Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey [119]
"You've no cause to complain. You've almost reached your majority," Alais said tartly. "And stop calling me that."
Thus, Alais.
And then there was Sidonie.
In her own way, she stood by me, too. Over a year had passed since I made my impulsive oath of fealty to her, and still, throughout this ordeal, neither of us spoke of it. Instead, we treated one another with increasing degrees of courtesy and respect. It was a strange thing, this framework; so distant and formal, built around a shared secret.
Why did neither of us invoke it?
I could not say, save that for my part, it proved nothing. Oaths may be broken. Even Joscelin, whom I idolized, had broken most of his Cassiline vows. Surely my detractors would point to that example. What did I have in response? My mother's word, a diamond strung on a fraying velvet rope. A note reading I keep my promises.
Mayhap it was even true; still, I did not think it would play well at Court. And mayhap Sidonie knew it, too.
She turned sixteen that spring, becoming eligible for the Game of Courtship. Her natality fell a few weeks before mine. The Queen staged a gala for the occasion. I hovered on the outskirts of it, watching suitors declare themselves in relentless pursuit. Bertran de Trevalion was numbered among them, which was another reason I kept my distance.
"Have you ever seen men fishing for sharks?" Mavros murmured in my ear.
I shook my head.
His hand tightened on my shoulder. "They go into a frenzy at the scent of blood in the water," he said. "I'm almost tempted to pity the lass."
"I wouldn't," Roshana said. "Look at her! She's capable of holding her own."
Sidonie was, too. She was coolly polite to all her suitors, encouraging to none. The frenzy was held at bay. There were other factors, of course. There was Amarante of Namarre, appointed as one of her ladies-in-waiting. Her mother Bérèngere was the head of Naamah's Order, and I suspected she had been recruited to instruct Sidonie in Naamah's arts.
And there was Maslin de Lombelon.
I came to hate him that spring. It is a piece of irony, since I had wanted so much for him to like me, once. But a schism had emerged at Court, and we found ourselves on opposite sides of it. Like Bertran, he had reason to abhor the scent of treachery, and he made no secret of his mistrust. Like Bertran, he had an interest in Sidonie. Although he didn't declare it openly, it was obvious. Maslin's, I think, ran deeper than mere political ambition.
It all came out in the hunt.
I wouldn't have gone if Alais hadn't begged me. Drustan had brought her a Pictish bow on his last visit—Cruithne women are skilled with the bow—and she had been practicing with it, but this would be her first time trying her hand at bringing down live game.
It fell on one of those rare spring days when all seems right with the world. Gilot and Hugues and Ti-Philippe all accompanied me. With their company, riding at Alais' side, I felt buffered from the unpleasantness. Most of my former friends were in the cluster surrounding Sidonie. There were so many of them, I couldn't even see Maslin, taking his usual place as Sidonie's self-appointed personal Captain of the Guard.
Hugues sang aloud as we rode to the Queen's Wood, his voice ringing in the bright air. At Ti-Philippe's urging, he declaimed a few of his own verses. I winked at Alais, who ducked her head to hide a smile. Hugues sang beautifully, but he was a wretched poet.
All in all, I was in good spirits by the time we reached the wood.
The Queens Wood was a small forest, but an old and stately one, preserved for the royal family's hunting pleasure. Mostly it is fallow deer they hunt there; we had been cautioned against bringing down aught but bucks, since the does were likely to be carrying or new mothers. I bade Alais to keep a sharp eye on Celeste, pacing at her side. She nodded, her jaw set.
We ventured into the forest, stringing out in a long, ungainly line. At this time of year, it was open, almost airy. The trees had yet to attain their full foliage, and broad shafts of sunlight pierced the canopy.