Thanks to those who reviewed. On with the next chapter...
The next morning, just after Ranna had woken and dressed, there was a knock on her door and, once Ranna had called out, 'Yes?' Imayne stepped into the room.
'Mistress Ranna, the queen has asked me to send for you,' Imayne said. 'She apologises for the fact that it is before breakfast, but she was woken half-way through the night by a noisy gull, and she has been unable to get back to sleep.'
'Very well, I will be with her Majesty shortly,' Ranna nodded, and Imayne left again. Ranna had little doubt as to who that "noisy gull" really was, and she made a mental note to have a word with Dyrim about it. Sighing, she tidied her hair and left her room. Dyrim, Kibeth, Mosrael and Belgaer were all in Dyrim's room again, sitting on her bed and laughing about something – probably the Charter marks she had now installed in her ceiling – and they all looked around when Ranna entered the room.
'Are you going to see Merenne now?' Kibeth asked before Ranna could say anything, her eyes gleaming mischievously.
'I have to, I'm afraid,' Ranna answered, glaring pointedly at Dyrim. 'Apparently a noisy gull woke her half-way through the night.'
'Sorry!' Dyrim said, failing to hide a very unapologetic smirk.
'Gulls don't usually start making a racket until dawn,' Ranna pointed out. 'And I have told you not to change your forms while you are here.' She looked around the room, and then asked, 'Where is Astarael?'
Dyrim shrugged her shoulders casually. 'Kibeth said that she left a few hours ago. We don't know where she is.'
Ranna nodded. 'What are you planning to do while I'm gone?' she asked, a little suspiciously
'Arael has offered to show us around the palace,' Mosrael replied. 'We are supposed to be meeting her after breakfast, whenever that is, but she will be a little late. You will meet us in the passageway between the kitchens and the southern courtyard.'
'I see,' said Ranna slowly. 'You had all better behave yourselves.'
'We will,' Dyrim promised.
Ranna did not believe Dyrim at all, but she didn't want to keep the queen waiting, so she nodded and left. As she walked away, she heard half-stifled laughter coming from the room behind her – a sure sign that they were all planning to do something that she would not approve of. Sighing in exasperation, Ranna ignored them and continued on to Merenne's birthing room.
As Mosrael had predicted, Arael was late to meet them in the Great Hall, explaining that Nehima had caught her on the way and told her that she was, as expected, needed to sit in Petty Court that afternoon and for every afternoon that week, and the inevitable argument that followed had gone on for longer than Arael had intended.
'I wish I could show you some of the actual city as well,' she sighed once she had finished complaining about her sister. 'I find it a lot more interesting than here. There's more to see and it's not as formal as it is here. It's a shame you weren't here a few days ago – I could have shown you around the frost fair. I suppose some of it will still be there, but most of it will be packing up and preparing to leave now that the Mid-Winter festival is over.'
'Is that you?' Belgaer interrupted, pointing at one of the large, gilt-framed paintings on the wall of the Hall; one that showed five people, one of them a small girl, standing around a man and a woman seated on a double-throne.
Arael stopped and looked at the painting, then laughed. 'Yes,' she answered, pointing at the small girl. 'That is me. I was only six years old when that was painted.' She pointed at two of the other people standing around the throne. 'That is Anstyr – he was nearly twenty then, I think – and that is Merenne, standing next to him – she was only sixteen. That,' she said, scowling as she indicated one of the other figures, 'is Nehima. She was seventeen then – or was it sixteen? She was heavily pregnant with Aveline at the time this was painted. The man next to her is her late husband, Lord Bressel.'
'Nehima doesn't look very heavily pregnant,' commented Dyrim.
Arael smirked and lowered her voice. 'I know. She slipped the artist a few extra coins so he would paint her looking as she usually does. I can't blame her, if I'm honest: from what I remember, she looked awful–' She stopped mid-sentence and frowned. 'I'm sorry; I'm being really rude about her. I don't usually say things like that in front of guests.'
'We don't mind,' Mosrael assured her. She, Kibeth and Belgaer were all sure that Arael's talkative mood was, at least in part, due to the fact that Dyrim was standing so close to her, the Charter marks on her necklace glowing slightly – hardly noticeable in the daylight.
'Who are the people sitting on the throne?' asked Belgaer, her hand resting lightly on the frame. 'Are they your parents?'
'Yes,' Arael replied, her smile fading. 'King Anstyr the First and Queen Ysora. They both died within a year of this being painted. My mother died in childbirth, and her baby didn't live long either, and my father was killed by a Stilken only two months later. Bressel died then too, as did a lot of other men. They had all gone to fight it, even though they knew they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Anstyr was there as well, but he was one of the lucky few who survived. No-one really knows what happened to the Stilken – apparently it just disappeared, and that ended the fight. That's partly why everyone here is afraid of Free Magic creatures. Anstyr hates them more than anyone else, as do the other few people who survived that fight.' She sighed and stared blankly at the painting for a while, then shook her head quickly and smiled again. 'Anyway, let's move on. I want to show you the dining hall and the kitchens. If we're lucky, Betta – our head cook – might give us something to eat. Do you want anything?'
Kibeth's eyes lit up. 'Yes, please.'
Arael laughed. 'So do I. She will probably be expecting me.'
She turned and led the way along a wide corridor that overlooked one of the palace's immaculate gardens. At the end of the corridor Arael led them into the dining hall, where meals were served on days that did not require a feast, and through to the kitchens, the smell of freshly-baked bread wafting through the closed kitchen doors. As Arael had said, Betta was expecting her. The middle-aged cook greeted Arael with a customary curtsey, and then, after wiping her hands on her white apron, proceeded to the less formal greeting of a kiss on both her cheeks. Then, when she belatedly noticed that Arael had not come alone, she dipped into another curtsey.
'You must forgive me, I did not notice that my Lady Arael had friends with her,' Betta said hurriedly. She straightened up and went to one of the large, wooden tables in the kitchens. 'Fortunately I have enough of these for all of you,' she added, picking up a large, silver tray of candied fruits. 'Your favourite, my lady,' she announced, presenting the tray to Arael, who grinned as she took it.
'Thank you, Betta,' Arael said, taking a cherry and popping it into her mouth, then offering the tray to Kibeth, Dyrim, Mosrael and Belgaer. 'These are delicious.'
'I'm glad, I'm glad,' Betta replied, rushing around to one of the bread ovens and taking out three loaves that she had almost forgotten about. 'Only the best for you, my lady. And your friends, of course.'
'Can I have another one?' Kibeth whispered to Arael, eyeing the remaining fruits eagerly.
'Yes, of course. Help yourselves,' Arael answered. Belgaer, Mosrael and Dyrim quickly took another piece each, and Kibeth took three.
Betta smiled. 'I am glad you all enjoy them. My Lady Arael has always been fond of them, ever since she was a young girl.'
Arael nodded and grinned. 'One time, after supper, I sneaked in here and stole some. Do you remember that, Betta?'
Betta laughed heartily. 'Of course I do, my lady. The king, your father, was ever so cross, but I was just pleased that you liked my cooking so much.'
'I can see why,' Dyrim commented, reaching out to take another piece of fruit. 'These really are lovely.'
'Thank you, Mistress,' Betta replied, dipping another curtsey, still smiling at the memory of a misbehaving, four-year-old Arael.
The remaining fruits were soon eaten – mostly by Kibeth – and then Arael decided that it would be best if they moved on, so as not to distract Betta from her work.
'This is the way to the southern courtyard,' Arael explained as they left the kitchens and walked through another corridor. 'It's not used that much during the winter, but the Mid-Summer ball is held there – that's very similar to the Mid-Winter one you went to yesterday – and there's a beautiful fountain in the middle of it, although that looks better when there's water in it. I would take you to see it, but it is too cold to go outside at the moment.'
'I would like to see it,' answered Dyrim, and the others echoed her response. 'It is not that cold.'
'It is,' Arael said, frowning slightly, 'especially outside. And none of us are wearing cloaks. We would all freeze to death, or catch a chill or something.'
'You sometimes forget your cloak when you go out for a ride,' Dyrim pointed out. 'Yet you have not caught a chill.'
Arael looked suspiciously at her. 'How do you know that?'
'I... Ranna told me,' Dyrim replied, realising her mistake and improvising quickly.
'How does Ranna know?'
'We don't know,' Mosrael answered, taking over from Dyrim, who was now cursing her talent for reading human minds. 'You could ask her. She will be here shortly.
'How do you know?' Arael asked again.
Belgaer rolled her eyes at Mosrael's slight mistake. 'It's because we're sisters,' she explained. 'Over the years, we have developed the... slightly strange ability to... um... sense each other's presence. Sometimes.'
Arael didn't look entirely convinced, but she didn't get a chance to ask anything more as, right on cue, Ranna entered the passageway and made her way towards them, clearly relieved to see that none of them were obviously misbehaving. She momentarily stopped in front of Arael and curtseyed, at which Arael laughed.
'You know you don't need to do that, Ranna,' she said.
Ranna smiled. 'It is just a habit, my lady.'
'And you know you don't need to call me that anymore.'
'Too much like a hu–' Kibeth began, before Belgaer cut her off in mid-sentence with a sharp nudge.
'You missed visiting the kitchens,' Dyrim said, talking quickly so that Arael didn't ask Kibeth about what she had been about to say. 'We were given some more of those candied fruits we had at the feast last night. We would have saved some for you, but Kibeth finished them off.'
'They were wonderful,' Kibeth added. 'I couldn't stop eating them!'
'We were just trying to decide whether it is too cold to go outside and have a look at the fountain,' Arael explained to Ranna. 'I don't want any of you to fall ill, but they are all very eager to see it, and it is quite an impressive fountain, so...'
'We won't fall ill,' Belgaer assured her.
'If you're sure,' Arael replied, smirking as a not-particularly-serious idea came into her head. 'Maybe I could pretend to catch a chill, so Nehima won't make me sit in Petty Court this week...' She started to lead them towards the door at the end of the passageway.
'So far, so good,' Belgaer whispered to Ranna, as Dyrim, walking beside Arael, began suggesting other possible ways for her to escape from Petty Court. 'She still thinks we're human.'
'No thanks to Kibeth,' Ranna whispered back. 'Fortunately for us, Arael didn't notice what she nearly said. She needs to be more careful!'
'I know,' Belgaer agreed. 'At least Mosrael and Dyrim have only made subtle mistakes.'
Ranna sighed. 'What have they done?'
'Dyrim mentioned something that she had read in Arael's mind, and Arael was asking how she knew, and Mosrael made it a little obvious that she knew when you were going to arrive. And Dyrim has been making Arael a bit more talkative than usual. But, other than that, we have been behaving ourselves.'
'Do you happen to know who has been leaving Charter spells for preservation in those portraits in the Great Hall?'
'Not at all,' Belgaer said too quickly.
Ranna groaned as quietly as she could. 'I cannot trust any of you to behave yourselves!' she whispered, exasperated. 'I am just thankful that humans can't sense Charter magic.'
When they reached the end of the corridor, Arael opened the door and led them out into the southern courtyard – a large, neatly paved area, lined with decorative, stone pots that would hold several different types of flower during the warmer months. In the centre of the courtyard, an ornate fountain stood around 20 feet high, six proud, marble dolphins standing upright on their tails, ready to spout water from their mouths into the elaborately carved basin below.
'It was a wedding gift from my grandfather to my grandmother,' Arael explained, as they all admired the skill with which the fountain had been made. 'She loved fountains. Quite a lot of the ones you can see around the city were gifts to her.'
'It's beautiful,' Dyrim remarked, and her comment was echoed by the others.
'It's going to snow tomorrow,' Mosrael said, staring blankly down at a nearby, ice-covered puddle that still remained from the previous night. 'I mean, it looks like it's going to snow tomorrow,' she corrected herself quickly, seeing Ranna's warning glare. 'It might snow.'
Arael looked up at the sky, grey with winter clouds. 'I hope it does. I will be going out for a ride tomorrow morning, and that's always more fun in the snow.' She smiled at a sudden idea. 'Seeing as you don't seem to mind the cold, would you all like to come with me? You can borrow some of the horses in the stables if you'd like. And, if Astarael is feeling better, she is welcome to come as well.' if
'That sounds like fun,' Dyrim answered eagerly. 'We would love to.'
'Good,' Arael replied. 'I suppose I will have to ask some guards to accompany us, seeing as you are guests. I don't think anyone would be pleased with me if something happened to you because there weren't any guards around.'
'Oh, you don't need to worry about that,' Kibeth said casually. 'We often went out on our own back at our home. And I'm sure we can all defend ourselves if something were to happen,' she added, winking ambiguously at Arael.
'Are you sure?' Arael asked. 'Most people don't like the idea of going out without proper protection.'
Dyrim grinned at her. 'But we are not "most people," and neither are you. Where's the fun in not breaking the rules occasionally?'
'I was just thinking that,' Arael said, also grinning. 'Those exact words, in fact.' She tried to suppress a shiver. 'Do you still want to look around out here, or do you want to go back inside?'
'I think it's getting a little cold now,' Ranna answered, before any of the others could say anything.
'I agree,' said Arael, and she led the way back into the palace. 'Where would you like me to meet you tomorrow morning?'
'In my room, probably,' Dyrim replied. 'We all have our breakfast there, so that is where we are most likely to be.'
'And you really don't mind if there are no guards with us?'
'Really,' Belgaer replied.
Arael smiled. 'You know, you are not like any of the guests we have had here before. Usually, they are all very rules-conscious and annoyingly formal. I know that is how people are expected to behave in a royal court, but it gets so tedious sometimes. If I had asked any of the people who stayed here during the Mid-Winter festival to go out riding with me without any guards, they would have politely refused because it's not the "proper" thing to do. I'm glad you're not like that.' d like.'
When the morning came, Ranna, Mosrael, and Belgaer all gathered in Dyrim's room to wait for Arael. Astarael had still not returned, and according to Dyrim, Kibeth had not yet come back from her night of exploring in her dog form, so they all assumed that she would be late. Soon, Arael knocked on Dyrim's door, and Mosrael let her in.
'Are you all ready to leave?' Arael asked eagerly.
'We are,' Mosrael answered, 'although Astarael is still unwell and Kibeth is... um... getting ready.'
'She should be ready by now. I'll call her,' Dyrim said. Then, raising her voice, she shouted: 'Kibeth!'
'Coming!' Kibeth called back cheerfully from somewhere across the corridor. She bounded through Dyrim's open door and into the room, grinning and wagging her tail.
'Kibeth, no!' Ranna cried, but it was too late.
Kibeth fluidly transformed back into her human form and looked around the room. Only then did she notice Arael, who was staring at her, a look of complete and utter shock on her face.
Well done, Kibeth...
