Leslie Moore - Griffin's Shadow

She lowered her head for a heartbeat, and when she looked up, her eyes glittered with unshed tears. “Ashinji’s grandmother, Lord Sen’s mother, was named Hatora. I’ve decided Hatora will be our daughter’s name.”

Keizo nodded in agreement. “Hatora is a fine name. I’m sure my old friend will be well pleased with your choice. It is fitting that you should honor the memory of your husband in this way.”

“Thank you, Father,” Jelena said.

“Jelena my pet, I thought we might go riding after breakfast…that is, if you feel up to it,” Sonoe suggested.

“That sounds like a fine idea. My daughter needs to get out and get some fresh air,” the king concurred. Jelena looked hesitant.

“You need to get out,” Sonoe insisted. “You’ve been in seclusion for long enough. We’ll ride down through town and go out beyond the gates for a little way, just to the Meizi Road.” She looked to Keizo for support.

“Yes, excellent. I’ll send for a pair of guards to accompany you.”

Sonoe cursed inwardly, but knew better than to argue. Keizo usually allowed his mistress to come and go as she pleased, unescorted.

He must feel Jelena needs extra supervision due to her fragile state. No matter; I’m more than a match for a couple of guards.

“Yes…yes, it would be nice to get out. I’m sure poor Willow is going crazy for lack of exercise,” Jelena conceded.

“It’s settled, then.” Sonoe lifted a sweet bun to her lips and took a bite.

“What are your plans for today, Father?” Jelena inquired.

“After breakfast, your uncle, your father-in-law, and I will meet. We must finish the last details of our strategies for the upcoming war. A full council is scheduled in two days, and the plans must be ready by then for presentation and review.” Keizo sighed and the benign cast of his face hardened into grimness. “I know it doesn’t seem so now, but spring will be upon us before we know it. We must be prepared for what is to come. Our very survival as a free nation depends on how accurately I and my advisors can predict the Soldarans’ tactics.”

“We have one big advantage over the humans… our magic,” Sonoe added.

“Yes, we do,” the king replied. He reached over to brush a finger along her cheek. “As a member of the Kirian Society, you will play an important role in the planning and execution of our magical defense. I hate to think of you in danger, my love, but there is a good chance you will find yourself on the front line when this conflict begins.”

Sonoe saw genuine love and concern for her in his storm-gray eyes. Her heart skipped a beat and she berated herself for her weakness. She had never intended to allow any soft emotions like affection to cloud her judgment when dealing with the king. But despite her intentions, she found, after so many years living with him, that she had grown extremely fond of Keizo.

Which makes what I ultimately intend to do to him and his daughter all the more difficult, she thought. But not impossible. Any sacrifice will be worthwhile if it means I gain the power of the Key.

She noticed that Jelena had pushed aside her plate. “Are you finished already, Jelena? You’ve hardly eaten a thing,” she chided gently.

The girl glanced at her half-eaten breakfast and shrugged. “I’m just not very hungry right now,” she said in a small voice.

“Well, a nice ride in the fresh air will do wonders for your appetite,” Sonoe replied. “Shall we go?”

After a round of farewell kisses, Sonoe and Jelena left the king to finish his own breakfast in solitude. Two guards waited for them at the stable entrance, as expected. In a very short time, they were mounted up and heading into the town, Jelena astride the gray mare she called Willow, and Sonoe on her favorite bay gelding Susei. One guard rode at the fore to clear the way, the other followed behind his two charges.

The streets bustled with morning traffic. A few of the townsfolk paused to watch as Sonoe and Jelena rode by, but most continued with their business, either uninterested or oblivious. Sonoe often went abroad in the town, so her presence incited little attention, and very few of Sendai’s okui population could identify Jelena by sight. To most observers, Keizo’s daughter looked like just another hikui woman-a bit more well-to-do than most, but otherwise unremarkable.

They had to keep a tight rein on their mounts as they moved through the busy town, but once the little group had passed through the outer gates, the horses eagerly picked up the pace. Sonoe and Jelena urged their mounts forward, and the guards both fell back to a discreet distance.

The two women rode for a time in companionable silence.

Eventually, Jelena spoke. “Sonoe, I know it’s probably none of my business, but why hasn’t my father married you? You’ve been with him for so long, it seems…well, somehow unfair.”

“It’s simple really, Jelena, love. Your father won’t marry me because I’m common-born,” Sonoe replied.

“Oh…I…I couldn’t tell. You’re so…so refined, so noble!”

Sonoe laughed, secretly pleased. “I’m really just a farm girl from Ayame. When I was still quite young, my parents sent me off to work as a servant on the estate of a local mage. My mother recognized that of all her children, I had the most Talent. I think she hoped my master would see my potential and decide to take me on as an apprentice. Lucky for me, he did.”

Of course, I helped things along by letting him spread my legs whenever he wanted!

“My first master taught me all he knew, but I soon realized it was only the tip of a vast mountain of knowledge. I needed to get to a place where I could receive more advanced training,” Sonoe continued. “Master Bansa recognized that I had surpassed his abilities, so he arranged for me to travel to Sendai where I could enter the mage school run by his order, the Kan Onji, also known as the Red Order.”

Sonoe basked for awhile in the glow of nostalgia. Bansa had been quite elderly when she had come to him, but that hadn’t stopped her from seducing him. He had taken her virginity with surprising vigor, and had proved to be a skilled and imaginative lover as well as a kind master.

“Master Bansa paid for my first few months at the school, but he was not a wealthy man, and so I had to start working for my lessons.”

“As a servant?” Jelena asked.

Sonoe burst out laughing.

“Did I say something funny?” Jelena sounded a little miffed.

“Jelena, my sweet girl. You are just so…so innocent in many ways,” Sonoe replied. “I earned my keep flat on my back! Or on top… or on my hands and knees… however it was required of me.”

“Oh,” Jelena answered in a small voice.

“Don’t look so shocked. There’s no shame in what I did. I chose my first profession freely, and it allowed me to pursue my true vocation. Now, I’m a well-respected member of the Kan Onji, a Kirian, and King’s Companion. I’ve done quite well for myself, and I did it without having the power of a noble family behind me.”

“I…I didn’t mean to give you any offense, Sonoe,” Jelena said. “I was just remembering my own situation back in Amsara. I wasn’t given any choice when my uncle arranged to sell me as a concubine to a much older man. I felt desperate, trapped. I couldn’t imagine spending my life as a slave, so I ran away.”

“And you found love and family. The Goddess has blessed you.”

“Yes, I guess She did. Even though Ashinji and I had so short a time together, I’m still grateful. He is…was the love of my life.”

“And soon, you’ll bear his child…Yet another blessing.”

“Does it sadden you that you have no children of your own, Sonoe?”