"Dave Duncan - A Man of His Word 4 - Emperor And Clown" - читать интересную книгу автора (Duncan Dave)

One day, when Shandie got to be Emshandar V, then he would get to read the Protocol (q.v.). Only imperors and wardens ever did.


No sorcerer would ever come to a brain-melting boring meeting like this, though.


They were done! Now another herald was unrolling a scroll. Ythbane nodded.


"His Excellency, Ambassador from the Nordland Confederacy . . ."


Ambassador Krushjor came striding forward like a great white bear, followed by a half-dozen other jotnar, all shockingly half naked in helmet,
breeches, and boots and nothing else-dumb barbarians showing off their hairy chests and hey-look-at-that muscles! Ambassadors were the only
people excused formal court dress. They were allowed ethnic costume. It did look silly, though.


Oh, Holy Balance! Shandie realized that he could use some of those muscles himself right then. His left arm was sagging under the weight of the
train draped over it. He tried to raise it and couldn't. It wouldn't obey him. It was dead.


But Ythbane couldn't have noticed yet. He was eyeing the jotunn ambassador, and having to lean his head back to do it. The consul was not big for
an imp, and the older man was an average-size jotunn. Some of the younger jotnar in the back were even bigger, with bushy gold beards. And
muscles! Bet they could hold up a toga for weeks if they ever had to. Moms called the jotnar "murdering monsters."



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 Emperor And Clown


The senators had fallen silent, as if this were going to be more interesting than ... Gods! There, up in the back row-how could he not have noticed
sooner? Just in time, Shandie remembered not to move. It was Aunt Oro, right in there with the senators! He hadn't seen her in months. She'd been
away at Leesoft. His heart jumped, then sank-he wanted to run to her, or at least smile and wave, but of course he mustn't move. He thought maybe
he'd twitched a little on seeing her, but Ythbane was still watching the jotunn, so it wouldn't matter.


She'd understand that he must put duty first, and mustn't fidget on formal occasions.


Fancy Aunt Oro in with the senators! But of course she had senatorial rank. Much higher rank, really, because she was Princess Imperial Orosea.
She even outranked Moms, who was only Princess Uomaya. So Aunt Oro could sit anywhere she wanted, but he'd have expected her to have a chair
on the steps of the throne, like Moms. He wondered when she'd returned to court. He hadn't heard a whisper, and he was pretty good at picking up
gossip, because he spent a lot of time around grown-ups and they tended to forget he was there.


Surely she wouldn't go back to Leesoft without coming to see him? He wouldn't mind a hug from Aunt Oro. It wouldn't be unmanly to let her hug
him just once-it wasn't as if everyone did. Or anyone, really. Of course it would be unmanly to mention the beatings. All boys got beaten, and
princes were special and had to be specially beaten. So Ythbane had said last time, making a joke-he'd added a couple of strokes, saying Shandie