"Well, you've been here longer than me, so give me some background. I can't work on something if I don't know anything about it."
Tarrin and Allia then took turns telling the Wikuni about what they knew. About the inordinate attention they'd been receiving, about the Keeper's gift to Tarrin of the amulet, and how it wouldn't come off, and about the multiple attacks by the mysterious unseen enemy. Tarrin stressed that, at first, he thought that he was the target, then realized later that Allia had been present during all of them but one. Two, now. Tarrin told her about the conversations he'd had with the Keeper, about his mistrust of her, and her reactions when he gave her Kravon's name and with certain other things. Then he went back to the attacks. Although they wanted Tarrin dead, it was obvious that Allia was also on that list. And because Keritanima was also a Non-human in the Initiate, a non-human that could do Sorcery, that put her at possible risk as well.
"Now that you say that, I have to admit that what happened to us coming here makes sense," she said.
"What?" Tarrin asked.
"We were attacked six times by Zakkite ships," she said. "The Zakkites dwell on the southern continent of Valkar. They have a mighty navy, and they try to rule the twenty seas through force. The Wikuni have been at war with them for generations. We were attacked six times by sizable groups of Zakkite ships. Each time, they specifically came after my ship. After the first time, my ship was put at the center of the formation, I was transferred to another vessel, and more ships were called from Wikuna. And that didn't help, because they came after my ship the next time, and the next. Almost as if they had a spy in our fleet."
"I don't think that's coincidence, but I don't see how some kingdom across the sea could be connected with what happened to us," Tarrin said dubiously.
"If this Kravon fellow has the magic to send Trolls and Wraiths after you, then I don't see why he couldn't contact the Zakkites and tell them where I was, then pay them to try to sink me."
"A bit far fetched, but possible," Allia agreed.
"Far fetched works in politics," Keritanima shrugged. "The more distance you can put between you and a murder, the less chance it comes back to you. Alright then, I think we can say with some certainty that there is an attempt to get us-all three of us-out of the way. We know what is going on. We know, at least partially, who is to blame. This Kravon fellow you mention. Now we need to find out the other three questions: how, when, and most importanly, why." She got up from her bench and began to pace, her hands clasped behind her back, her furry brows lowered in thought. "You say that the Keeper wasn't surprised about you finding out this name, and you said that you think that the Keeper may know what's going on. So, we may be able to found out the why of it from her. The Keeper's been around a while, so that's not going to be easy. Any information she has is likely to be very hard to find, and what we can find will probably be defended."
"I came up with the same things," Tarrin sighed.
Keritanima gave him a grin. "I think I could make something of you, Tarrin," she said. "You made the right conclusions. But the Keeper isn't the whole Tower," she said. "The Council may also have some information laying around that we can use. I don't doubt that the Keeper either told them what's going on, or had to talk very fast with them in order to keep them in line. After all, I heard that it's going to take all of them to raise this Ward that's supposed to help protect us from the attacks."
"I don't understand how that gives the Council answers," Allia said.
"It's quite simple, Allia," she replied. "The Council will obviously want a reason for why they have to put out so much effort. When the Keeper says it's for Tarrin's protection, the next logical question is 'who wants to kill him?' Well, for her to answer that, she'll either be giving them information that we need, or lying to them in order to secure their cooperation. Either way, it's information we'll want to know. If she gave them answers, then that's information that we can use. If she lied to them, we can use that too."
"How?" Tarrin asked.
"Any number of ways," she said, turning to them and holding out her hand. "One," she said, ticking a finger. "Leverage. We could use that information against the Keeper as a threat. Two." She ticked another finger. "The very lies she tells may be useful to us, just for what she says. The best lie is a lie that is sweetened with truth. Sometimes those small truths can be added up together to form part of a real answer. Three." She ticked another finger. "If she's lying then it's something that she doesn't want her council to know, or she doesn't trust them. Either way, we'll know where to look for the information that we need. Knowing why she lied may be useful itself. Four." She ticked her last finger, keeping her thumb tucked against her palm. Tarrin noticed that she had a pad on her palm, and her fingers, the same way he did. "If we know what those lies are, we can build on them ourselves in order to further our own interests. All it takes is a little bit of creative thinking."
Tarrin was impressed. This was something at which the politically versed Keritanima excelled. "You certainly don't seem like the Brat Princess right now," he laughed.
She grinned at him. "I have no idea why I told you. I could have easily lied my way out of it. I guess I trust you or something, which is a first."
Or something, an impish voice called in his mind for the briefest of moments, and then it was gone. Tarrin smiled to himself, both relieved and excited. So his memories of that weren't dreams, or nightmares. "I must say, I like this version of Keritanima much better than the old," Allia added. "Your screams hurt my ears."
"I practiced a long time to get them that way," she said with a laugh. "You have no idea how much work it was for me to perfect that."
"Why?" Tarrin asked. "Why all this deception?"
"Protection," she said with a sigh and a defensive tightening around her eyes. "I have three sisters behind me, any of which would gladly plant a dagger in my back at the first available opportunity. And that doesn't take into account the army of greater and lesser nobles, all of which view my untimely demise as an event worthy of a celebration. Because they all think I'm a scatterbrained wastrel with no thoughts for anything but pretty dresses and jewels, they constantly underestimate me. It's what keeps me alive." She sat down again. "To be very honest, I don't want the throne. I'd be much happier anywhere else. But whoever does take the throne after my father dies will track me down and have me killed, because I'll be a direct challenge to her power. I could decide ten years down the road that I wanted the throne, and law would demand that she step aside in my favor. There's no law for abdication in our country. I can't just say 'I don't want the throne' and expect to be left alone. I learned that when I was about seven years old. And that was when the Brat Princess was born. The only reason I'm still alive is because Jenawalani, Veranika, and Luralalena think that the only reason I'm still alive is blind luck."
Allia gave the Wikuni a compassionate look, and Tarrin took her hand in his paw. "It must have been awful," he said quietly.
"Yes, well, one learns how to stay alive," she said with a sniffle. "I spent my childhood learning how to convice people that my idea of a serious decision was whether to wear a silk gown or a satin one. Sometimes people found out, and then I'd have to have them killed. That happened quite a bit as I was starting out, and still learning." Tarrin shuddered at the calm, matter-of-factness in her voice. But he realized that he was probably no better. He too would kill without mercy to protect himself. "I've made it this far," she said with a wan smile. "I've just got to live long enough, which isn't very easy. Unfortunately, my game against my sisters has convinced most of the nobles that I'll be an absolute disaster as a Queen, so they've decided that Jenawalani, the next oldest, is a much better choice for the Diamond Throne. When I'm not disrupting the scheming of my sisters, I'm dodging the assassins hired by the nobles. After I take the throne, I can have my sisters exiled, so they'd have a great deal of trouble getting me killed. I won't like being Queen much, but it's the throne or the grave. And I'm not too happy a
bout either choice."
"Why not leave?" Allia asked.
She laughed. "I have, several times. It looked like it was just an immature fit over not getting my way, but each of them were serious attempts. You have no idea how far my father's arm can reach. If I want to get away, I have to literally convince him that I'm dead. But that's another matter," she said crisply, getting control of herself again. "We have more important matters to handle here than my sordid past. The problem is, we can't tackle them right at the moment."
"I take it you want time to think about it?" Tarrin asked.
She nodded. "This is pretty complex, and besides, I haven't really had time to settle in yet. I need to identify the agents that both the Tower and my father have watching me, so I'll know who to misdirect when the time comes to start getting serious. That, and the Brat Princess can be very useful in gathering information. You wouldn't believe how talkative some people can get when they think that you have no idea what they're talking about." She chuckled to herself, then cleared her throat. "We'll just have to wait for a while, until we've had time to come up with some ideas about how to go about this, and I've managed to gather up some information. In the meantime, we go on as if this conversation never happened," she told them. "That means that once we leave here, I'll be the Brat Princess again."
"I understand," Allia said. "I'll do my best not to kill you."
Keritanima laughed. "I appreciate that," she drawled. "You can hit, just be gentle."
"I can knock you down without so much as mussing your fur, shaida," Allia smiled.
Keritanima all but glowed. "And may I call you shaida?" she asked in a strangely formal, tentative voice. As if she was afraid of the answer.
"I would be honored," Allia returned, standing up and putting her hand on Keritanima's cheek. Keritanima gave her a shy smile, then blinked. "Uh, I have to go. They'll be looking for me soon, and I can only say I was lost in the gardens for so long before it becomes illogical."
"Alright," Tarrin said, standing up. "How will we tell you-"
"I'm a fast learner," she said. "Isn't that such a lovely statue?" she asked, staring at it again. "And look, roses. They're so thick and well tended. By the way, I'm pretty sure that they'll be following me, watching me, writing down everything I say, and probably inspecting my dirty shifts. I think you two should expect the same kind of treatment, so be very careful. The only reason I've gone against my every instinct about speaking frankly in an open area is because the place seems to be very well hidden, and it's too soon for them to really set up their eavesdropping network."
"It is," Tarrin agreed.
"This is the only place where we can talk freely," Allia added.
"Good. Now, just for my own sanity, please keep my indignities to a relatively low level," she grinned. "The Brat Princess is afraid of Tarrin, and of you, but that makes her angry, so she'll overcome it eventually and start in on you. You'll have to chastise me occasionally, but please keep it to a level where they don't have to call in a healer. What Tarrin did to me keeps him off of my list for almost a good month," she grinned.
"What did you do to her?" Allia asked.
"I didn't tell you?" She shook her head. "Huh. I threw her into the bathing pool."
"So? That doesn't seem so frightening."
"He threw me into the hot end," she shuddered. "And threatened to kill me if I bothered him again."
Allia laughed. "Yes, I can see how that would be memorable. That water gets hot towards the far end."
"I think it boiled some of the fur off my tail," she said absently, bringing her tail around and stroking the fur meticulously. "Anyway, let's concentrate on ideas about how to solve these problems. And I think we should start making plans for leaving."
"Why?"
"A wise person always plans for the worst," she told them. "If the answers we get upset us that much, or we find out that they just wanted us to sacrifice us on some altar or something, we may decide that we like it better somewhere else. One thing that we should keep in mind is that, when we leave, the Tower will come after us. So we should learn everything we can about Sorcery. It may be useful."
"So, you're saying that for now, we should concentrate on Sorcery."
"More or less," she agreed. "We still have the problems to solve, though, so keep part of your mind on that problem. I have to go," she said quickly. "They'll be looking for me, and probably for you two as well. Give me about ten minutes, then you may want to drift out yourselves. I think we can set up another meeting relatively easily," she smiled.
He nodded. "Be careful, shaida," Allia told her.
"I'm always careful," she said quickly, then she flashed Allia and Tarrin that toothy grin. "Can I leave on my own, or do you want to boot me over the top this time?" she asked Tarrin.
Tarrin laughed. "I think you can find the way out," he told her.
"I'm so glad," she grinned, then she turned and threaded her way through the choking branches. Tarrin noticed that she did so without so much as shivering the leaves.
"An interesting woman," Allia said after she was gone. "She has a great deal of anger, and pain."
"I can imagine, growing up being afraid of your own sisters," he sighed. "I couldn't imagine Jenna trying to kill me."
"She's strong, though," Allia said, tapping her cheek with a long, delicate finger. "And full of surprises. She had me totally fooled."
"Yes, but I think she fools everyone, deshida. She had me fooled, until she slipped up."
"I think we're lucky that she trusts us with her secret, and that she agrees about what you had to say."
"I'm sorry I didn't discuss it with you first, my sister-"
"You didn't have time, my brother," she cut him off, putting her hand on his arm. "I realized that this is what you wanted to talk to me about. Well, you did so, with Keritanima here too."
Tarrin chuckled. "She certainly took us in hand," he said ruefully. "I almost feel used."
Allia laughed. "She was just taking command of a situation she could easily understand," she told him. "That, and no matter what she says, she is a Princess. Even the intelligent Keritanima is used to being obeyed. We may have to break her of that."
"Now that, I'll pay to see," Tarrin grinned at Allia.
"You may be doing the breaking," she pointed out.
"Then it won't cost me that much," he said. They waited in silence for a few moments. "Go ahead and drift out, my sister. I'm going to sneak out the other way."
"Alright. Be careful, deshaida."
"You too, deshida." Tarrin changed form, looked up at his now-gigantic friend, then slinked through the choking wall of branches and then wormed through a small hole in the shrub wall on the far side of the verdant passageway.
The night was a long one, surprisingly cold for so early in autumn, as Tarrin mulled over what Keritanima had to say. It was brief, but it made alot of sense. So did her request to slow things down. She had just gotten here, after all, and needed some time to settle in and get comfortable, but just knowing that she was going to be there to help was a tremendous relief. He felt much better about what he needed to do, knowing that she was very, very good at this kind of thing. After he woke up, some goodly time before dawn, he realized that nobody had told him what he was supposed to do. His injury the day before had cut him out of the rest of Sevren's lecture and tour, and had probably ended it outright, but he hadn't been told where to be today. He decided that asking Master Brel where he was supposed to go at sunrise.
He and Allia were up well before dawn, and after a long bath, they handled breakfast. Allia didn't know where he was supposed to go either, for she was supposed to meet a Mistress Jandi at a tutoring room in the main Tower, one of the places that Tarrin didn't see. They parted in the Initiate's dining room, and Tarrin returned to the North Tower to ask Master Brel what he was supposed to do.
As he reached the door of the Master of Initiates, a familiar scent touched his nose. It was Dolanna, and it was only minutes
old. He quickly followed the trail, turned a corner, and found the diminutive, dark-haired woman standing calmly in front of his door. She wore a simple blue dress of heavy silk, protection against the biting chill of the morning, and a wool cloak of a similar blue. Her hair was done up in a series of curling loops that hung from the back of her head, from a silver coronet-like adornment. Her dark eyes were warm and friendly as she saw him turn the corner, and she raised a hand to him with a smile. "Tarrin," she said warmly as Tarrin smiled and took her small hand. "I heard about your battle yesterday. Are you well?"
"I'm fine, Dolanna," he told her. "Are you here to see me?"
She nodded with a smile. "Yes, today is your first day of instruction," she told him. "For obvious reasons, they decided that I would be the best to begin your education."
"Well, I'm so glad that they worry about my well being," he said dryly. "Would you like to come in?"
"No, we will go to the tutoring rooms," she told him. "Come with me."
They spoke in low tones as they travelled from his room to the main Tower, as Dolanna inquired about his time away from the Tower, and how he felt after his fight the day before. She didn't speak of anything important, but the calm, cool looks she gave him, which were somewhat out of her character, convinced him that she knew that they were being watched. He played along with her, being polite and using the proper terms of respect, even though his warm smile told her that he didn't feel any differently to her than he did before he got to the Tower. In many ways, Dolanna had saved his life, over and over. He had a very special affection for the small dark-haired woman, thinking of her almost as a mother, and he was one of only three people in the Tower he trusted with his life.
The room she led him to was a very small one, that was not illuminated with a glowglobe. Instead, three candles burned in a small candelabra that stood on a small table on the far side of the room. Before it stood a small table and two chairs, each facing the other. The dim confines of the room were a stark contrast to most of the rest of the Tower, which was known for its bright glowglobes and large rooms. There was no carpet on the stone floor, nor were there any decorations covering the slate-gray stone of the walls. "Sit down," she told him as she closed the door. He did so, and she took the seat on the far side of the table. She affixed him with a warm smile. "Now then, I am certain that you are wondering why you will learn in a room like this," she smiled.
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