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Chapter 6
The storm that had started as a light snowfall that afternoon began to truly pound Haven that evening. As she stood at the window in the kitchen area, Acacia was glad that, for once, she was not riding in it. Eldan, presiding over the kitchen area, as usual, occasionally glanced her way from the stew he was putting the finishing touches on.
"Deep thoughts?"
"Mm?" Acacia glanced over at him from the window.
"You seem to be thinking pretty hard for someone who has the entire winter to enjoy herself."
Acacia shrugged and plopped into a chair at the kitchen table. Andreya was sitting in the chair next to her, hunched over so her chin rested on her hands that had been flattened on the table. Merrick and Graham sat across from her in identical poses. They had been having a three-way staring contest for the past ten minutes. From the giggles coming from the other side of the table, she was betting Andreya was winning. It was the quietest she had seen the twins since her arrival.
"I take it your stew is what Sariah chose for her birthday dinner?"
Eldan paused in mid-stir, then turned to her with a confused look on his face. "Birthday dinner?"
Suspicion began to sink in. "She woke me up at sunrise this morning telling me it was her birthday."
Eldan shook his head, grinning and turning back to the pot. "You are so easy."
Acacia's jaw dropped. "That little… I bought her a birthday present!"
Eldan barked out a laugh. "Hide it or give it to me to hold until her real birthday, which is in the spring, by the way."
Acacia sank back into her chair, muttering about bratty little foster-sisters and con artists. "Here." Eldan pushed a stack of bowls towards her. "Set the table while Andreya entertains the heathens." Andreya and the twins had not even blinked. The big kitchen table normally sat eight, but Eldan had put in the leaves of the table so that it could sit an even dozen. In this configuration, it stretched out of the kitchen area and into the common area. The common area furniture had been pushed out of the way and chairs from all over the cottage had been drafted into service at the big table. Eldan had pushed twelve bowls at her, so she figured they were anticipating guests.
"Who's coming over tonight?"
"All of your sisters, Caia's husband and Bram. I imagine friends will be stopping by later, as well, which is the reason for that." Eldan pointed at the kettle over the fire in the common room containing mulled cider. A second kettle, this one containing mulled wine, was waiting to be put over the fire in the kitchen after the stew came off.
"What's the occasion?" Acacia worked her way down the table, careful to place Andreya's bowl out of her line of sight.
"Sariah and the twins have been cleared for adoption. We're signing the papers tonight." Eldan abruptly buried his hands in his hair. "Dear gods, we're going to have eight children."
Acacia laughed as she finished setting out the bowls and picked up the spoons. "Hey, five of us are grown up. You even have a grandbaby now."
"Don't remind me. It doesn't matter how old your children are, you still take care of them. It just means changing bandages instead of diapers, or loaning money for a real house instead of a doll house."
Acacia grinned. "Or, in my case, letting me sleep in my old room instead of the barracks." She had made it back around the table again and wrapped her arms around Eldan. "You're a good papa, Uncle Eldan."
He flicked a finger over her nose, eyes suspiciously bright. "That's good to know."
There was a groan at the table as Merrick dropped out of the contest, rubbing his closed eyes. His lower lip stuck out as he pouted, then he jumped down off the wooden booster block Eldan had made. All of the girls had used that block at some point in their lives and, Acacia finally admitted to herself, she was glad another youngling was getting some use from it. Graham was still in the running with Andreya and he was concentrating fiercely, gnawing on his lower lip, sitting on the other booster block. Merrick wandered over to Acacia and raised his arms, a clear signal he wanted to be picked up. She complied and he latched onto her like small tree-dwelling animal. Merrick was relatively clean this evening, as he had been confined indoors by the storm. He and his brother were sporting matching soft undyed woolen tunics, brown trews and boots Kero had gotten when she had taken the little ones to visit the clans for a few weeks this past spring. The bright red hair adorning both twins was uncontrollable and sticking up like a fuzzy halo. The only reason Acacia knew it was Merrick she was holding was because Andreya had tagged the hem of his tunic with a bit of a blue ribbon.
"Poor Caia."
"What's wrong with Caia?" Eldan had turned back to his pot, but looked up again, concern on his face.
"I just realized she is the only brunet in this clan, other than you."
"Yes, we are a bit outnumbered. All of you blondes and redheads are giving us a run for our money."
At that moment, the door to the cottage opened and Kerowyn stumbled in, carrying Sariah. A large amount of snow blew in through the door with them and Eldan hurried over to help her push the door closed against the howling wind. She set Sariah down and removed her cloak, placing it on the peg by the kitchen hearth to dry. Kero snagged Sariah's cloak as the little girl bolted over to the common area hearth and sat as close to it as she could get. That cloak also went on the peg to dry.
"Whew!" Kero shook snow from her hair. "It is getting nasty out. Did you tell Acacia?"
"Yes."
"Did you ask her?"
"Not yet."
"Ask me what?" Merrick had turned his attention away from Graham, who was clearly lagging in the contest, eyes fighting to blink. Now he was playing the ends of the leather ties on Acacia's jerkin.
"There needs to be two witnesses for each child. It can be the same two witnesses for each child, but it can be different if we choose. Eldan and I thought it would be special if all of you girls acted as witnesses. Adding in Caia's husband makes six."
Acacia blinked, stunned. "I'd be honored."
Kero smiled and Acacia realized the older mercenary was nervous. "Good."
Another groan from the table indicated Graham had succumbed to the urge to blink. Acacia grinned and called out, "Hey, cheater! Time to wake up!"
Andreya lazily reached up and pulled the little pieces of canvas off her eyelids before opening her own eyes. It was something Andreya did to scare new recruits. She was quite the artist. One day, when she had been bored, she had painted a set of eyes that were identical to her own. A little adhesive allowed her to attach them to her own eyelids. Andreya had also made a set for Acacia. Someone would send the new recruit to wake them up, after being thoroughly scared by tales of how they slept with their eyes open and killed anything that walked through the flap of the tent. The new recruit walked in, saw them sleeping with their eyes "open" and ran screaming. Now it appeared Andreya had found a new use for them.
"Oh, that's good," Kero commented with a devilish look in her eyes. "That's very good."
"Don't even think about it." Eldan walked over, handing Kero a mug of mulled cider and giving her a quick kiss in greeting.
"Do you realize how many religious nuts we could scare away with those?"
"How many toddlers you can convince you really do have eyes in the back of your heard?" Eldan replied.
"I didn't think of that one."
Eldan was in the process of rolling his eyes when the door opened again, this time admitting Aiko and Ianthe. A short time later, Caia, Bram and Trevor arrived, followed by Damini. Soon they were all sitting at the big table, conversation loud and uproarious at times, food randomly flying from the twins at other times. Even Andreya occasionally cracked a smile as she was welcomed as a member of the family. The story of Acacia's buying a birthday present for Sariah came out and as she was teased mercilessly by her family, Acacia felt the last wounds from the past campaign season heal.
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The next morning found Andreya in the salle confronting several Heraldic Trainees. Acacia was warm in her bed, snoozing away while Andreya was bundled into her warmest clothes, trying to be inconspicuous while leaning against the oven wall of the salle at this gods forsaken hour of the morning. It was enough to make her very cranky.
Herald-Captain Kerowyn was standing in front of her, explaining her presence to the Trainees, who were looking at Kerowyn like she was crazy. Andreya knew she did not look like much, huddled as she was in two shirts, a leather jerkin and her favorite sweater, which happened to be faded from black to grey. Her hair was bundled back in an equally faded kerchief she had dug from the bottom of her packs. Her breeches were at least in good shape. They were made of fine leather that had been dyed black and remained supple in spite of the abuse she put them through. It was too bad they were covered by thick wool-lined canvas breeches that were of in indeterminate shade of brown. Acacia had commented that all the layers made her look somewhat thin instead of abnormally thin. Andreya did not care, as long as she was warm.
She dragged her thoughts back to the present while she sipped from the mug that was keeping her hands warm. It was a weak tea that served well to settle her stomach, which was protesting the horribly early hour as much as her mind was. How do people live like this? Fairly well, judging by the state of the Trainees and Kerowyn. All were admirably healthy and bright-eyed this morning. This was the class of the newest Trainees, youngsters that were only just learning the basics. Kerowyn had thought that they were not ready to learn true assassin methods and defenses yet, but knew they would benefit from the acrobatics Andreya could teach them. That meant Andreya would be losing several of her layers soon, but the tea was starting to warm her up.
"Andreya?" Kerowyn was looking at her and Andreya fought the urge to shake the sleep out of her head. Andreya also realized she had no clue what Kerowyn wanted. She looked at her with a moment of panic.
"Would you like to lead them through stretches?"
"Oh. Right." Andreya put her mug of tea aside and began pulling off layers. By the midpoint of the class, she had made it down to just her leather breaches and a thin cotton shirt that clung to her body. The breaches were somewhat constricting in that she could not get full flexibility out of her legs, but they allowed enough movement for her purposes. The youngsters had also stripped out of their tunics, learning quickly that shirt, breeches and bare feet were best for what Andreya had in mind. She was demonstrating a move she had picked up from an acrobat in a traveling show when the door opened and Captain Jeremy Munchous stepped in.
The move was tricky and had taken her weeks to perfect. It was a handless cartwheel that looked spectacular when performed and was occasionally handy in combat. She had been upside down in the air when the door opened, her legs just swinging past the midline. The sight of him distracted her, freezing her legs in midair. Gravity took over and she landed with a thud, taking the brunt of the impact on her right shoulder and elbow. Her legs followed after and she just barely managed to keep her head from slamming into the floor. She saw the look of concern on his face before she had to rescue her head. The exclamations of the trainees rang out and boot steps ran to her. She did not have to look to know the hands helping her to sit up were Munchous's.
"Are you all right, Guildswoman?"
Andreya pulled away from him, concentrating on dusting the sawdust off her breeches. "I am well, thank you."
He took his cue from her. "Good. I'll, ah, be over there, waiting with the rest of the advanced people." She caught his gesture toward the benches along the far wall, where several Heralds and Guardsmen were stripping off cold weather gear.
"Right. Thank you." Andreya stood, fighting off embarrassment, only to meet Kero's knowing eyes and lose the battle. The Herald-Captain concealed a chuckle with a cough.
"Would you like to try to demonstrate that last move for the Trainess again, Andreya? Then we'll dismiss them and start on the advanced group."
Andreya nodded and tried again, this time performing the move flawlessly to the cheers of the Trainees. Kero nodded and raised her hands to get their attention.
"All right, younglings. Practice the moves Andreya taught you, including that last one. I suggest you do them in snowbanks or over piles of pillows. Don't break anything. Dismissed."
The Trainees gathered up their gear and left the salle, babbling about places they knew of that they could practice at. When they had left, Kero introduced Andreya to the advanced students. As far as Andreya could tell, the advanced students were not students so much as people who were currently using their skills and looking for opportunities to improve. Andreya demonstrated a form of unarmed combat on Kerowyn that she had learned in the Eastern Empire. It was an interesting form in that it used the force of the opponent against her. Andreya had Kerowyn disarmed and pinned to the ground in three moves, throat exposed for the Andreya's imaginary blade. There was dead silence after that, only to be broken by a single admiring curse from Kero. She grinned up at Andreya from the floor.
"Remind me to never piss you off."
Andreya smiled and helped her up. The class passed smoothly, with Andreya managing to function without being distracted by Munchous. All of the advanced students were soaked with sweat and bruised after tossing and being tossed about the salle. They were in high spirits at the end of the class, using towels to wipe sweat off and bundling themselves back up for the cold. Andreya, too, was pulling layers back on. There was a two candlemark gap between this class and the next. She intended to spend it sleeping. Munchous approached her cautiously. When she looked up, he grinned.
"Just making sure you won't fall on your head again."
She made a face. "I did not fall on my head. The cold when you opened the door distracted me."
"Right." His voice was disbelieving. "What are you up to tonight?"
"Why? Want to make sure I haven't had any job offers I can't refuse?"
He looked hurt. Andreya silently cursed herself. Jeremy straightened his posture, throwing his shoulders back. "Something Acacia said has stuck with me. She said you need a constant alibi." Was it her imagination, or did he look nervous? "I thought I might be able to provide an alibi and maybe a bit of working entertainment at the same time."
"I'm interested."
His eyes finally dropped down from where they had been staring over her head to meet her eyes. "We're short a few Guards tonight. There's an illness going around and it hit two of my Exile's Gate District Guards. I'm taking their patrol route, but I need a partner. You would be paid, of course, but you would need to wear a Guard uniform."
He was smart, she had to give him that. Not many men would think to tempt her with a Guard shift in the worst part of town. In fact, no man had thought to tempt her that way, which would explain why Andreya had not had a satisfying relationship in almost a decade. Acacia had teased her that her love life resembled that of a nun's.
"That sounds like something I would enjoy."
"Good. I'll come get you from the Herald-Captain's cottage a mark before midnight. Dress warmly. I'll supply the Guard tunic. I imagine you'll want your own weapons. If you have something that is not bladed, that would be preferable for a primary weapon."
"I'll find something."
"Wonderful. I'll, ah, I'll see you tonight."
"Good."
"Um. Right. Bye."
"Goodbye."
By now, Kero, who was lounging in the doorway to her office, was fighting off laughter. They looked like younglings, Andreya fighting back a shy smile and Jeremy looking as pleased as a little boy with a new toy and trying to hide it. The door closed and Andreya turned to Kero, eyes large.
"What just happened?" Andreya's voice was bewildered.
Kero grinned. "It would appear that you have planned a little outing."
Panic settled over Andreya's features. "I can't handle any outings. Why did I agree?"
Kero felt confusion. "You have the entire winter. Why not have a fling?"
"I don't have flings. I can't have flings. Flings result in babies and weddings and things I can't do!"
"Calm down. Moon powder will prevent the babies and I don't think Jeremy is thinking weddings. In fact, if it does get that far, there is no law saying you have to get married." Kero grinned. "Eldan and I only got married a little over a year ago."
Andreya took a deep breath. "Panic attack over. Just a fling. Right." Pulling her cloak over her shoulders, she pushed her way out into the cold.
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Acacia woke to the delicious luxury of an empty house. Merrick and Graham were probably with Kero, Sariah was in classes and Eldan was off doing errands. Even Andreya was gone, conducting classes in the salle. She stretched luxuriously, mind moving sluggishly towards the thought of maybe getting something to eat. A knock on the door to the cottage interrupted those thoughts and moved her mind from sluggish to alert.
"Wait!" She bellowed it as she struggled out from her layers of blankets and found her slippers, which were knitted to resemble some strange yet adorable creature. They had been a joke and were an example of yet another of Andreya's hobbies. Life on the campaign trail was alternately mind-numbingly boring and heart pounding excitement. Unfortunately for Andreya, it was more boring than exciting, so she had cultivated quite a few hobbies, such as painting, knitting, beadwork and, much to Acacia's delight, temporary tattoos. The latter was something Andreya had turned into an art form, experimenting with different dyes and often drawing elaborate colorful tattoos on whoever happened to be sitting next to her of an evening.
Finally making it to the door, Acacia yanked it open to find Derrick lounging against the frame.
"Late riser?"
"Something like that. Come in."
She stepped back and he came in the warm cottage, brushing against her.
"I thought we could do something today. Hopefully something that won't involve people trying to kill us."
Acacia grinned. "That would be an innovation."
His eyes sparkled at her as he turned from his survey of the room. "How was the party last night?"
"It reminded me of what I miss most when I'm away."
"And now you have another little sister and two new baby brothers."
"The brothers will take getting used to. Sariah has already been named 'Little Acacia' by Prince Daren."
"You haven't been training her, have you?"
"The thought has crossed my mind."
"Well, let's put another thought there."
He pulled her close to him, a flirtatious glint in his eyes. She felt her brain fogging again. "You keep that up and there won't be any thoughts at all."
He grinned. "I don't have a problem with that." His head moved down, slowly, giving her time to nay-say him if she did not want a kiss. Acacia had no intention of denying him. Just as his lips were within a hair's width of hers, the door opened, letting in a gust of cold wind and a shivering assassin. Acacia yelped, pulling her head back. Andreya shuddered by, wrapped in a cloak and several layers of clothes.
"Too cold. Must sleep. Kiss elsewhere," she chattered out as she shuffled past, arms wrapped around herself. Andreya disappeared into the bedroom and the door slammed shut.
"Well," Derrick said briskly, then cocked his head in the direction of the door. "Snow picnic?"
Acacia nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."