He didn't ask, though, only went back to his wine and a discussion with Mazin about Petchian food, which leaned hard on being supremely spicy. No matter the meal or time of day, the food was guaranteed to bite back. It had taken him a few months to get used to that.
As the dancers finished and what seemed to be the final performance, given they were on the last course—a closing round of fruit, cheese, and sweets, with lighter wines again—Shafiq said, "All the information you require will be waiting in your room."
"Thank you," Jankin said. "I'm becoming rather spoiled by all this attention."
Shafiq smiled ever so briefly, something flickering in his eyes, but he only turned back to the performance and accepted the wine that Ender offered.
"Here," Berkant said softly, offering up wine, and then in such low tones that none but the two of them would be able to hear said, "You deserve spoiling, I think, and he'll do so as long as he may."
"He's known me two days. Not even that long."
"Time is fleeting for kings, as is your time here, by your own words. We enjoy what we can while we can, before time takes it away."
Jankin nodded and accepted the wine offered, not really trusting himself to speak.
He had traveled the world, been lauded, praised, showered with attention and gifts, warmed beds that people would happily murder to even glimpse. His life was an enviable one, impossible for most of the world, a wild dream they'd never fulfill.
Having the lowkey attention of a king for a few days, until the shine invariably wore off and the palace moved on to newer things, shouldn't affect him so much. But sitting there with Shafiq and his harem, he couldn't deny he hadn't been this happy or peaceful in a long time.
He wasn't certain what to do with that realization.
*~*~*
He spent the rest of his day, after lunch had concluded, practicing, with a brief pause to speak with the musicians who would be playing at the dinner. Far too easy to be distracted from training with a beautiful palace full of delightful distractions. By the time he was done, he was so exhausted he simply bathed, made certain he was suitably dried off, and went to sleep.
The next morning, he finally looked over what was expected of him for the evening. Dinner time, naturally, and it seemed he was the only performer. He would be expected to perform for a total of thirty minutes, with breaks between sets, of which he should plan five.
Just how private a dinner was this? Shafiq and jut a couple of others? Several others? Was he merely entertaining a king and his friends, or was he making guests more cooperative to the king's wishes?
First order of business was clothing. He gathered up everything he thought would suit such a performance and took it with him, headed first for the treasury to fetch his new necklace and then on to the practice hall.
Thankfully, nearly the first person he saw there was Dali. "Good morning, Mistress, you are just the person I was hoping to see."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"I wanted your advice on what best to wear for a performance tonight, during a private dinner His Majesty is hosting. I brought a few of my outfits…"
She scoffed and waved his bag away. "Nonsense, it is the duty of the palace to outfit you as long as you work here. Come, come, I have a few outfits in mind already. What is in the jewel case?"
"A gift from His Majesty for my performance the other night."
Dali whistled. "Never heard of him gifting performers jewels. Quite the achievement, pretty bird. Maybe he's trying to coax you into being his fourth, hmm? The king and queen are permitted five concubines apiece, you know. For a long time, it seemed that he would remain in grief and never find lovers. Everyone was quite happy when he finally took a concubine, and in only a matter of a year or so he had three. There are rumors he might ask Lord Mazin, but I think that's just nobles spinning tales. Time will tell." In the area sectioned off for clothing, fitting, etc., he set down his bag and opened the jewel case.
The reveal garnered another whistle from Dali. "My, my, peacock. If you were a noble, this could be considered a courting gift. Didn't you dine with him yesterday too?"
"I did, but I'm sure it's just because I'm a traveling novelty," Jankin said, even as his heart raced at the wordscourting gift. "Surely even if I was a noble, I wouldn't be receiving courting gifts. He has to marry a woman, doesn't he?"
She gave him an amused look. "Courting for his harem. I was teasing before, but now I wonder. Anyway, enough gossiping from me. With that necklace, I have three options for you." She flitted amongst the racks of countless costumes, some elaborate and showy, others quiet and sedate. After several minutes, she returned with the promised three.
All were in shades of blue and green, unsurprisingly. Two were full costumes, sleeveless, low collar, long skirt slit in one or two places. One of those had gold fringe along the bottom, the other had strings of beads. Glass, by the way they glittered.
The third costume, though, was only a skirt. It was the kind that had the underclothes and outer skirt as all one piece, and the skirt itself was quite translucent, speckled with tiny glass beads in a rainbow of colors that caught the light and scatteredit around the room. Or would, at least, when he was dancing. Combined with the feather necklace, it would certainly be a memorable ensemble.
Also a little racy for a private dinner, which made him curious about the details of it all over again. "Do you know anything about this dinner?"
"Nothing for certain," Dali replied. "Rumors, however, say that His Majesty is dining with certain nobles to help smooth over looming changes in tariff laws. There's been a great deal of contention lately surrounding it. I don't think anyone on the council has slept a full night in three months, and there will be months of debate yet before they come to a conclusion that makes everyone somewhat happy and His Majesty is willing to sign into law.
"I see," Jankin said. So that was why he'd been invited to dance, and wearing a diaphanous skirt while twirling about would certainly put people in a better mood for talking between sets.
