AUTHOR: Carmilla
EMAIL: carmilla99@hotmail.com
RATING: PG
FANDOM: Tamora Pierce
SPOILERS: Erm, hard to say. Will make more sense if you've read the Song of the Lioness and Wild Magic series. SUMMARY: Vignette, with a view to a longer story. What Roger's 'buisness in Cathark' in The First Adventure really was.
DISTRIBUTION: My site, Starfall, FanFiction.Net, and anywhere else I send it. If you want it, just email me.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, so there's nothing worth suing me for.
The guard eyed the Tortallan duke suspiciously. He had been given imperial permission to examine the heir to the throne for signs of the Gift, but even so the child's bodyguard wished to keep a close eye on him. He didn't trust foriegners, and he trusted foriegn sorcerers even less. He didn't care for magic, and was wary of some mischief being worked on the newborn prince. The nobleman looked up from the child's cradle and smiled urbanely at him.
"Well," he said in his smooth, cultured voice, fiddling with the pendant around his neck. "A healthy child, certainly, but he appears to be giftless."
The guard acknowledged him with a stiff nod. Secretly, he was relieved. He wasn't keen on the prospect of serving under an Emperor who knew magic.
"However," the man continued in a sharper tone, "that can be changed." Orange lightning arched from his fingers and struck the startled guard before he had a chance to react.
**********
Roger leaned over the gilded cradle, smiling at the boy-child, who was now sleeping peacefully. He stroked its forehead with a long, perfectly manicured finger."Well, little prince, I have given you some of my power, and with it, a small piece of my mind. Should I be caught on this next endeavor of mine," he smiled disdainfully, "which, I admit, is very unlikely, then I shall be able to carry on through you. Use my gifts well, young mage." He straightened himself, cast a scornful glance at the unconcious guard, and swept out of the room.
**********
The prince's bodyguard awoke with a start. I must have fallen asleep, he thought. Thank Mithros nobody noticed, or I'd be dead by now. He vaguely remembered a foriegn duke - he had been testing the baby prince for magic. What had he said? The recollection was faint, but - yes, he had said that the prince had the Gift, and in abundance.The guard glanced over to the imperial cradle, and shuddered. Globes of orange fire hung above Orzone's crib, and he was playing with them, gurgling happily. And, somewhere in the east, a red star rose.
THE END?