The Prince and the Coyote: Chapters 26–32

by David Bowles
Based on the life and poems of Nezahualcoyotl, this historical fiction is told from the perspective of the 15th-century king of Tetzcoco, as he goes from being a teenage crown prince, to hunted refugee, to triumphant warrior and family man.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–14, Chapters 15–25, Chapters 26–32, Chapters 33–40
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. diadem
    an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty
    Keeping my head low, I glance up at Toteocih, seated on his jade throne at the center of a raised dais. A jade diadem perches awkwardly on his mohawk.
  2. ostentatiously
    in a manner intended to attract notice and impress others
    Emerald plugs in his earlobes and bottom lip sparkle ostentatiously.
  3. supplication
    a humble request for help from someone in authority
    I clasp my hands together in supplication. I have never begged for anything in my life—but I know the expected gestures.
  4. collusion
    agreement on a secret plot
    Yet you still live? Clear evidence of collusion. Lady Cillamiyauh reports that the two of you had begun plotting an alliance between Acolhuacan and Chalco.
  5. treachery
    an act of deliberate betrayal
    His elder brother will now perceive his every word as a slight—will suspect treachery in his every act.
  6. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
    Goodness, thank you, Your Royal Highness, for deigning to share your superior plots and schemes with me.
  7. coffer
    the funds of a government, institution, or individual
    Rather than continue to fight with the Mexica, at great cost to our federation’s coffers, I shall offer you to Emperor Tezozomoc in exchange for a return to normality.
  8. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    “Your Majesty?” they whisper, probing the darkness with tentative music, making my kingship a fact with a few melodic syllables.
  9. clerical
    of or relating to religious officials
    Izcalloh is wearing their clerical uniform, the same long embroidered skirt and billowing blouse I saw on the street some months ago.
  10. unscathed
    not injured
    Relieved to hear my Chalca friend unscathed, I squeeze Izcalloh’s strong but soft hands.
  11. homage
    respectful deference
    Stand, loyal subject. Your king receives your homage with a glad heart.
  12. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    I can’t turn my back on that love. She changed me in profound ways, Izcalloh. Made me understand things about myself that were hidden.
  13. gainsay
    take exception to
    Your Majesty is the king of Tetzcoco, Chichimeca Chieftain, Acolhua Overlord. I dare not gainsay your right to love whomever you please—however many people your heart is capable of loving.
  14. intimation
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    Intimations of higher reality
    or projections of my hunger
    and thirst and solitude,
    they remind me of monsters.
  15. inchoate
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
    Today, overcome with the overlap
    of past and present, fear and relief,
    I cry out to you in inchoate despair.
  16. encompass
    include in scope
    And the divinity I serve, Xochiteotl,
    comprises male and female,
    Xochipilli and Xochiquetzal,
    one yet two at once,
    loved wholly and separately
    by Huehuehcoyotl,
    themself of fluid gender,
    ever-shifting orientation,
    encompassing both
    wisdom and foolishness,
    old age and youth,
    good and evil.
  17. stricture
    a principle that restricts the extent of something
    I must channel
    the destruction
    at the center
    of my being,
    letting it whirl
    within the strictures
    of discipline,
    aiming it sure
    at my enemy.
  18. don
    put on clothes
    Awkward though it may feel, I start to don his sweeter-smelling and more luxurious garments.
  19. complicity
    guilt as a confederate in a crime or offense
    As you can see, I am helping our king escape to Tlaxcallan. Once my complicity is discovered, my parents will be in danger.
  20. supple
    moving and bending with ease
    Soon I feel their supple fingers, massaging the suds from another fruit into my tangles, kneading warmly at my scalp, and running gently down my neck, along my ears.
  21. decorum
    propriety in manners and conduct
    “Some decorum, please.
    I know I taught you better.”
  22. blithely
    in a joyous, carefree, or unconcerned manner
    Where in your life is there room for me,
    a farmer’s daughter? What future awaits
    your child by a mere commoner?
    You have blithely destroyed my life!
  23. palpable
    able to be felt by tactile examination
    But, darling boy, I can feel
    your affection for them. It’s nearly palpable,
    like the sun on my skin or wind in my hair.
  24. palanquin
    a closed litter carried on the shoulders of four bearers
    “Father! Mother!” they cry in relief
    as a palanquin is lowered to the ground.
  25. reverential
    feeling or manifesting profound respect or awe
    “I am perfectly capable of using reverential speech when necessary. But I’ll be damned if I do it just to satisfy your worshipful urges. Ply him with pretty words all you want, Izcalloh. If I own his heart, then when we’re alone, we’ll speak as equals. Clear enough for you? Or should I rephrase it using honorifics?”
  26. adage
    a condensed but memorable saying embodying an important fact
    Then I think of how my mother eventually found a way to treat Father’s concubines like younger sisters, and I take comfort in the old adage that custom makes every strange taste palatable.
  27. ire
    belligerence aroused by a real or supposed wrong
    But I rush him and flip myself over the stabbing spear, swinging my sword with every ounce of strength as I drop through the air, every bit of grief and ire.
  28. slake
    satisfy, as thirst
    Blood erupts from the man’s empty shoulders, spraying that rich soil, which drinks up his life as if desperate to slake some infernal thirst.
  29. respite
    a relief from harm or discomfort
    “Remarkable beast, Your Majesty. Yet the respite she has earned us will be brief. Look. The Chalca return.”
  30. doddering
    mentally or physically infirm with age
    I no longer have to run, and neither do those I love. And not only that, the doddering fool is putting me right where I’ve always planned to go.
  31. trounce
    defeat in a competition, race, or conflict
    “You would have been dead in less than that time if we hadn’t killed the rest. You can be a mighty warrior and still get trounced, Crown Prince.”
  32. moniker
    a familiar name for a person
    “He is the King of Tetzcoco, Acolhua Overlord, Chichimeca Chieftain.”
    Zacatl slaps his hands together in response. “Nice titles. Unfortunately, other men now claim them, so he’s got a way to go before I call him sire. Right now, his most important moniker is Nephew of the Tenochca King. We’ll work on the rest later.”
  33. chastise
    scold or criticize severely
    Sekalli curses at me for daring to get hurt. Izcalloh lets me know their displeasure in less direct, more courtly ways. But I feel their love, warm and reassuring. And they work together, in tandem, united in their desire to heal and chastise me.
  34. ordain
    order by virtue of superior authority; decree
    Izcalloh will travel to Tlaxcallan twice a year, to help you prepare for whatever day the gods ordain for our glorious return to the homeland.
  35. palimpsest
    a manuscript on which more than one text has been written
    Good memories and bad,
    layered in a palimpsest:
    family and enemies,
    childhood and present.
  36. precipitate
    bring about abruptly
    We have even controlled the crisis
    you precipitated in Chalco.
  37. ilk
    a kind of person
    The military philosophy both our peoples inherited from the Toltecs emphasizes respect for honorable opponents. Neither Tlacaellel or I have behaved ourselves like Tezozomoc and his ilk upon the battlefield.
  38. entrails
    internal organs collectively
    I have scried heaven’s will again and again, in the entrails of birds, in mirrors of obsidian and water.
  39. hale
    exhibiting or restored to vigorous good health
    “You have arrived on earth, youngest one, beloved boy. May the Sovereign of the Near and the Nigh keep you whole and hale, so that you may meet your family and learn your lineage. Welcome, precious prince, to this slippery world, full of hardship and sorrow, but also love and light.”
  40. deft
    skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands
    Lowering the newborn to the mat again, the midwife cuts the umbilical cord with a deft motion and wraps him in swaddling clothes, putting him in Sekalli’s arms.
Created on Mon May 27 08:59:12 EDT 2024 (updated Tue May 28 11:36:52 EDT 2024)

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