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The icecloth tapestries that line the stone halls of the palace provide relief from the Sunking's summer glare, cooling the structure to a much more reasonable temperature than the blaze outside the walls. Each of them holds a piece of Throne's history, from the crowning of the Flower King to the conquest of the Outer Ring. Your mother has a place of prominence at Papa's side in the very last of these, for her decision to kneel before your father brought the Planetes of Ice and Snow into Throne's embrace peacefully.
The same cannot be said of all its thousand conquests.
Your mother knew the wisdom of the Kings and Queens who knelt before the throne and kept their lordship for their fealty. That is how she earned a place of prominence among your Papa's Hundred Brides. Throne brought the joys of unity and civilization to those who knelt, and to those fools who refused, the tapestries tell their stories.
Men slaughtered in the streets. Women taken as spoils for the soldiers who showed great valour. Their works broken and shattered by spell and cannon fire, their armies put to the sword, their daughters collared and auctioned to the highest bidder. Your mother wore a golden collar as a matter of ceremony, but so too did every other woman among your Papa's brides. For that was how things are and were, and only wise women had the privilege of gold. Foolish and recalcitrant brides wore silver, and the laws they lived by were far more harsh.
As your mother did, as your father does, you intend to rule the Planetes with wisdom, which is why you point your loyal steed Anke - who carried you in the last stretch of unbearable heat outside - towards the library. Only there can you sharpen you mind with the greatest whetstone of them all: books.
Histories, accounts, and a hundred thousand archives, those are what you desire most. You almost make it there, draped over Anke's back, when you hear a voice you dread.
"And where are you two going," the voice is deep, but nasal in its tone, a voice that turns your face pale.
"Library," innocent Anke answers, blissfully unaware how she doomed your plans. The heat hit you too hard to stop her. "How do you do, Master Dieter?"
A stout man from the Greater Planetes, those huge worlds that reflect the Sunking's grace, gives a stroke to his voluminous beard. "I am well, young Anke. Though I believe that's my student you have slung over your back. Little Schnee is due for her dancing lessons."
"Schnee," the traitor girl prods you. "You told me you had this hour free."
"..." you say nothing. If you say nothing, you cannot lie.
"Come now, Schnee, no excuses...." Dieter says, taking you from Anke. "Tired as you are, I think we can make some progress on your footwork today. Yes, I have just the exercise in mind..."
a) chasing stray cats
b) catching fish with your hands
c) ballroom dancing with your brother
d) the dance of lashes
e) walking up a waterfall
