“It’s Bohemia’s highest legal court. It’s made up of seven judges, who are picked by the prince. They have almost the final say on any legal matter in the country.”
“Who gets the final say, then?”
My goodness, has he been living under a rock? Astrophil’s words buzzed in her mind.
Don’t make fun of him, she ordered the spider. She told Neel, “The prince. The Lion’s Paw recommends laws to the prince, and he decides whether he likes them or not. After the law was passed, Lady Portia revealed that she herself had magical talent. At first, people thought that she had pushed for the law only to protect herself, but it turned out that her talent was the ability to withstand any heat. She could suck on hot coals like candy. No one would have been able to burn her at the stake anyway, so it’s clear that she fought for the law only out of the goodness of her heart.”
Neel shrugged. “They could’ve drowned her instead.”
Next came Florian, Duke of Carlsbad. “He founded the Academy,” said Petra. “Then he left tons of money after he died to enlarge the school’s castle. They added running water, Turkish baths, a theater, three hot-air balloons, and a lot of other things they keep secret.”
They saw Emperor Vaclav the Clever, who looked shorter than Petra had always imagined. “He’s the reason why you can’t attend the Academy unless you belong to the gentry,” Petra explained. “His tribunal passed that law almost two hundred years ago, when he was only the prince of Bohemia. This led to the Peasant Rebellion, which was basically suicide for the hill-folk. Vaclav flattened the rebel forces. Their surrender was only accepted because they met the most important condition of the agreement: the rebels named everyone they knew with a magical power. Those people were arrested and never seen again.”
“That’s why we Roma live in wagons,” Neel said. “They’re pretty useful for getting well away from a situation that’s gone all kinds of bad.”
They came to the last statue, which was of Emperor Karl, who looked particularly handsome.
“What’d he do?” Neel asked.
“I think he’s most famous for how he became emperor. When his father the emperor was alive, Karl had one brother, the prince of Hungary. Karl was the prince of Austria. The prince of Hungary and his father loved fried frog legs. One night they ate sixty fried frog legs and drank half a barrel of beer. They were dead the next day. The cook was accused of poisoning them and was executed. Then Karl became the emperor. I guess we’re not supposed to think of that story when we look at his statue. But I can’t remember anything else about him.”
They had reached the other side of the Vltava and began walking up the hill. Neel said that this area of Prague was called Mala Strana. The air was fresher here. The shops had signs that were in writing only, with no pictures. The shopkeepers apparently thought that all their customers could read. Or the shopkeepers did not want any customers who couldn’t read.
A young boy was sweeping up the street trash. The houses had red ceramic-tiled roofs, not ones made of thatch. The walls were painted in many soft colors: pale green, buttery yellow, pink, and sky blue. Stone angels decorated the corners of houses, which had glass in every window.
Petra was awed, but when she commented on how beautiful everything was, Neel just said, “I wouldn’t mind getting inside one of those houses. Bet there’s a lot of shiny stuff to steal.”
I do not feel very well, Astrophil suddenly murmured.
What’s the matter? Are you hungry? Do you want some oil? Petra asked, focusing on the buzz in her mind that she recognized as Astrophil’s presence. Anxiously, she realized that the buzz was fainter than it had been earlier. What was wrong? She had given him his usual dose of brassica oil that morning.
No, I am not hungry. I feel… I do not know. Dizzy, perhaps? I am finding it hard to hang on to your ear.
Petra wasn’t sure what to do. This had never happened before. She wanted to pluck the spider down and carry him in her hand, but Neel was very perceptive. She didn’t want to take the chance that he would see Astrophil.
Just try to hold on a little longer, Petra told the spider. To Neel she said, “Can we go faster?”
“What’s the rush?” He looked at her quizzically. Then he noticed how anxiously she was biting her lip. “Yeah, I guess we could hurry along some.” Their pace quickened.
Astrophil was quiet.
When they reached the castle grounds, Neel pointed out Golden Alley, a row of tiny houses. Neel said that this was where the prince’s foot soldiers lived. Normally, Petra would have giggled at the fact that people were living in homes that looked like painted henhouses. But she barely heard what Neel said.
When they reached an impressive building with three large doors and soaring windows, Petra asked, “Is this the castle?”
Neel laughed. “It’s the stables. One of our Ursari cousins works here. My sis and I usually meet here, so if one of us shows up earlier than the other, we can chat with Tabor.” They stepped inside one of the smaller doors. Petra heard the low snorts of well-fed horses. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw a young woman in a gray-blue dress talking with a broad-shouldered man. Neel waved and rushed over, calling, “Sar san, Pena?” Petra trailed behind slowly, not wanting to jostle Astrophil. The dark-skinned man clapped Neel on the shoulder and then walked away, shovel in hand.
As Petra approached, Neel’s sister seemed to be a dream that she could see with increasing clarity. Her black hair was braided and pinned up in a crown, showing the smooth lines of a slender neck. Her skin was light—not as pale as Petra’s, but a deliciously creamy color. Her eyes tilted up slightly at the corners, and were the shiny color of black lacquer.
Neel spoke rapidly in Romany, gesturing toward Petra. She could hear him repeat one word over and over again: Pena. He seemed to be calling his sister this, so Petra assumed that this was her name. When Neel paused and said in Czech, “This is Petra,” she held out her hand. Feeling proud of herself for understanding part of their conversation, even if it was just a little bit, Petra said, “Hello, Pena.”
Brother and sister broke into peals of laughter. The young woman managed to regain control first and shook Petra’s hand. “Hello, Pena,” she echoed Petra’s words.
“Pena means ‘sister,’ “ Neel said, still snickering.