Breakfast With The King

Marius arrives fairly early, dressed fairly nicely. He looks tired, though.

Marius does not comment on the poetry, but he does shake his head and join the buffet line.

Ossian arrives soon after Marius. Ossian seems to have been awake for a few hours already, and seems to be in a good mood. He is dressed simply: blue trousers, white shirt, and some paint stains on his hands and the cuffs of his shirt.

Jovian is as aggravatingly on time as ever. He is clothed, but defiantly refuses to wear a dress.

Ossian smiles at the sight of the juggling king. He walks over to the buffet, picks up an orange,an waits for a pause in the king's recitation nad then says:

"From the table was heard; the orange astounded
Over there I see bananas that fly,
while I sit here grounded,
why don't I also give flying a try?"

Ossian then throws the orange to Random, (in sync with the juggling) adding the orange to the juggling pattern.

"Thanks, Ossian," Random says, and begins to juggle behind his back.

Ossian bows. "I just had to take the opportunity. It's not every day you can throw fruit at the King and get away with it.", he says with a grin.

"Orange you glad I let you?"

Ossian groans.

Lilly arrives just in time to witness that display. Those looking directly at her may even notice that the corner of her mouth quirks slightly and for the briefest of moments she seems almost amused. The expression does not last however. There was far too much to be serious about these days.

[Ossian] starts picking a light breakfast. (this is probably his second) "Cousin Marius. Did you give Folly the Trump yesterday?"

Marius nods at Ossian, solemnly. The smile on his face is sudden, more as if it were bursting than if it grown there more naturally. "I did, indeed. I do not know the proper disposition of such precious items, so I kept it in wait." Depending on how sensitive Ossian is to such things, he might get the feeling that Marius takes "keeping things in wait" quite seriously, as if it had been something he had set aside in a private, special location, protected from elements and other miscellaneous dangers. He gives just enough pause to let that sink in, and continues with, "I wonder if there is anything else so rare within the worlds than Trump." It's hard to say if it's a quote, a question, or a comment for later. It could be all three.

Ossian looks at Marius with approval, almost as if Marius just passed some kind of test and did better than expected. Then Ossian grins "I aim to make them less rare. Although what I can do is really only a drop in the sea."

"And change the balance of power?" Marius asks, but his tone is only half-serious. It's certainly obvious that he approves of the plan.

Ossian lowers his voice as he reaches into one of his pockets to bring forth a small leather case. He opens it and picks out a Trump "This is a small step on the way. It's for you." He gives the Trump to Marius (it is a Trump of Ossian).

Marius receives the Trump with great pleasure, as evidenced by the size of his grin. "Thank you," he says, quite clearly.

[Ossian]
"I don't think you need to 'keep it in wait', whatever you meant by that. It is sturdy enough to withstand normal wear and tear."

[Marius]
"I'll try not to Trump you in the middle of the night," he suggests, his smile turning only slightly from pleased to teasing.

[Ossian]
"By the way, did I mention that the Sketch of you I used at the masquerade is broken? I should try to make a new one of these days."

[Marius]
"My schedule is fairly open, unless his Majesty has some great quest for me," he suggests.

"He might." Ossian says.

Quietly [Lilly] makes her way towards the food table, and begins to gather herself a healthy breakfast. Might as well eat well now, she thinks to herself. One never knows what the day will bring. And today promises to be even more interesting then most. That thought alternately excites her and fills her with dread. One thing is certain, she will be quite glad when her needed conversation with the King is complete.

As Lilly approaches the breakfast table, Vialle enters. She looks well-rested for the first time in weeks, and generally glows. Ember is with her, and briefly whispers something in her ear, probably who is present and the general layout, before leaving.

"Hullo, darling," Random says to his wife. "I'll come help you with breakfast in a moment." He starts to catch the bananas one by one.

Llewella walks in at this moment and heads for the breakfast buffet. She mixes herself some sort of red breakfast beverage.

Random gets up and walks over to Vialle. "We'll give the stragglers a a few more minutes," Random says, "but they may not get any bacon."

"Bacon I can pass on," says Lucas, entering at this moment with his mother, Flora. "But if the kedgeree has been devoured, I shall be desolated."

He escorts his mother to a seat, take her order, and then repairs to the buffet where he selects food for both of them, before rejoining his mother at the table. He takes a seat at a slight angle from hers where he can watch both her and the King.

Cambina walks in, carrying an extra plate.

Random looks around, counting heads, or at least bodies. "Hmm. Martin and Folly aren't here, but we'll start without him. He sent word that he'd be late." There are no servants in sight, so if the kedgeree has been devoured, there is no hope of a quick replacement.

"So, everybody listening? Good. This is big, so listen carefully. I couldn't fix the pattern, I don't think it can be fixed by anyone but Dad. So I made a new one."

Llewella drops her glass, fails to catch it, and it shatters on the ground. Random looks up in the moment of silence that follows.

Lilly's fork stops abruptly on it's way to her mouth. She looks at Random trying to discern if he is indeed serious. The King was known for his sense of humor after all, this could be some sort of joke. Realizing that no one is laughing, she decides it is best to make sure she heard correctly.

"You made a new one?" she asks in a gentle, how the heck did you manage that, sort of way.

Marius' expression quite clearly says, "Oh." It's not entirely surprised, actually. It's too far beyond surprise, but hey, Corwin did it. He manages to quip, "Seems to be quite the fashion," aloud. He glances at his aunts and uncles as if expecting them to reveal that they hold a full House of Patterns.

Jovian gazes at about 35 degrees' ascension over Random's left shoulder into the middle distance, apparently doing some math and not liking the answers. His gaze snaps back down, and he starts to say something and stops. Starts to say something else and stops.

It dawns on him that each of the top five questions he has in mind assumes knowledge Not To Be Discussed Openly, whereupon he shuts up and waits for Random to expand on his premise.

Ossian grins at Marius' comment. Then his face turns more somber, and he says with an uncharacteristically soft voice: "What of Amber?"

Lucas is uncharacteristically silent, but his dark eyes are watching not just the King, but the assembled Elders, awaiting their responses, while he leisurely consumes his plate of kedgeree. Only when that is finished does he carefully set down his fork with extreme precision.

"Sounds like a plan," he says cheerfully. "Are you proposing to take up residence in the vicinity, or do you see it more in the nature of a Summer Palace?"

Random looks up ad his eyes are grim. "That's the hard part. Amber won't last much longer than another generation without something it doesn't have anymore, the decline will soon be exponential, and the only thing we can do is provide a way to make an orderly transition to Xanadu for the people who are here."

Cambina is mouthing the words that Random is saying as if she's heard them before, and if her eyes are damp, it may be the wind.

Gerard reacts first. "Are ye daft? It canna be done! We canna just move a million souls!"

Random replies. "No, I am serious. We either beach Amber gently and save the passengers or she goes down on the reefs and we lose all hands. Amber hasn't been tenable since Dad died. I don't have a plan, I have an objective, which is to keep this from being a grade-A cluster. I need a plan, and I need your help to make one."

"Are you confident in saying we can hold Amber together for as much as twenty years before the decline becomes too rapid? And keep it defensible? I won't deny that I've seen the signs - reality is seeping out of this place. And of Arden." Jovian casts a brooding glance to the west, his thoughts not particularly difficult to fathom.

"It seems obvious enough," he continues, "that the first order of business is a permanent line of communication between your new place and here. What is there in the spot, so far? And have you gotten a feel for whether a Shadow path from there will hold?"

"Well," says Lucas, "before we move on to such necessarily practical matters, might I suggest a campaign to win hearts and minds is going to be necessary? I'm sure some will trot along quite happily - but a great many of the million have stakes here in Amber - their homes, their ancestoral lands ... their heartland ... their Heimat. They've stuck by Amber through the bad times. If they were the kind to be convinced by tales of the world ending in fire or ice, they'd have jumped ship with the Paresh. They're not going to believe that the End is Nigh no matter how many sandwich board men we send out until they see the wall of ice pushing the end of the street, or feel the heat of flames in their eaves. They will ask, as suspicious humanity always asks, 'Cui bono?' And unless they can be convinced that it's them, they will stay put."

He selects a plum from the fruit bowl and begins to slice it deftly. "You're going to need an exceptional propagandist, your Majesty."

Ossian looked decidedly dissappointed when the new came, but everyone can see that the gears have started turning in his head. "Everyone is talking about saving the people," he says "although Lucas has touched the real problem. Don't you want to save the _kingdom_ as well?"

"For that, the end and the escape needs to be goddamn spectacular."

Lilly smiles. "Exactly," she says looking directly at Ossian. "Though I might add," turning back to the King, "that this most definitely needs to be controlled from all the angles as my cousins have alluded to. It is not enough to have the mechanics in place if we do not have the will of the people behind us. Nor do we want people ready to run in fear. That could cause even more problems. The whole thing needs exceptional planning on many levels. I am not sure where to begin except for maybe dividing ourselves into groups to work out each of the main problem areas. One person would then need to be appointed head of each team. It would probably also be wise to have someone act strictly as a liaison between the groups so that we can keep a clear picture of what the other group is doing."

Random's about to answer all the comments when there's a knock on the door. Caine rises to open it, and it proves to be servants with a heavily-burdened cart and more food.

The waiter says apologetically, "Prince Martin said there would be two more at breakfast, your highness." Caine looks to Random.

The king looks skeptically at the cart and says, "Martin sent word that Merlin was coming in, but he didn't say anything about anybody else. Plans must have changed again. Oh, well, more breakfast can't hurt."

Caine gestures to the table and the waiters bring the cart in and unload it. There's quite a bit of fresh food: bacon, ham and sausages, egg casserole, fresh muffins and bread, and, surprisingly, a number of fish products like garum that the cognoscenti recognize as Rebman.

Vialle perks up as a pot is laid out on the table. "Is that salt tea?" she asks. Llewella rises to inspect the beverage, says, "Yes, your majesty. Would you like a cup?"

"Please."

Llewella pours some tea for Vialle, and some for herself, as the servants work. It's a distraction from the annoyed looks Gerard and Caine are trading.

About the time that the cart is unloaded, and ready to be sent back to the kitchen, there's another knock, this one more cursory. Martin opens the door and his guests precede him in: first Folly, then a Rebman girl no one recognizes, and finally Merlin.

As Celina looks around the room, she sees an overwhelming number of people, all of whom must be her relations.

Llewella she recognizes from images left in Rebma. There is another Rebman woman, seated by the blond man who must be the king. A tall, dark man in green lounges by the door, waiting to close it after the servants leave. There is a giant, well-muscled fellow in a wheelchair not far away, trading looks with him.

Martin says to the blond fellow, whose resemblance to him really is quite strong, "Morning, everybody. Dad, this is Celina of Rebma, ward to Queen Moire. She's Merlin's sister." Random scrutinizes her and nods, once. "Celina, that's my father, King Random, and his wife, Queen Vialle. And, going around the room, Caine by the door, Gerard next to him, Marius, Ossian, Florimel, Lilly next to the Queen, Vialle and Dad, Jovian, Cambina, and Lucas. There'll be a quiz later." He cracks a grin.

Celina curtseys to the King and Queen.

The blond woman, Florimel, shakes her head. "You're terrible, Martin. Celina, Merlin, welcome to Amber." Martin and Random exchange eyerolls as Flora continues, "Come sit by me and I'll catch you up on what's been said so far."

"Let her get breakfast first," Martin suggests, as he heads toward the buffet.

Caine closes the door behind the servants, and takes his seat again.

Jovian, a tall, broad shouldered fellow in a black silk shirt and honey-brown leather pants, with short, spiky brown hair and eyes brightly green enough to be noticeable among surface dwellers but ordinary in Rebma, rises to refill his coffee cup from one of the new carafes - from which he is gratified to detect an aroma redolent of cinnamon and chocolate. "The King was just telling us about the new city he intends to establish," he says simply, conversationally.

Celina stands formally at Merlin's arm. She does nod to Jovian since his comment is certainly for benefit of the newcomers. Her stance is fluid enough that she will flow with Merlin should he decide to sit with the ... Princess Florimel? Or if he goes to the breakfast setting, she will just as easily go with.

Merlin leads Celina to the breakfast setting first. Which is a good thing: supplies had gotten quite low.

There's a wide variety of foods, even if some of the platters have been picked over. A number of the new dishes are Rebman, but if Celina wants to experiment, she has a number of opportunities. Martin and Merlin concentrate heavily in the meat and breads, with a smattering of fruit; Martin also takes a few of the Rebman fish items.

Celina lets her hands choose as she concentrates more on the expressions and chat.

Her hands end up taking a bit of everything and piling it on her plate.

Lucas has risen to his feet on their entrance and bows slightly - a dark, lean man with heavy lidded eyes, a slightly supercilious expression, and cheek bones to die for. His hair is worn a little longer than usual (Folly, Martin and Merlin might notice), in dark wings that cover the top of his ears. He is wearing pale cream Oxford bags and a white shirt, with a white cricket sweater over the top (Yorkshire). He's clearly not expecting a game, however; not only would the bags be a little awkward in the field, but the pale biege loafters he is also wearing are similarly impractical. Rather nice for swanning around the Castle in, though.

"Cousins," he says - and Folly gets a special smile. Then his eyes rest on Celina's Rebman countenance.

Martin grins. He's clearly pleased to see Lucas up and about, and looking so well.

"Sister ... on his father's side, one trusts," [Lucas] adds a little dryly. "Welcome, Cousin Celina, to our throng."

Celina smiles quite warmly at Lucas; she nods.

Folly smiles in thinly veiled amusement at Lucas's comment as she joins the others at the buffet. She takes some meat and fruit, and then pokes gently at a couple of the Rebman items as if judging them friend or foe before adding a small sample of them to her plate.

"Please, don't let us hold you up," she says warmly to her assembled relatives. "We'll catch up in a second or two...."

[Jovian] speaks over his shoulder, toward Lucas as well as to Random. "A direct, simple explanation would serve, I expect. Nothing alarmist, as you pointed out, Lucas; simply that the power Oberon raised to protect and preserve the city died with him, and it has become necessary to move the capital in order to raise a new power. The truth, painted in broad strokes," the dragonman grins. "And then, instead of scaring people, sell the new place to them. If permanent trade routes can be established from the new city quickly, the merchant class will be tripping over each other to be the first through the gate. Lines of communication, so people can hear about and see the place, will help draw the rest along - likewise moving the royal family seat." He returns to his chair, taking some fruit with him as well as his steaming cup.

Ossian did also rise at the entrance of the newcomers, and greeted the newcomers with a big smile. He's a young man (looks like he's in his early twenties), short and slender with half-long middle brown hair, that seems to get in his eyes now and then. He's dressed in a loose white shirt and blue trousers. The clothing seems a little bit stained and wrinkled; not so much that anyone (except Flora) would consider it untidy, it just adds flavour. As Jovian speaks Ossian shakes his head; he does not agree with Jovian's view.

"What a fascinating view of humanity you hold, Cousin," said Lucas, with a note of appreciation in his tone. "So civilised, so rational. Always acting in their own best interests, and walking forward into the sunlight, hand in hand with their neighbours, their sight fixed firmly on the promise of the misty mountain tops. Phrases such as 'coralled', and 'dragged kicking and screaming' must be so alien to you.

"What should happen, what is logical to happen, is not necessarily what will happen, once you involve the human factor."

"While I'm inclined to a cautious approach, I should point out that we didn't do so badly keeping things in place for the last five years with the same bunch of people, Lucas," Martin says from his place at the buffet. "They're used to us leading them. And we have assets that we didn't have then--like his majesty and his keen fashion sense."

"That's inerrant fashion sense, lad, and don't you forget it," Random interjects, grinning.

"And my point," Jovian cuts in, more than a little irritated, "is not that the masses will instantly rise as one to join us. But we'll get the ones we need -- pioneers, builders, entrepreneurs. The ones who'll lay the groundwork for the rest to follow, over the next several years," he says, with an emphatic gesture that almost spills his klah.

"So what's there so far, besides a newly minted Pattern?" [Jovian] asks again, sipping at his klah.

The young Seaward girl's eyes dart about the gathered faces as this bit is tossed out.

Merlin is the only one surprised by this.

Lucas selects, after careful study, a second plum, and begins to slice it with the same mathematical precision in its quartering as the first, allowing time for Random to respond.

"I saw a big castle thing in the side of a mountain, a bitchin' waterfall that falls into a great natural harbor, and a pretty nifty recording studio. Also electricity and running water, which I count as big plusses. And her best friend," Martin says, jerking a thumb at Folly.

Folly is grinning broadly, as if she counts all these things as big plusses, too. Especially the last one.

[Martin]
"And that ship that came in when we were about to bail. How did that go?"

"They were surprised to see me, but they got over it," Random replies. "Next question?"

Cambina has recovered from her earlier upset, and has begun to look slightly smug.

Jovian exchanges a glance with Cambina, clearly pleased as well. If someone were to interpret a mild so-there tinge to his expression as his glance bounced off Lucas, he would deny it in court.

Lucas looks interested. "An Amberite ship, Sire? One known to us, or from a new Shadow?"

"Le Cygne, out of Amber," Random confirms.

Gerard half-rises out of his seat. "Captain Davit's command. She was at sea when the routes vanished. Where in the name of the Unicorn has she been?"

Random says, "Our little lost swan went all kinds of places, apparently. They lost Davit in the storm, then had some exciting adventures, and finally arrived in Xanadu, much to their surprise. But we can talk about that later."

Caine, in his chair, surveys Random with heavy-lidded eyes, nodding slightly.

[Lucas]
"And the harbour allows for construction? Docks ... support for the docks and for ourselves?"

Martin takes that question. "I'm not a professional surveyor, but I think we could do it. And I had plenty of time to look." He flashes a grin in Random's direction as he finishes piling his plate with food.

The wash of words stirs excitment in Celina. Terms that have little sense are tossed into a special niche for later analysis. She is trying to track on too much at once and gives up on watching every face. A glance at her plate startles her with the volume and she flushes. A quick flip of her fork pushes a third of the pile back onto a spare plate. Celina turns and whispers to Merlin, "Let's sit between Jovian and Lucas, by the Lady Cambina. Yes?"

Celina watches Merlin closely. She reasons if Florimel tries to 'back-fill' what's happened so far, that Celina won't be able to keep up with the current talk and the whole meeting will have a slant hard to shake. But if Florimel has power here that Merlin respects above sitting casually opposite the King and Queen, then she'll respect that notion and bow to Merlin's choice of sitting near Florimel.

"I think you are right, yes," Merlin whispers back to Celina. "Cambina is Jerod's sister. She will want news of him later."

"Ah," says Celina, so softly she barely hears it herself. She waits on Merlin's timing then, listening.

"Which side of the castle is the mountain on?" Ossian asks.

The dragonrider holds his tongue for the moment, resolving to ask about the air currents privately later.

"The back side!" Folly replies brightly, and grins teasingly at Ossian.

Ossian sighs audibly. He tries to look disappointed, but does not make it all the way; the corners of his mouth suggests he is suppressing a smile "I _was_ thinking about directions, like eh..., towards sunset. But the back side is juuust fine."

Merlin says to Florimel, "I think it is a bit crowded for both of us by you, your highness, but we will come and speak with you later. Thank you." And he leads Celina to sit by Cambina.

There are two open places at Random's left hand. Martin takes one of them.

Folly follows along without apparently thinking about it: she moves in Martin's orbit like she belongs there. But when she gets to the other empty chair, she blinks, then catches Random's gaze and quirks an eyebrow as if to ask, _You weren't saving this for someone else, were you?_

Celina follows Merlin at his elbow. She eases to a seat and gives a small nod to Cambina, expecting nothing much in return.

As if this were Moire's court, Celina holds her seat still and poised for tasks or questions to be tossed at her--half expecting she will be largely permitted to sit and learn. Celina keeps her eyes centered on the King and Queen and allows other details to soak in peripherally--but the newness of everything dictates a special reserve of tension and concentration in her. Her food begins to vanish from the plate with surgical weave of small bites that she spends no real thought upon.

Merlin also digs into his food, but it's clear he's paying a great deal of attention to the conversation. Martin, by contrast, who is a very nice eater and has recognizably Rebman manners, is more interested in his food.

"And will we need to roll up our sleeves and get down to construction?" asks Lucas, looking remarkably unlike a labourer of any description. "Or will things be a little easier than that? I am presuming, you see, that you didn't start off by laying bricks and putting in the plumbing in the Castle yourself, Sire."

"Um, the castle came with the place. I didn't really expect it. So Xanadu wasn't really there before I did my thing, but now it is. I woke up in the throne room, and it was just 'alright! I didn't die. Hey, this is my castle.' That's when I brought in reinforcements. I think that people will find it attractive."

Cambina speaks up. "What was the phase of the moon, Sire?"

Random points in her direction with his fork. "Good question. I utterly forget, but it's a good question."

"Waxing crescent, just past new", replies Martin between bites of egg casserole.

Random adds "Oh, and time is running a bit faster here, but not too much."

Random eats another bite of his breakfast, swallows, and asks "OK, who else has questions?"

Lucas glances at his mother, half smiles, and then turns his attention to his plum.

Flora smiles and winks at her son.

For the first time since the late arrivals came in, Lilly speaks up. Her calm voice carries well despite her penchant for talking softly. "When do you wish for the Queen to journey to the new palace, Sire? If Amber is as unsteady as I am currently conceiving it to be I would think it would be prudent to do that as soon as possible provided of course travel to Xanadu can be considered safe." She is not trying to be rude to Vialle. As usual Lilly truly does believe she has the Queen's best interest as heart.

Folly, now seated next to Martin, chooses this moment to make careful study of one of the Rebman dishes on her plate. As she takes a small bite, her brow furrows.

Underneath the table, Folly feels Martin's left foot slide over to touch her right foot. He doesn't say anything, and continues to eat the copious quantities of breakfast he set aside for himself.

Folly's expression softens, and she casts a sidelong glance at Martin. For all anyone else at the table can tell, she's wondering whether he actually likes this weird putrefied fish crap, and is suppressing a grin because the thought amuses her.

The Seaward girl is quite still while Lilly speaks. Her jade eyes switch to Queen Vialle after the poised knight has her say. The plate of food in Celina's lap is forgotten.

"I don't know when will be best. We've got to balance the need for authority figures here with the need to get the show on the road. It should be soon, because people will just start showing up in Xanadu, like Le Cygne did, and they'll need us there, too. We're going to be stretched thin for a while, I'm afraid."

Vialle's blind eyes close for a moment and she flushes slightly.

Martin starts to say something but closes his mouth as his father adds an afterthought: "Oh, and I haven't asked Vialle yet, either."

The Queen reaches out and touches her husband's arm, a slight smile crossing her face.

A slight smile echoes on Celina's face and is gone.

Cambina says, "I'm going." Martin starts to say something to that, but Cambina glares at him and he shrugs. After a moment, he stabs a fat piece of sausage with his fork and puts it in his mouth.

Random grins. "Great! We can definitely use you there!"

It is Flora who speaks next. "I'm afraid my news comes at a bad time, then."

Random looks at her and raises an eyebrow in a gesture that is very reminiscent of his absent brother.

She smiles sweetly at the King. "Corwin's court is in need of an official hostess and chatelaine. Apparently the poor woman who's been doing the job is just overwhelmed with all the extra duties since the King's return. He asked me to help her, and I have agreed. I'm afraid my road leads to Paris."

Her eyes do not leave Random.

Lucas watches the exchange with interest but does not, for the moment, intervene. He glances around the table briefly, measuring other's responses, but anyone looking at him would think his attention was largely focused on a particularly ripe peach which he has selected by way of chaser to the plums.

Gerard looks annoyed, and Caine and Llewella look amused. Cambina is preoccupied with her own thoughts.

Vialle looks troubled.

Lucas catches Celina's eyes narrowed in consideration of Florimel, then a quirk of pleasure catches the corner of her mouth before her face smoothes.

Flora and Random are playing some sort of game, which Random means to win by not reacting.

Folly looks up from her plate with a smile almost as sweet as Flora's own. Folly's, though, is tinged with amusement. "How kind of you to agree to aid Corwin in his time of need," she says. "I am sure you are well-matched to the task."

The subtext in her tone is abundantly clear to at least Random and Martin: _If you don't dig our music, you don't hafta jam with us._ It isn't dismissive, though -- just accepting.

"But I do hope we won't also be deprived of Lucas's good company...?" Folly adds with an inquisitive glance at her peach-engrossed cousin.

"I shall be honoured to serve where I can be of the greatest utility," says Lucas nobly. He takes another slice of peach. "I presume no absolutely final decisions about interior design in your new palace have been made yet, Sire? If no other service beckons, I can at least make those crucial calls. Chuck out the chintz! Banish brocade!"

Ossian smiles, but stays quiet. He has started doodling something in his sketch book.

The Seaward girl's glance traces from Folly's addition to Lucas' response. High water observation will see she hasn't fathomed the jargon of 'chuck', 'chintz' and 'brocade' ... but something about the sentiment seems to register. Her eyes are open green mirrors of amusement.

Random nods. "You'll be welcome, Lucas. Xanadu needs, and can and will take everyone. Having you with us will certainly reassure some fence-sitters about the prospect of migration.

"Family members don't have the same limitations as citizens, of course. I expect that most of you will be able to benignly neglect your new home as easily as you did this one. The sailors and the merchants will move pretty easily, since the fleet will go and the trade routes will be to and from Xanadu. It may not be too long before we have to ship goods back to Amber to keep her going. More than just food, of course. If, for example, all the publishers come to Xanadu, then Amber will have to ship us excess paper and receive newspapaers from Xanadu. It's be like uncolonization. The problem is going to be how to prop up Amber and for how long."

Gerard says, "The ones worth their salt will come to Xanadu as quick as they can. Lack of good work for honest men has been a chronic problem since the Sundering. The rest ... I don't know."

Random nods again. "Well, no one is coming to Xanadu for a few days anyway, no matter how they rate on the self/salt scale. I've got to spend some time in Amber, but I suspect I'll give a guided tour in a few days."

Vialle says quietly, "I think for now, the best thing is to adjourn, and let everyone think on how best to handle things."

Random looks at his empty plate and his empty fork as if it's a surprise to him. "Sounds like a plan", the King agrees. He pushes the plate away and moves his chair back from the table.

"Florimel," the Queen adds, "we will miss you, and hope you will visit us frequently in either Amber or Xanadu." Random helps the Queen to her feet and takes her arm.

"It will always be my pleasure to wait on Your Majesty," Flora replies as she comes to her own feet. The princes, including Martin, are all rising, as are Cambina and Merlin.

Random reaches out and grabs a roll with his left hand. "Feel free to finish breakfast if you didn't get enough. No need to miss a meal by standing on ceremony." Random smiles and prepares to leave.

Ossian rises as well, closing his sketch book. His brow is furrowed; he does not look happy at all.

If he can catch Merlin and Celina before they leave without making a fool of himself he will do that.

[I suspect it will not be hard to catch them, seeing as they have no where to be or to go at the moment.]

Celina rises as the rulers do, setting aside her plate. She also curtseys as they depart.

The Seaward jade eyes look to Merlin briefly, then note Ossian's approach. She smiles and nods a welcome.

Jovian, who had been largely impassive throughout the exchange between Random and Flora, catches her eye amid the general rising, milling and drifting. For a second or two he holds her gaze, then his eyes do a sort of swooping thing upward and out away from the castle, returning to hers again with an inquisitive arch to one brow.

Flora nods slightly at him as she makes her way out. She turns to Lucas, giving him a beaming smile, and is gone.

Not far behind her, Caine and Gerard make their way out together.

Folly hesitates a moment before rising, but eventually concludes that showing her respect and support for her King is worth the risk that he will mock her for it later. And anyway, she's done with breakfast.

She glances toward Celina and Merlin, sees Ossian moving to speak with them, and says to Martin in a low voice, "I think I'm gonna go make sure Vent knows to fix a room for Celina."

"You don't have to do that," he replies, equally low. "I gotta go talk to him anyway, about the door." And he winks.

Folly looks at him quizzically for a moment... and then a big grin spreads across her face. But any further response is cut short because....

Llewella comes over and touches Martin lightly on the shoulder. It's something Folly has seen Vialle do when she's not sure the other party has noticed that she's there.

Folly greets her aunt's approach with a smile and a nod, and ponders for a brief moment how sound carries underwater. To Martin she says in a more casual tone, "Well, then, I think it's time I take care of a little correspondence. I should be in my room for a while if you need me...."

Martin nods once, abruptly.

She touches the back of Martin's hand lightly in farewell and then departs for her quarters.

He watches her as she leaves the room before turning his attention to Llewella, who draws him away into the sitting room for a private chat.

Marius, having finished his breakfast, nods to everyone and departs.

Cambina moves into the sitting room on the far side of the dining room. Those who are looking in her general direction can see that she has gone to stand by the window, and is looking out it.

Lucas also leaves the room promptly.