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"Go to Princess Theophanu," Rosvita said to Fortunatus in an undertone He hastened away to stand behind the princess’ chair so that she would have a person of fitting rank to serve her now that Brother Heribert had, evidently, defected to her half brother

Sanglant turned his attention to char, enthusiastic baby Soed in the prince in the fourteen ress Rosvita had seen battle joined on the field, and she had seen skirmishes played out in the subtler fields of court, but never before had she seen Sanglant , as he obviously was now, in the political arena Of course, before he hadn’t had a child and a wife

Where was Liath?

"You I will be thanking, woman," said the one known as Alia, who caod-women, are you not?"

It took Rosvita a e phrase "Yes, I a Henry I pray you, Lady, sit here, if you please Let n wo Rosvita with a stare that made her feel rather like what she supposed an insect felt before the hand of fate slapped down upon it She was shorter than Rosvita and powerfully built, with the say common to warriors forced into momentary stillness Alia did not sed "You spoke in the way of an elder," she said abruptly, "when you rose to offer guesting rights For this short ti between Henri and his son"

"So I hope," agreed Rosvita, but in truth the observation surprised her She did not knohat to expect fro, really, about the Aoi except for legends half buried in ancienthalls of the coun to believe the Aoi were only a story, a dream fostered by old memories of the ancient Dariyan Empire, but it was impossible to deny the evidence of her own eyes "Sit, I pray you" At times like this, one fell back on basic formality "Let me pour you wine, if you will, Lady"

"To you," said Alia without ive h to use it prudently I a my people as Uapeani-ka-zonkansi-a-lari, but if that is too h"

Rosvita smiled politely "With your permission; then, Lady, I will address you as Kansi-a-lari Is there a title that suits you as well? I am unaccustomed to the customs of your people"

"Kansi-a-lari isinto the confines of the chair with the cautious grace of a leopard slinking into a box that round on, lurching a little, like a wagon pulled over rough ground, but entertainers took their turns, platters of beef, venison, and pork were brought hot from the outdoor cookhouses, and wine flowed freely Petitioners shuffled forward in waves and were sent on their ith a judg’s platter for their pains A poet trained in the court chapel of the Salian king sang froreat eship of Salia to the imperial crown of Darre Ereat princes, for no regnant froained enough power to duplicate his achievee to Adelheid, allied his kingdom of Wendar and Varre with the country of Aosta, within whose borders lay the holy city of Darre Of course the poetthe living king, Henry, whose ambition to take upon himself the title "Holy Dariyan Emperor" was no secret to his court

"Look! The sun shines no htly than the emperor, who illureat wisdoh the sun knoelve hours of darkness, our regnant, like a star, shines eternally"

The entrance of Prince Sanglant and his otten, was subsumed into the faave everyone there soossip about as the banquet, and the poet, wore on

"He enters first a the company, and he clears the way so that all may follow With heavy chains he binds the unjust and with a stiff yoke he constrains the proud"

After all, it was the fifth day of feasting, and even the heartiest of revelersrestless after endless hours of rateful to serve rather than sit She attended to Alia as unobtrusively as possible, so as not to startle her or give her any reason to feel spied upon or threatened