BY SCHISM RENT ASUNDER – snippet 98:
And she, she realized wonderingly, wanted to do the same thing. To face whatever storm might come, whatever odds might be, because it was the right thing to do. Because he and his father, Archbishop Maikel, his nobles and his parliament, had decided it was their responsibility. Because they'd been right when they made that decision, that choice . . . and because she wanted to share in that same ability to do what was right because it was right.
And the fact that he's not just cute, but probably one of the sexiest men you've ever encountered, has nothing at all to do with it, does it, Sharleyan? a corner of her brain insisted upon asking her.
Of course it doesn't, she told that pesky corner sternly. And even if it did, this is hardly the time to be thinking about that, you silly twit! Go away! Still . . . I've got to admit that it doesn't hurt, either.
"Can we really make this work, Cayleb?" she asked him softly, turning back to face him. "Not just us, just you and me — Cayleb and Sharleyan. All of it. After what Madame Dynnys told us this evening, with all the wealth and the manpower the Group of Four command, can we make it work?"
"Yes," he said simply.
"You make it sound so easy." Her voice was wondering, not dismissive, and he smiled wryly.
"Not easy, no." He shook his head. "Of all the words you might use to describe it, 'easy' is the last one I'd choose. But I believe it's something more important than easy. It's inevitable, Sharleyan. There are too many lies in Zion, too much deceit and corruption, more even than anyone suspects. I'm not so foolish as to think truth and justice must inevitably triumph simply because they deserve to, but liars ultimately destroy the things they lie to protect, and corruption, ambition, and betrayal inevitably betray themselves, as well. That's what's happening here.
"The Group of Four made a serious error in judgment when they thought they could just brush Charis aside, crush one more inconvenient gadfly. They were wrong about that, and the proof of that error, as much as the proof of their corruption, is what ultimately dooms them. They've made the mistake of trying to enforce their will through force and terror and the shed blood of the innocent, and they thought it would be simple, that the rest of the world would continue to accept it. But Maikel is right when he says the purpose of the Church must be to nurture and teach, not to enslave. That was the source of Mother Church's true authority, despite the existence of the Inquisition. And now that authority, that reverence, is gone, because everyone's seen the truth. Seen what the Inquisition did to Erayk Dynnys, what it's prepared to do to entire kingdoms . . . and why."
"And you really think that makes enough of a difference?"
"Yes, I do. All we really have to do is to survive long enough for that truth to percolate through the minds of other rulers, other parliaments. In the end, the Group of Four was right about at least one thing. It's our example, far more than our actual military strength or wealth, which poses the true threat to them."
"That's what Mahrak said," she told him. "And what I said to myself, when I could convince my emotions to listen to my intellect. But it's different, somehow, hearing you say it."
"Because of my noble demeanor and inspiring stature?" he asked lightly, and she shook her head with a laugh.
"Not quite," she said dryly.
"Then how?" he asked more seriously.
"Partly, I think, because you're a king yourself. A fairly impressive one, too, I'm forced to admit, and not just because of Rock Point, Crag Reach, or Darcos Sound. When you say it, it carries that ring of authority, of coming from someone in a position to truly judge possibilities.
"But even more, it comes from who you are, what you are. I wasn't prepared for Archbishop Maikel, or for the way the rest of your people are prepared to follow wherever you and he lead. You're scarcely the Archangels come back to earth, but I think that's actually part of your secret. You're mere mortals, and mortals are something the rest of us can understand."
"I think perhaps you give us too much credit," he said soberly. "Or perhaps I should say you give other people too little credit. No one can drive an entire kingdom into standing up in defiance of something like the Group of Four. That comes from within; it can't be imposed from without. You know that as well as I do — it's the reason you've been able to rule Chisholm so effectively, despite the fact that your nobility obviously remembered the example of Queen Ysbell. It's the reason you were able to come here in acceptance of my proposal without seeing Chisholm go up in a flame of rebellion behind you. Your people understand as well as mine do, and that's the true reason why, in the end, we will win, Sharleyan."
"I think you're right," she told him, reaching out to touch the side of his face for the first time. Her fingers rested lightly against his cheekbone, against the strong line of his jaw, and she looked into his eyes.
"I think you're right," she repeated, "and that alone would make this marriage the right thing for me to do. It doesn't matter how I feel, what I want. What matters is my responsibility to Chisholm, and that responsibility is to see my people free of the Group of Four's yoke."
"And is that the only thing that matters?" he asked softly.
"Oh, no," she said. "Not the only thing."
He gazed down into her face for several endless seconds, and then, slowly, he smiled.
"I have to admit I hoped you'd say that," he murmured.
"Isn't this the place, in all of those sappy romances, where the hero is supposed to press a burning kiss upon the chaste maiden and sweep her off her feet in steel-strong arms?" she asked him with a lurking smile of her own.
"I see we both wasted our time when we were younger reading the same frivolous entertainment," he observed. "Fortunately, I'm sure we're both also wiser now, with better judgment and a greater grasp of reality than we had then."
"Oh, I'm sure we are," she said with a soft little chuckle.
"That's what I thought, too," he assured her, and then his lips met hers at last.
nice finish to the scene
Oh yeah, call me a sappy romantic, this is a LOT of fun! (singing….off key) “Can you feel the love tonight?” changing to “Come on now, kiss the girl”.
And the earth moved… Isn’t this where some kind of “bells ring out and banners fly” thingy happens :-) … Oops wrong genre, this is science fiction not fantasy.
Way to much fun… Looking forward to when Sharleyan gets to meet Cayleb’s other “guest” or when she hears the truth behind “too many lies in Zion”
Yeah, nice end to the scene, but I find it interesting that Cayleb uses basically the same reasoning for why the church will lose that Nahrmahn used in snippet 12. All great minds think alike I guess.
It should be quite interesting to see Sharleyan reaction when she that Merlin is
really LT. Commander Nimue Alban Terran Federation navy.
Yea BABY!!! Yes DW is having way too much fun!!! :-) The earth moves the angels weep and the people rejoice!!! Yes I cannot wait till Sharleyan gets filled in on the true role of that rakeshly handsom guard of Caylebs, our ever fun loving Merlin!!! But this is the true start of every hopeless romantics love story. :-)
Have a great day all !!! :-)
She is too easily impressed. She doesn’t know Cayleb yet well enough to trust him so implicit. As a queen she has to be more carefully.
I admit it is justified in this case(as we readers know), but she cann’t know this yet with such certainity.
I wish all a great day!(especially Gil!!)
Perhaps. Remember, she’s already through her support behind him. If she doesn’t trust him, then she’s killing herself. So much trust so soon is the problem of course, but she relly has little choice except to trust him
Well Maxim, she’s been Queen longer than Cayleb has been King so she’s had more time to learn to read people. For that matter, look how quickly Cayleb and his father decided to trust Merlin.
Yet it is a bit different by Caylebs father, because he had some background information. I mean he knew that the whole church is a scam, so he guessed the direction of Merlins actions.
As for Cayleb he trusted Merlin only as he could judge him after his actions(the resque of the children for example).
And additionally they had no choice, because without him they knew Charis was doomed.
Her 1st consideration has probably been which way can my country last the longest, then with Charis winning against all odds its – here’s a chance for me and my country to do something more than just survive. Also, she’s had to give up – or not even entertain the dreams everyone has of love and a family. For once her duty to her country has the potential for the fulfilment of those personal wishes. Wouldn’t you grab the chance with both hands and damn the consequences?
The book cannot be released soon enough.
/sigh
A couple more snippets and then 2 months to release.. :(
What amazes me the most about these snippets, is that we are 98 into the book, and yet theres really no clear-cut cresendo to a climax. Now maybe I’m missing something, but even 1/2 through the last Weber project (went to 80 snippets I think) we knew what was going down, theres imply so much background information to cover, this book is going to be a monster O.o
Thaile, do you mean in couple of months the book will be released? The snippets will not be a complete book in the end?
Of course not, Maxim. They’ll leave at least the last third.
Amazon has the book at 512 pages. This is my 1st time going thru the snippets. About how much does a snippet cover? A page – more / less? or does it vary? A couple of the snippets felt really short to me. This one feels like it might cover 2 pages if so, then 200 pages and we’re less than half way thru the book.
Actually, the formula that Eric uses is such as to cover 85% of the book by the expected pubication date. A little math shows me that the snippets to date cover two thirds of the book.