Flecks of Gold (14 page)

“Let’s go,” I said in exasperation as Breeohan tried to explain that if I did somehow figure out how to turn him into a newt, he wouldn’t actually be able to get better unless I turned him back or he did. If he still had his power in newt form, that is. And I wouldn’t be able to do anything like that at all, unless he gave me permission. We left the room, with Breeohan still trying to analyze my joke, walked quickly out of the inn, and almost ran into two huge, dirty fellows bristling with weapons.

“Watch it,” one said.

I looked up quickly into his face, shocked to recognize one of the attackers from the canyon. It was hard to stop the gasp, but I managed to turn it into a cough. I snapped my head down and swiveled around the two men.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, head bowed. I quickly strode away, aware of their eyes on my back, afraid that at any moment they would recognize me as the girl in the canyon and jump me. I didn’t slow down until I turned a corner, out of sight. I wondered where Breeohan was. My chest tightened with worry and fear of ambush, so the touch on my shoulder made me yelp.

“Shhh. It’s just me. You had better make yourself unnoticeable. I guess there’s no question now that the two attacks were connected. Take my hand so you don’t lose me and get lost trying to find the way out.”

“Hey, it was one time,” I said, annoyed. I quickly became unnoticeable and grasped his hand. It was weird to hold hands, and I was glad we couldn’t see each other very well and that my face was hidden. His hand was calloused and warm, but not sweaty, and I felt a little tingle in my chest as he led me through the winding city streets.

Get a grip, Mary
, I thought.
You’re acting like a kid. No wonder Kelson had such an easy time bamboozling you
. The thought of Kelson brought me back to my senses. I firmly smashed the tingling in my fingers and chest and simply followed along beside Breeohan, thinking of Mom and rescue.

Once outside of the city, I dropped Breeohan’s hand like a hot potato. Breeohan was silent, and I started to worry that I wasn’t walking with him anymore.

“We should keep the unnoticeable lacing for awhile,” he said just as I was about to shout for him.

My breath whooshed out. “That’s fine. Let’s go then.” I started walking down the road.

“Wait, Mary. We might lose each other.”

I hesitated, feeling a strange desire to feel warmth and callouses. I beat the thought away. “Not if you start talking. Who wants you beaten up or dead?” I had to swallow. No one I’d ever known had died, much less a friend. I didn’t want Breeohan to die either. The thought made my chest tighten.

“I already told you. I can’t think of anyone.”

“Look, I think it’s time you tell me a little more about yourself, Breeohan. All I know is that you’re a wizard, twenty years old, an only child, and your mother lives near the palace. Does that mean you’re a noble?”

“Yes.”

“Well . . .” I waited for a moment. “Doesn’t that mean that you’re the heir when your mother dies, or do you do it differently here?”

“That is how it’s done.”

“Okay then,” I said, starting to get annoyed by his reticence. “I’m sure that means someone could want you ‘gone with the wind’ if that meant that he or she could inherit instead. Unless only men inherit here, then it would be a he.”

“Both men and women can inherit.”

I was really regretting that I couldn’t see Breeohan’s face well. I hated not being able to read his expressions as he talked. After two minutes of silence, I couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Fine,” I said, “if you don’t want to trust me, that’s your decision. Maybe it would be better if we split up, anyway. I’d feel safer on my own than with you where I could get attacked at any moment for a reason I have no way of knowing because you don’t trust me enough to talk about yourself.”

“I was just trying to think. Don’t be so riohoka.”

“So . . . what?”

“So easily offended, led off course from true understanding.”

I counted to ten slowly. “Okay, Buddha. Do you think you could possibly process your thoughts out loud, so that I can understand the situation?”

“I was thinking that perhaps we should part and enter the capital city separately. If those men are looking only for me, then that would be the best strategy for you. But the men in the wadi saw you as well, so perhaps it wouldn’t help to split up. Although, the two you ran into didn’t seem to recognize you. And there’s also the chance that they’re after
all
magicians, so parting would then be futile and dangerous.”

“Breeohan,” I said, my voice oozing impatience.

He must have heard the warning in my tone, for he continued, “I don’t understand why anyone would want me dead. I
am
a second cousin to the king, and the closest one in line to the throne, but the person under me is Aria, and she has never shown any interest in ruling. She cares only for music. She would never give up her study of lost musical forms for ruling.”

I was so stunned, I stopped walking. The ripple of Breeohan’s movements disappeared. “Are you joking? There’s no way I’ve been traveling with a prince.”

Breeohan came back to me. He shed his chameleonlike lacing, and I could see his face clearly. “Would you please drop your lacing, Mary? I want to see your face.”

I did so, reluctantly. If he was lying about being an heir, I didn’t want him to see how confused I felt. I didn’t think it was a very good joke.

“I am not a prince. Well, technically you could say I’m the prince since I am next in line to the throne, but I’m not the king’s son. He’s not even my uncle. The direct line of rule has had some bad luck. King Verone is the last child of King Kree. It’s all a little complicated, but the end result is that for many years now, I have been expected to rule when the king dies. I wouldn’t have to if the king would marry and beget an heir, but he seems determined to stay unwed. He has named me as his heir.”

“I’ve been casually walking around with royalty?”

I must have looked stunned because Breeohan responded with a slight edge to his voice. “Don’t act like this, Mary. I am the same person as I was before. It shouldn’t make a difference that I’m royalty.”

That snapped me out my stupor. “Whoa, there, ego-boy. Just because I’ve never actually met anyone royal before doesn’t mean I think you’re any better than I am. Because you’re not. In case you didn’t understand from my previous explanations of my country, we believe all people are created equal. That means royalty or not, I am not going to bow or scrape the ground, worshiping you. So you can just get off your high horse right now.”

My speech didn’t have the effect I thought it would. I wasn’t sure, but I saw what looked suspiciously like the beginnings of a smile on Breeohan’s face. I turned quickly and started walking down the road. Breeohan made a funny coughing noise that I suspected might actually have been laughter before he caught up.

“If what you say is true and you are the next person in line to be king, then you’re crazy to think that there isn’t anyone who wants to kill you. Where did you grow up anyway, Never-Never Land? I may not be from a country ruled by monarchs, but I know history, and people are always trying to dethrone kings, kill off heirs, and do whatever they have to do to gain power. It is a universal truth that not many people can handle power without becoming corrupt and wanting more power.”

“
I
don’t want to be king. It was thrust upon me. I had no choice in the matter.”

“Didn’t you? Can you honestly tell me that you weren’t allowed to decline?”

“It’s complicated.” His voice didn’t invite questions, but I went on.

“So, if this Aria girl doesn’t want to rule, who does?”

“I don’t know. The royals at court are often condescending and happier with themselves than with anyone else. I have to know all of them, but I don’t know many of them well. Still, I can’t imagine any of them being capable of such treachery.”

“Well, someone is, noble or not, and you aren’t giving me a good idea of who, so I guess we’ll just have to see who looks guilty when we get there.”

Breeohan laughed. “One thing I know. If one of the aristocracy is trying to kill me, you won’t see any guilt on his face. Nobles are masters at hiding emotions.”

“You don’t seem to be all that great at hiding your emotions.”

Breeohan blushed, proving my point.

“I’ve spent most of my life around magicians, not nobles. My mother thinks that I haven’t tried hard enough to master the skill of masking emotions. She says I will always get taken advantage of because my face is as clear as stream water.”

“People will trust you more, though.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Breeohan said. We walked awhile in thoughtful silence. “We’ll reach the capital by nightfall,” he said suddenly.

“When do you think we’ll be able to see the king?”

“It depends on how busy he is, but I may be able to get a private audience fairly quickly, considering all that has happened. I’m sure he will want to know about the attacks.” He was looking thoughtfully at the ground, so he started when I grabbed his shirt and spun him toward me.

“And my mother. I know you have a lot on your mind right now, Breeohan, what with your kingly future being threatened, but my mother is out there somewhere with some lunatic, and that means everything to me. Don’t forget her.” My heart felt tight in my chest. I knew I was angry at Breeohan now because for one moment, I too had forgotten my real purpose. I’d exchanged my concerns about Mom for worrying about Breeohan.
What a fickle daughter
, I thought savagely.

“I haven’t forgotten your mother, Mary.” He spoke so softly, I felt horrible for blowing up. “I was also speaking of the attack on you and your mother.”

“Oh.” I felt even worse.

“Your very presence in this country is a mystery. And so are you.”

I was still thinking about Mom, so I was a little confused. “I’m what?”

“A mystery.” He smiled mischievously.

“I am not. I’m even easier to read than you are,” I retorted.

“I don’t know. I can’t seem to figure you out. You behave so strangely sometimes. Are all people where you come from like you?”

“Maybe a little. But I guess I am a little odd, no matter where I am.” I thought sadly of all the times I had been shunned as a little kid. I hadn’t liked playing dolls and dress up, and strange things happened around me. After a while even my best friends had faded away. I saw now that those unusual occurrences had happened because of my magic ability. Though it explained things, assured me that I wasn’t actually crazy, I was still sad for all those times I’d felt like a scary character in a sci-fi movie.

“Well, I think I ought to warn you about a few things before you go and put your arm down the serpent’s hole.”

“Oh yeah? Like what, Teacher?” I still wasn’t going to call him “Master.”

“For one, there are many types of bows that you will have to learn. It is important that you get the depth of the bow right so as not to offend. You have given me a bow before that should only be given a king, do you remember?”

“I remember. I’ll save that one for him.”

“Good. The problem we will have is your rank, where you fit in comparison to the other nobles.”

“That’s where you and I see differently. I think I’m equal to even the highest of kings.” I gave a little flourish with my fingers as I imagined royalty might do.

“We could say that you are a visiting princess. That way, no one would dare take retribution on you if you made a mistake.”

“Who would believe that? I’m just a high school student.”

“A what? Oh, never mind, you’re probably right. You don’t act anything like royalty, even though you look it. But then the king doesn’t act very royal sometimes, either. For that matter, neither does the training general, and he’s a prince. You know, you remind me of them in some ways. They are just as confusing at times. They, however, just seem enigmatic, whereas you—”

“Don’t even say it.”

“Anyway, I know it sounds far-fetched, but not many of the nobles in court have traveled far, and even fewer have a thorough knowledge of geography. Your strange ways might be the very thing to convince them that you are a princess.”

“Aren’t princesses usually rich? We won’t exactly arrive in a limousine, surrounded by bodyguards. Presentation is everything, and I look like a beat-up traveling salesman. What if someone asks how I got here?”

“Though I didn’t understand half of what you just said, I think I understood your main point, and I have a plan.”

“In books, whenever someone says they have a plan, it always turns out disastrous,” I said. The sun was sinking, and I thought I could make out distant buildings in a city ten times larger than any we had come to yet. From far away, I could almost imagine that I had really just been wandering in the Arizona desert and was coming up on a real city. The lamps weren’t nearly as bright as electric lights, but my wishing made the illusion seem possible.

“Trust me. All you have to do is act like you own the world, and I will do the rest.” He started walking faster, and I had to convince my tired feet to pick up the pace. He donned the chameleon lacing again, so I followed suit.

A
s we neared
the huge buildings of the city, my Arizona illusion vanished. The buildings were coarsely made. The dun-colored cobblestone road looked nothing like asphalt. The smell of garbage and smoke bothered my nose, making me wish for a breeze. And the sight of a pack of dirty kids hunkering down in an alley killed all my happy memories of air-conditioned, pest-free houses.

Breeohan grabbed my hand and led me down the alley past the children. They were so busy squabbling for what looked like a rotten piece of meat that I thought they wouldn’t have noticed us even if we’d been shouting. I found I was wrong, however, when my foot kicked a rock. They stopped fighting immediately, looking around for the source of the noise. Their expressions of mingled fear and ruthlessness made me shiver, and I hurried past before they searched the alley more thoroughly.

“Don’t those children have any place they can go?” I asked.