Chapter 036: Tiziane

"Following everything I've known

I was wandering all alone

Waiting for a time

That might have been

My own way down

Suddenly everything is wrong

Have I really been gone so long?

Hanging by the nails

Across my idle eyes so wide"

Fading Senses - IQ

     I was just sitting there, quietly reading a book in one of the many  sitting-rooms in castle Amber, when all hell broke loose around me. After a few days of putting together a whole little Shadow world for my children and seeing them and Anna safely installed there, I felt I had deserved something of a rest. I should have known better than to go back to Amber for it, though.

     It all started pretty quietly with Uncle Julian entering the room, looking for something to drink. I offered him a glass of wine from the bottle I had brought with me from my journeys, and asked him how he was doing. He accepted the drink and started telling me about a possible situation in Hywara, one of the Golden Circle Shadows. It appeared that there had recently been a coup there, bringing a profoundly anti-Amber faction to power. There had been some strange rumours going around, and Random had sent Boadice over to investigate. She had but recently returned with news of artifacts in the shape of collars that apparently could stop any use of power, be it Trump or Pattern or anything else. Julian had just come from Random, having discussed the course of action they would take, for they couldn't just let it go by and do nothing.

     "It's not a very nice thought, these collars," Julian observed. "Boadice told us that she had also seen Alexander in Hywara. Nobody had been aware of his presence there, but one can easily speculate about his objectives. A few of these collars might come in really handy at the moment."

     "Yes," I said, "and especially in the right hands." Julian smiled coolly at me and I gave him an innocent look in return. As far as I was concerned there were only a few people who qualified for the post of the right hands for this job. Funny, you think you've got so much power and every time something comes along that tells you that you still haven't got enough.

     We talked on for a couple of minutes, mostly about this and that, until the sound of heavy footfalls in the corridor outside made us both look up. They stopped outside the door and it swung open, revealing the scowling figure of Uncle Gerard. He took one glance around the room, spotted Julian, drew his sword and charged. Julian appeared to be quite surprised by this brutal attack, but his reactions kicked in quickly enough for him to draw his own sword and parry the first blow just in the nick of time. As for me, I dived out of the way of the two blades and withdrew to a safe corner, not knowing what to do or even what this was all about. I tried shouting at both of them, but Julian was too busy defending himself and Gerard was just too plain angry. Angry? He was positively livid! I couldn't help but wonder what Julian had done to deserve this.

     Fortunately, the combatants appeared to be matched rather evenly. Gerard had the raw strength, but Julian was a little quicker and more agile, and it seemed that he could easily keep on fending Gerard off for quite a while. However, I didn't think that the castle would be able to survive a prolonged battle between them: the sitting-room was already in shambles from a mere couple of minutes of fighting. A crash, and glass splinters and a red stain on the carpet were all that remained of my excellent glass of wine. Another crash marked the end of the comfortable chair I had until recently had the pleasure of sitting in. That did it! Time to call in some reinforcements. With one eye on my uncles I sought out my Trumps and tried to contact Random. Well, contact came, but he was not very happy to see me.

     "Can't I have some peace and quiet for once?" he burst out. "I'm busy planning an invasion! This'd better be good."

     "Umm, well, it's Julian and Gerard. They're fighting here in the castle and it looks pretty serious. Gerard just barged in and attacked Julian with no apparent reason..."

     "Look, I don't have time for this nonsense," Random interjected. "Just go and find someone else to deal with it. Gerard and Julian you said? Contact Caine, he'll deal with it." He broke contact. Great! What had I done to deserve this? For a moment I considered calling someone else, but I realised that when it came down to it Random's suggestion would really the best option available. A quick dodge to avoid one of Gerard's wide slashes told me I'd better hurry up too. Another card, another contact. Fortunately, Caine was in and taking calls. Was that a slight raising of his eyebrows? I thought it was. I bet it was.

     "Yes?" he said coolly. "What can I do for you?"

     "I've got a bit of a situation over here," I said.

     "A fight, if I see it correctly."

     "Yes. Gerard just barged into the room and attacked Julian. He looks really angry too."

     "Oh dear," Caine said, "he must have found out. How very inconvenient. I'd better come over and settle this myself." He grabbed a few things and then Trumped through to me. With one quick look he surveyed what was left of the sitting-room.

     "Gerard," he said in a level voice.

     "Shut up! He went too far this time!" was the shouted reply.

     "Gerard." Somewhat more insistent.

     "You keep out of this!"

     For a moment Caine was silent, apparently weighing the consequences of his next action, then he said: "Gerard, it was my idea." That got his attention. Gerard swivelled around to face Caine, but hesitated for a moment before attacking. Julian made use of this moment to quickly disarm him, but that didn't stop him from marching angrily up to Caine.

     "What do you mean?" he demanded.

     "Julian was the one who arranged the whole matter," Caine explained calmly, "but only at my suggestion. Besides, she was never really in any danger." I wondered what they were going on about. What could have happened to make Gerard this angry?

     "You mean you have had Rhiane kidnapped, just so you could find that no-good shoddy son of yours?"

     "Yes," Caine replied calmly.

     "How dare you take so basely advantage of...," Gerard began.

     "She's Eric's daughter," Caine interjected, "she can take care of herself. And of course we kept an eye on her all along. You should be happy that it all worked out so well. With Rhiane's help we managed to set Murlas free, so now everything has finally been put back to order."

     "Was Murlas being held captive?" I asked, but Caine ignored me. Gerard didn't, however. I could see him thinking for a moment, then he said: "Yeah, he was never a prisoner, was he?"

     "I see, brother," Caine said, shaking his head wistfully, "that you're not very well informed. As usual I may add." Uh-oh! I didn't think it was very wise to get Gerard even angrier at this time. I hoped Caine knew what he was doing.

     "I don't give a damn what you're up to with that little killer kid," Gerard snarled, "just keep your dirty hands off Rhiane." He lurged forward, only to land face first on the carpet, tripped up by Julian, his erstwhile opponent. Meanwhile Caine had quickly taken a step backward and drawn his sword. Gerard glared angrily up at the two drawn swords that were being pointed at him.

     "I suggest we postpone any further discussion of this matter until such time as you have sufficiently cooled off," Caine said to him. Gerard's expression said that he'd rather snap Caine's neck between his hands like a twig, but angry as he was he still knew when he was outnumbered. He scrambled to his feet, gave Caine one last glare, turned around and walked out of the room. There was not much left of the door after he had closed it behind him.

     "I told you he wouldn't be happy about this," Julian said to Caine.

     "Hmm, I seem to have underestimated our brother's sentimentality once again." He shrugged, and without as much as a glance at me the two of them left the room.

     I surveyed the wreckage. Well, there wasn't much I could do about it but call for the servants to clean this mess up. While they were busy Boadice came walking in, quite surprised by the sight of the room. I offered her a drink from the bottle of wine, which had miraculously survived the ordeal.

     "What's been going on here?" she asked me.

     "Oh, there was this little misunderstanding between Gerard on the one hand and Julian and Caine on the other."

     "Must have been more than just a little one by the looks of it. What was it all about?"

     "I don't know precisely," I said. "They were all kind of vague." She looked at me with the expression of a puppy who's been promised some goodies if she'd behave. Aah, I might as well tell her the whole story. It would once again serve as a good warning of Caine's methods, I felt.

     "I'm glad to hear that Rhiane's in no danger," she said when I had finished. "I suppose everything will be alright then." She looked around the room again. "On the other hand..."

     "I know what you mean," I said. "It's like I said: Gerard was a little bit upset." She cursed loudly, took another hefty swig from the bottle, thanked me for the info and paced out of the room again. Always in a hurry, that girl. I must make her sit down for a real conversation one of these days.

     There was to be no real Family dinner that evening due to a lack of participants. Most of my relatives had called in with the staff saying they were too busy to attend, so I ended up eating alone, again finding some distraction in a good book. This one was all about the different forms of performance arts in Amber and the Golden Circle Shadows, apparently written by some Cornelius Vazga, whom I remembered meeting once very briefly, back when I was in Telgan. It didn't surprise me one bit that he hung around in cousin Algo's place: judging from the man's writing I'd say he was pretty good himself. I decided to keep this book a while, at least until I had finished reading it.

     When I entered my room, however, I wasn't too engrossed in my literature not to notice immediately that it had another occupant. I put the book down on my table and slowly turned around, preparing for the worst. The figure in the far corner was feminine, red-headed and all too familiar: the lady Tiziane. Oh great! How was I supposed to forget all about someone when they kept showing up again and again? And in my own chambers too!

     "Lord Dorian," she said with a friendly smile, "I believe I hadn't thanked you yet for assisting me in a rather awkward situation." Well, at least she sounded a lot more coherent than the first time.

     "You're welcome, I guess," I said. "I must say that you have a surprising way of appearing where I least expect you to."

     "Oh, I hope I'm not disturbing you?" She seemed genuinely worried for a moment.

     "No, no," I reassured her, "it's quite alright. I just hadn't expected any visitors this evening."

     "We usually do not really stop to consider such matters," she said. I refrained from asking her who she meant by that `we'. Instead I offered her a seat and a drink, which she both gracefully accepted.

     "I hope you are fully recovered," I said as I passed her her glass.

     "Yes, thanks to your help, and that of Lord Benedict, I've managed to reclaim my rightful place in the scheme of things. It had been quite a long time."

     "Speaking of Lord Benedict, as you call him, I must confess that he had more or less ordered me to forget I had ever laid eyes on you." She looked at me seriously.

     "Lord Benedict is a cautious man. He was right in thinking that your involvement in our affairs would be dangerous to you, more so since at that moment he wasn't fully aware of the true state of things. If you'd prefer it that I'd leave, however..."

     "Oh, no, no,"I quickly said, "not at all. I'm intrigued, however: you were refering to a `we' just now."

     "I meant me and my sisters," she said. "My Family." She sighed. "You know how it is."

     "Didn't your sisters worry about you, when you had been gone for so long?" I asked. I didn't know for how long she had actually been away, but if she could still remember Cymnea and King Oberon it must have been quite some time.

     "Oh, certainly they did," Tizzy said, "but they didn't know where I was. Besides, the question whether or not we are really immortal has still not been answered, so they may have thought that I had died."

     "Immortal? I don't want to offend you, but what exactly are you?" She thought a moment before answering me.

     "Is that a question you can easily answer about yourself?" she asked.

     "Up to a certain point I think I can, yes."

     "Well, up to a certain point we also know what we are. Our origins lie outside your time." She frowned. "It's hard to talk about this in terms that you will be able to understand. When I use the term `sisters' I don't really mean any kind of physical relationship, as in your case, but more a relationship as to what and how we are." Puzzling, but yet also fascinating.

     "As I said before, I'm intrigued. Does the term `sisters' mean that your relatives are all females?"

     "Yes, or at least, that is how others perceive us."

     "How many of you are there?" I asked.

     "Seven...," she replied hesitantly. "I'm not really sure anymore, but I believe there were seven of us. I think that's the number you would use. Not everyone is involved in your reality, however, but my two youngest sisters spend most of their time here." I had already got a feeling about who those two sisters might be, and when Tiziane saw my expression she said: "My sister Violet you've heard of perhaps?" I nodded. "She's my youngest sister." I somehow felt that she was using the word `young' in a different sense than I would use it. "And then there's Cini," she continued.

     "A little girl with a blue dress?" I asked.

     "That's one of her usual shapes, yes."

     "I ran into her one time," I said. "But tell me, what are you doing here?"

     "Here at this moment with you, you mean?"

     "No, in a more general sense. In this reality?"

     "Oh," she said, "but we are not specifically in this reality at all. Not all the time at least. We..." She faltered, then she started again: "I am here at the moment, but I'm also not here. I'm also somewhere else, in another reality. It's a bit hard to explain." Wow! Multi-reality beings! Able to be in more than one place at the same time. No wonder Algo had such trouble with Violet: she was to him what he was to an ant (in a manner of speaking of course).

     "I think I sort of understand," I said. "However, this still doesn't explain your own ties to Amber."

     "Lord Benedict?" she ventured. "I remember I used to come here quite frequently. There was a time when I was extensively involved in this reality, but that was ages ago. Why here?" She shrugged. "Why not?" She sounded as if this was as good a reality as any other. Her expression became more serious, however. "It has been quite a long time that I was gone," she said. "It seemed right to me that I should show my gratitude to you. You may think that you really didn't do all that much to help me, but to me your help was invaluable." She suddenly looked worried. "I hope I haven't offended you," she said.

     "Oh, no," I said. I was wondering where this would lead to.

     "I do seem to remember that people can be touchy about these things," she said. She looked at me expectantly. What did she want from me now? That I'd find her some way in which she could show me her gratitude? Well, there were of course always things that I could use, but I didn't know the extent to which Tiziane was willing to go, and I in turn didn't want to offend her. So I waited a while for her to come up with some suggestions, and only when she didn't did I ask her what she had in mind.

     "It's hard to estimate what kind of help you really need," Tiziane  began, "but I can think of a few things. Of course, there are limits to my powers." Glad to hear that. "I could give you something, but by the look of it you could really do with some assistance in another department." She gazed at me rather oddly. Did she mean that she could perceive the effects of the Blood Curse on me? Could it be?

     "I don't know whether you consider this to be purely your private affairs?" she asked cautiously. I found that my mouth was too dry for a spoken answer, so I just shook my head. If she could see the Curse, maybe she could help me find some way to get rid of it. Tiziane studied me carefully for a few moments.

     "Am I right in assuming that this is a hereditary one?" she asked. I nodded. "I must admit this isn't entirely my field of expertise," she said. "One of my sisters would be better at handling it, but she won't be available for the next couple of centuries." He voice sounded a lot colder than before when she said that, and I suddenly got an inkling of who might have been responsible for Tizzy's earlier predicament.

     "But you might be able to help me nonetheless?" I ventured.

     "I do know some things," she said. "If you've been around as long as I have, you tend to pick up quite a lot of stuff. I must say that this is a very powerful Curse. Bound with the Logrus too." She looked up at me with a sad expression. "I'm afraid I can't lift it for you," she said, "I'm sorry." Oh well, I guess that would have been too easy. I tried not to let my disappointment show too much.

     "I don't know whether there's anybody in the Courts right now who can do it," she continued. "I do, however, see one possibility for you. There are certain powers that can help you, but they are currently not in the right position to do so. Most of the ones who were aware of this situation have already passed away. There are only three left at the moment, of which I am one. The problem is that at the time, approximately a thousand years ago, we all took an oath. This oath is currently in conflict with my wish to give you any further information. There is some leeway for me to work with, though. I think it would be best for me to have someone cross your path. I don't need to do too much for that, just a slight nudge in the right direction." In the course of these last few sentences her gaze had drifted away from me, but now she again fixed her eyes on me.

     "I shall put you on the right track," she said, "but you will have to follow it to its end by yourself. There is some danger involved, I must warn you, and although I can't see all the consequences, they might be very crucial for this entire reality. I cannot break my oath, that's not in my nature. The second person cannot help you either, because of his current situation, but the third one might be willing to break his oath. His name is Nisse, but I can't tell you what to ask him when you find him; you should be able to discover that for yourself on your way towards him. Do you understand?" I nodded. It was as clear as she could be, I guess.

     "Before long you will meet someone who can help you," she continued. "Could you please go out into Shadow for this meeting? Amber is simply not accessible to all the possible twists of fate.

     "Do you consider this to be enough for me to settle my debt with you?"

     "Oh, certainly," I said. As far as I was concerned there had never been much of a debt to start with, so I was grateful for anything she could do to help me.

     "Well, I'd like to wish you every bit of luck, then," Tizzy said, rising from her seat. I thanked her gracefully, which brought a relieved smile to her face. She nodded one more time to me, before snapping her fingers and vanishing from my room.

     I poured myself another glass before going to bed, but sleep wouldn't come immediately. I couldn't help going over our conversation again and again. I don't know what this whole thing about oaths was all about, but I knew that any oath would have to be a pretty powerful one if it could bind someone like Tiziane. The fact that she hadn't been able to lift my Blood Curse herself also kept bothering me. If it was that strong, what was I supposed to do about it? Did I have any chance at all at finding a solution?

     Now, now, Dorian, I chided myself, don't get all gloomy. Tizzy believed that there was some way in which to solve this thing, didn't she? I felt that she wouldn't just give any false hope.

     So, it seemed that I would have to go out on the road again. First to meet my mysterious companion, then on to seek this Nisse person. It was a good thing that I had already taken care of the children; now I could set out at any time I wanted. Wondering what kind of adventures this journey would bring me I finally fell asleep.

     I took things pretty easy the next morning. There was no knowing how long this journey was going to take, so there seemed to be no sense in rushing off unprepared. Before I really got a chance to get started, though, there was a knock at my door: it was Adrian, back from his adventures and eager to talk to me. I let him in and offered him a chair, already looking around for yet another bottle of wine for us to indulge ourselves in.

     "What's this I hear about you increasing your offspring?" he said with a grin.

     "You probably heard right," I said. "Six kids in one go, it's a bit much, I know."

     "Yeah," he observed, "that's what Deirdre said too."

     "So you've been talking to my Mother? What do you think of her?"

     "That's a hard one," he said pensively, "I don't really know yet. Our conversation was a bit too general, I guess. Corwin was a lot clearer right away, but then I've only just met Deirdre. I don't know what she would be like as mother, or as grandmother for that matter. Or perhaps I do now know a bit about the latter." He smiled wickedly. Sigh! It would take some time before Mother would truly be used to the idea of six, no seven grandchildren.

     "I assume you want to me to introduce them to you?" I said.

     "Yes, of course I'd like to see them."

     "Okay, then I'll take us to them right away." He shot me a questioning look, but I had already begun concentrating on the Pattern. A few moments later I teleported us both into the Shadow pocket that was my children's safe haven.

     It had come to me even before I had set out looking for a safe place for the kids to grow up in: why not copy some pieces of different Shadows and combine them into a little world of its own, a Shadow pocket? I had never really tried it before, but from the things Fiona had told me about the process it shouldn't be too difficult. Well, it wasn't, but it wasn't all that easy either; not something I would like to do on a regular basis. The pieces fit together rather nicely, though: there was a large mansion on a hill with lots of rooms for the kids and the servants, and eventually teachers, to live in, surrounded a large stretch of woodland, with all kinds of rapidly reproducing animals, fit for feline hunting. Then there was a port town, at about four miles from the mansion, for the supply of fresh fish from the small inland sea. Finally, a number of farms around the town took care of any other physical needs there may be. The whole thing was linked together as a sort of three dimensional moebius strip: walk long enough in one direction and you'd end up in the place where you started from. Really easy for finding any kittens who'd strayed too far from home.

     The folk I had brought to people this little world were all humans who had been saved from a war-stricken world, which I had specifically sought for this purpose. They were more than happy with their new home and easily accepted the odd shape shifting abilities of their six little neighbours, so there would be no trouble on that account. The only thing I would have to take care of was the import of some special goods now and again, but that was done easily enough. One of the advantages of this Shadow pocket idea was that I could regulate the time flow of the thing more easily than I could with a normal Shadow: I would slow it down whenever I was "outside", so the kids wouldn't age too fast while I was away, while otherwise speeding it up in order to be able to spend more time with them. The Shadow pocket needed some reference point in the outside world, though, and I had made it into a small souvenir presse papier, complete with a miniature version of the mansion and water with fake snowflakes. I carried it with me at all time.

     So, there I stood with Adrian in the hallway of the mansion. I nodded to Anna, who mostly ignored me in return, and led my cousin through the house on a quest for my elusive offspring. He was a bit baffled when I finally introduced them, though, as if the real meaning behind the idea of six shape shifting children only now began to sink in.

     "Six!" he kept saying, meanwhile stroking their backs and playing a little with them.

     "Yes, six," I said when we had ended up in one of the sitting rooms. "It wasn't really what I had counted on."

     "How are you going to raise them?" he asked. "And protect them? I mean, six at a time!"

     "Well, I hope they will be reasonably safe where they are now. At least they're safer here than with their mother."

     "Where is their mother, by the way? And who is she? I cannot recall you ever going to the Courts."

     "Perhaps you do remember a certain cat who used to accompany me?"

     "Yes, I remember: Wylde," he said, his eyes lighting up in amazement.

     I explained about the dual nature of the Cardane and the civil war that was currently raging through their Shadow. Adrian was interested, but he didn't seem too surprised. What did appear to amaze him was my willingness to accept responsibility for yet six other children.

     "They're such easy targets for manipulation!" he said. "I've heard too many stories about people being used lately. With these six you now have seven children to feel responsible for. I hope you will be able to protect them all." He fell silent for a while and sat in his chair, apparently lost in thought. Then he said: "I've got one on the way too."

     "What?" I said. "A child?" He nodded. "That's news to me. Since when do you know about this?" He didn't answer me. His queer expression was getting me a bit worried, so I asked him: "Who is the mother?"

     "Narshila," he said, "a.k.a. Sereva Baccaran." I couldn't keep my mouth from dropping open. "Yes," he continued, "they're one and the same person. I found out at the ball in Galoria. Which also explains our marriage, I guess." Then urgently he added: "Of course I'd like to keep this quiet for a while longer." I nodded. Naturally he could count on me to keep such a thing a secret. Adrian was shaking his head melancholically. "I'm already afraid enough for the fate of my one child, but six!" Well, now I could understand why he was so worried in that regard. Poor Adrian! He was going to have a hard time raising a child and being the king of Sherwyn at the same time.

     "It's for their own safety that I introduced the little ones in Amber right away," I said. "That way everyone will be able to keep an eye on them."

     "As if that will be enough," Adrian sighed.

     "I hope it will," I said and heaved a sigh myself.

     We talked a little bit more about raising children in general, before drifting back to the Cardane and their revolution. I explained to Adrian about the treaty between the Courts and Amber with regard to that Shadow.

     "Why is that place so important, though?" he wanted to know.

     "I think it's just part of the border area between Amber and the Courts. There are always bound to be troubles in regions like that." Of course I also informed him of the role of the Tarsh in the conflict, casually mentioning his brother's companion in the process. Adrian smiled grimly when he heard this.

     "Should there be any changes in the treaty in the near future, just give me a call," he said. "I can't promise that I will be able to help, since I can't really afford to tangle with either of those two powers, but one never knows."

     "Thanks," I said, "I'll remember it. By the by, how did things go with your search for Rhiane?"

     "Well, after some time looking for her I found her," he said. "I also came across Murlas in the same place, so I brought him back to Amber as well."

     "What do you mean, you came across Murlas?"

     "He was a prisoner in that research centre too, and I managed to free him as well. Why do you ask?"

     "I heard some story yesterday about Murlas being a prisoner, and somehow I just don't get it. I mean, he never was away for really a long time, was he?"

     "I guess he was captured and then held captive in some fast-time Shadow or something like that." Hmm, I didn't like this. Adrian's answer sounded just a little bit too glib and easy.

     "There's still something fishy about the whole thing," I said.

     "What's fishy?" he asked. Did he look a bit worried? I'd say that he did.

     "Well," I started explaining, "yesterday I was quietly talking with Julian in Amber, when suddenly Gerard comes barging in, attacking Julian on sight. And he wasn't faking too: there was little in that room that survived their fight, apart from they themselves and me. I immediately contacted Random, but he was busy and he told me to call Caine instead." Adrian smiled and I smirked in return. "So, I did. Caine came through and managed to divert Gerard's anger away from Julian and onto himself."

     "What did he do?" Adrian asked. He appeared really interested in my story, and I wondered whether he could see the pit-fall coming up ahead.

     "What I gathered from their exchange was that Julian had had Rhiane kidnapped at Caine's suggestion. It was all some kind of plot to find Murlas again. Of course Gerard wasn't too happy with the whole situation, since he considers Rhiane to be his ward or something. However, Caine acted like there hadn't been any kind of problem. He said that the plan had worked and that Rhiane had not really been in any kind of danger, so he couldn't understand why Gerard was so upset about it. Finally, Gerard walked away in anger, after which Julian and Caine also left the room, leaving me with the whole mess to be cleaned up. They had kind of ignored me throughout the whole encounter, but that suited me just fine. The part that's still unclear to me, though, is why Murlas had to be rescued when he was still walking around at the time."

     "But he was a prisoner, wasn't he?" Adrian said.

     "No, he wasn't, for he was still at the ball when Rhiane was being kidnapped." There, he hadn't seen it coming, I could tell. In his confusion I noticed that he knew a lot more than he had told me, but something kept him from telling me the truth. It clearly bothered him a lot, but I couldn't tell whether he was bothered because he couldn't tell me or because I had found out about it.

     "Unless of course," I ventured after a minute or two of silence, "the Murlas at the ball was not really Murlas." Which also would account for Aradia's claim that it hadn't been the real one. Hah, I liked it when some pieces fit together like this. The only pity was that I still couldn't see the complete picture, or even make sense of this small part of it. Why had there been a second Murlas? Who had set it up? Who the hell had managed to play Murlas' role so convincingly? For how long had he been at it? All of them questions Adrian might perhaps have some answers to. I watched him weighing the options and struggling with the consequences.

     "A promise is a promise," he said finally, "and sometimes it leads to trouble." He shook his head; he was not going to tell me. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm very sorry. Maybe at a later date, but not now." He looked quite tormented while he said it, and just to torment him a little bit more I made sure to show how disappointed I was.

     "Alright," I said, "but should you happen to see Rhiane before I do, give her the whole story, will you? I think she ought to know."

     "Will do," he said, happy to be able to promise something with not too many strings attached. Ah well, that was the price of dealing with one's Family, I guess.

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