something.’ I retrieved my coat and rapiers and found a thick woollen blanket that I wrapped around Aline’s shoulders.
We walked down the main path, the flickering candlelight escaping through the cracks in the shutters lighting our way. Occasionally we could hear the sounds of other Greatcoats talking inside.
‘Where shall we go?’ I asked.
‘Can we go up the little hill outside the village?’
That was an awkward request. I really didn’t want to take her outside the protection of our camp, but we were unlikely to be attacked again – Trin had made her attempt, and her men had paid the price for it. ‘All right,’ I said, ‘but just for a little while.’
Aline took my hand and we made our way down the path, passing a group of six of the Tailor’s Greatcoats. They didn’t bother to greet us, but I saw they noted our presence. As long as we didn’t go far they’d likely not complain. I ignored the soft footsteps not far behind us. They had been there since we’d left the cottage.
We crossed the wide trail that passed through the strange rock formation called the Arch. Beyond it was the Eastern Desert and the curved north–south trade route called the Bow that led to Rijou.
Rijou.
The memories of that place still make me shudder.
‘Are you cold?’ Aline asked.
‘No, just thinking.’
‘That happens to me too when I think,’ she said.
‘Oh? What do you think about that makes you shiver?’
She looked up. ‘I like the stars,’ she said, ignoring my question. ‘You could see some in Rijou, but never as many as here. It’s as if they’re right near to us. Come on. I want to get closer to them.’
We made our way up the hill along a narrow path. At the top the terrain flattened out and we sat at the edge. Small animals scurried about in the dark, not quite obscuring the other sound that trailed us.
‘She follows me everywhere I go,’ Aline said.
I was surprised at first that Aline could hear the footsteps, but then, she was a smart girl and she’d become used to paying attention to things around her. ‘She’s wounded,’ I said. ‘She should be resting.’
‘You could tell her, but I don’t think she’d listen. She’s lost, Falcio.’
I looked at Aline’s face to find some clue as to her meaning but she was still just looking up at the stars. ‘What do you mean?’
‘They’ve taken everything away from her,’ she said. ‘She spent her whole life being a princess and now she’s just a girl. I spent my whole life thinking I was just a girl and now they tell me I have to be a queen. It doesn’t seem fair.’
‘To whom?’ I asked.
She turned to me and put a hand on my arm. ‘I don’t want Valiana to die for nothing, Falcio. Will you protect her?’
‘What do you mean, “for nothing”? Saving your life isn’t “nothing”.’
She leaned back on the ground and looked up again. ‘Can you see this many stars in the Southern Islands?’
‘I . . . I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I suppose so. I think it’s mostly a function of how many clouds there are and how much light down here there is – that makes it harder for us to see the stars.’
The answer seemed to satisfy her. ‘So if we weren’t in a big city and it wasn’t cloudy we should see a lot of stars from an island too, right?’
‘Aline, what’s this about?’
‘Do you think about Ethalia, Falcio?’
That took me by surprise. Of course I still thought of Ethalia – every day. It hadn’t been so long ago that she had healed my wounds and saved the last little part of my soul.
‘I do think about her, yes,’ I said carefully.
‘That morning when you were in her room – when she sent me downstairs,’ she started, then admitted, ‘I didn’t go all the way. I stayed near the door and I heard what she said to you.’
For an instant I was back in that small room, the smell of clean sheets and simple food, of morning flowers and, above all, of her.
‘Don’t you think it at all possible
We walked down the main path, the flickering candlelight escaping through the cracks in the shutters lighting our way. Occasionally we could hear the sounds of other Greatcoats talking inside.
‘Where shall we go?’ I asked.
‘Can we go up the little hill outside the village?’
That was an awkward request. I really didn’t want to take her outside the protection of our camp, but we were unlikely to be attacked again – Trin had made her attempt, and her men had paid the price for it. ‘All right,’ I said, ‘but just for a little while.’
Aline took my hand and we made our way down the path, passing a group of six of the Tailor’s Greatcoats. They didn’t bother to greet us, but I saw they noted our presence. As long as we didn’t go far they’d likely not complain. I ignored the soft footsteps not far behind us. They had been there since we’d left the cottage.
We crossed the wide trail that passed through the strange rock formation called the Arch. Beyond it was the Eastern Desert and the curved north–south trade route called the Bow that led to Rijou.
Rijou.
The memories of that place still make me shudder.
‘Are you cold?’ Aline asked.
‘No, just thinking.’
‘That happens to me too when I think,’ she said.
‘Oh? What do you think about that makes you shiver?’
She looked up. ‘I like the stars,’ she said, ignoring my question. ‘You could see some in Rijou, but never as many as here. It’s as if they’re right near to us. Come on. I want to get closer to them.’
We made our way up the hill along a narrow path. At the top the terrain flattened out and we sat at the edge. Small animals scurried about in the dark, not quite obscuring the other sound that trailed us.
‘She follows me everywhere I go,’ Aline said.
I was surprised at first that Aline could hear the footsteps, but then, she was a smart girl and she’d become used to paying attention to things around her. ‘She’s wounded,’ I said. ‘She should be resting.’
‘You could tell her, but I don’t think she’d listen. She’s lost, Falcio.’
I looked at Aline’s face to find some clue as to her meaning but she was still just looking up at the stars. ‘What do you mean?’
‘They’ve taken everything away from her,’ she said. ‘She spent her whole life being a princess and now she’s just a girl. I spent my whole life thinking I was just a girl and now they tell me I have to be a queen. It doesn’t seem fair.’
‘To whom?’ I asked.
She turned to me and put a hand on my arm. ‘I don’t want Valiana to die for nothing, Falcio. Will you protect her?’
‘What do you mean, “for nothing”? Saving your life isn’t “nothing”.’
She leaned back on the ground and looked up again. ‘Can you see this many stars in the Southern Islands?’
‘I . . . I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I suppose so. I think it’s mostly a function of how many clouds there are and how much light down here there is – that makes it harder for us to see the stars.’
The answer seemed to satisfy her. ‘So if we weren’t in a big city and it wasn’t cloudy we should see a lot of stars from an island too, right?’
‘Aline, what’s this about?’
‘Do you think about Ethalia, Falcio?’
That took me by surprise. Of course I still thought of Ethalia – every day. It hadn’t been so long ago that she had healed my wounds and saved the last little part of my soul.
‘I do think about her, yes,’ I said carefully.
‘That morning when you were in her room – when she sent me downstairs,’ she started, then admitted, ‘I didn’t go all the way. I stayed near the door and I heard what she said to you.’
For an instant I was back in that small room, the smell of clean sheets and simple food, of morning flowers and, above all, of her.
‘Don’t you think it at all possible
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