The story was delayed while Arram entirely rewrote the ending. I think the second half is much stronger, now, but it took longer than expected to deal with all of the changes that I'll need.

Next chapter: Strings

The Emperor's Mage
Chapter Eight: Jealous

Daine hadn't meant to show off. She was glad to have the excuse to bring her bow along, but she'd intended to find a easy enough target, shoot a few arrows to reassure herself that she wasn't already out of practice, and move on to the stables. That plan vanished with the fourth taunt from the Carthaki soldiers stunned to see a Tortallan woman with a longbow. They had gotten used to Alanna winning against all challenges with a sword, and had decided that it was no shame to lose to the Lioness.

They had no excuses in place for a sixteen-year-old Northerner named for her ma, and she had to grit her teeth against the familiar whispers. To his credit, Arram stopped anything that he heard about her reputation or her ma, but she knew they wouldn't shut up unless they had something else to talk about. She'd just have to make sure they were suitably distracted.

With her irritation fully in mind, she marched to the farthest target. It was barely within the range of her longbow, but it would do nicely. No one was at that target's line to challenge her for the place, so she was free to ignore the incredulous crowd as she grimly strung her bow. She took her time choosing her arrows, delicately setting them head-down into the soft earth of the archery court, and only straightened when she had two dozen arrows in a careful line at her feet, and her lucky griffon-fletched arrow in her hand.

The crowd hushed when she nocked the arrow and set her sights on the distant target. It turned quiet enough to hear the horses three fields over when her arrow sank into very center of the bullseye. She followed that arrow with several others, then made a ring around the central portion with the remaining arrows. It was a rudely ostentatious move, but she'd learned it for embarrassing arrogant Rider trainees into accepting her as the instructor. She didn't turn around until she had checked her bowstring meticulously for any signs of wear.

At least thirty soldiers, most of them scarcely older than she was, were staring at her. Some of them kept glancing back toward her target, but most focused entirely on her.

Arram stepped to her side, as if it was the kind of thing he did every day, and turned a withering look on the gathered men. "I do hope that you are finished dishonoring his majesty's specially invited guest. Should Mistress Sarrasri choose to return to the archery court, I know you will show more courtesy."

It was rather nice to have one of the scariest mages on the planet speaking her part. The incredulous looks faded into bashful shame, and a man with silver hair at his temples stepped forward. He actually bowed to her, and when he met her eyes he looked genuinely regretful. "I hope that you will accept my sincere apologies, Mistress Sarrasri. It was an honor to see the potential behind such a simple weapon, and I hope that you will grace my range again. My name is Nakul. None of my men will bother you further."

Daine had never been one for holding grudges, and the lines in the man's face hadn't been put there by scowling. She nodded regally, Alanna's preferred response to acknowledge people that had come around, but Daine tempered the gesture with a smile. "It would be my pleasure, Nakul."

"I'll fetch your arrows from the target for you. They will be delivered to your rooms, along with replacements for any that were broken."

Nakul promptly had several volunteers competing for the job. A few of them obviously wanted Daine's attention, but Arram chose that moment to remind her of the horse he had mentioned. It was the same strategy her teacher had been using for the last two years. When Lindhall was too bothered by the ways that boys would watch her, he'd start talking about some new animal or a new book of anatomy. So far, Daine hadn't met any two-legger boy more interesting than her friends in the People.

The horse's name was Hanan. She was a chestnut mare of a very, very expensive line of horses, and she was lame in her front right leg. Any other horse might have been killed after four months without much progress, but Hanan had always been a personal favorite of his majesty. She could manage very short bursts of motion, but none of the nation's healers had been able to heal her. The birds were much more personal to Ozorne, but he had been attached to the spirited horse that didn't balk at embellishment.

Daine hadn't the faintest idea how to improve on the horse's care. The soreness was exactly at the back of the cannon bone, like she'd seen in a couple of the knights' great charges, and the tendon for deep flexor was definitely the one with the bad strain. Hanan didn't know what had been different the day that her leg had begun to hurt, but had wonderful things to say about the gold-man that still visited with treats and praise. The stables' healers were doing exactly as anyone in Tortall would have, but she had to do something.

Hanan was very polite while Daine re-wrapped the injury, and held the right front leg completely still as Daine worked. It was far easier to get horses to cooperate while Daine could whisper everything that she was going to do. Given a little warning about when her touch would hurt, and why that hurt was necessary, the spirited Carthaki mare was as meek as a Gallan rock-dove.

One of the stable workers pressed a treat into Daine's hand just as she was promising to visit Hanan again. That made the parting a little easier, especially when Daine mentioned that a few of the men had the curry brush out already. She could have talked with the hostlers for the entire day, but if she was late to dinner she'd have Alanna and Lindhall and everyone in a panic.

"I wish that I could have helped her," Daine said as she walked back to the palace with Arram. "I tried a few of the things that you mentioned, but Hanan didn't feel anything."

Arram didn't say a word for several steps. When she looked over at him, he appeared to be holding a silent debate.

"You might as well tell me." Daine kept the words light, to better hide that she was dying with curiosity. "Even Lindhall admits that you know more about wild magic than anybody."

"You weren't using your magic."

Daine frowned. "What do you mean? I'm using my magic to talk with any of the People, and we had a good long talk."

When Arram finally did respond, the words all flowed together like one of the professors at Corus's academy. "You don't actually need to speak out loud for the animals to hear and understand you. It's a very passive use of your abilities, even if it takes a very strong magical core to begin at all. The Banjiku have a similar talent, but comparing their level of magic to yours is like setting a candle against a bonfire. You have more wild magic than anyone that I've ever seen."

Daine couldn't understand the man at all. He was aloof sometimes, and wore enough wealth to buy all of the land in Galla for himself just as well as anyone could ask, but other times he ran messages to and from a kitchen to help a friend, or his eyes lit up when he talked about her magic.

"I do?"

"Indisputably. You don't know how to use it, if I may be so rude as to phrase it so bluntly, but I think I know how you can start. I'll need to recheck a few facts, but I believe I could help you."

They were walking through the halls of the palace, then, and Daine wasn't the only one surprised by just how warm the man's voice could turn when he was focusing on some puzzle or other. A few passing nobles watched him curiously, and the passing slaves looked just as confused.

"I would like that, Arram." Despite his invitation two days before, it was her first time addressing him by his first name. It seemed like he was at least three different people, sometimes, and this was the version she liked best.

"I have a few commitments tomorrow that aren't worth breaking, but... the next day, perhaps? No one will disturb us in the aviary, and I'll swear by whatever you like to not betray your trust in me."

Daine was a fool, maybe, but she'd been right about people so far. Animals liked him, no matter what the rest of the world said, and the People hadn't led her wrong yet. She held out her hand in the tradition of a peasant making a deal, and he clasped it in the next instant. "I would be honored to work with you."

That would have been the end of it. He smiled at her, they shook hands, and they would work together again in two days' time. She did rather abruptly realize that he was a very attractive man under all of that power, but she also thought that George was handsome, and the king, and Sarge, and Evin, and quite a few of her male friends. It would have been nothing of note as they turned to go their separate ways, but Lindhall was coming down the hall at exactly the wrong time.

He had seen the two of them shaking hands, that was all, but that was enough for Lindhall to look as if he'd caught the pair of them canoodling in the aviary.

Before Daine could say a word, Lindhall had vanished back into his rooms, and she was left alone in the corridor.