Except it seemed the Three Goddesses were not done with him yet, not if they had guided him across the ocean to await the arrival of another prince. His father was right, it seemed. But he always had been. One could not escape their fate.
"There are very few rings like this one," he finally said, then reached into the velvet bag again and extracted a silver chain. He threaded it through the ring then looped it over Kajan's head to let it fall against his chest. "You wear it until I have returned you safely to your father. My promise to you, all right?"
Kajan nodded and smiled. "I am glad you found me."
Ramsay smiled, keeping his sighs to himself, and hugged Kajan. "Me too." Then he turned more serious. "Kajan, the first rule of being protected is this: you must obey me. I know that can be hard—"
"I didn't listen to papa," Kajan said sadly, shamefully. "He was always yelling at me, telling me not to run off, not to hide. I didn't listen to him."
"Well, so long as you have learned now that youshouldlisten."
"Yes."
"Good." Patting his head, Ramsay stood and strode back across the room, putting a kettle on for tea. As Kajan sat at the table, he pulled out bread, honey, and some dried fruit. "Eat up, Kajan."
"Papa calls me Kaj," Kajan said shyly, then began to shovel in food as if he were starving.
"Kaj. My name is Ramsay."
"Ramsay."
"That's right. Eat up. I need to figure out how to get you home safe. Tell me what happened, Kaj. How did you wind up all the way out here?"
Kajan wolfed down another slice of bread drowned in honey, then said, "I-I was playing. Father was busy with some men, always talking talking." He frowned briefly at this obviously old complaint. "He told me not to wander too far when it was so crowded, but I did, and some men grabbed me when I went out into the gardens. It was scary. I was in a bag and couldn't see, and that was forever, like days anddays."
Probably more like hours, a day at most. If he'd been starved for days, he would be in much worse shape. "Then what?"
"They let me out and locked me in this little room. I could hear people, then I could hear nothing. They left me some foodand water, but not very much. The room had a little window way high up, and I managed to reach it and crawl out, even though I was almost too big. But when I got out, I was lost. I tried to find home, but then they found me, and I ran—then you killed them."
Ramsay nodded and poured more tea for them. "So everyone will be looking for you. Where were you when they took you?"
"Papa was having one of his parties, in the great big room with the crystals. It leads to the gardens that only some people can use. He told me not to go out there alone, that I was to stay close, but he was talking and talking and talking, so I went off by myself into the gardens. They're vast. What does that mean?"
"Vast means 'very big,'" Ramsay replied.
"They are very big."
"I believe you," Ramsay said with an absent smile as his mind raced. He knew very little about Tavamaran royalty, but royalty did not change in the basics from country to country. Gardens that only some could use. So likely restricted to nobility and other palace residents. Even with a party occurring, access would be limited and protected. Getting into the gardens and out of them again would have required assistance from the inside. Such kidnappings usually involved insiders, anyway. A noble's son was easy enough to steal. A prince was more difficult by far.
Which meant he must use extreme care in contacting the king and telling him of Kajan. If they had lost the boy, they would be frantic to get him back before the king realized it. Hmm… He drummed his fingers on the table in thought. He wished suddenly that he knew certain Tavamaran customs better. He was a foreigner, only seven months in the country. Why would the king deign to see him? It was that or break into the palace, and under the circumstances, he did not want to attempt so risky a venture. "Kaj, tell me something. If I wanted to speak with your father without causing trouble, how would I?"
Kajan frowned. "Um. Lots of people talk to papa every day during session. Fancy people. Plain people. People like you. They crowd in the big room and take turns. He makes me watch for a little while sometimes, because I must learn. It's really boring, except for some of the people, who look so different."
A general audience, of course. He had forgotten they did that here. Back home, it was laughable to think the king would hold general audience with just anyone. And, he recalled suddenly, as a foreigner, he should introduce himself and thank the king for having him. That was an old tradition, not a requirement, but it more than sufficed to gain him the needed audience. Beyond that, he would have to figure it out as he went—but the first step was the most important, and he had that now.
"Kaj, if I were to see your father, what is a secret I could tell him? I mean, what is something the two of you discuss that I could mention to him, so that he would know I have you but do not want to hurt you?"
Kajan frowned. "Uh—" He fell silent, obviously stumped by the question.
Ramsay smiled. "Do you have a favorite story he tells you?"
"Yes!" Kajan said eagerly, face lighting up. "Papa tells me stories about the Great Desert. They fight a lot, did you know? My favorite is Cobra. And Owl. And Fox. And especially Ghost, even though papa says there probably isn'treallya Ghost Tribe."
"I see," Ramsay said with a laugh. "Well, I think that will do. The question is, what to do with you in the meantime? I dare not take you into the city. Someone will see you for certain, and it is too easy to lose you there." He drummed his fingers on the table, biting at his lip as he thought, but at last conceded with a sigh, "I think you must stay here, Kaj."
Kaj looked panicked. "Here? All alone?"
"Alone," Ramsay repeated grimly. "No one will come here. Stay in the house. Do not go outside for any reason, do you understand me?"
