Chapter Eighty-seven: "I merely live my life, I'm not always present."

	Laughter donates money to the Church of the Unicorn as penance or
something.  She gives Meander a tour of the castle.  In exchange, he
begins teaching her how to sing.  Starting with the basics.  She also
talks with Beauty over what areas she feels deficient in.  Swordplay. 
Sorcery.  Beauty has washed the purple out of her hair, much to Laughter's
relief.  Laughter plans on handing off the regency in two years to Beauty. 
She brings Beauty to Rath Tintagel on a couple of nights.  The Shadow has
been sped up a great deal, and Laughter is six months pregnant by the time
two weeks pass in Amber.

	Bart speaks with Lord Vetch towards the end of the first week. 
Bart bows, Vetch nods.  What does he want?  Inquiries about some strange
things in Amber.  Old things.  Does Vetch recall when Barimen split from
Chaos and ventured forth?  Yes.  Well, there's this guy who appeared from
nowhere midway through Oberon's reign.  Bart describes Pari.  Vetch has
seen him.  Are there any Chaosites who might have fled to Amber at about
that time?  Not many.  Vetch's gut reaction is that Pari is not a
Chaosite.  He's never seen the man on this side of Ygg, at least not in
that form, and he doesn't think he has Chaos blood.  Did the Unicorn
appear to anyone before Dworkin?  Yes, but Dworkin was the first to be
seduced.  Keep in mind that the Serpent and the Unicorn can take more than
one form.  Oberon's probably the only one semi-living who would know. 
Bart apologizes for wasting Vetch's time.  Actually, he found the topic
rather refreshing.

	Ahab Trumps Nicholas and says to meet him in a bar in 15 minutes. 
He's going to drink, and Nicholas is going to drink with him.  Ahab orders
something heavy, and tells Nicholas that this is his fault.  What
happened?  He exists, therefore it's his fault.  Actually, he's not mad at
Nicholas, he just doesn't want to drink alone.  He was about to do
something today, and then it occurred to him how Nicholas would look at
him, so he didn't do it, and look at him now.  Nicholas wants to know what
happened.  Ahab says he wants to finish the bottle, first.  Nicholas pours
more alcohol for Ahab, and sips at his glass.  Ahab says this is not for
distribution.  Back before he was married, he was a bit of a slut.  Back
then, Ariadne shacked up with a Pattern ghost of him, and they went off to
a fast time Shadow and had a kid in a war environment.  Then she spent 40
years in a war environment watching Ahab and Kimdyl have kids.  And it
kind of bothered her.  So Kimdyl suggested that Ahab should help her sort
it out.  So, they were getting it on pretty good, and then he was looking
down at her and saying, "This isn't going to happen."  And it didn't. 
Nicholas asks if this shouldn't be a conversation that he has with Ahab,
and not the other way around?  Yeah, but it happened to him first.  And
it's all Nicholas' fault.  He remembered all the stuff he told Nicholas
about how wonderful it was when there is love involved, and he couldn't go
through with it.  Ahab drinks some more.  A lot more.  Nicholas brings him
home and leaves him in bed.

	Nicholas Trumps Laughter and comes through.  Laughter observes
that he's drunk, and tells him to brush his teeth.  He claims that it
wasn't his fault.  Really.  Someone wanted a drinking partner.  Laughter
brings him upstairs to find some mouthwash.  She tells him that he should
join them on a Wild Hunt, and tells the tale of Felix on the floor of the
inn.  Back in Amber, Felix cringes for no apparent reason.

	Ahab wakes up with a headache, and a tongue that feels in need of
shaving.  Kimdyl is sitting on the edge of the bed.  Ahab relieves
himself, then crawls back into bed.  He bemoans the fact that Nicholas
gave him so many different kinds of liquor.  It's all Kimdyl's fault.  Her
and Nicholas'.  Anyone but his.  She talked him into it.  He wasn't going
to.  Kimdyl asked what happened.  He wimped.  Kimdyl places a cool
washcloth on his head, sits down next to him, and holds his hand.  She
says that if she'd known this would be the result, she wouldn't have
suggested it.  Based on his past reputation and all, she figured it
wouldn't be a problem.  She supposes she should be flattered.  He points
out that he hasn't slept with anyone else in the past 40 years.  Well, she
was pretty sure of the last 30...  She has him roll over and massages his
tight muscles.  He falls asleep part way through.

	Laughter notices Foster playing with his lab.  What's he doing? 
Secret project, so shoo.  He picks her up, moves her out of the room, and
locks the door.  She points out that this is her home, and her Shadow.  He
promises to make it up to her.  Fat chance.

	Laughter tells Ahab about the army she's raising for him.  He
wants them capable of committing genocide.  Laughter doesn't want her
family around people like that.  So she's saying she won't do it?  No. 
Any army under her command will be willing to do whatever she tells them.

	Usires and Caine talk about something, which surprises Caine less
than it should have.  Usires wants a ship, but Caine figures he can get
that from Gerard.  Ahab actually likes Gerard, you see.

	Alex does spell research over the two weeks.

	Seeing Suhuy on a regular basis seems to calm Nimue a bit, but
after she's been taking lessons for a week or so, Suhuy tells Ahab that he
doesn't think that she should walk the Logrus.  Ahab isn't too surprised. 
He notices that Nimue seems to be getting a bit bolder now that she's in
Amber, and likes this not at all.

	Tamaryn and Felix go on a date in 1940's New York.  To a Chinese
restaurant, to be precise.  They make small talk, and Felix gets take-out
for the gang back home.  Tamaryn reminds him of the gift for Vivienne, and
Foster's request for Laughter.  She helps him pick out some lingerie for
Foster to give to Laughter, then they return to Amber.  Felix puts the
food in the kitchen cold box, since it's the middle of the night, and
leaves a note on it identifying it as his.  Come morning, he brings the
food into the dining room for breakfast.  Vivienne is delighted.  She
likes the teddy bear he got her, too.

	After breakfast, Felix Trumps Foster and passes the duffel bag
through the Trump.  Foster mentions that he'll be giving Laughter the
present later, since she is six months pregnant.  They've been spending a
lot of time in Rath Tintagel, which runs rather fast.  Laughter kicks him. 
Foster says he'll get back to Felix.  He checks the box, notes that there
are slippers, and closes the box.  Laughter is rather miffed with him for
not telling her what it is.

	Beauty begins sparring with Nicholas and Ariana, once Laughter's
pregnancy prevents her from doing so.  Laughter notices that Beauty is
beginning to watch Nicholas when he isn't looking.

	At the end of the two weeks, Ahab asks Nimue when she wants to
begin Pattern lessons.  ASAP.  OK, he'll see her tomorrow at 9.  She's
surprised that he knows that much.  Guess he stepped outside of her
information network.  He didn't want her learning from Fiona, since she
might learn something he didn't want her to.  She likes this idea.  Ahab
threatens to make her spend the summer with Aunt Flora.

	Ariana asks Riftvan if it's possible for her to remember her past
life.  Parts of it, with magical aid.  He's not sure it would be such a
good idea, since he thinks she's already uncomfortable about the idea, and
doesn't want her troubled.  He's also afraid she'll think that he only
sought her out because she has Loryn's soul.  She thinks she'll find it
all easier to accept if she can remember her previous life.  He agrees to
help her, but first they need to resolve her problems with the King of
Dexter, since a Faerie sorcerer would be best for this sort of thing.  He
hasn't had a chance to arrange the audience yet, but he should now that
Dara has been caught.  He's worried about the possible outcomes, though,
and swears that he'll give the King his life before letting him take hers. 
Ariana likes this not at all, since she feels this is all her fault, and
points out that she couldn't live without him.  He asks her to promise to
live, for the children.  She is reluctant to do so, but eventually gives
in, when he points out how the children will feel if she willingly follows
him into death.  He thinks that they are fated to find each other, and
hopes that if he does die, she won't have to suffer without him as long as
he did her.  She apologizes for leaving him alone for so long.  He
responds by apologizing for failing her older self.  She hugs him and says
she doubts he did any such thing, at which point he begins to cry.  She
holds him until he finally stops, quite some time later.  He tells her
that this is the first time he's been able to mourn Loryn, and shares the
pain he's felt over the 2,000 years since she died.  Ariana continues to
comfort him, and he eventually says that he is now a different man.  He is
also very tired, so she leads him to bed.

	Ahab asks Fiona if there's a way to increase fertility. 
Manipulate Shadow, or use the Jewel in Amber.  However, if she finds
herself with an unwanted child, she'll know who to blame.

	Riftvan wakes up after four hours, still feeling rather mellow. 
He tells Ariana that she has ruined him, by filing down his edge, and that
he's totally lost his heart to her.  She says that only makes them even. 
They spend some time discussing where the baby will be born, and the
complications that the increasing Pattern is going to cause.  Neither of
them wants to take another lover in the interim, although each offers to
find one for the other.  They also discuss Riftvan's past relationship
with Sand, and how she decided to kill him when he refused to be her
assistant in her plans.  Ariana still blames herself for almost killing
him while under Sand's control, but Riftvan claims it actually brought
them closer together, since it showed him exactly who she was.  She asks
why he chose the name Riftvan, and he explains that he just needed a new
name, since he felt that Lucien had died with Loryn.  They spend the rest
of the evening in their usual pursuits.

	Ahab receives a Trump call from Driscoll, who hands through a
formal invitation from Gramble to Dara's execution for tomorrow afternoon. 
Ahab responds that he will be there, but a list of the others will have to
be forthcoming.  Driscoll also mentions that an invitation has been
delivered to each Head of House, as well.  Ahab distributes the
information to the family in Amber.  Bart and Lyss aren't especially eager
to go.

	Felix works on the boat that he'll be giving to Laughter and
Foster.  Eris is sunning herself down on the docks, but Gerard's presence
keeps the men from doing anything about it.  Usires comes looking for
Gerard, and gives him a Captain's salute.  He wants a ship.  Gerard gives
it to him.  Would Felix like his commission back?  There will be trade
ships that need guarding, after all.  Sure.  Usires is his responsibility,
then.

	Bart goes looking for Pari at the Unicorn shrine.  He's working on
his gardens.  Bart has some questions for him.  He's been reading
Dworkin's writings, you see.  Pari observes that Dworkin tends to ramble
on a lot.  Was there ever anything to his writings?  Yes.  Is there a more
ordered form?  Possibly, but he's not sure that the world is ready for it,
yet.  Bart's interested in reading them.  Why?  He wants to understand why
things are the way they are.  It has been his observation that those with
the greatest power behave the most irresponsibly.  Pari doesn't think any
of the monk's writings will help with this.  Bart admits that he was less
than successful in attempting to change the others, so he's trying to
change himself.  Well, the writings are secular in nature, but if he's
honestly interested, maybe Pari can bend the rules somewhat.  Is there a
way to see them without bending the rules?  Well, how does he feel about
the clergy?  Bart won't give up his fiancee, and his father would kill him
if he gave up his titles.  Those aren't necessary.  Well, then, sign him
up.  Pari suggests that he get married and enjoy it for a while, and then
if he's still interested, Pari will take him under his wing.  Bart asks if
Pari would officiate at his wedding.  Certainly.

	Laughter asks Ariana if Riftvan is going to be in any public
places soon.  Uh, none that he's told her of.  He's an assassin, after
all.  Why?  Laughter wants to apologize to him.  Why not just meet with
him again?  She thinks he'll kill her.  Ariana assures Laughter that she
won't allow this to happen.  OK.  Ariana sets up the meeting with Riftvan,
who wonders what this is about, but Ariana won't say.  She Trumps Laughter
and brings her through.  Riftvan actually seems friendly, which worries
Laughter.  She explains that she must apologize for forcing him to attend
her wedding, as penance.  Riftvan accepts her apology.  Laughter is
surprised that's all that he requires.  He asks if she's still married to
the same husband?  Um, yes.  Well, pass along his regards, anyway. 
Laughter mentions that her husband would probably rather things weren't
that way.  So Riftvan's been told.  He says he's been rather henpecked of
late.  Ariana protests that this isn't true.  She offers Laughter a tour
of the place.  Maybe later.  She does want Ariana to go with her to her
pre-natal exam in Shadow, though.

	While they are shifting Shadow to get there, Ariana is Trumped by
Kimdyl, who mentions that they have gotten off on the wrong foot.  She
wants to talk to Ariana, so they agree to have tea that afternoon.  Ariana
lets Laughter sense the child, which seems ornery, for lack of a better
word.  The pre-natal turns up nothing wrong, and the ultrasound reveals
that the baby is a girl.  Laughter likes this not at all.  Ariana tries to
lighten her mood, pointing out how much more difficult her boys are than
Jalana.  This helps a bit, but Laughter's still a bit annoyed about it.

	Ariana has tea with Kimdyl, who has an assortment of chocolates
and cakes laid out, including chocolate-covered strawberries.  Ariana
makes note of this.  Kimdyl says that she's assuming a new role, so she
doesn't have time for cat-fighting.  She'd like to call a truce.  Ariana
is all for that.  They discuss their children, Israel, how Nimue will
probably be butting heads with Ahab, and, in the end, Ahab.  Ahab passes
by while they are chuckling over Ahab's scar, and sticks his head in
briefly.  Kimdyl looks aghast, and figures she'll be in trouble for that
later.  She asks Ariana what Ahab was like when he was younger.  Ariana
fills her in.  Kimdyl asks why they broke up, and notes that Ariana's
explanation differs from the one Ahab gave her.  Ariana isn't surprised. 
They part amicably, and Ariana looks rather bemused when she gets home. 
She asks Riftvan how good Kimdyl was at gathering information when she was
in his house.  One of the best.  Ah, that explains the food choices. 
Riftvan touches her forehead, and observes that the food wasn't poisoned. 
That wasn't what Ariana meant.

	Ahab punishes Kimdyl by turning the shower water cold while she's
in there.  She beats him up in revenge.  We all know where this leads.

	Bart Trumps Constance, and they talk about the wedding plans. 
They figure they'll wait a few days after the execution before having the
engagement ball.  Constance also tells Bart that Adam wants to talk to
him, but she doesn't know what about.  Bart mentions that he's found a
priest for his wedding.  A Priest of the Unicorn, actually.  Constance
asks if he knows that the wedding is in Chaos?  Uh, no.  But the man's
already agreed.  Bart makes some insulting remark about Jesbys, so
Constance refuses to give him Adam's Trump until he apologizes.  He
eventually does, and she hands him the Trump.

	Laughter gripes about having a girl and discusses baby names with
Foster, since she doesn't think she likes Iseult anymore.  They eventually
settle on Lorelei.  Foster thinks Tamaryn will like it, since her mother
was named Loryn.  True.  Oh, BTW, Lord Vetch sends his regards.  This
makes Foster nervous, and he leaves mumbling something about making
poison.  Laughter Trumps Tamaryn and tells her the name she currently
favors.  Tamaryn likes it.  Laughter invites her to join them in Rath.

	Bart Trumps Adam.  Adam comes through, and asks when Bart started
living in Amber.  It's a long story, and it's only temporary.  Adam wants
to know how Florian is doing.  Recovering.  Adam is grateful that Bart is
looking after him, and asks Bart to tell him that not everyone in the
family stood against him.  Bart had suspected that.  Adam heads back to
Chaos to prepare for the festivities surrounding Dara's execution.

	Ahab begins instructing Nimue in the Pattern.  She picks things up
fairly quickly.

	Nothing much happens the following day until Dara's execution at
noon.  Among those attending the execution are Ahab and family, Alex,
Teresa, Felix, Foster and Laughter, Riftvan and Ariana, Mirelle, Usires,
Suhuy and Fiona, Barnabas and Llewella, Ariadne, Caine, Deirdre and
Luther, Driscoll, Gramble and Flora, Mandor and Heather, Fenar, Random,
and Chameleon.  The atmosphere is rather subdued.  The execution takes
place in a coliseum, with a sandy floor in which four stakes are embedded. 
Ariana recalls that Chaos executions are done by dismembering and squeezes
Riftvan's hand.  Dara is led into the coliseum and staked out.  Then the
executioner appears, carrying a Takaran ax.  Ariana likes this not at all,
but Mirelle thinks it's exciting.  Gramble tells the executioner to start
with Dara's right arm and work clockwise.  This is done.  Riftvan and
Foster both flinch a bit when the various limbs are removed, having lost
limbs of their own in the past.  Finally, Dara's head is removed, and her
body dissolves into gray smoke.  Ariana senses the presence of the Logrus,
as do several others.  Apparently "Dara" was some kind of visible Logrus. 
A Logrus ghost, if you will.  Most of the Amberites immediately bring
Pattern to mind.  Gramble looks displeased and summons his guards over. 
The gathering is dismissed.  Most of the Amberites head home.

	Felix Trumps Gerard and goes through, explaining what happened to
Dara's body.  He doesn't think she's dead.  Good call, Felix.  Gerard
looks troubled.

	Ahab Pattern teleports his family back to the throne room and
begins making preparations for a defensive jihad.

	Foster and Laughter return to Foil, arriving outside of the
manor's front entrance.  They find themselves facing a rather large thorn
bush, and it's very quiet.  Laughter Trumps Nicholas, and shows him the
thorns.  His eyes widen.  Ahab is brought in on this, and Beauty's curse
is explained.  And what does Nicholas have to do to free Beauty?  Kiss
her.  Or, in some tales, sleep with her.  Er.  Nicholas comes through,
draws Return, and begins hacking at the thorn bush.  Sequence happily
joins in.  Laughter examines the thorns, and thinks she could get around
the spell on them, but not the larger, overall spell.  Foster assists her,
and they are all eventually able to gain entrance.  The servants all sleep
about them.  They go to Beauty's room, and find her sprawled out on the
floor, with just a bit of blood on her finger.  Nicholas picks her up and
lays her on the bed.  They debate whether they have to wait for 100 years
to pass before trying to wake her up.  Nicholas kisses Beauty, but nothing
happens.  Foster joins them and says that Caitt and Haris sleep too.  OK,
time for Nicholas to go to it.  He's not sure he can do it.  Well, if he
can't go through with it, Laughter says she'll just have to find herself
another prince.  Ouch.  Foster and Laughter go to look at Haris.

	Ahab gets a Trump call from Nicholas, who implies that it's come
down to the second option.  Ahab says he'll get back to Nicholas in an
hour, and then he'll find someone who can speed the Shadow up.

	Back at the coliseum, Riftvan looks thoughtful for a while, then
observes that he's glad he hasn't done anything to Dara, recently.  Ariana
figures that it's fortunate someone beat him to Dara.  Riftvan recalls
that neither of the two who did were at the execution, and asks if she
likes them.  She says she has no wish to see them dead.  Does she have any
means of contacting them?  No.  He tells her to return to the Ways, and
he'll take care of it.  She Trumps to Amber instead, and asks to be taken
to Lyss or Bart.  She is brought to Lyss, and asks if she can contact
Bart.  Nope.  Ariana begins explaining how Dara isn't dead after all.

	Bart is talking with Florian in Rebma when there's a knock at the
door.  It's Dara.  Eek!  Suddenly, Bart is grabbed around the leg with a
Logrus tendril and yanked away.  He says "Hello, Dara."  Vetch corrects
him psychically through the tendril, but suggests that he get himself
someplace safe, soon, since Dara's Logrus is far stronger than his.  Bart
uses Ariel to teleport him to Lyss, startling the hell out of Ariana as he
appears hanging by his leg.  Lyss taps into the Pattern and places a
Pattern barrier around the castle.  Bart falls on his head.  Ariana asks
if Bart is all right.  He is.  Lyss says they should be safe now, but
notes that she cut off two Logrus tendrils when she put the barrier up. 
Ariana Trumps Riftvan, but can't get through.  She uses her serpent ring
to locate him and finds that he is in one of the sitting rooms.  He is
very unconscious when she arrives.  She tries to block the pain that he's
in, but he's too far out of it to recognize her, and instinctively pushes
her from his mind.  She figures moving him farther away from the Pattern
might help, so she brings him back to Vetchways.

	Usires watches Caine as he talks with others in Chaos after Dara's
failed execution.  Apparently, the chances of finding Dara are pretty
small.  Usires returns to Amber and looks up Felix to get his ship
assignment.

	Laughter examines the spell, and determines that it's about 90%
Faerie magic, but the rest is real.  It's far more powerful than anything
the Dexterian who laid it should have been able to accomplish.  She
discusses this with Nicholas, who suggests that maybe she should talk to
Chameleon, since he had been working with Dara at one point.  She draws a
Trump sketch of Chameleon, Trumps him, and asks him to come through.  He
hesitates, but then does so.  He takes a look at the thorns, and begins
casting a few probing spells.  He soon looks like he recognizes something,
and tells her that the spell was laid by Caolan Coireall, the Dexterian
King whose daughter was killed.  Ah, well, thanks for the help.  Hope her
grandfather wasn't too hard on him.  He'll spare her the details, but he
was dealt with.  Any chance of buying her out of her title?  Not unless he
gets her a better one in another house.  He doesn't have that kind of
power.  Guess he's stuck with her, then.  He warns her not to take down
the spell herself, since it's been set up to kill those under its power. 
How does she end it, then?  Chameleon checks into it, and determines that
the longer the spell is in effect, the weaker it gets.  But the Prince
will have to awaken Beauty in the fullest sense of the word.  She might
also want to talk to the Faerie in question.  Well, the last time that
happened, she barely got out alive.  She'll be sure to inform her
grandfather of his help.  He leaves.  She finds Nicholas and Foster, and
explains what Chameleon learned.  Nicholas is relieved to learn that
Laughter will probably talk to Caolan, first.  He tells her of Ahab's
offer of help.  Laughter leaves him to watch Beauty.

	Laughter fetches some Cwn Annwn (the white dogs with the red ears)
and rides to Dexter with Foster.  They are not hindered in their journey,
and request an audience with the King upon their arrival at his castle. 
It is granted.  Caolan looks both weary and sad.  Laughter observes that
he seems to have lost a spell in her kingdom.  He says he merely found an
old one and encouraged it.  Why?  An urge to share the pain.  She points
out that silencing the next Queen of Foil doesn't help diplomatic
relations.  He responds that she won't remain silent forever.  Actually,
the spell was more of a side effect of being drunk.  Laughter points out
that he's sober now.  He explains that it's not a spell that can be undone
until all of the requirements are met.  If he could undo it at this point,
he would.  He asks if she still stays in touch with his daughter's killer. 
Yes.  He would like to speak with her.  Will Trump do?  He thinks it would
be more cathartic for them to face each other.  Will he promise not to
kill her?  She won't die at his hand.  Laughter will only offer him a
Trump contact.  She explains what this is to him, and then Trumps Ariana.

	Riftvan regains enough of his awareness that Ariana is able to
block his pain.  He comes out of it soon after that, and decides to take a
nap for an hour or so.  Shortly after this, Ariana receives Laughter's
Trump call.  Laughter introduces Caolan to her.  Ariana says that she's
been trying to arrange an audience with him.  Caolan says he is willing to
speak to her now.  She writes a note for Riftvan explaining where she is,
and then comes through, much to Laughter's dismay.  The King looks at her
with loathing.

	Ahab Trumps Nicholas and gets the updated story.  He Trumps
Laughter, learns that Ariana is there, and wants to join them.  Caolan
would rather he didn't, especially after learning that Ariana is an
Amberite.  Ahab asks Laughter to keep him up to date, in that case. 
Ariana offers Caolan her apology, although she understands that probably
won't make him feel any better.  He says it doesn't bring back his child,
and asks what she would do in his situation.  She doesn't know.  He tells
her that she owes him a child, according to Faerie law, and notices that
she has one growing within her.  She says she will die before she gives
him her child.  If it is a life he requires, she will kill herself.  What
else can she offer?  She is a healer.  Can she bring back the dead? 
Unfortunately, no.  He admits that she has a bit of noblesse about her
that he wasn't expecting.  His offer is this: he has no wife.  When she
has had this child, she will return and bear one for him.  It will remain
with him, although she will be allowed to visit it, and when it comes of
age, it can leave if it wishes.  There need be no more death.  Ariana
points out that she has a husband.  This doesn't seem to matter.  She
isn't sure she can give up the child, but she will consider his offer and
get back to him.  She Trumps back to Vetchways, while Laughter and Foster
return to Foil.

	Alex is walking down the hall when he finds himself in the Tir
again.  They want to speak to him, and seem terribly amused.  They have
his name, obviously, since they were able to bring him here.  He is in the
city Amber set, surrounded by a large number of Faeries.  Hey, with Dara
on the loose, he's probably safer with them.  They say that Auberon would
like to have a few words with him.  Does he have any other choice?  Well,
they could broil him slowly over hot coals.  They do so love it when
Amberites and Chaosites get uppity.  What did he do?  He tried to take
over their world.  No he didn't.  Well, he certainly didn't succeed. 
Besides, he does want to see Mebd again, doesn't he?  She's up in the
castle.  Alex tries to summon the Logrus.  He fails, and his hand aches.

	Laughter Trumps Ahab and fills him in.  He asks if Ariana wants to
do what the Faerie King asked.  Well, she made some mention of killing
herself before giving up her children.  Ahab figures that Uma was set up
by someone else, so if the man has a problem with that, he should talk to
Chameleon and Dara.  Solutions to the Beauty problem are considered.

	Bart discusses strategy with Lyss.  Dara could still affect them
with magic or shapeshifting in Amber, so Bart opts to go to the Disc. 
Lyss sends Ahab a note explaining this, and they take off.

	Ahab Trumps Nicholas and tells him that there's no other option
but to do it.  He comes through to discuss this, after first making sure
that Eric is informed that he's in charge.  He points out that waiting
might make it easier, but they don't want to wait that long.  Nicholas
says that this isn't what he envisioned.  Uh, no.  What is he supposed to
say when she wakes up?  Hi?  Ahab asks if Laughter is behind this.  Yes. 
Maybe she'll wake up before he's completely done.  Maybe.  Nicholas shoos
him out.  Ahab joins Foster and Laughter.

	Ariana looks in on her kids, and finds Anne sitting on the toy
chest.  Vincent is inside, and begins hammering on the side once he hears
her voice.  Anne informs her that Vincent cut off some of Jalana's hair. 
Ariana lets him out and yells at him, then locks him in a room for a while
with nothing else to do, so that he can think over what he's done.  Then
she goes to the ocean and cries for a while.  This is interrupted by a
Trump call from Ahab, who wants to speak to her.  She goes through to him
in Foil, and he explains that he will be most displeased if she dies, and
will annihilate the Dexter.  He also mentions that Laughter is doubtless
talking to Riftvan about what happened.  Ariana goes looking for Laughter.

	Laughter Trumps Riftvan, waking him up.  She comes through and
mentions that Ariana and she met with the King of Dexter.  Riftvan's eyes
narrow.  Laughter explains the conditions the King presented, how Ariana
didn't really like this, and mentioned something about killing herself. 
Riftvan finds this hard to believe, since Ariana promised not to do that. 
Well, maybe she was grandstanding, but Laughter doubts it.  Where is she
now?  Laughter thinks Ahab's talking to her.  She made it out OK, though. 
Riftvan doesn't look happy.  Well, it could have been worse.  And Beauty? 
It's not the sort of spell that you can break without meeting the
conditions.  He thanks her for the information, and leaves.  She Trumps
back to Foil.

	Ahab asks Foster for a Trump of Riftvan, but he doesn't have one. 
He does tell Ahab where Vetchways is, so Ahab points a Pattern lens there,
but Riftvan isn't there.

	Felix talks to Foster, and learns about who placed the curse on
Beauty.  Felix borrows Tamaryn's Trump and tells her that her grandson is
in a magical sleep due to a curse placed by the Dexterian King.  Should
she look into it?  Well, Foster didn't think there was anything she could
do, but if she wants to...  She Logruses off.

	Ariana finds Laughter and asks if she talked to Riftvan.  Yep. 
Was he leaving at that moment?  Yep.  She understands that Riftvan is an
assassin?  Oh, yes.  Ariana Trumps Riftvan, but can't get through.  He is
blocking her from locating him with the serpent ring, as well.  She
guesses that he's gone to Dexter and begins shifting Shadow to get there,
despite Laughter's protests.  Laughter proceeds to Trump her every five
minutes, but she doesn't answer.

	Ariana reaches Dexter and is shown in to see the King.  Riftvan
and Tamaryn are also there.  Riftvan looks rather angry, and a bit of this
is directed at her.  Caolan asks if she's made her decision.  She says
that she is unable to give up her child.  In that case, the child that she
carries will bring her nothing but pain.  Riftvan is livid upon hearing
the curse, and barely keeps himself in check.  Tamaryn turns quite pale. 
Caolan says it's an eye for an eye.  Ariana asks if punishing an innocent
child makes him feel better.  He claims he can't undo it.  She points out
that perhaps he should look into what his daughter was doing at that gate
in the first place.  He knows.  She Trumps back to Vetchways.

	Tamaryn comes through to Foster, and says that Ariana's in a lot
of trouble.  She explains about the curse.

	Ahab searches Vetchways again with a Pattern lens, and finds that
Ariana is there.  Then Riftvan blips into the Ways as well.  Ahab contacts
Ariana with the Pattern, and asks her to have Riftvan get in touch with
him.  He notices that her mind is in turmoil, and asks what happened.  She
tells him of the curse.  Ahab says he'll kill the guy.  Ariana asks him
not to, since she wants an end to the bloodshed.  Ahab isn't listening. 
He says he'll focus on Dara first, though.

	After the contact fades, Ariana realizes that Riftvan is standing
next to her.  He tells her that was a bad time to interrupt.  She points
out that she couldn't reach him, and she thought he was going to kill
Caolan.  No, that was not primary in his mind.  He asks who knows about
the situation.  She tells him that Ahab does, and Foster probably does,
since Tamaryn obviously knew.  Not that it matters, since there's nothing
they can do.  Riftvan explains that Caolan can undo the curse, and asks if
Ahab is likely to act precipitously.  Yes.  In that case, she should try
to talk him out of it.  Riftvan says he will try to remove Caolan from
danger, just in case, and promises that he will take her calls from now
on.

	Ariana Trumps Ahab and goes through.  She explains that the King
can remove the curse, so killing him would be poor.  Ahab says he will
hold off, for now, but he wants to be kept up to date.  She says she'll do
her best.

	Foster hands Haris to Laughter.  Laughter notices that he's
starting to wake up, so she rushes to Beauty's room.  She hears a smack,
then Beauty runs out screaming.  Laughter hugs her and takes her out to
the gardens.  Beauty is quite upset, but Laughter eventually manages to
get her to understand the whole situation.  Unfortunately, there's a
chance that Beauty may be pregnant, since she walked the broken Pattern
recently.  The chance is fairly small, though, since it has been several
weeks.

	Nicholas Trumps Ahab and returns to Amber.  Ahab sees the red mark
on Nicholas' face, along with his expression, and comments that it was
that bad, eh?  Yep.

	Riftvan returns to find Ariana sitting on the beach, staring out
at the ocean.  He tries to comfort her, and realizes that she has
retreated back into her mind.  He forces her to emerge and deal with it,
much to her dismay.  She cries for quite some time, and blames herself for
what has happened.  Riftvan is upset by the fact that she cannot forgive
herself, and seems to have lost all hope.  He says that he may as well
kill himself and the children, in that case, since she is the center of
the family.  She likes this not at all, but says she can't change how she
feels.  There doesn't seem to be a way out, unless she bears Caolan's
child, or raises the dead, and she can't do either.  Riftvan tells her
that he may know of a possible solution.  Faerie bodies are perfectly
preserved, after all, so if they could find a necromancer, they might be
able to reunite Uma's soul with her body.  Ariana suggests that they could
probably find one on the Disc.  They decide that Meander is the best one
to approach about getting them there, and Trump to Amber to find him.  He
is in the music room, and once he learns the whole story, he says he knows
of a necromancer who can help, and begins opening a portal to the
Discworld.  The use of raw magic causes the wind to begin to blow with
increasing speed.

	Ahab is informed by a page of the small wind storm that is
occurring in the music room.  He hurries there and demands an explanation. 
Meander pauses briefly, and explains that he's taking Ariana and Riftvan
to see the sorcerer.  The spell then demands his attention again.  Ariana
gives Ahab a little bit more detail psychically, since it's easier than
shouting over the wind.  Ahab does not like the idea of 50 mph winds in
his castle, and begins drawing on the Jewel to quell them.  Meander
finishes opening the portal at this point, and instructs Ariana and
Riftvan to jump through.  They do so, followed by Meander, and the portal
closes behind him.  The winds die down, leaving Ahab standing there in an
empty room.

	Ariana, Riftvan and Meander arrive in Meander's room in
Tallefellow's, after a very bumpy ride.  Meander lands flat on his back,
much to Abel's dismay, and the bird flies out the window protesting
loudly.  Everyone proceeds into the dining room, where Meander runs into
Erryn, an elven friend of his.  Erryn begins paying a fair amount of
attention to Ariana, which irritates Riftvan to no end.  Erryn tells
Meander that Jaquee and Jenogen passed through the area last night. 
Meander goes outside and hugs a tree, prompting an inquiring look from
Riftvan.  Ariana explains how the trees can be used for communication and
transport.  Meander says that he's found Jaquee and Jenogen, and brings
Ariana and Riftvan through the trees.  They are introduced to Jaquee, and
her husband, Jenogen, who is a tall, slender man with bright gold hair and
eyes.  He is the sorcerer Meander told them about.  Ariana is able to
recognize him as Ruepert, but he has much more dignity now that he's no
longer a rabbit.  Ariana explains what they need him to do.  After hearing
the details, Jenogen thinks it can be done, but they'll need one of the
undead.  Ariana says she knows a vampire, which Jenogen says will do
nicely.  But first, he needs to check out the magic of the area that Uma
was killed in.  Neither Meander nor Ariana are eager to travel through the
portal again, and Meander asks if they can't just use one of the Trumps. 
Ariana uses her Trump of Amber, and demonstrates how they won't work on
the Disc.  Then Jenogen says a few words, and the Trump activates.  Nifty. 
They all go through to the main hall, much to the surprise of the pages. 
Riftvan then shifts to Faerie form, and opens a gate to Dexter.

	Upon arriving in Dexter, Jenogen crosses his ankles and sits down,
resting his hands palm up on his knees.  He begins chanting, and levitates
about three feet off of the ground.  His eyes glow almost too brightly to
look at, and a slight breeze begins to blow.  The others settle back to
wait for him.  Riftvan seems especially fascinated by the whole process. 
Jaquee asks Ariana if Riftvan is an elf.  Ariana explains that he is a
shapeshifter.  Jaquee says some elves can shapeshift on the Disc, using
magic.  Ariana thinks that may be what her healing magic does.  She asks
how Jaquee wound up married to Jenogen.  Jaquee explains that she fell in
love with him before he got his body back, so now she's stuck with him. 
He's still technically her familiar, though.  She begins squabbling with
Meander over the fact that he has a familiar, which are supposed to be
reserved for witches.  Ariana doesn't understand why the sexes are limited
to different types of magic on the Disc.  Jenogen interrupts them with the
good news that he should be able to do what they want, but they will need
Ariana's vampire friend.  They still have two hours until it is dark, so
the Discworlders decide to use the time to create the container in which
to keep Uma's soul.  Jenogen tells Ariana that it would help a lot if they
had something which Uma held dear, so Ariana and Riftvan leave to get such
an object from Caolan.

	Ariana and Riftvan are shown in to see Caolan immediately upon
their arrival.  Caolan is still very angry, and tells Riftvan not to try
to use his position in Faerie against him, since he's called a rightful
vendetta, even if it is against Riftvan's mate.  Riftvan explains what
they are there for, and why they need it.  Caolan is stunned by this, and
asks why they are doing this.  Ariana says she wishes to right the wrong
she did, since it isn't fair that Uma died because of such a tragic
misunderstanding.  Caolan leaves for ten minutes, then returns with a
locket, which he gives to Ariana.  He tells her that he will release her
if she succeeds.  Ariana thanks him, but says she would do this anyway. 
Caolan asks if he can do anything else to help.  Riftvan suggests he think
of how he's going to undo the curse.  He and Ariana begin their trip back
to the others.  Ariana apologizes for dragging Riftvan into this.  He says
she dragged him into nothing, and the only thing this is keeping him from
is going after Dara, something he's not looking forward to, anyway. 
Ariana wishes he didn't have to go, and asks if Gramble will be irritated
with him for the delay.  Riftvan thinks it's possible, but he doesn't
really care.  Ariana apologizes again, and Riftvan tells her he doesn't
have the patience for any more self-pity and loathing.  Ariana looks
rather hurt, and storms off ahead of him.  She does not speak to him for
the remainder of the trip.

	Jenogen and the others are putting the finishing touches on a
rather ornate box when Ariana returns.  Meander seems to know that she's
upset, somehow.  She gives the locket to Jenogen, and asks if it will
matter that Shard has a piece of a human soul.  Not so long as his body is
dead.  Riftvan arrives at this point, but Ariana continues to ignore him. 
She asks what will happen once Shard joins them.  Jenogen says they will
travel to the Paths of the Dead.  Everyone waits the remaining 15 minutes
for the sun to set in silence, then Ariana Trumps Shard and asks if he can
come through.  There's a favor she wants from him.  He comes through, and
is introduced to the others.  Shard is fascinated by the Discworlders,
since they don't seem to fear him.  Ariana explains that they need his
help in retrieving a soul, then turns him over to Jenogen for the details.


Quotables:

"At least (if you caused me grief) I'd know you're developing normally."
-- Laughter
"You mean the crush on the undead wasn't enough for you?" -- Beauty

"There are certain, unusual things about the other end of reality." -- Bart
"You don't say." -- Riftvan

"In all honesty, if (Ahab) presented his buttocks, would you go for them?"
-- GM to Laughter
"Wouldn't anyone?" -- Ahab

"50 years ago, I would have thought it was a great idea.  What's wrong
with me?" -- Ahab
"You've grown up?" -- Nicholas
"They always made it sound like a good idea!" -- Ahab

"I was confused before I was drunk.  Now I'm being confused about three of
everything." -- Ahab to Nicholas

"I want to be there when (Dara) escapes." -- Ahab

"I want to make sure that she's not escaping to me, she's escaping away
from the area where I'm at." -- Alex

"Ahab is walking past the sitting room when he hears this feminine twitter
coming from the room." -- GM
"Can I identify the twit?" -- Ahab

"I merely live my life, I'm not always present." -- Bart to Constance

"Laughter's got real problems." -- Nicholas
"Yeah, but you aren't a psychologist, and this isn't a good time." -- Ahab

"If you know it's coming, you'll only worry about it." -- GM to Bart

"There's the queasiness of being in a Pattern cage, and the queasiness of
being outside with Dara.  I'll take the former." -- Alex to GM

"I'm sorry, it's genetic, I can't actually be helpful for more than a few
minutes at a time." -- Ahab to Nicholas