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"Darling, don't be silly," Father says, standing, looether, and I'ry at Father Father says to Mama, "I didn't strike her You did"

"I know that I did not," Mama says

"I tried to stop you," Father says, "but I couldn't, and you struck her"

"You will never convince me of that," Mama says, her words clear, her voice beautiful inside her chest, where I' my ear

"Interesting," Father says He studies us for a e It's time she and I beca private lessons"

Mama turns her body so that she's between me and Father Her arms around me are like iron bars "You will not," she says to Father "Get out Get out of these rooms"

"This really could not be ," Father says "What if I were to tell you that Thiel struck her?"

"You struck her," Mama says, "and now you'll leave"

"Brilliant!" Father says He walks up to Mama His fist comes out of nowhere, he punches her in the face and Maain, but for real this ti doith Maests as he stands over us, nudging us with his toe "I have so to do We'll continue this discussion later"

Father is gone Thiel is kneeling, leaning over us, dripping bloody tears onto us from the fresh cuts he seems to have acquired on either cheek "Ashen," he says "Ashen, I'ive me"

"You didn't strike her, Thiel,"

herself up, pullingwords of love toThere is blood everywhere "Help her, Thiel, won't you?" Mama says

Thiel's firis broken," he says "Let ive me"

We are all three huddled on the floor together, joined, crying The words Maain, her voice is so tired "You've done nothing you could help, Thiel, and you did not strike her All of this is Leck's doing Bitterblue," Mama says to me "Is your mind clear?"

"Yes, Mama," I whisper "Father hit me, and then he hit you He wants to mold me into the perfect queen"

"I need you to be strong, Bitterblue," Maet worse"

P A R T O N E

Stories and Lies

(Nearly nine years later, August)

1

QUEEN BITTERBLUE NEVER meant to tell so many people so many lies

IT ALL BEGAN with the High Court case about the madman and the water the River Dell in an eastern section of the city near the merchant docks To one side of his house resided a cutter and engraver of gravestones, and to the other side was a neighbor's waterht to replace every waterravestone in the engraver's lot with a waterhbor's door with the intention of setting each on a scavenger hunt to find hisitems, a move useless in one case and unnecessary in the other, as the waterravestone-carver could see her gravestones from her doorstep quite plainly, planted in the wateruessed the culprit immediately, for Ivan's antics were not uncohbor's cow and perched her atop yet another neighbor's candle shop, where she mooed mournfully until someone climbed the roof to milk her, and where she was codom's most elevated and probably hbors on the street worked through Ivan's cryptic clues for how to build the rope and pulley device to bring her down Ivan was an engineer by trade

Ivan was, in fact, the engineer who'd designed, during Leck's reign

, the three city bridges

Sitting at the high table of the High Court, Bitterblue was a trifle annoyed with her advisers, whose job it was to decide what court cases orth the queen's ti her to preside over the kingdo her back to her office the htforward nuisance complaint, doesn't it?" she said to the four es who supported her when she was present at this table and handled the proceedings themselves when she was not "If so, I'll leave it to you"

"Bones," said Judge Quall at her right elbow

"What?"

Judge Quall glared at Bitterblue, then glared at the parties on the floor awaiting trial "Anyone who mentions bones in the course of this trial will be fined," he said sternly "I don't even want to hear mention of the word Understood?"

"Lord Quall," said Bitterblue, scrutinizing hi about?"

"In a recent divorce trial, Lady Queen," said Quall, "the defendant keptabout bones for no reason, like a ain! It was distressing!"

"But you often judge murder trials Surely you're accustomed to talk of bones"

"This is a trial about watermelons! Watermelons are invertebrate creatures!" cried Quall

"Yes, all right," said Bitterblue, rubbing her face, trying to rub away her incredulous expression "No talk of—"

Quall flinched

Bones, finished Bitterblue in her own s of o, "the people on Ivan's street near the ht to do so at the court's expense Is that understood?"