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Well, if he wants to be king, he'll just plain have to get used to questions and toadies and all the rest of it," I said. Remembering the conversation at dinner and wondering if I'd made an idiot of myself, I added crossly, "I don't have any sympathy at all. In fact, I wish he hadn't come up here. If he needed rest from the fatigue of taking over a kingdom, why couldn't he go to that fabulous palace in Renselaeus? Or to Shevraeth, which I'l..
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Sherwood Smith |
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cc34e9d
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Well, if he wants to be king, he'll just plain have to get used to questions and toadies and all the rest of it," I said. Remembering the conversation at dinner and wondering if I'd made an idiot of myself, I added crossly, "I don't have any sympathy at all. In fact, I wish he hadn't come up here. If he needed rest from the fatigue of taking over a kingdom, why couldn't he go to that fabulous palace in Renselaeus? Or to Shevraeth, which I'l..
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Sherwood Smith |
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But to return to your question, Vidanric's tendency to keep his own counsel ought to be reassuring as far as people hopping out with embarrassing words are concerned. If I were you--and I know it's so much easier to give advice than to follow it--I'd sit down with him, when no one else is at hand, and talk it out." Just the thought of seeking him out for a private talk made me shudder. "I'd rather walk down the mountain in shoes full of sna..
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Sherwood Smith |
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6ec9b32
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Occasionally the rain lifted briefly, enough to enable me to see ahead when I topped the gentle rises that undulated along the road. And after a time I realized that though no suspicious riders were approaching, for I had passed nothing but farmers and artisans going into the city, I was matching the pace of a single rider some distance before me. Twice, three times, I spotted the lone figure, cresting a hill just as I did. No bright colors..
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Sherwood Smith |
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7f53455
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Looking down the south road again, Meliara?" The voice startled me. I turned and saw my oldest friend, Oria, peering in around the door tapestry. Though I was the countess and she the servant, we had grown up together, scampering barefoot every summer through the mountains, sleeping out under the stars, and dancing to the music of the mysterious Hill Folk. Until last winter, I'd only had Oria's cast-off clothing to wear; now I had a couple ..
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Sherwood Smith |
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If everyone who compromised with Galdran out of fear, or greed, or even indifference, were to be penalized," Shevraeth went on, "Athanarel would soon be empty and a lot of people sent home with little to do but use their wealth and power toward recovering their lost prestige." "More war," I said, and thinking again of my secret cause, I ventured a question. "Do you agree with Mistress Ynizang's writings about the troubles overseas and how t..
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Sherwood Smith |
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Shevraeth himself was there to bid us farewell--a courtesy I could have done without.
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Sherwood Smith |
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c5ad762
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Gossip, I have discovered, is seldom spread about people who find happiness or contentment.
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Sherwood Smith |
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His readiness to answer my questions caused my mind to glitter with new ideas, like a fountain in the sunlight. I was suddenly eager to try my own theories of government, formed during my half year of reading. I launched a barrage of questions related to the merits of an all volunteer army paid from crown revenues, versus each noble being responsible for a certain number of trained and equipped soldiers should the need arise. To each questi..
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Sherwood Smith |
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0034dcf
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You've left me behind. What have you been reading, Mel? Life! You should go up to Erev-li-Erval and help take the field against the Djurans. Unless you're planning another revolution here!" "Were you thinking of taking the field against me?" the Marquis addressed me in his usual drawl. Aghast, I choked on a bite of food. Then I saw the gleam of humor in his eyes, and realized he'd been joking. "But I'm not," I squawked. "Not at all! I just..
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Sherwood Smith |
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Yes," Bran said carelessly, indicating his two guests. "Nimiar--and Danric there, whom you already know." He frowned. "Life, sister, why are there trees in here? Aren't there enough of 'em outside?" I gritted my teeth on a really nasty retort, my face burning with embarrassment. The lady spoke for the first time. "But Branaric, you liked them well enough at my home, and I think it a very pretty new fashion indeed." She turned to me, and I g..
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Sherwood Smith |
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PROLOGUE Soon after Father's death we discovered the latest, and worst, of King Galdran's acts: He was going to betray our Covenant with the mysterious and magical Hill Folk in order to harvest and sell the fabulous colorwood trees, which grow nowhere else in the world. The forests have been home to the Hill Folk since long before humans settled in Remalna. The Covenant made with the Hill Folk centuries before our time guaranteed that so lo..
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Sherwood Smith |
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Speaking of busy, what make you of this?" I held out the letter. Oria took it and frowned slightly as she read. When she reached the end, she said, "It seems straightforward enough, except...Merindar. Isn't she some relation to the old king?" "Sister," I said. "The Marquise of Merindar." "Isn't she a princess?" "While they ruled, the Merindars only gave the title 'prince' or 'princess' to their chosen heir. She carried the family title, whi..
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Sherwood Smith |
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145e89f
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I'd been proud of the parlor, over which I had spent a great deal of time. The ceiling had inlaid tiles in the same summer-sky blue that comprised the main color of the rugs and cushions and the tapestry on the wall opposite the newly glassed windows. Now I sneaked a look at the Marquis, dreading an expression of amusement or disdain. But his attention seemed to be reserved for the lady as he led her to the scattering of cushions before the..
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Sherwood Smith |
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47abe18
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He mounted behind me and we started off, while I indulged myself with the image of grabbing that stick and conking him right across his smiling face.
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Sherwood Smith |
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How about writing to your brother?" Oria asked at last. "Bran is good, and kind, and as honest as the stars are old," I said, "but the more I read, the more I realize that he has no political sense at all. He takes people as he finds them. I don't think he'd have the first notion about what makes a good or bad ruler." Oria nodded slowly. "In fact, I suspect he would not even like being asked." She gave me a straight look. "There is one pers..
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Sherwood Smith |
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The Duke of Grumareth was always a fool and will always be a fool," Shevraeth said, so lightly it was hard to believe he wasn't joking."
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Sherwood Smith |
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But I'll still be betrothed. Some fun if he's a snob, and most of those court boys are snobs. And what if Uncle says I have to live with the boy's family? At least if he joins ours, I can stick him in the farthest room and pretend he isn't here.
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Sherwood Smith |
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Innon and I, who were seated side by side at the far end of the long table from Uncle Darian, tried to outdo each other in snobbish manners. I don't even know how it started. I was conscientiously lifting my punch glass, curling my pinky, and I caught his eye. Then he did it, too, but his pinky was much more curled--and the game was on. Father was so pleased he smiled at us. What a disgusting pair Innon and I made! Peitar's eyes narrowed wi..
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Sherwood Smith |
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9a044ea
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Lady Meliara?" There was a tap outside the door, and Oria's mother, Julen, lifted the tapestry. Oria and I both stared in surprise at the three long sticks she carried so carefully. "More Fire Sticks?" I asked. "In midwinter?" "Just found them outside the gate." Julen laid them down, looked from one of us to the other, and went out. Oria grinned at me. "Maybe they're a present. You did save the Covenant last year, and the Hill Folk know it...
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Sherwood Smith |
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c867064
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Out of the first carriage stepped Bran, his hair loose and shining under a rakish plumed hat. He was dressed in a magnificent tunic and glossy high blackweave riding boots, with a lined cloak slung over one shoulder. He grinned at me--then he turned and, with a gesture of practiced grace that made me blink, handed out a lady. I gawked in dismay at the impressive hat and muffling cloak that spanned a broad skirt, and looked down at myself, ..
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Sherwood Smith |
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76d93d5
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No matter how far diverged by their singular histories, every human culture in the Thousand Suns resonates to its tragic echoes.
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Sherwood Smith |
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9fce0c8
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You, there, girl! Halt!" Who in the ever halts when the enemy tells them to? Of course I took off in the opposite direction, as fast as I could." --
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Sherwood Smith |
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181188b
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'What if feeling good only comes after you destroy someone you hate?'
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Sherwood Smith |
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'Are they trained to treat everyone as a servant?'
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Sherwood Smith |