"Let me ask you this," Yena took up her cup again, tasting it and adding more hot tea. "I don't need details, but since you mentioned you're teaching her to be a proper Lady Courtesan I was wondering how things were going on that stage. Have you..." she covered her mouth with a gold-clawed hand and coughed delicately, "...revisited the idea since she learned of her new status?"
Valen's ears flattened in embarrassment. "Why do you need to know that?"
"I don't," Yen waved, smiling politely, "but I had a feeling the subject has been broached since then. It is good to know my intuition was correct, though. Anyway, would you say the two of your are compatible?"
Valen shook his head again. "I'm not answering that." In his mind, though, Valen's memories flashed and spooled like an ancient recording-tape. I do think there's some chemistry and I'm fine having fun with it while I'm here, if that's something you'd be interested in... He remembered the taste of her skin, the smoothness of it, the smell of fingerberries and snowgrass. She'd told him where to kiss her and how, and judging by her reaction he'd done well. Whether or not that made them compatible, though...
"She seems to like you," Yen offered. "She doesn't act like she's afraid of you, and from what little I've seen it doesn't look like she minds you touching her. That's promising, isn't it?"
What are you trying to do, Yen? Valen squinted as if that would help him understand. "I don't know what you mean by 'promising'."
Yena traced the gold-enameled lip of her cup with the tip of her finger; her claw struck a tiny note on the porcelain. "Skipping over the how, let's assume you've found what you're looking for and it's done, the contract is rendered null and void and Fang can go on her way. You've said you won't stop her from leaving, what will you do if she does? How would you feel if, say, next week you come across the perfect solution, and she tells you she'll be packed and ready to leave in an hour?"
The dagger between his hearts caught, and for a terrifying moment Valen could neither breathe nor think. It felt like one of those spells he had sometimes, when the edges of his vision went hazy and he couldn't feel his hands. They always came with a sense of imminent doom and the ground under his feet threatened to give way, plunging him somewhere dark and cold. I can't be so attached already, can I? The thought of Fang, the woman who invited him to touch her and showed him how to kiss her, leaving him so soon even though he promised he'd let her go–
"Valen, are you all right?"
"It's nothing," he fisted his hands and dug his claws into his palms. The pain usually gave him something to focus on other than numbing panic. "I'm... I'm fine."
Yena raised her scaled brows. "You don't look fine. Though it does answer my question, to an extent. Of course you don't want her to leave, not when everything's still so new and exciting, and you're mature enough to know you can't keep someone who doesn't want to stay. Eyah," She shook her head, the chains in her horns jingling and flashing. "You're in a difficult position, wanting it both ways." Yena thought about it for a moment, then tipped her head to the side. "Actually..."
"Hngh?" Snapping back to the moment felt like getting thrown from Ika's back.
Yena sat forward, clasping her hands together over her knees. "Let's say this happens: you elevate her to Lady Consort, protecting her from Tias while you find her way out. Then you find it, and you tell her 'you're free to go, my Lady'. It's not entirely unthinkable to imagine her deciding to stay, is it? Just because you offer Fang her freedom, it doesn't mean she has to leave, yes? Giving Fang her liberty merely means she's no longer obligated to stay, but what if you gave her a reason to? She could go back to Federation territory and never have to work another day in her life, or she could choose to stay with the man who helped her when she needed it the most, who stood up to the Dragon Emperor and the heir apparent when she had no one else, who fed and clothed her and made sure she was safe. It's entirely possible that she might choose that over, say, going to Dreenai and living in a beach mansion, because the beach mansion doesn't have the one thing you can't get with kai."
Valen made a face. "You can get anything with enough kai."
"Material things, yes. And as you've seen, you can even buy a person's life – that's essentially what a woman's bride-price amounts to, the value of her life – but just because you can afford a woman's bride-price doesn't mean she has to love you."
Valen's throat tightened. Could Fang... love me? Me? The thought was as terrifying as it was exciting. He remembered what he'd told her in the first hours after his brother's terrible prank had been exposed, I don't expect you to love me... Perhaps that was why it hurt so much. No one loved him, not the dwarf Drassian, the Dragon Emperor's disappointment. Valen had no reason to believe Fang would be any different.
Yena pitched her voice low so it wouldn't carry. "You deserve to be happy, Valen. Tias may hate you for being his brother, but nothing will change the fact that you are just as deserving of love as anyone else. And I don't mean the kind of love romance writers make their kai peddling – any flat-headed shorthorn can pay for that – I mean the kind that makes you understand why Empires are built and why books like The Red Castle are still in print over four hundred years after they were first published." Reaching across the table, Yen laid a hand on his balled-up fist. "I've known you since you were fourteen, Valen. You're a good man, an amazing uncle and a fine Dragon Prince, no matter what Tias says. I would hate to see you squander the chance to finally get what you deserve by sending that girl away because that's what you think she wants."
Valen looked down at Yena's hand, noting that she still wore the ring Aeden had given her when he asked her bride-price. It was a spectacular piece, wrought gold in the shape of a sprig of teaflower with white crystal pieces embedded in the petals and emeralds in the leaves, commissioned by Aeden for her hand alone. It was hard to ignore the similarities between the ring and Fang's wholly custom-made wardrobe – the thought that years from now Fang might still own those robes and wear them brought another spasm to his hearts, and a realization: I want her to stay. I want her to want to stay. Even if she doesn't love me, if she wanted to stay... I could live with that. He looked up and met Yena's warm, sympathetic yellow eyes. "What do I do?"
"If you want Fang to stay with you after you free her, you 'll have to show her – short of telling her outright – that staying with you is the most appealing option. You can't make the choice for her, but you might be able to nudge her in that direction."
Nudge her? For a moment Valen envisioned the forehead-touch he'd so wanted to experience, but he understood what Yen meant. "But how do I do that?"
"You do everything you're already doing. You work on your colony, you teach Fang how to read and write and behave like a Drassian. You show her you trust her, and you do whatever it takes to show her she can trust you. You might not get what you want in the end, but you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you tried."
Valen felt as though he was sinking. True, it would be better than doing nothing. It's early yet, but if there's any chance that Fang might feel the same way... "Yen... when my brother asked for your bride-price, how did you feel?"
The Lady Consort chuckled. "I'd been waiting for him to ask for so long that when he finally said something, I threw my shoe at him! I told him if he'd went another week I'd go set myself on the auction stage. Of course, I only said that to light a fire under him and get him to finally make his bid."
"When did you know you wanted him to ask?" Valen wanted to ask when Yena knew she loved his brother Aeden, but his courage failed him.
Yen tossed her hair, smiling at memories. "When I wanted him to ask? Eyah, probably the year after I started my internship under the former Secretary. Aeden was just starting out in his new Minister role, and he was so worried about getting it right he started to confide in me. I thought it was silly, a Dragon Prince confiding in an intern – if anyone should've been worried about making mistakes, it was me! But I realized that he trusted me because I spoke to him like an equal – in my mind we were equals, both new in our roles and worried we'd make a mess of it." Yen cocked her head. "That should sound familiar."
"You were happy, though," Valen added, "I remember that."
Yen nodded sagely. "It just made sense. Here we were, working so closely together for so long we could practically finish each other's thoughts – when his offer came through accepting it was as simple as buying eggs."
"Have you ever had any regrets?" To Valen the Lady Consort and his brother looked happy, but considering how Tias and Lady Aisana put on carefully constructed faces for the public Valen knew how deceiving appearances could be. He wondered if Aeden and Yena hid their problems better than Tias and 'Sana, or if they had more subtle methods of dealing with unhappiness.
"No relationship is without its problems," Yen acknowledged, "as you know, I'm not always happy with how often Aeden is away or how much time keeping the books for an Empire takes from our family, but I knew when I accepted his offer that would be the case. I knew that his first responsibility would be his people, and in a sense I share that burden with him. Some of the shine has worn off over the years, but in its place there's a comfort in knowing him as a partner and the father of my child. I know that when he comes home to Su and I, he's done all he can to ensure that time is for us and that he won't choose work over spending precious time with his family." She shot Valen a smirk. "And growing it."
Valen sighed and rolled his eyes. "Eyah..."
"I'm not telling you this to discourage you, Valen. Relationships take work – especially personal ones. At least with diplomatic relations you have the privilege of setting out expectations early; personal ones are more complicated because people can and do change. So, every day you have to make choices. Every day you have to decide what's more important, which battle you're going to fight and which one you'll let alone. Some days it will be easy to choose Fang over gaming and drinking with the Wardens, others you'll have to choose between pacifying some Federation official who's upset over a grain deal or protecting Fang from Tias."
Valen bristled at the thought of letting Tias say or do something to hurt Fang. Yen's right, though – there may be times when I can't protect her. All of his brothers and their father had to leave the mountain at times, fulfilling their duties while the consorts stayed behind and managed their own affairs. Valen expected he would have to do the same, and in the same moment realized that Yena's suggestion to elevate Fang's status would do a good deal of the work for him. And she's not so bad at standing up for herself, he thought as he recalled her razor-sharp retort when Tias insulted her. It's nice to finally sleep with someone who knows what he's doing in bed, even if he does keep me up half the night... Valen resisted a smile. Some of the heaviness in his chest eased then, and with the new free space available he allowed a flicker of assurance. Yes, trying would be better than not, and I'll be able to keep my promise either way. Valen nodded, "Hngh, I'll talk to her about her status, and soon. If she's not open to the idea then I have no reason to push her, and pushing her won't make my case any stronger."
"That would be wise, I think." Yena reached for a pair of tongs and selected a bite-sized piece of a savory cake, popping it into her mouth. "Funny, though, that you'd ask me what to do when you already seem to have a handle on things."
"Sorry?"
Yena smiled around the bite of cake, but said nothing more. Before Valen could press the issue, a clatter from the far rooms alerted them to a miniature procession led by Susa wearing an improvised cape made from a bed-sheet tied around her shoulders. Behind her, Fang gave a wry smile as she tottered under the weight of more knotted sheets and heaps of jewelry from her wrists to her elbows. Around her head a yellow silk ribbon held two long pieces of wire bent into curved horns, sagging under the weight of a yellow silk scarf standing in for a veil of gold. Susa flung her 'cape' aside with a flourish, her child's voice seriously pitched to match her imperious stance. "Announcing Her Imperial Majesty, the Dragon Empress!"
"Eyah, how lovely!" Yena clapped, grinning, then she stood and dropped a dramatic bow. "Such an honor to be in your presence, Your Highness." Valen bit his lips and curled his claws into his palms, his tail snapping under his seat as he watched Fang's cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink.
Susa strode ahead and tugged on Valen's sleeve. "Atta Valen, you're the Emperor! You're supposed to stand up and do this," she stuck her little arm out in imitation of the gesture expected of a courtly Drass to his Lady.
"Am I?" Valen feigned ignorance, "Are you sure?"
"Eyah!" the little girl huffed in exasperation, "Yes, Atta Valen, you're supposed to take her hand and say 'I swear upon my hearts'."
Valen shot a questioning look at Yena, who rolled her eyes. "Someone got out of bed last night while I was watching Sacred Flame, I guess she heard Prince Regent Rokar's big speech to Lady Maisha. We've since had a talk about wandering after lights-out and why grown-up shows are on after little girls' bedtime."
"I see," Valen said as he got to his feet. "In that case, I suppose she's the expert. Lady Fang – eyah, I mean Your Highness?" He put his arm out to Fang and watched her bite her lip, trying not to laugh. She extended a slim, white hand and made a show of laying it gingerly on his elbow, and for the briefest of moments Valen's vision swirled – instead of tied-together bedsheets and yellow scarves, the woman who was his concubine wore gold-brocaded silk robes and her hair glittered with several hundred gold chains. Valen blinked, dismissing the strange lapse as a moment of overactive imagination. Don't be ridiculous, no human can be Dragon Empress. Besides, as far back in line as he was there was no chance the subject would ever come up. His tablet beeped, warning Valen of another appointment he meant to keep and he gave Yena an apologetic look.
"Go, go!" the Lady Consort waved at him, "I'll make sure Aeden has time to look at your questions before he gets back. Here, Susa, Lady Fang needs to go, let's help her get this stuff off."