Fool’s Quest

“It’s bear. Bear bacon,” I told her. There was a folded sheet of pale-blue paper on the tray as well. I unfolded it and perused it quickly. “There’s a note here, from Queen Malta. She asks that as soon as we have breakfasted, we join her downstairs. The children will be waiting there.” I tried to keep foreboding from my voice as I relayed the message.

“You will do your best, Fitz. You’ve warned them.”

“Warning does not prevent disappointment,” I said. Of Spark, I asked, “Do you know if Perseverance is awake yet? And if Lord Lant has been summoned as well?”

“Yes to both, sir. Perseverance has leapt at the chance to be shown a bit of the city by one of the other serving boys. And Lant, I believe, went with them.”

I had not foreseen that. “Very well,” I said faintly. How befuddled had I been last night, not to have warned them to stay close? Some of my trepidation must have shown on my face for Spark added, “I’m sure they’ll be safe, sir. What you did for the prince last night? It was all the servants could gossip about this morning. They were very impressed and eager to be kind to us.”

“I wish Lant and Per had been a bit more cautious,” I grumbled. Amber lifted one shoulder in a delicate shrug.

Spark seemed to already know her way about the Greeting Hall. Amber put her hand on my arm and I followed Spark down the passage I recalled from the night before. “There are no windows at all,” I observed. “Only painted images of windows with views that move as if real when one pauses to look at them.”

“I’d dearly love to see them,” Amber said wistfully in the Fool’s voice.

“I wish you could,” I rejoined, and her grip on my arm tightened for a moment.

As soon as we reached the ground floor, a serving man came to meet us. “This way, if you please. King Reyn and Queen Malta await you in the Reception Hall.”

But when we approached the door of the chamber, General Rapskal stood before it, his arms crossed on his chest. Now that I was somewhat rested and alert, not to mention recovered from our Skill-portal journey, he looked less imposing. Part of that was that he had no dragon with him. Amber’s grip on my arm tightened slightly. “What is it?”

I lifted my voice. “General Rapskal. So nice to meet you under more pleasant circumstances.”

“You escort a thief.”

My smile was bland. “I do not take your meaning, sir.”

His gaze flickered to Amber, lingered for a moment on her eyes, and then came back to me. “Perhaps not. But you shall.”

He pushed away from the wall he had leaned on and stood blocking our way. The servant who had been leading us gave a small gasp of dismay and scampered away. No help from that quarter, then. I set my weight on the balls of my feet. Amber felt that slight shift and lifted her hand from my arm so I’d be free to move quickly if I had to.

“Let me be plain, then. The women who accompany you were prowlers in the streets of Kelsingra but four nights ago. They dared to invade a part of our city that is forbidden to travelers.”

Four nights. Four nights. We’d lost time in the portal again . . . I snapped my thoughts back to the present. “And they supposedly stole something? What did they steal?” I tried to keep my voice bemused. The news of the time loss rattled me more than his accusation of theft.

He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. His scaling flushed with sudden color. I felt his anger as an undirected ripple of Skill. Somewhere, a dragon trumpeted shrilly. He glared at Lady Amber who stared blindly ahead, her expression puzzled. I heard footsteps approaching behind me and turned my head just enough to catch them at the edge of my vision. Two Elderlings approached, in battle harness similar to that their general wore. One was short and broad, almost squat for an Elderling. The other at his side had the tall, lanky build I had come to regard as normal. Both wore sheathed swords, as did their general. I was unarmed, assuming that, as at Buckkeep Castle, one did not wear a weapon when summoned to an audience with the king. This could go very badly for us in a very short time. From the corner of my eye, I saw Spark unobtrusively sidle up to Amber’s unguarded flank. Thank you, Foxglove. I hoped she had a knife in her boot.

“Take them into custody,” Rapskal ordered his men. “We need to confine them to a secure area for questioning.”

The Fool had always been an excellent actor, long trained to concealing his thoughts and feelings. But torture breaks many things in a man. He took a tiny, audible breath and then stood very still.

“If it please you, General Rapskal,” I intervened, “we are summoned to a meeting with the king and queen this morning. Spark, have you the note we received?”

“Yes, my lord. It is here.”

I did not turn to look at her. I heard the rustle of her garments as she sought a note in her pocket. I hoped she also took the opportunity to be sure the smaller tools of our trade were ready to her hands. How well had Chade trained her? And where was Lant? Already taken into custody?