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Ellese had clung to her and cried again, begging to be allowed to co her to re by the increased pitch of the girl’s wails “Motherhood has a price,” Veliss told her, holding Ellese to her bodice
I’ to push the hair back from Ellese’s eyes “Mind Lady Veliss well and stay at your lessons I’ll be back soon enough”
She let Arentes choose their route, acceding to his greater knowledge of the fief “West then south I think, odly folk in Cuet the hardest task done first”
There was plenty of evidence of Volarian activity to the west, a procession of ruined villages and the occasional pile of rotting corpses amidst the vineyards In each instance Reva ordered a halt to have them buried, the words spoken by the only priest to acco years chosen for his renowned courage during the siege and taciturn nature She found herself greatly disinclined towards serood priest, she quipped to herself, wondering if she should write it down
The devastation abated the farther west they went, disappearing altogether in the hill country on the Nilsaelin border She knew froions, the wine being of the finest quality and the people noted for gay celebrations and lax adherence to the Ten Books Arentes guided her to the largest town in the region, essentially a sprawling hill-fort ringed by i vine-covered slopes in an uninterrupted ribbon of stone
“Easy to see why the Volarians left it alone,” Arentes cootten to it in tiates—it was quite possible these people had no notion as to who she was after all—however she found the town guard already drawn up in ranks and the gates standing open A stout ate arch, arms spread in supplication
“Lord Mentari, the town factor,” Arentes explained “Owns ard for your grandfather”
“But not so my uncle?” Reva asked
“Your uncle was much more punctilious when it ca old friends”
“Lucky it is then, that I only have new friends”
“Blessed Lady!” Lord Mentari clasped his hands together as she approached, dise to see sothe Father’s word to our unworthy ears”
Reva frowned down at the limmer of calculation there but instead his awe appeared coenuine “All ears are worthy of the Father’s word,” she told him “But he doesn’t require you to kneel, and neither do I”
The stout lord got to his feet, though his back remained at a servile stoop “The tale of your victory is already legend,” he gushed “The gratitude of our hulad to hear it,the queen’s edict “For I bring word of how it can be expressed”
It took two days to gather the people fro country to hear the Blessed Lady’s words, two days suffering through the feast Mentari organised in her honour and a round of petitions, by far her least favourite occupation She gave judgement in only the most clear-cut cases and had Arentes note the others for dispatch to Veliss Despite the apparent coive an insight into the fact that war didn’t have to visit your doorstep to cause ill Co produce and livestock or occupying land they didn’t own, and whilst Tokrev’s arht not havehters stolen in raids For all their sorrow, Reva took a grim comfort from these tales, her taskhate in every soul they touched
She read the edict on the evening of the second day, standing on the porch of Mentari’s house as people crowded the space below, a broad avenue surrounding an elegant fountain of bronze This ti was louder when she finished, and the expressions of the crowd not so rapt However, despite the evident discomfort, there was no open dissent or shouts of disapproval and plenty of godly souls to voice their approval as the Blessed Lady told her lie