Page 28 of Pawns of Fate

Lyla walked into the kitchen, and Ava served her a plate. The mage fidgeted with her bonnet and itched at the long sleeves of her uniform.

“Is that new?” Rose asked. The maid uniforms at Castle Sharp had three-quarter sleeves and a lower neckline. Lyla’s dress had a turtleneck, long sleeves, and a bonnet. She was covered from head to toe.

“Are you going to wear that the whole time we’re here?” Ava asked. “It looks uncomfortable and hot.”

“Yes,” Lyla replied flatly. She put on gloves, fully covering any spell runes lingering on her body. “The bonnet isn’t so bad. It keeps the sun out of my face.”

Rose felt a pang of guilt about Lyla having to cover up so much, but there wasn’t much to be done. Nicholas had hired her to guard them, and this was the easiest way to ensure that Lyla could stay close.

“We’re about to have company,” Lyla announced, derailing any further questions from Ava. Questions that their hosts should not overhear.

True to Lyla’s prediction, Depaerth knocked on the door, then let himself into the house.

“Good morning.” He surveyed the house, eyes landing on the kitchen. He inhaled deeply. “You weren’t lying about being able to cook.”

Ava responded with a small ‘hmph’. Rose attempted to smooth things over by offering Depaerth a plate of food.

“I have already eaten breakfast, thank you, Princess Rose.” He attempted a bow in Rose’s direction.

“I’m not a princess, Depaerth. You don’t have to use our titles if it makes you uncomfortable.”

He looked relieved and said, “When you have finished breaking your fast, the head elder has asked me to show you around the city.”

“They can only go if I can accompany them,” Lyla interjected.

“That should be fine,” Depaerth replied, confusion on his face. “Do maids normally accompany noblewomen?”

“Yes,” Ava and Rose responded at the same time.

“If it is customary, then that is fine. I’ll be waiting for you three at the gates.” He excused himself from the house.

“This is good timing,” Ava said after Depaerth had shut the door.

“This loaf needs a few hours to rise.” She washed her hands in the sink.

Rose finished the last bits of her meal.

The three women laced up their boots and opened the door, the hot, desert sun instantly warming their skin.

Stepping out, a guard greeted them with a curt nod, then returned to face forward, utterly still.

Rose thought he could pass for a statue .

Large palm trees lined the courtyard’s perimeter, providing the space with some much-needed shade.

A few tall cacti and several scruffy bushes were planted between the trees, and a small path of white stones led to the gated entrance.

The walls were high and probably made from the same material as the house, but it was hard to tell because an enormous floral mural covered them entirely.

“Oh,” Ava said, “I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

A giant crow flew overhead, its shadow crossing the path of the three women.

Ava shuddered. “I expected it to be like that .”

They joined Depaerth and the two guards stationed at their gate and began their tour of the city, walking down the hill that the horses had worked so hard to climb the night before. Rose didn’t look forward to mounting it again after their tour.

The other houses in this neighborhood looked spacious, though they were mostly hidden behind high walls. Very few people crossed their path as they meandered through the area. Those who did were fairly quiet and mostly ignored the party. At the base of the hill, however, the city came alive.

Square shop buildings lined the streets, flooded with busy shoppers. Most members of the Ojoh clan had golden, orange, or red hair. To Rose, they looked like autumn leaves come to life.

The party wandered down one of the busy streets for a while. Ava was delighted to find several merchants selling a wide variety of spices. Rose was delighted to find a few booksellers.

When Lyla had Rose out of Depaerth’s earshot, she asked, “Is this normal? ”

“What do you mean?”

“This. Getting a tour. Staying in a house all to ourselves. You’re political collateral, hostages, really, not ambassadors. Right?” Lyla’s eyes narrowed.

Rose examined a yellow fruit as she answered Lyla.

She didn’t enjoy being an expert in this situation, but the mage was right to ask.

“It varies from place to place and mostly depends on how both parties want things to…progress.” She set the fruit down and perused a bin of blueberries.

“The skirmishes between the Sharps and the Ojoh started because of a dispute over trade routes, right?”

Lyla nodded her head.

“Well, the only two routes out of the Ojoh desert and into the rest of Albion are through my uncle’s land or Sharp territory.

And the one through Robson land ultimately joins the road through Onanish anyway.

” Rose glanced around as she exited the fruit shop, noticing their guide was still out of earshot.

“So the Ojoh’s best option was always for the battles to end quickly.

Marquess Sharp probably wanted to wait them out—until my uncle approached him about the star crystal mines.

I think that’s why he agreed to have Nicholas marry a woman with few political connections and agreed to exchange collateral so quickly.

If he hadn’t helped my uncle, Hector could have gone to the Ojoh.

The mines were irrelevant to the marquess.

He wanted to secure his family’s economic and political influence by keeping his rivals apart. ”

“You’re very clever, Rose,” Lyla said.

Rose smiled. Lyla was usually sparing with her words and even more sparing with compliments.

“I’ve learned to keep an eye on the politics that affect me.

” She bent down, looking at a pen full of baby tripoderos, yet another monster that the Ojoh treated like pets.

At least they were smaller than the giant crows, and Rose thought their little three-legged, scaly bodies were endearing in an odd way.

Still, the crows didn’t spit chunks of clay through their noses like bullets.

Lyla lowered her voice to a whisper as Depaerth bent down to pet a tripodero on the other side of the pen.

“So they want positive relations with the Sharps moving forward? To keep the trade routes open?”

“Yes. And, it is difficult to compare the Ojoh to the rest of Albion.” Rose shrugged, then tapped one of the little monsters on its pointy nose.

“For them, there’s not much harm in letting us explore the city.

Depaerth was right when he said we wouldn’t last in the desert. We can’t exactly run away.”

Lyla bristled. Rose laughed. “I just meant that Ava and I wouldn’t make it in the desert. I’m sure you’d be fine.”

The women moved on to a jewelry shop. Rose and Ava played with a few golden bangles.

“That still doesn’t explain why they are giving us such good treatment,” Lyla said as soon as the guards were out of earshot again.

Rose motioned to the expansive, busy market surrounding them.

“There’s a reason they brought us to the market first. The Ojoh have a lot to lose if we return to Onanish and tell all the other nobles that we were treated horribly.

They already struggle to keep trading partners in northern Albion.

On the other hand, if we spread the word that the desert warriors are kind, sophisticated, and easy to work with, they have a lot to gain.

We’ll find our stay here pleasant enough if we continue to comply with them. ”