Madouc

"Do you often think of the shee?"

"Occasionally. But the memories are blurred, as if I were recalling a dream."

"Do you remember my mother Twisk?"

"Not well; in fact, not at all. I remember King Throbius and Queen Bossum, and also an imp named Falael who was jealous of me. I remember festivals in the moonlight and sitting in the grass making flower chains."

"Would you like to visit the shee again?"

Dhrun gave his head an emphatic shake. "They would think I had come for favors and play me a dozen wicked tricks."

"The shee is not far away?"

"It is north of Little Saffield on Old Street. A lane leads to Tawn Timble and Glymwode and on into the forest, and so to Thripsey Shee on Madling Meadow."

"It should not be too hard to find."

Dhrun spoke in surprise: "Surely you are not planning to visit the shee yourself?"

Madouc gave an evasive response. "I have no immediate plans."

"I would advise against any plans whatever, indefinite or otherwise. The roads are dangerous. The forest is strange. Fairies are not to be trusted."

Madouc seemed unconcerned. "My mother would protect me from harm."

"Do not be too sure! If she were cross and the day had gone badly, she might give you a badger's face or a long blue nose, for no reason whatever."

Madouc said positively: "My mother would never harm her own dear daughter!"

"Why would you want to go in the first place? They would not receive you nicely."

"I care nothing for that. I want only to learn news of my father, and what might be his name and his estate, and where he now lives: perhaps at some fine castle overlooking the sea!"

"What does your mother say to this?"

"She pretends to remember nothing. I believe that she has not told me everything she knows."

Dhrun was dubious. "Why should she hide the information? Unless your father was a scapegrace and a vagabond, of whom she is ashamed."

"Hm," said Madouc. "I had not thought of that. But it is hardly likely-or so I hope."

From the castle came King Casmir and Aillas, both showing faces of conventional impassivity.

Aillas spoke to Dhrun: "The wind seems to be shifting toward the south, and we had best gain sea room before conditions worsen."

"It is a pity we must go so soon," said Dhrun.

"True! Still, that is the way of it. I have invited King Casmir, along with Queen Sollace and the princess, to spend a week with us at Watershade later this summer."

"That would be a pleasant occasion!" said Dhrun. "Watershade would be at its best! I hope that Your Majesty will decide to visit us. It is not too irksome a trip!"

"It would be my great pleasure, if the press of affairs permits," said King Casmir. "I see that the carriage awaits; I will make my farewells here and now."

"That is quite in order," said Aillas. "Goodbye, Madouc." He kissed her cheek.

"Goodbye! I am sorry that you are going so soon!"

Dhrun bent to kiss Madouc's cheek, and said, "Goodbye. We will see you again before long, perhaps at Watershade!"

"I hope so."

Dhrun turned away and followed Aillas down the stone steps to the road, where the carriage awaited them.

V

King Casmir stood by the window of his private parlour, legs apart, hands clasped behind his back. The Troice flotilla had departed and was gone beyond the eastern headlands; the Lir stretched blank and wide before him. Casmir muttered soft words under his breath and turned away from the window. Hands still clasped behind his back, he paced back and forth across the room, slow step after slow step, head bent forward so that his beard brushed his chest.

Queen Sollace entered the parlour. She halted and stood watching King Casmir's ponderous travels. Casmir darted her an ice-blue glance sidewise from under his eyebrows, and continued to pace in silence. With nostrils haughtily pinched, Queen Sollace marched across the room to the couch and seated herself. King Casmir at last halted. He spoke, as much to himself as to Sollace. "It cannot be brushed aside. Once again my progress is checked and my great effort thwarted-by the same agency and for the same reasons. The facts are blunt. I must accept them."

"Indeed?" asked Sollace. "What are these ugly facts which cause you such distress?"

"They concern my plans for Blaloc," grumbled Casmir. "I cannot intervene without bringing Aillas and his Troice warships down around my ears. Thereupon that fat jackal Audry would be sure to turn on me, and I cannot withstand so many blows from so many directions."

"Perhaps you should adopt a different plan," said Queen Sollace brightly. "Or you might make do with no plan at all."

"Ha!" barked Casmir. "So it might seem! King Aillas talks softly and with great politeness; he has the uncomfortable skill of calling one a false-hearted blackguard, a liar, a cheat and a villain, but making it seem a compliment."

Queen Sollace shook her head in bewilderment. "I am surprised! I thought King Aillas and Prince Dhrun had come to pay a courtesy call."

"That was not his only reason-I assure you of that!"

Queen Sollace sighed. "King Aillas has achieved his own great successes; why cannot he be more tolerant of your hopes and dreams? There must be an element of jealousy at work."

Casmir nodded curtly. "There is no love lost between us, that is fact. Still, he only acts as he must. He knows my ultimate goal as well as I know it myself!"

"But it is a glorious goal!" bleated Queen Sollace. "To unite the Elder Isles once again, as of old: that is a noble dream! It would surely give impetus to our holy faith! Think! One day Father Umphred might be Archbishop over all the Elder Isles!"

King Casmir spoke in disgust: "Once again you have been listening to that clabber-faced priest. He has cozened you into your cathedral; let that suffice."

Queen Sollace raised her moist gaze to the ceiling. She spoke in long-suffering tones: "No matter what else, please realize that my prayers are dedicated to your success. You must surely win in the end!"

"I wish it were so easy." King Casmir flung himself heavily into a chair. "All is not lost. I am checked in Blaloc, but there are always two ways around the barn!"

"Your meaning escapes me."

"I will give new instructions to my agents. There will be no more disorder. When King Milo dies, Brezante will be king. We will give him Madouc in marriage, and by this means join our houses."

Queen Sollace made an objection. "Brezante is already wed! He married Glodwyn of Bor!"

"She was frail, young and sickly, and she died in childbirth. Brezante is notably uxorious, and he will be quite ready for new nuptials."

Queen Sollace said mournfully: "Poor little Glodwyn! She was barely more than a child; it is said she never gave over her homesickness."

Casmir shrugged. "Still and all, it might well work to our advantage. King Milo is as good as dead. Brezante is a bit dull, a factor favorable to our cause. We must make occasion for his visit."

Sollace said doubtfully: "Brezante is not altogether gallant, nor is he handsome, or even dashing. His penchant for young maidens is notorious."

"Bah! Old or young, what of that? The business is all cut from the same cloth! Kings are above small-minded scandal."

Queen Sollace sniffed. "And queens as well, no doubt!" Casmir, staring thoughtfully across the room, ignored the remark.

"One matter further," said Sollace. "I refer to Madouc. She is difficult in matters of this sort."

"She will obey because she must," said Casmir. "It is I who am king, not Madouc."

"Aha! But it is Madouc who is Madouc!"

"We cannot make bread without flour. Scrawny red-headed little whelp she may be: still she must yield to my command."

"She is not ugly," said Queen Sollace. "Her time has come, and she is developing-slowly, of course, and with little to show for the effort. She will never boast a fashionable figure, such as mine."