further into an inebriated stupor. Chiana sat and worried about what might be happening to Redgard and her loyal advisors, but decided to stay with the Queen, even after she passed out.
Dismissing the bard, she waited for dusk, wishing the day would pass more quickly, and with it the threat of complete disaster. By the time the sun sank in red-gold splendour outside her windows, her nerves were raw and her stomach a sour knot. The closer nightfall came, with its promise of redemption in the form of a slim black-clad killer, the more nervous she grew that Endor would appear and ruin everything. His continued absence filled her with hope that he had drunk himself under the table, and now snored on a couch somewhere.
At supper time, she roused the Queen and persuaded her eat a little food, not wanting her to be drunk when Blade came. Kerra was muddled and sleepy, but amenable. After the meal, Chiana had her maids help the Queen to her rooms, which four sacred Knights of the Veil now guarded. The maids prepared her for bed and tucked her into it, and she fell asleep right away.
Chiana dismissed the maids, then rummaged in Kerra's closet and found a dark riding habit, which she laid out at the foot of the bed before gazing at the young Queen's innocent face, imprinting it in her memory. Kerra was the most precious treasure in all of Jashimari, the last legacy of a great queen, and she was being entrusted to a cold-blooded killer. Chiana smiled at the irony of it, for who better to protect this child than a man as deadly as Blade.
Drunken shouts from the corridor jerked her from her reverie, and she kissed Kerra's cheek, then went to find out what the commotion was about. In the corridor, the four sacred Knights of the Veil, backed up by six guards, barred entry to a flushed, swaying Endor.
Quite clearly he had been indulging in the palace's extensive cellars all day, and could barely stand. The Knights, most trusted of all Jashimari warriors, wore the long white tabards of the church, emblazoned with the coiled golden serpent that represented Tinsharon's earthly form. Silver chain mail clad their torsos under their tabards, and the golden collars that were their badge of office gleamed in the torchlight.
Endor berated the tallest of the four, who stood before the Queen's doors like a statue, his eyes filled with contempt. All six of the Cotti advisors who made their home in the palace backed up the drunken prince, as well as three of his soldiers. They were in the same state of intoxication, and of little use to the Endor. The rank odour of stale sweat and sour wine arose from the little party, making Chiana wrinkle her nose in disgust. Endor prodded the Knight, whom she recognised as Sir Raylin, in the chest to make his point, although his words were almost too slurred to understand.
Sir Raylin did not dignify the Prince's argument with an answer, but blocked his way, a hand resting on his sword hilt. The Knight was in his late forties, a former veteran officer whose familiar had been killed in battle and whose wife had died shortly after the war had ended. Upon her death, he had lost interest in life and contemplated suicide. Instead, he had taken the vows and undergone castration to become a sacred Knight of the Veil, charged with the protection of church property and the virgin priestesses who dwelt within the temples. On rare occasions, the Queen could call upon the Knights to serve her when ordinary soldiers would not do. They considered themselves to be already dead; some had even been given the last rites at their own request, and were therefore fearless.
Endor grew more forceful in his insistence, pushing Sir Raylin hard enough to make him step back, and the other three Knights fingered their weapons. Not wishing more bloodshed, Chiana stepped out of the shadows and addressed the Cotti advisors who stood behind Endor in the hope that they were a little wiser than the Prince, and perhaps a little less drunk.
"My
Dismissing the bard, she waited for dusk, wishing the day would pass more quickly, and with it the threat of complete disaster. By the time the sun sank in red-gold splendour outside her windows, her nerves were raw and her stomach a sour knot. The closer nightfall came, with its promise of redemption in the form of a slim black-clad killer, the more nervous she grew that Endor would appear and ruin everything. His continued absence filled her with hope that he had drunk himself under the table, and now snored on a couch somewhere.
At supper time, she roused the Queen and persuaded her eat a little food, not wanting her to be drunk when Blade came. Kerra was muddled and sleepy, but amenable. After the meal, Chiana had her maids help the Queen to her rooms, which four sacred Knights of the Veil now guarded. The maids prepared her for bed and tucked her into it, and she fell asleep right away.
Chiana dismissed the maids, then rummaged in Kerra's closet and found a dark riding habit, which she laid out at the foot of the bed before gazing at the young Queen's innocent face, imprinting it in her memory. Kerra was the most precious treasure in all of Jashimari, the last legacy of a great queen, and she was being entrusted to a cold-blooded killer. Chiana smiled at the irony of it, for who better to protect this child than a man as deadly as Blade.
Drunken shouts from the corridor jerked her from her reverie, and she kissed Kerra's cheek, then went to find out what the commotion was about. In the corridor, the four sacred Knights of the Veil, backed up by six guards, barred entry to a flushed, swaying Endor.
Quite clearly he had been indulging in the palace's extensive cellars all day, and could barely stand. The Knights, most trusted of all Jashimari warriors, wore the long white tabards of the church, emblazoned with the coiled golden serpent that represented Tinsharon's earthly form. Silver chain mail clad their torsos under their tabards, and the golden collars that were their badge of office gleamed in the torchlight.
Endor berated the tallest of the four, who stood before the Queen's doors like a statue, his eyes filled with contempt. All six of the Cotti advisors who made their home in the palace backed up the drunken prince, as well as three of his soldiers. They were in the same state of intoxication, and of little use to the Endor. The rank odour of stale sweat and sour wine arose from the little party, making Chiana wrinkle her nose in disgust. Endor prodded the Knight, whom she recognised as Sir Raylin, in the chest to make his point, although his words were almost too slurred to understand.
Sir Raylin did not dignify the Prince's argument with an answer, but blocked his way, a hand resting on his sword hilt. The Knight was in his late forties, a former veteran officer whose familiar had been killed in battle and whose wife had died shortly after the war had ended. Upon her death, he had lost interest in life and contemplated suicide. Instead, he had taken the vows and undergone castration to become a sacred Knight of the Veil, charged with the protection of church property and the virgin priestesses who dwelt within the temples. On rare occasions, the Queen could call upon the Knights to serve her when ordinary soldiers would not do. They considered themselves to be already dead; some had even been given the last rites at their own request, and were therefore fearless.
Endor grew more forceful in his insistence, pushing Sir Raylin hard enough to make him step back, and the other three Knights fingered their weapons. Not wishing more bloodshed, Chiana stepped out of the shadows and addressed the Cotti advisors who stood behind Endor in the hope that they were a little wiser than the Prince, and perhaps a little less drunk.
"My
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