Griffin's Shadow Read Free Page A

herself with last minute packing while Ashinji checked his armor a final time. He had no plans to wear it on the journey, but he still needed to make sure it was in perfect condition before Jawara, the steward in charge of all the family armor and weaponry, came to fetch and stow it with the baggage.
    Jelena sighed as she examined the piles of clothing laid out on the bed. Amara had given her several new sets of garments as a wedding present; now that she could finally trade her plain cotton and wool for the fine silks and linens of a noble lady, Jelena wondered at her reluctance to wear any of the new outfits.
    “Ashi, will your mother be upset if I do not wish to wear any of the new clothes she gave me?” she asked.
    “What, do you not like them?” he responded, pausing in his task to look at her.
    “I do. I love them, but…” She shook her head, exasperated at her own ambivalence. “I am the wife of a nobleman now! I am supposed to dress like one, not like a…a servant!” she huffed, holding up one of her well-worn cotton tunics. “Truth is, I feel more comfortable in simple things,” she admitted.
    “Wear whatever you like, love,” Ashinji replied. “You’ll look beautiful, regardless.”
    Jelena smiled gratefully at her husband.
    “I will be in the saddle all day, and my new clothes are far too nice to ruin with dust and horse sweat. That’s settled, then. The new things go with the baggage.”
    As she donned her old tunic, scruffy breeches and riding boots, she wondered if she would ever feel truly comfortable in anything else.
    Jawara the steward came for the baggage and armor, and with a message. “My lord, you are needed in the lower yard right away,” he said.
    “I’ll see you later.” Ashinji gave her a quick kiss and left Jelena to finish her packing in solitude.
    Not much remained for her to do, other than extinguish the lamps. Slinging her saddlebags over one shoulder, she glanced once more around the room, then departed, leaving the door ajar so Akan would know that he could enter at will. Taking the outer stairs two at a time, she descended to ground level and started toward the stables.
    Sendai! I’m going to Sendai to meet my father, the king!
    She gave in to excitement and laughed aloud.
    ~~~
    “Jelena, really! You must learn to dress more appropriately now that you’re a member of this family. It simply won’t due for you to go around looking like one of the servants, even if it is what you’re accustomed to.”
    Jelena felt a rush of irritation, but suppressed the sharp retort that sprang to her lips in favor of a more measured response. She regarded Sadaiyo’s wife with a cool eye. “I’m sorry if my clothes don’t measure up to your high standards, Sister, but for now, this is what I wish to wear,” she replied in as even a tone of voice as she could manage under the circumstances.
    Misune Sakehera cut an imposing figure mounted upon a tall, bay stallion. She was truly the most beautiful woman Jelena had ever seen. Her jet-black, waist-length hair, secured at the nape of her neck with a heavy silver clip, gleamed like satin in the morning sun. The horse, as beautiful and imperious as its mistress, flattened his ears and glared at Jelena out of one liquid brown eye. Jelena, still afoot and leading her trusty mare Willow, prudently kept her distance.
    Misune’s regal nostrils flared. “Don’t use that tone with me, girl,” she replied. “You should be grateful for instruction from your betters. Just because you’ve somehow managed to gain a place in this family doesn’t mean you’re anywhere near the equal of the least one of us.” With a dismissive wave of her gloved hand, Misune turned the stallion’s head and rode off, leaving Jelena shaking with anger.
    Is it always going to be this way? she raged. Will I have to take this abuse for the rest of my life, no matter where I go? Jelena wrestled with the near overwhelming urge to run after Misune, to scream into