Assassin 3 - Royal Assassin (8 page)

A smile curved his lips and his hand fell on my
shoulder in a heavy pat. Well, l asked you, did I not? For a moment
I would have sworn it was old Chivalry instructing me in handling
my men, rather than my young nephew. Your trip to Jhaampe has quite
changed you, boy. Come. I meant what I said about a warmer spot and
a glass of something. Kettricken will be wanting to see you later
in the day. And Patience, too, I imagine.

My heart sank as he heaped the tasks before me.
Buckkeep Town pulled at me like a lodestone. But this was my
king-in-waiting. I bowed my head to his will.

We left the tower and I followed him down the
stairs, speaking of inconsequential things. He told me to tell
Mistress Hasty I needed new clothes; I asked after Leon, his
wolfhound. He stopped a lad in the corridor and asked him to bring
wine and meat pies to his study. I followed him, not up to his
chambers, but to a lower room at once familiar and strange. The
last time I had been in it, Fedwren the scribe had been using it to
sort and dry herbs and shells and roots for the making of his inks.
All signs of that had been cleared from it. A fire burned low in
the small hearth. Verity poked this up and added wood as I looked
around. There was a large carved oak table and two smaller ones, a
variety of chairs, a scroll rack, and a battered shelf littered
with miscellaneous objects. Spread out on the table was the
beginnings of a map of the Chalced States. The corners of it were
weighted with a dagger and three stones. Various scraps of
parchment that littered the tabletop were covered with Verity's
hand and preliminary sketches with notes scratched across them. The
friendly litter that covered the two smaller tables and several of
the chairs seemed familiar. After a moment I recognized it as the
layer of Verity's possessions that had previously been scattered
about his bedchamber. Verity rose from awakening the fire and
smiled ruefully at my raised eyebrows. My queen-in-waiting has
small patience with clutter. `How,' she asked me, `can you hope to
create precise lines in the midst of such disorder?' Her own
chamber has the precision of a military encampment. So I hide
myself away down here, for I quickly found that in a clean and
sparse chamber I could get no work done at all. Besides, it gives
me a place for quiet talk, where not all know to seek
me.

He had scarcely finished speaking when the door
opened to admit Charim with a tray. I nodded to Verity's serving
man, who not only seemed unsurprised to see me, but had added to
Verity's request a certain type of spice bread that I had always
enjoyed. He moved about the room briefly, making perfunctory
tidying motions as he shifted a few books and scrolls to free a
chair for me, and then vanished again. Verity was so accustomed to
him he scarce seemed to notice him, save for the brief smile they
exchanged as Charim left.

So, he said, as soon as the door was fairly
shut. Let's have a full report. From the time you left
Buckkeep.

This was not a simple recounting of my journey
and the events of it. I had been trained by Chade to be a spy as
well as an assassin. And since my earliest days Burrich had always
demanded that I be able to give a detailed account of anything that
went on in the stables in his absence. So as we ate and drank I
gave Verity an accounting of all I had seen and done since I had
left Buckkeep. This was followed by my summation of what I had
concluded from my experiences, and then by what I suspected from
what I had learned. By then, Charim had returned with another meal.
While we consumed this Verity limited our talk to his warships. He
could not conceal his enthusiasm for them. Mastfish has come down
to supervise the building. I went up to Highdowns myself to fetch
him. He claimed to be an old man now. `The cold would stiffen my
bones; I can't build a boat in winter anymore, that was the word he
sent me. So I set the apprentices work, and I myself went to fetch
him. He could not refuse me to my face. When he got here, I took
him down to the shipyards. And I showed him the heated shed, big
enough to house a warship, built so he might work and not be cold.
But that was not what convinced him. It was the white oak that
Kettricken brought me. When he saw the timber, he could not wait to
put a drawknife to it. The grain is straight and true throughout.
The planking is well begun already. They will be lovely ships,
swan-necked, sinuous as snakes upon the water. Enthusiasm spilled
from him. I could already imagine the rising and falling of the
oars, the bellying of the square masts when they were under
way.

Then the dishes and oddments were pushed to one
side, and he began to quiz me upon the events in Jhaampe. He forced
me to reconsider each separate incident from every possible
perspective. By the time he was finished with me, I had relived the
entire episode and my anger at my betrayal was fresh and vivid once
more.

Verity was not blind to it. He leaned back in
his chair to reach for another log. He flipped it onto the fire,
sending a shower of sparks up the chimney. You have questions, he
observed. This time you may ask them. He folded his hands quietly
into his lap and waited.

I tried to master my emotions. Prince Regal,
your brother, I began carefully, is guilty of the highest treason.
He arranged the killing of your bride's elder brother, Prince
Rurisk. He attempted a plot that would have resulted in your death.
His aim was to usurp both your crown and your bride. As little more
than a spice, he twice tried to kill me. And Burrich. I paused to
breathe, forcing my heart and voice back to calmness.

You and I both accept those things as true. They
would be difficult for us to prove, Verity observed
mildly.

And he relies upon that! I spat out, and then
turned my face aside from Verity until I could master my anger. The
very intensity of it frightened me, for I had not allowed myself to
feel it until now. Months ago, when I was using all my wits to stay
alive, I had pushed it aside to keep my mind clear. There had
followed the wasting months of convalescence as I recovered from
Regal's botched poisoning attempt. Not even to Burrich had I been
able to tell all, for Verity had made it clear that he wished no
one to know any more about the situation than could be helped. Now
I stood before my prince and trembled with the force of my own
anger. My face spasmed suddenly in a violent series of twitches.
That dismayed me enough that I was able to force calm upon myself
once more.

Regal relies upon it, I said more quietly. All
this while Verity had not budged nor changed expression despite my
outburst. He sat gravely at his end of the table, his work-scarred
hands composed before him, watching me with dark eyes. I looked
down at the tabletop and traced with a fingertip the carved
scrollwork on the corner. He does not admire you, that you keep the
laws of the kingdom. He sees it as a weakness, as a way to
circumvent justice. He may try to kill you again. Almost certainly,
he will make an attempt upon me.

Then we must be careful, we two, mustn't we?
Verity observed mildly.

I lifted my eyes to look him in the face. That
is all you say to me? I asked tightly, choking down my
outrage.

FitzChivalry. I am your prince. I am your
king-in-waiting. You are sworn to me, as much as to my father. And,
if it comes to it, you are sworn to my brother as well. Verity rose
suddenly to take a pace around the room. Justice. There's a thing
we shall ever thirst after, and ever be parched. No. We content
ourselves with law. And this is only more true, the higher a man's
rank rises. Justice would put you next in line for the throne,
Fitz. Chivalry was my elder brother. But law says you were born
outside of wedlock, and hence can never make any claim to the
crown. Some might say I had snatched the throne from my brother's
son. Should I be shocked that my younger brother should want to
grab it from me?

I had never heard Verity speak like this, his
voice so even but so fraught with emotion. I kept
silent.

You think I should punish him. I could. I need
not prove his wrongdoing to make life unpleasant for him. I could
send him as emissary to Cold Bay, on some contrived errand, and
keep him there, in uncomfortable conditions, far from court. I
could all but banish him. Or I could keep him here at court, but so
load him with unpleasant duties that he has no time for that which
amuses him. He would understand he was being punished. So would
every noble with half a wit. Those who sympathize with him would
rally to his defense. The Inland Duchies could contrive some
emergency in his mother's land that demanded the presence of her
son. Once there, he could build further support for himself. He
might very well be able to foment the civil unrest he sought
before, and found an inland kingdom loyal only to him. Even if he
did not achieve that end, he could cause enough unrest to steal the
unity I must have if I am to defend our kingdom.

He stopped speaking. He lifted his eyes and
glanced around the room. I followed his gaze. The walls were hung
with his maps. There was Bea
rn
s, there was Shoaks, and here was Rippon.
On the opposite wall, Buck, Farrow, and Tilth. All done in Verity's
precise hand, every river blue-inked, every town named. Here were
his Six Duchies. He knew them as Regal never would. He had ridden
those roads, helped set the markers of those boundaries. Following
Chivalry, he had treated with the folk who bordered our lands. He
had swung a sword in defense of it, and known when to set down that
sword and negotiate a peace. Who was I to be telling him how to
rule at home?

What will you do? I asked quietly.

Keep him. He is my brother. And my father's son.
He poured himself more wine. My father's most cherished; youngest
son. I have gone to my father, the King, and suggested that Regal
might be more content with his lot if he had more to do with the
running of the kingdom. King Shrewd has consented to this. I expect
to be much occupied with defending our land from the Red-Ships. So
to Regal will fall the task of raising the revenues we shall need,
and he will also be dealing with any other internal crises that may
arise. With a circle of nobles to assist him, of course. He is full
welcome to deal with their bickering and dissensions.

And Regal is content with this?

Verity smiled a thin smile. He cannot say he is
not. Not if he wishes to keep the image of a young man adept at
ruling and but waiting for opportunity to prove himself. He lifted
his wineglass and turned to stare into the fire. The only sound in
the room was the snapping of the flames as they consumed the wood.
When you come to me tomorrow, he began.

Tomorrow I must have for myself, I told
him.

He set down his wineglass and turned to look at
me. Must you? he asked in an odd tone.

I looked up and met his eyes. I swallowed. I
brought myself to my feet. My prince, I began formally. I would ask
your kind permission to be excused from duties tomorrow, that I
might ... pursue errands of my own.

He let me stand for a moment. Then: Oh, sit
down, Fitz. Petty. I suppose that was petty of me. Thinking of
Regal puts me in such a frame of mind. Certainly you can have the
day, boy. If anyone asks, you are on my business. Might I ask what
this urgent errand is?

I looked into the fire at the leaping flames. My
friend was living in Siltbay. I need to find out-

Oh, Fitz. There was more sympathy in Verity's
voice than I could withstand.

A sudden wave of weariness washed over me. I was
glad to sit again. My hands began to tremble. I put them below the
table and clasped them to still them. I still felt the tremors, but
at least no one could see my weakness now.

He cleared his throat. Go to your room and rest,
he said kindly. Do you want a man to ride with you to Siltbay
tomorrow?

I shook my head dumbly, suddenly and miserably
certain of what I would discover. The thought made me sick. Another
shudder went through me. I tried to breathe slowly, to calm myself
and edge back from the fit that threatened. I could not abide the
thought of shaming myself that way before Verity.

Shame to me, not you, to have ignored how ill
you have been. He had arisen silently. He set his glass of wine
before me. The damage you took was taken for me. I am appalled by
what I allowed to befall you.

I forced myself to meet Verity's eyes. He knew
all that I tried to conceal. Knew it, and was miserable with
guilt.

It is not often this bad, I offered
him.

He smiled at me, but his eyes did not change.
You are an excellent liar, Fitz. Do not think your training has
gone awry. But you cannot lie to a man who has been with you as
much as I have, not just these last few days, but often during your
illness. If any other man says to you, `I know just how you feel,'
you may regard it as a politeness. But from me accept it as truth.
And I know that with you it is as it is with Burrich. I shall not
offer you the pick of the colts a few months hence. I do offer you
my arm, if you wish it, to get back to your room.

I can manage, I said stiffly. I was aware of how
he honored me, but also of how plainly he saw my weakness. I wanted
to be alone, to hide myself.

He nodded, understanding. Would that you had
mastered the Skill. I could offer you strength, just as I have too
often taken it from you.