Fairest (31 page)

There was laughter.

I listened and heard no gasps, felt no resentment. Thank you, everyone. Ijori squeezed my hand.

More laughter.

The king was sending Ivi into exile so the rest of us would be safe from her. He had been both just and merciful. He was exiling himself as well. How much that pained him I have no idea.

He stepped back. I felt everyone stiffen as Ivi began to sing.

Her voice was weak, and she missed some notes, but her tune was pleasant. Every hand went up, and her smile grew and glowed.

She left the stage, but the king remained. I wondered why.

The doors at the back of the hall opened—and Mother and Father entered. I jumped up. Behind them were Ollo and Yarry and Areida. And there was the duchess, and Dame Ethele! Ijori's smile was wide enough to touch his ears.

I ran up the aisle—and saw zhamM in the doorway. zhamM!

Oochoo pelted by and jumped up on Father. Mother embraced me, and I reached out for zhamM. Areida patted my back, and Yarry said, “Congratulations, Sister. I suppose the guards won't be back to arrest us all.”

We laughed, and even the duchess looked glad.

zhamM said, “Congratulations, Cousin. You are at another crossroads, a splendid one, to be exact.”

I didn't know I was at a crossroads.

Ijori took my hand. “Come, Aza.” He sang softly in my ear, “We planned it in secret to confound the fairy Lucinda. We need no magical gifts.” He reddened. “And I wanted to see your joy when your family came. It's our wedding day, love.”

Sir Uellu sang, “Prince Ijori!”

“Yes, Ayortha!” Ijori tugged me down the aisle, just as Lady Arona had all those months ago for the composing game.

Sir Uellu sang, “Maid Aza!”

My knees were weak, my heart was hammering, but I was very, very happy. I mustered my voice and sang, “Yes, Ayortha!”

Hands went up.

Sir Uellu sang, “Ayorthaiana!”

Everyone sang, “Yes, Ayortha!”

Sir Uellu led us in the Three Tree Song.

Ijori sang next, a promise to Ayortha and a love song.

I decided against the song I'd planned. “This is an Amontan love song,” I began.

People swayed and closed their eyes. Many clasped hands. I sang with my whole voice.

I added the final stanza of the song I'd written for the Sing.

I saw Father beam.

I began to illuse. From above the duchess's seat I sang in her voice, “My ostumo is piping hot.” From above Uju's seat I sang in his voice, “My centaur is well stabled.” From above the library keeper's seat I sang in his voice, “My books have fine titles, not overused.” From above zhamM's seat I sang in his voice, “My bed is wide, to be exact.” From above Frying Pan's seat I illused bells jingling. I sang in her voice, “The kitchen is ringing.” I heard her shout of laughter. From my own mouth I sang, “I rejoice the king is well.”

We left the stage and descended into a forest of waving arms.

S
KULNI HAS NEVER
been seen or heard from again in Ayortha.

Ivi didn't come to Ijori's coronation. Instead, she visited her home in the Kyrrian town of Bast, where she distributed gifts and harvested adulation. In the years that followed, she rarely came to Ontio, but her husband visited often and was always glad to share his wisdom with us.

I began to accompany Ijori on raids against the ogres. In time they discovered the trick of illusing, but they couldn't stop being fooled by it. Thus we made our roads and even the mountains safer for our subjects who traveled—a boon to the kingdom's innkeepers.

The Featherbed became the most popular and prosperous inn in Ayortha. As they grew older, Mother and Father left most of the labor to Yarry and Ollo and spent more and more time at court. Areida lived at court after she completed finishing school. She apprenticed herself to Sir Enole and became a fine physician. And she was always a close friend of the Kyrrian ruler, Ella of Frell.

The duchess and Dame Ethele took up residence at court too. Dame Ethele's gowns drove the tailor to such distraction that he designed a new wardrobe for her, colorful and intricate, but tasteful.

Because of the duchess, the castle's cat population swelled and the rat population dwindled. A kitten adopted Oochoo and followed her everywhere. Oochoo lived to a great age and was the best friend of each of our three children. She bayed when they sang, howled when they cried, and frolicked when they laughed.

I didn't try to change my appearance again. But fashions in beauty change, and perhaps my ascension to royalty hastened the alteration. Pulpy cheeks never became the rage, but my complexion came to be called vivid. My size became stately. Only Ijori deemed me a beauty, but I was considered handsome.

The children resembled him, although each of them had htun hair. Furthermore, they could see htun when zhamM held their hands.

I never discovered the identities of my birth parents. But zhamM consulted his family tree and found a great-great-great-grandmother who had married an Ayorthaian count. It was possible that we truly were cousins. Our children were his cousins, too, and they could illuse as well as sing.

And so, with song and love, Ijori and I, our family, and our beloved kingdom lived happily ever after.

Many thanks to opera star Janet Hopkins for introducing me, with kindness and encouragement, to the mysteries of singing.

An Interview with Gail Carson Levine

When Ivi Was Wren: A Deleted Chapter of
Fairest