A/N: Thank you for the reviews! That probably sounds really old by now, and even though I write for the love of it, I really do appreciate your comments and the time you take to make them. I trust that all your theories will be answered in due time. To those of you who celebrate it, I wish you a blessed Easter. Oh, and just to note: I'm not forgetting question marks and other punctuation in some of the mindspeech areas. Some of them just don't upload, and when I add them in on the edit screen, the changes don't save, no matter how often I try. It's actually pretty annoying.

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Chapter 14

As usual, Landon was right, though this time, I was glad for it. The household did fall into a routine soon enough, especially once the supplies arrived. And a few days of routine was just what we needed to get all of us working at top efficiency to complete our tasks before winter set in.

I structured my time carefully: breakfast with Lucia and Marin, then basic schooling lessons for Lucia for an hour or so, then weaponswork for another hour. After bathing, I would then ride around the estate to see how the families were coming along on remodeling their homes. Lunch would follow, and then my afternoons were spent in the library, poring over the papers Nestor had left behind.

Nestor, clever little lord that he was, had written everything in code, and neither I nor Landon had broken it, a fact that frustrated both of us to no end.

In the meantime, Marin was in charge of all construction efforts, and Ila all clothing concerns. All the men (and some women) of the estate decided to band together and work on one house at a time, thus maximizing their efficiency. All the female servants (and some men), including the women among the families, banded together to sew clothes. Every spare minute that was not taken up with necessary household chores was devoted to building and sewing.

The children were brought to the House during this time. Ila had thought it might be an imposition, but I was glad for it. It gave Lucia some playmates, and me some time alone in the library. And since Alana had healed everyone who needed healing, there was no cause for worry regarding illness. The children were set up in one of the empty rooms, given some playthings, and allowed to amuse themselves under the watchful eye of one of the mothers.

And somehow, in the middle of all this organized chaos, Marin managed to give lessons to most of us, even without the presence of a salle. That would be built later, after the families' and servants' needs had been attended to.

:Well: Landon said one afternoon as I was in the library, :I've managed to get my hooves into everything to the point that the servants are annoyed and Marin threatened to tie me up.: I heard him chuckle. :I think they think I'm crazy, and the rumor is starting that this is why I was "sent" up here with you.:

I laughed with him. "Crazy, huh?" I shook my head. "You're not the one who talks to thin air."

:Yes, but no one sees you: he countered. :Well, let them think that if they please. All the better for me, but how else was I to get them to touch me:

"You have my sympathies," I said. "Did you discover anything?"

:Not much: he replied. :First, they're loyal to you to a fault—an amazing feat for you to accomplish so soon, though understandable, given how Nestor was. As far as Orthallen goes, some of the people, especially the families, know nothing about him at all. The household servants know the name, but they don't seem to know who he is.:

I sat up in my chair. "What do you mean they don't know who he is?" I asked. "I would think that Orthallen's name would be common knowledge, especially among the older household servants, who were around when he went into hiding." I frowned in thought. "Didn't Selenay send out word about him after the incident with Elspeth?"

:Of course: Landon exclaimed. :Heralds carried word to every nook and cranny of Valdemar. That's what's so odd about this.:

"Why would they not know him, then?" I asked, reaching for a slice of apple from the tray next to the desk.

:I can't be certain without a deeper mindtouch,: Landon replied:but I think someone has tampered with their minds, making them forget the significance of who Orthallen is.:

My hand froze in mid-grasp. "Please tell me you're joking."

I heard him snort in my mind. :Jaelle, this situation lost its amusement a long time ago.:

I sighed heavily, and dropped the apple, reaching for my goblet of wine. "How am I supposed to deal with this?" I asked. "I don't know anything about mind-magic!"

:Oh, it gets better,: he said.

I drained the goblet and set it back on the tray. "Go ahead."

:Would you like to guess whose name kept being associated with Orthallen's in their minds:

"Not really," I replied.

:Then I'll just tell you,: Landon said:provided you're sitting down, of course.:

I briefly closed my eyes. This really didn't sound good. "I'm sitting down," I announced. "Continue."

:Lord Ehnley.:

Angels and ministers of grace defend us.

The thought, accompanied by Mel Gibson's voice, immediately ran through my head, and I was fairly certain I'd rather face my father's ghost than deal with this. Lord Ehnley! My eyes fell to a letter on my desk.

"Bloody—" I whispered.

:What is it?: Landon asked.

I picked the letter up and looked it over again. "While you and your hooves were out this morning, a letter arrived from our blessed Lord Ehnley," I told him. "He wants to come calling on me."

:When: Landon asked.

"As soon as poss—"

I broke off, my eyes caught by one of Nestor's papers on the desk. I picked it up, staring at the coded words. There it was, that same six-symbol word that was in all the other papers. Hmmm...six letters... "I wonder," I whispered, reaching for one of the pencils from my bookbag.

:What is it: Landon demanded. :What's going on?:

"Just a minute," I murmured absently, working on the code. If Ehnley's name was what that six-symbol word was for— but—no, I thought. It couldn't be that simple.

:What couldn't be that simple?: Landon said, practically shouting in my mind. :I swear, Jaelle, if you don't tell me what's going on, I'll barge through one of those windows:

I looked up from my work at the windows. "That's a good idea," I said. "I could use an extra pair of eyes. Could you come up here and look at this paper?"

:I'm on my way,: he replied, a little more subdued. :Now, what paper are you talking about:

Hmmm...if that symbol represents an "E", then this one... It was all falling into place. How could we have not seen it?

:JAELLE!:

"Ow!" I shouted back, rubbing the side of my head. "That hurt!"

:What. Paper. Are. You. Talking. About.:

"I think I've broken the code," I said. "And don't do that again unless it's an emergency!"

:I'm almost there: he said, and I could hear the undercurrent of excitement in his mindvoice.

I turned my attention back to the paper in front of me, furiously marking the letters about the symbols. Words were beginning to form—ones that made sense this time, unlike all those late-night, botched attempts.

:I'm here: he said. :At the third window. Bring it over and let me see.:

I looked up to find him standing on the other side of one of the windows, side of his face pressed so tightly against the glass, it was deformed.

I pushed my chair over to the window, chuckling. "You look like a nerd," I said.

:I'm going to assume that was a compliment: he said sardonically. :Now let's see it.:

I sat in the chair and put my feet up on the desk and we worked on the code. "I know this is right," I said. "See this symbol? It has to represent an 'I'."

:Then the one above it is an "A": he replied.

"Are you sure?"

:Just try it: he said.

I wrote the letters in above the symbols, and soon, a coherent message began to take shape. As soon as Selenay's name showed up, I knew we had broken the code. There was no way that could be a coincidence. I quickly finished writing and began to read what it said.

"By all that's holy..." I whispered. I turned it to the window before Landon could protest. I waited until he looked up from reading it. "Landon, what are we going to do?"

:I'll be saddled and ready to go in ten minutes: he replied, all trace of amusement or sarcasm gone. :I need you to gather up every coded paper you can find and bind them to put in my saddlebags. I'll be at the main door in a few minutes.:

I merely nodded to him, and he turned and left.

I stood there for a moment, just staring down at the paper in my hand, a sick fear spreading through my entire body. One phrase jumped off the page, burning itself into my mind and heart.

"...to effect the assassination of Selenay..."

Angels and ministers of grace defend us. Ehnley and Orthallen were going to kill Selenay, and soon, and Nestor had been right in the middle of all of it—although how, I couldn't really tell. And where was Orthallen? Was Ehnley keeping him on his estate all this time? And how had Nestor managed to overpower the minds of all of his servants? Had he been Gifted, or was it Ehnley's doing—or even Orthallen's?

I shook myself out of my trance and gathered all the coded papers I could find. Part of me wanted to delay Landon's leaving until I could decode them, but I knew that it was absolutely imperative that he be on his way as soon as possible. He had already told me that his mindspeech couldn't reach from Haven to here, leaving him little choice. He had to leave.

I met him at the front door. All the servants were otherwise occupied, for which I was grateful. The less they saw, the better.

"What will Selenay do?" I asked as I securely packed the papers into his saddlebags.

:Bring him in and question him under the Truth Spell,: Landon replied.

"But he's up here," I said. "Wouldn't he be suspicious if the guard came knocking, or he got some request to return to Haven?"

:She'll probably send a Herald: he said. :Whatever the case, you must promise me that you won't do anything stupid.:

I paused in my ministrations to look at him. "I can't ignore his letter, Landon."

:I know you can't,: he replied. :Just—be careful. If he's willing to kill Selenay, you don't have much hope.:

I threw my arms around his neck. "You be careful. I have Marin here, thanks to Alberich's Foresight."

:No one will catch me: he stated, his mindvoice strong and determined. He caressed my cheek with his nose, and then turned, cantering out of the yard, and then breaking into a gallop.

I watched him until he was out of sight before turning back into the house. For the first time since I arrived in Valdemar, I was alone.

It was not a good feeling.