William King - The Queen's assassin

Rik took his cue from Asea, keeping his face bland and blank and letting a slight smile quirk his lips. He tried to look as if he had grown up surrounded by such wealth and saw it every day when, in reality, the only time he had ever seen its like before was when he was burgling mansions in Sorrow.

Yet again he found himself valuing things as he walked along. The paintings, by Scorelle, were worth thousands each. The gold leaved frames could probably buy his clothes. These were mostly famous scenes from history — great battles and conflicts, the surrenders of rebel Generals to King Orodruine. Given the fractious and factional nature of Kharadrean politics, there was no shortage of such scenes in the nation's history, although the number of dragon-winged angels who beamed down on the King's victories rather punctured any pretensions to realism. If truth had been told, the impression given was entirely misleading. Orodruine had not been a warrior king, or a successful general. For a good deal of his long reign his realm had been a battleground on which the warring armies of Talorea and Sardea had clashed. For the rest of its history he had mostly been in thrall to coalitions of his over-mighty nobles. There was something about all the martial valour depicted here that made Rik think of the boasting of a drunken coward.

"Stop doing that," murmured Asea.

"Doing what?" he replied equally quietly.

"Assessing the value of the paintings if you were going to sell them to a fence." He suppressed a smile, knowing that this time her guesswork had only been partially correct.

"I'll try."

"Best try to do so before we come before the Queen. I doubt she will appreciate your appraising of her property."

"Judging by the length of this corridor I have a few more minutes to bring my cupidity under control."

As he said it he noticed one picture, showing a human being raised up by the King, and ennobled with a golden sash. The man wore a General’s gold-braided hat and was missing an arm and an eye. Rik knew this could only be Armand Koth, the legendary General who had finally expelled both Taloreans and Sardeans from Kharadrea. He had practically rewritten the manuals of military tactics too. For a brief dazzling moment it struck Rik that Koth had most likely walked these very corridors in the days of his glory before his sad death.

He was still dwelling on the thought as they entered the huge antechamber to Kathea's chambers. The servant swept them past the mass of courtiers and hangers-on waiting there and presented them to a tall, long-nosed Terrarch who bowed deeply and then banged on the door. As they waited for it to open Rik was all too aware of the number of eyes upon them. Once more he found himself uncomfortable under so much public scrutiny.

The doors opened from within. Rik caught a glance of a slightly smaller chamber, lit by a sorcerous chandelier, walls lined by paintings. Beneath each painting stood a tall Terrarch cavalryman in the dark green and black uniform of the Kharadrean Household Guard. On a throne on the dais at the far end of the room sat Queen Kathea. Her gorgeous green robes and the diadem on her head made her look far more regal than the somewhat bedraggled figure Rik had rescued from the Serpent Tower.

Slightly behind her on and her right sat Lord Azaar. In consideration of his illness, he was allowed to rest on a small, carved stool. His head cocked sardonically to one side as he saw Asea. She and Rik strode in, presented themselves as formalities required and servants slid the doors shut behind them.

As he looked up at the Queen, Rik was once more aware that she seemed uncomfortable with his presence. That made him wary. Kathea was to be numbered among the most powerful people in this land now, and soon she would be ruler of it. If he made her feel uneasy, she would soon be able to remove the uneasiness along with his head. At the moment, there was not a lot he could do about that. He could only stand there, his mouth dry and his stomach churning, and resist the urge to fiddle with the tight collar of his dress tunic.

Asea talked smoothly and well. She had a courtier's poise and a diplomat's gift for courtly language that Rik could only envy. The small talk concerning her majesty's health and other matters did not seem to bother her. The Queen expressed pleasure at her upcoming coronation and then surprised Rik by requesting that he talk in private with her. That caused quite a stir with the long-nosed chamberlain and the bodyguards. Only Asea and Azaar gave no sign of surprise, and he wondered if they had planned this between them. Eventually, Kathea over-rode the protests of her followers and he was shown into a small antechamber. Light filtered in from tiny barred windows, and he realised that even here, high up in the Palace, they were concerned with security. A small couch was placed under the windows and before it, in the light, was a table with a book on it and some refreshments. Not quite sure what he was supposed to do, Rik waited for a cue. The future Queen surprised him by sighing loudly, dropping onto the couch and removing one shoe.

"They pinch," she said, when she saw his expression. It was not what he had expected.

"The shoes, Your Serenity?"

"The shoes, Rik." She poured a goblet of wine for herself. She seemed to take pleasure in it. He doubted she got much of a chance to do such things for herself. She took a sip with evident relish and then said, "Where are my manners? Would you like some?"

"I think I should pour that, Your Serenity," he said, more because he thought it was the thing he should say, rather than because he wanted to.

"Don't be silly." She poured him some wine, and offered it to him with her own hand. He took it and thanked her.

"In another few months, I won't be able to do anything like this again. It will be beneath my queenly dignity, so I may as well take my chances now." She spoke regretfully as if this was something she would miss. Rik felt quite taken off guard.

"In a few months you will be crowned, Your Serenity."

"It's not something I need reminded of, Rik. Everyone conspires to do that constantly except for your Lord Azaar. He seems like a nice old fellow."

That was not quite how Rik would have described the General, but she was most likely seeing a different aspect of his personality than Rik ever would.

"May I ask why you wanted to talk with me, Your Serenity?"

"I wanted to thank you for saving my life."

"It was my duty, Your Serenity, as well as my pleasure," he lied glibly. It had been a time full of fear and desperation.

"It was an act of true heroism and I am grateful. You were very brave. It’s just that I don't remember much about it myself. It all happened so quickly. Did I behave badly?"

So that was what all this was about, and her nervousness too. She wondered what he was telling others about her behaviour. He thought he understood now why he made her so nervous.

"Your Serenity's behaviour was never less than queenly," he said. "There were times when only your bold example let me maintain my own composure."

"I thank you for the compliment."

"It was nothing less than your due, Your Serenity."

"Lady Asea tells me you are a young man of discretion."

"You may rely on that, Your Serenity."

"Then you may rely on my gratitude." They exchanged complicit smiles. Rik felt like they had reached an agreement, like two thieves in Sorrow's bazaar deciding on what to tell the Watch if they were caught.

She rose from the couch and placed her glass upon the table. He did the same. It was obvious the interview was over. She gestured and he held the door open for her. They emerged into the throne room and the chamberlain showed Rik from the room, leaving Asea with the future Queen and the General.