Chapter Forty-seven: "The cleavage is flowing as freely as the beer" Rinaldo digs a hole on the beach. He buries Ariana in the sand he's clearing out. She dumps some on him and dunks him in the ocean. He continues digging the hole. The day at the beach proceeds uneventfully. Alex arrives in Amber in the afternoon. He looks for Bleys but can't find him. Ahab asks a page if Fiona is in the castle. She isn't, and they don't know when she'll be back. He finds a sitting room and Trumps her. Much to his surprise, she answers. He asks if she's upset with Deirdre. She asks why she should be. He tells her there's concern she may be upset with how Deirdre dealt with Dworkin. Fiona figures Dworkin got what he deserved. Besides, she'd already gotten what she wanted out of him. Ahab asks if she knows what her more troublesome brother is up to. She asks him which one he's referring to. He tells her he means the one that's a living Trump. She says that Brand's in Amber. Ahab tells her Brand's been paying a lot of attention to Lyss. Fiona figures that's because Lyss has the Jewel. Brand still wants power, after all. Ahab asked if there's anything he can do for her. She says not at the moment. Ahab heads back to his quarters. Lyss is gone. Kimdyl is half- asleep and doesn't remember seeing Lyss leave. Ahab tries tracking Lyss down, but has no luck. He tries Trumping Corwin, but gets no answer. He pulls up his Pattern map to make sure the Rose and the Star are still there. They are, and he notices that the Star seems more substantial. Ahab returns to his quarters and finds that Lyss is back. She had gone to the bathroom. Kimdyl is vastly amused. Heather asks Mandor to wake Jasra up. He does so from the doorway and gets out of there. Jasra glares at Heather and asks where Brand is. Heather tells her that Benedict advised Brand not to leave Amber. Jasra is surprised that Brand remained. She asks where her son is. Heather Trumps Driscoll, but he's wearing his sunglasses so she can't get through. She Trumps Eris instead and says she wants Rinaldo to come back. Eris walks over to Rinaldo, but he doesn't want to leave and won't take her hand. Eris winds up pulling Heather and Jasra through. They land in the pit Rinaldo is digging. Rinaldo pretends to be happy to see Jasra. Jasra is upset at how dirty he is. Heather Trumps them back to Mandorways. Heather tells Jasra that she's appointing Mebd to be her ambassador to Amber. She wants Jasra to go with Mebd and get Brand. Jasra asks why Heather thinks they'll give her Brand. Heather figures Random won't be able to watch Mebd cry. Jasra finds no flaws with the plan and agrees to do it. Felix checks on Murine before dinner. She's still happily drooling. Dinner on the beach is an unhappy affair. Felix spends most of it scowling at his plate. Foster excuses himself early. Eris follows him. Felix asks Ariana if she believes Riftvan will return with the flower. Ariana believes he will, since he gains nothing by lying about it now. Ariana looks in on Murine. Her condition is unchanged. Ariana tells the guards to station themselves inside of the door instead of outside, so they can cover the window. They don't look happy but they do it. Ariana tells Gerard of the new arrangements. He's happy to leave it up to her. She asks if there's another room to put Murine in, but the only available room is on the ground floor. They discuss moving Murine to the castle where she can be more easily guarded. Ariana takes her flute and goes up the beach to play. Felix looks in on the children. He finds them in the library. Foster is teaching Eris chess. Felix tells his parents that he's going into town. He mentions to Driscoll that the children are playing chess. Driscoll wonders what Heather's been teaching Eris. Felix Trumps into town and goes to Bloody Jake's. At dinner in Amber are Benedict, Deirdre, Flora, Lyss, Merlin, Mirelle, Random, Vialle, Alex, Ahab, Kimdyl and Nicholas. Ahab asks what brings Merlin to town. Merlin says it's nothing specific. Mirelle asks Ahab when the wedding will be. Ahab figures it will be in a couple of months. Mirelle says she's picked out her prettiest dress for the occasion. Heather finds Mebd moping in the garden. She tells Mebd she can't stand seeing her mope about, so she's come up with something for Mebd to do. Mebd protests that she kind of likes it here. Jasra loses patience and leaves. Mebd is upset that Alex hasn't contacted her. Heather asks how he's supposed to do that. Mebd thinks he can because he's a sorcerer. Heather says she's making Mebd an ambassador. Mebd doesn't think she's smart enough to be one. Heather claims you don't need to be smart to be an ambassador. She also points out that this increases Mebd's station. Mebd asks what an ambassador does. Heather says she doesn't have to do anything, other than not embarrass herself and deliver the occasional message. Mebd agrees to do it. Heather gives Mebd her credentials and tells her she'll be traveling with Jasra and Rinaldo. Mebd objects, saying Jasra gives her the creeps and she doesn't trust her. Heather assures her they're all working on the same side. She instructs Mebd to present herself to the King, show her credentials, and tell Random she's there to bring Brand back to Rathkavren. Jasra returns and asks if they're ready yet. She's carrying Rinaldo, who she's dressed up in formal clothing. She's even curled his hair. Rinaldo has a look of no hope on his face. Heather gives Mebd a Trump of Amber and bids them farewell. Mandor is relieved to see them go. Heather Trumps Brand. She catches him in the middle of eating dinner. He asks what she's done. She says she's sending him a care package. He pulls the information on what she's referring to out of her mind. She tells him to play nice, since this could be his ticket out. He agrees that it might work with Mebd as ambassador. He asks her to have Mebd wait half an hour before presenting herself to Random. Heather Trumps Mebd and tells her to do this. Mebd is confused but agrees. Heather waits for the fallout. Some of the long time waitresses at Bloody Jake's do their best to cheer Felix up. Basically, the cleavage is flowing as freely as the beer. One of the waitresses tries to get Felix to talk about what's bothering him. He says the actions of one of his relatives has upset him. She asks if there's anything she can do to make it better. He asks what she has in mind. She figures she'll come up with something. Felix complains that families ought to trust each other. He gets moderately drunk. Ariana turns in early. She is just drifting off to sleep when there's a rapping at the window. She picks up her sword and looks out the window. She finds a pair of piercing blue eyes staring back at her. Riftvan tells her she won't be needing her sword. Ariana lets him in and asks if the trip was successful. He produces a pale, yellow flower. He tells her that's not the only reason he came back. She asks whatever he could be talking about. He points out that it's been a long time. They get reacquainted. Ahab asks Kimdyl when she wants to have the wedding. Kimdyl says she's willing to marry whenever Ahab wants. Ahab thinks they should check with Flora and see how her plans are coming. Kimdyl feels they should wait until tomorrow. Ahab says she'll have to entertain him then. Kimdyl asks if he wants read a story. They bring a whole new meaning to _Little Red Riding Hood_. Felix remains at Bloody Jake's until the wee hours. He begs off the waitress, saying he has business with Gerard and Isabeux. She asks if he isn't a bit old to be watched by his parents. He says he wants to spend some time with his family. He has to walk back to the summer house, since it's too late at night to Trump anyone. On his way to bed, he hears voices coming from Ariana's room. One of them is Ariana's, and he soon recognizes the other as Riftvan's. Felix calls Ariana a brazen whore under his breath. Mebd Trumps Heather, blushing furiously. She informs Heather that she interrupted Random and Vialle while they were... busy, and she's not happy. She doesn't think it went well, although Random did release Brand. Mebd doesn't think she's cut out for being an ambassador. Heather says she's sorry, but she didn't know that would happen. Mebd informs her that Brand is heading for the Star. Heather tells Mebd there won't be any official duties for her for a while. Mandor looks amused by the whole thing. Alex has nightmares about Bleys killing him in a number of nasty ways. He doesn't sleep well at all. Ahab and family go down to breakfast. Everyone who was present at dinner is at breakfast, except for Benedict. Ahab asks Flora if they can get together to talk about the wedding plans. She says she has some time this morning. He asks how far she's gotten. She tells him she's sent the dress plans off to a dressmaker. Ahab indicates that he'd prefer to get married sooner rather than later. Flora says she still has to clear the use of the Great Hall with Random, arrange the catering, and get a priest. Ahab wants a civil ceremony. Flora tells him that means Random would have to perform the ceremony. She looks delighted by the idea. She asks where they're going to honeymoon. Ahab admits he hasn't gotten that far yet. Flora points out that's his duty. Ahab thanks her for telling him. She remarks that he's forgotten most of his etiquette lessons. He points out that wedding etiquette wasn't really high on his priority list back then. Flora notes that etiquette wasn't what he was paying attention to anyway. Kimdyl asks Ahab to take Nicholas while she works out. Ahab expresses an interest in what she'll be doing, so she invites him to come along. They head to the workout room and spar for 45 minutes or so. Kimdyl seems to favor a karate-style form of unarmed combat. Alex goes to Mebd's quarters. She opens the door just as he's about to knock and is quite startled to see him. Alex says he's glad to see that she's back. She looks at him expectantly. He asks if she resolved anything. She asks if he has. He says he's been working on it, but he's been a bit frustrated. She asks why. He points out that the hallway's not the best place to discuss it. She invites him in and they order breakfast. She tells him she's an ambassador of Rathkavren now. Alex is surprised to hear this. He asks if Rathkavren's borders are defended. Mebd tells him that Brand's there. Alex figures that will only draw people, not keep them away. Mebd figures she'll enjoy being an ambassador while she can. Alex attempts to explain that her position doesn't help them, but actually complicates things. Mebd asks why Heather said it would help. She looks to be on the verge of tears. Alex tells her crying won't help the matter. He tells her he found his father, but the man wasn't in any position to help. Mebd asks if he wants to come shopping with her. She needs an official wardrobe, after all. Alex goes along to cheer her up. Ariana wakes up around nine. Riftvan still appears to be asleep. She hears Driscoll and Eris leaving. From the sound of it, Eris has gotten Foster to carry her bags. Ariana's stomach reminds her that she's eating for three now, so she gets up to get some breakfast. Riftvan asks if she's leaving so soon. She says she's rather hungry. He figures this is a good time for him to leave. She asks what they're going to do with the flower. Riftvan suggests she give it to Felix and find out if he still wants his help. If Felix does, she can contact him. He gives her his Trump to facilitate this. She goes down to breakfast. He leaves the way he came in. Ariana runs into Felix in the kitchen as he comes in from his morning swim. Felix asks if she slept well last night. She replies that she slept quite well. She gives him the flower and asks if he wants Riftvan's assistance. Felix does, since he has no idea what to do with the flower. Ariana passes this along to Riftvan. Riftvan wants Gerard's guarantee of safe passage first. She gets it and pulls him through. He grinds the flower up into a paste and has Ariana administer it through the GI tube. Then he spends the better part of an hour concentrating. Murine begins to gag, so Ariana removes the tube. Shortly afterwards, Murine's eyes flutter open. Riftvan says he's done all he can. He warns Felix that Murine will be much changed, opens a gate, and leaves. Murine is staring at all of them. Ariana questions her and discovers that she seems to have total amnesia. She is introduced to those in the room, and passes out shortly after learning that Foster is her son. Felix asks if she'll ever regain her memory. Ariana is doubtful. Ahab goes into town and looks up Samson. He asks if Samson can teach him to make jewelry or give him some referrals. Samson asks what he wants to do. Ahab explains that he wants to make the rings for his wedding. Samson says jewelry is not his specialty and gives him a list of referrals. One of them is the jeweler Ahab has already been frequenting. Only one of them is a woman. Her name is Miranda. Ahab decides he wants a woman's judgment for this and goes to Miranda's shop. The clerk asks if he has an appointment. Ahab says he didn't know that was the procedure. She asks if he wants a custom design. He replies that he's more interested in learning. He adds that Samson sent him. The clerk passes this on to Miranda, who comes out to see Ahab. She's a slim woman with blond hair. She asks if he wants to learn the craft. He explains that he doesn't have the time to make it a profession, but he's interested in learning. Miranda figures Samson must see something in him and arranges to see him at three the next day. Heather Trumps Brand. He's lying in bed, but there's no sign of Jasra. She asks for his notes on the Fount. He tells her he'll call her back after he gets dressed. A short time later, he Trumps her and hands over several pages of messily scribbled notes. She spends several hours pouring over the notes. Much of this time is spent trying to decipher Brand's handwriting. Mandor eventually interrupts to insist she spend some time with their daughter. They go on a picnic. Mandor makes Heather leave the notes behind. Ariana spends the day relaxing and looking rather pleased. Felix waits for Murine to wake up. When she does, she wants more information on who she is, how she got there, etc. Felix explains that her name is Murine, she's a member of House Vetch, and she's at his father's summer house near Amber. None of this sounds familiar to Murine. Felix tries to explain about Amber and Chaos, but doesn't do a very good job. He also reveals that Foster is his son as well. She asks if they're married. He explains that he didn't know about Foster until she returned when Foster was ten. She wants to take a walk. Felix doesn't want her to go alone. She asks why. Felix explains that she was poisoned, and whoever was responsible may try to kill her again. She opts to stay in her room. Felix tells Murine she has a sister, but she doesn't want to talk to her yet. Felix finds Foster on the beach and tells him that his mother has no clue who she is. Foster figures he didn't really know her anyway. He points out that Vetch was right about the plant helping Murine. Felix asks if there's anything between Foster and Eris. Foster is horrified and asks what gave Felix that idea. Felix says they seemed to be spending some time together the other night. Foster protests that Eris just wanted to learn how to play chess. Foster suggests Felix pay a visit to that girl he met on the beach. Felix says he'll consider it. They discuss the best method of teaching Murine. Foster suggests getting Murine some books to read about Amber and Chaos. Felix likes this idea, so they find some books on Amber and give them to Murine. Murine thanks him. He invites her to join the family for dinner, but she prefers to remain in her room. Heather spends the rest of the evening studying Brand's notes. There's a lot of math in it, most of which makes no sense to Heather. One item is a mathematical formula to produce a replica of Bleys' Trump, sans head. Eventually Mandor takes the notes away from Heather. She makes a token protest. He throws her over his shoulder and takes her to bed. Ahab tells Kimdyl his afternoons will be booked for a while. She asks what he's doing. He tells her it's a surprise. She wants to know what it is, but he won't say. He tackles her. She tells him she wants to be romanced. She points out that his father's only the best poet in the land, so he must have inherited something. Ahab claims he inherited Corwin's ability to be a blockhead and heal fast. Kimdyl insists on poetry before sex. Ahab recites something he's heard. She says she wants something original next time, but seems to be satisfied. Alex asks Mebd what her duties are. Mebd tells him that Heather doesn't have anything for her to do right now. Alex asks if Random knows about her. She says she presented herself to him the previous night. She doesn't want to talk about it. Alex asks if she made a good or bad impression. Mebd thinks it was a bad one and explains what happened. Alex thinks Heather is using Mebd. Mebd admits this may be true, but she feels obligated to Heather for raising her. Alex points out that Heather is the one who put her in that awkward position with Random. Mebd blames it on Heather's sources. Alex tells her that he tends to be skeptical of Heather. He explains about Heather's conversation with his mother. Mebd is disappointed in Heather. Alex tells her to be careful. She tells him to take her mind off of it. Alex proceeds to do so. Alex is troubled by the same bad dreams. He wakes up screaming at one point. Mebd asks him what's wrong. He claims he can't remember. She holds him until she thinks he's gone back to sleep. He waits until she falls asleep, then slips out and works on a spell in the adjoining room. Ahab wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks he sees someone standing over Nicholas' bassinet. The shadowy figure is about 6'4" tall and built like a man. Ahab tackles the figure but is spun into a wall. Ahab goes for his sword. The figure narrows its red eyes and draws a silver blade. Kimdyl wakes up and grabs the baby. Ahab yells for the guards. The figure salutes him with its sword and dissipates. The guards arrive and ask for his orders. Ahab tells them the intruder disappeared, but if they find anyone about his height and build with red eyes, kill them and tell him about it later. Kimdyl tries to quiet the baby. Ahab tells her what happened. He is disquieted by the fact that the intruder was much stronger than him, and seemed to be faster than Ariadne. Kimdyl brings Nicholas into bed with them. Ahab doesn't sleep for the rest of the night. Mebd wakes up and finds Alex is gone. She wanders into the adjoining room and asks Alex if he's OK. She points out that the bed is ice cold. Alex tells her he was inspired. She asks if he had another dream. He says it was the same one and explains what he's dreaming. She asks why Bleys was killing him. He tells her the dreams don't reveal that. Ariana, Felix and Foster discuss Murine over breakfast. Felix wants to give her some books on Chaos, but he's not sure where they could obtain some. They aren't real keen on asking Alex or Kimdyl. They try Trumping Eric to see if he can find some, but can't get through to Chaos. Ariana Trumps to Amber to see if Bill Roth has any. Ahab meets with Random in the morning. Random is concerned about the intruder. Unfortunately, since the intruder was able to get in despite the lack of a window, there's not much he can do. Ahab asks that more guards be posted by his quarters. He also brings up the issue of Brand and Lyss. Random says that Brand is at his Pattern right now. He asks if Ahab has talked to Lyss about having the Jewel removed. Ahab says he hasn't, but he's willing to discuss it with her. Ahab finds Lyss in the library. She asks if Random wants the Jewel back. He admits Random asked him to talk to her. He asks if it's hurting her. She says she is able to see through it, in a sense. He asks what she wants to do. She says it doesn't belong to her. Ahab argues that possession is nine-tenths of the law. Lyss feels she's under Random's rule and therefore obligated to follow his wishes. Ahab points out that she could hide at the Rose, if she wanted to. Lyss says it would be easier if she knew why Dworkin did it. Ahab doesn't know. He speculates it was out of revenge, since Dworkin may have figured it would drive her insane. Lyss examines Ahab with the Jewel and notes that he's been dabbling with Pattern mind- walking. She offers to teach him more about the Pattern, in exchange for him teaching her how to fight. He agrees. He tells her Random will want to hear from her, but if she wants to tell Random she's keeping the Jewel, he'll back her. She says she can't do that. She drops the patch and tells him that if she looks out of the Jewel too long, it starts taking over for the other eye as well. Ahab asks if she wants to talk to Random, before lunch. She figures she might as well get it out of the way. Random is surprised to see Ahab back so soon. Ahab asks if Random will marry him to Kimdyl, since he doesn't want a religious ceremony. Random says he wasn't aware that was in his job description. Ahab points out that Random is the king. Random asks if he likes short ceremonies. Ahab says Flora is in charge of it. Random almost goes pale and says he'll get Ahab for this. Ahab figures Random owes him a small favor for talking to Lyss. Random doesn't think dealing with Flora is a small favor, but he agrees to talk to her. Ahab tells Random that the Jewel doesn't seem to be bothering Lyss, but she's willing to have it removed. Random says he'll talk to Gerard about the operation, and he'll see if Bill Roth can dig up a wedding ceremony. Alex creates a set of spells to warn him when Trump, Pattern or Logrus is being used. Ariana explains what she's looking for to Bill Roth. He gives her some books on Chaos history and says he hopes she's finding them interesting. She tells him these books are mostly for Murine. She Trumps Felix and has him pull her through. Murine still won't leave her room. Ariana takes one of the books and reads it on the beach. Heather continues studying Brand's notes. Eventually she figures she's learned all she can from them and Trumps Brand. He refuses to take the call. She tries a little while later and gets through. Brand has grown a beard. Heather observes that some time has passed for him. He says he's following her advice and being a good father. She tells him that she's finished his notes and would like to discuss them. He asks her to give him some time to prepare. He Trumps her back after an hour and asks whether she wants to come through to him or wants him to come to her. She holds out a hand but doesn't say which she wants. Brand pulls her through. She asks if he's made any modifications to his theory. He advises her not to do it. She doesn't like that option. He suggests that if she insists on doing it, she take it a bit at a time instead of all at once, to avoid the problems he encountered. She asks where the breaks would come. He tells her to limit the time she is exposed to the Fount and to extend the overall process. She suddenly realizes that she is currently at the Keep of Four Worlds. Brand assures her that he hasn't destroyed the Fount. He'd rather she didn't use it, but he figures he owes her at least that much. Heather for a moment wonders if this is really her father. She tells him she wants to figure out the nature of Trump first. Brand figures this will take her a while, since even Fiona hasn't figured that out yet. Heather asks what his views are on the nature of the universe. Brand remarks that he was just regaining his sanity. He tells her that he views the universe as a giant teeter-totter, with Amber and Chaos at opposite ends. Ahab returns from lunch to find that the guard outside of his quarters is asleep. He hurries inside and discovers that Kimdyl is also asleep and Nicholas is gone.