Chapter one
Swordplay in a garden“Drak!” said the Princess Majestrix of Vallia, walking unhurriedly across the grass to the pool’s edge. “If you insist on climbing the tree I shall be cross.” She put one bare toe into the water and shook her head, looking so gorgeously lovely that I marveled anew at her beauty. “Of course, Drak, if you fall in I shall be more than cross. You are wearing your best clothes.”
“I’m not wearing my best clothes,” said Lela, higher in the tree. She looked down at her brother, giggled, and threw a leafy twig at him. “Silly boy! All dressed up to see his soldiers.”
“I will climb up,” said Drak, with the solemn ferociousness of extreme youth. “And pull your hair.”
Delia’s smile vanished. Her face took on a most purposeful look as she stared up into the missal tr
