Session 6

OK, so what have I learned from my latest conversation with Dad? He doesn't feel comfortable in Amber. Brand can get to him with just a grin. And he's still a putz, after all. He's running away from commitment again, avoiding Dara by hanging out in areas of the castle that she's not allowed to enter, and then planning to leave Amber without her in a few days. Nice backpedaling job there, Dad. After all of that angsting about whether you're ready for marriage, I honestly thought you'd decided to give it a try. You actually seemed happy at the ball. So what happened between then and today?

Random's funeral was predictably boring. Lots of flowery speeches about a man I'm not going to miss. It is a shame about the kids, though. I do hope Torrence manages to catch Caliban for that one. The most interesting moment was when Brand showed up late with his mother. Aunt Llewella says most of the family doesn't like her, although Brand and Bleys still get along with her. Fiona obviously doesn't, though. Wonder what caused that bad blood?

I thought the funeral was going to be the most notable event of the day. Little did I know. Aunt Llewella sprang the existence of a new Rebman ship on us, and invited Arthur to see it. Her name is the Clytemnestra, and she's pretty damn impressive. She can move through Shadow, her wood won't rot or burn, she has propellers that retract into the hull... Not bad for something built in Shadow. That was surprise number one.

Surprise number two was Stefan being named the commander of the Clytemnestra. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but there are more senior members of the military who'd normally be given such a command. Apparently Stefan thought so too, since he looked a bit surprised by Aunt Llewella's announcement, but he recovered quickly enough. He seemed rather happy, actually, and why not? This is what he's always wanted.

Stefan gave me another tour later on that evening, a bit more detailed than the public one Arthur and the others got, including the Captain's quarters. This was where I ran into surprise number three. He asked me to be his primary mate. I had a feeling he would one of these days, but I didn't think it would be this soon. I said yes, of course. It's a perfect pairing. He's Rebman, well-regarded, and I've known him for much of my life. He's not exactly hard on the eyes, either. I would have liked a little more time to be on my own, but sometimes you can't predict where the currents will take you.

I wish I could be there for when Stefan breaks the news to Torrence. The look on his face should be priceless. It has to be kind of weird for him to have his half sister pair with his foster brother. Stefan was never my foster brother, though, so it doesn't bother me.

Aunt Llewella made me Stefan's first mate, so I can sail with him on the 'Nestra's tour of the Golden Circle. That will make things more convenient. I really didn't want to be separated from Stefan for weeks, now that we're starting to enjoy the benefits of being paired. I'm not quite sure what to make of Aunt Llewella's reaction to the news, though. She said she was happy, but she wasn't smiling when she said it. I don't see why this would bother her. It's not like I told her I was sleeping with Caine, or anything. Stefan is an eminently suitable match any way you look at it. Sometimes it feels like there's just no pleasing her.

Arthur's coronation was surprisingly uneventful. It almost felt like an afterthought, really. I'm not quite sure what I expected, but it was almost as if the real coronation was at the ball. That's when everyone made their various oaths of loyalty, after all. Or didn't, in Torrence's case. The coronation did give me the opportunity to introduce Stefan to Dad, though. Dad was still acting kind of nervous, but he seemed OK with the sudden pairing, which is kind of funny when you think about how much he was agonizing over his relationship with Dara. Then again, surfacers have this strange insistence on pairing with just one person for life, which is something I've never understood. I mean, if you pair with someone and it works, great, but you shouldn't be stuck together forever if it turns out that 50 years down the road you get tired of each other. That's just way too much pressure to put on a relationship. No wonder Dad looks so nervous when he's around Dara. I wonder if she knows he's going to bolt yet?

I guess I'm not the only family member going to sea for a while. After we left port, I spotted Talia on Uncle Gérard's ship, the Agamemnon. I didn't know she had any interest in sailing. She didn't strike me as the type - too fragile looking. Then again, appearances are deceiving, especially among Amberites.

Our schedule called for us to stop at Tovinignea for a couple of days before heading for Trinados for Lenore's coronation. Unfortunately, there wasn't much for us to do in Tovinignea, other than deliver Aunt Llewella's offer of assistance in rebuilding there. Which could have been done by any diplomat, except that Aunt Llewella obviously wanted to show off Rebma's nice new ship. I suppose it's good PR for Rebma, but it was kind of boring for us. Fortunately, Lenore's coronation was a little more interesting. We certainly seem to surprise the Amber contingent when we arrived. As if Aunt Llewella would pass up such a grand opportunity to show off her ship again. Jaysen was the center of attention, along with his mother, so we didn't have much time to chat, but I did manage to introduce him to Stefan. It felt kind of odd, introducing my half brother's half brother to my half brother's foster brother. Torrence has quite the web of tangled family relationships woven about him.

So now we're at sea again, testing out the 'Nestra as much as we can, under the circumstances. It's kind of fun to go sailing into storms rather than trying to avoid them. I've been having fun doing other things too. I think I'm going to enjoy this trip.

Maybe I spoke too soon. Dad gave Fiona a Trump deck for me before he left, and she managed to deliver it to my quarters without anyone seeing her. That's not the creepy part, of course, I'd expect that from her. The creepy part was the note she left with the deck. Most of it was polite enough, informing me that Dad had asked her to deliver the deck to me, and that she didn't deliver it personally because she figured I'd rather enjoy the time alone with Stefan. She's got that part right! She even said she foresaw great things ahead for the two of us. But then she had to add this line: "But a word of advice: joy is all too fleeting, savor it while you can. Although you travel on a warship, do not seek out war, it will find you soon enough." What exactly is that supposed to mean? Is it a veiled threat warning us not to make trouble for Arthur? Or is it a prediction of the future? I've heard all sorts of rumors about Fiona being able to see into the future sometimes, but I never really put much credence into them. Now I have to wonder. What could she have seen?

Last modified on July 24, 1998 by Kris Fazzari.