Miranda's Page | Miranda's Logs
Miranda is unpacking when gets a Trump call from Sand, who says she must come through to Miranda and Maevyn immediately. Once she joins them, Sand says she's been with them since shortly after their meeting with the King, filling them in on the current state of things in Amber. Just to be brief, Corwin is married, his wife is named Lorraine, and his children are William, Michael and Amelia. There is a knock on the door at this point. Maevyn answers it, talks quietly for a minute, and then enters the room with Martin. Miranda asks what's going on. Maevyn says the gentleman has bad news. Miranda observes that there's been a lot of that of late. Sand asks Martin if someone's been murdered. No, there's been a theft. Miranda asks Martin if they've been introduced. Martin says they haven't been in this reality, then informs her that he's Martin, chief advisor to King Corwin. Sand says she's been bringing Miranda and Maevyn up to date. How long has she been there? She ran into them in the hallway after their meeting with Corwin. Martin's eyes narrow slightly. Miranda says that perhaps they could keep an eye open for the missing item if they knew what it was. Martin says that, unfortunately, he's not at liberty to reveal that.
After Martin leaves, Sand explains that the Jewel of Judgment has been stolen, and Corwin is furious. He's vowed to flay the skin from whoever took it. What is the Jewel of Judgment? Oh yes, it's a small red jewel. Sand doesn't know why anyone would bother to steal it, really. It would make more sense to go after the sword. Miranda comments that you'd think Corwin would keep something that important to him on his person. Sand explains that he usually does, which is why he's so mad. She's sure his sorcerers can find it, though. She also warns them that Corwin didn't want Miranda and Maevyn in Amber. He only agreed because the rest of the family insisted. Miranda should be very careful, since he'd love to have an excuse to get rid of her.
Sand tells them that there will be a family dinner before the party that they'll be expected to attend. How should they dress? Just so long as they don't come in another form. She suggests they compliment Lorraine's dress, since that will please her. Does she actually have any style? Well, she's a little rough, but Flora's been straightening her out. Miranda wonders if Flora might be willing to help her pick out a dress for tonight. Sand suggests getting to know Flora better first. And making sure she has a lot of time on her hands. Flora tends to talk a lot? Oh yes.
Sand informs Miranda that they've managed to arrange Jasra's release, and asks how close Miranda wants Jasra's quarters to hers. Not right next to her, but not so far as to be obvious. Miranda asks how the damage to the Pattern was fixed during the war. Corwin fixed it, with Oberon's help. Oberon died as a result.
After Sand leaves, Maevyn says they need to talk. Miranda agrees, but she's not sure this is the safest place. Maevyn thinks they could find the item in the dresser drawer, and turn it over to Martin. Not Martin. Why not? He remembers. How does she know? The remark he made to her earlier. She tells him about her encounter with Martin at the Pattern while Maevyn was busy walking it. Why was he trying to stop them? He liked what he had become. So he's probably a little irked with her. She suggests they turn the item over to Sand instead. Or, there are other possibilities. Miranda has five place Trumps in her deck: a courtyard, a crossroads, a beach, a library where there is a book title visible in Thelbane script, and a forest, which she thinks is outside of the Barimen country estates in Thelbane. She could use one of them to deposit the item in question. Or they could turn it over to a friend...use it to buy her pardon in Thelbane. Maevyn doesn't like that idea. Miranda likes it better than saying they've been framed.
Miranda gets a Trump call from Driscoll. He has a message from Brand: "Do not do anything rash." This has special meaning for Miranda, since she remembers having a conversation with Brand once where he used those very words, then added that sometimes these things work themselves out. She hopes this means that Brand has a way of avoiding execution. It also means that she really can't go ahead with her idea of turning the Jewel over to Driscoll, since that would definitely be considered rash. She thanks Driscoll for relaying the message and asks if Brand remembers. Yes. How is he? Chained to a wall. He seemed surprised that Driscoll remembered. Miranda is a bit surprised as well. Driscoll says others remember as well, but he won't say who they are.
While Miranda is dressing for dinner, she gets a Trump from Driscoll again. She covers up and answers. Is this a bad time? She's dressing for dinner. She'll call him in ten minutes. When she does, he explains that Yut-Lung wants to join them, since he's feeling disoriented in Chaos. Apparently he's one of the people who remembers the previous universe. Miranda says she'd love to see Yut-Lung, but she'll need to check on what the protocol is.
After ending the contact, Miranda sends for the seneschal, Lord Hendin, and informs him that she has a friend from Shadow who wishes to join her in Amber. Lord Hendin asks what his rank is. She and Maevyn explain that he's the nephew of an Emperor in Shadow but is on bad terms with him. That seems to give Hendin the information he needs. He tells Miranda to bring her friend to Princess Florimel when he arrives. She'll have to outfit him, though. Have they been told about their stipend? No. He explains that they get a monthly sum from the Crown. All they have to do when they are in town is say they are from the castle. Miranda thanks him for his help.
After Hendin leaves, Miranda Trumps Driscoll again and says she's ready for Yut-Lung to come through. Will she need to Trump him? That isn't necessary. If Driscoll touches Yut-Lung, he'll be brought into the contact. He does this. Yut-Lung appears, looking rather startled. His hair has been cut short, which surprises Miranda, but she wisely doesn't comment on it. She tells Yut-Lung to extend his hand, then takes it and pulls him towards her. Unfortunately, he's still hanging onto Driscoll, so Driscoll comes through too. Ooops. There is a brief moment of panic, which Yut-Lung doesn't understand, until Driscoll explains that he apparently slaughtered a lot of people in the East in this universe, so he's persona non grata in Amber. Miranda shows her place Trumps to Driscoll and asks if he recognizes any of them. No. He won't be able to use the ones in Chaos, anyway, since they're too far. Maevyn offers him a Trump of Succat, but that won't work for the same reason.
The group's discussion on what to try next is interrupted by a knock at the door. Driscoll jumps into a closet while Maevyn deliberately takes his time responding to the sound. When he opens the door, a servant informs him that Corwin wishes to speak to Miranda before the dinner. Maevyn says she'll be ready in half an hour. The servant doesn't look like a delay is an option. Miranda comes to the door, shows him that her hair is still down, and says that if she's to speak to the King, she'll need to put it up. Ah. He offers to send her some servants, but Maevyn says that won't be necessary. The servant looks puzzled, but leaves.
Maevyn Trumps his sister Lily and is able to get through to her. He asks if he can pass Driscoll through to her. Certainly. Driscoll leaves, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
Miranda finishes arranging her hair, then goes to her meeting with Corwin. She is brought to the Hall of Portraits, where he's waiting. He explains that she'll be given control of her father's lands and titles. She wasn't aware that her father had lands. Oberon gave lands to all of his children. There are a few restrictions, though. She'll need to walk the Pattern to prove that she's the blood of Oberon. There's a slight problem with that. Oh? Walking the Pattern will likely injure the child she's carrying. Ah. In that case, the Crown will maintain the lands until she is able to walk the Pattern. Can't she just shift Shadow to prove she's descended from Oberon? There are other ways to accomplish that, like really advanced shapeshifting. Miranda recalls how Perrin was able to track her through Shadow, and realizes that this is true. So there's no way to tell if someone has already walked the Pattern? Only by witnessing it. It's considered a right of passage here. Miranda pauses, then explains that she's already walked a Pattern. Which one? She isn't sure. Her father didn't want her to know. Was it outdoors or inside? Inside. Under water? No. He asks if anyone witnessed it. Only Maevyn and her father. Corwin, of course, can't take their word for it, since he suspects her husband would lie to protect her, and he wouldn't trust anything her father said. She says her father has changed, although she understands that he won't believe that. He doesn't. Do they have an understanding? Yes.
Miranda heads back to her quarters. Maevyn is there, sans Yut-Lung, who he took to Florimel. He reminds her that there's still the matter of the Eye to deal with. Miranda says that giving it to Sand is probably the best of their bad options. Maevyn agrees. He Trumps Sand and asks her to join them. After she comes through, he shows her the Eye and claims he found it in a drawer when he was unpacking. Sand doesn't look happy. Miranda wonders if maybe Martin was setting them up. Sand says she'll take care of it.
The family dinner is unexciting. Corwin sits at the head of the table, with Martin, his wife, and his children. Amelia appears to be in her early 20's, her brothers are in their early 30's. Florimel sits next to the Queen. Amelia looks down the table as if she'd like to talk to them, but they're too far away. Maevyn and Miranda overhear Deirdre telling Corwin that some of the Golden Circle kingdoms want Driscoll brought up on war crimes charges. Corwin says that the situation with the Courts isn't such that they can demand that. If the Golden Circle wants Driscoll, they can hire assassins like everyone else. Martin makes a remark about an odd blip that he noticed earlier, looking down towards Miranda and Maevyn as he speaks. Corwin asks what blip. Martin is still looking into it.
After dinner, the family chats for a bit before the party. Delwin comes over to talk with Miranda and Maevyn. He asks how they managed to steal the Jewel. Both look innocent and claim not to know what he's talking about. They heard it was missing, of course. He tells them that it turned up in Florimel's jewelry box. Really? Miranda suggests that maybe she wanted to wear it to the party. Who knows? Delwin says you'd think Corwin would be able to keep a better eye on that thing. He notes that Martin doesn't appear to like them. Miranda says he seems to think they've met before, for some reason. Delwin says that Martin isn't fond of Chaosites, which is ironic, since he studied there for a time. Miranda suggests that maybe he dislikes her because she is Brand's daughter. Delwin admits that Martin has reason to hate Brand.
The party is a bit uncomfortable. Everyone is pleasant, but Maevyn and Miranda can sense that they aren't well liked. Yut-Lung attends wearing robes from his Shadow, which leave him looking, and acting, very imperious. He keeps his face impassive, only occasionally allowing a small smile to show on his face. At one point during the evening, he notes to Miranda that the people in Amber are very coarse. She quite agrees.
Amelia talks to Maevyn and Miranda for a bit, asking if everyone has been polite. Miranda says they have. Amelia asks if they know Delwin. They just met him tonight. She saw him talking with them and thought maybe they were acquainted. No. Miranda notes that he seemed very friendly. Amelia finds this a bit amusing. Apparently Delwin doesn't mingle much. He spends most of his time studying. He's a sorcerer, like Martin. Martin's more obvious about it, but she thinks Delwin is better. That would make sense, given that he's been studying longer. Miranda asks what one does in Amber for leisure. Hunting, horseback riding, and of course, the traditional female tasks of tapestry making and sewing salons. Miranda looks interested in that. Amelia says that, in time, people will begin to invite them to social functions. Miranda figures that if nothing else, she'll have plenty of things to paint for a while. Amelia asks if she's a Trump artist. Yes. Amelia notes that those are in short supply right now, and Bleys isn't a good teacher. He's too impatient. Would Miranda be willing to teach? If she was asked. Amelia says Miranda should save that for when she needs a favor, then looks a bit chagrined, feeling that her comment was not polite. Miranda says it was honest, and she doesn't mind. Later in the conversation, Miranda admits that she and Maevyn do not know a great deal about Amber and its history. Amelia says they could have a tutor to instruct them in this, along with other subjects, if they wish. Since there are no children in Amber right now, there's little for them to do. Miranda thinks this is an excellent idea.
After the party, Maevyn tells Miranda that he's received an invitation from Maseera to attend a party she's throwing in Thelbane to celebrate the end of the war. Unfortunately, the party is tomorrow, the day of Brand's execution. Miranda encourages him to attend the party, since that will give him an opportunity to find out more about what the revised Chaos history is now. Besides, Brand's execution is likely to put her in a mood where she won't be very good company. Maevyn in concerned about leaving her alone, but reluctantly agrees.
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Miranda's Logs
All text on this page is © 2002-2003 by Kris Fazzari.
Last modified on January 20, 2003 by Kris Fazzari.