Benjin
“Come in,” said Queen Lena from inside her tent. Benj couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so nervous.
“Go on,” Jahaz whispered, urging him toward the tent. “She means you.”
Benj turned to look at Thyst, who was wearing the same simple clothes she’d had on under her leather armiger battle armor. They were all dressed plainly tonight, and it almost seemed odd to be going to see the queen dressed as such. But when the two of them stepped forward and opened the flaps to the spacious tent, Benj felt a sense of relief to see that the queen was dressed equally informally. She wore a dress in the colors of Haidan Shar—blue with white frills—that, while remaining plain and unadorned, still looked elegant on her.
And then he looked inside.
He had not expected luxury like this in the wilds of Gal’dorok. Glancing around, Benj realized that these hastily made and entirely mobile quarters were larger than his entire home back in the Flats; there was enough room to fit fifty men inside, comfortably.
“Thith ith amathing,” Shotes whispered from behind.
Benj smiled. He had to agree: it was amazing.
There was a brazier in the middle with a crackling fire, big enough to fill the tent with warmth; there was an enormous bed with opulent covers; a table with maps and various papers strewn about; and a long dining table, with chairs and place settings all meticulously arranged.
Benj had never seen anything like it; he’d never even realized something like this was possible. Since he’d never been invited to dine with the queen before, he’d never had any reason to picture how she dined. He could only imagine what the dining hall in her castle looked like.
“Ah,” Queen Lena said, standing by the fire and warming her hands. With a smile and a turn of her head to Thyst she added, “So you do know how to follow orders.”
The captains behind her chuckled.
“Yes, Your Grace.” Thyst blushed.
“Please,” the queen said, beckoning them inside, “come in. You’re letting all the warm air out.”
Benj and Thyst did as they were asked, with Shotes and the three captains following them in.
“Tonight, you will dine with me,” the queen said. “While I do not tolerate the questioning of orders, I can appreciate the questioning of tradition, especially when it comes to military practice.”
Zheyo, the last to step in, cleared his throat. “I suppose that is my fault, Your Grace. The girl most certainly learned it from me.”
“And why,” the queen asked with a smile, “does that not surprise me?”
“You are who you train with,” Zheyo replied with a polite shrug.
Queen Lena laughed at this. “Indeed. Now, there will be plenty of time to talk while we eat. There’s no reason we can’t do both.”
The queen moved from her place by the fire and walked toward the table, where one of her accompanying servants pulled out the chair for her.
“Please sit,” she said to them, motioning to the empty chairs. They each did as they were asked, armigers sitting next to their captains, with the queen at the head of the table. “I’ve waited long enough for food today,” she said with a hint of exhaustion.
With those words, the servants around them lifted the silver domes atop the serving platters to reveal a feast that made Benj’s stomach growl. Steam rose from the meats and vegetables that were spread over the table, and Benj swore that the Shaper Herself would have dined like this too. The sounds of cutting meat and the clanking of cutlery soon filled the tent.
Queen Lena was cutting into a piece of quail on her plate when Jahaz spoke up.
“Your Grace,” he began, “while we are on the topic of questioning things, if I may be so bold . . .” He looked at her expectantly. When she nodded, he continued: “Is there a reason we departed before your uncle returned?”
Queen Lena put down her fork, looked at him, and smiled. “While the men that Connus seeks to acquire from Théas will certainly prove useful, I did not judge them to be so critical as to wait for them to arrive. I don’t believe that they would turn the tide of this battle, but that may not be the case in future ordeals.”
Jahaz, seeming satisfied with that answer, smiled and bowed his head. “Thank you for indulging me, Your Grace.”
The queen waved him off, her mouth already full with another bite of her quail.
Benj smiled to himself. He liked her; she didn’t seem so intimidating here. In fact, he would hasten to call her friendly—although he would never say that out loud.
“As for you, young lady,” the queen said, pointing her fork at Thyst, “I’d like to hear some more about what’s rattling around in that head of yours.”
Thyst beamed and sat up straighter. “Really?”
“Really. It’s part of why I asked you here tonight.”
Thyst looked at Zheyo for permission, much to his and Benj’s surprise, but the captain nodded, as if to say, Obviously.
“Well, Your Grace,” Thyst began, “I’ve studied the practices of the Athrani Legion, and I think they have some merit to them.”
“Such as?”
“Such as the idea of granting citizenship to those who volunteer for the army.”
Queen Lena swallowed her bite and looked at the captains at the table, who each gave a contemplative shrug.
“It’s not a terrible idea,” said Jahaz.
“We already employ hirelings and mercenaries,” said Shotes’s captain, Ardwynn. She glanced at the other captains as she added, “At least it would command some sort of loyalty from them besides cold, hard coin.”
Queen Lena seemed to be considering this. “It certainly has its merits,” she admitted. “I’ll think about it. Thank you, Amethyst.”
“Of course, Your Grace,” Thyst said with a bow of her head.
“But the most important question I have for all of you tonight,” the queen said after a healthy drink from her wine goblet, “is this.” She let the silence fill the room so that only the crackling of the fire could be heard. “Do we come away from this battle allowing any Chovathi to live at all?”
She placed down her goblet and looked at them all expectantly.
Their answers, like the sun at night, were simply nowhere to be found.