The Princess's Servant

14. The Barbarian

As the pirate left, Holden felt the stone balcony shake. At first he wondered how such a small man could rattle the stones. But then he saw the true source of the shockwaves. Footstep after footstep, Garg of the Kalmer emerged from the darkness.

The sun had set all the way over the hill, and an attendant placed a candlestick on the garden table. The shaking light illuminated the giant's face as he took his seat in the tiny chair.

Silence covered them. For a moment, all the princess and the giant did was stare at one another. Holden sensed that they were communicating, but he didn't know what, or how.

"I see," The princess said, leaning back in her seat. The barbarian did not lower his gaze, nor his intensity. "And what can your kingdom offer me in terms of resources?" She asked.

"Not much," the Barbarian said. "We Kalmer are not a rich people. But we have rich lives. We wake up with the sun and go to bed with the dying fire. We feast on the fruits of the woods and sip our fill from the streams. Winter never comes to our lands. Our forest is always lush and green, and we have no need of fear. Our people own nothing. We can lose nothing."

This was the first good offer Holden had heard all evening. He wondered if the barbarian might consider the hand of the Wardian prince if the Lailoyan princess didn't pan out.

"Hm," the princess replied. "That does sound lovely." She netted her fingers and rested her head across them. "But what about my people? How can you care for them?"

"My people are wise. Brave. We see through what others do not. Your worries about the Wardians are needless. You are angry at them taking your cotton, but what of it? You hate them stealing your lapis, but who cares? I can offer you a perspective that will yield a joy no army could conquer, even given a thousand lifetimes. I can offer you freedom from yourselves."

The princess stared at him, frozen. Holden wondered if they had reentered their telepathic communication, but he sensed no exchange.

"Get out," the princess said.

The barbarian lowered his head. "What?" He asked.

"Go," she said. "Before I change my mind about letting you leave at all."

The man stood. "I don't understand," he told her.

She rose to meet him. Hands flat on the table, chin raised like a stretching lion's. "I don't care!" She replied. "Leave!"

The man scrunched his brow, and Holden was surprised to see this brute look vulnerable. Hurt, even. The man turned around. Garg slumped his shoulders and departed from the table, his steps slower and heavier than they had been on the way in.

The princess exhaled and took her seat with falling breath. Holden watched the woman and decided against any quippy comments. He watched the shoulders of the great man as he disappeared into the darkened room.

"Do the Kalmer people pay your king a tribute, Wardian?" the princess asked.

"I believe they pay a small fee to live in the Emperor's forests," he replied. "And another fee to hunt his game. And to sip from his streams. And to burn his wood. Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious how much he might have paid their leader to sweep me off my feet," she said. "And into hedonistic carelessness."

Holden racked his mind for context. "Are you saying you think the Kalmer leader was planted by the emperor?" The prince asked, a twinge of his disbelief entering his voice. "Because I can assure you, he already has your match in mind, and it is not with Garg."

The princess didn't reply. She called out "Next!" and beckoned the fourth suitor in.