Himeko regarded the boy before her with a disdainful sneer.
She couldn't quite justify taking this as an insult; if the Fraternal Order of
Bonisagus had desired to slight her, they would have given her some stupid grog
as a guide, not the apprentice of one of their four masters.
Nevertheless, Himeko reflected sourly, she might prefer a consor to this
sniveling child. He couldn't even look her in the eye; when he had been
introduced to her as Cadwalader Jones, apprentice of Tyler bani
Bonisagus, one terrified glance had stained his face crimson, and his muddy
eyes had darted down to the floor.
Cadwalader was more than half a foot taller than she was, but he couldn't have
weighed an ounce more; he was scrawny and gangly, with trembling legs and arms
that seemed to be constantly in his way. His face, red and splotchy with acne,
was half hidden by unkempt hair of an indeterminant shade, and the brief
glimpse Himeko had caught of it had revealed an expression of sheer terror.
Despite his misgivings, Himeko had tried to speak politely to him, but that
ridiculous shyness had overcome. Cadwalader had reddened further and squeaked
out a few stammered, unintelligible words in reply. Subsequent attempts at
conversation had not ameliorated the situation at all, and her demeanor had
devolved into irate scowls and harsh tones. He now responded to her curtly
barked instructions with pathetic whimpers of unwilling acquiescense.
Her gaze must have grown unnerving; the boy was beginning to figet, obviously
uncomfortable. Freshly annoyed by his timidity, she narrowed her gray eyes into
a glare and kept them on him until he began to edge away. Himeko sighed in
disgust. "Let's get going," she snapped.
Cadwalader winced and recoiled a bit, and she felt a small pang of remorse. He
couldn't have been older than twelve or thirteen, and he probably regarded her
as an intimidating adult, not as a peer. She continued more neutrally. "I
want to pay a visit to a friend who's staying with Brutus bani Tytalus.
I'm sure you know the way."
She broke off, surprised, as Cadwalader suddenly looked up at her. His eyes
were wide, flashing white, and his face pale. "B-b-but..." he
interrupted with obvious effort, "h-h-he's a T-T-Tytalan!"
Himeko stared at him, mystified, clearly expecting an elaboration. When he
merely lapsed into quivering silence, she was barely able to suppress a glower.
"I'm quite aware of that," she replied in measured tones.
"Klark, my friend, is a Tytalan, as well."
She hadn't expected him to deliberately speak to her twice in the same five
minutes, but Cadwalader persisted. "B-b-but...we c-can't go over
there!" The frightened wail in his voice broke her resolve; she turned on
him her most venomous glare. Cadwalader burst into tears, but perservered
through intermittent sniffles. "Th-they don't like B-B-Bonisagi. They
m-m-make f-fun of us!"
Himeko shook her head and replied through gritted teeth. "Enough. We're
going, and I don't want to hear any more of your idiotic cowardice."
Cadwalader gulped back one final sob and, evidently more terrified of Himeko
than he was of House Tytalus, started off ahead of her. Himeko followed him,
fuming silently, through the ornate double doors that marked the boundary of
the Bonisagus portion of Doissetep. She knew that there were political
rivalries among the Hermetic Houses in this chantry, and even that the Bonisagi
and the Tytalans didn't get along, but this was unbelievable. She was almost in
awe of the extent to which this boy's craven cowardice permeated his entire
demeanor. Cadwalader moved slowly, slinking warily down the hall with his face
aimed at the floor and his skinny shoulder hunched forward anxiously.
This was ridiculous! Himeko's eyes burned through him, venting her fury on the
back of his head. She was fully aware of how they looked to the people they
passed, and the image was ludicrous: a short, slim, elaborately-garbed woman
stalking angrily after this beanpole of an Hermetic, prodding him occasionally
to keep his halting pace up to her speed. Her own face was grim, her jaw
clenched, and her flashing eyes dared anyone to comment.
Cadwalader slowed as they approached another set of double
doors, identical to the exit to the Bonisagus portion but hung in red instead
of silver. Himeko felt a few pairs of eyes fly to her as she half-shoved
Cadwalader through the archway, but she refused to return their gazes; she knew
that they were laughing at her, but she would not give them the
satisfaction of seeing her squirm.
The antechamber was silent for a moment; the half dozen mages and consors were
raking her over with their eyes, comparing her composed, porcelain features to
the mottled mess of Cadwalader's tear-streaked face. Out of the corner of her
eye, Himeko caught a glimpse of an impertinent grin from a man leaning in a
doorway.
She bit back her anger at his rude leer and turned to face him. He looked to be
a few years older than she, and he wore the robes of an adept. His eyebrows
rose as she met his eyes, and his grin curled into a sneer. "Did you want
something, dear?" he asked condescendingly.
Himeko kept her gaze steady and unflinching as she spoke. "I'm here to
speak with Brutus bani Tytalus. I have business with him," she
replied coldly.
His brow lifted further, and he paused deliberately, allowing his eyes to
lazily travel from her face to the rest of her body. His gaze lingered on the
curve of her breasts as he answered. "Business?" His tone was
conspicuously innocent, and all the more suggestive for its innocuous tone.
Himeko could not keep her face from coloring as titters from behind her reached
her ears.
She had barely begun to frame an enraged retort when she heard Cadwalader emit
a terrified squeal from across the room. She looked over her shoulder to see a
heavy, wooden door swing closed behind a large man in heavy, velvet rainment.
Like Brutus, he was solidly built, but his body was slowly going to fat. Dark
eyes glittered cruelly from his ruddy face. His hair, iced with silver, shone
like a crown, but his face, though haughty and regal, betrayed decadence in
sagging jowls and gorged veins.
He was just removing an appreciative glance from her behind when she turned. He
took no further notice of her, and was now smiling the sharp-toothed grin of an
animal that had cornered his prey. His eyes, hawklike, were on Cadwalader.
He slithered slowly forward, and his velvet robes rippled and shone menacingly.
Cadwalader stumbled back instinctively, and it was obvious that the magus had
won.
His smile widened into a sneer full of contempt as he spoke. "Are you
lost, Runt?" he jeered, relishing Cadwalader's fearful trembling. He
pressed forward, gradually edging Cadwalader into a wall. "Aren't you even
capable of finding your own quarters, you stupid, little imbecile?"
Himeko flew across the room before she was aware of what she was doing, and
stepped bodily between the monster and his prey. Her eyes shone furiously in a
face white with rage. "You can't talk to people like that!" she burst
out. "How dare you treat him that way? Who the hell do you think you
are?"
The magus had looked surprised by her intrusion at first, but his face had
reddened during her short tirade, and his eyes bulged with disbelief at the
audacity of her angry demands. "I am Polonius bani Tytalus,"
he replied icily, drawing himself up to his full height. "Master of the
greater and lesser elements of ars essentiae."
Cold fingers of warning lanced through her indignant furor, grappling with her
sharp tongue, but were quickly defeated by her temper. "And you think that
being a master excuses you from the rules of common decency?" she snapped.
"Your behaviour is simply appalling, and--"
"Excuse me," he interruped, his voice dripping with disdain and also
with something more dangerous. "Who did you say you were? I don't believe
we've ever been formally introduced."
He was hunting her, now, stalking her with the frozen tones of his questions.
She swallowed, unwillingly cowed; she was quarreling with a master. "I am
Himeko bani Bonisagus," she replied, trying to inject defiance into
her words. "I've recently come from Earthside."
Polonius smiled thinly. "I beg your pardon," he continued in polite
cadences. "I hadn't realized that the Fraternal Order was importing
whores."
Himeko drew a quick breath of surprise, as if she had been slapped in the face.
Crimson rage bloomed in her face as snickers from the onlookers told her that
everyone was listening. "And I hadn't realized that the Tytalans
were harboring dickless assholes," she spat.
The snickering was now a mixture of disbelieving scoffs and open chortling.
Polonius' face was purple with fury. "You need a lesson in manners, you
little bitch," he retorted softly, stepping closer to her.
She stood her ground, anger fueling her courage. "Mine aren't the manners
that are wanting," she snapped back. "But I'd be more than happy to
accomodate you."
Himeko felt quivering fingers plucking at her sleeve. "H-H-Himeko,"
Cadwalader whined softly, "h-h-he's a m-m-master! L-l-let's g-go..."
"Yes," Polonius interrupted snidely. "Listen to the Runt. You
Bonisagi are nothing but cowardly children."
"I'm no coward," Himeko shot back, shaking Cadwalader's hand from her
arm. "And I'm not the one who picks on terrified apprentices half
my size to compensate for my lack of manliness, either."
Polonius' eyes narrowed as he glared at her. "Then prove it," he
hissed. "Be at the west certamen circle in two hours."
Certamen? Oh, this was going to end well. "I'll be there," she
retorted. "Be sure you bring your lesson in manners--you're in sore need
of it."
This time, Polonius joined in the laughter. Triumph gleamed in his posture and
in his sneer; he clearly anticipated complete victory. Himeko turned haughtily,
silently praying that Cadwalader wouldn't embarrass her on their way out of the
room, and stalked off.
