Mrs. Forsythe would be horrified.  A lady does not do such things
during the daylight hours.  Then again, a lady does not do such things at
all, until she is married, and even then, she is not supposed to enjoy it. 
At least, that is what Mrs. Forsythe always said.  So, it would seem that
I am not much of a lady.  I fear I enjoy it a little too much, though.  No
wonder Father said it was a weakness.  It clouds the mind, it does.

	Aleksandr has left Nadine with me to watch after, while he works
on something.  He would not say what, but I assume it has to do with
finding Anton.  I shall have to do some investigating of my own in that
matter.  Perhaps someone at the inn saw something of interest.

	I would rather Kaedric had not spoken to Laughter.  I hope he had
more discretion then to tell her that we are...what we are.  Whatever he
told her, she found it most amusing, as did Archimedes, when she shared
it.  Perhaps I should not have come to breakfast.  Of course, that would
have looked even more unusual.  Kaedric does not understand.  I am not
ashamed to be seen with him, it is just that such things should remain
private, not bandied about at the breakfast table.

	So, now Corwin has set his sights on Sky.  Interesting.  I do not
imagine that this pleases Merlin overmuch, especially since Sky seems more
receptive to his father's attentions than to his.  It will be interesting
to see how he chooses to respond to this.

	Archimedes wanted a blood sample from me, to use against Eve.  I
told him that we do not share the same house, and he accepted this.  Of
course, I would not have given him the sample, even if we were of the same
house.  There is too much that could be done against me with such a
sample, and, no matter how friendly Archimedes has seemed of late, I would
be foolish to allow that vulnerability.

	Still no luck in reaching Eve.  Not even from Ygg.  She is either
in the Abyss, the Badlands, or one of the remaining universes.  The spell
I placed around Ygg should let me know if she passes into this universe
from another, but there is not much I can do if she is in the Badlands,
other than seek her there.  Which I may have to do, once Aleksandr
retrieves Nadine.  If only I could talk to her, I could let her know how
pointless this all is.  Halybard and the demon underworld are, for all
intents and purposes, destroyed, and killing Laughter will not gain her
the Priestess position, since the Serpent has never acknowledged Laughter. 
Eve would have to bring it Cymnea's head to gain that, and Cymnea's body
was burned to ash.  There can never be another Priestess, unless the
Serpent changes the rules.  Which means that she accomplishes nothing by
killing Laughter.  How can she kill the woman who is, in essence, her
mother's twin?  I wish I understood what has happened to her.

	I found much information at the inn, but not what I was expecting. 
It would seem that Laughter has been doing a few things without the
knowledge of her husband.  Archimedes did not seem displeased at the
discovery of this, so whatever she is doing is not something he found
objectionable, but the fact that he did not know of it is significant in
and of itself.  I wonder what else she is doing that he does not know
about?  I wish I knew what her interest was in that inn.  Perhaps then I
could make more sense of Anton's disappearance from that place.  He
vanished from a locked room.  If he left via Trump or sorcery, there were
no traces of it remaining that I could detect, nor any sign of the
Pattern's use.  Of course, it would not be difficult to hide the use of
Pattern from me, or Logrus could have been involved.  The
non-functionality of time magic is rather inconvenient, and I doubt it is
a coincidence that the one power which might determine how Anton vanished
has been nullified.  I am afraid that I have run out of ideas.  I hope
Aleksandr has had better luck.

	Kaedric has taught the child how to pick pockets this time. 
Aleksandr will no doubt be surprised.  Nadine's attempts to instruct
Caitlin and I were most entertaining to watch.  Kaedric has offered to
make Caitlin a Trump of her mother, based on nothing more then his
impressions of her and Benedict.  How can he do this?  It is beyond
anything Father ever taught me.  I must learn how this is possible.

	Caitlin was taken ill this morning, apparently.  How unusual. 
Could it have been a poisoning attempt?  Possibly.  I did not eat the
standard fare, so I would not have been affected.  No one else seemed to
be ill, but they may have hidden it as well as Caitlin did.  Or it may
have been aimed specifically at her.  I am sure that Benedict has more
than a few enemies who would be willing to attack him through his
daughter.

	Caitlin has rescued her mother.  It remains to be seen if this
will bring her the answers she seeks.  Wickling will be most unhappy, of
course, but this is to be expected.  I suppose it is too much to hope that
this Aelle holds much information on them.  I do not trust how quiet
things have been in Chaos of late.

	What did he tell Laughter?  She obviously knows that something is
going on between Kaedric and I.  It cannot be so apparent to all.  Can it? 
She did confirm, without confirming, what I suspected about that
constellation in Foil.  It is rather humorous, I suppose, that he created
that tale.  Perhaps I shall remind him of it, when he is being so smugly
sure of himself.

	I always feel strange when talking to Laughter.  It is still
difficult to remember that she is not Odemma, and this makes things rather
awkward.  They are much alike, and it hurts sometimes to be reminded of
Odemma's death this way.  I mentioned Caitlin's illness to Laughter, but
she knew of no one else who had a similar problem, other than herself, and
her illness was due to her pregnancy.  God help us, I hope that Caitlin
was simply the target of a poisoning attempt.  If she is pregnant, I fear
what Benedict will do to Aleksandr.  The consequences of his night with
Caitlin keep getting worse and worse.

	There is a cold feeling in my heart right now.  Ulysses mentioned
something to Laughter during the battle, about the Jewel affecting
fertility.  I thought it was simply a jest on his part, a jab at her
current condition, but if it was not?  What if it is true?  Archimedes,
Aleksandr and Caitlin are not shapeshifters, but Laughter is at least as
good a shifter as I am.  If she could be affected...  But Kaedric is a far
better shapeshifter than either of us.  That should be sufficient, even if
the Jewel has affected me.  Should it not?  It must.  It has to be.  I
want no children.  Ever.  I have no wish to raise a child, only to watch
it wind up like Father, or Maron, or Eve.  Of course, there is a way
around it.  Just because one is with child, does not mean one must remain
that way.  A simple solution to the problem.  And one Caitlin would be
well-advised to take, if she is carrying Aleksandr's child.  Quickly,
before Benedict learns of it.

	It would seem that Eve will soon be lost to me as well.  I still
cannot reach her, and it seems as though she has Fiona and Benedict on her
trail.  They will find her, and they will kill her.  Just another one of
Brand's descendants that will no longer trouble the universe.  I wonder if
it will be Aleksandr or I who falls next?  I do not believe either of us
is long for this world.

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