Not all of the chapters will be this long. Most won't. Long chapters take much longer to plan out and write, generally, but this chapter ballooned out from the main concept (Daine gets a visit from Alanna) very rapidly. So far, I've been able to use the list of prompts found at community(dot)livejournal(dot)com(slash)100(underscore)prompts(slash)692(dot)html that begins with "threat."

A note about pronunciation, for anyone interested: "Ragi" is pronounced rah-gee, and was named for a very fun former coworker of mine that lives in Egypt.

A very nice image of an Egyptian plover can be found at birdblog(dot)merseyblogs(dot)co(dot)uk(slash)EGYPTIAN(percent)20PLOVER(percent)201(dot)jpg. He will be described later in the story, but a full description didn't fit well in this chapter.

The Emperor's Mage
Chapter Four: Compliment

It took twenty minutes for Daine to dismiss the slaves that had been assigned to her room. It had been a rather masterful little piece of politics, if she did say so herself, because ten minutes after they had left, no one had come to insist that she absolutely needed people waiting on her hand and foot. She barely could understand why her friends in Tortall saw servants as necessary, when anybody should be able to clean up after themselves. It was Daine's firm opinion that if you couldn't dress yourself, it was time to wear something simpler.

Daine was sprawled in her room's beautiful window seat when she heard the knock on the door. She straightened quickly and checked her clothing for bird droppings before turning toward the door. "Come in!"

Daine promptly resumed a far more comfortable posture when Alanna let herself into the room.

"Well, they did take note that you're a young lady in the custody of a noble," Alanna said approvingly, looking around at the gigantic bed and the similarly expensive furnishings. "That'll be good protection for you, here. Carthak is much more sensitive to intent and allegiances than Tortall, and this is nearly the equal of what they handed over to me."

"The window's my favorite part," Daine said, gesturing carefully. A beautiful little black, white, and grey bird was perched on her palm, and with so many new friends to meet she hadn't even thought about getting out the lovely atlas of Carthaki birds that Queen Thayet had found for her. The People were never much bothered with what two-leggers called them in any language, and she was more interested in gossip. The birds at the palace menagerie always wanted to be sure they were living in something like their natural home, and the menagerie keepers at least liked having Daine about. "Did you help with that?"

"Lord Martin made all of the special requests, but you can count me pleasantly surprised." Alanna pulled a chair up next to the window seat. "You didn't have too much trouble dismissing those assigned to keep you coddled?"

"Not at all." Daine had a quick word with her new friends. Most of the birds flew back out the window when they knew they wouldn't remain the center of attention, but her favorite kept his perch on her hand. Ragi still had many wingturns left before it was his turn to mind the clutch of eggs, and he had quite contentedly gorged himself on the scraps of fish that Daine had requested from the chamberlain. "I'll have to tell Sarge that I owe him a really big favor for spelling all that about slaves out for me, about what to do and what to not do. I'd hate to get folk in trouble when I was really meaning to help."

"Helping out everybody here will come later, Goddess willing, but we have our parts set out for us. Peace first, progress after. You'll do just fine, youngling. You've already dealt with the pack of fancy idiots in Corus, and courts around the world are much the same."

Alanna met the little bird's gaze when he trilled at her, but continued when Ragi had nothing more to say. Daine stifled a giggle at the sight of the King's Champion politely tolerating an interruption from a bird. There were quite a few reasons she was very fond of Alanna, and her way with animals was one of the first.

"I've told Lindhall as much, but I don't think he can be rational here. He knows that Carthak is a very dangerous place, and I don't think he remembers being sixteen. He definitely doesn't remember being sixteen and a lovely young woman." Alanna fished into her pocket as she continued. "Of course, I had quite an odd set of circumstances as a sixteen-year-old, but I do remember that was when I start feeling the need to actually be a lady, and when I started noticing boys."

Daine wasn't at all surprised when Alanna held out an amulet to prevent pregnancy. "I brought my old one, but it's still with my things." Daine readily accepted the new charm and fiddled with the tiny clasp of the chain she already wore. George had found a way to set a badger's claw as if it were a gem, and there was no need to wear two chains that tucked into her bodice. "I really don't think this is the best place for any canoodling, but I'll keep this by."

"I wish every child knew more about midwifery. It'd make life quite a bit easier," Alanna said, ruffling her hair. "Now, I know it'd be a fair bit odd, but I would much appreciate it if you'd talk with me before putting that charm into use so long as we're in Carthak. They have a few customs I can go over with you, and that way we'll be sure you're not trapped into a marriage you didn't intend."

Daine touched the charm before tucking it into her dress. "Ma would've really liked you. She said most women get all funny about sex, like they're not meant to like it just as much as men." Daine blushed a little as she continued. "She said that she'll never regret that night with my da, even if he couldn't ever come back."

"A woman after my own heart, your ma. Did you get any response from that letter you sent up to Snowsdale?"

Daine's blush deepened to red. "It came just before I got on the boat, when you were already in your cabin, or I'd've showed you already. There wasn't a bit of rudeness even when I asked right out if my da had come by, and near all the town wrote all sorts of apologies about what happened. A few were just trying to kiss a boot, but most of them felt fair awful. The rest all meant it, and a few said that their bows didn't fire right for ages after I'd been gone. Not until they put up a proper grave for Ma. They guessed they felt too guilty to draw proper."

"Guilt does strange things to a body. I'm not much surprised." Alanna studied Daine over again, just as she did with her own children. She'd said once that you had to take notice, just like that, or children would grow to be adults before you ever realized. "Tortall had quite a gain, and your Cloud looked after you. George said he'd bring the mirror down into the paddock when he calls, so Cloud can look in on you. I'm sure Kitten will be following him around nearly everywhere, so she can have a go, too. It might help them forgive you a tad easier later on."

"I'd doubt it. It'll be a competition for Cloud and Kitten to see which of 'em can ignore me longer from spite that I left at all." Daine whispered a goodbye as Ragi flew back to his nest. Alanna waited, as any of Daine's friends would when she slipped into talking with the People. "There's not been a bit of word from my da, and no strangers have come through the village since I was already there excepting a couple new trappers and one new merchant. My da might've died, too, but I haven't been thinking of him so much." Daine checked again for birth droppings before leaning forward to hug Alanna. "I've got a family, now."

"You have a very possessive family, youngling." Alanna kissed the top of her head, and only managed that with Daine half-bent over to lean out of the window seat. Daine had been taller than her the very first time Alanna had met Onua's latest assistant. "You have Onua, all the rest of the Riders, all of my family, and Lindhall just to name the first few that claim you. We all want you to be safe and happy. Lindhall's narrowing right in on the 'safe,' for the moment, but give the poor man a chance."

"I was good the entire boat ride over, but he was just about to tell me off where the Carthaki folk could listen in. I think he likes acting like my da, but I've never had one and don't much know what to do with one," Daine confided.

Alanna hugged Daine closer, staring out the window as if she'd be able to see all the way to Tortall if she looked just the right way. George's Sight hadn't failed them yet, but sometimes it created the oddest situations. He'd known from the start to talk to the little red-haired purple-eyed boy gaping like a country yokel, and he'd known at first glance just why Onua's latest protege could talk nearly any animal into anything.

George had insisted that gods had their own logic, and she couldn't argue that too heavily. Gods did things on their own time in their own way, they knew that, but Alanna couldn't help wondering. Daine had spent sixteen years not knowing who her father was, now, and the gods knew that Alanna had never been the type to idly accept circumstances.

Alanna excused herself when the next wave of animals streamed through the windows, one of them the tiniest monkey that she had ever seen. She joked with Daine and reminded the girl when the delegation was walking to the formal banquet together, but her mind was somewhere else. Alanna's hand crept to the pendant at her throat as soon Daine's door was shut behind her. She could see the threads of black magic with brilliantly white flecks spread thinly all through the corridors again, but her attention was somewhere farther away even than Pirate's Swoop or Corus. Alanna directed her thoughts directly at the gods.

You tell her, or I will, she thought firmly. If that girl doesn't know by the time we set foot in Tortall again, then you've had quite enough time and reason to tell her.

Alanna froze halfway through a step when the ember warmed beneath her fingers. If she wasn't mistaken, they agreed with her, but Alanna really should have worked on controlling her impulses by now. The last thing they needed in these negotiations was the attention of the gods, but what was done was finished. She turned on her heel and headed for Lindhall's room. It was time to renegotiate strategy.