Page 37 of Fox of Fox Hall

The mood in Kaladas was the opposite. The hallwas close to quiet for the first time in the days Fox had beenthere. He arrived later than he would have liked, his stepsdragging, his shoulders only just losing some of their tension, toa hall full of knights either keeping to their rooms or sittingaround the fireplace to check, or recheck, their armor and patchtears in their surcoats. Byr Shine was there as well, her tailcarelessly, shockingly atop the tail of the knight next to her,both of them looking serious and slightly ill, so perhaps neitherof them had noticed or they took comfort from the contact the waychildren did.

This was nerves, Fox realized. The youngerknights had put off their fears until now by keeping busy sparring,riding, and fucking, but most would want to save their strength andretire early. That would give them more time to think and makethemselves sick.

Fox, his lute little more than a weight at hisback all day, stared at them for several moments before directinghis tired feet toward the end of the hall. Rolfi saw him andstraightened. Fox gave him a wink, then hopped onto a benchseat.

He swung his lute around and strummed a fewtimes to get the attention of anyone who wasn’t already staring athim.

“My lovelies, I have had a very long day. Youwouldn’tbelievehow long.” He let out an exaggerated sigh.“Andnothingwould help me feel better than playing a songor two for you.” A lie, since he could think of several things thatwould also do and required less work on his part, but a few more ofthe knights sat up and a performer never minded a tiny lie or two.Byr Shine clapped her hands together. Fox bowed his head to herbefore finishing his introduction with a flourish of his tail. “Ifanyone has anything they’d like to hear, you’re doing me a favor byasking.”

That the first request was a love song shouldn’thave been a surprise. Fox also didn’t know if it was a wise choice,considering the events that had taken place in Kaladas over thepast few days. But love songs, sad or happy, would forever bepopular. He went with happy to raise their spirits and let his lutefall in order to singThe Tailor’s Heartunaccompanied.

Self-taught Fox might be, but he had done so bylistening to every singer he ran across and practicing endlesslywhile tramping through orchards and hiking down country lanes insearch of food or shelter. He could sing in echoing chambers in thecapital or make himself heard in a loud tavern. AndThe Tailor’sHeartwas a simple song that did not need embellishments.

A tailor in a shop is infatuated with a customerbut doesn’t hint or speak of it, partly because the customer is aprosperous merchant and the tailor is a mere assistant, but mostlybecause the tailor can barely speak in their presence. The choruswas the tailor’s loudly beating heart drowning out the words thecustomer speaks, leading the tailor to say ridiculous things inresponse and fear the customer thinks them a fool.

The song did not end with the two falling intoeach other’s arms, but neither was the ending sad. It was ahumorous tale about the experience of a crush or perhaps buddinglove and how nerves could get in the way of actually pursuing thatlove.

Fox gave another flourish of his tail when thesong was done and waved off the applause, pleasing though it was,to ask for another request.Elder Ferdelwas also light,although there was a yearning beneath the words that made it closerto a passion song than a love song. At least, Fox thought so, butDomvoda’s words might have been affecting him.

He did not think about obviously untrue legendsturned into love songs too incredible to be believed as he pickedup his lute, nor as he began the story of the handsome olderwidower at a village fair attempting to determine which of hisgrown childrens’ suitors were worthy of them, only to find himselfexpectedly pursued by one of those suitors himself. The suitor, whoseems passion-struck although the song never claims him as such, ispersistent. Ferdel, who for Fox’s money is equally overwhelmed bypassion although that might simply be his state of flusteredsurprise, does not accept even the offer a dance, but stands withhis unusual suitor near the dancing while they stare into eachother’s eyes.

Conall slid into a seat in front of Fox. Thebenches seemed to have filled while Fox had sung and mused on thereality of a mating for Ferdel. In a passion song, reality wouldn’thave mattered, but there was more of the truth in a love song.Outside of stories of passion, one didn’t see or hear someone onceand then risk everything to be with them. Not in Fox’s experience.Even if Ferdel and his younger suitor were both passion-struck,waiting was prudent.

At the same time, there was thatyearningbeneath the words. The longing to come together, tobetogether, to feel the other person within, and free what had beenfighting to escape since that first moment when their eyes hadmet.

Fox tore his gaze away from Conall to face hisaudience once more and smile. “Thank you,” he told them sincerely,because they clapped and whistled as the byr in court did not.“Anything else?”

“The General and the Prince,” Conallsaid, meeting Fox’s eyes when Fox turned back to him insurprise.

The General and the Princewas a passionsong from a time when countries had different names—or possibly hadnever existed—and fought one another in vicious, bloody wars whenthey weren’t battling dragons or various other creatures that alsomay or may not have ever existed.

The events of the song almost certainly weren’ttrue, probably not even in a small way as with some of the passionsongs, like withRehmini of Battles, in that therehadonce been a faraway queen with the name of Rehmini,although she certainly hadn’t married a goatherd who had fought agriffon for her.

InThe General and the Prince, a warleader is riding with his chief—as the king is styled in thestory—when a dragon attacks, separating the general from the chiefand the rest of his forces. He eventually finds a stream, and as hedrinks his fill, he hears the clear voice of a prince of aneighboring kingdom as the prince sings of his concern for hissiblings—who have ridden out to look for the chief and the general,probably to kill them for being too near their country’s border.The song doesn’t specify a particular reason other than neithercountry’s leader seemed to trust or like the other.

But none of that matters when the general ispassion-struck by the voice and follows it to find the gentlest andprettiest of the king’s borne children. Worried for the conflict hesees coming, the prince is gathering flowers for medicine by thestream, idly weaving some into his hair as he works, which is howthe general first sees him.

Fox gave Conall a slight frown, surprised by thechoice.

Conall merely arched an eyebrow.

So Fox took a deep breath, flexed his fingers,and began to play.

For all his bravery in battle, the general wasalmost certainly a commoner, and princes did not marry commoners.Not even to end wars would princes do that. No matter if thegeneral saved him from that same dragon or kept him safe when theyfound the chief’s forces and the chief wanted to take the prince ashostage. It would not even matter that the prince had looked up andfound himself trembling when their eyes had met.

But in a song of passion, of adventure andfeeling, anything could happen. Byr, or whatever nobles had calledthemselves over centuries and across changing landscapes, mightfall in love with a commoner or their enemy, might even bear forthem or have them be the bearer. But outside of those songs, byrdid not defy convention or laws for their enemies and especiallynot for commoners. They would not marry them or make them consorts,just as griffons had likely never been real.

Nonetheless, Fox had to smooth the tremor fromhis voice when the general, captured by the prince’s father as hehad been attempting to return the prince to his own people—knowinghe would probably be killed doing so, is saved by the gentleprince, who twines their tails to prove he will not be parted fromhim.

The two then run off to their mating. They’dalready kissed and possibly fucked in the land of the enemy chief,depending on how one interpreted some of the lines about ‘comingtogether,’ but the mating at the end was not ambiguous.

Fox’s gaze wandered to Conall. But Conall’s eyeswere closed, his head against the bench, asleep or enjoying themusic so much it allowed him to relax.

Fox felt himself frowning again, but since hecouldn’t have said why, let the lute hum to silence beforepointedly asking if anyone had a suggestion for a song that wasn’tso ridiculously long.

Conall turned his mouth up at one corner butdidn’t bother to open his eyes.

ChapterSixteen

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