Empire of Ashes

Chapter LXXV - Gods Above

The queen turned at the sound of my footsteps, looking down at me with a strangely welcoming smile. She was wearing an emerald green gown which put my tunic to shame, and her hair was twisted into an elaborate plait. "Ah, Lyra. You will travel with us, I hope?"

Gods, how cynical I was. One show of kindness, unprompted, and I was sent into a spiral of mistrust and doubt. I tried to sort through her motives, but I could think of none. I did not have any influence here, I was not going to be staying longer than a week, and half the court seemed to think I was bedding her husband (although, counting the bastard children, that could not be a rare occurrence).

"As you say, Your Majesty," I murmured. I could not refuse, after all. Refusing would be dangerous.

"You have met my oldest — Mikal," Queen Idris went on, gesturing to the prince at my shoulder. "And this is Silus."

I nodded at Silus, the younger boy, because he was smiling at me. I ignored Mikal because everyone needed to be ignored sometimes. Especially princes.

"And the others?" I asked. My spite was getting the better of me, but if a slave girl could be introduced to princes and queens, there was no reason she could not be introduced to bastards, too.

Something glinted in the queen's dark eyes. Something which looked like amusement. I liked her, despite my best efforts to the contrary. "Well, go on — introduce yourselves, children."

And then came a flood of names which came too quickly to commit to memory. The children ranged from five to fifteen, and most were boys. I thought it strange that the queen was caring for them all — where I came from, bastards were hidden away and shunned — but perhaps things were different here.

"Now, you must all be going. Say goodbye to Lyra," Idris said when they were done. She was obeyed with a chorus of 'farewells,' and afterwards they went back into the keep, the older children herding them along like sheep. The queen leant towards me to whisper. "They are not permitted inside the temple. Illegitimate children are considered an offence to the gods, for some reason."

Or perhaps they were not. Perhaps it was the queen who was different.

The royal litter was moving towards us. The slaves who bore it approached at a hand gesture from Idris, and then it was set down before us. The princes clambered inside in an instant, settling themselves on velvet cushions, but I couldn't help hesitating.

The queen spoke softly, "They will bear us easily, Lyra. We are two woman and two children."

That failed to convince me, because my argument was with the slavery, not the load, but her hand closed firmly around my wrist and pulled me forwards. I clambered into the litter, marvelling at the softness of the fabrics beneath me, and I sat against the wall with my legs drawn to my chest.

The queen followed me inside, and as soon as she was comfortable, the younger prince knocked on the wall. He tugged the curtains closed. The light was tinged red, and the sunlight danced on the cushions beneath us. Gently, the litter began to rise. It began smoothly and ended with a slight jerk as the slaves straightened their knees.

And then we started forwards. It was difficult to know that we were moving at all, except for a slight bobbing as the slaves walked. I was reminded of the barge.

"What do you think?" Idris asked me. It was not difficult to guess what she meant.

I shrugged. "I prefer horseback."

One horse in particular, and a warm body behind me. This ... gliding was nothing compared to the rocking of a horse's shoulders and the feel of wind on your face.