I understand that, according to the law of the steppes, if a mucker offers her last animal to another family or clan, accepting that gift means recognizing the mucker as a member of the family. Is that so?'
I guess I just gaped at him then, I was so confused. What in all the realms was he saying? And when was he going to condemn me to death?
'Shria, please relate your first encounter with Dashti.'
The white-haired woman stood. 'She arrived at the gates with Lady Saren and a brown yak. She said she wanted to give the yak to Khan Tegus, that it was a gift for him.'
'Did she ask payment?'
'No, in fact the gatekeeper stated no payment would be given, and she offered it anyway.'
'Did she trade the animal in return for employment?'
'No, she gave the animal freely. I offered her scrubber work after the gift had been given.'
The khan nodded, satisfied. 'I submit to you, chiefs, that Dashti presented me with her last animal, her only means of livelihood, and as such has the right to expect family status. I formally accept her gift of...,' he turned to me,
'a yak, was it?'
'Yes, a very fine yak,' I said. For he is--the finest yak I've ever known.
The khan nodded. 'Of a very fine yak. Here's where two laws collide, chiefs. Do we honor Lady Vachir's claim of blood against any who threaten her betrothal? Or do we protect Dashti as a member of my own family?'
Lady Vachir stood. 'Chiefs, I demand --'
'Wait, please, my lady, wait a little longer before getting back to the demands. I recognize that this argument isn't enough to stay your claim to blood right, but there is more. Lady Saren?'
He took Saren's hand to help her rise from her seat, and I thought, That's how they'll hold hands when they're wed.
'This is the true Lady Saren of Titor's Garden. I have her letters here,' he placed parchments on the table before the chiefs, 'accepting my offer of betrothal. '
'My lord,' said the chief of order, 'we've already ruled that your betrothal to Lady Saren precedes that to Lady Vachir. You have every right to marry the true Lady Saren, but this doesn't excuse Dashti s crimes.'
'Lady Saren,' asked the khan, all business. 'Why did Dashti claim she was you?'
'I ordered her to. I told her to act in my name.' She turned to Lady Vachir and said, 'It was my right,' offering along with the words a very convincing glare.
The chief of animals shook her head. 'Acting for her lady is the duty of a lady's maid, but professing to be her?
Claiming her name? No. We're hearing reasons for the behavior but nothing that pardons the maid. Pretending nobility is the grossest crime imaginable.'
'Grosser than trading the soul's freedom to the desert shamans?' Batu said in a grumble that didn't carry far beyond the chief's table. 'Grosser than razing Titor's Garden?'
All were quiet for a moment. Then the chief of animals spoke again.
'Nevertheless, the law is paramount. If we don't obey the law, then we create as much chaos as Khasar and his army. If I had to vote now --'
'A moment, chief, please, I beg you. Don't cast your vote just yet.' Khan Tegus turned back to Saren. 'My lady, tell me what you told me this morning.'
Saren smiled, dimples and all, and didn't even clutch her own hands as she said, 'Dashti is my sister.'
I started to gasp but choked on it. 'Now let's be clear,' said Tegus. 'Has she always been your sister?'
'No.' Saren was smiling fit to split her face in half. Her voice clipped, in such a way that I guessed she'd rehearsed this answer and was proud to be getting it right. 'But she stayed with me when everyone else left. And... and we spent nearly three years locked in a tower, and when we came out, it was as though we were birth... uh, being born anew. All my real family was dead.'
'How did they die?'
'Killed by Lord Khasar. And then Dashti faced him and helped av--aveg...' 'Avenge,' said the khan.
'Avenge my family and defend my honor.' ' She looked at me, hard, and then she straightened up, turned herself toward the chiefs, and said in as bold a voice as I've ever heard, 'Hear me, chiefs, the last lady of Titor's Garden. Dashti never betrayed me, never abandoned me. She was as true a lady's maid as the Ancestors ever created.'
There was power in her voice, and the chiefs took notice. How could they not? I've seen my lady begin to change since the cat purred in her lap, since she found use for her hands in the kitchen, since Khasar died, but never until that moment had she looked like I thought gentry should. Like anyone should. More than a thousand days we've been together, more than a thousand songs I've sung for her, and only now, I think, do I see Saren truly begin to heal.
'And since I have no more family,' Saren said, 'it's my right under the Ancestors to declare Dashti my sister and an honored daughter of Titor's Garden.'
I think that's the part where I did gasp and gulp at the same time, which set me coughing.
'Oh, one more question for Shria,' said the khan. 'Please tell the chiefs what you told me before, what you found in Dashti s room after she fled this house, the day Lady Vachir s warriors tried to cut off her foot.'
Shria cleared her throat. 'Nothing, my lord. I mean, everything. That room was filled with silk and brocade
