best clothes and went to meet my arranged bride.
The house was three times the size of our family's home in Espar, and its grounds smelled as exotic as they looked. The iron fence around the house and gardens was delicately wrought with sharp points at the top, as much for beauty as to keep out intruders. The ironwork pattern repeated in the railings of the balconies and in the tall, thin spires of the house. A castle fit for faeries, I thought.
Its interior did nothing to dispel that whimsical idea. The high, arched doorway opened into a sun-drenched courtyard where pots of tall, lacy ferns shaded cages of songbirds and a bubbling fountain. A servant dressed in white and with a tall turban on his head separated Gwendh and me. Gwendh would go to speak to the father. I would remain in the courtyard.
'My mistress will be here soon,' the servant said as he left me. I sat beside the fountain and watched the slow ripples move across the water's surface, hoping their languid motion would still the beating of my heart.
She came alone, walking toward me from the dark house, her flowing skirts beating against her legs. I rejoiced at her lithe form, her delicate hands. From her shy stance, with her eyes fixed on a spot somewhere near the center of my chest, I saw that she was more flustered than I by this arrangement. It occurred to me that I had also overlooked one important detail. 'What is your name?' I asked.
'Atera,' she replied. 'You might have asked your brother.' She glanced up at me for a moment. Her slanted eyes were an incredible shade of emerald green that harmonized beautifully with her honey-colored hair.
'I'm sorry.' I took her hands. Her nails were painted a soft pink, the color of seashells. 'Are all noble women in Saerloon so demure?'
She smiled and looked up again. 'Just me,' she said.
'What are the courting customs here?'
She shrugged. 'They're not important.'
'Sit beside me,' I said.
She did as I asked. During the rest of our hour together, she relaxed a bit. I thought her far more beautiful than any of the round-cheeked girls in Espar, and I wondered how her father could give her up to a man he did not know.
But in the tendays before our wedding, I came to understand his decision. Atera had a sensitive temperament better suited to the tranquility of Espar than the constant danger of Saerloon. On our rare rides through the city, she became anxious in the crowded streets that appealed so much to me. She also gave all her coins to the crafty urchins who, dodging my discreet kicks, managed to attract her attention. Before we wed, I promised her that we would settle in my father's country. I did not say precisely when.
For though I loved her, I loved her city more.
Saerloon was a cesspit of avarice and greed, but there were fortunes to be made there. Soon I had established contacts among the thieves and assassins of the city. My family's caravans moved untouched, and my own enterprises prospered from the information and protection I bought. I increased my wife's dowry fivefold within a year.
The earnings had their price. I acquired a dueling scar on one cheek that gave my face a sinister look. My sword arm was slashed and broken in a brawl. It healed badly and I lost much of its strength. Finally, I was set upon by thugs who left me for dead. The men who found me unconscious behind a stable knew me well, but after the beating they could recognize me only by the half-moon ring on my finger. Before they returned me to my wife, they had the wisdom to demand a reward.
Because of this, days passed before I was brought home. By then the wounds on my face had begun to fester, and a fever had taken hold of me. I could see little but the tears on Atera's face as she held my hand. I also saw a gray-haired, dark-eyed man who laid compresses on the worst of my wounds and muttered some words in a strange tongue. The pain increased, bringing the relief of unconsciousness.
When I woke some days later, Atera sat at my side. As soon as she saw me looking up at her, she embraced me. 'Raven tended you,' she said when I asked about the man.
'Raven? The wizard?' I replied incredulously.
'He calls himself a necromancer, but is skilled in healing arts above all others. He's been my friend for as long as I can remember. Now he's proven himself my friend again.' She held a mirror in front of my face. My wounds were nearly healed. I doubted they would scar.
I sent for Raven and thanked him sincerely.
'How could I not help you,' he replied. 'I am oathbound to do the bidding of Atera and her family. Even without an oath, I could do nothing to cause that child harm.' He smeared a sweet-smelling ointment on my wounds and promised to return later to see how I was.
After that, we talked often. I found him to be powerful and willing to teach his skill. I'd always had a fascination for magic and the might it imparted, so I went to my father-in-law and asked to have Raven put in my employ.
'I intend to send him to Espar with you when you go,' he responded. 'He's been Atera's physician and friend for so long that I wouldn't want her to leave my house without him.'
I smiled. Though I still held out the promise of Espar to him as to Atera, I had no intention of keeping it. Power, wealth, and now, vengeance, were foremost on my mind.
My spies soon learned the names of the men who had attacked me. My assassins were quick and deadly. As for the jealous merchants who had paid to have me assaulted, Raven devised a fitting poison, one that caused oozing sores that healed slowly, leaving deep and painful blood-red pock-marks. They died by their own hands soon after.
Ah, the intrigues of Saerloon! Such a magnificent city, so magnificently suited to my tastes.
But some months later, fate determined that I would have to go home. My father died. My brother soon followed.
With Raven and hired guards to protect my fortune, I reluctantly brought my bride to Espar.
I found the land much changed. True, the fields were as green as always, the forests as dark and thick. But beneath the plodding rhythm of Espar's sleepy life, I sensed evil, hiding just out of sight, an evil as deadly as any in Saerloon.
The local nobles were curious about my life in Sembia and anxious to meet Atera. In the first days after we came home, we were invited to a homecoming feast held by my neighbor, Lord Romul. Romul had been an old friend of my father's. I had grown up with his children and spent many happy hours roaming his lands. Nonetheless, I felt an instinctive wariness.
There were plotters everywhere, I reminded myself. With a beautiful wife and vast wealth, I was a prime target.
As I entered Romul's house, I heard the whispers of the other guests. I thought at first that they were commenting on the beauty of my bride. Later, I realized that they whispered about me. I had been scarred and my arm maimed, but I sensed that their muttering meant more than that. I stood aside from the others, saying little while I watched protectively over Atera; she moved among them like a kitten, full of trust and happiness.
In the month that followed, I kept up my guard at the local festivals and remained tight-lipped about my business. As I expected, once everyone realized they would learn nothing of value from me, Atera and I were silently ostracized. Only Lord Romul and his wife, Laudrel, invited us back to their estate.
At our second meeting, I bluntly asked Romul why he felt such concern for me.
'Concern!' Romul laughed. 'I recall your childhood well, Sharven. You were always one of my favorites. I am pleased to count you as a friend.'
'Good,' I responded. 'Atera has been so lonely here.'
'May I speak bluntly?' Romul asked.
I nodded.
'You changed much in Saerloon. I am not speaking of your wounds, either, for a man's face means nothing. Your bride is lovely and everyone speaks well of her. But if you wish to gain acceptance, you must be less suspicious of your neighbors. You've been gone some time. People are wondering what you are hiding to make you so nervous.'
'I hide nothing!' I retorted.
'You gave me leave to speak,' he reminded me gently. 'This is a peaceful land, Sharven. These are simple people. Remember that.'
