There was a light tap on his right shoulder. “By the power of Shaish, goddess of water,” the Doge said. There was a light tap on his left shoulder. “By the power of Kusima, god of the land,” the leader intoned. Then Kestrel felt the Doge place his hand lightly on the top of Kestrel’s head. “By the power of Kai and Growelk, air and fire, I name you the People’s Champion, give you the freedom and honor the title carries, and oblige you to serve the men and women of Estone in times of need.
“Rise and face your people,” he said last, as he stepped back from Kestrel and resumed his seat.
Kestrel stood, dumbfounded by the ceremonial honor he had received, and by the boisterous applause that began to thunder from the crowd.
“Thank you, my lord. You have been far more generous than I deserve,” Kestrel said in amazement.
“I think not,” the Doge replied. “In a dream last night Kai showed me your face, and said you would be a hero for your people. I am only doing what the goddess wants. Now go and receive your rewards and accolades,” he motioned Kestrel towards the side.
“The audience of the court is at an end for today. All hail the Doge of Estone, ruler of the Northern Seas and Lands,” the black garbed herald proclaimed in his extraordinary voice, as Kestrel strode over to the beribboned stall where the other recognized individuals were waiting, clapping enthusiastically along with the rest of the audience.
Chapter 20 — Sprites in Estone
Nightfall arrived before Kestrel finally left the environs of the palace. He was befuddled by the incredible series of events that had befallen him, and felt even more strongly his discomfort with the city setting as he eventually evaded all the supporters and hangers-on in the palace, and slipped away to begin his walk back to the hotel. Castona’s shop was surely closed, Kestrel concluded, so there was no reason to return there in the evening, and he simply wanted to find the comfort of the hotel room and Merilla’s company so that he could relax.
The palace had showered attention upon him once the Doge’s audience had ended. The daughter of the country earl who had been recognized by the Doge just before him, the girl who paid no attention to him before the ceremony, even when they were the only two in the waiting room together, had hung on his arm for over an hour, attaching herself with a persistence that Kestrel found almost admirable in one sense. Only going to the bathroom had at last freed him from her clutches, but many others had wanted to bask in his reflected glory immediately thereafter, and the experience had been smothering.
He didn’t find his way through the maze of streets and canals easily, and finally gave a coin to a street urchin to lead him to his inn, and was full of relief when he saw the front of the inn come into view.
Merilla and her sons were sitting in the dining room. “Kestrel!” she called and waved wildly to draw his attention, as if he might not see her otherwise.
He walked over to their table and sat down, as Jacob immediately crawled into his lap, and he left out a noisy sigh of relief. “I am so glad to see all of you,” he told her.
“Where have you been?” she asked, and then without taking a breath immediately blurted out her news. “We picked our new house today! It’s just around the corner from my parents. I want you to come see it tomorrow.”
“What time?” Kestrel asked, thinking of the other obligations that had been heaped upon him at the palace. “I’d love to come see your new home,” he added.
“Any time,” Merilla replied as she focused on cutting food for Marco. The waiter came and took Kestrel’s food order, then left them alone. “Do you have an errand tomorrow?”
“A couple; a few,” Kestrel acknowledged. “But not much in the morning,” he thought about his discovery that little happened at the palace before noon, as the inhabitants slept late into the morning, recovering from their apparently regular habit of revelry during the evening.
“That’s it then. We’ll go take a look in the morning. It has a shop on the street floor, and then our rooms will be on the three floors above the shop, a small leather goods shop,” she told him, then proceeded to enthusiastically describe her proposed home.
“How did you find it?” Kestrel asked as his food arrived, and he began to share it with Jacob.
“My mother has an old friend whose son is the leathermonger in the shop on the street level,” Merilla replied. “So she told my mother, and my mother told me. I’ll be able to buy it and collect rent from the shop, so it will have an income too,” she looked at Kestrel with an expression that was a mixture of pride and hope and something else that Kestrel couldn’t identify.
“So how was the palace? Do you have details you can tell momma? After the palace did you go to Castona’s shop?” she asked, ready to hear about Kestrel, and truly interested in his day as well, despite her excitement over her prospective home.
“I’ll tell you about it when we get upstairs,” Kestrel said as he took his last bite of food.
Merilla raised her eyebrows, and for just a fleeting moment, to Kestrel’s eye she looked vaguely elvish, and more appealing than ever before. “Well then, upstairs it is,” she said, placing Marco on the floor and standing up, as Kestrel raised Jacob to his shoulder and stood as well.
Kestrel gratefully flopped across the full length of the mattress once they were upstairs, as Merilla took her boys into the other room. He felt fully relaxed at last, the door shutting out the world of cities and humans. He closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh, then started to fall asleep until he felt Merilla pulling his boots from his feet, startling him awake.
“Don’t think you’re going to just fall asleep now and leave me hanging with your mysterious day-at-the- palace story waiting to be told,” she mockingly growled. She pulled her skirts up around her thighs, then crawled upon the bed, and settled in to straddle Kestrel’s stomach. “So let’s hear what you have to say,” she shook a threatening finger in his face, “or else!”
“Who could withstand the fearful threats of the mighty Merilla?” Kestrel laughingly asked. “Not me, and I’m now Champion of the People.”
Merilla laughed, then looked at him, and her face grew puzzled. “Okay, so what’s the joke?” she asked.
“Well,” Kestrel drawled, “the thing is, there is no joke. The Doge gave me titles today in the ceremony at the palace. I get an annual salary, I can sail aboard any ship of the navy, and I am expected to fight on behalf of the people of Estone in the event my strength is needed.”
Merilla’s eyes darted wildly all about his face, studying his eyes, then his mouth, then the white bandages, before they drilled into his eyes again. “You’re serious!” she exclaimed. “The Doge has made you a member of the nobility, Kestrel! That’s fantastic!” she shouted, and leaned down. She placed her lips against his to kiss him in celebration, but seconds passed, and passion overtook them both. The kiss became a long lusty one, one without the fuel of alcohol, but only the compatibility and companionship the two had discovered during their long time spent so close to one another.
Kestrel’s hands stroked Merilla’s flesh as they kissed, and when at last she raised up, and looked down at him with smoldering eyes, he softly said, “I know it seems wrong, but it feels so perfect for us. May the gods of two races send me a sign if this is not what we should do.”
“Hello friend Kestrel!” Dewberry said brightly in the Elven language as she suddenly appeared on the bed beside them. “I think I’ve seen you with three different females the last three times I’ve seen you. You’re a busy one, aren’t you?”
Merilla screamed so loudly at the sudden appearance of the sprite that Dewberry instantly fled in fear, and doors opened in the hallway, followed by the sound of boots and bare feet striding about, trying to locate the source of the bloodcurdling shout.
“What in blazes?!” Merilla asked Kestrel. She scrambled off of him and off the mattress altogether. “Was that a sprite? Aren’t you concerned?” she asked.
“That,” Kestrel said, then paused. “That — I’m sure — was a sign,” he paused.
“That was my friend, Dewberry, the sprite,” he said. “But I don’t know why she showed up here; she’s supposed to be on her honeymoon. She married a water imp.”
Merilla turned at the sound of her own boys moving about in the connected room, and moments later they appeared at the doorway. She scooped them up in her arms, just as there was a knock at the front door.
