Despite the Angels by Madeline A Stringer Read Free Book Online

one side of the workshop. They handed the cup around, each taking a sip of the wine. Alessia marvelled again at the handles of the cup, that Rasifi had fashioned from Alessia’s excited description. Three large flowers sat on the rim of the cup, some of their petals falling along its rim and one larger petal of each swooping up and out, then curving back in to meet the outside of the cup, forming three handles. At the base of each handle where the petal joined to the cup, Mikolos had placed a gold bee, the symbol of his family’s workshop. It had taken hours of work and was truly beautiful, the flowers and the bees so real you could nearly believe you would be stung.
    “Now the cup has been used it is launched on its journey,” Mikolos intoned, “we ask the Mother to bless it and help the Queen look on it with favour.” He dried the cup on a piece of rag and wrapped it again. At that moment there was a knock on the door and a palace page was outside, reciting in a reedy treble that they were commanded into the queen’s presence. They left the workroom in line, with Rasifi at the front and in the courtyard found Danthys’ family similarly lined up. They all grinned self-consciously at each other as they walked after the page towards the ceremonial arena. The sides of the arena were thronged with the palace staff and other tradespeople. The priestesses were beside the queen at one end. The king stood behind his wife on a higher step, his advisors jostling on either side of him. The two goldsmiths were led forward to stand in front of the queen. Then the queen started on what turned out to be half an hour of incantations and prayers and Alessia found herself getting quite dizzy and weak. She was glad it was winter; that she was not standing in burning sun. Eventually the moment came: Rasifi and Bullneck were beckoned forward to unwrap their cups and put them on a small table which had been placed in front of the queen. Alessia’s eyes were on Rasifi’s hands, she was pleased to see the cup catch a beam of sun as Rasifi set it on the table, so it was not for a tiny moment that she heard the gasp that went round the audience.
    “What is the meaning of this?” the queen demanded. Alessia looked at the table with more care and gasped herself, for there beside Rasifi’s cup was its replica, with three curved handles in the shape of petals and the other petals lying smoothly along the rim. She felt herself sway and Danthys was there beside her, holding her. She leant against him, a tendril of anxiety curling up through her. Her vision clouded, the world looked grey, she felt herself falling. Then she saw Danthys’ face above her and heard someone offering her water. She struggled upright, muttering apologies. The young page was beside her with a stool, explaining that she should have been sitting, if she was pregnant. “You should have told us,” he hissed, “the queen does not ask pregnant women to stand for ceremonies.”
    Rasifi and Bullneck were explaining to the queen and her advisors that it was pure chance that they had chosen the same design; that they had not conferred. But in both their minds there was a doubt. Danthys and Alessia would have some explaining to do. The queen and the other priestesses conferred at length as the goldsmiths waited. At last the queen spoke.
    “This is an omen. The Mother is telling us that we must celebrate doubly this year, that next year will be full of wonders,”
    “Oh, really! She just knew she couldn’t choose one of two almost identical cups,” said Trynor.
    “Yes. Wonderful to be in charge like that, making up the rules as you go along. Now she can blame everything that goes wrong on the cups, or take credit for the things that go right because she ordered a double ceremony. Not that the cups are identical, ours has no bees.”
    “No, how could you? They are nothing to do with Danthys and Alessia’s idea, they’re just Mikolos’ trademark added on. They look good