“And that is?”
“To make everything better.”
“Great,” Elend said flatly. “And if I fail?”
“Then you accept responsibility, and make everything better on the second try.”
Elend rolled his eyes. “And what if I can’t ever make things better? What if I’m really not the best man to be king?”
“Then you remove yourself from the position,” Tindwyl said. “Suicide is the preferred method—assuming, of course, that you have an heir. A good king knows not to foul up the succession.”
“Of course,” Elend said. “So, you’re saying I should just kill myself.”
“No. I’m telling you to have pride in yourself, Your Majesty.”
“That’s not what it sounds like. Every day you tell me how poor a king I am, and how my people will suffer because of it! Tindwyl, I’m not the best man for this position. He got himself killed by the Lord Ruler.”
“That is enough!” Tindwyl snapped. “Believe it or not, Your Majesty, you are the best person for this position.”
Elend snorted.
“You are best,” Tindwyl said, “because you hold the throne now. If there is anything worse than a mediocre king, it is chaos—which is what this kingdom would have if you hadn’t taken the throne. The people on both sides, noblemen and skaa, accept you. They may not believe in you, but they accept you. Step down now—or even die accidentally—and there would be confusion, collapse, and destruction. Poorly trained or not, weak of character or not, mocked or not, you are all this country has. You are king, Elend Venture.”
Elend paused. “I’m … not sure if you’re making me feel any better about myself, Tindwyl.”
“It’s—”
Elend raised a hand. “Yes, I know. It’s not about how I feel.”
“You have no place for guilt. Accept that you’re king, accept that you can do nothing constructive to change that, and accept responsibility. Whatever you do, be confident—for if you weren’t here, there would be chaos.”
Elend nodded.
“Arrogance, Your Majesty,” Tindwyl said. “Successful leaders all share one common trait—they believe that they can do a better job than the alternatives. Humility is fine when considering your responsibility and duty, but when it comes time to make a decision, you must not question yourself.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good,” Tindwyl said. “Now, perhaps, we can move on to another matter. Tell me, why haven’t you married that young girl?”
Elend frowned. Wasn’t expecting that…. “That’s a very personal question, Tindwyl.”
“Good.”
Elend deepened his frown, but she sat expectantly, watching him with one of her unrelenting stares.
“I don’t know,” Elend finally said, sitting back in his chair, sighing. “Vin isn’t … like other women.”
Tindwyl raised an eyebrow, her voice softening slightly. “I think that the more women you come to know, Your Majesty, the more you’ll find that statement applies to all of them.”
Elend nodded ruefully.
“Either way,” Tindwyl said, “things are not well as they stand. I will not pry further into your relationship, but—as we’ve discussed—appearances are very important to a king. It isn’t appropriate for you to be seen as having a mistress. I realize that sort of thing was common for imperial nobility. The skaa, however, want to see something better in you. Perhaps because many noblemen were so frivolous with their sexual lives, the skaa have always prized monogamy. They wish desperately for you to respect their values.”
“They’ll just have to be patient with us,” Elend said. “I actually want to marry Vin, but she won’t have it.”
“Do you know why?”
Elend shook his head. “She … doesn’t seem to make sense a lot of the time.”
“Perhaps she isn’t right for a man in your position.”
Elend looked up sharply. “What does that mean?”
“Perhaps you need someone a little more refined,” Tindwyl said. “I’m certain she’s a fine bodyguard, but as a lady, she—”
“Stop,” Elend snapped. “Vin is fine as she is.”
Tindwyl smiled.
“What?” Elend demanded.
“I’ve insulted you all afternoon, Your Majesty, and you barely grew sullen. I mentioned your Mistborn in a mildly disparaging way, and now you’re ready to throw me out.”
“So?”
“So, you do love her?”
“Of course,” Elend said. “I don’t understand her, but yes. I love her.”
Tindwyl nodded. “I apologize, then, Your Majesty. I had to be certain.”
Elend frowned, relaxing in his chair slightly. “So, this was some kind of test, then? You wanted to see how I would react to your words about Vin?”
“You will always be tested by those you meet, Your Majesty. You might as well grow accustomed to it.”
“But, why do you care about my relationship with Vin?”
“Love is not easy for kings, Your Majesty,” Tindwyl said in an uncharacteristically kind voice. “You will find that your affection for the girl can cause far more trouble than any of the other things we’ve discussed.”
“And that’s a reason to give her up?” Elend asked stiffly.
“No,” Tindwyl said. “No, I don’t think so.”
Elend paused, studying the stately Terriswoman with her square features and her stiff posture. “That … seems odd, coming from you. What about kingly duty and appearances?”
“We must make allowances for the occasional exception,” Tindwyl said.
Interesting, Elend thought. He wouldn’t have considered her the type to agree to any sort of “exceptions.” Perhaps she’s a little deeper than I’ve assumed.
“Now,” Tindwyl said. “How are your training sessions going?”
Elend rubbed his sore arm. “All right, I suppose. But—”
He was interrupted by a knock at the door. Captain Demoux entered a moment later. “Your Majesty, a visitor has arrived from Lord Cett’s army.”
“A messenger?” Elend said, standing.
Demoux paused, looking a little embarrassed. “Well … sort of. She says she’s Lord Cett’s daughter, and she’s come looking for Breeze.”
He was born of a humble family, yet married the daughter of a king.
21
THE YOUNG WOMAN’S EXPENSIVE DRESS—light red silk with a shawl and lace sleeves—might have lent her an air of dignity, had she not scampered forward as soon as Breeze entered the room. Her light Western hair bouncing, she made a squeal of happiness as she threw her arms around Breeze’s neck.
She was, perhaps, eighteen years old.
Elend glanced at Ham, who stood dumbfounded.
“Well, looks like you were right about Breeze and Cett’s daughter,” Elend whispered.
Ham shook his head. “I didn’t think … I mean I joked, because it was Breeze, but I didn’t expect to be right!”