CHAPTER 25
"What on earth is going on?" A Herald demanded.
Sherri ignored the question in favour of caring for her lover's injuries. Some bruises were already starting to appear but it looked like Buren failed to accomplish his goal, breaking Kevyn's nose. "What kind of pain do you have when I do this?" Sherri prodded his ribs.
"Bruise sort of pain."
Sherri didn't feel any grinding of bones as he moved so she doubted it was broken.
"Here are those herbs you wanted." A familiar Herald said at her elbow.
Sherri looked up to see a tousled dirk holding several packages of herbs, all neatly labelled. "Wonderful. Where did you get them so quickly?"
"Family. My mother is a Healer and sends me her remedies every few months."
Sherri quickly found what ones she wanted. Some she mixed with the water to make a plaster others she expertly blended into the same tea she used on him the first time they met. "There should be a pot of honey on the table, could you pass it?"
It appeared on the ground next to her almost immediately. Instead of sweetening the tea as everyone expected she actually spread some on the small cut on his cheek.
"What is that for?" Someone asked.
"It keeps out infection." Sherri answered. "You were really foolish to try fighting my uncle."
Kevyn smiled at the scold. "I know. Next time I will let you handle him."
Sherri shot a glare up at him from her vantage on the floor. "Drink this tea."
"I vaguely remember this stuff." Kevyn sniffed it experimentally.
"You should, Daya thinks we should call it Herald Tamer. This isn't as strong as last time, so it should only dull the pain with out making you gag."
The crowd waited impatiently until she accepted the mug back and quickly set it on the table.
"What was that all about?" Someone demanded again.
"That was my uncle." Sherri shrugged.
"And he just discovered she and Kevyn were lovers." Myra finished. "Imagine what would have happened if you hadn't been forewarned."
Sherri wrinkled her nose at the thought of Buren bursting in on them unclothed and in bed. "Thank you very much for the warning. I just hope they don't over react."
Kerowyn leaned against the post of Kevyn's bed. "That was quick thinking on your part. I didn't think you had it in you."
Sherri stood and met Kerowyn's gaze. "I may be a lady, but I am a border bred lady."
"Obviously." Kerowyn commented. "I expect you to be ready tomorrow morning after breakfast and in the salle. We will see what we can do with you."
Sherri nodded and Kerowyn strode from the room. Kerowyn was several inches shorter than Sherri but she still intimidate the newly Chosen trainee.
"We better let the pair get some rest." A Herald said. The crowd seemed to agree and soon it was just Sherri, Kevyn, and Myra.
Myra sat on the arm of the couch and watched the couple for a few moments. Kevyn sat for her not always gentle ministrations with more patience than he had ever displayed for any healer. Sherri's hands were much more stable than Myra expected them to be after pulling a blade on her own uncle.
The fact that Sherri had acted to defend Kevyn first was rather telling.
"Next time, duck." Sherri said as she stood up and surveyed her work.
"I will." Kevyn promised.
Myra snorted. "Unlikely."
Sherri took a seat on a chair and folded her hands on her lap. Even in the dim light Kevyn could see she was strained.
"Is it from handling the sword?" Kevyn ventured.
Sherri shook her head. "No. I should go see if my uncle needs anything."
"Love, he will be just fine. His brothers won't let any harm come to him."
"He's right. Not often that happens." Myra winked at him. "You two should go to bed."
Sherri glanced at the door with its twisted hinges and hanging at an odd angle. "Perhaps my room would be a better choice."
~ * ~
Usually mornings were actually quiet in the Palace. Not so this morning. The queen schooled her features to be as bland as possible. Before her six men demanded in a loud cacophony to have their 'little Sherri' be wed immediately to Kevyn.
Buren had a multicoloured bruise on his temple and a black eye that gave the normally staid Commander a comical appearance. His protests were the loudest. Favram, in his customary homespun brown clothing, was just as adamant that the lovers be married immediately. Surprisingly Avren was the quietist on the bunch staring off into space most of the time.
"Enough!" Selenay said finally. Silence blanketed the chamber. "Sherri is an adult and a Trainee. I will not force her to wed anyone."
Favram crossed his arms over his chest and looked murderous. The two Heralds on guard tensed and placed their hands on the hilts of their blades.
"Your Majesty…" Buren started but trailed off when he recognized the determination in her eyes.
"May I suggest you lot go back to your posts before you are guilty of desertion?" Selenay said meaningfully.
"Sherri is our only niece, the closest thing to a daughter we have. Surely you can understand why we want to protect her?" Avren spoke finally.
"I do understand your concerns. However, you have to learn to let your niece make her own decisions and face the pain that may result." Selenay thought of her own struggles facing her daughter, Elspeth, becoming a mage and placing her life on the line for Valdemar.
Favram made a sound that was best described as a growl. He knew Kevyn was in love with Sherri, he hoped she was in love with him, and after Myra's warning he wanted to make certain that the younger man was bound irrevocably to Sherri so that she would always have someone she could lean on and turn to that understood her gift and what she was going through. As much as he wanted to argue with the Queen's decision he held his peace.
~ * ~
Sherri twisted out of the blow aimed and knocked the pot metal blade away with the edge of her blade. She could sense her opponent was holding back but that was to be expected. This bout was to see what her weaknesses were.
Sweat stung her eyes and her breathing was laboured. She needed to do something to get enough space from Kerowyn to adjust her grip on her sword. Her slightly too large gloves were making it difficult to keep a firm grip on the hilt of her sword. She had only used the techniques her various weapons teachers had taught her so far. An image of herself facing off against Van when she was younger, when she was first learning, and she knew what she would do.
Kerowyn wasn't expecting the sudden switch in techniques. Sherri switched from wary circling to what was more dance and chase method. Sherri managed the land a blow on her sword arm and dance back far enough to refresh her grip on the blade.
The bout lasted only a few more blows before Kerowyn bound Sherri's blade and sent in sliding across the ground.
"Not bad for a country bumpkin." Kero said finally.
Sherri was still trying to catch her breath, but she grinned widely.
"Which method were you taught first?"
"Strike and run." Sherri forced out.
"I think we will continue in that technique for you. Now, walk it out and take a seat."
Sherri nodded and started pacing the length of the salle as the next student took her place. She could feel several bruises on her arms, legs, and ribs.
:At least that is over with.: Sherri commented to Quin.
:Until tomorrow.:
:Tomorrow I start learning, today I was just being tested.:
When her breathing and heart rate returned to normal she sat on the end of the bench and watched the other pairs facing off around the room. The stone walls kept the hot air of outside from overwhelming the fighters. She rested her head against the cool stone and released a deep, relaxed sigh.
:Where to after this?:
:Magic classes with Darkwind. Should I tell him I spied on him and the others before they came to Valdemar?:
:You did?:
:I didn't mention it? Elspeth is a descendant of Van, when he sensed her tossing mage bolts around down south we started watching. We even had a hand in harassing Falcon's Bane.:
:I wonder if I really want to know.: Quin sighed.
:I was never in any danger.: Sherri reminded him. She was still trying to accustomed herself to Quin-father idea, and was still getting hung up on him not feeling like a father figure.
:You are going to turn my hair grey.:
:Too late.: Sherri teased.
Quin sent her a wave of love.
"Alright, off you go, and remember to wash and change." Kerowyn finally ordered.
Sherri made her way to her room and quickly traded the worn and mended greys for a fresh set. She found her teacher waiting patiently in a heavily shielded workroom in the oldest part of the palace.
"You must be Sherria." Darkwind greeted her.
"I am. You are Darkwind, right?"
Their first task was to 'introduce' Sherri to the heartstone. She felt a rush of welcome from the sentient stone as it flooded the channels within her. It was a heady feeling.
"I understand you have had a rather interesting teacher." Darkwind said vaguely.
"You mean Vanyel?" Sherri guessed. "I was to dangerous to leave untrained."
"I can imagine. How far did he get?"
"He taught me all that the Tayledras taught him. We were working on the things he learned in the years after leaving them."
Darkwind nodded. "Do you know how he managed to steal our gate?"
Sherri openly smiled. "Yes, we discovered that quite by accident. I had made a gate to the wrong room within the keep and he 'grabbed' it and reanchored it in another room before my Housekeeper noticed the doors to the library now opened into the forest. After that we practiced seeing when the best time to 'steal' a gate was."
"I should have known it was an accident." Darkwind said.
"There is one odd…quirk of my magic. You know how when a ghost manifests it pulls all the energy in the area into itself? They can also pull off me with out my consent. Usually the drain isn't noticeable but a few times it has sent me to bed for weeks."
Darkwind pondered this for a few moments. "I have never heard of that happening. Is it because of your True Sight or because you were taught by ghosts?"
"It's my True Sight. Van describes it as living with one foot in another plane. I can affect ghosts and they can affect me with no energy loss. Van believes I am partly in the plane where elementals and ghosts are but anchored here. That may be why I can't turn off my true sight."
"And you can't stop them?"
"If I have some warning, yes. The last time I ended up on my nose I had no warning, but I had already given Van permission to take it if he needed it."
"When was that?"
"When he stole your gate. Much of the energy of the forest was tied up in protections and feeding the vrondi. He didn't want to endanger those before he was ready."
"So he pulled energy from you."
"He was quite impressed with you. He thought that you showed great strength when you gave up magic in case yours was tainted."
"You know about that?"
"Van said it in passing shortly before you arrived."
"Most people don't know about our sojourn up there."
"Most people think ghosts belong in Bardic ballads." Sherri pointed out as she wandered aimlessly around the small workroom. Now that she had enough energy to put up her normally tight shields she was much more relaxed. The faint echoes the palace bounced at her were blocked and she finally felt alone in her own skin.
A sharp knock on the door interrupted them before Darkwind could continue the interrogation.
A page, obviously nervous about disturbing the mages, poked her head around the door. "Are you Trainee Sherria?"
Sherri nodded. "Is someone looking for me?"
"The queen said to tell you your uncles are leaving, except Avren and Favram. She also said that she has fulfilled her promise."
Sherri grinned. "Thank you very much."
The page smiled and took off.
"Do you mind if I ask what promise the Queen made?"
"She promised to keep my uncles from marrying me off." Sherri grinned. "If she also managed to send them back to their posts in the Amy she is a miracle worker."
Suddenly things were looking much better.