Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [244]
"Aye."
Bao shook his head. "Stupid princess," he murmured. "Risking her life for a bunch of stubborn peasants."
"So says my stubborn peasant-boy," I observed.
"Uh-huh." His expression was somber. "Moirin, as much as I like having you beside me, the peasant-boy thinks the royal concubine should attend her noble mistress. She should not be alone at such a time."
I went to her, listening to the farmers whispering. If there had been any lingering doubts in their minds, they had been erased this day. The Granddaughter of Heaven had done the impossible, and she had done it to protect them.
She looked very lonely.
Her head lifted at my approach, her blood-streaked face brightening a little beneath the blindfold. "Moirin?"
It occurred to me that I was the only person to have felt the touch of her dragon-possessed strength and lived. For that alone, I thought, she was glad of my presence. "Aye, my lady," I said softly. "I am here."
We made camp on the outskirts of the battlefield. The Naxi folk came down from the mountains, slings in hand, shy and deferential— yet proud, too. Snow Tiger received them with her customary grace, thanking them generously for their aid. She promised to see that they would be allowed to keep their traditions. They bowed in awe and retreated back into the hills. It wasn't until they had gone that she let me tend to her, washing away the gore as best I could with a bucket and sponge.
She winced when I cleaned the cut on her cheek.
"I'm sorry," I murmured.
"No, it's just…" Her voice was wistful. "Do you suppose it will leave a scar?"
"I don't know, my lady," I said. "I hope not." My heart ached for her. Beneath everything, she was still just a young woman, subject to any girl's foibles and vanity. I busied myself setting a kettle on the brazier to brew willow-bark tea, knowing every fiber of her body would be hurting. "Tell me, these Naxi people. They're shepherd folk, aye? What are these customs that they hold so dear?"
It sufficed to distract her. I listened with half an ear as the princess explained that the Naxi practiced a form of marriage and matrilineal inheritance not accepted elsewhere in Ch'in, reminding me of the quarrels that had nearly torn apart Alba. I got her into clean robes and set the others, stiffening with gore, to soak in a bucket.
Master Lo Feng came to tend to her cut cheek, smearing it with unguent. She did not ask him if it would leave a scar.
When darkness fell, I didn't wait for the night terrors to come. In our shared tent, I laid my blankets close beside hers. I felt her sigh with reluctant pleasure when I put my arm around her in the darkness, the tight-strung bow of her body loosening against me. Without a word spoken, her hand sought mine.
"Sleep," I whispered. "Sleep without dreams, my lady. You have earned it. You protected them all."
She slept.
I did, too.
Somewhere, the bright lady smiled quietly.
Three days later, we came upon an Imperial watch-post.
Our network of country spies alerted us to their presence. Wanting to avoid any misunderstanding, we sent a handful of farmers ahead to notify the Imperial forces of our approach.
I daresay they doubted it anyway, for they waited to receive us in full armor, bows drawn and arrows nocked. Bao reported this to the princess in a low murmur. She listened, then held up one hand.
"I bid all of you to wait here," she said in a clear, carrying voice. "Let me ride forward alone to greet my Noble Father's men."
I held my breath and watched, my fingers itching for my own bow. Beside me, Bao clutched his staff so hard his knuckles were white. Despite my best efforts, Snow Tiger bore little resemblance to the resplendent figure I had first encountered clad in embroidered robes, adorned with jewels, a crimson sash binding her eyes. Her modest robes were worn and frayed, blotched with faded brown stains I hadn't been able to remove. Her blindfold was a grimy strip