Magic Casement Read Free Page A

and
big gray eyes.
    “Please,
Inos,” he whispered. “I’m on guard duty. I’m not
supposed to talk to you.”
    She
tossed her head. “Indeed? I shall speak to Sergeant Thosolin about that. “
    Rap
never suspected a bluff. “No!” He shot another horrified glance
toward the guard room.
    He
had grown, even in the short time he had been gone, unless it was those stupid
boots. He was taller than her now by quite a bit, and the armor made him seem
broader and deeper. Perhaps he did not look quite so bad as she had thought at
first, but she would not tell him so.
    “Explain!”
She glared at him.
    “A
couple of the mares had to come back.” He was trying not to move his
lips, staring straight through Inos. “So I brought them. I’m going
back with the wagons. Old Hononin had nothing for me to do, with the other
ponies away. “
    “Ha!”
she said triumphantly. “Well, you still aren’t doing anything very
much. You will take me riding after lunch. I’ll speak to the sergeant.”
    A
mixture of fury and stubbornness came over his face, wrinkling his wide nose
until she half expected the freckles to start popping off like brown
snowflakes. “Don’t you dare!”
    “Don’t
you speak to me like that!”
    “I
won’t ever speak to you again!”
    They
glared at each other for a moment. Rap as a man-at-arms? She remembered now
that he had expressed some silly ambition to play with swords. It was an
idiotic idea. He was tremendously good with horses. He had a natural gift for
them.
    “What
good do you think you’re doing standing here with that stupid pike? “
    “I’m
guarding the palace!”
    Inos
snorted before she remembered again that snorting was not regal. “From
what? Dragons? Sorcerers? Imperial legions? “ He was growing very angry
now, she was pleased to see, but he made a great effort to answer civilly. “I
challenge strangers.” Tommyrot! She suppressed another snort; and there,
as if sent by the Gods, a stranger came strolling across the yard toward the
gate.
    “Right!”
Inos said. “Challenge this one.”
    Rap
bit his lip. “He doesn’t look very dangerous.”
    “Challenge!
I want to see how it’s done.” He clenched his big jaw angrily. “Stand
back, then!” As the stranger drew near, Rap swung his pike to the level,
took one pace with his left foot, and demanded loudly, “Who goes there--fiend
or froe?”
    The
young man stopped, raised his eyebrows, and considered the question. “You’re
new at this, aren’t you?” he asked in a pleasant tenor.
    Rap
turned very red and said nothing, waiting for an answer. Inos suppressed a
snigger, letting just enough escape that Rap would know it was there.
    “Well,
I’m not a fiend.” The stranger was quite young, slim, and not very
tall, but a blond jotunn nonetheless. Anyone less like a fiend Inos could not
imagine. He wore a brown wool cloak with the hood back, a leather doublet, and
rather baggy brown hose. She decided that his clothes were all too big for him,
which made him seem shabbier than he truly was. He was fresh-faced and scrubbed
and clean-a point of note in Krasnegar-and the sun blazed on his white-gold
hair.
    “Definitely
I’m not a fiend,” he repeated. “I’m a wandering
minstrel, so I suppose I’m either a to or a froe. Yes, I must be a froe. “
    “What’s
your name, minstrel?” Rap demanded hoarsely.
    “My
name is Jalon. “ But the stranger’s attention had wandered to Inos.
He bowed. “And I know who this is. Your humble servant, Highness.”
    He
had big blue eyes, with a dreamy air that she found quite appealing. On
impulse, she held out her hand. He took it in his long minstrel’s fingers
and kissed it.
    “I
saw you when you were very small, Highness.” He had a charming smile. “I
knew then that one day you would amaze the world with your beauty. But I see
that I underestimated it.” He was a very nice young man.
    “If
you’re a minstrel, why haven’t you got a harp?” Rap was still
holding his