Magician (116 page)

“In truth they were,”
agreed Kasumi. “Such a reception on our homeworld would have
been impossible, but here . . .”

“Still,” continued Laurie,
“they seemed to take it in stride. The men have developed a
rapid appreciation for Kingdom wines and ale, and they’ve even
managed to overcome their distaste for tall women.”

Kasumi looked away with an embarrassed
smile on his face. Laurie said, “Our dashing Knight-Captain was
guested a week ago by one of the richer merchant families—one
seeking to develop broader trade with the West. He has since been
seen often in the company of a certain merchant’s daughter.”

Katala laughed, and Pug smiled at
Kasumi’s embarrassment Pug said, “He was always a quick
student.”

Kasumi lowered his head, cheeks
flushed, but grinning broadly. “Still, it is a hard thing
learning that your countrywomen have such freedom. Now I see why you
two were always so strong-willed. You must have learned from your
mothers.”

Laurie’s attention was diverted
by someone approaching. Pug noticed a look of open admiration upon
the singer’s face. The magician turned and was greeted by the
sight of a beautiful young woman approaching with a guard escort.
Pug’s eyes widened as he recognized Carline. She was as lovely
a woman as her girlhood had promised. She came up to them and with a
wave of her hand dismissed the guard. She looked regal in a fine
green gown, with a pearl-studded tiara crowning her dark hair.

“Master magician,” she
said, “have you no greeting for an old friend?”

Pug bowed before the Princess, and
Kasumi and Laurie did also. Katala curtseyed as she had been shown by
one of the maids. Pug said, “Princess, you flatter me by
remembering a simple keep boy.”

Carline smiled, with a gleam in her
blue eyes “Oh, Pug . . . you were never a simple anything.”
She looked past him to Katala. “Is this your wife?” When
he nodded and introduced them, the Princess kissed Katala’s
cheek and said, “My dear, I had heard you were lovely, but the
reports my brother gave did you little justice.”

Katala said, “Your Highness is
gracious.”

Kasumi had returned to his nervous
posture, but Laurie stood unable to take his eyes from the young
woman in green Katala had to grip his arm firmly to recapture his
attention. “Laurie, will you show Kasumi and me about the
palace a little, before the ceremonies begin?”

Laurie smiled broadly, bowed to the
Princess, and accompanied Kasumi and Katala down the hallway Pug and
the Princess watched their retreating backs.

Carline said, “Your wife is a
most perceptive woman.”

Pug smiled. “She is indeed
remarkable.”

Carline looked genuinely glad to see
him. “I understand you also have a son.”

“William. He is a little devil,
and a treasure.”

There was a trace of envy in Carline’s
expression “I would like to meet him.” She paused, then
added, “You’ve been most fortunate.”

“Most fortunate, Highness.”

She took his arm and they slowly
started to walk “So formal, Pug? Or should I call you Milamber,
as I have heard you were known?”

He saw her smile and returned it. “I
sometimes don’t know, though here Pug seems more proper.”
He grinned. “You seem to have learned a great deal about me.”

She feigned a small pout “You
were always my favorite magician.”

They shared a laugh. Then, lowering his
voice, Pug said, “I am so very sorry about your father’s
death, Carline.”

She clouded a little. “Lyam told
me you were there at the last. I am glad he saw you safely back
before he died. Did you know how much he cared for you?”

Pug felt himself flush with emotion.
“He gave me a name; there is little more he could have done to
show me. Did you know that?”

She brightened. “Yes, Lyam also
told me that. We’re cousins of sorts,” she said with a
laugh. As they walked, she spoke softly. “You were my first
love, Pug, but even more, you were always my friend. And I am pleased
to see my friend once more home.”

He stopped and kissed her lightly upon
the cheek. “And your friend is most pleased to be home.”

Blushing slightly, she led him to a
small garden on a terrace. They walked out into bright sunlight and
sat upon a stone bench. Carline let out a long sigh. “I only
wish Father and Roland, could be here.”

Pug said, “I was also grieved to
hear of Roland’s death.”

She shook her head. “That jester
lived as much in his few years as most men do in their entire lives.
He hid much behind his raffish ways, but do you know, I think he may
have been one of the wisest men I’ll ever know. He took every
passing minute and squeezed all the life from it he could.” Pug
studied her face and saw her eyes were bright with memory. “Had
he lived, I would have married him. I suspect we would have fought
every day, Pug; oh, how he could make me angry. But he could make me
laugh as well. He taught me so very much about living I shall always
treasure his memory.”

“I am pleased you are at peace
with your losses, Carline. So many years a slave, then a magician, in
another land have changed me much. It seems you have greatly changed
as well.”

She tilted her head to look at him. “I
don’t think you’ve changed all that much, Pug. There’s
still some of the boy in you, the one who was so rattled by my
attentions.”

Pug laughed. “I guess you’re
right. And in some ways you are also unchanged, or at least you still
have the knack of rattling men if friend Laurie’s reaction is
any measure.”

She smiled at him, her face radiant,
and Pug knew a faint tugging, an echo of what he had felt when he was
a boy. But now there was no discomfort, for he knew he would always
love Carline, though not in the way he had imagined as a boy. More
than any tumultuous passion, or the deep bond he had with Katala, he
knew what he felt was affection and friendship.

She pursued his last comment. “That
beautiful blond man who was with you a few minutes ago? Who is he?”

Pug smiled knowingly. “Your most
devoted subject, from all appearances. He is Laurie, a troubadour
from Tyr-Sog, and a rascal of limitless wit and charm. He has a
loving heart and a brave spirit, and is a true friend. I’ll
tell you sometime of how he saved my life at peril of his own.”

Carline again cocked her head to one
side. “He sounds a most intriguing fellow.” Pug could see
that while she was older and more self-possessed and had known
sorrow, much about her remained unchanged.

“I once, in jest, promised him an
introduction to you. Now I am sure he would be most delighted to make
Your Highness’s acquaintance.”

“Then we must arrange it.”
She rose. “I fear I must go make ready for the coronation. Any
time now the bells will sound and the priests will arrive. We shall
speak again, Pug.”

Pug came to his feet as well. “I
shall enjoy it, Carline.”

He presented his arm. A voice from
behind said, “Squire Pug, may I speak with you.”

They turned around and found Martin
Longbow standing some distance away, farther back in the garden. He
bowed to the Princess. Carline said, “Master Longbow! There you
are I’ve not seen you since yesterday.”

Martin smiled slightly. “I’ve
had a need to be alone. In Crydee when such a mood strikes, I return
to the forest. Here”—he indicated the large terraced
garden—“this was the best I could manage.”

She looked quizzically at him, but
shrugged off the remark. “Well, I expect you will manage to
attend the coronation. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be
off.” She accepted their polite good-byes and left.

Looking at Pug, Martin said, “It
is good to see you once again, Pug.”

“And you, Martin. Of all my old
friends here, you are the last to greet me. Except for those still in
Crydee I’ve yet to see, you’ve made my homecoming
complete.” Pug could see Martin was troubled. “Is
something wrong?”

Martin looked out over the garden,
toward the city and sea beyond. “Lyam told me, Pug. He told me
you know as well.”

Pug understood at once. “I was
there when your father died, Martin,” he said, his voice
remaining calm.

In silence Martin began to walk, and
when he came to the low stone wall around the garden he gripped it
hard. “My father,” he said, bitterly. “How many
years I waited for him to say, ‘Martin, I am your father.’
” He swallowed hard. “I never cared for inheritance and
such things I was content to remain Huntmaster of Crydee. If only he
had told me himself.”

Pug thought over his next words.
“Martin, many men do things they regret later. Only a few are
granted the opportunity to make amends. Had a Tsurani arrow taken him
quickly, had a hundred other things come to pass, he might not have
had the chance to do what little he did.”

“I know, but still that is cold
comfort.”

“Did Lyam tell you his last
words? He said, ‘Martin is your brother. I have wronged him,
Lyam. He is a good man, and well do I love him.’ ”

Martin’s knuckles turned white
gripping the stone wall. Quietly he replied, “No, he did not.”

“Lord Borric was not a simple
man, Martin, and I was only a boy when I knew him, but whatever else
may be said of him, there was no meanness of spirit in the man. I
don’t pretend to understand why he acted as he did, but that he
loved you is certain.”

“It was all such folly. I knew he
was my father, and he never knew I had been told by Mother. What
difference in our lives had I gone to him and proclaimed myself?”

“Only the gods might know.”
He reached out and touched Martin’s arm. “What matters
now is what you will do. That Lyam told you means he will make public
your birthright. If he’s already told others, the court will be
in an uproar. You are the eldest and have the right of first claim.
Do you know what you will do?”

Studying Pug, Martin said, “You
speak calmly enough of this. Doesn’t my claim to the throne
disturb you at all?”

Pug shook his head. “You would
have no way of knowing, but I was counted among the most powerful men
in Tsuranuanni. My word was in some ways more important than any
king’s command. I think I know what power can do, and what sort
of men seek it. I doubt you have much personal ambition as such,
unless you’ve changed a great deal since I lived in Crydee. If
you take the crown, it will be for what you believe are good reasons.
It may be the only way to prevent civil war, for should you choose
the mantle of King, Lyam will be the first to swear fealty. Whatever
the reason, you would do your best to act wisely. And if you take the
purple, you will do your best to be a good ruler.”

Martin looked impressed. “You
have changed much, Squire Pug, more than I would have expected. I
thank you for your kind judgment of me, but I think you are the only
man in the Kingdom who would believe such.”

“Whatever the truth may be, you
are your father’s son and would not bring dishonor upon his
house.”

Again Martin’s words were tinged
with bitterness. “There are those who will judge my birth
itself a dishonor.” He looked out over the city below, then
turned to stare at Pug. “If only the choice were simple, but
Lyam’s seen that it is not. If I take the crown, many will
balk. If I renounce in Lyam’s favor, some may use me as an
excuse to refuse Lyam their allegiance.

“Gods above, Pug. Were the issue
between Arutha and myself, I would not hesitate for an instant to
stand aside in his favor. But Lyam? I’ve not seen him for seven
years, and those years have changed him. He seems a man beset with
doubts. An able field commander, no question, but a king? I am faced
with the fearful prospect I would prove a more able king.”

Pug spoke softly. “As I have
said, should you claim the throne, you will do so for what you,judge
good reasons, reasons of duty.”

Martin’s right hand closed into a
fist, held before his face. “Where ends duty and begins
personal ambition? Where ends justice and begins revenge? There is a
part of me, an angry part of me, that says, ‘Wring all you can
from this moment, Martin.’ Why not King Martin? And then
another part of me wonders if Father may have placed this upon me
knowing someday I must be King. Oh, Pug, what is my duty?”

“That is something each of us
must judge for himself alone. I can offer you no counsel.”

Martin leaned forward upon the rail,
hands covering his face. “I think I would like to be alone for
a time, if you do not mind.”

Pug left, knowing a troubled man
considered his fate. And the fate of the Kingdom.

Pug found Katala with Laurie and
Kasumi, speaking with Duke Brucal and Earl Vandros. As he approached,
he could hear the Duke saying, “So we’ll finally have a
wedding, now that this young slow-wit”—he indicated
Vandros—“has asked for my daughter’s hand. Maybe
I’ll have some grandchildren before I die, after all. See what
comes of waiting so many years to marry. You’re old before your
children marry—” He inclined his head when he saw Pug.
“Ah, magician, there you are.”

Katala smiled when she saw her husband.
“Did you and the Princess have a nice reunion?”

“Very nice.”

Prodding him in the chest with her
forefinger, she said, “And when we’re alone, you’ll
repeat every single word.”

The others laughed at Pug’s
embarrassment, though he could see she was only having fun with him.

Brucal said, “Ah, magician, your
wife is so lovely, I wish I were sixty again.” He winked at
Pug. “Then I’d steal her from you, and damn the scandal.”
He took Pug by the arm and said to Katala, “If you’ll
forgive me, lady, instead I’ll have to steal a moment of your
husband’s time.”

He steered Pug away from the surprised
group and when they were out of earshot said, “I have grave
news.”

“I know.”

“Lyam is a fool, a noble fool.”
He looked away for a moment, his eyes filming over with memory. “But
he is his father’s son, and his grandfather’s grandson as
well, and like both before him has a strong sense of honor.”
The old eyes came into sharp focus again. “Still, I wish his
sense of duty were as clear.” Lowering his voice even more, he
said, “Keep your wife close about. The guards in the hall wear
the purple and will die defending the King, whoever he may be. But it
may get messy. Many of the eastern lords are impulsive men, overly
used to having their petty demands instantly gratified. A few might
open their mouths and find themselves chewing steel.