Alliance by Marriage

Chapter 34

The sky is clear blue today, and the sea glitters with sunlight. Such warm days are getting increasingly rare as winter grows nearer, so I pause by the window to take in the view.

It still strikes me as odd, seeing so much blue without a single ship in sight. The harbor without a forest of masts still looks naked to my eye. There're only a few fishing boats preparing to sail out. The sea around the island will belong to them for the decades to come.

The clear water is still warm, and a bunch of little kids make use of that. They run up and down the docks and jump into the water before climbing back and repeating their game. Their cries and laughter carry all the way up the hill to my window, making me smile.

The market that has recently been established in the eastern part of the city is supplying the rest of the noise. It's constantly bustling with activity now that the harvest is upon us. There'll be no external sources of food this year, so it's golden time for the local farmers who have always had little demand for their produce. Now they can barely supply enough.

Farther in that direction stretch the newly planted vineyards. There're more of those deeper inland, along with the new fields. This winter will be tough, with most of our stores destroyed, and only so many things we've had time to plant during the summer to harvest before the cold. Yet we're going to make it, and the next year, we'll continue reinventing ourselves. We've always relied on importing what we needed. Now, we'll have to be self-sufficient, at least until the decades of the punishment will be over and normal trading relations could be reestablished.

I'll have to forget what I know about warfare and learn more about agriculture and cattle raising. The prospect could seem depressing if I had to do it alone, or with the help of my generals who know as little about these topics as I do.

Luckily, I'm not alone.

"Look!"

I turn around to find Emilio enter the room, carrying a couple of thick tomes. He drops them on the table next to the books already lying there, raising a small cloud of dust, and stands over them, grinning. Then the dust gets to him and he starts sneezing.

"Where did you get them?" I walk over and hand him a handkerchief. "What are they?"

"This one is about seeds." He points at a thick, beaten-up volume. "I started to look through it, and it's worth its weight in gold. And this one..." He sneezes again. "About manuring."

"Sounds fascinating."

"It is!" He blows his nose and shoots me a wide-eyed glance over the handkerchief. "Do you know we can double the produce of each field if we use it for two years in a row, and then let it rest for one year? There, look here." He begins to ramble through the pages until a newly raised cloud of dust forces him to step back, wafting at it as if attacked by insects. "Your father didn't even deem these books worthy of his library. I found them in the basement. Luckily, the room was sealed shut so the mice didn't get them."

"You're such a bookworm."

I can hardly suppress a smile as I look him over. His clothes are dusty and his left sleeve is slightly torn, probably after an encounter with some nail sticking out somewhere in the basement, or in the library, or some other place he went to investigate.

His eyes are shining, though. He's been so excited lately, exploring the palace and the city, coming back each time with new finds and ideas.

His hair is gathered into a ponytail to facilitate his activities, but wayward strands keep getting out. I reach out to brush one of them out of his face. He smiles and catches my hand.

"Someone has to be a bookworm." He kisses my palm. "Not everyone can be a lazy king sitting on his ass, not wanting to learn new things."

"Me?" I scowl at him. "I've been too busy taking care of the daily matters in ruling this island. When do you think I have time to read?"

"Well, if you're so busy, maybe I could read to you before bedtime. I'm sure the book about manuring will lull you to sleep in no time."

"Not sure I'll like the dreams it'll bring, though."

"In such case, I can offer you a book about breeding horses. It has pictures, too. Some of them remind me of something—I'm not sure what."

"Do show it to me," I say. "We'll figure it out together."

We grin at each other.

"It's going to be a long winter," he says. "We'll sit by the fire and I'll read to you. In spring, you'll emerge a wiser and more educated ruler, able to tell rye from corn."

"I can tell rye from corn," I say. "Also, I can think of better things to do with you by the fireplace during the long winter evenings."

"Hmm." He gives me a wry smile. "I'm looking forward to that."

"So am I." I wrap my hands around him and nuzzle at his hair that smells like lavender, summer dust, and a little bit like happiness. "So am I."