Elantris

ceremony. Unfortunately, the event had occurred with a disappointing level of orthodoxy. and no predominant noblemen had given themselves away by failing to show up or by looking too guilty during the proceedings.

'Yes…' she said. 'Perhaps Iadon and I can get along by just ignoring each other.'

'What in the name of Burning Domi are you doing back in my court, girl!' the king swore from behind her.

Sarene raised her eyes to the sky in a look of resignation, and Ashe pulsed a quiet laugh as she turned to face King Iadon.

'What?' she asked. trying her best to sound innocent.

'You!' Iadon barked, pointing at her. He was understandably in a bad mood-of course. from what she heard, Iadon was rarely in a good mood. 'Don't you understand that women aren't to come to my court unless they're invited?'

Sarene blinked her eyes in confusion. 'No one told me that. Your Majesty.' she said, intentionally trying to sound as if she didn't have a wit in her head.

Iadon grumbled something about foolish women. shaking his head at her obvious lack of intelligence.

'I just wanted to see the paintings,' Sarene said, putting a quaver in her voice. as if she were on the brink of crying.

Iadon held his hand palm-forward in the air to forestall any more of her drivel, turning back to his ledgers. Sarene barely kept herself from smiling as she wiped her eyes and pretended to study the painting behind her.

'That was unexpected,' Ashe said quietly.

'I'll deal with Iadon later,' Sarene mumbled. 'I have someone more important to worry about now.'

'I just never thought I'd see the day when you. of all women. gave into the feminine stereotype-even if it was just an act.'

'What?' Sarene asked, fluttering her eyes. 'Me, act?'

Ashe snorted.

'You. know, I've never been able to figure out how you Seons manage sounds like that.' Sarene said. 'You don't have noses-how can you snort?'

`Years of practice, my lady,' Ashe replied. 'Am I truly going to have to suffer your whimpering every time you speak with the king?'

Sarene shrugged. 'He expects women to be foolish, so I'll be foolish. It's much easier to manipulate people when they assume you can't gather enough wits to remember your own name.'

'Ene?' a sudden voice bellowed. 'Is that you?' The deep, scratchy voice was oddly familiar. It was as if the speaker had a sore throat, though she had never heard someone with a sore throat yell so loudly.

Sarene turned hesitantly. An enormous man-taller, broader, pudgier, and more muscled than seemed possible-shoved his way through the crowd in her direction. He was dressed in a broad blue silken doublet-she shuddered to think of how many worms had toiled to make it-and wore the ruffle-cuffed trousers of an Arelish courtier.

'It is you!' the man exclaimed. 'We thought you weren't coming for another week!'

'Ashe,' Sarene mumbled, 'who is this lunatic and what does he want with me?'

'He looks familiar, my lady. I'm sorry, my memory isn't what it used to be.'

'Ha!' the enormous man said, scooping her up into a bear hug. It was an odd feeling-her bottom half squished into his oversized gut while her face was crushed by his hard, well-muscled chest. She resisted the urge to whimper, waiting and hoping the man would drop her before she passed out. Ashe would probably go for help if her face started to change colors.

Fortunately, the man let go long before she asphyxiated, instead holding her by her shoulders at arms length. 'You've changed. When I last saw you, you were only knee high.' Then he looked over her tall figure. 'Well… I doubt you were ever knee high, but you were certainly no taller than a waist. Your mother always said you'd be a lanky one!'

Sarene shook her head. The voice was slightly familiar, but she couldn't place his features. She usually had such a good memory for faces… Unless…

'Hunkey Kay?' she asked hesitantly. 'Gracious Domi! What happened to your beard?'

'Arelish nobles don't wear beards, little one. I haven't had one in years.'

It was him. The voice was different, the beardless face unfamiliar, but the eyes were the same. She remembered looking up at those wide brown eyes, always full of laughter. 'Hunkey Kay,' she mumbled distractedly. 'Where's my present?'

Her uncle Kiin laughed. his odd scratchy voice making it sound more like a wheeze than a chortle. Those had always been the first words out of her mouth when he came to visit: her uncle brought the most exotic of gifts, delights chat were extravagant enough to be unique even to the daughter of a king.

'I'm afraid I forgot the present this time, little one.'

Sarene blushed. However, before she could squeak out an apology. Hunkey Kay wrapped a large arm around her shoulder and began towing her out of the throne room.

'Come, you have to meet my wife.'

'Wife?' Sarene asked with a shocked voice. It had been over a decade since she had seen Kiin. but she remembered one fact quite clearly. Her uncle had been a sworn bachelor and a confirmed rascal. 'Hunkey Kay is married?'

'You aren't the only one who has grown over the last ten years,' Kiin rasped. 'Oh, and as cute as it is to hear you call me — Hunkey Kay,' you'll probably want to call me Uncle Kiin now.'

Sarene blushed again. 'Hunkey Kay- had been the creation of a child unable to pronounce her uncle's name.

'So, how's your father doing?' the large man asked. 'Acting properly regal. I assume.'

'He's doing fine, Uncle,' she replied. 'Though I'm sure he would be surprised to find you living in the court of AreIon.

'He knows.'

'No. he thinks you left on one of your voyages and settled on one of the far islands.'

'Sarene, if you're as quick-witted a woman as you were a girl, then you should have learned by now to separate the truth from the stories.'

The statement came like a bucketful of icy water. She vaguely remembered watching her uncle's ship sail away one day and asking her father when Hunkey Kay was going to return. Eventeo's face had been morose when he replied that this time Hunkey Kay would be taking a long, Iong voyage.

'But why?' she asked. 'All this time you were living just a few days' trip from home. and you never came to visit?'

'Stories for another day, little one,' Kiin said with a shake of his head. 'Right now, you need to meet the monster of a woman who finally managed to capture your uncle.'

Kiin's wife was hardly a monster. In fact, she was one of the most beautiful mature women Sarene had ever seen. Daora had a strong face with sharp, statuesque features and a well-styled head of auburn hair. She was not what Sarene would ever have placed with her uncle-of course, her most recent memories of Kiin were over a decade old.

Kiin's large, castle-like mansion was not a surprise. She remembered that her uncle had been a merchant of some sort and her memories were highlighted by expensive gifts and Kiin's exotic clothing. He had not only been the younger son of a king, but he had also been an extremely successful businessman. Something he still was, appartently. He'd been out of the city on business until that morning, which was why she hadn't seen him at the funeral.

The greatest shock was the children. Despite the fact that Sarene knew he was married. she just couldn't reconcile her recollections of the unruly Hunkey Kay with the concept of fatherhood. Her preconceptions were neatly shattered the moment Kiin and Daora opened the door to the mansion's dining hall.

'Father's home!' called the voice of a young girl.

'Yes, Father's home,' Kiin said with a suffering voice. 'And no, I didn't bring you anything. I've only been gone a few minutes.'

'I don't care what you did or didn't bring me. I just want to eat.' The speaker. a young girl about ten years old. had a very serious, adult-sounding voice. She wore a pink dress tied with white ribbon, and had a bob of stark