"Um, your Majesty, Master Tarrin," Amber said with a deep curtsy.
Keritanima looked at Tarrin expectantly, but he just stood there until Dar elbowed him in the side. "You're supposed to bow!" he whispered to the Were-cat under his breath.
He forgot about that part. He gave Keritanima a bow, a slight one but still graceful, and she nodded her head in acknowledgement, relief evident on her face. "Whatever did you do to your hair?" Keritanima asked him curiously.
"I decided to try it without all the weight," he answered.
"Well, what do you think so far?" Keritanima asked with a sudden grin.
"It's weird," he replied, putting a paw to the back of his head.
"I imagine it would feel that way," Keritanima agreed. "Did you have to bring that little monster with you?"
"She protects me from you, Kerri," Tarrin said bluntly.
Dar had to stifle a laugh, and even Dolanna looked about ready to smile.
Tarrin glanced at Amber, who was nervously waiting to be dismissed. "I want you to send this one any time you send for me," Tarrin said, pointing at the servant.
"You like her, eh?" Keritanima asked.
"She has more guts than the one you originally sent," he replied.
"You didn't kill him, did you?" Keritanima asked in concern, a question that made Amber flinch.
"He never showed up. He must have pawned it off on her. She did show up, and she was even honest with me."
"What's your name, girl?" Keritanima asked her.
"Amber, your Majesty," she replied with a curtsy so deep she almost fell over.
"I like sevants with courage, and you're obviously loyal, if you were willing to face him on my orders," she said, grinning at Tarrin. "Don't let him scare you, girl. He's all bluster and fanfare, but deep inside he's just a big pussycat."
Amber's muzzle fur ruffled slightly, and she glanced at Tarrin.
"If Tarrin wants you, then he's got you," she said grandly. "You'll serve Tarrin as a page until we leave, and then you'll take up a place on my personal staff. I think that's suitable reward for standing up to the big bully."
"Th-Thank you, your Majesty," Amber said, curtsying again.
"Now go take the rest of the day off," Keritanima ordered. "You deserve it."
Amber curtsied about ten times as she backed away from their group, stammering and stuttering, until she was swallowed up by the crowd.
"She was honest with you how?" Dar asked curiously.
"She said I wasn't very nice," he replied.
"That's honest," Dar laughed.
"I don't understand why she's so nervous. She's alot braver than most of these sheep."
"Those sheep have others to stand between themselves and danger," Dolanna said sagely. "Ones like Amber have nothing but themselves."
"Well, do you like your rooms, Tarrin?" Keritanima asked.
"It's too big," he answered.
"So are mine," Allia agreed. "I do not know what to do with all that space."
"Why did you put us in there?" Tarrin asked her.
"Well, I like my rooms," Dar said defensively. "I've never had so much space to myself before."
"I could grow very attached to the baths," Dolanna agreed.
"I say, you really must send me to your civil engineers," Phandebrass said brightly. "I am completely amazed by how advanced your water system is. Well, running water, hot and cold, and even a sewer system! I've never seen the like!"
"And what are those stones that I've seen out there?" Dar asked. "Those huge ones that they've been putting down on the streets? How do they move them without breaking everything?"
"Those aren't stones when they start out, Dar," Keritanima grinned. "It's the newest invention from the Ministry of Science. It's a mixture of crushed limestone, sand, gravel, and some other ingredients I'm not quite sure about. They call it concrete."
"How do they move it?"
"It starts out as a liquid," she explained patiently. "They mix all the ingredients together with water, pour it into a mold, then simply wait for it to dry. When it does, it's as strong as just about any kind of stone."
"That's almost unbelievable," Camara Tal said calmly. "Liquid stone?"
"I've seen them do it," Keritanima told her. "It looks like gray mud when they start out. They pour it out onto the street in a mold, smooth it out with flat boards, then just rope off the area and let it dry. They've been tearing up the streets here in the city, installing a better sewer system underneath them while they've got them ripped up, then covering it with new concrete streets. It's been going fairly well," she said with a toothy grin. "They started on the largest and most travelled streets and then they're working their way down. The city's master engineer wrote me a report saying they'd be done in about four years."
"Liquid stone," Tarrin mused. "That's almost better than magic."
"How do they think these things up?" Dar asked curiously.
"I have an entire university full of people who do nothing but think things up," Keritanima told him seriously. "Wikuna's edge has always been the fact that we're one step ahead of the rest of the world. We have faster ships, better weapons, and a stronger economy. Well, the rest of the world is going to catch up to us, so we spend a lot of money researching new ideas. The steam engine, concrete, cast iron, and something that's caught on over in Sennadar, printing presses and cooking stoves, they're all products of Wikuna's state-funded science department."
"You told me the Tellurians invented the stoves," Dar accused.
"They developed the idea, but it was our cast-iron technology that made them cheap to produce," Keritanima replied calmly. "They were riveting together hand-worked iron plates to make the stoves before we bought the idea from them. Now we just cast the pieces, assemble them, then sell them. If there's anyone in the world that gives us a run for our money in technology, it's the Tellurians. If they were a larger, better funded kingdom, they could probably pass us by. Tellurians are probably the most creative people I've ever seen. That's why over half of my Science Department are Tellurians," she admitted with a grin.
Tarrin recalled that clever little writing pen that had all the ink inside it, the one Miranda was so fond of using. She had said that it was a Tellurian design.
"I say, my countrymen are rather bright," Phandebrass said with a mild smile.
"You're Tellurian?" Camara Tal asked with a scoff.
"I say, isn't it obvious?" he asked, slightly offended.
"I certainly hope he's not an example of the race," the Amazon said to Keritanima, jerking her thumb at the mage.
"Master Phandebrass certainly displays the intelligence of the Tellurian people," Keritanima said with diplomatic aplomb.
"Too bad it's so warped," Camara Tal grunted, crossing her arms across her ceremonial breastplate.
A Wikuni stepped into the grand main entrance to the hall and rang a large brass bell. "Ah, there's dinner," Keritanima said brightly, obviiously heading off another argument between Phandebrass and Camara Tal. "Shall we eat?"
"Capital idea," Phandebrass said, adjusting the ridiculous pointed hat he wore.
They were led to an immense chamber not far from the throne hall, nearly twice as large, and filled with table after table. There had to be a hundred of them in the hall, all of them circular with six chairs place under them and the silk-covered tables set with the finest gold-chased china from the Far East. Even the cutlery was made of gold, Tarrin could smell as he and his friends were led to the head table, on a small raised dais at the far end of the room. They all waited as the Queen was seated, then were allowed to take their own seats. Keritanima's table was twice the size of all the others, but only had nine places, giving the three extra diners at the Queen's table much more space. They were all seated except Binter and Sisska, who stood to each side of the Queen's chair defensively. Tarrin sat at Keritanima's left, and Allia to her right, as Miranda, Phandebrass, Dar, Camara Tal, Dolanna, and Azakar took the remaining seats. Both Tarrin
and Azakar gave the chairs a nervous look, for they didn't look all that sturdy. They were heavily padded, made of cherrywood, and had designs embroidered on the cushions tacked to the backs. Tarrin gave Azakar a slightly amused look, as they both hovered there and waited for the other to sit down, to see if the chair broke. Tarrin weighed less than Azakar, so he decided to try it first, carefully lowering himself down until his full weight was placed on the chair. It did seem to squeak a bit, but remained whole.
"You're not that fat, Tarrin," Keritanima chided him.
"I don't trust furniture made for little people," Tarrin told her absently as Azakar gingerly seated himself in the chair. It squealed a bit in protest, but accepted his full weight without breaking.
Dinner was served immediately after the Queen was comfortable, and it was a very large, very long meal. They served it in courses, one dish at a time, and some of the foods were things that Tarrin had never seen before. The first course was a thick soup made of small sea creatures that Keritanima called shrimp, with cream and small bits of some kind of fish. Tarrin didn't like it very well, it was too heavily spiced, but Sapphire seemed to be very partial to it, so he gave the rest to her. The second course was a weird creature that looked like some kind of mutated scorpion, cherry-red and angry looking. Keritanima called it a lobster, a sea animal that was abundant in Wikuna's chilly coastal waters, and she showed them how to extract the white meat from the hard shell with small, delicate forks and a tool that looked like a steel version of the pincer that was on the lobster's body. Tarrin dispensed with the shell-cracker and simply split the thing open with his claws, using the tips like an awl to puncture the shell and cause it to split. Then it was just a simple matter of digging out the good parts. The third dish they served was grilled fish steaks, some kind of reddish-meat fish that was actually quite savory.
Tarrin looked around briefly, and saw that most of the nobles were watching him, their expressions slightly unpleasant. He glanced at them only briefly before going back to his fish steak, feeding a part of it to Sapphire, who seemed to like it as much as he did.
By then, Allia was looking a little displeased. "What's wrong?" Tarrin asked.
"These things, they're all from the sea," she said in Selani. "They all taste funny, metallic in a way. I don't like them."
"Don't worry, sister," Keritanima assured her. "It won't all be seafood."
"I hope not."
The fourth dish made Allia much happier. It was a vegetable dish, bean chutes, mushrooms, large brown things, and strips of some kind of fleshy plant cooked in a rich, tangy sauce and served over a strange grain-like food that Keritanima called rice. Tarrin had never seen any of the vegetables except the beans and mushrooms before, but he had to admit that they were quite good. The rice itself was tasteless, but he found that when it was mixed with the sauce, it was very good. The fifth dish was obviously prepared with Tarrin in mind, for it was beef steaks, not roasted, but grilled over an open flame. The difference wasn't a very big one, but it made a world of difference in the way that it tasted. The steaks were served with a potato, something with which Tarrin was more than familiar, one baked instead of boiled. Tarrin had always found potatos to be bland, but if one heaped enough butter on them, they became almost edible. Even with his heightened sense of taste, he still found potatos to be rather bland. But it didn't take as much butter as it did when he was human to make it tolerable. Tarrin set the bone of his steak, with plenty of meat still on it, on the table in front of Sapphire, setting it on a small saucer that had been part of the set table. The drake sank her teeth into it happily, and to his surprise, her small, sharp little teeth seemed to have no trouble grinding down the bone as well as the meat. Just like a raccoon, she used her forepaws to hold the bone down and even used them to hold the bone off the plate as she ate. He saw that her forepaws had remarkable dexterity, and since her duke claw could serve as an opposable thumb, it gave her alot of gripping power. Sapphire used her forepaws like hands, and she seemed to be quite adept at it. That was unusual, since he'd never seen Chopstick or Turnkey do what Sapphire was doing now. Their forepaws had the same shape, but they'd either never bothered or had never learned how to grip things as she had.
The last dish was dessert, and it was, quite simply, the most delicious kind of sweet he had ever tasted. It was some kind of sweetbread or cake served with a hot sweet liquid poured over it, a liquid that was thick, sticky, and tasted both sweet and buttery at the same time. The sweetbread was good enough by itself, but the topping made it absolutely marvelous.
"What is this, Kerri?" Dar asked, shoveling a spoonful so large that it almost didn't fit into his mouth.
"It's called bread pudding," she replied. "The other nobles think it's scandalous that I like it," she added with a coy smile. "It's not something nobles eat."
"Why not?"
"Because it used to be made of stale bread," she replied. "It was an old commoner's dessert, thought up so the bread wouldn't go to waste. My cooks redid the recipe a bit, though. I have to admit, I think they did a good job."
"Jesmind would absolutely die over this," Tarrin mused. "She loves sweets."
"You'll have to make her some," Keritanima told him.
"What is this honey-like stuff they pour on top?" Dar asked.
"Caramel," she replied. "It's a confection from Sharadar."
Dolanna nodded. "It is actually not that hard to make," she added. "It is just a matter of the right amounts of butter, honey, salt, and spice."
"Sounds like alot of what the Wikuni use didn't come from Wikuna," Tarrin noted.
"If we find something good, we borrow it," Keritanima shrugged.
"I say, an advantage when you're a society of global traders. There isn't much your people haven't seen," Phandebrass said.
"Good point there," Miranda agreed.
Sapphire snapped the last of the bone into a managable mouthful, then crunched it into her mouth and swallowed it. She eyed Tarrin's dessert hungrily, but he put a paw between her and the plate. "Don't even think about it," he warned her.
"At least she has table manners," Keritanima said, looking at the drake, who hissed slightly and glared back in return.
"Be nice," Tarrin chided the drake. Sapphire did nothing but snort and look longingly at the dessert sitting on Miranda's plate.
"You want this?" Miranda asked her, pointing at the bread pudding.
"Don't give her that," Tarrin warned. "If she eats that, she's going to be flying around the room all night. Drakes and sweets are not a good combination."
"What's the harm in giving her a little bit?"
"Tell you what, Miranda. If you want to feed it to her, fine. But you have to take her home with you tonight and try to get her to go to sleep."
"Ah, well, when you put it like that, I guess I can see your point," she grinned. "At least now I know how to get back at you if you annoy me," she added with a wink.
"And I'll just send her to your room and let you deal with her," he warned. "Just ask Kerri how much of a handful she can be."
"Don't remind me," Keritanima growled.
"What did she do?" Dar asked.
Miranda giggled. "She shocked Kerri," the mink replied. "Never argue with Tarrin when she's with him. She tends to zap anyone that raises her voice to him."
Dar gave Keritanima a broad smile. "I guess we should thank Kerri for showing us that."
"Like you'd ever argue with Tarrin," Keritanima shot back.
A Wikuni servant scurried up to the table and whispered in Keritanima's ear. It was very soft, very quick, but Tarrin had very sharp hearing. The servant told Keritanima that Rallix had only just arrived, and that he sent his apologies for being so late. He saw her eyes light up, then her fur on her face ruffle, and then she nodded exuberantly. "Thank you very much. We're almost done here, so ask him to join us in the ballroom," she commanded.
"At once, your Majesty," the servant said with a bow, then hurried away.
"Well, I'm abo
ut finished here," Keritanima said firmly. "Shall we go to the ballroom? I have my best musicians here tonight, and we're sure to have a good time."
The ballroom was just as large as the dining room had been, decorated with ten massive chandeliers that hung from thick chains from the ceiling. Small crystal teardrops were suspended from the candleholders, and they caught and refracted the light into rainbow cascades that made each look like glittering stars were hanging in the air. This was a chamber near the outside, since it had a line of huge windows lining the far side, which offered a spectacular view of the harbor from a balcony that ran the length of the ballroom along the outside of those windows. Huge works of art and tapestries hung from the other walls, depicting scenes of dancing and lone figures, and the far corner held a dais upon which sat ten Wikuni holding various musical instruments. The floor was made of a reddish wood cut into large squares, the grains opposing one another to give the place a lanceboard appearance, but the wood was so deeply polished that it literally glowed in the light of the candles above it. The room was large, brightly lit, warmly decorated, and seemed a very nice place. It was the first room he'd visited in the Palace that had any sense of warmth, of soul within it. It was one of the few places in the Palace where Wikuni had a good time.
There were already about twenty Wikuni in the ballroom outside the musicians, and it took him all of a heartbeat to figure out which one was Rallix. Miranda had described him to Tarrin very precisely, and he saw that Miranda hadn't missed a thing. Rallix was a tall, rather thin Wikuni, a badger Wikuni, with brownish fur with dark stripes, and a black stripe over his eyes that looked like a mask. He had a narrow muzzle and a badger nose at the end of it, but his expression was one of cool control. He wore a black waistcoat with tails over a white linen shirt, his bushy badger tail splitting the tails, and a pair of black trousers with a red sash or some kind of adornment around his waist. The red stood out against the black and white, but it was more of a fashion statement than any kind of glaring fashion mistake. Tarrin saw that Rallix wore shoes--not all Wikuni did--black leather shoes polished to a shine. He was handsome, in the Wikuni fashion, but it was the intelligence in his dark eyes that caught Tarrin's attention.
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