LITMIR.BIZ

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floor polished by the countless feet of generations and up to six steps. At the top rested the throne of Frith where Queen Fittoreah sat waiting. They followed the man down the long walk to stop at the base of the stairs. Then he announced them in a clear voice that seemed to echo off the walls of the empty room.

      Queen Fittoreah smiled. “In all the years our two lands have traded, I think this is the first time the leaders of our kingdoms have met. It may be that this is the first time that two women of power and vision have ruled at the same time.” She lowered her head in a polite bow. “I welcome you to Hoate and Frith.”

      Nakime bowed low to the throne. “Your country honours us by our meeting. I am sorry that those who came before me did not have the vision or the desire to come to your beautiful land.”

      “It is I who am honoured to be the first leader of Frith to have an Empress of Ortalia visit our lands. We must see that this is not our only meeting and maybe I should take the time to visit Ortalia in the future.”

      Alieah studied the queen as she talked. The woman was about thirty years old with her face powdered in the manner of an Ortalian companion girl, though Alieah realised that it would not carry the same derogatory meaning outside the Empire. The woman sat straight, appearing aloof, though Alieah thought it may have been her clothes that made her sit so. She wore what had been described to her as a dress, but it fitted so tight that Alieah wondered how she could breathe. The bright green cloth showed nothing of the woman other than her face and hands, and these were obscured with white lace. Her dark hair was pulled high above her head and decorated with jewels, like stars in a night sky. When she spoke, her voice was rich with accent and strong with confidence. Queen Fittoreah rose and came down the steps to welcome her guest as an equal. She moved with a silky smoothness that gave her the appearance of floating above the ground. “Come with me and I will have food and wine brought to my chambers,” she offered. “We can talk in private there. I will have Alber see that your staff are fed and made comfortable until we have finished.”

      Alieah glanced at Nakime with alarm. It was not right that she allow the Empress to be placed in a position where she did not have her protection, or her speaker. Nakime ignored Alieah’s unspoken request.

      “That is an excellent suggestion, and although my people would be happy to stand and wait for me, I am sure they would be most appreciative of your welcome offer.”

      The queen signalled and the man in the black coat suddenly appeared behind them. “If you will follow me please,” he invited.

      At Nakime’s nod, she followed the man she now knew to be Alber out a side door, trailed by the two warriors. They were led through corridors ablaze with colour. The white tiled floor was patterned with red and green, and the walls held artworks that left Alieah wondering. She could see no pictures or meaning in them. To her, it was as if the artist simply threw paint at the panels, or they were mementos of a very young child. Their guide must have noticed her interest because he stopped. “Do you like them? They are by one of Frith’s most famous artists.” He spoke proudly.

      “I have never seen anything like them before,” she answered honestly.

      “They are good, aren’t they?”

      Alber moved on and Alieah followed deciding she would never see the beauty in the pictures. They arrived at a small dining room and were invited to sit while Alber spoke to a girl who disappeared through another door. She returned shortly after, leading a line of women carrying trays of food and drink. Secretly she hoped the food would prove better than the art.

      ~

      “Our meeting went very well. The queen is a remarkable woman,” offered Nakime when they were together again in the rooms queen Fittoreah had provided.

      “But is she going to help?”

      “There is much more at play in the world than I realised. We will need to be patient.”

      Nakime and Alieah continued to chat in the room provided by Queen Fittoreah. It was comfortable and well presented, but most importantly it contained a large, soft bed. After their days on the ship, Nakime was looking forward to a relaxing sleep in a bed that did not fall away from beneath her at regular intervals. But first she wanted to bring Alieah up to date. “I will give you a little of what the queen had to say. She gained this knowledge through people coming across the border seeking safety though I am sure she has her spies to keep her informed. The king of Arenia was overthrown by a man named Xavier and from what the queen has discovered he is a powerful leader. Not long after conquering Arenia he led his armies into Greche. He won there by taking advantage of the death of the king and a dispute between the sons as to who should take control.”

      “So he takes the opportunities presented.”

      Nakime nodded. “But I suspect the opportunity was of his doing. The king died at the hands of an assassin who was never found and the problems between the brothers were fuelled by a woman who has not been seen since.”

      “Then how did he take Ortalia? I do not recall any strangers among us.”

      Again, Nakime agreed. “They have knowledge of our rules of battle, and used them against us. At first I had assumed they had attacked the wall and gained entry but this knowledge indicates to me that we were betrayed. Someone within Ortalia took control of the gate and allowed them in.”

      Alieah was outraged. “Who would do such a thing against the Empire and yourself?”

      “There are many who would like to see me fall,” Nakime sighed.

      “Then they must be found and punished.”

      “If they still live,” answered Nakime idly.

      “But we still return to my question, will the queen help you get your Empire back?”

      “If it is possible she will help though I believe it is only to see our trade continue. But she is afraid this King Xavier will look east once he has rested. If she is correct Frith will be his next challenge. She already has troops stationed near the border but fears her preparations are too few to stop Arenia’s army. Even with the addition of my warriors she does not have the army or the equipment to make a difference and unless there is an unexpected rebellion in King Xavier’s people Frith will be the next to fall.”

      Queen Fittoreah met with them again next morning to advise them that she had sent emissaries to Sardonel and Daire. They were to explain the situation and plead for help from the other two southern kingdoms. She had included that if they did not unite against King Xavier they would all lose their kingdoms one by one.

      Now they must wait for replies.

      Chapter 6

      New Ulffinnr was growing. It was not the structured city of the auchs but a sprawling accumulation of shelters and dwellings made from whatever came to hand. Timber, stone, furs, all was used, everything except rainbow wood. Every precious piece of that was sent to the fire pits in the valley. Camille and Aiyu walked through the ramshackle city that now spread far into the distance in each direction and was home to more than nineteen thousand auchs and their number was growing each day.

      “I know I am right,” Camille repeated for the third time.

      It was not that Aiyu disbelieved her. He had accepted her words as truth the first time he heard them. He just did not understand. Things were better if he left such matters to the witches and spirit-talkers. But he could see that the little human needed to talk and for the sake of their friendship he obliged. “You say Camille talk to rocks. Aiyu no argue. Aiyu talk to rocks too if want to. But Aiyu no think rocks talk back.”

      “But they do,” she insisted.

      Aiyu looked about. “Many rocks here. If rocks talk, make much noise. Aiyu no hear noise.” He was not trying to be difficult, or dismissive, or disbelieving. He just knew his friend needed to learn more of what she had discovered and by acting this way he could make her think.

      “Because you don’t listen properly. The rock speaks slowly and with great care. Things that happened long before our time are only

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