Title: Lonely at the Top Ch 10/11

Author: Kate, I do not own Kalasin, Lianne, Buri, Kaddar, Carthak, Tortall or any of the people/places named in this story. I am not making a profit and no infringement is intended.

Rating: PG

Authors Note: Thanks for reading! I appreciate it. Just to let you know, I will be in Italy for a month, so the conclusion will be posted at the end of June. I've enjoyed the ride this story has been, and I hope you have too.

Chapter 10

Thayet the Peerless checked her appearance in the small oval mirror, tucking nonexistent wisps of hair into her elaborately woven hairstyle. She was getting ready to transfer to a Carthaki yacht, and mentally reviewing the political intrigues and morasses that waited to trap her. The fact that the leader of Carthak was her daughter held no significance when it came to the touch of nations, the negotiation of fishing rights and trade.

Someone knocked on the door to the cabin, so she bid him or her enter. Raoul poked his head into the cabin and viewed her fretting with tolerant and amused eyes, as he was prepared to transfer to the Carthaki yacht as soon as it docked parallel to the Tortallan vessel. But Thayet had been dressing and fidgeting and playing with her hair and cosmetics since dawn. "I'm almost ready." She tossed a wry smile at him, for this was patently false.

"I know." The dark haired knight refused to contemplate how many times he had heard that over their years as friends. He had known her longer than Jon, even. Since that long sea voyage, back when Alanna was wretched and Liam was distant and Buri was out of her element… They'd become fast friends, out of defense against boredom if nothing else.

She turned around to look in his face. "Do you remember when we were their age?" She reached up to straighten the medals on his chest, as though she were his mother or his maid.

"Kel and Dom?" Raoul asked, his mind still in Tortall, on the King's Own. He had not left them since their last sea voyage together, and though he trusted his former squire and his successor in training, it is hard to leave an organization that you built with your own hands to the care of others.

"Kalasin and Kaddar." Thayet supplied, her mind occupied by her long-absent child. "It still seems to me like they're nothing but children. But they're leading this huge, unstable land. And I think back, and I wonder, "were we ever that young?""

Raoul prudently did not point out to his sovereign that she had ruled a large, unstable land for a long while. "The country has stabilized quite a bit. And they're not that young. They have two children," he reminded her.

"Can you imagine how far over their heads they must feel? Twins!" Thayet sighed, not in envy.

The childless man shrugged, out of his element. "I wouldn't know."

"And when do you plan to grace the world with your own young ones?" Thayet adopted the tone of Raoul's infamous aunt. The woman was constantly looking to expand the already large family. Buri had described the Goldenlake gatherings as "a den of lots of large people, all yelling." Buri had used it to explain why Raoul was such a quiet man.

"It's been hard to work on that situation, since my wife has been in Carthak." Raoul pointed out.

Thayet nodded. "She'll be home soon enough." The queen sighed wistfully. "That first year, every yawn, every sigh, every burp the baby made seemed important enough to change the course of nations. I tried to arrange reconstruction of the Hall of Kings around Roald's naptime, for a month or so, till the Duchess of Naxen called me on it."

"I remember." Raoul admitted, smiling almost sadly. "It's like that with the first child. Alanna acted as though the sun rose on Thom."

She nodded and wedged herself into the carved wooden rocking chair taking up space in a corner of their cabin. "Every movement the baby makes exhilarates you, but it panics you too. I remember looking at Roald. He was about a day old, and he was asleep on a cushion, on my bed. I didn't even touch him, I just watched him sleep. I remember thinking that he was such a miracle. But when he woke up, I wanted to look for his real mother, to give him back, or to ask what his cries meant."

Raoul laughed. "You never told me that before."

"I never told anybody that. Not Buri, not Alanna, not Cythera or Eleni. Not Jon. Especially not Jon. Compared to where we are today, we barely know each other then. I thought he wanted a woman as dauntless as Alanna."

The Giant-Killer shook his head. "He would've been glad to know you were as terrified as he was."

They shared a smile. Thayet stood again. "It's hard to guess what it'll be like, to see her again. There've been so many milestones in her life since the last time we saw her."

Raoul nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, that's true."

"But you're not worried." Thayet planted her hands on her hips.

"Even though her present and future are in Carthak with Kaddar and Kirabo and Gzifa, you are her mother and I am her godsfather. We hold her past. Her first steps and words and early dreams and fears live in our memories."

"They're having so many firsts." Thayet said, and her tone was sad.

"You wish you had been there?" Raoul asked, though he knew the answer.

She did not attempt to clarify his use of the vague 'there.' "I just can't believe that my best friend saw my grandchildren before I did."

"Does that bother you?" Raoul was confused. "Because you sent—,"

"I know I sent Buri and Lianne. If you look at it a certain way, I sent Kalasin too. But even though it's my fault they are where they are, yes, it does bother me. I didn't want to take your wife away so soon after your marriage, because, believe it or not, I do want you two to work on a child or two. My heirs will be safer with Tourakam descendants in this world. I don't want it to bother me. It's petty, and small. But it's there, at the back of my mind. No mater where we go, I have power while she has freedom to move."

"You're not being petty, to wish you could be with your daughter for a moment that will change her life. And grandchildren are not petty," Raoul said. "You've been blessed with three in one year, and your hair isn't even white. Will they call you "little mother" or Granny?" The big knight was grinning.

Thayet blinked bright eyes.

Raoul backtracked. "I'm sorry you weren't there to share it with her. I know you wanted to be." A teardrop trembled at the corner of Thayet's eye, and Raoul spoke rapidly, hoping to avoid a storm of tears. "It's just…how it is."

Thayet nodded again, silent. But she wasn't weeping. "It's not that. I mean, it is. But not. Granny? Did you have to use the word Granny?"

"I was teasing, little mother." Raoul said, relieved to avoid a flood of tears that would end with him being chastised for ruining her makeup.

Thayet nodded, "I am glad that you could come with me," she uncurled herself from the chair and took his hand in her own.

He squeezed it, gently, "The practice is good for Kel and Dom, and the time away from home is good for you and me. It's a shame the king couldn't come."

"Jon's the Voice of the Tribes. He'll never leave Tortall. But even he is taking a holiday of sorts, so that Roald can stretch his wings a bit."

"Which tribe is he staying with? Do you remember?"

"I think he went to Persopolis first, then as the wind takes him."

"Thank the gods."

"He'll last a month, at most."

"It's a month more of vacation than he has taken in years."

Thayet nodded. "He has wounds to heal in the desert."

"And you? Are your wounds to be healed by the sea?"

"Holding my daughter may heal some old wounds."

Raoul refrained from asking if Kalasin's wounds or Thayet's own would be addressed by contact. "It's too bad that Nora, Liam and Jasson could not accompany us."

"Yes." Thayet agreed, with a slight hesitation..

Raoul forged ahead. "But it is good to see Nora growing into herself."

Thayet flashed back to a conversation she had had with Jonathan about their troublesome daughter.

"I mean she's less shrewish, now that she's finding direction."

Jonathan pulled back. "Shrewish? Isn't that a bit harsh?"

Thayet evaluated her husband. He was a shrewd leader, an able and competent judge of character. But he was nearly blind when it came to his daughters. Every man had a weakness, and Kalasin, Lianne, and Nora were Jon's. "Not overly." She said honestly.

"She was abominable to the Tyran, I admit." Jon gave in grudgingly. "I know the prince was hardly an ideal life companion, but doesn't she trust us not to deliberately make her unhappy?"

"She couldn't help herself. She's too clever by half—without enough to keep her energy and talents occupied, she finds mischief. She's a little bit like Aly used to be. I think George knew what he was doing when he gave her books on Maren.""

"The Maren prince isn't much better in himself than the Tyran."

Thayet agreed, but offered a counterpoint she had been carefully storing for the proper moment. She only had to plant a seed in her husband's mind, so that they could ponder together the best solution to this intrigue. "No, but remember the ambassador they sent?"

Jon did, in a vague way. "The one she called an obstinate fool?"

"He beat her at chess." The queen explained.

Nora's father scoffed. "She hasn't lost at that game since she was twelve."

"Only because she won't play with anyone she knows is better." Like Aly and George, Thayet thought, but did not say. Nora disliked losing, and so she avoided it the way Raoul prevented losing a joust against Wyldon of Cavall.

"That's statesmanship." Jon argued lightly. "Never go to war against someone you're sure will whip you."

"Do you train by beating your inferiors at a game, or by struggling against your betters in practice for a true battle?" Thayet asked serenely, beginning to check the ribbons in her box for the hundredth time. "Anyway, the ambassador annoyed her, but he kept up with her. Though I almost thought she would cause another international incident by pouting after that game." Thayet peered into the depths of the box. "She makes just a little too much fuss about not liking him—but I noticed that she spent a lot of her time looking for him and thinking about him, for all she claimed to dislike him."

"How was he connected to the royal family again?" Jon checked the lacing of his boots.

"A cousin. Seventh or eighth in line to the throne, though there's rumor that he'll be Prime Minister to this Prince's King." Thayet held up two brooches. "Which should I bring to Carthak? Rubies set in gold or mother of pearl inlay?"

Jon shrugged. "What's wrong with the one you have in the box?" He asked, unwisely.

She rolled her eyes at him in a way that sent him toward the door. "Perhaps I'll check on Alan and Raoul and their progress."

"It's good that the news arrived in time for us to delay Alan and Raoul. It's better that they could wait to make the journey with me, and they transported the gifts."

Jon quirked an eyebrow at her. "I thought you wanted Alan and Lia to spend time together."

"I decided it would be more informative to watch them greet one another." Thayet stretched. "Besides, it would be foolish to send three separate groups to Carthak in six months, no matter how sentimental we – or I – felt."

Jon nodded once. "I'm going to check on our progress." He informed her. "You look beautiful. Now stop worrying and make sure the gifts are ready for transport."

"Aye Sire." She gave her partner a mocking little salute as he left the cabin.

She returned to the present moment. "Hopefully she will find some common ground with the Maren ambassador. Jon was encouraged by their progress last time we wrote."

Raoul nodded. "There seems to be a lot of growing up going around. Roald and Kally are parents, gods bless us. Thom's at the point where he's teaching basic classes at the university, on top of his own studies. Liam's a knight, Lia and Nora are courting. It sounds as though Aly is going to marry her Crow fellow. Jasson's a page and bidding fair to make you proud. Of the Swoop children, that leaves my squire. What do you think of Alan?"

"I've know Alan since he was born. He comes from a good family, but until this voyage I haven't spent enough time with him to say I know who he is, what his convictions and philosophies are."

"And?"

"My son chose his dearest friend wisely, and my daughter chose her potential life-mate well. The three of them are well suited to be lifelong friends and companions."

"But it's Roald who'll rule."

"Yes, but Liam's to be his Prime Minister. And Jon's been subtly testing Alan. The lad has extensive knowledge of the Bazhir and their lore. He respects them, but what's equally important is that they respect him. He understands them."

"He did live with them for a year while he was deciding whether he wanted to train to be a knight or a sorcerer."

"He learned much from the tribe that adopted his mother, then. The Voice of the Tribes is considering grooming Alan as his successor."

Raoul's face displayed mild surprise. "But then Alan could never leave Tortall again. With parents like his, he's bound to have itchy feet."

Thayet shrugged eloquently. "He is the son of the Burning Brightly One, the Woman Who Rides Like a Man. They call him Lion-Tamer because he managed to domesticate and train a pair of lion cubs to hunt for the tribe and to act as a guard. Aly herself calls him a cat—he's his own master, even if he chooses to answer to us. Since we city-dwellers call his mother Lioness, you know how much prestige he gains by that nickname in superstitious circles. Add to that a potential marriage to the daughter of the Night One? If Alan became the Voice, it would link the Bazhir to mainstream Tortallan life even more strongly."

"Granted." Raoul said. "Not as strongly as a marriage to a Bazhir tribeswoman would, if you're being cold blooded about it. But by letting him and Lia choose, you're giving them a hand in guiding their futures." Raoul blushed, because the frank discussion of choice and partners was somehow alien to the big knight, "But have you asked him about being the Voice? That's a heavy burden to carry. I'm not saying he'll shirk, just that you should ask him, so he can prepare before you lay it on his shoulders."

"I'm letting Jon make that choice," Thayet responded honestly, "But I think it's all going quite well. Roald should have a competent, loyal cabinet."

"You might want to let him pick some of the key people, since you and his father already selected his Prime Minister and Voice."

Thayet nodded. "He'll choose the Champion, of course, and the Provost. He'll find a training master for the pages, and with your advice, he'll select your replacement in due time. And I hope that Shinko will take on the Queen's Riders and the Queen's Ladies."

"But that's years in the future."

"We hope." Thayet said fervently. "But the Horse Lords know that my nightmare is leaving the country in the state it was in when Jon and I began."

"Don't prepare it so much that Roald has no freedom to innovate, or to rule as he finds appropriate." Raoul cautioned.

Thayet threw him a hard look, and he laughed. After a moment, she softened and smiled. "From experience?"

"I used to try to personally oversee every company, every squad in the Own."

"How'd that work out?"

"Drove me to drink." Raoul said, trying to make it a joke and failing, "Every time a man died, or a horse caught ill, or a strap broke and we lost supplies, every time anything went wrong, I knew it was my fault for not watching closely enough."

"How'd you get past the need to control details?" Thayet asked, genuinely interested. She had a tendency to micromanage, and she was always curious about how others avoided the same fate.

"Gary sat me down and reminded me loudly that I only promoted men I trusted, so I should step back and let them do their jobs."

"That worked?"

"He used some obscenities and blasphemous remarks to get my attention and punctuate the message." Raoul fidgeted with the medals Thayet had already straightened. "I got the message, sooner or later."

Thayet laughed, because she could picture sarcastic, witty Gary behaving that way. "It amazes me some days that a man as peppery as he can be married a woman as sweet as Cythera."

"It shocked everyone," Raoul answered.

Thayet raised her eyebrows.

"That she would have him," The knight clarified, "He fell in love with her on first sight."

Thayet laughed, "I would've liked to have known all of you then, I think. When you were all new knights, and Alanna was Squire Alan, and King Roald and Queen Lianne ruled in harmony."

"It wasn't all like the old days from a ballad," Raoul cautioned, "I drank too much, Roger wove a trap around us and Delia was seducing all the fools who looked at her too long."

"How did she enchant you all? Was she really that beautiful?" Thayet asked. She had met the Eldorne woman early on, but Delia had been one more in a parade of faces and titles.

"Not compared to you." Raoul said, without a mind to flattery. "No, we learned later that Roger had cast some sort of love spell. Alex and his squire were immune, and so was Alan—Alanna. At the time, Alex decided that she was immune and she didn't dance with women because she preferred men. Which was true, in a way."

Thayet nodded. "Goddess, it must've taken ages for the shock to wear off of all the ladies who tried to flirt with him who was actually her."

Raoul nodded. "The Master of Deportment in particular got the flutters over that."

Thayet pictured a flummoxed Master Oakbridge and she laughed. "Tortall is a good place. I hope that Kally will feel the same about Carthak."

"Even if she doesn't feel it today, she may in time." Raoul said. "Now, are you ready?"

"Just let me check on the gifts. You go out and talk to Alan and the sailors. See what we can do about this chair."

"It'll be difficult to get one of the sailors to agree to row that thing anywhere." Raoul said in a neutral tone, though his eyes were twinkling.

Prince Jasson had insisted on sending a rocking chair to his sister, since he was not himself allowed to travel to Carthak. The first time Kalasin had left home, she was supposed to bring the chair that had always been in the Conte nursery. Kalasin had loved the chair as a child. The rocking motion usually stopped her tears and eased the hurts of childhood. As she grew, she sat in it when troubled or puzzled. It was an object that helped her to focus her mind. She shared it, though all the children called it "Kally's chair." Duke Gareth had given it to Thayet on the occasion of Roald's birth, but since the day the royal children had separate rooms, the rocker had been in Kally's chamber. Little Jasson had learned many of his letters cuddled on her lap, rocking back and forth as they drew on a slate.

When she knew it was time to go to Carthak to marry Kaddar, not even her chair had been enough to cheer her. It was left alone for weeks, until she returned to it, tucked her feet up and said, "I'll be ready." Her family hoped that between the chair and her horse, Kalasin might make anyplace feel like home. But on the day of her departure, the chair was nowhere to be found. The escort had begun to grow impatient as Kalasin looked about her in a state of mute distress for the vanished object.

With the help of Nora (who knew better), the youngest prince had broken the old rocking chair into kindling and burned it, perhaps thinking that the act of sacrifice and destruction would keep his oldest sister where she belonged. Jasson, who had been ten and young for his years, might have believed rumors that Kalasin would not leave Tortall without that rocker. But perhaps he was an angry child who lashed out at an object to express his feelings in terms those around him would notice. No one could ever exactly pinpoint his motivation, because Jasson himself wasn't sure if he burned the rocker to keep Kalasin where she was or to punish her for going away.

His actions didn't keep her in Tortall, of course, and at fourteen Jasson regretted his childish gesture. He had paid for the construction of an extravagant new chair out of his own pocket money. Thayet calculated that he had saved every noble in his allowance since the time he learned Kally was expecting until Buri and Lianne left. It was assembled in all its glory with glue and sealant and charms that were immune to fire and axe. He was determined to give Kalasin a chair that could survive anything, from a curious child to a goddess's temper tantrum.

The problem came with transporting the assembled chair. It had bounced around the cart, no matter how tightly Raoul and Alan tied it down. They had been eager to leave it in royal storage for Thayet to bring to the Naming Day, but before they could escape on a passenger ship, the message had come. Twin babies were born to the Emperor and Empress, so the knight and squire should wait to accompany the king and queen to Carthak.

In loading the boat, the chair had twice slipped out of ropes and nets. Even the most seasoned seamen viewed it suspiciously. The thing was currently wedged into a corner of Thayet's cabin, but it had taken three swearing seamen to get it through the door. It was tied tightly to the bed, which was bolted to the deck, but the chair still slid around during the rough part of the crossing.

"Don't remind me." Thayet mumbled, "I can't really complain, since it is Jasson's gift to his sister, but I wonder why he had the thing assembled before it got to Carthak."

Raoul smiled. "Maybe he wanted to see it."

"You might persuade the sailors by reminding them that whoever rows it to shore will be getting the cursed thing off the ship." Thayet suggested. "Or by offering a bonus at the end of the trip."

Raoul nodded. "Or a combination." Memories of the long journey to the coast played in his eyes.

"How much does it weigh, anyway?" Thayet inquired.

"I don't think it'll sink the row boat." Raoul did not sound convinced, or convincing.

Thayet shook her head. "At least everyone else sent small things that fit in one chest. Now, out. I've got to make sure everything's in order."

Raoul found Alan ready in a courtly tunic and hose and leggings. They watched the sailors swinging and scampering over the decks. "How much longer?" Raoul asked,

"We've spotted their vessel." Alan pointed to a speck in the distance that could have been a rock, a cloud, or a boat. "They signaled, and we're to meet on an island. Probably forty-five minutes to the temporary dock, then however much time it takes to shore."

"That's not what we agreed to." Raoul observed mildly. Such a decision should've been routed to him or to Thayet, as ranking nobles. Alan shrugged acknowledgment. The knight frowned. "What advantage does this give them?" He inquired.

"None, unless one of them gets seasick." Alan said, maintaining a steady stream of gratitude to the gods of the sea that he had not inherited his mother's stomach, "The babies might have made their displeasure known."

Raoul shrugged.

"It also might be easier for the servants to prepare a meal without the motion of the waves. Maybe they just want to make sure we're off balance a bit."

Raoul nodded reluctantly. "The idea of an island was discarded because no sufficiently neutral place could be agreed upon."

Alan fetched a spelled map of the passage from Tortall to Carthak from the forward compartment. With his forefinger, he indicated a mark that was small enough to be mistaken for a piece of dust. "This one hasn't been claimed."

"That's because there's not much on it, beyond a fresh water spring, sand and a shrine," Raoul explained. While the fine points of philosophy and mathematics had never appealed to him as a page or squire, he was a master at geography and cartography. He decorated with maps, and drew them in his spare time. While Jon filled his notes about spring planting with doodles and sketches of Thayet and the children, Raoul sketched coastlines and cities he planned to travel to.

"It has no strategic value as a staging ground. There's no good natural place to anchor a ship. You have to do it a few miles out and then row to shore. Permanent structures can't be built on it, because they fall apart. Besides the difficulty with getting timber and stone there in a rowboat, there are earthquakes and odd storms whenever anyone has tried. And believe me, Ozorne tried. It is a place that belongs to—," the knight paused, unable to finish the tale due to a violent coughing fit.

"Well, a day in tents may be pleasant." Alan tried to say brightly, though he wasn't overly enthusiastic about spending even an afternoon on a magicked island. He left sorcery to his brother and mother and political games of knowledge to his twin and father.

Alan's hand patted Roald's wrapped package in its hiding place in his pocket. It had become his habit to check that everything was still where it belonged, until the nervous gesture became just one more mannerism. "It's been a long time since we saw Kally. I wonder how different she'll be?"

Raoul shrugged. "Probably very. It's hard work, convincing your people that you can respect the gods and tradition and their values while you teach their children different ways to think or speak or behave."

Alan nodded. "We've seen that at home."

"Your mother and Keladry have challenged the expectations of the peerage. But make no mistake, Jonathan and Thayet changed more than options available to women. They offer education to peasants. And they treat the Bazhir as full citizens. Even in the days when your father and I were lads, that was nearly unthinkable."

Alan frowned. "My grandfather is Sir Myles. I've gotten history lectures from him on this subject before."

"You seem interested in the Bazhir."

"I like them." The squire said. "They don't ask much. Loyalty, hunting, a tale or two and that's it. In return, they'll give you all the companionship and stories you could ask for in a lifetime."

"Did you ever think about passing more time with them?"

"You mean after I earn my shield?"

Raoul nodded.

"It'll depend on when I get married and what sort of girl she is."

Raoul raised his eyebrows. "Did you manage to fall in love with a tribal girl during your year about the desert folk?"

"No." Alan answered, "You know, I know you know who I'm thinking about. I've lived my whole life with people who keep secrets for their living, and you're just not in that league, o knight master."

Raoul smirked at his squire. "Maybe I want you to say it for yourself?"

"Why don't you just tell me I'm not good enough for her and get it over with?" Alan braced himself.

Raoul blinked, "Not good enough? Did I really just hear the son of the Lioness call himself unworthy of anyone?"

"She's a princess. She looks like the fairies blessed her with beauty, grace and charm. She sounds like the gods trained her voice themselves. She's eloquent and witty. She draws like Volney Rain and she rides like Chavi Westwind."

Raoul snorted. "Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?"

"Dramatic?" Alan almost pouted through his own joke. "I just described an angel and all you can say is I sound dramatic?"

"What I meant to say is that you have her on a pedestal. Look at all the superlatives you used to describe her. You're idealizing everything about her, and ignoring her flaws."

"You want me to describe her flaws? She tries to do too much, and she won't give up. Even if you've been running three miles and there's a stitch in her side and she wants to throw up, she won't admit that she can't keep up. She feels sorry for herself sometimes, and then it's like talking to a wall. She tries to hide the fact that she's an idealist. She wants to make the world a better place, but she gets discouraged because she doesn't know where to begin and she sees how rotten people can be to one another. She judges people sharply and quickly, and if she decides you're a fool, she doesn't often revise her opinion."

Raoul snorted, because the description called to mind other women of his acquaintance.

"She actually likes mornings," Alan made a face, "I know her, the complete her. But she's only fifteen. I'm seventeen. There are three more years of training before I'm a knight and before I can think of marriage. A lot can happen between the age of fifteen and eighteen, or between seventeen and twenty. I don't want to say something to her and bind her to me and trap her. Because there's a chance that she will discover that the self who was bound to me is not her true self."

"She might say the same thing back to you."

"Even if she marries someone else, I will love her. I've loved her since we endured the Immortals War and the siege. I've loved her since she convinced me to ride bareback and I broke the fence. I've loved her since I saw her shrinking like a beaten kitten from the Maren toad. I've always loved her, I always will. It grows, and it goes through phases, but I don't believe it will end."

Raoul clapped his squire on the shoulder, and said nothing. Inwardly, he was contemplating first loves, broken hearts, and the likeliness that this infatuation would lead to the altar or a disaster. He was imagining how much more pressure Alan would feel if he know that Thayet was anticipating Alan's wedding and future occupation as Voice of the Tribes. "We'll be there soon."

razzle-dazzle-me- Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you've stuck with the story this long. I'm sorry to end it too, but I have a short Gary/Cythera piece in the works.

RosieeisoR – Thank you for reviewing. It's sweet of you to say I deserved to place in the THAs. And yay, there's someone else waving an Alan/Lia flag:). I'm so flattered that you like the fluffy fashion stuff! I don't think minor character usage is a disease, but when I post the Gary/Cythera piece, I might have to be officially diagnosed. Thanks for reviewing even though you didn't have much time. Thanks for reading!

Drunken Little Monkey – Just one now, yes. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Hanakazari – My Comp professor would adore you for noticing that sentence length and patterns can contribute to a lighter mood. I didn't think about it consciously—I don't plan sentence level concerns, but it does evolve as I write a chapter. Thanks! I'm glad that the desire to keep a moment rang true, and that you liked Kalasin's title. Thanks also for saying that the THA was deserved. It's a high compliment. Thanks for reading!

NarwhalGirl – Thank you! I'm flattered that you think my plot and character development is like TP's. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Trickster666 – Thank you for reading and reviewing:). I'm so flattered that you think I keep my characters consistent throughout the story. The fashion I came up with on my own, but the veils and such are from Pierce. I think you're overly harsh about how you write emotions—I always find it lovely in your writing. Though, to be honest, I look at stuff I wrote a while back and I cringe at how melodramatic I could be. One of the fun things about writing is that you get to practice and grow at your own speed. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

lily ponds, nee princess81 – Thanks for reading and reviewing! I can't imagine not seeing my mom for years and years, which is one of the reasons I think that Thayet and Kalasin would miss each other a lot. Separations used to be more common, as when immigrants left their families (sometimes forever) for the chance of a better life, but people who can do that are very brave. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

queenofdiamonds1 – Thanks for reading and reviewing. Wow, one of the best you've ever read? Thanks:) As far as I know, I'm not related to any famous writers, but I'm flattered that you would say so! Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Lady Silvamord – Procrastination bug of doom? I've had that! Isn't it awful? Thanks for reviewing. Lianne's thoughts/comments about Kaddar's shy/formal behavior show her perception, not necessarily reality. Even if Kaddar was friendly around his courtiers in private, when Buri and Lianne arrived in Carthak, he felt awkward around Kalasin. He didn't like keeping the secret of the miscarriage from her family, so he told them, and then he felt weird around Kally, because he blabbed her secret. Even though she wasn't angry, it felt weird. And so, even though they had been married for a while, they put some distance between them by putting on company manners when in the presence of her family. I think that he was reluctant to touch her because of that awkwardness and because as a Carthaki man, he wasn't used to unveiled women whom he was not related to. But after he and Kally got things on track and the babies were born, Kaddar became more comfortable around his sister in law. But great questions! I love an excuse to ramble about the characters.

The veil thing—I think you're right, Kalasin would wear a flimsy thing rather than the full opaque abayah style other Carthaki women wear. But even if it is the sheerest, most see-through garment ever, it's still there between your face and the world. You can adapt to it, as thousands of women do, but to a woman who didn't grow up wearing a veil whenever she's in public, it's always vaguely distracting.

But thank you for saying you like it and for reading it. Hug back! Thanks.

Robinwyn – Thanks for reading and reviewing! I understand about schoolwork, so thanks for reviewing. Also, congratulations on your own breakthrough. Thanks for saying that the story deserved the second place award. Good lucky continuing to write!

Diorama – Thanks for reading and reviewing. What a fabulous question about Sarai and Alan! This story is slightly out of sync with TQ, but stay tuned to find out.

Lady Draconis – Not quite the end, but thank you for reading and reviewing.