David Weber - The Road to Hell

“My actual backup, Dorelle chan Whalen, was posing as City Watch for the morning, so he got a full report from the jewelry merchant. It seems the young Prince talked the merchant into reporting me in spite of the man’s obvious fear of the Order. He gave a pretty good description, too. If I were a criminal, I wouldn’t be able to work in Tajvana again.”

“Is that some sort of Talent?” Taje asked.

“Hard to say. In the merchant, definitely not. In the Prince, maybe. But I think, no. I suspect Prince Howan Fai is simply more observant than usual and something’s happened to put him enough on edge that he’s paying attention to the crowd even when his mind is wandering.”

“Oh?” Andrin leaned in.

“Dorelle said-and he wrote it up in the report if you want his exact words, Your Highness-he said the merchant thought the Prince was quite taken with a princess and had trouble making a selection. It could just have been a storekeeper talking up his wares, but there’d be no reason for the man to add that to the telling.”

Andrin listened with rapt attention.

“He could have been buying for a girlfriend back on Eniath or even a fiance,” the Privy Voice suggested, glancing up from her stack of paperwork with a concerned glance at Andrin.

The crown princess sat back, disturbed at this new thought. Could her perfect solution be the ruin of Howan Fai’s life? His father was a close ally of her father, and with the importance of the Sharona Unification on the line, Howan Fai could be forced to give up a previously formed attachment to become her unwilling groom.

Chan Lofti actually laughed. “I hardly think so. He bought a broach for his mother. The search of his apartments while he was out revealed only letters to his father about the Conclave. And out with his friends last night he was teased mercilessly for not having a prospect for future Queen of Eniath.”

“You searched his rooms?” Andrin paled trying to imagine explaining the breech of privacy to the sweet man she’d danced with. “Is that normal?” Were my mother’s rooms searched before she married my father? She didn’t ask it out loud, but the Privy Council members understood the underlying question. Chan Lofti, of course, didn’t, but some of the eager delight at the success of his search methods faded in the investigator’s eyes as her tone registered.

“Pardon, Your Highness, I wouldn’t know about normal. My orders were to conduct a thorough, a very thorough, check of this Prince for reliability and security risks.”

“Those were, indeed, Armsman chan Lofti’s instructions, Your Highness,” Councilor Dulan put in. “If the Prince was being controlled by Uromathia, we needed to know.”

“And by every check we’ve been able to apply,” the first councilor added, “Prince Howan Fai and the rest of the Eniath royal family are exactly as they present themselves: capable rulers of a small historically Uromathian nation fully independent of Emperor Chava’s control.”

Andrin thought she should have found that reassuring. She did, but she also didn’t. The man she’d begun to think of as her prince was eligible, but he might not be truly interested. Perhaps Howan Fai was just like the others at the ball, entranced by her title.

But no, he’d seemed to like her personally too. And Finena had liked him. The falcon didn’t warm even to trained falconers very easily, so Andrin counted several points in his favor for charming her feathered companion.

“I see,” she said wishing it were safe to talk to Howan Fai directly, “I suppose there’s really no way to find out if he has some ugly secrets and really enjoys torturing puppies or, or, really anything.”

Chan Lofti bowed deeply to her. “I can assure you, Your Highness, that he doesn’t.”

Andrin looked at him, her eyes unconvinced, and the Guardsman glanced at Dulan. The Internal Affairs Councilor looked back for a moment, then at the First Councilor. He raised one eyebrow and, after the briefest of hesitations, Taje nodded.

“Your Highness,” Dulan said carefully, “you’re probably aware the Imperial Guard possesses Talents about which the world in general knows little or nothing. Exactly what all of those Talents are is known only to the Emperor or Empress. Not even I know all of them. In this instance, however, I assure you that you can take Armsman chan Lofti’s word for it.”

Andrin looked back at chan Lofti, who smiled slightly.

“When I ask questions, I can get people to reveal quite a bit about themselves, Your Highness,” he said.

“I mentioned his conversation with his friends, Your Highness. My cover was as, ah, a server in one of the local restaurants-” for some reason, Andrin had the impression he’d chosen his words with some care “-which gave me an opportunity to speak to all of them. One of them was Prince Yertahla of Rylliath, and I can tell you that, unlike Prince Howan Fai, he’s a complete fool. Of course, he’s also only eighteen at the moment. In a few years, he might grow out of it, but he might not, either.”

“Thank you, chan Lofti.” Andrin scanned the table to see if anyone else had more questions for this member of the Imperial Guard. No one did.

“I think that will be all for now.” Councilor Dulan dismissed the man, and chan Lofti bowed himself out.

“And,” Dulan put in after a slight pause allowed the door to close firmly, “since the Conclave meeting is in only five days, the Council has formally recommended against your choosing Prince Yertahla, Your Highness.”

“What about Howan Fai?” Andrin asked.

Councilor Dulan said, “I’d welcome him into the Guard.” That was high praise indeed, but it wasn’t enough.

“And as Consort?” Andrin asked. “With all honor for the fine work the Imperial Guard does, I don’t need a protector. I need a Prince. Is he strong enough for this?”

“I believe he is, Your Highness,” Dulan replied. “He’s had some hard times in the past. Eniath’s struggle to remain independent from Uromathia hasn’t been easy on the Fai family, but I judge Howan Fai’s emerged from it all stronger rather than broken.”

“That’s good. That’s really good. But, can he handle being Consort? I’m-” Andrin blushed. “At least I think I’m trying to be rational about this. He’s really amazing, I mean, I like him. But I can’t make this choice just based on what I want. I have to choose a man who will be good for Sharona. The Gods know Janaki was expected to make a political marriage to help Ternathia, but now the stakes are so much higher. I can’t see, and I don’t mean Glimpses, though I’ve gotten niggles of warnings from that too, but I can’t see if this choice will ultimately work out.

“I can imagine Howan Fai as an emperor consort, but that shouldn’t be for years and years. Father will have plenty of time to train us both, I hope. It’s just that I’m coming to this late, too. Do you think he can learn? Sharona is so much bigger and more complicated than the single island of Eniath.”

Councilor Yamen coughed to gain her attention. The small birdlike woman specialized in accounts, finances, and banking concerns and provided the Privy Council with her insights on all things financial.

“While it’s true Eniath is small and has no physical holdings beyond the home universe, Your Highness, the people were originally nomads, with their range to the east of the Arau Mountains extending to the northern Uromathian coast. At one point Eniathian nomads ranged fairly far south as well. But in old history, several of Howan Fai’s many times great grandfathers kept his people free during the Uromath Unification Wars by giving up contested land. One branch of the Eniathians even moved entirely onto their boats when they had to abandon the Uromathian coastline. The Uromathian Empire formed without them, but they kept their independence, and if Eniath’s physical holdings now aren’t much larger than a postal stamp, their traders, merchants, and bankers are among the canniest anywhere. And, for that matter, as a people of travellers they’re quite literally every where. There are a few strongholds in the steppes and another couple on some northern islands, but the people of Eniath are still very nomadic at heart.”