Through Wolf's Eyes (82 page)

The crowding of not quite two dozen people made the
stone-walled room close and heightened the air of tension. Duke
Allister Seagleam, seated beside his brother-in-law, Reed Oyster, tried
hard to look impassive though his heart was beating at a frantic rate.

King Tedric, as befitted his years, made the opening statement.

"We have gathered here," the king said, "to resolve
certain matters that have arisen out of Stonehold's attack on Bright
Bay. My kingdom came to Bright Bay's aid when she was attacked by her
supposed allies. Although Bright Bay has settled with Stonehold, she
has not fully settled with me. Until this is done, I do not believe
matters with Stonehold truly have been resolved."

Queen Gustin IV, her red-gold hair cascading loose
over her shoulders from beneath her crown, looked pale and stern as she
stood to make her reply. As had King Tedric, she addressed her remarks
to the gathered nobles rather than to her fellow monarch.

"Bright Bay has offered Hawk Haven a half share of
the monies to be received from Stonehold as compensation for her
assistance in defending our lands. We believe this fair and even
generous for although both of our armies fought, Bright Bay's lands
alone suffered damage. We have taken more than half of the injury, yet
we are prepared to give over a fair half of the compensation in thanks
to our recent ally."

Whereas King Tedric's speech had been met with
neutral silence, when Queen Gustin stopped speaking low, angry
muttering could be heard—mostly from where the Hawk Haven delegates
were seated.

No wonder,
Allister thought.
Their
people died in her defense and yet she belittles their sacrifice. She
doesn't even repeat the thanks she offered publicly and grudgingly upon
her arrival after the bloodshed had ended.

He noticed, however, that not all the Bright Bay delegates
were
neutral. Arsen, Duke Dolphin, no great friend of the queen and enough
years her senior that he felt secure speaking out, stood to be
recognized. Gustin did so with a formal nod of her head.

"I wish to call to Your Majesty's attention," Duke Dolphin stated with equal formality, "that according to the heralds' counts
more
of Hawk Haven's soldiers died upon the field than did our own. True, the number was close, but
their
valor in giving up their lives for the security of
your
kingdom deserves more than mere monetary reward."

Duke Dolphin's sly but certain emphasis of the
phrases "their valor" and "your kingdom" served as a pointed reminder
that Queen Valora had not been present to defend her lands. The queen's
eyes narrowed, but her color did not rise.

"We thank Duke Dolphin," she said, "for his reminder.
We had not forgotten this fact, but the matter remains that we had not
asked for Hawk Haven's aid. We feel she should accept what reward we
have to give, not barter like fish sellers in the marketplace."

This time the angry exclamations were more general
and less restrained. King Tedric, however, merely raised to his hand
for silence and said:

"Indeed, Hawk Haven was not invited initially, but
after the Battle of the Banks, Duke Allister did thank us and formally
request our continued assistance. It is my understanding that, although
Your Majesty was too busy to come and assess the situation for
yourself, you did feel comfortable designating Duke Allister your
representative, even to the point of urging your officers to support
him."

"I did," Queen Gustin said stiffly. She might have
said more, but King Tedric continued with a smoothness that made his
overriding her not even seem rude.

"We came to Bright Bay's aid," Tedric said, "without
any formal contract, nor did we come as mercenaries. We came because I
wished to support those who shared a heritage with my people against a
foreign aggressor. Moreover, Duke Allister Seagleam is my own sister's
son. I could not face my ancestors in good conscience if I refused him
aid."

"Yet," Queen Gustin said bitterly, "you have not
worried about your ancestors' reaction to the many battles you have
fought against my people in the past."

"Those," King Tedric said, "were family squabbles
such as the ancestors themselves have fought. No doubt you planned to
instigate a few yourself, perhaps once this old king was gone and a
monarch less certain sat upon the Eagle Throne."

Queen Gustin's cheeks flared sudden, unguarded red.

So that is what she did intend
, Allister mused.
Good
tactical sense, really, if anyone thinks about it, but her blush—
whether angry or embarrassed—makes her appear a 'prentice caught
plotting to steal from the larder.

Duke Dolphin took advantage of Gustin's momentary
silence to comment rather more loudly than necessary to his closest
neighbor, Earle Pelican:

"In my father's day, our wars with Hawk Haven truly
were a continuation of our Civil War. Gustin the Third was the first
king to become dependent on foreign mercenaries. His daughter, our
queen, has continued the dependence."

Wisely, Queen Gustin did not respond to this
unofficial commentary. However, as she did not seem quite prepared to
speak, King Tedric added:

"As I was saying, I sent my soldiers to Bright Bay's
aid because I did not wish to see her fall to a foreign aggressor.
Whether or not I believe the compensation Your Majesty has offered to
us is just is not the real issue. The issue as I see it is, what do you
offer us to remain your allies?"

Queen Gustin had regained her composure and her reply showed even a touch of humor.

"I don't suppose that you'd continue to support us out of kindred feeling?"

"My personal family feeling would not be enough,"
King Tedric replied. "My noble counselors do not have nephews among
your Great Houses. I would need to be able to offer them something more
if they were to send their sons and daughters to fight on your fields."

Queen Gustin glanced down at some papers in front of her, as if consulting them. Then she said coolly:

"Stonehold found the benefit of money earned and a
place to train their forces compensation enough. In addition, we gave
their ships use of some of our ports. Would you consider a similar
contract?"

King Tedric shook his head.

"My people are my greatest treasure," he said. "I
cannot sell their lives for mere monies. Moreover, New Kelvin and
Waterland are not as aggressive neighbors as those Stonehold might find
challenging their southern frontier if the Rocky Band were not so
well-trained. We have a port of our own, poor when compared to the
water wealth of Bright Bay, but serviceable, and Waterland freely
shares the northern oceans with our vessels."

"I heard," Queen Gustin said acidly, "from
well-informed sources, that neither Waterland nor New Kelvin were
pleased that you had come to Bright Bay's aid. Perhaps your borders and
vessels are not as secure as you think."

King Tedric shook his head. "I am certain that if we
offered due apology and promised never to aid Bright Bay again—no
matter which foreign powers threatened—New Kelvin and Waterland would
forgive us. Waterland in particular might have other ventures to occupy
her time."

You walked into that one, Valora,
Allister thought, listening to the murmured consternation from the Bright Bay representatives.
That
old eagle was playing such games when you were floating toy ships in a
garden pond. Now your own people see our increased vulnerability.

For the first time, Queen Gustin looked momentarily
panicked, perhaps envisioning a Bright Bay embattled on land by
Stonehold—with or without Hawk Haven's aid—while Waterland preyed upon
her from the sea. Until this point, Bright Bay had been a fair match
for the neighboring sea power precisely because of Stonehold's support
against Hawk Haven on land.

Gustin has been so busy concentrating on the immediate picture
, Allister thought,
that
she did not realize what other sharks would start circling once they
smelled our blood and thought us wounded. Yet, if she had come to fight
this battle, she would not find herself needing to grant concessions. It
is her own cowardice—or prudence—that brought her to this point.

For a fleeting moment the duke wondered what
ultimatum Stonehold had offered Queen Gustin that war had been
preferable to reply. Despite how attentively his spies and those of his
allies had snooped about, no one knew for certain. The best any could
say was that Stonehold's letter had to do with events dating back to
days of Gustin Sailor.

Looking at the queen, sitting stiff and haughty in
her high-backed chair, Allister Seagleam was certain of one thing. The
ultimatum—no matter what it entailed—had meant less than the fact that
it had offended Gustin's pride. She would not rush to Stonehold's
bidding like a servant to cook, as she had put it in her letter to him,
no matter what the cost.

Although there was still a small glimmer of fear in her eyes, Queen Gustin found her voice and addressed King Tedric:

"Your Majesty then agrees that what compensation we
have offered Hawk Haven for her assistance in the battles of these few
days past is sufficient."

Tedric replied carefully, "I have said we will accept
it—I do not wish to discuss whether or not I consider the compensation
sufficient, not when there is a larger question to settle. I ask you
bluntly, Your Majesty, do you wish to continue in alliance with Hawk
Haven and if so, what is that alliance worth to you?"

Queen Gustin hedged, "You have said you will not take
money nor use of harbors, that your troops need no training. What is
the price of your aid?"

"Nothing," King Tedric said, "that you must
personally pay. I only ask that you name as your heir my nephew, your
cousin Allister Seagleam. I believe that he will work toward the union
of both our kingdoms, so that never again no such word as 'alliance'
need ever be used to define our relationship to each other."

"You say," Queen Gustin said, her voice rising, "that this is no price to pay!"

"I do not ask that you step down," King Tedric said reasonably. "Only that you name Duke Allister Seagleam, son
of
Princess Caryl Eagle and Prince Tavis Seagleam, your heir. You have no
son or daughter nor younger sibling. I am not asking you to disinherit
anyone, only that you choose Duke Allister out of all those who could
raise a claim to the throne and that you assure his—or his own
heir's—succeeding you even in the instance that a child is born to you."

Duke Lobster, father of King Harwill and thus
grandfather to the yet-unconceived child of the queen, spoke out
without bothering to be recognized:

"Even if the queen has not yet borne a child, there
are those within Bright Bay's own nobility who should follow her. Grand
Duchess Seastar's eldest, Culver, holds the title crown prince, though
all understand that he will step down gracefully when Queen Gustin the
Fourth bears a child."

"Then I," King Tedric replied, smiling slightly as if
acknowledging Duke Lobster's unspoken advocacy of his potential
grandchild, "am merely asking Crown Prince Culver to be gracious a bit
sooner than was planned."

A few people laughed and Duke Allister noted that not all those who laughed were from Hawk Haven.

Queen Gustin was not laughing, despite the fact that
this proposal came as no surprise. She had heard it before, both from
Allister and from Tedric—and probably from others. Her request that
King Tedric tell her what he wanted of her in return for his support
had been for the benefit of those representatives of her Great Houses
who might not have heard Tedric's demands—and who hopefully would be
offended by them.

Doubtless what made the queen's face so stern was
that Duke Lobster was the only one to raise a protest. There was no
offended hubbub as there had been when she slighted Hawk Haven's
contribution to the recent war, only thoughtful silence.

Duke Allister was not so naive as to believe that
this meant there was near universal support for him. King Tedric's
people were prepared to support him because of the near certainty that
Stonehold would withdraw once Hawk Haven and Bright Bay showed a united
front. Hawk Haven, therefore, would have won a victory none of their
armies had in over
a hundred years—the promise of unification—with no further bloodshed.

Among Bright Bay's assembled Houses, Oyster and
Dolphin would support Allister's claim with enthusiasm. Oyster because
of the prospect of seeing Pearl made queen—and the satisfaction of
seeing their long shot in giving Allister a bride pay off. Dolphin
would support Allister because of the old insult to Lady Brina—an
insult that still rankled so strongly that Dolphin had risked its own
interests to hinder those of the past two Gustins. Dolphin had long ago
forgiven Allister for the earlier offense of his parent's arranged
marriage in the light of that greater insult.

Lobster would support the queen. They must because
King Harwill was of their family. Pelican and Seal were more
problematical. True, Queen Gustin's mother was a Seal, but that House
had old internal conflicts dating back to Viona's marriage to King
Gustin III. Moreover, the Queen Mother Viona had not kept friends with
all of her kin. Pelican owned lands along the Stonehold border and
should be grateful for Hawk Haven's support, but they might prefer
reconciliation with their closer neighbor.

Do I really want to be Gustin's heir?
Allister asked himself.
Do I really wish this kettle of fish on Shad?

He nodded to himself. He did. The problems would
exist whether or not he was in a position to do anything about them.
This way, he would have some control. Indeed, Gustin would need to work
with him—or at least with Shad, as he would be her more probable
successor—from the start if she wished to see any of her projects
carried out.