Strandpiel Book Two
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rivalry
Every so often this will overlap The Price of Flight where the events of that story will be revisited, but from a different direction.
As always, this is V0.05. Revisions et c are inevitably following.
Okay, picking up from the monster of a last chapter and trying to incorporate reader feedback regarding "long chapters are great but aren't being posted quickly enough."
Taking an 18,000 word monster chapter that rambled on a bit. And splitting it down into shorter more manageable bits, makes it easier to keep overall control and not to get lost in the word-swamp: it makes revision easier and stops me losing track of where things are going. Especially when thirteen people are about to sit down to dinner, and others may be dropping in for after-dinner drinks and possibly a bitof practical Witch-healing.
Also experimenting with leaving the dialogue in un-messed-about-with English, when "South African" characters are talking; hopefully everybody's got the idea by now about the iccent, sorry, accent. So I'm doing minimal vowel-shifting in this one, especially in Johanna's speech. Maybe just enough to get the idea over that "Morporkian" can never be her first language.
At 18 Spa Lane, Nap Hill, Ankh-Morpork, on a rainy Wednesday evening in February.
Bekki wondered what Olga and the others had in mind about Haartebeeste, and remembered her own visit there. Aunt Mariella had fixed it for her, just before flying out here to do her Air Combat training. The feel of the place had been as dreadful as she had expected and after meeting the key players and doing a couple of necessary healthcare-practitioner things, she had been glad to leave.(1). But at least she had her own eye-witness report now, to put to her senior Witches. She tried to organise her thoughts and her observations.
Bekki was pulled back to earth again by the tugging at her skirt.
"Come and read to me, Auntie Firebird!" Tatiana Yermaka said, insistently. She was brandishing what looked like a favourite book. It had horses, or at least ponies, on the front. Multicolour ones that would only exist in the real world if Wizards had been messing around.
"Okay." Bekki said.
They sat on the sofa together, Tatiana putting the Book on Bekki's lap and opening it up, with a rapt expectant look on her face.
"Errr…." Bekki said, uncertainly.
What she saw on the page looked like Wizard-Script. It had an almost-familiar look to it, which she likened to trying to read in a dream, where text she knew was Morporkian would flip wrong-side round, mutate into almost-legible forms, and change in front of you as you were looking at it. She'd had this dream once or twice, usually just before school exams, of going into the exam room, looking down at the paper, and discovering she simply couldn't read it.
"Pozhaluysta, prochtite m'ne, Tetya Zhar-ptitsa!" Tatiana said,bouncing excitedly.
"Errr…" Bekki said again. She suspected if you wrote down what Tatiana was saying, it might come out as something like "Пожалуйста, прочтите мне, тетя жар-птица! "
And she still wouldn't be able to …
She looked to where Nadezhda and Yelena, who had been watching, were having a conversation in low voices.
Yelena said
"I believe I see the problem. Firebird has been with the Air Watch for six years, Nadezhda Veranovna? Her kuma, her Godsmother, is Rodinian? And in that time she has learnt a pleasing amount of spoken Rodinian, because she has heard it spoken all around her. But in all those years…"
"She never got to see written language." Nadezhda said. "Nichevo." She turned to Tatiana, who looked disappointed, and opened her mouth to speak.
"I have idea." Lexi said. She slipped into the seat next to Bekki and moved in close.
"Tati, what if we together teach Firebird to read our language?" she asked. "She speaks it, but she has never learnt to read it. We teach her!"
"Good idea." Nadezhda said. "There is Rodinian teacher here, if she is needed."
After a while, Bekki was beginning to get the hang of it, realising that Rodinian might have a different alphabet, but at least it was phonetic. Unlike Morporkian. Which made things easier. She took a deep breath and with guidance from Lexi, slowly read
"Принцесса Луна была рада выйти теплым солнечным летним днем…."
A voice from behind her shoulder picked up the rhythm and the bounce and continued, with ease
"…, чтобы увидеть свою подругу Радуга Дэш ... ye Gods, Beccs, this is easy. Why are you struggling?"
Bekki and Lexi both looked up to where Famke was leaning on the back of the sofa, looking down on them. None of them had seen her come in. Lexi scowled.
"Famke Yohannovna." Miss Garianova said. "You have been learning Rodinian for some months now. This is your sister's first exposure to the written form. She is doing well. And if I were you, I would not congratulate myself on being able to read a book intended for a five-year-old child."
"And did you clean the servants' bath after it had you in it?" her mother demanded.
Famke sighed.
"Yes, mum. That's why I'm so late down. When's tea?"
Then she acknowledged Lexi, who was studying her with impassive interest from a couple of feet away. Famke frowned at her.
"I'm just betting you're the reason why I had to use the servants' bathroom." she said, tetchily. "And clean it after me." Lexi stared unblinkingly back.
Bekki sighed. She had a sudden feeling that in years to come she might be looking back on this as, perhaps, the very moment where an unstoppable force met an un-moveable object. Or something. She gave Tatiana a quick cuddle, closed the book about the pony-people of the wonderful land of Equestria, and stood up. She noted the adults were looking on with silent interest, and that Mum and Nadezhda had just exchanged the sort of Look that said Intervention May Be Necessary If They Can't Play Nicely Together.
"Famke." Bekki said. "This is Air Cadet Alexandra Mumorovka of the Air Watch. She is also a witch."
She glared at Famke, hoping the emphasis had sunk in.
"Lexi, this is my younger sister, Famke Cornelia Smith-Rhodes-Stibbons. She is a student Assassin."
This time Bekki emphasised the word Assassin.
Lexi nodded at Bekki, and stood up. She and Famke continued glaring at each other. It was the sort of glare that might incinerate anything that got in its way.
"And I just know, "Bekki said, in the tone of voice that usually worked on her sister, "that the two of you are going to shake hands, perfectly normally, and that you, Famke, are going to accept that Lexi is a guest in this house, mainly because I invited her here."
The two of them looked at Bekki, and then cautiously, reluctantly, clasped hands.
Bekki relaxed. As did the adults. She heard the intense-looking Miss Glynnie saying "Impressive. Is this a witch skill?"
"It might as well be." her mother said.
Bekki relaxed slightly. Then Famke said, in an incredulous and peeved voice:
"You're wearing swords? Actual swords? You can't be much older than I am, and they let you wear swords?"
It was a peeved almost-thirteen year old voice and wordlessly proclaimed that the world in one vital respect was not being fair, and that she, Famke Smith-Rhodes-Stibbons, had noticed, and was annoyed with it.
"Da." Lexi said, shifting her stance slightly and resting a hand on the hilt of her shashka. "Listen, Red… Ryzhevolosaya dosada. I am thirteen years and three months old. You?"
"Twelve years and ten months." Famke admitted, reluctantly. Lexi nodded and grinned slightly.
Bekki glanced over, saw Nadezhda and Yelena were trying to be poker-faced, Nadezhda leant over and whispered something into Mum's ear. Mum nodded her understanding and joined the poker-faced club.
"Five months younger, then. Listen, golovnaya bol'ya. Father is Hetman and colonel of a regiment. I learn swords young. I go to our people in the Baikal Steppe to learn the ways."
She took a step forward and stared Famke in the eye.
"Ja Kazakh! I am awarded right to wear swords, because I earned it."
Famke, who hadn't stepped back, tried not to let her eyes water.
Lexi grinned at her.
You are student Assassin? Nichevo, mladshaya sestra. Sure you will get to wear swords, when your teachers say you are fit. Some day."
She reached out and patted Famke on the cheek in consolation. Famke flushed and shook Lexi's hand away.
The adults in the room began to intervene at this point.
Bekki heard Nadezhda Popova, in her sergeant's voice, speaking to Lexi. She caught words like Remember, devyuschka… here… guest… behave!"
Her mother said "Famke Cornelia…." in that special Mum-voice, the one she used if she ever thought it necessary to use your full name.
Bekki sighed and stepped forward.
"Famke. Listen to me." she said, in Vondalaans. She knew this was pretty much private, as only three people in the room spoke it. "You were just one step away from stamping your feet and screaming "It's not fair!" Which isn't you, Famke. Step aside, take a deep breath, cool down. Think that you'd be making an idiot of yourself in front of company, like Miss Glynnie and Yelena. They're teachers you actually like, aren't they? Do you want them to see you acting like a six year old in public?"
Famke took a few deep breaths. Her fists clenched and unclenched. Her face unflushed. Then she said "You're right, Beccs. Ek is jammer. Sorry."
"Lekker. I'll talk to Lexi now."
Bekki turned to Lexi.
"Listen." she said. "We're friends, yes? As it happens I quite like you, we got close over these last two days and… oh hells…" Bekki switched languages again.
"Excuse bad Rodinian. You. Me. Friends. Tovarischni. Da?"
She took Lexi's hands.
"Famke. Sister mine. I know. She… you said. Dosada. I know word, dosada. "Annoyance, niet? Famke. Dosada. But still sister. I say this. you fight. Damage caused. But no winner. Not you, not Famke. Needs new way."
"I understand you, Firebird." Lexi said. She was looking into Bekki's eyes. There was affection there and Bekki sensed a need to be accepted. "Not to damage your sister."
And not many people are confident enough to say that about Famke, Bekki reflected.
"Thank you. Believe it, or not believe it. Would be sad to see Famke damaged. Pravda. Try to be nice, please?" She ended up in a long hug with Lexi, who seemed reluctant to let go.
She heard her mother say "Thank you, Rebecka.", and then returning to a whispered conference with Yelena and Miss Glynnie. Nadezhda was pulled in for an opinion. She looked at Famke and Lexi and nodded.
Yelena walked over to them, confident and unhurried. In the background, Yuri and his sons were watching. Tatiana had an expression on her face that said this was more fun and more interesting than the ponies of Equestria. Bekki suspected that from Tatiana's point of view, this was therefore very interesting indeed. The two boys looked awkward and embarrassed. Their father had an expression on his face that suggested he was amused and really wanted to burst out laughing. Nadezhda, on the other hand, had the sort of look that said "Do not dare, Yuri Timofeyevich."
"Famke Yohannovna." Yelena said. "I have been told one of the attractions for you, when you asked to join my class, was that to you, Rodinian culture meant swords. Now I understand more of what those people meant. I understand you are eager to find out more about the significance of swords to my people. We are only perhaps two or three months into my class, and we have not yet discussed sword-culture of the Cossack peoples."
She patted the hilt of her own shashka.
"Your mother and your Housemistress have given permission. Therefore I consider now is a good time for some introductory tuition."
She nodded to Lexi.
"Alexandra Violavna. I wish you to be part of the teaching."
Lexi nodded. She smiled at Famke. It wasn't, Bekki decided, completely malicious.
A master-class, or perhaps a mistress-class, in Cossack sword-skills and sword-lore then occupied the space before dinner. Yelena led the teaching, demonstrating what the shashka sword was for, its history, its place in culture, its strengths, its weaknesses.
"You will permit this?" Yelena asked Miss Glynnie and Mum. Both nodded, interested spectators in what was to them new weapons-lore.
"You are for the moment receiving this on conditional loan." Yelena said, taking a Cossack sword from the weapons-wall. She made as if to pass it to Famke, then hesitated.
"Receiving a shashka is no small thing. Cossack girls of your age, like Alexandra, train for years. The award of your own swords is done only after great deliberation, and is one of the stages of passing into adulthood."
She nodded to Young Yuri and Nikita, who wore no swords.
"But you two boys know this. I received my swords at fifteen. Alexandra was doing extraordinarily well to receive hers at thirteen. She is from a military family? Lots of training on hand."
She passed the scabbarded sword to Famke.
"This is great privilege, Famke Yohannovna. I require you to respond with the correct degree of humility and serious intent. Because you are just starting out with the shashka, and were you born a Cossack, you would have spent many years with wooden practice swords before being entrusted with a live blade."
Do not mess around, Bekki read.
She bowed as she handed the sword over. Only slightly, but it was still a bow. Famke had the sense to bow back as she received the weapon. Then she straightened up and grinned. Bekki, watching, saw something had changed in her sister. But she wasn't entirely sure what.
"Good." Yelena said. "We now have the prospekt, the recruit, Famke Yohannovna. Who is a long way from being judged worthy of riding with the sotnik, and has to prove herself. A long and arduous training lies ahead."
You ride, Red Annoyance?" Lexi asked.
"My family are Boers. Of course I can ride." Famke snapped back, irked. "And I know what Ryzhevolosaya dosada means!"
Lexi grinned back.
"Maybe we go riding together one day. Show each other what we can do. As Cossack and as…. Bow-yer." she offered. "Interesting word. Like boyar."
Bekki saw the adults in the room looking at each other. Her mother had her "This could mean trouble" face on.
"Alexandra." Nadezhda said. "You two go riding together. Only with adult present. You understand?"
Lexi bowed her head.
"Da, Mother Hen." she said, meekly.
"Thank you." Johanna said to Nadezhda.
"Could get out of hand." Nadezhda replied. "Rivalry."
"We see this in the School, too." Miss Glynnie agreed.
"Ja, all the time." Mum agreed.
They watched as Yelena spaced the two girls apart, very carefully more than a sword-lunge away, and instructed Famke to watch and follow the moves. It was simple elementary instruction, in defensive moves, parries, and crosses.
"First time with shashka?" Yuri Yermak said to Johanna. "She is good. Learns fast."
"My daughter has some saving graces." Johanna agreed. Privately, she was pleased. She smiled at the two boys, realising they were in that awkward place where part of them was appreciating the sword-skills, and another part of them was getting uncomfortable at watching them being demonstrated by two older girls and a not unattractive adult woman. This too was something she had to deal with at the Guild School. Something like two thirds of Assassin pupils were boys; she and other teachers realised the school could therefore be a seething pit of male hormones and consequent social awkwardness. It required careful and kindly management.
She noticed young Yuri was hypnotised by the girls, and wondered if the focal point of his interest was Famke or Lexi. Or both. She decided to be kind and offer distraction.
"When you come to the School," she said, deciding to chance the "when", "this sort of training will be commonplace. It helps if you've had previous experience and some training. Your parents have provided this?"
"Yes, Doctor." Young Yuri replied, still hypnotised by the sword-play. "Nikita and I go to Siber'ya in the summer to live as Cossacks and to study and learn. We have lots of family there."
"You know, you don't associate the concepts of Siberia and summer." Ethylene Glynnie remarked. She too was watching the sword-play with professional interest. "The Vortex Plains actually have a summer?"
Nikita Yermak sighed, resignedly.
"Yes, ma'am. It gets very hot, with lots of midges and biting insects."
"Makes young boy strong." Old Yuri said. "Makes Cossack of him."
"Da." Nadezhda said. "There are ways of dealing with insects."
"Yes, mum. But you're a Witch."
"Grew up with them. You learn ways." Nadezhda shrugged. "Not all of them involve magic."
She watched the training.
"Your girl. Good with shashka, if this her first time. Impressed." she said.
"One of Famke's strengths." Miss Glynnie remarked. "She tends to learn new weapons very quickly indeed. And we encourage our students to work with as many different sorts of swords as they can, until they find the one that will be their own. The Comptesse de Lapoignard, who teaches swords, has a talent for matching students to weapons."
"You know, Evvie." Johanna said, thoughtfully, "It's also occurred to me that Yelena is very, very, good at teaching her sort of Swords. We should mention this to Emmanuelle. Yelena could be an asset here too."
"I agree." Miss Glynnie said. "Emmanuelle may be here later for a social drink?"
"She's bringing her house-guests." Johanna remarked. "One of them is an old pupil of mine. Doing well for herself. I haven't seen her in years."
Yelena called for a break in the drills and complemented Famke on getting the idea so quickly. Lexi added a remark about "Not so bad, Red Annoyance. Was pleasantly surprised."
Famke scowled back. The feeling that she was somehow being outclassed was new to her, and she didn't like it at all. She contemplated all the unfortunate things that might happen to the smug cow standing over to her right. This warmed her. Then she remembered. Witch. In every sense of the word. With a capital B.
She studied Lexi thoughtfully. She, Famke, didn't have to respond straight away. there'd be a moment. To turn the tables and get even. While she was waiting for that, she'd have to get to know the irritating smug cow. Spend time with her. Find her weak points. There had to be some. It meant spending time in her company. Famke frowned. Somehow the prospect of spending quality time with her newly-minted Best Enemy didn't seem totally abhorrent.
She put this aside and greeted her father and sister, who had just come in. Dad had picked up Ruthie from school on the way. You had to hand it to Ruthie. She didn't seem surprised at all that the living room was full of mad women waving swords around. Her father just sighed resignedly. Famke noted her mother had moved over to explain it to him, but he was taking it in his stride. It must come, Famke supposed, from being married to Mum.
She watched him going through the greetings-and-handshakes-and-in-one-case-a-bear-hug routine, followed by that mad air police sergeant who was the irritating cow's sort of foster mother – another reason to lay off the vengeance for justnow – demanding of Dad if there'd been any progress on the Seeing Eye Ray, whatever the hells that was.
"Miss?" Famke asked, deciding to change the subject. "There's this cool sort of sword-dance thing you can do with these swords? I saw it last summer at the witch trials in Lancre."
Miss Garianova gave her a long cool look.
"A cool sort of sword-dance thing you can do with these swords." she repeated.
Her teacher sighed. She shook her head.
"Famke, that cool sort of sword-dance thing you can do with these swords has a name. People sometimes confuse it with the sword and call it shashka-dancing, or the sabre dance. There is a name for the style, and it is called flankirovna. Repeat the word, and learn it."
Famke repeated the words.
"Now watch." Miss Garianova said. She looked up. "The ceiling is too low, and it is getting too dark outside." she remarked. "So some of the more energetic moves, those calling for more space and ideally no ceiling overhead, are not possible. Nichevo. But pay attention and watch. I will demonstrate the simple basic movements."
She lifted her long sabre and, without looking, balanced it on one finger. It moved with her as she moved her hand.
"Point of balance of the sword. Centre of gravity. This is key. Are you watching carefully, Famke Yohannovna? Good."
Her hands moved. The sword moved. And began spinning around her hands. Famke gave up trying to make sense of the moves and just went "wow!"
"Second key, is momentum." Miss Garianova said. "Keep it moving. But moving under control. Also important."
She nodded to Lexi. To Famke's intensifying irritation, Lexi was good at this too.
After a while, Sergeant Nadezhda joined in. Famke belatedly remembered where she'd first seen this woman. She'd been one of the sword dancers at the Witch Trials. Of course. Obvious.
"I can teach this also." Miss Garianova said. "But for safety's sake. Not with a live sharp blade. Not for a beginner. I will see where wooden practice swords can be found."
Claude the butler announced dinner was ready. Shortly afterwards, thirteen adults and children ate together. It was a relaxed, friendly, dinner. There wasn't much elbow-room, even at the very big dining-room table, but it was pleasant and sociable.
When coffee and mints came to the table, Olga Romanoff returned with Irena Politek.
"Need to talk to you, devyushka." Godsmother Irena said. Bekki nodded. She was ready.
"You've got time for coffee first." Johanna said to them. "Besides, Irena, you probably haven't met your new recruit yet."
Yelena Garianova was introduced. Johanna noted how they went pretty much straight to "Yelena Lidianovna" and "Irena Yannesovna". But then, she reflected, Irena didn't have any noble titles to carry around like hand-luggage, and could respond to Yelena as pretty much a social equal. That probably saved time.
"So. Education Officer." Irena said. "Two days a week. Olga, I'm wondering if this should carry some sort of honorary rank?"
"Only if we issue a uniform." Olga said, practically. "Civilian Assistant means you have the right to wear your own clothes to work, excused uniform."
"I'm thinking about Gertrude Schilling, Olga." Irena said. "At the moment she's Technical Officer, or Engineering Officer, and that's a bit wooly and nebulous. Unclear where she fits. If we accept her skills make her Technically-a-Sergeant and give her three stripes, like we discussed, we should think of doing the same for Yelena, after she's done the probationary period and she's had time to settle in. Same principle. A person with specialist skills should be on a higher pay scale, say Sergeant."
"Good points." Olga agreed. "We need to put our heads together, make a plan, and sell the idea to Mr Vimes. But if we agree Yelena has a place with us, part-time, the specifics are a discussion for another time. It's the end of a long day and we have something seriously pressing to discuss before we can properly go off shift."
Olga looked at Johanna and Ponder.
"Ponder, I don't know how much you already know, but we have to interview Rebecka, formally, and debrief her about events in Rimwards Howondaland. It has to be formally reported because it's a Code Twenty-Three event. You know a Twenty-Three?"
Ponder Stibbons nodded and looked more alert.
"Supernatural incursion from another dimension." he said. "I understand you grade them one to five, where one means "bloody nuisance", and five means "the fabric of reality could be destroyed unless we do something drastic about it."
"Exactly." Olga said. "And we need to assess the risk. Rebecka is the woman on the ground. She's been to the site. She's collated the eyewitness statements. Nadezhda and Miss Tick came up with some disturbing possibilities. We need, as they say in Rimwards Howondaland, to make a plan."
"Going native, Olga." Johanna observed.
"Comes of knowing you. And of course the man I married." Olga replied. "And as I just know this is the sort of thing Vetinari will bring up just as you think the meeting is over, and you're going to the door, I need to have it in writing as a formal report. Just in case."
They contemplated this together, gloomily. Ponder Stibbons, a man who regularly had to brief Vetinari on behalf of the University, had a horrible vision.
"One last thing, Vice-Chancellor Stibbons. These reports which have reached me, concerning a potentially uncontrollable Code Twenty-Three manifestation in the Turnwise Caarp region of Rimwards Howondaland. Are you liaising with your colleagues at the University of Witwatersrand, and at the very least gaining up to date reports concerning the level of threat this poses? No great rush."
He looked over. Yes. He didn't need any magical ability to realise Olga Romanoff was having the same sort of horrible thought, only from her point of view as Commanding Captain of the Air Watch.
"As it has to be a formal report, I have to observe protocol. Rebecka is still under eighteen. Therefore a parent or guardian should be present. There is no question of guilt or culpability, by the way. But this has to be done correctly, for lots of reasons. Johanna, Ponder, I require a private space and seating for…perhaps five people. Damn, somebody needs to take notes… thank you, Yelena. Call this your first assignemt with us? Spassibo."
Olga sighed. Irena grinned.
"I will say this for the Air Watch. You get variety. This morning, we had to talk to a thick-skulled Admiral about ships, and about how the Klatchians are outpacing us in terms of naval aviation. Slava bogu, getting him to see he needs some sort of air cover."
She shook her head.
"Then for me, a few hours on Control. For Olga, she got to discuss in-service education."
Irena looked over at Lexi.
"Apparently you're going back to school, devyuschka. Two half days a week, isn't it? And apparently, the girls have voted you a call-sign. Feel privileged. Cadets hardly ever get call-signs. By unanimous vote of the Air Watch, you are now Schpaga. It means you've been accepted, so if I were you I'd accept that without complaining."
Famke was pleased to see Lexi's face fall slightly. She reminded herself to look up Schpaga in a Rodinian dictionary to see what it meant.(2)
"And to round off a busy day, a Code Twenty-Three. Nichevo."
Ponder Stibbons sighed a deep resigned sigh. He thought quickly.
"If this is a formal report, Olga, it means you need University input. Just, err, to demonstrate to Vetinari, if you have to – when you have to – that you're taking it seriously and covering all the angles. We can use my study."
"Khoroscho." Olga said. "Shall we do this thing? We should have done this sooner, Bekki, and I apologise. Hard to get all the key people together. And thank you, Ponder. I'm sure if you were excluded, Mustrum Ridcully would start shouting loudly, and we do not want that."
Shortly after that, a conference convened.
Famke invited Lexi up to her room, citing a need to leave the oldies to it, they'll only be talking teacher-stuff anyway. Got loads of skirts and dresses and things you can rummage through. People keep buying me skirts and dresses, as if they actually think I'm going to wear them or something, can you believe that?
Nadezhda frowned and beckoned Lexi over. She made the sort of request which a pupil witch has to interpret as an outright order from her superior.
"Da, kuma." Lexi said, submissively, and unfastened her sword-belt, handing the weapons over to Nadezhda's care. Then the girls went upstairs together.
"Necessary." Nadezhda said to Johanna. "Those two girls. No adult present. Sharp blades."
Johanna tried not to shudder. She agreed this was a prudent and necessary precaution. With those two girls.
"Johanna Annetovna." Nadezhda said. "Famke keeps no weapons in her room?"
Johanna considered this. Famke was home for two nights a week. This had given ample opportunity for a discreet and necessary room-search. The maids were under strict orders to check after she'd stayed over. It did appear that Famke, who was clever enough to have realised this, either didn't bother bringing weapons home any more, or else had hit on some really good hiding places. Ones that outwitted her own mother.
She explained this to Nadezhda, who expressed relief.
"I imagine we don't need to intervene until the screaming starts." Ethylene Glynnie remarked. "I believe they will be good. One is a student Witch, the other a student Assassin. They know this. Evenly matched. So no clear winner in any fight. And both are aware their superiors are nearby."
She smiled.
"This has to be a novel experience for Famke." she reflected. "A reality check. Up until now in her life, she simply hasn't met a girl of the same age who is at least her equal. She has always been the leader, the alpha, the queen bee in the hive. I imagine it is the same for Alexandra? The outstanding best of the current Air Watch Cadets?"
"Da." Nadezhda said. "Other girls defer to her. She tells them, they do as they are told. I have told her not to be so bossy. Then she meets the Red Annoyance."
"Ag, they're sorting themselves out." Johanna said. "My guess is they'll either try hard to strangle each other, or they'll come out as best friends forever. You can see it in them. They fascinate each other. They don't know why, and right now they think they hate each other's guts, but they're drawn to each other regardless. They can't help it. My money's on their ending up as sort of friends. Seen this before."
"Besides, they both look up to Rebecka." Ethylene said, thoughtfully. "If she shouts at them to stop fighting, they will. Big sister privileges."
They looked over to where Ruth was sitting with Tatiana. Ruth had found a stack of picture-books which all three Smith-Rhodes-Stibbons sisters had grown out of, but which the household had kept in a vague "just in case…" sort of way.(3) They were reading the books together.
"Johanna Annetovna." Nadezhda said. "Your daughters. One almost seventeen, one almost thirteen, one almost ten. Nicely spaced. You are fortunate. None is a rival to the others. Are more inclined to love and support. But if one daughter thirteen, one daughter twelve, close in years, they will fight more. Is case that Famke now has a sort of sister close to her in age. Alexandra also. Both love big sister Rebecka. But are rivals to each other. But Alexandra needs sisters. Even one to fight with."
Johanna considered this.
"You could be right. Thank you."
Nadezhda smiled.
"Now must go to conference with the others. Please speak to Yuri about what is needed when he starts at School? I thank you."
Yuri the father waited till his wife was out of earshot. He shook his head.
"You convinced her. Changed her mind. And you say you are not Witches? Nasedka never changes her mind."
Johanna smiled. She beckoned young Yuri over.
"Is your personal preference for Day School or Boarding?" she asked. "We can talk about the pros and cons of both."
She decided it would pass the time until the Air Watch strategic conference was over. She reminded herself this was Ponder's department – magic. But she still wanted to be briefed. On the other hand, there were guests in the house. It would look bad if both their hosts disappeared to do other things.
She awaited events and asked Claude to pour her a big drink. Lensen klipdrift would do it.
To be continued – for those who have asked, we return to the Turnwise Caarp, Haartebeeste, and the haunting, in the next chapter.
(1) to be covered in the next chapter – pretty much already written but needs to be expanded and tidied, and anyway this is getting depressively long again
(2) Schpaga: Russian for the fencing sword known as the Epée. Lexi really wanted to be called Shashka (Sabre). Olga would point out that her Pegasus could still be called Shashka. Nothing wrong with that. But callsigns emerged pretty much democratically, chosen, approved or amended by the hive-mind of the Air Watch. There are limits to a commanding Captain's authority, and I would only intervene if the chosen call sign was slanderous, in poor taste, profane or otherwise unacceptable. And according to Officer Yulia Vizhinsky, an epée might one day grow up and become a sabre, so who knows? Olga diplomatically avoided mentioning that in those occupations that involved measuring oil or liquid levels in tanks, the word schpaga had another meaning in Rodinian: Dipstick. Famke would be happier when she discovered this.
(3) In Case Of Unexpected Fourth Child, Break Glass
Nore-dumped bits and pieces
Discussion via PM with reader ivanthemostlysane
ah, I missed that... never fight an Italian after offending his honour! This way all the bets are off. Remember reading about a British offensive in North Africa that went horribly wrong... it was taken as read right from the start that the Italians would follow form, and surrender in droves. It was put out that the British were ready, we had field kitchens ready behind the lines to feed you and comfortable PoW camps to receive you... unfortunately, the Italians opposite were so incensed at the assumption they'd prefer surrender to fight, that they got angry. Even Rommel said afterwards they'd fought like Germans, for once...
That chapter was real fun to write, especially the more distant and remote parts of "Russian" history. The Battle of Kulikovo happened on our world, when the Russians woke up and decided they'd had enough of being beaten, Thus they began sticking it to the Mongols, and then, in succession, to the Poles, the Lithuanians and the Prussians; you get the feeling Kulikovo (the defeat, by Russians, of a Mongol Golden Horde) really was the Birth of a Nation.
As Discworld history gets closer to ours, it needs more thinking about; thinking of conflating WW1 and WW2 into one approximate War, so that Tannenberg (1914) is followed, via the terrible and protracted Siege of Blondograd (Leningrad and Stalingrad in WW2, 1941-43) and then Bagration (1944, in which the Red Army swept into Europe in a blitzkrieg of its own).
The Revolution, and how a Union of Soviets might have played out in Discworld, also requires thought. All I know (for now) is that it collapsed, in the Great Politics Mess-Up. (Discworld's version). So I skipped over that bit, at least for now.
Reply to points raised by reader bissek:
Ah, you hit a good point here. We are getting on for a decade or maybe two after the official story ended in "Raising Steam" and this raises questions about the longevity of canonical characters who were of mature years at the time of RS. I've only really addressed that sporadically: Lord Downey contemplating retirement as Guild Master and handing over the seat to Dame Joan (who will then become Lady Sanderson-Reeves, Guild Mistress). This begs the other questions: Fred Colon is likely to die in uniform, of natural causes. But how old is Nobby? Sam Vimes? Nanny Ogg is herself conditionally immortal until she chooses to activate the suspended Time granted to her in payment for a midwife job: the moment she activates Time's hourglass, she is then counting down the minutes till Death joins the party.
Mustrum Ridcully could be explained as a case of "magic users age slowly and tend to be longer-lived" - it isn't unreasonable to suppose he'll get to be over 100 and still roaring. Vetinari - I suspect his relationship with Lady Margolotta might involve just enough of the vampire kiss to keep him human, but "prolonged indefinitely." His "just enough of a vampire" obsession would be with running a City. And by extention, steering a world.
Unseen University is a place I will revisit to try to answer the other questions. Ponder Stibbons discovered at Caltech that academic rivalry can be more subtly "lethal" on other worlds...
I see the Eight Orders of Wizardry having degenerated into drinking clubs and something with as much quasi-mystical flummery as Freemasonry - valued more as social clubs, to make the right professional contacts. But you give me an idea. What if an ambitious young wizard arises who reads about the old pre-Ridcully days and wants to restore old traditions...
Next chapters of Strandpiel 2
Famke and Lexi become Best Enemies. As Ethylene Glynnie says, they can't both stand on the top rung of the ladder, there isn't room up there for two. But they'll try anyway. Sibling rivalry, despite not being sisters.
Return to Haartebeeste; the account of Bekki's first visit there, chaperoned by Aunt Mariella, for what will turn out to be what will turn out to be very good reasons. This will segue into Olga's command conference into what's happening and how senior witches, who normally wear Ankh-Morporkian uniforms, can get involved and how to avoid an international incident and an exchange of diplomatic notes. (Effectively, the Ankh-Morpork City Watch operating way out of its (mundane) jurisdiction in Rimwards Howondaland... Mariella and her family are involved in smoothing things over...)
Sorry, this monster got far too long. Again. Draft notes for continuation are below – I'll get this out there, took far too long to write.
Notes Dump: Where Reserves to be deployed at the Army Front of the main story go to be on alert.
The big thing. Sep 2021. Discovered an even better reason for Olga Romanoff's call-sign to be Syren. Or even spelt Sirin. There is apparently a Goddess, or Goddess-like character, in Russian folklore called Sirin. She is half-woman, half-owl, has the power of flight, and has much in common with the Welsh Blodeuwedd. Called Sirin. And with regard to Olga's callsign… I missed this completely. Watching a documentary about life in winter in Yakutsk, Siberia, where the record winter low is -71°C, or for Americans, -96°F. Wow. Siberians. Also… Gods damn, about a billion years ago on Earth there was a primal supercontinent. Called Rodinia. Yes, really. And it is indeed derived from the Russian for "Motherland, native soil". Also (with a view to introducing "Agatean" characters and themes) trying to get into Japanese cartoons, I really am. Watching accessible bits of animé and Manga on YouTube and elsewhere. Trying to get into something called "One Piece" and added this comment to the discussion: (about how girl characters in animé might start out looking relatively normal, but then get rebooted into Fanservice)
5:01: speaking of improbable anatomy, why does the girl appear to have up to three sets of knees? She's in the water, the "camera" begins at her feet and pans up. Her ankles are where you expect them to be in relation to her feet. The camera pans up. it gets to where you'd expect her knees to be. It looks as if something knee-like may be there. But it continues panning up. A second set of approximate knees? It's only after that that the unmistakable real knees appear. And if her thighs are of normal sort of length... everything below this knee has got to be about four feet long. With what might be two extra sets of knees. As for the rest of it... has the woman at 3:09 had her nipples surgically removed or was she born without them? (now there's an animé: a woman who had her magical nipples stolen by the evil sorceror/mad scientist swears vengeance and goes on a Quest to win them back. Once reunited with the Mystic Nips of Makizushi, she discovers she has the ability to summon demons/a mecha army/destroy Tokyo with giant lizards. Or something.)
Draft continuation:
Meanwhile, Famke turns up, having disdained the changing room showers at Teggs Nose, in a slightly dishevelled and smelly state, still in grubby sports kit. She is not best pleased to be told her sister and a guest have beaten her to the main bathrooms; Eve the maid, backed by Claude, deferentially suggests the bathroom in the staff quarters is free, Madam. Johanna sends Famke there.
Later, Famke and Lexi meet for the first time and sparks fly. Alpha 13 year old girls butting horns. Famke, who has cruised through life up to now, realises she is in the presence of a girl of the same age who is at least as good as her at most things, and, in one or two specialised areas, is better. This is uncomfortably new for Famke.
Lexi also learns her Air Watch callsign. And it isn't the one she hoped for.
They begin the rocky journey towards either killing each other or becoming spiky best friends.