"I hate her!" said the princess, between her teeth.
"Hate her? How can you hate a woman you have never more than seen, and she has done you no evil in the world?"
"I am sure I shall hate her," answered Nehushta. "She is not at all beautiful—only cold and white and cruel. How could the Great King be so foolish as to marry her?"
"May he live for ever! He marries whom he pleases. But I pray you, do not begin by hating the queen overmuch."
"Why not? What have I to gain from the queen?" asked the princess. "Am I not of royal blood as well as she?"
"That is true," returned Zoroaster. "Nevertheless there is a prudence for princesses as well as for other people."
"I would not be afraid of the Great King himself with you beside me," said Nehushta proudly. "But I will be prudent to please you. Only—I am sure I shall hate her."
Zoroaster smiled to himself in the dusk, but he would not have had the princess see he was amused.
"It shall be as you please," he said; "we shall soon know how it will end, for we must begin our journey to-morrow."
"It will need three weeks, will it not?" asked Nehushta.