Chapter XV #4
“Fiametta Raeana,” Dolenza said, offering Fia the customary greeting of a hand over the heart.
Fia drew close enough to receive it, and to reciprocate, and felt caught beneath the force and insight of Dolenza’s gaze.
“I’ve been listening to the king tell of how you presented yourself to Her Majesty as a gift, and have been a great support to her since your arrival on the mountain.
I appreciate your willingness to serve as Raea’s emissary in this. ”
Fia would have writhed beneath Dolenza’s scrutiny had so many dignitaries not been present. Instead, she stood tall and still, finally reckoning with how grossly she had overstepped the bounds of the role she’d been given, as a simple courier conveying a message.
This was the end. Raea’s cloister would never be her refuge now.
Her heart sank as she thought of what it had been like journeying to the Solis Plains.
Of how she’d arrived at Raea’s house with her feet in tatters, her swollen belly the only thing about her that hadn’t dwindled to skin and bones, and begged for a postulant’s position.
Bowing her head, Fia waited for Dolenza’s chastisement. To her great surprise, it did not come. Instead, she felt the infant prince settle into her arms as Ariana appeared at her left side, and the stolid warmth of the Priest as he moved to her right.
“We have found your daughter’s service invaluable,” Ariana said in her sweet, mild way, and the Priest nodded in agreement.
“It has been instructive, having a servant of Raea on the mountain. I hope for greater unity between our two sanctuaries in future.”
Orden looked vastly pleased, glancing from Dolenza to her postulant flanked by his wife and Priest. Gileta was tight-lipped and disapproving.
Afon bored and disdainful. The Arbiter and Arbitress had wandered off, but Gwylen stalked up the rise in their place, moving to stand just behind Afon.
She caught Fia’s eyes and gave her the smallest possible nod of approbation.
Raea help me, Fia thought. I am out of my depth.
But just as quickly as all had focused on her, attention shifted. Dolenza turned back to Orden, and to the conversation they’d been engrossed in.
“What I should like,” she said in the magnanimous voice Fia had heard her use to placate the wealthiest of merchants or the most fractious of children, “is to present Honoria in just the manner your Priest indicates. As united, strengthened by an accord between the old ways and the new. The gulf between us has gone unbridged long enough. What, after all, is an Inver king but a flame—a twin to the burning sun. It would be our honor to show you our light, and to receive yours in turn. I have no desire to see a weakened Honoria, and if those present wish to undermine our nation’s interests, then it is time Raea’s house takes a more active role in the affairs and decisions that chart our country’s course. ”
Orden was transparently flattered by Dolenza’s courteousness, and by the comparison between himself and the foremost sister of the Beloved Three.
He went so far as to put an arm around the Matria’s shoulders as he answered, and Fia nearly snarled.
Even from where she stood, she could smell wine on the king and hear it in the timbre of his voice.
As Orden spoke, the Priest let out the barest huff, audible to no one but Fia.
That hint of dislike and disdain was the only thing that kept her silent, rather than raising her voice to hotly protest the king’s overfamiliarity with Raea’s chief representative.
“Truly, our light burns brighter than ever this year,” Orden answered. “Have you seen the prince? He’ll be a blaze to rival the sun itself, I’ve no doubt.”
“A marvel,” Dolenza confirmed, glancing down at Justus, who Fia knew to be an entirely unexceptional infant.
“A future king, and one sustained by a daughter of my order. From such small beginnings, new eras dawn. To that end, I should like to invite all present to Raea’s house for the conclusion of summer council, along with Honoria’s king and queen and whatever members of court they choose to accompany them.
Bring your son to my cloister, Majesty, and I will give him a gift fit for a ruler, to further the accord between us. ”
“You pique my interest, Matria,” Orden said with a bow. “How can I refuse such an offer? The moment the prince’s naming ceremony ends, we’ll begin preparations to visit you. I should like a chance to see the coast—all my life I’ve lived in Honoria and never been.”
Dolenza’s eyes and Fia’s met briefly at the admission, which the king surely would not have made were he less in his cups.
Thousands of Honorians walked willingly or were forced onto vessels bound for Vesper every year, crossing the waves to serve as fodder for the Invers’ war.
Some died in the crossing, throwing themselves overboard rather than arriving at the front.
Other ships sank in storms or were blown to pieces by the weaponry of the Vesperins.
There were many ways to meet a watery death before ever facing the hellfires of the front.
And Orden Inver had never seen the sea.
“Raea’s blessings are manifold,” Dolenza said smoothly, turning back to the king.
“Our harbor and vineyards and granaries give life to Honoria, and line the cloister’s coffers well.
It will be my pleasure to show them all to you, and to discuss how the abundance we’ve been granted might further benefit Honoria at large.
I believe there has been talk of sanctions at council thus far, leveled against us by other nations—forgive me if I keep informed of such matters, Majesty.
It would be Raea’s pleasure to mitigate the effect of any such censure. ”
Orden kissed Dolenza’s hand, and Fia fought an urge to roll her eyes. It was an insipid gesture, and one never practiced by followers of the Three. Either you were trusted enough to warrant a hand over the heart, or you were kept out of reach. None of this pageantry or insincerity.