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natural gifts of the Islands. Without the blessings of the Creator Goddess, none of this would

exist.

So why, wondered Tashi for the hundredth time as she approached the seat of unyielding wood,

does the most junior Crown Princess get to sit on it?

Tashi bowed to her sister rulers and took her place, spreading her dragonfly robes in an elegant

arc around her feet to mirror Safilen's gesture.

A bell rang in the roof, signalling that the government was in session.

Marisa rose to her feet. "Sisters, the first matter for our consideration are the preparations for our defense

22

against our enemy, Emperor Fergox Spearthrower. Our messenger birds from the embassy in

Gerfal have brought a reply to our proposal of alliance.

King Lagan agrees."

Tashi joined in the round of polite applause from all in the room. She had known that the First

Crown Princess, responsible for foreign affairs, had spent months conducting these delicate

negotiations. Tashi remembered the rough-looking ambassadors she had practiced bowing to

only the month before. Their tunics and trousers had seemed very out of place amongst the

robes of the Blue Crescent court, their loose long hair almost wild compared to the modest veils

customarily worn in the palace. And the Gerfalians had all been men.

"King Lagan agrees that our alliance must be cemented by ties that cannot be easily broken. He

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proposes a royal marriage with his only son and heir but has rejected my suggestion that this

should be with a daughter from one of our leading matriarchal families. His Majesty is clear that

only a Crown Princess will do. Though it is against our practice, I reluctantly agree with him.

Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures. Prince Ramil must marry an equal to show

that the two nations join as equals."

Tashi did not at first understand what Marisa was saying--it was so unexpected. Crown

Princesses were allowed to marry, but only as a private matter, kept away from the court. The

Second Princess was well

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known to have been married happily for twenty-five years, but few had seen her husband,

rumored to be a priest in one of the lesser temples. But a public--a state--marriage was unheard

of, a major break with tradition. Tashi was not the only one to be surprised; all the councillors

gathered on the benches around the thrones looked perplexed, a very extreme show of emotion

for the notoriously controlled court of the Blue Crescent.

Safilen rose to speak.

"Sister, I understand the wisdom of alliance, but marriage to one of the four, that will have

results none of us can predict, change the entire balance of power in this court."

The First Princess acknowledged the justice of the remark with a nod. "Of course, I know this,

but we can also predict that this court will not exist in a few years' time if we do not forge

alliances now. What will Fergox Spearthrower make of our customs and our laws? Nothing. He

will

desecrate the temples of the Mother and put us all to the sword, Crown Princesses and

commoners alike, if his behavior in other countries is anything to go by. I propose a change, yes,

but nothing as radical as he would force upon us."

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Korbin rose.

"If what you say is correct, sister, then the only matter that remains is which one of us shall be chosen to represent our country in this alliance?"

Tashi raised her fan to hide a smile. The Third Princess

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made it sound as if marriage was a sporting competition. In importance and age, Korbin was

clearly the front runner for the task.

"King Lagan requires the wife to be of child-bearing years so that narrows our choice," continued the First Princess with the merest glint of amusement in her eyes. "Our ambassadors describe

Prince Ramil as (forgive the undiplomatic language; I asked them to be frank) 'an uncouth boy of

eighteen.' We must vote as to which of our two younger sisters should take up this burden."

Two younger sisters. Tashi suddenly woke up to the fact that she was being seriously considered

for the marriage.

"The one chosen should be prepared to spend much of her time away from court. Her role will

become that of a roving ambassador between us and Gerfal."

Marisa did not have to spell it out, but Tashi knew what that meant. If the Crown Princess was

away from the Islands, she would lose much of her power, miss the government sessions,

reduce her influence with the people.

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Tashi glanced at Korbin's severe face: she too was quickly counting the cost.

But I can't do it! Tashi thought in a panic. I'm barely accepted as it is. A strange marriage would

just about be the end of me, demote Kai further in importance, signal the end to my training and

education. Added to that the fact that I don't want an "uncouth boy."

"We wil vote in the usual way," announced Marisa.

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Each princess picked up the four voting sticks that sat on an arm of each throne--white, green,

blue, and orange.

"Blue or orange?" intoned the First Princess. "Begin."

As described in the Law of Voting, second scroll, paragraph one, each ruler chose her stick. A bell

sounded. One by one, four sticks were cast onto the tiled floor between the thrones, falling on

the lily mosaic designed to be a reflection of the dome above.

"The decision is taken," Marisa declared.

Tashi stared at the floor in disbelief. Three orange sticks and one blue lay at her feet. The three

older princesses had all voted for her.

"But I can't--" she began.

Her three co-rulers looked at her in astonishment. No princess ever raised a personal objection

25

in open court.

Tashi stood and bowed. "Forgive me, sisters. What I meant to say was 'As the Goddess wills.'"

She walked out quickly, knowing she was breaking precedent by leaving before her elders, but

she couldn't stay there after what they had just done to her. Once in the corridor she broke into

a run, gathering up the heavy brocades of her robes in clenched fists. Little Kai, unimportant

island of the union, sacrificed to please some distant king and to keep the other three safe. She

could scream. It should've been Korbin: she was older, fully trained as a diplomat, more than

ready for marriage, representative of the largest island, Rama, so less

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likely to lose her influence. So many reasons pointed to her.

But they had all voted for the youngest, least important, most dispensable princess at court. An

insult to the Gerfalians if they realized it.

And an insult to me too, Tashi realized. They probably thought a goat herder would be a good

match for the "uncouth" barbarian prince.

Tashi stormed into her bedroom, shut the door in the Etiquette Mistress's face, and threw the

bronze fin-gerbowl out of the window. It made a satisfying clang as it hit the pavement below.

She flung herself on her bed. She'd do her duty but Goddess help Prince Ramil if he expected

any more from her than that. If he did, she would make his life very unpleasant.

The point when Ramil completely lost his temper was when he was refused entry to the stables.

He had intended to fulfill his promise and take his little sister riding, but a guard stopped them

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both at the entrance.

"I'm very sorry, Your Highness, but the King has ordered that you are not to be allowed in here."

The guard, a jovial man for whom Ramil had often bought a drink in the inn by the castle gate,