The Power and the Glory

Book 3 Chapter I: Have You Heard?

It began with his mother specifically requesting him to visit her. That was a rarity of the kind that usually happened only once a century. Mirio went to the Western Palace expecting to hear yet another lecture on how he was partly to blame for Kiriyuki's stupidity. Instead he found his mother had already prepared tea and was reading a letter as she waited for his arrival. That was unusual on its own. Lady Yuriya rarely received letters. She wasn't important enough or famous enough for people to send her information about matters they wanted her to raise with the emperor.

Mirio went through the required greeting ceremony and accepted the cup of tea. He didn't ask about the letter. Either his mother would tell him what it was or she wouldn't, and if she didn't then it was none of his business. It wasn't a good idea to be too curious about anything.

At first they talked about inconsequential things, like Lady Yuriya's troubles with her garden and the fashion of Mirio's new coat. Finally Lady Yuriya turned to the reason she'd requested this visit.

"My brother sent me a letter." Her brother was the Emperor of Gengxin and was not in the habit of writing to her. He remembered she existed only during family crises, like the deaths of their parents. He remembered Mirio's existence at most once every other century, usually when he was annoyed with one of his own children. "He would like you to come and stay with him for a while."

I wonder which cousin is in disgrace this time, Mirio thought.

"His oldest son -- you remember poor Zi Xiao, don't you? -- has died of plague."

Mirio did remember Zi Xiao. "Poor" was not an adjective he would ever have applied to his oldest cousin. As for the plague, it was more likely he'd died of the pox. No wonder Uncle Shi Zheng wanted Mirio to visit. The death of the Crown Prince would always cause a power struggle. His cousins might, just might, behave themselves better if a foreigner was present.

"Your uncle thinks your presence would be a comfort to everyone."

Mirio could think of at least eight people who would not be at all comforted by his presence. All of them were his cousins and all of them would want him to go home so they could return to backstabbing each other in peace.

"I'll get ready right away," he said.

~~~~

If Irímé was asked to decide what sort of animal he'd like to be stuck in the form of, he probably would have chosen a dog or bird. Not a dragon. Of course, if given the choice he would much rather not be stuck in any form. But if he had to be, a small one would be better. Much easier to avoid notice that way. It was impossible to avoid notice when you were a dragon.

On the bright side, he'd made a new friend. Snakes and dragons were apparently closer than anyone realised. Irímé could understand Shizuki's hisses, and Shizuki could understand Irímé's growls. On the much less bright side, he'd just become the biggest tourist attraction in Eldrin.

Irímé stared at the gathered crowd in dismay. The placement of his eyes on either side of his skull made it difficult to look at anything directly in front of him, but he could tell there were at least a hundred of the sightseers. They came and went in ways that suggested distinct groups coming to see him for a specific length of time then leaving to make room for the next group. It was mortifying.

Abi was no help at all. There was a strange dark cloud hanging over her ever since she'd walked out of the front door, something that hadn't been there when she went into that room. Or maybe it was just a trick of Irímé's eyesight. But whether it was really there or not, it hadn't given her any more common sense than she usually had.