silk, and the revelers around Ash whispered excitedly to each other that it was the Royal Hunt, come to bestow the King’s favors upon them.
As the horses made their way into the square, the riders reached into their saddlebags and threw out handfuls of sparkling gold coins, and the revelers cheered louder and clustered around the sleek horses, laughing and cal ing for more. Ash watched Gwen and Colin and the other household servants join the crowd around the Royal Hunt, but she remained where she was, the crackling heat of the bonfire at her back.
The King’s Huntress was in the middle of the group of riders, and she too was flinging out sparkling gold coins, and her horse’s headdress was plumed in a crown of red feathers.
When the hunters had given away al their gold, the huntress dismounted and led her riders toward the bonfire, where they joined hands with the revelers who flowed back around them, laughing and jostling for space near them, and the musicians struck up an infectious rhythm as the hunters’ voices rose up in an old song:
Like blood and bone
river and stone
103
Ash
the Wood is field
the stag brought home.
Caught in the circle, Ash found herself whirled around the bonfire by strangers. Through the flames she could see the huntress singing, her face glowing in the red-gold light.
When the song ended, the hunters bowed to the gathered people and reclaimed their horses, then rode out of the square, the horses’ hooves clattering loudly on the paving stones. Ash saw Gwen standing nearby and ran toward her, tugging on the girl’s arm. “Why are they leaving so soon?” she asked.
“They’re going to the royal masque,” Gwen answered.
“They only come to give away the gold.” When Gwen saw the look of disappointment on Ash’s face, she grinned. “You like the hunters, do you? Have you fal en in love with one of them?” she teased her.
Ash blushed, but said, “Of course not.”
Gwen laughed and took Ash’s hand, leading her back to the dancers. “Come, let’s find you a handsome young lord for tonight.”
But soon Gwen became distracted by a handsome young lord of her own, and Ash excused herself from the dancing circle, feeling that she had had enough. She made her way out of the crowd toward the edge of the Square, where she stood with her back to a cold brick wal and watched the festivities.
She could stil see Colin and Gwen and the other members of the household staff dancing near the bonfire, their faces flushed with firelight and brandy. A young couple stumbled away from the dance hand in hand, one woman dressed in 104
MALINDA LO
gold, the other woman in green, and Ash saw the smiles on their faces before they kissed. Another reveler, a laughing young boy wearing a joker’s cap, came and pul ed them back toward the dancers. Ash wondered suddenly if Ana and Clara were dancing with the hunters at the royal masque. In the distance she could see the pale spires of the palace, windows lit with hundreds of candles in the dark night, presiding over the merriment in the Square like a distant, decorous Fairy Queen.
She wished she were there.
Feeling awkward and alone, Ash left the Square, walking back to where they had left the wagon on a side street. The horses, their breath making small clouds in the air, paid little attention to her as she climbed in. She pul ed a lap blanket from beneath the seats and wrapped it around herself. She could stil hear the music and laughter from the Square, but it was more muted here, and she found herself nodding off. She curled up on the hard wooden seat and fel asleep.
She was jolted awake by the sudden movement of the wagon beneath her as Gwen and Colin and the other household servants climbed onto the seats. She sat up, bleary-eyed, and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Time to go home,” said one of the servants, settling his considerable weight down with a sigh on one of the benches.
“And tend to her ladyship,” Gwen put in,
As the horses made their way into the square, the riders reached into their saddlebags and threw out handfuls of sparkling gold coins, and the revelers cheered louder and clustered around the sleek horses, laughing and cal ing for more. Ash watched Gwen and Colin and the other household servants join the crowd around the Royal Hunt, but she remained where she was, the crackling heat of the bonfire at her back.
The King’s Huntress was in the middle of the group of riders, and she too was flinging out sparkling gold coins, and her horse’s headdress was plumed in a crown of red feathers.
When the hunters had given away al their gold, the huntress dismounted and led her riders toward the bonfire, where they joined hands with the revelers who flowed back around them, laughing and jostling for space near them, and the musicians struck up an infectious rhythm as the hunters’ voices rose up in an old song:
Like blood and bone
river and stone
103
Ash
the Wood is field
the stag brought home.
Caught in the circle, Ash found herself whirled around the bonfire by strangers. Through the flames she could see the huntress singing, her face glowing in the red-gold light.
When the song ended, the hunters bowed to the gathered people and reclaimed their horses, then rode out of the square, the horses’ hooves clattering loudly on the paving stones. Ash saw Gwen standing nearby and ran toward her, tugging on the girl’s arm. “Why are they leaving so soon?” she asked.
“They’re going to the royal masque,” Gwen answered.
“They only come to give away the gold.” When Gwen saw the look of disappointment on Ash’s face, she grinned. “You like the hunters, do you? Have you fal en in love with one of them?” she teased her.
Ash blushed, but said, “Of course not.”
Gwen laughed and took Ash’s hand, leading her back to the dancers. “Come, let’s find you a handsome young lord for tonight.”
But soon Gwen became distracted by a handsome young lord of her own, and Ash excused herself from the dancing circle, feeling that she had had enough. She made her way out of the crowd toward the edge of the Square, where she stood with her back to a cold brick wal and watched the festivities.
She could stil see Colin and Gwen and the other members of the household staff dancing near the bonfire, their faces flushed with firelight and brandy. A young couple stumbled away from the dance hand in hand, one woman dressed in 104
MALINDA LO
gold, the other woman in green, and Ash saw the smiles on their faces before they kissed. Another reveler, a laughing young boy wearing a joker’s cap, came and pul ed them back toward the dancers. Ash wondered suddenly if Ana and Clara were dancing with the hunters at the royal masque. In the distance she could see the pale spires of the palace, windows lit with hundreds of candles in the dark night, presiding over the merriment in the Square like a distant, decorous Fairy Queen.
She wished she were there.
Feeling awkward and alone, Ash left the Square, walking back to where they had left the wagon on a side street. The horses, their breath making small clouds in the air, paid little attention to her as she climbed in. She pul ed a lap blanket from beneath the seats and wrapped it around herself. She could stil hear the music and laughter from the Square, but it was more muted here, and she found herself nodding off. She curled up on the hard wooden seat and fel asleep.
She was jolted awake by the sudden movement of the wagon beneath her as Gwen and Colin and the other household servants climbed onto the seats. She sat up, bleary-eyed, and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Time to go home,” said one of the servants, settling his considerable weight down with a sigh on one of the benches.
“And tend to her ladyship,” Gwen put in,
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