a dazzle of sequins. One had even managed to leap from the shoulders of his partner and reach one of the dozen or so crossbeams that stretched across the width of the hall. He sat there now, calling down to the crowds below and deftly catching the small morsels of food they threw up to him.
Thirrin smiled. She loved this early part of Yule Day. Everyone was still boisterous and full of energy, but by mid-afternoon most would be sleeping in snoring heaps or holding deeply earnest conversations with people they’d probably just met. Her eyes wandered on, and came to rest on Oskan and Maggiore Totus. They already seemed to have reached that stage. They were bent over the table between them, their heads close together as they talked. She watched them, trying to make out what they were discussing, but it was impossible. Probably the life expectancy of the earthworm, she thought dismissively. But she continued to watch them for several minutes, trying to ignore a growing desire to leave the High Table and join them. She felt inexplicably annoyed with Oskan, and after trying to find a reason for her irritation, she decided it was because he hadn’t looked her way once in all the time she’d been watching him. Being far too dignified to throw a bread roll at him, she beckoned over a servant, then sent him off to Oskan’s table.
“Her Royal Highness requires that you remember her presence,” he announced as he reached the two conversationalists. Oskan looked up in surprise. They’d been discussing the wildlife of the forest, and he’d become so absorbed he’d almost forgotten where he was.
“Um … tell the Princess we wouldn’t dare forget her.”
The servant was just bowing stiffly when Maggiore laid his hand gently on his arm. “No. Tell Her Royal Highness that she has never been out of our thoughts, and we remain deeply grateful that she should remember us.”
The servant withdrew and delivered his message, and Thirrin looked on them coldly. She was actually as happy and relaxed as she could be, considering the pending invasion, but she wasn’t going to let Oskan know that. And as for Maggiore Totus, she had no doubt that he was watching them both and laughing. The fact that the laughter was friendly and affectionate made little difference to her; she still found it annoying.
After that, both Oskan and Maggiore remembered to look up to the High Table and toast Thirrin on a regular basis, but her face remained an unsmiling mask.
By mid-morning the celebrations had reached their noisy height, and a great cheer arose when the double doors burst open and soldiers of the palace guard dragged the enormous Yule log into the hall. It took several minutes to pull it across the flagstones while the guests sang a noisy song of welcome and musicians escorted it to the waiting hearth. Lesser logs were already blazing there, and these would cradle the Yule log above the deep mound of glowing coals that lined the pit of the central hearth.
Ten strong men of the palace guard then heaved the log onto stout iron bars and slowly lowered it onto the waiting flames. For a moment silence descended on the hall, then a single voice sang praise to the Sun that would begin its long return journey after this, the shortest day of the year. As the last note died away, tankards, goblets, and leather jacks were raised in salutation and drained in one movement, and a huge cheer rose to the rafters.
The Imperial army swaggered along the narrow road through the pass, the stamp and thump of each disciplined step telling the world that conquest was coming and nothing could stop it. In less than an hour the road began to widen, and the soldiers caught their first glimpse of the land they were about to add to the Empire.
Baroness Theowin of the Icemark’s Southern Riding watched as the Polypontian commander stepped over the border. She was surprised to see that he didn’t match any of the descriptions she’d had of Scipio Bellorum, but soon dismissed the puzzle as she prepared to take action. The Baroness had barely had time to call out the fyrd and send word to Frostmarris, but help would still be days away and she had an Empire to fight all alone. She watched the Imperial army swaggering along as though they’d already won their war and put all other thoughts aside.
Commander Lucius Tarquinus of the