"She is the disgraced Fourth Crown Princess."
"The witch!" exclaimed the First Wife in disgust.
The Etiquette Mistress did not correct her, pleased that she had taken the news so ill. She would
not be seeking Taoshira's company again, the Mistress thought smugly.
"Is there anything else, my lady?" the Etiquette Mistress asked.
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"No. I've heard enough." The First Wife strode from the room, clenching her fists.
The first Tashi knew about her visitors was when someone grabbed a fistful of her hair and
dragged her from her bed. Her room was pitch black, the floor cold; it was still the middle of the
night.
"What--!" she gasped, dazed with sleep.
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The hand let go. Tashi sensed that there was more than one person in the room.
"You evil witch!" snarled a woman's voice.
Tashi panicked. "Guards!" Further cries were cut off by a hand over her mouth.
"You caused the ruin of us and our families," continued the First Wife, "and you will pay for that."
Tashi wanted to say that it was none of her fault; that Fergox deserved to die; that it was
madness to invade the Enclosure and attack a devotee; but the Second Wife had gagged her
with a silk scarf and bound her wrists and ankles.
"You have humiliated us; now we will do the same to you," announced the First Wife gleefully.
"First we will cut off that hair that so bewitched him, and then mark that perfect skin of yours so no one will forget what you did."
Terrified, Tashi struggled in earnest, kicking with two feet at the woman crouching by her legs,
propelling herself backwards against the washstand.
She struck with her fists at the First Wife, knocking a knife
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from the woman's grip. Rolling over, she upset the dented bronze fingerbowl at her bedside; it
fell to the ground with a reverberating clang.
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"Oh no: you don't escape again!" panted the First Wife, grabbing Tashi's arm to pull her back into the center of the circle.
Feet pounded in the corridor outside. A fist thumped on the closed door. The four wives froze.
"Devotee Taoshira, are you all right?" bellowed the guard.
Tashi screamed through her gag, a strangled sound but enough to alert the man that something
was wrong. The door flew open.
"What in the Goddess's name is happening here?" he exclaimed.
The First Wife kicked the knife out of sight under the bed and moved calmly to the entrance.
"We were just paying a social call on our sister here," she said. "We'll return to our beds now."
"Social call? In the Enclosure? At midnight?" spluttered the guard. "Why is Devotee Taoshira tied up and gagged?"
"We didn't want her to break her vow of silence again." The First Wife's eyes were cold as she looked at her victim.
Another guard appeared at the door. She quickly removed Tashi's bonds and helped her to her
feet. Tashi was shivering with shock.
"I will have to report this to the Third Crown Princess," said the first guard.
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"Wait here."
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Leaving them under the close watch of the other guard, he sprinted off.
Tashi stood to one side, rubbing her arms. The eyes of the four wives were on her.
"The penalty for attempted murder in the Islands is death," she said quietly as if to no one in particular.
The First Wife pursed her lips. "You know we had no intention of killing you."
That wasn't what it had felt like, being at their mercy. Tashi remembered all too well the ease
with which Fergox's people had shed blood.
"Even if you tell that lie," continued the First Wife haughtily, "we are caught in a living death as it is. What do we care? Anyway, your people would not dare execute us on your word."
That is probably true, thought Tashi, not that she sought anyone's death. The diplomatic
consequences would be huge: the new ruler of Holt, whoever that was, had sent the women
here for safety. It would be easier to disregard the testimony of an oath breaker.
But she deserved better than this. Tashi straightened her spine and dropped her hands by her
sides. She had been punished enough for her real faults and should not now be made to answer
for the sins of another. Enough of submission and apologies.
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Tashi faced the First Wife and took a step closer. "I am not your enemy. I did not seek marriage
with Fergox, but fled at the first opportunity. You avenge yourselves upon the wrong person. He
was to blame for his own downfall, and therefore yours."
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The First Wife's eyes narrowed, her face ugly with rage. "Don't you think I know this, witch? But he is gone and you are left: the favored one--the wife with whom he was going to replace me!
You must have bewitched him--
everyone said so."
Tashi felt her anger rising. "When did I do that? And how? Do you mean I did so as a child when,
thanks to your late husband, I was chosen as Fourth Crown Princess? Or perhaps when I was
being beaten by the priests of Holin? When exactly did I have a chance to do this? If I had
enchantments, I would have chosen an easier path, believe me."
The First Wife met Tashi's stare and held it. "I was right. You are not like the other Islanders,"
she announced with a curl of her lip.
"I think you mean that as an insult," Tashi said proudly, tilting her chin up,
"but I take it as a compliment. This is the way the Goddess has made me. It is what I am."
There was a rustle at the doorway and Korbin swept into the room, showing no sign that she had
just been roused from her bed: her hair veiled, her robes smooth.
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"Devotee Taoshira, what of your vow of silence?" the Third Crown Princess asked.
As if that was the most important crime of this night!
"I'm afraid, Crown Princess, that my vow shattered when I was dragged from my bed by my
unexpected
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callers." Tashi knew her tone was mocking but she felt so angry with them all.
"Ladies, perhaps you did not understand, but this part of the palace is out of bounds to all but
the devotees," Korbin said sternly.
The First Wife smiled. "Then why not lock the doors?"
"Because all remain here voluntarily and no one else dare disturb the Goddess's worshippers."
No one else but rude Holtish heathens was the implication.
"Then I apologize for our intrusion. We will retreat." The First Wife made as if to leave.
"Wait! What were you doing here? And why did you bind the devotee?"
The First Wife looked at Tashi, daring her to tell the truth. Korbin turned to her as well.
"Devotee Taoshira, do you have an explanation?"
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Tashi kept her mouth closed. If she accused the wives she would be giving her nation a
diplomatic headache, perhaps even risking war with the new authorities in Holt about whom
next to nothing was known. How would they react?
"You may speak," snapped Korbin, showing more emotion than usual.
"Oh, heavens, girl, you can tell her," interrupted the First Wife, riled by the dignity of her rival.
She had expected the girl to blab and weep; instead she stood there like a little queen, above
the insults offered her. "We came to cut off her hair and mark her face, is that clear enough for you?"
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Korbin took a shocked breath. This confession plunged them all into a nightmare of