"Rawn, Melanie - Dragon Prince 2 - Star Scroll" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

Chapter One

Graypearl, Prince Lleyn's elegant jewel box of a palace, nestled atop its hill in a sculpted setting of lush spring grass and flowering trees. Built of stone that gleamed at dawn and sunset with the subtle iridescence from which it drew its name, it was one of the few princely residences that had never been a fortress. No defensive architecture had ever been needed on the island of Dorval, at peace with itself and the nearby continent for longer than anyone's great-grandfather could remember. Graypearl's towers had been fashioned for beauty, not war.

Gardens spread in curved terraces overlooking a tiny harbor where boats sailed out in season to harvest the pearl beds. A small army of groundskeepers kept the luxuriant spring growth of flowers, herbs, and trees from running riotЧbut no one could impose similar order on the boy who ran an intricate pattern between the rose trees, kicking a deerhide ball before him. He was a slight youth, rather small for his fourteen winters. But there was the promise of height in his long bones and he moved with an agility that older squires had reason to bemoan in games of skill with blunted knives and wooden swords. Dark blond hair crowned a clever oval face whose most vivid feature was a pair of large, fine eyes that changed from blue to green depending on his mood and the color of his clothes. It was a quick face, intelligent and sensitive, with its share of inherent pride in bones which were becoming more visible as his features lost their childish roundness. But there was nothing about him to suggest that he was anything more than a squire fostered to Prince Lleyn's court for training, released from afternoon duties and playing happily by himself in the gardens. Certainly there was no indication that he was the only son of the High Prince, destined to inherit not only his father's Desert lands but those of Princemarch as well.

Princess Audrite, wife of Lleyn's heir Chadric, watched the boy with an indulgent smile. Her own sons had gone to other courts just as this youth had, and returned as young knights skilled in all the gracesЧnot her little boys anymore. She spared a sigh for having missed their growing years, but other youngsters had filled up her time and, some of them, portions of her heart. Maarken, Lord Chaynal of Radzyn's eldest son and cousin to the boy playing in the gardens, had been one of her favorites, with his swift mind and sunny smiles. But this golden princeling she watched now was special. Made of air and light he was, with a temper like flashfire through summer- dry timber and a streak of mischief that had more than once landed him in trouble. In fact, he ought not to have been excused his duties like the other squires this afternoon, for he still owed her the copying of a hundred lines of verses after a misdemeanor yesterday in the kitchens-something involving a large quantity of pepper and an exploding fish bladder. She was not sure she wanted to know the particulars. An inventive mind, had young Pol, and Audrite chuckled in spite of herself. She had chosen a most appropriate punishment by selecting poetry for him to copy; had she specified a hundred mathematical problems, he would have completed them in a wink and considered it no punishment at all.

The princess shook out her thin silk gown and settled on a bench, not wishing to interrupt Pol's game until she had found the right phrases for what she had to tell him. But all at once the deerhide ball shot past her, propelled by an enthusiastic kick, and the boy skidded to a stop before her. Surprised by her presence, he nevertheless gave her a bow worthy of the most elegant young lord. "Your pardon, my lady. I didn't mean to disturb you." "It's all right, Pol. Actually, I came here looking for you and thought I'd sit in the shade for a little while. It's quite hot this spring, isn't it?"

He was not yet skilled enough in the art of polite conversation to take her lead on to further chat about the weather. "Do you have news for me, my lady?"

Audrite chose to be as direct as he. "Your father has asked permission to take you away from us for a time.

He wants you to go home to Stronghold by way of Rad-zyn, then to the Rialla with him and your mother."

Excitement shone in the young face. "Home? Really?" Then, realizing that his reaction might be taken amiss, he hurried on, "I mean, I like it here and I'll miss you and my lord Chadric and my friendsЧ"

"And we'll miss you, Pol." Audrite smiled her understanding. "But we'll bring you back to Graypearl with us after the Rialla so you may continue your training. It's unusual, you know, for a squire to be allowed a holiday from the work he must do in order to become a knight and a gentleman. Do you think what you've learned thus far is enough to uphold Prince Lleyn's reputation?"

Pol gave her a cheerful grin. "If it isn't, then Father will know it's my fault, not anyone else's!"

Audrite grinned back. "Yes, we had a long letter about you when you first came to us."

"But I was just a child then," he assured her, blithely forgetting the transgression of the previous day. "I won't do anything to embarrass anyone. I've outgrown all that." He paused, glancing at the sea far below. "ExceptЧI'll have to cross water, won't I? I'll try to behave better than I did the first time."

The princess ruffled his blond hair. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Pol. Indeed, you ought to be proud. AH Sunrunners lose their dignity along with their breakfast when they cross water."

"But I'm a prince, and I should be in better control of myself." He sighed. "Oh, well. Once to Radzyn and once coming backЧI suppose it won't be too bad."

"There's a silk-ship leaving in two days for Radzyn port, and Prince Lleyn has bespoken a place for you on it. He's sending Meath with you for company."

Pol made a face halfway between a grin and a grimace. "Then we can be sick together!"

"I'm convinced it's the Goddess' way of keeping you faradh'im humble! Why don't you go upstairs now and start packing?''

"I will, my lady. And tomorrowЧ" He hesitated, then went on, "Could I go down to the harbor and find presents for my mother and Aunt Tobin? I've saved almost

everything Father's sent me since I got here, so I've money enough."

He had the right instincts; he was already generous and thoughtful about pleasing ladies. That face and those eyes would be breaking hearts before he was too much older, Audrite reflected, and relished the notion that she would be around to watch. "You and Meath may be excused tomorrow for the day. But I seem to recall you have a certain project to complete for me first. How many lines was it?"

"Fifty?" he asked hopefully, then sighed. "One hundred. I'll have them done by tonight, my lady."

"If they're not in my hands until tomorrow evening, I'll understand," she suggested, winning another of his wide smiles and a bow of thanks. Then he ran back up the terraces to the palace.

Audrite spent a few more moments enjoying the shade before she, too, left the gardens. Her steps were lithe and energetic as she climbed; a passion for riding had kept her slim and supple for all her forty-nine winters. She unlatched the gate that led into the private enclave and paused to admire the oratory that rose like a shining gem from the formal gardens. It was said that the one at Castle Crag, a crystal dome built into the side of the cliffs there, was the most splendid in all the thirteen princedoms, but she could imagine nothing more beautiful than this oratory at GraypearlЧand not only because she had had a great deal to do with its construction.

Carved stone columns had been taken from an abandoned keep on the other side of the island to support walls of pale wood and brilliant stained glass. The painted wooden ceiling rose far above, punctuated with small, clear windows in an uneven pattern that looked random but was not. It could be said that the oratory was in reality a temple: lit by the Fire of sun and moons, open to the Air, built of the things of the Earth, and circled by a stream of Water that irrigated the gardens below. Audrite crossed the little footbridge and stepped between the columns, catching her breath as always at the beauty of the place. It was like walking into a rainbow. And if standing here embraced by all the colors in the world was