Black Unicorn, Tanith Lee [famous ebook reader txt] 📗

renounced my father, but obviously he simply discarded her. It explains why she went on so much about this city, and at the

same time refused to show me the city properly, or let me near the city. How ever did she make him see her? Even for a minute? They’re like fire and frozen stone. Of course, he knew nothingabout me. And I—well, I expect I hoped for something one day.When I found him. My father. Lizra, I’m sorry, I don’t like him.He’s nothing to me.”

“He wouldn’t want to be,” said Lizra. “I know. It wouldn’t, doesn’t matter, to him. You’d only be another unnecessary daughter.”

9

Tanaquil and Lizra sat on the seashell bed and studied themonstrous green-and-golden thing that balanced on a frame be fore them. It was twilight. Palace servants would soon come tolight the lamps. Light would make the dress much worse. It hadits seven layers of stiff gilt lace in flounces down the skirt. Theunderskirt was cloth-of-gold, stitched into stiff pleats. The bodicewas a mail coat of golden scales over lime silk. The lime sleeveswere skin-tight and banded with golden circlets set with emer alds. A collar of gilt lace and malachites stood up behind thedress, with a train of green silk and medallions. There was a golden diadem with emerald stars. Just to look at the outfit madeTanaquil too hot, and gave her a headache.

“How will you move?” she asked. “How will you breathe?”

“I shan’t,” said Lizra, resigned. “Last year was quite bad,but not so bad as this. I’ll have to wear it. There’s no choice. And the Festival’s tomorrow. Oh well, the sooner here, the sooner over. You’ll come with me, will you?”

“Of course. What,” Tanaquil added, “will I have to wear?”

“Just something flashy, and some jewels.”

They sat and watched the dress, and the servants knockedand came in, and the lamps were lit, and the dress roared brightlike a green tiger.

They had not, earlier, talked of the Festival. They had goneback through the arch—shrieking, running—and spent the dayriding along the beach or sitting under palm trees eating the foodLizra had had put in the chariot. The peeve emerged from theruin ratless, and darted about, and once or twice it dashed at the sea aggressively, each time thinking better of it and scuttlingback. In the afternoon they made a sand castle. It was a tremen dous architecture, all their adult skills brought to bear on it.

When the sun westered, waves began to steal up along the beach.They knew the castle would be destroyed before night fell, and drove away so as not to see.

They had spoken to each other of their childhoods, of theiradventures and boredoms. They had managed, both, to say verylittle of the Prince and the sorceress. Probably Lizra kept certainsecrets. Tanaquil did not mention the unicorn. It was not that shethought Lizra would disbelieve her. For the first time, Tanaquil had met someone who fully accepted her ideas, credited herexperience, did not try to placate or compress her spirit. Rather,it was because Lizra would not challenge or dismiss the unicornthat Tanaquil did not tell her. The unicorn was chaos and un safety, capricious, almost humorous, and terrible. It had rescued, and played jokes. But the horn was sharper than a sword. Its eyeswere fire. And she had conjured it, sorceress or not. It’s mine, for good or ill. When would it appear again? The pre-cast reflectionof it seemed to be here in this room. At what unsuitable, ridicu lous, or deadly dangerous moment?

Later they went down to the dinner, to almost exactly the same scene as on the previous night. Gasb wore a raven hat. ThePrince wore his dead skins. Neither looked at Lizra or Tanaquil.But Tanaquil looked at the Prince and tried to convince herselfthat this was her father. The harder she tried to take it in, the more uncomfortable she became, the more irritated.

Lizra and she ate very little, although the peeve made a hearty meal. Tonight Lady Orchid’s marmoset had not beenbrought to dine. They returned to Lizra’s room long beforemidnight, and sat at her silver table playing Scorpions and Lad ders, Ships and Chariots, or merely going on with their earliertalk—what they had done at five, and ten, and thirteen, and I did that too, or I never did that. The peeve had made a lair under Tanaquil’s bed, and retired early. Squinting in as it slept, by thelight of a candle, they saw a pair of silver scissors stolen fromLizra’s room, and a small glass bottle, a string of pearls, and twoor three other objects she did not recognize. “Whoever do theybelong to? It must get out through your window at night.”

Finally they heard the midnight bell. Lizra said, offhand edly, “Salute the Sacred Beast.”

They parted with strange unexpressed feelings, each as if theother one might vanish in the night, Tanaquil thought. Tanaquilcould not sleep. She began to have doubts. Should she not havetold Lizra that they were sisters? What obligation did it put upon

them? It had seemed wonderful one minute, and awkward the next. The peeve slunk up onto the bed with one of Lizra’s jade pawns from the Ships and Chariots, which it laid under Tanaquil’schin. It had brought her a present. She thanked it warmly, andslept after all, with her head against its side.

The Festival Procession of Prince Zorander zigzagged through the city like a jewelled snake.

It was the second hour of the afternoon, and furnace hot.

The heat laid a glaze on everything. It brought out a millionsmells, delicious and vile. It caught gems and metal and sentblinding rays in all directions. But the heat did not subdue the crowds, who had been upand about since sunrise.

They jostled and pranced, indulged in games and tussles.They clotted at the edges of the roads, and watched the snake ofthe procession slide by from avenue to avenue.

There were musicians in lynx skins, and dancing girls in rainbow gauze, great squadrons of soldiers in flaming mail, plumed,and carrying lances, bows, swords, and battle honors on gildedpoles trimmed by