Count Djiron was a rough man, I could tell that from his appearance. The scars of past skirmishes marked his young face, blemishing his dark skin. Observant brown eyes peeked out from below bushy eyebrows as his stallion bore him into Haelling Cove Castle. Two carriages and a dozen horsemen trailed his arrival, but it was the Count who separated from the pack to greet Father and I. Father was still wearing the white silk and linen outfit from the throne room, and it contrasted starkly with Count Djiron's worn white trousers and leather tunic. A patch sewed against his shoulder signified his loyalty to the Borderlands province from whence he hailed.

'I seek entrance to your encampment, Chief Tfaeller,' he said to Father, bowing his head even as he approached him, still on horseback. I assumed that it was some Borderland custom that I should have read about.

'I bid you welcome, Count Djiron,' Father responded, as was the custom that I was used to. 'I will see that your horses are stabled and your men fed this day.'

'That would be appreciated, Count.' He paused. 'Shall we get right to it? I mean no offence to you or your beautiful country, but I fear that the attacks that have prompted my visit will become more frequent when the nomads learn of my absence.'

'I have scarcely prepared for your arrival, Count. You have made great haste in your journey, such that your advance messenger only reached us yesterday. I propose that my brother-in-law, Gentleman Wargwa, settle you in the keep while I attend to gathering the resources and advisors we require for our discussion. I trust that you will be staying the night?' Father said.

'Only the one,' Djiron replied. 'Unless the weather darkens. Crossing the Haelling was delay enough without suffering Cha's fury also.'

Djiron’s gaze turned in my direction. He surveyed me from his tall horse, and I deigned to raise only my eyes and not my head to meet his gaze.

'And who is the charming lady that I have the good fortune to meet? Albeit in clothes unworthy of the presence of one such like a goddess of old.'

I blushed and involuntarily downcast my eyes. I had never met such a forward man. Sometimes the soldiers spoke roughly about me when they thought that I could not hear, or would not react if I could, but never before had such words been spoken to me while holding my gaze. Were all noblemen so direct?

'That is my daughter, Countess Saemara Tfaeller,' Father interjected. My saviour.

‘I expected as much: I have heard talk of your beauty since I first stepped foot in Ebonreach,' the Count said. 'Were that my father would allow it, I would wed you at once, lest some other man take your fancy.'

I opened my mouth to respond, my initial shock having subsided, but Father prevented it. 'She is not yet of age,' he said.

'With beauty as full as that of Countess Saemara, it must be mere weeks hence.'

'I'm sixteen,' I finally said. I'm sure that my cheeks were still red, but I had recovered from the surprise and was eager to know Count Djiron. 'Perhaps I could show you to your lodgings in place of Gentleman Wargwa.'

It was a question for Father, who I knew would oppose it. Count Djiron spoke up in support of the idea.

'I could scarcely imagine a better-equipped guide to lead me through the battlements than a member of the local royalty,' he said.

'Countess Saemara sometimes forgets her place,' Father replied, looking at me, chiding me with not just his words but also his tone.

'Come, Count Tfaeller,' Count Djiron said in a soothing tone directed at Father. 'Is not one of the purposes of my visit to strengthen the bonds between our houses?'

'She is not much for soldiering,' Father insisted weakly, as if out of obligation rather than belief.

'Then I pray to Cha for rain, that I might have time to fulfil all of my objectives.'

Father paused, conceding defeat. ‘The throne room will be ready in an hour. Have the Countess and yourself in attendance.'

'I shall,' Count Djiron said.

Father turned away to set in motion the arrangements for the throne room and recite Gentleman Wargwa's instructions, and I followed Count Djiron back to his waiting men. He bade them wait for Gentleman Wargwa and allow him to accommodate them in whatever tradition the Reach decreed. I cringed interally, wondering if he expected something grand or intensely foreign. I'd been accommodated in the Reach my whole life and had never noticed any such tradition, though it was possible that the Borderlands had customs that'd make ours seem alien by comparison.

Count Djiron turned to me. 'Please disregard my title: I do not much like it. In my homeland we use the word “chief”. But you may simply call me Khad.'

'And I Saemara,' I replied, though he'd already been given my name. 'Shall we walk the battlements?' It had been his suggestion, after all.

'If you would be so kind,' Khad replied. He unbuckled his belt, attached to which was his sheathed longsword, and handed it to one of his men, before allowing me to lead him up the stairs to the gatehouse that I'd ascended the previous day.

I mentioned yesterday’s raid to him. He replied, 'it seems as if your country's raids occur as frequently as those of my own country.'

'Scarcely a week goes by without an attempt to plunder the Haelling,' I said.

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'It is much the same in the border country. The nomads resist all attempts at civilisation, and see it as their duty to destroy what settled communities exist within their striking range. Their horse archers are most fearsome.'

'How do they fire bows while on horseback?' I asked. 'The men of Ebonreach require a free hand to steer their horses.'

'That is one of the things I am to discuss with your father. There is much we can learn from each other. Our two counties are those most besieged in all of Halivaara.'

I nodded. I took him to the edge of the gatehouse, letting him take in the view of the river mouth and adjacent beaches. It was a clear day and the Thorny Island watchtower could be seen from our vantage point. I indicated it to him.

'When the soldiers on Thorny Island see a longboat approaching, they light their signal fire. That's how we know to ready our longbowmen and onager.'

Khad shook his head. 'We do not have longbows, or onagers, or even watchtowers in the Borderlands. Nor would they be of much use in the swirling winds of the desert. Dust obscures one's vision, such that Thorny Island would never be visible from a similar distance.'

'Perhaps one day I will travel to your land and see a dust storm for myself,' I mused. The warm lands to the east had a certain romantic appeal to them, one which had been reinforced by Khad's introductory antics.

'I would prefer to be in your wet country, bathing in rain and walking barefoot in the grasslands.'

It occurred to me that, were we married, at least one of us would get our wish. Probably both. Yet he had only mentioned such a possibility earlier in order to charm me. Hadn't he?

I resolved to ask him.

'Did you speak the truth when you said that you'd wed me if your father would allow it?'

Khad smiled, a boyish grin which belied the harshness of his warrior's upbringing. 'You are beautiful, Saemara. It defies the imagination that you may yet grow more beautiful. But I must wed a lady who would bring gold or soldiers to the Borderlands.'

'My mother's lands are bountiful, and my father’s soldiers are experienced,' I countered. I was not being serious, but I did intend to find out what made us so incompatible. The knowledge might be useful in future pursuits.

'Ebonreach is too distant from the Borderlands,' Khad said. 'And, despite your intentions, that coin and those men are not yours to command. They belong to the ruler of these lands, and your brother Timoth stands to inherit.'

So he had studied our family prior to his arrival. That rendered his exquisite opening words less meaningful, as he had known the answer to the question of my name before asking it. Despite that, he was charming. It was thrilling to be treated like royalty by a man of similar station. The constant flattery certainly didn't hurt.

'Shall we walk the battlements, rather than idling atop the gatehouse?' Khad suggested.

'Certainly,' I replied, knowing he meant no rebuke. I led him across the battlements that ran parallel to the Haelling, upon which the archers had stood yesterday. At its end, the wall was met by a tower that overlooked the town to the east. 'Would you like to ascend the tower?'

'We have time,' he answered, and I took that as assent.

I led him up the staircase. It was narrow, and the stairs were uneven and worn with age. Halfway up the tower, a descending man-at-arms almost collided with me, stopping his momentum just in time to prevent me from falling down the stairs.

'You fool!' I spat. 'Your carelessness could have killed me! Or Count Djiron. This is a royal castle, not a common tavern.'

'I'm sorry, my lady,' the man-at-arms spluttered apologetically.

'Consider your pay docked for a week. Would that your type were bred with respect in lieu of stupidity.'

'Yes, my lady.'

'You are dismissed, soldier,' Khad interjected before I could insult the man any further. He disappeared, too thankful for the Count's dismissal to question his authority. Khad turned to me, still in the dark of the staircase. 'You were harsh to that man. Has he wronged you previously?'

I frowned, gathering my temper. 'He could have killed me. These stairs are steep!'

'He was just doing his job,' Khad said. 'Sometimes soldiers must rush, to deliver a report or reinforce a guardpost. This tower is their domain. You have been unnecessarily harsh.'

I was shocked by Khad, for the second time of that day. I had assumed that his flattery was the result of attraction, but I saw now that he had full control of his faculties. He had been disappointed by my treatment of the soldier, and that irked me. The soldier was my subordinate and if he had caused me harm, even by accident, it would have been his head. By docking his pay, I was teaching him caution that would enable us both to survive. I said as much to Khad.

'The common folk must be reminded that they serve the nobility whenever their actions are displeasing. Discipline is necessary to prevent anarchy.'

Khad shook his head. 'Discipline is for deliberate breaches of the law. The man had no ill intent, and he caused no harm. I insist that you reinstate his pay and apologise to him.' My jaw dropped, so he added, 'how will he notch an arrow to his longbow knowing that the rulers he defends despise him?'

'He will do it because it is his duty, as my father bears the burdens of rulership,' I replied.

'I insist,' Khad repeated. 'I come to the Reach on an errand of friendship. You would restore my goodwill if you mended this situation.'

I considered what he was saying. I didn't want to, but I had little choice. Father would never forgive me if I damaged our relationship with the House of Djiron. I would be proving Mother right.

'I will not dock his pay,' I said. 'Nor will I apologise.'

'You seek to compromise,' Khad started, 'yet the apology is the more important act. One can only rule through mutual love and respect. Fear is insufficient.'

'I show him kindness by not penalising him for his carelessness, yet you still wish me to apologise?' I demanded. I noticed shadows moving further up the staircase and realised that the soldiers there were eavesdropping. I decided to end the conversation before matters could worsen by putting our disagreement down to cultural differences. 'Perhaps customs in the Borderlands differ, but in the Reach commoners apologise to me when they almost bring me to harm, not the reverse.'

Khad did not accept my argument. 'I wish to be taken to my lodgings now. It would be best if you refrained from interacting with my men for the duration of my stay. They are, as you refer to them, commoners.'

I didn't know what was happening. One minute he was complimenting me, the next he was forbidding me to talk to his men and asking me to leave. Surely his bond with the common folk of the Borderlands was not so strong that he would risk our family ties by offending me. I made one last effort to salvage the situation. 'I did not mean to offend, but this is my castle, not yours. I do not take orders from foreigners.'

'Nor will I idly bear witness to injustice,' Khad said resolutely. 'My lodgings, if you please.'

I sighed and about faced, descending the stairwell we had only partially climbed. There were no soldiers in sight when we emerged back onto the wall. No doubt they had vanished upon hearing our approach.

I took Khad back down to the bailey and we crossed it to enter the keep. One of his men passed us in the corridor, and Khad bade me a brief farewell and followed him.