Chapter 6: Two Princesses

Two days before the Midwinter festivities had begun, Lianne finally had an idea as to how she would train as a warrior. She could have kicked herself for not seeing a plan this simple earlier, and it was one which her father could not object to. She had been unable to enlist the aid of either of the lady knights, for the war in Scanra, although beginning to let up was still going on. It had become difficult to find any knights in the palace.

But this plan will certainly work, Lianne told herself with assurance. She moved along the palace corridors that afternoon with long, bounding strides. With each step she grew more and more confident in her plan, until she stopped in front of a door. Pausing just a second to catch her breath, Lianne rapped softly on the door with her knuckles.

"Who's there?" called out a voice from inside.

"Lianne."

"Of course! Do come in." As the door swung open Lianne stepped inside, greeted by a young lady with golden skin and smiling eyes. She was dressed Yamani fashion in a pale yellow kimono embroidered with flowers.

"It is a pleasure to see you," said Princess Shinkokami brightly. Lianne returned her greeting and moved over to the far wall, where a Yamani practice glaive was hanging. Her eyes moved up and down the deadly weapon, thirsting for its power.

Shinko's voice called Lianne back to reality. "Why do I seem to think you came here for more than my company?" Shinko asked with a hint of laughter.

Lianne turned to face the other princess. "I wouldn't suppose you would have an extra of these? I would love to learn glaive fighting, that is, if you would be willing to teach me." Lianne was recalling how her mother, the quean, had learned the art of glaive fighting during the Progress when Shinko had first come to Tortall, and she longed to do the same. This was the one form of fighting her father could never forbid her to do, for his own wife and his son's wife both took part in it.

"I would be glad to teach you, Li," answered Shinko. 'Li' had always been her nickname for the younger princess. "I'll see to it that you have your own practice glaive made. Until then, would you care to learn how to play fan toss?" Shinko grabbed a blue silk fan from the dresser and offered it to her friend.

Lianne hesitated, for she knew the Yamani shukusen to have razor sharp edges.

Shinko must have noticed her uncertainty, for she laughed, an uncommon action for the reserved Yamani. "Don't worry. This fan hasn't been sharpened yet. Roald would not appreciate it if I chopped his little sister's hands off. Come on, its easy once you get used to it."

Lianne accepted the fan and followed Shinko into the palace gardens. A warrior makes use of all weapons, she thought to herself.

As the first day of Midwinter arrived, Lianne already found herself regretting the punishment she had agreed to take in place of her friends. She would not have complained had her father put her to manual labor, but these consequences had begun to wear her down. The king had taken away her privilege of skipping the parties following royal occasions, and that meant she would have to attend. The worst part was that attending meant dancing and socializing and being courteous. Furthermore, Lianne had been warned that it was not to be the end of her punishment. Isn't it enough, she asked herself, that I have to act like a princess?

Latti entered Lianne's room without knocking, holding in her plump hands a dress of crimson silk. Lianne's eyes narrowed to a glare as the dress was laid out across her bed. She pictured herself refusing it and ordering her maid out, but changed her mind at the last second.

"Go on now," Latti urged. "Change into it. I'll be back in a moment to make sure it fits right."

Lianne obeyed the request without question, clearly resigned to her fate. To the eleven-year-old eyes the dress fit quite well, but her maid seemed to disagree, using pins to mark places where the fabric hung loosely and needed to be taken up.

"That hurts," said Lianne calmly as the point of one pin found her pale skin through the thin fabric. "You shouldn't poke it so hard." Not that I should be complaining thought Lianne dismally. She knew knights like Alanna and Keladry put up with much more than pin pricks without protest.

Latti chose not to respond, and only long practice kept the maid from smiling at her charges feeble complaints. "Be sure to wear one of your thicker shifts under this tonight. It would be quite a disappointment for my lady to catch cold and miss the Midwinter celebrations." The gentle tease made the princess's mood even more abysmal. Latti knew well that Lianne would risk illness to escape the festivities, and she gave her a sharp glance to discourage those thoughts. With quick thinking she changed the subject.

"When are you to start glaive lessons, my lady?"

Lianne, quite startled by the question, blinked rapidly. "Where did you hear I was taking glaive lessons?" Lianne felt herself panicking. Although she was confident that her father could not stop her, she knew better than to push her luck by letting him know too soon, especially after the spidren encounter. If she made him angry enough the king could sometimes act rashly, and the last thing Lianne wanted was more punishment like the ordeal she was to be put through.

Contrary to Lianne's expectations, Latti frowned in confusion. "Why else would you keep a practice glaive in your room if you weren't planning to use it?"

"You won't tell anyone will you?" Especially not my father? Lianne was feeling both relieved and foolish for not realizing that her glaive, which had arrived earlier that morning, was leaned against the wall in plain sight. She worked with her maid to ensure her lessons were kept secret. "Not yet at least. Just give me a little time."

Latti was accustomed to Lianne's tricks by now and, seeing as this one was harmless, she decided to let it go. "No, your secret's safe with me." Inside she felt glad, for even though she was not being entirely loyal to the king, Latti had long thought Lianne should learn to fight.

The princess smiled and nodded her thanks. Seeing as how her maid had stopped poking her with pins, she figured the fitting session was finished. She slipped out of the silk dress, careful not to be pricked any more than she already had. Finally out of the restraining fabric, she sought the freedom of breeches and a tunic, both in shades of silver gray. She turned to the mirror, picked up a brush, and began taming her hair that she might be able to tie it back out of her face.

"Don't forget to meet me back here immediately following lunch. There will be much to be done to prepare you for tonight," Latti reminded her. Getting no response, the maid picked up the dress and swept out the door.

Lianne glided and spun lightly on her feet, guided by the strong hands of her partner. Her violet dress flared beautifully as she danced, giving the appearance that she was floating through the air. When she looked up into her partner's face he smiled at her, and she did her best to smile back, for the sake of diplomacy. As the music ended and the dancing ceased he bowed gracefully to her and brushed his lips against her hand.

"It was a pleasure dancing with you, princess."

"And you, Prince Kalir." Lianne worked to hide the tremble of anger in her voice. It was the third time that night the two had danced together, and she was beginning to tire of his flirtatious air. From their previous conversations that night she had realized it was not by chance that he had happened to walk in on her discussion with her father. Did he think he was saving her? Since when did she need rescuing from anyone, especially her father? He obviously though she was just another helpless princess. That just gives me more reason to learn to fight, she thought. I can prove him wrong along with everyone else. If, that is, these parties don't kill me first.

She walked out of the ballroom onto a balcony to escape the conversation. She had been exposed to too much talking during dinner earlier that evening, when she had been seated with her father, the Gallan advisors, and select Tortallan nobles. She now found herself knowing more about current politics in the realms than she ever had wanted. That was probably just another part of her punishment, she realized morosely. In the fresh winter air on the balcony, she found herself gazing up at the night sky, which was dotted with stars. It was almost midnight, and the party had not yet begun to end.

"Is it that bad?"

The sudden voice behind her made Lianne jump and spin around to face the speaker. "Oh! It's you, Shinko. You shouldn't sneak up on me like that."

"Are you all right?" she asked again. She smiled sympathetically at her friend. "We should just leave. No one would notice anyway, and we could come back in a little while."

The idea shocked Lianne: Shinkokami was never rebellious. After recovering from her surprise though, she found the suggestion very enticing. "I just hope my father doesn't find out," she said with a grin. But if he does I don't care, she told herself. The two princesses walked back into the crowded ballroom. Shinko had been right – with all of the people there, two less would make no difference. They slipped out through a side door that was used only by servants, making their way slowly until they were outside.

"I think tomorrow morning would be a grand time for your first glaive lesson, Li," said the Yamani princess as the two walked side by side. "We can meet at the inside practice courts a little after dawn if that's okay with you."

"Of course it is," said Lianne with excitement. With all of the torture of Midwinter celebrations, learning to fight would be the bright side of her days. All too soon Shinko suggested it was time to return to the ballroom, and although Lianne preferred to stay outside, she returned so as not to distress her friend. She counted herself lucky though, for by the time they had reentered the crowd, the party was ending and guests were returning to their rooms.

As Lianne sunk into her bed that night, she was relieved to have survived even the first day of Midwinter. She wished her friends were at least second and third year pages, so that she might see them while they served food. As first year pages they were kept in the back to hand platters of food to other pages. She worried for Bryn and Aideen, hoping that they would not be so foolish as to attempt any of their tricks during the festivities. Although thoughts were still running through her head, exhaustion eventually got the better of Lianne as she drifted to sleep.