Chapter 105:  "I only fight enemies, and I have a lot of enemies.  I make
enemies wherever I go."

Thursday, July 20, 2994

	After Fiona leaves, Lucien warns Ariana that that isn't over,
whatever it was.  She knows.  She wants to go someplace Trump-proof.  Like
Faerie.  Lucien suggests talking to Bleys, instead, to see if he has any
Trump defenses.  Ariana isn't sure he has anything that can defend against
Brand and the Eye of Destruction.  Why doesn't he want to leave?  They
just got back to Amber, and she wanted the children to know about it.
True, but she wants them to know about Faerie, too.  He thinks for a bit.
Ariana paces, then begins packing.  He asks who she thinks is going to
help her.  Drumm.  He says that Drumm knows it'll be his head if he does
so against Lucien's wishes.  True, but she doesn't have to tell Drumm that
he objects.  Lucien shifts into faerie form and disappears.  Ariana tries
to use talking bones to reach Drumm, but he doesn't answer.  She decides
to go look into what happened to her father, to keep her mind off of this
mess.  She teleports to Maui, then begins shifting for the Shadow where
she was born.  She finds the going more difficult than it used to be.

	Alex studies the Spikard book, and determines that parts of it
have been completely erased and rewritten.

	Felix spends the morning with Tamaryn and his kids.  They want to
know why their toys don't make noises anymore.  He tries to explain that
they don't work in Amber.  Why?  Because that's the way it is.  Why?  It
just is that way.  Why?  Go ask your mother.  They do so.  Tamaryn gives
him a dirty look, and then gives the boys a simple explanation of Shadow. 
Ten minutes later, they troop back in and say they want to go home.  With
no TV, batteries, or video, what are they supposed to do?  Go out and
play.  OK.  They leave.  Tamaryn asks where they are.  Felix doesn't know. 
She tells him to go find them.  He leaves in search of them.  He hears
footsteps fading down the hall and giggling.  They shout that he's
supposed to count to 100.  He mumbles, then shouts "100."  They say no
fair, and he hears two doors slam.  Felix realizes they're still in the
wing containing his cousins' quarters.

	Vixen is reading the books on pregnancy that Ariana lent her,
while holding a loaded crossbow.  She hears her front door open and slam. 
She investigates, and sees a five-year-old boy crouched by the door, with
his ear pressed against it.  She sneaks up on him and taps him on the
shoulder.  Crispin screams and jumps two feet into the air.  Vixen pushes
him out, slams the door, and locks it.

	Felix sees Crispin get shoved into the hall, and asks where Donal
went.  Behind that other door, he thinks.  Felix knocks, but there is no
answer.  Crispin suggests that maybe he's scared.  This whole place isn't
theirs, is it?  Nope.  Crispin yells to Vixen that he's sorry.  Felix
tells Donal that there are a few more rules that need to be explained. 
Donal emerges from hiding.

	Laughter does army stuff until lunch.

	Lunch in Amber.  Ariana's kids are there, but their parents
aren't.  Jalana and Anne are watching Ana and Briana.  Laughter asks her
kids what they want to do after lunch.  A tour of the castle sounds good. 
Felix would like to come along with his kids, too.  Laughter asks why
Crispin looks guilty.  He explains his encounter with Vixen.  Felix warns
him to stay away from Vixen.  She did some bad things.  Is she going to
get a spanking?  The King is punishing her, in his own way.

	Ronan visits House Loretto, next.  Lord Peter, Marquis of Loretto,
answers the door himself.  He invites Ronan in.  Did he get Ronan's
message?  He doesn't have time to go over all of his mail.  His eldest,
Jacob, would have gotten it.  Ronan brings up the displeasure of the
nobles.  Peter has heard this.  Ronan explains the mission of the King's
Guard.  He's looking for men who are willing to be trained and who are
loyal.  Well, all of Peter's sons have young families, but he'll look
among his people.  Does he feel any friction among the nobles?  Not among
his generation, but he's not of the same generation as most of the other
nobles.  His father died young, and he's held his position for a while. 
Is the King's Guard going to be a prestige position, or will the men be
compensated?  If it's up to Ronan, they will be.  He can't promise lands
or titles, though, but a stipend should be possible.

	Alex requests a meeting with Nicholas, and gets one for the
following day.  He works on the amulet for Vixen.

	Laughter and Felix's families spend the afternoon touring the
castle.  Laughter introduces the kids to the dragons.  Clytemnestra is
angry when she realizes that Driscoll left her behind again.  Laughter
apologizes on his behalf and gets out of there quickly.

	House Chantris is next on Ronan's list.  He asks how their
relations are with the other houses.  All right.  Why didn't they send any
people?  They've got a bunch of horses to raise, you see.

	A page delivers a document to Laughter.  It has the seal of the
Seelie Court on it.  She checks for spells, and finds none, then opens it. 
It's from her faerie aide, Di'ghan.  He's arrived in Amber and has been
given quarters in the castle until she's ready to leave.  Laughter shows
the kids where their friends' quarters are, then takes them to see
Vivienne and Caitt, while she drops in on Di'ghan.  His Thari sounds very
practiced, like he's only been speaking it recently.  No slang, in other
words.  Laughter asks him questions on Faerie.  Are there political
frictions with anyone?  Well, there's always the Unseelie Court. 
Everything's up in the air, right now.  Neither Zane or Nicholas have been
tested yet.  They suspect some members of the Unseelie Court are working
with Chaos.  She offers to introduce him to her children, which he
considers an honor.  When?  Right after breakfast tomorrow.  Laughter
decides to give her kids cold iron bracelets to carry while they are in
Faerie, just to be safe.

	Ariana finally reaches her birth Shadow, and gets a Trump call. 
She refuses it.  A short while later, she gets a call she can't refuse. 
It's Fiona.  The King requests her presence.  Ariana assumes this is an
order.  Yes.  She'll be right there.  She returns to Amber and goes to
Nicholas' office.  He asks what she knows about the Jewel of Creation. 
Just that it's missing.  Does she know who might have it?  Have they
eliminated members of the family?  Yes.  Then she suggests looking for
unknown members of the family.  Relations of Vixen and Bridget, for
example.  He's thought of that.  He'll be blunt.  What was she hiding from
Fiona?  She wasn't aware that she was.  He tells her that anything
relating to the Jewel of Creation is very important.  She's told him all
she can.  Then she is hiding something?  It's not her secret to tell.  He
places her under house arrest until she reveals this information.  Ariana
goes to the battlements and broods.

	Vixen gets a note from Benedict, saying to meet him in his office
at three.  On her way to the meeting, she runs into Eric, who observes
that she's been avoiding him.  She asks if he's come to gloat.  He figures
Ariana must have explained the Pattern's effect.  Yes.  He was going to
tell her, until she hit him in the kidneys.  She thinks this is a sick
form of revenge, to father a child upon a woman he has no affection for,
and who will not love it.  He never said he had no affection for her.  She
continues walking.  So, now she thinks he's scum of the earth?  She turns
with a dagger and says she promised not to kill him, but she never
promised not to cause him pain.  She turns and leaves.  He says she won't
be rid of him that easily, but doesn't follow her.

	Vixen arrives at Benedict's office.  He hands her a deed to a
building and some keys.  It's for her brothel.  The people she hires must
be controllable.  A page will take her to the building.  It's easily
accessible from all parts of the city, and is sparsely furnished.  Vixen
has the page jot down notes on what needs to be done to the place.  This
takes her the rest of the afternoon.

	Ariana contacts Drumm via talking bones, and asks to talk to him. 
Is Alex in Amber?  She's not sure.  Will she protect him?  Yes.  He walks
through the wall of the battlements.  Ariana psychically explains the
situation.  He doesn't think Faerie could shield her from Brand.  She's
worried that Brand may have learned about Avalon.  He'll have to warn
them.  Is there any way to remove her memories of Avalon?  Not so that
Brand couldn't find them, if he tried.  Ariana asks why Drumm agreed to
retrieve her memories, when that allowed her to learn of Avalon?  He
didn't know that Loryn knew about Avalon.  Will he at least see if Avalon
will talk to Amber?  He thinks it'll be bad enough that they'll know
someone in Amber knows.  And Ona makes Fiona look like a lightweight. 
He's beginning to wish he'd never retrieved those memories.  Ariana shares
his sentiments.  He leaves.

	Laughter corners her husbands and warns them that she's going to
be talking to the kids about Faerie after dinner.  Is she going to tell
them she's a genocide?  Well, she'll just say there was a war, and faerie
casualties were high.  They also get to explain that Driscoll isn't coming
along.

	Eric sits next to Vixen at dinner and asks if her wrath will be
finite.  She doesn't feel inclined to forgive his betrayal.  He admits
that perhaps his actions may have been overly petty on his part. 
Although, given that she tried to kill him, he could have acted far worse. 
She argues that it isn't just her.  He says he realized what he was doing,
and the consequences.  She points out that he's delivered a weapon into
her hands.  She plans to use the child against him, then?  Maybe.  Well,
he isn't the world's best father.  She tells him he isn't helping.  He's
trying to make up for it.  Talk faster.  He supposes an apology is out of
the question?  She points out that he knew what he was doing.  She asks
what he had planned for this child, then leaves before he can answer. 
Laughter gives Eric a mocking toast.  Eric takes a long drink from his
wine glass.  Felix tries and fails to catch his eye.

	Vixen returns to her quarters and finds flowers there in a vase,
along with a short, sword-shaped package.  It contains a high-quality
sword, made of Toledo-type steel.  She takes the flowers up to the
battlements and begins shredding them and throwing them over the side. 
Ariana sees this and joins her.  After a while, someone clears his throat
behind them, and they whirl around with swords drawn.  It's Lucien.  He
observes that this is a macabre scene.  Ariana points out that the flowers
are all dead.  The day didn't go well, eh?  She doesn't reply, although
her expression says, "No kidding."  He takes it she'll be spending the
night up here?  She shrugs.  Vixen asks Lucien whether she can carry a
child in either of her forms.  Is the father a shapeshifter?  She doesn't
think so.  In that case, she'll be stuck for the rest of the pregnancy in
whatever form she happens to be in when the embryo implants.  Would he
consider shifting her back to her fox form?  He's under royal orders not
to.  Ah.  Nicholas is a reasonable man, though, so maybe if she talked to
him...  Ariana makes a face at that.  Vixen throws the flower vase over
the battlements.  Ariana likes the sound it makes when it breaks, so she
conjures one for herself and tosses it over the battlements as well. 
Lucien asks if there's anything he should tell Ana and Briana.  Ariana
says she'll see them before they go to bed.  Lucien leaves.

	Laughter Trumps Mandor.  He asks if the Shadow storms have reached
Amber.  Uh...Shadow storms?  Mandor explains that they went through
Middlecourt at noon.  She Trumps Nicholas and tells him of this.  He looks
angry.  She wishes she could help.  How is she at loosening tongues?  Not
unless it's someone she has a hold over, like Vetch.  Does his wife count? 
Uh...  It'll be to her benefit.  She'll try.

	Laughter goes to talk to her kids.  She explains her past history
with Faerie, and the fact that she's been appointed the ambassador there. 
So, at some point in the near future, they'll be moving to Faerie, except
for Driscoll, who'll be going back and forth, due to his obligations in
Amber.  Pax and Isaac aren't real happy about this.  Laughter says there
may be people in Faerie who take an overt interest in them, due to their
age.  Iseult puts her hand on her sword at this, prompting Laughter to add
that because they'll be there in a diplomatic capacity, they can't start
any fights.  Iseult wonders if she should be going, then.  Laughter says
she'll give them bracelets of cold iron, just in case.  Iseult hates
jewelry, and asks for a sword instead.  Well, maybe cold iron knuckles. 
Iseult loves this idea.

	Laughter talks to Hary afterwards, who points out that it would be
in poor taste for the faeries to run off with the diplomat's children. 
She's not worried about the diplomatic faeries.  Hary thinks the brass
knuckles weren't a good idea.  Laughter says they don't have to spend all
of their time in Faerie, and they'll be bringing tutors.  Hary figures
they'll have to find someone brave for Iseult.

	Ronan sets up camp for the night in a glade.  Just as he's
finished eating and is settling down for the night, he notices a giant
hound watching him from the woods.  Ronan draws his sword and heads
towards it.  It sits down and watches him.  After a while, it wanders a
little closer and sniffs a bit.  Ronan gives it some food.  It eats this
for a bit, then says it doesn't taste half-bad.  Ronan jumps back and
says, "Nice doggie."  The dog asks what he's doing out there.  Getting
comfortable.  The hound thinks that's unusual.  Ronan asks if he has
anything to fear from him.  Not unless he does anything stupid.  What's he
doing here?  Saw the fire, smelled the food, wondered what the fuck Ronan
was doing there.  Getting ready to sleep.  The dog flops down.  Ronan
introduces himself.  The hound says he has a name, but he doesn't like it,
so Ronan's free to make something up.  Ronan says he'll call him Bruce. 
That's fine.  Does Bruce have a master?  Well, his former master is
deceased.  Now if only he'd stay buried.  Yep, the hound is Shard's old
buddy, Battlestar.  Ronan goes to sleep.

	Vixen bitches about Eric to Ariana.  Vixen says she's keeping the
child.  Ariana is pleased.  Ariana mentions that she's under house arrest. 
Vixen asks why.  Nicholas wants to know information she can't give him. 
Ah.  Vixen doesn't want to go back to her quarters, since Eric got into
them.  Then she remembers the brothel.  She tells Ariana about it,
including the fact that Benedict suggested it.  Ariana is surprised that
Benedict is allowing Vixen to set up an information network in Amber. 
Vixen figures Eric won't find her in the brothel.  Ariana points out that
he could follow her from the castle, and offers to Trump her to the city. 
Sure.  Ariana is activating the Trump when the hackles on Vixen's neck go
up, and she turns.  Ariana pauses and looks around.  Shard is standing
there.  He looks the least human that he ever has, his eyes are very
bright, and he is pale.  To Vixen, he seems to be a super-predator.  He
has no smell.  He asks if there's any trouble, commenting that the
battlements is a strange place to hear breaking glass.  Ariana says that
Vixen had to dispose of a few, unwanted articles.  Vixen says she wasn't
the only one.  Well, if everything's all right, then.  Ariana asks if he
got her note.  Yes.  Is he interested?  No.  He's been a vampire far
longer than he's been human.  It might make things easier with Bridget. 
That's not his priority.  What is?  Becoming human will make him less
useful to Nicholas.  Does he think he might change his mind later?  No. 
Ariana says she's sorry.  Maybe someday he'll believe her.  He leaves
before she can stop him.  Vixen asks if he's an old boyfriend.  No. 
Ariana activates her Trump of the city again, and Vixen goes through.

	Ariana puts her kids to bed, then asks if Lucien still thinks
Bleys could help.  Yes.  Does she want him to come with her?  Given what
happened to her the last time she spoke to Bleys, yes.  He points out that
Ahab ordered Bleys to do that.  She still thinks he should have asked her. 
Bleys answers the door wearing only a towel, and looks like he was
expecting someone else.  Ariana asks if Viktoria is running late.  Yes. 
Bleys invites them in.  The room is lit by candles.  Ariana says she'll be
quick.  Bleys refrains from commenting, given her mood.  Ariana says that
Brand has been in her mind via Trump, and she wants to know if there's a
way to stop him.  Yes.  Bleys rummages around and pulls out a black Trump. 
He tells her to keep that in contact with her skin.  Will it stop the Eye
of Destruction?  He doesn't know.  She thanks him, tucks the card between
her breasts, and leaves.  She goes back up to the battlements, and spends
the night there.

Friday, July 21, 2994

	Vixen wakes up in the middle of the night with her hackles up. 
She draws a dagger.  Shard says that conventional weapons have no effect
on him.  What can she do for him?  He's not sure.  It's almost like she's
cast a spell on him.  He's heard that she killed the Queen.  Brand set it
up.  He tells her that he didn't come here to harm her.  She doesn't
believe him.  He points out that if he had, she never would have woken up. 
Why is he here?  He senses in her a similar love for the night.  And he's
just lost something dear to him, and maybe he wants it back.  What?  A
large part of his humanity, he's afraid.  He tells her that he's fed, if
it makes her feel better.  He'd like to be friends.  She doesn't have much
experience with that.  Neither has he, for 400 years.  He's often awake at
nights.  She's trying to become diurnal.  He doesn't have that option.  He
vanishes, and she goes back to sleep.

	Laughter has a dream near dawn.  This time, there's a wonderful
bout of foreplay, while she's tied to the bed.  Then she realizes that
it's Sequence who's doing the foreplay.  She struggles in her bonds, which
increases the pleasure.  She bites her lip to avoid feeling good, and
wakes up with Foster and Driscoll's arms around her.  She gasps for a bit,
then gets up, wakes up Pax, and asks if he wants to go to breakfast in
Middlecourt.  Sure.

	Felix gets woken up at dawn by his kids.  He plays with them until
breakfast, and does some working out, while they imitate him.

	Ronan wakes up shortly before the dog does.  Bruce rolls around
for a bit, then comments that Ronan let the fire go out.  Well, he was
sleeping.  Ronan rides off, and Bruce follows, much to the horse's dismay. 
Ronan visits House Orsola, which specializes in shipping.  Ilarion, the
Marquis of Orsola, only recently came into the position.  He is a young
man with three sisters.  While Ronan is waiting for Ilarion, one of the
sisters comes in and introduces herself as Calypso.  She is soon followed
by Ianthe and Georgia.  They study his hand, and seem delighted by the
lack of a ring.  They ask if he's new to Amber, and where he's from. 
Caledon.  How is he adjusting to Amber?  It's not whether he's adjusting
to Amber, it's whether Amber can adjust to him.  They laugh at his joke. 
They're all very pretty.  Ilarion is a while in coming down.  When he
finally does so, Ronan gives his spiel.  Ilarion comments that first they
needed men for the navy, now the army.  He doesn't have much left to give. 
Ronan points out that there will be 30-40 men in the standing force. 
Well, if he had anyone to send, he would, but he's already been hit up
pretty hard by Gerard.  There are some men who haven't proved useful on
the water, although Ilarion's not sure how trustworthy or useful they'd
be.  Ronan tells him to feel free to send them his way.  Also, at some
point in the future, he wants to meet with all the leading houses of the
aristocracy.  Oh, he'd like to call the Council.  That shouldn't be a
problem, if he has the King or Regent's approval.  Ronan says that he's
been given broad, discretionary powers.  That's fine, as long as it has
the Royal seal upon it.  All right.  Ilarion tells him to feel free to
send back the men, if they prove no better fighters than they did sailors. 
The sisters flirt with Ronan for a while longer before he leaves.

	Alex talks with Mebd, who's bored.  She decides to go talk to
Caitt, if he's going to be cooped up in his quarters studying all day. 
That's fine.  Alex goes back to work on the trinket for Vixen.

	Laughter asks Mandor what position Middlecourt technically holds
at this point.  They are a separate, but neutral, entity.  Have they ever
considered sending an ambassador to Faerie?  Yes.  Why the long history of
hatred towards Faerie?  Besides the fact that they helped steal the eye,
of course.  Mandor explains that legend has it that everyone is descended
from faeries.  Laughter doesn't like this idea.  Apparently, the Serpent
came into the universe and interbred with the faeries, much the way that
the Unicorn bred with Dworkin.  That's why Chaosites are such good
shapeshifters, since faeries are shapeshifters as well.  Then the Serpent
betrayed the faeries, once it had its own children established, by
stealing their lands and driving them away.

	Ariana hears Driscoll come up onto the battlements.  He notices
her, and therefore doesn't see Clytemnestra, who moves to attack him from
behind.  He sees the look in Ariana's eyes as Clytemnestra does this,
however, and manages to get up a protective arm, which she still rakes
pretty badly.  Then she pins him to the ground.  Ariana casts a physical
defense spell on Driscoll, which effects Clytemnestra as well, since she
and Driscoll are in contact with each other.  Then she casts one on
herself.  Clytemnestra lashes out at her, but she dodges.  Then
Clytemnestra flaps her wings and blows Ariana off the battlements.  Ariana
gets off a levitation spell before she hits the bottom and floats back up. 
Driscoll and Clytemnestra are having a heated argument about his leaving
her behind.  In the process, Ariana learns that dragons bond with their
riders by having sex with them.  She also learns that Driscoll once left
Clytemnestra behind for 400 years.  Eventually, Driscoll soothes
Clytemnestra's ruffled feathers.  Ariana offers to heal his arm.  He
thinks that will annoy the dragon.  Ariana heals all but the surface
damage, so it still looks bad.  Driscoll mounts Clytemnestra and proceeds
to drill the other dragon-riders on duty.

	Ronan goes to House Herse.  They sent all of their sons in answer
to his original request, and are honored by his visit.  Ronan says he's
extending his offer to their subjects.  Marquis Dagan will see if there's
anyone worthy.  Ronan explains his plans for the guard.  He also explains
why he told the people who showed up to call him Ronan, so Dagan doesn't
think his sons are being overly familiar.

	Vixen interviews two interior decorators for her brothel.  The
first is a man, the second an older woman.  She pays them both a deposit
for their sketches, then gets lunch in the city.

	Laughter and Felix's families tour the city with Di'ghan.  He is
very polite.  Iseult eyes him warily.  When she starts to get borderline
rude, Laughter tells her psychically that she should mind her manners. 
Besides, it's best to get enemies to like you.  Iseult would rather fight. 
The children enjoy the tour, which takes the entire morning.  Felix annoys
Laughter, so she calls him father, which generates a conversation on
spanking.  Laughter realizes that she's of age according to Chaos law now,
and claims she can't be spanked.  The children love this.  They have lunch
in the city, at the place where Laughter accidentally turned the people
blue when she first came to Amber.  This also happens to be the place
where Vixen is already eating.  When Crispin sees her, he takes a flower
from the table, brings it to her, and apologizes.  Laughter invites Vixen
to join them.  Vixen does so briefly, then leaves.  Laughter asks Felix
when he got his first Trump deck.  12 or 13.  Haris' ears perk up at that.

	Jalana shows up on the battlements and asks if Ariana's OK.  Yes. 
Jalana doesn't believe her, and asks if she stayed up all night.  She
knows Ariana didn't come home, and she's worried, because Ariana's never
done this before.  Ariana says she was thinking.  Jalana looks like she's
going to cry, so Ariana hugs her.  It turns out that she woke up while
Ariana was gone and sat up waiting for her to get back.  If Ariana doesn't
sleep tonight, neither will Jalana.  Ariana assures her she'll be there. 
Then she goes back to her quarters and yells at Lucien for sending Jalana
after her.  So she's mad at him?  If he'd listened to her yesterday about
going to Faerie, she wouldn't be in this situation.  That might not have
helped.  It would have avoided other problems.  Oh?  Ariana says she's in
an untenable situation.  Nicholas wants information from her that she's
not free to give.

	Ariana goes to lunch, where Jalana refuses to eat any more than
she does.  Ariana tries to fool her, but Lucien clues her in.  Ariana gets
pissed at this, and goes up to the battlements again when she's done
eating.  Jalana follows her.  Shouldn't she be with her sisters?  She
thinks Ariana needs her more than them.  Ariana asks if Lucien told her to
do this.  Nope, she just asked for Lucien's help at lunch.  Ariana says
she'll be bored.  She has needlework.  Ariana stares out at the ocean for
a while, hoping that Jalana will get bored and leave.  No such luck.

	Ronan visits House Karm, where he is well received.  They sent two
people in answer to his original request.  Duke Tevfik is their head. 
Ronan repeats his spiel.

	Usires refuses to kill Thorvold, or buy the leadership off of him. 
Instead, he goes on a bear hunt, then molds Shadow to make himself a house
in the middle of the night, right outside the clan's encampment.  This has
a nicely dramatic effect.  Three more days pass uneventfully, except for
Thorvold turning up missing.  The clan gradually begins to accept that
Usires can teach them better approaches to fighting.  By the second week,
a Shadow storm hits that lasts two weeks.  Usires checks his Trump of the
main hall, and finds that Amber is running much slower than he is.  He
spends the winter leading the clan on search and destroy missions of
Romans outside of the walls of Zenin.

	Vixen looks in on the people cleaning the brothel up.  Then she
goes back to Amber and takes a bath.

	Alex meets with Nicholas and explains that the book has been
modified.  Is he sure?  Yes.  Nicholas appears to be in a bad mood, and
makes a comment about there being too many secrets, of late.  He Trumps
Laughter and says her presence is required.  She comes through.  Nicholas
tells Alex to speak to her.  Ah, the power of delegation.  Alex explains
that the book that Drumm returned was altered.  Laughter wants the whole
story, since she's not going to go before the King of Faerie with false
accusations.  Alex shows Laughter the parts that have been changed, while
she takes notes.  She points out that Drumm swore on cold iron, and asks
what Nicholas worked out with Auberon.  He explains.  Laughter realizes
that the exact wording of the deal leaves the faeries with some room to
maneuver.  She points this out to Alex, and says that if they have not
broken their promise, Alex has to deal with them as an individual.  Alex
doesn't care, if it doesn't give him what he wants.  Laughter points out
that Amber isn't going to go to war with Faerie over his stupid book. 
Nicholas agrees.  Alex has someone he can go after for this.  Laughter
asks why Nicholas should extend his protection over Alex for this.  Well,
Amber is his home, he'd never want to hurt it.  Yeah, right.  Laughter
points out that he doesn't exactly have a place in Chaos anymore.  But,
she'll do her best to help him in this matter.  Alex leaves.

	Laughter asks Nicholas if what she said is all right with him. 
Well, Nicholas didn't feel like dealing with Alex.  She observes that he's
angry.  Not at her, right?  No.  At Ariana?  He nods.  What exactly is the
information Laughter is supposed to be pumping out of her?  The location
of the Jewel of Creation.  Ariana knows where it is?  He's sure of it. 
Laughter hasn't spoken to her yet?  No.  Nicholas says that Ariana has
been confined to the castle until she cooperates.  This is a very serious
matter.  Laughter will let him know if she learns anything.

	Laughter Trumps Felix and rejoins her family.  What was that
about?  Diplomatic stuff.  They resume their tour of the city, until
Laughter's appointment with Bill Roth at three.  She asks if Bill still
has that list of eligible young people who might want to see the world,
and Faerie.  He assumes gender is not an issue?  She's looking for a man
and a woman, without much in the way of prospects, perhaps a younger son
or a spinster.  Intelligence, loyalty to the crown, and diplomacy are the
three key factors.  Bill says that Chantris is a possibly, as is Feldane
and Nilus.  Feldane is the scholarly house.  Bill gives her a list of
names.  They're mostly unmarried women.  Laughter asks if he knows of some
untapped talent among the commoners.  Well, Ahab left a few resources
behind in the city, but other than that, his contacts aren't that great. 
Laughter leaves and begins setting up appointments with the people on the
list.

	Ronan goes to House Bolsena, which is the agricultural house.  The
head is Marquis Elias.  He had four sons who are managing his estates,
which is why he didn't send them, but now that he knows the offer extends
beyond the nobility, he will find some people to send.  Ronan mentions the
stipend he intends to offer, and his intention to mold the King's Guard
into an elite force, so he wants to meet with the landed aristocracy to
work out how the Guard will fit in.  Elias says that if the High Council
is called, all Heads of House are required to attend.

	Felix and Gerard's families have dinner at House Loretto.

	Alex Trumps Teresa.  She's in the middle of a bubble-bath.  He
tells her that he's spoken to the King, and he's sending his ambassador to
deal with the problem.  And the ambassador is?  Laughter.  In other words,
they're screwed.  Well, Alex never made any promises.  And he still has
that ring.  He's agreed not to make an international incident out of it,
though.  Teresa is sure that faeries disappear every day.  Alex is going
to give Laughter's method a try, first.

	Ariana leaves the battlements and sends Jalana to their quarters. 
Jalana says she's going to check the battlements later, just to make sure
Ariana isn't there.  Ariana goes to talk to Bridget.  She explains what
she learned in Bridget's Shadow about her family.  Bridget never knew she
was a foundling.  Has Nicholas talked to her yet?  Yes.  Is she going to
walk the Pattern?  No.  Why?  She doesn't feel ready.

	Ariana goes down to the practice room to work out.  She finds
Vixen lifting weights and joins her.  They begin discussing the brothel. 
Laughter shows up a little while later.  Ariana asks why Vixen became an
assassin.  Because her family sent her to assassin school hoping that
she'd die.  She didn't, and took out the one responsible, although Brand
made things difficult.  So, Brand has used her twice.  Yes.  They notice
that Laughter is still just standing there, so they ask what she wants. 
She asks how Ariana is enjoying house arrest.  Ariana narrows her eyes at
Laughter.  Laughter proceeds to try to get Ariana to tell her what
Nicholas wants to know.  Ariana insists that she can't.  Vixen butts in
and tells Laughter to lay off, since Ariana isn't going to tell her. 
Laughter snaps at Vixen, telling her sarcastically that she's been a big
help.  Vixen begins playing with edged weapons.

	Laughter mentions that she had another dream.  Ariana says Brand
may be sending the dreams via Trump, much like Sand once did.  She
suggests that Laughter talk to Bleys about protection from that.  Laughter
asks if this secret of Ariana's will endanger lives.  Ariana says telling
it could put lives at risk.  Laughter figures Ariana wouldn't keep a
secret if it wasn't that important.  Ariana says that it's a very old
secret.  Did she promise not to reveal it?  Not exactly.  Laughter says
she understands, and she'll see if she can get Nicholas to lay off of her. 
Ariana isn't worried about what Nicholas will do to her, it's what he'll
do to her family.  Laughter offers to take her children to Faerie.  Ariana
says she would have done that yesterday, but Lucien stopped her.  Laughter
figures Amber can offer her more protection, anyway.  Ariana says she
could have gotten protection from Faerie.  She has connections there,
after all.  It suddenly occurs to Laughter where the secret might have
come from.  Doh!

	Laughter goes to talk to Lucien, and says his wife is torturing
herself.  He knows.  He's been trying to talk her out of responding that
way.  Laughter asks if obligations from the past follow you to the
present.  It's complicated.  If Laughter will keep an eye on his wife,
he'll go to Faerie and see what he can do.  Laughter's hoping they'll
release Ariana from her obligation.  Lucien doubts it will be that simple. 
Well, are people obliged to marry the same person they did in their past
life?  Like he said, it's complicated.  So, if she'll make sure Ariana
doesn't walk off any cliffs, he'll go.  Laughter doesn't think Ariana is
suicidal.  Lucien says she walks a fine line, sometimes.  Laughter says
Ariana won't be happy about this.  That's fine, he's not happy when she
acts like this.  He says Laughter can get Jalana to help with Ariana, then
shifts to faerie form and leaves.

	Ariana returns to her quarters just as Lucien walks through the
wall.  She asks Laughter if Lucien is going to Faerie.  Yep.  Ariana
wanted him to bring the kids with him.  Oops, Laughter forgot to mention
that.  She says that Ariana could take the kids to Middlecourt.  Ariana
doesn't want to leave her kids someplace she's never been.  Laughter
offers to go with them.  Ariana points out that she has her new job to get
ready for.  True.  Laughter plans to ask Nicholas to give her more time,
which would give Ariana some breathing space.  Ariana wishes her luck. 
Laughter points out that not all problems need to be treated as if the
fate of the world rests on your shoulders.  True, but in this case, it
could.  Er, right.  Laughter leaves.

	Vixen goes back to her quarters and takes a long, hot bath.  Then
she takes a nap, since she's still not used to a diurnal schedule.

	Ariana contacts Lucien via the talking bones, and asks if he'll
take the children with him to Faerie.  Why?  Because they'll be out of
Nicholas' reach there.  Lucien says that Nicholas won't do anything to the
children, since his quarrel is with Ariana, not them.  Ariana is still
worried.  Lucien asks what Nicholas wants from her.  Ariana explains that
he thinks she knows where the Jewel of Creation is.  Oh, that explains it. 
He'll see what he can do in Faerie.  Ariana asks how he knows Faerie is
connected to this.  Just a hunch.  Ariana apologizes for dragging him into
this.  Lucien gets mad at her for blaming herself, and tells her to stop
it.  Ariana says she doesn't want to argue about it.  Lucien says he'll
try to hurry.

	Ariana checks on her kids, and notices that Jalana's missing.  She
eventually finds her crying on the battlements.  Ariana hugs her and asks
what's wrong.  Jalana's upset about the fact that Ariana's upset.  Ariana
tries to convince her not to worry, and tells her not to go off alone like
that anymore.  Jalana says she won't, if Ariana promises to feel better. 
Ariana promises that she'll definitely feel better if Jalana doesn't do
this anymore.  She brings Jalana back to the other children.

	Ariana goes to see Vixen, waking her up from her nap.  Vixen
mentions Shard's visit.  Ariana is upset when she hears what Shard said. 
Vixen asks what she thinks he wanted.  She thinks he's looking for a
friend.  Is he a danger?  Ariana doesn't think so.  They discuss the
current situation, and Vixen comments that maybe she should have postponed
pregnancy.  Ariana points out that she wasn't given a choice.  Vixen
admits that she intended for Eric to father her child.  They discuss why
Nicholas is angry at Ariana.  Vixen thinks she should send her children
into safety, so Nicholas can't use them against her.  Ariana explains that
Lucien doesn't think they're in danger.  Vixen wonders if maybe Lucien's
hoping Nicholas will use them to force her to speak.  Ariana can't believe
he'd do that.  Vixen thinks Lucien is capable of anything.

	Vixen asks if Ariana will be at dinner, in case she needs a buffer
between herself and Eric.  Ariana points out that Eric must feel somewhat
badly, if he's trying to apologize at all.  Vixen knows that, but thinks
he has to do more than give her pretty weapons.  She invites Ariana to
look at the sword.  Ariana does so, and realizes that it has magical
properties, namely a voice and a small amount of intelligence.  Ariana
asks it if it has a name, causing Vixen to think she's nuts.  When the
sword answers, "No," Vixen yelps.  Ariana explains about talking swords. 
Vixen tries to get it to tell her who brought it to her quarters.  It
takes her questions very literally, which slows things down a lot.  They
eventually confirm that it was a man with black hair and a beard.  Ariana
tells Vixen that she should name it.  Vixen thinks the name she chose for
her child might work for the sword as well.  And that name is?  Torment. 
Apparently both her birth name and her mother's began with "Tor" (Tordonia
and Torene, respectively), and it fits with the circumstances of the
child's conception.  Ariana talks her into naming the sword Torment,
instead of the baby.  Vixen says Ariana will have to help her pick another
name out, then.  They discuss Eric again.  Ariana asks if he knew that
Vixen intended for him to father her child, eventually.  Not unless he can
read minds.  Well, all of the family can, to some extent.  Oh.  Vixen
admits she's more inclined to hear Eric out now, provided he stops
accosting her in public places.

	Vixen asks Ariana about the royal family, since it's not what she
pictured a family as being like.  Ariana says her family wasn't anything
like this.  She thinks the Elders are the way they are because of Oberon,
who was a lousy father.  Vixen thinks having so many generations in close
contact makes things kind of twisted.  Ariana explains that this is a
recent development, and explains why.  Vixen is amazed that Oberon could
force all of his kids into marrying and having children.  She also wonders
why Eric is still married to a wife who hates him, now that Oberon is
dead.  Ariana thinks he may be waiting until after the child is born. 
They discuss what Eric wants with Vixen's child.  Vixen thinks he wants to
take it away from her when it's born, so he's being nice to her because he
doesn't want her to abort it, or claim someone else as the father.  Ariana
points out that the latter, at least, is unlikely to be true, since she
can verify the child's parentage.  Besides which, no one thinks Vixen will
keep the child, anyway, so why would Eric be worried about needing to take
it from her against her will?  Vixen asks what other reason he could have. 
Ariana suggests that she ask Eric that.  She will.  Ariana also says that
if anyone does try to take the baby away from Vixen, she'll support her.

	Vixen asks Ariana if she knows what happened to the Trump Lucien
confiscated from her, the one of Brand's escape Shadow.  Ariana didn't
know that he had it, but says she'll ask him.  Vixen observes that Ariana
seems to be used to having to defend Lucien.  Ariana admits that he isn't
real popular in Amber.  Vixen figures assassins generally aren't, plus
he's a Chaosite.  Ariana explains that Lucien used to be the Head of an
entire house of assassins, but he's retired now.  Vixen is surprised that
you can retire from that.  She wonders if Lucien might be willing to teach
her, so she doesn't lose her edge.  Ariana doesn't like the idea, because
she doesn't like assassination, but says it's Lucien's decision, so Vixen
is free to ask him.  Vixen points out that frontal assault is not always
the best way to win a fight.  Then she says she needs to test Torment's
edge, and asks what Ariana and her sword are doing after breakfast. 
Ariana considers this, then says she isn't busy.  Vixen figures that since
fate seems to be pushing her towards being a warrior, she should practice
her swordwork.  Ariana figures she's already better than most of the
younger generation, and asks how old she is.  25.  Ariana says Vixen found
out about Amber at a younger age than she did.  Vixen wants to hear her
story, sometime, since she thinks Ariana must have had an unusual
upbringing.

	As Ariana makes to leave, Vixen asks what she should do if Shard
returns tonight.  Talk to him.  Vixen admits that she finds Shard both
disturbing and attractive, a fact which seems to embarrass her.  She
figures vampires don't have much use for sex, though.  Ariana says this
isn't true, but warns her that she risks getting bitten if she sleeps with
a vampire.  Vixen asks what the effects of being bitten are.  Ariana
explains.  Vixen decides this is an attraction she should deny.  Ariana
agrees, and leaves.

	Ariana finds Eric rummaging around in the office he keeps in his
quarters, and asks to speak to him about Vixen.  He's all ears.  She
suggests that he might have better luck getting Vixen to talk to him if he
spoke to her in private.  Eric observes that the two of them seem to be
growing close.  Ariana says they share a few interests, and she knows what
Vixen is going through.  Eric says he appreciates her concern.

	Ariana returns to her quarters and finds that the boys are
missing.  They told Jalana that they were going "out."  Ariana checks with
the pages, and learns the boys were spotted heading for the gardens. 
Ariana uses talking bones to make sure they're all right, then watches the
girls play for a bit.  Jalana seems a bit less worried.  Ariana decides to
take a nap, since she's never had one of those strange dreams during the
day.  No such luck.  She dreams that Lucien turns into Corwin this time. 
So much for that idea.

	Ronan heads to Middlecourt, with Bruce still tagging along.  He
arrives late that night, and decides to sleep outside, rather than wake
anybody up.


Quotables:

"I know where this is going." -- Kris
"You do not!  Well, you might." -- Eric Braun

"I'm not here to compel you to volunteer, I'm just wondering why you sent
no one." -- Ronan to Tierney Feldane

"What the hell is a hedge wizard?" -- Eric Braun
"From the same people who brought you the garden weasel." -- Matt

"Everyone's ratting people out." -- GM
"Not me.  I don't know anything, see?" -- Laughter

"I'm lunching in my quarters and reading books on pregnancy.  With a
loaded crossbow." -- Vixen to GM

"My very own brothel.  It's a childhood dream." -- Vixen to the group

"It's not my secret to tell." -- Ariana
"They shouldn'ta oughta let you reincarnate out of the species, then." --
Laughter

"(Shard's) on my righteous indignation list.  Spawn of the Devil!" -- Ronan
"Am I on it?" -- Vixen
"On it?  You made it!  The list didn't exist before you!" -- Ronan

"I'm not going to leave you alone with the ultimate predator.  You're my
midwife." -- Vixen to Ariana

"I only fight enemies, and I have a lot of enemies.  I make enemies
wherever I go." -- Iseult to Laughter

"How many points did (Shard) pay to be killed?" -- Laughter to GM

"I'm kneeling in the dust of my proto-brothel with a dagger, being
pseudo-flirted with by a vampire.  I have good stuff!" -- Vixen to GM

"Then the Serpent betrayed (the faeries)." -- Mandor to Laughter
"What a snake." -- Matt

"Would you say no to a dragon?" -- GM
"Ariana would, if it wasn't a dragon she wanted to sleep with." -- Kris

"I am 40.  I cannot be spanked." -- Laughter to the group

"It's a nesting instinct.  I get pregnant, I build brothels." -- Vixen to
the group

"I don't want to torture (Ariana), she's my gynecologist." -- Vixen to GM

"I'm terribly smart sometimes...except when I'm not." -- Laughter to Ariana

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