It takes two days and about five rounds of shifting before Raven sees something she'd wondered whether she'd ever see again: the Cabra light, which was the sailor's gateway to Amber. A ragged cheer goes up from the crew when it comes into sight, and sailors go belowdecks to rouse their companions to tell them that at long last, home is near.
As they sail up the coast, the castle eventually comes into view by spyglass. Raven can see that one of the towers has collapsed and been partially rebuilt. The approach to the city shows the same: parts that have burnt down with only some of the destroyed buildings reconstructed, and not always in the same style or according to plan. The balance and grace of the city are diminished; where once she floated above the harbor, now she limps.
The harbor is desolate compared to the old days. Many of the berths have been destroyed and even so, too few ships to fill them are at anchor. The flags of the old Golden Circle treaty shadows are gone, instead replaced by some Amber banners, a similar unicorn banner in red, and another with a unicorn and a fleur-de-lys that Raven doesn't recognize.
When they come ashore, the Harbormaster is deferential to Marius, calling him Captain and putting sailors and officials at his disposal. A carriage is found to take him and Raven and Thalia up to the castle. Raven's sailors are allowed the freedom of the city while the Navy inspects and repairs her ship. It's clear the Harbormaster and the Navy have uses for it.
Prince Caine is acting as Regent; Marius clearly means to see him at once.
Other than making sure that anything portable that the Navy might consider contraband is quietly smuggled off the ship as sailors leave - something she leaves in the capable hands of her first mate with a few words below-decks and well away from anyone that hasn't been on board for at least six months - Raven and the Vale's papers are ready to go.
If it hadn't been clear to Raven that Marius was a royal before, the way he's treated on their arrival at the castle makes it clear he is one. He sends pages looking for several people Raven's never heard of--some men and some women--and there's something about knights as well. His orders are given rapid-fire as they follow members of the royal guard up to the office Caine has commandeered, Caine's office is guarded by midshipmen; Northern Fleet is Raven's guess. On Marius' greeting, they open the door for Marius and his companions.
Caine is seated at his desk, his mind clearly on a card that he's holding. Marius seems to know what he's up to, because he says, "Tell whoever it is you'll talk to them later, Admiral. I've a story to tell you now. And--" he turns to the guards "--we need to put Lady Thalia under house arrest for aiding Huon of the Horn in an assault on Rebma. Captain Raven will stand witness to the perfidy of Gateway."
Marius has Caine's attention now.
The guards move to take Thalia into custody.
Raven salutes the Admiral sharply and then waits to be addressed, although she does shoot Marius a brief and faintly irritated look when he mentions her name. There is not, in her opinion, much she can do about Thalia getting arrested; this isn't her ship, she isn't even passably in charge, and she can't help but suspect that Thalia had to know this was coming - after all, she could have left at any point after they made port.
Besides, the best way she can come up with to clarify her position on Gateway and on Thalia involved maybe implying that Marius was either lying or deluded - which she suspects the Admiral will not appreciate... and she has no proof either way regarding the Thalia-Huon thing anyway, just a general trend of conversation. So she waits, silently.
"Have the Lady kept under guard in the guest wing," Caine orders. "I'll be in to speak with you later, madam," he says as Thalia is escorted out. Then he turns to Marius. "There's a meeting in Paris. You can tell me what you need to later; tell them first." He looks at the card again and holds out his hand to Marius.
Marius takes Caine's hand and then something happens. It's like he steps forward, but then he vanishes. There's something like a rainbow left for a moment in his wake, but then it, too is gone.
"And have someone bring up dinner for the Captain," Caine calls after the departing midshipmen. Once the door closes behind them, Caine turns back to Raven. "Sit down, Captain, and let's hear your report."
"Aye, sir." Raven sets the pile of papers and the Vale's logbook down on Caine's desk where he can choose to look at it or not and takes a seat. "Forgive me if I get protocol all wrong, sir," she starts. "I got field-promoted, and this is the first time I've had to report in as a captain to anyone."
Caine doesn't even look up from the papers. "I'm sure you'll do fine, Captain. Carry on."
"I was bosun when we left Amber last - that was right after King Eric died, sir, and while we were out on tour, we heard that King Oberon had come back.
"The ship what passed that news was the last one with a familiar flag for a long time. This bastard son of a - " Raven stops in the middle of the curse and clears her throat. "This storm came up, sir. Ain't seen one like it before or since, and I'd rather not see one like it again. I missed the first part of it, on account of being bunked down for the night and it not being that bad, but by the time they got me up, we had a sea that boiled a man alive. And then there were silver skies and rain that nearly drowned us on deck and I don't know what else. It turned into a hurricane by the time it spit us out again, a big one, and we was off every chart we had.
"The captain said we should stay where we ended up, sir, because Amber would surely notice we was missing and someone would come looking. So we stayed there, at least for a while. There were these rifts what kept opening up around us, that seemed to lead to other places, and it weren't the best place to keep our supplies up, but those were the captain's orders. And then something started happening to the officers, sir - we still don't know exactly what it was. The only thing we could figure, later, was that they were all sharing something, some food or something, that was making them sick... and then they started dying. It weren't much more than two days before the captain was the only one left, and he put me in charge on his deathbed.
"After we threw out all the special foods and drinks on board, just to be sure it weren't going to get the rest of us, and buried the captain proper-like, with the rest, I decided I wasn't too keen on staying there. So we took a chance and went through the first rift what looked like someplace we knew. It wasn't, but... that's what we've been doing since then. Half the places we been sound mad, sir, and the rest sound like talk better saved for after a few rounds of drinks. It's all true, though, and it's all in the logs.
"Then, two days ago, we got hit by a tsunami. When we went to find out what that was - we'd been doing that, you see, sir, because sometimes, the disaster was another rift instead of just what it looked like - we started finding these bodies. Some of them were Rebmans, sir, and some of them weren't. Not sure what they were." Raven frowns, and then reaches into the pocket of her coat and produces one of the pouches they'd taken off the dead men. She sets that on the desk too. "Those were carrying these, sir, and we couldn't make heads or tails out of what's inside. They had these horns full of powder, too, and were covered in tattoos. Some of them - both types, the Rebmans and the not - looked like they'd died in battle, and some of them looked like they'd been under something what fell. Stern - one of the crew, sir - said it looked like some of them had been killed by Tritons, too.
"And then we found Gateway after that." She scowls. "I don't much like their way of hosting visiting ships these days, sir. They let me and a couple of men come ashore all right, and then the harbormaster had his men jump us when we got to his office. Said something about there being questions for Amber ships. Sent my men off to the gaol, and me off to a fancy little cell - that's where I met up with..." She hesitates, and finally settles on, "Captain Marius. We escaped, and then ran into the Lady, who helped us get my men out and got us out of the harbor without any questions. We came straight here after that."
Caine nods at appropriate places throughout the telling, tracing log and chart information while listening. "Gateway may need a courtesy call from the Navy, to teach them some courtesy. Tell me more about the Lady. Why did she help you, do you think?"
"She wanted passage to Amber, sir," Raven answers. "And it sounded like she was trying to tell Captain Marius that she ain't too fond of Gateway's choices, and that she had nothing to do with whatever happened to him before I got there, but..." She shrugs. "I don't know the facts of that one way or the other. She came off honest enough."
He looks up from his papers. "We'll judge the facts and the risks, Captain. Sir Marius is, as I have recently been reminded, responsible to the King if he starts a war, but protected by the King if an act of war is committed upon him.
"Not many of the scattered fleet have made it back to port, Captain, and the tales from the few that did are wild. You're not the first to find your way in after meeting a member of the family, and it may be that that is a necessary but not sufficient condition. It takes an extraordinary sailor to bring a ship through that, and the Board should recognize that. I expect the formalities will be just that."
Unless she's badly mistaking him, Caine is suggesting she'll keep her Captaincy.
This is clearly something of a relief to Raven.
"You came in by the harbor, so you've seen the state of the fleet. How soon can you have the Vale ready to sail?"
"We got repairs where we could, sir, and while they ain't what you'd call pretty for the most part, unless something fails inspection, she's good to go now. There's some minor things what could use repair, seeing as how they're being held together with spit and hope - nothing that keeps her from being seaworthy, just... Heh." She smiles slightly and shrugs. "Gives her character, let's say. If anything, I'd say it's the men that'll keep us in port, sir, at least for a few days. It's been too long a trip, and I know I ain't the only one with someone to let know that I'm still alive and kicking."
He nods. "If you've given your men liberty, they already know that Amber's civilian population is being moved to a new city. A number of them will find that their 'someones' are no longer here. Also, don't be surprised if people think you've come back from the dead. Assume your crew will be in even more of a state of shock than you planned for."
Caine puts down the papers. "The king will want to hear your story when you get to Xanadu. You'll tell the harbormaster that I said you needed to speak to his majesty. Requisition what you need from the Naval, including any men you need to round out your crew. It's our interim dockside base of operations. There's a flotilla leaving in two days. I expect the Vale of Garnath to be with it."
"Aye, sir," Raven answers, with a crisp nod. She's not thrilled to be back at sea so soon - but soon or not, orders are orders. She's not quite sure what to make of being told to report to the king, either. "Uh... if I may ask, sir - I got something of what went on while we was lost from Sir Marius, and I saw what the place looked like coming in, but... Is it as bad as all that? Abandoning Amber?"
Caine nods. "You'll hear a phrase as a Captain that you may not have heard on the decks. 'I serve at the pleasure of the King'. It doesn't matter what we think, it matters what we have been ordered to do. I recommend you take a good look at the city over the next few days and then when you arrive in Xanadu, recall the differences. You may make up your own mind."
Raven nods again, slowly this time, her expression thoughtful. "Should we be worrying about getting our kin moved, then, sir, or is that being taken care of?"
"Hmm?" Caine says, looking back at her. "I've no idea. Check with the Admiralty, they're handling ship assignments. I'm sure they can move your family onto the list for your ship, if needed."
Caine reaches down and picks up another paper. "That will be all, Captain."
Raven salutes, with a crisp, "Sir," and takes herself out promptly.
She heads back to the Vale. There, she complies the appropriate lists of what they've need of and how many additional men they could use and sends those off. She makes sure that word makes it through the crew that if they're missing people, they may be in Xanadu, and that they're leaving for there in two days. She checks on the status of the inspection and the contraband removal. In short, she does every task that reasonably needs the captain's attention that day before turning her attention to the one task that she knows she needs to do, but that she doesn't particularly want to do.
At last, dutifully and less than enthusiastically, Raven goes in search of her mother.
The inn stands where she expects it. Curiously, it's quite busy, with people sitting in the courtyard, under the scrubby trees. There are more horses than usual, and she sees her mother's scullery-maid fetching water from the well.
Raven stops short at the sight, and mutters, "Huh." Busy, she wasn't expecting - not this busy, anyway. It suggests that things have changed around here, which doesn't make her want to go inside any more than she did before. At least the yard is the same - and the scullery-maid, who might just know what's going on.
She changes direction slightly, heading for the well and the maid instead of the front door. "Need help with that bucket?" she asks casually when she's in speaking range.
The girl smiles and looks up, ready to flirt with the handsome sailor offering her assistance. "That depen-" She stops for a second, recognizing Raven. She drops the bucket and screams, and runs back in the kitchen door, yelling about "ghosts in broad daylight!" Apparently the broad daylight is the most offensive part of Raven's re-appearance.
Raven watches her go, trying not to laugh. Thanks to the Admiral's warning, she'd kind of expected to be thought dead - but a ghost with nothing better to do than offer to help with chores? Chores it probably couldn't do anyway, being a ghost and all? It's too absurd to not be funny.
She picks up the bucket - no point in getting the girl into unnecessary trouble after scaring her - and strolls towards the kitchen door. If no one intercepts her before she gets there, she'll enter.
Before Raven gets to the door, it opens and her mother is standing there. She's somewhat more care-worn and somewhat more disheveled than Raven remembers her. She's holding a wicked looking butcher knife, the one she always kept sharp but never used on food. Her eyes are wild, and she also takes a second to register the scene.
She lowers the knife and steps forward, grabbing the bucket. She spits off to the side, almost hitting a sparrow that hops nimbly away.
"Should've figured. Well, then. And where've you been?"
She doesn't seem to have changed much, other than externally.
Relieved of the bucket, Raven crosses her arms and regards her mother with irritation. "Put that away before you hurt yourself, you demented woman." There are legions of teenagers somewhere that would envy the level of scorn in her voice. "I been out to sea, same as always, just this time something bad went down. Figured I'd come tell you I ain't dead, now we're back."
The bucket is slopped back at Raven's chest. "Fine, you want to fetch and carry, you know where the basin is. You'd best work up a better tale than 'something bad' if'n you're going to show up in Amber now. We ain't seen a ship come in to harbor since the Sundering, less'n we sent it out since then."
She turns and opens the door, with a smile on her face. "Your return is like to make a lot of remarried widows a damn sight nervous." It's not a nice smile.
"Who said I wanted to fetch and carry?" Raven shoots back. "Don't see any point in leaving the bucket there, that's all." She takes it anyway. "And 'something bad' sounds better than 'we got lost', don't it? That's what the truth amounts to. This 'sundering' thing people keep talking about is what knocked us clean off the charts, best as I can tell so far, and we ain't been anywhere near to home until a few days ago."
She eyes the smile suspiciously. "What do you care about widows, married or not? Or is that why you actually got customers today?"
"I don't care none, but it'll make people crazier. People are selling out and moving on. I always get a full house just before a fleet leaves for the new place."
She looks around the kitchen from the door and indicates that the serving maids need to get back to work. It's an economical gesture, but the girls are clear on her meaning.
"I'll go, too. Soon. I have some friends who are making me money in Xanadu. I should be well off when I get there."
Raven snorts as she heads for the basin. "Should've figured you'd have it all sorted for yourself by now. We'll be headed out with the fleet when it goes. And before you start - it ain't my idea, it's orders. Made captain, by the way," she adds, casually. "Field promotion. Admiral says it ought to stick. Not that I expect you care too much."
"Hmf. Captain? Actually quite useful. We pay a third or more of our profits to Captains." Scarlett looks around, and lowers her voice. "You should be more circumspect. Everyone will want a piece of you if you let'em know."
She leans in to her daughter. "I could help you, find you some valuable cargo to take to Xanadu. Small, easily moved items. I have connections."
"I ain't interested, Mother." Raven shakes her head, scowling. "For one, that sounds like you'd be aiming to take a cut, and I ain't about to start giving you money that'd be rightfully mine now. And for two, even if I was inclined, I got enough to deal with right now, what with just getting back today after all this time, and all the changes, and us leaving again in two days. Not to mention having orders to go talk to the bloody King when we get to the new place."
She scowls. "Suit yourself. I'm just trying to help you get ahead." She looks back at the common room. "Talking to the King, are you? Just make sure you do it in a public place. Them royals can't keep it in their pants."
"Good advice for a daughter," Raven answers shortly. "Don't imagine it'll be a problem for me. Had one on the Vale for a few days, and the worst he did was piss me off." She snorts and follows the other woman's gaze. "You two would have got on famously. Don't expect I get to say where the King wants to talk to me, anyway. Why the sudden concern? One of the girls get a fat belly from one while I was gone?"
Scarlett snorts. "Before your time, child. We had proper Royals in those days, the kind if you crossed, you'd end up floating to the surface six weeks later. You know about Prince Gerard, don't you? He and his tore up every tavern and whorehouse in the quarter when them idiot Bellums made fun of his drink." She shakes her head. "He'll never get out of that chair, now, and Amber's poorer for it."
"Aye, I heard. Damned shame, that." Raven shakes her head, frowning. "I got a bit of the story of what happened from that Marius character, the one that's apparently a Royal I ain't never heard of before I got stuck with him in Gateway. Enough to make heads and tails of what went on, anyway." With a smirk, she adds, "Don't figure he's one of your 'proper Royals'. That must've been well before my time, or I would've heard something before now. Those girls never were much bothered by telling me things when you weren't around."
Scarlett's eyes dart around the room, and she gives a passing maid a swat on the back of the head to get her to pay attention to the crowd.
"Yeah, after the King came back, he left, and after he died, we only had Gerard, in his chair, and a pack of children nobody had heard of. His, Prince Eric's, Prince Bleys', even Prince Random, who ended up King. They was all laws and councils and not getting anything done. The go out drinking at The Pigeon and think they're radical. Good riddance.
"In my day, when the fleet came in, you knew about it."
"From what I was told, there ain't much fleet left to come in now. Is there something you're trying to tell me?" Raven regards her mother expectantly. "You're being nice enough, for you; there must be something on your mind."
Scarlett has never let her face fail. "You've not been annoying me these last six years. I reckon you'll catch up, sooner or later." She turns and, without looking, grabs an urchin who was attempting to slide past her from the kitchen to the yard. She turns the boy around and pushes him back towards the common room, without speaking.
"I done raised you. May not have been the best raising you could've had, but it's done. I ain't gonna slap you on the ass and tell you to clean out the firepit anymore, so what's the--"
Scarlett's head snaps back towards the common room and she heads into it at a quick march, heading towards the fight that's just broken out. She's switched out the knife for some sort of truncheon. Some landsman is getting the tar beat out of him by a sailor. If she still has the same rules, she'll throw them both out to fight in the street.
Raven is hard on her heels. She's helped throw a few other battles out, on other visits - it's a familiar territory, one that doesn't involve her mother being oddly nice and doesn't involve being squealed at by maids. Besides which, if that sailor is one of hers, she'll have to deal with it anyway. Better now than later.
She'll let Scarlett take the lead for the moment.
Scarlett doesn't pause as she enters, hitting a sailor behind his knee with her truncheon. He drops the knife he'd been holding and falls, clutching his leg. On the far side of the room, two men are fighting, a local and a sailor. From the shouting, it's about money, not about girls.
"Enough!" shouts Scarlett, using her truncheon to try to beat her way into the circle of shouting men that is currently surrounding the combatants. The room could erupt if the victim has friends. The sailor certainly does.
Shouting first, then breaking heads. "HEY!" Raven bellows, in an authoritative voice much more fit for the deck of a ship. "Sailors, drop weapons and toe the line! The rest of you lot, sit down and shut up!"
If this doesn't stop things, she starts grabbing shirts and shoving people out of the way forcibly.
It starts so well. Raven's sailor, Fudge, who was in the middle of it, drops the tankard he was going to hit the local with.
It would've continued going quite well if the local hadn't used that as an opportunity to drive a hard left to his gut.
The room erupts and Scarlett goes in swinging with the truncheon. It's remarkably efficient. She swings and her girls pull the people off the ground and throw them out the door. It doesn't seem like they care much if they get hurt or hurt anyone once they hit the paving stones.
Raven sighs and shrugs slightly. It had been worth a try.
She returns to making her way across the room, heading straight for the original fight with an eye towards breaking it up or throwing it out. Anyone that gets in her way gets either a fist or something off the nearest table to the head. Just not furniture - she had to pay for the chairs she broke last time.
Raven finds Fudge curled up in a ball, clutching his belly. His assailant is nowhere to be seen, having either fled or been thrown out of the tavern. Clean up is quick, the common room is soon empty, and there doesn't seem to be a fight going on in the street. Scarlett picks up the gambling money from the floor, including several pouches. "That'll pay for the loss of revenue they caused tonight."
The tavern looks much more like Raven remembers it, empty. The same towheaded child sticks his head out from behind a pillar and reaches for a half-loaf of abandoned bread. Scarlett reaches behind her and swats him.
"Max, I already told you to go to bed!" The head disappears, along with the bread.
She turns back to Raven. "Your brother."
There's an extended pause. "Well," Raven says finally. "You was busy while I was gone, weren't you. I got all sorts of questions now, and here I was thinking we'd just about run out of things to talk about again. Let's start with the easy one. Full brother, or do we get to start a whole new game of who-or-what-did-Mother-sleep-with?"
She laughs. "It's not your business who I sleep with, as it ain't mine what mistakes you make now. But I ain't see your father in many a year. It's not like a woman who does what I do keeps the same looks as she had before she had whelps."
Which turns out not to be very true. While Scarlett is a bit unkempt and dirty from the fight, she hardly looks any older than when Raven was wearing the clothes Max had on.
"Heh." Raven shakes her head. "Wouldn't be my business if you'd ever given me a straight answer. Are you really suprised I had to ask? And I ain't playing that game." She picks up a half-full mug and inspects its contents as she speaks. When she realizes it's the same stuff her mother always serves, she sets it back down again. "You're the same as you always were, save for this being halfway nice to me thing. And the kid. This one actually a boy?"
She nods. "Far as you or anybody else knows, yes." Scarlett starts gathering up the mugs letting the dregs spill onto the floor.
Raven is clearly less than enthusiastic about that answer, but she drops the subject. "What was it you were saying when the fight started? Then I'll get out of your hair, since you seem to want to wash your hands of me."
She snorts. "Don't overrate yourself, Captain. Saying about what? I was mostly interested in keeping them idiots from killin' Shatter, who is also an idiot."
"A few of my lot were in that mess," Raven points out. "Not that I mean to argue about some of them being idiots. We was talking about why you're being nice, for you, to me."
"I'll take your lot's money same as anyone's. You going to pay the bill for the damage they done?" Scarlett gestures to the broken furniture. There were always bills sent out after damage like that, although Raven has no idea if they were ever paid.
"As to me and you, What do you expect, me to tell you to comb your hair and stand up straight? You spent years tellin' me you didn't want no mothering and that was fine with me, I wasn't any good at it. I recon any child who makes Captain in the Amber Navy has be raised well enough. Anyroad, I reckon you'll tell me why you came here soon enough."
Raven regards her in silence for a moment, and then laughs. "And yet you had another one," she says drily. "Be interesting to see how this one turns out. I might pay, assuming it's reasonable. I saw the fight, same as you; I ain't going to consider anything I don't think one of mine broke. Got to find out from the Navy if that's mine to pay anyway, since I don't rightly know. As for why I'm here..." She shrugs. "It's the dutiful thing. I been gone, now I ain't; I'm supposed to check in on relatives and the like before they ship me off somewhere else. It'd look funny otherwise, wouldn't it? And I got enough other stuff going on without drawing attention to funny things I do."
Her mother snorts, then looks her up and down. "Sounds like you need a wife, my girl. If you're expecting to be a dutiful child now, you ought to be more open to my ideas, or else you should dutifully set up your mother in her tired old age."
She pauses. "Did they give you all your back pay?"
"Started the ball rolling on that," Raven answers, briefly. "And I only said it had to look dutiful. Some of your ideas ain't as hot as you think, and I thought you said you was set up. You ain't taken it into your head that we got rich out wandering around, have you? 'Cause we didn't. I can get you and the kid on the Navy's list for moving, however long that'll take."
She scowls. "My ideas is fine. Did fine by you, they did. And you're richer than you think, if you've got five years back pay coming. They paid it all out to the Army that went to Chaos. We all made lots of money while that lasted.
"I'll take that Navy berth for moving. I can't afford to pay to get a priority on the private ships."
"I'll get your names on the list. Don't know how long it'll take or what it'll be like or anything." She snorts. "You probably got a better idea than I do on that kind of thing right now than I do, right? Seeing as how you've been here the whole time. Don't imagine you'll get priority just because I just got back, though."
Scarlett shrugs. "Navy berths are better than others. They'd rather get them there in one piece than deal with the paperwork of losing someone. If you're sailing to Xanadu, expect your ship to be full to the waterline. From what I hear, expect half your sailors to decide they've had enough of the sea when you get there, too."
She looks around. "It's supposed to have whatever it was this place lost when the King died." She laughs, mirthlessly. "That helped my business, it did. All of the sudden most places were dumps."
"The admiral mentioned something about that." Raven shrugs. "I'll find out in a few days, I guess. I ain't going to be surprised at all to have some of the men decide to go back to dry land. We've been stuck at sea long enough for even itchy feet to want to stay put for a while." Whether she feels that way herself or not, she doesn't say.
Instead, she looks around the room, shoving her hands into her coat pockets, and finally settles her gaze back on her mother. "You didn't think I thought you had plenty of custom now just because I'd been away, did you?" She snorts. "Figured it had to be something that weren't anything you did. I guess I ought to be getting back to the ship before long, unless we got anything else to say to each other."
Scarlett scowls. "You go back to minding your business and I'll go back to mine. And don't forget that berth. Your brother needs it."
"I said I'd do it, didn't I?" Raven answers shortly. "I ain't going to forget. I imagine I'll see you again after you get there, but don't expect me to be in a hurry about it."
Scarlett straightens the chairs for a second time. "Suits me."
Raven stands back and lets the activity wash around her. The new men she had taken on seemed to be settling in well enough, although she had a few of her men keeping a close eye on them for now; she'd been as picky as the Navy would let her be, but they didn't need to know everything the Vale and her lost sailors had been up to, and they didn't need to ask too many questions.
And then there was the matter of her mother and brother. She'd almost rather the Navy had told her they had to wait; it would have been less of a headache. At least the makeshift cabin they'd stashed Thalia in hadn't been dismantled before she figured her kin could use it for the trip and have half a chance of staying out of her hair.
But - aside from the reasonable concern of just how long it would be before they saw Amber's shores again this time - ship and crew are ready to depart when the other ships are.
The Vale of Garnath is only one of the ships in the fleet that will be taking the Royal Way to Xanadu, but it's still not clear which royal will be in charge of the trip until the last minute. That's when she's called to the Harbormaster's office--this time with no fear that she'll be thrown in jail--to meet the prince who'll be travelling with them,
When she arrives, she finds the Harbormaster in discussion with two people, a man and a woman. The man is of middling height, blond, and dressed in some foreign fashion, perhaps Begman.
The woman is dressed in a style that seems similar to but simpler than the man's -- perhaps because a more elaborately fussy garment would not comfortably accommodate her obviously gravid frame. She is petite with dark eyes and dark hair that has vivid purple streaks in it that could mark her as part-Rebman, though her skin doesn't show any obvious green tint.
The Harbormaster ushers Raven in. "Prince Martin, Lady Folly, this is Captain Raven of the Vale of Garnath. Captain, the Prince and the Lady will be leading the fleet."
"Captain," Folly says, and extends her hand in greeting. "The Vale of Garnath -- that's one of the ships that went missing at the Sundering, yes? When did you make it back to Amber?"
The captain is a man from solid Amber stock, with brown hair pulled back into a stubby queue and blue eyes. Her clothes - shirt, vest, breeches, and boots - are a mix of simple, workman-like materials and slightly nicer stuff, topped off with what was probably a Navy-issued coat before it acquired a few years of wear.
Raven salutes quickly before reaching to complete the handshake. "Highness, Lady," she says politely. "Yes, milady, we were one of the lost ones. We've been back a few days now, and only in waters we knew for a few days more than that, though I can't say they was as welcoming as they used to be."
Martin nods, once. "I'll want to hear about that, once we're safely underway. Caine recommended the Vale as the lead ship. What do you have in the way of a cabin for Folly? I can bunk with your men." He says this like it wouldn't be the first time, for all that he's dressed like a landsman.
Raven considers briefly. If the Prince wants to sleep with the men, she's hardly going to stop him. As for cabins... "We got a couple of options, I think, Highness. We put together a sort-of cabin coming home. We should have enough odds and ends of things to make another, or if milady," a brief nod in Folly's direction, "doesn't mind sharing, the one we made up already has my mother and brother in it and can be made a bit bigger to fit three. Or I can give up my cabin." She doesn't seem particularly keen on the last idea.
Folly bites her tongue before the first question that pops into her head -- 'Well, is your brother good-looking?' -- can slip out. Instead she says, "A makeshift cabin will suit me just fine: anything's fine, really, so long as it gives me a place to string up a hammock, and protects your crew's delicate sensibilities from the sight of my enormous pregnancy underthings. But in your estimation, what are the odds I'd want to bunk with your mother?" The twinkle in her eye is both knowing and amused.
"I wouldn't do it myself, milady," Raven answers dryly, "but I grew up with the woman. Separate might be a bit more peaceful; the boy can't be more than five or six, and her parenting ain't changed much since I was that age."
"Separate it is, then," Folly says with a grin.
Martin nods once, apparently satisfied by the outcome. "How soon can you be ready to sail, Captain? Anything you need in terms of supplies or repairs?"
Raven shakes her head. "We got the repairs taken care of, Highness. She could use a good overhaul, but we wasn't going to get that done in the few days we had. We can go now, or we can take a bit to put together milady's quarters when we ain't in motion first."
Martin glances at Folly. "Put her quarters together first. If there works out to be room, I'll take it, but mostly I don't want to disrupt the good order of your ship." Another glance passes between him and Folly. "Especially if they haven't had sufficient leisure in Amber before we sail."
"They had enough time to start bar fights over money instead of women," Raven says dryly, looking just faintly amused. "They damn well better have got enough of other types of leisure. And I already made it clear that they ain't to mess with any passengers we got. I can see if we can make it fit two, Highness, but it may be close quarters."
Martin nods once.
"Close quarters we can handle, even if we do take up slightly more space than we used to," Folly says with a smile, laying one hand on her belly and the other on Martin's arm. "Although it occurs to me that perhaps I should rustle up a pennywhistle or a... you know, a..." She holds her hands in front of her and makes a gesture indicating some smaller-than-breadbox-sized oblong-ish object. "In case the natives get restless."
"You already sent your luthier on to Xanadu, remember? We'll have to find something onboard," Martin tells Folly. He turns back to Raven. "I'm not worried about any of the sailors messing with me," he says with the sort of absolute confidence that has long since turned into casualness. "Nor, if they have the slightest sense of self-preservation, my wife. I just don't want to cause disciplinary problems for you."
"Aye, Highness," Raven replies. "I appreciate that. I don't expect they'll be that stupid, but I'll keep an eye out."
After the meeting in the Harbormaster's office, a flurry of work begins on the new makeshift cabin for Folly. Meanwhile the longshoremen begin to load up the last remaining royal cargo and what little in the way of travel necessities the royal couple has with them. At the same time, the civilians who will be travelling to Xanadu in the Vale of Garnath's wake are embarking on the various other ships that will follow her. The quays are busy and full of life, almost reminding Raven of the way Amber used to be. But in her day, the whole harbor would have been full like this, and now it's only the caravan that will be travelling to Xanadu.
While the ship is being loaded, Scarlett and Max come aboard, and are delighted to learn from shipboard gossip that the Prince and his heavily pregnant wife, or paramour, or whatever she is, will be taking passage on the same ship. Raven can almost see her mother's mind turning over various schemes to get into Martin's bed while Folly is, must be, unable to hold his interest.
When Martin and Folly actually board, he seems much more interested in Max than in Scarlett, which dismays Raven's mother no end, although she tries to hide it.
The caravan sails on the tide, and it takes them a day or so to get to a place where Martin decides he's comfortable with moving them onward through shadow. This is about the same place that Folly recalls him making the first major transition the last time they did this; it seems to be something of a regular waystation. Martin takes Raven aside and notes the location for her rutter, as well. Like Marius, he prefers to make the transition at night where he can see the stars, although he explains some signs that will help Raven find the place by day.
But soon after that, they're well on their way on what is becoming the increasingly well-trodden path to Xanadu.
As soon as she has a few minutes to do so, Raven takes her mother aside privately and has words with her regarding what she should and should not be considering with the Prince, whether he's paying attention to her or not. It amounts to 'don't be an idiot, that's his wife, and I'll probably be stuck punishing you if he demands it, so keep your hands to yourself.'
There's a quiet, if tense, argument after that that resolves absolutely nothing.
Aside from that and her standard captaining duties, Raven contents herself with keeping an eye out for the kid and on her mother, and being readily available for the Prince should she be needed.
Martin clearly knows his way around a ship and has enough sense to stay out of trouble. He's friendly, but reserved, with the crew, and polite to Raven and her mother. As he leads the ship through the different shadows, something he's clearly done before, he's careful to ensure she has clear directions for the rutter.
For her part -- and perhaps surprisingly to those who might have expected the lady to sequester herself from the rough work and rough manners of the crew -- Folly spends most of her waking hours on-deck: sometimes taking a turn at the whatever-it-is that the Prince does to get them where they're going, sometimes scribbling and sketching in a little notebook when the seas are calm and the light is good, sometimes noodling on the tin whistle she's managed to find, mostly piping out bouncing sea shanties of the sort that entice those within earshot to sing along. Although she doesn't know the Vale's longtime crew yet, she recognizes some of their names from her time spent with their wives or brothers or friends among the Amber docksiders.
Some of the older crew seem to have picked up on who Folly is, and of course, some of the additional members the Vale has picked up already knew her. Quickly, and perhaps surprisingly to Raven, Folly is accepted not so much as one of the crew but as something more than the "lady of quality" that they treated Thalia as.
If Raven asks, she learns that Folly has a reputation as a patron of sailors and docksiders of all sorts in Amber, and that Folly has arranged for many of them to travel to Xanadu already. During the hard times, Folly helped ensure the poor were fed and had jobs to the extent that there were any to be had. For a royal, she's apparently downright decent.
If she notices Scarlett's over-interest in her husband, she shows no sign (except perhaps to Martin when no one else is looking). That she shows young Max a thing or two about how to play the tin whistle, and promises him that he can have hers at the end of the voyage if he keeps out of trouble, probably isn't even meant as retaliation.
Scarlett's interest in Martin seems, as far as Folly can tell, to amuse him. She knows what Martin's type is, and Scarlett isn't it. The boy, though, is of some interest to him, and he seems to be trying, or re-trying, his paternal instincts on the child. He keeps Max with him through some of his duties, including one shadow transition during the day.
Raven is seated at a mess table when Folly runs across her. The Vale's captain seems to have no problem eating alongside her crew, and indeed she's been doing just that, although the sailors she was eating with have left. She's still nursing her drink, but her plate contains nothing but crumbs and a very small pile of something pale and mushy and currently unidentifiable - it doesn't look much like Navy rations, but as Folly may have noticed, none of the food on the Vale does.
She nods politely and says, "Milady," by way of greeting. And then, with a faint smile, Raven adds, "I trust your neighbors haven't been too disturbing?"
"Young Max is a delight," Folly replies with a bright and genuine smile as she slides onto the bench across from Raven. "And your mum is... certainly no worse than mine." Her smile grows a bit wry. "I hope it's not putting an undue strain on her, having to keep from blurting out whatever she's thinking in my presence. She strikes me as a woman well used to expressing herself."
"Aye," Raven answers drily. "And often at volume, at that. If you don't mind my asking, milady, what do you think of the boy? I didn't know about him until a few days ago," she explains, a bit apologetic, "and he ain't learned the ways to get out of the house that I used to use yet, I guess."
"Well, he doesn't seem any the worse for it, if that's what you mean," Folly reassures her. "He's a clever kid -- and resilient, I daresay. It does make me doubly glad our last convoy to Xanadu brought folks who may even now be setting up a school for docksider children, though. I think Max seems well-suited to a bit of formal education." She pauses and regards Raven thoughtfully. "Or was there something in particular you were concerned about?"
Raven laughs. "Many things, milady, not least of which is making sure that the lad knows that I know what he's dealing with and ain't adverse to having a child-shaped shadow when I'm in port. Some bits of curiosity that I ain't been able to talk the old bat into sharing yet." She shrugs. "Family matters; I'm sure you understand. But between getting situated at a proper port, with a proper Navy presence, reporting in, and making sure it's known that I'm alive, I ain't had a chance to say more than three words to him, privately or not. I saw you and the Prince had been keeping him busy, so I thought I'd ask."
Folly smiles. "I think I can safely say that both he and I have some sympathy for Max's situation, having grown up with somewhat... ah... overbearing female caretakers ourselves. Also, I suppose we're testing out those parenting skills we'll be needing any week now. I don't suppose you have any children of your own... that you know of?" That last, added with a twinkle in her eye, acknowledges the typical sailor's customary answer to the question.
Raven laughs. "Milady, if there's any that are claiming to have a child of mine, they're three sheets to the wind and crazy to boot. I tend to be picky about my girls, and there ain't one of them that wouldn't have told me if that were to happen. Are you due... soon?" she asks, with sudden concern. She really doesn't want to have to help birth a baby.
"No, not 'til the Solstice or a little after -- so fourteen weeks, maybe. Something like that. It's easy to lose track when we're traveling." Folly smiles and lays a hand on her belly. "Speaking of traveling, will you be anxious to head out on your next assignment once we reach Xanadu, or do you hope to spend a little time on land first?"
"I'm less settled than some, but even I wouldn't turn down some time on land," Raven answers drily. "Nothing like a few years with no sight of home to make you want to stay put for a bit. Besides, we been trying to get home so long, it ain't fair to the men to go out again any time soon. Short tours might not be a bad idea, in a few weeks or months, but not yet." She snorts. "But - ask me that one more time after we been in port a few days and I get a chance to see how much trouble they're into, milady, and I may tell you different."
Folly grins. "Well, if you're looking for some way to keep them occupied and out of trouble on dry land, I can introduce you to some folks who'll be more than happy to point them toward needful work, and a good pint afterward. Or ask Gowpen -- he's your new deckhand that kind of looks like a walrus, with the mustache to match. He's in with that crowd."
She pauses, then adds, "Xanadu is becoming what Amber was, but it still needs a little work to get there."
"I expect he'd be the one working with Lathe. The name sounds right, at least. I'll keep that in mind, milady." Raven studies the bottom of her mug idly for a moment. "The Admiral said I should look at Amber before we left, and look at this Xanadu when we get there, and decide for myself if it was reasonable to be deserting Amber. I guess I'll see what I see." She doesn't sound entirely convinced. "I heard some things, and it sounded more like wishes than anything else - brand new start making everything right and all that."
Folly spends a long moment considering how best to answer Raven's implied question. Finally she says, "There may be some of that, but there's an undeniable... vitality to Xanadu that is reminiscent of what Amber used to be -- as if Amber is an ancient tree that will not bloom again, and Xanadu is the strong, straight sapling bristling with the potential to become the mightiest tree in the forest with only a little time and encouragement." She looks at Raven and grins. "And we're the encouragement."
"That's as may be, milady, but what happens to those that can't or won't move? I mean, there's this gent down the way from where I grew up, been there forever, and I can't see how it won't take half the city and a few others besides to get that hidebound old coot out of his place. He ain't the only one I can think of that's got more stubbornness than sense. And what about the ones that ain't got the cash to up and move and ain't got any in the family to move them?" Raven pauses, and then adds apologetically, "I'm sure you lot have thought of all that, and I'll beg pardon if I'm being a pest, but... I didn't have anyone to ask these questions before we left, really, at least not anyone that seemed like to give me answers that don't sound an awful lot like the 'next one will be our way home' we've been living with."
Folly smiles sympathetically. "No, I understand your concern. It's my personal opinion that those who absolutely, positively don't want to move, no matter how much others try to convince them, should be left to their peace. I can't promise that those in charge will share my views on that, but if we're talking a small enough number of mostly old-timers who just want to live out their remaining days in the place they've always known, I can't see that that would hurt anything. Amber doesn't have the resources anymore to support its former population like it used to, but it could still support a smaller community, I think.
"As for those who want to move but lack the resources...." Folly smiles. "That, we're working on." She pauses, thinking. "When your crew sailed out of Amber, before the big storm that kept you away for so long, who was in charge in the castle?"
"King Eric, milady, Raven answers promptly. "We heard later that the old king had come back, but we didn't make it back to find out for sure. Got to admit I still don't have a great grasp of what all went on while we was gone, just bits and pieces, and some of them from more reliable sources than others."
Folly nods slowly. "You may have heard, either before you left or later on, about a Black Road that was providing a pathway into Amber for her foes. After Oberon came back, most of the royal family -- except for Gerard, who stayed in Amber as regent, and those of us youngers who had recently come out of the woodwork -- went off to war very far away from Amber. I mention it now because I rather suspect that the process of getting those that can't well afford it moved from Amber to Xanadu might not be so different than bringing the Army back to Amber after the war."
She hesitates, and her expression turns a bit grim. "Have you heard about Gerard's injuries?"
"Aye, I heard. And if you don't mind me saying so, milady, it's a damned shame." Raven shakes her head, frowning. "I think you just explained some of why I was wondering if the folks I was talking to were feeding me lines. So there was this war somewhere else, and then the folks that stayed here had this 'Sundering' thing what caused us to get lost. At the same time?"
"More-or-less," Folly says. "I came to Amber just before the Sundering, and the army had already departed for the war -- just a very short time beforehand, if I understand correctly." She hesitates, then adds softly, "In some places, there's an old tradition that says 'the king is the land'. There's some speculation that the Sundering was the reaction of the land to the death of the king as he protected Amber from her enemies."
"That don't make any sense to me," Raven says mildly. "Or else somebody would've mentioned something happening after King Eric died, and I ain't heard anything of the kind. And it's going to be an awful pain in the arse - pardon, milady - for everybody involved if you've got to up and move every time there's a new king."
"Well, but that's just it: nothing happened when King Eric died because the true king of Amber, who had been king for longer than anyone can remember, was still secretly alive during Eric's entire reign. So there was no reason for the land to rebel. Or so the argument goes, anyway." Folly gives a little shrug. "But if it makes you feel better," she adds brightly, "I think the new king intends to live forever."
Raven chuckles. "Beg pardon, milady, but I've known a few folks that hoped for that. Maybe it's different for you lot, but there's precious few of them that'll see that one through. How's those that believe this 'the king is the land' malarkey explain how it got like that in the first place, I wonder?"
"Yes, well, the published histories are rather sketchy on that point, I'm afraid," Folly replies with a grin. "But... well, you grew up in Amber, right? I didn't. What stories did you learn as a kid about Oberon's reign, and how long it lasted, and what came before it?"
"Aye, I grew up in the docks district, milady," Raven confirms. "Tavern brat. Most of what I recall was on wives, mistresses, and taxes, to tell the truth. Weren't many that cared too much about the beginnings of the kingdom and all." She smiles. "'Course, I spent an awful lot of time talking to sailors about ships and the sea, when I wasn't running wild or stuck with chores, and not so much talking to those what would want to tell those stories."
"But you probably heard some of the songs, if you grew up in the tavern. I mean...." Folly taps out a bouncing rhythm on the edge of the table and sings:
"Good king Aub'ron, brave and tall,
By his hands he raised these walls,
Built them up from nothing at all,
Nothing at all, nothing at all,
Fol-de-rol-de-riddle-ey-all,
Good king Auberon.
"Good king Aub'ron, by his hand,
By his blood and his command,
Brought forth life from barren land,
Barren land, barren land,
Fol-de-rol-de-riddle-ey-and,
Good king Auberon.
"...and on and on for thirty or forty verses, about his reign that ran a thousand years and will run a thousand more, and all that. Of course," she adds with a grin, "I'm willing to bet there's more than a little poetic license thrown in there: I'm not sure he actually won anyone's heart by wrestling a talking bear, for example." She gives a little shrug.
Raven chuckles. "All right, I may remember that one - at least the bit about the bear. Not so's much that I could sing it, though, even if I were inclined to. Which I ain't, begging your pardon; you seem musical enough, but I was gifted with a singing voice like the bird I'm named for, and I ain't of a mind to inflict that on anyone that don't deserve it. As for songs about the old King..." She considers briefly, and finishes, "The ones that come to mind don't bear repeating, milady."
"Oh, I dunno; I always was fond of the one that rhymes 'carousers' with 'trousers'," Folly offers with a barely-stifled grin. "But I do take your point. Most of the old songs are concerned with topics more... earthy than esoteric."
Raven chuckles. "The best ones, anyway. Well, milady, I suppose I ought to get back to work..."
"Well then, sir, I shall leave you to it," Folly replies pleasantly, rising as she does so. "It's been a pleasure chatting with you." With that, she wanders away cheerfully whistling the jaunty melody of a bawdy tavern song.
Several days past the first crossing, the weather is relatively calm, with enough of a wind going--perhaps encouraged by some of the royal gifts--to keep the Vale moving at a steady pace. The crew is managing the vessel and some of the repairs Raven had ordered made en route without her supervision. Scarlett is safely ensconced in her makeshift cabin and Folly has engaged herself in teaching young Max a bit of recorder technique.
Martin frees himself from his conversation with one of the junior officers she'd taken on in Amber--apparently he knew some of them--and comes over to join her. "Captain," he says, glancing around as if he expects someone to be watching them, "is there somewhere we can speak privately?"
"We can use my cabin, Highness," Raven answers readily. "It's a bit lived-in, but we ain't likely to be bothered."
He nods, once. It's kind of abrupt, but that seems like his way. Caine was like that, Raven had heard.
Martin lets Raven lead him to the cabin and waits until the door is shut behind them to speak. He draws in a breath, as if considering how to phrase his comments, before sucking it up and just starting to talk. "I'm sorry if this is a bothersome topic for you, but I've got a couple of things I need to talk to you about. About your family."
Raven's expression goes from polite curiosity straight through to exasperation as Martin talks. She crosses her arms and says tiredly, "I did tell her to behave herself, Highness, but she don't listen to me unless she thinks there might be money involved. What did the daft woman do now?"
Martin's brow furrows at the question. "Your mo--oh. Oh, no, it's not your mother. I can deal with her.' He waves a hand dismissively, as if women throwing themselves at him were an everyday thing for him. Maybe, being a prince, it is. "Except for this question, which I don't think she'd answer for me. Do you know who the boy's father is?"
Raven snorts a laugh. "I already asked, and I got told to mind my own business. It happened while I was gone, Highness." She shrugs. "Apparently it wasn't the same man as sired me, but that don't help much; she ain't ever given me a straight answer on that, either. Do you mind if I ask why?"
"Not because I think he's mine. Obviously," Martin says drily. His tone turns serious as he continues, "This next bit is royal business." He doesn't insult Raven by cautioning her further; instead he goes on to the actual point. "One of my cousins died recently. Rumor has it that he fathered several children in Amber during the recent Regency. It occurred to me that Max was of the right age, and he seems--well, I have my own reasons for thinking this, but he seems a likely candidate."
"Well. That's a new one." Raven smirks faintly. "For her, at least." She thinks back to the conversation she'd had with her mother, frowning a little. "But I can't say that it ain't possible. She's got some opinions that she didn't share before, about the R - er, your family, but begging your Highness's pardon, I'd be happier not saying exactly what they are. Knocking her up and not whisking her away, that could be one reason for them - but it could just as easily be that none of you lot ever showed up at the tavern and she don't see why not. I can try asking again, I guess, but I can't promise I'd get anywhere. We ain't exactly on the best of terms."
Martin nods, once. "There's another way you might find out. Are you familiar with the Red Mill?"
"Heard of it, but ain't ever been there." Raven shrugs. "I got simple tastes, and it's a bit rich for my blood, Highness."
That singular nod repeats itself. "Lucas kept a woman there--" which is somewhat surprising, but it would take the sort of money a royal had to keep the interest of a Red Mill girl full time "--whose name was Silken. Silken was in charge of funnelling certain payments to various people in the city. If your mother had come into unexpected money, and it was through Silken, it would be strong circumstantial evidence."
After a moment, Martin adds, "Lucas was my friend. I was the best man at his wedding. I'd rather investigate this quietly myself than drag his mother into it. Aunt Florimel's not quite herself since Lucas' death, you'll understand, but she wants to know her grandchildren, and to see them given the advantages they were born to."
"Begging your Highness's pardon, but I'd just as soon keep this quiet myself," Raven answers. "It wouldn't be fair to the boy to not look into it, but anything about 'advantages they were born to' gets back to my mother before it's proved one way or the other, and I wouldn't put it past her to go straight to the Princess with the story, true or not. I wouldn't know one way or the other without asking the girls," by which she means the girls at the tavern, although she doesn't qualify it, "whether she's had unexpected money while I was gone; she's terrible with the stuff. But she did say she had someone getting money together for her in the new place, and that she'd be well-off when she got there. Who that might be, I can't say I'd know; she said they were friends, and I don't know that I can think of any of her friends that would do that sort of thing for her."
"That's the sort of information I'm interested in." The nod this time is accompanied by a slow smile. "I'll doublecheck that against my sources when we get to Xanadu. And--if your mother does make the mistake of going straight to my aunt? And the boy's not Lucas' son?" Martin pauses significantly. "It'll end, sooner or later, with the boy dead and her under my Aunt's extreme displeasure, and, most likely, my father's."
Raven visibly bristles at the mention of death. "Well, I ain't interested in seeing that happen," she says, levelly. "His parentage ain't his fault."
"It wouldn't be his fault, but if he tried, believing he could, and couldn't, he'd end up just as dead. It's an ugly way to die." Martin isn't apologetic about it; he's just stating facts. "We're not like other people, Captain. There's a line between people like me and the rest of the worlds. I didn't make it and I'm not enforcing it, just trying to make sure it doesn't kill any more people."
"If you say so, Highness." Raven is clearly kind of dubious about this explanation, and still not entirely thrilled. "I ain't aiming to pigeon-hole him in, just so's we're clear. I just know it can be miserable, being her son and that age and not knowing who your father is or was, and it wouldn't be fair of me not to look into this."
"It's not easy growing up knowing your father's a Prince of Amber either, but it seems to be easier than finding that out when you've already come to manhood," Martin says. His tone seems more phlegmatic than it probably ought to, given his own background. "Your concern speaks well for you. Having suddenly found myself with a younger brother of my own, I understand better than you may think. I'll do my best to see the boy isn't hurt, no matter who his father is."
Raven nods. "Thank you, Highness. You'll let me know if there's aught else I can do?"
"Just let me know if you find anything out from your mother, one way or another. And let me know what assignment you draw when you get to Xanadu. I am not," he says, a slight smile gracing his lips, "entirely without influence, and I do keep an eye on men in Royal service--including the Navy--who do me or the kingdom a good turn, Captain."
"Of course, Highness."
Last modified: 9 November 2010