"Yes. You came forward to claim the reward I offered, and this is it."
The maidens finished brushing and cutting his hair, and plaited it into a tight braid.
"What title are you giving me?" he asked.
The Queen shook her head. "I promised to teach you manners when you returned, and it is customary to refer to me as 'My Queen' every so often. It is a sign of respect, you understand?"
His slight, sweet smile belied the cold grey of his eyes. "What title are you giving me, My Queen?"
"You will find out soon enough."
The maiden returned with a dark grey shirt as the other two finished braiding his hair. Minna studied him. "You have a noble face. You will look well in my court." She clapped her hands, and the maidens rose, filing out. Chiana, who stood by the door, smiled at him as Minna rose with a rustle of skirts.
"No weapons on your person, if you please. This once, you will not need them."
He looked up at her. "As you wish."
The Queen frowned at his easy acceptance. "I suppose you are just as deadly with your bare hands?"
"Yes."
She shivered, turning away. "We will leave you to dress now. The manservant will help you."
Blade dressed himself, then ate a hearty breakfast of poached neleggs and smoked ham before settling down to wait for the allotted time. When it came, the servant returned to fuss over Blade's clothes, straightening, tugging, and brushing at invisible specks of lint. Blade bore it until the man had had his fill, then followed him into the corridor that led to the audience chamber.
Outside the open door, they stopped before two guards, one of whom came forward to search the assassin. Blade wondered at the need for this, but shrugged it off as he studied the scene through the door.
In the vast golden room, the Queen had just settled upon the throne, sceptre in hand. She wore a gown of silver and gold thread, a high fish-spine collar framing her head. Her coiled hair dripped gold and jewels, and her fingers and wrists sparkled with rings and bracelets. On a table before her rested a peacock-hued ribbon, a jewel-encrusted dagger and a scroll. Two high-ranking officers, resplendent in golden armour and white plumes, stood on either side of the throne.
The audience chamber was filled to capacity with ranks of advisors and nobles. Guards stood, statue-like, at the back of the throng. The silence would have made a pin falling sound like a thunderclap.
Queen Minna-Satu addressed her court. "Today, we honour and reward a man who has achieved what most people believed to be impossible. I set a task, some time ago, that of ending the life of King Shandor and bringing his son to Jondar. More than two-score warriors took on the task, and failed.
"One man succeeded, alone and unaided, in completing that task. His name may be known to you. His reputation is well told, though his profession is not well liked. But, in this instance, he has served me well, and deserves all of the reward that I today bestow upon him. Let no man slight him or offer him harm. He has my favour and my ear. Any insult to him is an insult to me. From this day forth, he will be a noble, and join the highest ranks of my court."
The manservant gripped Blade's arm and pushed him towards the throne, overcoming his reluctance with a shove that almost sent him staggering into the room. The assassin swung around angrily, then realised that he was in full sight of the entire court. Minna turned to face him, and he swallowed his anger and embarrassment as he walked towards her.
"I present to you a man who holds my highest regard, and has many names to his credit," the Queen stated. "He is known as the Silent Slayer, the Invisible Assassin, or simply Blade. Today, he is Conash of the cats."
A murmur went through the assembly, and many turned to their neighbours with incredulous expressions. Minna raised her sceptre and brought it down with a clink. Silence fell. Blade reached the bottom of the dais and hesitated, but the Queen beckoned him forward, and he climbed the three shallow steps to her level. She rose as he approached, and he dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
"My Queen."
Another whisper hissed through the crowd, for most prostrated themselves before the Queen.
Minna gestured for him to rise, smiling. "Welcome, Conash of the cats."
Blade stood, uncomfortably aware of the numerous glares directed at his back. The tension and anger radiating from the members of the court was palpable, and if looks could kill, he knew that he would be dead many times over. To distract himself from the itchy prickle between his shoulder blades, he watched the Queen step towards the table and pick up the jewelled dagger. She returned to stand almost toe-to-toe with him, and raised the weapon, pressing the blade to his shirt in the vicinity of his heart. He smiled at her inaccuracy, for had she pushed the dagger in, she would have missed the vital organ and pierced his left lung instead. Blade remained immobile, even when he became aware, with a slight start, that the two officers had taken up position on either side of him. The ceremony was starting to resemble an execution more than an award, and he frowned.
The Queen gazed up at him. "As a man of my realm, you are beholden to me, but as a noble of my court, your life belongs to me alone. No one may take it from you without my permission, lest I do hunt them down and exact vengeance in kind upon them. But should I require it, none shall gainsay me. In return, you shall offer me no harm, nor disobey me. Do you so swear?"
He hesitated, unsure of the correct response. "Yes, My Queen."
Minna raised the dagger, and his scalp prickled as the officers drew their swords with a hiss of steel. The naked blades pointed at his flanks, almost touching his clothes, and he darted a surreptitious glance at them. The Queen pressed the edge of the dagger to one side of his throat, then the other.
"I grant you the title of Lord of the Realm, holder of the lands of Josham and the town of Bardim. I appoint you the Queen's guardian and personal advisor, second only to the chief advisor in that regard. I bestow upon you a living fitting to your title. Give me your hand."
Startled, Blade raised his right hand. The Queen never touched people, as far as he knew. Her maidens attended her, but all others remained at a polite distance. She took his hand in a cool clasp, running her fingers with apparent pleasure over the smooth skin of his palm.
"A nice hand," she murmured for him alone, and pressed the hilt of the dagger into it. Holding his fingers around the hilt, she turned the blade upon herself and poised it before her breast. Blade, startled and uncomfortable, tried to release the weapon, but could not until she freed his hand, whereupon the dagger clattered to the floor. He snatched his hand away and stepped back, unsettled.
Minna smiled. "Good."
The officers sheathed their swords and stepped back, and a servant scuttled forward to pick up the dagger. Minna-Satu went to the table and picked up the blue-green ribbon, coming close again to pin it onto the lapel of his tunic.
"Here is my favour," she intoned, then turned and picked up the scroll. "The deeds to your lands and title, which is, of course, hereditary." She lowered her voice to add, "Choose a fine son to adopt, who will do you honour."
He took the scroll. "What if I do not?"
"Then all shall revert to me, or my daughter, who will bestow it upon whomever she sees fit." She smiled and stepped back. "Now, you bow and step from the dais."
Blade did so, turning away as a desultory applause started amongst the courtiers. The accolade was so unenthusiastic that Queen Minna-Satu frowned and lifted her hands to clap, shooting a hard glance at the crowd. The courtiers redoubled their efforts, and Blade walked towards the door through which he had entered. Along the way, he passed Prince Kerrion, who grinned and clapped.
At the door, the manservant took the scroll and gripped his arm, steering him away from his room. "I shall see to the deeds, My Lord. You must now go to the banquet hall for the feast. Your place is beside the Queen."