I nod. “Yes, I didn’t want to have to do that to the innkeeper, but I would have. I also set it to proceed slowly so that anyone looking at the horses likely wouldn’t notice.”
“If we can get into Dobile a bit early, I want to take Usami and Nasu to the horse market to see if we can find them a mount. Perhaps with Inaba and the others left to tend the caravan, we could go ahead? I want to make a proper entrance to the palace with my honor guard mounted and banners flying. I want to glamour the horses and the carriage to look Fey as well. I want them to know that Yávi? Mairi? Andún?, the highest-ranking member of the Fey Court, has arrived. By all rights, this should be a state occasion second only to Ellisar himself arriving here or another member of the royal family. If you don’t mind, I think we should arrive in Fey clothing. I want to give your king some pause before he thinks to try to put his hands on me. I want him to think that Ellisar might actually care if he tries it.”
Kenric considers this and nods. “I need to find Melina. I’ll need a couple of other ladies willing to wear a Fey dress. I can tweak them a bit to be a bit less revealing, but I’ll want to redo your suit from the wedding. I think autumn oak leaves would be an excellent look on you for this.” Kenric laughs. “I rather like your reactions to watching me remove clothing than putting it on or wearing it. I’ll wear whatever you think is best.”
I smirk at him. “Be a very good boy, and you might get to see some more of them. I was thinking of dressing up the Sergeant. I know he’ll hate it, but I’ll make sure he can keep his armor and things, too. You’ll have to get two of the other men to go along with this, too. If the Sergeant really refuses, pick three of them. I’ll leave it up to you to pick who it is. We will be marching into that palace looking like an entire group of Fey has come here to live.”
Kenric laughs and agrees as I hurry off to find Melina. I tell her what the plan is, and she’s thoughtful. “Most of the ladies I could get on short notice would be well-known to the rest of the court, but my youngest brother is quite infatuated with an actress who might be perfect for an evening. She might even be able to provide a friend or two.” I frown. “I’d be worried that they might say or do something untoward. I might be able to make things work, though, if they can behave like ladies for a day or so. I think I can disguise them so that no one will recognize them, and they’ll get to live in the palace for a day before they become distraught about how poor this kingdom is, horrified at the rustic living conditions, and upset over the disgusting food. They can have a meltdown and then huff off back to The Hamadryad to go home and report back to Ellisar on what a deplorable place this is. I can arrange for lookalikes to pretend to board The Hamadryad, and we can un-disguise them before we smuggle them out of the palace.
Melina laughs delightedly. “Oh my! That could work quite well. It might even result in you getting better rooms in the palace.”
I need to send some messages back with Mabry anyway, and this is an excellent way to put some letters into the hands of those I trust. I can glamour some of Inaba’s men to look like these women until they’re aboard The Hamadryad for a time. I doubt anyone would question sending a couple of the honor guard back to ensure they get safely on the ship.
“We are going to take the carriages and go on into Dobile. I will take my honor guard as outriders. See if you can arrange for these actresses to meet us at the inn. I will have to go to the horse market to see if I can find two more horses. Once I have the horses, we’ll return to the inn and be very, very busy.”
Melina grins. “I will send for them straight away. The extra day will give me more time to work on hiring some ladies for you and some other help that you’ll require.”
Ellisar sent me here, alone, looking like an outcast, but I will arrive at this palace as befits my rank, though in truth, there should be far more than three ladies of the Fey court with me. Had I gone to a neighboring kingdom for such an occasion, there would have been a dozen more ladies sent to accompany me, though few would remain for any time past the wedding. Despite making many of them nervous or fearful, I have gone, glamoured to appear normal instead of feral, as part of a retinue a few times since the army released me.
One skill of mine that Ellisar trusts implicitly is my ability to take the lead when needed and to leave Lantecari sheathed otherwise. Sending me with the less martially inclined women gave them an added bit of protection that has been useful, as I can deal with problems that arise in ways the males can’t. Other Fey kingdoms are usually less powerful than Ellisar’s. He’s been chastised a few times for sending a half-feral female, despite my never having caused any problems, aside from a few half-joking insults to diffuse tensions over some male who was far too intent on one of the females of the party.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Some choice words are usually enough to put such males in their place, maybe even make them a bit of a laughingstock for their bad behavior. When that’s not enough, a quick slip of the glamour and a big, nasty grin showing both rows of teeth usually does the trick. If it still doesn’t work, I still have Lantecari and I’m not afraid to use it. A quick practice bout with one of the court's better swordsmen clearly makes my point, and the harassment stops before it gets out of hand or causes a diplomatic incident. Especially if one of the males with us slips about my reputation for dueling.
Even so, I have a busy evening ahead. I need to glamor a carriage and horses. I also need to glamor men and women. Additionally, I have clothing and other things to make. I will be using a lot of magic, so I’ll need time to sleep and eat so my magic can recover properly. Finding and hiring Inaba’s band was a lucky stroke. I will have to make caparisons and banners. Overall, I think it balances out. I can also spread the story that Ellisar didn’t want to send away so many Fey women and have them so far from home. We just negotiated for the delivery of several females, so it shouldn’t be to hard to sell the idea.
Storms, leviathans, pirates, krakens, and other dangers make the crossing perilous, even for a Fey. I’ll face this king when my ladies flee in dismay. I can negotiate a favorable arrangement with this king in exchange for staying and fulfilling the terms of the contract. This king wants this trade deal badly, and I plan to use that to my advantage. While I may be married to one of his subjects and living in his kingdom, he is not my king. I have not bowed my knee or sworn anything to this man, and I never will.
The only vows I will be taking are to Kenric as his wife. The water break ends, and we must climb back into the bouncy, jolting carriages. Usami and Nasu climb back in with me while Kenric apprises the Sergeant of our plan. The Sergeant isn’t pleased with this but sends Yoshida and Hagiwara with us, as outriders to accompany us on our faster route to Dobile. It’s another few hours of travel if we leave the caravan behind. We reach the outskirts of Dobile and find the inn. Melina is ensconced, and then we head to the horse market.
I’m wandering down the aisles of pens, my tendrils of magic searching through the horses, when suddenly Nasu tugs at my arm, pointing at a horse. We approach, and the horse clearly recognizes him. I can’t understand Nasu, but I think he’s trying to tell me that this was the horse he had with him when the ship wrecked. They want two hundred ducats for him, and they’re willing to throw in some tack since he was found wandering with “funny, foreign gear” and lame. He’s still lame, which is why the price is so low. Lame is something I can fix, and an example of what sort of equipment these men are used to will help recreate it for the others.
I have Kenric haggle with the man, and he buys the horse. Nasu is over the moon about finding his horse. Now to find a mount for Usami. I send my tendrils back out and get a response from a horse near the end of a row of pens. Kenric stops me, “That’s where the gluer’s buy their nags.” I smirk. “Like the ones we already bought?” Kenric drops his hand and gestures for me to proceed. I walk quickly, following my tendril of magic. I find what should be a magnificent beast, a silver-black stallion. Silver blacks are unusual.
They’re black bodies with whitish-gray manes and tails. The effect on a healthy animal is stunning. This is not a healthy animal. He’s got all four feet hobbled, half-starved, and muzzled. I haul Usami over to the fence and speak to the horse. “If I take you from this place, will you serve this man and let him ride you?” I get the mental equivalent of a shrug from the horse.
The horse doesn’t think he can even carry a rider in his current condition. “Leave that to me. I’ll have you right as rain by tomorrow morning. If you’re healthy enough to carry a rider, will you serve Usami?”
This time, I receive a very different response from the horse. “No, you cannot come back here and trample all of them, but if you will let me, I’ll see to your vengeance for the mistreatment.”
The horse bobs his head in equine agreement. I nudge Kenric to haggle for this beast.
Kenric comes back grinning. “Only 50 ducats for this one, but no tack. I did get a halter and lead for him, though. They said you’ll have to remove the hobbles and unmuzzle him.”
Rolling my eyes, I duck through the fence and remove the hobbles and then the muzzle. He lowers his head for the halter, and I slip it on him. While I’m about it, I make sure that the men who have abused him suddenly find themselves ridden with intestinal parasites. To add insult to injury, I have Kenric boost me up so that I can sit sideways on the horse’s back as we head back to the stables at the inn. I spend some time getting to know this horse. His name is Wulf. These men haven’t beaten him, but they were planning to sell him to a tanner for his hide.
To the horse dealer’s amazement, Usami leads him through the market with me perched on his back sideways. Wulf is content to let me work my magic on him as we go. Wulf is a docile as a lamb for me as I explain that we’re going to an inn where the grooms will be charged with bathing him, and caring for his feet. Wulf agrees to permit this in exchange for extra food, water, and hay. When we return to the inn, Usami goes to curry Wulf and care for him, while I go to see if Melina has had any luck with these actresses. I have Kenric tell the innkeeper we’ll need two more rooms.
- Which moment hit you hardest—and why?