Chapter 9 - Part VIII

It was all Reiba could do to not sprint back to her quarters in the Wing of the Major Moon.  In the east the Minor Moon began to rise.  It was only once a tide or so, afterall, that a night was truly devoid of it.  In the east the blackness of the night had begun to succumb to a sickly yellow-blue.  The brightest of stars still shone but the others in that part of the sky had been overcome with the mere suggestion of the sun.  Dawn was fast approaching and she'd have to make her decisions quickly.

While she walked, she pawed at the little compromised pill in her pocket; each time flesh hit its smooth surface she had an instant feeling of being somewhere else.  On the roof.  Hidden in an alley way.  Sulking behind lone stands of cosmopolitan oak and ceder.  It was in one of the parks of the Eirdred.

As she approached her wing, she could feel that already the creature was out of the city.  Fast, she marveled.  She clutched the pill a little harder in her fist and let more information seep into her skin.

West.  He travels due west.  This surprised Reiba, who expected her quarry to make its way south, as it had when she first caught him.  She realized then she had always connected those two things in her mind, the art of the b'hei and the creature, as being from the same catalyst and as all the knowledge she held of compromising lay written in the Sandoran tongue, she had always assumed that it was Sandoran in origin.  If she ever saw Laenuc again, she felt confident that compromising crafter would know what the creature was.

I wish I had more time to study this further she thought mournfully as she motioned her servants to open the huge door to her quarters.  Sadly, she had more immediate concerns.  Whatever form of guilt the two nobles were looking for when they visited her, they must have found it when Zaexyl accepted the Tsitul proposal, but she could not help but recollect the look of surprise the Lady Kreihl herself had at the gift.  She seemed as clueless as Reiba had been before she recognized the earring she held.

It had been far too many years since she had tried that first experiment.  As the door servants closed the bulky oak door that separated her wing from the rest of the world, she made haste to her study. She blew out each of the candles that provided her with the light to study and explore the unknown, and slid the paper doors shut.  Every candle save one, that is, so she could see what she was doing.

With no small measure of hesitation, Reiba opened the the Tsitul gift box again and extracted the earring once more.  It was nothing a cube of bronze couldn't buy.  The stones of jade and turquoise that hung lazily from the hook seemed real enough, but highly flawed, sporting cracks and strange cuts.  She recalled from her childhood, youths who would search the midden piles of gemmers for such unpolished scraps.  For her, the couple of meals one could get out of a weeks worth of rock discoveries wasn't worth wading in the combination of food waste, broken pottery and animal feces that often built up in back alleys in between street cleanings.

But the cheapness of the earring also made it a suitable first attempt at using the art of the b'hei.  She blew out the remaining candle which left the room glowing only very softly as a consequence of the lit candles on the other side of the paper walls.  It was dark enough, however.

And the earring performed accordingly.  The glow of the earring looked more like the light of the moon than a candle or the sun itself.  It seemed to reflect luminescence rather than create it.  But there was no doubting that this was her earring.  It had to be.

Reiba had not worn those earrings since she experimented on them.  A quick flick of her wrist brought a match against a sandstone paperweight on her desk and in no time the study was again relit. She sighed, knowing invariably what she had to do next, but first wanting to know how this happened.  Her fist clenched around the earring angrily as she started flipping over the books on her desk.  Papers went flying in an almost celebratory fashion.

She then began tearing apart her study, ejecting books from their shelves, ripping out the drawers of her desk.  She moved to a closet she had kept locked since moving into the Archne compound.  Heri had, of course, asked her what she kept in it, the insatiably curious fellow he was.  She had told him that it was her garments of the night that she would use to surprise him from time to time.  This made him want to see the contents even more but somehow she had convinced him that the allure of seduction is as much the province of what you can't see, as what you can.

She supposed that she wasn't wholly lying.  A corset was among the items in it, along with a necklace, a hair piece, and some older articles of clothing.  Rats had tried to chew at the closet to get closer to the corset, the necklace constricted at the mere touch of her finger and she knew if she wore the hair piece she'd suddenly have bowel movements that mirrored those of the nearest person.  The butterfly affixed on the hairpiece not only looked real though, it acted real.  Its antennae seemed to probe the air for the scent of a mate.  Reiba kept very clear from the hairpiece. 

And of the earrings, both lay silently in a small box, same as the day she had forged their compromise.  There might be half a million of these types of earrings in Eirdred alone, but only hers glowed, as they both did now in the dimmed light of the closet. And now it was hers and this other, one earring.  She opened her left hand but was shocked to see that all she carried now was a lifeless granite rock.

No.  There is no such thing as magic, this is compromised!  But how?  What does it show? Her assault on her study left the Tsitul box unfazed and Reiba replaced the rock within the box.  She pulled a silk cord and had to wait only a few minutes before Vergaihl placed a soft but firm rap on her door.  She met him in the social room.


"Enter." she beckoned and the doors opened for the house master.





"My Lady, the boys are not yet..." he began but was quickly cut off by an impatient mistress.


She passed him the box.  "Do you recognize this?" she asked.


"Yes My Lady, this is the gift box from House Tsitul."


"Open it." she commanded.

Vergaihl did so, but with great hesitation.  It was not the lot of a servant to deal with noble gifts.  He kept glancing back at her then the box, expecting her reproach at any moment.  When he finally looked at what was in the box, he gasped and dropped it like it was a pox laden child.


"What did you see?!" Reiba demanded impatiently.

"I am so sorry," Vergaihl collapsed to his knees, "Please, it was only in fun.  It was only between my family and I.  I am ever your loyal servant..." he cried but Zaexyl was in no mood to hear his protestations. 

"Never mind that.  What is the object in the box?"


The poor man, who was not slight by any means but who nonetheless cowered now, had a look of fear and confusion on his face.

"Tell me exactly what it is.  Spare no details.  Give me context."

"Uh...", he began, lips quivering, "It is a letter to my family.  I've not seen them in so long.  They live in the country and.."

"Stop babbling.  Why are you so afraid of it?"

Every fiber in the elder man's being told him that to repeat the words he had written down was treason.  Yet to not answer a direct command could also be seen as treason.  He looked like a rabbit cornered by the wolf.

"In this letter," he tried, being as delicate as possible, "I explain to my wife that your Ladyship is a very ambitious woman.  That you, my lady, might have had," he searched for the words, "a strained relationship with your husband." he could not make himself confess further.

"You think I killed Heri?  That is what you wrote?" she interrogated the man.  His silence confirmed her suspicions.  "I see.  Now pick up the object in the box and show it to me."

Sure enough at this point it was a letter; its waxy seal of the house master of Archne broken and its pages slightly crumpled.


"Interesting." Lady Archne observed to herself, uncaring if Vergaihl heard her at this point. "What amazing things the b'hei does.  I wonder what weakness this carries."  She paused deep in her thoughts before she remembered that her servant was still there, surely awaiting the wrath and potentially lethal punishment from his mistress.  "You may go now Vergaihl.  Actually, return to your home.  Clearly you have been over worked.  You need a rest.  Return to your home.  Go ahead, collect your wages for the next month.  Do not delay.  And regardless of what you hear, do not come back tonight."

"Thank you, My Lady," was all the man could offer, so confused by the recent turn of events.  He bowed quickly and exited the room, afraid that this was all a trick and the sooner he was on his way, the less time she had to put him in a noose.

It was only a matter of time before whoever was really looking for Reiba would find out who and where she was.  And who looked for her was more than the petty lords who deigned to offer her their second sons.  They understood the art of the b'hei, and they knew of the creature.  Now more than ever, she felt trapped.  The Secondsword would be returning soon enough, and likely with him his cronies.  She'd be painting the walls of the Augur red all over again with the blood she could expect to lose from the impending torture.

 I won't give them the satisfaction, she thought angrily to herself. 

Chapter 9 - Part VII

Lord Shik smiled again, bowed and put the box to his side.  Without a word, Vergaihl came out of his hidden obscurity, knelt to collect the box, rose and walked over to his lady.  At her side, he knelt again, his toes flat as his knees fell to the relatively soft flax woven mat.  He placed the box in front of Lady Zaexyl and awaited her response in this uncomfortable position.  It wasn't rare that his feet would go numb.

The moment she took it out of the box she knew with the surety of her entire being that these two were not here to offer their sons after all.  What they hoped to accomplish, she was unsure, but she was in far more precarious a position than she had previously thought.

"A tad simple," she smiled most generously at Lord Shik, "but I understand the sentiments of your son nonetheless.  I would be pleased to meet him."  Vergaihl returned the box to its owner before disappearing beyond the thick paper walls of the Receiving Room once again.

If Lord Shik were surprised at her willingness to open her home to their family, he did not show it.  Nor did he seem to take offense at her derision.  It was the way of the intended to downplay their gifts, that a suitor might try harder.  A noble wedding would not usually occur until five or six rejections.  By that time, a lord or lady could expect to have their likeness cast in gold.   More would be puzzle had she accepted his offer immediately. Whatever he was thinking, he merely smiled and bowed.

"I suspect my son Gaihgrem offers much the same." intoned Lady Tsitul.  "Although he requested that I not peek into his offering.  It is a son's embarrassment to let his mother know he thinks like a man." she chuckled.  A servant girl waiting by the door quickly placed the unopened box at Lady Tsitul's side and within moments, Vergaihl had it at his own lady's side.

Lady Archne lifted the box and opened it slowly.  What she saw perplexed her, which gave her cause to worry even more than the collar had.  Lord Shik seemed unable to contain himself when she did not immediately respond.  "What is it?  Come now, what has the lad offered you?"

Lady Archne made quick note that even though she had remained silent, Lady Tsitul also bore a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes.  She was not lying.  She did not know its contents.

Carefully, with two fingers, she extracted an extremely common looking, single, long earring made of turquoise and jade, suspended from a hook by small silver chain.  "Is this your son's idea of a joke?" Reiba asked incredulously.   "Does he take me for a merchant?" she accused, referencing the trend for particularly wealthy business men and women to mimic noble ear tattoos by holding their own traditions with single earrings. 

"Ah, my lady, my apologies, I do not know what he meant by this." Kreihl stammered, her age finally beginning to show as lines of worry.  "I am sorry to cause offense, please let me return this and we formally retract our offer."

The two waited for Lady Archne's reply, expecting to be tersely dismissed as tales of the ungracious behavior of House Tsitul reverberated throughout the Dance of Roses for the next couple of months.  It left them more astonished when she did finally speak.

"No.  I accept.  I shall wed your son on the night the Major Moon returns to the skies.  I thank you for your visit this night.  The morning fast approaches.  I believe your families await you."

Lady Zaexyl did not move a muscle, as it was poor form for a host to leave before the guests, but her bewildered peers understood the message.  They bowed slightly from their mats before getting up and exiting the room, each of their retainers close behind.

"Vergaihl!" she called and he appeared to her from the other side of the paper walls.

"My lady."

"Send two boys to follow those two home from a distance.  They are not to return until the see them to their compounds.  I want to know everything they witness before that happens." she ordered.

"Yes my lady."

"I will retire now, see that I am not disturbed until those boys return."

Chapter 9 - Part VI

Lady Kreihl Tsitul was well into her middle years, but age merely seemed to be another ornament in her jewelry box.  Unlike many of her age she did not use strange dyes and spa treatments to keep the color of her hair so white, grey and light blonde intermingled upon her scalp and through her loose bun. Today she was fairly demure, with short gold and onyx earrings and a lightly padded, high necked and long sleeved butter cream tunic, tied high underneath the breast with a stiff sash of brown and a wide flowing gown that reached the floor.  On her chest, just under the collar of the shirt she had pinned a small brooch with her house sigil, the rose, emblazoned.

Lord Hekbel Shik on the other hand could have been making the marriage proposal himself, had Lady Archne not already known himself to be reportedly happily wed with twin youths not yet 15 tides and another on the way.  His close cut brown goatee gave him the appearance of a perpetual smile and shallow dimples did not help in this regard.  He too wore a high necked collar of ocean blue satin edged with a thin gold trim.  His tunic was tied just above the waist with a thin grey belt after which it continued down to his knees.  Underneath the long shirt was a pair of black satin pants.  Like his counterpart, Lady Tsitul, he had since removed his shoes to enter the Receiving Room.

They were both left-eared nobles, leaders of their houses, and both of them lacked a residual right-ear tattoo, indicating that they were in power of their own birthright.  Tsitul, meaning rose had a monochromatic blue outline of petals, a stem and thorns gracing her ear while Shik had a simple outline following the path of his outer ear, making a point at his lobe.  Before they were a house, before the peoples of the Outer Crest took over the labor intensive work on the seas, the Shiks were the kingdom that relied more on the sea and her produce than any other.  A fish hook might seem mundane in this era, but there was a time when people lived or died by it.

They were guests in this house now, so they waited for leave to speak from its ruling Lady, while they kneeled comfortably on amble floor pads.   Zaexyl surveyed the pair.  "Tea and a honey stick" she ordered, "for my brother and sister.  Under the Red, our bonds are never broken."

The house staff were well prepared to receive a fellow Eirdren Lord and had placed an elevated tray of the required comforts before the guests barely after their lady ordered them.  "Under the Red, we are stronger together." they both intoned while all three held up their cups of tea while bending their backs slightly to each other in a bow.  The three drank. and set the cups down.

"How can I help you Lady Tsitul and Lord Shik?  Surely you come with urgent business to have rousted yourselves so late into the night." the Lady Archne asked.

"Ah but now is the best time to speak," smiled Lord Shik, "for both moons abandon us this night.  That is the best time to plan for life's intimate choices."

"My Lady Archne, forgive our boldness, we do not come bearing secrets," Lady Tsitul chided her companion for the night, "We only wish for you to take special consideration of our offers.  Surely you have met with many now who would like to keep your bed a little less lonely and provide you with an heir, but our proposals should be of great interest to you."

"Yes," Lord Shik had regained a more serious visage, "My son is young, but so are you my lady, and he will be a man soon.  He will be a great asset to you, and if you but say the word, he is yours as soon a you wish him.  Johlen is a smart boy and while he is a second son, he has been raised side by side with his twin brother, my heir, and will quickly learn the business of the Archne household."

Zaexyl Archne felt herself relax a little bit.  Tedious though marriage proposals are, they are not dangerous until you turn them down.  Nothing she said tonight would kill her.  It might only kill her in a month, or a tide. Yet it still struck her odd that the two would come tonight rather than tomorrow.  They must really want ties to House Archne, unless... she let that thought drift away not knowing where it led.

"He is eager to be your groom as well.  He was impressed with your ladyship's confident and powerful demeanor at the eulogy of your late husband.  Indeed, he offers a token of his affections should you wish to pursue my offer." Lord Shik called to his groom who knelt silently by the door with the Lady Tsitul's lady-in-waiting.  The servant stood up, and brought over a small box.  He knelt again side by side with his lord, placing the box at Shik's knees before bowing slightly, standing up, and walking backwards, silently, to his prior station.

Lord Shik opened the box and lifted out a thin silver choker necklace that gleamed in the candle light.  Lady Archne held her breath but kept her face as solid as stone.  That was no mere offering of jewelry to a betrothed, she was sure of it.  She had seen a collar that looked too similar to this one on the creature before, as it lay injured, trying to hide in the woods.

But Reiba refused to let herself panic.  If it was nothing more than a necklace, then asking about the trinket could pose no harm, but if it was more than a coincidence, then her very response could damn her to whatever blackmail they were trying to boil her in.

"Many thank to you and your son Lord Shik.  You do him great credit and I will have to think seriously on this matter." Lady Archne forced herself to not even mention the object he offered to her now.  "But as Lady Tsitul too has made the journey, it is only fair to hear her offer as well."