‘It is not easy to enter the Palace now, even for a cousin, with the King holding himself aloof from the city and the people. Yet he does still observe some of the most important of the age-old customs, and Jaciel thought that the kin-gift would gain us admittance and so it has proved –’

‘So I am nothing but a ticket of entry,’ interrupted Clariel bitterly. ‘Another useful tool for Mother.’

‘No!’ blustered Harven. He seemed at a loss for a moment, once again glancing towards his feet. ‘It is simply combining two things. It will give you … um … honour and prestige to have been presented to the King, which will be helpful to you, in any … any –’

‘Marriage?’ asked Clariel quietly. ‘Do you and Mother have someone in mind? Have you had someone in mind all along?’

‘Well, it is only natural we should think on it,’ continued Harven. ‘We want you to be well-established, Clarrie. If you chose to be a goldsmith, then of course you would be apprenticed, or any of the other high crafts, but if you aren’t interested … and failing a craft of your own, a marriage seems the best course.’

‘I don’t want to be married. I’m like Aunt Lemmin. I am happiest by myself. I would like to live by myself.’

‘Lemmin is a very good woman, and has been a good sister to me, but she is not a usual person, Clariel. Even when we were children she was not at all –’

‘Father, I am not a usual person either! Can’t you see that?’

‘You are just young,’ said Harven. His smile flickered across his face for a moment. ‘I daresay you haven’t met the right young man. There are far more eligible young men here –’

‘I don’t want a young man, eligible or otherwise!’

‘You don’t know what you want!’ snapped Harven.

‘I want to be a Borderer,’ said Clariel forcefully. ‘I want to live in the Great Forest. The best course for me would be if you supported this ambition!’

‘Clarrie, don’t be silly. You are our daughter, a familial member of the High Guild of Goldsmiths in Belisaere! You cannot just go and live in the woods!’

‘It is what I want,’ said Clariel. She could feel anger rising inside her, a heat kindling that she knew she must not feed. She took a deep breath, held it for a second, then calmly said, ‘It is all I ever wanted.’

‘You are too young to know what you want,’ repeated Harven, as if repetition might make it true. ‘In any case, you owe us, you owe your family, to do the right thing and forget about this child’s dream! You would not last more than three days in the Great Forest, and you know it!’