Harry Turtledove - The Thousand Cities

«Influence because I'm his mother,» Denak said, looking down at the baby. «Not influence because I am who I am. Influence through a baby, influence through a man. It's not enough. I have wit enough to be a counselor to the King of Kings or even to rule in my own right. Will I ever have the chance? You know the answer as well as I do.»

«What would you have me do?» Abivard said. «Shall I ask the God to remake the world so it pleases you better?

«I've asked her that myself often enough,» Denak said, «but I don't think she'll ever grant my prayer. Maybe, in spite of what we women call her, the God is a man, after all. Otherwise, how could she treat women so badly?»

Sitting off in a corner of the room, the serving woman yawned. Denak's complaints meant nothing to her. In some ways she was freer than the principal wife of the King of Kings.

Changing the subject seemed a good idea to Abivard. «What did Sharbaraz say when he learned you'd had a son?» he asked.

«He said all the right things,» Denak answered: «that he was glad, that he was proud of me, that Peroz was a splendid little fellow and hung like a horse, to boot» She laughed at the expression on Abivard's face. «It was true at the time.»

«Yes, I suppose it would have been,» Abivard agreed, remembering how the genitals of his newborn sons had been disproportionately large for the first few days of their lives. «It surprised me.»

«It certainly did-you should have seen your jaw drop,» Denak said. She went on, «And how have you been? How has life been outside the walls of this palace?»

«I've been fairly well-not perfect but fairly well. We even beat the Videssians this year, not so thoroughly as I would have liked, but we beat them.» Abivard shrugged. «That's how life works. You don't get everything you want. If you can get most of it, you're ahead of the game. Maybe Sharbaraz is starting to see hat, too: I didn't know how he'd take it when we beat the Videssians without smashing them to bits, but he hardly complained about that.»

«He has some sort of scheme afoot,» Denak answered. «I don't know what it is.» The set of her jaw said what she thought about not knowing. «Whatever it is, he thought it up himself, and he's doubly proud of it on account of that. When he turns it loose he says, Videssos the city will tremble and fall.»

«That would be wonderful,» Abivard answered. «For a while there a couple of springs ago, I was afraid Mashiz would tremble and fall.»

«He says he's taken a lesson from the Videssians,» Denak added, «and they'll pay for having taught him.»

«What's that supposed to mean?» Abivard asked.

«I don't know,» Denak told him. «That's all he's said to me; that's all he will say to me.» Her thinned lips showed how much she cared for her husband's silence. «When he talks about this lesson, whatever it is, he has the look on his face he puts on when he thinks he's been clever.»

«Does he?» Abivard said. «All right.» He wouldn't say more with Ksorane listening. Sharbaraz was not stupid. He knew that. Sometimes the schemes the King of Kings thought up were very clever indeed. And sometimes the only person Sharbaraz' schemes fooled was Sharbaraz himself. Worst of all was the impossibility of figuring out in advance which was which.

«I'm glad he's-content with you,» Denak said. «That's much better than the way things have been.»

«Isn't it?» Abivard agreed. He smiled at his sister. «And I'm glad for you-and for little Peroz there.»

She looked down at the baby. Her expression softened. «I do love him,» she said quietly. «Babies are a lot of fun, especially with so many servants around to help when they're cranky or sick. But… it's hard sometimes to think of him as just a baby and not as a new piece of the palace puzzle, if you know what I mean. And that takes away from letting myself enjoy him.»

«Nothing is simple,» Abivard said with great conviction. «Nothing is ever simple. If living up by the nomads hadn't taught me that, the civil war would have, that or living among Videssians for a while.» He rolled his eyes. «You live among Videssians for while, by the end of that time you'll have trouble remembering your own name, let alone anything else.» Ksorane began to fidget. Abivard took that as a sign that he'd as much time with his sister as had been allotted to him He said his good-byes. The serving woman got up and served a conduit so Denak could pass him Peroz once more and he, after holding the baby for a little while, could pass it back again. He reached out his arms toward Denak, and she stretched the one not holding Peroz out to him. They couldn't touch. Custom forbade it. Custom was very hard. He felt defeated as he went out into the corridor.

Yeliif was waiting for him. Custom again, he thought-the beautiful eunuch had said as much. Abivard could have walked back alone, but having Yeliif with him now was more a mark of his status than a sign that he was something close to a prisoner.

As the two of them fell into stride, Abivard asked quite casually, «What sort of lessons has Sharbaraz King of Kings, may his years be many and his realm increase, taken from the Videssians?»

«Ah, you heard about that, did you?» Yeliif said. «From the lady your sister, no doubt.»

«No doubt,» Abivard agreed. They walked on a few steps, neither of them saying anything. Abivard poked a little harder: «You do know the answer?»

«Yes, I know it,» the beautiful eunuch said, and said no more.

«Well?»

Yeliif didn't answer right away. Abivard had the pleasure of seeing him highly uncomfortable. At last the beautiful eunuch said, «While I do know the answer, I do not know whether I should be the one to reveal it to you. The King of Kings would be better to that role, I believe.»

«Ah.» They walked along a little farther. By way of experiment Abivard shifted into Videssian: «Does the eminent Tzikas know this answer, whatever it may be?»

«No, I don't believe he does,» Yeliif answered in the same tongue, and then glared at him for being found out.

«That's something, anyhow,» Abivard said in relief.

«Sharbaraz King of Kings, may his days be long and his realm increase, considered it, but I dissuaded him,» Yeliif said.

«Did you? Good for you,» Abivard said; the beautiful eunuch's action met with his complete approval. Something else occurred to Abivard: «Did he by any chance tell Hosios Avtokrator?» He kept all irony from his voice, as one had to do when speaking of «Hosios»; though the King of Kings had gone through several puppet Avtokrators of the Videssians without finding any of them effective in bringing Videssians over to Makuran, he kept on trying.

Or he had kept on trying, anyhow. Matching Abivard in keeping emotion from his voice, Yeliif said, «Hosios Avtokrator-» He did not say, the most recent Hosios Avtokrator, either."-had the misfortune of suddenly departing this world late this past summer. The King of Kings ordered him mourned and buried with the pomp and circumstances he deserved.»

«Died suddenly, you say?» Abivard murmured, and Yeliif nodded a bland nod in return. «How unfortunate.» Yeliif nodded again. Abivard wondered whether the latest «Hosios,» like at least one of his predecessors, had shown an unwonted and unwanted independence that had worried Sharbaraz or whether the King of Kings had simply decided to give up serving as puppet-master.

Then a really horrid thought struck him. «The King of Kings isn't planning on naming Tzikas Avtokrator if we ever do conquer Videssos the city, is he? Please tell me no.» For once he spoke to the beautiful eunuch with complete sincerity.

«If he is, I have no knowledge of it,» Yeliif answered. That relieved Abivard, but less than he would have liked. The eunuch said, «Myself, I do not believe that policy would yield good results.» His doelike black eyes widened as he realized he'd agreed with Abivard.