Sheala nodded then said, “May I ask you some questions? If you don’t want to answer me, I will understand, but I am curious.”
“Ask what you want, Alalakan dem al’ Sheala, and I will answer as best I can.”
“Most of the other people I’ve seen here in the house and out on the grounds look like Marljas, but you’re different.”
Slighter in build, Denta’s skin was the color of rich cream. Both that and her shoulder-length hair were covered with brown ovals circled by black. Denta was also shorter than Sheala, well under six feet.
Green eyes accented by black stripes that slid from her eyebrows down both sides of her very slender nose guilelessly met Sheala’s. Denta was lithe and willowy and moved with an easy grace Sheala wished she could duplicate.
As she turned right into another corridor, Denta slowed her pace. “That’s because I am not of the
Leonine
tribe. I am
Celet
.”
“Then why are you here? Denieen told me that most families hired workers from their own tribes.”
“My family owes blooddebt. To cancel it, I have agreed to serve as a personal maid for two years.”
“What’s bbooddebt?”
Denta led her down another flight of stairs. “Blooddebt came into existence about a thousand years ago.
The queen of that time was visited by a delegation of
Snopards
, the tribe of the priesthood, and was told that Boodfeuds must stop. Too many Gattan were dying. So blooddebt was created. Instead of constant challenges to the death to satisfy honor, participants in quarrels were obligated to follow certain guidelines.”
“Such as…?”
Denta laughed and turned left into a wider hallway. “The rules and consequences of blooddebt would take days to explain and we don’t have that much time. However, my family borrowed money they were unable to repay on time. To settle the debt, one option for my family was for one of us to serve two years as a servant. I am the oldest child. Both Father and Mother are needed to raise my sister and brothers. I volunteered.”
“So your family owed a debt to Marljas’ family,” Sheala concluded as they entered the main hall.
“No, our debt was to the queen’s sister.”
Sheala glanced at Denta in surprise. “Then how can you be my maid?”
“I was assigned to be Kadis Jadisdotir’s personal maid and accompanied her here. Once here, I begged Teena Seenasdotir to accept my family’s debt and pay the queen’s nephew. I was willing to add a year to my service.”
Sheala snorted. “I take it working for Kadis wasn’t pleasant.”
Denta ducked her head. “She starved and slapped me. I have never been treated so badly in my life, and I was willing to do anything to get away from her. Payment for the debt was sent to Kadis this morning. Teena Seenasdotir refused to add one more day to my service though my family will insist upon another blooddebt to repay the kindness I have experienced here.” She stopped in front of a door. “Here is the dining room. I’ll leave you with the family,” Denta finished as she opened the door and led Sheala into the room.
Marljas’ family was waiting for her. Sheala had no sooner smiled a thank-you to Denta when Kadis pushed her way into the room.
“There you are, you little slut,” Kadis said when she saw Denta. “Who do you think you are to leave my service?”
Kadis’ open palm swept towards Denta’s face.
It never connected.
Sheala grasped Kadis’ wrist. The force of her grip kept Kadis’ lethal claws in their protective sheaths.
Kadis glared at the Drakian who held her wrist. Cognizant of where she was and the audience that was watching, she struggled to keep her temper under control. Slapping a servant was one thing, but lashing out at a guest in the house of the man she wished to marry would not endear her to his family. She’d erred last night. After she and Marljas were married, she would be able to take her rightful place as matriarch of this house. The fact that Teena Seenasdotir was still a relatively young woman and would probably live many more years didn’t matter. Nor did the fact that when she did eventually die, Denieen would head this household because she was wife of the oldest son. Kadis ignored those facts. She was the queen’s niece. Her position in Gattan society was higher. Both Teena and Denieen would be brought to understand that. First, though, she would get rid of this Drakian interloper.
Glaring into Sheala’s face, Kadis snapped, “Since you are a stranger to our planet and a guest in the house of my betrothed, I will attempt to forgive your rash actions. Know, however, that you have committed a grave offense against the niece of Queen Mattis of Gattan, one that would normally demand bloodfeud. You are not Gattan, so you do not understand this. Release me, and I will let this incident pass.”
From the corner of her eye, Sheala saw Marljas push his chair back to rise. She also saw his father place a hand on his arm.
She nodded to herself. This was definitely her battle to fight. She had to prove herself if she wanted to be wife to a
Leonine
Gattan.
She tightened her grip on the other woman’s wrist. “Have you finished, Kadis Jadisdotir? Because if you have, I have a few things to say to you.”
Kadis glared at her with hate-filled eyes.
Sheala ignored the hate. “I have never in all my life witnessed such callous treatment of a servant. As for being the niece of the queen, your behavior is deplorable. One in a position of authority does not mistreat those under her.”
Kadis’ voice dripped with sarcasm. “What could you possibly know of servants, Drakian?”
Sheala grinned. “I carry royal blood, Medirian royal blood, though it is somewhat diluted, from my grandmother Alalakan dem al’ Jenneta whose grandmother was a Medirian princess. I am first cousin to Alalakan don al’ Bandalardrac, Prince Hardan, nephew to the King of Mediria. I am sister-in-law through my brother Chardadon to Alalakan dem al’ Brianna of Earth, adopted daughter to the King and Queen of Mediria and bloodsister to Marljas Drefeson.”
The widening of Kadis’ eyes told Sheala that Marljas’ having taken a non-Gattan bloodsister was not widely known on Gattan.
Sheala smiled at that. Kadis was in for more surprises. “What’s more, the Alalakan clan could buy and sell you, your mother, and your brother ten times over.”
Kadis’ indignant gasp followed that comment. She tried to jerk her wrist free.
She failed.
When Sheala finally did release her wrist, Kadis rubbed it, rose to her full height, and threw back her shoulders. Her voice was haughty. “That matters not. All of those connections are inferior, you are not Gattan.”
Sheala smiled. “Marljas doesn’t see non-Gattans as inferior. He married me.”
Kadis’ mouth dropped open. “He what?”
A chair scraped against the floor and Marljas appeared at Sheala’s side, where he placed his arm around her. “Alalakan dem al’ Sheala is my wife. I married her on Drakan.”
Kadis snarled. “This is not acceptable! We are to be betrothed!” Her voice became calculating. “You did not have your mother’s permission to marry.”
Denieen moved across the room to stand next to Marljas. “As Teena Seenasdotir’s acknowledged representative on Drakan and the next matriarch of this family, I approved the marriage of Marljas and Sheala. Alalakan dem al’ Brianna became Marljas’ bloodsister when the blood from her hand mixed with that from his chest. She is now Gattan by virtue of Marljas’ blood running through her veins, and she, too, approved the marriage between Sheala and him.”
Marljas’ mother joined the group standing before Kadis. Wendjas and Drefes joined the rest of the family to present a united front against Kadis. Only Beti and Sosha remained on the other side of the room.
“As I said last night, Kadis Jadisdotir,” Teena said firmly, “the betrothal contract was never finalized.
Marljas has already married, and I find his wife to be most satisfactory. Our family declines the betrothal proposed by your mother.”
She glared at them. “It’s acceptable for a Gattan male to have two wives. Surely the
Leonine
tribe would enjoy the added honor of being related to the Gattan royal family?”
Marljas looked at Kadis in amazement. “Wendjas and I are already Krondal’s cousins, my father is his uncle. How can we possibly become more related than that?”
Sosha chose that moment to speak. Rising, she joined the group before Kadis and said, “The proposed betrothal between Marljas and me was never cancelled. If he takes another wife, I have first claim, Kadis Jadisdotir. That is the law.”
Marljas smiled broadly at Sosha’s defense. The possibility of the second wife was the only thing he, his parents and Denieen had worried about. Though there was no law against a Gattan taking an alien wife, the queen’s sister could demand that he take a second, Gattan wife, citing their family’s closeness to the throne. He and his family would have fought it, but the outcome would have been uncertain. Many on Gattan, even those who believed in trade rather than war, would have agreed that having a Gattan wife was necessary for a man tied by blood to the royal family.
However, he’d forgotten about the contract for Sosha. Her parents, his parents, and he had signed. It had only been Sosha who’d refused. If she now agreed, Kadis and her mother would have to bow to Sosha’s prior claim. Also, with Sheala’s connections on Drakan and Mediria, not even the most warlike Gattans would want to anger the governments of Drakan and Mediria simultaneously—especially not the Medirians. The skill of Medirian assassins, especially the Monarch’s Assassin, was acknowledged throughout the galaxy. No intelligent person on Gattan doubted that an assassin could reach him or her even here.
Hugging Sheala more tightly against his side, Marljas watched as Kadis fumed. At this moment, there was nothing she could do about his marriage. Still, he didn’t trust her. She was almost as devious and crafty as her mother. She would try to get even somehow.
Her gaze leaped from face to face. “Very well. I will return to my mother’s house, but before I go,” she said, holding up her arm and drawing one claw across its inside until blood flowed, “I call bloodfeud on the Aradab woman you call guest. She handled me in a manner unacceptable to any Gattan.”
Before Marljas or anyone else could protest, Beti crossed the room far more rapidly than anyone could have imagined possible and stood before Kadis. Placing her palms together, she bowed slightly. “Your challenge is accepted, Kadis Jadisdotir.”
Kadis smiled haughtily. “This is a fight to the death, Aradab.”
Beti shrugged unemotionally and said, “I will not kill you but will leave that to someone else. You need not fear for your life nor try to intimidate me with false bravado. I am challenged. I will meet you in four hours’ time before the stables.”
With those words, Beti turned away from Kadis and went to the table where she sat and proceeded to finish her meal.
Kadis’ jaw dropped at Beti’s nonchalance. “I will rip your guts out!” she sputtered. She stepped towards Beti.
“Hold, Kadis,” Teena warned. “The challenge has been given and accepted. You must now depart.”
“But I have not yet eaten! You would favor an alien Aradab over me, a Gattan!”
Marljas’ mother crossed her arms over her chest. “Justly so. Ever since you arrived, you have acted as if you were the queen, ordering servants not yours to perform menial tasks because you were too lazy to do things for yourself. The Aradab Beti has not reviled guests or mistreated servants in our home. She is far better company than you, Kadis Jadisdotir. I will have a tray sent to your room.”
Kadis stamped her foot. “How dare you speak to me so!”
Marljas squeezed Sheala’s arm as his mother unsheathed her claws. He couldn’t remember when he’d seen her so angry. “You act like a spoiled child, Kadis. Leave now before I’m forced to do something you will regret.”
Kadis turned her angry glare to Sheala. “You’ll be sorry for the way you’ve treated me.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Me? What did I do? Why don’t you just get the hell out of here before your hostess claws your eyes out? She looks pretty angry to me.”
After stamping her foot one final time, Kadis whirled and stomped from the room.
Teena looked confused. “Get ‘the hell’ out?”
“You’ll get used to it, Mother.” Marljas pulled Sheala in his arms and hugged her tightly. Sheala’s set-down of Kadis had definitely impressed Teena and Drefes, as had her obvious strength and lack of fear of Kadis’ claws. “I told you she was a fit wife for a Gattan.”
Teena sighed and took her husband’s arm. “Shall we eat? Our meal is becoming cold.”
Leaning against the top rail of the corral next to Marljas, Sheala watched Beti teaching Sosha how to fight with a pair of knives.
“The knife is to be an extension of your arm, Sosha. Do not flail about with it,” the Aradab said critically as Sosha moved through a set of complicated patterns.
Turning too quickly, Sosha lost her balance. Disgusted, she threw down the daggers. “It will never work, Beti. I am too used to having claws.”
Face completely impassive, Beti stared at the dejected Gattan. “Do you dance?”
Sheala brightened at that question. “You should see her, Beti. She flows like water around rocks.
Marljas told me Sosha could have joined a professional company if she so wished.”
Turning to an idle farmhand who’d been watching the practice session, Beti said, “You, bring music.”
She gave the man no time to refuse. She simply turned away and went back to her instruction.
In a few minutes, the man returned with the Gattan equivalent of a portable disc player. Soon strains of Gattan martial music boomed across the stable yard.
“Now,” Beti said as she handed Sosha her knives, “dance.”
At first, Sosha moved stiffly, obviously self-conscious. Soon, however, she lost herself in the music. Her dancing became smoother, more controlled. The knives in her hands flashed in the sunlight.
Beti watched critically and, as soon as it seemed that Sosha was totally engrossed, she attacked.
Without pause, Sosha flowed into one defensive stance after another, adequately parrying Beti’s calculated attacks. Then, almost without a thought, she flowed into an attack.