“But what sort of woman would that be?” asked Aedan with exasperation.
Raesa smiled again. “One who is strong enough not to be intimidated by him,” she replied.
“That is almost exactly what Ariel had said,” he said.
“Then she is wise, and you must listen to her. But that alone is not enough. Michael is a driven man, obsessed with his plans for the future of the empire. It is all he ever speaks of. He is a great man, and great men are often ambitious, selfish, obstinate, arrogant, and even cruel. You seek a young woman strong enough not to be frightened of such traits and determined enough to wish to change them. Look for an expert horsewoman.”
“A horsewoman?” Aedan said with incomprehension.
“Not one who merely rides well, but one who can control the most spirited of mounts,” the empress said. “One who would not be afraid to saddle an unbroken horse and tame him, one who would regard it as a challenge.”
“I see,” said Aedan, slowly. “Yes, I think I understand.”
“Seek also for a woman who is not afraid to express her opinions,” Raesa went on. “Not one who is talkative or stubbornly willful, but who speaks when she has something of substance to say and is not easily swayed from her beliefs. Michael would not respect a wife who would defer to him in all things regardless of what she truly felt. He needs a strong-rooted mountain rose, not a shrinking violet.”
Aedan nodded. “Yes, that makes excellent sense, Your Highness.”
“Beyond that, look to your own knowledge of Michael,” Raesa said. “Look for those things in him that make you prize his friendship, those qualities that inspire loyalty and admiration in his soldiers. Women have similar qualities, as well, though they may manifest them differently. Follow your instincts. And then let nature take its course.”
Aedan thanked the empress for her words of wisdom and returned to the Imperial Cairn, feeling a bit more confident, but still anxious as to where such a woman could be found. That night, however, Ariel came to him in an enthusiastic mood to report that the work of the committee was done at last.
“We’ve found her, Aedan!” she said excitedly. “We need not even bother with a list of final candidates. We have found the perfect woman for the emperor!”
Aedan seemed a little dubious as he received the news. “Well, that is all very encouraging,” he said, “but don’t you think it would be best if we could present Michael with some choices?”
“If that is what he wishes,” Ariel replied, “then we have narrowed down the list to five, and we could hold a feast, with dancing, during which he could meet them all. But I feel confident that the moment Michael meets Faelina, he will have eyes for no one else.”
“Faelina?”
“She is the daughter of Baron Moergan of Aerenwe,” said Ariel.
“I was not aware that Moergan even had a daughter,” Aedan said.
“He has two,” said Ariel, “but the youngest is only twelve and already promised, by a long-standing arrangement, to Gaelin of Dhalaene.”
“And how old is Faelina?”
“Sixteen,” said Ariel. “But she possesses a maturity beyond her years. She is simply perfect. Wait till you meet her.”
Aedan thought of Moergan of Aerenwe, whose holdings lay to the east, on the southern coast north of the Erebannien, near the Gulf of Coeranys. Moergan did not often come to court, only on important state occasions. He was a rough-hewn, taciturn man who brought to mind a stout and weathered oak, enduring and unbending. Aedan found it difficult to imagine that a brooding, plainspoken and even more plain-featured man like Moergan could produce a daughter capable of captivating Michael. He tried to recall what Moergan’s wife was like, but found that he could not even summon up the name of the baroness, much less call to mind her features.
“Tell me about this girl,” he said. “Is she comely?”
Ariel smiled. “She bears little resemblance to her father, if that is your concern. In her looks, she takes after her mother, but where the Baroness Vivianne is shy as a wild forest creature and takes pains not to call attention to herself, Faelina is vivacious and most attractive. She has poise, bearing, and a strength of personality that commands attention. The moment I met her, I was sure she was the one, and though her rank may not be high, all on the committee agreed she was the perfect choice.”
Aedan raised his eyebrows. “Indeed? I am intrigued. When can I meet her?”
“Tomorrow,” Ariel said. “I have taken the liberty of inviting her to breakfast with us in our chambers. I thought that would give you ample opportunity to form your own opinion of her.”
“I will be looking forward to it,” Aedan said.
In the morning, after they had dressed and the servants came to set the table for their breakfast, Faelina of Aerenwe arrived promptly with her lady-in-waiting. The baron had accompanied his daughter to Anuire, and they had been given rooms at the palace, but unlike the other fathers, he professed no interest in directly championing his daughter’s cause. He had served with the emperor in the War of Rebellion and had survived some of their most difficult campaigns, but socializing and political maneuvering were not pursuits for which he cared a great deal, if at all. He had an eligible daughter, and he had done his duty by putting her name forth and coming with her to the capital when they received their invitation. Beyond that, he was content to let Faelina speak for herself.
And she did so, frankly and directly, with disarming honesty. Aedan was very much impressed. She was, indeed, vivacious and attractive, but she was no great beauty. Most of the women Aedan had seen had gone to great lengths to enhance their beauty, and while Faelina was far from plain, she was pretty rather than beautiful and did not go to any trouble to enhance her appearance.
She wore no jewelry save for a thin girdle of silver chain around her waist and a small gold locket of her mother’s. She came dressed in a simple yet tasteful blue gown with matching slippers, and her long ash-blonde hair was arranged in a thick braid that she wore down the left side of her chest. Her skin, unlike the pale, creamy and flawless complexions of most young women of the nobility, was tanned from a life spent out-of-doors, rather than cloistered in her father’s house. Her eyes were a startling, gorgeous shade of blue—frank and direct in their gaze. She had a slight dusting of freckles across her nose and was slim rather than voluptuous, yet appeared very fit. She was built along lines similar to Ariel’s, which meant she was tall, long-legged, and small-breasted, close to Aedan’s height, which would make her about a head shorter than Michael. Before she even spoke, Aedan found himself quite drawn to her. There was something about her, some indefinable quality, that made her quite appealing.
They made small talk over breakfast for a while, mostly about her life in Aerenwe, and she replied to Aedan’s questions in a very self-possessed manner. She did not appear at all nervous or anxious, but seemed quite comfortable in their presence.
“What do you think of the emperor?” Aedan asked her finally.
“I love and respect him as my sovereign,” she replied, “but as I have never met him, I have had no opportunity to form a more personal opinion.”
What a contrast that reply was with others he had heard to the same question, Aedan thought. Most of the others he had spoken with had gushed about Michael’s many virtues, his greatness and his bravery in battle, his handsome looks and regal bearing and so forth. And most had gone on at some length concerning what an honor and a privilege it would be to sit by his side as Empress of Anuire. Faelina’s response was simple, honest, and refreshing. He approved.