There's something inherently peaceful in that muffled whiteness. Mother Nature placing a new canvas on her easel in preparation for spring colors. And like her, I find creating during a snowfall inspirational.
----------
Our carriages rolled through the Temple District and climbed the steep hill to the royal palace. The street zigzagged to make it easier on the horses and other beasts of burden. After I gave myself my peculiar sight, I watched my fellow novices from the other eleven Temples run up and down this very road while I was confined to my quarters. As part of my punishment after I was allowed to attend lessons again, I was ordered to join the sighted novices in their exercise.
Because of the sharp rise in altitude of the hill, the walls surrounding the royal estate sat well below the palace itself. It was the first time I visited the royal home since I’d left Standora to ride circuit in the eastern half of the Duchy of Orrin. From here, the queen and her advisors could see the entire Bay of Standora. Even for me, the view was quite spectacular as I climbed out of the prince consort’s carriage.
The hills surrounding the bay rose sharply from the water. Reinforced terraces kept the buildings, parks, and gardens from sliding into the frigid waters below. With the coming of spring, caravels had resumed their travels through the narrow passage of the bay to the Peaceful Sea while sailboats and ferries crisscrossed to the opposing sides of the bay. The smaller watercraft allowed people and goods to continue their land journeys north, south, and east by foot or animal. On tiny White Island near the entrance to bay, a combined watchtower and lighthouse rose in a slim golden column against the purple-blue of the water.
“Chief Justice?” the prince consort said.
I turned to him and inclined my head. “My apologies, Your Highness. I haven’t seen the view from here in a long time.”
“You may gaze at the sights afterward.” He smiled, amused at my distraction. “The queen awaits.”
“Of course.” I followed him and Luc up the steps and through the main doors of the palace. Our wardens followed close behind. I hoped the prince hadn’t been too rough with them. My actions often took them by surprise, so I couldn’t fault them for not reacting until I was a block away from the royal carriages. I hoped the prince hadn’t given them a tongue-lashing for my actions.
If he had, Jonata would be sure to mention it later in private. The normally quiet warden had become quite vocal during our mission to Jing and back. What I’d taken for shyness had been her studying the relationships within Balance before speaking out. But I had no doubts about her loyalty. After the fiasco with my birth mother at Love, I had to truthspell everyone at Balance, including poor Jonata after she arrived to replace Aglaia. My newest warden had responded with grace instead of resentment.
The oddness of the palace atmosphere intruded on my musings. Even with the tall windows pulling light inside from every direction around the hilltop palace, a darkness cloaked the place and the people. The staff murmured in hushed tones, and only spoke when they must. There was none of the gaiety I remembered under Queen Teodora’s reign. Nor did this uneasy quiet feel like grief.
While Queen Chiara was slightly more serious than her mother prior to Teodora’s death, the somber mood didn’t match our new queen’s usual passion either. We had many talks while Queen Chiara and the prince consort sorted out the timeline and the post-fight analysis of the Battle of Tandor. A suspicion murmured in the back of my mind that the solemnity in the palace and the extra grieving banners were connected.
Luc and I followed Prince White Eagle across the palace’s great hall. I wished I could borrow Luc’s sight for a moment to see the details on the tapestries that lined the walls. They described the history of the Chumash people and the coming of the Toscans and Britons to help rebuild after the demons' devastating attack centuries ago. But viewing them for the first time in my life was not to be.
At least, not at the moment with the prince consort’s swift strides.
The prince led us through a door on the right side of the great hall and down another corridor to a receiving room. I’d never been past the public area of the fortress before. The private area’s décor was nearly as austere as that of a Temple of Balance.
A simple large round wooden table sat in the middle of the room. A huge iron chandelier hung over the table, but no alabaster Light globes currently sat on the sockets meant for them. Windows on the southern wall overlooked the central courtyard where the staff worked. Generally, there was laughter. People entertained each other with stories and songs while they went about their tasks. The relative quiet was very odd when the majority of folks down there were Chumash.
Having grown up in Issura, I thought of myself more Chumash than Diné, even though I had no Chumash blood as far as I knew. If I did, it would have come from my maternal grandfather’s line, and Kam was rather sure the majority of his ancestors were Britons from the diaspora with the exception of his own maternal grandmother who was Toscan. He claimed to get his love of fine cooking from her.
To my great relief, neither Reverend Mother Alara of Balance nor Reverend Father Farrell of Light were present in the room when we entered. However, Reverend Father Grey Shadow of Thief was already seated, along with Reverend Mother Sxa’min of Love and High Sister Imala, the projected favorite to replace the leader of their Temple, Reverend Father Ninumu of Knowledge, and Reverend Mother Brigid of Vintner. And of course, their chief wardens. Prince White Eagle quickly made the introductions. No sooner had Luc and I taken our seats the prince indicated next to him when the door opened once again.
Queen Chiara swept into the room. Unlike the gowns her mother preferred, she wore a cotton tunic and leggings along with sturdy boots. The wardens stood at attention as did the two royal guards. The rest of us rose to our feet and bowed. What I didn’t expect was the gigantic dog at the queen’s side. It was easily the size of a small pony. Except…
I cocked my head at the subtle sensation of intelligence in the huge beast’s eyes. A Wildling, I realized. His talent was just underneath obvious perception.
“Sit down,” the queen commanded. “We have too much to discuss to waste the time on frivolity and egos. My love, if you would?”
I half-expected the Temple leaders to be taken aback by the queen’s cavalier attitude. Instead, all of them broke out in grins. Even Luc smirked a bit. We all resumed our seats while the prince warded the room.
When he finished and sat next to his wife, Queen Chiara addressed me.
“Anthea, I don’t get into Temple business—” Her statement elicited chuckles from everyone at the table but me. Even the Wildling laughed like a dog, with his tongue lolling out of the side of his muzzle. “—why didn’t you file formal charges against Ogusuku?”
I shrugged. “It was unnecessary. His true goal was to undermine Reverend Mother Fumiko. When I accidentally fell into a demon hole in Naha, it gave him ammunition to use against her.”
“I wouldn’t worry about Ogusuku, Your Majesty,” Reverend Father Grey Shadow murmured. “With the outcry on Anthea’s behalf, Thief has removed him from office.”
His tone sent a chill down my spine. Ogusuku wasn’t just removed as Ryukyu’s Reverend Father of Thief. He was dead, his ashes scattered Balance knew where.
“Is Reverend Father Biming to be removed as well?” I asked. Surely, Shi Hua would have said something in our weekly talks if he’d been fatally reprimanded by his fellow Reverend Fathers of Thief.
“Should he be?” Grey Shadow’s right eyebrow rose.
I consider my next words carefully since a man’s fate hung on them. “Biming’s purpose has always been to protect Emperor Po. And frankly, no one had ever come back from a demon hole, so I would have had the same suspicions he did. However, he backed off his accusations after I was initially truthspelled. Ogusuku did not. Plus, Reverend Mother Xiang also asked if I was sure I didn’t want to file charges. As I told her, if I weren’t on a diplomatic mission on behalf of the queen of Issura, I would consider it. But Queen Teodora ordered me to get Emperor Po home safely for his coronation. Queen Chiara didn’t countermand that order. To my mind, his safety and that of Empress Shi Hua took precedence over any slight against me.”
I turned to the queen. “Or am I incorrect?”
The corners of the queen’s mouth curved. “You really should have been in Thief.”
“That would not be a good idea, Your Majesty,” I said. “Thief requires subtlety, and I’m about as subtle as a bull in heat.”
The Temple leaders and the prince roared with laughter. Luc, the royal guards, and the wardens snickered. My statement even drew a real smile from the queen.
“We’ll discuss matters regarding Jing later, Anthea.” Queen Chiara sobered. “We have a new problem.”
“The spate of deaths after the loss of your mother.”
“Including my mother.” The queen turned to Reverend Mother Brigid. “Do you have a sample from the shipment you confiscated?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The Reverend Mother pulled a glass vial from a pocket inside her robes. “Whatever you do, Anthea, Luc, please don’t pull out the cork.” She handed the vial to Luc.
I laid a hand on his shoulder and examined the contents through his eyes and my own odd sight before I looked at the Reverend Mother. “I don’t understand. It looks like pain powder.”
“That’s what civilians thought when they took a dose.” Her eyes shimmered with yellow tears. “It’s concentrated soma tears boiled down to a powder form. Only a few grains will kill a child under five winters, elderly adults, or those already in ill health.”
Fury flowed from Queen Chira. “Queen Teodora took a small amount of pain powder every night to ease her joint pain enough to sleep. But with her weak heart, the concentrated tears killed my mother before any of us knew what was happening.”
