two men who could be trusted, who could be confided in,
who understood what this sudden rise to preeminence
meant, and who shared the pressures of newly inflicted
responsibilities. In the other two, each had found friends.
Arutha shook his head, laughing at himself. 'I guess I
have known from the first as well, though I had doubts.
She's so young.'
Lyam said,) "About our mother's age when she wed
Father, you mean?'
Arutha fixed Lyam with a sceptical look. 'Do you have
an answer for everything?'
Martin clapped Lyam on the back. of course,' he said.
Then softly he added, "That's why he's the King.' As
Lyam turned a mock frown upon Martin, the eldest
brother continued. 'So when we return, ask her to wed,
dear brother. Then we can wake old Father Tully from
before his fireplace and we can all be off to Krondor and
have a merry wedding. And I can stop all this bloody
travel and return to Crydee.'
A voice from above cried out, 'Land ho!'
'Where away?' shouted the captain.
"Dead ahead.'
Gazing into the distance, Martin's practised hunter's
eye was the first to perceive the distant shores. Quietly
he placed his hands upon his brothers' shoulders. After a
time all three could see the distant outline of tall towers
against an azure sky.
Softly Arutha said, 'Rillanon.'
The sounds of the light tapping of footfalls and the rustle
of a full skirt held above hurrying feet accompanied the
sight of a slender figure marching purposefully down a
long hallway. 'The lovely features of the lady rightly
acknowledged the reigning beauty of the court were set
in an expression of less than pleasant aspect. The guards
posted along the hall stood face front, but eyes followed
her passage. More than one guard considered the likely
target of the lady's well-known temper and smiled
inwardly. The singer was in for a rude awakening,
literally. In a most unladylike fashion, Princess Carline, sister to
the King, swept past a startled servant who tried to jump
aside and bow to her at the same time, a feat that landed
him on his backside as Carline vanished into the guest
wing of the palace.
Coming to a door, she paused. Patting her loose dark
hair into place, she raised her hand to knock, then halted.
Her blue eyes narrowed as she became irritated by the
thought of waiting for the door to open, so she simply
pushed it open without announcing herself.
The chamber was dark, as the night curtains were still
