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Through this I sat speechless with ht and tension My father’s praise ency, the captaincy, the responsibility to be mine--it seemed to me then that it could not possibly ht to start by giving you a shared foremanship in the copper mines at Elder Field," Artos said "There is a foreman in one of the more difficult tunnels who is also a landholder, and he cannot devote as much time to the seam as it needs You can relieve him and still have half your days for your own pursuits and for learning the core of whatever else I , but your life and position will be secure I will see to that I know that you are capable of leading ether what I have built Will you accept the position in the mines?"

"With all my heart!" I answered without hesitation "Sir--oh,I would rather do"

He laughed a little at my fervor and said, "I also ask a favor: that you try to i of your oisdorown and is not very strong, he is eaihtless He needs to be crafted and straightened, like an arrow, and set in the right direction My marksman, see if you can make him worthy of his nae too," I answered

After that, ent together to the Great Hall to celebrate with the rest of the household It was a tier and sickness, an end to stillborn children and bony livestock, and to all the fight to make the previous year’s poor harvest last till the next We were glad of that spring

The weeks that folloere full with neork and knowledge Artosme into his select band of warriors and counselors an entire year before his heir would beco too was a joy and a consolation to h so for work can help in the less dangerous shafts and surface quarries I had, when I was younger Now I shared supervision of one of the deeper shafts with aonly half the day Cado was a solid man with a square face, devoted to his far; his initial uncertain deference to entle wit The tunnel orked together was dangerous and unpredictable, but that made the hile The sixWe knee were doing, or we learned Faulted ceilings we shored with rock and oak; newly dug passages we tested for poisonous air I liked the even darkness, the even temperature sureen and red I liked Cado, and I liked the companionship of the other six I worked with, the respect they showed me and the responsibility I s Artos and I played draughts, or I pored over maps with Ginevra My small room was stacked with boxes I had sent from Byzantium and Africa, six years’ worth of books, tools, clothes, ornaifts that I had not seen since I acquired thes slowly; sometimes Lleu and Goewin helped or watched, fascinated by the oods The twins coaxed me to read to them, or to tell them stories of the distant lands I had seen I drew cos that surrounded me: the African cats that wandered in and out, thedolphins, the view of the high peaks in the distance, the infant bats in the little box hung outside theOnce, near evening, Goewin foundwith cupped hands toward the bat box, and she inquired what I held I stood a hted if I showed her, then opened my hands a little to reveal one of the baby bats, a tiny silver thing "They eat insects," I explained "Would you like to hold it?"

"Could I?" Goewin said, as though she hardly dared touch soile "Will it letthe war to trust me"

In April the tere fifteen In one more year Artos intended to declare Lleu as prince of Britain, the heir to his kingdom Lleu, the prince of Britain: one could scarcely believe it to look at hier I saw that he had plenty to eat, sharing h There was no hunting to be done at this time of year, but the horses , easy rides through the raw and muddy countryside Often Goewin came with us To Lleu it must have been like a release from prison, to be out of the crowded and dark confines of the Great Hall, or the dreary chill of the villa I was fiercely glad of the joy and strength he took froht and the s hazel

Lleu and Goewin also went out on their own, exploring field and forest and the red sandstone contours of the Edge over Elder Field Goewin has always been a skilled rider and was trying to teach Lleu stunts and juth then, let alone her ability I often ca h the unplowed fields, and sole word of disapproval But I did not like to see Lleu vaulting walls and streauely resentful when I ith them, subdued and ill at ease I swore to be damned before I let Lleu resent uardian, and he could ride where and how he liked So when the two began to slip out after dark to ride by ht, I told no one and did not try to stop the his arm I did not blaht, after all, rather than anyone else I answered the tentative tapping on my door to find Goewin, for once as pale as her brother, supporting a fainting and battered Lleu No questions, then; without thinking I caught Lleu in h he were a child of five, not fifteen As I cut away the shredded remnants of his jacket and shirt I could not help but murmur, "Good God, Princess; what have you done to hi to keep hiht"

Goewin stood in the doorway and watched allop, and I got ahead of hi too fast to stop It was dark; he missed the ju--" Her voice shook It had been her fault, and she knew it She knew the limits of Lleu’s skill better than anyone

"Don’t cry, little Princess," I said "He’s not dying"

Thather She stood in the doorway a et you some water" She left the rooht fists

I lit a lantern The left sleeve of Lleu’s jacket had been aluessed heon the ar One bone was broken cleanly and decisively, beneath skin that was brush-burned raw from shoulder to elbow "Where else did you hit?" I asked

Lleu spoke through his teeth "All that side--I don’t know"

"Your head?"

"No" He lay taut and still, with his eyes closed and his fists clenched Except for the arm I could see no severe hurt on him, only bruises and scrapes Goewin ca of water by me on the floor, and turned to stir the coals in the brazier until she had coaxed a se of the cot next to Lleu’s head, out of my way She watched as I examined Lleu’s slender body,the dark bruises It wo Shuises uld have been so easy to hurt hiet my own helpless apprehension the summer before, as I lay under your hands, defenseless as Lleu andis broken but the arth "Will you help me, Goewin?"