Owen frowned. “Not really. You’re pretty good at not answering questions.”
“Let me put it another way. Let’s talk about it like stacking tiles. You build a tower out of tiles and then you want to knock it down. If you set the tiles too far from the tower, it won’t work.”
Owen looked at her curiously. “Well, the tower needs to have a weakness. You have to hit it at the right angle to make the tiles fall. If you hit it the other way, nothing will happen.”
“Yes, exactly. You have to hit it where it will fall. That’s what I did with Mancini. I didn’t offer him food. He has plenty of that! I offered him knowledge. Secrets.” She reached her hand out and moved the next piece, winning the game of Wizr.
Owen scowled. He had already planned his next two moves and had not seen it coming. He didn’t think he was ever going to win against her.
“But how did you know that?” he pressed. “How did you know that’s what he wanted?”
Ankarette folded her hands in her lap. She was quiet for a moment. Sometimes he could tell she was in pain, but this was not one of those moments. Her pain usually started with tightness around her eyes, then her breathing would change and she would tell him it was time to go.
“Owen,” she said softly, peering into his eyes. “The most important thing you can learn is discernment. Have you heard that word before?”
He shook his head no.
“It is the ability to judge well. It means not just seeing an action, but the reasons behind the action. Many people say things they do not believe. They lie and deceive. They may act one way in public and another in private.”
Owen stared at her, still confused. “I don’t understand.”
“This is hard enough to explain to adults, Owen. It is especially difficult to explain to children because you are so young and haven’t experienced much yet. I’ll try to help you. You like to talk. You like to ask questions. You like to laugh. But when you are in the presence of King Severn, your voice goes down to a tiny squeak and you cannot speak. It’s because he makes you anxious and uncomfortable. Right?”
He nodded.
“If I judged you by how you are in the king’s presence, I would not see the whole picture of you. By spending time with you, I’ve gotten to know you better. I have learned what you are really like. The ability to do this quickly is called discernment. It is priceless, Owen. Let me tell you a story to show you why.”
No longer upset about losing the game, he wriggled his finger in his ear to stop an itch, then stared at her eagerly. He loved hearing her stories, for they were rare.
“There was a king . . . almost a century ago. He stole the crown from his cousin.”
“Why did he do that?” Owen asked, curious.
“Because the king banished him for having an argument. He was a duke, just like your father. And he had an argument with another man, an earl. They would not resolve it, so the king banished them both. One he banished forever. The other he banished for a time. Then the king needed some money and he stole it from the banished duke’s estate. The one who was going to come back in time.”
Owen scrunched up his face. “That’s not fair!”
Ankarette smiled. “You’re right. It wasn’t. And the king ended up losing his crown to the duke because of it. One day, years later, some of the new king’s men began to rebel against him. They created an army to depose him.”
“Why? Had the king done something to them?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t over money. What happened was he did not show them enough gratitude. People can be strange sometimes, Owen. They will rebel for small reasons. The king was old and sick at the time, so he could not lead his armies anymore. He sent one of his sons to lead it in his place. When his son arrived, the leaders of the rebels tried to talk to him first in the hopes of avoiding a battle, which would have killed many people on both sides. The prince listened to their complaints and made promises in his father’s name. He told them that if they disbanded the army, they would be heard and their problems would be solved. The rebels listened . . . and they believed him because he swore an oath of honor in the king’s name. The young prince suggested that both armies disband at the same time. The soldiers would go home and no one would be injured or killed. Do you know what happened next, Owen?”
“No,” he said. He had never heard this story before.
“The prince sent his captain out, but he did not disband his army. They waited until the other army was disbanded and the soldiers were leaving. Then they hunted down what remained of the rebels and started killing them as they escaped. The leaders were all taken to the river and drowned because they were wearing heavy armor. This is a sad story, is it not, Owen?”