Thus none dared lay a
hand upon her or bar her path for the slightest reason.
She got her share of incidental looks, though. Some accepted her, some
despised her, some merely took a good look to see who she was and then
left her alone.
Meanwhile, rumors flew like birds on the wing, telling of Kadrug and
giants, Kadrug and Conabar, Kadrug and this, Kadrug and that, and so on
and so forth.
Si'Wren watched Emperor Euphrates prostrate himself once in private
prayer services to the sun god, beseeching deliverance from Kadrug and
his giants. Emperor Euphrates seemed very worried, though she could not
imagine why. His army certainly seemed large enough to handle any
possible enemy, giants or no.
* * *
One day, Mearch marched into Ibi's private chambers, and returned
Si'Wren's polite bow and Ibi's imperious look with equal aplomb as he
delivered to them both a careless greeting with a wordless wave of the
hand.
Si'Wren's eyes were riveted upon Mearch's other arm, in the crook of
which was tucked an oiled chamois skin wrapping, which was carefully
folded and tied around something rather bulky.
Mearch had only come calling, in Si'Wren's rather short-lived
experience, with a direct regard to the pursuit of her education with
horses, and as she looked on with no small degree of excitement and
anticipation, she suspected that today was to be the day she had been
awaiting anxiously for so long.
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