"Paul Thompson - [Elven Nations Trilogy 1] - Firstborn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Thompson Paul B)

Sithas folded his arms. "I was there too, inside. He wasn't pleased."
His twin lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "What's this all
about? He didn't call me here to chastise me, did he? You wouldn't be here
for that."
"No. Father called me back from the temple before you came home.
He's gone upstairs to fetch Mother. He's got something to tell you."
Kith-Kanan relaxed, realizing he wasn't going to get dressed down.
"What is it, Sith?"
"I'm getting married," said Sithas.
Kith-Kanan, wide-eyed, leaned back on the table. "By E'li! Is that all
you have to say? 'I'm getting married?' "
Sithas shrugged. "What else is there to say? Father decided that it's
time, so married I get."
Kith-Kanan grinned. "Has he picked a girl?"
"I think that's why he sent for you and Mother. We'll all find out at the
same time."
"You mean, you don't know who it is yet?"
"No. There are fourteen suitable clans within House Cleric, so there
are many prospective brides. Father has chosen one based on the dowry
offeredтАУand according to which family he wants to link with House
Royal."
His brother's eyes danced with merriment. "She will probably be ugly
and a shrew, as well."
"That doesn't matter. All that matters is that she be healthy, well-born,
and properly worship the gods," Sithas said calmly.
"I don't know. I think wit and beauty ought to count for something,"
Kith-Kanan replied. "And love. What about love, Sith? How do you feel
about marrying a stranger?"
"It is the way things are done."
That was so like him. The quickest way to insure Sithas's cooperation
was to invoke tradition. Kith-Kanan clucked his tongue and walked in a
slow circle around his motionless twin. His words rang off the polished
stone walls. "But is it fair?" he said, mildly mocking. "I mean, any scribe
or smith in the city can choose his mate himself, because he loves her and
she loves him. The wild elves of the woods, the green sea elves, do they
marry for duty, or do they take as mate a loving companion who'll bear
them children and be a strength to them in their ancient age?"
"I'm not any smith or scribe, much less a wild elf," Sithas said. He
spoke quietly, but his words carried as clearly as Kith-Kanan's loud
pronouncements. "I am firstborn to the Speaker of the Stars, and my duty
is my duty."
Kith-Kanan stopped circling and slumped against the table. "It's the
old story, isn't it? Wise Sithas and rash Kith-Kanan," he said. "Don't pay
me any heed, I'm really glad for you. And I'm glad for me, too. At least I
can choose my own wife when the time comes."
Sithas smiled. "Do you have someone in mind?"
Why not tell Sithas? he thought. His twin would never give him away.
"Actually," Kith-Kanan began, "there isтАУ"
The rear door of the hall opened, and Sithel entered, with Nirakina at
his side.