You know what I mean.
I really dont, kitling.
The men who clearly served the Lord of the West March slowed when confronted with a faceful of tiny dragon. Kaylin almost laughed. The small dragon was little and curmudgeonlybut he wasnt harmless. It was too easy to forget that fact.
Come back here right now.
Fluttering, he spun to face her. He squawked.
She held out a hand, and added, Please?
Teela glared at them both as the small dragon landed. She said nothing, which told Kaylin that she disapproved of her handling of her companion, and she didnt trust the guards enough to speak publicly.
The Lord of the West March appeared some fifteen minutes later. The door ward had fallen silent at the arrival of the guards, but the door hadnt magically opened in the meantime, which left Kaylin cooling her heels in the hall, an annoyed Teela to her left.
I am beginning to understand, he saidin Elantran, which was almost shocking, why you display such antipathy toward magical convenience. To his men, he saidin the language of the Court, Lord Kaylin is harmoniste; she does not pose a threat. He glanced at the small dragon. You vouch for your passenger?
As the small dragon was once again lounging across her shoulders, Kaylin nodded.
Teela was not amused.
Please activate the ward again.
She did. Her arm was numb; her hand unfortunately wasnt. The door made a lot of noise, and once again failed to open.
The Lord of the West March frowned. He caught Kaylins hand before she could drop it, glancing at her fingers. Try the other hand, he said. Or transfer my ring to this one.
He noticed her hesitance, but she managed not to let loose with a litany of complaints against door wards and magic in general. Barrani guards tended to take that kind of thing personally. She usually touched door wards with her left hand because she was right-handed, but didnt feel the need to share; all the Barrani who worked in the Halls of Law appeared to be ambidextrous. She chose to move the ring; her hand was now numb.
But when she touched the door ward again, the door opened.
Yes, the Lord of the West March said to his assembled guard, she wears my symbol. She is as kin in these halls.
Given the way Barrani generally felt about their kin, this wasnt saying much.
Kaylin was, until Bellusdeos arrival, used to having some privacy when she walked through her doors. The fact that these doors werent hers was driven home by the presence of two Barrani attendants. Teela, who insisted on a sweep of the rooms, didnt blink; she did give curt instructionsto Kaylin.
They are here to see to your needs, she told Kaylin when they departed to prepare the bath. If harm befalls you while you are in their care, theyand their familieswill suffer for it. If you send them away, they will also suffer, although the penalties will be less extreme.
Why will they suffer if I send them away? Kaylin asked. She felt as if shed stepped onto a bridge and discovered it was actually a tightrope.
If you send them away, their service will be considered inadequate. It will reflect poorly upon the hospitality of the Lord of the West March.
I dont have attendants in the High Halls, Kaylin pointed out.
You do. But they are responsible to me, and I am familiar enough with your idiosyncrasies that I do not choose to censure them. You are not in my domain now. What you do here will affect those who have been chosenno doubt personallyby Lord Lirienne. You will therefore allow them to assist you. You will treat them as servants who are worthy of consideration and respectbut you will not find them intimidating. If you must feel self-conscious about their presence, do not share. Understood?
Kaylin nodded.
We will dine. After dinner, it is likely that the Lord of the West March will call a council meeting. You are a Lord of the High Court; you are not a Lord of the West March. There is some overlap, but it is not one hundred percent. I expect you to be called to that meeting, although I consider it unwise.
Can I refuse to go?
I have considered the matter with some care. The Lady is not yet awakeand, kitling, I am at least as concerned as you are. Believe that Lord Lirienne is likewise worried. If she were present, I would feel less conflictedbut she wont be. It is my hope that the council will be delayed until she is awake. The Warden of the West March is unlikely to fulfill that hope.
Kaylin waited until she was certain Teela had finished. That wasnt a yes or a no.
Teela smiled grimly. Exactly. The ring you wear grants you a measure of freedom; it also constrains you. Any insult you offer, you offer in the name of the Lord of the West March. Lirienne is, in case you have not carefully followed our history, the direct descendent of the High Lord who caused so much damage to the green. As such, his position is precarious. He is, however, also his mothers son. He is held in cautious regard.
He cannot therefore afford political difficulty.
Teela, Im already a political difficulty. Im mortal, and Im wearing this dress. She reached for the heavy gold chain around her neck, adding, And a Dragons symbol.
You understand. You have impressed the Warden.
Then why are your eyes blue?
Kitling, honestly, I am thinking of demanding that you live in the High Halls for a few of your mortal months. This is not a question you should be capable of asking, at this point.
Im beginning to think Ive done Diarmat an injustice, Kaylin said.
Oh?
I can safely loath him when he condescends me. Which is pretty much every time he draws breath.
Teela laughed, her eyes shading to green. Bathe.
Barrani baths were pretty much small, warm pools. Kaylins idea of a bathin her old apartmentgenerally involved a lot of cold water in a rush. But she had some experience with baths like this one; shed spent time with Teela in the High Halls. It wasnt that she hated the Barrani. She wasnt usually smart enough to fear them, except when their eyes went midnight-blueand any sane person did that.
They just made her feel self-conscious. They were probably centuries old, but they looked like womenand menin the prime of a perfect youth. They had no obvious blemishes. They didnt get fator thin. They werent short or gangly. They never had pimples.
During a normal day at the office, none of this mattered. Most of the crimes the Halls of Law dealt with involved other people. Other mortals. They were crimes the Barrani considered so trivial it was a wonder any Barrani served the Halls of Law at all.
Theyd been part of the department before Kaylins arrival; she wasnt certain how theyd come to serve Marcus. But Marcus was Leontine; the Leontines could go one-on-one with Barrani and expect to come out even. In a frenzy, they could expect to come out on top, in Kaylins opinion.
Humans? Not so much.
So she was being served by people who were taller, smarter, stronger, and infinitely more graceful. She was being served by people who probably knew more languages than Kaylin had fingers. She was being waited onperfectlyby people who, in their youth, probably considered humans to be annoying or endearing pets.
Humans? Not so much.
So she was being served by people who were taller, smarter, stronger, and infinitely more graceful. She was being served by people who probably knew more languages than Kaylin had fingers. She was being waited onperfectlyby people who, in their youth, probably considered humans to be annoying or endearing pets.
And yes, she felt guilty about it.
So she found their perfect silence oppressive. She found it uncomfortable. Teelas instructions made it clear that this was Kaylins problemnot theirs. The small dragon seemed to agreebut he didnt apparently care for the silence, either, given the squawking that started up when Kaylin slid quickly into the bath.
The Barrani might have waited on humans day in, day out. They did not, however, wait on small, translucent dragons. When he first set up squawkingat them, apparentlythey stiffened, turning immediately to face him as he hovered in front of their faces.
If you are going to keep that up, Kaylin said, glaring up the five feet that separated them, Im packing you in a small crate and sending you back home.
Squawk.
I mean it. They are here to help me bathe and dress. They are not here to drown me. They arent here to drown you, either. Cut it out.
The attendants exchanged a glance.
The small dragon landed on Kaylins shoulder and bit her ear. She pulled him off and held him out in front of her face. Ive had a pretty crappy day, and I do not need this right now! Her hands stiffened as she finally noticed the marks on her arms. They were glowing faintly, more bronze than gold. A very Leontine curse followed; Kaylin lifted herself out of the bath, sloshing water on a floor that, when slippery, probably killed people, or at least people who werent Barrani.
The small dragon squawked in a quieter way. He looked smug.
Kaylin looked very wet. The water in this bath, she said, modulating her voice and forcing it into High Barrani, which was so not the language she wanted at the moment, where does it come from?
The two attendants exchanged another glance. Kaylin did her best not to take it personally, and mostly succeeded. There is a spring; this hall is built around it. The water for the baths within the personal rooms of the Lord of the West March comes from that spring.
Kaylin frowned. The fountain in the courtyardis it connected to the springs in some way, as well?
It is.
She turned immediately to the small dragon and dropped into Elantran; while the Barrani in the city could be expected to know Kaylins mother tongue, the Barrani of the West March might not. She considered Aerian, but her Aerian wasnt as fluent. It doesnt matter if the waters elemental, idiot. Its safe.
The small dragon wasnt having any of it. She had no idea why he reacted so poorly to the water; he hadnt reacted that way to fire, and fire was, in Kaylins opinion, vastly more dangerous.
Or, given he was a miniature dragon, maybe not. The small amount of dignity she did possess was unlikely to hold up in the face of an argument with a petand given the reaction of the servants, they seemed to see it as a pet and not a mythical, sorcerous creature. Wilting because she was hungry, she turned to her attendants. Could we do this bath the old-fashioned way?