Daystar was bored. He had thought being Crown Prince of the Enchanted Forest would be exciting, but instead it was an endless round of dinners and lessons.
All right, at first, most of the lessons were interesting. His mother had always hated her own lessons, and made sure Daystar learned practical things. Still, after his great adventure to get here, even interesting lessons seemed a little more mundane.
He didn't even have Shiara to talk to. Sneaking out and visiting her would not work at all; he knew better than to think the King of the Dragons wouldn't catch him. And the King of the Dragons wouldn't eat Daystar. Oh, no, the King of the Dragons would do worse. She would tell Cimorene.
"Nothing ever happens around here," he told his Latin tutor, a bit irritably.
"Your mother didn't tell you? The Enchanted Forest is expecting a very special visit from the City of Rubies."
"A city is coming here?" asked Daystar. He regretted saying it. It sounded like a stupid question. But stranger things had happened. This was, after all, the Enchanted Forest.
"No, young man. Merely a diplomatic delegation."
"That's boring. That happens all the time." In fact, it seemed that every week another neighboring kingdom had visited to pay its respects to King Mendanbar ever since he had been returned to his throne several months ago. Daystar had spent less time with his long-lost father than various princes, kings, ministers and ambassadors had, or at least it felt that way.
"This is different! The City of Rubies is in far-off Araby, and is the stuff of legend!"
Daystar nodded. Legendary stuff did sound more interesting than just any ambassador. And "far-off Araby" was promising as well. Far-off places were always more interesting than nearby ones.
He pictured someone in far-off Araby talking about the kingdom his mother had come from as "far-off Linderwall". Even Linderwall sounded interesting from that vantage point, and Daystar would rather eat his own boots than go to Linderwall again.
"I suppose I shall have to ask my diplomacy tutor about this."
"Not right now, your Highness. You will finish conjugating those verbs!"
"Does the delegation speak Latin?"
"I believe so. Their primary language is Arabic, of course, but they're conversant in Latin. Which is why I would like you to conjugate the verbs."
Daystar nodded again, and finished his work.
Meanwhile, in the throne room, Mendanbar and Cimorene were puzzling over the latest letter from the City of Rubies.
"Why do they want a magician? I would think a legendary city would have their own."
"Maybe they need to learn about our magic."
"A bit suspicious."
"Telemain won't tell them any vital secrets."
"Telemain won't tell them anything they can understand," said the queen. "And since we don't know any other magician…"
Cimorene and Mendanbar went to the magic mirror in the castle, and Cimorene told it, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, I would like to make a call."
"Yes, who would you like?"
"Telemain the magician."
The mirror shifted to show a small cottage in the Enchanted Forest. Instead of the magician, though, they were greeted by the sight of a short witch with messy red hair.
"This had better be important…oh, it's you, Cimorene. What is it?"
"We were hoping to talk to Telemain. Some visitors to the palace request the presence of a magician."
"Well, he's not going without me."
"Where is he?"
"In the study with that darn-fool salamander egg. He asked me to take any calls for him. I'll tell him we're expected at the palace. How has Daystar been doing in his lessons? We could teach him magic, you know."
"He needs to learn the magic of the sword, and only Mendanbar can teach him that. Besides, I would hate to separate you and Telemain so soon after your marriage."
"You wouldn't be doing it any more than we do ourselves. He goes off and researches, and I have to work on my own magic. But at least we see each other nearly every day. You know, Cimorene, I've never been clingy. Who's ever heard of a clingy witch? We'd probably both go crazy if we didn't have some time apart."
Mendanbar and Cimorene had had sixteen years apart and decided that was quite enough, thank you, but Cimorene had to admit the witch had a point. It would take a very patient and sensible woman to put up with Telemain, and even then not seeing him every moment had to help.
"Anyway, where's the delegation from and why do they need a magician?"
"The City of Rubies, but they didn't say why they needed a magician."
Morwen left the mirror. When she came back, Telemain was with her. He was wearing a rumpled shirt and looked like he hadn't slept in days, and his short dark beard was slightly singed.
"Why didn't you tell her at once it was the City of Rubies? I would be honored to assist a legendary city in a magical quandary!"
After his Latin lesson, Daystar ran off to find his diplomacy instructor.
"Master Timothy! Why did you not tell me of the delegation from the City of Rubies? I have not learned proper protocol for dealing with them!"
"Your parents didn't tell you?"
"No!"
"And that noxious little reptile didn't tell you?"
"I haven't seen Suz in a while. And he's not a noxious little reptile, he's my friend. You of all people ought to know to be polite to everyone in the Enchanted Forest."
"I am sorry. I would try to be polite to his face, but I have a dreadful fear of scaly creatures."
Now that Daystar thought about it, Master Timothy did always seem to send notes to the palace saying he was ill, or his carriage was at the cartwright's for repair, or his great-aunt died, right when Kazul was scheduled to visit. And Kazul was widely considered one of the nicer dragons.
"But as for this delegation, the king and queen did tell me, but I thought they had also told you, so I did not."
"You could at least have gone to the lessons on Araby! Now I'll make a fool of myself! If you don't mind letting me go, I have to go ask some questions."
"You can go. I still expect that paper by tomorrow."
Daystar found his parents in the throne room, watching the magic mirror. Cimorene looked slightly bored, and when Daystar saw Telemain in the mirror, he knew why.
"Hello, Daystar. Don't you have a lesson? Don't tell me another one of Master Timothy's great-aunts died."
"He let me go. Why didn't you tell me about the delegation? I had to find out from Master Quintus! And they both still gave me homework!"
"I knew I forgot something," said Mendanbar. "I was so busy planning I forgot to tell you."
"You told him. What's he trying to make your ears fall off with this time?"
"This-or-that legendary magical artifact from the City of Rubies. I don't even know."
Daystar had a much more pressing question than anything involving magical artifacts. "How should I prepare for the visitors? We haven't covered Araby yet in Diplomacy."
"Just be as nice to them as you usually are to everyone. There are a few points of etiquette to go over, but decent behavior is for the most part the same everywhere."
"Can I look at your old scripts?" Daystar said.
"Well, there is one with a Vizier, but mainly it's about rebuffing his invariably slimy advances. My scripts weren't even very useful for a princess. I think they'd be little better than toilet paper to a prince."
"Slightly worse, I'd say," said Mendanbar, "because actually using them as toilet paper is not a good idea."
"So who is involved in the delegation?"
"King Samir, of course. Grand Vizier Rashid. Princess Suraya. There are guards and servants along, but we will mainly be dealing with those three."
"If I recall correctly from Politics, the Vizier is the king's second-in-command. He advises the king, but has considerable independent power."
"Rashid ruled the City of Rubies for about a month while King Samir mourned the previous king, his elder brother."
"He didn't try to take over? Aren't they kind of known for that?" asked Daystar.
"The fact that he cheerfully handed the throne back over to Samir says something. If a princess can volunteer for a dragon and a witch doesn't melt in water, who's to say a vizier is always going to do what he's expected to either?"
"You're right, Mother. Can we invite Shiara?"
"No. It would look bad among the dragons if she left, even if she had permission. We can invite the delegation to see Kazul, though. Everyone would be happy with that."
"And so, my liege, that is how I ascertained that our planet's morphology is akin to that of a comestible yellow fruit."
"Telemain! Darn it, the mirror's still on and I've been ignoring you!" said Cimorene. "I'm so sorry!"
"The world isn't banana-shaped," Mendanbar said idly.
"Of course it's not. I just wanted to say something so preposterous that you would notice."
"That, you did."
"So when can I expect our Middle Eastern friends to arrive?"
"They're not our friends yet, Telmy," said Morwen.
"I was speaking rhetorically, or perhaps diplomatically."
"…Telmy?" Daystar said, mainly to himself. He could hardly believe the sensible witch having a nickname for the magician, or for that matter the magician accepting being called by it. In front of his King and Queen no less.
"Friends or not, they will arrive by dinnertime tomorrow. If you'd like to come to the palace before them and get anything set up, you're welcome to," said Cimorene.
"I think I will. No sense in trying to settle my salamander egg while the delegation needs me."
"You're bringing it with you?"
"Of course! If not tended hourly, its combustive properties, if not its very well-being, will be compromised!"
"Then by all means, bring it. Wouldn't want a sickly salamander," said Mendanbar.
"Are we sure the delegation will understand him?" Daystar asked.
"Fear not, your Highness, for I am fairly conversant in Arabic! Some of the finest magical tomes are written in that ancient and noble language. Of course, you do get the occasional lunatic instructing the unfortunate reader in the summoning of extradimensional monstrosities, but I suspect you would in any body of magical literature."
"Whatever you say, Telemain," said Cimorene. "Are you bringing the egg today?"
"Yes. We will be here right away."
Shortly after their magic mirror call, Telemain and Morwen arrived at the palace. Morwen had brushed her hair and put on her fanciest clothes, which for her amounted to a nicer black dress with almost no cat hair on it, and a pointed witch's cap with a purple silk ribbon. Telemain, though his beard still bore scorch marks, looked a sight better than he had in the mirror, wearing a vest the same color as Morwen's ribbon over his customary black tunic and pants. He'd even matched it with an amethyst earring.
"So what happened to your beard, my friend?" Mendanbar asked. The magician was normally as composed as he was talkative; seeing such personal disorder confused the King.
"I miscalculated the necessary temperature and fuel to incubate a salamander's egg, and when I put the egg in the fire an unfortunate reaction occurred."
"It threw sparks and nearly burnt his beard clean off. Luckily he threw a glass of water on it. Though then he came out and complained of having nothing to drink."
"Now I keep one pitcher of water in the study to drink and one for emergencies."
"Good thinking," said Cimorene. "We have a fireplace in the reception hall. You can incubate the egg in that." After Telemain had gone to the reception hall with the egg, he rejoined the others in the throne room.
"Can you teach me any Arabic?" Daystar asked him.
"I doubt it. I learned mine from old books, though I know enough to get by in everyday conversation."
Cimorene doubted Telemain's idea of everyday conversation matched the delegation's. It certainly didn't match hers.
"Should I fetch a translator from the university?" asked Cimorene.
"That will not be necessary. I will use my Latin if I must."
"You do speak that well, right?" asked Daystar.
"I am a magician, your Highness. You clearly have no confidence in my education if you believe I did not learn the ancient language all masters of the arcane arts must master."
"I don't think people understand him in any language," said Morwen. She did, but she was mostly right. He could give the simplest work of magic a wordy description beyond most people's comprehension.
"Did the delegation request that I bring anything special?"
"That's the thing, Telemain. They didn't even say what they needed a magician for."
"Perhaps they have a magical secret they did not wish to have intercepted. I am sure the City of Rubies has powerful enemies."
"That makes sense. Their letter says the Vizier is also a research magician."
"Another research magician! I will thoroughly enjoy talking with him!"
"By the way, Telemain, the City of Amethysts is a noted rival of the City of Rubies. You may wish to go up to the magical wardrobe and change."
"I once bought my own magical wardrobe. Sadly, it was defective."
"What was wrong with ut?"
"I was expecting an uncertainty engine powered by the desires of the user, and instead I acquired an interdimensional teleporting device. It did not even go anywhere interesting. I would have kept it if it had."
"You know, once they actually arrive, it would be nice to wear something other than black robes," said Morwen. "I've always wanted a nice blue dress. And I think you need a cape, Telemain."
"You told me they were awkward and impractical."
"Which makes them just the thing to wear to royal functions," said Cimorene. "I think he'll look quite dashing in it."
"As do I," said Morwen. "And I think his pants ought to be tighter. And he needs a new pair of boots."
"What happened to those?"
"I attempted to turn them into seven-league boots. I got seven-leak boots instead. They're fine unless it's raining outside."
"It's the spring. It's always raining," said Daystar.
"Which is why Telmy needs new boots, isn't it?" asked Morwen. "Incidentally, where should we stay? We don't want to take up a room that you were planning on housing visitors in."
"Well, we have five guest suites. You can have one, and that still leaves one each for the King, his niece, the Vizier, and the two guard captains."
"His niece? The Princess is not his daughter?"
"King Samir only recently took the throne when his brother died. He has a child of his own, but the boy is too young to travel and has not been made an official heir yet. Suraya is still the first in line for the throne, so she must attend diplomatic functions. Of course, if she got married, her husband would be first in line."
"Probably for the best," said Cimorene. "I've seen enough princesses to know that the conventional type wouldn't be good for the kingdom."
"And the guards have two captains?"
"The Queen, or when there is no queen the oldest female heir, is traditionally protected by a squad of warrior women."
"Will accommodating the Queen's Guard and the King's Guard captains together be a problem?" asked Daystar.
"I highly doubt it, the briefing says they have been married for ten years. Thank goodness, too, or someone would have to have Daystar's room."
"What? Why?"
"These people take hospitality extremely seriously, Daystar. They would possibly turn around and leave if we did not have adequate rooms, and I don't think I'd blame them," said Mendanbar. "Willin!" he called to an elf steward writing a list at a nearby desk. "Have four more guest suites prepared and show Telemain and Morwen to theirs. Put them at the end of the hall, next to Daystar. We will have to house the King and Princess nearest ourselves, so they do not think we are giving common people—however magical—precedence over them. Where Daystar resides is none of their concern." Daystar had chosen a room at the end of the hall because it was nearest the swordfighting training room, regardless of how odd it looked that the prince was so far away from the king.
"We'll have to go upstairs and try out that magical wardrobe," Morwen said.
"Try out whatever you like," said Cimorene. "The delegation doesn't arrive until tomorrow afternoon. They quoted five o'clock. As for you, Daystar, return to the study. Master Timothy will give you some basic instruction so that you don't make a fool out of yourself. I expect everyone back here at five tomorrow."