the boat westward.
The southern shore with its little ports and rocky inlets dropped below the horizon, leaving only
the golden glow of the distant sand dunes to hint at the presence of land.
On the journey home, Uniloma and the rest of the crew watched their passenger suspiciously.
The girl said very little, but they were surprised to see she knew the rituals of the Goddess and
followed them faithfully each morning and evening. It was clear that
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she found great solace in this task; her face was calm and content as she completed the prayers
with skill and no fuss. A whisper of doubt crept into the captain's mind.
"Where did you say you were from, girl?" Uniloma asked gruffly one morning. The vessel was far out to sea, giving a wide berth to the coastline of western Holt and any bold pirate vessel.
"From Kai."
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"And your name?"
"Taoshira." Tashi did not risk giving her title again but neither was she going to lie.
Uniloma clucked in irritation.
"My family and friends call me Tashi."
"I'll call you Tashi then. I'm not using a princess's name for you."
Tashi sighed. There was no point arguing. The truth would come out when they returned to
Rama. It would only be an unseemly squabble if she pressed her claim here.
That's if anyone recognizes me, Tashi thought glumly. I'm not sure I'd know me either. I might
have to stand naked before my servants to prove my point.
She smiled at the idea. No, I'm definitely not the same person if I can laugh about that.
After two weeks at sea, Rama appeared on the horizon, the familiar mountain rising from the
Sapphire Ocean with the city on its slopes in a patchwork cloak of green, gold, and white roofs.
Tashi leant on the rail, wishing away the final miles, relieved that she had
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made it home in good time. The long journey through Brigard, Kandar, and Holt now seemed
almost like a dream as her life joined full circle with the girl who had sailed unwillingly for Gerfal 330
only a few months before.
Uniloma wanted no more to do with her dubious passenger once they had cleared customs.
Dumped with her bag on the dockside, Tashi hesitated as to her next step. There was no barge
waiting to meet her, no guard of honor.
The porters jostled her, the sailors ignored her, and the street vendors took one look at her
frayed shirt and Southerner robes and left her alone. Tashi realized she did not know how to get
from the port to the palace. In the past she had always been carried in state, having to make no
decisions herself.
The palace shone above her, walls golden in the setting sun. Its green curved roof, decorated
with dragon and lion gargoyles, glowed like polished jade. Down here in the dirt of the
harborside, it seemed impossibly far away, like an enchanted palace from legend. Tashi
understood why Uniloma refused to believe that a flesh-and-blood girl could be the same
creature as the untouchable Fourth Crown Princess. Stripped of her trappings of rank, she was
an unimpressive creature.
Well, thought Tashi, shouldering her pack, it's about time the rulers of the Blue Crescent Islands
got a bit closer to their people. I sat on the Throne of Nature: I've just become more natural,
that's all.
She set off up the hill following the line of the canal.
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In the twilight, the big bronze gate of the palace loomed above Tashi, oppressive and closed.
What now? she wondered. How do people get in to see us if they need to?
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She had never asked herself this before, accepting that there was a line of officials between her
and the public who filtered out the timewasters and the frivolous, in fact dealing with everything
but the most crucial business.
She knocked on the door.
A little window jerked open and a man put his face to the grille. "Palace hours are between nine
and six. Come back tomorrow." He slammed it shut.
Tashi knocked again.
The man reappeared. "Are you deaf? We are closed to the public."
Tashi jammed her fingers in the gap, yelping as he tried to squeeze it shut.
"You must listen to me. I am Princess Taoshira, the Fourth Crown Princess, and I'm going to sit
here until you let me in--or summon someone to check my claim." Tashi removed her bruised
fingers and the doorkeeper banged the portal shut.
Bells in the palace began to ring: it was the time of the evening service.
Disheartened by this final obstacle, Tashi slumped down against the door and began to pray. She
heard the grille open again but carried on.
An hour passed. Two soldiers came out of the palace.
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"You've got to move," the woman officer said, poking Tashi with a pike. "You can't sit here all night."
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"I'll sit here until someone comes to find out if I'm telling the truth," Tashi replied defiantly.
The officer gave a tired groan. "And that is?"
"That I am Taoshira, Fourth Crown Princess."
"Good try love, but if you want a free bed for the night I'd set your sights a bit lower." The officer chuckled. "I don't want any unpleasantness, just move along."
"You'll have to arrest me if you want me to move," Tashi said steadily,
"because I have no other way of proving my claim but to wait until someone in the palace
comes. Send for the Mistress of the Royal Chamber, or any of her assistants, but please do not
mistake me: I am neither mad nor a fake.
Just well travelled."
She closed her eyes and leant back against the bronze panels of the gate, wondering what the
guards would decide.
"Wait here," the officer said, motioning to her colleague, and disappeared back inside. She
returned five minutes later with the Under Mistress. Tashi could hear her apologizing for the
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inconvenience as she guided the lady to the gate.
"It's probably nothing--just a silly girl playing a joke on us--but I thought it best to ask you."
Finally, her luck had changed for the better. Tashi opened her eyes, looked up and smiled at the
elaborately gowned palace servant.
"Hello, Fa Rinira."
For the first time in her life, the Under Mistress screamed.
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The Crown Princesses called an emergency meeting as the palace
simmered with the astounding news. The Fourth Crown Princess, last heard of in Gerfal, had
turned up like a beggar at the gate. Rumors had placed her in Fergox's prison, a convert to the
worship of Holin, dead, lost in Brigard; but no one had expected her to find her own way home.
On the urging of Korbin, the Third Crown Princess, a month ago they had even begun
deliberations on how to replace a princess who was only missing and not deceased, thinking this
would call for a new ritual and a vote. Now all this was thrown into confusion.
Tashi sat in the Hall of the Floating Lily waiting for her sisters to assemble.
Her throne was in Gerfal, so she made do with a wooden stool. The throne had never been very
comfortable in any case. She could sense people coming to look at her, peeking out behind the
pillars. By the standards of the court, the mood was tempestuous. Fans were flapping nervously;
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brows furrowed.
The three Crown Princesses came in together. Tashi guessed they had been in the antechamber,