Bernicia was staring out her window, turning over the meeting with the Admiral in her mind. He was worn out, she decided, from struggling for too long, from fighting for more than twenty years without any hope that their world would ever come up to what he knew as a young man. But I, she thought, have known no other world, and I am not tired of fighting for this one.

  Her maid entered and said, “The Lady Desdemona Zen craves the favor of a visit.”

  Bernicia brightened. “Send her in.”

  A moment later her friend entered, wearing what looked like a new dress of vibrant blue. Desdemona Zen had grown from a tall, gangly girl to a tall, thin, graceful woman, with large brown eyes in a gentle face. Her dark brown hair had been curled back from her face and bound with silver combs, and her wide mouth was open in a smile. She said, “I hope I am not intruding. I imagine that for you it has been a trying day of councils and arguments.”

  “It has, Desi, but you are always welcome here. The worse things get, the better it is to see a friend.”

  “I thought your brother did rather well yesterday. I really think he might be getting less stupid.”

  Bernicia laughed.

  Desi went on, “That boy – it is almost a miracle that he lived to manhood. Do you remember when he heard that story about Slova the Shovel killing an ox with a punch to its head and then went out to try it himself?”

  “Oh, yes. Sometimes I think having to manage him was what drove mother off into the stars. But he is trying to be responsible these days. And he did well in last night’s council meeting, really rather remarkably. For him.”

  “Can you tell me what you decided? Father was coy.”

  “We’re attacking Malovana. In two weeks.”

  “Saturday?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, perfect. This way my engagement ball will never be forgotten, the last entertainment before all the young men left in Calyxia sailed off to war.”

  “Engagement ball?”

  “Yes, father and the old Porcupine finally reached an agreement on vineyards or whatever it was they were squabbling about, so Vitale and I can make it official.”

  “That’s wonderful news!”

  “I have to say I feel the same way. I wasn’t sure I would, but now that it’s settled, I do.”

  “Oh, Desi, this is exciting.”

  “I mean, who is there who’s better? Other than Mercutio, I mean, but father says he has to marry some foreign princess.”

  “And me a foreign prince, although I have no idea who that might be.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I hear the Red Admiral has a couple of sons.”

  They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

  Bernicia said, “When is the event?”

  “Next Thursday.”

  “Two days before the fleet sails.”

  “As I said, perfect. Close enough to be unforgettable but not so close that all the young officers in the fleet will be hung over when they sail.”

  “It will be at your house?”

  “Yes, or maybe in the garden if the weather is good.”

  “I imagine your brother will be happy as well.”

  Desi nodded. “The young Zens and Porcinos get along wonderfully. The problems have all been with the seniors.”

  “Getting along with the Procurator is difficult for everyone, even a man like your father.”

  “I think father was causing trouble of his own. Old Porcino was really after some kind of acknowledgement that his is the more important family, since he has been the chief official here longer than most Calyxians have been alive, and was appointed by the Mages and all. Father wasn’t having it. Sometimes in the middle of dinner he would burst out with, ‘The Zens have been officials in the Western Shore for two hundred years!’ And the like.”

  They laughed again. Bernicia said, “Well, you and I have been friends for sixteen years, and I think that counts for a lot, too.”

  “It certainly does to me.”

  “Will your brother be able to come?”

  “No, sadly, he is off on some expedition into the mountains and is not expected back for weeks. I hope to get him here for the wedding.”

  “I hope so, too.”

  “Now tell me, Bernicia, how are you? I had to get my news out but I also came to check on you. Are you worried?”

  “I am always worried. I feel like I have spent half my life worrying while Mercutio climbed trees or went swimming in storms or hunted boar with a knife or whatever he was up to. Last year when he went to fight in the mountains I hardly slept the whole time he was gone.”

  “I remember.”

  “And now he is sailing off to another war, one we don’t have to fight, at least not now, but he is so eager to get at the monks that there is no holding him back. I can only help to get everything ready so they have the best possible chance.”

  “You are hardly alone. I think half the men in Calyxia are just as eager. I know Vitale is. He’s wrangled himself a spot on the Admiral’s galley so he’ll be in the thick of it. From the way my father talks he wishes he were going, too.”

  “Desi, it makes me think about death.”

  “Just the sort of thing you would think about.”

  “I know. But I wonder why it is the men who may die who are so eager for this, and we women who remain safe in the city who worry. It makes me think that maybe death is not the worst thing, that the worst thing is to be left behind. It they are all killed they are done with this world, but we who are left behind will face a mountain of work and worry.”

  “But think of the power. With all the men gone, you’ll be in charge and I will be your right-hand woman.”

  Startled, Bernicia looked at Desi’s face and saw that she was smiling. “Oh, Desi.”

  “Oh, Bear.”

  Bernicia took her friend’s hand and squeezed it, then let it go.

  “Are you going to dance at my ball?”

  Bernicia smiled. “Yes, I suppose, if Mercutio is acting like a lord I will have to act like a lady.”

  “Excellent. Another thing that will make my engagement famous. But, dearest Bear, there is one another thing I am afraid I have to bother you about.”

  “More? I said I’d dance and you still want more?”

  “I’m afraid so. It’s about your mother. My mother went to call on her this morning, which I gather is the protocol, but the High Priestess declined to see her. I know she won’t come but my parents will be upset if they don’t even manage to invite her.”

  “I will let her know.”

  “And do pass on her excuse. They are always so amusing. ‘The Demon’s Eye is looking blue. The position of the planets foretells rain. The wind is from the north and I saw a blackbird over my left shoulder.’ Or the one about the way the frogs were croaking.”

  “Amusing to you, but imagine how I feel.”

  “You can’t let you mother ruin this for you. We all know how she is. Just make sure she knows she’s welcome.”

  “I will. Oh, Desi, you have lifted my spirits.”

  “Life has to go on, Bear. Weddings, babies, all that. Maybe especially in time of war, to balance out all the death and horror.”

  “I know you are right. And it will make me happy to see you and Vitale together.”