A Lotus for the Regent (13 page)

Ajalira stumbled
in her interpretation at that moment, her voice overcome with emotion. Kamen
turned in his chair to look at her.

“
Are you all right, my lady?” he whispered.

“
I am fine,” she said, and she quickly blinked away tears.

Kamen gave her
time to recover before he asked the Seranimesti lord to proceed giving his
reasons why the Sunjaa should support them. He wanted to banish the Ausir and
ask Ajalira what upset her so.

“
The greatest of all Tamari and founder of their nation, Ellon,”
Tivanel said, “was sword-brother and best friend with Faltari Seranimesti, a
name without equal among my kin. What I am trying to say is this: the
Seranimesti have always been there, always supported the King, whether it be
the line of Kelvirith, God-King, or the line that followed him when the Tamari
returned to be reunited with us, their Larenai brethren.”

So for
friendship's sake alone Kamen should take up their cause? Still, it was
stronger than any claim the Kimereth or Losiengare made. Kamen turned around
and gave Jahen the look he always gave him when he had heard enough, that
prompt the King knew so well.

“
Thank you for your offer,” Jahen said to the Seranimesti. “We shall
consider your words.”

The two Ausir
warriors bowed and departed.

Jahen walked
down the steps of his dais. “Are we going to make an alliance with them? They
seemed honorable to me.”

“
I don't doubt their honor nor their claim,” Kamen said, “but we
aren't making any alliances with any of the factions.”

Jahen just
looked at him with eyes full of questions. He was ready and willing to learn, a
quality Kamen knew would make him a great King someday.

“
We must ultimately refuse all offers of alliance. We cannot afford
to yoke our nation to a fractious people.”

“
So we wait for the Ausir to be united again.”

“
Exactly.” Kamen smoothed back his dreadlocks, happy that one
delegation was taken care of, conscious of the fact that two more awaited a
decision on a completely unrelated matter. “I must see to the Fihdal and Vadal
border dispute.”

“
We must play catch ball later,” Jahen said, his expression hopeful.

“
Of course.”

Jahen left, and
Kamen turned to Ajalira only to find her still staring at Saerileth. The
Lotus's presence seemed to upset her deeply.

“
My lady,” Kamen said, drawing her attention. He wanted to ask her
why she had suddenly wept during her interpretation, but now was not the right
time. “Thank you for interpreting so smoothly.”

“
My pleasure.” Ajalira ran her hands down the sides of her
translucent gown. “Is this appropriate in front of everybody?”

Kamen smiled and
felt his cock swell beneath his skirt. Her pink nipples poked through the
fabric. “It's Sunjaa fashion, and you wear it well. But you still have your
Zenji pallav and skirt, don't you?”

Ajalira's eyes
hardened, and her lips formed a thin line. She glared at Saerileth as she spoke.
“I will never wear that again. It is a slave's dress.”

“
It is not.” Saerileth's voice surprised Kamen, for she was right
behind him. “I wear my native clothing with pride. I am a Lotus, and no one
calls me whore or slave.”

“
Yes, but you had a choice. I did not.” Ajalira's voice trembled with
barely checked rage.

“
I was sold to the guild when I was five,” Saerileth said, “after my
whole family was massacred. I had no choice at all.”

Ajalira's mouth
closed, having no ready response.

“
Very few of us have choices in our lives.” Saerileth placed a hand
on Kamen's shoulder, and Ajalira's eyes flashed. “Take Lord Itenu, the Regent,
for example. He did not want to be Regent. I suggested he be made so, and the
people agreed. He did not want this, and yet he leads well. He rules over the
greatest kingdom of Men as any captain might command his crew.”

“
He is the best of men,” Ajalira said with tenderness.

Saerileth nodded
slightly and smiled. “Indeed.”

Kamen's heart
raced. They talked about him as if he were not there, but it was Ajalira's
praise that excited him. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was. He wanted
her to know that he had fallen in love with her the moment she had had the
courage to step up and tell him of the Ausir's double dealing. He wanted to put
her shattered self-worth back together and hold her in his arms, kiss her neck,
and bring out the sensual woman he knew languished just beneath her facade.

Saerileth was
gone. She had vanished while Kamen's thoughts blinded him to his surroundings.
Only Ajalira stood before him, and before he could do something foolish like
force another kiss on her, he said, “I must see to the Fihdal and Vadal. Meet
later for supper?”

Ajalira nodded
and smiled. “I would like that.”

****

The ballroom was
packed, and though every noble and important person in Arinport was present,
Kamen could not take his eyes from Ajalira. She moved freely among the people,
and she had grown in the past week more comfortable with the translucent Sunjaa
fashions. Men turned their heads and watched her with admiration as she passed,
but she paid them no more heed than politeness required. She had decorated her
horns with some kind of blue ink, a color that brought out the loveliness of
her eyes. She looked at Kamen often, and every time she did, Kamen smiled. She
returned his smiles. They had breakfasted every morning together for the past
week, and though he had learned much of her history, he still sensed that she
hid some great mystery from him. Though they had grown closer, Kamen still felt
like she held him at arm's length. Try as he might, he could get no nearer. He
had flowers delivered to her apartments every morning, and every morning she
thanked him for them. Was it mere courtesy that she spent so much time with
him, or could it be that she, too, felt something growing between them? Kamen
was willing to take his time. She was worth waiting for, and he was confident
that, given time, she would open up to him in more ways than one.

Darien shocked
Kamen by his sudden appearance. “Darien!”

“
Well, Regent, how are things?” Darien towered over Kamen and smiled
broadly, his manner as open and easy as ever.

Kamen clasped
his old friend by the forearm in a rough sailor's greeting. “Things are going
well. It's nice to see you.”

Darien half turned
and eyed the crowd. “So, how'd you do it?”

“
Do what?”

“
Get the Vadal and Fihdal to stop whining at you.”

Kamen laughed.
Darien's straightforward talk, so different from the innuendos of court, was
refreshing. It reminded him of Ajalira's extreme forthrightness. “The Vadal
have been trying to push through some uninhabited southern areas of the Fihdal
empire to reach the sea.”

“
They want a port.”

“
Exactly. They were willing to go to war over it, so that's why they
came to me.”

“
The great arbiter, Kamen Itenu. I never would have thought.”

Kamen looked
into his friend's eyes and saw the memories of their days sailing together. “It
suits me now. Anyway, the Fihdal didn't want to give the Vadal anything, of
course. So I listened to them bicker until I couldn't stand it anymore. I
locked myself in a room with old maps and studied the ancient borders of our
lands. When I found crumbling maps of the Sunjaa nation pre-dating the arrival
of the Fihdal and Vadal, I was able to trace the growth of their empires.”

Darien snorted.
“Empires!”

“
I know,” Kamen said, “but let them have their little vanities.” The
Sunjaa were greater than their northern neighbors could ever be, and they did
not fancy themselves an empire. “I gave the Vadal the land they wanted.”

“
And the Fihdal just accepted that?”

“
They asked me to arbitrate, but I said I'd only do so if they
promised to abide by my decision. I gave the Fihdal some Vadal lands in
exchange. I used an older division of the land, one before the Vadal spread
themselves too thin in the north, one when they still had a port. So now, the
land the Vadal are getting is on our northern border, right next to Masnaport.”

“
So the Fihdal will think twice about trying to take it back in the
future.”

Kamen looked
Darien over, admiring his muscular bare chest and winding water serpent tattoo.
“So, what are you doing here? This is the first time you have met me socially
in six years. Six years. Why now?”

Darien's
ever-present smile evaporated, and he dropped his voice. “Saeri told me that it
wouldn't hurt you anymore to see me. You're my best friend, and I don't want to
hurt you.”

Kamen
understood. Darien could not love Kamen the way Kamen had wanted him to, so to
keep from daily torturing his friend with his presence, Darien had stayed away.
“Thank you.”

The sound of
flutes and harps cut short the low hum of conversation, and the people cleared
the floor, setting down their cups and readying themselves for the first
number. Kamen looked past Darien and beckoned to Ajalira. He wondered if she
might honor him with a dance.

Chapter Seven

Ajalira smiled
as she looked out across the Sunjaa King's hall. She had been here for over a
week, and she found it lovelier than any place she had ever known, even fairer
than her childhood home on her father's estate.

“
Interpreter.” One of the Fihdal ambassadors bowed to her.

Ajalira returned
his bow with a slight one of her own. She knew that these men found her
desirable, particularly in these Sunjaa garments that left nothing to the
imagination, but she did not care. She was a free woman now, and their
attraction could not touch her. She was, of course, sullied, but that did not
mean that she had to lower herself further. She was utterly cold to all of
them.

“
Interpreter.” This time the greeting was in Ausir, and Ajalira felt
the blood in her cheeks as one of her own kind boldly appraised her body.

“
Lord Seranimesti.” Ajalira nodded, but she did not stay to speak
with him. Though it might seem strange to her, these garments were not immodest
by the standards of the Sunjaa realm where she found herself. By the standards
of the Regent.

Ajalira could
not help herself. Her eyes sought him out, but she already knew where he was.
She always knew. She could feel him, feel his nobility blazing into her soul.
He was tall and proud and wise, and her flesh burned when she looked on him. He
stood, clad in the simple finery of a Sunjaa lord, the translucent linen skirt
with the fine cotton loincloth beneath, the soft leather sandals, and the gold
shawl-necklace resting on his scarred chest. Broad gold bands hugged his
biceps, and a gold cord held back the thick dreadlocks she so much wanted to
touch. He moved with a leonine grace, and she loved how everyone in the room
acknowledged his superiority.

A smile played
over her lips as she swept her gaze over all three of the Ausir ambassadors.
The Kimereth and Losiengare had sent ambassadors, though not the lords
themselves, to sue for Kamen's favor. He was courted by even the Ausir, and she
knew that not even their ancient eyes could find fault with the Sunjaa custom.
The Fihdal and Vadal had come to him for arbitration, and no one questioned the
Sunjaa right to decide.
Kamen's
right to decide. He held the fate of
nations in his hands, and the weight of more peoples even than his own rested
on his shoulders.

His world was
larger than hers. His problems were greater than her own. What did she have to
concern her beyond personal shame? No danger touched her here. Kamen's hand
covered her, and no one in all the west would dare try to dishonor her. And yet
she saw no one on whom Kamen could lean, no one to whom he could turn ...
except for the Lotus.

Ajalira
swallowed all the wine in her cup. She did not recall when she had taken the
cup, and she did not taste the liquid as she swallowed it. The Lotus. Saerileth
Kesandrahn. Concubine to the Lord Admiral. The court interpreter until Ajalira
had taken up the post.

Fire burned in
Ajalira's belly. Why should the Regent depend on this Lotus? This slave-whore?

But her mind
answered her as quickly as the tears pricked her eyes. The Sunjaa—the
Regent—did not view the Lotuses as whores. Saerileth was an honored woman in
Arinport. Kamen respected her. Was that all there was to it? Was there no more
between them than respect?

“
Will you dance, Interpreter?” The Seranimesti lord was at her side
once more, and he bowed in Ausir fashion to her. “I would be pleased to learn
more of you.”