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32 pages, ebook
First published April 29, 2014
There is some debate over what Yeva Luchova actually looked like, whether her hair was burnished gold or lustrous black, whether her eyes were blue as sapphires or green as new grass. It is not the particulars of her beauty but the power of it that concerns us, and we need only know that Yeva was lovely from the moment of her birth.
She was so beautiful, in fact, that the midwife attending her mother snatched up the wailing infant and locked herself in a linen closet, begging for just another moment to gaze upon Yeva’s face and refusing to relinquish the baby until the Duke called for an axe to break down the door. The Duke had the midwife whipped, but that didn’t stop several of Yeva’s nursemaids from trying to steal the child away. Finally, her father hired a blind old woman to care for his daughter, and there was peace in his home. Of course, that peace did not last, for Yeva only grew more beautiful as she aged.
When Yeva stopped to remove a stone from her shoe and unwittingly gave the crowd a glimpse of her perfect ankle, a riot broke out, and her father decided she must be confined to the palace.
“And should you ever take a bride, listen closely to her questions. In them you may hear her true name like the thunder of a lost river, like the sighing of the sea.”
Remember that to use a thing is not to own it. And should you ever take a bride, listen closely to her questions.
Will you remain here with the father who tried to sell you, or the prince who hoped to buy you, or the man too weak to solve his riddles for himself? Or will you come with me and be bride to nothing but the shore?
When her father returned to the palace and Yeva heard what he had done, she said, "Papa, forgive me, but what way is this to find a husband? Soon I will have a fine mirror, but will I have a good man?"Nor for her father, in this case. He figures that his favored suitor, the prince, will be able to use his wealth and servants to win all the challenges, but there's a Grisha Tidemaker (with magical power over water) who comes into town just as the first challenge is getting rolling.
Now, if you have been foolish enough to wander from the path, it is up to you to make your way back to the road... If you are lucky, you will find your friends again. They will pat you on the back and soothe you with their laughter. But as you leave that dark gap in the trees behind, remember that to use a thing is not to own it.
...remember that to use a thing is not to own it...,listen closely to her questions. In them you may hear her true name like the thunder of a lost river, like the sighing of the sea.