“Patience, of course, was not convinced at all. `Prepare the boy,’ she told the King. ‘And when he is ready, judge for yourself.’ Only Patience would ask such a thing, and in front of both Verity and Regal. Verity listened quietly, knowing how it must end, but Regal was livid. He becomes overwrought far too easily. Even an idiot should know Shrewd could not accede to Patience’s demand. But he knows when to compromise. In all else, he gave way to her, mostly I think to stop her tongue.”
“In all else?” I repeated stupidly.
“Some for our good, some for our detriment. Or at least, for our damned inconvenience.” Chade sounded both annoyed and elated. “I hope you can find more hours in the day, boy, for I’m not willing to sacrifice any of my plans for hers. Patience has demanded that you be educated as befits your bloodlines. And she has vowed to undertake such educating herself. Music, poetry, dance, song, manners … I hope you’ve a better tolerance for it than I did. Though it never seemed to hurt Chivalry. Sometimes he even put such knowledge to good use. But it will take up a good part of your day. You’ll be acting as page for Patience as well. You’re old for it, but she insisted. Personally, I think she regrets much and is trying to make up for lost time, something that never works. You’ll have to cut back your weapons training. And Burrich will have to find himself another stable boy.”
I didn’t give a peg about the weapons training. As Chade had often pointed out to me, a really good assassin worked close and quietly. If I learned my trade well, I wouldn’t be swinging a long blade at anyone. But my time with Burrich-again I had the odd sensation of not knowing how I felt. I hated Burrich. Sometimes. He was overbearing, dictatorial, and insensitive. He expected me to be perfect, yet bluntly told me that I would never be rewarded for it. But he was also open, and blunt, and believed I could achieve what he demanded ….
“You’re probably wondering what advantage she won us,” Chade went on obliviously. I heard suppressed excitement in his voice. “It’s something I’ve tried for twice for you, and been twice refused. But Patience nattered at Shrewd until he surrendered. It’s the Skill, boy. You’re to be trained in the Skill.”
“The Skill,” I repeated, without sense of what I was saying. It was all going too fast for me.
“Yes.”
I scrabbled to find thoughts. “Burrich spoke of it to me, once. A long time ago.” Abruptly I remembered the context of that conversation. After Nosy accidentally betrayed us. He had spoken of it as the opposite of whatever was the sense I shared with animals. The same sense had revealed to me the change in the folk of Forge. Would training in one free me of the other? Or would it be a deprivation? I thought of the kinship that I had shared with horses and dogs when I knew Burrich was not around. I remembered Nosy, in a mingling of warmth and grief. I had never been so close, before or since, to another living creature. Would this new training in the Skill take that away from me?
“What’s the matter, boy?” Chade’s voice was kindly, but concerned.
“I don’t know.” I hesitated. But not even to Chade could I dare to reveal my fear. Or my taint. “Nothing, I guess.
“You’ve been listening to old tales about the training,” he guessed, totally incorrectly. “Listen, boy, it can’t be that bad. Chivalry went through it. So did Verity. And with the threat of the Red-Ships, Shrewd has decided to go back to the old ways, and extend the training to other likely candidates. He wants a coterie, or even two, to supplement what he and Verity can do with the Skill. Galen is not enthused, but I suspect it’s a very good idea. Though, being a bastard myself, I was never allowed the training. So I’ve no real idea how the Skill might be employed to defend the land.”
“You’re a bastard?” The words burst out of me. All my tangled thoughts were suddenly sliced through by this revelation. Chade stared at me, as shocked at my words as I by his.