last-minute alterations to his coat, and when he didn’t, there hadn’t been much to do but leave for the dining chamber. Normally I would have abhorred arriving early at any location—it would have been deliciously dramatic to arrive late, clad all in scarlet—but there was a certain pleasure in watching the various Ke-Han warlords enter with their servants and take their proper seats at the high table. Before the meal was served there was normally some accompanying music to set the mood, which more often than not set Alcibiades to grumbling and shifting and kicking me—he said it was by accident—like a sullen child.
It took all my strength not to invoke Yana at those times—since, like all powerful weapons, her name retained its power only if used sparingly.
“I see Lord Jiro is already here,” I noted. So far, the room was gifted with an overabundance of red—we hardly stood out at all yet—though the lord’s coloring was sadly in his face and not his clothing.
“We match him, too,” Alcibiades noted, and took a drink of his water before I could see if he’d actually cracked a smile. I would never know whether or not that had been a joke.
If it was, I was quite prepared to cede my anticipation for the play in favor of further such entertainment, the sort only Alcibiades and his peculiar nature could provide.
Lord Maidar entered next, seating himself with a space between himself and Lord Jiro, though the night before they’d sat next to one another and shared conversation quite comfortably. In Volstov, I’d followed the rise and fall of various courtiers as they all scrambled to reach the very tiptop of the Esar’s esteem. It had been a game, and a tremendously amusing one at that, until the day I’d been condemned to exile myself, after which it became a very difficult thing to keep track of, so far removed from the playing field had I been. It was somewhat more difficult keeping track of things at the Ke-Han palace, since—like anywhere—the servants held all the best gossip, and I hadn’t yet learned enough of the Ke-Han language to be able to communicate with them. I’d studied abroad—as abroad as exile could be termed in those days—but an education in the formal language was quite a different thing from knowing the ins and outs of all the common slang. I would pick up on it eventually, I was sure. I was determined, though; my time would come. Until then, I would have to settle for gossiping with my fellow countrymen.
I leaned close to Alcibiades, holding my cup out so that he might pour me some of the delightful jasmine tea we’d been enjoying with dinner. “Do you think that Lord Maidar is sitting farther away today because of their disagreement in the talks?”
Alcibiades glanced up at the high table, taking no notice of my teacup at all. “Don’t know,” he said. “Personally, I think Jiro’s right, and there isn’t much point in focusing all our resources on one lost prince who doesn’t even seem all that menacing anyway. Better to see what he’s planning and deal with it then, isn’t it? And in the meantime, we can get our talks out of the way. It’s a—what’s it, a nonissue, some kind of smoke screen. Keeps us from getting to the real issues. The Emperor probably couldn’t’ve planned it better if he’d worked the whole thing himself.”
I shrugged, tapping the delicate base of my cup against the table ever so subtly. “Don’t look now, my dear, but I do believe the good lord has taken notice of our patriotic garments.”
Alcibiades followed the direction of my glance, though whether it had anything to do with the fact that I didn’t want him to was another matter entirely.
“Let him stare,” he said, then glanced at me as though suddenly confused. “Is there a reason you’re banging your teacup against the table? Or did you just get inspired by the music?”
“Just enjoying myself, my dear,” I said, and nodded in the direction of the doorway. “The fun, I believe, is nearly about to start.”
Josette, dressed quite fetchingly in a pale shade of cerulean, was standing there; she’d seemed happy enough until she’d caught sight of the two of us. Then her expression changed completely. I was quite fond of her—and her temper. She reminded me of Alcibiades in that respect—and I was doubly pleased with her when she barely hesitated at all before charging straight toward us.