conferring as to how to handle her return. She rose and bowed, proud to be standing before
them in her travelling robes and Ramil's shirt, wanting them to see her as she was after the
journey they had sent her on.
"Fourth Crown Princess, we rejoice to see you back among us," said Marisa, the First Princess, though her
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eyes were full of doubt and tone far from welcoming. "We expected you to return married with
your husband, but you stand before us alone. How is this possible?"
Tashi looked to her ally, Safilen, the Second Princess, and saw that her eyes were glistening. Had
she been crying? With joy or sorrow to see her back? Korbin was her usual inscrutable self.
"The Goddess chose another path for me to the one we elected," Tashi said quietly. "Tested by many trials, the alliance stands. I have come to ask that we defend our friends, the Gerfalians.
The man responsible for my
abduction, insulting our entire nation in doing so, stands at the borders of King Lagan's land. I
move that we send our fleet to Gerfal's aid."
The Third Crown Princess raised a finger. "It is too soon to talk of such things when we do not
understand what has happened to you. You are not married to the Gerfalian Prince?"
"No."
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"The Gerfalians let you be taken by Fergox Spearthrower?"
"They failed to prevent it, yes. Prince Ramil was also abducted."
"And are the rumors true that you wavered in your faith before the whole of Fergox's court?"
Tashi felt the question like a blade at her throat but had no intention of pretending she was
better than she was, whatever the consequences. Her journey had stripped her of the desire for
such artifice.
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"I did."
The hisses of collective censure buzzed in the room, but Tashi felt she was beyond shame now.
The events in Fergox's court seemed to involve a different person.
Korbin regarded her coldly. "You are not worthy to stand here."
"Then I kneel." Tashi sank to her knees. "I have never been worthy; I have been taught this by bitter experience. I am a goat girl from the smallest island made princess through bribery and
corruption. But I say to you, sister, that none of us are worthy of the Goddess. She chooses the
most unexpected instruments to do her work--even warlords, even goat girls."
Tashi turned to Safilen and saw that she was nodding.
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"I know it is not our way to show emotion and I am showing my feelings now, but you sent me
on this journey and should not blame me that I come back changed. I cannot pretend that none
of this matters to me or hide my feelings from you all. You should at least listen to what I have
learned as, believe me, I have suffered to gain this knowledge."
She paused, waiting for permission to carry on with her plea.
The First Crown Princess inclined her head. "Continue, sister."
Tashi knotted her fingers together in her lap. "I have learned that the Goddess wants us to risk
ourselves in her service. Her love is not just for the Islands but for the Easterners too. If we do
not help defend these people, 324
we will condemn them to Fergox's rule. I have seen it and it is founded on rottenness and
cruelty. If we do nothing, we also condemn ourselves. Fergox will turn his eye on us and destroy
our culture, just as he tried to destroy me."
Tashi stopped, her throat too tight to continue. She felt angry with the Princesses sitting there so
calmly when she was living through such a maelstrom inside.
In the silent cloisters, water tinkled from a fountain into a pool, the ripples rocking the lilies.
I'm like the fountain, merely rocking them in their complacency, Tashi thought bleakly, gripping
her knees to stop herself from clenching her fists.
Marisa spoke: "We know that our safety and that of Gerfal are connected, but we must be able
to trust them as an ally before committing our navy. That was the reason for the marriage, an
unbreakable bond between our two nations. Yet this did not take place and you sent word that
you were returning unmarried. Why should we trust them now?"
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Tashi held up open hands in despair. Her passion was not swaying them and she was running out
of reasons. "Because the King is a worthy man--
because his son risked his life to get me home--because, despite what I said a few months ago,
Ramil and I are pledged to each other." She raised her eyes to meet the First Crown Princess
defiantly. "Because I, Taoshira, the Fourth Crown Princess, trust them."
Marisa nodded, giving nothing away. "Then, sisters, let us vote. Shall we send our fleet to the aid of Gerfal?
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Cast your color to the floor: on my right for yes, on my left for no."
Tashi reached for her voting sticks but, of course, she had no throne and she had transferred her
rights to the Second Princess. Korbin saw the gesture.
"We have not said the ritual to return Taoshira her vote in matters of state; neither has the
question of her fitness to rule been satisfactorily resolved,"
Korbin announced. "There should at least be an inquiry into her conduct at Fergox's court. She
will have to abstain if we make the decision now."
"Do you still wish us to proceed, Taoshira?" Marisa asked.
Tashi looked down at the lily mosaic, seeing the lines rather than the whole picture. She
remembered the body of the priest sprawled in front of her in the temple and the shame of her
time in the hands of the priests of Holin. She had no idea how merciful or understanding her
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sisters would be when she told the detail of that story.
"I wish for no delay," she declared. "I trust my sisters to make the right decision." She looked meaningfully at Safilen, the only one so far not to have spoken.
A bell rang. The First Crown Princess closed her eyes and cast her vote to the right.
"I say we should send our navy."
The bell rang again and the Third Princess threw her stick to the left.
"I say we should defend our home waters, not leave ourselves exposed to the Pirate Fleet."
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The Second Crown Princess held two sticks in her hand. She kept her eyes open as she cast her
votes, looking unflinchingly at Tashi.
"I say that sound policy points to helping our allies; our sister's love for these people confirms it."
Orange and green sticks tumbled down to join the white of the First Princess.
"Then it is decided. The fleet will be despatched immediately," announced the First Princess.
Tashi sank down, the tension gone from her body. She had done it: she had fulfilled her promise
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to Ramil.
If Korbin was disappointed, she hid her dismay well. She rose. "It will be my task, as the one
responsible for the dispensing of justice, to undertake the inquiry into the recent conduct of
Taoshira. We must discover if she has broken any of her vows and investigate the validity of her
election."
"It is your right, sister," said the First Princess gravely.
Safilen frowned.
"Then Taoshira of Kai must be confined for a period of reflection and examination in the
Goddess's Enclosure while I complete the investigation,"
Korbin continued.
Tashi had been expecting something like this, but confinement to the Enclosure was an unheard