Page 17 of Stranger's Choice
Interesting. Tjalik and Marsone had both commented on Auraelie wearing the opaque veil, but with different interpretations. Tjalik saw it as a sign that she had power over the Emperor. Marsone didn’t understand the reasons, but assumed the Emperor had made the choice, not Auraelie herself. Sebin knew now that she didn’t choose her veil, and that she did not relish losing the opaque one. Sebin had to assume that the sheer veil meant something more than being open to finding a lover. Auraelie’s reactions, Marsone’s comments all pointed at it implying acceptance of a lover.
And Auraelie didn’t get to make that decision for herself.
Sebin forced himself not to dwell on that line of thought. Now, with Marsone, wasn’t the time. Instead, he focused on the fact that Marsone did not seem to know about Auraelie’s reaction to direct contact, nor Sebin’s immunity to her power. The space around Sebin, Auraelie, and the bodyguard had been fairly clear when he spoke to the Emperor. Perhaps no one else had heard what they had said.
He would not make the mistake of disclosing more secrets today. “A sword in the face is an excellent motivator to reassess priorities.”
Marsone nodded. “Indeed,dyela. I wouldn’t want to face that man even without his blade drawn. Between the bodyguard and the oracle, the Emperor is certainly protected from any sort of threat.”
If anyone else had said those words, Sebin would have dug to see if they wanted the Emperor susceptible to threats. He still was undecided on Tjalik’s revolutionary plans, but mostly because he felt the man was too narrow-sighted. He only seemed to understand the needs of the humans in Kalitalo—those without money and connection, that is. If Tjalik reassessed his priorities and considered the views of discontented courtiers, the common people throughout Pynth, and the magical races, then perhaps his rebellion would be worth supporting.
There had been just enough hints of dissatisfaction, all subtle, all carefully hidden under bright smiles and exuberant conversations, that Sebin suspected the courtiers of Pynth were nearly as ready for a change as Tjalik’s followers. Marsone, however, was not one of the people Sebin had tagged as upset with the status quo.
Marsone was a lickspittle. When he said the Emperor was protected, he was praising him, not complaining.
Sebin wouldn’t probe for Marsone’s loyalties, but he could use the man to dig for general information. “He is, though a single bodyguard seems strange considering his position. I have only ever seen the one guard. Does he never sleep?”
“The Imperial Guard take over at night, and they are always around. You’ve seen them in the palace, I’m certain,dyela. They always watch the doors of whatever room the Emperor is in. They aren’t quite as intimidating as the Emperor’s personal guard, but their numbers make up for that.”
Sebin had seen the Imperial Guardsmen flanking the doorways of the rooms the Emperor occupied, but they looked more ornamental than anything. He realized he had made the mistake of discounting the danger they posed because he assumed the Emperor just liked the pomp of having guards in his vicinity.
Sebin’s father, King Duirden, would probably have rows of guards trail him around to show his own importance if Moialans didn’t consider bodyguards gauche. Duirden wouldn’t care if the guardsmen were competent, so long as they looked imposing, standing at attention.
More questions about the Emperor’s bodyguards would be unwise, but Sebin longed to clarify that there was only one true bodyguard. What happened if he was sick? Did one of the Imperial Guard step in? How well trained were the guardsmen?
Hopefully, Tjalik had answers to at least some of those questions. Sebin did not believe assassinating the Emperor was the right path to making life better, but the information could still be useful.
He spoke longer with Marsone, leaving the man only when his freshest memories were Sebin’s interest in the entertainments to be found down in Kalitalo proper.
He spoke to a few more courtiers, each one curious about his sudden admission to speaking the language, none of whom seemed to realize that Auraelie’s convulsions resulted from her magic or that he was immune to that power. By the end of the evening, he felt more sure of himself and more comfortable in the imperial court. Perhaps working through Tjalik for so long had been a mistake.
However, not having the man as an interpreter created a different issue. Sebin was unsure how to approach Tjalik without drawing attention now. Perhaps they could meet in one of the taverns Marsone had mentioned. Well, probably not one of the specific ones Marsone had named, but some tavern in Kalitalo ought to work.
“What are youdoing here at this hour?” Sebin stared at Auraelie in confusion. He hadn’t yet gone to bed—the hour was not that late—but still, she had never knocked on his door before and she had always left him after supper. Was she expected to make up for lost time because of this afternoon? He didn’t need an attendant in his room. Not that he needed one anywhere.
“Explaining the veils to you,” Auraelie muttered. She still wore the sheer veil she had donned earlier.
Sebin narrowed his eyes, but waved her in and to a set of cushions in the outer room. He settled onto the other across a low table from her. “All right, explain the veils to me.”
“A woman in the dark veil is untouchable. She has declared herself not interested in the pleasures of the flesh, and her decision must be respected.”
“That part I understand.” In Imperial, at least in this instance, dark didn’t refer to the shade either. Auraelie’s veil was still black, but it would be called a light veil. Sebin wanted to hear whatever Auraelie had to tell him, though. “It is the sheer veils that confuse me.”
Auraelie didn’t acknowledge his words, but kept talking as if she had practiced this lecture. “The light veils signal a possibility. A woman will wear the light veil if she is open to taking a lover. The light veil and tunic represent that she is only considering particular people, though those people might change on a day-to-day basis. A sheer veil and bodice means that the woman is available in certain situations, but in those situations to anyone who is interested. Take Lhashiki, for example.”
“Who is Lhashiki?”
“She is the First among the Emperor’s Will. You’ve seen her many times.”
“Is she the one almost always by the Emperor’s side with the bodyguard?”
“Yes.”
Sebin mulled over the fact he hadn’t heard her name before now. Just like no one ever said Auraelie’s name—except the earth sprite—and Marsone had always referred to the Emperor’s bodyguard by his role, and never by name. For that matter, no one referred to the Emperor by name, either.
“Are names taboo in Pynth?” No, that couldn’t be right. The courtiers all used each other’s names. Tjalik had mentioned nothing about special etiquette for where or when to use names.
Auraelie grimaced, the expression easy to see through her veil. “No. The Emperor is not to be named because it is disrespectful, but that is the only name that should not be spoken. He is to be given epithets that show how greatly his subjects admire him, rather than being placed on the same level as them through the use of a name.”
