to occupy her time.
That thought promptly resurrected the incident with Talin and she flopped back
on the bed, dragging a pillow over her head.
She didn’t know which was worse, her reaction to Talin, or the fact that he’d been
well aware that he’d stirred her blood.
He’d been well pleased with himself, too, she thought irritably, wishing she could
have thought of something clever to give him a set down.
After a time she drifted to sleep again. When she woke the second time she felt
considerably better. She saw when she tossed off the covers and sat up that the maids had been in, removed the breakfast tray, which she’d ignored, and left fresh water, and her gown!
Delighted to discover they’d returned it at long last, she slipped from the bed and
went to examine it. It was a little the worse for wear, having lost a few of the tiny pearls sewn to it, but she saw it had been laundered and the wrinkles carefully ironed from it.
Settling it on the bed, she went to the basin to wash up. The maids returned as she
was struggling to get into the gown by herself and moved to help. Removing it again, the younger of the two straightened her corset and tightened the laces, then drew the gown over her head again and laced the back up.
“Would you like for us to bring your noon meal up, or would you prefer to go
down to the great hall?” the other maid asked.
She had a choice? She was heartily sick of her own company, but she felt a little
uneasy at the thought of mingling with the unnaturals. Finally, she decided to have a tray brought up.
To her surprise, once she’d finished eating and the maids returned to retrieve the
tray, they offered to escort her to the courtyard to enjoy the sun and fresh air. She was still a little uncomfortable about the unnaturals, but she discovered the chance to get out was just too tempting to pass up.
* * * *
Impatient to present Princess Aliya with the gift he’d thought of for her, Talin
gathered a squad of men the following day and set out for the kingdom of Anduloosa.
There was a possibility, he knew, that King Andor had not yet moved his army, but that too was something he needed to do--learn what he could of the enemy.
THE DEVIL’S CONCUBINE
Jaide Fox
50
They spied the unwieldy army little more than a day’s ride, by surface beast, from
the Andor’s royal palace. A little surprised to see that they had not yet even crossed the border of their own lands, Talin circled above them for a time, dropping lower and lower to better see what was going on.
They were camped. As it was in the middle of the day, Talin found that
circumstance peculiar. He could think of no reason for it save that they were waiting for others to arrive. Climbing the air currents once more to a higher altitude, he considered the matter. Finally, summoning two of those he’d brought with him, he sent them to try to infiltrate the group gathered below, to see what they might learn from the talk of the soldiers.
Three others, he sent to scour the countryside for the soldiers they were no doubt
waiting for, with instructions to meet him at King Andor’s palace once they had gathered whatever information they could.
The castle was closed up tightly, which he had expected. It was also well
defended, which he had also anticipated.
He hadn’t entirely foreseen the ferocity with which the defenders seemed
determined to guard their king’s holdings. The moment he and his men began to circle lower toward the battlements, they encountered a hail of arrows and spears. Withdrawing to a little safer distance, he considered the situation and finally instructed his men to gather stones for a bombardment.
It had the desired effect of driving the soldiers inside, but the moment he and his
men ran out of stones to drop, the man children rushed back onto the battlements and
commenced to lobbing spears and arrows once more.
He was a little disconcerted to discover the task
That thought promptly resurrected the incident with Talin and she flopped back
on the bed, dragging a pillow over her head.
She didn’t know which was worse, her reaction to Talin, or the fact that he’d been
well aware that he’d stirred her blood.
He’d been well pleased with himself, too, she thought irritably, wishing she could
have thought of something clever to give him a set down.
After a time she drifted to sleep again. When she woke the second time she felt
considerably better. She saw when she tossed off the covers and sat up that the maids had been in, removed the breakfast tray, which she’d ignored, and left fresh water, and her gown!
Delighted to discover they’d returned it at long last, she slipped from the bed and
went to examine it. It was a little the worse for wear, having lost a few of the tiny pearls sewn to it, but she saw it had been laundered and the wrinkles carefully ironed from it.
Settling it on the bed, she went to the basin to wash up. The maids returned as she
was struggling to get into the gown by herself and moved to help. Removing it again, the younger of the two straightened her corset and tightened the laces, then drew the gown over her head again and laced the back up.
“Would you like for us to bring your noon meal up, or would you prefer to go
down to the great hall?” the other maid asked.
She had a choice? She was heartily sick of her own company, but she felt a little
uneasy at the thought of mingling with the unnaturals. Finally, she decided to have a tray brought up.
To her surprise, once she’d finished eating and the maids returned to retrieve the
tray, they offered to escort her to the courtyard to enjoy the sun and fresh air. She was still a little uncomfortable about the unnaturals, but she discovered the chance to get out was just too tempting to pass up.
* * * *
Impatient to present Princess Aliya with the gift he’d thought of for her, Talin
gathered a squad of men the following day and set out for the kingdom of Anduloosa.
There was a possibility, he knew, that King Andor had not yet moved his army, but that too was something he needed to do--learn what he could of the enemy.
THE DEVIL’S CONCUBINE
Jaide Fox
50
They spied the unwieldy army little more than a day’s ride, by surface beast, from
the Andor’s royal palace. A little surprised to see that they had not yet even crossed the border of their own lands, Talin circled above them for a time, dropping lower and lower to better see what was going on.
They were camped. As it was in the middle of the day, Talin found that
circumstance peculiar. He could think of no reason for it save that they were waiting for others to arrive. Climbing the air currents once more to a higher altitude, he considered the matter. Finally, summoning two of those he’d brought with him, he sent them to try to infiltrate the group gathered below, to see what they might learn from the talk of the soldiers.
Three others, he sent to scour the countryside for the soldiers they were no doubt
waiting for, with instructions to meet him at King Andor’s palace once they had gathered whatever information they could.
The castle was closed up tightly, which he had expected. It was also well
defended, which he had also anticipated.
He hadn’t entirely foreseen the ferocity with which the defenders seemed
determined to guard their king’s holdings. The moment he and his men began to circle lower toward the battlements, they encountered a hail of arrows and spears. Withdrawing to a little safer distance, he considered the situation and finally instructed his men to gather stones for a bombardment.
It had the desired effect of driving the soldiers inside, but the moment he and his
men ran out of stones to drop, the man children rushed back onto the battlements and
commenced to lobbing spears and arrows once more.
He was a little disconcerted to discover the task
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