“And I thought for a bit when he told me to saddle his horse,” Perseverance added calmly. “And then I followed.”
I held my words behind my teeth. I did not want either of them with me. I had no idea what I would find, if indeed I found the raiders at all. I wanted to be free to travel swift and alone, and in the end to be as stealthy or as savage as I judged necessary. I had brought the carris seed for my own use. I did not want to offer it to Lant, injured as he was, and I would never give it to a mere boy like Perseverance. When I had control of my voice, I spoke calmly.
“I told you that if your injuries held you back, I’d go on without you, Lant. That still holds. And Perseverance. You are to return to Buckkeep Castle right now.”
“I understand that,” Lant said, but his words had the sharp edges of humiliation. It was hard for me to care.
“Perseverance?”
“Sir.” He had not changed his horse’s pace and he did not look at me.
“Did you hear my order?”
“I did, sir.”
“Then obey.”
He did look at me then. His eyes were very bright and I knew he fought the tears forming in them. “Sir, I cannot. I made a promise to Steward Revel. He found out I was teaching Lady Bee to ride. He was not sure he approved, but after I promised him I’d see she came to no harm on a horse, he said he did not think he had to report what we were doing. And when our lessons with Scribe Lant were to begin, he summoned me again, and said I must always be ready to defend her, in the schoolroom or indeed anywhere in Withywoods. And I promised him again. Defend her I did. Even though she and I had had a bit of a tiff a few days earlier. It’s as if I swore my loyalty to her first, before I swore to you. So I think only she can tell me to abandon her.”
“That’s the most convoluted logic I have ever heard.” It wasn’t. The Fool could do much better than that to get his own way.
Perseverance said nothing. I thought of ordering him even more sternly to return. And if he still refused, what then? Kick him? Poke him with my sword? The boy was more than stubborn. He was intent on becoming a man. Soon enough, Fleeter and I would outdistance both of them. And then he could be helpful to Lant in returning to Buckkeep. A fine prince I was. I could not get even a stable boy to obey me. I tried to summon the will to insist.
My Wit made me aware of her a heartbeat before her weight hit my shoulder. I flinched at that landing, and Fleeter flicked an ear back in a query.
“Fitz—Chivalry,” the crow announced. She set her feet more firmly in the fabric of my coat and used her beak to push the flap of my collar out of her way.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded of her, not really expecting an answer.
“It spoke!” Perseverance exclaimed.
“It’s a crow!” Lant exclaimed as if perhaps we had not noticed. Breathlessly he asked, “Is she your Wit-beast?”
“No. She’s not my Old Blood companion.” I had never demanded the current usage of anyone and I did not have time to wonder why I did so now, for Per immediately pleaded, “Would she come to me, do you think? She is such a beauty.”
Motley leaned forward and pecked my cheek lightly. “Nice boy!” she squawked.
Eyes wide, Per extended his forearm hopefully to her, as if she were a falcon. She hopped from my shoulder to the offered perch with the barest lift of her wings.
“Aren’t you fine?” Per breathed as he drew his arm in to admire her.
“Fine,” she agreed in mutual admiration, and I suddenly dared to hope she’d found a more permanent home than the Fool or I could offer her.
“Would you like the care of her? She’s got a few white feathers and because of them the other crows mob her. You’ll have to ink them black for her if they start to fade.”
“Truly?” Per looked as if I’d conferred an honor on him. “The poor thing! What’s her name? How did you come to have her?”
“We call her Motley. Her owner died and a mutual friend asked if I could look after her for a time.”
“Motley. Well. Aren’t you fine? Would you ride on my shoulder, do you think?”
The bird’s bright gaze met mine for an instant, almost as if she begged pardon or asked permission. Then as Perseverance slowly lowered his wrist, she climbed up his arm until she sat on his shoulder. Per shot me a grin and then, as he recalled our mission, it faded. “Sir? What are we riding into? Has Bee been found? Is she well?” He tipped his head toward the axe that rode across my back. “It doesn’t need a new handle, does it?”