Maia looked at him in curiosity. She smelled the cup first, tasted it, and made sure it was just water.
“As you know, all the various kingdoms continue to fight and wage war on each other. There was a land dispute between Dahomey and Paeiz. With so much of my kingdom still cursed, arable land is precious. What began as a border skirmish turned into a full-out war. My father summoned the army and went north and clashed with the Paeizian forces. It was a humiliating defeat, Maia. You know of it?”
“Yes, I learned of it when I was settling land disputes with Pry-Ree. War is wasteful.”
“We may agree to disagree on that point. My father was captured and humiliated by the Paeizians. In order to secure his release, he had to give them his two sons as hostages. My brother, whom you met earlier this evening pretending to be me, and I were sent to live at an abbey in Paeiz and receive our maston training there. To be honest, I spent more time finding ways to slip away from the abbey than I did learning to read and engrave. I was always discovered and fetched back, mind you, but I learned a few things that cannot be taught in tomes.” He removed the steaming meat skewers from the pot and set them down on a tray shared between them. She studied his hands, the small nicks and scars showed he was used to work and had been in many fights. It made her wonder how his hands had been so abused, especially since she now knew he had never been a wretched.
“Thank you,” she said, taking one of the skewers and eating the meat from it.
He waved her off as if it did not matter at all. “I met the king’s collier in Paeiz, who was often sent to the abbey to report on my brother and me.”
“What abbey?” she pressed.
“Antimo,” he answered, smiling. “Full of vineyards and orchards. It is a beautiful place. The king’s collier would come and go as he pleased. He was excellent at Paeizian fencing and started to train me when I was but ten.”
“You have studied for many years then,” Maia said, impressed.
“Yes, I was more disposed to weapons than tomes. And wine. I have very discriminating tastes, you will learn. I know that cider is a popular drink in Comoros. I like it, but apples are not the best fruit.” He took a bite from a meaty skewer and paused to savor it. “So my brother and I spent our formative years away from my father’s court. I was envious of my mentor’s freedom and wished that I could escape the drudgery of the abbey as he did, riding across the kingdom delivering messages and reports to and from his king. Before I even became king, I created the idea of Feint Collier. When I finally returned home, I would steal away from my lessons at the castle and ride long and hard and visit every corner of my father’s realm. That is how I met men like Jon Tayt and many others, who know me by my disguise rather than my true rank.” He tipped his wine goblet toward her. “So you see, that is another reason I pitied you, Maia. My imprisonment was the result of defeat. My father had no choice but to use his sons as hostages. He did all he could to raise the ransom to secure our release, and it took many years. Your father, on the other hand, imprisoned you himself. Did you not ever think of escaping?”
Maia sighed. The comfortable warmth of the fur rug and the savory food was distracting her from her objective. She was still angry at him for his blatant deception, but she could now see that trickery was part of his personality, part of his heritage even. She wanted to learn more about him, for it was impossible to tell how much of his reputation as the Mark was true, and how much had been his own invention. And she could not deny the little wriggling fish of jealousy in the pit of her stomach. He dared to do things she would never dream of doing. Loyalty was her duty. Not just to her father, but to her people.
“We are very different,” she said after taking a quick sip from her drink. “You always sought to escape Antimo Abbey. You wanted to be free. What I desired above all else was to be sent to an abbey. I want to learn from the tomes.”
“Done,” he said, winking at her. “In my realm, it will not be forbidden.”
“You would defy the Dochte Mandar?” she asked challengingly.
“I defy everyone, including you.” He sat up and brushed his hands together. “I hunger to humble Paeiz. Dahomey is too weak to do it, but with Comoros, I will prevail. I think Pry-Ree will be wise enough to submit to us without an invasion. They are the smallest kingdom, and we do owe them something for saving us all. One by one, chit by chit, mark by mark, crown by crown. I am deeply ambitious, Maia.”
“I can see that,” she agreed. “What you ask me to do is called treason, though, in my kingdom. My father declared me illegitimate.”