Birds of Paradise - 4. Chapter 4

Indivriar fell silent around what Cy estimated as the third day of traveling. He hadn't hardly made any sense prior to that, but the quiet was unnerving. Nothing Cy could do seemed able to keep him warm, because he kept shivering. The songbird's skin remained hot and dry to the touch, and he panted for breath against Cy's chest, only occasionally sucking on a moistened piece of blanket for water.

The bard sang, as that appeared to give some comfort, and walked up and down the small confines, pacing with anxiety. He tried shouting at the guards, but was ignored, and he didn't know what else to do. By his calculations, they were still many days by coach from the palace.

Then they stopped; over the shouted orders Cy heard the distinct sound of water. If that was the Lyndyn River, then they were very close to the palace. The only explanation was the use of distance magic, which meant that at least one of the men in the vanguard was a sorcerer. He hoped this also meant that the guards were aware of the songbird's condition, although it was a little unnerving to think they'd come prepared for this eventuality.

Cy pressed his ear against one of the boarded windows. The more he listened, the more convinced he became that they were stopped at the Lyndyn Bridge. Travelers into or out of the capitol were required to stop and their belongings searched before crossing. Those leaving the capitol also had to pay a tax.

There appeared to be an argument between the troops in charge of the wagon and those guarding the bridge. That was risky, denying demands from the Black Guard, but although Cy strained his ears, he couldn't make out the cause of debate. He could guess, however, that the soldiers wanted to see inside the wagon. He wondered what excuse, if any, the guards gave, but it ultimately didn't matter, because they shortly moved on.

The horses' hooves clattered against the wooden slats of the great bridge, and Cy pictured the mighty river in his mind's eye. Wide enough for a dozen wagons to travel side-by-side, the Lyndyn river brought ships from far-away lands to trade with the people of Parsu. The capitol rested in a bend of the river, protected on three sides by a fortified harbor and by the walls on the other side. Over time as the city expanded, they built new walls until only the palace remained in the inner-most circle of the city.

Cy had traveled to the palace only once, escorted by the High Priest of the Sun, to announce his ordination. He remembered the chaos of the crowded city, with houses stacked on top of one another, crowded streets and constant noise, even at the dead of night. The thick walls surrounding the palace kept the shah and his retinue isolated from the dirt and smells of the capitol, and the road to and from the gate was well-patrolled.

The wagon traveled at a quick pace, pausing only briefly to pass through a series of checkpoints and gates on their way to the palace, and the aviary there. They could have deposited Cy at the city prison in the fourth ring, but they continued on, and the aviary was the only place Cy could imagine them going from there.

Within a few hours of crossing the bridge, Cy heard the muffled but unmistakable sound of songbirds singing. In his arms, Indiviriar made a soft sound and Cy cuddled him close, crooning softly. Soon. Whatever was to come, they'd find out soon.

When next the wagon stopped, Cy rose to his feet and leaned into the corner for balance. He prepared himself for a fight; he did not trust these men with the songbird's care. To date, they had only hurt him.

The tension in Cy's body alerted Indivriar, who cheeped again, his dry, raspy tongue flicking out to touch skin in understanding and encouragement. His glazed, sunken eyes opened briefly, but he could see nothing in the darkness and they closed again without notice.

The back of the wagon opened to reveal a thick canopy of tall trees. Each trunk was as big around as a water wheel and as old as the kingdom itself. After being in the cooler, Northern air, the city felt hot and muggy to Cy. He knew that the river kept this area of the kingdom fairly cool, but the air was as trapped as the people inside its walls. With the trees, it was rather like being back in the jungle again. At least the air would benefit Indivriar, though Cy made a wry grimace.

Squinting against the harsh-seeming light, Cy cautiously exited the wagon. he'd expected guards, but saw only two. They stood next to two men wearing the thick, leather garb of the falconers, who also wore the white sashes of healers.

"Am I glad to see you!" Cy blurted.

The healer closest sniffed and Cy flushed. Pet birds had an unmistakable odor, and after three days cooped up with the ill Indivriar had only exacerbated the problem.

"Bard Cyrus?"

He started and turned around. He hadn't expected anyone to know who he was

"Sir, might I introduce myself? I am Mirza Darshun, his Imperial Highness's private secretary."

Cy stared for a moment in shock. This man wore the red uniform of the palace, but his title announced him as a close relative of the Shah. A nephew, perhaps. As private secretary to the Shahzada, the Crown Prince, he could also be a younger son of the Shah, or a bastard. Whichever the case may be, his rank and richness of dress was far beyond anything Cy was used to seeing. Why was such an important person here to greet him? And how did he know who Cy was?

He blinked, and offered a dazed, sketchy bow, the movement difficult with the burden of the songbird in his arms.

"I ... I am honored, your excellency."

The man's ascetic face lightened with a smile. He acknowledged Cy's bow with a bob of his head. "His Imperial Highness invites you for tea, yonder." He waved offhandedly towards the trees to their left. "The physicians will care for the songbird."

Cy glanced down at Indivriar uncertainly. The songbird was a dry husk from the fever and he looked even worse than Cy had imagined in the darkness of the wagon. Truly, he'd never seen man nor beast who looked worse and yet lived.

"You have the Shahzada's word that you shall not be harmed," said Darshun solemnly.

"And Indivriar?" He looked from the bird in his arm to the hovering attendants.

Darshun looked at him curiously.

"The songbird," Cy explained, shifting his burden slightly.

"The physicians," said Darshun, gesturing, "will see to the songbird."

Rarely had Cy's instincts steered him wrong, and he listened to them now. "My sincerest apologies," he answered with a deeper bow, "but I must remain here, with Indivriar."

The secretary's mouth pulled down in a disapproving smile. "Bard --"

"It's all right, Darshun."

Cy's head whipped around as the people around him dropped to the ground in low bows. The man who stepped around the far side of the wagon and into view wore the same simple attire as the other falconers, but the intricate braids of his hair, his posture, and even his face screamed at Cy.

He dropped to one knee so that he could still hold Indivriar, and bowed his head and torso over the songbird. He said a quick prayer. Or two.

"Forgive the deception," said the Shahzada, surveying Cy critically. He had hoped that the report was wrong. After interviewing his guard and speaking to Lady Parisa, he had wanted to hope for the best. He now saw that the situation was as bad as he'd feared.

He sighed. "Come. We will talk while my physicians work."

He turned and strode away, leaving Cy to wobble to his feet and hurry after. A quick look around and Cy inferred that they were in the main compound of the aviary. The buildings to all sides were low, squat things made of stone. Moss grew on the buildings so that they seemed to vanish into the surroundings, dwarfed by the large trees.

As they walked away, the driver of the wagon lifted the reins and drove away. The two physicians, falconers, and the Shahzada's secretary followed Cy and the prince towards a small building set off to the side of the others.

"Traveling magic," said the Shahzada, stepping down the stairs into the building, "is not easy on man or beast, but I deemed the risk worth taking, on the chance we might recover the songbird alive." He opened the door and held it open as Cy descended. "As soon as I received my aunt's letter, I sent my men at once."

Aunt? thought Cy, staring around blankly.

The building sat within the earth to the height of an average man's shoulders, and a large pool occupied a majority of space. The heat and moisture in the air clung to Cy's skin and he stared in amazement at the steaming water.

"You see -- bring him here." The Shahzada had walked over to the pool, pointing at a few steps leading into the hot water. The falconers hurriedly lit more lamps, the physicians readied their things on an inset wall, and Darshun took a seat on a bench by the door, smiling benignly.

Gripping Indivriar tightly, Cy stepped down carefully into the pool, gasping as the water all but scaled his skin. He stopped when the water was waist-deep, though there were a few more steps to reach the bottom. Indivriar chirped weakly and wiggled, throwing Cy off balance for a moment.

The songbird's pants were loud in the hushed atmosphere, and Cy felt quite awkward standing in the center of the steaming pool completely nude. The Shahzada watched and Cy had to look away, glad for the heat that already flushed his skin.

"I am sorry for this, Bard Cyrus," said the Shahzada quietly, taking a seat on the edge of the pool to dangle his feet and lower legs in the water.

"I really don't understand what's going on here," said Cy, wondering if he might faint. The heat was quickly going straight to his head, his muscles loosening from the tense uncertainty of the past few days. He blinked, shaking his head, the Shahzada's voice sounding far away.

A hand on his arm startled him and Cy lashed out instinctively, catching the surprised physician ankle to ankle and dumping all three of them into the pool with a splash. Even blinded by the hot, stinging water, Cy flung out his arms for the songbird before considering his own safety.

::Indivriar!:: he called. ::Indivriar!::

The songbird sang back, his voice tight with pain and fear, and Cy came to his feet in a rush towards the sound.

"What are you doing? Get away from him!" Dashing water from his eyes, Cy snatched back the songbird, clutching Indivriar to his chest. The bird's arms went around Cy's neck, his legs around his waist, and his little body trembled, breathing loudly into Cy's ear.

Cy snarled wordlessly in rage, trying to back away, but the water at the center of the pool was neck-deep, and they were naked and unarmed, surrounded by enemies on all sides.

"Hold!" The Shahzada's voice snapped over everyone's heads, echoing in the round, stone chamber. The guards on the edge of the pool stilled, but they kept their batons and nets at the ready.

Reason returned to Cy in the next heart beat and he bowed his head, no little confused, and worried. His hands moved automatically to soothe Indivriar's panicked breathing.

The Shahzada brushed off the hand his secretary had placed on his shoulder and stared at the top of Cy's head. After weighing his options, he said, "Bard Cyrus, I must ask you to release my songbird." The two physicians waited anxiously by the stairs.

Cy knew that this was no request, and he ached to comply, but his arms were connected to Indivriar as if by glue. A fist grabbed Cy's heart and squeezed, bringing tears to his eyes and making him gasp for breath. Trembling, he shook his head and, squeezing his eyes closed for a second, looked up. Unable to give voice to the distress etched on his face, he could only whisper, "Forgive me, your Highness. I cannot."

He was hot, too hot, his feet far heavier than his head, and he had to keep blinking, holding perfectly still lest the world tilt again.

"In respect for your rank and patronage, I give you this last warning," said the Shahzada. "Release the songbird and step away."

Cy couldn't catch his breath. "I cannot, your Highness. Please, I ..." He hung his head, arms tightening their hold. "I cannot."

A long silence followed, and although Cy felt the dagger at his back, no one moved. Shaking, he chanced another look up, to see the prince still standing at the lip of the pool, toe tapping and arms crossed; however, he seemed more sad than cross.

"Leave us," he said, waving imperiously at the guards, to the physicians, and lastly glaring at his secretary. Darshun bowed and backed away without a word. He was the last of the crowd to leave.

To Cy's surprise, the Shahzada sat down again, easing his feet back into the water with a quiet sigh. He stared at bard and bird while the echoes of the other's footsteps faded away.

Then he spoke, gesturing to the stone steps of the pool. "Have a seat, Bard." He stared at his bare feet, kicking idly at the water while Cy moved, suddenly looking all of his nineteen years, worried, but determined.

"These are curious circumstances we find ourselves in," he said slowly, glancing over as Cy settled on the stair and pulled Indvriar back into his lap. The songbird cried out as the heat eased the pain in his abdomen, and he curled up against his mate's side with the ease of familiarity. His tongue lapped against Cy's skin and the Shahzada frowned.

"Your Highness --" Cy began, breaking off to soothe the ill songbird. :: Shh, Indivriar. Shh. It's okay. Shh, shh, now.::

"What is that?" asked the Shahzada. "That queer sound just now."

"Music, your Highness," he answered cautiously. "I believe the songbirds may be far more intelligent than assumed."

"Hn. Not likely. I know these birds, Bard, have been charged with this aviary's safekeeping for over a decade." He was the eldest son, the Crown Prince, and as such the responsibility for the aviary was his until he had a son to pass it to. His brothers and sisters had their responsibilities, but the heaviest burdens belonged to the Shahzada. He would be Shah one day, and the aviary was their greatest treasure.

"As a boy I practically lived here," he mused, leaning back to stare up at the vaulted ceiling. The tiles glittered in the mist, reflecting back the light of the hooded lanterns.

Cy kept to himself the comment that the Shahzada was scarcely more than a boy now. He looked down at Indivriar instead, his wet hand smoothing some of the damp, oily feathers. Why was he so attached to this creature? It was uncanny.

"Your thinking is currently compromised," said the Shahzada sharply, his gaze back on the pair.

"Your Highness --"

"Enough!" he snapped, then took a moment to erase the scowl from his countenance. He took a deep breath and looked Cy in the eyes. "The situation is this: our breeding stock has lately been decimated by a strange disease, something your ... friend, there, also has. As he is yet young, we believe he will recover." They had little choice but to try, in any case.

Cy shivered as a stray breeze crossed his wet skin. As thankful as he was not to see the smug, condescending face, the black guard's presence would have made Cy feel less like the centerpiece of some elaborate hoax.

"Although Indi has never gone into heat, the fact is he was able to sire chicks, which gives him value in the current state of affairs."

By the Shahzada's frown, he was not happy about the circumstances, and Cy swallowed hard, sending up a small prayer of thanks, for what he shortly found out.

"With the decrease in our stock, this makes the crime of which you have committed take secondary precedence. Rather, I am forced to see to it that the songbird," he nodded to Indivriar, "recovers from this illness. You must let this happen, Bard, or I shall likewise be forced to set you in irons."

He gulped. Young he may be, but the Shahzada had grown up with power, and his voice cracked with his convictions.

"Yes, your Highness. I apologize, I simply --" Cy shut his mouth when the Shahzada glared in warning.

"I am taking time to explain this to you, Bard Cyrus, because I honor my Aunt and respect the titles you hold, but do not try my patience."

Cy shook his head, adjusting the songbird in his arms. Indivriar seemed to grow heavier with each passing moment. He was also shivering again, so he shifted down another step, so that the water came up to the bird's chin.

"You will assist my physicians," the Shahzada was saying, "and if that means staying out of the way, then you will stay out of the way. As the songbird grows sicker, the madness will spread to you; however, I cannot have you executed, or I must also dispose of the bird." He frowned. "Perhaps fortunate for you, but this is only a brief stay of execution. Once this issue is resolved, as I am confident it will be soon, I will have no further use for that runt and will see to it that you cause me no more inconvenience. Understood?"

The stone floor may as well have been a throne for the sudden presence of authority, and Cy nodded. "Yes, your Highness."

"Very good." He stood and walked towards the door.

"Your Highness!" Cy called quickly, twisting to see him. He had one last chance to ask anything he wanted, but the only thing that came to mind was, "They took his chicks. Please, your Highness, won't you give them back?"

The Shahzada's eyebrows went up at the question and he turned around. He'd expected a plea for forgiveness, thanks for not having him struck dead on the spot, or even begging for mercy, but this?

His father had placed the aviary into his care. All matters regarding the valuable songbirds were the Shahzada's to make, and he regularly received requests for a singing pair as gifts to the noble houses. Even the Shah must ask a boon, and the Shahzada was even ultimately responsible for all falconers trained to care for the songbirds.

Lady Parisa had been brought straight to him on her arrival. She'd been upset, but he was prepared to show his father's eldest cousin some leniency, and he gave her a moment to explain herself after he read the written report. According to the lady, Bard Cyrus had only just arrived at the house and could not have been involved in any plot to illegally breed the two songbirds. She also claimed responsibility for her gameskeeper.

That was impossible, of course. Her rank protected her, but that her gameskeeper should not be involved was preposterous. He was a trained falconer and knew the rules.

"Please, your Highness," said Cy as the silence dragged on.

"Indi is in no condition to --"

"I'll take care of them," Cy dared to interrupt.

"You know nothing of songbirds!"

"I'll learn! Please, they're everything to him, it's cruel to --"

The Shahzada crossed his arms over his chest, scowling. "Those chicks are more important than you can know."

How exactly the bard came to be involved, the Shahzada didn't know, but it didn't really matter. His devotion to the bird, and the red mark on his chest was evidence enough. The politics of breaking the news to the Brothers of the Sun was a headache he hadn't wanted to contemplate without first meeting the man. He'd hoped the bird's illness had prevented the bond from forming, that even his men might have been mistaken, but all for naught.

"None of this makes any sense to me," Cy said earnestly, sensing the Shahzada's uncertainty. "But, I do understand that love is a powerful motivator. Give him something to live for, your Highness?"

The Shahzada regarded Cy thoughtfully for a minute before he nodded. "Very well, I shall see that you are instructed in their care, but know this, Bard Cyrus: should those chicks die, that will be four lives you shall be held accountable for; yours, and three priceless songbirds."

"Yes, your Highness. Thank you."

Frowning, the Shahzada turned away, but paused with his hand on the door latch. "I warn you to give me no reason to regret my generosity."

"No, your Highness," Cy murmured, but the Shahzada had already thrown the door wide, his shouted orders ringing across the courtyard.

Cy held Indivriar tighter, looking down on his worn and gray face. From the first moment he'd seen the songbird, he'd been lost, and events were moving too swiftly for him to decipher. All that had happened because he'd wanted to ease the pain of a song. All this for a songbird. Had he really lost his mind like everyone kept implying?