“Now for three days and more I knew that my father would not seek me， being deceived by the words I had said to him. And on the fourth day we arrived at the city of Azim Balda. Now Azim Balda stands at the meeting of many roads and from it the posts of the Tisroc （may he live for ever） ride on swift horses to every part of the empire： and it is one of the rights and privileges of the greater Tarkaans to send messages by them. I therefore went to the Chief of the Messengers in the House of Imperial Posts in Azim Balda and said， ‘O dispatcher of messages， here is a letter from my uncle Ahoshta Tarkaan to Kidrash Tarkaan， lord of Calavar. Take now these five crescents and cause it to be sent to him.’ And the Chief of the Messengers said， ‘To hear is to obey.’This letter was feigned to be written by Ahoshta and this was the signification of the writing： ‘Ahoshta Tarkaan to Kidrash Tarkaan， salutation and peace. In the name of Tash the irresistible， the inexorable. Be it known to you that as I made my journey towards your house to perform the contract of marriage between me and your daughter Aravis Tarkheena， it pleased fortune and the gods that I fell in with her in the forest when she had ended the rites and sacrifices of Zardeenah according to the custom of maidens. And when I learned who she was， being delighted with her beauty and discretion， I became inflamed with love and it appeared to me that the sun would be dark to me if I did not marry her at once. Accordingly I prepared the necessary sacrifices and married your daughter the same hour that I met her and have returned with her to my own house. And we both pray and charge you to come hither as speedily as you may that we may be delighted with your face and speech； and also that you may
bring with you the dowry of my wife， which， by reason of my great charges and expenses， I require without delay. And because thou and I are brothers I assure myself that you will not be angered by the haste of my marriage which is wholly occasioned by the great love I bear your daughter. And I commit you to the care of all the gods.’As soon as I had done this I rode on in all haste from Azim Balda， fearing no pursuit and expecting that my father， having received such a letter， would send messages to Ahoshta or go to him himself， and that before the matter was discovered I should be beyond Tashbaan. And that is the pith of my story until this very night when I was chased by lions and met you at the swimming of the salt water.”
“And what happened to the girl-the one you drugged？” asked Shasta.
“Doubtless she was beaten for sleeping late，” said Aravis coolly. “But she was a tool and spy of my stepmother‘s. I am very glad they should beat her.”
“I say， that was hardly fair，” said Shasta.
“I did not do any of these things for the sake of pleasing you，” said Aravis.
“And there’s another thing I don‘t understand about that story，” said Shasta. “You’re not grown up， I don‘t believe you’re any older than I am. I don‘t believe you’re as old. How could you be getting married at your age？”
Aravis said nothing， but Bree at once said， “Shasta， don‘t display your ignorance. They’re always married at that age in the great Tarkaan families.”
Shasta turned very red （though it was hardly light enough for the others to see this） and felt snubbed. Aravis asked Bree for his story. Bree told it， and Shasta thought that he put in a great deal more than he needed about the falls and the bad riding. Bree obviously thought it very funny， but Aravis did not laugh. When Bree had finished they all went to sleep.
The next day all four of them， two horses and two humans， continued their journey together. Shasta thought it had been muchpleasanter when he and Bree were on their own. For now it was Bree and Aravis who did nearly all the talking. Bree had lived a long time in Calormen and had always been among Tarkaans and Tarkaans‘ horses， and so of course he knew a great many of the same people and places that Aravis knew. She would always be saying things like， “But if you were at the fight of Zulindreh you would have seen my cousin Alimash，” and Bree would answer， “Oh， yes， Alimash， he was only captain of the chariots， you know. I don’t quite hold with chariots or the kind of horses who draw chariots. That‘s not real cavalry. But he is a worthy nobleman. He filled my nosebag with sugar after the taking of Teebeth.” Or else Bree would say， “I was down at the lake of Mezreel that summer，” and Aravis would say， “Oh， Mezreel！ I had a friend there， Lasaraleen Tarkheena. What a delightful place it is. Those gardens， and the Valley of the Thousand Perfumes！” Bree was not in the least trying to leave Shasta out of things， though Shasta sometimes nearly thought he was. People who know a lot of the same things can hardly help talking about them， and if you’re there you can hardly help feeling that you‘re out of it.
Hwin the mare was rather shy before a great war-horse like Bree and said very little. And Aravis never spoke to Shasta at all if she could help it.
Soon， however， they had more important things to think of. They were getting near Tashbaan. There were more， and larger， villages， and more people on the roads. They now did nearly all their travelling by night and hid as best they could during the day. And at every halt they argued and argued about what they were to do when they reached Tashbaan. Everyone had been putting off this difficulty， but now it could be put off no longer. During these discussions Aravis became a little， a very little， less unfriendly to Shasta； one usually gets on better with people when one is making plans than when one is talking about nothing in particular.