When sleep finally came, it wasn't free of dreams, although none were so lucid as the first. Kel saw images of Shinko's body torn apart by glinting teeth, and birds and mice rotting where they fell, and she tossed and turned. Tobe looked askance at her when she awoke. "You feelin' alright?" he asked. "Been a while since you last was talkin' about that Chamber in your sleep."

Kel rubbed her eyes and tried to smile reassuringly at him. It was just an awful nightmare, she told herself. Not something to worry anyone else with - and certainly not Tobe, who deserved to be able to enjoy his first proper Midwinter festival in peace. "Never mind that," she said firmly. "Let's go find some breakfast."

While Tobe was still officially her indentured servant (at least for another year, until the contract came to an end), their relationship had quite quickly become something more along the lines of aunt and nephew, or even adoptive mother and son. Tobe even called her "mother" at times - sometimes less jokingly than others. Still, the undefined nature of the relationship seemed to suit them both for now, and Tobe still chose to sleep most nights by Kel's fire, particularly when they were travelling. Kel had long ago given up trying to convince him to sleep in a proper bed.

Breakfast was to be found in the dining hall, and Tobe set about the warm bread rolls, sliced cheeses and meats with gusto. Kel slipped into a seat next to Merric. "Enjoying being back in civilization?" she asked him teasingly, knowing that the time on the Scanran border had been, at least at first, more difficult for him to adjust to than for herself or Neal.

Merric glanced at her, and sighed. "To be honest, it feels a little odd, actually," he admitted. "I woke up feeling like I'd forgotten something, and nearly headed to the stables to start morning patrol before I remembered where I was."

Kel nodded understandingly. "I know what you mean," she replied. "I feel like I don't know what I'm doing here!" More than you could even know, she added internally, suppressing a shudder as she again remembered the dream of the Chamber, with its vision of Shinko and the rotting fields of Tortall. She made up her mind to at least restart her early morning glaive practice the next day before breakfast. Maybe some exercise would wear her out enough to sleep without dreaming. The familiar pattern dances always helped focus her thoughts, in any case.

After breakfast, Kel's parents arrived from Mindelan, and the day passed by quickly without a hint of anything suspicious taking place, a flurry of welcomes and reunions, including a visit to Lalasa's dress shop, where Kel found that her former maid had already prepared a gown for her for that evening's Opening Ball. When she protested that she didn't need a new dress, Lalasa shushed her, tutting. "Begging your pardon, Lady Kel, but half of my customers are from the Palace, these days, and they all know that the only reason I could open the shop was because of you. It wouldn't do for you to show up at the ball wearing any old thing!"

Kel sighed, knowing this was an argument she couldn't win, and submitted to Lalasa's needle and measuring tape. At least the ball would be a good opportunity to catch up with her friends. Plus, she could ask Yuki about the strange Yamani mage. Pushing aside her lingering mood from the bad night's sleep, she asked Lalasa about her latest commissions from Queen Thayet and her ladies-in-waiting.

If it had not been for Kel's disturbing dream of the Chamber the previous night, she would probably have enjoyed the ball a lot more. The dress Lalasa had made for her was long and green with a high waist and some delicate embroidery around the sleeves, and was surprisingly comfortable to move around in. Despite her old unwillingness to dance, she found herself laughing on the dance floor with Neal, then Merric, and finally Owen, whose natural good humour made it impossible to turn him down. Still, despite the festive atmosphere and her enjoyment at being amongst her friends, she couldn't shake the tense feeling in her gut. She glanced across at Shinko, to reassure herself that it had just been a dream. Her friend was her normal graceful self, dancing with Roald and chatting happily with Yuki, the Queen, and her ladies. Kel had avoided joining them, so far. She wasn't sure she could cope with chatting with Shinko right now, with the awful images of the dream still resounding in her mind. Eventually, Yuki came and grabbed her by the sleeve. "Shinko wants to know why you're avoiding her!" she murmured in Yamani into Kel's ear. "Why haven't you said hello yet?"

Kel swallowed. "Sorry, Yuki," she said, brushing aside her thoughts and letting her Yamani mask cover over her churning emotions. "I've been feeling a little out of sorts ever since we got back…. Not used to being back in Corus, I suppose."

Yuki looked at her with sympathetic eyes, and Kel felt ashamed of the half-truth. "Well, I'm sure Shinko will understand once you explain it to her. But you really should come and say hello! You haven't seen her since before her wedding, no?"

Kel inwardly steeled herself and followed Yuki over to where Shinko sat, near to Queen Thayet and their assorted ladies-in-waiting. After a few minutes, though, it felt like all her avoidance of her old friend had been unnecessary and even silly - as usual, the two were soon caught up in conversation as if no time had passed since they were last together. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the wedding," Kel said, after they had exchanged greetings and news of the past years.

"Nonsense, Kel," Shinko said firmly, patting Kel's hand. "You had a very good reason to be away. I only wish I could have done more towards helping you, out there on the border - and I know Roald feels the same."

Kel opened her mouth to respond, when a strange expression passed across Shinko's face. Her dark eyes twitched away from Kel's face, to stare fixedly at a point somewhere behind Kel's head, and her mouth fell open. All the colour drained from her cheeks, and her usually animated hands fell limply into her lap. A cold sense of dread filled Kel's stomach. "Shinko!" she whispered sharply, trying not to alarm anyone else around them.

At once, Shinko blinked, and stared at Kel in surprise. "Sorry," she said faintly, slipping into Yamani. "What were you saying? Perhaps I should not have drunk the wine…"

Kel took a deep breath, trying to decide what to say, when Yuki stepped across to them from where she had been talking to Queen Thayet. "I think I've been in the cold of the North for too long," she said brightly. "It's far too warm in here for me!"

Shinko glanced at Kel, an odd look in her dark eyes, then smiled at Yuki. "Well, I haven't been far from the Palace, but I think I agree," she said, the colour returning to her cheeks as she spoke. "Why don't we get a little air?" Standing, she took Yuki's arm.

"I'll join you," Kel agreed, trying to keep her voice from betraying the fear that still swelled in her belly. As she stood, she twisted around to see what, if anything, Shinko had stared at in the moment that the strange blankness had spread across her features. With a shock, she realized that there was only one person behind her, indeed only one thing, aside from a bench, a torch, and the wall: Sato, the Yamani mage.