The Peasant by Scott Michael Decker Page A

previous Captain had died the week before, thwarting an inept attempt to assassinate her mate. Scowling Tiger had sent so many assassins that warriors joked about the danger of being on Guarding Bear's personal staff. None had even nicked the General.
    “A more favored guard would've offered before being asked, Lord Captain,” she chided gently. “That's why they're favored.” Wrapping her daughter in the robe, she thanked the Captain and resumed walking.
    Infinite knows what mischief the Emperor plans for my mate, she thought, again shivering and glancing back at Emparia Castle. While she'd been discussing the advantages of primary colors for the nursery with Flowering Pine, a servant had brought a message from Guarding Bear. He and the Emperor would be meeting for some hours, and she should return home alone.
    Bubbling Water wanted to go places other than home. “Lord Captain, take me to the boy.”
    “Forgive me, Lady Matriarch. The Lord General ordered me to allow no one to speak with the boy until he had.”
    “I'm certain you executed those orders flawlessly, Lord Captain.” Bubbling Water emitted trust. “You enlisted with us just recently, and aren't familiar with how we operate. You'll find that the Lord Bear and I often act in concert. When we refer to ourselves, we refer to each other.”
    “I'll remember, Lady Matriarch,” Silent Whisper said, meeting her gaze.
    Bubbling Water smiled. “I'm confident you will.”
    “Lady Matriarch, the Lord General asked me to insure that the boy and his parents were safe. I found the boy and his mother, but not the father, and took them to one of the sanctuaries. Although the Lord General ordered that the boy speak to no one, I didn't separate them. You know how mothers are, eh? I hope my measures were adequate.” Silent Whisper ordered three men to scout the route to the sanctuary where he'd taken the boy and his mother.
    “That was thoughtful, Lord Captain. I commend you for your caring. And for taking them to a sanctuary. From the boy's dress, I gather they live in the southwestern quarter, eh? If you'd posted guards in the poorest part of Emparia City, someone would've gotten suspicious.”
    “Indeed, Lady Matriarch.”
    “Well done, Lord Captain. The Lord Mayor Puma didn't exaggerate your abilities. I'm pleased you've joined our staff.”
    “That's very kind of you. Thank you, Lady, Infinite bless you.”
    Bubbling Water would've liked Flying Arrow as tractable as this new Captain, but the Emperor was a petulant brat. Flying Arrow was a resurrection of the Empress Steaming Water, the Matriarch Water's elder sister. Having reared him and succored him after her sister had died birthing him, Bubbling Water knew him as well as any of her children. And feared him more than her sprawling brood in its entire.
    I wish I'd had more experience, Bubbling Water thought for the thousandth time.
    Flying Arrow hated the Bear Family, the most immediate threat to Arrow Sovereignty. By the letter of law Guarding Bear wasn't a relative. In the spirit of law, Guarding Bear was the Emperor's Patriarch, being the mate of Flying Arrow's aunt. The spirit of law was sometimes more influential than the letter. The penalty for harming one's patriarch was death. But Flying Arrow was an arbitrary Emperor, unrestrained by custom and above the law. He could arrange the General's death on whim or pretext. Guarding Bear had planned against such a contingency. The Bear Family and its allies were prepared to rise in rebellion if they suspected that the Emperor had so much as bent his pinky in the General's demise.
    Oh, Lord Infinite, she thought, don't plunge us into another civil war. Shivering in the wind, Bubbling Water drew her robes tighter, the child tucked close.
    Guarding Bear was but one threat to Arrow Sovereignty. Time was another. At thirty years old, Flying Arrow was childless, even though he'd put his shaft into fifty different quivers. Most the courtesans stayed only a night,