PART I Chapter 2

Muerth, the head cook, was the first to receive the invitation from the queen. Opening it at once, for it bore her seal, he stared at it in puzzlement. "I do not read very well," he admitted to Thara. "The message seems to be directing me to dine with the queen this evening, but surely I am reading it wrong. I am just a cook, even if a great one." 

Thara sighed. What the queen wanted with inviting these people to dine with her she would never know, but she obliged Muerth with an answer, "I believe that the queen does wish you to dine with her today," she said, "I do not know what she has in mind, but she has also invited Lingqui, the jester, and Brandit, the gatekeeper, to join her. She has some idea in her head, but she will never tell me what it is."

Muerth looked at her in surprise, "But how am I supposed to go and dine with the queen when I have to feed everyone in the castle? It is a big job, you know."

Thara snorted, "I'd best not ignore a directive from the queen were I you," she observed. "Besides, half the castle or more is off with the king on that fool's mission. He'll never get the Lords to agree to devote their armies to his cause. Let Misha feed the rest of them." She turned on her heel and marched off to find Brandit at the gate.

He was sitting in the gatekeeper's office when she arrived, watching for anyone who might be coming up the road. Tradespeople were normally let in with little fuss, as well as the traveling players who arrived in town from time to time. Anyone who seemed like they might make a fuss was held to be inspected by the royal guard. Now, of course, there was no royal guard available, so he had to rely on Firth, who was hardly qualified for that kind of thing. He hoped that there would not be any problems while the king was gone, but it was hardly something that one could count on. It seemed that those sorts of things were only more likely to happen when they didn't have the people to handle it. 

Thara thrust the invitation under his nose, "Fat lot of good you do, sitting here daydreaming," she scoffed. "The queen sent this to you. Best do as it says, and look smart about it too."

Brandit slipped his finger under the seal carefully. It wasn't every day that someone like him got a letter from the queen. Best not to tear it, he thought. "If I'm to go and dine with the queen, who is to watch the gate?" he asked, "I can't very well just leave it unattended. Who knows what sorts of people might come in!"

Thara sighed. What was with these people? Did they not understand how much of an honor it was to dine with the queen? Did they really think that the jobs that they did were so important that no one else could do them? "Find someone else to watch the gate," she replied. "It isn't like anyone is going to show up after dark and expect to get in anyway, so it wouldn't have to be someone who knows anything."

Brandit nodded. "I'll figure something out," he acknowledged with a wave, as Thara headed off to find the high priestess.

"Just two more left," she muttered to herself. "At least I understand why the queen would want to invite Sharra to dinner. She's a bit strange, and, to be sure, I wouldn't want to be like her, but she is someone important. Not like Muerth, or Brandit, or, worst of all, Lingqui. Well, perhaps I shan't even be able to find that one." Thara shuddered. The last thing they needed was that idiot weighing in on matters of state.

Thara walked toward the ash grove in the back of the castle. She hoped that she would find the high priestess there. Otherwise, it was nearly impossible to guess at where Sharra might have ended up. Thara sometimes wondered whether Sharra could fly like a bird or make herself invisible. She had such a knack for disappearing, and then suddenly reappearing in the unlikeliest times and places. Fortunately, Thara was in luck, and she promptly handed over the invitation that was addressed to Sharra.

She took in the content of the invitation at a glance, "I had expected something like this," she said. "Who else has been invited?"

Thara gulped, "Muerth, Brandit, and Lingqui, the jester. I haven't found Lingqui yet, but the other two will be there. They initially failed to see what an honor it was to be invited to dine with the queen, but I assured them that it was of utmost importance that they follow the directive. I don't understand what the queen wants with them, but it is hardly my place to ask questions."

"You are a wise woman," Sharra agreed. "Sometimes it is better to know less of things that we cannot understand. The queen has chosen wisely in you." She turned away, "I must prepare for the meeting. Please excuse me."

Well, thought Thara, there at least is one who did not try to argue with me. I do wonder what the queen is planning though. 

Lingqui could be tricky to find, she knew. He was almost as hard to track down as the kitchen boys when she needed something done. They could generally be found in the stables when they weren't in the kitchen, dreaming about becoming a groom and caring for the king's horses. Thara headed for the stables. If Lingqui wasn't there, perhaps someone could at least suggest to her where he might be.

Poking her head in at the door, Thara called, "Is Lingqui in there? The queen has sent him a message." She withdrew her head as quickly as possible. The stable stank of animals. She failed to see how anyone would prefer working in the stable over working in the kitchen, which at the very least smelled good some of the time.

A voice spoke by her elbow, "Her Highness has something for me?"

Thara jumped. Next to her was the jester, clad in gaily colored clothing with painted face grinning leeringly up at her. Trying to suppress her annoyance, Thara thrust the note at him. "The queen wishes for you to dine with her this evening. Try to look less ridiculous, if that's possible."

Lingqui turned a somersault, landing back on his feet, "I shall be there if the queen wishes it." He darted away across the castle yard.

*****

Ashanta paced her chamber. In the room next door, Misha was laying out places for five, arranging things just so. Ashanta laughed; would Misha be so careful if she knew who the places were for? The cook, the gatekeeper, the jester. These were not the sorts of people who normally dined with the queen. Rather, they were wont to end up with whatever had been sent back from the main hall, though at least they got the best of that rather than the dregs.

Misha poked her head into the room, "The table is ready, Highness. Who do you wish to serve the dinner?"

Ashanta thought for a moment. "I will serve it myself, Misha. Bring up the food and set it on the table outside of my chamber. I will handle things from there." Shaking her head, Misha walked off down the corridor, returning soon after with a cart laden with platters of meat, fowl, and roasted vegetables, tureens of soup, baskets of bread and fruit, and pitchers of wine. She transferred everything to the table and left again.

It would not be long now until all of the invitees gathered in her apartment, Ashanta knew. She began to carry the food into the room. How did Misha manage all of this, she wondered. The platters and tureens were heavy, and Misha was so tiny. It seemed that she must be carrying things that outweighed her. How many of her invited guests had even been into the royal apartments before? Surely Brandit had not, nor Muerth. There would have been no need for the gatekeeper to enter this part of the castle, and Muerth had always sent underlings to talk to her when such things were necessary. He rarely left his kitchens, even sleeping on a cot that he pushed into a corner. Was that normal? Ashanta had never been in the kitchens in another castle. She shook her head vigorously to clear the stray thoughts. None of this would be helpful for the discussion that she needed to have.

The first to arrive to dinner was Sharra, who bowed and took her seat at the table. The jester followed with a deep bow and an obnoxious face. He had changed into more sober clothing and washed the paint from his face, but he still cut a ridiculous figure as he tumbled into his seat. Muerth and the gatekeeper arrived together, each looking worried as they slunk into the room, bowed, and slipped into their seats.

"Well, Highness, I believe that we are all here," began Sharra, "so perhaps you can tell us why we have been summoned. We seem rather a motley lot of characters; hardly the important and powerful leaders that one would expect to dine in private with the queen."

Ashanta looked about her. Sharra seemed confident. That was to be expected. Despite her claim to the contrary, Sharra had a great deal of influence. After all, she could communicate with the spirit world and predict the future. Admittedly, she didn't always seem to be exactly right, but when Sharra explained her prophecies after the fact, it invariably turned out that she had forecast exactly what had happened, and they had all been to foolish to understand it properly. Lingqui sat making faces at her, playing the fool as always. Ashanta knew that he was far from a fool, and that his foolish actions allowed him access to discussions that she would never be allowed near. Muerth and Brandit looked terrified. Were they afraid that they were going to be dismissed? She would hardly have bothered to invite them for dinner if that was what was in the works. They had invaluable insight into the way that the castle ran, and, unlike that smarmy Firth, Ashanta trusted them. They had served King Rafe's father in the same capacities and had always proven themselves trustworthy.