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‘My dear brother and sister of Atan,’ she began, ‘words cannot express ’ Sparhawk knew his wife, and he knew that disclais, and she would tell everybody in the square all about the from the world’s far end,’ she went on, ‘and my heart was filled with anxiety as I sailed across the wine-dark sea toward a foreign land peopled with strangers, but your gracious words of friendly – even affectionate – greeting have erased my childish fears, and I have learned here a lesson which I will carry all the days of ers in this world, my dear brother and sister There are only friends we have not yet en murmured to Sparhawk

‘She does that now and then When she finds a phrase she really likes, she sees no reason not to expropriate it’

‘My journey to Atan has been, of course, for state reasons We of the royal houses of the world are not free to do things for personal reasons as others are’ She gave the Atan king and queen a rueful little s subjected to extensive diplomatic analysis No one ever considers the possibility that weAndrol actually smiled

‘My visit to Atan, however, does have a personal reason as well as an official one,’ Ehlana continued ‘I chanced sos to the Atan people, and I have coh it is o, an Atan child was lost That child is the treasure of which I spoke’ She reached out and took Mirtai’s hand ‘She is my dear, dear friend, and I love her The journey I haveGladly would I have travelled twice as far – ten ti this precious Atan child with her people’

Stragen wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand ‘She does it to le time I think she could make rocks cry if she wanted to, and it always seeen’

Ehlana was‘As many of you may know, the Elene people have soh I blush to confess it We have not treated your dear child well An Elene bought her from the soulless Arjuni who had stolen her froht her in order to satisfy his unwholesome desires This child of ours – for she is now as ht him that an Atana may not be used so It was a hard lesson for hireeted the translation of that

‘Our child has passed through the hands of several Elenes – most with the worst of htened me’ Ehlana smiled her most winsome smile ‘You may have noticed that I ah the crowd

‘I thought you hter ‘It’s one of the failings of our culture that our hted I am not permitted to be trained in the use of weapons I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’ve not even been allowed to kill my enemies personally I was not accustomed to women who could see to their own defence, and so I was foolishly afraid of my Atan child That has passed, however I have found her to be steadfast and true, gentle and affectionate and very, very wise We have come to Atan so that this dear child of ours old that is her just due in the Rite of Passage Let us join our hands and our hearts, Elene and Atan, Styric and Tamul, in the ceremony which will raise our child to adulthood, and in that ceremony, may our hearts be united, for in this child, we are allh the crowd of Atans, a murmur that swelled to a roar, and Queen Betuana, her eyes filled with tears, stepped down from the dais and embraced the pale blonde queen of Elenia Then she spoke very briefly to the crowd

‘What did she say?’ Stragen asked Oscagne

‘She advised her people that anyone who offered your queen any impertinence would answer to her personally It’s no idle threat, either Queen Betuana’s one of the finest warriors in all of Atan I hope you appreciate your wife, Sparhawk She’s just scored a diplohest order How the deuce did she learn that the Atans are sentimentalists? If she’d talked for another three minutes, the whole square would have been aith tears’

‘Our queen’s a perceptive young woood speech is always drawn on a coenius when it cos she has in common with her audience’

‘So it would see, let ive Atana Mirtai a Rite of Passage such as coeneration She’ll be a national heroine after an introduction like that The singing will be tumultuous’

‘That’s probably more or less what my wife had in s for her friends’

‘And not so nice things to her eneen added ‘I remember some of the plans she had for Prien,’ Oscagne s the inconveniences of power is to reward our friends and punish our eneessa conferred with King Androl, and Ehlana with Queen Betuana No one was particularly surprised when Sephrenia served as translator for the queens The ses in the knoorld Norkan explained to Sparhawk and the others that the child’s parents were essa would serve as Mirtai’s father, and Mirtai had rather shyly asked Ehlana to be her mother The request had occasioned an emotional display of affection between the two of the cereed to assert that their child is fit and ready to assuht anyone who disagrees Not to worry Sparhawk,’ he added with a chuckle ‘It’s a fore is almost never taken up’