The Weaver's Lament by Elizabeth Haydon

Rhapsody said. She turned to the other two of the Three. “I have an appointment with my granddaughters; I hope you will excuse us. It has been wonderful, as always, to visit with you. I do hope you will change your minds and reconsider coming to the family summit.”
    Achmed shook his head emphatically while Grunthor sighed.
    â€œGotta be on my way south, Duchess, but fanks again,” he said wistfully.
    â€œPlease do consider what I said about refraining from provoking Ashe,” Rhapsody said seriously as she put her arms around his neck. “I’ve come to greatly appreciate the peace that our kingdoms have enjoyed for all these centuries. I would very much like it to remain thus.”
    â€œI promise nothing,” said Achmed, rising and receiving a farewell hug from Cara and Evannii. “We are occasionally noting shortages in the supplies that Roland merchants who have contracts with the Alliance quartermaster have been delivering to Ylorc. If this flagrant swindling continues, we will have to resort to making unannounced visits to the commissaries and storehouses to retrieve all of what we have paid for. I hope this point is not lost on you, Rhapsody.”
    â€œI will absolutely convey your concerns, and look into the ledgers myself,” she promised.
    â€œGood.” He assumed an annoyed stance as Rhapsody came to him and kissed him on the cheek.
    â€œI love you, you petulant thing,” she said.
    Achmed grunted noncommittally, as was his custom, while she went and embraced Grunthor enthusiastically again.
    â€œI love you, I love you, I love you,” she said from the depths of his embrace.
    â€œFeelin’s mutual, miss.” The giant grinned broadly, the look of exhaustion leaving his eyes for a moment.
    â€œWhy does Grunthor get three ‘I love you’s while Achmed only receives one?” Evannii asked in amusement.
    â€œHe’s three times as big?” Cara suggested.
    â€œShe loves me three times as much?” Grunthor offered.
    â€œJust tradition, started a thousand years ago,” Rhapsody said, patting the giant as he released her. “And the fact that he’s three times more willing to hear it than Achmed.”
    â€œSince when comparing his willingness to mine, you are multiplying by zero, he’s a thousand times more willing to hear it,” said the Bolg king, opening the door of the longhouse. “A million times. A billion times.”
    â€œI will meet you both in the rotunda in the main hall of the palace of Newydd Dda once I’ve taken your uncles to the border,” Rhapsody said to her granddaughters. “I want to be able to consult the diadem in our discussions, and if I’m going to do that, I need to put on more appropriate attire.”
    Achmed rolled his eyes.
    â€œ Never misses a chance to change into fussy clothes. Some things never change.”

 
    5
    TYRIAN CITY
    The royal complex of Tyrian City, the capital of the Lirin kingdom, was set on a series of graduated hills leading up to Tomingorllo, the tallest of them, where the throne room was built into the summit.
    At the base of the first hill, Newydd Dda, was the main hall where the royal living quarters and the ambassadorial suites were housed.
    Rhapsody dismounted and handed the reins of the roan to one of the two Lirin soldiers accompanying her. She gave the horse a cube of sugar and a gentle scratch of the ears, then bade the soldiers goodbye and hurried to the main hall’s great rotunda, the showpiece of Tyrian’s architecture. She walked quickly across the vast central courtyard, where the singing fountains splashed in the sunlight, surrounded by a high stone wall and guard towers.
    The courtyard led directly into the rotunda, which contained an enormous circular hearth at the center, where a perennial fire warmed the entire palace year-round. Many tall trees that had been built within the palace’s structure had grown to