Waiting

Malav cursed his hesitation. Esus. He was the bird Malies had spoken of, he was sure of it. The Light Bringer his Charyic pressed herself against. Malav had spent the night frantic, unable to feel his wife only to finally feel her as the sun was rising and to have her memories of fleeing, fighting, and nearly dying overwhelm him, before she invited the Light Bringer to lie next to her.

He had to remind himself that Charyic didn’t know she was his wife. His falconet didn’t know him as he knew her. She had to be shown. To learn to love him, or at least to see the advantage in having him for her husband. But her love was what he ached for.

He arrived in Gaelel at midday. Cerik had gone ahead to make arrangements for lodging and Malav took the opportunity afforded by the delay in his wife’s arrival to visit the city’s temple, to leave token gifts on each altar. These gifts had been purchased in the market, and could not compare in value to the offering he had left for Malies in his shrine, even so leaving the bolt of shimmering cloth on Isemal’s altar tasted bitter. He paused looking at the offering with displeasure.

“The Lord of light, ruler of the wind and sky, thanks you for your gift, Prince of Cearazon.” The priestess spoke quietly, approaching from behind the statue. “He knows the gift you have left for his brother, and that it galls you to leave anything on his altar. The why has been denied to him. Will you speak of it?”

A ghost of a smile passed across Malav’s face. “Have him ask the King of Fools.”

The look on the priestess’ face made leaving the offering much sweeter. He moved purposefully to the altar of the goddess of song and prophecy. Her altar was bedecked with instruments, both playable and pretty imitations, and pages of written song. Songbirds were the favored gift of royalty to the goddess Anyk. But Malav had something else in the covered cage for her. He took the cage from his servant and lifted the cloth as he placed it on the altar. A falconet.

The goddess of love and mischief, Ayil favored sweets made of flowers and he had purchased the most rare and expensive to lay on her altar. The rare petals within the confections were poisonous. Laeros, the god of wine and celebration received honey wine, and Iotl, the goddess of the hunt and harvest received a fine bow and a sheaf of whatever grain had most recently been harvested, Malav had not bothered to remember. The twin goddesses of hearth and home, comfort and peace, Ynis and Umis, received perfumed furs and fine candles of white beeswax. And for Malies' altar here, he lay the traditional offering of grave oils and dried flowers.

There was, however, one god whose altar was missing from the temple. Malav was certain he would have to wait for his wife to join him before he could leave his offering for the King of Fools. The thief who tried to pick the covered Prince’s pocket, however, gave him an earlier opportunity. He grabbed the boy by the arm and spoke quietly to him. Much like his falconet, the boy refused to take a stranger to the shrine, but he did bring Malav to an old beggar.

The beggar’s patched clothes had once been colorful and his wrinkled old face looked sweet as he babbled nonsense and stared with his rheumy eyes. Malav drew back his hood before he took the black opal ring he had purchased as an offering for the King of Fools from his finger. The beggar’s face grinned almost madly as he dropped the expensive ring into the dirty rusted cup.

“I would have left it at his feet, as my wife left the star, but that shrine is too far to visit and still be here to claim her.”

The old beggar grinned and nodded, his whole body swaying with the motion. “She tried to give it to her lover. Gave a songbird to his wife. Mischief is kind to his wife’s husband. Can’t be angry when it’s stolen. Loving girl has a sweet tooth.”

Malav smiled and bowed his head before pulling his hood back over his face and returning to the crowded market streets of Gaelel. When he arrived at his lodging there was a Light Bringer arguing with Cerik by the stables. Someone had noticed the horse.

The Light Bringer noticed his purposeful approach and fell silent inclining his head respectfully.

“Your Highness. I was just telling this person that the horses we have in our stables we have purchased legally. He is insistent that one of them is a stolen animal.” Cerik bowed as he spoke.

The Light Bringer couldn’t see Malav’s malicious grin, but he seemed to feel it. “Your Highness-”

Malav held up his hand. “Bring me proof that one of my horses was stolen and I will return it to its master. All I require before me is the thief and the animal’s rightful owner. I will be able to judge the truth of it.”

The Light Bringer’s face was thunderous, but bowed and said, “It will be done.”

Malav nearly laughed. He had obviously pleased at least some of the gods if they were having Light Bringers deliver his wife to him.