Characters seem to multiply entirely too quickly in this universe. I do have a use for the young Rider employee that I introduce, and he'll come back in time.

Next chapter: Quake

The Emperor's Mage
Chapter Fourteen: Neglect

Alanna had forgotten her earlier plans for some verbal evisceration of Arram Draper. He had used a pet name with her youngling, but if that was such a crime then she, George, Thayet, and all of the Riders would be just as guilty. Daine had looked peacefully at rest that morning when Alanna had checked in, and the same had been true just before dinner. One of the palace slaves had readily agreed to have a meal ready for Daine when she was up, and Alanna didn't need to be hovering over the child. She had withdrawn to one of the beautiful gardens with a previously-enchanted mirror for a scheduled talk with her husband.

It was very hard to resist all three of her little terrors climbing over George to tell her about their day first, and only when the trio was duly satisfied did he mention what he'd been doing.

They didn't talk about anything secret. She mentioned the least contentious parts of the peace treaty, and he left out any mentions of his spywork, but that was alright. They both were doing their jobs, and doing their best, and they could compare details later. Until then, it was nice to joke with him about just what she was missing, and the latest in the Riders' pet love saga.

Sarge had taken in a Carthaki refugee two years back. The Riders had readily found a place for the man, and would have taken someone with no more use than an extra set of eyes on the field. Amadi had ended up invaluable, to no one's great surprise, and had single-handedly talked several of their brattiest recruits into shaping up. He and the meekest horses had little to do for each other, but he could pick the most spirited pony out of Onua's fresh arrivals and ride it bareback an hour later.

It was only natural that some girl or other would take an interest, and in this case twelve-year-old Princess Kalasin had proved precocious. Amadi seemed to have no idea what to do with his royal admirer, but after a few awkward weeks of fumbling for the proper protocol he had offered the princess lessons in riding without a saddle. It was a pastime that her father would have hated—if Thayet had told him before Kalasin had proved to be a natural.

Alanna hadn't witnessed the start of this, but she loved any story that would get Jon flustered so quickly. It didn't hurt at all that Kalasin was beginning to develop as a woman, and she was doing so with the protective eyes of the Riders all around her. From all accounts, Amadi had kissed her hand in a very courtly gesture at the last of the dances, and even Buri had melted at how happy Kally had looked.

The children had quickly grown bored when George slipped into an extended description of that dance. It seemed that Onua had made a teasing comment to Sarge about being shown up by his protege, and the next thing anybody knew Onua and Sarge were flying through the steps of a K'mir number that left half of the dance floor behind. As if that hadn't been enough, they were left alone on the floor with Kalasin and Amadi after a wickedly complicated Carthaki piece.

The children had disappeared in favor of more interesting topics, and that had left her with a few minutes to speak to George without little ears listening in. Maude could still hear, as she was providing the anchoring Gift in Pirate's Swoop to allow the magic to work, but they tended to keep any dirty talk to in-person meetings. It was just embarrassing for a spymaster to be caught with a written record, let alone for the King's Champion to be found with naughty love letters.

In short, Alanna was in a rather spectacular mood when she saw a familiar dark figure moving through the gardens. Arram had tried to say something to Lindhall in the corridor after dinner, and the rebuff had been cold enough to make Alanna wonder if it wasn't all a little too personal. Maybe that was the reason that she called out.

"Master Draper, good evening. I must say that your nation's weather puts ours to shame, so long as the sun's not beating down on everything."

Arram looked rather surprised, but he had spent far too long at court for that to last very long. There was something under the polite expression that he adopted, some emotion that she couldn't read, but he didn't have the look of someone that wanted to be alone. "Good evening. Is Sir Alanna the correct title?"

"Indeed it is, but I've never been immensely fond of formality." To emphasize the point, she patted the other end of the long stone bench she had claimed. "From what I understand, you've made quite remarkable progress with Miss Sarrasri."

She didn't understand the hesitance in his expression when he took the seat. Maybe he wasn't expecting her to be friendly. It was a bit of a surprise to her, too, but her instincts hadn't failed her yet.

"She's a rather remarkable student, Alanna." He paused after saying her name, as if waiting for a correction, and seemed slightly more relaxed when she only smiled. It was hard to dislike someone that complimented one of Alanna's favorite people. "I was glad that I was able to help. I know a rather obscure visualization exercise, and mages with a fifth of her power had precious little control before having a good way to sense their magic. One Banjiku elder ended up manifesting the sense as taste."

Thom might have liked this mage, if her foolish brother had been able to avoid jealousy.

Perhaps that wasn't fair. Thom had gotten along well enough with people that were his equal, but he had been far too quick to dismiss the rest of humanity as worthless.

For all of Lindhall's worries, Arram didn't have that sort of arrogance. The man understood his power, definitely, but that was a requirement for a mage of his caliber. If he didn't understand that he could do things the rest of the world could not, he would hurt someone. Arram seemed to be one of those rare people that could harness a substantial amount of power without forgetting that he was human, too.

Lindhall would be very upset if he knew that Alanna was coming around to thinking his old student was a good man despite everything. She would just have to keep this new appraisal to herself for a while. "She was still asleep, last I checked on her, and she's old enough that hovering wouldn't make her feel comforted so much as cossetted. Daine has never been one for too much fuss."

"I've promised her another lesson tonight, if she wakes when I'd expect. I don't know if she expects me to top the last one."

Alanna chuckled. "That's the problem with doing amazing things, Arram. People start expecting you to do them regularly." She shifted slightly on the bench. "It feels plain unnatural to have comfortable stone benches about. Did someone spell these?"

"Varice Kingsford's work. She's always had a mind for detail."

Alanna smiled. "I've been meaning to catch her for a minute, but she always seems to be busy. She's kept Daine company through all of the formal dinners, and that means quite a bit to me. People in Tortall might have lovely reputations, but nobles are nobles are nobles. They'll barely sup with me for marrying a commoner when I'm the King's Champion. They want nothing to do with a common-born teenager."

"They are at a loss, then," Arram said. "I'll be sure to pass your message to Varice."

If she wasn't mistaken, the two of them were lovers, so it would hardly be difficult for Arram to find the woman. It wasn't any of Alanna's business, however, so she let it drop. "Just what do you have planned for tonight, then? Daine barely had time to say anything when she toddled back yesterday."

"I don't know where to begin, honestly, but I know that she was interested in learning to heal."

"You're the expert. What can wildmages do?"

Arram had looked quietly broody for the entire night, and she was amazed that it had taken so long for her to recognize that state of affairs. It was like watching Raoul for that first year when he stepped away from alcohol. Even when the conversation was about something else and everything was going well, there was something unsaid that was bothering him. Give him a distraction, however, and his entire manner changed. This was a man that liked a puzzle, and Myles might like him for that alone.

"The better question would be to ask what they cannot do," Arram said after gathering his thoughts. "There are accounts that they can take the form of nearly any animal, and that they can heal even deceased animals. Some even took an immortal's shape, but once you take that form there is no way to change back—that is the basis for some of the romantic stories told to children, incidentally, where a normally predatory immortal could be tamed by someone who had previously known the wildmage."

"It's good that she has you teaching the lessons, then. I certainly haven't heard any of this before."

"Most of the books are all locked up in our libraries. I think I would push through peace only to let the universities finally send things back and forth again."

He definitely was the kind of man that Myles could talk to for a week. "I'll keep that in mind as a bargaining chip, then. Just what else can I bring to the table, if you're giving me hints?"

Somehow, she had lost him when the subject changed away from the wonders of wild magic. The strange look returned to him again, as if he was keeping something from her. That was no great sin, seeing as they were one conversation from strangers. "You know what Ozorne wants. He'll take everything that he can get you to offer, no matter what tactics that it will take, and then he will find ways to control it."

Stray touching between strange mages was generally frowned upon, but something was weighing heavily on the man's mind. Alanna caught his wrist gently, and knew that her expression was gentle when she met his startled gaze. "Daine is like a sister to me, for all that I'm twice her age. She has the kind of maturity that you win the hard way, and she's not a fool for good looks or nice manners. My Daine has a very high opinion of you, Master Draper. I've never known her to be wrong."

Arram Draper might just be the strongest mage in the world, but he was trapped in her gentle grip as surely as if she'd caught him up in a focus. He didn't have the words to interrupt her. "She knows a great deal about what you've done for Ozorne and for the animals. Whatever you teach her, it will be more than my husband and I have managed in almost three years."

Sometimes, people needed their space when you'd given them any sort of shocking news. Alanna squeezed his wrist gently before she stood. "Daine will undoubtedly want to go straight to the aviary when she wakes, but it will be simple enough for her to know if you are ready. The birds will tell her."

Arram nodded, but he was already lost. Alanna left, the only polite thing to do, and only thought to look at his aura when she was fifty strides away. She glanced over her shoulder, running thumb and forefinger against her ember-stone, but she couldn't see anything of interest from so far away. All she could see was the black of his aura and clothing mixed in with the emerald green of the gardens, with reflecting motes of white all around him.