Her shoulders lowered a trifle as she relaxed. ‘Sometimes my councillor and I are at odds. When we spoke through Nettle … well. It was difficult, for Chade and I were both being so circumspect, taking care not to involve her in matters far beyond her ability or need to understand. But now you are here.’ She lifted her head slightly. Almost, she smiled. ‘I take strength from you, FitzChivalry. In an odd way, when you Skill for me, you serve me as a Queen’s Man.’ She drew herself up straight. ‘Tell Chade that in this matter, the Prince’s word to his affianced one will not be compromised. If he feels winter is not an auspicious time for this wedding, then let us offer to postpone it until spring, when the crossing will doubtless be safer and more pleasant for the Narcheska. In the matter of the Prince being hailed as King-in-Waiting, well, that has always been up to his dukes. If he must bring home a woman as trophy for them to find him worthy of the title, then the title means little to me. He will, eventually, reign over them. It is my opinion that his kindness and consideration to his future bride may well strengthen this alliance rather than be seen as weakness.’ She paused, as if thinking, pinching her lips firmly together. Then, ‘Tell him that, please.’ She took up her wine-glass and sipped from it.
This is not wise, Fitz. Cannot you reason with her? The Prince is besotted with Elliania. He must be made to see that it is more important to both their futures that he now gratifies the wishes of his dukes rather than his bride’s mother. The sooner this marriage is a reality, the sooner they will see him as a man approaching kingship rather than a boy-prince. He is far too impetuous, following the impulse of his heart when the good of the Six Duchies demands that only his head makes his decisions. Make her understand, Fitz, that we have spent the summer doing the Narcheska’s will, and now it is time for his dukes to see that they still have his heart, and that their regard is more important to him than the well-wishes of the Out Islands.
I pondered his words for a moment and then opened my eyes to the Queen’s anxious gaze. ‘This is what Chade thinks,’ I said, and relayed the gist of the message.
The subtlety was not lost on Kettricken. ‘And what do you think, FitzChivalry?’
I bowed my head to her. ‘I think you are the Queen. And that Prince Dutiful will some day be king.’
‘Then, you counsel me to ignore my councillor’s advice and give support to my son?’
‘My lady queen, I am very glad that I do not have to give you advice in this area.’
She almost smiled. ‘You do if I ask you for it.’
I was silent for quite a time, thinking furiously.
‘Is your chair uncomfortable?’ She asked solicitously. ‘You shift as if it is full of fire-ants.’
I settled back into it resolutely. ‘I would find a way between, my lady. It would please his dukes if the Prince were wed and an heir produced, but he is still very young, not even of an age to be a King-in-Waiting. The nuptials and the title can, perhaps, wait. Let the Narcheska have her time with her mother and sister. I have been there and seen how power is wielded. Although Oerttre is Narcheska still, for she is alive, for Elliania to depart will be as profound an abdication as when my father passed the crown to Verity. Some will dispute who should next inherit the title. While she is a presence there, she can make firm her younger sister’s claim. And I think it would be in the Six Duchies’ best interest to see that her line of the family remains securely in power. Our dukes can be placated in other ways. Trade is what will enrich their coffers, and the Narwhal and Boar clans are not the only ones interested in what we have to offer them. Throw wide the gates. Invite their kaempras, their warrior-leaders. Men all, they will not scruple to leave their mothershouses, if by doing so they can gain a trade advantage. Let that be what we celebrate this autumn harvest. Begin now to plan a Harvest Fest that will display for them the riches of our Six Duchies. Encourage the dukes to attend, with their families and nobles of their duchies. Celebrate the trade alliances now, and let the wedding be the capstone when it occurs.’
Kettricken leaned back in her chair and regarded me carefully. ‘And when did you learn to be so sagacious, FitzChivalry?’
‘A wise old man taught me that diplomacy is the velvet glove that cloaks the fist of power. Persuasion, not force, works best and lasts longest. Make this alliance in the dukes’ best interest and they will be eager to welcome and honour the Narcheska when she arrives.’
I did not add that he had taught me that when he had been content to move behind the walls of Buckkeep and manipulate the throne unseen.
‘Would that he still recalled that. Tell him your thoughts, but phrase them as if they were mine.’
I longed not to be a party to Chade’s haggling with the Queen, but there was no way to avoid it. I witnessed, more clearly than I wished, the subtle way in which they wrestled for the power of the Farseer Throne. Age and experience of the Six Duchies were on Chade’s side. I winced as several times he insisted that it was her Mountain upbringing that blinded Kettricken to the political necessity of showing the Out Islands a strong will. I had known that Chade had amassed power to himself. I do not think he meant any ill; I believe that he genuinely felt that he fought for the best interests of the Six Duchies. Had I manipulated the power of the throne for that long, doubtless I, too, would have felt a proprietary right to it. At the same time, I saw too clearly that if Kettricken did not stand firm, Dutiful could inherit a hollow crown.
And so, against my will, I began to make suggestions to Kettricken that would outflank Chade and to throw my strength toward her side. It was not long before Chade was aware of it, I am sure. And yet the wily old badger only seemed to relish the game more as he heaped objections and possibilities ever higher. Night deepened and then ventured toward dawn. The old man seemed tireless in his arguments, but I was not, and I watched my queen’s pallor grow.
Finally, during a pause in a very convoluted argument in which Chade had been sorting dukes and Outislander kaempras into sets and predicting where each group would side, my weariness got the better of me.
‘Just tell him “no”,’ I suggested. ‘Tell him the Prince has given his word to his fiancée, and it will not be abrogated by you or by Chade. Tell him that if it is an error, it is the Prince’s error, and learning the consequences of errors is one of the best tutors that any young ruler can have.’
My throat was hoarse and my mouth dry with talking. My head seemed too big and heavy for my neck and my eyeballs to have been rolled in sand. I reached for the wine bottle to pour us each a little more, but as I extended my hand, Kettricken seized it in both of her own. I lifted my eyes to hers, startled. Her blue gaze burned as I had never seen it blaze before; it made her eyes seem dark and a little wild.
‘You tell him, Sacrifice. Do not say it comes from me. I wish you to tell him it is your decision. That as the rightful if uncrowned King, this is what you decree.’
I blinked and stared. ‘I … cannot.’
‘Why not?’
The answer did not make me feel brave. ‘If once I take that stance, I cannot step aside from it. If once I declare myself so to Chade, then I must ever guard that right, the right of final say, from him.’
‘Until Dutiful puts on his full crown. Yes.’
‘My life would never be my own again.’
‘This is the life that has always waited for you. This is your life, your own life, which you have never taken up. Take it up now.’
‘Have you discussed this with Dutiful?’
‘He knows that I regard you as Sacrifice. When I told him that, he did not dispute it.’
‘My queen, I …’ I pressed the heels of my hands to my throbbing temples. I wanted to say I had never even considered such a role. But I had. I had come two breaths from it on the night King Shrewd died. I had been ready to step up and seize the power of the throne. Not for myself, but to guard it for the Queen until Verity returned. I teetered on accepting the shadow crown she offered. Was it truly hers to give?