Chapter Forty-four Ariana knocks on Mirelle's door, but there's no answer. She looks in the library for some books on Chaos law, but can't find any. She has a page bring her to Bill Roth's office. She asks Bill for a book on Chaos law relating to genealogy. He unlocks a cabinet and brings her a rather thick tome. She asks if she can take it with her. He says he trusts her with it. She takes it to her room and reads until lunch. Heather takes Mandor on a picnic in shadow. She neglects to tell him of her plans until he finds her in the kitchen and asks what she's doing. She explains that she's going on a picnic. He asks why. She asks what else you'd do at Ygg. He asks why she's going there. She's says she's planning to ask Ygg about the secrets of the Universe. Mandor admits that it's a good plan and agrees to accompany her. He starts changing the contents of the basket. Heather gets pouty. Mandor explains that some foods just go better together than others. Felix weight trains with Foster and tells him he's got potential. He figures Foster is currently stronger than Ahab, if you don't count Ahab's weight advantage. They work out until lunch time. Rinaldo is standing in the ocean and won't come in for lunch. Eris tells him he can stay out there, but the sharks will get him. This causes Rinaldo to pause for thought, but he still doesn't move. Felix expresses concern that Eris may be responsible for this. Eris feigns innocence. Everyone but Rinaldo eats lunch. Eris talks about her latest shopping trip with Flora. She speculates that Felix could carry lots of packages. Felix says he's played this game before. Eris tells him she'll be going shopping again next weekend. Felix plays dumb, in hopes of getting out of this. He changes the subject and asks how long Rinaldo's been standing in the ocean. Eris says he's been there since after breakfast. Felix wonders if he's stuck. Eris yells out and asks him. Rinaldo doesn't answer, but he seems to be fascinated with his feet. Ahab asks if Ariadne's condition is due to head injury or loss. Deirdre tells him to take his pick. Corwin leaves. Ahab sits down next to Ariadne and wraps a blanket around her. Her puzzled expression deepens. He calls her name, but gets no response. He looks her in the eye, but she still ignores him. Ahab Trumps Flora and asks for her help. She asks what's going on. He tells her that the Rose was attacked and Ariadne's husband was killed. Flora guesses that Ariadne's not taking it well. Ahab explains what she's doing. Flora says catatonics are tough to deal with and she's not sure that she could do any good, since she's unfamiliar with the situation. Ahab picks up on the hint and fills her in on the particulars. Flora asks why Ahab thinks she could help. Ahab tells her she's the psychologist in the family. Flora denies this. Ahab keeps pressing for her help. She tells Ahab that he and Abe were different enough that he's not doing any harm by being there. She suggests he leave Ariadne alone for a while and give her time to adjust. She asks if this will delay his wedding. Ahab doesn't think so, but he tells her that the location will have to change, due to the Hendrake vendetta against Kimdyl's house. Flora asks if this means they'll have the wedding in Amber. Ahab says he needs to talk it over with Kimdyl first. He breaks the contact. Ahab asks Ghostwheel where he could find some flowers. Ghostwheel says it knows of a place and asks if he wishes to go there. Ahab asks if it's safe. Ghostwheel says it is, currently. Ahab asks to be taken there, after ascertaining that Ghostwheel will be there to take him back. He appears in a greenhouse and grabs half a dozen white roses. Ghostwheel takes him back to the Rose. Ahab puts three of the Roses by Lyss' bed and places the rest in Ariadne's lap. He pats Ariadne on the head, which causes her to blink, look at him and ask "What?" Ahab apologizes, saying he didn't expect her to notice. She thanks him for the roses and asks if he's leaving. Ahab says he has to get back to Kimdyl before she kills one of the servants. Ariadne begins twirling one of the roses in her hands, ignoring the damage the thorns are doing. Ahab asks if she wants him to take her and Lyss back to Amber. Ariadne figures Lyss will be safe here, but she won't be staying long. Ahab asks if Deirdre will be remaining. Deirdre says if she leaves, she'll be returning to Amber. Ahab expresses his concern that Lyss not be left alone. Deirdre gives him a "No kidding" look. Ariana knocks on Mirelle's door again, but there's still no answer. She goes down to the dining hall for lunch and spots Mirelle there, along with Ahab, Kimdyl, Nicholas, Flora, Random and Vialle. Random looks like his mood has not improved. Ariana sits down across from Mirelle. Mirelle waves and goes back to picking cherries out of the dessert tray. Ahab tries to persuade Kimdyl to have the wedding in Amber. She refuses. Ahab begins softly singing "Ding, dong the witch is dead." Mirelle hears this and identifies the song as being from _The Wizard of Oz_. Ariana asks Ahab where Lyss is. Ahab indicates he doesn't want to talk about it at lunch. She asks to talk with him afterwards. He asks for a few minutes to grab Flora first. Ariana chuckles. Kimdyl raises the Logrus. Ariana raises the Pattern in response and goes back to her seat. When she attempts to sit down, Kimdyl pulls it out from under her. Ariana suggests Random do something about the walking chairs. Random looks confused. Mirelle starts singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Ariana looks at Random. Random locks eyes with her. He does not look pleased. Alex asks Mebd if she'd care to come on a trip with him. She says she doesn't feel like traveling right now. She makes him some sweet and sour chicken for lunch. He spends the rest of the afternoon researching spells. Heather wants to bring Emer along on the picnic, but Mandor thinks that's a bad idea. He offers to put everything into stasis while they're gone. Heather finds that acceptable. They go to Ygg, where it seems to be spring. While they are eating their picnic lunch, Heather scans the area occasionally. She catches a glimpse of a flash of silver and is concerned for a while. Eventually, she figures out it's one of Mandor's balls. After lunch, she walks around and stares at Ygg for a while. When this elicits no response, she mentions she was under the impression that it could talk. Ygg replies that it can, but points out that she hadn't said anything to it. Heather asks if many people come by. It says they do, but they usually want information. It thanks her for sharing her picnic with it. Heather says she has some philosophical questions to ask it. It tells her it doesn't know how good it will be at philosophy, since it doesn't get out much. Heather asks if there's more than one of it. It says it's kind of like the Christian mythos and asks why she's interested. She says she's doing research. She questions it some more and learns that it marks the boundary between order and Chaos, but it doesn't separate the Patterns from each other. They set their own boundaries, but their boundaries aren't like Ygg's. It asks what she's going to do with this information. She says she hasn't decided yet. It observes that this information doesn't appear to have helped her any. She admits it complicates things, but what else is research for? She asks a few more questions and discovers that the boundary between order and Chaos never changes. Heather and Mandor return to Mandorways. Felix observes to Eris that Foster's looking rather glum. Eris points out that he always looks that way. Felix suggests she might be able to cheer him up. Eris says he doesn't like her, and besides, she has a plan for him. Ahab intercepts Flora as she leaves the dining hall and tells her that Kimdyl insists on having the wedding on Chaos. Flora suggests he wear a kevlar tuxedo. She tells him she has something for him to give to Kimdyl. Ahab tells Ariana he'll be back shortly. Kimdyl looks unhappy about Ahab leaving with Flora. Ariana smiles evilly and tells Kimdyl not to worry, Ahab can be quick when he wants to. Kimdyl does not appreciate this at all. Flora brings Ahab to her quarters and gives him some dress ideas. She tells him to present them to Kimdyl as his idea. Ahab keeps insisting she's the psychologist in the family. Flora wants to know where he gets these ideas. He thanks her for the dress suggestions and returns to the dining room. Mirelle leaves the room in a bit of a funk shortly before Ahab returns. Ariana asks if he's ready now. Kimdyl is upset that Ahab is talking to Ariana. Ahab and Ariana find a more private room to talk. Ariana asks him what happened to Lyss. He fills her in about that, as well as Abe's death defending the Rose. Ariana feels bad about Lyss, but Ahab points out there's nothing either of them could have done to stop Dworkin. They discuss Kimdyl's jealousy for a while. Ariana asks Ahab to see if he can persuade Kimdyl that her jealousy is unwarranted. Ahab agrees to try. Ariana comments that if all the women in House Vetch are like Kimdyl, she hopes she has a boy. Ahab points out that she might want to change her mind, seeing as how Vetch has no sons. They speculate as to whether house successions in Chaos only pass through the male. Ahab figures that given the way women are treated in Amber and Chaos, that's probably the case. Ariana asks if Ahab knows what house Alex is affiliated with. He doesn't, but says he'll ask Kimdyl. Ariana asks if he's seen Bleys since the aborted rescue attempt. Ahab admits he hasn't. They both find this worrisome. Alex Trumps his mother. She's in her bedroom with Eric. Alex is nonplused about this. His mother figures out he's seeing someone and asks who it is. She's disappointed that it's not an Amberite, but is pleased when he tells her Mebd is the daughter of the consort to the Crown Prince. She advises him to get Mebd pregnant before she can change her mind. Alex mentions that Mebd was rather tired when he left, which elicits a pleased smile from her. Heather quizzes Mandor about his abilities in transportation. She wants to know what lies at the mid-points between the various powers, what's at the central point, is that where Ygg is, how do shadow storms affect them, etc. Mandor figures he knows of ways to reach these places and asks where she wants to begin. She decides to start with shadow storms. Ahab returns to his quarters, but Kimdyl's not there. He asks a page where she is, but she hasn't been seen. She's not at the library either. Felix goes to Murine's room to sit with her while he reads Nietzche. Kimdyl appears and notes that Murine is drooling. She tells Felix he's wasting his time with Nietzche and that he's a fool to listen to Foster. Felix asks what he can do for her. She asks for some cyanide. He asks why. She says she has to deal with a rat problem. Felix is not happy with this answer. He tells her he doesn't know where poisons are kept in the house. Kimdyl notes cyanide does wonders in a spray bottle. Felix is afraid she's going to use it on him. Kimdyl laughs. Felix asks if Foster's always so moody. Kimdyl tells him that Foster was the norm where she's from. Ahab brings the Rose to mind and teleports to Kimdyl. Kimdyl tells Felix not to say anything about the poison, then tells Ahab they're leaving. Ahab sits down. Kimdyl asks if he filled Ariana in. Ahab says he told her about what happened Rose-wise. He also says the cyanide is not necessary. Kimdyl complains that she hasn't had any fun since Murine was almost killed. Ahab suggests they work on aiding Murine's recovery then. Kimdyl says she's done all she can. Ahab asks if she knows anyone else who can help. She claims she does, but she didn't think he'd appreciate that. Ahab asks Kimdyl what house Alex is a part of. Kimdyl laughs. She tells him that Alex's mother belonged to House Borge, until she got pregnant and was kicked out because she wasn't married to the father. She adds that there's a rumor that the father was an Amberite, supposedly one of the red-heads. Ahab, Felix and Kimdyl start talking about Foster. Ahab asks if they've ever noticed how moody people can get in these moods where... He catches the kick Kimdyl aims at his head. She says a few words and disappears. Ariana goes up to Mirelle's room and knocks. When Mirelle invites her in, she says they need to talk. Mirelle asks about what. Ariana asks what her father was like. Mirelle feigns ignorance. Ariana explains that Mirelle's Pattern ghost admitted that Mirelle is her mother. Mirelle frowns. She tells Ariana that her father was a nice man, but he had an alcohol problem. He got drunk one night while Mirelle was still pregnant and started hitting her. She killed him. She left Ariana in shadow about a year later. Ariana asks if she'd ever been to that shadow before. Mirelle admits she hadn't, but she'd always liked the pictures and the couple seemed nice enough. Ariana says they were and that she misses them. Mirelle asks if they're dead. Ariana tells her they are. Mirelle figures it's come full circle then. Ariana says she'll leave if Mirelle wants her to. Mirelle tells her that's not necessary, but she's not sure what to do now. She assumes that Ariana wants to exact some sort of revenge because she killed Ariana's father and abandoned her. Ariana assures her that's not the case. She points out that the circumstances under which Mirelle killed her father were understandable, and Mirelle did find a decent place to leave her. They decide to be friends. Ariana tells Mirelle that she's going to have a baby. Mirelle asks if the father is still alive. Ariana says he is, but it was a near thing. Mirelle points out that if the father lives to see the birth of their child, Ariana will have done better than her. She admits that Ariana seems to be her daughter after all. Ariana asks if Mirelle wants their relationship to be public knowledge. Mirelle figures it's been unknown for so long, it would create more confusion than it's worth to reveal it now. However, if anyone asks, Ariana can tell the truth. Ariana asks if Mirelle needs any help settling in. Mirelle says it's something she needs to do alone. She asks Ariana to tell Gerard that she's doing better. Ariana agrees to do so and rides back to the summer house. Alex arranges a meeting with Gramble. He presents him with the watch and asks after the whereabouts of his small trinket (his Trump of Brand). Gramble tells him it's still with Suhuy, so Alex pays Suhuy a visit. Suhuy tells Alex that he's finished copying the Trump and hands it back. He asks Alex for the latest Amber gossip. Alex spends the rest of the evening talking with him. Felix and Ahab discuss Kimdyl's hatred of Ariana. Ahab Trumps Kimdyl and asks if she left because she was mad or because the conversation was over. She says it's because she realized that with both she and Ahab at the summer house, Nicholas was alone. Ahab has her pull him through. He asks if she's upset. She says she's vented on Felix. He asks her to leave Ariana alone. She claims she was defending Ahab after Ariana insulted him. He tells her that he and Ariana are blunt with each other because neither of them are very subtle. She tells him she won't defend him again then. He tells her he doesn't want to get stuck in the middle of this, and asks her to settle the problem in a boxing ring or something. She asks if he'd prefer they duke it out in the mud while wearing string bikinis. Ahab points out that he gave up trying to kill Vetch when she asked. She claims that was different because Vetch is family. Ahab gives her a look that says "My point exactly." Kimdyl deliberately misses the point. Ahab asks if she's currently a member of House Vetch, since she's had a child out of wedlock. Kimdyl claims that House Vetch is more relaxed about that sort of thing. She tells him she's tired and is going to bed. He tells her he's going to check on Lyss, since having the Jewel as an eye is bound to have some psychological affects. Kimdyl points out there will probably be affects from the implantation as well. Mandor locates a shadow storm within ten minutes. He brings Heather to it. She realizes that it's a greater force than she's ever witnessed. She asks Mandor to find the other side of it. While he's doing this, she notes that the storm is approaching rapidly. She tells him that she'd like him to go to the other side while she observes from a distance. When this is accomplished, she Trumps him. She is disappointed that she is able to get through to him and frowns. He says he's happy to see her too, and observes that this appears to have blown one of her theories. He asks what he helped disprove. She says it was just a silly notion. He tells her that before they go any further, she can explain what's going on. She claims she doesn't want to discuss it over Trump. He asks her to pull him through and asks again. She says she doesn't want to discuss her failures with him. Mandor asks if she's going to make him beg. She figures that would be an amusing switch. She distracts him from any further questions with sex. Ahab Pattern transports back to the infirmary in Corwin's castle. Lyss and Deirdre are still there, but Ariadne is gone. Deirdre is helping Lyss eat some soup. Ahab asks Deirdre where Ariadne went. Deirdre tells him Ariadne mentioned something about an errand. Ahab asks Lyss how she's feeling. She says she's not feeling very well. He says he's sorry for not being there and asks if he can be of assistance. Lyss asks if he can bring her some things she left in Amber.