Daughter of the Lion - Part Two - Chapter Three

[kalinara]

So last chapter started pretty well, with a lovely sibling duel and Ian as a mentor. Unfortunately, it also decided to try to convince me that Teirnan's idiot conclusions actually had some merit. Which I might allow IF Roberson bothered to give us an actual source/reason for these conclusions.

But it looks like Keely is going to finally come clean about the whole Sean/Rory mess. Can Roberson make this idiotic too?



We start this chapter with Ian saying something incredibly obvious to anyone with a working brain. Which I'm genuinely starting to believe excludes Keely. Basically: Niall must be told.

Keely immediately begs him not to tell. Her reasons?

I drew in a deep breath and tried to remain calm, knowing too much emotion would tip him away from me. "But we cannot be certain Sean is dead. It is only a possibility." I sat very upright on the edge of the chair, hoping the reasonable tone of voice was enough to keep him bound, if only for the moment. I needed time to think. "If you tell jehan that Sean is dead, murdered in a tavern brawl by his bastard rujholli, you may well set in motion events that could cause us harm."

...like what? Sending an actual message to find out the truth?

Because here's the fucking plothole in the story. Yes, it takes a long time for messages to go from one country to another. Unrealistically long, all things considered. But enough time passed for RORY to get from Erinn to Homana. And he's been in Homana for at least a few weeks now.

Even if Rory fled immediately, if he jumped ship the moment Sean hit the ground, there'd have been enough time by now for Liam to have sent some kind of message to Niall about the dead prince. If there's no message, then Sean's probably not dead!

Anyway, thank god, Ian's not impressed by Keely's logic.

I needed something more. Another reason, a better reason—and then it came to me. The reason Rory himself had used to win the promise from me. "How would Aileen feel? Or Deirdre, hearing news that may or may not be true, and not knowing which to believe?" I shook my head. "It would cause Aileen much grief, and she needs none of it just now. What she needs is her ignorance, until the truth is known."

Okay, but how do you intend to find the truth if you're not telling anyone who can actually ask?

Personally, I think Deirdre and Aileen deserve to know and I'm disgusted that our feminist heroine is taking such a patronizing position toward them. But if they truly wanted to spare both women's feelings, then Niall could just send an inquiry without informing them.

My initial thought is that Keely's hesitance is because she wants to protect Rory from royal retaliation. I could actually sympathize with that motivation, because it makes sense. Rory's a bastard. Liam was apparently fond of him, but regicide is a big deal.

This is what Keely gives us though:

"But we must," I insisted quietly. "If Sean is dead, it will come. And then you know what jehan will do." I grimaced and pushed myself back in the chair. "Open the bidding again."

Gone was the wry amusement. He was deadly serious now. "There is far more to this than your likes and dislikes."

Guilt flickered briefly. "Aye," I agreed. "But if you tell him, and he, in his Mujharish wisdom, sees fit to betroth me to someone else without knowing the truth of the matter, what happens if Sean is alive?" I spread my hands in a questioning gesture. "I am then promised to two men. And you know as well as I what broken betrothals can cause."

...Niall's generally not an idiot. Why would he open the "bidding" before he knew for certain that Sean was dead? Also, given that Liam and Niall are friends and Aileen and Brennan are already married, I think it's a good chance that Liam would be willing to accept the breaking of the betrothal. If I recall Track of the White Wolf correctly, Niall had offered the marriage of Sean and his as yet unconcieved daughter first for general diplomatic reasons. It was Liam and/or Shea who demanded that a daughter from their house be made Queen of Homana to make up for Deirdre's uncertain position.

Ergo, the Brennan/Aileen match does both. But this book lacks teeth if Roberson admits that the crux of Keely's angst is actually pointless. (And well, stupid cousin fucking nonsense needed for the spear side of the family tree.)

But this comparison is insulting:

In view of our history, it was a telling blow. Had it not been for Homanan Lindir's repudiation of Ellic of Solinde in favor of a Cheysuli, there would have been no qu'mahlin. And the threads of prophecy would have been knotted that much sooner, leaving Teirnan with nothing to use as a means to rebel.

Lindir was a child, Keely is an adult. Solinde and Homana were warring realms. Homana and Erinn are friends. Lindir was never betrothed to Hale at all. Instead, she repudiated her betrothal. Which is, you know, the thing Keely keeps contemplating every chapter anyway. I guess that's comparable, but still. As mentioned, I think Liam would get over it.

I love Ian though, because he actually does key in on what I pointed out a few paragraphs ago:

He swung around once more, cutting me off intently. "How long has Rory Redbeard been in Homana?"

I shook my head. "He did not say. Not long, I think—" I shrugged. "I could not say, either."

"And did he tell you when this tavern brawl occurred? Three months ago? A sixth-month?"

Again, I shook my head. "Su'fali—"

"Time," he repeated, pouring the bones again, back and forth, back and forth. "The first thing Liam would do is send word to Niall, as well as to Aileen and Deirdre. That means if this tavern brawl occurred a sixth-month ago, the likelihood is that Sean is alive. We would know by now if he had been killed."

THANK YOU.

(This had been my biggest problem with the idea that the entire royal family got killed in Erinn in Track of the White Wolf, as well. Eventually news would have spread. And here, there's a specific reason someone would have told him.)

Keely says "numbly" that messages go astray. Oh brother. Ian agrees, saying that it's wise then to send to Liam themselves.

Keely is upset that this means they'll tell Niall. As they fucking should. They literally have NO idea not to. Niall is NOT a hothead. He's got no reason not to wait for an answer. But Ian agrees not to, and claims he understands her apprehension. Hmph, that makes one of us. But Ian notes that if Sean did die, they'll hear soon enough. Otherwise, they should assume he survived.

Ugh.

Wearily, I sighed. "I would prefer to know."

"It is necessary to know, for the safety of Homana." His expression was unyielding. "Do you know where he is?"

Would you, Keely? Because you've literally done nothing to achieve this goal.

Anyway, Ian asks if Keely can find Rory. She says she did before. But she's supposed to go to Joyenne with Brennan and Aileen.

Ian's solution shows, sadly, that Keely's brains might be hereditary after all:

His decision was quickly made. "Go to Joyenne," he said quietly. "I will send a message there, asking you to come back on one pretext or another. It will content Brennan, who might question it if you decided to go on your own. Niall will believe you are at Joyenne, Brennan that you are here. No one will question your absence from either place. It will give you an opportunity to find the Erinnish outlaw."

This seems needlessly convoluted. Also what if Brennan wants to send her with a message for Niall? What if Niall calls Brennan back, as Brennan expects, and they notice her gone? What if one of the many enemies inclined to kidnap and torture the royal family somehow takes advantage of this window where no one can account for Keely's whereabouts?

I don't blame Ian though, he's had enough intelligent commentary in these chapters that I'm willing to accept that he's just stuck with the idiot ball. Keely...ehh...

Anyway, Keely's task is...

"Find him," Ian said. "Be certain of what he says; it will give us the answer we need." He paused a moment, significantly. "And then you will take that answer immediately to the Mujhar and tell him, in detail, everything you know. Everything you think."

...so why do they need to talk to Rory at all? They can confirm Sean's death in other ways. If they intend to arrest Rory, that's one thing. But this seems like a very contrived way to put Keely into some kind of dangerous situation as is required in this series.

Anyway, we transition to the journey to Joyenne. It's apparently a pretty short trip normally, but Aileen's still pretty fragile, so she's riding in a litter. Keely is riding with her. Brennan is riding Bane, his stallion. Lio, the guardsman, is there too. He's not apparently a single scene character, which makes me worry he might be doomed by the narrative. They're going all dramatic and carrying royal banners.

There's an interesting bit here where Keely admits she thought the blazons and banners were ostentatious and unnecessary, but Brennan pointed out that it's basically the same as their lir bands and earrings. I rather like that. It's rare that we see the narrative point out common traits between Cheysuli and Homanan.

It's interesting too that this is the second time we've had an indication of Brennan teaching Keely something directly. The first being sword-fighting.

Anyway, we're told that while this isn't really an "official" visit, Brennan wanted the banners and such so as to give Aileen as much honor as possible, "in hopes of shoring up her confidence".

Aw. I really do like them as a couple. I get why Keely is the main character of this book, but I feel like I'd have been just as happy to have Aileen as our main female protagonist instead, and have the story be about her adjusting to her new role as eventual Queen of Homana.

Keely doesn't think the royal banner would do that much for Aileen, noting that, while Aileen is understandably depressed about the dead babies, she's still pretty unshaken confidence-wise. She doesn't think Aileen's in danger "of falling prey to a permanent affliction of her spirits."

We get some nice description of the countryside.

Late spring, almost summer: thick grass was vividly lush, providing a carpet for scattered skeins of brilliant flowers, while distant trees formed a smudgy hedge of greenery against the blinding blue of the sky. All around us was meadowland cradled by undulating hills. Hedgerows formed the warp and weft of crofter holdings. Here and there, nestled within a fold of hill, was a gray stone croft with thatched roof, or a cluster of two or three whitewashed with lime. Low rock walls flowed across the land, meeting and dividing, forming boundaries. Moss carpeted the unmortared stones, binding each in place. Ivy and other vegetation took root in cracks and crevices. Some bloomed, scattering loose gemstones against the green velvet gown.

That's quite lovely. Roberson doesn't tend toward scenery descriptions like this.

It makes Aileen thoughtful:

Aileen's tone was slow and soft, reflective. " 'Tis beautiful, Homana. Far more gentle than Erinn, so buffeted by the sea . . . the colors here are brighter, more vivid, like cloth newly dyed. In Erinn colors are muted, softened by mist and fog . . . everything is salty, like the sea—it soaks our wood, our sheep, our wool . . . and the wind has teeth in it, sharp teeth, biting the land, the folk . . ." She sighed, stroking back a strand of hair. "But there is power in the wind, and magic in the soul of the land . . . 'tis what gives us our strength, our pride—" Then she broke off, laughing. "Gods, but I sound like a widow grieving over a new-dead husband!"

Keely notes that it sounds like Aileen misses Erinn. She does, but she acknowledges that Homana is her home now. This, of course, leads us into one of those conversations where Keely thinks she understands Aileen but is really talking about Keely.

"There is sense in missing what you prefer," I said. "You are of the House of Eagles, Aileen, born to the Aerie of Erinn. Daughter of Liam, of lierne, shaped by wind and sea and the soul of a wild land." I paused. "And we have clipped your wings."

"Ye skilfin," she said crossly, "you've done nothing of the sort. 'Tis only you're so bound up in your Cheysuliness and your own desires you can't see what others are wanting."

I love that Aileen gets that as much as I do. And that Roberson gets it too. This book is such a weird combination of really good character bits and bizarre leaps of in character logic that make no sense.

Keely decides to hit below the belt, accusing her of wanting Corin.

Though she sat perfectly still, too still, something moved in her eyes. "No."

I nearly laughed. "No?"

Aileen shook her head. "I miss him, aye. I think of him often. I wonder how he fares in Atvia, trying to replace Lillith's influence with his own, dealing daily with the madwoman who is his—and your—mother . , . but no, I'm not wanting him. Not as I did." Her tone was oddly compassionate, as if I was the one who required comforting. "Things have changed, Keely. I took vows, made promises. 'Tis another man I'm wed to—and I've borne that man a child."

I think maybe Keely is starting to understand what it means to want one brother while being promised to another. Maybe the read that she's trying to protect Rory is not just a fanwank explanation for her nonsensical arguments. Maybe Roberson is doing it on purpose.

I just wish it weren't so aggravating.

Anyway, Keely asks if having a child makes that much of a difference.

Aileen's eyes widened. "Oh, aye, Keely! Every difference there can be." Clearly, I had surprised her; she struggled to explain in terms I, childless and unmarried, could understand. 'Tis one thing to lie down with a man—'tis no burden at all when you give one another pleasure . . . but another thing entirely when you bear that man a child. When you know, looking at that man, that he's given you his seed, and that seed has taken root—" She broke off, frowning, and shook her head. " 'Tis hard, Keely ... all I can say is aye, it makes that much difference. 'Tis the Wheel of Life, turning; the promise of things to come." Finally, she said, " 'Tis magic, Keely ... a sacred, perfect power far greater than any other."

Something deep inside twisted. "You might have borne Corin a child."

After a moment, she nodded. "Aye. I wanted it. I wanted to be everything to him a woman should be: wife, bedmate, mother." Briefly, she smiled. "In the old Tongue, I've been told, the words are cheysula, meijha, jehana." Aileen shrugged thoughtfully. "But 'twasn't to be, Keely. I was intended for Brennan, and Brennan it was I wed."

I keep excerpting Aileen's dialogue because I get so frustrated by the way Keely never seems to listen to her.

Personally, as a forever-childfree kind of person myself, I'm skeptical of this "having a child makes all the difference" kind of argument. I believe that Aileen believes it, but I think it may even be simpler than that. She and Brennan respect each other. And they "give one another pleasure". Aileen is a person who was raised knowing her responsibility, and while she might just as well have had a child with Corin (which Keely points out), she is someone who can be comfortable in this situation.

That said:

Impulsively I asked it, knowing I should not. "Do you love Brennan?"

"No," she answered steadily. "Not as I should."

Unexpectedly, it hurt. "But he cares deeply for you. I know it, now—I have seen it."

After a moment, she nodded. " Tis what grieves me most."

"But you yourself said it: you bore him a child!"

"And would again, if I could." Aileen shut her eyes, slumping against her cushions. "What do you want me to say? That I hate him? No. That I dislike him? No—Brennan is dear to me in many different ways. But—there is a difference. I don't love him the way I should. Not as much as I'm wanting to—" She stopped. Opened her eyes and met mine. They were hard and bright and piercing, allowing me no escape. "Not as much as you're wanting—no, I think, needing—to love my brother."

I really do wish I were reading Aileen's story. Because the older I get, the more I think about how people love in different ways. What Aileen describes here sounds perfectly natural and perfectly adult, but she's very young and her first love was more of the tumultuous, passionate kind.

Keely, for her part, is shocked by what Aileen is saying. And I really do have to stop excerpting everything, but I do think that this conversation about what these expectations mean for women is fairly important.

"You are afraid," she said gently. "Afraid to give up that part of yourself no one else has known. More than merely virginity, which is all too often a burden—" Aileen's smile was wry, "—but much, much more. No man can understand. No man can ever comprehend that a woman, bedded the first time, surrenders more than virginity. She also surrenders self"

Struck dumb, I merely stared.

Aileen smiled sadly. "How can I know, you're thinking. Well, we're not so different as that."

Don't get me wrong, I'm no believer in any kind of virginity as mystical, meaningful, whatever bullshit. It's a social construct. But because it's a social construct, it does have power for the women who are raised within that society. I mentioned that one of the things I really liked about Pride of Princes is that, for once, we got what was essentially an infidelity plot on both sides. It was Donal jerking around both Sorcha and Aislinn. It wasn't even Niall, finding love in a woman that he met before his, entirely unsuitable (through no fault of her own) wife.

I really liked and like how in this case BOTH characters are allowed a life and emotional stake outside of their marriage. BOTH of them have something to overcome. But it's also fair to note that while Brennan got to sleep with Rhiannon (retroactively non-consensual aspects aside), Aileen was never given the same opportunity. Virginity only matters for women.

Anyway, Keely points out that Aileen accepted her role while Keely continues to fight. Aileen notes that it's much like Corin, and actually, I will excerpt this:

"Aye. You're very like Corin in that; he hated living up to expectations, although now he's far surpassed them." She smiled, bright of eyes. " 'Tis not so bad as you might think, Keely . . . there's no question that in marriage you lose a part of yourself, but so does the man. And if you're wise, you work together toward making a new life, one born of both."

Keely doesn't really notice what I notice here, which is that Corin is very much a past tense figure for Aileen. She loved him, but it's very much a loveD thing. She's moved on.

Anyway, Keely notes that she's yet to meet a man who lets her be her, except maybe Ian. And she thinks that he might just give her her freedom because he's in no position to take it away.

Aw. I do sympathize with that.

Aileen is sympathetic too. She notes that Keely spends her life fighting battles, but that Keely doesn't think that she can win against a man. She fears that he'll "take" rather than "give" and strip her of herself.

Aileen also points out a very interesting trend in the series: Keely has never been given reason to believe there is room for love in an arranged marriage. She's seen (or at least heard of) Niall and Gisella. Brennan and Aileen don't have it either. Niall loves Deirdre, but Deirdre is a mistress. So Keely has internalized the idea that a wife only exists to bear children.

It's not even just them when you think about it. All of the romantic pairings of this series have been fucked up. Duncan manipulated and controlled Alix. Carillon trapped Electra into a doomed marriage. Donal mistreated Aislinn until she struck back, and they had outright warfare until they found their twisted equilibrium. Bronwyn was murdered as she tried to escape her husband.

It's part of why I'm so enamored of Brennan and Aileen I think. They're not in love...yet. But I feel like it could still happen, and even if it never does, the mutual respect makes it work.

But Keely doesn't have any reason to trust in love in this kind of system. And then well:

"And there is more, Keely. The last of all, I think, but by far the most important." She reached out and touched my hand. "For you, lacking love, lacking desire, lying with a man will be nothing more than rape."

It was not the answer I wanted. It was the only one she gave.

She's probably right. And it's why Keely is so awful to her brother. Because Keely isn't the sort of person who can find a comfortable acceptance in a sexual relationship with a man she doesn't love.

So...why has no one bothered to ever introduce Keely and Sean? They've had at least twenty years! There's no reason for them to be virtual strangers except to accommodate this book's plot. Hmph.

Comments

[ayasugi_san]

Aileen's eyes widened. "Oh, aye, Keely! Every difference there can be." Clearly, I had surprised her; she struggled to explain in terms I, childless and unmarried, could understand. 'Tis one thing to lie down with a man—'tis no burden at all when you give one another pleasure . . . but another thing entirely when you bear that man a child. When you know, looking at that man, that he's given you his seed, and that seed has taken root—" She broke off, frowning, and shook her head. " 'Tis hard, Keely ... all I can say is aye, it makes that much difference. 'Tis the Wheel of Life, turning; the promise of things to come." Finally, she said, " 'Tis magic, Keely ... a sacred, perfect power far greater than any other."

Poor Aileen. She really wants to be a mother as well as a wife. But she's probably only going to have one child, and he's very likely to die young. Even with Brennan reassuring her that he'll never put her aside, if her one child dies, something vital will always be missing from her life.