Page 61 of On Silver Winds
Master Ellis shuffled away again, snatching up a fallen sword with a little too much vigour. “The Queen has seen fit to allow that creature into her palace, and that is all well and good. A kind woman she is, kinder than I have any will to be. Me? I’ve too much respect formy Queento treat that man – no,Merrow, whatever he calls himself – as anything more than what he is; an imposter. King, my scabby foot.”
Adeline recoiled. “HeisKing, to his own people.”
“Bah!” Master Ellis slashed the sword through the air impatiently. “Next I’ll be asked to train the King of the Salamanders, will I? Maybe the Queen of the Eels? Aye, let’s arm all manner of slimy dripping creatures and allow them to sleep under the same roof as our own Royal Family. A fine idea.”
He huffed with the exertion of his own rage, shuffling to the wall and muttering more to himself now.
“Brings the world as we know it to its knees, melts the very ground beneath us, and I’m expected to mould him into somethingdeadlier? Sooner drown in the thawed lake, I would.”
She could do nothing but gape, a slow dawning horror creeping across her tensed shoulders. Whowasthis man? Where was the crabby Weapons Master she’d known her whole life? The tutor who’d barked at her to do better and work harder, but scooped her off the training floor and nursed her injuries as tenderly as any loving grandfather? Who’d pressed chocolate nuggets into her hand at the end of a successful training session, and nearly wept with quiet pride when she’d hit her first bullseye at age eleven?
“That,” Adeline said tersely, “is a hateful thing to say, Master Ellis.”
Ellis shrugged, scoffed quietly. “Forgive me, Princess. Regrettably, I am not young enough to know everything. Do as you will, but I’ve told the Queen, and now I’ll tell you; I don’t believe that creature needs a sword in his hand, and I won’t teach him to better wield it.”
Adeline had no response, no words she trusted herself not to yell at the old man. She shoved past the heavybag and left it swinging dangerously in her wake.
???
The Queen was taking lunch in her rooms today, and after facing Master Ellis, Adeline was late to collect her tray from the kitchen. Marie handed it to her wordlessly, sending her on her way at once. Adeline knew she must have looked thunderous if the cook refrained from so much as tutting at her.
She flew up from the kitchen, twice nearly tripping up the stairs and once knocking a young patrolling Gard into a wall as she swung too quickly around a corner. When she reached the Queen’s parlour she darted between the suite of plush white furniture and dropped the tray onto the centre table, the tea sloshing over the edge of the cup. The Queen had been drowsily reading from a stack of letters, and gave a sharp start at the abrupt clatter.
“Adeline!” Her mother called reproachfully.
Adeline dropped into the chair opposite her mother’s long white settee. “Mother, I’ve just spoken with Master Ellis.”
The Queen shut her eyes wearily and leaned back in the cushions. “Oh, Adeline.”
“So you know then? He told you why he won’t work with Kai?”
At that her mother opened her eyes and raised a golden eyebrow.
“King Cumhaill,” Adeline amended quickly.
Selma sighed and dropped the letter to one side. She eased forward gingerly in her seat and reached for the cup and a crisp serviette, wiping a droplet of spilt tea from the handle before taking a long, steady sip. Adeline watched her with one knee bouncing impatiently under her skirts. Finally, her mother looked up over the gilded rim of her teacup.
“Master Ellis is a very old man, Adeline.”
“And what does that matter?”
“It matters because prejudices aren’t born overnight. He has spent a long, difficult lifetime defending Eisalaan from outside threats. We can’t now blame him for seeing threat in an outsider when that has always been his role.”
“So he’s allowed to be hateful simply because he’s always been that way?” Adeline scowled. “Do you hear what you’re saying?”
Selma fixed her with a hard stare. “You forget yourself, darling.”
“I –” But Adeline stopped herself and pursed her lips, swallowing the growl that trembled in her throat. She gripped the edge of the seat cushion to steady herself. “I apologise. Your Majesty.”
Her mother softened.
“I don’t mean for you to never disagree with me, Adeline. It is commendable that you would speak up when you see something wrong –”
“If you agree it’s wrong, why allow Master Ellis to make that decision? Why allow him to hold his position at all?”
“It’s complicated, Adeline. You yourself have noted that people are frightened by all that has happened. Ellis’ view, his mistrust and suspicions about the Merrow, are not uncommonly held.”
“You said we would send a message of kinship. Isn’t it up to us? We need to be the ones to reassure Eisalaan. They should know that the Merrow need our support, not our fear.”
