Robert Salvatore: Mortalis

Francis nodded, indicating that Braumin should go on.

"We must speak privately about this," Braumin answered and turned to the King. "But the College of Abbots will succeed in its task of appointment, and of the correct appointment for the times. I assure you, your Majesty."

"As we have come to agree on the new abbot of St. Precious," Je'howith added, surprising everyone. "Master Francis, with great generosity and foresight, has abdicated the post, and plans to nominate…" He paused and motioned to Francis.

"I had th-thought that Brother Braumin," Francis stuttered, obviously caught off his guard. "Once he has been formally proclaimed as master…"

"Yes," they heard Brother Talumus say with enthusiasm.

"Immaculate Brother Braumin will become interim abbot of St. Precious within the week," Abbot Je'howith insisted, "and we will formalize that appointment as soon as we have heard any assenting or dissenting arguments."

King Danube looked at Braumin, and the monk shrugged. "If asked to serve, I would not refuse," he said.

Danube nodded, apparently satisfied with that. He paused then and put his chin in his hand, his gaze drifting off to nowhere in particular. All the rest of the people around the table likewise quieted in deference to the King, and Pony understood then that Danube was in control here and that the brothers of the Abellican Church would do well to disturb him not at all. The less King Danube needed to turn his gaze toward the Church, the better the Church would survive.

Danube remained apparently distant for a long while-Pony got the distinct feeling that the man was testing the patience of those around him, waiting to see if anyone would dare to speak. Finally, he sat up straight and stared at Pony.

"And is your decision-or shall I call it your compromise? — Brother Braumin, that it will be a man or a woman who heads the Abellican Church? " Danube asked.

Pony, embarrassed as she was, didn't turn away but met Danube's stare.

"Unless Abbess Delenia of St. Gwendolyn makes a bid for the position of mother abbess, it will be a man," Braumin answered.

"And Abbess Delenia would have no chance of assuming leadership of the Church, even should she so desire it," a bristling Abbot Je'howith was quick to add.

The man's tone made Pony glance his way, trying unsuccessfully to determine whether he was upset because of the mere suggestion that a woman might head the Church or because King Danube had asked the question of Brother Braumin instead of him.

"So you have refused the offer, then," Danube said to her as she turned back to him. "The Abellican Church hands you one of the most powerful positions in all the world, and you turn it down? "

"Brother Braumin and others offered to sponsor me as a candidate for mother abbess," Pony corrected, "but many others within th^e Church would have rejected such a proposal. It is a fight I choose not to wage, and the leadership of the Church is a position I do not feel that I have earned."

"Well said," said Je'howith, but Danube cut him short with an upraised hand.

"You underestimate your charisma, Jilseponie," the King went on, "and your accomplishments and potential accomplishments. I doubt not at all that the Abellican Church would fare well under your guidance."

Pony nodded her thanks for the somewhat surprising compliment.

"But perhaps Je'howith's and the others' loss might become my gain," the King went on. "Since you have chosen to reject the offer of the Church, I ask again if I might somehow persuade you to accept the barony of Palmaris."

Pony looked down and sighed. Everybody wanted her in his court. She understood the attention-she was a hero among the common folk now, and those common folk had been doing more than a litde grumbling about the King, and especially about the Church, of late-but she could not believe how much faith these leaders were willing to place in her. "What would I know of ruling a city, my King? "

Danube burst out into laughter-too much so, it seemed to Pony and to several others who, she noticed, were glancing nervously around, particularly Duke Kalas and Constance Pemblebury, who were both scowling.

And when she thought about it, Pony wasn't surprised. Kalas, after all, had hinted at some amorous feelings for her, and Constance was the King's favorite. Had Danube's exaggerated laughter just put Pony into the middle of some intrigue with those two?

She sighed and looked away, back at Brother Braumin, who was staring at her nervously.

Pony gave in and started laughing as well.

"So you agree that your statement was absurd?" Danube was quick to ask. "What would Jilseponie know of leadership indeed!"

"No, your Majesty," Pony replied. "I laugh because I cannot believe…" She stopped and just shook her head helplessly. "I am not suited to be baroness, or for any other rank you wish to bestow upon me," she said, "as I am not suited to be mother abbess of a Church whose policies and intricacies I hardly understand."

"Nonsense," Danube declared, but Pony was shaking her head even as he barked out the word. "Nobility runs in your blood," the King went on, "if not in your lineage, and your ascent to the court of Honce-the-Bear would prove most beneficial."

Still she shook her head.

The King stared at her long and hard then, another uncomfortable moment, and then he gave a helpless sigh. "I see that I shall not convince you-no, Jilseponie Wyndon, you are one of extraordinary character and determination."

"Stubborn," Brother Braumin dared to interject, breaking the tension.

Again the King laughed. "But in a manner suited to heroes," he said. "A pity that you'll not change your mind, and truly a loss for both of us, eh, Abbot Je'howith?"

"Indeed," the old abbot said unconvincingly.

Pony continued to alternate her gaze between the King and his two secular advisers, and neither of them stopped staring at her for one moment.

"Palmaris will be in firm and fine control," the King went on, addressing the whole of the gathering again. "Duke Kalas will stay on as ruler, for as long as he feels necessary. Also, because of the continuing hostilities outside of Palmaris' wall with the powries, goblins, and even reports of giant bands roaming the region, he will keep half the AUheart knights. That should suffice to allow the folk of Palmaris some peace of mind."

Pony glanced at Francis and Braumin and the other young monks, their distress showing her that they understood well the meaning of the King's decision. Danube didn't fear any goblins or powries or giants, for Palmaris' garrison had proven itself time and again in the war against them. No, when the King spoke of potential enemies, he was subtly referring to those enemies Duke Kalas might face from within, particularly from St. Precious. The Allheart knights would make Chasewind Manor a veritable fortress and would strengthen Duke Kalas' influence tremendously.

At first, Pony, too, was more than a little distressed by the news. Privately, at least, she found herself siding with Brother Braumin; she did believe in the man and his cause. That admission nearly made her speak up then, announcing that she had changed her mind and that she would accept an offer to join the Church, not for the position of mother abbess but as an adviser to Brother Braumin in his new position of abbot of St. Precious. Almost-but even as she considered the action, Pony thought of Elbryan and her lost child, thought of the futility of it all, the waste of effort to battle enemies that seemed to her, at that moment, eternal.

She kept silent; indeed, she turned inward through the rest of the meeting. No further surprises came forth, from either Danube or the monks, and their business was quickly concluded. Pony did note the glare that Constance Pemblebury bestowed on her as they were leaving the audience hall, a scowl that deepened tenfold when King Danube took Pony's hand and kissed it, expressing his gratitude yet again for her actions and her sacrifice and proclaiming that Honce-the-Bear was a better place by far because of Jilseponie and Elbryan, Avelyn Desbris and the centaur, Bradwarden, Roger Lockless, and-to Pony's and everyone else's absolute surprise-because of the quiet working of the Touel'alfar.