“Now do I see the reason for the others having agreed so quickly to the time of attack we wished,” I said, getting more of the overall picture. “Were we to wait, your word would be lost to Farian on the morrow. And yet, there continues to be a thing I have no understanding of. Should we succeed in our plan against Farian, she will no longer be Chama and able to use you as an item of trade. For what reason will you then not be able to consort with any man you wish?”
“For the same reason as ever,” she said with a shrug, reaching to the edge of my bed fur to tug on it gently. “Should Farian be gone and another seated upon the throne, might Vediaster still not require relations with those about her? I shall hope that such a thing will prove unnecessary, yet should it not be, who else would there be to see to the duty? Had I sisters rather than brothers there would likely be less of a need, yet to wish for such a thing would be idle. The duty is mine as Dallan may likely never be. I would then be bound to another, yet through the will of the people of my land rather than at the command of Farian.”
“Which shall, of course, bring a good deal more pleasure to you,” I commented as though almost in passing, finding that sort of dedication less commendable than she obviously considered it. People who were ready to sacrifice themselves for the public good, never seemed to realize that the public would probably approve of whatever they did, most especially if no member of that public was directly hurt by it. Self-sacrifice seems to make some people feel better-even while they’re hating it.
“Pleasure seems to be a thing destined to elude many of us,” Leelan said in a mutter, never noticing the undertones of my comment, and then she made an effort to pull herself out of the dumps. “We shall, however, find a great deal of pleasure in besting Farian, and when she falls her mother may be done the same.”
“Her mother?” I echoed, finding myself surprised. “What has her mother to do with this?”
“Her mother is the one who gives Farian her male slaves,” Leelan said, a look of pure disgust on her face. “Never did any of us suspect that such a thing was being done, yet did we discover it when Farian took the throne. Male children were likely obtained very young, possibly through the breeding of slaves bought elsewhere, and then were the male children raised in collars, and taught their slavery from the very beginning. Surely you saw those in the palace. How else would one do the thing?”
The question was rhetorical as far as I was concerned, and definitely one I didn’t care to discuss just then. I moved around a little in the bed furs, then looked at Leelan again.
“Have you thought upon how we are to keep Dallan from accompanying us?” I asked, interested in finding something else to talk about. “Have you spoken with him again concerning his intentions?”
“I spoke with him not long after sleep took you,” she said, nodding sourly and with very little enthusiasm. “He is as stubborn as a seetar, not to speak of nearly as large.”
“Then his intentions are unchanged,” I said just as sourly, folding my legs under the cover fur so that I might lean forward more comfortably. “It seems we shall have to strike him over the head and then bind him in leather before we are able to depart in peace.”
“You believe a l’lenda might be that easily struck?” she asked with a flash of deep amusement, a brief look of delighted enjoyment crossing her face at the same time. “It would surely do him no end of good, yet do I fear that he may be done so no more than a w’wenda might. And perhaps even less than certain w’wendaa. ”
She gave me a wry look, obviously remembering the way she’d been tripped the time she’d come to my rescue, and then she shook her head.
“In full truth might we possibly require one or more such as he,” she said, sounding as though she were admitting something distasteful. “I have heard it whispered that Farian has bought the swords of a number of l’lendaa, and keeps them to stand her defense should the palace guard fail her. Should they truly be l’lendaa and not merely gendiss, the blood will flow even more thickly. They will see to their duty with honor, and we—we will die rather than allow them to prevail. ”
I remembered then what Garth had said, about how no woman on the planet could hope to match a l’lenda with swords, and realized that Leelan was saying the same. Skill didn’t enter into it, at least not on the level they were talking about; even if the w’wendaa’s skill exactly matched that of the l’lendaa, the men would still be ahead. L’lendaa were bigger, stronger, and carried larger weapons which added to their longer reach, everything that would prove deadly to any woman going up against them. They would all do their damnedest to win, but it might prove to be a very costly victory.
“Then you would prefer to have Dallan with us,” I said, looking at the problem from that new angle. “And yet should it be so, you said, we would surely be given an escort which would prove awkward, to say the very least.”
“Indeed we would.” She nodded, sending a hand through her hair again. “I, along with what few attendants I bring, am permitted to walk the halls of the palace alone for the reason that Farian wishes to give me insult. One guards against a potent enemy, you see, yet is able to ignore the harmless and impotent. Without Dallan we would laughingly be allowed in alone; with him there would surely be an escort. ”
“Only if it were Dallan the l’lenda who accompanied us,” I said, leaning back again to tap my lips thoughtfully. “Was it Dallan the slave who trailed after us, perhaps there would be no escort. How many of the guard have slaves of their own?”
“Among Farian’s followers?” she asked with a snort of scorn, her eyes sharply on me again. “As many as find themselves able to be granted one. You believe they would believe Dallan a slave, and would accept him as such?”
“If he were to appear helpless and servile enough,” I said, still thinking about it. “You need to show Farian that she has naught to fear from you, that you support her and all of her doings. What better way to show her that you mean to obey her than by finding a slave of your own?”
“One, perhaps, which is to be gifted to her,” Leelan said with growing enthusiasm, obviously liking the idea. “It might well arouse suspicion to say the slave was mine, for my views on the subject are widely known. That I would bring a slave to appease Farian, however, to be sure that the man I am about to be given to is somewhat to my liking . . . . Yes, my friend, the concept has a great deal of merit-should we find the magic necessary to convince Dallan of the need.”
She was looking at me strangely just then, half ready to say he’d never do it, half hoping I had some trick up my sleeve to make him to it, and I couldn’t help grinning at her confusion.
“It was not we who first said he must accompany us,” I reminded her, an about-to-get-even feeling inside me. “Should he maintain his stand while at the same time refusing to accede to our needs, it will indeed be a sort of magic by which he is convinced.”
“For your sake, my friend, there had best also be a magic by which he is later avoided,” she said with a grin to match mine, strangely enough asking for no detail of what I meant, but then the amusement seemed to desert her. There had been something in the back of her mind ever since she’d first come in, and the rest of the talk we’d engaged in had really been no more than warm-up for that one particular point. She wasn’t very happy about it, but it was something that had to be said.