PART I Chapter 8

Ashanta slipped out the back of the castle. The dragon had been true to his word, and had not been seen again, but the castle guard had become irritatingly determined to keep her in sight since the third sighting. It had become nearly impossible to talk to Lingqui, or even to Sharra, without an escort of men who she did not want listening to her conversations. This time, she had given them the slip by sneaking out the kitchen door, and through the coal cellar. They did not like going into the kitchen with its heat and foul smells, and were quite happy to let her go in and talk to the Muerth without them. And Muerth, sympathizing with her plight, had shepherded her out through the coal cellar and into the oak wood behind the castle. She was filthy, she knew, and she hoped that would make her more difficult to recognize for anyone looking out a window.

Sharra was in the corner of the grove, praying, and Ashanta walked up and waited patiently until she was finished. Interrupting the prayer was bad form, and might anger the gods. Ashanta had enough problems right now without that. "Sharra," she began once the priestess had finished, "my moon time is past," she hesitated, "but I did not bleed." She waited to for Sharra's response.

"Are you certain?" demanded Sharra. "Perhaps the excitement of the last weeks has interrupted your cycle, or perhaps you have miscounted?"

Ashanta shook her head. "I do not think so. I have not missed a moon time since first I began to have them. I fear that the other explanation is the correct one."

"King Rafe cannot be the father." Sharra stated the obvious.

Ashanta shook her head. "No. This child must be the child of the Dragon King."

They looked at each other for a while, feeling bleak. "We must tell Lingqui," Sharra said then, "for we need his advice. I do not know what to think, or what to do, or what the ramifications of your pregnancy might be."

Ashanta nodded, "But how? I can hardly get away from the guard to speak with you for a moment. How should I find the opportunity to speak with both you and Lingqui, and for hours, not just a few minutes."

Sharra smiled at her, "I think that there is a way. Does the guard come into your chamber with you, or do Firth and his men just wait outside?"

"They wait outside in the corridor, but they will not let anyone in through the door, save Thara, my maid. So I do not see how that can help."

"And do they leave a guard in the corridor when you are not there, so that no one can get into your chamber?" Sharra continued.

Ashanta hesitated, "I do not know. I do not believe that they do, but I may be wrong. Perhaps they do some of the time."

"Then you will have to trust that I can arrange the necessary meeting," Sharra assured her. "We will meet, along with Lingqui, after dinner tomorrow evening. There is a big feast planned to celebrate the good news that we had from King Rafe today."

"What good news?" Ashanta demanded. "The bird that came this morning told that our allies are being stubborn and making unreasonable demands for supporting our cause. Surely this cannot be considered good news. It might not be bad news, exactly, since they have not refused to help us entirely, but calling it good news seems a bit much."

Shara smiled slyly, and beckoned Ashanta further into the grove of oak trees, into a place where the branches bent down almost to the ground and gave them good coverage. "Look," she ordered. She pulled from the fold of her sleeve a piece of parchment. "How many people have seen the letter that was delivered this morning?"

Ashanta shook her head, "I do not know. I saw it, and you. I know not whether Lingqui saw the letter or not. Perhaps Firth, or some of the other guards, though they do not read well. What do you have planned?"

From a hole in the trunk of the oak tree, Sharra removed a pen and an inkwell. She spread the parchment on a flat-topped stone, and looked up at Ashanta. "There will be a different message that is circulated. We will write it together, and it will say that after many weeks of pigheadedness, the others have come around and become agreeable to assisting us. There will only be the details to work out."

"But," protested Ashanta,"what if they do not agree to assist us? Then we will be caught. And what if there are people who remember what the original letter said? What if someone has the letter, and checks what it said? What if they can trace it to us?"

"So many worries," Sharra said smugly. "Think of the child in your womb. If she is to save the kingdom, then you must remain calm. And we must meet with Lingqui. As far as the original letter goes, someone does have it. Fortunately, that someone is me, and I shall feed it to the flames as soon as I may. I believe that a sacrifice to the goddess of the wood is fitting at such a time, as the meeting is taking place under the shadow of the biggest forest in the kingdom. The parchment would make excellent kindling. As far as the other, we will make only the smallest of changes, so that even if someone does remember the letter, there will be only a word that is different here, and a phrase that is different there. The changes that we make will be so insignificant in nature, that they will think that they are simply misremembering what the original said.

"So, we make a new version of the King's letter, and then I will ensure that it gets into Lingqui's hands. Who better to disseminate its message through the castle? You, my dear, must speak with Muerth and suggest that we have a feast. Not, of course, a huge celebratory feast, but a small one, fitting for such a time. Ensure that all of the castle guard will be there, save perhaps for Brandit, who I think can be trusted, and who should probably remain at the gate. While you are at the banquet, celebrating your husband's success at the negotiation table, Lingqui and I shall secret ourselves in your chamber."

Ashanta nodded slowly, "Will no one notice that you and Lingqui are not at the feast?"

"We shall go to the feast," Sharra responded calmly. "I shall leave after the dinner is finished to make sacrifices and to pray for the success of the King's mission. Lingqui will also be there, and he will entertain the diners. But he shall fall and hurt himself, and be forced to withdraw to his chambers that he might rest and recover from his injury. Our absence at the end of the feast will be well explained."

Ashanta sighed, "Very well. I think it a risky proposition, but I know not how else to make things work. The guards will check my chamber before I enter in order to ensure that no one has hidden there. Make sure that your hiding places are good ones."

Well they were talking, Sharra had been working steadily on the replacement letter, and now she held it up for Ashanta's approval. The parchment had been treated so that it looked as if it had been tied to the leg of a bird, and the handwriting was nearly indistinguishable from that of the king. Without the original or some other means of comparison at hand, it would be nearly impossible to spot the forgery.


Ashanta smiled, at least the replacement letter was believable. Maybe, just maybe, they would be able to pull this off after all. "I had better get back to the castle. I'm sure that the guard is looking for me by now, and they'll be rather upset when they realize that I've sneaked out through the coal cellar and spent an hour in the oak grove with you."

Sharra nodded her agreement, "It's too bad that you're covered with coal dust. It would be far better if you looked like you'd gotten caught up in something in the kitchen."

A big grin on her face, Ashanta headed back to the castle. The outside door to the coal cellar, where the coal man man made his deliveries, was still standing open, and she slipped through it, pulling it shut behind her. The air was thick with coal dust, and she coughed a little as she crawled through to the kitchen side. This would be a lot more comfortable and less messy if this space were tall enough to stand up in, or at least crouch in, she thought ruefully. Fortunately, the cellar opened up some on the kitchen side and she was able to stand up before she tapped lightly on the door to be let out.

Muerth opened the door almost immediately, "Highness," he murmured and stood aside to let her out. "You were gone a long time. I was certain that those guards of yours would be in here looking, even if I did offer them beer to make the wait seem shorter."

"Quick, Muerth," Ashanta said, "I need to look like I was helping in the kitchen. What do you have that will cover up the coal dust that I have all over me? If they realize that I can get out through the coal cellar, they'll never let me into the kitchen alone again. Blasted guardsmen! Surely they have something better to do than follow me all over the kitchen!"

Muerth laughed, "I know just the thing, Highness. Fortunately we have been baking bread and making stew all afternoon. You will be covered in flour and spattered with stew, and no one will know the difference. Though," he added, looking at her carefully, "were I you, I would bathe as soon as possible, and change my clothes. Spending time in the kitchen will make your clothing and your hair smell rather strongly, you know."

Ashanta stood perfectly still while Muerth sprinkled flour over her head and shoulders and spattered stew around her clothing. Soon most of the coal dust was covered up, and she smelled exactly like someone who had been helping in the kitchens. "Next time, wear the apron that I give you," Muerth ordered loudly as she walked over to the door. "They're easier to clean than the velvet and silk of your dress."

As she knew they would be, the guardsmen were standing outside the entrance to the kitchens, clearly bored of having to wait for her for an hour. The evidence of their drinking stood about them, and Ashanta noticed that they seemed rather unsteady on their feet. Good, perhaps they won't even notice what my clothes and hair look like, she thought. "I am going to my apartment," Ashanta declared. "That cook neglected to give me an apron and a cap to protect my clothing and my hair, and now look at me!" She swirled up the steps to the royal apartment with the guard in hot pursuit. Upon arriving in her chamber, she walked directly over and pulled the cord to summon Thara to her.

Thara arrived slowly, looking surprised to be called in the middle of the day, and as though she had been sleeping. "I need to bathe," Ashanta said simply. "Please bring me a bath." Thara looked puzzled, but left promptly to request hot water from the kitchens. Soon she called to Ashanta to tell her that that bath was full, and that she might bathe herself.