, or at a bookstore near you.From Chapter 19
It was mid-afternoon, and the courtyard was half in shadow. A gentle breeze stirred the air, carrying the songs of birds from outside the palace gate. Within, the courtyard echoed with nervous footsteps, and worry paced along with Glishenda as she awaited word on one long lost to her home, but not her heart.
Glishenda turned with a start, but it was only fl’Shenda, the housemaster.
“Yes, Shendi, what is it?”
“It is Fondro,” the servant replied with a bow. “He wishes— ”
“Show him to me at once!” Glishenda interjected. “He brings word—oh, I pray it to be so.”
“I know not, Lady Glishek,” said fl’Shenda, smiling sadly to show he did not take offense at her shortness.
“Oh, I am sorry, fl’Shenda. It is just....”
The old housemaster raised his hand to slow the flood or words, and affection flooded his heart. “I understand, Mistress. And I do share your hopes, My Lady. As in the past, so through the morrow.”
Glishenda smiled gratefully. Fl’Shenda had been part of her family since the old days, since long before she came to the House of Galgravina. If nobility were truly in the heart, as philosophers of old had written, then fl’Shenda belonged among the House of the Ages.
“Please, Shenda, bring him to me.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
As the old man left, Glishenda sighed deeply to regain her composure. She did not wish to show weakness, in case gal’Fondro brought news of tragedy. As she heard the approach of footsteps, her heart filled with foreboding, only to sing with relief when she sensed hope in the soul of gal’Fondro.
“He is safe?”
“The last word is that he is moving toward a safe harbor,” smiled gal’Fondro. “There is still danger, but no reason to suppose the worst. We shall not know more until the storm begins to clear.”
“What foolishness!” snapped Glishenda, her worry giving way to anger.
“Ga’Glish has a strong sense of duty.”
“Duty can rot in the fields. It is no more than pride and foolishness that sends him chasing a ship full of longnoses. And what is the purpose, when the ship is heading straight into port, to circle the heavens in full sight of his home?”
“There is a reason.”
“With men there is always a reason,” Glishenda laughed tartly, “though ‘reason’ is hardly the term I would employ for such silliness. It is far too flattering, to my way of thinking.”
Gal’Fondro laughed good-naturedly. Glishenda was a woman of many accomplishments, not the least of which was her unerring ability to captivate the men around her while deflating their egos to a manageable size.
“And what of Glishek. Does he still— ”
“He professes no concern with the vicissitudes of space,” Glishenda said wryly, “though he has developed a sudden interest in monitoring transmissions between gr’Shuna and the local skies.”
“I imagine he is more worried than he admits.”
“Oh, he is another one for foolishness, Fondro, though at his age, I suspect that it is as much habit as anything else. His son’s excuse is not as readily apparent.”
“I suspect,” replied gal’Fondro, amusement flaring his eyes, “that it may be something in the blood.”
Glishenda laughed merrily at the jest, and Fondro thought that it had been quite a while since she had shown such good spirits. The mate of a provincial governor could hardly see life as a succession of festivals, and Lady Glishek had known more than her share of sadness.
“Ga’Glishek should hear word of his son,” gal’Fondro said at last. “I shall tell him.”
“No,” interrupted Glishenda. “I shall tell. Ga’Glish is my son, as well. And a mate is permitted liberties with form, even more than an old friend.”
Gal’Fondro bowed. “Then I shall be— ”
“Yes, I know. Attending to details.
“As in the past— ”
“ — so through the morrow.”
“Yes, and even yet, nothing is ever done to his satisfaction. It is his failing and his strength.”
“And his son’s as well,” laughed Glishenda, reaching to embrace her mate’s old friend. “Good bye, Fondro. And may your duties fall as lightly as morning dew.”
Gal’Fondro departed, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Soon, she too departed from the courtyard, to walk down the marble corridor leading to the Hallway of Rites and to the Governor’s chambers. Her mate was a proud man, she thought, and she would ever thrill in his triumphs as she consoled him through adversity. But Ga’Glish was just as proud, and possessed his own lust for achievement. It was a pity that male pride was so unaccommodating as to preclude two such ones from sharing a common roof, as they shared their bond of blood.
© 2009 by Jeffrey Caminsky
* * *
It was mid-afternoon, and the courtyard was half in shadow. A gentle breeze stirred the air, carrying the songs of birds from outside the palace gate. Within, the courtyard echoed with nervous footsteps, and worry paced along with Glishenda as she awaited word on one long lost to her home, but not her heart.“My Lady?”
“Yes, Shendi, what is it?”
“It is Fondro,” the servant replied with a bow. “He wishes— ”
“Show him to me at once!” Glishenda interjected. “He brings word—oh, I pray it to be so.”
“I know not, Lady Glishek,” said fl’Shenda, smiling sadly to show he did not take offense at her shortness.
“Oh, I am sorry, fl’Shenda. It is just....”
The old housemaster raised his hand to slow the flood or words, and affection flooded his heart. “I understand, Mistress. And I do share your hopes, My Lady. As in the past, so through the morrow.”
Glishenda smiled gratefully. Fl’Shenda had been part of her family since the old days, since long before she came to the House of Galgravina. If nobility were truly in the heart, as philosophers of old had written, then fl’Shenda belonged among the House of the Ages.
“Please, Shenda, bring him to me.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
As the old man left, Glishenda sighed deeply to regain her composure. She did not wish to show weakness, in case gal’Fondro brought news of tragedy. As she heard the approach of footsteps, her heart filled with foreboding, only to sing with relief when she sensed hope in the soul of gal’Fondro.
“He is safe?”
“The last word is that he is moving toward a safe harbor,” smiled gal’Fondro. “There is still danger, but no reason to suppose the worst. We shall not know more until the storm begins to clear.”
“What foolishness!” snapped Glishenda, her worry giving way to anger.
“Ga’Glish has a strong sense of duty.”
“Duty can rot in the fields. It is no more than pride and foolishness that sends him chasing a ship full of longnoses. And what is the purpose, when the ship is heading straight into port, to circle the heavens in full sight of his home?”
“There is a reason.”
“With men there is always a reason,” Glishenda laughed tartly, “though ‘reason’ is hardly the term I would employ for such silliness. It is far too flattering, to my way of thinking.”
Gal’Fondro laughed good-naturedly. Glishenda was a woman of many accomplishments, not the least of which was her unerring ability to captivate the men around her while deflating their egos to a manageable size.
“And what of Glishek. Does he still— ”
“He professes no concern with the vicissitudes of space,” Glishenda said wryly, “though he has developed a sudden interest in monitoring transmissions between gr’Shuna and the local skies.”
“I imagine he is more worried than he admits.”
“Oh, he is another one for foolishness, Fondro, though at his age, I suspect that it is as much habit as anything else. His son’s excuse is not as readily apparent.”
“I suspect,” replied gal’Fondro, amusement flaring his eyes, “that it may be something in the blood.”
Glishenda laughed merrily at the jest, and Fondro thought that it had been quite a while since she had shown such good spirits. The mate of a provincial governor could hardly see life as a succession of festivals, and Lady Glishek had known more than her share of sadness.
“Ga’Glishek should hear word of his son,” gal’Fondro said at last. “I shall tell him.”
“No,” interrupted Glishenda. “I shall tell. Ga’Glish is my son, as well. And a mate is permitted liberties with form, even more than an old friend.”
Gal’Fondro bowed. “Then I shall be— ”
“Yes, I know. Attending to details.
“As in the past— ”
“ — so through the morrow.”
“Yes, and even yet, nothing is ever done to his satisfaction. It is his failing and his strength.”
“And his son’s as well,” laughed Glishenda, reaching to embrace her mate’s old friend. “Good bye, Fondro. And may your duties fall as lightly as morning dew.”
Gal’Fondro departed, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Soon, she too departed from the courtyard, to walk down the marble corridor leading to the Hallway of Rites and to the Governor’s chambers. Her mate was a proud man, she thought, and she would ever thrill in his triumphs as she consoled him through adversity. But Ga’Glish was just as proud, and possessed his own lust for achievement. It was a pity that male pride was so unaccommodating as to preclude two such ones from sharing a common roof, as they shared their bond of blood.
© 2009 by Jeffrey Caminsky
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