Pride of Princes - Part Four, Chapter One

[kalinara]

So we've now met two of Niall's three sons. And watched them fall into Strahan's evil clutches. Now we get to focus on angry young Corin. Will he succeed where his older brothers failed?



So we skip back in time again, to Corin's rebellious flight from Homana-Mujhar. He's leaving a day early, for...fuck if I can remember. Sorry. It's been a while. The downside to this split narrative is that it's a little hard to go back to the "my dad doesn't understand me, and is punishing me for my role in accidently causing almost thirty deaths" angst, when we've seen the other two protagonists get tortured, raped, mutilated, and are slated for even worse fates.

This isn't remotely Corin's fault by the way, and obviously those things haven't happened yet in the narrative timeline, but it's still a little hard to refocus. I'm going to try though, since I want to be fair to the poor guy.

So anyway, Corin's riding his horse really really fast. Its mane is whipping back and forth, stinging his eyes until they teared, and we're told he found release in it: "knowing he need not be ashamed of tears shed because of irritation to the eyes themselves, and not anguish of the heart."

Egads. Someone in this setting really needs to invent therapy. All three of these brothers could really fucking use it.

Eventually Kiri, Corin's lir, speaks up, noting that he'll kill his horse. And if not the horse, he might well kill her. That gets his attention, and he stops. He's angry, hurt and frightened by his exile, but he doesn't actually want to ruin his horse.

Corin gets off the horse and lets him walk. The horse is sweaty and stumbling, which doesn't sound good. But to be honest, I know jack shit about horses. I do think it's a little funny that one brother is apparently an expert in horses, while the other two pretty much immediately kill their horses (Hart) or almost kill their horses (Corin). That's taking sibling passive aggression a little far, guys.

Kiri seems to have it rough too. Her tongue is lolling out. He apologizes immediately. She tells him to save his apologies for the horse. She has a choice, he doesn't.

Corin looked again at the roan stallion. He had served well and faithfully for three years, and was rewarded with thoughtless, cruel behavior. Walking on, not daring to stop until the stallion was cooler, Corin ran a soothing palm down the proud nose and promised him better treatment.

Guilt clenched the wall of his belly yet again. It is no wonder jehan feels it necessary to punish me ... I give him reason enough.

Then stop, the vixen suggested.

Where Brennan's sin is pride, and Hart's is sloth/apathy, Corin's sin is wrath. He gets angry, frustrated, and he lashes out. He's still frustrated by the fact that his father refused to listen to him about the bar fight. (Reminder: from Corin's perspective, that just happened.)

Kiri asks what there is to explain, when his behavior has "accounted for the lives of twenty-eight people".

The guilt rose higher in his belly, reaching out cruel fingers to grasp, twist, pinch. "That was Hart." He had meant it to defend and accuse all at once, but his tone was subdued instead, full of acknowledgment. Aye, twenty-eight people dead, probably more, all because he and Hart had insisted on going to the Midden, which was a place none of them frequented for a very good reason.

Well, it had been Hart's idea.

And yet he had contributed.

"To save my life," he said aloud. "They would have slain us all."

He's not wrong. And of course, it's not really any of their FAULTS, per se. They didn't cause the fight, and they didn't deserve to be subjected to a racial attack. Kiri agrees. She notes that Niall doesn't dispute the self-defense thing. His issue is that they were in the tavern at all. They disobeyed orders. THAT is the problem. And if they hadn't been fucking idiots, no one would be dead.

Kiri corrects herself: they might be dead, but only by their own murdering hands. Not a fire.

The privilege shines out in this next exchange:

 "No one meant it to happen," he murmured unhappily. "And yet jehan refuses to listen to that, hearing only that his sons were involved in yet another tavern brawl." Corin shrugged a little, rolling shoulder blades uncomfortably in an attempt to assuage his guilt, or to push it away. "Had he given us the chance, we might have been able to help. He might only have stripped us of our allowances, giving them to the survivors, rather than of our freedom."

Lives cannot be bought. Kiri's tone lacked even a trace of sympathy. As for freedom, you would not know it if it bit your nose from your face. A man can only know true freedom when he understands or experiences its loss, so the value becomes greater.

Kiri's not wrong. And really, how much are these boys getting in allowances that they could fund survivor's benefits?

I do still have issue with the boys' punishment though. I don't give a shit about the "freedom" of some spoiled princes. But we saw the mess Hart made in Solinde. Both countries deserve would-be rulers who are actually ready to at least START learning how to rule. They're not tools to punish Niall's wayward kids.

This bit is interesting though:

Corin asks if Kiri is finished, she asks if he is:

Corin sighed heavily, expelling acknowledgment along with breath. "Aye," he said unevenly, "I am. One way or another, I will have to learn to depend only on myself. And right now, that does not please me. Another man would not depend on me—how can I? I know what I am as much as anyone else." He kicked a stone out of his path and watched it skitter across the road into the turf of the meadowlands. The stallion was so winded he did not even notice. "I am, betimes, sullen and resentful, selfish and moody, unresponsive and angry. Or so my jehan has said, and Deirdre, and Ian, over the score of years. No doubt others have said more, and worse." He sighed. "I like it no more than they, but I cannot help myself."

You could try, dude?

Kiri just notes that he is helping himself. Corin asks why she stays with him: is it just duty to the gods or loyalty to him. Does she dislike him for his temper.

Kiri's answer is really really interesting:

I dislike your temper, not you, the fox said quietly. As for staying with you, what choice have I? I was chosen for you and you for me... there is a purpose in all things the gods do. As for personal loyalty, why question it? I would not leave you even if you beat me.

"I would never beat you!"

Yet you beat the horse in the name of your fear and anger.

This briefly makes me think of the Heralds of Valdemar series. In that series, magic white horses that are essentially angels (it's complicated) called "Companions" Choose a human partner to bond with, said human partner becoming the equivalent of a Paladin in service to the realm. Generally, they Choose well (having telepathy and shit probably helps weed out the real bad apples). But once or twice in canon there have been cases where a Companion repudiates their Herald, after the Herald crossed some kind of moral event horizon.

We know that a human can refuse a lir bond, but can a lir repudiate a Cheysuli warrior?

Not that I think Corin's behavior rises to any level where that would be justified, of course. Not when rapists like Duncan or Donal get to keep theirs. Even actively going against the prophecy like Ceinn or Teirnan doesn't seem to lead to any kind of lir abandonment.

What do their lir think about all this? Do they agree with their bondmates? Are their lir who disagree with the prophecy?

The Cheysuli aren't "Chosen" like Heralds. There isn't some kind of hidden criteria that they have to meet to get a lir. They just need to reach adulthood. So it seems like a lir could end up bonded to a Cheysuli who they profoundly disagree with. Does that then become a form of slavery?

This is not a criticism of the series (for once), I am just profoundly curious.

Anyway, Corin looks at his horse, who seems to be doing a lot better. Corin promises he'll never ride him so hard again. Aw. He's interrupted however, by a hawk in the sky.

He wonders briefly if it's Hart, sent to fetch him back. Corin had left early after all. Did Niall change his mind? But no. It's actually Keely. She wants to come with him.

Oh, and here we get an unnecessarily detailed description of Keely:

Corin looked at her. She was slim and wiry in snug Cheysuli leathers, dressed like a warrior though there was no doubting she was a woman; the brass-buckled belt hid nothing of slender waist or the smooth swelling of breasts and hips. Gone were the days she could stuff her hair beneath a huntsman's cap and swagger like a man with impunity. Now she did neither, for her tawny hair hung free in a plaited braid, and she made no attempt to swagger. She had no need of it; as much as any of them, Keely claimed inbred pride and confidence of carriage.

...we've met Keely before, Roberson. Heck, she was fairly prominently featured in a major scene in Brennan's part. AND she'll be getting her own book soon. I think we can skip this kind of incredibly detailed description.

It's funny to me that, for all the juxtaposition between Keely and Maeve, they're BOTH slender blond women. You'd think Roberson would aim for more of a contrast. Yeah, yeah, Maeve is all delicate and Erinnish brassy blond, while Keely is all angular cheekbones and Niall-tawny. They're STILL both slim, beautiful blond women. Why not have Keely actually LOOK Cheysuli? Gisella did, after all. She was still beautiful, of course, but dark and yellow-eyed. (It's really had not to read into the fact that the ONLY specifically described dark-skinned female main character is the mentally ill adversary...)

Or heck, for that matter, since Keely is a warrior type. Why not have her actually be a big woman, Brienne of Tarth style? It'd make for a better contrast, and give her more reason for discomfort with ultra-feminine roles.

Sorry, I tangent.

Anyway, Corin is really happy to see Keely, though he tells her she shouldn't have come. Keely's response: that they share in everything, except for Corin's taste in bedding women, is pretty clearly meant to be a reassurance to the audience that she's not a lesbian.

She COULD be ace, per this line of dialogue:

The humor slipped perceptibly. "My taste runs to belonging only to myself," Keely said grimly. "If that means I keep myself apart from men, so be it. I am willing."

But the follow up:

He grunted. "Sean of Erinn may have something to say about that."

"Sean of Erinn will have nothing at all to say." Keely was very calm, too calm. "Sean of Erinn will take what he gets—or look to wedding another woman entirely."

Makes it pretty clear that this is more of a "look how irrepressible she is!" moment, rather than a declaration of sexuality. Meh.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't be mean to Keely when I actually do sympathize with her situation. Especially given the way that Corin is an absolute jackass here:

Corin laughed. "If he does get you, Keely, be certain he will take you." He used the word in the crudest sense, knowing it might be the only way she would hear what he had to say. "Aside from needing an heir for Erinn, he might wish to enjoy his cheysula."

" 'Enjoy,' " Keely said grimly. "Indeed, 'enjoy.' I hope he will enjoy a foot of steel in his belly if he presses me when I have no desire for it."

He shouted aloud with laughter. "Since I think you will be naked in your marriage bed, Keely, it might be difficult to hide a knife." Corin raised a hand as she started to protest. "Have you come to discuss your personal dislike for the betrothal, or my own banishment? You will forgive me, I trust, if at the moment I am less inclined to sympathize with your plight when I have my own."

1) Why are you LAUGHING at the idea of marital rape, you jackass? This wasn't funny when it was Jaxom making jokes about Path's mating flight, and it's not funny now. And hell, at least Jaxom actually DISLIKED Mirrim. You're supposed to love your twin, you fuckhead.

2) Keely's also a shapeshifter dude. And from what we saw with Alix, the women with Old Blood don't actually seem to require the presence of a similar lir to take whatever form they want. I think she could gut Sean if she needed.

3) I'm reminded of that Tor reviewer that is my nemesis, who once said that Brennan was the sibling least sympathetic to Keely over her plight. I don't remember Brennan laughing at the idea of marital rape!

Corin will, I think, show more sympathy later. But for the most part, at least so far, Corin's sympathy to Keely has been pretty negligible. He seems happy to use it as a reason to commiserate with regard to shared misery, and resentment toward their oldest siblings, but otherwise, Corin seems far more wrapped up in his own issues.

Maybe he'll prove me wrong though, I hope so.

Keely immediately becomes contrite. Which is fucking bullshit, but there you go. That said, her wail of "how can he send two of his sons out of Homana into things they cannot know?" is pretty stupid. Hart and Corin are meant to eventually rule these countries, after all. So they SHOULD fucking know them.

That said, given the experience that Niall had with Atvia, not to mention Ian or Bronwyn, I feel like Corin probably should have been sent with an armed guard. But then maybe he would have been, if he hadn't snuck out early.

We get MORE Keely shilling here:

There were times he wished he shared more of Keely's temperament in addition to coloring. She was outspoken and high-spirited, and equally subject—as he was—to outbursts of hot temper, but she was more charitable, more generous in her feelings. She thought less of herself than of others, and always supported him without thought for what such support might mean to her father's opinion of her.

Why does Keely get more description in this book than half the lead characters?! SHE IS GETTING HER OWN BOOK. (Also, I'm not entirely sure I agree with this description. But Corin's got an understandable bias.)

Oh god.


"He can do it," he said, "because he is our jehan, and because he is the Mujhar."

"Rank excuses nothing," she flung back instantly.

"Aye," Corin agreed wryly, "and jehan would say it certainly does not excuse the behavior of his sons."

Trapped, she glared at him. "Do you want to go?"

"No," he said succinctly. "Do you?"

Keely opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. After a moment she shook her head a little. "Defy him. What could he do to you? You are his son. Moreover, you are a part of the prophecy."

Heaven save me from rebellious, spoiled children. Corin just says that a dutiful son, and part of the prophecy knows better than to defy their father. Keely points out that he's never been dutiful. She thinks he should go back to Homana-Mujhar and confront Niall. They could face him together.

Corin's response betrays some of his issues.

  "If we both faced him, it would only underscore the need for discipline," Corin said grimly, "and all the while Brennan would be standing there like the dutiful son-nodding, agreeing, supporting our Jehan—because that is what he does best. Jehan need only look at his heir to see the sort of son he desires, and then he would order me tied up and hauled bodily to Atvia."

I think this is where being an only child is a detriment, because I find it very difficult to understand this kind of sibling fixation/jealousy.

Also, and maybe this is my admitted favoritism showing, but I don't think Brennan is nearly as invested in what Corin does as Corin thinks.

Keely asks what Corin intends to do. Corin intends to go to Atvia.

Keely's eyes narrowed. "You would do well to listen to yourself sometime, rujho. On one hand you blow and bluster and threaten to do this or that ... on the other you meekly give in and do what you have been asked—or told—to do. If you intend to do as told, why make so much noise in the first place?"

Keely is many things, per her many descriptions in this book, but one word that I haven't really seen sent her way is "smart". Just saying.

That said, Corin's reaction is both disproportionately hostile AND acts as more Keely shilling:

For an answer, Corin turned sharply and walked on, taking the stallion with him. And then he stopped short, swinging to face her again. "Listen to yourself," he suggested curtly. "It is no wonder Deirdre despairs of ever making a woman out of you."

"Oh?" Her tone was infinitely deadly.

Corin indicated her clothing. "Do you ask why? You are in leggings every time I see you, disdaining skirts or gowns . . . you talk our su'fali into teaching you the knife and sword and bow when the Homanan arms-master will not. . . you absent yourself from Homana-Mujhar to run wild in the wood . . . you spend no time with Deirdre's women, learning how to behave as the Lady of Erinn must . . ." He shook his head. "You drink usca, Keely, and dice nearly as much as Hart—"

"—and nearly as well." She smiled grimly. "Go on, Corin. Do not stop now."

Yeah, please don't stop. It's not like we're going to have a WHOLE OTHER BOOK for Keely or anything. (I might not mind as much if MAEVE had also gotten this level of attention. Seeing as how MAEVE does not have a WHOLE OTHER BOOK.)

Ugh.

He signed. "And you persist in denying a willingness to wed a man who will one day be king of Erinn and, through you, a part of the prophecy. You deny your own tahlmorra, and then tell me to do the same with mine."

"It is hardly a denial of willingness when I do not wish to wed him," she said coolly. "As to the others, I will not deny that I would be as soon forswear womanly things altogether. Given a choice, I would be warrior in place of wife."

"And man in place of woman?"

Keely laughed in genuine amusement. "No, you fool—even you seek the easy answer! I have no desire to be a man . . . what I want is to be myself. I want the freedom to choose what I will do instead of fulfilling expectations of my behavior." She shrugged. "I would do better in the clan than at Homana-Mujhar, but even there I would not know the freedom I crave. There are no women warriors . . . and I am the daughter of the Lion. They see that before all else." She sighed and tugged pensively at her braid. "Shall we go, rujho? I ache to see Hondarth. I have never been anywhere but Clankeep or Mujhara."

Aw.

I do sympathize with Keely. I actually AM looking forward to her book, because I do think her position genuinely sucks. As someone only dubiously female-affiliated at the best of times, I have far more in common with Keely than other female characters in this series.

Corin can bitch, but he WILL be a reigning king one day. He'll be able to marry who he wants. It's not the same.

And I wasn't not really being fair to Keely when I said she wasn't smart. Because while her argument/attack on Corin is nonsensical, she's not really doing it for him. She wants the united front so they can push BOTH of their cases. And Corin's not willing to join her.

But again, I feel like pointing out, there will be a whole other book to deal with Keely's issues.

Corin considered ordering her home; discarded it at once. He considered suggesting she go home; he knew better. For all she prated of having no freedom, she claimed more than most. It took a stronger man than he to enforce his preferences when Keely's determination was so firmly entrenched.

I will leave it to Sean. Corin surrendered, nodding. "I am walking, for the moment. The roan needs rest."

a) I'd LOVE to see Corin try to order Keely home. I may find her exasperating at times, but I'd enjoy seeing her shove her boot up his ass at this point.

b) "she claimed more than most" is a bit of dialogue that garners mixed feelings in me. Because on one hand, it's true. It's the downside of Princess/Action Girl feminism, I think. It tends to forget that what is empowering for one might not be an option for any others. Non-Action-Girl Maeve definitely doesn't have Keely's freedom. She doesn't get to turn into a bird or fight with a sword. The common young woman that Rhiannon was pretending to be has to worry about putting food on the table - the idea of becoming Princess/Queen-Consort to someone she didn't choose would be a completely alien concept to her.

That SAID. It doesn't really work when it comes from a fucking dude. Especially a prince. Especially one who, as mentioned, will be a King someday and isn't going to be married off to anyone.

c) "I will leave it to Sean" is a pretty gross thing to think here.

So they go to Hondarth, and Corin realizes that, unexpectedly, he's content. If he has to go to Atvia, at least he has the best company he could think of.

Um.

Roberson? Do you read what you write? It's pretty hard to buy this close bond between Corin and Keely given everything he's said to/about her so far.

So Corin sells his horse in Hondarth. It makes him sad but there won't be room on the ship for him. He wants to send him home with Keely, but she refuses to go.

Keely also wants to go to a tavern. Corin thinks it's a bad idea:

She stood with booted feet planted. "I want wine, and I am hungry. If you fear trouble because I am a woman, remember I have a knife."

"See how I shiver from fear?" Corin asked dryly. "I think the men who frequent taverns of this sort will hardly be deterred by a knife in a woman's hand."

She shrugged. "Then I will resort to lir-shape, if they force me. Corin—let us go in—" She caught his jerkin and dragged him toward the door, even as he craned his head to look for Kiri.

...it occurs to me that I don't know very much about foxes. My immediate thought though is that, compared to a wolf, mountain lion, or hawk, a fox doesn't seem nearly as much like a combat-capable alter shape.

So they go in. Corin has the brief thought that if there's trouble, he might claim her as his woman. Then he realizes that they look way too alike for anyone to believe it.

So they get a table. Men apparently watch Keely, but while their gazes are appreciative, they don't actually behave rudely.

This bit annoys me a bit though:

Corin let out a breath, surprised to discover he had been holding it. All his life he had done what he could to keep his headstrong sister free from trouble, and sometimes he succeeded. But the task was more difficult when she seemed purposely to flout convention. He did not entirely blame her—he himself would go mad as a woman, confined to women's work—but neither did he fully understand her dedication to defiance. She was a woman—should she not behave as one?

She is also a Cheysuli, and gifted more than most, Kiri reminded him. She has the Old Blood in abundance. Do you expect her to behave as a dutiful Homanan woman?

Corin's dancing SO CLOSE to empathy. If behaving "like a woman" would make you go mad, why the fuck wouldn't it make her go mad too? But also, I do not like Kiri's implication that it's the Old Blood that makes Keely deserving of more than being a "dutiful Homanan woman".

But it does explain how this series treats poor Maeve.

To his credit, Corin thinks that they're doing an injustice to female Homanans. Not ALL of them are meek and docile. "Certainly enough of Deirdre's Homanan ladies were spirited, in bed or out of it."

...it does kind of kill the proto-feminist vibes when you immediately relate it to the women you're sleeping with. Though I guess it's good to know you respect them?

That leads to Corin scanning the crowd. He thinks if there's a "likely wine-girl present" he might "pass the night pleasurably indeed". Well. Until he remembers that his twin sister is here to cramp his style.

There's a bit of dark humor with this part:

With Hart or Brennan things were much less complicated; although Brennan tended to keep himself to court ladies, neither he nor Hart were averse to spending time with wine-girls, and they certainly made no protest when Corin did. But Keely might.

Yeah, Brennan probably would be better off sticking with court ladies indeed. *cough*.

Anyway. Hondarth's changed a lot since Donal's trek here in Legacy of the Sword. Kiri's noticed, remarked on, but accepted.

There's a moment that looks dicey though, when a big dude asks if they're Cheysuli or masquerading as such. Corin asks why it matters.

"Because if ye be Cheysuli, I'll be buying you a drink, you and the lass. If ye only play at it, lad, I've no business with either of ye."

The dude is Erinnish, named Boyne. Corin invites him to sit down, though Keely seems against it for some reason. Boyne elaborates on his reasoning: he wants to celebrate the ties between their countries. Erinn's "own fair Aileen" will be marrying into the House of Homana, and Prince Sean will "take the Mujhar's Cheysuli lass for his bride". Boyne wants to drink to such happiness.

Keely does drink the toast, but she doesn't particularly like being described as a "sweet lass". I mean, he didn't say "sweet" Keely.

Oh dear. This starts looking bad.

Boyne leaned forward. "Aye," he said, "sweet lass. Would Sean be having any other?" He grinned, guffawed, slapped the flat of one huge hand down upon the table. "Hot for her he is, too, our lusty lord . . . 'twill only be a matter of weeks before he sends for her. He's a man now, our Sean, and of no mind to wait longer for his bride. Tis time he started a son!"

She lifted one tawny brow in an eloquent arch. "Is that how he values a woman, then—by the children she can bear?"

"Tis her only value, lass . . . what else can she do?"

Boyne gulped wine, then set his cup down so hard the remaining contents slopped over the rim. "Mind ye, I can hardly be speaking for my lord, but I can say he's no wilted flower. He'll be wedding her, bedding her, getting a son upon her . . . within a year, I'm saying." He slopped more wine into his cup, then thrust it upward again. "To all the fine wee bairns'."

Keely's not drinking to that. Moreover, when Corin starts to say they're setting sail for Erinn, Keely interrupts: only Corin is going. She's needed here.

Corin protests, but Keely just says she changed her mind. "Is it not what a woman does? Certainly the sort of woman Boyne's beloved prince might prefer."

Heh. She promises that she'll either buy or steal the roan back for Corin.

Back in the room, she elaborates, and it's hard not to feel sorry for her. I genuinely do.

She sat down on the edge of the other cot, no more than four feet from his own. "I cannot go, Corin. I cannot."

"You are afraid."

She did not demur. "Aye."

"Of what? From what Boyne said, Sean is a good man. . . kind to dogs, horses, children—" He grinned. "In all likelihood he will be as kind to his woman."

But he had erred in thinking humor might soothe her.

All it did was drive her farther from him, knees drawn up to shield most of her face as she hunched against the wall. "I want none of it," she said. "No wedding, no bedding, no children ... I want none of it, Corin! All I want is to be myself, and if I go with you to Erinn, I will lose myself that much sooner. At least this way I may wait until Liam of Erinn and jehan decide it is time."

Eventually, of course, Sean will want to see the marriage through. But he'll have to tell his father, who'll reach out to Niall. It will buy her time.

Corin FINALLY, FINALLY shows some empathy here:

He nodded as she blew out the single candle. In the darkness he heard the crack of the leather webbing that bound her mattress to the frame. In the darkness he heard the sound of her uneven breathing, and knew she was more frightened than he,

And he swore to himself that when he arrived in Erinn with his words of Aileen's betrothal, he would also speak of his sister's.

And with that, the chapter ends.