looked up at him questioningly.

'Their dancing is totally crap.' He shook his head. 'We're so much better than this.'

Even she, with her recent training, could see how out of time many of them were, how the women didn't seem to move comfortably, their hips too rigid, spines hunched, while the men were even more awkward, clasping their partners with arms made of stone.

'Shall we show 'em how it's done?' he suggested, then stepped forward with a flourish. He held his hand to her in invitation.

'Could I possibly even stop you?'

Together they stepped onto the dance floor, and it came to her as naturally as walking. Together, the couple sliced an elegant swathe through the parting crowds. Everyone's eyes were now fixed on her, and for the first time, she basked in the attention. Her own hands resting on Randur's hips and shoulders, he led her through the now- familiar movements, and they suggested passion, they were passion, and the way they looked at each other linked the feelings together. Their steps, though so precise, created an illusion of a freedom that no other couples could ever come close to, maybe couldn't even understand.

A quarter of an hour later, Randur guided her to one side of the room. 'Let's not waste it all now,' he suggested coolly.

Her sister now approached, councillors stepping behind, sipping flutes of wine. Rika wore a regal purple dress, more conservative in style than her own.

'Sister,' Rika said, 'how did you ever acquire such talent and skill? One might almost think you wore relics in your shoes to help you move so gracefully.'

Eir whispered the words, 'This young man taught me well,' to her sister, who began to regard the Folke islander in a new light.

'Well, Randur Estevu, it seems I have you to thank for making my sister the envy of every woman in this room.'

'An occupational hazard, my lady,' Randur offered, and smiled and bowed deeply before stepping aside to let the sisters talk alone.

The Empress leaned closer to her sibling. 'You seem rather tender towards each other, the two of you. Are you sure-?'

'Let's not talk about that now,' Eir said. 'Please.'

Rika eyed her carefully.

Eir changed the subject. 'You seem to have quite a crowd of councillors following you.' She indicated the men behind Rika.

'Yes, I feel I've begun to win them over to my way of thinking.'

A thoughtful silence fell between them. Eir could not help thinking again of the refugees and those suffering Caveside. This was Randur's doing, this change of perspective, and how different the world now seemed.

They separated and the evening rolled on towards the dance competition. The band began to build up the anticipation, and then the music stopped abruptly.

A sudden gasp from the crowd.

Whispers fluttered all around her.

A troop of soldiers had marched into the ballroom at its far end. Eir gripped Randur's arm nervously. What could possibly warrant such an intrusion? A dozen of the city guard approached her sister, surrounding her.

From behind these armed men, Chancellor Urtica himself emerged, dressed in his full Council regalia. He strolled towards the front of the ballroom where the band leader stood, fuming indignantly.

The chancellor waved him away, turning to face the crowd of dignitaries.

'Ladies and gentlemen, my apologies for the disruption,' Urtica began, projecting his voice to the far corners of the room, 'but I bring grave news. I regret that I must take Empress Jamur Rika and her sister into immediate custody.'

He then paused, as if he was an actor on stage, for further attention, and was greeted with a hushed confusion, as faces tilted towards Eir. The whole scene became a blur of disconnected images.

Urtica said, 'I have a document signed by both the Empress and her sister the Stewardess authorizing a mass execution of the refugees now encamped outside our gate.'

Several men advanced demanding explanations for the intrusion. Rows broke out, and the chancellor urged his military heavies forward.

Urtica palmed the air, remaining quite calm. 'In an emergency meeting of the Council late last night, it became apparent that substantial evidence was building to prove the incident had been arranged by the Empress – four witnesses in the Council, to name only a few. We could none of us stand by such a slaughter of the Empire's citizens, no matter how dire the current predicament. The Council has decided that the Empress should be removed from office, pending trial – a precautionary measure. We merely wish to escort them to more comfortable surroundings for further questioning on the matter.'

Shocked, Eir glanced over at Rika, who was staring calmly at the chancellor, a couple of soldiers gently but firmly holding her arms. If the Empress felt any fear, she was not prepared to show it.

Eir looked up at Randur beside her. 'It isn't true…'

'I know,' he said, bringing her closer to him as several of the soldiers approached them.

'Stay away from her,' Randur demanded, holding out his palm to deter them. There was a further disturbance behind as a few of the other guests attempted to help the Empress, but the soldiers restrained them, smacking faces and breaking fingers. They weren't messing around.

'Stand aside,' growled one of the men, pulling at the arm with which Randur held her.

'Leave her the fuck alone!' Randur threw a punch at one of the men, connecting with his jaw.

'Please, stop!' Eir shrieked in alarm.

Two other soldiers grabbed both of Randur's arms, while a third set to work striking him repeatedly in the stomach, with swift and low and focused punches. When they finally released him, he collapsed to the floor, groaning. Another soldier kicked him across the mouth so that he spat blood across the ballroom floor.

'Please!' Eir cried out. 'Let him be, I'm begging you. I'll come, just stop beating him.' She couldn't bear to think of what else they might do to him.

As the soldiers dragged her away, blades now drawn, she looked back at her lover sprawled on the floor, his hand held out uselessly.

As if nothing had happened, the chancellor continued his speech, intoxicated by his own rhetoric.

'I have taken it upon myself to save our nation from such a perfidious breach of our sacred laws of hospitality. They will go on trial in the morning, and the public will be made fully aware of their attempted acts of terror. I can assure you, we will bring these two evil women to a suitable justice.'

Eir heard these final words as the doors shut behind her.

How could this happen?

Why tonight?

The guards that had once protected her now hauled her, frightened for her life, into the darkness.

FORTY-THREE

The soldiers had landed their ships on the ice sooner than Brynd had anticipated. Firm ground was still some way to go, but the ice was so thick here that the horses could be safely unloaded.

The horizon was imperceptible, everything cloaked in all shades of grey and white. At least it wasn't snowing, nor was there any particular wind. A lucky time to be fighting, if you could see anything good in it.

With the fresh recruits in the Night Guard, and the extra forces of the Dragoons, Empire soldiers rode together at a steady pace towards Tineag'l. The two hundred men and women advanced quickly through communities of refugees carrying their worldly belongings to the farthest fringe of their own territory. These people had barely stepped out of their villages, and now were struggling for a new existence, finding new boundaries to their lives. Brynd dispatched twenty of the Second Dragoons to see that these people got safely to the numerous vessels approaching the perimeter of the ice sheets to collect them.

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