Verena collapsed into her bed. She was exhausted. Three days of trying to get into the high feasts, and on the third day they’d managed it. She was so tired, and her body ached. Her father was pleased though that they’d managed at least one of the Founding Day feasts. Last year they hadn’t made any of them because of her sisters and he’d been furious for a week after they ended. This year he was at least going to be in a good mood.
Verena looked forward to going out to the garden the next day. It was going to be sunny, and she was excited to see Ethian. She’d seen him at the high feast, of course, but she was just a lowly lower court noble. She hadn’t dared get near the high table. She had surreptitiously watched him though, under the pretense of watching who was coming and going from the high table.
She closed her eyes and was instantly asleep. She woke up some time later and was confused for a moment. She glanced at the chronometer and saw it was her usual time. She groaned, got up, and bathed. After her shower she felt more like herself. She dressed and went out into the main room.
Her father was also up. “Good morning, Ver. I thought you would sleep in, as tired as you looked last night.”
“You know me, always up this early no matter how tired I am.” Verena smiled.
“I doubt your sisters are going to be up before noon. They usually sleep in late after the Founding Day feasts.” Mislav shook his head.
“I am counting on it.” Verena glanced at their doors.
“Escaping to the garden again?” Mislav asked.
“Yes, I am. I need some fresh air after the past three days.” Verena wanted to see Ethian again. That was the main reason she wanted out into the garden.
“I do not blame you.” Mislav smiled sympathetically. “I am certain we will see Nik and Astera this morning. They have children. They cannot sleep in.”
Verena giggled and chatted with her father until it was time for breakfast. Niklas and Astera joined them, still yawning. None of her sisters emerged from their rooms. “Are they locked in for some reason?” Astera asked.
“No, they are sleeping in, and I am letting them.” Mislav shook his head. “I can deal with less drama this morning after the last three days.”
“I am surprised you are not sleeping in, Ver.” Niklas looked at his youngest sister.
“I never sleep in, Nik.” Verena smiled at her brother.
“You probably should.” Niklas frowned at her. “You are going to be tired this afternoon.”
“I will be fine.” Verena would just go to bed earlier that night to make up for it.
“Are you going out to the gardens this morning?” Astera asked.
“I am. I know they will come hunting me eventually. I am going to escape them before they have a chance to find me.” Verena smiled at her sister-in-law.
“Good idea.” Astera frowned. “I noticed they did not look happy when we got back last night.”
“I would not let them wander off on their own after the emperor and empress left. That was usually their cue to go find male companionship.” Mislav shook his head. “I have not let them get away with that in five years. I do not know why they thought it would be different last night.”
Verena finished eating and made her escape to the gardens. She wandered around a little bit and then made her way to the Imperial garden. One of the Imperial guards gave her the side eye but the other one smiled and waved her through. “We just let her in?” she heard the one who’d given her the odd look ask.
“Right, you’ve never stood guard on the garden before. We’re under orders to let her in,” the other guard explained. “That’s Lady Verena Kelcrag.”
“That’s Lady Verena?” the first guard asked.
“Yes,” the second guard confirmed. “She usually comes in about this time and stays until lunch time. She’s been cleared by the emperor himself, so don’t give her any trouble if you don’t want to spend your day guarding the vault.”
Verena sat down to read. Ethan showed up a few hours later, this time without Fallon. He sat down on the bench. “How was your Founding Day celebration?” he asked.
“Exhausting. We got up at midnight three nights in a row to make sure we got in and only managed it on the third day. I really do not remember much about the feast because I was so tired.” Verena stifled a yawn.
“Why did you have to get up at midnight? And what time did you go to bed?” Ethian asked.
“We went to bed around eight and were up at midnight. We had to get up at midnight because it takes a couple hours for us to get ready and then we joined the rest of the lower court nobility lining up outside the doors.” Verena saw he was interested and explained how it worked for the lower court. “Only a small percentage of us are let in every feast. You have to get there early enough to make it onto that day’s list. We did not make it for the first two days. The third day we made it onto the list and were let in. We stayed until after midnight when father could see all of us were about ready to pass out, so we left.”
“I am surprised you are even awake right now.” Ethian shook his head.
“It does not matter how much or how little sleep I get. I wake up at exactly the same time every day. I will go to bed early tonight.” She smiled at him. “How about you? Were you able to find some enjoyment in the Founding Day feasts?”
“None at all.” Ethian sighed. “Though Fallon kept telling me I should relax and try to find something enjoyable about them. I suppose the food was good, for the most part. Be glad you were not there on the first day. We ended up having blood soup for the first course.” Ethian shuddered.
“Blood soup?” Verena asked, horrified.
“The cook called it something else when he presented the menu to Lidia, and she did not ask him what was in it.” Ethian made a face. “The soup was thickened with real animal blood. It was obvious too. You could taste it.”
“How awful.” Verena shuddered. “And at high feasts you have to eat everything you are given or be laughed out of the great hall. At least, that is how it is among those of us in the lower court.”
“I am not certain of the reasoning, but the upper court has a similar rule. You eat everything on your plate, or you are in trouble.” Ethian shook his head. “Lidia said she had strong words with the head cook. He said it was a delicacy and thought it would be popular among the traditionalists in the court. No one liked it and he was told if he ever served something so disgusting again, he would lose his position.”
“I know a few traditionalists among the lower court. They do not believe we should ascend. They think if you are born in the lower court, you should remain in the lower court.” Verena looked pensive. “They do not like men like my father who are not born at court.”
“There are some of those in the upper court as well.” Ethian sighed. “They think the ascended lords and their families are beneath them and it rankles when some of these men prove to be wealthier than they are. Remember that petition that was going to cap wealth and halt the ascensions you helped me put a stop to?” Verena nodded. “That was presented by one of the conservatives. He presented it to my father at the audiences and was told to stop wasting our time.”
“Did he do anything?” Verena asked.
“Not officially.” Ethian grimaced. “He sent an assassin after my father.”
“What happened?” Verena asked, not all that surprised violence had been the option chosen by the lord.
“The assassin was caught, and the man’s face was pulled from his mind by the inquisitors as the source of the contract.” Ethian shook his head. “He is currently rotting in prison. No one was hurt. The assassin was not even all that good. Father felt leaving the lord in prison rather than killing him was the best option.”
“The assassin?” Verena asked.
“He was killed. No sense in leaving him around for someone else to hire.” Ethian seemed to consider that a reasonable solution. Verena nodded. That made perfect sense.
“What does the lord’s family think of all of this?” Verena asked.
“Other than the initial pleas to release him, they have fallen silent. Demetrios is watching them, but other than that, they are being left to destroy themselves or move on with their lives.” Ethian shrugged. “That is my father’s way. Imprison the source of trouble, watch the periphery, and wait to see if something else gets stirred up.”
“What do you think of his methods?” Verena asked.
“They work.” Ethian frowned. “He is very reluctant to kill people. He has had to send some of his prisoners to other prisons because the one here at the palace fills up. It is small and he has a lot of enemies, so it is understandable that it would fill up. He has even released a few people who have had a change of heart.”
“Your father is a compassionate man. Very different from his father.” Verena shivered as she thought of the book she’d read about the current emperor’s father. “I have read about Emperor Vespasian. He was a harsh and cold man. He held the empire together during some very hard times, but the methods he used were troubling.”
“I have read about my grandfather as well and I have to agree.” Ethian looked pensively out at the garden. “My father does not talk about his father very often, but what little he will say is that grandfather was a hard man and was never pleased by anyone or anything. I do not think mother and I would have ever wanted to meet him. He would not have approved of us.”
“Do you know anything about your grandmother?” Verena asked. “I do not know anything about my grandparents. My father does not talk much about his family, other than to mention a random sibling here or there when he needs something. And mother never mentioned her parents or siblings at all.”
“My sister Kaelea is named for my grandmother. Father says she was one of grandfather’s courtesans, and that she was the only person who loved him before mother came along.” Ethian made a face. “Her death because of the stupid suicide law really hurt him and it is why he forced the issue and sent the other courtesans away when he married my mother rather than keep them locked in the courtesan wing until he died.”
“Suicide law?” Verena asked.
“Imperial courtesans serve the Imperial family either until they die, or their patron does,” Ethian explained. “An Imperial courtesan is given a small bottle of a very potent poison called honeyvine as a farewell gift from their academy when they are chosen. If they are still alive when their patron dies, they are to take that poison and follow them into death. They are then buried with their patron in the Imperial crypt.”
“What?” Verena asked, horrified.
“It is one of the reasons I keep stalling any time someone asks me if I am going to look for courtesans.” Ethian’s expression was grim. “I do not want to be the cause of someone else dying for some stupid custom that goes back to the Founding because a bunch of greedy old men wanted to take their possessions to the grave with them.”
“But courtesans are not possessions,” Verena protested.
“You know that. I know that.” Ethian almost growled. “However, the law still identifies them by name even if the anti-slavery laws have eradicated the need for thousands of individuals to die needlessly with their emperor because he was taking his slaves with him to the grave. Because it identifies them by name, they are still bound by that law to die.”
“How awful. Can your father not change it? Or get rid of it?” Verena was appalled.
“He tried.” Ethian shook his head. “The court went nuclear when he announced that law was in abeyance. No one wants to see a law that old change, no matter how ridiculous it is. He had to agree to reinstate it to restore order.”
“How horrible can people be?” Verena asked.
“Pretty terrible, considering they do not see courtesans as people but as possessions.” Ethian looked angry. “I have even talked to some lords who wanted to know why father would want to change something where an emperor took some of his most precious possessions with him to the grave. When I pointed out courtesans are people, not possessions, they gave me a blank look and asked me what I was talking about.”
“Courtesans are people, just like us,” Verena protested. “I cannot understand how they are seen as possessions.”
“I do not see it either, Verena.” Ethian sighed. “Maybe one day we will be able to figure it out.”
“Maybe.” Verena wasn’t sure she wanted to figure it out. “So, what do you have for paperwork today?”
“A lot. It always backs up because of the high feasts.” Ethian pulled out his pad. Verena leaned her head against his shoulder so she could see better, or so she told herself, and the two got to work.
A guard reminded them when it was time to break for lunch. “I wish we could spend the whole day together.” Verena wistfully sighed as she tucked her pad back into its place on her belt and prepared to return to the suite. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing her sisters.
“I do too, Verena.” Ethian reached over and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Audiences are boring. I would far rather work on paperwork with you.”
Verena smiled. “As long as the weather holds, I will see you tomorrow?”
“Of course.” Ethian smiled and waved. Verena waved and went out through the evergreen garden and back to her part of the palace. A little voice in the back of her head told her she was being foolish, that she shouldn’t be getting so attached to him. She ignored that little voice even though she knew it was right.
She went inside to find the suite in an uproar. Mislav was yelling at Ismat and Zdena, who were sullenly glaring at him. There was no sign of Milisen or Nefari. Niklas grabbed Verena’s arm and pulled her into Mislav’s office. “Ver, did you see Mili or Fari in the gardens?” Niklas asked.
“No, I did not.” Verena shook her head. “But then, I would not see them. Where I hide from them, I would only see them if they passed by the opening to where I go.”
“You went directly to your hiding place and have been there all morning?” Niklas asked.
“Yes, I have.” Verena nodded. “I wandered the gardens for perhaps ten minutes and then not wanting to risk getting caught I went to my hiding spot.”
“Dee and Issy are saying Mili and Fari have been with you all morning.” Niklas looked at his sister. “That you were introducing them to your friends.”
“Never in the life of a star would I do something like that.” Verena’s tone was flat. She would never introduce her sisters to Ethian or Fallon.
“I did not think so.” Niklas shook his head. “Apparently, father does not believe them either.”
Mislav walked into his office. “Verena, have you seen Milisen and Nefari?”
“Not since yesterday.” Verena met her father’s angry gaze calmly.
“They were not with you this morning? Were they stalking you?” Mislav asked.
“I did not see them stalking me.” Verena was firm as she spoke to her father. “I spent ten minutes wandering the gardens and then went straight to my hiding spot. My friends arrived and we spent the rest of the morning talking about the Founding Day feasts, our issues with the way people treat courtesans, and a few other random topics.”
“What issues with the way people treat courtesans?” Mislav asked sharply.
“How people treat courtesans as possessions when they are people with thoughts and feelings of their own.” Verena thought it should be obvious.
“Ver, they are possessions. That is the point of the contracts. It shows who gets to own them next.” Mislav’s tone was more than a little patronizing. “So you have not seen Milisen or Nefari at all this morning?”
Verena bit back a retort and shook her head. Her father was already angry. Arguing with him over the status of courtesans would only anger him further. It would also do no good. His mind was as fixed as the rest of the court’s. How anyone could think that way she didn’t know, but at least she knew Ethian shared her views.
“Ismat and Zdena are lying, Father.” Niklas looked at their father.
“I know that, Niklas. As soon as Milisen and Nefari show up, I am going to lock all four of them in their rooms.” Mislav’s voice was tight with anger. “I have a very good idea of where those two are and who they are with. Not the specifics, unfortunately, but a general idea.”
The three of them left Mislav’s office. Ismat and Zdena saw Verena. “There you are, Verena. Tell father that Milisen and Nefari have been with you all morning.” Zdena gave Verena a significant look.
“I already told him they were not.” Verena glanced at her sisters. Zdena and Ismat glared at her. “I never saw them this morning.”
“You are lying.” Ismat seemed intent on getting Verena to confirm the older two were with her. “You just want to get them into trouble.”
“I trust Verena’s word more than yours right now.” Mislav gave his older daughters a withering stare.
The door opened and Milisen and Nefari slipped in. Their clothing was askew, and their hair was a mess. They froze, obviously not expecting to find most of the family waiting for them. “You were right, Father.” Niklas took in their disheveled appearance. “I can see plainly they were not with Verena.”
“Of course we were with Verena,” Milisen began, trying to settle her clothing.
“Milisen, I am neither blind nor am I a fool.” Mislav’s voice was like ice. “Go to your room. Nefari, Ismat, Zdena, go to your rooms. Now.”
“It is lunch time,” Ismat protested.
“You will eat when I say you can eat. Now go.” The four women slunk into their rooms. Mislav locked them in. “I will have the servants take their lunch into them later.”
Astera walked in. “I heard the shouting and decided to wait until it was quiet to come in.”
“You missed the idiots getting locked in their rooms again,” Niklas told his wife.
“What for this time?” Astera sat down at the table. The other three joined her.
“Mili and Fari went off with some men and Dee and Issy tried to convince father that they were with Ver all morning.” Niklas served her before taking some food himself.
“How stupid do they think we are? Verena would never spend time willingly with any of them.” Astera shook her head. “That is like flying into the middle of an event horizon and not expecting something bad to happen.”
“Yes, but it seems my older daughters are not that bright.” Mislav smiled wryly. “Even I knew that was a lie before Verena ever came in.” He took some food and passed the dish to Verena, who took some and set the bowl down.
“Have you been with your friends this morning, Ver?” Astera asked.
“I have.” Verena smiled. “We had a wonderful conversation before we all had to come back inside for lunch and our afternoon duties.”
“The children are very tired today, so I think I am going to let them take naps instead of having you tutor them.” Astera was concerned for her children. “Getting up at midnight for three days running just wore them out.”
“Understandable.” Verena shrugged. “I think I will just read then if I am not tutoring them.”
“You should nap too.” Niklas looked at his sister.
“I will throw off my sleep schedule if I do that.” Verena gave her brother a reassuring smile. “I will just go to bed a little earlier than I usually do tonight to make up for it.”
“All right.” Mislav gave her a serious look. “As long as you are getting enough sleep, Ver.”
“I will, Father.” Verena knew they were all just worried about her. At least someone in the family cared enough about her health to make sure she was all right.
“Ver, what brought on the conversation about courtesans?” Mislav asked. He seemed concerned about something.
“We got on the topic of Imperial courtesans for some reason, and one of my friends told me about how the court went nuclear when the emperor tried to change the law saying an Imperial courtesan had to follow their patron in death.” Verena took a drink of the wine her father served with his meals. “I did not understand why they would because it is not fair to make a courtesan die just because someone in the Imperial family also died. Courtesans are people after all, and they have every right to live.”
“That is an interesting way to look at things, Ver.” Niklas exchanged looks with his father. “Where did you get that idea?”
“I have always thought that about courtesans.” Verena shrugged. “I never had any real reason to think they were anything less. No one taught me to think differently. I just look at everyone as people.”
Mislav relaxed. “You are still very young, Verena. You will learn that not everyone is a person. Some people are not the same as the rest of us. It is just the way life is.”
“Yes Father.” Verena fought back the urge to roll her eyes. She finished her lunch and made her way into her room. She sat down with her book and started reading. She kept thinking of Ethian and losing focus. Resolutely she forced the thought of him out of her mind and finally settled into her book.
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