This is Mercedes world, and maybe some of her charactor's, but it's my story.

I just came up with this last night, and I'm not sure where it's going yet. Well, not totally.

Chapter 1

You have to start somewhere Vandoryn thought to himself with a wry grin, as he spread the plaster for the next section of the mural. Here he was painting murals for a minor noble when he should have been working in the palace.

If he had stayed home instead of crossing half of the known world, he would have been doing just that, but no, listening to the family history, that his family was descended from a well- known Valdemarian noble, he just had to see the homeland.

Never mind that it had been several hundred years since any of his family had been here. Stepping back and examining his work, he shrugged back, the strands of black shoulder length hair, that had escaped the band he had tied it back with.

It looked good, the edges cleanly merging with the edge of the section he had done earlier. He wiped his hands off and retied his hair, he knew there would be no more time to do so until he had finished painting this section.

If it dried before he was done, he would have to start over, chiseling out the old plaster and starting with new. The irony of his current circumstance was that no one here had heard anything about his so called ancestor ever having children. It appeared he didn't like women.

He smiled at the thought, perhaps that would explain Uncle Narem, he thought to himself.

He had almost finished his work for the day when his patron, Lady Herent walked into the room.

"I want a companion, in my garden" she said.

He frowned looking up after he had finished the flower he had been working on. "A companion" he asked, still halfway intent on the scene he had been working on.

"Yes, I know you're not from here, it's one of the white horses a Herald rides on" she said to him.

"I know what a Companion is" he said starting on the last flower "But I've never seen one, so if you want one that looks good, I'll have to be able to sketch some".

"Better yet, if I did some watercolors too, that would really help". He stood up from his work and turned to the jar of water standing on a small table nearby, putting his brushes in he turned back to his patron and gave her his full attention.

Waving a hand towards the unfinished mural he added "If there's anything you want me to add, now's the time, if you wait too long it will break the lines of the piece, I'd have to start over and redo parts of it" he said frowning at the thought.

"No, no, I just want the companion" she said quickly. Knowing from the last mural he had done for her, he meant exactly that. She was still peaved with cousin Filandy for interfering when she had been busy at court.

"I can bring you to the palace though, then you can go to the companion's field and sketch to your heart's content" she said as he started cleaning his brushes.

He looked up at that, the companion's field was one of the places he had wanted to see.

Smiling he nodded "that would be great".

"Then it's settled, I'm going there tomorrow morning bring your things and we can stay there overnight".

He gave her a wary look, with his high cheekbones, startling silver eyes, and straight black hair, more than one woman wanted more than he cared to give. It wasn't that he was like the man who was supposed to be his ancestor, it was more that he was particular, he wanted to choose.

She laughed at the look on his face "Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you, I have a man"

she smiled a little wider "You might have to watch out for some of the ladies at court, I can think of a few in particular".

"I bet you can" he grumbled, he should have known he could trust her, she had never given him any cause to worry in the six months he had been working for her.

That night he put together a kit. His portable easel, watercolor paper, paints, brushes and the like. Then he put out clothing for tomorrow. "The black I think" he murmured, it would hide any paint stains. Then he put a clean nightshirt in his bag and some clothing for the next day.

As he lay back on the bed he had trouble going to sleep, excitement filled him at the thought of actually being someplace his ancestor had been. If he's actually my ancestor he thought. The way things were going, it was looking less likely.