Free Daughter of Regals by Stephen R. Donaldson

witness: his
branch of the Ash enabled him to undo magery.
    Did it also enable him
to unmake things which were Real?
    Near me, Queen Damia
continued smiling, but her smile appeared as stiff as a mask. King Thone stood
motionless as if without Cashon’s support or advice he feared to move.
Unsteadily, Thornden regained his feet and began snarling curses.
    Mage Ryzel lowered his
Scepter, stamped his heel on the stair beside him. “Enough, I say!” He
was fierce with anger. “A Dragon is a Creature, worthy of homage. Real Wind is
among the first forces of the world. Such things should not be mocked by these
petty conflicts. Are you not ashamed?”
    “Paugh!” spat Thornden
in retort. “Be ashamed yourself, Mage. Will you now pretend that you do not
desire the rule of the realm for yourself?”
    “I will pretend nothing
to you, king of Nabal,” Ryzel replied dangerously. “I am regent now, as I have
been before. You know the truth of me. I will not accept warfare among the
Three Kingdoms—neither here nor upon the realm.”
    He did not say that, if
he had desired the rule for himself, he yet lacked means to take it. He had
shown only that he could counter the actions of other Mages. The power to
dismiss images was not the power to force others to his will. Such things did
not need to be said; given time, even Count Thornden would understand them for
himself.
    The situation required
me to speak, before Thornden provoked Ryzel further. Stepping away from my
chair, I addressed the guests. I was relieved that my voice did not shake.
    “My lords and ladies, we
have all been astonished by what we have seen here. Wine and other refreshments
will be brought to restore you.” I knew that the steward would hear me—and
would see that I was obeyed. “When we have recovered the spirit of the
occasion—and when the chandeliers have been relit”—.I glanced wryly up at the
ranks of wind-snuffed candles and was rewarded with a scattering of nervous
laughter—”the ball will be resumed.
    “For the present, I will
leave you a while. I must prepare myself for my coming test.” Also I required
time to think. My need to be alone with my thoughts was acute, so that I might
try to find some grounds for hope.
    Bowing to the
assemblage, I moved to the foot of the stair and asked Ryzel, “Will you
accompany me, Mage?”
    “Gladly, my lady,” he
replied gruffly. He appeared grateful that I rescued him from a difficult
circumstance. I took his arm, and together we ascended from the ballroom.
    Behind us, the shrill
rasp of Scour’s voice rose suddenly. “Beware Mage! You tamper with that which
you neither understand nor control.”
    Ryzel did not turn his
head or hesitate on the stair, but his reply could be heard clearly from one
end of the hall to the other. “I will always beware of you, Scour.”
    I felt a tremor of
reaction start in the pit of my stomach and spread toward my limbs. So that I
would not falter, I gripped his arm harder. He gave me a glance which might
have been intended as reassurance or inquiry; but we did not speak until we had
left the stair and traversed the passage to my private chambers.
    There I stopped him. I
did not mean to admit him again to my rooms—or to my thoughts—until this night
was ended and all questions of trust had been answered. Yet some matters
demanded discussion. Leaning against the door to steady my trembling, I studied
his face and said, “Mage, you were able to dismiss Scour’s Dragon. Therefore it
was not Real.”
    He did not meet my gaze;
his face appeared older than my conception of it. Dully, he said, “Only one who
can make the Real can also dismiss it. Perhaps I succeeded only because the
Reality of the Dragon was not yet-complete.”
    “You do not credit that.”
I masked my fear with asperity. “If Queen Damia holds command of such Magic,
why has she not simply proclaimed her-power and demanded rule?’
    He shrugged. “Perhaps
Scour’s discovery is recent and