Lily raised an eyebrow, but it was a good thought. 'You know more than you've told me,' she said, narrowing her eyes.
Rosa shrugged. 'Mama wanted me educated in everything. She always said it was nothing more than a lot of village politics, just on a bigger scale.'
'She wasn't far wrong,' Lily replied wryly. 'Well then. That's for the future. Let's survive this first.'
By the time they were finished, it was dark and they had gone through several pots of tea and two meals. And Lily had a fairly good idea of which allies were trustworthy, which were trustworthy only if they were bought, and which would stay bought, once bought. Within the Kingdom itself, she knew which of the Councillors were loyal only to their purses, which were weak-willed, which were strong-willed, and those few that Celeste had known were motivated by something other than selfishness and could be trusted, no matter what befell. This had not much mattered in Thurmans time, but Rosa and Lily between them decided that it was time for a bit of a shake up on the Royal Council. At the moment, while she didn't much mind that these men were soft, Eltaria couldn't afford anyone who put his own interests first.
'Not dismissal, though,' she warned Rosa. 'That makes for enemies. No, we'll find them appointments. Make them the heads of things that don't matter, but a position that comes with a meaningless title. We can make them Lords of some brand-new Order, give them spurious duties and send them home.'
But Rosa shook her head. 'No, sending them back to their estates, that would be a bad idea. That will look like disgrace, or exactly like it is, that they are being shuffled off.'
'Hmm,' Lily said. 'Then this, perhaps. Let them stay here if they want, and preen and posture. In fact, we could probably use them...if we set them up as a War Cabinet and feed them with misinformation, then see if that misinformation turns up elsewhere, we'll find out which of them is actually corrupt instead of just venial. Thank you for that observation.'
'Mother taught me to pay attention.' Rosa managed a wan smile.
'So she did.'
Lily had always known, when she had begun helping and aiding Celeste — among several other little girls — as a possible consort for Thurman, that the girl was special. Even as a youngster she had been a peacemaker and a problem solver among her peers. When she grew into lovely maidenhood, she had continued that among even the elders of her village. But she had never quite realized how deeply Celeste's craft went.
'Your mother was quite the manipulator, wasn't she,' Lily observed without rancor.
Rosa considered that judiciously. 'Well, she used to say that she was very well aware that shehad that power, so it was up to her to use it for good, to counter the ones who used it for bad.' She shrugged, 'I suppose I am, too, since she taught me how to use it wisely.'
'I most fervently hope so,' Lily replied with feeling. 'You are going to need to, in order to handle the plague of princes about to descend on us.'
She was interrupted by Jimson. 'Lily, your fellow Godmothers have been informed, and offer as much help as you think you need. Even in setting up and executing the trials. Many of them are arranging for the Princes and other would-be suitors to get here by means of 'All Paths Are One,' and a few of the young men will be delivered by the Godmothers or magicians themselves. Oh, and the Brownies are finished with their task and would like you to let them through.'
'Task?' Rosa said, but Lily had already gone to the mirror to usher through the parade of Brownies nearly invisible beneath piles and piles of clothing.
'I have gowns — ' Rosa said hesitantly, looking at the heaps of fabric that the Brownies were setting down on every available surface. 'More gowns than I generally wear, in fact.'
'Not like these,' Lily replied grimly. She picked up a lovely mourning gown and handed it to the Princess, who frowned at the weight and the thickness of the bodice.
'This isn't just stays...'
'Armored bodice,' said Lily with a sigh. 'Good against knives in the dark, and possibly even axes. You'll have to set a new fashion for high collars, I am afraid. An armored bodice isn't much good if it doesn't cover the chest. Your riding habits are further armored against arrows. But on the positive side, you won't need corsets when you wear these.'
The Princess nodded, but she had gone a little white.
'There are also knives where the bodice busk would be, and slits in the skirts for you to reach through to get more weapons.Not the sort of thing your seamstresses would know how to make, nor would they do so as quickly as my Brownies.' Lily picked up another gown, then put it down with a sigh. 'And this should have been such a lovely time for you...suitors vying for your hand, you the fairest flower in the Court...Thurman and Celeste watching you dance at balls so full of pride and happiness they — ' She found tears in her eyes. 'If only — '
'It's not your fault!' Rosa said fiercely. 'No Kingdom ever had a better Godmother than you! It's the blasted Tradition, that's what it is!'
Lily took a deep breath. 'Thank you,' she said, simply. 'I hope you are right. But even if you are not, the fact remains that we must deal with what is on our plate as best we can.' Then she smiled a little, taking in the Brownies, Rosa and Jimson, who had appeared to gaze anxiously out of his frame. 'And no one could ask for better friends.'
Chapter 9
Siegfried had been a little overwhelmed at the luxury of the rooms he had been given. Actually, he had been a little overwhelmed from the moment he'd seen the Godmother turn the cart into a coach.
Yes, he had seen magic. After all, his mother and father were half god. He'd reforged his father's sword in a Dwarven forge. He'd fought and killed two dragons. He'd tasted Dragon's Blood, and getting the gift of tongues was certainly magic.
But...not magic like this. Not magic that casually turned one thing into something else. The bird had been kind enough to explain Godmothers to him. He wasn't sure his people had a Godmother. For that matter, he wasn't sure that his land counted as a Kingdom; there were no Kings, only Clan Chiefs. And the gods seemed to interfere
