Too Many Princes Read Online Free

hushed, since most of the suites were empty at this time of day. At the far end, a lone servant went scurrying about some errand. The two men had adjoining chambers near the center of the wing. Brastigan unlocked the wooden door to his own suite and pushed through.
    Since he wasn't one of the legitimate or important princes, he had only a pair of middle sized rooms, linked by an arched portal. One was a sitting room, the other his bed chamber. They were furnished not richly but comfortably and, he noted with irritation, had been tidied during his absence.
    “ Now tell me what really happened, ” Lottres said, following Brastigan through to the bedchamber.
    “ I don't know, ” Brastigan replied, voice muffled as he rummaged through a chest of clothing. “ I was at the Dead Donkey having a drink, and I was looking at one of the alewives. Some big fellow saw me and didn't like it. Seems she was his girl. ” He emerged long enough to toss a garment onto the bed.
    “ What happened? ” Lottres picked up the dagger, which Brastigan had left atop another chest.
    Brastigan shrugged. “ Nothing much. We were clinching hands, and a fight broke out at one of the gaming tables. Nothing I couldn't deal with, ” he insisted, seeing Lottres's worried expression. “ Then, in the middle of the fight, someone threw that at me. I couldn't see who it was. Let me tell you, it's a good thing Joal trained me. One of Tarther's whelps would've been dead for sure. ”
    “ You never saw who threw it? ”
    “ Habrok and his bully-boys showed up before I had a chance to ask any questions. As if I could have, with a brawl going on. ” He dug deeper in the chest, this time bringing out a pair of dress boots. “ I kept the knife, though. Eben might be able to learn something from it. ”
    Lottres frowned slightly, leaning in the door. “ Eben can't work miracles. ”
    “ Well, we have to start somewhere. Be assured, I have no intention of ending up like Aric. ” By this time Brastigan had found what he needed. He gathered the armload of clothing. “ Come on. I just need a quick rub down, and then we'll go see what Father wants. Bring that, would you? ” he added, meaning the dagger.
    Lottres stuck it through his belt and stood aside to let Brastigan pass. Together they moved down the corridor and descended the stairs. The lower level was dimly lit by smoky candles set on wall brackets. Widely spaced doorways hinted at storage rooms beyond. The lower hall took a sharp turn and gave out into the main bath. Again, the room was nearly empty except for a single manservant who bowed at their approach. Arrel was a wizened little scrap of an old man: toothless, bald, and deaf as a post. He had worked in the baths as long as either of them could recall. Brastigan waved him away.
    There was a main pool, rimmed with tile, and beyond it a row of partly enclosed stone basins. The pool was drawn directly from subterranean springs. Its water was cold at best. In the basins, one could draw hot water from a tank heated behind the main ovens in the kitchen. Queen Alustra had insisted on many innovations, when she was newly come from Tanix. Hot water for bathing was probably the only one that had been accepted gladly.
    Brastigan set his clean clothes on a low bench, and quickly stripped to the waist. Arrel shuffled after them with towels and a bucket of cold water from the pool. This Brastigan accepted, motioning the man to leave. The servant bobbed his hairless skull several times before obeying. A smaller basin was cut into a rock ledge at the back of the cubicle. Brastigan drew hot water until it was half full, and added a dollop of cold. Lottres settled on the bench.
    “ Your turn, ” Brastigan told him. “ Any idea what Father wants? I assume he sent for both of us, since you're all dressed up, too. ”
    “ No and yes, ” Lottres replied, examining his good clothing carefully. He wore traditional Crutham garb, that being a simple, long sleeved