Katherine had entered Freyza’s makeshift chancellery, the centre of Sbaian culture in Massouron, soundlessly this time, while Freyza was reading in one of the tomes he had used for his curriculum. He sat tailor-wise in his chair, with a cup of tea held over his stomach for warmth, one foot hesitantly hooked onto the desk.
‘Morning, Freyza,’ she hummed. Immediately, Freyza uncrossed his legs, put his tea on the desk, and straightened himself.
‘Katherine… you’re getting too good at this,’ he chuckled. ‘Perhaps if this queen thing falls through, you could pursue a career as spy.’
Katherine pointed down at the ground and lifted the hem of her skirt with her stocked feet. ‘By design,’ she said. ‘You can hear me coming a hundred leagues away in my shoes, but in my stockings, not so much so.’
There was an obvious line of demarcation that showed where her shoes had ended, for the delicate silk just above this line was stained with dust, and anything below was slightly crumpled by the buckle on her erstwhile shoes. Freyza found himself blinking lazily at the sight. ‘And to do what, exactly? Do you mean to sneak about from here on out?’
Katherine laughed heartily and tiptoed over the floorboards onto the chaise-longue, where she let herself delicately descend upon the purple velvet cushions and tuck her legs up as well. ‘Just curious what a man like you does when there’s nobody around,’ she said. ‘You always keep your composure so well when you teach me. I hear of your great restraint in negotiations. There must be some kind of secret that you hide. As you know, I’m far less composed than you — I, too, wish to know what it takes.’
Her eyes were heavily lidded and the smile dancing on her lips was faint but teasing. Freyza shook his head. ‘You do not become the Sbaian ambassador by having a personality naturally predisposed against composure and restraint. Katherine, I’ve been thinking about how to proceed with your debacle concerning the levée.’
As Freyza talked, Katherine held his gaze as she undid the two clasps that were holding her partlet closed, and once undone, slipped it down her shoulders to bare her upper chest. Her skin was lily-white but accented with a threesome of bruises along her collarbone, her uppermost rib, and the beginnings of her breast. ‘And?’ she asked as she delicately plucked at the edge of her dress to search the end of the lace that held her bodice together. ‘What is it that you’ve found?’
Freyza felt himself cleaved in two. On the one hand, he was but a man. He had found himself, months ago, utterly obsessed with her, willing to throw all caution to the wind to be with her. Had a djinn offered Katherine’s willing presence for a single afternoon against the whole of his damned soul, he would have made the trade in an instance. Even if it were an unsophisticated trick from her end, Freyza found her boldness exciting and magnetic.
On the other hand, the bruises were so fresh that the skin was still dimpled from teeth marks around them. Though he was enthralled by her, it was always in the shape of a lover rather than a palace whore. ‘Where did you come from?’ he asked, which came out in an unbecomingly parental manner that made her snicker.
Katherine stood up once she found the end of the lace, and tugged at the bow mischievously. ‘Will you scold me if I say I just left Henri’s side?’ she asked. ‘That I didn’t make afternoon council today?’
‘Rather from Henri’s side than from Henri’s lap,’ Freyza mumbled absentmindedly.
Katherine wrinkled her nose. ‘Not necessarily,’ she commented. ‘There’s much that can be done from one’s side.’
She loosened the laces of her bodice idly, shimmied her arms out of her sleeves.
‘I can see that from the look of you,’ he said. ‘Katherine… I hesitate to let you continue. I’ve important news.’
Freyza smiled despite his better judgement, given that he was beginning to notice his resolve of diplomacy slip away from him.
‘And what would that be?’ she asked.
‘I wonder if you’ll invite the Sultan to Norbury Castle to receive him,’ he blurted out before he could be swayed into any illusion of spontaneous adoration that she was so obviously fishing for. ‘You and Henri and whoever. Anyone you trust. Anyone important. Make the cultural exchange of a lifetime out of it.’
It made her look a bit silly. Katherine’s posture changed from playful to pensive, yet she still stood, the loosened bodice of her dress bunched up at her waist, sleeves flopping at her side, her chemise lopsided on her shoulders. ‘You don’t think that’s a bit dramatic? Louise will have my head.’
‘What for? Aren’t you and the Sultan to be fast friends, Katherine?’ he wondered. ‘It is what I’ve promised your advisers, at least.’
As if the folly of her entrance had been forgotten, Katherine pulled her sleeves back over her arms and hoisted herself into the chair opposite Freyza.
‘Why would you do all this?’ she asked. ‘You don’t need to scoop me out of this just for your trade agreement. You don’t even need to do so to sleep with me.’
‘But isn’t it the right thing?’ he asked. ‘No honest work is ever lost. Especially not if it benefits someone you care for.’
She leaned back in her chair. ‘Tell me what you’re thinking, then. How we’ll plan all of this.’
Freyza scraped his throat. ‘We can write the Sultan and ask him if his court and him will appear in Norbury Castle as an exchange of sorts. He shall say yes for he has been enthralled by the country of Ilworth since you ascended, and you shall go home to sleep off all of the horror, and men below the two of you arm-wrestle for wool prices. It’ll buy you time to make decisions, actually learn some Sbaian. Perhaps an even finer suitor awaits you there and your men will totally forget about King Henri. We’ve marvellously charming, rich, powerful, influential noblemen there as well, you know.’
Katherine was quiet briefly and grinned, as she laced her gown shut again.
‘What’s the matter?’ Freyza asked.
‘Marvellously charming, rich, powerful, influential noblemen, Freyza?’ she asked. ‘I sure hope some of them younger than yourself, or is this your attempt at making your intents known?’
‘Goodness gracious. I don’t think your council would like that very much — besides, though I’m rich I’m hardly powerful,’ he said. ‘But if you think I’m marvellously charming and the rest of it, I’ll take that as one of the better compliments. So, Queen Katherine. What do you say?’
Katherine took her time to ponder. His offer seemed to nearly be too good to be true, and the undertone she picked up on was one of particularly desperate longing, despite the diplomacy.
‘Write him,’ she ordered. ‘It’ll show Lady Louise that I need not beg for alliances. And moreover, I am overdue for a change of scenery. Beware of the difficulty obtaining the permission to cross Baradran waters, though. It should not be forgotten.’
He grinned happily. ‘A formality,’ he said giddily. ‘I’ll have a servant girl write your letter today. They’ll recognise my hand otherwise.’
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Katherine narrowed her eyes. ‘Why don’t we do it now, so I know what you’re writing in my hand?’
‘Certainly,’ he said. ‘How silly of me to assume that you would trust me.’
She watched him go and rolled her eyes. ‘You treat me like you’ve known me forever. You are my favourite, Freyza. I am your keeper.’
He was speeding down the stairs when he hollered, ‘Your favourite what, Lady Katherine? Your favourite teacher of the Sbaian language, perhaps?’
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Freyza came back up a short while later, followed by a young woman in simple attire: a loose gown as the old matrons often wore in Ilworth, completely unfitting this radiant flower of a girl.
‘Lady Katherine,’ he began, theatrically bowing before her as he would before the sultan. ‘This is Rima. Rima was born in the Najan Isles — Baradran is her native tongue, like your mother’s — and she was taught Sbaian by one of my underlings when she was taken to be sold. In this case sold into one of the cushiest job any enslaved girl could have: writing work in the embassy. Her job is easier than mine and she answers to the kindest of masters, unlike myself, as I answer to two of the most demanding masters. Rima, this is Her Majesty the Queen of Ilworth. She and I meet twice a week for Sbaian lessons, and a few times a month to renew our trade agreements and follow up pricing and such things. She is a most demanding mistress to whom I must answer. You’ll be writing a translated letter in her stead.’
Rima bowed as well. Her eyes were a brilliant green and shone brightly against the deep, freckled tan of her skin. ‘Your Majesty. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.’
An enslaved woman. Katherine was unsure of what to think about the fact that the woman before her, seeming rather content from the look of her, well-fed and tall with a bright look on her face, was bound to Souchon Palace, to Freyza, by purchase rather than by salary.
‘Rima,’ she said, continuing in Baradran. ‘I’ve never spoken to a Najan girl before.’
‘That you know of,’ Freyza added, admittedly in a Baradran that was far more accented than his Massouric was. ‘You might be surprised to know that most of the embassy’s staff is Najan.’
He seemed proud of the fact. The corners of Katherine’s mouth twitched as Rima took a chair from by the door and placed it on the short side of the desk, as far away from Freyza as it was from Katherine.
‘I say we get started,’ Freyza continued, straightening a large empty sheet of parchment. ‘We’ll discuss in Baradran, and Rima will translate it by the sentence with my supervision for accuracy. That way, Lady Katherine, you’ll know what is being said, and there is very little room for an unfair translation or foul play. Unless you’d like to pick your own writer, if you feel as though Rima was put here to deceive you, in which case we could go down to the embassy right now.’
Katherine looked at Rima, who looked back expectantly, and nodded in agreement: ‘I believe trust is an important aspect of our dealings, Freyza.’
‘Agreed — if happy that you type our dealings as such. Let us start with the beginnings,’ Freyza said. ‘Esteemed and honourable Sultan, defender of the noble Sbai Empire, emperor among kings...’
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When the letter was sent off, a weight had been lifted off of Katherine’s shoulders. The fallout of the ill-fated levée remained small at first. Her advisers redacted most of what she had said, and Katherine remained far away from any courtiers of the Baradran regime.
During a following Sbaian lesson Freyza triumphantly translated the letter that Katherine was sent by the Sultan. Freyza silently noted the great amount of content glances from Katherine — he imagined things were looking up, until he realised much of this had been organised between the pair of them without any word spoken to Ilworthian court, despite them being responsible for the reception and the hosting at large. That very Friday, Freyza had requested an audience with all three: Richard, Harcourt and Katherine herself.
He came in cloaked, wearing his cloth of gold doublet he had worn during the masquerade if only to reference the instance that their time had been cut short, and the sort of impeccably starched, gold-edged ruff tacked on that Katherine knew he found irritating to wear. To watch her face soften into a smile, even if a sardonic one, was one of the things that gave Freyza purpose.
‘Lord Overleigh, Lord Milden Cross,’ Freyza said, scraped his throat, ‘Your Majesty.’
‘Lord Freyza,’ Katherine said. ‘Gentlemen, I’ll just introduce why the Duke of Tougaf has sought our audience. There’s been an exciting development within our dealings with the Sultan. Would you care to translate, my lord?’
Freyza stepped forward, unfurled a pair of letters, and placed them by the advisers. ‘I’ve brought an authenticated translation, Your Majesty, of the reply from the Sultan, translated by a third party as to not create an imbalance in knowledge between the two embassies… translated by the bureau in Sainte-Vallac just the other day.’
Richard began to read, and upon recognising that it was addressed to Katherine, shot his eyes up to the Sbaian. ‘So not just she and you have read this confidential letter, but also a random assortment of translators down south?’
Freyza shrugged and tapped the seal that was still attached to the scroll, even if it had not been sealed when he gave it to them. ‘That is an imperial seal,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t left a choice — the translation was sent to us as well, a few days after the original. It speaks of the considerate nature of our leader, I would say. Besides, as you’ll read forth, you’ll find that not much would be considered in the slightest confidential. And before I forget, Lord Milden Cross, alongside these flattering descriptions and appealing trade offers, your court was sent an amount of gold you shouldn’t wish to ignore.’
Richard read it first and silently passed it to Harcourt, who took notes as he read. Freyza noticed that, unlike Richard’s remaining steely gaze, Harcourt’s face began to shift favourably while he read.
‘Your Majesty,’ he said, and she turned. ‘You wrote him in Sbaian?’
Katherine had her answer ready. ‘I had some help from the Duke of Tougaf and one of his secretaries, but that was more to make sure I didn’t unintentionally write something out of the ordinary.’
Freyza hooked into it despite not having been asked: ‘Her Majesty’s has spoken Baradran since her youth, of course, and I have noticed that this creates some ease in her Sbaian that other Ilworthians initially lack. There was a large body of grammatical knowledge and intuition already there. It may not sound similar, but Baradran knowledge is exceedingly valuable when learning. Besides, she appears to be very interested.’
Harcourt disbelievingly looked at the exchange and back down to the letter. ‘I see…’ he said meekly. ‘Well, so it certainly appears. And what would one need to receive a Sultan in their home?’
Freyza smiled. ‘First of all, you will need enough men and women of the embassy to help you navigate the customs and language barrier. I, for one, will be willing to cover the cost of, let’s say, sixty out of a hundred if you decide to bring the entire delegation that’s in Souchon today, and the rest shouldn’t bring too exclusive of a price. I wouldn’t dare estimate costs such as foodstuffs, entertainment, lodgings — I am aware that I am in the presence of the King of the Innkeepers, so I likely am less informed.’
‘And in return?’ Richard asked. ‘You lot don’t work for free. What are you getting out of it?’
Freyza rolled his eyes at the spymaster. Damned baron. ‘Well, among those sixty I’ll be paying, I will be. That’ll at least save me one person’s salary, and given that I’m responsible for lighting the Sbaian fire in this court, and willing to take a leap of faith, I believe that is not so unreasonable.’
‘And?’ he added.
‘I’ll need you to trust me from here on out,’ Freyza said. ‘You needn’t think of me as a member of your council, and even though with my qualifications I could advise the Sultan, I wouldn’t desire to be treated as such. However, for all of the selfless acts that I’ve so generously undertaken in your name, extend me the loyalty that you extend to domestic tutors, staff members, and ambassadors.’
‘We treat you with the amount of distrust you inspire, Lord Freyza,’ Richard said, rolling his eyes as well in protest. ‘Same as we do for anyone. Unfortunately between the incident of Queen Katherine’s ill-fated poisoning by your hand and the eerie insistence on our favour, you inspire an amount of distrust I can hardly quantify. Be very pleased with yourself, that Lady Dorothy Abell is in your corner.’
‘You mistrust any person who dares approach me,’ Katherine said, leaning back in her chair. ‘All of the men who have your favour, fear for their lives when they see me. That’s the real distinguishing trait. I can assure you that the Duke has been nothing but gracious to me. In fact, how about you accompany the two of us to Port Bourrac when we leave for Ilworth? I’ll be happy to share a carriage with the two of you if that means you finally get to bury an undue hatchet for once — for it is undue.’
Richard and Freyza both crossed their arms as if they were vindicated children. Katherine knew that Richard was loyal to her, but did not feel any inclination to believe her arguments for Freyza’s presence as he knew the truths just behind the falsehoods, and she equally knew that for Freyza, being in a small space with his least favourite courtier while his absence meant their union, was akin to being rejected altogether. And for each their own reasons, Richard and Freyza both found it necessary.
‘If we absolutely must,’ Richard said.
Freyza raised his brows. ‘What Lord Milden Cross said is how I see it as well. I will not cherish it, but I will likely cherish the result of this trial.’
‘Good,’ said Katherine. ‘We are an intelligent, result-oriented bunch here — most importantly we are a result-oriented bunch very attached to the result that is getting out of Souchon Palace before I tear out all of my hair. Let us plan, let us be fast while doing so, and let us begin to pack.’