole of his attention. As for Ludger, Mouse hoped merely that he would drink himself to sleep at an early enough hour that she might sit and enjoy a cup of wine without anyone knocking her in the shin.

 Chapter 3: In a Banquet Dimly Lit

    Mouse looked down into her muddy cup of wine. She had sampled every dish laid upon the table, hoping that at least one of them would be poisoned, so that she might have an excuse to drop down dead and partake no more of this woeful nonsense. The wine had been her last hope, but alas, she found her liver was still as strong as ever, and worse, that the drink had done little to dampen her displeasure.


    The Empress had been late to arrive, meaning that Mouse had spent the first two hours of the even attempting to convince every half-blind feeble-minded lord in the hall that she was not the Empress and that there was, in fact, nothing she could do about the rising land taxes and the sudden increase in objectionable women making themselves known in the streets of every provincial town from Innswald to Yarbruck.


    It was a practice not wholly unfamiliar to her, but with as little sleep as she had had, it had proven more tiresome than usual, and all that she wished for now was the quiet of her own chambers and the comfort of her own bed. Instead, she sat in the dim light of the great hall, tracing with her gaze, for the hundredth time, the silver thread woven through the tapestries that hung upon the wall and counting the sprigs of thistle and mallow that decorated the tables.


    ¡°Sit up straight, child,¡± Ludger chided, trying to rap Mouse with his staff but as it happened, only sending a bowl of brown peas clattering to the floor. But Mouse was sitting up straight; she was always sitting up straight. The old man¡¯s eyes, however, had grown so glassy with drink that Mouse wondered if she did not look to him as if she were not only slouching in her chair, but perhaps floating about the room in it.


    ¡°Be quiet, old man,¡± said Mouse, knowing that the din of the banquet would drown out her words, ¡°or I¡¯ll have you heaved out the window.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Ludger garbled, his eyes squinting and head teetering as he leaned toward her.


    ¡°I said, it¡¯s quite warm in here,¡± Mouse shouted into the old man¡¯s ear. ¡°Perhaps someone should open a window.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Aha!¡± Ludger laughed in amusement. To this, Mouse only could only shake her head and pray that if the old man were to fall from his seat, he would not fall on her.


    To the other side of Mouse sat a number of the Empress¡¯s ladies. They were all fair-haired and finely dressed, and Mouse could hear them chittering about which of the lords in attendance were the most handsome and gallant and which the most roguish. Mouse has little to say on such a matter, for was prepared to detest them all equally, but she did not think less of the others for it. After all, it was not as though they had no other matters to discuss, but they were clever enough to know that with so many in attendance, they had better guard their tongues and speak only of that which could betray no confidence and incur no possible offense. Johannes, Mouse saw, was bent over some flaxen-haired girl, pink with delight at the handsome nobleman¡¯s attentions. His eyes lifted from his object briefly, happening upon Mouse¡¯s as she looked his way, but she turned quickly, so as to avoid the waggish grin she knew would turn the corner of his mouth.


    The great hall was crowded with nobles, Mouse saw, even more so than usual, and the windows, which were set high into the walls and therefore had to be opened and closed by a pole, had been unsealed, allowing the cool evening air to offer sweet relief from what otherwise was like to be an oppressive warmth. The braziers, she noticed now, had not been lit, in consideration of the heat, but to compensate for the loss of light, the low brass chandelier that hung near the front of the room had nearly twice as many candles in it as usual, all burning brightly and casting strange dancing shadows across the pale stone floors.


    Ludger had prodded her, in one of their interviews, about what she thought of all the new faces at court. Mouse had ventured to guess that it was an appeasement on the part of the Empress, that the invitation was an attempt to placate and distract some of the nobles who may otherwise find themselves dissatisfied by the domestic downturn that had followed her father¡¯s death. And though Ludger had not contradicted Mouse here, he had hinted at other motivations behind the growing number of peers in residence. ¡°There will soon come a time,¡± he had said enigmatically, ¡°when the Empress will need all the friends she can get. And what better way to keep a flock than to bring it within the walls.¡± At this, Mouse had waited for Ludger to turn his back before rolling her eyes. She did not care for his riddles any more than she cared for the spindly white hairs that sprouted from his ears.


    Mouse swirled the sorry cup of wine in her hand and set it down upon the table without so much as a sip. She did not like the idea of losing her wits in such a setting. It made her feel exposed, somehow, vulnerable. She looked out across the hall, at the faces of a hundred people for whom she cared nothing and whom she was certain cared nothing for her, and wished that she could be down in the kitchens, where no one cared how straight she sat or how prettily she spoke or how much she looked like someone else.


    It was while she was wishing this that she happened to notice a young man whom she had not seen before at court. He was tall and lean and dark from head to foot, and Mouse felt her heart begin to beat ever stronger the longer she gazed upon him. He lifted his cup to his lips, when suddenly, as if drawn by her gaze, he stopped and looked back at her. Their eyes met, across the dimly lit hall, and Mouse watched the young man¡¯s features soften into a smile as he raised his cup to her. Mouse felt herself blush, and lifted her own cup to her lips, and suddenly wondered if perhaps she did not mind so much being at banquet.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    But in due course, the Empress rose, calling her ladies to attend her to her chambers, and before they had even left the hall, Mouse could see that her eyes had grown dark with discontent, as they often did when she had had too much to drink. Mouse followed diligently with the rest, but kept toward the rear of the retinue, for she knew that too much wine meant that the Empress would be quick to anger.


    ¡°Away from me, wench!¡± Mouse heard her roar at the girl who had tried to lend her arm to steady the Empress. She recognized the girl as the flaxen-haired beauty whom Johannes had been entertaining, Lady Agatha she was called, and suddenly understood the cause of the Empress¡¯s wrath. The girl shrank away, hiding her tears in her sleeve, and walked the rest of the way down the hall with her eyes upon her feet.


    Once they reached the Empress¡¯s chambers, they were all of them dismissed, all but one. ¡°Away with you,¡± she bellowed. ¡°All but my Mouse.¡± Mouse swallowed a sigh of disappointment and followed the Empress through the heavy, gilded door of her bedchamber. It was not uncommon for the Empress to call for Mouse alone, especially when she was so deep in her cups as she was this evening. In fact, any time she was at all cross or tired or ill, Mouse was the most like to attend her. It was not because there was any love between the two, for Mouse doubted whether the Empress was even capable of love, but because Mouse had remained dutifully by her side these many years, doing her bidding and bearing her abuses without so much as a word of protest and without ever opening her lips as to what passed behind closed door. Mouse supposed that the Empress trusted her, in a way, though again, she doubted whether the Empress was truly capable of trusting anyone. Resent her as she may, there were times when she could not help but feel sorry for the Empress, for hers was a life even Mouse could not envy.


    The Empress threw herself down into the blue embroidered chair across her painted table and waited for Mouse to unclasp her jewelry and brush out her hair. ¡°Beggars, all of them,¡± she muttered as Mouse unfastened her necklace, placing it gently in a silver tray upon the table. ¡°Grasping, gaping fools. All the land in the empire could not satisfy them, nor all the food fill their greedy bellies.¡± Mouse remained silent, taking up an ornate ivory comb which she began to work through the ends of the Empress¡¯s long, dark tresses. ¡°No, they must have titles and consequence,¡± the Empress went on bitterly. ¡°They are nobles, after all, aren¡¯t they? Though I doubt if they could produce a single noble thought among them,¡± she scoffed. Mouse changed the comb for a soft-bristled brush of polished brass that she pulled gently over the Empress¡¯s hair. ¡°No wonder my father died when he did,¡± the Empress said in a low, sardonic voice. ¡°He was probably unwitted by mere proximation, his brain rotted from listening to such drivel as I¡¯ve just endured, and his lungs collapsed from uttering conciliations.¡± She pushed the brush away and stood, nearly knocking the chair over as she did, and raised her arms so that Mouse might undress her. Mouse set about the fastenings, quickly and deftly, before tugging gently at the dress and pulling it carefully over the Empress¡¯s head.


    ¡°What is it to rule over such mummery?¡± the Empress laughed as Mouse folded down the blankets of the bed. ¡°What is it to wear the crown when those who serve you seek only to serve themselves?¡± Mouse waited for the Empress to climb atop the feathers and settle herself among her pillows before folding the blankets up over her. She knew no answer was expected of her, so she only stood quietly by the bed, awaiting the Empress¡¯s command.


    ¡°Ring for some tea, Mouse,¡± the Empress said, leaning her head back onto the pillows and closing her eyes. ¡°I cannot sleep until I have had some tea.¡± Mouse crossed the room and tugged on the red silk rope that hung by the Empress¡¯s setting table. She knew that the Empress would be fast asleep before the tea ever came, but still she rang, lest it be discovered that she hadn¡¯t done as she was bade. ¡°And see that you stay here tonight,¡± the Empress called drearily. ¡°I should not like to sleep alone.¡±


    Mouse waited by the door for the tea to be delivered, opening it to a gap-toothed serving girl called Pritha who appeared with a silver tea tray in her hands shortly after she had rung.


    ¡°Will you be down later?¡± Pritha asked in an excited whisper when she saw Mouse. ¡°Jasper has stowed away a few flagons and we¡¯re going to go bird watching. Drunk as dullards they are tonight,¡± the girl grinned. ¡°Bird watching¡± was the term they used for watching the nobles stumble around drunk, struggling haplessly to find their way across the green or sneak into someone else¡¯s bedchambers undetected. More often than not, it ended with at least one in the bush, and as its name suggested, it was best done in the early hours of the morning.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m wanted here,¡± Mouse said, shaking her head. ¡°If Her Majesty wakes and finds me gone¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh certainly,¡± Pritha said in mock airs, ¡°we would not wish to displease Her Majesty.¡±


    Mouse offered a conciliatory smile to the girl as she bade her a good night and took the tray from her, setting in gently, quietly upon the table. One by one, she doused the candles about the room, disrobing quietly in the dark before drawing the heavy, blue embroidered bed hangings tightly closed and crawling under the blankets. It was too dark to see the Empress on the other side of the feathers, but she could hear her breath, the soft snore characteristic of one who had overindulged her thirst. It was strange, Mouse thought, as closed her eyes and pulled the blankets close around her, that two who looked so similar could be so different in nearly every other way. One was proud where the other was meek. One held all the power known to man while the other lived only to serve. It was a cruel trick of fate, thought Mouse as she drifted off to sleep, though who was the more miserable between them, it was impossible to say.

 Chapter 4: Duty

    ¡°What in the gods¡¯ names are you prattling on about?¡± the Empress demanded. Lord Hildimar lifted a cloth to his forehead, wiping away the drops of sweat that had gathered there. It was not just the heat; even from where she sat along the far wall, Mouse could see how uncomfortable the High Councilor was.


    ¡°As I said, Your Majesty, marriage licenses have become quite common practice in the eastern regions, and¡ª¡±


    ¡°Lord Hildimar,¡± interrupted the Empress, ¡°I understand that you have been quite earnest in your travels, but for the love of Lord Cook¡¯s portly paunch, remove that scraggly shrew¡¯s hide from your head before we are all compelled to tie ourselves to a rock and let the ravens take our eyes.¡±


    Lord Hildimar gaped at the Empress, blustering about in his shock but was unable to utter a single coherent word. He had recently returned from the hinterlands and beyond, where he had met with several delegations from those along the eastern border, including many foreign dignitaries, and apparently had been keen to adapt to local fashion. The result of this was not only a garish fringe of green which he had tied about his collar, but he had also brought back with him another souvenir of sorts, which now sat awkwardly atop his head, hanging limply down to his brow.


    ¡°How you have not as of yet perished of embarrassment, I am certain I do not know,¡± the Empress continued, interposing upon his unintelligible protests, ¡°but I assure you that you cannot be long off. Now, stop your blubbering and take the damned thing off before I have you thrown in the dungeons for crimes enacted against all of humanity.¡±


    A few of the other High Councilors chortled behind their sleeves, though this did little to conceal their amusement, and even Mouse found it difficult not to laugh. Lord Hildimar¡¯s hairpiece, though a valiant attempt to cover the badly balding scalp beneath, was so hideously cut and fitted that it was hard to imagine that the effect he achieved in wearing it was anything he could possibly have hoped for.


    At last, he seemed to grasp the severity of the Empress¡¯s pronouncement, and sorrowfully slid the thin black tuft from his head, placing it in his lap and looking it down at it contritely. Peticru, who had been sniffing about Lord Hildimar¡¯s leg curiously since he had entered the room, took this as an opportunity to try and seize the hairpiece from its owner, and it wasn¡¯t until Lord Hildimar sat on the thing that the lanky blue hound lost interest.


    ¡°That¡¯s better, now isn¡¯t it,¡± the Empress said, smiling more at the dog than at the chastened councilor. Seeing the look on his face, Mouse could not help but feel a little sorry for Lord Hildimar. She was certain he only wanted to impress the council, but his time away from court must have caused him to forget how cruel the Empress could be. He muttered some sort of apology, mopping at his brow once again, before the Empress demanded that he stop wasting everyone¡¯s time and say something useful.


    ¡°You see, in the eastern regions,¡± Lord Hildimar began again, regaining himself, ¡°marriage licenses have been increasingly common and not only allow for the stately consolidation of households but also serve as a means of drawing additional funds, the sum of which, I am pleased to report, is not inconsequential.¡±


    The Empress nodded slowly at this. ¡°And what exactly is a marriage license?¡± she asked, fixing the anxious Lord Hildimar with a piercing gaze.


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty, of course, I will gladly explain,¡± Lord Hildimar continued. ¡°A marriage license is a permission by the state issued for two individuals to wed.¡±


    ¡°Permission to wed?¡± the Empress asked flatly, almost disbelievingly.


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± the High Councilor replied. ¡°I have found that many of our neighbors, in the east, that is, have adopted this notion, and it is now required for two individuals to secure the permission of the crown, that is, to obtain a marriage license in order to wed.¡±


    The Empress sat up straighter in her chair, her interest clearly piqued by Lord Hildimar¡¯s report.


    ¡°Furthermore,¡± Lord Hildimar went on, encouraged by the Empress¡¯s attention, ¡°the license forms a sort of contract between the two families, forming a legal basis for any future disputes.¡±


    The room was quiet, and for a long moment, no one spoke. The councilors looked from one to another and to the Empress, who sat contemplatively in her high-backed chair.


    At last, she spoke: ¡°By gods, I almost cannot believe it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty?¡± Lord Hildimar prompted eagerly, hoping, Mouse could see, for a word of praise that might absolve the sins of his fringe. The Empress¡¯s eyes were bright with animation.


    ¡°One of my councilors has actually said something intelligent.¡±


    ¡°I do not understand how one can require a license to marry,¡± said Mouse, still puzzling over what had passed in the council chamber as she walked beside Ludger toward the Golden Tower.


    ¡°You had better wait until we are behind closed doors to not understand it,¡± Ludger replied dourly, his staff ringing against the floor. Mouse heeded his advice but waited no longer than for the large wooden door of his compartments to clang shut before resuming her ponderance.


    ¡°I mean, how can they stop people from wedding freely?¡± she asked. But the old man only shook his head.


    ¡°Who knows how they intend to enforce such a thing,¡± he said. ¡°But then, the state is always finding new ways to overstep its margins and encroach upon its people.¡± He seated himself behind his polished wooden desk, sighing in relief to be off his feet. ¡°There is always another coin to be squeezed from them, and the crown will not be satisfied until every last scrap of silver, until everything that even shines like silver, is under its jurisdiction.¡± Mouse wondered if he was referring to the Empress of Aros in particular, or if the same could be said for any sovereign land. Ludger sat quietly in his chair for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before turning his attention to Mouse.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°What do you think of the business?¡± he asked gruffly. Mouse pondered this question. She thought it was entirely absurd, if she was to be honest, but she was hesitant to say as much to Ludger. Recently, she felt a growing pressure to answer cleverly when he asked her for her thoughts. No, not just cleverly, learnedly, proficiently, as though she was beginning to understand that there might be some purpose to these relentless interviews.


    ¡°I think,¡± Mouse began slowly, ¡°that for something so¡ª¡± she paused for a moment, ¡°¡ªso novel, so radical to succeed, it must readily demonstrate its value to the people if it is not to be rejected immediately upon its attempted implementation. It is not enough that it may offer some sort of legal protections in the future. That would take too long to prove.¡±


    Ludger nodded at this. ¡°And what would you suggest as a means to this end?¡± he asked, his grey eyes watching Mouse closely. Mouse shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She was sitting across from Ludger¡¯s desk, rather than at her usual spot in the window, and she found it only increased the sense of scrutiny she felt herself to be under.


    ¡°There could be some kind of privilege,¡± Mouse tried, ¡°something afforded only to those holding the appropriate license.


    ¡°Such as?¡± Ludger prompted.


    Mouse shook her head. ¡°It should be something that would incur no cost to the crown, or it would be self-defeating,¡± she replied. ¡°Perhaps an audience at court or some sort of special visitation.¡± She did not feel this answer was quite sufficient, but she did not think it so entirely stupid, either.


    ¡°You think that would be sufficient incentive?¡± Ludger asked, studying his pupil. Mouse rubbed her hands against the carved arms of the wooden chair. No, it would likely not be sufficient she supposed. So then, what? What could the crown possibly offer in exchange for requiring its people to pay for something they had always done for free?


    ¡°A stipend,¡± Mouse said, the words leaving her mouth almost before the idea had formed. ¡°A yearly allotment of grain or some other low cost-per-pound foodstuff. There would be some expenditure on the part of the crown, yes, but it would be far outweighed by the cost of the license.¡± Now that did not sound like such a terrible idea, Mouse thought to herself. In fact, it might be quite a good one. ¡°The cost might be further reduced by consolidating the deliveries.¡± she said.


    ¡°Would not delivery of the goods be costly?¡± Ludger inquired, raising a bushy white eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Mouse. ¡°That is why those carrying it away themselves would receive ten percent more. But it cannot be expected that every man should have the means to¡ª"


    ¡°And would these deliveries you speak of be consolidated all at once?¡± the old man prodded.


    ¡°No,¡± said Mouse, shaking her head. ¡°No, that would require too great a surplus. They would be consolidated by region with deliveries made monthly, or bi-monthly if need be.¡±


    ¡°Where do you propose to obtain such a surplus?¡± the old man asked pensively.


    ¡°From the royal stores,¡± Mouse answered readily. ¡°To be replaced gradually over the course of the year.¡± To this, Ludger said nothing, and the longer he sat in silence, the more Mouse became convinced that she had done it, that she had finally said something that Ludger could not argue with.


    ¡°And what if that proved to be insufficient?¡± Ludger asked. ¡°What of your court? And what of those who did not receive their stipend before the stores were exhausted? How long do you think they might wait to receive that which they were promised?¡± Mouse hesitated. She had not had the chance to think that far ahead. Perhaps she had underestimated the volume of remuneration that might be required. Her plan was too short-sighted, she realized, and once again, she felt the weight of her inadequacy settle over her, pushing her down lower into her chair.


    Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and a gangly-looking page with a round face appeared.


    ¡°My lord, my lady,¡± he said, bowing awkwardly as he entered. Ludger looked at him impatiently.


    ¡°Speak, boy,¡± he demanded. ¡°What have you come for?¡± The page¡¯s eyes drifted to Mouse.


    ¡°My lady is wanted,¡± he said, his voice cracking between octaves.


    ¡°Is she?¡± Ludger grunted, doing nothing to disguise his annoyance at being interrupted. ¡°And who is it that¡¯s wanting her?¡±


    The page cleared his throat. ¡°Her Majesty, my lord.¡± Ludger¡¯s grey eyes fixed stonily upon the boy, and he gave another grunt before waving him away. But the boy remained, clearing his throat once more before speaking.


    ¡°I thought my lady should know that Her Majesty is waiting at the stables,¡± the page said, his eyes moving between Ludger and Mouse, unsure of whom he should be addressing.


    ¡°Yes, yes, very good, boy. Now, be gone,¡± grumbled Ludger. The boy shifted uncomfortably but still did not leave the room.


    ¡°That is, she is waiting, erm, eagerly,¡± he said, this time looking to Mouse.


    ¡°You¡¯ve made yourself heard,¡± Ludger bellowed, his voice rising in irritation. ¡°The girl will be there, but if you must linger, you¡¯ll do it on the other side of the door.¡± With that, the round-faced page bowed again, casting one more look at Mouse before leaving the way he came.


    Mouse watched the old man tug absently at the white hairs on his chin, happy for any delay in bearing out the boy¡¯s orders, but she knew she could not keep the Empress waiting long.


    ¡°You have not brought the box,¡± Ludger observed gruffly to her. Mouse shook her head.


    ¡°I did not think I should carry it with me to Council,¡± she replied, ¡°but I can certainly go and¡ª"


    ¡°No, it is just as well,¡± the old man sighed. ¡°It is clear that now is no time for such a conversation. Her Majesty awaits you, eagerly, or so I am told.¡± Mouse cursed herself for leaving the box tucked beneath her mattress. Discovering its contents was the only thing she had to look forward with any kind of anticipation, and now she would be forced to continue waiting.


    ¡°I will let you attend to your Empress presently,¡± Ludger said, folding his hands over the paunch of his waist, ¡°but bear in mind, child, duty takes many forms.¡± Mouse sat forward in her chair, waiting for the old man to continue, but he said nothing more, and only dismissed her with a wave of his hand.


    ¡°Duty takes many forms,¡± Mouse echoed to herself as she made her way down the steps of the castle, searching the words for some hidden meaning. But she knew that, like as not, it was only another of the old man¡¯s riddles, meant to do nothing more than confuse and confound. As she made her way across the grounds, her pace slowly began to ebb. She knew that there was only one reason she would be called down to the stables, but she clung to the hope that perhaps the Empress had some message or errand for her to carry out that did not involve sitting atop a great galloping beast. As she drew nearer the stables, the smell of straw and dung grew stronger with each step, and her mind drifted back to Ludger¡¯s parting words. Duty, indeed, took many forms; she only prayed that hers would not take the shape of a horse.

 Chapter 5: Into the Wood

    ¡°Gods, you look a fright, Mouse. Must you really be so dramatic?¡± the Empress jeered. Mouse clung to the horse¡¯s ashy mane, her shoulders hunched, and the reins tangled between her fingers. She did not think she was being at all dramatic. In fact, she thought herself quite composed, given that the grey gelding beneath her was nearly sixteen hand tall, weighed ten times what she did, and could kill a man with a single strike of its foot. What was more, Passavant, as her mount was called, was only six years old and had all the spirit of a horse still in his prime.


    The Empress shook her head in laughter at the sight of Mouse, tense and terrified atop her charger, and gave Wind¡¯s Whip a kick, trotting the gainly blue roan ahead across the mossy trail. Passavant pinned back his ears at the mare as she passed, but Wind¡¯s Whip paid no mind to the grey gelding other than to blow through her nose at him. Mouse tried to relax her shoulders, to remind herself that if she gave the horse no reason to unseat her, she had little to fear, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not feel at ease as long she remained in the saddle. The ride, she knew, would not be a short one, and by the time they arrived at their destination, she was sure she would be sore in more places than one.


    Silver Lake, the royal country residence toward which they now rode, was only a day¡¯s ride from Kriftel, but it had already been late morning by the time they had set out. After leaving Ludger in the Golden Tower and hastening to the stables, Mouse had been given a green tunic and jerkin and a pair of leather boots and told to name her mount. She had settled upon Passavant, a mottled grey close enough to the Empress¡¯s roan to pass for the same coloring, for he was a half a hand smaller than the rest, though from where she sat now, he seemed every bit as tall as all the others. Mouse knew that the fact that they had ridden out in such haste, with such little preparation and under so little precaution was like to signify only one thing: a certain northerner must have made himself known to be nearby. Sigurd, Dietric of Foilund had captured the interest of the Empress some years ago, and now, any time that he was so much as rumored to be in the country, she cast all duties aside and set out at once to meet him. Mouse had never encountered the man before; she did not know much of the Foilunders, and even less of the Dietric. But she had seen the light that danced in the Empress¡¯s eyes any time he was mentioned, and that was enough to engage her curiosity. Mouse hadn¡¯t any idea as to whether she should be excited or nervous to meet the northerners at last, so she decided she had better be both, just to be safe.


    They had been on the trail for some hours already, but the summer sun was still high in the sky, and only the canopy of the trees provided any kind of reprieve from the heat. Despite the warmth of the day, all the party were thickly cloaked, dressed in the same huntsman¡¯s green, the women with their hair tucked up under grey woolen caps. Mouse could feel something tickle the back of her neck, a bead of sweat, she hoped. For it were some biting gnat or stinging insect, she would be helpless against it, so loathe was she to spare a hand from the reins.


    ¡°Alright, Mouse?¡± one of the guardsmen asked, drawing up alongside her. Mouse swallowed her discomfort and nodded, though she knew it would do little to convince him. The guard looked her over, no doubt either laughing to himself at how ridiculous she looked or pitying her for how sorry she looked doing something he had probably been doing since before he could walk. He waited for a few moments, but Mouse could not bring herself to make any other reply, and at last, he rode on ahead.


    It was like to be a fine day to be in among the trees, observed Mouse, for anyone who liked trees and horses and riding for hours and hours upon end. The path cut into the woods was narrow and the ground soft underfoot, and all about them seemed to be suspended in a kind of quiet serenity. Some of the men rode only with swords, while the Empress and several others wore bows across their backs to create, as best they could, the illusion of a hunting party. Peticru padded alongside them, wandering off, on occasion, in pursuit of a hare, but never strayed far. He was no hunting dog, and his chief concern was remaining close to his master, where he might receive a piece of cold mutton dropped from the saddle from time to time.


    Mouse cursed to herself as another low branch licked her face and wondered that she had not been allowed to stay back. After all, what was the purpose of a decoy if not so that the Empress might be in two places at once? With both of them gone to Silver Lake, her absence would be all the more difficult to conceal, and Mouse could not think the Council, nor anyone for that matter, would be glad to hear of it. They had been riding for the better part of the day, and to Mouse¡¯s estimation, could not be far off from the Vellows, though they were still a good way off from their target.


    They were just shy of the area where the wood might begin to thin, when suddenly, a crack rang out, as that of a branch breaking under foot. Osgar, who headed the party, lifted a hand, signaling for the others to stop, and Mouse felt her hand go instinctively to the dagger at her leg. Brigands, she thought, twisting her neck about to search for the assailers. They must have been found out, and few as they were, it would not take many to outnumber them. This was why she had been brought along, she thought, because the Empress knew the perils of riding out so openly and understood that her own chances of escape would be better with Mouse along as surrogate to danger. But as it was, the sound turned out to be nothing more than a barefoot, mud-faced boy collecting firewood, and their journey was soon resumed unassailed.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Mouse lifted a shoulder, trying to wipe away a strand of hair that clung to her cheek, as they continued to ride quietly on. Whether their silence was to avoid drawing undue attention or the result of ill tempers, Mouse was certain she could not say. It was clear to her now that the Empress was the bane of her guard, so reckless and seemingly impervious to threats upon her person as she was, and so wont to doing as she pleased. Once her mind had been determined upon a thing, there was no hope of her seeing reason, and it must have been with every grievance and opposition that the guardsmen were prevailed upon to carry out their duty. It was not as if a post within the royal guard came without esteem, but it would certainly take a great deal to compensate for the impositions and difficulties they sustained, and it suddenly occurred to Mouse that perhaps their lot was not so very different from her own.


    As they approached the Vellows, the wood began to thin, and though the sun would last well into the evening, it soon became apparent that they would not make it to Silver Lake until long after it had set. It was therefore decided that they should find another place to stay for the night and resume their journey the next day. Mouse had hoped that the journey would last no more than a single day, but it seemed that luck, as usual, was against her.


    ¡°Stiftskeller on the Vellows,¡± one of the men had said, pointing northeast. ¡°It should not be more than an hour or two¡¯s ride from where we stand.¡± Some objections were made as to the shrewdness of staying at an inn, but the guard went on to explain that it had been a stopping place for many of the Knights of Toth on their way to the border regions before the Westerlands had been joined to the empire, and the owner was known to be respectable and discreet. Osgar, who had vociferously opposed the voyage from the start, grumbled at the notion, but he was reminded that Emperor Lothar himself had been known to stay at the inn on occasion, and eventually, even he was forced to concede that, as no better alternative was known to him within a few hours¡¯ ride, Stiftskeller should be settled upon.


    Mouse felt her heart at last begin to lighten. She had been to Stiftskeller on the Vellows before, some years prior, and remembered it fondly as one of her favorite inns in all the land. The vaulted ceilings and craggy stone walls reminded her of being down in the kitchens, with rows and rows of casks laid upon each other, and on cold days, the fires were lit, and hot wine could be had, so long as it could be paid for. Mouse wished it were a cold day, for she dearly loved hot wine, the way the spices tingled on her tongue and warmed her belly, but she supposed it was just as well not to have to ride in the snow.


    Once the place had been scouted, its defensive advantages assessed and appropriate accommodation secured within, the rest of the party followed. Mouse, for one, was very much looking forward to being on her own two feet again, and did not care where she slept, so long as it did not smell of a horse¡¯s rear. They took a narrow rode to the back of the inn, stopping only for a brief moment to admire the view of the low sloping hills stretching out into the horizon, before entering the establishment through a door by the kitchens that led directly into a small dining room. The room was dark, with naught but plain tallow candles upon the tables, but it was enough to suit their purposes, and was made better, in the opinion of most, by its lack of windows. Though the journey had been all misery as far as Mouse was concerned, the smell of roast duck that wafted through the place soon overcame her discontent. Sweet summer peas, brown bread, and ale were enough to complete the setting, and all ate heartily. A bard of bawdy songs was said to be performing in the main hall of the inn that evening, and though the music bled in through the walls as they sat about the table enjoying their meal, it was to the great dismay of all that it was not loud enough for any of the words to be made out.


    Mouse had wondered if she would be able to sleep at all that night; there was little comfort to be had in lying on a pile of cloaks in the middle of an inn on the Vellows with no more than a dozen guard about herself and the Empress and a lazy blue hound at their feet. But the weariness of the day soon overpowered what worries she had, and upon closing her eyes, she did not open them again until morning.


    After a breakfast of cold meat and stewed apples, the party set out once again, refreshed and ready to take to the saddle, all save Mouse, who wondered if she might not simply walk the rest of the way. The morning sun was breaking gently, the grey sky slowly awakening with color, and as they crossed the narrow path leading away from the inn, they all stopped to stare in wonder at the magnificence of the country. The Vellows were considered by many to be one of the great natural beauties of Aros. The lush green hills tucked in closely against one another, with wildflowers springing up across their faces were now bathed in morning shades of pink and violent. Mouse looked out across the gentle ridges, the waves of grass dancing in the breeze, and pulled her cloak tightly about her. Though it was by no means cold, the thick fabric wrapped around her made her feel safe somehow, protected from whatever dangers may lurk within the folds. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of morning dew upon the grass, watching as the Empress leaned down from her saddle to pluck a single mallow from the earth before reaching across and tucking it into Ulrich, the honey-haired guardsman¡¯s cap. The Empress swung herself back low toward the ground, her legs gripped tightly around her mare, to pluck more flowers for her men. Strange, Mouse thought as she watched the Empress slowly circle the guards, tucking small purple mallows into each and every one of their caps, that such a woman should rule an empire.

 Chapter 6: Plain Danger

    ¡°I¡¯ve mapped a path through Borswald,¡± said Osgar, indicating with a gloved hand the forest that stood behind him on the western ridge. ¡°We¡¯ll come around from the west, and the trees will provide plenty of cover until we reach Silver Lake.¡± The morning sun was beginning to fade to a pale yellow as it rose slowly over the Vellows, but the tree line beyond remained shrouded in darkness, the fog taking longer to lift amid the dense foliage.


    ¡°That is all very well,¡± replied the Empress, stroking her roan on the neck without turning to look in the direction that Osgar indicated, ¡°but we shall not be riding through Borswald. We shall take the Vellows.¡± Osgar, who at some forty years was the oldest among them and had served under Emperor Lothar, looked at the Empress in a kind of bewilderment.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± he said with all the patience of a man who was accustomed to reasoning with the unreasonable, ¡°while it is true that the Vellows are more direct, it is safer by far to go through the wood. Even here, it is too dangerous to ride out in the open.¡±


    ¡°Then we had better ride quickly,¡± the Empress said with a smile. Mouse could see the tension beginning to seize the guardsman¡¯s countenance as he shifted in his saddle. He was trying to maintain his forbearance, but his patience with the Empress was beginning to wear thin.


    ¡°It will take no more than six hours to travel by Borswald, Majesty,¡± he explained evenly. ¡°We shall arrive well before the sun even thinks of setting.¡± Six more hours in the saddle was far too long, thought Mouse, but better to arrive sore and miserable than not to arrive at all. Though she had every inclination to get to Silver Lake and off the back of a horse in as short as time as possible, even Mouse was forced to agree that the Empress¡¯s insistence upon riding out upon open ground for all the world to see was nothing short of foolish.


    ¡°I understand your protestations, and I admire your vigilance, Osgar,¡± replied the Empress, pulling a piece of Peticru¡¯s blue hair from her cloak and letting it float to the ground. ¡°Nonetheless, we will be taking the Vellows,¡± and before the guardsman could answer, ¡°That is my word.¡± Osgar¡¯s former equanimity seemed at last to erode, his voice now rising in frustration.


    ¡°I cannot allow that, Majesty,¡± he pronounced. ¡°As the head of your guard, it is my sworn duty to¡ª¡±


    ¡°Then I am sorry that I must inform you that you are no longer the head of my guard,¡± the Empress interrupted before he could finish. The placating smile had faded from her face, replaced with an expression of obstinance. Osgar, shocked by the Empress¡¯s words, opened his mouth to speak but could seem to find no words.


    ¡°Ulrich,¡± the Empress said, turning away from the older guard to the young one at her right, ¡°I congratulate upon your new rank as head of the royal guard. Now, take us to Silver Lake¡ª by way of the Vellows, if you please.¡±


    Ulrich was the youngest of all the guard present. His hair was the color of honey, the loose curls tucked behind his ears, and as Mouse judged, was a good deal shy of twenty-five years. He tended to be the most reserved among the men, wasting no words and only rising to forcefulness as necessary, and though he normally held himself with a kind of quiet confidence that many admired, he now seemed lost for recourse, looking uncertainly between the Empress and the old head of guard.


    ¡°This is foolishness!¡± bellowed Osgar indignantly, driving his mount a few steps forward.


    ¡°Thank you, Osgar, for your many years of service,¡± the Empress cut in, pulling her gloves over her slender fingers. ¡°You are hereby relieved of duty and will no longer serve in the royal guard. You may accompany us for the remainder of the journey, but upon our return, I will have your sword and your crest.¡± Mouse looked around at the other men of the guard, the shocked expressions on their faces mirroring her own. Certainly the Empress could not mean what she said. Osgar had been with the guard for more than twenty years, since before the Empress had even been born. How could she discard him the moment he opposed her?


    ¡°Majesty, I implore you to see reason,¡± cried Osgar. But the Empress merely took up her reins and turned from him, starting down the path that led out across the Vellows. Mouse did not like the direction things were heading, and it was clear from the furrowed brows of the guardsmen that she was not the only one. But what were they to do? They could not disobey a direct order of the Empress.


    ¡°As you were, Ulrich,¡± the Empress called as she continued up the path. The young guardsman hesitated for a moment, before finally seeming to steel himself and spurring his chestnut gelding ahead. Through their apparent discontent apparent, the rest of the guard soon followed, until only Osgar remained, staring with contempt at the backs of those in front of him. Mouse wondered what he would do, but she could not afford to wait back, and so went on with the rest. She felt very sorry for Osgar. He did not deserve to be spoken to in the way the Empress had addressed him, nor did he deserve to be relieved of his position for performing his duty. And though Mouse knew that the Empress could be stubborn, she hoped that she would soon realize the error of her judgement and make amends with the old head of the guard.


    It was not long before the sun was shining brightly overhead, and without the cover of the trees, it felt all the more oppressive beating down upon their backs. The path upon which Ulrich led them weaved low among the Vellows, tucking in through the folds so that they might be little seen from any distance. But to remain unseen entirely would be impossible. As they continued through the low rolling hills, every minute that passed was one that left them more exposed; the closer they drew to Silver Lake, the smaller the hills rose and the flatter the land became. It was only a matter of time until the ground opened up and offered no protection whatsoever to the travelers. The air was warm and still, and as the land began to flatten, grew thick with quiet tension.


    It was a mistake to take the Vellows, Mouse could not help but think. Though it allowed them to pass straight up from the south, they were so entirely exposed that they would stand no chance of surviving any kind of attack. She could sense that the others in the party were thinking the same, so quiet were they that Mouse felt almost as if she should hold her breath to keep from making too much noise. Just a little farther, she told herself as they started across the last stretch of open plain, and they would be safe within the walls of Silver Lake. But no sooner had she glimpsed the castle rising in the distance than something went sailing past her head, whistling in her ear as it flew by. She turned to look behind her but saw nothing, and it was at that same moment that she heard the cry of a horse. She turned back around just in time to see the sorrel in front of her rise up on its two hind legs, sending its rider to the ground. She had barely noticed the arrow lodged in the creature¡¯s haunch before it took off across the meadow ahead.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    All the party had stirred at once, the guards yelling as the horses stamped furiously at the ground and tossed their heads. Mouse felt her heart begin to pound in her chest before she could even fully understand what was happening, and though Passavant shook at his reins, he held his ground did not bolt. Mouse could feel the terror seeping into her faster and deeper as she looked about in fear and confusion, but in that moment, she felt that she had never loved a horse so much.


    A pair of riders had already been dispatched in the direction from which the arrow had been sent, and Mouse found herself frozen, staring down at a second arrow that stood poking out of the grass. She looked up to see Ulrich, who, taking Passavant¡¯s bridle in his hand, held the gelding still only long enough to shout, ¡°Run, Mouse! For god¡¯s sake, run, and do not stop until you have reached the walls!¡± But Mouse could only sit frozen in terror, until Ulrich struck her horse¡¯s haunch with his bow, sending the swift grey gelding across the meadow at a gallop. Mouse leaned forward across the horse¡¯s neck, her fingers wrapped tightly in his mane and her legs clinging to his body with every ounce of strength she had. She could not see what lay in front of her, nor could she bring herself to look up; she was at the mercy of her mount entirely, and all she knew was that she would be glad to live to tell of it. Tears streamed down her face as the horse ran faster, his hoofbeats thundering upon the ground, shaking her with every strike. She could not let go. Terrified as she was, she was determined to stay atop the galloping beast, and she found herself clinging to one thought alone, one creed¡ªthat she would not die this day, here among the mallows.


    At last, the horse began to slow, and Mouse, though trembling with fear and effort, tried to push herself upright. But her body resisted the act, as if frozen in place, and she found she could not untangle her hands from the horse¡¯s ashy mane. Without knowing what was happening, Mouse felt herself suddenly being pulled from the saddle. For a moment, she resisted, until she realized that one of the guardsmen had her about the waist and was bearing her toward an opening in a high stone wall. Mouse did not know how long she could keep her own feet under her, but she knew she must not stop until she was safely within the wall. Her legs quaked, and she could feel the salt of dried tears on her face, but she would not allow herself to fall to the ground until she was given leave to do so.


    Once safely through the wall, Mouse felt herself being wrapped within a cloak and set her gently upon the ground. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± one of the guardsmen asked her, inspecting her face. Mouse shook her head. She shook terribly, her body cold and numb, but she was not injured, at least not that she could tell. She was within the bailey, she could see, and glad for it. She was glad for the stone wall behind her back and the grass beneath her and the cloak wrapped about her. She was glad for the guard who had pulled her from her horse and carried her inside the curtain wall, and for all the rest who came in now, one by one.


    Little by little, her heartbeat began to slow and the feeling began to return to her limbs as she watched the guard gather and talk among themselves. Finally, the last came in, appearing through the wall with a prisoner in tow. The man¡¯s hands were bound, but he showed no signs of wishing to flee, and instead threw him on the ground at Ulrich¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Forgive me, my lord!¡± he wailed. ¡°Only I did not know you, else I would¡¯ve never¡ª¡± he shook his head and clasped his hands tightly together. ¡°Oh, I beg of you, do not kill me, my lord!¡± he cried.


    ¡°I am no lord,¡± answered Ulrich. ¡°Now, tell me who you are and why you have chosen to assail the royal guard this day.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± the man cried. ¡°Not the royal guard, my lord, strangers!¡±


    ¡°Indeed, you have loosed three arrows upon Her Majesty¡¯s royal guard,¡± replied Ulrich to the man who cowered before him on the grass. ¡°Now is your chance to explain your design in doing so, and I suggest that you avail yourself of the opportunity, for it is like to be the only one that you get.¡± The man began his violent wails anew, and Mouse found that could not help but feel sorry for him, even if he had, as Ulrich had explained, put them all in danger.


    ¡°I only meant to scare you off, my lord,¡± he pleaded. ¡°I swear it! To protect the keep, that and nothing more.¡±


    The young head of the guard looked down at the man.


    ¡°Why?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°I never did know it was you, my lord,¡± the man cried, wringing his hands repentantly. ¡°I thought you was one of the others, I swear it!¡±


    ¡°What others?¡± Ulrich asked.


    ¡°One of those strange men that came riding through from the north, my lord,¡± the man answered, ¡°I never saw the likes before, and I did not know¡ª¡± The man dropped his elbows into the grass in a pitiful gesture. ¡°I only wanted to protect the keep, to do my own part,¡± he cried.


    Ulrich stood quiet for a moment. Mouse wondered if she might know what he was going through his mind. Perhaps, she thought, he was thinking how easily this might all have been avoided. Had the Empress not been so insistent upon riding out without any notice, had she deigned to make the appropriate preparations or given any kind of warning to those at Silver Lake, things might have gone very differently.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Ulrich asked the man.


    ¡°I¡¯m nobody but nobody, my lord,¡± the man whimpered. ¡°Nobody but nobody.¡± He lifted his eyes pitifully to Ulrich. ¡°Nevertheless, I pray you¡¯ll spare me, my lord, for I never did know it was you.¡±


    ¡°I will remind you not to call me ¡®my lord,¡¯¡± said Ulrich. ¡°Now, tell me more about these strange men you saw.¡±


    The man¡¯s brow lightened at this, as he realized, perhaps, that he may yet be believed.


    ¡°Came riding in from the north two days ago, my lord,¡± he said. ¡°Stopped at the other side of the lake. Have everyone in the castle up in arms and all the men ¡®round the northern side. See how empty the parapets stand this side, my lord?¡± Mouse and the rest of the guard looked up. The man was right. The wall was sparsely held this side


    ¡°Why were you in the wood to the south if these strange men came from the north?¡±


    ¡°Suppose one of those men went creeping off and came ¡®round the back,¡± the man replied. ¡°Suppose they hatched some plan to come up from behind and take the castle by surprise, my lord.¡± Ulrich looked up, as if patience could be found in the clouds.


    ¡°For the last time,¡± he said, ¡°I am no lord. How many men are there?¡± The man looked about.


    ¡°I say about as many as you are here, my lord,¡± he replied. ¡°A dozen. Maybe less. But they¡¯re not Teppish, that much is for certain. And who can say what they¡¯ve come for?¡±


    It was clear that these strangers the man spoke of were none other than the Dietric of Foilund and his men. No one else would dare to ride so close to the keep without an invitation, and certainly no one else could so readily be identified as hailing from somewhere outside of the continent of Tepp. If it was a siege, their numbers would have been far greater, yet they had made no attempt to conceal themselves. It could only be that they waited for the Empress to send one of her own men, lest any approach upon the castle be misconstrued by the country guards as an act of aggression, as evidenced by the ravings of the man who knelt before them now.


    With the cause of the attack accounted for, the man was taken away, while the rest of the party made their way to the keep. Mouse had not seen the Empress within the bailey and knew that she must have been conveyed indoors immediately, while she herself was left to recover upon the grass. She ascended the steps slowly, her nerves frayed and body weak, as she held fast to one of the guardsmen¡¯s arms, who slowed reluctantly to match her pace. Perhaps, Mouse thought, as he left her at the door of the castle to climb the next set of stairs on her own, it was not such a terrible thing for a man to not be Teppish.

 Chapter 7: Strangers in a Strange Land

    All of Silver Lake was in a state of exhilaration. No outrider had been sent to give notice of the Empress¡¯s impending arrival, so when she strode into the castle with a retinue of guards following not far behind, there was a period of confusion, followed by the rapturous gratification of those within. They had not received their mistress for some fourteen months, if the chamberlain was to be believed, though the Empress insisted it had not been half so long. As for those without, they were equally gratified and more than equally relieved to find that the castle would not, as they might have feared, fall under siege.


    There was some anxiety on behalf of the domestics as to the lack of preparations, which was only natural, but the Empress was quick to insist that little would be required, as she did not intend to stay above a week. Besides, she reminded the chamberlain, they would eat only the fish caught from the lake and whatever was in season or could be spared from the stores while she was in residence, as was her custom when visiting the place. The chamberlain balked at this, insisting there was certainly something fit to be butchered in the pens, but the Empress replied only that the sun was yet high, and there were plenty of hours in which they might catch a pleasant meal, so long as they did not further delay.


    The Empress was markedly eager to receive her guests, but not to the extent that she would forgo bathing and dressing properly, something which Mouse, as the only lady present at Silver Lake, was obliged to see to.


    But Mouse did not mind being called upon for such a task, for mercifully, she had been allowed to stay back while the others rode out to the northern part of the lake. She seized upon this opportunity with the Empress gone to recover herself from the journey and see leisurely to her own toilet, soaking in the warm water brought up by the kitchen maids and inhaling deeply the scent of herbs that had been poured into the bath.


    One of the maids, a girl who Mouse did not think could have seen more than eleven summers, stayed back when the others left, twisting her hands together nervously before venturing at last to speak. ¡°May I attend you, my lady? If it pleases you, that is,¡± she said timidly. Mouse smiled gently at her, touched by the girl¡¯s earnestness, and replied: ¡°Indeed, nothing would please me more.¡± The girl bowed deeply, blushing with pride. ¡°Then I am at your service, Lady Maudeleine,¡± she said, at once taking up a cloth and bringing it to the basin, and Mouse could see that already her timidity of a few moments ago was beginning to fade under the persuasion of her self-administered duty.


    Mouse was almost surprised that the girl should know her and seek to wait on her, but more than that, she was grateful to the girl. Her deferent and doting manner reminded Mouse of what it meant¡ªwhat it should mean¡ªto be a lady of the court. The girl had no reason to fear that any superfluous show of kindness to Mouse might earn her an ugly remark from the Empress, and so it was with a constant stream of pleasantries that she carried about her work, observing to Mouse how well she looked and how the sun upon her cheeks had brought out the warmth of her eyes. Mouse did not know where the girl had learned to speak so prettily but gathered that she had long awaited the opportunity to rehearse her manners, so keen was she to rise to what was put before her.


    After her bath, the girl combed out Mouse¡¯s hair, starting at the ends, as Mouse instructed her, so as not to let the tresses catch in knots. But the girl¡¯s hands were little practiced, and though Mouse smiled at her all the while, it was just as often to conceal a wince as it was to indicate any real satisfaction. If there was one thing Mouse was good at, it was performing her work adeptly and quietly, and though the same could not be said for the little kitchen maid, Mouse thought there was some good in this. The girl showed no fear, no apprehension, and the longer she waited on Mouse, the more Mouse¡¯s heart swelled with fondness.


    The girl hummed to herself as she pulled a soft-bristled brush over Mouse¡¯s long, dark hair, her tiny fingers wrapped around the carved horn handle, and Mouse found herself closing her eyes and letting her mind drift in a state of pleasant relaxation. She began to wonder if it might not be possible to bring the girl back to Kriftel where she could learn to be a proper lady¡¯s maid. But the girl, she reminded herself, was not necessarily an orphan like herself. In fact, it was more like that she had a family here, a mother and a father, perhaps sisters and brothers. And it would be no favor to them to have the girl removed, for though Silver Lake was not a seat of power, it still held the prestige of being a royal residence and with little of the dangers. Here, they need not worry about constant overcrowding or an endless flow of strangers passing through. They had no reason to fear a rebellion taking the castle or a plague brought from an overseas envoy killing them all. Here, they had the land and the lake, and an easy life was theirs between the Empress¡¯s visits. It was a life that many might envy, and so Mouse quickly put the thought from her mind.


    When it came time to dress, though the girl could be of little help, Mouse was quick to shower her with praise, admiring the dexterity of her fingers and her resolve to ensure that all the fastenings were properly seen too, even if they were, in fact, not.


    ¡°I pray you will call upon me if you find you are in need of anything at all,¡± said the girl before leaving Mouse¡¯s chambers to return to the duties that awaited her in the kitchens. Mouse smiled and inclined her head in assent.


    ¡°And who shall I call for?¡± she asked, admiring once again the girl¡¯s deportment and precocity.


    ¡°Elke, my lady,¡± replied the girl with a bow. And with that, she departed, leaving Mouse with naught but her own thoughts.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Mouse stood on the steps of the keep, watching as the riders dismounted in the bailey. The man from earlier, she realized, the one who had been taken to the tower to await trial, was either short of sight or did not know how to count, for there were at least twice as many Foilund men as he had reported, and they all stood now at the foot of the steps, making their introductions. "Strange men," he had called them, and though Mouse could see why he might, she thought there were many more appropriate words to describe their fascinating appearance.


    Mouse had never seen a Foilunder before, at least not up close, and it was only now that she realized just how much they truly stood out among their Teppish counterparts. They were tall, all of them, taller even than Dag, the stable master, and Dag was the tallest person Mouse knew. All were fair of head, some among them with hair so light as to appear almost white in the summer sun, and even their mounts were flaxen. Several of the men wore their hair long, with plaits running through it, a distinction that in the Arosian Empire, at least, was reserved for only the most decorated knights and even then was often forgone due to the difficulty in maintaining it.


    Mouse stood watching as they dismounted upon the grass of the bailey to be received. She studied them closely, the way their hide doublets stretched across their broad shoulders and their ears glittered with gold, and was surprised at the thrill she felt as she awaited their admittance. Perhaps, she thought to herself, it was not so difficult to understand the Empress¡¯s inclination toward her northerner after all. Sigurd, who had been distinguished by the Empress, did not appear so different from any of the rest. His silvery yellow hair was tied back away from his face, and he wore a gilded knife in his belt, but otherwise, he was dressed the same as his men and bore no crest or crown of any kind, so far as Mouse could observe.


    Mouse knew him to be a Dietric, a leader among his people, but she was not as intimately familiar with the ruling structure of Foilund as she might have been, something which she now chastised herself for. It was her duty, she reminded herself, to understand the politics of all nations, not just her own, to stay as informed as possible on matters both foreign and domestic. And now she would be forced to be among people who she remembered from her tomes only in an almost superficial sense. She knew their borders, their chief exports, their allies and adversaries, but that was not enough. She should know their lineages, their customs. She wished desperately that she had been made aware of the purpose of their visit, that she had had more time to prepare before meeting them, but all she could do now was to recall what she could and hope not to embarrass herself, and by extension, the empire.


    Even from what distance she stood at, Mouse could see the light burning in the Empress¡¯s eyes as she looked at Sigurd. It was not diplomacy that affected her manner toward him, she thought to herself from her perch on the steps, it was passion. Whether it was love was another matter entirely, but it was as plain as the clouds in the sky that the Empress was infatuated with the man.


    As the pair mounted the steps of the castle, the rest of the Foilunders following close behind, Mouse felt her heart begin to beat faster. She suddenly became aware of the fact that she was the only lady the Empress had brought and therefore the only Arosian nobility, apart from the Empress, in the whole of Silver Lake. That meant that not only was it incumbent upon her to act as representative of the court, but she would likely be under the constant scrutiny of the foreigners.


    She clasped her hands together in front of her to hide their trembling as she prepared to endure the gaze of two dozen men who likely did not encounter many southerners and fewer still women of Mouse¡¯s dark coloring and in such a position as she was. Nevertheless, she stood up straight, reminding herself of the reprimand she would receive from Ludger if he were here and imagining the lick of his staff upon her shin.


    As the Empress and the Dietric neared her step, she bowed deeply, hoping desperately that they would pass by quickly and that this whole reception might end without her having to open her lips. But as she rose, she found that Sigurd, Dietric of Foilund, had halted his ascent and stood now in front of her, staring. She did not wish to meet his gaze, such was her discomfiture, but knew that she must. She slowly lifted her eyes, making note of the bronze chain slipped about the Foilunder¡¯s waist and the carved ivory buttons of his doublet, and looked up into the man¡¯s face. He was handsome, to be sure, with a square jaw and a nose only slightly crooked, but what stood out to her most, as she was certain was the case for all who met him, were his eyes. They were a bright, dazzling blue, the likes of which she had never seen before, nearly opalescent in their luster. They seemed to glow, thought Mouse, like colored glass when the morning sun comes pouring brightly in.


    The northerner looked intently at her but did not smile. In fact, his countenance seemed to betray no emotion whatsoever. Mouse could feel the color rise in her cheeks as he continued his study of her, but she had nowhere to hide, and perhaps worse still, nothing to say.


    ¡°I see you have brought your shadow,¡± the Dietric said at last in a thick northern accent, his voice deep and even. The Empress, to whom this remark was clearly addressed, was waiting on the step above him. She did not like when attention was drawn to the likeness between herself and Mouse, for her ego protested comparison of any kind, and she perceived it as a strike against her vanity, even if her very life may at times depend on the girl¡¯s ability to resemble her as closely as possible.


    Though the Dietric¡¯s remark may have paid no compliment to Mouse in any direct way, the fact that he still stood staring at her spoke loudly enough. ¡°That is the thing about shadows,¡± the Empress said lightly, no doubt trying to conceal her annoyance. ¡°They follow you wherever you go.¡±


    After another moment, the Dietric finally broke his gaze, and Mouse was glad at last when to see him walk through the castle doors alongside the Empress. She unclasped her hands and released the breath she had been unconsciously holding. If she could endure his gaze, she could certainly endure the rest, and it was with little discomfort that she now awaited the other Foilunders.


    She was not sure how she felt about the Dietric. He was fine and tall and handsome, but she could not read his expression the way she could an Arosian¡¯s, and it made her feel ill at ease. But if nothing else, she thought to herself as she kept her place on the step, she could count on the Empress to keep them separated, for she would certainly take every measure to prevent any partiality from developing.


    All the better, thought Mouse to herself, for here at Silver Lake where there was no Ludger, no Johannes, no council, she might finally find some peace.