yara watched the prince as he stared down at the table, drumming his long swordsman’s fingers on it.
she wished she could read his thoughts. not that she did not have confidence in her ability to bewitch any man.
behind her she could hear the geese roasting on the spit under the watchful eye of clara, who was also watching yara.
the prince’s thoughts - for despite his disclaimers, he was indeed a prince - were gloomy ones.
he was on a mission from his father, the king of d————, to offer terms of surrender to the emperor of a—————, who demanded that the kingdom of d————— recognize him as their liege lord, and pay him a yearly ransom of gold, horses, maidens, and precious stones.
the kingdom of d————, though small and hidden in remote hills, had long prided itself on its fierce independence. but with the increasing power of the empire of a…………, the elderly monarch thought it prudent to not defy its might, but to bide his time until the empire might be weakened by its rivalries with the equally aggressive empires on its eastern and southern borders.
needless to say this did not sit well with the hot blooded young prince and his coterie of hot blooded young followers, who lusted for the glory of war.
the prince had spoken half the truth to zashaw when he described his two companions as his “comrades”.
one of them, arbo, was his old master at arms, an old and loyal follower of the king who had taught the prince the arts of war and swordsmanship. a more loyal and stout fellow could not be found.
the other, terno, had been assigned to the prince by the king’s crafty vizier and favorite, duke warko, as a spy, to make sure the prince executed his disagreeable commission.
arbo and terno were to play the role of humble servants in the prince’s incognito, but the prince had little patience with the details of the masquerade, as evidenced by his assertion to zashaw that they should share his table.
when arbo and terno came down to the dining room and took their places at the table, zashaw, at a signal from yara, brought out two bottles of his “best” wine, such as it was, and glasses.
zashaw assured the trio that the roast geese - his “famous” roast geese, famous throughout this humble corner of the world- would be served shortly, and begged their patience. his effusive obsequiousness was met with absent nods.
the innkeeper retired to the kitchen after attending to the fire, and the prince and his two companions sipped their wine in silence.
then yara entered with the platter of geese.
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