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cd0132d
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Ah, beloved," he murmured, his fingers caressing the faint lines in her brow, tracing the shadows at the sides of her lips. "How beautiful you are." She couldn't help a chortle. Inda heard the unsteadiness in her attempt at laughter, the disbelief, and beneath it, question. "Joret was never beautiful to me," he said. "Not ugly, either. She was just Joret. Pleased the eye, but beauty, it strikes you right here." He closed a fist lightly and ..
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inda
tdor
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Sherwood Smith |
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d9c268b
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Our plan depended on the Renselaeus warriors being fast and accurate and brave, for they were as outnumbered as Bran and I had been up in the mountains. I was also, therefore, intensely aware that my life was now in the hands of people I had considered enemies not two dawns ago. Did they still consider me one? I tried to calm my nerves by laughing at myself; for someone who so recently had tried her best to ride to her death, my innards wer..
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Sherwood Smith |
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3643bed
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There were no shouts, no trumpets, nothing but the ringing of iron-shod boots on the stones of the bridge, and the clank of ready weaponry. Could we rescue them? I could not see Khesot's face, but in the utter stillness with which they stood, I read hopelessness. I readied myself once again-- Then from the center of their forces stepped a single equerry, with a white scarf tied to a pole. He started up the path that we meant to descend. As ..
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Sherwood Smith |
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ea79661
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It was a relief when we reached the village of Lumm. We did not go into it but rode on the outskirts. When the great mage-built bridge came into view I felt Shevraeth's arm tighten as he looked this way and that. On a grassy sward directly opposite the approach to the bridge a plain carriage waited with no markings on its sides, the wheels and lower portions muddy. The only sign that this might not be some inn's rental equipment were the fi..
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Sherwood Smith |
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c152799
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Curse it," Bran said the next morning, standing before the fire in shirt and trousers with his shoulder stiffy bandaged. "You think this necessary?" He pointed at the mail coats lying on the table, their linked steel rings gleaming coldly in the light of two glowglobes. It was well before dawn. The Marquis had woken us himself, with the news that Galdran's forces were nigh. And his messengers had brought from Renselaeus the mail coats, newl..
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Sherwood Smith |
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28faebd
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I sat up, fought against dizziness. Somewhere in the distance a single bell rang out the pattern for gold-candles and the beginning of another day. "Drink." The cup was near to hand. I rose on one elbow and reached for it. Some sips later I felt immeasurably better. My eyesight cleared, and so did my thoughts. I remembered the interlude during the night, and frowned across the fire at my companion. He looked exactly the same as ever--as if ..
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Sherwood Smith |
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db2a07b
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So what's the plan?" "I believe that our best plan is to flush them out. If we can capture them both, there will be little reason for the others to fight." "But if they're in the midst of the army--" Bran started. "Bait," I said, seeing the plan at once. "There has to be bait to bring them to the front." Thinking rapidly, I added, "And I know who's to be the bait. Us, right? Only, how to get them to meet us?" "The letter," Branaric said. "T..
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Sherwood Smith |
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7bf9693
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The Prince and Princess. Savona. Tamara. Bran and Nee. Elenet. Good people and bad, silly and smart, they would all be helpless victims. I'd left my sword in the saddle sheath, but I could still try. My heart crashed like a three-wheeled cart on a stone road. I thought, as I stepped forward. "Meliara," Vidanric said quickly. He didn't look at me, but kept his narrowed gaze on Flauvic. "Don't. He knows how to use that knife." Flauvic's smi..
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Sherwood Smith |
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3b40731
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Expecting the two equerries to immediately take off after me, I braced for a run. I thought, annoyed with myself. But the equerries both turned and walked swiftly back in the direction they'd come, and the old man continued on his way. And the answer was not long in coming: They were going back to report. Which meant a whole lot of them searching. And soon. Yes, I'd really widened my perimeter, I thought furiously, cursing the Baron, mus..
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Sherwood Smith |
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cc3ba7e
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Branaric came in. "Ready?" "Nearly," I said, my fingers quickly starting the braid. I suppose you don't have extra gloves, or another hat?" I eyed the battered object he held in his hand. "No, obviously not. Well, I can ride bareheaded. Who's to see me that I care about?" He smiled briefly, then gave me a serious look. "Are you certain you don't want to join the alliance?" "Yes." He sank down heavily onto the bed and pulled from his tunic a..
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Sherwood Smith |
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e6af9df
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Then let's address the business before us. I hope and trust we'll have the remainder of our lives to talk all this over and compare misguided reactions, but for now..." He rose and pulled me to my feet. Still holding on to my hands, he continued, "...shall we agree to a fresh beginning?" I squeezed his hands back. "Agreed." "Then let me hear my name from you, just once, before we proceed further. My name, not any of the titles." "Vidanric,"..
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Sherwood Smith |
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c95109b
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She won't rat out on us. Let me talk to her, and she'll see reason." "I'd give her some time before you attempt it," came the wry answer. "She usually doesn't stay mad long," Bran said carelessly. Again habit urged me to move. I knew to stay made me a spy-ears, which no one over the age of four is excused in being, yet I didn't move. I move. So I stood there and listened--and thus proved the old proverb about eavesdroppers getting what th..
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Sherwood Smith |
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a73ae3d
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Looking down at the stiff, cream-colored rice paper--the good kind that came in the books that we had never been able to afford--I was both excited and apprehensive. Remembering my rather precipitous departure from that wood gatherer's house, I decided that much as I valued my friends, I wanted to read Bran's letter alone. No one followed me as I walked out. Behind, I heard Oria saying, in a voice very different from what I was used to hear..
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Sherwood Smith |
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4b2cd78
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I thought indignantly, then sighed. Of course, I managed to find enough coin to write to Ara's family, and to obtain through the father the name of a good bookseller. But the first was an obligation, I told myself. And as for the latter, it was merely the start of the education that Branaric had blabbed to the world that I lacked. I looked up at the ceiling as the words slowly sank in. "Personal fortune"? How much was that? Whatever it wa..
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Sherwood Smith |
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f31f0ec
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I was still brooding over this question when I heard a polite tap outside the tapestry, and a moment later, there was the equally quiet impact of a boot heel on the new tile floor, then another. A weird feeling prickled down my spine, and I twisted around to face the Marquis of Shevraeth, who stood just inside the room. He raised his hands and said, "I am unarmed." I realized I was glaring. "I hate people creeping up behind me," I muttered...
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Sherwood Smith |
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a98f3e9
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We stepped into the very inn in which we'd had our initial conversation; we passed the little room I had stood outside of, and I shuddered. Now we had a bigger one, but I was too tired to notice much beyond comfortable cushions and warmth. As I sank down, I saw glowing rings around the candles and rubbed my eyes. When I looked up at Shevraeth, it was in time to catch the end of one of those assessing glances. Then he smiled, a real smile of..
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Sherwood Smith |
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fcb431b
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Flauvic was standing by the middle window, one slim hand resting on a golden latch. I realized that one window panel was, in fact, a door, and that a person could step through onto the rocks that just bordered the pool. Flauvic was looking down, the silvery light reflecting off rain clouds overhead, and water below throwing glints in his long golden hair. He had to know I was there. I said, "You do like being near to water, don't you?" He l..
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Sherwood Smith |
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676ae23
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Who is it from?" Savona asked. I looked up at him, trying to divine whether the secret knowledge lay behind his expression of interest. "Of course she cannot tell," Tamara said, her tone mock chiding--a masterpiece of innuendo, I realized. "But...perhaps a hint, Countess?" "I can't, because it's a secret to me, too." I looked around. Nothing but interest in all the faces, from Savona's friendly skepticism to Shevraeth's polite indifference...
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Sherwood Smith |
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f27f1bd
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I looked up--for he was half a head taller than I--into his gold-colored eyes, and though their expression was merely contemplative, and his manner mild, I felt my neck go hot. Turning away from that direct, steady gaze, I just couldn't find the words to ask him about his mother's political plans. So I said, "I came to ask a favor of you." "Speak, then," he said, his voice just a shade deeper than usual. I looked over my shoulder and realiz..
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Sherwood Smith |
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a07075e
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though we can educate the younger generation, we can even command them, we cannot control their lives, much as we think we'd do a better job of it.
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Sherwood Smith |
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3ab6823
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I found the other two in Bran's room, and one look at their faces made it abundantly clear that they felt no better than I did. Not that the Marquis had a red nose or a thick voice--he even looked aristocratic when sick, I thought with disgust. But Bran sneezed frequently, and from the pungent smell of bristic in the air, he had had recourse to the flagon. "Mel!" he exclaimed when I opened the door. And he laughed. "Look at you! You're drow..
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Sherwood Smith |
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99020f6
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Why d'you think Vidanric sent the escort?" "Vidanric?" "His name," Branaric said, still staring at me with that odd gaze. "You could try to use it--only polite. After all, Shevraeth is just a title, and he doesn't go about calling either of us Tlanth." I thought, but I said nothing."
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Sherwood Smith |
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31c0396
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For the first time, I comprehended that love, at least for me, had nothing to do with sex.
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Sherwood Smith |
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c36817e
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There's no use in talking about the plan, because of course nothing went the way it was supposed to. Even the passage of time was horribly distorted. At first the ride to the hill seemed endless, with me sneaking looks at my brother, who was increasingly unsteady in his saddle. The Marquis insisted on riding in front of us the last little distance, where we saw a row of four horse riders waiting--the outer two bearing banners, dripping from..
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Sherwood Smith |
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3e30881
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Slowly the big gates opened. Red-gold fire glow from inside silhouetted a number of figures who moved out toward the bridge, where the strengthening light picked out the drawn swords, the spears, the dark cloaks, and the helmed heads of the Renselaeus warriors. They were wearing their own colors, and battle gear. No liveries, no pretense of being mere servants. In the center of their formation were Khesot and the four others--unarmed. There..
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Sherwood Smith |
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c465a20
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Now, tell me everything." He chuckled and leaned against the door. "That's a comprehensive command! Where to begin?" "With Galdran. How did he die?" "Vidanric. Sword," Bran said, waving his index finger in a parry-and-thrust. "Just after Galdran tried to brain you from the back. Neatest work I've ever seen. He promised to introduce me to his old sword master when we get to Athanarel." "'We'? You and the Marquis?" "We can discuss it when we ..
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Sherwood Smith |
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66f0521
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Montrose tasted the coffee. No bitterness, a blend of several beans--some of which had been grown precisely the same way for over a thousand years--and just the right temperature. If pressed, he could name the chemical makeup of the coffee and the reaction of the human body to the brew. Yet there was still an almost mystical sense of well-being that few things imparted just by smell, taste, and warmth, and coffee was one.
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heaven
glorious-beverage
perfect-drink
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Sherwood Smith |
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a7f4eb8
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What can I possibly do besides serve as a figure of fun for the Court to laugh at again? I don't anything--besides how to lose a war; and I don't think anyone is requiring that particular bit of knowledge." I tried to sound reasonable, but even I could hear the bitterness in my own voice. My brother sighed. "I don't know what I'll do, either, except I'll put my hand to anything I'm asked. That's what our planning session is to be about, s..
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Sherwood Smith |
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f740afd
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Why hadn't he told me? Because I'd called him a liar and untrustworthy, and had made it plain I wasn't going to change my opinion, no matter what. Then why hadn't he told my brother, who did trust him? That I couldn't answer. And in a sense it didn't matter. What did matter was that I had been wrong about Shevraeth. I had been so wrong I had nearly gotten a lot of people killed for no reason. Just thinking it made me grit my teeth, and in a..
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Sherwood Smith |
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966afbd
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I saw an open door at the other end of the little hall, and yellow light pouring from it. The light drew me more than anything. Straightening up, I crossed the hall. Inside the room Shevraeth sat at a rough stone table near a fireplace, in which a crackling fire roared. At one end of the table was spread a map, at the other a tray of food, as yet untouched. Against an adjacent wall was a narrow bed, with more papers and another map spread o..
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Sherwood Smith |
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6a0ca12
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In silence, they filed past me, and I was left alone with the person who, the day before, I'd wanted to kill even more than Galdran Merindar. "Take a swig." Shevraeth held out a flagon. "You're going to need it, I'm afraid." I crossed the room, sank cross-legged onto the nearest mat. With one numb hand I took the flagon, squeezed a share of its contents into my mouth; and gasped as the fire of distilled bristic burned its way inside me. I t..
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Sherwood Smith |
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3763395
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And as for Vidanric, well, you're safe there. I've never met anyone as closemouthed, when he wants to be. He won't ask your reasons. What?" "I said, 'Hah.'" "What is it, do you mislike him?" Again she was studying me, her fingers playing with the pretty fan hanging at her waist. "Yes. No. Not mislike, but more...mistrust. Not what he'll do, but what he might say," I babbled. "Oh, never mind. It's all foolishness. Suffice it to say I feel be..
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Sherwood Smith |
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c716537
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My spirits were so glum I almost overlooked the two letters waiting on my writing table. When I did see them, my heart gave one of those painful thumps, and I wondered if these were letters of rejection. The top one had my name written out in a bold, slanting hand, with flourishing letter-ends and underlining. I pulled it open. Named were several people, all of whom I knew, and it ended with a promise of undying admiration. It was signed ..
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Sherwood Smith |
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ba7dde8
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If you want information," he said in his low tones, "I am willing to take up my old connections and provide it. You need write to no one or speak to no one. It's common enough for people to summon their own artisans for special projects." He patted his satchel. "You are wealthy enough to enable me to sustain the cover." "You mean I should order some jewelry made?" He nodded. "If you please, my lady." "Of course--that's easy enough. But to b..
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Sherwood Smith |
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dc98e8d
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I thought scornfully. I wished he were before me. I wished I could personally flout him and his busy searchers, and make him look like the fool he was. And watch the reaction, and walk away laughing.
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Sherwood Smith |
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eb9c1c8
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Not one of the passerby showed the least interest in the proceedings. I wondered if I had missed yet another chance at escape, but if I did yell for help, who knew what the partisanship of the Lumm merchants was? I might very well have gotten my mouth gagged for my pains. This did not help my spirits any, for now that the immediate discomforts had eased, I realized again that I was sick. How could I effect an escape when I had as much spunk..
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Sherwood Smith |
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1a90c2a
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All I can report is that I felt pretty sick, nearly as sick as I'd been when I fell into Ara's chickenyard. Sick at heart as well, for I knew there was no escape for Meliara Astiar after all; therefore I resolved that my last job was to summon enough presence of mind to die well.
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Sherwood Smith |
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6e534dd
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In my mind I saw, clearly, that straight-backed figure on the dapple-gray horse, his long black cloak slung back over the animal's haunches, his plumed helm of command on his head. With either phenomenal courage or outright arrogance he had ignored the possibility of our arrows, the crowned sun stitched on his tunic gleaming in the noonday light as he directed the day's battle.
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Sherwood Smith |
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80c0a13
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Instead my inner eye kept returning to the memory of our people running before a mass of orderly brown-and-green-clad soldiers, overseen by a straight figure in a black cloak riding back and forth along a high ridge.
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Sherwood Smith |
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2b9c204
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But I think the time has come for a different perspective, one that is innate in you. It is a problem, I have come to realize, with our Court upbringing. No one, including Elenet, has the gift you have of looking every person you encounter in the face and accepting the person behind the status. We all were raised to see servants and merchants as faceless as we pursued the high strategy. I'm half convinced this is part of the reason why the ..
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Sherwood Smith |
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1aa0a89
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I thought about myself showing up on his trail, put there by servants who were--I realized now--doing their very best to throw us together, but with almost disastrous results. It was only his own faith that saved that situation, a faith I hadn't shared. I looked at him, and again saw that assessing glance. "The throne won't be ordered until you give the word. You need time to decide if this is the life you want," he said. "Of all the women ..
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Sherwood Smith |
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d3eda0e
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I remained cheery, too, as if the universe had slipped into a kind of dream existence. I was by now far beyond mere tiredness, so that nothing seemed real. In fact, until I topped a rise and saw the twenty wagons stretched out in a formidable line directly below me, the worst reaction I had to rain, to stumbles, to my burning eyes, was a tendency to snicker. The wagons sobered me. I stayed where I was, squarely in the center of the muddy r..
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Sherwood Smith |
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068c1c8
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If the Prodigy Mozart had any notion how much torment he might cause people who had done no harm to him, he surely would have confined himself to stickball with his friends." "I believe that particular piece was"
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Sherwood Smith |
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8d06768
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I now had fresh subjects to think about, of course, but it is always easier to contemplate how lucky one is than about past betrayal and murder--and I knew my mother would want my happiness above anything. Who can ever know what turns the spark into flame? Vidanric's initial interest in me might well have been kindled by the fact that he saw my actions as courageous, but the subsequent discovery of passion, and the companionship of mind tha..
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Sherwood Smith |