23x01
Wind flickered the torches that lined the city streets as the pageant ended and the audience spilled out of the theater, chattering about Brother Ono's heroic stature and the Adept Nyoko's grace. Next, on this long summer night of Ehkt's Judgment, families and friends would gather for dinner parties that would last until dawn.
It was past Savina's usual bedtime, and yet the most important part of
her day was yet to come. With the pageant over and first contact successfully made with Brother Ono, nothing now remained to distract her from her two goals, both nerve-wracking. First, at the Peerage's most important dinner party, for which she had worked weeks to gain an invitation, she must now secretly persuade the head of the Peerage to join their cause. As if that weren't enough, this was also the best chance to
humiliate Aga Aki-san publicly, the task they must perform to win the support of Borders. Twiggy had proposed a plan to do just that. It was a good plan, if everything went well, but it required Savina to be deceptive, and she wasn't sure she'd be good at that. Worse, Twiggy had given some credit to Arden for the initial idea, and Savina was sure her father would frown upon her humiliating a fellow noble with a slave's prank.
But duty called. Surely he would understand that much.
To Savina's chagrin, as she got dressed for dinner back at the Inn, Arden spotted her nerves. "It'll be easy, Blessed Daughter. You won't even need to act," Arden said, kneeling to place silk-embroidered slippers at Savina's feet. "I imagine this Aga Aki will
actually annoy you."
"Fresh water for the washbasin, Arden," Savina said, as distantly as she could manage. Arden nodded and whisked away at once, leaving Savina in peace to select jewelry.
"Can we bring weapons to this shindig?" she heard Kormick holler down the hall.
"I'll wear a dress if I must," Mena called back, "but I'm not going without a sword."
Then Tavi's voice, off-handedly puzzled: "Twiggy, I thought you bought yourself a new dress, like Rose."
"I did, but – I assume I'm going to this party as a subordinate, so it wouldn't be appropriate—"
"You're a member of House di Raprezzi. Why not dress like one?"
Forty-five minutes later, their carriage entered the long curving drive of the estate of Lady Funaki Chinatsu, head of the Ring of Peerage. The estate was high on the outer ring of Cauldron's crater city, a sign of the power, riches, and longevity of the noble family that owned it. The main house, framed by balanced clusters of straight-trunked trees, was not
quite as large as the entire Adept House, but it was close. The grounds were manicured, the torches burned with delicately scented and colored flames, and well-groomed servants swarmed among the glittering guests.
Savina lost herself for a moment in the refined beauty of the scene and—to her mild surprise—a little real pride as she saw her own companions handed down from the carriage. The di Raprezzis, especially, were elegant in their traditional Hennan court garb.
Savina smoothed her flattering Sovereign-style skirts: she had elected to compliment her hosts by taking her chaperone's advice on local fashion. Mena, Kormick, and Arden wore more subdued clothing: in order to gain admission to the party, Mena and Kormick were humbling themselves to the status of "attendants" on the di Raprezzis.
Not quite a lie, Savina reflected.
After all, they are employees.
A footman took their names at the door and announced them to the crowd within. Nyoko caught their eyes from across the room, no doubt checking to make sure they were bowing properly, as she'd taught them.
They swept through the receiving line and found themselves bowing to Lady Funaki herself. "Signor Octavian," she greeted Tavi, pronouncing the foreign name with care. Tavi greeted her in the name of his family. Next was Savina's turn: Lady Funaki smiled and said, "Ah, one of the most surprising and spoken-about young ladies of the summer. I look forward to learning more about you."
Her curiosity was, indeed, evident as her eyes discreetly took in Savina's dress and hair. Savina answered, "It is a pleasure to spend a few months in your fair city, in such elegant and civilized company." Then the line swept on. Soon, a chime rang for dinner. Savina willed her pounding heart to settle.
I don't have to do anything until after dinner, she reminded herself firmly.
And dinner is twenty-nine courses long.
###
Dinner was served at a long, low table, with the guests sitting on silk cushions. Lady Funaki had spaced her heathen guests out among the Sovereign dignitaries, who were—in their soft-spoken way—eager to acquaint themselves further with the exotic foreigners. Personal servants stood along the perimeter of the room, out of the way of the servingpeople carrying dishes to and fro, but each within reach of his or her particular charge. Arden found herself standing several feet behind Savina and only one Sovereign servant away from Kormick, who was continuing to "attend" Tavi.
Arden knew it'd be hours before she and her fellow servants got to eat, but as the first course—some kind of cold, fishy lump resting on a frilly leaf—arrived, she decided that she wasn't going to have much trouble with temptation at this meal. Maybe the fishy lump was delicious. Maybe not.
But give me sweet corn and ale over that any day, Arden thought. And then:
uh oh. Now I'm hungry.
She shot a glance at Kormick, who was already shifting with impatience. He caught her look and sidled around behind the servant between them to mutter in her ear.
"
How many courses are there?"
"May Kettenek's strength be with us both," Arden whispered back, deadpan.
"That's what I was afraid of. Hoo-kay. Here's the plan. While we stand here, we identify as many young ladies who appear to be single as possible. Once the dancing starts, we funnel them
all at Tavi. The exertion will do him good."
Arden hiccupped to contain her laughter. She didn't dare look too comfortable. Even here, in case any Tidesmen were present, she needed to maintain her public persona as Savina's horribly abused slave. But that didn't mean she couldn't allow herself
any fun.
"Done," she agreed. Kormick stepped back to his proper place and the second course appeared.
The elegant formality of the room was stifling: the conversation was all lilts and murmurs, trills and poetry. But Savina seemed at home in this glittering sea; she shone, radiating interest, compassion, and sociability. Arden struggled to remember to jump as if terrified at her polite requests. Savina's hand rose in the most delicate of gestures and Arden raced to supply her with the rosewater bowl to clean her fingers, then turned back to the row of servants and tried to let her eyes burn with resentment.
How convincing can I hope to be? she wondered.
By the seventh course, she noticed a well-dressed Sovereign servant across the room watching her with a frank, understanding expression on his face. Maybe her act was working, after all. He caught her eyes and Arden didn't see pity—she saw comprehension and support. To pass the time, she began studying him and his master. Their interactions seemed comfortable, even friendly.
He's not abused, Arden concluded, wondering why he seemed so understanding. She liked his face. She hoped he wasn't a Tidesman.
Sometime during course number twelve, after fumbling Tavi's napkin, Kormick leaned over again. "If I had to stand behind these people all the time, I'd be a murder slave, too," he growled. Arden risked a low chuckle. The servant between them
hemmed disapprovingly and shot a glare at Kormick. In response, Kormick flashed his dagger and asked the servant with his eyes, "wanna make trouble?" The servant's eyes widened and he drew himself up stiffly. He didn't look scared. He looked like only the distastefulness of making a scene was preventing him from slugging Kormick in the face.
As the courses dragged on, Arden could tell she wasn't the only member of their group fighting exhaustion. It wasn't just that they'd had a long day, it was that the meal itself was endless and tiring--an Ehktian endurance challenge in its own right.
Course twenty-one, however, woke everyone up. It consisted of perfectly square plates each containing one large, staring, quivering eyeball.
From a deer? Arden wondered. She wasn't sure. But from the smattering of "ooh"s and light applause, Arden guessed that this was a much-prized Sovereign delicacy. And from the way Savina's back stiffened, Arden guessed that all the girl's diplomatic skill wasn't going to get her past this.
At the far end of the long room, Arden glimpsed Nyoko pointedly exclaiming over the dish, raising the eyeball neatly between two chopsticks, and sliding it down her throat with a single motion. She was trying to demonstrate how the deed ought to be done. Tavi attempted to mimic her, and Arden could have sworn she even saw Twiggy attempting to cast some minor spell in Tavi's direction to enhance his effort, but it was all for naught: there was an unseemly, gooshy noise as the eyeball entered Tavi's lips, and his face looked exactly as it had looked in the stench of the derro caves. He didn't seem able to swallow.
Meanwhile, Savina cast Arden a subtly pleading look. Arden stepped forward and, as Savina fluttered a fan in front of her face with graceful flamboyance, Arden palmed the eyeball. She stepped back.
Tavi still looked like a choking man, but Kormick lunged in with a towel to dab awkwardly at Tavi's face. From the way he held the towel as he stepped back, Arden assumed the towel now contained the remains of the eyeball.
"I did work in a bar once," Kormick muttered.
Without further incident, the courses marched onward. At last, at five in the morning, their host arose. It was time for the dancing.
In the crowded ballroom, as the music began, Arden and Kormick went to work, politely approaching young women "on Signor Octavian's behalf" and asking them for a dance. Tavi was as mobbed as he'd been on the
very first night of their quest, at the ball in Rose's honor. Mena, figuring out what they were up to, shrugged and, with a twinkle in her eye, said, "He's trained for this."
Twiggy was caught in an intense Go-related conversation with a cockily handsome young man. As Arden slid past in the background, she saw Rose skillfully step in, seize Twiggy's hand, and rescue her, whispering, "All anyone asked about at dinner was you!"
Twiggy grinned.
Arden linked up with Kormick on the far side of the room, near Nyoko, just as an extravagantly dressed man enfolded the Adept with a robed arm. Arden and Kormick both overheard the words "Tanaka" and "Seven-fold Secrets" and saw the blush that swept over Nyoko's face. Kormick sidled closer; Arden followed. The man was offering a proposition to Nyoko, asking if she knew how to dance "The Dance of the Seven-Fold Secrets" and if she would be willing to perform it for Lord Tanaka, the Head of Lands. Kormick flashed Nyoko a thumbs-up and a big grin. Presumably this would gain her access to one of Tanaka's famous indulgence parties and, thus, to the Lord himself. Nyoko grimaced, nodded, and told the man, "I would be delighted." Her face didn't look delighted. Arden trusted that Nyoko had not just agreed to prostitute herself—Nyoko had explained that she did not specialize in such arts—but clearly the dance wasn't exactly for
public performance, either.
Arden left Kormick firing enthusiastic questions at Nyoko and headed on around the perimeter of the room. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her arm and tugged her behind a column. Looking up, Arden found herself staring into the face of the Sovereign servant she had made eye contact with during dinner.
Damn, he's a Tidesman after all, was Arden's first, paranoid thought, as she read his furtive expression.
I wish he weren't. She
really liked his face, and up close…
He pressed a pair of gloves into her hands and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I was once in your position," he murmured. "Abused, uncared-for. These are magic, and they helped. I don't need them now. I hope they'll help you."
Arden looked up into his dark eyes.
Not a Tidesman, then. She swallowed back a swelling oceanic urge to kiss him and, instead, gripped the gloves more tightly. "I'll make good use of them," she said.
"Glad to hear it," he said, and with a flashing smile, he vanished into the crowd.
She might have stayed behind the column longer, musing over the things she wasn't allowed, or didn't allow herself, but there was a stir nearby. A boisterous man strode into the room with a retinue of followers. He held a rice wine cup unsteadily in his hand, and even
Arden could tell that the sash on his robe was tied incorrectly.
Aga Aki-san had arrived.