Gail Carson Levine - Fairest, page 7
I wept. It was hard to bear, to think of the king in pain. He ended with:
"I wish my head had borne The blow that felled a king."
Oh! I didn't wish that. I wished no one had been hurt.
After Prince Ijori's song, Princess Elainee sang. Ivi was next. My throat was closing.
Someone would catch us. I'd never mislead them all.
When the princess finished singing, Ivi rose. She didn't seem frightened. She'd do her part perfectly, but I'd fail. We'd both be disgraced. I'd go to prison.
My throat was dry. I swallowed, but no saliva came. I couldn't sing with a dust-dry throat.
She held her arms at her sides, palms out, as the other
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singers had done. She threw back her head and opened her mouth.I came in on time. I gave her Mother's voice, bell-like and clear as mountain air. It was as delicate as Ivi herself, with unexpected reserves of force and air.
Sir Uellu dropped his baton.
"Dear Oscaro, I miss you dreadfully, more dreadfully even than your head must hurt."
I stayed with her on every word. She caught my eye and smiled as she sang. I blushed.
Several people swayed and nodded. Sir Uellu picked up his baton. I sensed his ears almost vibrating with the intensity of his listening. I didn't let my voice waver-or my mouth move -but my jaw felt like ice.
"I have not yet stopped weeping. I hope my singing pleases you. I am arrayed in a yellowgown,yellow for sadness."
The swaying slowed. The words were what a child might
write.
"If I look well, it is for you. The gown is
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pretty train stands for my grief, which drags behind me wherever I go. I will rule Ayortha for you, so you must not worry. I will be a powerful queen."Fewer and fewer people swayed or nodded. She began the part that didn't sound like her.
"/ shall expect obedience, loyalty, and respect from my subjects."
I saw people exchange looks. She was no longer singing about the king, and nothing in her words would help him get better.
"The hallmarks of my rule will be a firm hand and a stern heart. I will rely on the governing principles of my native Kyrria."
At the mention of Kyrria I felt the mood in the hall turn angry.
"They say this Sing will make you better. I will make Ayortha better as well. I live for your awakening."
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My gaze happened to fall on Frying Pan, who looked like a pot about to boil over. A few people dared to stamp their feet.Ivi smiled her most dazzling smile. She must have felt everyone's response. I would have run off the stage, but she continued to mouth words. I sang the ending.
"Your affectionate wife and ruler of Ayortha, Queen Ivi."
She held out her arms, as though receiving a tribute. She turned from side to side, including everyone. Then she left the stage, not hurrying, still smiling.
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FIFTEENPrince Ijori and I followed Ivi out of the Hall of Song. As soon as the door closed behind us, she stopped smiling. She stormed through the corridor.
"They should have loved my song. They shouldn't have hated it. I said I miss Oscaro."
The prince and I hurried to keep up. Oochoo trotted between us. My shadow and the shadows of Prince Ijori and Oochoo merged into a shapeless splotch on the corridor wall. Ivi's shadow, thin and wavery, bobbed ahead.
"I said my grief trails-"
Prince Ijori broke in. "Your Majesty, perhaps-"
She whirled on him. "Why did you let me say the wrong things?" She whirled on me. "Why did you?"
I said nothing. I'd seen guests in rages at the Featherbed. The only sensible course was to wait out the fury.
He said, "But Your Majesty, if you-"
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"Don't contradict me!"We marched on. After a few minutes we reached Ivi's door. Oochoo sat, wagging her tail.
"You needn't come in. Aza, I think I remember how to disrobe."
I curtsied and Prince Ijori bowed. Ivi went inside, slamming the door behind her.
We left her chambers, a dispirited trio. Even Oochoo's tail was down.
We heard a crash. She'd thrown something. I hoped it hadn't been Skulni, the hand mirror. Oochoo ran away, down the corridor. A moment later we heard Ivi weeping. I couldn't pity her. We hurried after Oochoo.
When we were far from her door, Prince Ijori said, "I trust you'll be silent about the queen's outburst."
"Of course."
We reached the Great Hall. It was dim, illuminated by only a few lanterns. Our heels echoed on the tiles. Prince Ijori guided me to a table where a candle burned. On the table were several unlit candles in candleholders.
He lit a candle for me. "Can you find your room from here ?"
"I think so." I wished I could have news of the king before I tried to sleep. "Do you think your uncle's condition might have changed?"
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"I was intending to visit him. You may come if you like."It was a grudging invitation, but I wanted to go with him and learn whether the Sing had harmed or helped.
He took a candle for himself. We entered a new corridor.
When he spoke again, his voice was strained. "Tomorrow I'll draw up the papers to make you a lady and the queen's lady-in-waiting. You cannot join the nobility unless your family owns land. The queen is graciously giving you a parcel of the crown's land, fifty acres. It is excellent-"
"Pardon me." I stopped walking. My knees felt weak. "Did you say land? Your Highness, did you say fifty acres?"
He waited for me. His voice was a shade friendlier. "Yes, and your wage will be ten gold yorthys a month."
I touched the wall to steady myself. Ten gold yorthys a month! Fifty acres! This would mean everything to the Featherbed, to my brothers' and Areida's futures. I murmured, "We're rich!"
"There's also a gallon of rendered boar fat on the first day of winter." His face was in shadow, but his tone was amused. "The fat is customary."
Ivi was paying me well for my crime. I began to walk again.
He added, "My uncle chose Lady Arona to be the queen's lady-in-waiting. Arona knows the ways of the court."
And I knew nothing.
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I wanted to promise him that I'd serve the queen faithfully, but I didn't know what faithful service to her would mean. I wanted to promise I'd serve Ayortha faithfully, but I was engaged in duping the entire court. After a moment I said, "I'll do my best to serve her honorably." I would try to do that. I would try to serve her well in spite of herself, in spite of my fear, in spite of my anger, in spite of my duplicity."I hope you will. I hope you'll serve Ayortha honorably, too."
I think my heart stopped beating for a full minute. I heard Oochoo's panting.
He changed the subject. "Your song comforted me."
Without thinking, I said, "Yours made me weep." At home that was a compliment. Was it a terrible thing to say here?
"I saw. Thank you. But your song- It was a comfort to know that your family, so far away, would feel as keenly for my uncle as we do here."
"We love the king at the Featherbed. Father collects reports of him from our guests. Every year, in honor of his birthday, Mother and Father and my brothers and my sister and I write a song to celebrate."
"I'd like to hear you all."
If only he could! "We'd give you the Peacock chamber,
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where the duchess stays." It would seem shabby, compared to the rooms here."What would your cook serve?"
"Hart with fire peppers." I sang,
"Peppers in the pan Make your mouth dance. Peppers on the tongue Make your nose run."
Then I blushed. At least it was too dark for him to see. He laughed, really laughed. Oochoo jumped up on him. He sang,
"Peppers on the tongue Make your nose run."
I wanted to sing him every silly song or my childhood. I was pleased at taking him out of his sadness for a bit.
As we turned into a new hallway, he said, "Perhaps the queen chose well in choosing you. She may prefer a companion to an instructor. My uncle would understand that."
I whispered, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"When she blamed us for her song, I argued with her. Did you wish to argue too?"
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I shook my head. "When guests rage, it's best to let the rage blow itself out.""Were they always terrible, your guests who raged?"
How nice, to be royalty. No one had ever before dared to behave badly to him. "Some were decent and good, once they stopped being angry."
We reached Sir Enole's chambers.
Prince Ijori put his hand on the knob but didn't turn it. "If we're to attend the queen together, you should call me Ijori."
Ijori? Ijori! I didn't think I could say it, so I nodded.
He patted Oochoo. "Oochoo answers to 'her royal high-houndyness.' Shall we go in, Aza?"
"Yes, please, Prince Ijori."
"Ijori." I can t.
"You can. Yes, please . . ."
"Yes, please ..." My voice dropped to a mumble. "I-ijori."
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SIXTEENT he maidservant who'd stayed at the king's side during the Sing said that he'd been agitated while it took place.
"His breathing is easier now," Sir Enole said. "The Sing may have helped him. It's too soon to tell."
Ijori pulled a chair next to his uncle. I stood just inside the door, knowing I didn't belong. I was nothing to King Oscaro, only a subject. The king's hand was curled at his side. His cuticles were bitten ragged. I had no right to see that. I curtsied and left.
In my room I couldn't sleep. Behind my closed eyelids, faces kept floating into view-Ivi's, Ijori's, the king's, and my own, made beautiful in Skulni. I was awake half the night, and in the morning I was tired and homesick.
I sang another childhood ditty:
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"I'm solitary as a pulled tooth, Lonely as an unwelcome truth, Lost as a minnow out of school, A genius in a crop of fools."I penned a letter to my parents, telling them what had befallen the king. Then I wrote,
You will scarcely credit what has happened. The queen has made me her lady-in-waiting. I cannot explain it. . .
Or I'd go to prison.
... but it's true. There isto be a wage and land,and I am to be a lady."
I told them the particulars, struggling for a happy tone and hoping my words didn't seem forced. I ended by asking them to kiss Imilli, the originator of my good fortune.
Although I wanted to tell them about Ijori, there was little to tell. He was handsome and charming and good-natured. He loved his dog and distrusted me.
When I dressed for the day, I picked among Dame Ethele's remaining ensembles, all overdecorated, all
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loathsome. The one I selected was patterned in brick red and purple and green and pale blue.Why couldn't Dame Ethele have liked just one color?
I left my room and went to help the duchess with her packing. She was surprisingly cordial and promised to deliver my letter. She even said I could keep Dame Ethele's gowns as long as I needed them.
On second thought, that may not have been cordiality. It may have been punishment!
After I managed to lock the duchess's bulging trunks, I bade her farewell. She was my last tie to home, and soon she'd be gone. She was bad-tempered and difficult, but she meant me no harm, and I'd miss her.
In the Banquet Hall I asked a serving maid for a tray I could take to the queen.
Wondering what my reception would be, I knocked on the door to Ivi's apartments. There was no answer. I knocked again, and again received no answer.
"Lady Aza!" Ivi hurried down the corridor toward me, her robe billowing out behind her. The sun streamed through the corridor windows, bathing her in light. She was a celestial creature.
"I was in the physician's sickroom with my lord, with my Oscaro." She flowed onto the bed and lay, looking up at me.
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I wondered if she was telling the truth. "How does the king fare?""He passed a peaceful night." She sat up and positioned herself to accept the breakfast tray on her legs.
I placed it and poured ostumo into her mug from the linen-wrapped silver urn. I scanned the room for Skulni. There it was on the dressing table, unharmed. I went to the table on the pretext of straightening her jumble of perfumes and creams. I saw only my ordinary reflection.
Shards of porcelain littered the hearthstone. I swept them up with a whisk broom.
"Thank you, Lady Aza." She wet her lips. "I had a clumsy accident last night. So clumsy of me. Thank you for my breakfast and for my voice last evening." She smiled up at me. "I beg your forgiveness. You gave me a voice beyond compare, and in return I blamed you for my song. It was unforgivable, yet I hope you'll forgive me." She waited for me to speak.
"There's nothing to forgive." I sounded stiff and angry, so I made myself smile.
She put down her cup. "My dear, have you been to the tailor yet?"
"W-what? Er, I beg your pardon, Your Majesty."
She laughed. "As my lady-in-waiting you'll need a new wardrobe."
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A new wardrobe hadn't occurred to me. It would be heavenly-if the price hadn't been my honesty."We can go to the tailor together." Her face was eager. "Oh, Aza! It will be such fun! I'm a connoisseur of fashion. My taste is impeccable."
I didn't want her to accompany me to the tailor, and I certainly didn't want her there when the seamstress measured me.
She moved the tray off her legs and bounced out of bed. "I wish I could hold a ball, as we do in Kyrria. You'd wear a new gown, and so would I."
She began to dance with an invisible partner. Step, step, glide. Glide, glide, dip. She tilted her head and smiled coquettishly.
She stopped. "I was going to ask Oscaro for a ball. Now I can't. I miss him, Aza. I miss my lord." She went to the window and looked out.
I straightened her counterpane.
"Aza ... do you think the prince has the look of a king? Is he regal enough?"
"I-I don't know." My temples were pounding.
She was still looking out the window. "Those ears. Those absurd ears. I wish I could find a fairy to shrink them." She laughed. "But he has more hair than Oscaro, and my subjects know him, and he is a prince already."
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She was choosing her second husband, the king's successor!She faced me. "Your eyes are as big as melons, Aza. More than anyone, I hope my lord will live. He loves me, so of course I want him to live. But I have an advisor, who also loves me, and this advisor tells me that, if the king does not live, I must marry again, for the good of Ayortha."
Who was her advisor?
She giggled. "And for my own good, I'd like my husband to have nice ears."
My own ears were hot enough to start a fire.
On our way to the Great Hall, we passed the serving maid Isoli, who was carrying a tray. She was the maid who'd knocked into me in the kitchen. When she was out of earshot, Ivi said, "How pretty the wench was. Did you think her pretty?"
I said I did. I wished I was half so pretty.
"Did you notice her complexion? Was it as clear as my own?"
"I don't know, Your Majesty."
"Oh? You think her complexion might be as fine as mine?" Her voice was dangerous.
I began to worry for Isoli. Ivi's claws came out with no warning. Acting the fawning flatterer, I said, "Hers must
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not be as fine, because yours is perfect.""You are a dear."
We continued down the corridor. I found pity mixing with my fear of Ivi. Yes, she was ruthless, but she was also fretful and discordant. How did she endure herself?
I had a fright before we reached the tailor. Sir Uellu saw us enter the Great Hall and approached. I wanted to run and hide. The sight of him made me feel like the greatest criminal in Ayortha.
He bowed to us, which made me feel worse. I curtsied. The queen inclined her head.
He inquired into our health. Ivi answered that we were in good health and were bolstering our spirits by selecting my new wardrobe.
He nodded absently, then said, "Your Majesty, you and Lady Aza have uncommonly fine voices. I should love to hear you sing a duet."
A duet! I couldn't!
Ivi smiled graciously. "We will prepare something for you."
I'd have to tell her I couldn't illuse a duet. It wasn't possible.
I was so shaken, I heard nothing else the choirmaster said, although he and Ivi chatted for several minutes. Then he took his leave, and we continued to the tailor.
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He and his four seamstresses were set up near a tall window that provided good light for their work. Their stall was bustling. A woman was being fitted for a gown. Another was sketching a design with a seamstress. Several more were going through bolts of fabric.The tailor bowed to Ivi, then to me. I raised my hand to block my face.
Ivi said, "My dear friend Lady Aza is in need of six gowns, underclothes, three sleeping costumes, and a cloak-all in the finest fabrics."
How could I afford so many things?
"Lady Aza is to be garbed as a maiden of rank."
At that, the women in the booth stared at me. I wanted to be elsewhere, anywhere in the branches of a tree, in a cave, stuck in a window.
"Spare no expense. The crown will pay."
I stammered out my thanks as everyone watched.
The tailor made a show of looking me over. "I cannot help your friend if she wishes this sort of apparel." He gestured at my gown.
"No!" I said. "Not this sort."
"Then perhaps we can do something." He called to one of the seamstresses, who led me behind a screen to undress and be measured.
To my great relief, Ivi didn't follow us. The seamstress,
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Mistress Audra, was pleasant. "This must be such a treat for Milady," she said, "picking out your wardrobe. The gown you are wearing now was not of your choosing, yes?""Yes!" I said fervently.
"My goodness! You are as tall as our screen." She unrolled her tape measure.
I had to crouch for her to measure the length of my neck. She said nothing, but she exclaimed, "Ayortha!" when she measured its circumference.
