Westrons Pt. 17

- "Do you have any idea who was on the Council?" she asked me.

- "The Queen. Maia Simonia."

It was a little more difficult to guess which nobles had been selected. With everyone in the capital for the wedding, they had hundreds to choose from. I managed to guess three of the eight - not so impressive, considering that Kanitz herself was one of them.

- "You heard the story of the cushion?" she hinted.

- "Countess Marbaud? Really?" I found it hard to believe that the subject of such a silly story could be genuinely important. "What about podium-Lady? The Duchess ..."

- "Of Cande. Yes - good. Don't look so surprised, Cook: just because someone is obsessed about things which you see as trivial or inconsequential doesn't mean they aren't powerful or influential. Both of those women command genuine respect in some circles."

Kanitz then told me the names of the remaining nobles. I had no idea who they were, except for the very last one.

- "ILONI? Countess Iloni? You can't be serious! She should have been on trial herself, with Vis and the others!"

Kanitz simply shook her head. "Iloni is very, very wealthy. Yes, her fame rests largely on her sexual prowess, but she is also extremely adept, when it comes to politics, and supremely skilled at the art of persuasion."

- "It didn't work with me!" I snapped.

- "I believe that she made an error. She underestimated you. A non-Westron male ... she probably expected you to simply fall under her spell, without having to lift a finger."

- "Huh!"

- "Be careful, Cook, if you should meet her again; she's unlikely to make the same mistake."

- "Was she embarrassed to be there? On the Council?" I wondered if Iloni might have had a guilty conscience. Or if she had a conscience at all.

"Oh, yes." laughed Kanitz. "And it was a valuable lesson for our dear little intriguer. She had no idea how isolated she was. I would bet that she was up to her pretty neck in those plots all along. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can prove."

- "She won't stop, though." I predicted. "Intriguing is like breathing for that one."

- "Agreed."

- "Just like someone else I know."

- "You can keep trying to arouse me - I like that you do." she grinned. "But I'm not ready for bed yet. Tell me the names of the Generals on the Council."

- "Langoret. Tudino. Avette."

- "Avette's title was too recent." said Kanitz. "And there are some who still believe that she disobeyed orders at Limset."

- "Not ... Vis? She was on trial!"

- "No, not Vis. General Brune."

Kanitz knew as well as I did that calling Brune a victorious General was a bit of a stretch. But the Westrons just didn't have that many commanders who had won a battle (and were still alive).

I had no idea who the four commoners were, even after Kanitz identified them for me. Two wealthy merchants, a scholar, and a huntsman. All four were influential, in their own way.

- "Did you hear anything, in the city?" she asked. "How did people seem to take it? We're so isolated here, in some ways."

- "The servants talked about it every day. So did my bodyguards, when they thought I wasn't listening."

- "What did they say?"

- "The servants tried to guess who the members of the Council would be - and then wagered on it. Two of them asked me if I had any inside information."

- "Seriously?"

- "Yes. The cook won. Oddly enough, her opinion seemed to carry the most weight, too. She was deeply affronted, that someone would try to spoil the royal weddings. She also approved of the Queen calling the Council."

"She called it an 'ancient, tried and tested method of dispensing justice'."

Kanitz raised both eyebrows. "You're not making this up?"

- "No. You should meet our cook: she may know more about what's going on in the capital than you do. We could start 'the cook project' - everyone would think that it was about me, but you and I would know the true purpose."

- "You're being silly."

- "Not really. Wenzla - people talked about nothing else for the entire month. They're still talking about it. By and large, they agree with what you've done."

- "I hope so." she said, a little wistfully.

- "Listen: my four bodyguards are quite representative. You should know that: you chose them. Ishana is a conservative. She doesn't quite know what to make of me. But she thoroughly approves of the Queen summoning the Council. Traditional, respectful of ancient custom ..."

"Madze was surprisingly forthcoming, too: she was horrified at what those people tried to do. She understood immediately why you didn't hold public trials."

"Nasta listens carefully - and then agrees with whoever spoke last."

- "Koroba?"

- "Oh, you know what she thinks. Honestly, if she wasn't a bodyguard, she would have made a phenomenal assassin. Koroba would wipe out your enemies for you, with a smile on her face."

- "Hah! She probably would."

I didn't know what to make of the look on Kanitz' face.

- "I was kidding, Wenzla."

- "I know." she said. "It's just ... those are only a few opinions."

- "There are a thousand rumours out there. Some of them are surprisingly close to the truth. Soldiers talk; so do Palace servants. The whole city knows that Maia Ariana was in hemmer, and they also know that Palace Guards were suborned."

"They can put two and two together. Well, some are coming up with five ... but quite a few people can add."

"And the attempt to sneak in a woman in hemmer is pretty well known. Our cook was particularly incensed about that. 'There isn't a hole deep enough to bury them in', she said."

- "Thank you, Cook. I appreciate you trying to ... help." she said. "Would you mind if we went out on the balcony?"

It was a warm evening. We stood in companionable silence, close together.

I wondered if she was still wrestling with her demons. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. Shakespeare was right: he just didn't mention the people that share in the burden - especially if that burden includes sending people to the scaffold.

Three former Palace servants, who'd been dismissed by Kanitz, were found guilty of trying to sabotage the Royal Weddings by sneaking in a woman in hemmer.

The average people of the capital were horrified. They all knew - or could imagine - how devastating that might have been. No one complained when the three villains were publicly flogged, branded ... and then hanged.

Five Palace Guards were found guilty of an unnamed offence. The Council of the Blue Chamber decreed their punishments: two were flogged in public; two more were flogged, and then hung. The fifth, Ensign Vayla, was spared a flogging, because of her rank. She was beheaded, rather than hung.

General Vis was stripped of her rank. The regiment she owned was given to a new Colonel-Inhaber. She was also forced to abdicate her title, in favour of a younger relative. Essentially, Vis was no longer noble, nor a soldier.

Her remaining days would be spent under virtual house arrest. any visitors would be carefully screened. As well, Vis would never again enjoy the luxury of a private conversation.

This punishment was so novel, so unprecedented, that it shocked the good people of Cercen. But they reasoned that if the Council of the Blue Chamber had approved it, there had to be a good reason behind it.

The Queen could never have arbitrarily punished someone so prominent as General Vis. The support of the Council made it appear just.

- "You showed remarkable restraint." I said. "You and the Queen both. People will remember that."

- "It was merciful." said Kanitz. "I voted for the death penalty. So did six others."

We stood together for a while longer, enjoying the view of the river, and of the two moons, now well apart.

After a time, I put my arm around her, because I got the impression that she wanted me to do just that. She snuggled a little closer.

"Do you remember," she said, "the first night we came out here?"

- "Of course I do. I'll never forget that night. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life."

Wenzla actually turned her head, to look me in the eyes.

- "You're serious?"

- "Of course I am. What did you think?" I turned her all the way around, to face me.

"Wenzla - what is it? I've never seen you like this." She seemed vulnerable. Insecure, even. This wasn't the Chancellor Kanitz that I knew.

- "I don't know." she said. "It's not every day that you sentence people to death." She looked down, avoiding eye contact. "I'm just ... feeling out of sorts, I suppose ..."

I realized, at that moment, what had set her off. We'd been discussing the Council and the trials for over an hour - in all that time, she'd been concerned - and curious. Now, though, she seemed overwhelmed.

It started the moment she remembered our first night on her balcony. She was feeling insecure - but not about the trials.

"You must know." I said. "You're the second most beautiful woman in the entire Kingdom. You are absolutely, spectacularly attractive. The Queen is in a class of her own, of course, but ..."

- "The Queen?" Kanitz looked up, her eyes wide open. "I thought you meant ... Maia Simonia."

Oh, dear. Not just insecure. A little jealous, too.

- "No, Wenzla. Hold on. Listen to me: the Queen is lovely. You know it - everyone who sees her knows it. But she is completely unattainable. Maybe that adds to her beauty ... I'm not sure."

"But I've never seen anyone else, in all my time here, that's more beautiful than you."

She bowed her head again. Now I'd embarrassed her.

- "You don't have to say this."

- "Apparently I do. You told me, early on in our relationship, that we ... couldn't be. Wenzla: the Queen is unattainable ... but so are you."

- "Did I really say that?"

- "You did."

- "What a fool I am." She stepped a little closer, and rested her head on my shoulder. "It doesn't matter, though; you'd already met Themis."

I shook my head.

- "I won't lie to you. I fell in love with Themis. We travelled together, shared a tent. She fought through the Battle of Tonol, beside me every step of the way. We shared so many experiences."

"You know her: she's kind, and good. Intelligent. Good-natured. Brave."

"How could I not fall in love with her?"

- "You did."

- "I know. And then she turned out to be the Queen's sister. Completely unattainable, for the likes of me."

- "You could have her again - in time."

- "She confides in you, does she?" I said. I wasn't angry; I understood it all too well.

- "She loves you, Cook. If you love her half as much ..."

- "Of course I love her. Just as I love you. And I can't have either of you."

The Queen's Chancellor and I were quiet for a long time. We were close together, though. She didn't pull away when I kissed her forehead.

- "Is that why ...?" she began.

- "I won't pretend." I said. "I couldn't do what Talley did, with Tisucha. Before I knew who Themis was, I knew that I couldn't be her man, because the idea of having sex once a year - or even less than that - horrifies me."

"You were ... out of reach - even though you were the hybrid of my dreams."

- "Stop."

- "It's true, Wenzla. Sometimes, it's all a matter of timing."

- "Cook - you've had a dozen or more women since you've been here. And that's without mentioning how many females you knew back in ... Pylos."

Wenzla, Countess Kanitz, the Queen's Chancellor, was the only person (other than me, and Talley) who knew that there was no such place as Pylos.

- "You may not believe me - but there were only two women in my life, between the ages of 16 and 21."

She was looking into my eyes as I said it.

- "I ... believe you."

- "After you made it clear that we couldn't be ... I got to know Tallia. She's a genius -"

- "I know. Believe me - I know." said Kanitz.

- "She's wonderful. I would have asked her to marry me - a single, monogamous relationship. But it was Tallia who insisted that she'd have to share me with Esyle."

"It may sound unbelievable - but it's true."

- "It's not unbelievable." she said. "I had the chance to work closely with Tallia. She is incredible. I was jealous all over again: how could you not love her - especially when you get her sister, in the bargain?"

- "You should spend some time with Esyle. I think she'd impress you, too. The Wole Project? That was her idea."

- "Hmmm."

- "The point here is ... I didn't set out to have ... multiple lovers. It just happened that way."

- "Poor Cook. What a terrible fate."

- "No. I feel incredibly lucky. But I never planned any of this."

She buried her head in my chest.

- "Is there still any room ... for me, in your heart?"

- "Of course there is. Tallia and Esyle know exactly where I am, and they know who Howe's father is. They both admire you, and they understand how I feel about you. Does that make any sense?"

- "Yes." she admitted. "And now I'm mightily aroused. I think we should go upstairs so that you can make love to me. More than once."

*****