A/N: The description of the gnome here is taken almost directly from Ella
Enchanted.
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Tayli tensed, one hand taking hold of her sword hilt, and then froze. She knew she should probably be a little afraid, but somehow, the hand on her shoulder conveyed warmth and reassurance-but she wasn't going to let that fool her.
"You need not be afraid of me, Tayli," a voice said, and it was deep with the wisdom of countless years.
"Who are you?" she asked brazenly, for the person-whoever it was-was still blocking the light.
"My name is zhalpH," came the answer, and, finally, the person stepped back, drawing Tayli into the light also, so that she could finally see them.
It was a female gnome, and she was older than anyone Tayli had ever seen. She was a little shorter than Tayli, but very wide, and every inch of her skin was wrinkled, the larger wrinkles having even more wrinkles. Tayli looked into her eyes, and they were copper colored and unbelievably wise.
"I am the one that brought you to your masters," zhalpH said. Tayli remembered that Menlan had told her vaguely that a gnome had brought her to the school, but he hadn't said anything more about it.
"Oh," was Tayli's rejoinder, and then she remembered her manners, and bowed, arms crossed on her chest and eyes on the ground (A/N: Kudos to anyone who can tell me which bow this is!).
"I have come to give a warning," zhalpH continued, after nodding approvingly at Tayli's show of respect. "I know that your masters advised against talking to the Prince, but you must make yourself known to him. This is important, and needs to be done as soon as possible. He must trust you if you are to save his life, and he must feel the need to save yours. Swear to me, upon your Master's honor, that you will seek out the Prince today, for there is a great danger coming."
An oath upon a Master's honor was the highest oath of the Kiin, and guaranteed a lifetime of disdain if broken, for it was not the oath-taker's honor at stake, but that of his Master, and it was a great dishonor and insult to him if the oath was broken.
Tayli had taken all that into consideration within the space of a second, before answering firmly, "I swear upon my Master's honor that I will do all that is possible to make myself known to the Prince today." She felt like she was sealing her own fate-it was not a nice feeling.
ZhalpH smiled, and then simply walked away. Tayli glanced around to make sure that no one had seen their exchange, and then backed into the shadows again.
She needed to talk to Rafe. He could make sure that she got into Lord Bruno's house without being seen, and that she found the prince's chambers. But how would she find him again? Tayli looked at the sky, trying to judge how much time she had left before sundown. It was precious little. She wouldn't be able to speak to Ralf directly-she'd have to write a note, but her materials were still back with Moonflight. Well, there was nothing else to do but go and get them. Keeping to the shadows and hugging the walls of Lubran, Tayli found that, at her pace, it took very little time to make her way out of the city-Lubran was fairly small, and Lord Bruno's house was in the middle.
After reassuring Moonflight, she dug out her writing supplies-they were in a compact, portable case that she'd gotten for her 18th birthday. The case held two small quill pens, 10 or so half-sized sheets of paper, a bottle of ink, a small bottle of glue (instead of wax, for which you needed a candle and a seal), and a trimming knife. Propping her back up against a tree, she balanced the case on her knees and wrote hastily, 'Rafe-ranke mis na solan. -Tayli' ('Rafe-meet me after sundown. -Tayli'). The scrawling, beautiful Kiil letters were an extra safeguard. She blew on the ink to dry it, then folded the note twice, sealed it, and wrote on the front, 'Ravernon Ster'. He'd know to meet her where they'd last talked-they had passed notes that way for years. Unless there was a specific detail of where to meet, they met in the place that they'd last seen each other.
Then, glancing up at the sky again, she put her writing kit away, patted Moonflight on the head, and sped off towards Lubran.
Once in sight of the Lord's house, she slowed to a walk, and brushed the veil away from her face, though she stayed mostly hidden in the large, shadowy hood. Walking up to one of the guards that stood around the wall, she held the note out in front of her in case they decided that she looked a little too threatening. She gave the stony-faced guard the piece of paper. He looked down at it, then back up at her.
"I will bring it to him," the guard intoned.
"Now," Tayli said forcefully. The guard just nodded, shouldered his lance, and walked off.
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Rafe was talking to Lord Bruno. They were waiting for Prince Terian and his knights, about to go into dinner. Bruno's wife and children stood a little ways away, fidgeting. He was just explaining exactly why they shouldn't give up hope to find the lost children, when someone politely tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around just as Terian and his entourage came down the staircase to greet them. Rafe looked behind him and saw one of Bruno's guards holding out a note to him, while staring at the Prince. Smiling, Rafe accepted the note and sent the guard on his way. Turning to Terian, he gave him an absent bow, and just managed to keep his arms from crossing on his chest. * This isn't the Kiin *, he reminded himself. Then, stepping away politely, he turned back to the note.
It had 'Ravernon Ster' scrawled on the front. The handwriting looked familiar . . . He dismissed it. Unsheathing the small dagger that hung by his side-a sword was overdoing it for dinner-he slit the sealing deftly. For a split second, he looked at the note in his hands uncomprehendingly, but then his mind started working again. He'd expected to find something written in Kyrrian, definitely not in Kiil! When he'd read the short note, he frowned. There must have been an urgent piece of news, for Tayli to be writing to him so openly. Folding it, he put it in his tunic pocket, resolving to go after dinner, and glanced up just in time to see a small, lithe maiden come bustling down the corridor. She smiled brilliantly at him, and he grinned back, heart rate quickening.
"Lady Melanie . . . " he said, bowing with a teasing smile. "Would you care to join me for dinner?"
She batted her eyelashes outrageously at him, simpering falsely. "Of course, my Lord! It would be such an honor." Then they both burst out laughing. He slid his arm around her waist protectively, almost possessively, and they went through the grand double doors and into dinner.
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Tayli peeked out around the wall again, starting to worry. Had he not gotten her note? It had been a while since the sun went down. Biting her bottom lip, she drew back into the shadows. She couldn't wait much longer. Suddenly she stiffened. There was a silent moment, and then she heard it again-a soft thump as someone set their foot down, and an even softer rustling of clothes as they walked. Silently going to look out again, she saw Rafe's familiar form sneaking its way over to her, keeping to the shadows to avoid being noticed. Drawing back once more, she waited, cloak, hood, and veil concealing her well. She'd decided on wearing the veil anyway, for reasons she wasn't sure of.
A few minutes later, Rafe's breathing indicated that he'd joined her in the space between the walls. This was a meeting for business-their positions were tense, senses on the alert, and they wasted no time with frivolities. He nodded to her to indicate that he knew she was there, but it was only his training which allowed him to see her, that and knowing that she was there, because Tayli's cloak and hiding skills were superb.
She stepped closer to him, whispering.
"Rafe. Take me to Terian and the knights' quarters."
"Public or servants' passages?" he hissed back. He'd taken the liberty of memorizing all of the latter almost as soon as he got here-you never knew.
"Servants, dolt." Rafe nodded silently, and then stole out of the space, flattening himself against the wall and moving as silently as he could, Tayli behind him. She memorized exactly where they were going as Rafe let her through a small door in the wall and into a neat and clean stone passageway, well lit with torches. Together, they minimized the sound of their footsteps, stealing through the passages unnoticed. Second hall on the right, Tayli thought, then immediately left, right again, walk for a bit, then the short passage to the left, second door to the left. Rafe opened this door silently-the hinges had been recently oiled. They stepped through, and Tayli found herself squeezed behind Rafe in about 2 more feet of passageway as he looked through a small hole in what appeared to be a tapestry, and then pushed the last obstacle away and stepped through.
It was indeed a tapestry, one of-predictably-a knight in shining armor charging forth on his steed, a pretty maiden seated in front of him and looking up at him adoringly. Tayli turned away from it in disgust. The rest of the brightly lit hallway was as lavishly done, with high ceilings, tapestries and rugs, ornate furniture, and heavily decorated wooden doors, mostly double, spaced out along the walls. She didn't give herself time to think on the-to her-unparalleled luxury of the hall.
"This is the Residential Wing," Rafe hissed at her. "These rooms are all suites-they're in clusters. This one-" he gestured to a door across the hall, a little to their left, "-is where the prince and his knights are staying. They're all in there right now." Tayli nodded, and wasn't surprised when she turned around to see that Rafe had gone already. It was typical of him. Moving forward across the lush rug, booted feat silent and one hand checking her daggers and sword, Tayli took a deep breath. At the last minute she pushed her veil away, hiding her face in the shadows of her cloak, and resettled the garment in question around her shoulders to hide her arsenal of weapons. Then she raised her gloved fist, and knocked.
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A/N: Very evil cliffy. I love cliffies! Yay!
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Tayli tensed, one hand taking hold of her sword hilt, and then froze. She knew she should probably be a little afraid, but somehow, the hand on her shoulder conveyed warmth and reassurance-but she wasn't going to let that fool her.
"You need not be afraid of me, Tayli," a voice said, and it was deep with the wisdom of countless years.
"Who are you?" she asked brazenly, for the person-whoever it was-was still blocking the light.
"My name is zhalpH," came the answer, and, finally, the person stepped back, drawing Tayli into the light also, so that she could finally see them.
It was a female gnome, and she was older than anyone Tayli had ever seen. She was a little shorter than Tayli, but very wide, and every inch of her skin was wrinkled, the larger wrinkles having even more wrinkles. Tayli looked into her eyes, and they were copper colored and unbelievably wise.
"I am the one that brought you to your masters," zhalpH said. Tayli remembered that Menlan had told her vaguely that a gnome had brought her to the school, but he hadn't said anything more about it.
"Oh," was Tayli's rejoinder, and then she remembered her manners, and bowed, arms crossed on her chest and eyes on the ground (A/N: Kudos to anyone who can tell me which bow this is!).
"I have come to give a warning," zhalpH continued, after nodding approvingly at Tayli's show of respect. "I know that your masters advised against talking to the Prince, but you must make yourself known to him. This is important, and needs to be done as soon as possible. He must trust you if you are to save his life, and he must feel the need to save yours. Swear to me, upon your Master's honor, that you will seek out the Prince today, for there is a great danger coming."
An oath upon a Master's honor was the highest oath of the Kiin, and guaranteed a lifetime of disdain if broken, for it was not the oath-taker's honor at stake, but that of his Master, and it was a great dishonor and insult to him if the oath was broken.
Tayli had taken all that into consideration within the space of a second, before answering firmly, "I swear upon my Master's honor that I will do all that is possible to make myself known to the Prince today." She felt like she was sealing her own fate-it was not a nice feeling.
ZhalpH smiled, and then simply walked away. Tayli glanced around to make sure that no one had seen their exchange, and then backed into the shadows again.
She needed to talk to Rafe. He could make sure that she got into Lord Bruno's house without being seen, and that she found the prince's chambers. But how would she find him again? Tayli looked at the sky, trying to judge how much time she had left before sundown. It was precious little. She wouldn't be able to speak to Ralf directly-she'd have to write a note, but her materials were still back with Moonflight. Well, there was nothing else to do but go and get them. Keeping to the shadows and hugging the walls of Lubran, Tayli found that, at her pace, it took very little time to make her way out of the city-Lubran was fairly small, and Lord Bruno's house was in the middle.
After reassuring Moonflight, she dug out her writing supplies-they were in a compact, portable case that she'd gotten for her 18th birthday. The case held two small quill pens, 10 or so half-sized sheets of paper, a bottle of ink, a small bottle of glue (instead of wax, for which you needed a candle and a seal), and a trimming knife. Propping her back up against a tree, she balanced the case on her knees and wrote hastily, 'Rafe-ranke mis na solan. -Tayli' ('Rafe-meet me after sundown. -Tayli'). The scrawling, beautiful Kiil letters were an extra safeguard. She blew on the ink to dry it, then folded the note twice, sealed it, and wrote on the front, 'Ravernon Ster'. He'd know to meet her where they'd last talked-they had passed notes that way for years. Unless there was a specific detail of where to meet, they met in the place that they'd last seen each other.
Then, glancing up at the sky again, she put her writing kit away, patted Moonflight on the head, and sped off towards Lubran.
Once in sight of the Lord's house, she slowed to a walk, and brushed the veil away from her face, though she stayed mostly hidden in the large, shadowy hood. Walking up to one of the guards that stood around the wall, she held the note out in front of her in case they decided that she looked a little too threatening. She gave the stony-faced guard the piece of paper. He looked down at it, then back up at her.
"I will bring it to him," the guard intoned.
"Now," Tayli said forcefully. The guard just nodded, shouldered his lance, and walked off.
^^^^^^^^^^
Rafe was talking to Lord Bruno. They were waiting for Prince Terian and his knights, about to go into dinner. Bruno's wife and children stood a little ways away, fidgeting. He was just explaining exactly why they shouldn't give up hope to find the lost children, when someone politely tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around just as Terian and his entourage came down the staircase to greet them. Rafe looked behind him and saw one of Bruno's guards holding out a note to him, while staring at the Prince. Smiling, Rafe accepted the note and sent the guard on his way. Turning to Terian, he gave him an absent bow, and just managed to keep his arms from crossing on his chest. * This isn't the Kiin *, he reminded himself. Then, stepping away politely, he turned back to the note.
It had 'Ravernon Ster' scrawled on the front. The handwriting looked familiar . . . He dismissed it. Unsheathing the small dagger that hung by his side-a sword was overdoing it for dinner-he slit the sealing deftly. For a split second, he looked at the note in his hands uncomprehendingly, but then his mind started working again. He'd expected to find something written in Kyrrian, definitely not in Kiil! When he'd read the short note, he frowned. There must have been an urgent piece of news, for Tayli to be writing to him so openly. Folding it, he put it in his tunic pocket, resolving to go after dinner, and glanced up just in time to see a small, lithe maiden come bustling down the corridor. She smiled brilliantly at him, and he grinned back, heart rate quickening.
"Lady Melanie . . . " he said, bowing with a teasing smile. "Would you care to join me for dinner?"
She batted her eyelashes outrageously at him, simpering falsely. "Of course, my Lord! It would be such an honor." Then they both burst out laughing. He slid his arm around her waist protectively, almost possessively, and they went through the grand double doors and into dinner.
^^^^^^^^^
Tayli peeked out around the wall again, starting to worry. Had he not gotten her note? It had been a while since the sun went down. Biting her bottom lip, she drew back into the shadows. She couldn't wait much longer. Suddenly she stiffened. There was a silent moment, and then she heard it again-a soft thump as someone set their foot down, and an even softer rustling of clothes as they walked. Silently going to look out again, she saw Rafe's familiar form sneaking its way over to her, keeping to the shadows to avoid being noticed. Drawing back once more, she waited, cloak, hood, and veil concealing her well. She'd decided on wearing the veil anyway, for reasons she wasn't sure of.
A few minutes later, Rafe's breathing indicated that he'd joined her in the space between the walls. This was a meeting for business-their positions were tense, senses on the alert, and they wasted no time with frivolities. He nodded to her to indicate that he knew she was there, but it was only his training which allowed him to see her, that and knowing that she was there, because Tayli's cloak and hiding skills were superb.
She stepped closer to him, whispering.
"Rafe. Take me to Terian and the knights' quarters."
"Public or servants' passages?" he hissed back. He'd taken the liberty of memorizing all of the latter almost as soon as he got here-you never knew.
"Servants, dolt." Rafe nodded silently, and then stole out of the space, flattening himself against the wall and moving as silently as he could, Tayli behind him. She memorized exactly where they were going as Rafe let her through a small door in the wall and into a neat and clean stone passageway, well lit with torches. Together, they minimized the sound of their footsteps, stealing through the passages unnoticed. Second hall on the right, Tayli thought, then immediately left, right again, walk for a bit, then the short passage to the left, second door to the left. Rafe opened this door silently-the hinges had been recently oiled. They stepped through, and Tayli found herself squeezed behind Rafe in about 2 more feet of passageway as he looked through a small hole in what appeared to be a tapestry, and then pushed the last obstacle away and stepped through.
It was indeed a tapestry, one of-predictably-a knight in shining armor charging forth on his steed, a pretty maiden seated in front of him and looking up at him adoringly. Tayli turned away from it in disgust. The rest of the brightly lit hallway was as lavishly done, with high ceilings, tapestries and rugs, ornate furniture, and heavily decorated wooden doors, mostly double, spaced out along the walls. She didn't give herself time to think on the-to her-unparalleled luxury of the hall.
"This is the Residential Wing," Rafe hissed at her. "These rooms are all suites-they're in clusters. This one-" he gestured to a door across the hall, a little to their left, "-is where the prince and his knights are staying. They're all in there right now." Tayli nodded, and wasn't surprised when she turned around to see that Rafe had gone already. It was typical of him. Moving forward across the lush rug, booted feat silent and one hand checking her daggers and sword, Tayli took a deep breath. At the last minute she pushed her veil away, hiding her face in the shadows of her cloak, and resettled the garment in question around her shoulders to hide her arsenal of weapons. Then she raised her gloved fist, and knocked.
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A/N: Very evil cliffy. I love cliffies! Yay!