Page 150 of The King's Menagerie

"Good." Patting his head, Ramsay stood and strode back across the room, putting a kettle on for tea. As Kajan sat at the table, he pulled out bread, honey, and some dried fruit. "Eat up, Kajan."

"Papa calls me Kaj," Kajan said shyly, then began to shovel in food as if he were starving.

"Kaj. My name is Ramsay."

"Ramsay."

"That's right. Eat up. I need to figure out how to get you home safe. Tell me what happened, Kaj. How did you wind up all the way out here?"

Kajan wolfed down another slice of bread drowned in honey, then said, "I-I was playing. Father was busy with some men, always talking talking." He frowned briefly at this obviously old complaint. "He told me not to wander too far when it was so crowded, but I did, and some men grabbed me when I went out into the gardens. It was scary. I was in a bag and couldn't see, and that was forever, like days anddays."

Probably more like hours, a day at most. If he'd been starved for days, he would be in much worse shape. "Then what?"

"They let me out and locked me in this little room. I could hear people, then I could hear nothing. They left me some foodand water, but not very much. The room had a little window way high up, and I managed to reach it and crawl out, even though I was almost too big. But when I got out, I was lost. I tried to find home, but then they found me, and I ran—then you killed them."

Ramsay nodded and poured more tea for them. "So everyone will be looking for you. Where were you when they took you?"

"Papa was having one of his parties, in the great big room with the crystals. It leads to the gardens that only some people can use. He told me not to go out there alone, that I was to stay close, but he was talking and talking and talking, so I went off by myself into the gardens. They're vast. What does that mean?"

"Vast means 'very big,'" Ramsay replied.

"They are very big."

"I believe you," Ramsay said with an absent smile as his mind raced. He knew very little about Tavamaran royalty, but royalty did not change in the basics from country to country. Gardens that only some could use. So likely restricted to nobility and other palace residents. Even with a party occurring, access would be limited and protected. Getting into the gardens and out of them again would have required assistance from the inside. Such kidnappings usually involved insiders, anyway. A noble's son was easy enough to steal. A prince was more difficult by far.

Which meant he must use extreme care in contacting the king and telling him of Kajan. If they had lost the boy, they would be frantic to get him back before the king realized it. Hmm… He drummed his fingers on the table in thought. He wished suddenly that he knew certain Tavamaran customs better. He was a foreigner, only seven months in the country. Why would the king deign to see him? It was that or break into the palace, and under the circumstances, he did not want to attempt so risky a venture. "Kaj, tell me something. If I wanted to speak with your father without causing trouble, how would I?"

Kajan frowned. "Um. Lots of people talk to papa every day during session. Fancy people. Plain people. People like you. They crowd in the big room and take turns. He makes me watch for a little while sometimes, because I must learn. It's really boring, except for some of the people, who look so different."

A general audience, of course. He had forgotten they did that here. Back home, it was laughable to think the king would hold general audience with just anyone. And, he recalled suddenly, as a foreigner, he should introduce himself and thank the king for having him. That was an old tradition, not a requirement, but it more than sufficed to gain him the needed audience. Beyond that, he would have to figure it out as he went—but the first step was the most important, and he had that now.

"Kaj, if I were to see your father, what is a secret I could tell him? I mean, what is something the two of you discuss that I could mention to him, so that he would know I have you but do not want to hurt you?"

Kajan frowned. "Uh—" He fell silent, obviously stumped by the question.

Ramsay smiled. "Do you have a favorite story he tells you?"

"Yes!" Kajan said eagerly, face lighting up. "Papa tells me stories about the Great Desert. They fight a lot, did you know? My favorite is Cobra. And Owl. And Fox. And especially Ghost, even though papa says there probably isn'treallya Ghost Tribe."

"I see," Ramsay said with a laugh. "Well, I think that will do. The question is, what to do with you in the meantime? I dare not take you into the city. Someone will see you for certain, and it is too easy to lose you there." He drummed his fingers on the table, biting at his lip as he thought, but at last conceded with a sigh, "I think you must stay here, Kaj."

Kaj looked panicked. "Here? All alone?"

"Alone," Ramsay repeated grimly. "No one will come here. Stay in the house. Do not go outside for any reason, do you understand me?"

Though he looked like he wanted to cry again, Kajan nodded.

"You are a good, very brave boy," Ramsay said with a smile. "Your father will be very proud when he hears how brave you have been. Can you be brave and hide here while I go to the palace to tell your father I have found you? We will come back to take you home, Kaj, I promise."

"Yes," Kajan said, wrapping small fingers around the ring Ramsay had given him. "I can do it."

"Good," Ramsay said, and hugged him, kissing the top of Kajan's head. "Very good."

*~*~*

The market of Tavamara was famous throughout the world. Other countries strove to emulate it, but none ever succeeded.

To Ramsay, it had always sounded like a living nightmare. Protecting someone in a mess like this was impossible. By the time he'd first seen the market though, he no longer had to worry about such things, and though it had been overwhelming and stressful, eventually he had gotten reasonably comfortable joining the throngs to do his shopping. Still, he was grateful he did not need to make the journey here often.

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