Celina summons Lance and tells him things are changed. Moire is to be guarded in her rooms--as honorably as possible. Rilsa is to be escorted also by Those Lance Trusts. If he has questions about the danger, she'll try to answer them honestly, even explaining that Moire has done nothing yet, but the Regent has a feeling that she'd rather be safe than sorry until Corwin's return.
Celina sends a note to Florimel:
Is the royal line of Rebma related to Chaos? Moire under house arrest. Who was Queen of Amber when Moins' reign ended?
Then a note to Lucas:
Have Rilsa watched well. Rebma concealing more danger than expected by Corwin.
She sends for Merlin, forgetting to change out of Rebman regalia because of the intense thoughts swimming about in her head: Seaward history, children, chaos relatives and certainly survival. Several times she comes close to swearing an oath to the walls that she will never bear a child. Yet she doesn't want that choice to have been sparked by a conversation with her dam.
She plunders the table for more food until Merlin arrives, finding an irrational appetite. Me? Related to Chaos? She remembers the seething fear of living Seaward in the Black Trench War as a young teen.
The page comes back from fetching Merlin to say he is speaking with Prince Conner and will come as soon as they finish.
There is no immediate response from Florimel, but she may take time to respond. The quickest response is from Lucas.
Cousine Celina,Do I have your permission to take all measures necessary to watch Rilsa?
Yr. obdt. svt.,
Lucas St. Cyr
Celina laughs at the note licking her fingers.
She finds pen and writes across Lucas' signature.
'Certainly, for a week and then we speak of it again. Do I have your word of a year's service to the Throne of Paris?'
She does not sign it. Her handwriting is like enough to seal her fate in this. Den he ask for such written wards when she writes of family need, then he can pay also with family service for her formal license. Whether Corwin be in need of them or no. Scoundrel.
There is no immediate reply.
She sends the note back to Lucas and waits for Merlin. Could Dara's line be tied to Rebma as well? She stands at the window looking at pleasant roof shapes and sunlight impressions.
A few minutes later, Merlin arrives. "I am sorry that I am late, sister. I was speaking with Conner when your note arrived. Khela's forces are preparing for battle, and Jerod is with them, so the armies of Rebma are there as well. How did lunch with your mother go?"
"I didn't hit her," Celina says still admiring the outdoor scene. "She is supremely indifferent to my childish ways. She did offer to give me safe harbor should I be partially eaten by one of the ongoing threats to the family. She says she only wants to see me survive. Odd notion."
Celina turns to Merlin and smiles. "Here's a mystery. She started talking about 'our relatives in Chaos' and seemed to have experience with the dangers of being eaten by a Greater Lord. Is there some blood connection between Chaos and the Rebman royal line?"
"Other than whatever rite enables your line to control the Tritons?" Merlin asks.
Celina pauses just as she breathes out 'yes'.
Tritons. Conner's tale of the Sons of the Dragon. Not an odd chapter to the Rebman story but the center spine of it. Did chaos monsters stretch between shadows? Or was every shadow around Amber's Pattern some sort of living entombment of chaos beings caught in Amber? Something like that could be true.
Rebma built on a dragon's tail. Arden rooted in a dragon's spine. Did the Tritons flee the Emerald Death or was the sea dragon also the forest dragon? Or were they sisters? Was the Sea Mother the parent of Arden?
If Moire had eaten a piece of Chaos, would the Tritons obey her for the similarity to the Mother? No, the blood of Chaos contested similarities or reabsorbed them. Had the royal line of Rebma eaten some of the Tritons? If Moire didn't have the Pattern behind her, she might have swallowed a piece of the rightful line that did. So did Moins die or was she eaten?
So was Moire too much of Chaos and shadow to walk the Pattern? She ensnared Corwin to breed back in the higher Order. So I am the Edible Alternate to her keeping the throne. Survive. She can always eat me and get a closer hold. Perhaps even walk the Pattern herself.
Survive. She could eat any smaller Amber child. She could try.
Celina realizes she's staring at Merlin with her mouth open. She closes it. "Would such a rite be eating the vanquished Triton leaders?"
Merlin's eyes get very big. "It is how my mother would do it. Do you know of such a rite?"
Moire's Third Law: the Edible Alternate should not be well informed. Celina shakes her head 'no'. "I do not. The thought merely arrived and I was sharing the notion." She greets him properly now with a smile. "You are not really late. It has been a busy morning."
And so she fills him in on her breakfast with Florimel and lunch with Moire. If he shares of his own day, even better.
"My mother is here as a flanking plot to hold her power, I am sure of it. And now father is gone and taking much of the defensive knowledge with him. How are the children and Solace because I think they need special protections." Celina finishes the thought she's had. "If Moire knows how to move powers about by eating People, she could well think to take small bites of Paris. Or perhaps eating children is too far for her."
She sighs. "Oh."
Celina yells at a volume surprising to herself, "Fetch my Cousin Lucas here immediately. Send Lance to rope him up if must be." She grins at Merlin. "We are at war. Let every knife be sharp."
Merlin moves to the door to reinforce that order to the servants. When he returns, he says, "I did not think that Ordered beings could eat that way. But perhaps I am wrong, because my mother tried to eat me."
He tries to change the subject. "I spoke with Conner by trump this morning. I believe the battle with Huon is imminent."
Celina sighs. Conner so lively and crisp. Khela so warm and deeply troubled, but not alike. War with an uncle means Celina could lose one or both within hours. Her body shivers remembering dreams where she is the one that gets eaten by shadows. "Well, there it is. Lir's blessing on them."
Celina forces her attention away from what she cannot see or aid right now. "I think Ordered Beings like us can do things that break bonds. Like Eating. Like Sorcery works for us. Mirrors work in Pattern lands but magic falters? But I've seen you do small magics of a moment in Paris. How much danger does my mother represent if she also has magic to add to mirrors? And how do we slow her down? I don't want her calling something here, like a Tritonic ally or your mother."
She finishes. "I think I must rely on you to trident her foot to the sea bed. Discretely or not."
"There are ways to bind her sorcery somewhat, but that assumes I am stronger than she. I do not know this to be true." Merlin cocks his head and looks at Celina. "Perhaps us both together. If we were stronger in the Pattern, we could do it easily, I think. Mirrors I do not know enough of to bind, nor whether to try them by strength in Sorcery or by Ordered means. How do I stop a mirror, Celina?"
"You do not stop them," Celina responds, remembering her lesson from Llewella, "you make the information returning too jumbled and painful to be useful." And since she thinks that isn't enough for him she goes on. "Mirrors reflect what is there. A laughing aside of Ordered Things dangled for our mystery. They also reflect things we don't always notice, like inner echoes of who we are. I take that to mean that mirrors also reflect the intangible things whether we notice that or not. They reflect Time and Love, for example." She shrugs, "At any rate, Moire is my teacher so I do not expect to limit her use of mirrors. She speaks of my efforts and threats as trifles. I do not think she would waste the breath except to have me accept that this is true. So my efforts are not trifles and I agree we should attempt something together."
The Seaward Cousin smiles a great grin. "I told father that Moire would be in one piece when he got back. I didn't say she wouldn't be vexed as a blooded shark."
She puts a hand on his shoulder. "So then sorcery. Let us put a spell upon her quarters that damps down all arcane workings. Shall we? For certainly Rilsa may know some tricks too. Who knows what they brought here in their baggage, eh? Let's surround them with a net slowing sorcerous energy. Perhaps by the time they figure that out, Rebma will be ours and Corwin will be back."
Celina explains her intent to Merlin: the spell will target energies flowing to the Rebman guest chambers to work Sorcery against Pattern (energy being pulled together by Will/Necessity.)
Once she's explained what she wants, Merlin agrees it's possible with the two of them working together. He seems to have a knack for improvising spells and suggests several improvements on the spell as they talk. When they settle on a plan, and Merlin has sent for a few things they need, they cast the spell, taking the full watch to work on it.
The casting is quite strong, although Merlin thinks that Paris is extremely resistant to sorcerous influences. It might not have been possible without his aid. Merlin thinks that most sorcery not of a similar threshold power will not work at all, and it will act as a damping power to greater magics.
Afterwards, while they are still resting from the ritual, there is a knock at the door. Merlin answers it; it's Lance, and his face is solemn and grey. He comes in and shuts the door behind him.
"Your Highnesses," he says, "it is with the utmost regret I must advise you that Lord Lucas St. Cyr has been murdered."
Celina's dark green face pales into a bluish tinge. She swallows. "Give me the details as you take me to see the body, Lance." Despite not having the rest as planned she looks at Merlin with an implicit invitation to join her in this change of plan. She adds to Lance, as if it is needed when she fully expects it is not, "Put everyone on full alarums."
"Already done, Your Highness. As for the body--it's better for me to show you than to explain. I expect you to be able to take more meaning from it than I can." Lance is already moving to the door, Merlin falling in with him. "Alice Roth is with his wife. Solace is the one who found him."
Lance leads Celina and Merlin through the maze of the castle to the suite where Lucas and Solace and the children lived. They can hear Solace's broken sobs from one of the chambers and the low voice of someone trying to comfort her. Lance takes them past that, though, into a little private chamber with a secretary and, of all things, an easel.
Lucas's body is in the chair, a huge shard of mirrored glass piercing his chest. He clearly tried to pull it out from the position of his hands. His expression in death is one of shock.
Merlin ignores it and goes straight to the easel to examine the work Lucas was creating.
"It would have been a Trump, I think," he tells Celina after only a cursory examination of the parchment. "Of your mother."
"So there is motive," Celina says. "For whatever reason Mother would not want Lucas to have a Trump of her." She moves around Lucas examining the mirror shard without touching his chair or anything yet. She knows that mirrors can explode when carrying too much stress so she takes a measure ot the shard's quality to rule out that it was a poor mirror. The fact that it held up to a large piece argues that it was a very good mirror indeed.
It is a very good-quality mirror.
"But it could be someone else is sworn to protect her. Layers of obligations." She notes the trajectory of the shard. It tells her what the mirror user was looking at when they decided to kill him. She notes the painting location. Lucas is in the chair, perhaps using the secretary... but the easel is visible over his shoulder?
The easel would have been visible.
Merlin is also examining the room without handling anything or resorting to sorcery just yet, as if he'd like to see what he can learn without disturbing the room.
"Your Highnesses," Lance says from the doorway, "what should the guard do about Princess Florimel? Lady Solace is calling for her."
"Tell the guard to request Princess Florimel to attend me with all speed. Tell her there has been a family death. See that she is brought to me first, not to Lucas if I am not here still investigating." Celina is not sure why that matters, but she hopes it makes sense later.
Lance bows and is on his way.
She doesn't look over at Lance's departure, still drinking in all the details of the room and geometry of things in it. In the Trench War, even as a teen she'd closed the eyes of soldiers dying in hospital beds and there was a reflex here now to reach out and release the surprised look from Lucas' face by closing those windows to his last second.
Ah. What if the surprise was not just his own death, but a flash of sight of who had done the deed? Because of the dense compression of space between mirror and subject, it was possible to see both ways during an attack. If you were looking just so. If you were sensitive.
I warned him about Moire. Someone else? Worth thinking about.
She resists closing Lucas' eyes again. Not time to touch him yet. "Merlin." She looks at her brother. "Father might have put his own watchdogs on the Rebman trade delegation since he knows there is sorcery in Rebma and that it works here too. Have you seen or spoken to any Wise since you started checking on things?" She shares her thoughts. "Because this murder is so obviously Moire's hand that I do not want to miss something else. It would seem to me that Moire could get Lucas out of the way through other methods.....whereas some enemy of Lucas' own making might wish to take advantage with Father gone.
"Unless you've heard that there was some trouble between Lucas and Rebma longstanding?"
"Martin had a falling out with Lucas recently over something to do with Rebma," Merlin says somberly. "But as far as I know, from what he said when he and I investigated the attacks on Solace, he only knows the effects of mirror magic, not how to perform it. And there is some possibility that whatever was done to Solace that made her collapse twice was done by mirrors. But the motive for that is unknown, as is the malefactor."
"Martin," Celina says it softly, as if the name has edges. There is nothing else for a moment.
She turns away from Lucas and looks at her brother. "All right, if we are going to get any deeper sense of this tragedy, we try the trick of using the mirrors of his eyes for what he saw in his last moments. If you help me, we should learn something important and eliminate a lot of other bad solutions."
Celina looks in the direction of the sobbing sounds. "If you agree, please prepare for the sorcery to add to my mirror skills." She squares her shoulders. "We should not be disturbed and I need to help Alice get Solace calmed. So I'll be back in a moment.
"This is horrible," she whispers to no one but herself. She looks at Merlin. "Thanks for the job." And she gives him a sad smile. She reaches and touches him lightly so he might understand she is joking more than serious.
Merlin allows the touch and smiles ruefully. "I am sorry."
There's another knock at the door, and it opens without waiting for an answer from Celina or Merlin. This time it's Lord Rein, a tall, bald man who moves with the grace of an old-fashioned courtier.
He bows to Celina and Merlin. "Your Highnesses, I apologize for the intrusion, but I am freshly returned from Le Havre. An army bearing Rebman pennants has been sighted, and I thought it best to bring the news at on--"
Rein stops dead, as it were, when he sees the body in the chair behind Celina and Merlin.
"An army? Headed this way?" Celina chews on such a strange turn for a moment. "Maybe that's why Moire was so unflappable."
Still she tries to imagine Moire sending out an army on a slow march to Paris. Who would lead them through shadow? Llewella? Without regard to Khela at the gates? No, no. Who might have walked the Rebman Pattern but Llewella and she? Martin. Or Jerod.
"It may be Martin coming to us from some shadow of Rebma. He might have heard of the battle and be looking for quick route to Rebma through here." This is for Merlin's benefit, now she orients on Rein. She crooks her finger at the man. "Come in, Lord Rein. Do you have experience in murder investigations? I think you might serve as our Chief Questioner."
"I'm but a minstrel, but I'll do my poor best for Your Highness and for Paris," Rein says.
Celina gets a page and sends her off with message of the army to Lance.
She nods to Rein, "Please wait here, I'll be back in a few moments."
She goes to see Alice and Solace.
It's easy to find Solace from the sobs. She's on a couch and Alice is sitting with her. The older woman's arms are around the younger, and Solace has buried her face in Alice's shoulder. Alice nods to Celina but doesn't rise. Instead, she pets Solace's hair comfortingly and says, "Celina has come."
Solace looks up at Celina and there's a fresh wave of sobs.
Celina has seen hysterical before. She comes around to lean into Solace's shoulder and wraps her up in her arms. This does not change Solace's cushion into Alice, it just adds to the blanket of warmth. "Oh, my dear, my dear. I'm so sorry. You will carry on now for Lucas. And we will see that you have what you need for the children."
Celina continues to make soothing noises. She projects a calm, 'this will pass' sort of mindset. She gets a bit weepy too, but it doesn't change anything. Lucas is still dead and it is her responsibility to find out why and who.
Solace is little consoled, but she seems inconsolable. Alice helps by telling Solace they'll help with the children and so on, but she trades helpless glances with Celina.
Once Celina disentangles herself from Solace, she finds Florimel waiting in the antechamber of Lucas' quarters. The princess already seems to know something is wrong, but she seems worried rather than distraught, so she doesn't know quite what yet.
"What's happened? Are the children all right?"
"They are all right at the moment, but they will need you. I think Solace will need you too, if that is your nature." Celina doesn't intend that as any kind of real question, it is a statement of a philosophical turn and that comes through.
She goes to Florimel, moving within her personal space and lowers her voice to a whisper, caressing and gentle and sad. "My aunt, I am so sorry to tell you your son, Lucas is dead."
For all that Florimel was clearly expecting some terrible news, this was clearly not it. Her jaw drops slightly and her eyes widen. When she recovers enough to speak, she asks, "Who?"
She does not seem likely to need smelling salts despite the tightness of her dress and presumably her corset.
"That is unknown but we take steps," Celina responds just as softly. "Would you want to see the body? I understand if you do not." She waits a decent interval before prompting her any further.
"I should see it. The more royal witnesses the better." Florimel's jaw sets and she moves toward the door, clearly expecting Celina to follow her.
Celina moves, or flows like water to be at the door first, and though this is a very large effort, she makes it look as if the distance to the door were a trifle. Her dress swirling around her legs is the indication of how fast she shifted positions.
She opens the door for Florimel and says, "This way, my aunt," and leads her into the room. She also stands between Florimel and the body so that the horror of it does not grow as the Lady comes closer, but is sudden and clean when Celina steps aside.
Celina counts on the shock being easier to handle than the lifeless reality slowly exposed. "Lucas...." and where she hoped to say something fitting the moment, she isn't sure how to explain more of her feelings than just his name. She finds nothing more to say but once again examines Lucas as Florimel takes her own time with the reality of her dead son.
Celina waits.
Merlin and Rein are still speaking softly when Celina enters the room, but fall silent as Florimel follows.
Florimel looks on the body of her son, and Celina can see that carefully-manicured hand ball into a fist. Her eyes narrow and she looks at Celina. "I think we all know who did this. Have you spoken with your father yet?"
Outside, in the hall, there are rapid footsteps approaching.
"I have not," Celina responds, "having just made my own arrival and examination. He was urgently called to the king and any call from me is likely to stay him there or displease the king or both. I'd sooner have him back quickest." Celina remembers then she doesn't have to explain everything while she is regent.
"But if you think he needs to know this before then, you are welcome to call him. I expect he will not be gone long from Paris." Celina pauses barely then, but goes on, "I know my mother to have strange allies. She might claim innocence in this and still be connected to it. I cannot hope to fathom her mirror art as she was my teacher. You can be sure she did not teach me everything she knows. I say, let us make a solid case of our suspicions and present it to my father."
Lance bursts into the room. "There is a strange air vehicle approaching flying two flags: the fleur de lys and the Argent Rose. It has been ordered to land and a warning shot has been fired when it did not comply."
"It's a dirigible!" Florimel snaps. "They don't land on a dime!"
Dirigibles, dimes and demons. None of that means much to Celina and they might all be of a family. If it were not flying interesting flags, she'd follow the impulse to have it shot down immediately and ask questions of the survivors.
Moire and murder are not a time for debates.
But she cannot second guess everything Moire might have expected her to do when confronted with these pressures from every side. She looks at Merlin and Rein. "Merlin, we should look at this immediately. Lord Rein, will you assist the Princess as she may wish?"
Once again, she nearly reaches for Lucas' eyes to close them---but stops herself. She leans to Florimel and whispers. "He may have seen something important as he died. Do not move the body or close his eyes yet. I'll be back."
And she moves with Merlin to see to the invader in the skies.
[if that works with the assembled.........]
[You're the Regent! They're doing what you say for at least the moment.]
Merlin follows Celina and they leave Rein and Florimel behind. Lance leads them out of the buildings and toward the nearby park. As they emerge from the Louvre, Celina can see the dirigible, flying the Argent flags.
"I have never seen such a device," Merlin says. "What do you wish me to do, sister?"
Celina stares at the thing. Somehow she expected something smaller. Spines, there could be a thousand men on something that size. "Find a high point where you might be able to see everything that happens, Merlin. Make it a good-sized space in case you have to trump some troops in from Conner. Lance, tell me what you have rushing here to deal with this. I've never see its like either and it can't be good."
Celina holds up a hand to Lance, even though she has just asked him an important question. She examines the vehicle and wonders at Vere and Solange arriving here now. Vere if off fighting in shadow. Solange was looking for medical answers to important questions. Neither of those things should cross back through Paris. She notes the ship is already headed to the ground... though they are requesting permission. Trickery. It must be.
Then she notes the bright glass of the vehicles observation windows. She slips a hand into her dress and brings a palm-sized mirror out. She eyes the dirigible once more and makes some quick geometric assumptions. This will work better if....
Celina turns slightly holding the mirror at an angle. She seeks within the reflecting surfaces of the glass around the cabin of the dirigible, searching for Vere's beautiful profile. Even a percentage of image might confirm it is a genuine friend arriving.
Lance orders the troops to protect the regent, and they stand in front of Celina and Merlin. Obscuring their view of the descending craft. Lance has a gun at his side, but seems most comfortable with his sword, which he's drawn.
In the mirror, Celina looks and sees Vere. He shoves aside another man and takes control.
Lance looks at the dirigible. "If that really is your cousins, your highness, they're just in time. We could use them if we have to fight Johnny Rebman at Le Havre."
Celina shares her information immediately. "This appears to be Vere after all. Stand ready all. Merlin, you need not scramble off yet. Lance, get that vehicle secured down and let's find out why they are here." She glances at Lance. "I do not understand 'Johnny Rebman' or Le Havre. You'll have to explain that to me.
"Oh, Merlin," Celina adds, "perhaps the Vehicle Crew will act prudently if we return their 'shouted voice' with some amplified welcome of our own?"
"I will do it," Merlin says decisively. He cups his hands and concentrates for a few seconds, and calls out "The Regent Celina grants her cousins permission to land. Welcome to Paris. Royal Guard, clear the landing zone!"
His voice is significantly louder than Solange's, and everyone can hear it clearly. The Parisian soldiers scatter to the edges of the open area, and reform at the ready.
Merlin leans against Lance for a moment. "I always forget how difficult that is in Paris."
Celina frowns a bit and lets Merlin restore himself. She chats Lance as she watches the landing of the paradoxical floating vehicle. "So Johnny Rebman is someone you were already worried about? Le Havre sounds French. Is that Corwin's holding still or ..." She grins as the notion catches up with her..."it's the passage, isn't it? Between Rebma and France? What does it mean in French? Portal? Door? Stairway?"
"The port, Your Highness." Lance gestures with his free arm in the direction of Le Havre, which Celina doesn't think is the same direction along the river as the steps into the underground road to Rebma. "The road to Rebma lies closer into the city. " Lance frowns. "Lord Rein told me he'd informed you of the Rebman regiments sighted there. With other things, we consider the Rebmans a threat right now."
"Ah, he did," Celina admits, "I've been thinking too hard on other matters."
And as she wills the French soldiers calm, Celina moves forward sedately to greet her cousins upon their touch down.
An honour guard forms up on Lance's instructions around the two young royals as Merlin and Celina move to greet the newcomers. The rest of the guard moves to assist in what seems to involve tying the vehicle to the ground with help from the dirigible crew.
Solange slips out of camp surreptitiously, wanting to draw as little attention to herself as possible. She initially takes a perimeter trek on foot around the camp to get an idea of the size and number of people involved and a feel for the shadow they're currently in. Staying on foot during the perimeter trek also helps her burn off energy and calm her mind and spirit enough to venture into shadow responsibly.
The camp is quite large and seems to have people from several different cultures in it. There are no good vantage points from which she can see the entire encampment, but based on the fires she sees, she estimates at least in the scores of thousands.
She heads out into shadow after either coming full circle in her perimeter trek or an hour or so has elapsed. After she's some distance from the camp, she concentrates and finds herself a horse and starts traveling toward Paris.
The mere finding of a horse indicates to Solange that she is near to Paris; the horses she finds are much like Amber and Parisian horses. She finds a black horse with white markings that is used to being ridden.
She stills her mind and focuses on the shifting, seeing if she can feel her way toward her elder uncle's Pattern. (She's wondering if she can sense the presence of his Pattern, like maybe a tug or pull, and if she can get some feeling for how close they are.)
It's more like a marble on a wrinkled cloth and Paris is the weight. The easiest thing to do is go towards it, most of the time, except when there's a fold or a drop.
As she travels, she keeps her eyes open for signs of a passing army or smaller groups of soldiers, and her senses alert for recent signs of shifting--she imagines taking an army through shadow would leave quite a disruption or trail.
A bit of back-tracking and a lot of forward-looking along the trail convince Solange that she can certainly teach her brother a trick or two about leading people through shadow.
After less than an hour, Solange enters inhabited lands. What were forest paths and wide valleys become roads and bridges.
After traveling for a couple of hours she turns around and heads back.
As Solange turns, she sees three things of note. The first is a wide port city at the mouth of a river. The second is some sort of wheeled, motorized bicycle, which in Lauderville would be in a museum. The last is a sign, which points down the river and reads "Paris 110 km."
"Looks like we're in the right place," she remarks to her horse, which she has named Dapple. She turns away from the direction the Paris sign indicates and shifts, heading back to her brother.
Vere sleeps, as does his camp. He does not dream, or does not remember it if he does. He awakens before dawn, when the cooks are up and no one else. The goddess Solange has been spotted by the scouts, and will be here shortly.
Vere nods at the scout's report, and walks briskly in the direction indicated, intending to intercept Solange outside the camp.
He finds her riding a black overo stallion with notable lines. "Good morning," she greets him as she slips from Dapple's back. She maintains her hold on the reins. "Good news all around. No signs of Huon's army and we can reach Paris today."
Vere smiles. "Excellent news, indeed," he agrees. "Thank you, sister, I doubt it would have been so swift a journey if I were the only guide." He makes a soft murmuring sound as he greets her horse and strokes its neck.
The horse snorts and opportunistically nuzzles Vere's pockets, no doubt looking for a treat.
"I need to learn to stop being completely certain of what I have on my person," Vere muses aloud.
"So stop being certain now. It's all in your head, after all." She reaches forward and finds a small red apple in his pocket and hands it to him, smiling.
Vere laughs delightedly and takes the apple, feeding it to her steed. As the horse eats it he says, "We should let Avis know that you are here, and what you have found."
"As you wish," Solange says, gesturing back toward the way Vere had come. She chokes up on the reins and leads Dapple beside them.
"Would you happen to have a spare sword and armor you could lend me?" she asks as they walk. "Nothing heavy--a leather brigandine would do fine if available."
"We will find something," Vere answers. He cocks his head and regards her. "Indeed, I can guarantee that now, can I not? I am still learning what I can and cannot do now that I have Walked."
"You can guarantee that. _I_ can guarantee that too. I just..." She flips her fingers. "Sometimes it's just as easy to ask as to find it yourself. Six one way--half a dozen the other.
"Vere, did no one take you out after you Walked and show you the ropes?"
Vere shakes his head. "I was immediately off from my Walk to Rebma, to raise troops for the defense of the Isles. There was no time."
Solange blinks. Well, of course, Father could not have... "We will rectify that. I can pass along to you what Father taught me, then add bits I've learned on my own."
"Thank you," Vere says with a nod. "I appreciate it." He nods a greeting as they pass a guard on the outskirts of the camp. The man's eyes are wide as he turns his head to watch Solange pass.
She smiles and waggles her fingers at him. "Vere, this is going to get really old, really fast."
"It is interesting," Vere observes. "I mentioned to no one that you were joining us. Yet this morning I was told that our scouts had seen 'the Goddess Solange' approaching, and it is clear the guard knew who you were. Someone has spread the word. This puts me in mind of how the Chancellor knew beforehand of Robin's first arrival in the Isles. I do wonder if she sensed your coming in some way? She has such powers, and I do not know the extent of them."
"Chancellor? Is that Avis, your sister?"
"No," Vere answers with a small, not very humorous, smile. "I speak of Vianis, one-time Chancellor and chief aide to my Mother, thereafter a traitor and leader of the rebels, who captured and imprisoned Robin, captured and sought to sacrifice Avis, made common cause with the Witch Queens, hereditary enemies of the Isles, and who is now once again Chancellor and chief aide to The Lady, my sister. All, you see, is forgiven. By everyone save Robin, that is."
Solange laughs, but there's an edge to it. "I wouldn't be so quick to forgive her, either. Do you trust this Vianis? Or was this a forgiveness of necessity?"
"Trust," Vere says. "A difficult thing, after rebellion. However, I will say that I believe Vianis acted out of what she considered a higher obligation in a case of conflicting duties. A difficult position for anyone. She had a vision of the Goddess, or of someone she was convinced was the Goddess, who gave her instructions that conflicted with my mother's policies, instructions to reconcile with the Witch Queens, with whom we had so long fought. My mother refused to make changes to her policy in line with what Vianis claimed the Goddess had told her. Hence, eventually, rebellion."
He looks around to make certain they are not yet within earshot of anyone before continuing. "My reading of the situation is that the blame was not all on one side or the other in this. My Mother is a determined woman, who does not readily accept questioning of her authority. And it is interesting to note that after all this civil war, the union of our people with the Witch Queens in making this Exodus possible does, in point of fact, fulfill the instructions given to the Chancellor in her vision."
"Are the Witch Queens here as well?" she asks.
"They are, indeed," Vere answers. "Avis and I agreed that it was proper to offer to save everyone, not merely our own people, from the destruction of the Isles. So far everyone has been on their best behaviour." He smiles slightly. "They depend upon their magic even more than the priestesses and sorceresses of the Isles. I shall be interested in how they react to the changes to that power caused by shifting through Shadow."
Solange nods. "It will be to their benefit to play nice--at least until things are well settled in their new home. And how are you treated, the son of a 'god'?"
"With respect out of proportion to my ability," Vere replies. "Although I have been careful not to tell them that."
She laughs, smiling, and out of questions for the moment.
Vere is silent for a moment as they enter the camp, then asks, "Did you follow up on the name Iron Eyes?" He is leading them towards a large tent with guards posted outside.
Solange nods. "Hannah confirmed that is her father's name, and she mentioned seeing Ysabeau during her Patternwalk."
"Ah," Vere says. "Interesting." He raises a hand to catch the guard's attention as they approach Avis's tent. "Inform The Lady that her brother and the Lady Solange would speak with her," he calls out, loud enough that those within the tent can hear.
"And please see that my horse is taken care of," Solange adds, handing Dapple off to a handy guard. "He can use some water and food."
The guard leads Dapple away. It is one of King Bran's men. Horses are a rarity in an archipelagan people such as the Danu.
Avis steps out of her tent, steps up to Solange, and bows deeply before her.
Solange spares a glance for Vere before reaching out to raise the woman. "It's all right. I'm not a goddess," she tells Avis. "I'm just...a person, like you."
"Just a person who can rewrite reality and destroy a world at her whim," Vere murmurs, his eyes looking into the distance and only the very faintest hint of a smile on his lips.
Solange murmurs back, "Not. Helping."
Vere's lips twinge very slightly.
Avis lets herself be raised. "Your pardon, Divine One, but you do not know us if you say so. We know our place, which is above the profane and below the sacred. We do not presume to divinity." She smiles. "I am different from my priest-sisters. Most of them would agree with you, but not understand. I was fortunate to be raised in the household of Gerard, who while male, is still divine. My understanding is greater than theirs."
"To me 'goddess' is a role, a responsibility," Solange continues, her mouth a thin line. "Sure, I can do some things that you might consider...godlike..." She pauses to frown at Vere. "But I have not accepted that responsibility for you and your people. I am not my mother, and I am not your goddess. Do you understand?"
Avis curtseys. "Yes. You are not the Goddess of the People of Danú. Like children to Mothers or people to priestesses, we are much more aware of you and your power and your actions than you are of us, which is as it should be."
Solange gazes at Avis briefly, then turns to Vere and shrugs. "Best I can do for now. You wanted to fill her in on what's going to happen today?"
Vere nods, the faint smile slipping back onto his face again as he tells Avis, "With the aid of Not-A-Goddess-Solange, who is far more skilled at walking the worlds than I, we expect to reach Paris before the end of the day. Needless to say, her assistance has made all the differerence. I fully expected the trip to take me weeks, at the very least. Once we reach the outskirts of Paris everyone should make camp, and continue to use their own supplies for the time being. You and I, Solange if she so chooses, one of my captains, and whomever you, as leader of the Exodus, choose to invite, shall ride into Paris to consult with King Corwin, regarding the current situation in Rebma, and how we may best provide for those who will remain in Paris as the rest of us continue on to the undersea realm."
She nods and makes an immediate decision. "King Bran, an advisor of his choosing, The Chancellor, and Two Witch-Queens."
The departure happens as planned and Solange can lead the force with ease along paths that seem to lead to Paris. There is some muttering amongst the citizens, because the changes happen much more rapidly now. They can tell that something is different.
Solange also uses this time to go over shadowshifting with Vere, making sure he has a good understanding of the basic principles.
It's shortly after mid-day that primitive motorized vehicles are seen in the distance, and the sun has not set when Solange brings the combined peoples, several thousand strong, to the valley of the broad river approaching Paris. Le Havre, the signs say, is to the right, and Paris is to the left.
Vere calls a halt to the march. "Establish the camp in this valley," he tells Siege. "And pass the word that we are near our destination. We are guests here, and I do not want any untoward incidents."
He details Captain Aurelius to accompany him to Paris, and leaves Domitian in charge of the Children, then joins Solange and Avis.
He finds Solange standing off to the side with arms crossed, eyeing their little entourage thoughtfully. "Vere, I'm going to quickly get to the point where I can't shift any longer, leaving us with at least several hours on foot left to travel. What would you think about procuring a vehicle? Will that freak out your people too much?"
Vere tilts his head and considers her question. "Captain Aurellius has been to Paris before," he says. "He will have seen such vehicles. The Witch Queens, my sister, and the Chancellor are all accomplished at magic, and will accept it as such. Bran is a reigning monarch and a warleader in his own right, and will not show fear when his equals are not." He smiles. "And you can teach me to drive. I have not yet ridden in such a vehicle myself. I enjoyed Martin's boat, and look forward to more such vehicles."
He looks younger as he says, "Perhaps a plane might be available?"
Solange grins. "How about looking for a dirigible? It's like a coach attached to a huge balloon and might be less of a technology shock to your companions. It'll be too complicated to just pick up and fly, though. I'll have to find a service offering rides to the capital.
"Or I can find a well-appointed bus and teach you to drive. Your choice."
"A dirigible?" Vere's eyes light up. "That would be a most dignified way to approach the capital!"
Solange's grin grows wider at the display of emotion from her usually stoic foster brother. "I'll be back in a bit."
She leaves Vere to babysit the others and walks off, shifting toward finding a service that offers dirigible rides to the capital.
It's surprisingly difficult to shift to such a shadow: for all that the necessary elements seem to be in Paris, they haven't been put together anywhere near the city.
Hunh. Solange finds this interesting.
It takes both her knowledge of pattern working and the brute force of her will to find a dirigible hangar in a nearby shadow. She's pretty sure that Vere couldn't have found this place.
The man will rent her the entire gondola and of course pilot it himself, for a mere 250 Caroleons.
She pays the man a percentage of the 250 Caroleons to hold the dirigible and backtracks to Vere. Hopefully her little foray didn't take that long.
"I found a dirigible for rent in a nearby shadow, though it was hard to find," she tells him. "Apparently Corwin has not set up anything like this near Paris. If we take the dirigible in, we'll definitely be drawing attention to ourselves. Is this still what you want to do?"
Vere smiles. "Oh, most definitely," he answers. "In point of fact, I prefer that it will be something both dignified and flashy. It makes us seem less the poor cousins begging from rich relatives."
Solange returns his smile.
"I find it interesting that King Corwin's world does not include such things. Concern over the possibility of aerial bombardment, perhaps?"
"That would be my guess as well," Solange agrees. "I suggest we display a friendly flag as we fly in. Gather everyone up and let's go."
Solange leads the group back to the dirigible hangar she'd found. On the way she also looks for an Amber flag, white unicorn on a green field, as she expects that will be easier to find than a Xanadu one.
In point of fact, it is not easy to find, although there are rose banners everywhere. Solange does find a horse on a mixed green-and-red field and a can of gold paint, though.
She's not dealing with that.
And there are plenty of banners amongst Vere's men, including those of the various Rebman noble houses represented in the Children of Lir.
And those banners are staying back at camp with the Children.
"Vere, do you want a Paris banner, or go in flagless?" she asks. "Those--or perhaps a white flag--seem to be our only options."
"Paris," he answers instantly. "It is not completely accurate, but it is the best of the possibilities."
They have silver roses on black fields or gold lillies on royal blue. Take your pick (or both).
After considering the possibility that there may be subtleties implied by flying one instead of the other, Vere chooses to fly both.
Solange and Vere take off and Solange navigates them back to Paris, fighting the wind the entire way. Shortly they are over the forces of Danu and the other refugees and they have the dirigible nosed toward Paris. The ship makes slow but steady progress.
Solange realizes that they are very near Paris now, but she will do what she can to shift the wind to their favor.
The vessel goes against the wind, just not quickly. The wind dies down a bit, but that might be natural.
The roads seem deserted, as do the fields. Perhaps there are more people closer to the capital.
"Interesting," Vere observes to Solange. "I would expect the populace to be out and about, especially if they have never seen such a vessel as this. One wonders if the war in Rebma has spread?"
Solange shrugs, not having an answer. She checks to make sure they are indeed still heading toward Paris, wondering if they've been diverted somehow with some Pattern trick.
He turns to his sister, the Chancellor, and the two witch queens (and if Bran brought a wizard with him, to him as well). "We are close now to a center of reality. Are your magics working to any extent at all?"
"We channel the will of the Goddess when she will, and not for purposes that are not holy. It is not mete to ask such a thing."
Bran turns to his magician. "I can ask. Can you conjure a banner for this ship?"
The magician tries something and there is a small spark, but no banner. He looks pained. "Majesty, I do not seem adjusted to this reality. I am not able to do so."
Vere nods without saying anything.
The pilot/owner of the dirigible steps back to the cabin. '"I don't know where we are, but we're coming up on a great city. There's a metal landing spire ahead. A gigantic one." He seems to be in shock.
"Ah," Vere says. "So that is what that tower is for. I had wondered." He looks at Solange. "I suggest we make dock. Yes?"
Solange looks at the metal landing spire the captain is indicating and shakes her head. "There are no landing spires here--they've not seen dirigibles before," she tells Vere with certainty.
She turns to the captain. "Do not fear. I will see that you are well compensated for this trip." Money often serves as an effective distraction. "There will be a castle. A prominent castle," she adds, knowing what she does of Corwin. "Land in a nearby park to it."
She looks out over the city, scanning for Corwin's castle.
There is a prominent castle alongside the great river, but it's mostly prominent for the great park that surrounds it and the massive but low buildings.
[OOC: Corwin lives in the Louvre, of course. There is no I.M. Pei glass pyramid, though.]
Unlike the countryside, the city seems to be swarming with people. There seems to be a definite interest in the dirigible.
"That is King Corwin's castle," Vere says, pointing towards it. "I would advise setting down in the park, as the Lady Solange instructed. No doubt the king will send someone to greet us."
Solange nods agreement.
The dirigible manoeuvres heavily, as if the city were blowing it away. It descends slowly towards the vast park outside the palace.
"They're armed," says one of the Witch Queens. She hasn't given her name, this time, but Vere recognizes her from the meeting in the Isles. "We may be resisted."
"They do not yet know who we are," Vere points out mildly. "We have not yet informed them that the niece and nephew of the King are arrived."
"I'm not even sure Uncle Corwin is here," Solange comments. "Last I saw him he was planning to go to Tir with Hannah."
Vere blinks. "Indeed?" he asks. "I was not aware of that. One hopes he has left word of the agreement we reached."
"I told you he was when I brought Cambina through to you, but you were understandably distracted at the time." Solange's jaw sets as her memory of that event replays itself. "I hope Kyril is all right."
Vere frowns. "You did," he agrees. "My apologies. I forgot." He says the word 'forgot' as though it were an alien concept.
He looks back out the gondola window at the people on the ground. "Let us hope King Corwin was less forgetful than I."
There is a resounding crack, like a nearby lightning strike, or a small gunpowder weapon, and the captain starts frantically turning wheels and the dirigible starts to move up and away.
From the ground, a man with a megaphone shouts up at the ship. "Attention foreign balloon! You are flying false colors and are under arrest! Land immediately or be shot!" Looking down, there are a line of men in identical blue coat standing next to a small cannon. Anyone with experience of such things would guess it was a four or five pounder. They seem to be reloading it.
"Land," Vere says calmly. If the captain does not instantly obey Vere will shove him aside and attempt to land the dirigible, trusting to his observations of watching the captain lift off and fly to enable him to land successfully.
The Captain ignores Vere and the ship gains altitude.
Solange crosses her arms. "What the hell do they think we're already trying to do?" She turns to look at the captain. "Do you have a megaphone yourself onboard?"
Vere shoves the Captain to the gondola floor and begins to turn it back towards the ground.
The Captain turns to Solange, wild-eyed.. "Stop him! There's shooting at us. We'll all die if they spark the gas."
"Hold him," Vere says, without turning from the controls. It is unclear to whom he is speaking. He is smiling slightly as he concentrates on landing the airship.
It handles like a barge, which is not too surprising. It may be a rough landing, but it should be one everyone can walk away from.
"You were just looking for an excuse to fly this contraption, weren't you?" Solange accuses, mildly amused.
Vere's smile grows ever so slightly wider.
She grabs the front of the Captain's shirt, hauls him up from the floor, and looks him directly in the eye. "You need to calm down. We're the niece and nephew of the King and they will be fine with us once they figure out who were are--hence the need for a megaphone to inform them. Go get yours, please. Now."
She sets the Captain down.
The Captain opens a locker and a megaphone is clearly in view.
Below, soldiers are pouring forth from the castle and the outbuildings.
Solange grabs the megaphone and points it out a window. "Greetings to Paris from Lord Vere and Lady Solange, nephew and niece to King Corwin! We request permission to land!"
Vere concentrates on making the landing as smooth as possible.
The Captain says to King Bran, "You need to throw the ropes over the sides for them to catch."
Bran looks at him and says "Do it."
He does and several soldiers rush up and grab the ropes and start hauling on them.
It is clear as the ship approaches the ground that there troops have been heavily reinforced, that they are armed with firearms, and that they have some sort of collection of high-ranking officers behind their lines.
They still seem to be pointing those firearms at you.
Solange looks around. If there's a telescope in the cabin she will use it to take a look at the high-ranking officers. Otherwise she'll continue to stand and watch the progress of the landing.
Vere is still concentrating on the landing, but he speaks without taking his attention from his task, "Their reaction is more that of a nation at war than I had expected from my previous visits to Paris. It may be that either Huon has threatened them, or else the situation in Rebma is serious enough to have them on a war footing. I would urge everyone to remember this, and make allowances in the initial period of contact if some of the diplomatic niceties are not followed."
He does not look at anyone in particular as he says this.
From the crowd below, someone calls out loudly, and probably magically enhanced somehow, "The Regent Celina grants her cousins permission to land. Welcome to Paris. Royal Guard, clear the landing zone!"
His voice is significantly louder than Solange's, and everyone can hear it clearly. The Parisian soldiers scatter to the edges of the open area, and reform at the ready.
The pilot looks out the window. "You're coming down too fast!" he says to Vere.
Vere does not respond to the pilot's words, although he does attempt to slow the vessel's descent as he says, still without looking around, "That Celina is Regent in Corwin's absence bodes well for us. We have met only briefly, but our meeting was most cordial. She has close ties to Rebma as well as Paris, and should be able to give us information upon the current state of affairs."
Solange snaps her fingers and points at the Captain, reminding him of her previous admonition to calm down. "Yeah, I'm happy she's here too, though for different reasons."
Completing the landing takes all of Vere's concentration, and so there is no further opportunity for conversation. The landing is hard, but it doesn't destroy the craft. Once the craft is safely down, the Captain moves to secure the dirigible and instruct the ground crew.
Last modified: 28 May 2009