Description: Daine meets a very unwelcome guest at dinner before discovering Arram having an unusual conversation with a female slave and a Stormwing.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Everything belongs to Tamora Pierce.
Author's Note: In some ways this feels a bit like writing It's a Wonderful Life with all the reasons things would have gone awry had Numair not been there. While the Dunlath incident certainly escalated with his presence, without it, poor Daine was effectively alone against five master level mages.
Chapter 5
Daine washed her face and changed quickly into a lilac muslin gown with a gold surcoat over the top. Beads in the hem weighed the delicate fabric down so it gave the impression she was floating when she moved. Kitten gave her a thorough scolding for arriving so late and demanded to know where she'd been.
"I'll tell you later," Daine dodged the question while she attacked her hair.
The young woman made it down just in time before the others left for dinner as Alanna sidled up next to her with a cheerful smile. "Did you have nice day? What did you get up to?"
She wasn't foolish enough to answer that question honestly, not after the Lioness' reaction this morning. "Nothing much. I wandered around a bit and spoke to some of the residents here."
"Be glad His Grace allowed you to escape. The talks were so dull, I'm not sure how I kept myself from dozing off," Alanna confided with a rueful chuckle.
After making small talk in the antechamber for half an hour, the guests were finally called into the banquet hall where the emperor stood by a large open window speaking to a pair of Stormwings. The one on the left wore a black iron crown on top of his dark hair with a pinkish-grey face and small brown eyes. Daine, however, recognised the Immortal on the right with his blond hair threaded with bones and green eyes. His Majesty was dressed in silver tonight with matching silver jewellery, but it was the mage on the other side that scraped at the young woman's nerves. He was dressed in a fine northern-style blue silk tunic, with a white silk shirt and matching blue breeches. His brown-blonde hair and handsome face hid the evil that lurked inside him as Daine saw red and snarled.
"Easy!" Alanna caught the young woman's arm in a vice-like grip.
"Honoured guests, we present King Jokhun Foulreek, our ally from the Stone Tree nation of Stormwings, and his vassal, Lord Rikash Moonsword. They will join us," Ozorne announced, encouraging his guests to come forward and introduce themselves.
Rage warred inside the young woman as she felt her hackles rising and the need to bare her fangs and rip the throat out of that prissy, loathsome, despicable –
"Daine!" the Lioness hissed.
"He's the one that did for Brokefang. I want him dead!" the young woman growled struggling to escape her friend so she could charge across the room and gut the mage.
"Now is not the time to seek retribution for a personal vendetta," Alanna grabbed Daine by the shoulders and forced the wild woman to look at her. "We're supposed to be making peace with these people. Get a hold of yourself!"
The knight's purple eyes bore into Daine forcing her to take deep, calming breaths until the madness retreated fractionally.
"You good?" Alanna asked after several minutes.
"Why is he here?" the young woman ground out, her voice sounding marginally more human.
"Let's go find out. Shall we?" the Lioness suggested keeping a close eye on her young friend.
The pair joined the queue of people paying their respects to the Immortals until the emperor ushered them forward. "Lady Alanna of Pirate's – oh, forgive me – Buzzard Rocks and Olau, better known as Tortall's fearsome Lioness and Veralidaine Sarassri."
Jokhun ignored the pair entirely, but Rikash turned his emerald eyes on Daine, staring at her intently.
Alanna bared her teeth at the emperor's intentional slip. "Who's your friend, Your Imperial Majesty?"
"Of course, how forgetful of me, may I also introduce Tristan Staghorn," the emperor gestured towards the mage.
"An honour, I'm sure," Tristan stepped forward smiling broadly to take the Lioness' hand and place a kiss on her knuckles before turning to study Daine. "You seem familiar. Have we met before?"
"She was at Dunlath," Rikash bated, green eyes hard.
"Of course! The girl in the woods," Tristan snapped his fingers, hazel eyes narrowing.
"You are acquainted with Veralidaine, Tristan?" the emperor regarded the young woman with newfound interest.
"Not especially," the mage waved dismissively. "The last time I saw her, she was running on all fours with a pack of wolves. Have you quite recovered from your madness, my dear?"
"I'm feeling much better, thanks," Daine snapped.
"This wild girl was rather troublesome for several friends of mine during my stay at Dunlath," Tristan explained to Ozorne.
"I still owe you for several of my friends." The young woman severely regretted losing this particular prey while he fled on the back of a hurrok. At least she and the rest of the valley animals had done for the other mages.
"How is that pack of mangy curs?" the mage sneered.
Baring her teeth and growling, Daine lunged only to be held back by Alanna who managed a curt bow before dragging the enraged young woman away.
"Go get some air. Now!" the knight glared.
"But –"
"No buts, just do it before you make a complete fool of yourself," the Lioness ordered, shoving the girl towards the garden.
Daine shook off her friend's hands and stormed out to the terrace. Why should she be blamed for what that monster had done? It's not like the young woman had expected to find the yellow mage here of all places! Brokefang deserved justice for what he'd done to him. The wolf's tormented howl still haunted her dreams at night while Staghorn burned him to a crisp.
"Daine?" The soft voice drew her back from the darkness. "How is it that you know Tristan Staghorn?"
Arram seemed to melt out of the shadows to appear by her side, warm brown eyes filled with concern.
"He was at Dunlath," the young woman hunched her shoulders.
"You were at Dunlath?" he asked, surprised. "However did you discover that conspiracy? Tristan was convinced it was his little secret."
"Some of my friends asked me to stop the hole making and tree cutting which was when I found the mages," Daine said bitterly.
"By yourself?"
"I had help…" she admitted. "The ogres in the valley rose up against their slavers. The animals helped out too." The young woman squeezed her eyes shut fighting against the memory of all the dead bodies.
"Tristan wasn't very forthcoming concerning the details about how his plot failed," the mage placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Daine looked up at him trying to hold back tears. "Those mages killed so many of my friends afore we drove 'em out. The Lioness and Knight Commander cleared out the rest but – I lost Brokefang – one of my dearest friends to Staghorn."
Arram cupped her cheek with one large, warm hand using his thumb to wipe away a few rogue tears. "Stay as far from Tristan Staghorn as you can manage. He is the emperor's dog and a very talented war mage."
"I'd kill him if I could!" the young woman snarled.
"The opportunity may present itself if the dice rolls in our favour," the mage lowered his voice.
"Are we allowed to talk like this? I thought there were listening spells about," Daine whispered, suddenly fearful without Kitten beside her.
"Don't worry, you're safe. Besides, what more can Ozorne do to me? Kill me?" Arram gave a humourless laugh. "He knows I would welcome it."
"Please don't," she grabbed the hand still cupping her cheek and squeezed. "I'd not want to see you dead too."
His thumb caressed her cheek gently, brown eyes burning with – something – when the gong rang for dinner. "Will you be all right?"
"I have to be," Daine took a shaky breath and stepped back to fuss with her dress. When she looked up, the mage was gone making the young woman wonder if he'd been there at all.
Lady Varice sat Daine beside the prince for dinner, the other end of the table to Tristan Staghorn. Kaddar was kind enough to have a seat brought for Kitten so the dragonet could join them at the table. Their talk throughout the meal was light and friendly while they discussed Kitten and various Immortals. Kaddar even managed to draw out a few laughs from Daine as he flirted with her. While the young woman knew nothing serious could come of being with a prince, she still appreciated the attention. The boys back home would often flirt and occasionally come seeking kisses, but Daine rarely encouraged it. Alanna was a strong advocate of enjoying your youth and being frivolous with boys, but that was mostly because she'd been thought of as a boy through the majority of her youth. Onua, on the other hand, always advised caution having been abused by her cruel husband. Daine tended to balance both of these opinions, enjoying kisses when they were offered but never doing more than she was comfortable with. Still, she wouldn't mind if Kaddar wanted to kiss her. He was very tall and handsome with his dark skin, black hair and dark eyes.
After dinner the entertainment was called in the form of acrobats followed by the Banjiku. Their animals instantly flocked towards Daine, eager to greet her again while she quietly encouraged them to return to their trainers. They were drawing far too much attention with this unusual behaviour. Prince Kaddar regarded the young woman thoughtfully when she retook her seat while Daine tried to ignore the stares and whispers, fixing her gaze determinedly on the performance and applauding at the end.
With the entertainment over, the guests retired to the reception area for pastries and drinks, forming small groups. Musicians played in a corner while the young woman looked for a place to hide when Kitten began to trill and click, staring at an empty space of air. Every time the dragonet clicked the space flickered revealing a man-sized distortion.
"She sees you," Daine informed the spy. "It's the first thing the university mages try – the invisibility trick. It doesn't work with her but if you don't show yourself now, she'll bite. Kit really dislikes invisibility spells."
"I trust she won't bite me," the air rippled and the emperor appeared.
The dragonet chattered while the young woman's jaw dropped before she quickly made a wobbly curtsey. "Your Imperial Majesty." Her eyes flicked to the throne where an identical figure sat with Arram knelt beside him.
"Simulacrum," Ozorne explained. "A living puppet. It grants me the freedom to walk and enjoy the conversation without needing to get involved in it."
Daine felt a cold shiver run down her spine. How many of the emperor's mages used this spell to spy on his subjects? "How are your birds? Have they improved at all?"
Ozorne's face fell. "No, more die every day. We were told you might be able to help them and after your display with the Banjiku's animals, we are inclined to believe there is something – different – about you, Veralidaine. Might you have time to visit them tomorrow?"
"I'd love to," she responded honestly. Daine had desperately wanted to know if cleaning the food dishes and changing the seed had helped at all.
"Excellent. I shall arrange for someone to come for you. I am interested to hear how you might heal our precious darlings." His amber eyes burned with an intensity that made the young woman feel very nervous.
The emperor continued to stare intently until Daine realised he expected her to bow. She bent at the waist and the air rippled as Ozorne disappeared.
Straightening, the young woman glanced at Kitten who shook her muzzle to indicate the emperor had left. Letting out a sigh of relief she gathered the Immortal into her arms. "Let's get out of here and find somewhere away from all this excitement."
Walking out into the luxurious gardens, Zek finally appeared from his hiding place in Daine's hair. The pygmy marmoset leapt onto Kitten's back when the young woman placed her on the floor so the dragonet could explore as the colony of bats came to say hello again. Daine didn't keep them long knowing they were eager to eat a pound full of insects, waving to them as they flew off. She explored the formal gardens with their beautiful hedgerows and flower borders set out in perfect curves and spirals until the young woman discovered Kitten was no longer following.
"Kit?"
The dragonet whistled softly to get the young woman's attention before holding a claw to her muzzle and pointing through the bushes. Creeping closer, Daine joined her to see what the Immortal had found, surprised when she saw Arram speaking with the Stormwing from Dunlath, Rikash, and the slave woman who had done her hair. The old woman looked different this evening with stubble on her head instead of shaved, an eye patch and a dice cup held in her gnarled fingers, but it had to be her.
"Snake eyes, I win," the female slave cackled gleefully at Rikash. "You're still mine, steel-wings. Care for a game dearie?" The old woman retrieved the dice and looked over towards Daine's hiding place.
The young woman emerged from the bushes and raised her chin with Kitten trailing behind, her scales tinged with pink. "What are you playing?" She still thought this slave might be some sort of spy or spymaster.
Arram blocked her path when Daine drew near to glare at the old woman. "She's not interested!"
"A pity," the old slave's eyes glittered wickedly at Daine before turning to pat the mage on his cheek. "Don't let yourself become distracted, handsome." With that she disappeared into the bushes.
Kitten charged after the old woman chattering loudly.
"Who was that?" Daine demanded of the pair.
"Never you mind. What are you doing here?" Arram's face was angry as he rounded on her, and the young woman caught a brief glimpse of why everyone had told her to be wary of this mage.
"Spying on us, no doubt. Here to cause trouble again?" Rikash bated.
"I wasn't the one causing trouble at Dunlath!" she snapped at the Stormwing. "That was on you and your kind and those mages you sided with."
Kitten returned shaking her head and looking very confused.
"I will remember to give Tortall a wide berth from now on." Rikash shifted on his claws almost looking nervous which was absurd. "Do you hear from Maura of Dunlath?"
The question caught Daine off-guard as did the expression on the Stormwing's face. Was that remorse? "I write her sometimes. She misses you. Her new guardian is nice, but she says he doesn't have your sense of humour. I think she'd like it if you visited, even if you and those mages made a mess of her valley."
"Maybe I will once events are finished here," Rikash said, a wistful expression passing over his hard features.
"What's that s'posed to mean?" the young woman narrowed her eyes. Stormwings weren't part of the negotiations! What were they planning?
"Daine don't get involved," Arram's voice was low and dangerous.
"I'm already involved, aren't I?" she scowled up at the mage. "We're s'posed to be having peace talks. What are you up to? And who was that old slave woman?"
"Slave? Is that what you believe?" The Stormwing threw back his head and laughed loudly.
"Ask no more about Her. She's dangerous," the mage warned.
"Funny, she said something similar about youwhen she came to my room this morning," the young woman tilted her stubborn chin to stare him down.
Arram held her gaze briefly before looking away, a flicker of despair running over his features and just as suddenly gone, hidden under a blank mask.
"What were you doing in the bushes then if you weren't spying?" Rikash shifted on his claws, piercing the young woman with his emerald gaze.
"Keeping away from people, which reminds me, the emperor asked me to visit his birds tomorrow, but I'd like to go now if you please?" she turned to face the mage.
"I should check on Jokhun. It wouldn't do for him to get suspicious," the Stormwing commented and took off, flapping waves of stench over them.
"Would you like me to fetch Lindhall?" Arram asked softly, avoiding looking at her.
"Can't you take me?"
"Daine, how many warnings must you receive before you heed them and stay away from me?" the mage squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Are you planning on hurting me?" the young woman challenged as Kitten rose onto her haunches to give her own opinion.
Soulful brown eyes filled with pain looking down at the pair. "I may have no choice –"
"Do - you - want - to - hurt - me?" She watched his Adam's apple bob up and down before he shook his head. "Well then, I'd druther not wait when sick birds need me, unless –" Guilt crawled inside her when Daine remembered Lady Varice bringing the mage a plate earlier. Had Arram eaten anything today? The young woman hadn't thought to ask if he was hungry when she'd dragged him off to the menagerie, too focussed on her own goal of finding her black hawk. She'd caught glimpses of the mage this evening between courses knelt stoically behind the emperor's throne. "Have you eaten?"
"Pardon?" Arram jolted, blinking in surprise.
Daine bit her lower lip and searched his face. "I was just remembering that Lady Varice brought you food after the midday meal, which you refused – and then I forced you to spend the day with me. And just now, you've had to watch us all through dinner –"
"Daine," The mage's soft voice cut off her rambling as he placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. "Slaves are fed before mealtimes as Lady Varice is well aware. It's so we aren't tempted to steal anything and also to ensure none of us feint whilst serving or performing our duties. You were worried about me?"
The young woman blushed and shrugged her shoulders evasively. "Could we go see His Majesty's birds then?"
Sighing and shaking his head, Arram smiled reproachfully before he knelt, holding out his hands to the dragonet. Kitten didn't hesitate, allowing herself to be swept into his arms as the mage stood cradling her affectionately. "This way."