Lisaykos, downstairs at Manse Truvos
I thought that Aylem might go to pieces after Emily's cruel questioning of her in public. I was surprised when Aylem came to Emily's rescue, to remove her from Fassex's bad habit of bullying others. It was one of Fassex's worst behaviors and one which no one has ever been able to stop her from pursuing. She can be a warm and caring person, a dedicated and reliable friend, and a champion of enforcing the law. She can also be the worst bully you ever met.
Fassex had this unquenchable desire to always be on top of every pile and bullying was one of the tools she used to stay there. Unfortunately, few people could rein her in because there were less than two handfuls of silverhairs who could match her in magic. I was one. My daughter was another. My cousin Foyuna was her match in magical power except she was too nice and too timid to stand up to Fassex. Kamagishi was her equal if not her better. I wasn't sure how powerful Kamagishi was because she hid much of her power. It makes me happy she's a gossip and not a bully. My distant cousin Senlyosart was Fassex's match, and of course, there was Aylem.
I looked at my daughter and my daughter looked at me. We both looked at Kamagishi, who looked back. All three of us converged on Fassex, who saw us coming and tried to dodge. It didn't work. Fassex might be able to give me or Kamagishi a good chase, but my daughter is another matter. Katsa had Fassex trapped literally in the corner of the reception hall.
"So, it's the Revered Katsa," as a defense, Fassex tried her intimidation by higher religious standing ploy.
"Yes, it is me, the Revered Lord Holder Katsa haup Gunndit, adept of Landa, Holy One," my daughter looked like a sturgeon ready to bite. "Your shrine lives off of my taxes and the foodstuff of my holding. It would profit you to remember that without the holdings, the shrines would be just a collection of starving hovels. But I'm not here to remind you that you live off of my and other Lord Holders' largesse. I'm here to say that if you intended to send this trial down the great gaping maw of Uedroy, you're doing a great job, Holy One. Keep it up! We all wanted an extended vacation in Truvos while you bully and heckle a prophet with nine god marks into a wreck of nerves and fright.
"Just what is your problem, Holy One? Emily is all of seven hands high and can't weigh more than 80 stone soaking wet with winter clothes on. A strong wind can knock her over. You are so brave to stand up to this veritable powerhouse of a Coyn while she dispatches her duty under Foskan law despite her inclination to have nothing to do with our courts and our laws. I don't know why you feel you must bully a tiny helpless Coyn, but from where I'm sitting, it looks really ugly.
"I don't give away a lot of advice as a matter of policy and habit," my Katsa growled, "but I have some for you now. You should either keep your mouth shut when the prophet is speaking or you should leave. Your presence is not necessary for this trial. Why are you even here, unless your purpose is to disrupt what the prophet is attempting to do? If that's the case, I will be the first in line to petition that you be removed should you disrupt this trial any further. I will also be the first in line to lodge a complaint with the Convocation that there is a high priestess who will not pay the proper respect to the prophet since all you've done is bully that tiny Coyn.
"May the blessings of the gods be upon you, Holy One, because you might need them," she made obeisance and stormed off.
Kamagishi and I watched my daughter stomp past, "Blessings of the gods be on you, Mother, Holy One. The charm will wear off in a moment. Use it well."
Kamagishi turned and looked at me, "What charm? I didn't see Lord Katsa cast a charm."
"That's my daughter for you. She's a typical show-off Gunndit. She's so good, you never even see her cast a charm on you. You just feel the effects when it's too late to do anything to counter her. It was quite obnoxious when she was a teenager. She used to levitate her poor brother all the time when he crossed her and never even touch her crystal to do so."
"She casts without a focus?" Kamagishi's jaw dropped.
"All the time," I sighed. "She's quite vain about it."
"Goodness," Kamagishi pondered as she looked back at Katsa's retreating back, "I don't think I have ever seen your daughter angry before."
"Yes, it usually takes something extraordinary to invoke her ire," I turned and gave Fassex the glare of disapproval from down the length of my long haup Foskos beak of a nose. "You need to stop this, Fassex. It takes a lot to get my daughter angry. Did you hear nothing we said yesterday about the handling of Emily? She isn't one of your trainees or a lordling you need to intimidate and put in his or her place. Katsa doesn't joke, Fassex. She will lodge a complaint with the Convocation."
"Get me down," Fassex hissed under her breath so only Kamagishi and I could hear. That's when I noticed that Fassex was floating just a finger off the floor. She could probably move by pointing her toes to reach the floor and pulling herself forward, but it would look strange and draw attention to the fact that someone magicked her into that position and she couldn't break the charm. I had to restrain myself from smiling.
Kamagishi noticed and bit her finger, hard, to stop herself from laughing out loud. Then she got a conniving look and grinned, "I will break Lord Gunndit's magic if you promise to keep your mouth shut for the rest of the trial."
Fassex glared, "If you can break this magic, I will refrain from any further comment; however, if I can't break this charm, you won't be able to either, Kamagishi."
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With a lift of one patronizing eyebrow, Kamagishi snapped her fingers and Fassex dropped. I grasped the older woman's shoulder as she lost her balance when her feet hit the floor.
"Careful," I made sure she was steady since I could feel the pain in her ankles from the unexpected jolt.
"Thank you," Fassex reverted to her usually polite self. She then scowled at Kamagishi, "Don't you realize, girl, that little troublemaker is about to create some serious trouble for the kingdom? She aiming to dismantle the law!"
Kamagishi gave Fassex a sympathetic look, "She will. I expect it." Kamagishi smiled, "Sister Fassex, has it not occurred to you that's what prophets do? Make trouble?"
Fassex started to open her mouth to say something when we heard a heavenly duet of two women singing somewhere. I recognized the strange sounds of English words.
"Who is that and where is it coming from?" Kamagishi whispered.
"That's Aylem and Emily," I soaked up the sound. "They sing well together and they share a large repertoire of songs from Earth. Senlyosart will be envious. She hasn't had a chance to hear them sing yet."
People were gathering at the base of the stairs to listen. We joined them. My son climbed up to the fourth step and then cast a charm on everyone, "I just cast the charm of tongues, so you will understand the meaning of what's being sung. The words are in the languages Emily knew from the place where she lived before coming here."
"How does the Queen know all the words to those foreign languages?" Oyyuth asked my son.
"It's easy for her," he didn't even blink, "since she is the second most powerful mage on Erdos."
We all got a wonderful unscheduled concert. Emily's throat was still undeveloped in terms of her singing voice since it takes a few years after the onset of puberty for the adult voice to fully emerge. She sounded like a child soprano because there was no vibrato yet. It was a high and pure sound and with Aylem's solid alto underneath, the mix was rather unique. They both had good pitch control so it was a pleasure to listen to. They sang that sad but beautiful song of mothers mourning the death of their children in a massacre by an evil king called Herod. I thought they should translate the narrative parts of that song and then release it. It would be very popular.
When they stopped singing, the crowd gathered at the bottom of the steps was silent from the emotional impact of that haunting song. Then Aylem appeared at the top of the stairs, with a gobsmacked face at the people gathered. She composed herself, going instantly regal, and walking down the steps as if we had been waiting for her. I saw Lyappis watching, studying the Queen. Aylem didn't notice.
Aylem arrived at the bottom step like a large river boat docking. She had everyone's attention as she looked at Lord Sopno haup Trovos with solemnity, "Lord Truvos, where might I find the Holy Kamagishi?"
"I'm right here, Great One," Kamagishi responded standing next to me.
"The Blessed Emily requests the recess extended until after mid repast, when she will reconsider if we continue this afternoon or tomorrow morning," Aylem announced with dignity.
"I will extend the recess until quarter past the fifth bell," Kamagishi replied, "then I will consult with her."
"Lord Truvos, would you be so kind as to have mid repast delivered to the Blessed Emily, me, and her healer in her room upstairs?"
"Of course, Great One," he bowed obeisance. "May I ask, what might we do to convince you and the Blessed Emily to sing some more for us later? Say, this evening?"
"What?" Aylem replied softly, turning bright red right to the tips of her ears. "I forgot to close the door," she hid her face behind her hand. "I got Emily to sing because it helps her relax. I had no idea it...oh, my…," Aylem fumbled her words, which was a rare sight. Her embarrassment was profound and the frozen regal expression of the Ice Queen cracked and fell apart. It was a rather endearing moment to see her blush and be caught off balance. Hardly anyone had ever seen her act so splendidly human. This would be good for the mending of her reputation. I was sure news of it would spread through the rumor webs.
"Lord Truvos," I interrupted, "the Blessed Emily is not comfortable in large groups. I doubt she would agree, and I believe she may be upset if she discovers that her private pastime of singing with the Blessed Aylem became accidentally public."
Aylem breathed a sigh of relief, "what the Blessed Lisaykos said is indeed true. I will ask the Blessed Emily if she will sing with me this evening, but I caution you that she will likely refuse."
"That is more that I could hope for," he smiled. "You have my thanks."
Aylem started walking toward Imstay but both Lyappis and I cut her off from two different directions.
"Are you alright," Lyappis asked softly.
"Why? Do I look ill or out of sorts?" Aylem tilted her head at us in bewilderment.
"You're not upset at all?" Lyappis was surprised and so was I.
"About what?" Aylem looked from Lyappis to me and back, eyebrows raised.
"Emily and those degrading questions she asked you," Lyappis snorted, still angry for Aylem's sake.
"Oh," enlightenment crossed Aylem's face. "I am a bit upset. That was difficult for me. Those were unpleasant questions, and I certainly do not want to experience that again," her brow clouded, "though she warned me right before she started that it would be hard. She was upset upstairs because she thought I would be upset with her." She smiled sadly, "I'm not happy about it, but I didn't want to scare Emily. I know what Emily is doing. I will endure it. I think there will be a bit more when we resume. Please don't chide Emily over this. She's having a hard time trying to keep herself together right now. Don't make it harder for her."
"Aylem," I snatched her sleeve when she tried to turn away and escape, "dear heart, I do not understand what the two of you are doing, that you should feel this way and that she should attack you in public like this. Please explain this to us. This isn’t like either of you."
"Ah," Aylem blinked. "Erhonsay directed Emily to examine how we value life. To do so is to lay the legal foundation for the abolition of chattel slavery. Emily and I both want this. She has the power and the intelligence to succeed where I failed fourteen years ago. I think she might be directing her legal discourse in reaction to the statements from the leather crafter, so she doesn't know what she will say ahead of time. She just knows what points she wants to make. She's constructing her arguments as she goes, so I have no idea where she will end up."
"Surd save us," I was left in a state of doubt and worry.
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