Elantris

was, Iadon had managed to talk them into buying his silks for four times as much

as they were worth. The king had been beaming so widely as Sarene left that he almost appeared to have forgiven her for her charade.

'Clever?' Sarene asked innocently in response to Ashe's comment. 'Me?' The Seon bobbed, chuckling softly. 'Is there anyone you can't manipulate, my lady?'

'Father,' Sarene said. 'You know he gets the better of me three times out of five.'

'He says the same thing about you, my lady.' Ashe noted.

Sarene smiled, pushing open the door to her room to prepare for bed. 'It really wasn't that clever, Ashe. We should have realized that our problems were really solutions to one another-one an offer with no catch, the other a request with no sweetener.'

Ashe made noises of displeasure as he floated around the room, 'tisking,' offended at its messy state.

'What?' Sarene asked, unwrapping the black ribbon tied around her upper arm-the only remaining sign of her mourning.

'The room has not been cleaned again, my lady,' Ashe explained.

'Well, it's not like I left it that messy in the first place,' Sarene said with a huff.

'No, Your Highness is a very tidy woman,' Ashe agreed. 'However, the palace maids have been lax in their duties. A princess deserves proper esteem-if you allow them to neglect their work, it won't be long before they stop respecting you.'

'I think you're reading too much into it, Ashe,' Sarene said with a shake of her head, pulling off her dress and preparing her nightgown. 'I'm supposed to be the suspicious one. remember?'

'This is a matter of servants, not lords, my lady,' Ashe said. 'You are a brilliant woman and a fine politician, but you betray a common weakness of your class-you ignore the opinions of servants.'

'Ashe!' Sarene objected. 'I always treated my father's servants with respect and kindness.'

'Perhaps I should rephrase, my lady,' Ashe said. 'Yes, you lack unkind prejudices. However, you don't pay attention to what the servants think of you-not in the same way you are always aware of what the aristocracy thinks.'

Sarene pulled her nightgown over her head, refusing to show even a hint of petulance. 'I've always tried to be fair.'

'Yes. my lady, but you are a child of nobility, raised to ignore those who work around you. I only suggest you remember that if the maids disrespect you, it could be as detrimental as if the lords did so.'

'All right,' Sarene said with a sigh. 'Point taken. Fetch Meala for me; I'll ask her if she knows what happened.'

'Yes, my lady.'

Ashe floated toward the window. However, before he left. Sarene made one last comment.

'Ashe?' she asked. 'The people loved Raoden, didn't they?'

'By all accounts, my lady. He was known for paying very personal heed to their opinions and needs.'

'He was a better prince than I am a princess, wasn't he?' she asked, her voice falling.

'I wouldn't say that. my lady,' Ashe said. 'You are a very kindhearted woman, and you always treat your maids well. Do not compare yourself to Raoden-it is important to remember that you weren't preparing to run a country, and your popularity with the people wasn't an issue. Prince Raoden was the heir to the throne, and it was vital that he understand his subjects' feelings.'

'They say he gave the people hope.' Sarene said musingly. 'That the peasants endured Iadon's outrageous burdens because they knew Raoden would eventually take the throne. The country would have collapsed years ago if the prince hadn't gone amongst them, encouraging them and reviving their spirits.'

'And now he's gone,' Ashe said quietly.

'Yes, he's gone,' Sarene agreed, her voice detached. 'We have to hurry. Ashe. I keep feeling that I'm not doing any good-that the country is heading for disaster no matter what I do. It's like I'm at the bottom of a hill watching an enormous boulder crash down toward me, and I'm throwing pebbles up to try and deflect it.'

'Be strong, my lady,' Ashe said in his deep. stately voice. 'Your God will not sit and watch as Arelon and Teod crumble beneath Wyrn's heel.'

'I hope the prince is watching as well,' Sarene said. 'Would he be proud of me, Ashe?'

'Very proud my lady.'

'I just want them to accept me,' she explained, realizing how silly she must sound. She had spent nearly three decades loving a country without ever feeling it loved her back. Teod had respected her. but she was tired of respect. She wanted something different from Arelon.

'They will, Sarene,' Ashe promised. 'Give them time. They will.'

'Thank you Ashe.' Sarene said with a quiet sigh. 'Thank you for enduring the lamentations of a silly girl.'

'We can be strong in the face of kings and priests, my lady,' Ashe replied, 'but to live is to have worries and uncertainties. Keep them inside. and they will destroy you for certain-leaving behind a person so callused that emotion can find no root in his heart.'

With that the Seon passed out the window, in seareh of the maid Meala.

BY the rime Meala arrived, Sarene had composed herself. There had been no tears. just time spent in thought. Sometimes it was too much for her, and her insecurity simply had to boil out. Ashe and her father had always been there to support her during those times.

'Oh dear,' Meala said, regarding the state of the room. She was thin and rather young-definitely not what Sarene expected when she had first moved into the palace. Meala more resembled one of her father's accountants than she did a head maid.

'I'm sorry, my lady,' Meala apologized, offering Sarene a wan smile. 'I didn't even think of this. We lost another girl this afternoon, and it didn't occur to me that your room was on her list of duties.'

''Lost.' Meala?' Sarene asked with concern.

'A runaway, my lady,' Meala explained. 'They aren't supposed to leave-we're indentured like the rest of the peasants. For some reason we have trouble keeping maids in the palace, however. Dorni knows why it is-no servant in the country is treated better than those here.'

'How many have you lost?' Sarene asked with curiosity.

'She was the fourth this year,' Meala said. 'I'll send someone up immedi- ately.„

'No, don't bother tonight. Just make sure it doesn't happen again.” 'Of course, my lady,' Meala said with a curtsy.

'Thank you.'

'There it is again!' Sarene said with excitement, jumping out of her bed. Ashe instantly burst back to full illumination, hovering uncertainly by the wall. 'My lady?'

'Quiet,' Sarene ordered, pressing her ear against the stone wall beneath her window, listening to the scraping sound. 'What do you think?'

'I am thinking that whatever my lady had for supper, it isn't agreeing with her,' Ashe informed curtly.

'There was definitely a noise there.' Sarene said, ignoring the gibe. Though Ashe was always awake in the mornings when she got up, he didn't like being disturbed after he had fallen asleep.

She reached over to her nightstand and picked up a scrap of parchment. On it she made a mark with a thin piece of charcoal, not wanting to bother with pen and ink.

'Look,' she declared. holding up the paper for Ashe to see. 'The sounds always come on the same days of the week: MaeDal and OpeDal.'

Ashe floated over and looked at the paper, his glowing Aon the room's only illumination besides starlight. 'You've heard it twice on MaeDal and twice on

OpeDal, four times in total,' he said skeptically. 'That is hardly grounds for a decision that they 'always come on the same days,' my lady.'

'Oh, you think I'm hearing things anyway,' Sarene said, dropping the parchment back onto her table. 'I thought Seons were supposed to have excellent auditory senses.'

'Not when we're sleeping, my lady,' Ashe said, implying that that was exactly what he should have been doing at the moment.

'There must be a passage here,' Sarene decided. ineffectually tapping the stone waIl.

'If you say so, my lady.'