“This way.” Adele laughed with excitement, veering sharply to the left. Another few minutes and Adele rushed into a lesser-used area of the palace and threw open two curtained French windows. A broad terrace spread out before her. She saw men's backs, all of them craning their necks to see something. She heard the sound of wood cracking off wood. She heard the deep chuckling grunts of a man, and the lighter exclamations of a boy. She started to plunge into the crowd of men in uniforms, but Captain Shirazi placed an arm in front of her, and stepped forward.
“Make way for the empress!” he bellowed loudly enough to shatter the glass in the French windows.
Men, both Equatorian and Katangan, turned in shock. The ranks of soldiers slipped aside one by one until finally Adele beheld an unbelievable sight.
Standing on the stone balustrade of the terrace were King Msiri of Katanga and Prince Simon of Bengal. Both of them wore simple duck trousers and no shirts. They faced one another and each held a six-foot-long staff of dark wood. They moved and retreated, slamming the quarterstaffs against one another. High. Low. Low. Back. Parry. Twist. Thrust.
Msiri spun his staff high over his head with a deep laugh, slipping his hands to one end, and sent the length of wood swinging at Simon's knees. Adele nearly shouted in alarm as Simon leapt into the air and drew up his legs so Msiri's staff passed beneath harmlessly. The boy managed to slap his feet back down onto the stone rail, but he teetered off-balance. Msiri laughed and poked Simon's chest with his quarterstaff, and the prince began to topple off the side of the balcony, easily thirty feet above the ground.
Adele cried out.
Msiri turned at her in surprise, and then suddenly realized he was supposed to grab Simon before the boy fell to his likely death. The king's hand snaked out and took Simon's upper arm, pulling him back onto the balustrade.
Simon was wide-eyed, but smiled at Msiri. And the boy laughed. Then he looked at his sister with annoyance. “You threw me off-balance, Adele.”
She marched forward and took her brother's wrist, yanking him onto the firm tile balcony. “What are you doing? You could kill yourself!”
“No, no. He's safe enough.” Msiri leaned on his quarterstaff leisurely, with ankles crossed.
She glared up at the king. “Is there some reason you are sparring miles above the earth on a thin railing that looks as if it could crumble under your weight?”
Msiri nodded toward Simon. “He suggested it.”
“Hardly miles.” Simon rolled his eyes. “The bushes are soft down there anyway.”
Adele took the quarterstaff from Simon's hand. “Since when am I the one in Alexandria with common sense?”
Msiri knelt, still perched on the rail, and gave a grand smile. “Your Majesty, I assure you, the young prince was quite safe. I would never allow harm to come to mighty Simon. And he's quite skilled at the quarterstaff.”
Simon took a proud breath, puffing out his chest. The talisman around his neck sparkled in the sun.
Adele ignored his unspoken boast and said with great seriousness, “Simon, we are due at a ceremony at the War Memorial in an hour. That, above all else, is not a duty to be shirked.”
The boy exhaled and put one hand on his head. “Oh. I forgot. I'm sorry, Adele. It won't take me long to get ready.”
Msiri intoned, “I deeply apologize, Your Majesty. It is my fault for detaining the boy. Having raised five beautiful and willful daughters, I admit that I enjoy the prince's company. It is as if I've suddenly acquired a son.”
Simon grinned.
Adele allowed her bluster to fade. Inclining her head, she pointed out to Msiri, “You are required at the ceremony as well, Majesty.”
“I will be there, of course. I am honored to memorialize our brave soldiers.”
“Excellent. Thank you.” Hefting the wooden staff several times, and studying it with interest, she glanced up at Msiri. Then she slapped the weapon into the king's hand and released it. “An interesting choice of weapon.”
Msiri laughed loudly. He laid both quarterstaffs behind his neck and rested his hands easily on the ends. “Curious, Your Majesty? You are reputedly skilled with many weapons. Is the quarterstaff one of them?”
Adele gave him a coquettish flutter of her eyelids. “A lady of proper upbringing does not discuss with which weapons she may kill a gentleman.”
Msiri and the soldiers all broke into great peals of laughter. The obviously smitten soldiers parted again as Adele took her waiting brother's curved arm and turned to leave. Shirazi followed, trying to hide a smile.
Msiri pointed his quarterstaff at Simon. “Young prince, I await our rematch.”
Simon glanced furtively at Adele. She raised an eyebrow and reached back, snatching one of the staffs from the Katangan king, which she tossed to her brother.