（外文电子版资料）Newbold, Jane - Ern Queen.doc

Scanned by gojukai From Tales of Fantasy, Elsewhere Vol. II Edited by Terri Windling Mark Alan Arnold The Ern Queen Jane Newbold In the court of King Hugh of Kilavarock there were no children nor any kin of the queen. Few were the servants and men-at-arms for the kings wants were simple and the kingdom at peace. In the evening the court gathered for dinner In the great hall and stayed for whatever entertainment found its way to their northern rock. The hall was dark but for a glow from the hearth. The fire hissed faintly; it would not flame much longer. The people in the shadows stirred, pulling their cloaks closer, settling chins into fur collars, pressing arms to their sides. A lone minstrel sang, plucking minor chords, sighing. It was a long song about the sea and the sky and green leaves and shadows. He was not a famous minstrel but he should have been and he sang with a trace of bitterness and self-mockery. The court waited patiently for him to finish. A strange noise crept around his song which he had not anticipated. He sang louder; chords crashed, waves thun- dered, a storm arose, a maiden shrieked, and in the follow- ing silence the noise rolled on. The king was snoring amid his dogs. The minstrel put down his lute and bit the inside of his mouth so that he would not glower. The few people murmured and shifted, cleared their throats and sniffed, until the queen stood up and spoke. Good friends, she said softly. The night draws on and it is cold—though your music. Master David, warms our souls. Let us retire to warmer places now. The cour- tiers rustled and whispered away, and the room was empty save for the sleeping king and his dogs, the queen and the minstrel. She stood behind the kings chair and her hands rested, white and still, on the roughly carved wood. The minstrel scowled now and moved his foot so that it rested on a dogs tail. Well, Master David, said the queen sadly and softly, There is the city. The minstrel looked up and into her face in the s