“With all respect, Your Highness, I don’t know what our way is. Sanbira has never before faced a threat like the conspiracy. No realm in the Forelands has. All of us are journeying in unknown lands. I don’t know what nobles elsewhere are doing, but clearly it’s not working.”
“And this is your answer?”
“It’s an imperfect solution, Your Highness. I realize that. But it’s not without merits. This traitor, whoever he or she may be, can’t plot against us from the prison, nor can he flee before we learn his identity.” She faltered, though only for an instant. “And he can’t find another assassin either. I know you think I’ve done wrong, but you don’t know what it’s like to feel afraid in your own castle.”
“You don’t even know if there is a traitor,” Olesya said, trying to keep her voice even. “If you had proof even of that I might understand—”
“There is a traitor. Of that much, I’m certain. These men knew just where to find me though I was on the headlands, at a place my mother had shared with me and Father and few others.”
Olesya couldn’t help but smile. Dalvia’s promontory. She and the old duchess had visited the headlands together several times. One only needed to go once, to hear the roar of the breakers and watch the tide advance and ebb, to understand the allure of the place. “I was one of the fortunate few,” she murmured.
“Then you know how difficult it would be to find without knowledge of the lands surrounding Castle Curlinte. The assassins were hired by someone close to me, and then they were made to resemble Brugaosan archers. Who but the Qirsi would do such a thing?”
In spite of herself, Olesya found herself swayed somewhat by the young woman’s logic. It was easy to see how Diani had come to take this action, though that only made the course she had chosen that much more perilous.
“Are your Qirsi being mistreated?” the queen asked.
Sertio bristled. “You mean aside from being thrown in prison without cause?”
Olesya eyed him briefly, before facing the duchess again. “Are they?”
“No, Your Highness. They’re in the tower, not the dungeon. They receive three meals a day and as many blankets as they need. There are no more than four in any given chamber.”
She nodded. Intolerable though it was, the situation could have been far worse.
“Is this why you came?” the queen asked, stepping to the chair across from Diani’s and sitting. “To tell me of the assassination attempt?”
“Wait a moment!” Sertio said. “That’s all you have to say about the Qirsi? It’s wrong, but if they’re not being mistreated I’ll allow it?”
“I don’t like this any more than you do, Sertio. But it’s hard to deny the reasoning behind what she’s done.”
“Reasoning? There is no reason here! There’s fear and injustice, and not much else! Diani is young and still shaken by what’s been done to her. But you should know better.”
Olesya glared at him. “In my castle you will address me as Your Highness or Queen Olesya, and you will speak to me with respect. Do you understand, Lord Curlinte?”
Sertio looked to the side and nodded, his face reddening. “Forgive me, Your Highness.”
She said nothing, her eyes fixed on him for several moments more. At last, she turned to Diani again. “Why did you come, Diani?”
“To tell you of the assassins. To warn you that the conspiracy has come to Sanbira.”
“We knew that it would. We couldn’t remain immune forever while the other realms suffered.”
“No, Your Highness.”
“What do you propose we do about it?”
Diani blinked. “I—I’m not certain, Your Highness.”
“Well, you’ve placed your Qirsi in Curlinte’s prison tower. Should we do the same in all the courts? Should we end the Festival until the threat has passed? If no Qirsi can be trusted, then doesn’t it make sense for us to keep watch on all the Qirsi in Sanbira?”
The duchess seemed to weigh this for some time. “You still want me to release them, don’t you?” she finally said.
“You see where your actions lead,” Olesya said, ignoring the young woman’s question for the moment. “If what you’ve done is the answer in Curlinte, then it must be in the other duchies as well. If we were all to think as you do, then even a single Qirsi who is allowed to remain free represents a threat to us all. Soon, every Qirsi in the Forelands would be imprisoned. You must see the injustice in that.” She leaned forward. “I don’t like saying this, child, but if the conspiracy is determined to make another attempt on your life, they will find a way to do it. We must be vigilant. We must warn Sanbira’s other nobles of the danger. But we must never forget who and what we are.”
Diani gazed back at her, looking terribly young and so frightened that for a moment Olesya thought she might cry. “They almost succeeded,” she whispered. “The healer said that the arrows came within a halfspan of killing me. And the other man . . .” She stopped, shaking her head.
The queen shuddered, but forced a smile. “It seems the gods were with you.”
“Or maybe I was just fortunate.”
“Perhaps you were. But from this day on, you’ll be more wary. They’re not apt to surprise you a second time. That’s to your advantage.”
The duchess nodded. “Yes, Your Highness. I’ll send the message at once.” She started to stand, but Olesya stopped her with an outstretched hand.
“Sit for a time, child. You can send your message shortly. First, I’d like you to answer the question I asked you earlier. What should we do about this? I do agree with you that the conspiracy may have been behind these attacks. But how do we combat an enemy that smiles at us, even as he slips a blade between our ribs? Imprisoning all the Qirsi is no solution, but there must be others.”
“I can think of none, Your Highness. As I said before, other realms have been faced with attacks from the Qirsi far longer than we have, and they’ve thought of nothing.”
“What is it that the Qirsi want?” Sertio asked, drawing the gaze of both women. “Assuming for a moment that the conspiracy did try to have Diani killed, what would her death bring them?”
“My wrath,” the queen said immediately.
“You forget the colors on their arrows,” Diani said. “They wanted your wrath to be directed at the Brugaosans.”
“So it’s civil war they want.” Sertio was looking from one of them to the other.
Diani shrugged. “That would follow from all we’ve heard of their activities in the other realms.”
“I agree,” the queen said. “But it seems to me that the more they rely on this tactic the less effective it becomes. After a time, all the Eandi courts are bound to stop blaming each other and start looking to the Qirsi.”
“Then perhaps that’s what we need to do,” Diani said, her voice brightening. “I believe you should call together die other nobles, Your Highness. Tell them what’s happened in Curlinte and see if we can all agree to band together against the conspiracy.”
“You mean a treaty, within the realm?”
She nodded, actually smiling now. “In a sense, yes, that’s just what I mean. The conspiracy seeks to weaken us. What if we find a way to keep that from happening, to use the attack on me against them?”
Olesya glanced at Sertio, who was fairly beaming with pride. “It’s a fine idea, Lady Curlinte.”
Diani blushed, a small smile on her lips. “My thanks, Your Highness.”
“Indeed,” the queen went on, her mind suddenly racing, “we may want to take it a step further. I believe we should make overtures not only to the other houses in Sanbira but also to the other realms of the Forelands.”
“The other realms will resist, Your Highness,” Sertio said. “You may convince the Caerissans, and I hear that Kearney, Eibithar’s new king, is a reasonable man. But the emperor won’t listen, and neither will the Aneirans. And of course the Wethys have little regard for anything that comes from the Matriarchy.”
“I know it won’t be easy, Sertio, but to be honest, neither will getting our own nobles to agree. Edamo may see in the turmoil created by the conspiracy an opportunity to end the Yserne Dynasty, and if Brugaosa opposes us, Norinde is certain to do so as well. But still we have to try. We don’t know where or when the Qirsi will strike next, and it seems to me that Diani has given voice to our only hope of defeating them.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Enter,” the queen called, rising from her chair.
The door opened and Abeni stepped into the chamber.
“Yes, Archminister. What is it?”
“There is food for our guests in the great hall, Your Highness. I thought they might be hungry after their journey.”
“You’re right, of course. I should have thought of it.” She indicated the door with an open hand, looking first at Diani and then at Sertio. “Eat, and then rest. We’ll speak again later.”
“I’ll dispatch a messenger at once, Your Highness.”
“After you eat, Diani. I’ll have my archminister make the arrangements so that a rider will be ready as soon as you’ve composed your message.”
Abeni looked at her, a question in her yellow eyes, but the queen gave a quick shake of her head. She would explain later.
“My soldiers will escort you to the hall. I’ll be along shortly.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Diani and Sertio both bowed to her and started toward the door. After only a step of two, however, the duke stopped, facing her again.
“I apologize for my behavior before, Your Highness. I didn’t understand.”
“Think no more of it, Sertio. You’re a wise and honorable man, and you wish only to guide your child through this most difficult time. It’s no wonder Dalvia loved you as she did.”
The man’s eyes welled and he swallowed. “Thank you, Your Highness,” he said softly.
Bowing a second time, he left her chamber, his footsteps echoing in the corridor.
“A messenger, Your Highness?”
The queen glanced at Abeni, then walked to her writing table. “Yes, we’ll actually need quite a few before the day is out.”
“Will they be going far?”
“Some of them will. I intend to summon the leaders of all Sanbira’s houses to Yserne to discuss the Qirsi conspiracy. I also wish to speak of this matter with the rulers of the other realms, though I realize that will be a bit more difficult.”
Abeni said nothing and after several moments the queen looked up from the papers before her. “No response, Archminister? Don’t tell me I’ve finally silenced you.”
The Qirsi woman smiled, though only for an instant. “I’m merely surprised, Your Highness. What’s happened to bring this about?”
The queen briefly recounted her conversation with the duchess and her father, describing for Abeni the attempts on Diani’s life. “It seems,” the queen said, “that the conspiracy has finally come to Sanbira.”
The minister raised her eyebrows. “I see. I’ll find riders right away, Your Highness.”
“Yes, and use the usual merchants to get the messages to the other realms.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” She hesitated. “Seven riders, Your Highness? One for each of the houses other than Yserne and Curlinte?”
“Actually eight. Lady Curlinte needs to send a message to her castle.”
“Ah, yes, so you said.”
Olesya couldn’t help but grin. Abeni hadn’t forgotten this, of course. She merely wanted an explanation.
“In the wake of the assassination attempts, the duchess has imprisoned all the Qirsi who live and work in Castle Curlinte.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “All of them? Even her first minister?”
“Yes. I’ve prevailed upon her to have them freed at once.”
“Why?”
The queen stared at her a moment, wondering if she had heard correctly. “What?”
“Why would you have the duchess free them? It seems a logical precaution to me. Until she knows which of them is the traitor, none of
them should be free to roam the castle and city. To do less is to invite additional mischief.”
“You can’t be serious.”
Abeni shrugged. “I realize it’s a bit extreme—”
“Extreme? It’s unconscionable! Surely you of all people can see that!”
The minister smiled, albeit sadly. “I’m a Qirsi who serves loyally in the royal house of Sanbira, Your Highness. I have as much cause as any Eandi noble to hate the Qirsi conspiracy. In many ways more. I understand your concerns, but I have great sympathy for what the duchess has done. Respectfully, I believe you should reconsider your request that she have the Qirsi released, at least until we learn the identity of Curlinte’s traitor.”
The queen exhaled heavily. “Well, Archminister, I can’t say that I expected this. I’ll consider what you’ve said, but in the meantime I still want you to find eight riders.”
Abeni bowed. “Yes, Your Highness. Is that all?”
Olesya didn’t respond for several moments. She merely stared at the woman, grappling with an overwhelming sense of sadness and, even more, utter confusion. As a young girl, the queen had been taught by her mother to see beyond race and realm, profession and status. “There is as much nobility in those who till fields and pound steel to earn their gold as there is in any woman or man of the courts,” her mother often said. “There is as much goodness and inhumanity in Sanbira as there is in Wethyrn or Aneira, and there is as much capacity for both fealty and treachery in the Eandi heart as in the Qirsi heart. A queen sees people as they are, not as she assumes them to be.” Olesya had tried to live and rule by these words, to meet her mother’s expectations even after the old queen’s death. Yet now her archminister stood before her, suggesting that she treat men and women of her own race as criminals simply because their hair was white and their eyes yellow. And what frightened her most was that her world had become a place in which this counsel seemed perfectly reasonable.
“You understand, Abeni, that were I to apply Diani’s logic to my own court, I would have to imprison you, as well as the others?”
That same sad smile lingered on the archminister’s face. “Of course, Your Highness. To do less would make no sense at all.”
“And still you counsel me to allow her action to stand?”
“I do so with a heavy heart, Your Highness, but yes, I do. The
conspiracy threatens all. From what I understand, its leaders have as much contempt for court Qirsi as they do for the nobles we serve. If they prevail in this fight, I imagine I’ll be tortured and executed. Next to that, your prison seems rather inviting.”