David Drake - The Gods Return

You remember me telling you about him? Oh, I'm so happy!" "And this is Mistress Ilna, father," said the prince. "She's even more wonderful than I'd thought when we saw her through the glass." The older man bowed, then rose with his hands extended; that seemed to be the fashion among these people. Ilna was uncomfortable with the idea of being embraced by strangers, though this time the distance made it symbolic. "Ilna and Ingens, I'm King Perus," he said. "We're honored by your visit. I've had refreshments laid out, and I hope you'll be able to stay with us for a few days to see every part of our little kingdom." "Oh, father!" said the princess, leading Ingens up the two broad steps to the porch. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could stay with us always? That would be marvelous!" "We've come to find Master Hervir and return with him," said Ilna harshly. "If you'll please bring him out, we won't trouble you further." "But mistress…,"

Perus said, turning his palms up in apparent consternation. "Hervir was only with us for a few hours, and that was weeks ago." "I thought if we brought Ilna to the valley," said Perrin, "and showed her everything, then she could be sure Hervir is no longer here." "It's understandable," his sister added sadly. "Things are so terrible in the outer world that even decent people-" "Wonderful people!" Perrin put in. "-like Ingens and Mistress Ilna have to doubt the word of those they meet." "Well, at the very least," said Perus, gesturing toward the open door with both hands, "do take refreshment with us. As I'm sure you've noticed, though one's mind perceives the journey from your world to ours as merely a blink of time, your body is aware that much greater effort was required." "Thank you," said Ingens, bowing to Perus as he followed Perrine into the house. "I'm indeed hungry and thirsty. And very tired as well." "Mistress?" said the prince.

"Please, whatever you wish will be granted. But at least do us the courtesy of letting us try to demonstrate our valley's innocence."

Ilna grimaced again. She'd come to find out where Hervir was. Buried under a pistachio tree, might well be the answer, but she had no evidence even of that as yet. Further, shewas hungry and thirsty. And tired. The sun was low over the western end of the valley, and her weariness was as great as if she'd been walking the whole time from morning when they entered the grove till the evening which was falling here. "Yes, thank you," Ilna said, forcing herself to be polite. She was here by her own decision, not because the prince and his family had forced her. She mounted the steps and walked briskly into the building, again ignoring Perrin's offered arm. A broad hallway pierced the middle of the house, drawing a breeze from the hills. The archways opening off the main hall were open also; the walls above were a filigree of fine masonry, joined by tiles with swirling designs in blue and white. The patterns weren't writing in any form Ilna had seen before, but she was sure they had meaning. She smiled wryly.

Everything had meaning. Everything was part of a pattern, if you were only wise enough to recognize it. She was better at that than most people were, but she didn't pretend that she was very good. "We have wines and a light repast waiting in the arbor," said Perus, following them down the hall. His silk slippers whispered on the cool flooring, making no more sound than Ilna's bare soles did. At least the floor was tile, not stone. Apes, all of them silent and wearing livery, waited or cleaned in some of the rooms she passed. Occasionally one happened to look in her direction, but even then they didn't appear to register the presence of a visitor. The arbor was a frame of braided pillars and brick arches covering a grassy lawn. The broad leaves of the grape vines planted at the base of each pillar shaded the ground, but many tiny droplets of sunlight leaked through. When Ilna looked up, she could see the hills rising steeply only a stone's throw away.

In the center of the lawn was a low table. Instead of chairs, cushions had been laid along both sides and at the far end; apes waited behind each of the five places. Fruit and nutmeats waited on platters, and in a water-filled tub of brass and copper stood a tall earthenware jug.

Ilna looked more closely at the tub. Chips of ice floated in the water. "We bring ice down from the peaks to make sherbets and cool our wines," said King Perus, noticing Ilna's surprise. "Mistress Ilna?" said Perrin. He lifted the wine-thief, a deep-bellied ladle with a long vertical handle, from the narrow throat of the jug. "Allow me to serve you myself." He filled a goblet, then handed it to her with a bow. "Our finest vintage," he said, "for the most lovely woman ever to enter our valley." Ilna frowned. Ingens was frowning also, she noticed, though no doubt-and the thought brought a hard smile back to her lips-for different reasons. She sipped as Perrine showed the secretary how to recline alongside her on the cushions. The first touch of the wine seemed all right-too thick and too strong, but wine was normally diluted for drinking in those parts of the Isles where it was the usual beverage. Ilna swallowed. Before she took a second sip she noticed the aftertaste of the first and grimaced. She put the goblet on the table and said, "I'm sorry, I don't have a taste for wines. Do you have ale? I'm not-" What did she mean to say? I'm not rich? I'm a poor orphan who drank stale beer most of the time but water often because she couldn't afford anything better. Though nobody in Barca's Hamlet had drunk wine. "Ale?" said Perus. "Why, no, we don't brew any kind of beer in the valley." "Water, then," said Ilna. She was beginning to become irritated. She'd never have demanded something rare or expensive for her meals, but it ought to be possible to get something simple even in a palace. "I'm so embarrassed, Mistress Ilna," Perrine said. She'd taken a filled goblet from an ape and was holding it for Ingens as he drank. "You see, the water here isn't safe. Our servants, I'm afraid, aren't very fastidious about their natural functions." "We have other wines, Ilna," the prince said with a worried expression. "Perhaps you'd like a white?" Now shewas irritated. She took the goblet waiting at Perrin's place and scooped it full of melt water from the brass tub. "I trustthis is safe?" she said, then drank deeply before her hosts managed a reply. "Well, yes, if that's what you want, Ilna," the prince said after an exchange of silent looks with the rest of his family. "Whatever you like, of course." "Thank you," Ilna said, refilling the goblet. "And if you don't mind, I'll sit instead of lying down. I've never learned to eat one-handed on my side, and I have no desire to make myself foolish in front of you." "Of course, mistress," Perus said. He sounded gracious, but he had the look of a man who'd been kicked in the stomach. "Our only wish is for you to be comfortable here." "And to convince you of our good intentions," Perrin said with his usual smile. "We'll do anything we can to achieve that." As Ilna sat primly, Ingens said,

"Well, I must say I like your wine very much, King Perus. I don't believe I've ever drunk a finer one." He glared across the table at Ilna as an ape refilled his goblet. She ignored him and took a pear from the tray before her. "Try this plum, Ilna," the prince said, plucking one from another tray. He took out a knife with a tiny gold blade and added, "Here, I'll peel it for you. I think you'll find it amazingly sweet." "Thank you," Ilna said, making an effort to prevent the words from accurately reflecting her thoughts at the moment. Could they notleave her alone?"This pear is delicious." Indeed, it was. So was the hard-boiled egg whose yolk had been ground with spices before being returned to the cup of its white. The ape serving her was silent and alert, bringing bowls of water to cleanse her fingers between courses. Rose petals floated in them. The lace table covering and the napkins which followed the finger bowls were linen. Their quality was as good as anything Ilna had seen that she hadn't woven herself. As for the food-food wasn't important to her, but craftsmanship was. The cooks in this valley were as skilled as the weavers. The base of all the dishes was mutton, rice, and lentils, but the spices turned what might have been simple fare into remarkable works of art. The prince kept offering her dainties. Ilna kept refusing, as politely as one could be in the situation. Perrin was trying to use her courtesy as a way to bully her to his will, which of course made her more coldly certain in her refusals. Ilna smiled. She was treating it as a game, she supposed. If she stopped feeling that it was a game, she'd snatch the pattern from her sleeve and display it. She hadn't picked out the knots. Apes hung lanterns whose parchment screens had been dyed in attractive pastels. The sun had dropped below the rim of the mountains and the sky had faded enough for stars to appear. The constellations weren't familiar to her. The servants brought pistachios, shelled and arranged in swirling patterns on their silver trays. As they carried them away after the guests had eaten, King Perus said, "I've had rooms prepared for you. It wouldn't be entirely safe to return to your own world after sunset, though of course you're welcome to do so if you prefer." "Oh, I hope you'll stay," said Perrine, covering one of the secretary's hands with her own. "Oh, please stay, Ingens." "Of course!" Ingens said. He'd drunk a fair amount. There was a challenge in his tone as he went on, "It's my duty to stay until we find Hervir.