Torgan Wine Ch. 37

"The Munian cook prepared it." Krouth inclined his head. "The King has tasked him with preparing all of your food and drink."

"It's wonderful. Please tell him so next time you see him."

Krouth looked mildly amused, "I will, your Grace." He offered a shallow bow and headed toward the bedroom again, emerging with her warm pointed toe slippers. Kneeling, he helped her put them on.

"Thank you, Krouth."

"Your feet are like ice, your Grace. You should have been wearing them from the moment you got out of bed."

"I forgot to ask for them."

"They should have been offered to you." Krouth gave her a pointed look.

Isonei shook her head and offered a small smile, "She hasn't been with us for a whole day, and if you choose to take on the extra work and teach her a little of what you expect, you may find it nice to have someone to help with enormous amount of work you do."

"She is not needed, wife." Draeseth sipped the tea and frowned, "Krouth will not be disdainful toward you again."

"If you argue with the Kamrus, or if I so much as give that horrible man a sharp look, he will. He blames me for your behavior and the Kamrus can do no wrong." She held up her hand. "Even if he didn't, Krouth serves you. Everything he does is with your best interests in mind. If your father would let you buy her freedom, perhaps Mes would stay and do the same for me."

Krouth cleared his throat, looking pensive. "I will speak with her. If she is willing, a loyal servant for her Grace would be sensible. I might have chosen someone more virtuous but Mun and Ara are similar and may make Mes more suitable than a Torgan maid."

Nodding in agreement, Isonei tried to stifle a yawn. "She reminds me of home."

"Finish your tea, my jewel. I will take you back to bed."

The sound of Mes hurrying back in made them all look toward her. "I have apples and some of the first batch of honey blossom buns!" She smiled proudly and Isonei leapt up from the table rushing over.

"Honey blossom buns?!" The sweet, sticky pastries' floral scent was heavenly. Isonei stole one from the tray before Mes could get them to the table. She closed her eyes at the first bite and made a small giddy moan. "My father had these made every time my mothers came home. They're perfect."

Seeing Draeseth's amused expression she came back to the table and seated herself in his lap, offering him a bite. He pulled her close and took a small bite before making a pleased sound in his throat. "This is something we can share."

"They can be made with so many kinds of petals, my father's favorite was lavendela but my mothers loved the ones made from queen's rose." She took another bite and looked at the tray. "There's no possible way I can eat all of these-"

"I will help you, you will not give them to the servants." Draeseth leaned and took one from the tray to eat.

"Krouth is like family and Mes would enjoy the tastes of home as much as I do." Isonei frowned at him finishing the one in her hand. "I want-"

"They do not eat with us, my Duchess." He returned it and narrowed his eyes.

Krouth cleared his throat cautiously, forestalling her response. "Her Grace is tired. Chiding her for generosity may be better received another time."

"Someone who tries to keep us from quarreling deserves to be rewarded." Isonei tilted her chin down and let her frown fade.

"You will not argue with me or these will not be served again."

She slipped from his lap wordlessly and returned to her seat to finish her tea. The tastes of home were less of a comfort and more like a beacon. Tomorrow she would find a way to bring up Andnaeuth to the Queen.

°°°°°°°°°°

"Your Grace? Your Grace?"

Isonei woke to the insistent whisper and saw Mes' concerned face peering at the level of the bed. "Mm?"

"Dinner has arrived. Krouth suggested I wake you and help you into a nightdress and your slippers."

Slowly she realized she was curled tightly into a ball in the slightly chilly room and alone in the bed. "Draeseth?"

"His Highness was summoned to dinner with the King." Mes helped her out of bed and pulled the warm nightdress over her head before wrapping her in her robe and putting on her slippers. "You-your Grace doesn't wear small clothes? They would keep you warmer."

A soft snort escaped her and Isonei shook her head, "His Highness doesn't want anything between his hands and my finer parts. When I wear them they usually get torn." She rubbed her eyes and stretched before following Mes from the room, debating telling her it used to be thrilling.

The sound of Krouth's disapproving tones, arguing something in Torgan made the choice for her. Frowning she entered the main room and saw what was causing his consternation. A maid was standing outside the door.

"Is something wrong?"

"Her Imperial Highness insists on joining you for dinner, your Grace. I have told her servant that you are not able to entertain this evening but she was instructed not to take no for an answer."

"I heard my father tell my brothers once, 'if you can't say no, say yes with a caveat.' Tell her dinner will be extremely informal and suggest she wear a nightdress as well. She may also wish to know I'm not nearly as charming when I've just woken."

Krouth lips twitched slightly as he bowed and turned to relay her words. The maid's eyes widened and she hurried away as Krouth closed the door.

"She will not be in a pleasant mood when she arrives, your Grace."

"Draeseth forbade me from speaking with her any more than necessary, if she's offended now I won't have to offend her later." Resignedly, Isonei sat her chair and looked at the table set for one. "Mes? Could you have a place set for her if she chooses to join me? I'm not very hungry, I don't think we need extra food, this is far too much."

"At once, your Grace." Mes glanced to Krouth with a faint frown and left the rooms.

Waiting alone with Krouth, the man cleared his throat quietly and approached the table. "Mes knows the Munian cook, your Grace. He allows her to sample the foods he serves you. You do not have to quarrel with his Highness to have it permitted."

"Are you permitted to sample them? I know Torgans don't always like Aran foods but some things, like the honey blossom buns, are just delicious. You and I don't always get along, but I consider you family, and I want to share some things with you."

"I understand, your Grace. Generosity is one of your better traits, but his Highness does not share it in the same measure. It will take time to encourage him to it."

Isonei took a deep breath and nodded. "It may be a difference in the way we were raised. I was always taught that generosity is a virtue and rewarded by the Gods."

"Ganas rewards it as well, your Grace. Aside from modesty and fidelity, I think perhaps your..." he hesitated as if saying the next word was somehow difficult, "Gods expect the same of you as Ganas does."

"That was why I liked him. Arans are very loyal, Krouth, giving up my Gods is out of the question. But I would have liked to add Ganas to those I worship." She looked at him regretfully and saw the pensive, faintly calculating look pass over his face.

Before he could speak a sharp rapping came from the door. She rose tiredly and smoothed her robe, giving him a nod. The slim servant retreated to the door and opened it with a bow allowing Kresh to sweep past him.

"You do not bother to dress for dinner?"

"I had to be woken to eat." Isonei shrugged delicately and stepped away from the chair with the place setting, gesturing for her to take it. "If you won't accept no as an answer you may find that yes isn't as pleasing as you'd hoped."

Kresh's annoyance faded to amusement. "A Torgan woman would be mortified to be seen in her robe." She took the offered seat and glanced over the food on the table. "A peculiar looking meal."

"Aran meals are never brought all at once, and never laid on the table like this. A plate is filled and brought to you. But they have all of the courses here." Isonei looked over the plates of fish, roasted vegetables, artfully arranged finger foods that seemed to be mostly made of cheese, and the small tureen of creamy soup.

"No dessert?" Kresh smirked slightly.

"Dessert isn't part of the meal. In Ara, if it's served at the table everything, including the glasses, must be cleared first."

Krouth brought an extra wine glass and began pouring the wine. Isonei could tell from the bottle it wasn't her father's. "A gift from Lord Vigrim. He wished you to sample some of his better wines, your Grace."

"I'll be sure to write him a thank you note. Thank you, Krouth."

"You thank your servants for doing their job?"

"Some of them. Krouth does an immense amount of work for both myself and Draeseth." Isonei took a sip of the wine and nodded appreciatively, the dry, slightly fruity flavor was something her father would have liked. "Thanking him is not only good manners, but also encouragement for doing his job well."

"The reward is not being beaten for doing it wrong." Kresh gave Krouth a scornful glance and when she looked back Isonei was doing her best imitation of Daga Gildith's frosty glare.

After a long moment's silence, she spoke gelidly, "No one strikes my servants. Not with my knowledge. Never with my consent. If they are not well suited to my service they will be told to find other employment."

Mes rushed back in looking flushed and Krouth wordlessly helped her to lay a place in front of Isonei. The Munian woman then began to put the first course on their plates with trembling hands.

"Thank you, Mes. If Krouth will place the wine somewhere I can find it, you may both retire. I can serve the rest of the meal." She softened her face and gave the woman a small smile.

There was silence as Krouth put the wine in sight and both servants retreated.

"That one is a poor servant." The way Kresh's lip curled slightly and her eyes narrowed felt like a challenge but Isonei took a deep breath instead and shrugged one shoulder, taking one of the dried fruits stuffed with cheese from her plate and eating it before replying.

"She has a wonderful disposition and with time and encouragement anything can be learned."

"You encourage the good ones and the bad ones." Kresh snorted.

"When they do well. I do the same with my husband." Isonei paused, watching as the Phaethian woman appreciatively took a bite and licked her fingers. "May I ask, what did you do to him?"

Kresh looked at her with a bemused smile, "Do to him?"

"He forbade me from speaking with you any more than necessary."

"And you disobey him?" Her smile was sharp and the way she turned her head just slightly the light caught gold flecks in her eyes that made them look lit from within.

"Speaking is necessary at the dinner table, and if he wanted an obedient wife he should have chosen a Torgan woman." Isonei gave her a mischievous smile and the woman's face softened again with amusement. "You have such lovely golden eyes, your Imperial Highness."

With a glance at the door and the doorway the servants had vanished beyond, the Phaethian inclined her head slightly, "When we speak privately, you may call me by my name, Kresh."

"Thank you, Kresh. That's an honor I will cherish. Please call me Isonei."

She took another bite and shook her head, "Women's names should only have one..." her lips twisted, "men have two Draeseth, Rogath, Arrun, Herus."

"Syllables! I see. Mine has three."

"Choose one for me to call you by."

Isonei began to laugh but nodded. "Nei, I suppose. There was a very brief trend of shortening names in Ara and my sister Gyszel gave all of us shorter names. She was Zel, Yulayn and Yarmina became Yul and Yar, and I was Nei." She took another bite and returned Kresh's impish smile. "My father hated it. If he had wanted me to be called Nei he would have named me Nei."

Kresh's smile widened, "Fathers name their children in Phaethia as well."

"I would say Torgans are odd, but Lerians do the same. The mother names the children and her word is final. I was partly raised there but some things they do are still strange to me."

"I had never left Bir Viccord before I was given to Rogath. My brothers were taken all over our Empire but I was made to wait at home. I was brought gifts, slaves, usually."

Choosing to ignore the comment about slaves, for now, Isonei began ladling the soup into the shallow bowls next to their plates. "I would have traveled with my mother if she had lived. When she died I stayed with my father and traveled with him. He used to go to Leria every year to have discussions with Daga Gildith and occasionally some of the other Dagas, Liadith included. We also went to the Sea of Glass a few times; the city of Eshho is stunning. In the center of the city, the festival square, there's a fountain dedicated to Udnerath. He holds a large glass pearl and the water flows around his waist." She posed like the fountain. "The city has murals of him everywhere, and the streets are this beautiful blue flecked stone."

"Why is it called Eshho and not Udnerath? It sounds as if the city is dedicated to him, whoever he is."

"He's the God of the sea. You have to be very careful what you dedicate to him. He might decide to take it, he's done it before."

Kresh made a pleased sound trying the soup. "This could be warmer but the flavors are exquisite."

"Draeseth complains that Aran foods are always too creamy, too sweet, or too spicy." Isonei made a face and took a bite of the creamy soup made from Torgan root vegetables.

"Torgan foods are either sour or bitterly spiced." Kresh shuddered. "I have my own cook, I refuse to eat Torgan foods more than I have to."

"I haven't had the luxury. I think Draeseth may have expected I would learn to eat it but the food here is just wretched."

"There were rumors he was starving you. But there were rumors you were meek and childlike, as well." Kresh smirked at her and Isonei shrugged.

"When someone is disrespectful I return their disrespect. Torgans don't like that." Isonei made another face and the Phaethian woman laughed.

"If you want respect in Phaethia you have to do that. In Torga the men trade insults and the women trade cutting remarks, but there is no respect." Kresh offered her a genuine, hopeful smile, "I want to have you spend time with me. Your arrival is like a summer rain, welcome and refreshing."

"I think I would rather spend time with you than the Queen, but Draeseth..." Isonei rubbed her temple. "I sometimes think he only allows me things I enjoy to have something to take away if I argue with him."

"He learned it from his father." Kresh set her spoon to the side and began to take pieces of fish and portions of vegetables for her plate. "Enjoy what he gives you but steel yourself. Know it will be taken."

"Would you like more wine, Kresh?" Isonei rose to fetch it as she inclined her head.

"Nei? Is it true you refuse to marry Prince Draeseth?"

Isonei refilled their glasses and began to fill her own plate. "It is. We have an Aran Arrangement."

"You called him your husband."

"Until the next Festival of Maeralya, it's true, or true enough. My Daga recognized him as my temporary match and while we're exclusive his father recognizes it as a marriage."

"And after the Festival?" Kresh studied her and when she hesitated, held up her fork and waved it. "I know nothing of Arans. This question is curiosity, nothing more."

"Truthfully, I don't know. I've given my word not to marry in this year but after that, he may find a way to press me into it." That she didn't intend to stay to allow it made her feel a little guilty, but it was also a little freeing. She began to pick at the food on her plate.

"You seemed so affectionate earlier."

"I care for him. He can be sweet and loving and I try to reward that."

They ate in silence for a time. The food was colder than it should have been but it tasted like it had been made in Ara. The fish dishes were wildly different and she thought perhaps the cook was trying to find out what she preferred. The cream sauce was very nice, but the spicy baked fish and the tangy, ever so slightly sweet grilled fish were better.

Kresh finished before she did and sat watching her before beginning the conversation again. "Who did you give your word to? Not to marry?"

"My father and Andnaeuth." Isonei gave her a wan smile.

"Why?"

"My father doesn't like him, and he doesn't want me to be kept here. Andnaeuth's reasons are similar; he wants the chance for an Arrangement with me. But he would have been willing to share me with Draeseth."

"My father thought Draeseth was the better brother, the stronger warrior, but Rogath will be King of Torga. When I become Queen, things will change here; the Empire will be more welcome." Kresh looked into the middle distance with a determined smile. "I will need support." Her gaze shifted back to Isonei. "There are rumors that you can charm nearly anyone, I could use that in an ally."

"Draeseth doesn't want to teach me Torgan, an ally that can't speak the language here wouldn't be of much use, Kresh." Isonei tilted her head slightly.

"I can teach you, Nei. Consider it."

"I will. I'll have half the year to myself and Kamrus Gillaugrim has forbidden me from returning to the convent. It would be a benefit to me to have a friend to visit. One who appreciates Aran food would be ideal." She gave Kresh a tired smile.

"For our next private meal, I will have Phaethian food served. I think you would like it." A mischievous smile spread slowly across Kresh's curiously tattooed face. "You will have to dress more festively. An Aran dress perhaps? I will wear something Phaethian and have dancers perform for us."

"I adore dancing. I'll look forward to seeing how they dance in Phaethia."

Kresh rose and Isonei followed suit. "You should rest, Nei. You look tired and you will need to be at your best to endure the Queen."

"Thank you for your visit, Kresh. I enjoyed dining with you."

"The pleasure was mine." The Phaethian woman looked vaguely bemused for a moment and hesitated before moving to the door but she left without further conversation.

Isonei sank into her seat again as the door closed, unsurprised as Krouth reappeared with a sour expression. She held up her hand to stop him from chiding her. "I'm aware that she's ambitious and that her plans may not be anything I wish to be involved in. But flatly refusing would have been foolish, her children and mine will be cousins, and she will be Queen. I have to be very careful."

Krouth schooled his face and offered a shallow bow. "Would you like to be advised?"

"Very much so. I don't know all of the steps to this dance yet."

Mes looked baffled as she cautiously eased herself back into the room but she remained silent and began clearing the dinner dishes, placing them onto a wheeled tray in the corner.

"Prince Draeseth will not be pleased if you begin a friendship with her, and her friendship should not be trusted. Phaethians serve themselves and abandon their allies when it suits them. And as she has not yet given Prince Rogath a son, her position is not as secure as she would have you think." He paused as she contemplated his words. "Your caution is wise, your Grace, but I would advise more of it. Give her no promises and be very wary of any she gives you."

Nodding, Isonei drained the last sips of wine from her glass. "Thank you, Krouth. You always give sound advice." She hesitated and then asked carefully, "Was what she said about the King true? About the gifts?"

"You are the first person I have met, your Grace, who does not give gifts as a way to manipulate those around you. The King is aware that a person with a great deal to lose is more... reasonable than a person with nothing."