Red Rope of Fate by K.M. Shea Page A

Celrin exchanged greetings with King Petyrr. “You have been practicing with Seer Ringali? I hope you will perform for us before he leaves. You are always such a treat to watch.”
    “I’m not certain Seer Ringali would agree with you,” Tari smiled , pausing to curtsey to King Petyrr and King Celrin as they edged away.
    “Nonsense. You are fantastic, otherwise Seer Ringali would not have named you his protégé,” Crown Princess Yvrea fussed.
    There was a slight commotion when Crown Prince Benjimir appeared at the entrance of the Crystal Hall. He was blank faced, but Tari got the feeling that anger stormed beneath his seemingly calm façade. Her suspicious were proven correct when the human prince spied Tari and Crown Princess Yvrea. For the merest second his expression darkened, and the corners of his lips twisted ominously as he glared at them. The second passed—probably before anyone else noticed—and Crown Prince Benjimir was the picture of decorum as he descended the stairs.
    “Benjimir has come too? Poor Princess Claire. I fear we have completely overtaken her tea,” Crown Princess Yvrea laughed.
    “Were you invited to the tea, Princess Yvrea?” Tari asked. She did not think it likely—elves were not into the political games that humans were. Unless the princess had been previously engaged she would not have said no.
    “No,” Crown Princess Yvrea guilty admitted. “Neither Father nor I were invited. King Petyrr heard that you came to the tea wearing odd clothes from a footman, so he made up his mind to come. He sent word to my Father and me, asking us if we would like to join him for, let me see if I can use the same phrase he did, “a rousing good time.” Father came because King Petyrr is his friend, and I came because I was hoping your odd clothes would be your practice uniform.”
    Tari smiled at the confession. “I am glad you came. I think you have greatly heartened Princess Claire,” she said, nodding in the direction of the young princess.
    Princess Claire was all smiles and laughter—clearly she was overjoyed that her tea had become so big.
    Tari opened her mouth to speak again when Crown Prince Benjimir ghosted out of the crowd. Tari immediately sank into a curtsey, and Crown Princess Yvrea smiled.
    “Ah, Benji,” she greeted before forming the gestures for “Good to see you,” and “Glad you’re here.”
    Crown Prince Benjimir bowed slightly. “Princess Yvrea, Tarinthali,” he said.
    Crown Princess Yvrea smiled, but Tari looked up from her curtsey in surprise. Crown Prince Benjimir had spoken with elvish fluidity and inflections. He was quite good, surprisingly so for one who hadn’t devoted himself to the language as a scholar.
    Crown Princess Yvrea did not look at all surprised, and she said—in horrible, mangled Calnoric, “It is a lovely evening, no?”
    Crown Prince Benjimir nodded. “I agree,” he said again in elvish, his pronunciation almost perfect.
    Crown Princess Yvrea turned to Tari. “I’m sorry, this is something of a game Benji and I have developed over the years. We try to talk to each other in the other’s language. I’m very bad at Calnoric, but Benji has been getting quite good at elvish.”
    “How much can you speak?” Tari curiously asked. She had never heard that the heirs could communicate without a translator.
    Crown Princess Yvrea’s smile dimmed slightly. “Very little,” she admitted. “We can only make observations about the day and the weather. We know a little less than a hundred words, and it’s taken us years to learn that many. It’s nothing like…,” she trailed off, the rest of her thoughts clearly hanging.
    It’s nothing like you and Captain Arion .
    Tari uneasily felt for her bond with Arion in the back of her mind as she searched for him in the crowd. It sputtered there like a flickering candle, and Tari had a realization. It’s because of Arion that I can learn human so easily .
    As if feeling her thoughts, Arion