The Soldier's Lotus (11 page)

Darien’s eyes sought Kamen, and he found his friend
standing off near the edge of the gathering, watching the entertainment and
leaning against the wall sipping his wine. His eyes met Darien’s, and he
smiled. Darien looked away, now seeking Ulen. He found him, and he was already
staring at Darien. Ulen made no effort to hide his wrath; he stood with arms
crossed and a perpetual frown on his face.

The dancing completed, food was brought, carried in on
numerous ornate silver trays, laden with every good thing the River gave the
Sunjaa
. Cheese and grilled fowl; beef flavored with
rosemary; ham glazed with mustard sweetened with honey; figs and other fruit.
The commingled scents of cumin, garlic, parsley, and cinnamon filled the air.
Low murmurs of appreciation filled the air as all guests were served plates of
boiled cabbage. It was a
Sunjaa
delicacy, eaten
before the meal properly began. Everyone partook, and Saerileth, too, ate
daintily. Darien remembered how she had laughed upon arranging the banquet. To
a Zenji, there was nothing more plain and unappetizing than plain, boiled
cabbage.

Other meats – duck, goose, goat,
fish
– were brought in and set around the guests. Everyone ate from low tables;
Darien alone sat in a normal chair, and Saerileth stood by his side. Servants
passed around trays filled with chickpeas and beans, imported fruit and local
vegetables such as onions, cucumbers, and lettuce. And everyone ate garlic –
lots of it. The
Sunjaa
thought it good for one’s
health, though Darien ate but little, for he knew how Saerileth disliked it;
and he did not want to torture her, given how many kisses he planned on giving
her later that night.

And then there was bread.
Everywhere.
Forty varieties of bread were brought forth, and guests broke open hot loaves,
steam rising from the loaves as they were devoured. The smell of fresh-baked
bread overpowered all other scents, and this brought about an increase in
animated conversation. Beer and wine flowed freely, and as their bellies
filled, the guests became more and more gregarious.

Darien summoned
Aben
to his side
with a snap of his fingers. Into his ear, he whispered, “Fetch the dulcimer.”
He glanced over at Saerileth, but her attention was elsewhere.

When
Aben
returned, Darien took
the dulcimer, still wrapped in silk, and held it out to Saerileth. “I had this
made for you, and I want you to accept it as a symbol of my love for you.”

Saerileth’s blue eyes widened, and she took the dulcimer in
her hands, grasping it in just the right places to not disturb the strings. In
that moment, Darien knew she already knew what it was.
Damn her keen
hearing!
He chuckled to himself and resolved to give her a thorough
spanking later. Saerileth
unwrapped
her gift,
revealing the beautiful cherry-wood instrument.

“
Thank you, Master,”
she said, kissing his cheek.

A collective murmur of wonderment went up from the guests.
The Master had given his Lotus a gift, and she was pleased with it. She had
even kissed him in front of all his guests. Some men raised their cups in
salute to Darien’s amorous prowess; others smiled and nodded. Only one
objected, and he made his ire clear.

“
I will speak with
you, Darien.” Ulen stood at Darien’s elbow, ripping his attention away from
Saerileth.

“
I will tune my
dulcimer,” Saerileth said, paying no attention to Ulen and thus bringing no
embarrassment upon Darien.

Darien knew he would have to deal with Ulen sooner or
later, and this moment seemed as good a time as any. He took his former
commander by the arm and led him from the room. Once in a side corridor, he
bade Ulen speak.

“
You have my Lotus.”

“
No, I have
my
Lotus.”
Darien crossed his arms across his broad chest. “I found her floating in an
oar-less boat on the open sea, lost and alone. I claimed her by salvage rights,
and, yes, I flew under the king’s flag at the time.”

Ulen choked on his anger. “Salvage rights
be
damned! I bought her, so you should hand her over.”

“
How do you know
Saerileth is the one you bought?”

“
I saw her,” Ulen
said. “I was permitted to enter the guild and look through the window. I chose
her because she was the most beautiful.”

“
You have good taste
in women.”

“
Do not mock me.” Ulen
took a menacing step forward, but that was all he did. He could not physically
threaten Darien, not even when he had been in his prime, certainly not as a
drink-sodden wretch. But Ulen’s rage only increased. “I shoveled over a large
sum of gold for her, and I want her back.”

Darien spread his arms wide in mock helplessness. “Sorry.”

“
I will pay you what I
paid the guild.”

“
No deal.”

Hate spread across Ulen’s features. “You fool.”

“
Surely you had your
purchase insured.”

“
Of course I did. But
that’s not the point. It’s not just the money. I bought a Lotus for good
reason, not to stand as hostess at some rich commoner’s party, an uncouth
soldier playing at nobility.” Ulen was the king’s cousin and was of high noble
blood, but in his present state, he could not inspire admiration from anyone,
especially Darien.

“
If you’ve got your
money back,” Darien said, “then why not just
go
buy
another Lotus?”

“
Idiot!
You really don’t know anything, do you? A man gets
only one contract to buy a Lotus in his life. If he loses her, he cannot get
another.
Guild rules.”

“
Sorry,” Darien said,
but he made sure his mocking tone clearly showed how he was not sorry. “I find
my treasures at sea, so I don’t know about any of these fine things.”

Ulen clenched and unclenched his fists. He probably wanted
to strike Darien, but even Ulen was not that stupid. “Twenty lashes weren’t
enough, I see. I should’ve had you flogged to death, you mutineer!”

Now it was Darien’s turn to step forward, and so menacing
was his threat that Ulen fell back against the wall. “I was no mutineer. No man
of conscience was bound to obey your orders.”

A wildness entered Ulen’s eyes, and Darien sensed that he
was about to try something foolish and dangerous. But before Ulen could act,
Saerileth appeared in the hallway.

“
Pardon the
interruption, Master,” she said, “but you are neglecting your guests. I have
tuned my dulcimer. Will you hear me play?”

“
With
all my heart, my love.”
Darien did not take his gaze from Ulen. He wanted Ulen to know just what kind
of relationship he and Saerileth shared. Ulen’s eye
twitched,
and his lips trembled in fury.

Giving no more thought to his enemy, Darien turned and
offered Saerileth his arm. With his Red Lotus – with the most beautiful woman
in all Gilalion – Darien re-entered his party and reckoned himself a king. He
had all he wanted, the Zenji girl with the cobalt-blue eyes.

Saerileth played for Darien, and it seemed to him a private
performance, though everyone listened. A Lotus did not play background music,
so when she first struck the strings of the dulcimer and raised her voice in
song, all conversation ceased. Darien’s heart swelled with pride again, and as
the gentle verse rose in a soaring chorus, so, too, did Darien’s love for
Saerileth take wing. Her melody jumped the octave, her perfect phrasing
touching his soul. He wanted everyone at the party to listen to her and see
her, to remember her forever and know that this was his Saerileth. He wanted
the world to take note of her and acknowledge her for her beauty’s sake, for
everything that she was – refinement, culture, learning, wit, grace, and
beauty.

During the performance, Darien’s eye caught some movement
off to the side, and he watched Kamen cross the room to stand near Ulen. They
alone spoke in hushed tones, their heads bent toward each other, their eyes on
Saerileth. Darien breathed easier and was grateful for his friend keeping his
enemy away.

The party carried on until nearly dawn, and Darien was
weary as he bade his
guests
goodnight. They all
toasted him again, and Darien in turn raised his glass to Saerileth. A Red
Lotus was someone everyone could drink to, and the whole assembly drained their
cups in her honor, Darien included. Once everyone was gone from the house,
Darien lay back on the pillows and kicked some trash aside. He was more
exhausted than after a forced march. His house was littered with garbage, but
he considered it a small offering for such a successful evening.

“
Thank you,
Saeri
,” he said, holding out his arms to her.

She fell into his embrace and laid her head on his chest.
“It was my pleasure, Darien.
My gift to you in celebration of
your retirement.”

Darien inhaled the fragrance from her hair, and he kissed
along her braids.

Saerileth traced his tattoo across his chest with her
finger. “I wanted to ask you about your tattoo. You and Kamen have the same
one.”

The subject of Kamen unsettled Darien. “I was the scourge
of the sea, and my reputation sailed before me. One time my enemies – pirates –
caught me in a trap up the coast. We were boarded, but Kamen and I fought side
by side and repelled the little thieving insects. I lost half my crew but not
my ship. And my reputation only grew more fearsome. After that, we got matching
tattoos of water-serpents so that we’d always remember that day.”

“
The
Water Serpent.
That is what
the pirates called you.”

“
Call me.” Darien
caressed her cheek. “As far as they know, I’m still out there sailing.”

Saerileth’s hand followed the tattoo across his shoulder and
down his back. Her fingers brushed against his scars. “Why were you flogged?”

“
My commander, Ulen
Ahnok
– you met him tonight – had me flogged for disobeying
his orders.”

“
I do not believe for
a moment that you could ever be guilty of mutiny.”

Darien tilted his head to look at Saerileth. “You heard
that?”

Saerileth only touched her earlobe and then snuggled down
closer on Darien.

“
I could not in good
conscience obey him.” Memories of the raid flooded in on him. Shadows of murder
and bloodshed assaulted him. He could still hear the women crying for their
children, only to have their own weeping suddenly silenced. Darien shook his
head to clear the evil thoughts, and he breathed deeply.

“
What did he order you
to do?” Saerileth’s voice was a whisper.

How could he tell her? How could he bring himself to tell
his Zenji lover about
Sunjaa
massacring her own
people? He considered answering vaguely, but he quickly dismissed that. He did
not want falsehood – even omitted – to grow between them. “This may be hard for
you to hear.” He patted her head, and she hugged him tightly. “Ulen sailed us
to the
Dimadan
, saying that we were to wipe out a
Zenji strike force that had been assembled to sail against Arinport. We were
going in to save the city, to save the crown, and defeat a lethal enemy. None
of us suspected the lie. When we landed, we found no strike force, no secret
army bent on our destruction. What we did find was a compound, flying the red
flag of a boar, guarded by armed soldiers. We fought and killed them, but when
we broke through their lines, the horrible reality became all too clear. This
was a clan household and nothing more. Ulen ordered the slaughter of everyone
within the compound’s walls, but I would not murder innocent people. I found a
little girl and took her, and her nurse, all the way inland until I found
another compound. I didn’t know who they were or where I really was, but I made
certain the little girl was safe before I fled. It was the least I could do, to
save that one life in recompense for so many who had died. I returned to my
ship to face judgment. I thought I would be executed for refusing an order in
wartime. But I wasn’t. Instead, Ulen ordered me flogged twenty times. Maybe he
thought I would’ve died from the whipping, but I am built of sturdier stuff
than he knows.”

Darien had been so absorbed in the memories that he did not
realize, until he had finished speaking, that Saerileth was crying. He could
not see her face, for she had buried it in his chest, but he felt her hot tears
on his skin, and her shoulders shook with emotion.

“
I’m sorry, my love. I
didn’t know.” Darien stroked her hair, but he did not know how to comfort
Saerileth. She wept for the slaughter of her people.

She did not speak for a long time, only cried and hugged
him. Several times, just as he thought her grief was easing, she would burst
out in tears again and clutch at his sides, running her fingers across his
scars again and again, almost in a kind of fascination. After a while, Darien
did not know what to think, for her sorrow was not commensurate with his story.
What was going through Saerileth’s mind at that moment?