Plenium had never again been able to feel the unalloyed warmth for his wife that he’d felt before the blight, he respected her greatly – especially her strength and resolve – and that in itself had allowed them to be gracious to each other and even to express a certain level of affection.
Plenium looked out the window, wondering if the accord they’d shared in the planning of this mission would continue if the Thorns acted in ways they hadn’t anticipated, despite their preparations.
“We’ll be at the bridge in just a few minutes,” he said.
Folium sat a bit straighter in her seat. “Time to gird ourselves.”
The king turned back to his wife and gave her an-other smile, this one, surprising even to himself, warmer than the last. “Maybe just a few more minutes of tenderness before we gird. I haven’t had the chance to tell you about my latest conversation with Miea. She confessed to me that her feelings for Dyson are not casual.”
Folium chuckled. “I suppose it’s too late for us to arrange an apprenticeship for him in the Northern Territories. They can always use an extra botanist or two up there, and I’d be happy to pay for his protective clothing.”
“I don’t think our daughter would receive that well, though I’ll admit to thinking something similar.” Plenium grinned at the notion of finding a clever way to separate Dyson from Miea by thousands of miles, though he was much more likely to find a way for them to work together. “It was quite a surprise to hear her talking this way. I think you could fairly characterize her expression as ’dreamy’”
“She’s probably hopeless, then. Unless, of course, we invent an emergency that would require her to abandon the university – temporarily, of course. Dyson is scheduled to graduate in a year and a half, no?”
Plenium laughed, though he wasn’t entirely certain Folium was joking. Hadn’t she once told him with absolute sincerity that love and leadership didn’t mix?
“I’m afraid this one might be out of our hands already, my queen. As we well know, there isn’t much that can prevent Miea from listening to what her spirit tells her.”
“A character deficiency we should have addressed when we had the chance.”
Plenium had brought up the topic in the hopes of creating a momentary diversion from the challenge that lay ahead. Instead it had left him with yet another thing to feel uneasy about. There was a reason he and Folium spoke infrequently about Miea’s social life or her future. Plenium could play at the idea of “eliminating” Dyson. He was relatively certain that Folium wasn’t playing, though.
At that moment, the motorcade began its crossing of the Malaspina Bridge. Spanning a canyon nearly two miles wide, the ancient bridge traversed a space that was more than a thousand feet above the ground below. Built at the cost of many lives hundreds of years earlier, it was one of the oldest manmade structures in Tamarisk that had not been renovated in the past few decades. Every few years, engineers would present a proposal for bringing the bridge up to date, and each time the palace would turn the proposal aside due to costs and the relative lack of traffic on the structure.
Plenium watched the landscape with fascination. This was a perspective one rarely got in this kingdom. Certainly there was nothing to provide a vista this wide and at this height anywhere close to Tamarisk City, unless one were sitting on the back of a waccasassa. It was difficult to believe that a natural wonder like the Malaspina Gorge resided so close to a nation as industrial and averse to nature as Gunnthorn.
Just then, Plenium felt the ground shake. At first he thought this was another version of the shift he’d felt a bit earlier. This time, though, it was clear everyone else in the car was aware of it as well. A moment later, he felt the car lurching forward and then he heard the unmistakable sound of the vehicle crashing into the car in
Plenium looked out the window, wondering if the accord they’d shared in the planning of this mission would continue if the Thorns acted in ways they hadn’t anticipated, despite their preparations.
“We’ll be at the bridge in just a few minutes,” he said.
Folium sat a bit straighter in her seat. “Time to gird ourselves.”
The king turned back to his wife and gave her an-other smile, this one, surprising even to himself, warmer than the last. “Maybe just a few more minutes of tenderness before we gird. I haven’t had the chance to tell you about my latest conversation with Miea. She confessed to me that her feelings for Dyson are not casual.”
Folium chuckled. “I suppose it’s too late for us to arrange an apprenticeship for him in the Northern Territories. They can always use an extra botanist or two up there, and I’d be happy to pay for his protective clothing.”
“I don’t think our daughter would receive that well, though I’ll admit to thinking something similar.” Plenium grinned at the notion of finding a clever way to separate Dyson from Miea by thousands of miles, though he was much more likely to find a way for them to work together. “It was quite a surprise to hear her talking this way. I think you could fairly characterize her expression as ’dreamy’”
“She’s probably hopeless, then. Unless, of course, we invent an emergency that would require her to abandon the university – temporarily, of course. Dyson is scheduled to graduate in a year and a half, no?”
Plenium laughed, though he wasn’t entirely certain Folium was joking. Hadn’t she once told him with absolute sincerity that love and leadership didn’t mix?
“I’m afraid this one might be out of our hands already, my queen. As we well know, there isn’t much that can prevent Miea from listening to what her spirit tells her.”
“A character deficiency we should have addressed when we had the chance.”
Plenium had brought up the topic in the hopes of creating a momentary diversion from the challenge that lay ahead. Instead it had left him with yet another thing to feel uneasy about. There was a reason he and Folium spoke infrequently about Miea’s social life or her future. Plenium could play at the idea of “eliminating” Dyson. He was relatively certain that Folium wasn’t playing, though.
At that moment, the motorcade began its crossing of the Malaspina Bridge. Spanning a canyon nearly two miles wide, the ancient bridge traversed a space that was more than a thousand feet above the ground below. Built at the cost of many lives hundreds of years earlier, it was one of the oldest manmade structures in Tamarisk that had not been renovated in the past few decades. Every few years, engineers would present a proposal for bringing the bridge up to date, and each time the palace would turn the proposal aside due to costs and the relative lack of traffic on the structure.
Plenium watched the landscape with fascination. This was a perspective one rarely got in this kingdom. Certainly there was nothing to provide a vista this wide and at this height anywhere close to Tamarisk City, unless one were sitting on the back of a waccasassa. It was difficult to believe that a natural wonder like the Malaspina Gorge resided so close to a nation as industrial and averse to nature as Gunnthorn.
Just then, Plenium felt the ground shake. At first he thought this was another version of the shift he’d felt a bit earlier. This time, though, it was clear everyone else in the car was aware of it as well. A moment later, he felt the car lurching forward and then he heard the unmistakable sound of the vehicle crashing into the car in
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