Varna Ch. 13

Saska was pregnant, and many of her mornings were utterly miserable. She clearly wanted - and needed - my time more than anyone, and I made shift to be there for her.

It took me some more time to realize who I was neglecting.

- "Can we go practice some magic?" I asked Glasha.

- "I'm supposed to be working with Sirma." she said.

- "I gave Sirma a free afternoon. She's chosen to go riding with Murzosh."

- "Poor Murzosh - she'll wear him out."

- "Will you come with me?"

- "Of course."

We walked down by the river, as we'd done so many times before. We circled the same big rocks, and left our footprints in many of the very same spots where we'd trodden for years, since we were children.

At one point, I held out my hand, to help her climb one of the rougher spots. I didn't even think about it - it was pure reflex. Glasha took it without comment, and pulled herself up, but she had a small grin on her face.

We reached the little clearing where we'd often trained together. I looked about. We hadn't been here, alone together, for some time.

- "What would you like to work on?" she asked.

- "Us." I said. "Glasha - I'm so sorry. I've been neglecting you. I know it."

She looked me in the eye - she'd never been afraid to face me.

- "It's alright." she said.

- "It's not. This isn't what I intended ... for us."

- "You couldn't have foreseen any of this." Glasha reached up, to gently stroke my cheek. "But don't worry - I've waited for you before."

She was referring to my grand tour, with Hurmas, Sezima and Durgat. And Sanatha, for a part of it. But now there were more people that Glasha had to share me with - especially Saska.

- "I've been ..."

- "Fighting a war. Avoiding assassination. Dealing with a destiny you never imagined. I know. But I know you, Tauma Cunedda - you'll come back to me."

I had to smile at that. Her confidence, her assurance - it was heart-warming.

- "There's just so little of me left, by the end of the day." I said. "I thought that I would be sharing you with Saska. But it's Sanatha, and Sirma, Yazgash, the treasury clerks ..."

- "Then you're approaching it wrong." said Glasha. "When you're with me, all you have to do is be present. If you're low on energy, I can understand that. I know that you have a hundred things on your mind. Just be with me when you're here."

- "It's that simple?"

- "Try it."

We practiced magic for half an hour. Then I spread my cloak, and we lay down upon it. Glasha held me close, and we whispered to each other for quite a while, even though no one was near.

I fell asleep.

***

Portoa was our closest trading partner, and as such, they were very interested in the outcome of our civil war. That was why the embassage from Portoa arrived in Elmina within a few months of our victory.

We did just as much business with Galtin's Port, but we were almost completely beneath notice to that bustling metropolis. Besides, they had no need to send anyone to us; everyone came to them.

The Portoans tried to be clever: the leader of their delegation was Sulien Mainyul - the brother of Aludar's first wife, Visca Mainyul. That also made him the maternal uncle of the heir to the Duchy of Varna, our niece, Sirma.

We'd met him before, on his home ground. He was in his thirties, extremely vain and quite shallow. He had that certain look in the eye and an easy smile. His parents had hoped that Sanatha might be charmed into marrying him, when we visited Portoa, so that they would have a double connection to the Duke of Varna's family.

For good measure, Sulien Mainyul had brought along his new bride to make an impression.

- "May I present my wife, Seirye?"

- "We remember Lady Seirye very well." I said. I probably needn't have granted her the title of 'Lady'; she was only a rich merchant's wife. But she was still beautiful, and impossibly slender. Her hair was even longer now; it hung down past her waist.

- "It is good to see you again, my Lord, and my Lady Sanatha. And you as well, Lady Saska."

Seirye had been one of the twelve potential brides my father had selected for his sons to choose from. How long ago that seemed, now.

I'd been attracted to three of them: Talanassa Albo, Saska Tanle, and Seirye of Portoa. Seirye had taken herself out of the running when she'd balked at the idea of sharing me with Glasha. 'I may not be the greatest prize in all of Leinyere,' she'd said,' but I have too much pride to be second in my own house.'

Gossip was king, in Portoa. I had no doubt whatsoever that the ruling families there knew just how much time I'd spent wooing Seirye. No doubt they'd calculated that I would still have a soft spot for her that could be played upon.

So now she was married to a pompous twit whose ambition exceeded his reach, and she probably lived in the Mainyul household, under the thumbs of her husband's parents. I wasn't about to rub it in, though. I quite liked Seirye, and knew as well as she did that we rarely get exactly what we were hoping for.

I put up with her husband as best I could. The Portoans wanted a new trade agreement, of course. Knowing that we were cut off from access to Galtin's Port, they were prepared to bargain hard for concessions on our part. I was not looking forward to the negotiations.

Sanatha would probably have preferred to not have to deal with Sulien Mainyul, but she had an advantage which I did not: he was still interested in her. Somehow, he'd convinced himself that San had been attracted to him when they first met, but that my father had vetoed the match.

I don't know if he thought that he could seduce her now, or somehow gain an advantage in the trade talks, but he put on a charm offensive.

Kicking the Portoan envoy in the testicles might have been considered a breach of good manners, so I occasionally excused myself from the polite functions we were obliged to hold in honour of our guests.

On one of those occasions, I left a little early without giving a reason. Let them think that I had loose bowels, or whatever they wanted.

I was restless, though, so I wandered out into the exercise yard. Murzosh was being discreet as he guarded my back, leaving me just enough space to feel as if I was alone.

I wasn't, though. Glasha had followed me.

- "Are you alright?" she asked.

- "Mostly."

- "You're feeling sorry for her?"

- "Aren't you?"

- "She had an opportunity." said Glasha. "I understand that it was too ... different, for her. Now she has something she thought she wanted."

- "And you say that I'm hard."

Murzosh coughed discreetly. Both Glasha and I turned to look.

Seirye was tall, but very slender. Next to Murzosh's bulk, she looked like a reed. I was surprised to see her there, but waved her over.

- "I am sorry to disturb you, Lord. Lady." she said.

- "I am no Lady." said Glasha. "You can call me by my name."

Seirye looked confused for a moment, as if she was unsure how to act.

- "Forgive me," she said, "but there are things that I thought you should know. You were ... extremely honest with me, when I was here last. I didn't understand it all, at the time, and ... I regret that, sometimes."

- "There's no need to -"

- "Please - let me finish, Lord. I may not have much time. And you should know what they're saying, in Portoa."

- "Oh?"

- "The only reason my husband was sent as envoy was because the Mainyuls bore half of the entire cost of the embassy. They see an opportunity in their relationship to your niece."

- "Sirma?"

- "Yes. They believe that if anything should happen to you and your sister, then they could somehow fabricate a claim to the Duchy. As guardians to Sirma, at least."

- "What do they think will happen to Sanatha and me?" I asked.

- "Lord, everyone knows that there is a rival claimant to your throne. They are taking odds and betting on the outcome."

- "You mean Beksha and his mercenaries, in Galtin's Port? And there are many who think we would lose? Because we won't."

Seirye shook her head.

- "Lord." she said. "Tauma. They don't take you seriously. They call you the Witch-King."

- "What?"

- "There are scurrilous songs. Poems. Pornographic illustrations. You are said to be a hedge wizard. A shape-changer, who has sex with the woodland creatures. A polygamist, who sleeps with his wife and his mistress, and ... commits incest with his sister."

I suddenly found it difficult to catch my breath. But Seirye carried on.

"They also call you the Kinslayer - you're supposed to have killed your father and mother, and all of your brothers."

- "I ... I killed two of my brothers."

Glasha intervened.

- "Why are you telling us this, Seirye?"

- "Because I don't believe a word of it. Because ... you were honest with me. What you offered was ... not what I wanted. But I understood later that you'd been open with me. You showed me great favour. I wanted to repay it, if I could. In small measure."

I gathered a small quantity of aether, to clear my head and sharpen my wits.

- "Thank you." I said. "Glasha - perhaps you should accompany Seirye back inside, before she's missed. If I can arrange another meeting between us, I will."

***

When I repeated what Seirye had told us, Sanatha was stunned, at first. Then she too grew angry. She wanted nothing more to do with the Portoans.

- "Wait, San." I said. "They're not the enemy. They've heard these things from supporters of Merik, or Nathal." Shurkka Storum, for one, I thought. "They're total exaggerations, but you can understand why people are repeating the most shocking and salacious bits. The real danger is in Galtin's Port - and it's not the city, or its leaders. They could care less about Varna. But imagine what Beksha and Yavantay are saying about us there."

We couldn't afford to be completely cut off. We needed trade with Portoa. Fortunately, the merchants there wouldn't care if I had three heads, if they could do business with us.

It's probably not ideal to negotiate when you're angry. It worked for me, though. It worked because Sanatha was there to smooth things over, to suggest positive alternatives or compromises. But I suspect that it also succeeded because several of the Portoans already believed that I was half-mad, volatile and dangerous.

The real achievement was Sanatha's, of course. She kept her temper in check, and applied just enough honey to keep things sweet. The Portoan negotiators (not Sulien Mainyul, of course; he was just a figurehead) were afraid of my unpredictable outbursts. I only unleashed my anger twice, but they didn't know when the next one was coming, or what might set it off. They couldn't be entirely certain that I wouldn't have them all executed.

They also had no idea how to counter Sanatha's kind smile, or reasonable suggestions. They were caught between a rock and a soft place, a terrifying storm and a safe harbour. We finally hammered out a trade agreement that was advantageous for both of us.

In between these sessions, I isolated myself in my chamber, and wrote out a brief history of the past two years, focusing on the murder of the Duke by Merik and Tir Storum, Nathal's assassination attempt against me, and the murders of Gerdar Corig, Viken Esin, and my mother, by Tir Pyera. I also described the sack of Whydah, the second battle there, and then the battle of Borovo. In those passages, I gave a factual account of how Nathal and Merik had died. Glasha sat with me, and wrote out a second copy.

I had the opportunity to see Seirye one more time. I gave her the two manuscripts.

- "Could you have these copied, in Portoa?" I asked. "The more copies, the better. And if you could pass them on to people you respect ...?"

- "I can do that." she said. "Should I ... reveal the name of the author?"

I had to think about that, for a moment.

- "If you wish. Or if you think it wise." It might not be entirely a bad thing, for certain Portoans to learn that the mad Kinslayer, the Witch-King, was capable of concise prose.

"We are in your debt, Seirye. Thank you."

- "Thank you, Lord Duke. I wish you good luck in all your endeavors."

***

In the depths of winter, Captain Urbo came to Elmina. He had traveled in haste. With him was one of the two young men he'd brought to me in Whydah.

- "You are Telek. Or ... Kalju?"

- "Kalju, Lord. Telek is ... dead."

The poor fellow had lost his brother. "I'm sorry, Kalju. How did it happen?"

- "He asked too many questions of the wrong people, Lord."

On Captain Urbo's recommendation, I had sent these two men to Galtin's Port, to join Yavantay or Tir Beksha, and discover what they were up to.

- "How were you able to get out?" I asked.

- "The money you gave us, Lord. Fortunately, I was carrying it. I took passage on a Portoan ship the moment I found out about Telek."

- "Tell the Duke what you learned, Kalju." prompted Urbo.

- "They call you Kinslayer, Lord. They say that you have a harem, that you've married your own sister ..." Kalju hesitated.

- "Go on."

- "They say that you're mad, Lord. That you've tried too many schools of magic. They call you ..."

- "The Witch King?"

- "Aye, Lord. Many believe them. They have money. They've hired and outfitted ships, and mercenaries. They have 'financial backers' in the city. They have a mercenary captain named Kurebir in command. And Beksha has been selling titles."

- "Pardon?"

- "Titles, Lord. He's to be King, of course, but he's been selling Tir titles to anyone who can afford to pay. Mercenary captains are to be Gerdars. Most of the soldiers will paid in land, or out of the plunder that's expected."

This was mind-boggling. Beksha intended to dispossess every land-holder in Varna so that he could reward his mercenaries. He was forfeiting any hope of support from within the Duchy.

- "Do you know anything of this Kurebir?"

- "Only that he's known as more of an organizer than a battlefield commander."

- "How many men do they have?"

- "Forty ships, Lord. One hundred and fifty cannon - fifty of which they will bring on land. Twenty-five hundred mercenaries. Two hundred crossbowmen ..."

*****