Finder: First Ordinance, Book One (7 page)

The tile depicted two crowns, one smaller than the other, so I had no idea which might belong to the Fyrisian King. One crown's design—the larger one—looked to have been scrubbed away, leaving the image hazy and difficult to make out. Perhaps the smaller one was the Queen's crown, and Omina might have worn it when she was in Lironis. Servants had not cleaned in a while and rain and dust had left swaths of soil across the tiled surface.

I leaned against the balustrade outside the turret and watched the waters to the north of the city. Fishing boats came in with their catch and I imagined that fish were being purchased as soon as the boats docked at the piers. These were no small vessels, after all, but larger ones, carrying up to twenty men who hauled in fish and crustaceans in heavy nets.

Crustaceans such as the Northern Sea could produce were not available in Lironis—there was no way to preserve them on the long journey to the south. Wolter often moaned about how good some of it was and wished he had it to prepare in his kitchen. It mattered not to me; I would not eat fish as well as meat.

"I wondered where you were." Amlis had found me. Why had he bothered to look? I dipped my head respectfully to him and turned back to watching fishing boats in the bay as well as traffic crossing an arched bridge to come into the city.

No wall stood around Vhrist's palace, and I wondered at that. The one surrounding the palace in Lironis was nearly as old as I, according to Wolter. He and Chen complained about it once, claiming that when men their age were younger, they'd run in and out of the Queen's garden, playing hiding games. Now, that was no longer possible—the wall was in the way and guards prevented the unauthorized from coming through.

"My mother plans to put you in the kitchens when you're better," Amlis stood at the balustrade within arm's reach. Why was he telling me this? It was something I'd already guessed. "She'll pay you a little. That's why I want you to take this." He produced the gray leather pouch of coins again. "It was not meant as an offense, or to belittle what you'd done for me, or to mitigate my or Rodrik's actions later. I hoped it would soften the blows." He held the pouch toward me. I turned my face away and kept watching the boats.

"Finder, you have so little. Your comb has half the teeth missing. If the innkeeper's wife had not offered you a new tooth cleaner, you wouldn't have that, either. Mother will have her dressmaker come soon and sew a blouse and skirt or two for you to wear. Use the money to buy something better. I hope you'll forgive me and Rodrik for not informing her and Rodrik's father that you saved our lives on the road."

Amlis set the money pouch on the balustrade at my elbow and turned to leave. "Take the money. Please." And then he was gone. I slipped the pouch into my pocket, but I had no immediate plans to spend it. I'd done without, most of my life. What did it matter, anyway?

* * *

On the sixth day, Rodrik's wife Beatris arrived, and Mirisa of Firith traveled with her. Beatris, dark-haired and blue-eyed, was pretty and a good match for Rodrik, I think, but there was a sadness in her. Using my gift, I determined that she'd lost a child two turns earlier and it grieved her still.

Rodrik seemed quite solicitous around her and I watched them with a bit of envy. Mirisa was Amlis' intended, I learned that soon enough, and she was quite high-handed with Omina's servants, ordering them about and demanding even the slightest thing be brought or carried or cleaned away.

She had no desire to do anything for herself, and I despised her immediately. She was pretty enough, with pale hair and brown eyes, but thought herself even more beautiful, and Amlis offered her as much attention as she could wish for. I kept away from Beatris and Mirisa as much as possible, as I was still recovering. My tiny room was exchanged for another in the servants' quarters, where I was fortunate enough to get another corner of a storage room. It seems that none of the other servants wished to have a mute as a roommate, so Omina found alternative quarters for me.

No books were stored in forgotten crates, however, and I missed that greatly. Therefore, it was luck that I found a few things inside what was considered Tamblin's old study—he'd used it on the few occasions he was in residence in Vhrist. Judging by the state of the room, I decided that he would no longer require it, so I slipped inside at times when no one was watching, to pull books from dusty shelves and read.

Just as those in Lironis, these books had pages and pages ripped away, but there were a few things that I hadn't read before, concerning the building of ships, netting of fish and trade between Vhrist, Vhoorth and their surrounding principalities. Yes, it might have been boring at times, but at least I had something to read. A few illustrations were scattered throughout some of the books, and it was fortunate that I was looking at those drawings one day when Omina caught me, frightening me terribly.

"No, you may look at the pictures if you like," she held out a hand. "Liron knows nobody else is going to look at any of this." She held hands on hips as she stared at the dusty shelves surrounding the room. I'd cleaned the dust off the desk; at least it was clean enough as I pored over old books.

"If you feel well enough, go ahead and clean this room and I'll allow you to look at any of the books you like. I warn you, not all of them are illustrated." She walked out then, while I followed her with my eyes. Even then, she thought me too stupid to know anything and nearly too stupid to understand what she'd said.

Two weeks later, I was pronounced fit for duty and the seamstress came to measure for blouses and skirts. Omina was present while the middle-aged woman worked, and informed her to allow the blouses to billow in the back to make room for what she called
nubs
. "Farin says they're growing, and he wants to see what happens if we leave them alone," Omina said.

Farin called them nubs instead of bone spurs? That information came with a bit of shock. I was grateful they wouldn't be cut away—that had always been painful and I didn't mind if my back wasn't perfect, although it would add to everyone's opinion that I was deformed.

What I didn't appreciate were the skirts—it was awkward and uncomfortable to work in the long things. I'd worn trousers as long as I could remember, all of them handed down from kitchen boys. Therefore, after my first week in the kitchens, when I was given a day off, I walked right out of Omina's palace and went into Vhrist, unerringly heading for the street that held tailors' shops. I knew where they were—I could find things, after all.

"You're the girl who came back with the Prince." Obviously tailors gossip just as much as chambermaids and kitchen help. "The one who can't speak. I'm Sofi," the woman held out a hand to me and squeezed my fingers lightly before letting go.

Sofi was still young—perhaps less than thirty, with soft brown hair braided down her back and brown eyes that offered a kind smile. A pincushion was tied to a wrist with ribbon and several pins stuck out of it at every angle.

"What can I do for you?" she asked. I pointed to a pair of trousers that were hanging in the back of her shop. They were of canvas, the fabric used to make trousers for the sailors in the harbor. The same material was used for ship's sails, except this version was dyed a deep black. Omina insisted that the maids wear black skirts, so I was having black trousers made instead.

"You want trousers?" her eyes raked my thin body, staring at the blue trousers I wore from the uniforms Nirok had sewn for me. They were in Amlis' colors, and Omina didn't want me to wear them.

Mirisa, too, glared every time she saw me if I wore Amlis' colors. Jealousy ate at her every moment, and I'd seen her beat a maid only that morning for walking out of Amlis' chamber after cleaning it.

Nodding at Sofi's question, I let her know that I wanted three pairs sewn and then tapped the purse Amlis had given me, silently inquiring about the price.

"Two silvers gets three pairs of trousers," Sofi said right away, and I knew that she wasn't attempting to cheat me—that was her normal price. I nodded and drew out the required coins.

"Auntie, I had a bad dream." A child walked into the room, rubbing her eyes. Sickly, she was, and very thin. Her hair, such as it was, was pale-brown and quite sparse. She was six, my ability informed me.
And dying
. Children and the elderly had little natural defense against whatever poisoned Fyris.

"Yissy, go into the kitchen. I will come soon and give you tea while I cook." Sofi attempted to shoo the girl away, worried that the child would frighten away clientele. I waved a hand in dismissal.

Come
, I whispered into Yissy's mind while I beckoned to the weak and sickly child.
We will keep a secret, you and I
.

"You are not obligated," Sofi began, but that was before Yissy cuddled into my arms as if she'd known me forever. What I did then I had only done twice before, and it was for animals.

Whatever it is, it feels as if I touch my spirit to theirs, healing the sickness pervading their body. Yissy was the first child brought within my reach that suffered from what sickened the land itself. I was determined to right what I could. I also sent as much love and caring as I could muster, but never having had that commodity for my own, I had no idea how much it might be.

"I will have the sewing done in six days," Sofi gently pulled Yissy away from my arms, staring at me as she did so. I shrugged and counted off eight days on my fingers—that would be when I would have time to come again. Sofi nodded at my wordless explanation. "Would you like tea?" she asked, pointing toward the back of her shop.

I shook my head, desiring to use what time I had left to explore Vhrist. Sofi held Yissy against her skirts as both watched me walk through the shop door and into the cobbled street beyond.

Many servants were allowed the eighth day of each week off, and used it to their advantage, making purchases for themselves and meeting friends and family as often as not. Most businesses were open on the eighth day, just for the custom of those not graced by noble birth.

As an orphan in the King's kitchens in Lironis, I'd never been allotted a day off before. I wanted to see ships firsthand and not from a distance, and look upon the birds that wheeled and called about the harbor. It smelled worse than I imagined it would when I arrived.

Chapter 6
 

Seabirds have a distinctive call that pierces the salt air, and I could hear them long before arriving at the harbor. The harbor itself smelled of fish guts and sour salt water. Perhaps it was fresher upon the open sea, but I might never discover that for myself, tied as I was to Lady Omina and her palace kitchen.

The water around the heavy, wooden ships was dirty, with bits of debris floating about. Sailors sat on decks, their feet dangling over the tall sides as they drank, laughed or played a musical instrument. Not all of them were talented. The birds fought over any edible bit that had the misfortune of falling overboard or had been tossed into the water as garbage.

Several sailors called out to me, and a few of those were quite vulgar in their language. Not that I hadn't heard such things before; I just hadn't had them shouted in my direction. Walking away from those as quickly as I could, I made my way upward toward the city and the palace. It had taken some time to get down to the harbor, and the climb back would take up even more of my day.

Exhaustion dogged my heels by the time I made my way into the side door that led into the kitchens. Gossip was as thick as the scent of cooking roast from the moment I entered. Mirisa had taken a poker to another chambermaid (presumably for staring too long at Amlis), and injured the girl, breaking a shoulder and a wrist. Now, Lady Omina was short a chambermaid; the injured girl had gone home to her mother after healer Farin had seen to the broken bones.

If Omina and Amlis could not see past the pretty façade that was Mirisa, then I pitied them both. Mirisa would not hold her blows back from anyone, once she had Amlis' vows and a ring on her finger. Perhaps Rodrik would step in and do Amlis' fighting for him, where Mirisa was concerned; the Prince wouldn't lift a finger to prevent her from abusing the staff.

The gossip was ignored after a while as I settled into a corner by the fireplace to eat a bowl of beans—this cook had little regard for one who refused meat. Chunks of carrot had been tossed in as an afterthought and that made me think of Runner and his love of the orange vegetable.

Should I have gone straight to my small space in the storage room? It would only have delayed the inevitable. "Ah, Finder, there you are." Lady Omina stood over me as I looked up at the sound of her voice. "Beginning tomorrow," the Lady had hands on hips as she tapped a shoe impatiently, "you will join the chambermaids and help clean the bedchambers. I have had no luck in finding another girl on such short notice."

Whirling, she walked away from me as I swallowed the bite in my mouth with difficulty, half-chewed as it was. She hadn't said it was temporary. Lady Omina hadn't indicated that she would still be looking for another girl so I might keep my somewhat safe place in the kitchen. No. That was not to be. This was her revenge against me for Farin's words. I would be under Mirisa's scrutiny if I came anywhere near Amlis or his bedchamber.

Sleep evaded me that night and I was wary as a stray cat as I went through my assignments the following day. The other four chambermaids, all having seniority, elected me to clean Amlis' chamber. Therefore, I watched carefully for Mirisa, waiting until she and Beatris walked out with Rodrik for some air before ghosting into Amlis' chamber to clean it and make up his bed. I did not expect to find Amlis at his desk inside his study, and he startled me when I stepped inside it to dust.

"She's out." He dipped a quill into an inkbottle and scratched across parchment. As I already knew that, I didn't even bother to nod, setting about dusting his bookshelves as quickly as possible. I also banked the fire in his fireplace, set out fresh towels beside his pitcher and basin and made up his bed.

He had fresh sheets already and Omina only wanted those changed weekly, so I was spared from spending extra time in his suite. I think his chamber was cleaned in record time and I was out and down the hall in another room before Mirisa returned to the family wing.

Her chamber was between Omina's and Beatris', on the opposite end of a long hall from that of Amlis and Rodrik. At least Beatris cared not that I also cleaned Rodrik's chamber, and he did not appear while I worked, which was much appreciated.

My first week went exactly the same, as I put off Amlis' chamber until Mirisa was absent, then cleaned it as quickly as I could, making sure that all was done and to his and his mother's satisfaction before moving on to Rodrik's and healer Farin's. The trip to Sofi's tailor shop came on my off day and I nearly skipped out of the palace, I was so glad to get away from the worry and burden of it. Sofi had my three pairs of trousers waiting, but there was something else waiting as well.

"You did so well by Yissy," Sofi tossed out a hand as I stared at the three who waited inside her shop. A pregnant woman, a sailor and an elderly man sat on chairs Sofi had scrounged from somewhere. Casting an angry and hurt look at Sofi, who'd obviously broadcast what she thought she knew, I went to the pregnant woman first.

Yissy, looking much better than she had, shuffled in and watched in a curious way as I put my hands on the woman's belly and then on her chest. Her breathing was more shallow than normal and the babe was heavy in her belly. "She has headaches and vomits," Sofi offered helpfully.

"I have pain here, too." The woman, dark haired and brown-eyed, begged me to relieve her suffering as she pointed to her right side, below the ribs. Sighing softly, I set out to do what I could.

The sailor came next—his complaint was, in his words, a cracked ankle. He did not explain what it was exactly that he'd done to crack his ankle, but I repaired it as best I could before moving on to the elderly man. His troubles all dealt with old age, and he knew that. He merely wanted a bit of relief from joint pain, so I gave him that. All three left Sofi's shop easier than they'd arrived, the pregnant woman wiping away tears of relief as she walked away.

After they'd gone, I made a motion to Sofi, telling her no more before snatching up my new trousers and walking out of her shop. I took no walks for pleasure that day, going straight back to the palace carrying my new clothing with me. None of the three had thought to thank me, but they'd thanked Sofi profusely. Had I the propensity, I imagined I'd be muttering angrily as I walked toward the servants' entrance to the palace.

* * *

"Today, we dust under beds," the eldest chambermaid announced as I and the other three arrived for our morning chores the following day. My heart thumped heavily in my chest—dusting beneath the beds meant extra time spent within the chambers and increased the risk that Mirisa would catch me inside Amlis' bedroom.

The floor would have to be carefully cleaned afterward, as the dust permeated the stone floor and the rugs scattered throughout the chambers. Diligently I watched, waiting for Mirisa to vacate the family wing. Instead, she chatted with Beatris while they sewed in the receiving room halfway between the men's and women's quarters.

A kitchen servant brought a mid-morning tidbit for both ladies as they tittered and gossiped. I cleaned Rodrik's chamber. I cleaned Farin's after that, and still Mirisa sat and did little while she and Beatris had luncheon together. Two more cleaned chambers later, there was no help for it; Amlis' was the only one left that I hadn't cleaned. Keeping my head down, I walked inside, pulled my rags from the bucket I carried and dived beneath Amlis' bed.

* * *

"If she carried a knife or wielded a blade, I'd think her as bad as Yevil," Rodrik huffed as he and Amlis sparred outside the guards' barracks.

"She is our link to Firith's cohorts," Amlis snapped, thwacking his blade against Rodrik's. "I give her as much attention as I possibly can, and still she glares at the maids. They're afraid to come into the same room as it is, and I have certainly stopped looking in their direction, but that does not stay Mirisa's anger. Would that we could protect ourselves without her father's men."

"Parry with the flat of your blade, my Prince," Rodrik instructed as they backed away for a breather.

"I'm just so damned frustrated. What is my life to be like, Rodrik, when I'm married to the sow?"

* * *

"Brin, this hinges upon you," Timblor handed the dagger to his personal servant. Brin, his square face expressionless, nodded his understanding and hid the dagger inside his new, red tunic. The tailor had designed the padded jacket with pockets inside at Timblor's request, after Timblor explained that he could not carry everything he required at all times.

Servants were not allowed to carry weapons, and certainly not within the royal palace. Only the guard could carry swords or knives, and never in the presence of the King or his sons. Yevil was the only exception, as he often guarded the King.

Nirok the tailor, thinking Brin might carry flasks of wine or eating utensils for the Prince, sewed the required pockets without question. He never imagined his clothing might be used to conceal a dagger.

That morning, sunlight shone through the clear panes of glass lining a wall of Timblor's study. Like Tamblin's, there were no books, but several ancient swords, shields and daggers graced the walls, amid a tapestry or two depicting centuries-old battles.

Timblor had laid his plan as carefully as he could, but it needed an accomplice—a trusted guard or personal servant. Timblor suspected all the guards of being under Yevil's thumb, so Brin was the final and logical choice.

"I will do as you ask, my Prince," Brin dipped his head as was required.

"Good. Ready?"

Brin nodded silently.

"Good."

* * *

The old physician was dead. Wolter had gone to his quarters in the minor nobles' wing and watched as servants carried the body out. For ninety turns, the physician had tended to the illnesses and broken bones of the palace, and now there was no apprentice to take his place.

The last one died after doing an apprenticeship in the countryside surrounding Lironis. He'd returned to the palace with a wheezing cough that had turned into something more dire, and the physician could not cure it. The man had died before the age of thirty, and the physician at that point had been too old and too blind to take on another trainee.

"What will we do now?" Chen appeared at Wolter's elbow, whispering the question that servant and noble alike, all of them lined up outside the physician's chambers, were asking.

"Without," Wolter snapped and stalked away, striding toward the kitchens and the midday meal his assistants were preparing.

* * *

"Put these away," one of many laundresses for the palace demanded as I, covered in dust, crawled from beneath Amlis' bed. A pile of freshly washed and ironed shirts, trousers and underclothing was thumped onto Amlis' bed by her and a younger girl working as an apprentice in the palace laundry.

The woman, haughty enough for one of her station, huffed away, as anxious to leave the Prince's chamber as I was. Nervously glancing about, her apprentice almost stepped on her mistress' heels in her haste to follow. Now there was another task to accomplish; one that had to be done before I made up the Prince's bed.

Wiping the dust away from my blouse as carefully as I could first, I lifted the pile of shirts and carried it to the Prince's armoire, meticulously stacking the clothing inside on the proper shelves. Amlis' page in Vhrist was quite particular in how everything was done and I knew, although many did not, that he did not prefer women.

Truly, Mirisa should expend some of her jealous rages upon Heeth instead of frightened maids. After all, Heeth was with the Prince more often than most others. It was while I was placing the Prince's underclothes in a designated drawer that Mirisa came, and the beating she delivered I will never forget.

* * *

"Amlis, say nothing. We need Firith; that is the only reason I agreed to the match." Omina insisted, glaring at her second-born as they stood inside Omina's private study. The rectangular room was lined with shelves of books, and hidden here and there between other, more innocuous titles, lay complete tomes of history, geography and royal lineages.

Rodrik leaned against an edge of the fireplace, built of massive stones quarried from the hills to the east of Vhrist, watching as Amlis complained to his mother for the first time of his father's selection for his wife.

"She was putting away laundry, for Liron's sake, and Mirisa beats her for touching my underclothes?" Amlis shouted. "Heeth was with me in the courtyard, Mother, and the laundry was left on the bed. What else was she supposed to do?"

"She's a servant. You forget your place," Omina hissed. "What does it matter if a girl gets beaten, Amlis? Answer me that, when Firith's swords hang in the balance."

"Then I suggest you find a boy from somewhere, to clean Amlis' chamber from now on." Farin hadn't joined the conversation until then, settling for watching and listening as Rodrik had.

"But we only have the boys that clean fireplaces," Omina tossed up her hands. "Are you suggesting I put one of them to cleaning Amlis' chambers?"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting." Farin was angry for the first time in a very long time. "Omina, I tire of treating wounds created by Mortin's bitch whelp. It is difficult enough to treat those that arise from accidents."

"How bad is she?" Rodrik thought to ask.

"A break in the forearm. A knee twisted as she attempted to get away from Mirisa and Mirisa grabbed an ankle to pull the girl back. Many bruises, some broken open and bleeding. I believe we should not leave pokers within easy reach of Mirisa of Firith. I wonder that Mortin has any servants left at all," Farin replied.