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On the evening of the fifth day after Random's coronation, the family assembles for dinner in the old North Dayroom, or the family dining room, as the Regency Council members recall it. For them, the dinner is much like old home week, except that the chairless place for Gerard is no longer at the head of the table. For the Knights, it is new. And who knows what the returning elders think?

When the guests arrive, they find Vialle seated at the end of the table. She is dressed in a simple white gown bound up with a copper-colored girdle. The golden circlet that marks her status is set high on her head.

Gerard sits in the place of honor on her right in his wheeled chair. He seems a bit depressed, but between dealing with the lawyers and Solange's departure this afternoon, it's no surprise he's a bit down.

Lilly is there as well, though she is not sitting. Currently she is trying not to pace about with little success. Public speaking was not her strong suit. Not the sort of public speaking that was going to be called for this evening anyway. Commanding troops was one thing, addressing the assembled royalty of Amber was something different entirely.

Her attire this evening reflected her current state of paranoia. She was armed, her sword hanging dutifully as her side like usual. She wore balck pants tucked neatly into high back boots. Skirts hindered her movement. She was wearing a bright red military style jacket trimmed in gold. Her hair hung in a braid down her back. Everything about her dress was immaculate and polished.

Ossian arrives early, dressed in his usual colors: blue hose and white shirt. He bows to and greets the Queen, Gerard and Lilly.

Lilly returns the bow. For a second it seems as if she might even smile but she manages to keep it in check. Indeed she appears quite intense this evening

.He surveys the mostly empty table for a second or two before taking his appropriate place furthest away from the Queen. (Not at the short end of the table though.) He is smiling like he is amused by the situation.

"Ossian, sitting near the front of the table is the prerogative of early arrivals," Vialle says, but she's teasing.

"Oh. Do I then have to leave this seat?" Ossian asks, not sounding entirely serious. "You wouldn't want to deprive me of the splendid view of you, surrounded by all those family members, would you, my Queen?" Ossian is grinning.

Not long after Ossian's arrival, Flora joins the assembly. She is dressed in a long-skirted suit. The sea-green sets off her eyes and hair perfectly. "Good evening, your majesty, brother, Lilly and Ossian." She seats herself next to Gerard, leaving the place of honor next to Vialle open. "This situation--I assume it's of the sort that means we'll be serving ourselves this evening."

Vialle says, "Unfortunately so. But don't worry; I'm sure that we'll sort everything out quickly and be back to our normal habits at breakfast."

Lilly gives Vialle a doubtful look. She did not believe things would sort themselves out quickly. With luck though, another meeting of this nature would not soon be necessary. Rather then voice her dissension, she simply nodded. Nodding was not lying. It was merely agreeing with the normal by breakfast part of Vialle's statement. Most of the invitees should all be able to return to whatever it was that past for normalcy here in Amber soon enough.

Cambina arrives wearing a split skirt dress, not unlike gaucho pants, in her normal subdued colors. She has her hair tied up and held with a comb. She is also wearing a tall Brennan on her arm, who is himself garbed in his usual informals: black, red, and blade.

Brennan greets Her Majesty, then the assembled crowd, and takes a seat with Cambina, probably near the end of the table so that he can see the whole sub-clan assembled without craning his neck back and forth.

He probably heard Vialle's comment, because he meets Lilly's eyes if he can... with the veils off of his natural inclination to pessimism, for just that moment.

Ossian greets Brennan and Cambina cheerfully, as if he has forgotten his last meeting with Brennan. He is a bit surprised that Brennan choses to sit so close to Ossian, but the surprise doesn't show.

Maybe Ossian is one of the people he wants to keep his eye on.

Regardless, Brennan is no fool and is fairly certain what the topic of conversation will be. He expects the mood to be a bit somber (especially with no dialogue taking place) and does not engage in any long conversations. He is not unfriendly, but, by choice, mostly keeps his silence... but his expression indicates he thinks this is going to be an interesting meal.

Brennan nods or greets each entrant as they arrive, but Caine is the only one he goes out of his way to make brief eye contact with.

Marius arrives, dressed appropriately. He makes his greetings with a nod and a word to everyone save the Queen for whom he offers a more pleasant salutation that compliments her on her grace, beauty, and presence at the table.

Then, ignoring precedence, he WILL sit closer to her, darn it. He has a smile for everyone.

He looks remarkably NOT guilty.

Just in case you were wondering.

A moment later and Lucas enters.

He is no longer wearing a hat. Either nature or skilled hairdressing or possibly artificial means have been utilised, and now Lucas' hair has been styled in such a way that the mutilated ear tip is quite hidden.

As though seeking a deliberate contrast with the sombre Renaissance doublets he has been wearing of late, he is now dressed in a cream linen suit, the legs of the trousers slightly wide, the shoulders quite broad and boxy. The sleeves have been pushed up carelessly, something that seems to accentuate the exquisite tailoring rather than undercut it. With this, Lucas is wearing a teeshirt of dark gold rather than a formal shirt. This is, of course, appropriate dress. After all, Lucas is wearing it.

He greets Vialle immediately.

"Your Majesty," he murmurs, bowing over her hand.

"Lucas," she says quietly. "You sound so much better."

Then he moves to greet Marius with the quiet words, "My wife tells me you've been looking for me ... "

Before he moves to take a seat at the table, close to the Queen - and not too close to his mother. Probably on the opposite side; it's not easy to get too far from her.

Marius nods to Lucas, and speak briefly in the man's "good" ear. "I find that I have an absolute knack for nightmares," he says. "Granting them, as well as receiving," he adds, with a sardonic grin. "I believe my concerns baseless, perhaps caused by an influx of paranoia, and a too healthy helping of something bad for my digestion."

"That," says Lucas, with a certain amount of caution, "sounds like good news - for us both."

"Of the things that can cause bad dreams, grief is the worst," Marius says, his smile belying the seriousness of his words. "I am not the only one to have had them," he says, glancing once at the Queen. "There are rumours that our army suffered from them while I was...unavailable. Cambina believes that there are too many to dismiss as coincidence, but perhaps it is not Chaos that drives them."

"I have to tell you that my nights have been peaceful," says Lucas with a faint note of regret, "with dreams only of my wife and children ... carnal delights and familial pleasures - although I did once dream of giving Harmony Vesper a perfectly withering put down. So pleased was I with its efficacy in reducing her to gobbling incoherence that I sat bolt upright, awoke Solace, and demanded pen and paper that I might commit it forthwith to paper.

"It was indeed a masterful epithet, containing a sublime admixture of bile, wit and pungency in two crystal clear and well-honed sentences. But, alas! How often are we going to find Amber over-run by incontinent camels in a winter blizzard that produces blue snow? For those were the circumstances of my dream, and without that context, all my words would be wasted."

Marius indulges himself with a pleased smile at Lucas' wit.

Llewella and Caine come in together. He's dressed in traditional Amber naval gear, although his tricorn is not in evidence. Llewella continues to favor the simple sheath styles that Lucas would associate with flappers if he'd stayed in his mother's shadow long enough. Caine finds a chair for Llewella, then himself.

There are quiet conversations around the table.

Reid shows up a little late, as the casual dialog has begun. He's looking a little hurried and harried, though other than his faster than usual mannerisms, and his slightly unkempt hair, he presents himself in suitable dinner attire, finding the most convenient open seat nearest either Lilly or Cambina.

Reid's arrival being the last, Vialle asks that dinner be served. The platters are brought in, the servants depart, and everyone begins to serve themselves family style.

Once the platters have been passed around and everyone has been served, Vialle says, "Dame Lilly asked me to summon everyone for this occasion. I will cede the floor to her, so that she may tell you what she has learned, and you can ask any questions you have of her."

Lucas watches attentively, seemingly more interested in what Lilly has to say than in the food.

Lilly nods to the Queen, "Thank you your majesty." She pauses then to take a sip of her wine. The action gives her a chance to center herself before she begins speaking.

"Venesch came to the Queen this morning with some disturbing news. A man named Crane had approached him concerning Dame Aisling. Her affine, Ce'e had gone to Crane out of concern. It seems as though he, for lack of a better term, had not seen her for two days. This was something that concerned Ce'e. He and Aisling have something of a mutual pact. He serves her and she protects him. Her disappearing without giving him warning is contrary to her normal behavior.

"I can tell you that she is not in the castle. No one among the guard seems to know when or how she left. It is my sincere hope that someone in this room has further information that they are willing to share. A disappearance of this nature could indeed have many different meanings and causes and I feel for security reasons that we need to figure out what they are."

Flora looks dismayed. Gerard frowns. Llewella stops buttering the half a roll she was considering when Vialle made her announcement.

Caine says, "Indeed we do. I'll be interested to hear what, if anything, the rest of you have learned so far."

Lucas glances thoughtfully at Brennan but, for the moment, is silent.

Reid shrugs. "I never knew where she was when she WAS here. If she's missing, that situation hasn't changed."

Flora lifts her wineglass slightly and catches Reid's eye.

Ossian says: "The chambermaid says Aisling hasn't used her bed the last two nights. That seems to agree with what Ce'e says. Her room was almost empty; we didn't find much there." Now Ossian too glances at Brennan: Have you delivered the letter?

"What we did find was this," Brennan says, reaching into a pocket and producing the letter they found, and reading from it quickly for the group:

Prince Martin,

When first we met some 5 years ago (for you), I left some papers behind in the room where you found me. They are not there now. It occurs to me that you or your companion Dara might know where they have been placed. They are of no value to anyone except me, and that only sentimental value. It would be a kindness if you arranged for whoever had them to return them to me, or told me who I should ask for them.

Regards,
Sir Aisling, KCOR

"It had fallen behind her writing desk, and was undelivered. For the sake of thorough paranoia, I compared this to a previous message she had sent me, and the handwriting is the same." Brennan finishes.

Gerard says a touch too quickly, "Those papers she mentions, she didn't mention those when she spoke to Caine and myself. Does anyone else know about those letters, or this letter to Martin? Is it a draft, or did she just not send it?"

"All I know about this letter is what my cousin has said," Lucas says. "But I know a little more of the missing letters. Apparently, she set down their disappearance as the cause of their argument at the Masquerade - although I must admit it still escapes me why she chose that particular moment to bring the matter up."

Lucas will cheerfully expand (and expound) if requested to.

Cambina replies, "Gilt Winter has been handling Martin's correspondence. I'll send for him and ask him, by Your Majesty's leave." She looks to Vialle, who is frowning. Flora has also frowned at the mention of Random's secretary.

"Yes, of course, Cambina. Let us know what he has to say," the Queen says. Cambina offers a slight curtsey and leaves.

Gerard looks over the rest of the group. "What about the rest o'ye? Have ye heard anything?"

"As for the disappearance, I'm as much in the dark as anyone," says Lucas. He studies his finger tips. "She undoubtedly felt some apprehension that matters would come to a duel with Martin - but the threat was hardly precipitate enough to make her flee post haste, one would think.

"The reason for that, I would suggest, lies elsewhere."

"Pray elaborate," says Vialle.

"I'm sorry, my Queen," says Lucas with a trace of regret in his voice. "I am merely suggesting that one possibility can, in my opinion, be eliminated. That does not mean that I necessarily have others to set in its stead.

"Perhaps my contemplative cousins will rush to supply all manner of theories?"

Marius leans forward, folding his hands together in front of him in a relaxed position. He smiles a small smile. "If it is in question, I must admit that some of my inquiries may have inspired others to concern, but I held no intention of animosity towards it. In fact, I had not yet sent the Aisling a note to express my pleasure at its accepting my invitation. A horrible breach of etiquette, but all of what I am guilty." He shrugs.

Flora says, "Your invitation to accompany her to the ball, I presume. Unfortunately, it appears to be a little late now." Her voice takes on a certain sharpness. "Gerard, what are you thinking? Out with it."

Gerard slumps slightly in his seat. Llewella starts to say something, and Caine overrides her. "He thinks he's covering for me, and perhaps he is. He and Brennan both know that I was the last person to be seen in Aisling's company, when the two of us left our meeting and went into the city to inspect the places she had stayed when she was spying on us all during the reign of our late, lamented brother Eric."

Brennan hates stating the obvious. The spark in his eye is ambiguous, except for some satisfaction that he didn't need to do so this time around.

Llewella stiffens slightly at the mention of her least favorite relative.

Caine continues: "In the second of her hidey-holes, I found something that she'd neglected to mention to us: one of brother Corwin's rifles. It occurred to me that she had been less than complete in her revelations to us about exactly what she'd done and when. I took the liberty of taking her into custody. I have a safe place outside Amber where I can stash things, and occasionally people, for easy access. Aisling shouldn't be able to get out of there. But when I went back this morning, she'd vanished." He spreads his hands across the table.

Lilly's mouth quirked slightly in response to her Uncles's revelations. She hated to be wrong. What he was saying all but proved that she had not been. Her instincts had indeed seemed to remain true. That was a good thing. Aisling being on the loose... that was not.

"I was hoping one of you had heard from her. That she's on the loose with whatever information she had in her head is unfortunate." Caine says, his tone suggesting he's more than aware of the understatement.

Lucas regards his uncle with a certain fascinated horror.

A shake of her head is Lilly's only response. No, Aisling had not contacted any of them. Yes, she should now be considered very dangerous.

Even those who don't know Brennan well can all but hear his mental transmission slip gears and threaten to drop right out of the chassis. One set of complexities had just been replaced with a larger and uglier set.

Brennan closes his eyes briefly, visibly relaxes his grip on his fork, and says sourly, "Not I." Then, "I'm sure you asked her the obvious questions: How did she come to have it? Were there others? Had she reported this possession to Madoc?"

Caine nods, but says nothing of her reply just yet.

There are others, direct and indirect and some quite puzzling, but there will be time.

"I imagine," says Lucas, with the air of one who is choosing his words with the care that he normally bestows on selecting the best quails' eggs from the basket, "that she was not inclined to pause in her merry way to speak to any of us. I certainly did not rate so much as a cheery toodle pip. Perhaps one of her fellow Knights was more blessed. That 'all for one, and one for all' code.

Lilly let out a cold laugh. "Not everyone believes in honor cousin," she says with a look towards Lucas. Her attention then shifts to the room at large, "Nor does everyone believe in loyalty. I have yet to meet anyone though who does not believe in protecting themselves. Most will go to great lengths to do that. Aisling's secrets must go very deep if she feels she can no longer find protection here in Amber."

She pauses for a moment in thought. "I believe it can safely be assumed that she would also not risk allowing Ce'e to remain here if it is a liability."

Gerard says, "I know naught of her bindings to her minion, but you're probably right about that. Can anyone here say anything of it? And what do we do with the fellow now? Brennan? Marius? Lilly?"

"I can make some pretty shrewd guesses, if it's an emergency," Brennan says, "And make inquiries of those who know better, shortly. I will speak with him."

Marius shrugs. "My knowledge does not extend that far," he suggests. "I would say to Dame Lilly, however, that haste can leave many clues of its own. Perhaps Aisling's creature is in some way immune to the `eating of brains' of which we have limited experience, or perhaps Aisling's enemies do not come from that source."

Vialle says softly, "It might be worse than what you all suspect. We gave our oath to protect her. What if a foe has snatched Aisling from Caine's keeping?"

"Indeed," Brennan says, very drily. "her knowledge now makes her a target and an asset for anyone involved who knows this much." This obviously includes Amber, in the form of Caine.

"If I had known of anything as serious as that, I wouldn't have let the matter wait as long as it did." Brennan glances at Marius and Lilly, hoping for nods of agreement...

A nod that Brennan gets [from Marius], masked with a contemplative smile.

...then continues, "After our meeting, Cambina and I went to her place here in the castle. It had been comprehensively ransacked long enough ago that dust had gathered. There was nothing of any interest there, except wreckage. Certainly, there was no trace at all of any papers. We went and talked to Nestor soon afterwards, but re-ransacking is painstaking work, and I am thorough. I went back and went over it from floor to ceiling. Nothing."

"I may not be quite as up on this honour thing as my noble cousins here," says Lucas, with a glance at the Knights. "But does it not strike you that although we gave our oath to protect her, that has rather been obviated by the fact that she was coolly stashing dangerous weapons in Amber, and passing on information about them to our enemies while somehow omitting to mention the fact of their existence to those she was claiming as friends and brothers?"

Vialle appears to be thinking of a reply to this when Marius begins to speak.

"Under pressure," says Mariius, "it gave quite an abundance of knowledge, although perhaps Aisling left some things out. It suggested perhaps..." not remembering the title, "Merlin has a method of contacting those of Chaos. Perhaps this Madoc that was so important to Aisling might be able to answer a few questions?" OK, the word "interrogated" did cross his mind. "Aisling seemed to insist that Dara was also a danger to it. We are lighter for many things from the event that introduced us." Brita, part of Lucas' ear...you know, the little things."

Gerard says, "I dinna know if we can contact him, or how."

Caine and Llewella exchange glances. "There are things we can try," the green-tressed Princess says, "but I can make no guarantees. I've done some preliminary research in that direction already for Caine, to no avail."

Gerard frowns at this news.

Ossian is quiet, and has opened his sketch book, starting to sketch something.

"Merlin is a good starting point. He might be able to draw a new Trump sketch of her; we could maybe reach her that way if we find no other way. Dangerous of course."

"How so?" asks Flora, sounding intrigued.

Ossian shrugs, answering without looking up from his sketchbook: "Well, we don't know what waits a the other end. Who knows what tricks this Madoc knows?"

Lucas begins to peel an apple with a sharp knife, taking care that the skin is removed in one long curl.

"But Uncle, I trust that when you tucked her away in this safe little hidey-hole, you took steps to ensure that if she were to ah .... leave in a hurry, either voluntarily or involuntarily, you would have some record of this? A helpfully informative guard? A misplaced hair on a chest of drawers? Footprints in the dust?

"Or did she softly and suddenly vanish away, never to be met with again - as in that poem I was reading to Hope the other day?

"I must say, what we discovered of the state of her rooms suggested she was well prepared for a hasty departure."

The apple peel falls, perfect.

Caine draws in a breath. "It would have taken Pattern or Sorcery to escape from the environs in which I placed Aisling. Perhaps a trump, if someone had access to one of her. Do you think there could be one we don't know about?"

"Of course there could be. Anything is possible. How can we say for certain Aisling was not a friend to Brand? It is even possible that Dworkin himself could have drawn one of her. Or Clarissa. Or really any number of others. Do we really know everyone who has the ability to draw trump?" Lilly responds.

"I was thinking of 'among us'," Caine says, "but the larger point is well-taken. I had long suspected that the redheads were making Trumps. Now we know they were. I wonder how many others Brand tutored that we don't know about."

Brennan spreads his hands in a not-me posture, but otherwise has no comment.

Brennan says, "Madoc is a Sorceror. Moreover, he is a Sorceror with the known ability to reach as far from his Court to here in Amber for the purposes of communication. We have only her word that she was not contacted by him in some time."

"A currency whose coin has recently been devalued, it would appear," adds Lucas quietly.

Brennan continues: "And on the note of Madoc, should eldritch methods of contact fail, just ask, and I will find a way to broach the subject with Clarissa."

"That should make for interesting social banter," says Lucas appreciatively.

"Indeed." Lilly says. "Though I must admit, the idea may have some merit. The problem is, despite her familial connections or perhaps because of them, I am not sure it is why to put much trust in her though I will admit I have only met her briefly and could be wrong on that."

Brennan reaches up and briefly scratches his forehead for a moment, and glances up as he does it. Perhaps he's feeling around for a sign that says 'gullible idiot' on his forehead.

Llewella says, "Trusting her word absolutely would be a mistake. However, her partiality towards Brand probably means Brennan has a decent chance of getting the truth out of her, if she knows what it is."

"How could she refuse her favorite grandchild?" Brennan asks. It is not a question meant to be answered.

Lucas smiles. "And what a warm, glowing feeling it must give you to realise that your parentage will stand you in such good stead. Something akin to heartburn, I'd imagine."

Vialle turns to Brennan. "Please do ask her, and report what you find to me when you can. I would like to be able to tell Random something of her fate."

Brennan nods compliance. "I'd like to be able to know something of her fate." He turns back to Caine and asks, "What questions did you ask her when you put her away?"

"Presumaby not 'Will you be staying long?' " Lucas murmurs.

"Just some preliminaries, for instance, about where and how she got that gun and whether she had any others. I rapidly concluded that she wasn't going to say anything useful without additional persuasion. I thought letting her sit overnight in the pocket would be a good start in helping her see reason. When I returned, she was gone." Caine's expression remains completely neutral throughout this speech.

Gerard, by contrast, looks uncomfortable, and Flora finds something remarkably interesting on her plate. Llewella calmly continues eating.

Reid thinks, "I gotta find out where Caine does his shopping, or if he makes his own torture implements..." He smiles warmly as he considers either option.

"I see," says Vialle, not sounding very pleased.

"And I'm presuming no indications at all to the method of departure or tracks to pursue?" says Lucas, contemplating a dish of figs thoughtfully. It seems as though he is deciding which he might select while leaving the general arrangement as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

"You had guards on the place, one assumes. Were they dead, deranged, or dumbfounded? Or is that a state secret?"

He makes his selection and transfers it to his plate. Two swift strokes with a sharp knife, and the pale inner flesh is revealed while the seeds bleed out gently.

"It would be nice to feel that we had some left," he says.

This statement brings a rare smile to Lilly's lips along with an agreeing nod.

Brennan chooses to ignore the downcast looks of Gerard and Flora for the moment. Instead: "She is a shapeshifter, of course. Fairly skilled as I understand these things. Is it possible she was not gone, but simply not in plain sight?" He gives a mildly impatient shrug. "We could ask questions like this all night-- what does the place look like, how could she escape, and so forth, but it's pointless without seeing the place. Which I'd like to do, as soon as practical."

"You are correct, Sir Brennan," Marius shakes his head, belying his words slightly. "Are we trying to follow its trail, or can we anticipate its destination? The former has a better chance of catching Aisling, but the latter leaves less potential for damage." His eternal smile wavers for just a second. "It has escaped: that is known. The method of its escape only gives us more analysis for its potential, and Adm--" he smiles, "Caine an idea of the weaknesses of his holding place. I see two obvious goals: Chaos, hoping perhaps to get on Dara's good side or increase Madoc's defenses, or returning to resume its former position as spy, perhaps assassin. Can we set up ... traps, for lack of a better word, on its way to either?"

"Well, I'm one with Brennan on this," says Lucas. "I'd like to see the place. I may not be a warrior bold but no-one, I think, would deny I have an eye for detail."

At this Ossian smiles. He's still sketching, though.

Again Lilly gives Lucas a nod. "We are each very different, with very different skills and perspectives. Certainly we may all be able to make different determinations if we were to each inspect the property. However, I would be concerned that a flock of people might actually disturb crucial evidence and thus cause us to miss something. At the very least I believe we should take great care when and if we make our inspection." It is quite clear the daughter of Benedict wants to be able to see the holding for herself as well.

"There is a difference ," says Lucas, "between going in like a party of rubbernecking tourists on a whistlestop tour, and sending a team in for forensic research. I trust we are capable of proceeding like the latter."

He pauses to remove a scrap of lint from his sleeve.

"As for blocking off its destination ... Well, there are so many places it could be, aren't there? And in so many different forms ... "

"She would have to pass Ygg, wouldn't she?" Ossian mutters "But we are way behind anyway."

"Presumably," murmurs Lucas, "she would not have to pass Ygg if she returned to Amber."

"Far behind and at a serious disadvantage. She could as was pointed out be in a completely different form..." Lilly falls silent for a brief moment as a thought comes to her.

"Of course if we were to set up a trap, we might be able to use Ce'e to our advantage. It could possibly serve as either a shield or bait. Not that I would suggest bringing undo harm to one of my fellow knights. As such though it is sworn to serve the Order and the Order stands to promote the well being of Amber. I certainly would not have any issues with calling it to duty."

"Certainly we may call him to duty," Vialle says. "His oaths to the King supersede his oaths to Aisling, if they are in conflict."

Brennan raises a very skeptical eyebrow at this, but chooses not to comment at this time.

Vialle turns her attention to Caine. "Who would you like to take with you to look for clues?" she asks him.

Caine looks a touch embarrassed. "Your Majesty, it's a pocket shadow. There's nowhere to go, because the shadow is so small. For the same reason, it's not the sort of place you put guards."

Brennan shifts his gaze to Caine, but the eyebrow goes down. Slightly.

Flora smiles smugly in her son's direction.

"Clearly, Maman," murmurs Lucas, "my uncle does not pay the same degree of attention to his Shadows that you do to your wardrobe. I cannot conceive of your appearing with a hole in your pocket."

Vialle says, "Oh."

Gerard has been getting restless in his seat with all this talk, and finally turns to the Queen. "By Yer Majesty's permission, I have some questions for these younglings with their plans."

"Of course," the Queen agrees.

Gerard turns back to the youngsters. "Some of ye seem to think Aisling ran back to her sire in Chaos. Some of ye think she has run to Dara. Some think she has come back to Amber. The Queen suspects she hae been taken against her will. Have any of us any evidence suggesting any of these things just yet? Anything she said or did beforehand?"

"She said many things I did not consider wise and I think we can all agree that she has taken questionable actions from time to time. Until now though I considered those things to be merely the product of a brain that did not take time to properly think things through. She did fight admirably at the abyss and aid in the homecoming, both things that seemed to support her allegiance to Amber. That is, unfortunately, all the evidence I can off at this time. Nothing more than a composition of mere memories."

"Some of us are speculating and haven't made up our minds yet," Brennan says. "There is evidence for each of those. Her motive for coming back here is her investment in her affine. Her motives for going to Madoc in Chaos are simple: Protection by a powerful Lord of Chaos, and she had expressed great personal concern for him. Arguing against those are the facts that we don't believe she had the means to escape or travel. Arguing against Amber is the suspicion and hostility she's come under. Arguing against Chaos is that she might run afoul of Dara before she gets there.

"Absent those, we'd have to assume she was taken. Madoc is one suspect, to take her for her protection. Dara is another, for simple revenge or," now he looks at Marius, "for bait.

"I just don't know. But the important thing about bait, is that you know where to go looking for it. If we wanted to bait Aisling with her affine," he says, "we'd either need to keep him here, or make sure she knew where we were moving him. Conversely, if she's bait for one or any of us... we'll know about it. But we'll want to know about it before they prepare. Now, how do we do that?"

"There is yet another possibility," says Lucas, abandoning the figs. "That she was indeed removed - by one of the family.

The door swings open at this point.

"And your theory of bait ... well, that only applies if the fish is free to swim to your hook. It could be that she's in another fish tank entirely."

As Lucas winds down, Cambina enters. Jovian is with her, clearly fresh from the field. "Your Majesty," Cambina says formally. "Sir Jovian has returned this evening. I took the liberty of asking him to join us. I also have word from Gilt Winter on the letter."

Vialle inclines her head graciously to the direction of Cambina's voice. "Thank you, Cambina. Sir Jovian, welcome. We have already dined. But if you are hungry, we will send to the kitchen for you." And indeed, Jovian can see the debris of a great dinner is on the table. Since it was served family-style, there is some food left, but probably not enough.

"Your Majesty is gracious," Jovian nods, pushing a hand through his windswept hair (which succeeds only in making it spikier, which is about normal for him). "And I've had a busy night. Thank you."

The Queen asks, "Cambina, what was the news from Gilt?"

"He said Martin hadn't received any letters from Aisling at all," Cambina replies, taking her place at the table. There's an empty chair across from her. Coincidence, undoubtedly.

Undoubtedly. Jovian does not need to be drawn a map; he settles in, but first finds a handy flat surface to set his flying helmet aside. An odd, dimly flickering light seems to be emanating from it, and he handles it with some care.

"Sir Brennan, Dame Lilly, Sir Marius, perhaps one of you would care to impart what we have learned to Sir Jovian," Vialle continues pleasantly. "Or perhaps Lord Lucas will be so good as to distill it all."

"No," Brennan says, quickly, "I will."

Lucas looks amused.

Even Lilly nearly smiles. Regardless of the humor of the situation though, she had to agree that Brennan was the best choice for dealing with Jovian.

Brennan looks up at Jovian, takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly while he composes his thoughts. He gives Jovian a look that's close to apologetic, closer to sympathetic, but isn't quite either one.

Brennan begins, "I'm sure Cambina has told you some of this already, but," and he begins to mark off the events on his fingers as a visual cue to what he thinks are the important bits, "Two days ago, Aisling and I went to speak with Caine and Gerard about her activities prior to the war. Cambina was there as well."

An accepting nod [from Jovian]. This was clearly expected.

Another finger, "She gave us a lot of information, but nothing I considered a showstopper. Afterward, Cambina and I went to search her quarters here in the Castle, which we discovered to be ransacked. Caine and Aisling went to her urban residences."

A third finger, "This morning, several of us noticed that Aisling was missing. Lucas, Ossian and I investigated her quarter, finding nothing amiss except a letter to Martin that had fallen behind her desk. Her affine is still here."

The rider's expression darkens to a troubled scowl at this.

A fourth finger, "Just now, Caine tells us that he discovered one of Corwin's guns at her residences and took her into custody after our meeting. A detail left out of her debriefing."

This gets a twitch and the briefest wince, as if Jovian had been slapped by a lesser man. Anyone in the room can tell he's containing a stronger reaction.

Lucas watches with interest, but refrains from comment.

A thumb, "And just before you came in, Caine tells us that she is gone from her place of custody, which would have required Trumps, Pattern, or Sorcery, none of which we believe she had access to."

And all visible expression, all tightness, falls away. He lets his face sink into both open hands.

"I'm out of fingers, my friend. We don't know where she is, or if she got there on her own or by someone else's will. But any way you slice it, it isn't good."

Jovian rubs his eyes for a moment, as if weary, then lifts his face toward his brother Knight. There is resignation there, giving only a little way to sadness.

Lilly is watching him closely. She knew they were close, he and Aisling. If any of the knights knew where she might be or what her motivation for leaving could have been, it would be Jovian. From what she was seeing he was as uniformed as the rest of them. This fact disturbed Lilly just a little.

"If she's been gone for two days and Cloudeater hasn't heard from her, she did not leave willingly." And may the Unicorn have mercy upon her soul, Jovian's tone adds without additional words.

If there is wine remaining on the table, he pays it due attention.

"I have spoken with her affine about this at length. Cloudeater, as you have called it, seems very disturbed by this. It also believes it is in danger here without her presence." Lilly adds. If Jovian wished to speak more on this at a later time she would certainly oblige. Perhaps he could shed some light on their relationship.

"It still doesn't help us to understand who took her," says Lucas. "But it does seem to reduce the chances of the affine being available as successful bait - if she is held against her will. After all, if her captor has the power to infiltrate - metaphysically if not physically - my uncle's secure Shadow, lifting the affine out of Amber should hardly tax his - or her - or its - muscles."

The sword mistress nods her agreement. Even if Cloudeater could not be used, it certainly should still be guarded.

"We will have Cloudeater guarded," says Vialle. "This will serve both the purpose of drawing out Aisling, or her kidnapper, if such is the case, and of fulfilling our oaths to Cloudeater."

The Queen adds, "I'm not sure there's anything more to be gained by discussing this to death tonight. Caine, you're to work with the Knights on securing Cloudeater against another such--intrusion. I'd like to meet with you and whomever of the Knights is available in a few days to discuss this matter again. If any of you remember anything that might be useful, please direct that information to Dame Lilly."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Caine says. Flora smirks at him across the table, and Caine gives her a quelling glare.

"Before we adjourn, I would also like to hear any news that Sir Jovian bears of events in Arden , and what is happening in the investigation of Demond Harga'rel's murder." Vialle's tone is smooth and even.

Llewella perks up a bit at that last bit.

Jovian shoots a look at Marius, then speaks up, level and clinical. "I'll take the liberty of reporting first, since I'll be brief. The firelilly trail that leads into Arcadia doesn't lead anywhere else. I picked up samples for closer examination, but they appear to have sprung, rootless, from my brother's blood where it spilled." He nods toward his helmet on the sideboard. "I found some of them growing out of bare rock. The trail peters out 107 minutes from its beginning, as the bronze flies, in a way that suggests to me that he stopped for a time to bind his wounds."

Lucas rises and walks to the sideboard, looking carefully at the firelily.

"You know, they are rather attractive in their way. Once all you examination minded boffins have your go, do you think I might happen to have one, if there are any spare? I can't help but feel it might make an interesting table decoration.

"At the right sort of dinner party, of course."

Flora glares at her son.

Lilly just stops everything she is doing and stares at Lucas. He was simply beyond her belief right now. Surely he must have some motive, some honest reason for wanting one of the flowers. At this moment she might even be willing to accept it's usefulness for lighting cigarettes or candles. But to use one for a simple table decoration? In a house that contained children.No. He just could not be serious.

For the moment though, she managed to hold her tongue.

While Lilly stares at Lucas, Brennan gives the request exactly the consideration it is due before closing the matter: "No."

He then shoots Jovian an eye-rolling 'we'll talk later' look and turns his attention politely to anyone speaking of the Harga'rel matter.

Cambina catches Brennan's eye on the backswing with an eyeroll of her own. If he could see her tongue right now, it would probably be bloody.

Jovian returns the look sourly and silently mouths the word "Spoilsport." He does not, however, cut off the next speaker.

Ossian, who has been quiet for a while, except for the scratching of his pen, says very calmly. "Still, the flower is beautiful. It would be a pity if the species was totally exterminated."

Gerard says, "I'd rather have my nephew than a flower any day." His voice suggests that he thinks that should be the end of this discussion.

Ossian smiles slightly. He might not agree with Gerard, but he seems to appreciate the comment.

Reid allows for any comments or questions to Jovian before giving his report. "There are many people of many shadows with interests in the Harga'rel affair." Reid counts off on his fingers as he goes down the list in his head... "There's quite a bit happening behind closed doors at the Rebman embassy: Kaia left with Corwin; Valeria's taken the reigns [sic]; Bend and Montage are particularly active, though such activities are veiled. At the Gateway embassy, Thalia has left, and Ambassador Harper either doesn't know, or isn't concerned. There have also been reports of strange lights, perhaps indications of sorcery behind the embassy walls, but nobody's going in or out. Gerin & Rodolph Harga'rel have launched an investigation of their own, but otherwise have been arguing quite a bit. Somebody paid quite a bit to have something or someone shipped to the Land of Peace . The three captains from the Land of Peace , Hassan, Navneeth & Ramala, were all seen with Hargar'rel at the party before his demise, and the subject matter seemed more than casual. I don't believe we've cast our gaze on the local merchants much yet. Perhaps someone should talk to Octave, Carver & Jewell... Overall, many people have gone to ground with all the activity caused by this investigation." He takes a drink and recounts the number of fingers on his hand, extended or otherwise, to make sure they're all there, and that the one's he's attributed actually have value, and the ones that are not haven't been overlooked...

Llewella listens attentively to Reid's account. Cambina and Caine also seem to be interested.

Lucas watches, fascinated. "It's interesting," he murmurs, sotto voce, "that so many of us have never learned to see numbers as abstract ... "

Vialle seems vaguely confused by Lucas' comment. She says, "Thank you, Reid. That was very helpful."

"Perhaps someone other than Reid ought to talk to Octave," Gerard suggests. "I think the fellow's still a little sour after all that smuggling business of a few years back."

Caine says, "Smuggling?"

Gerard replies, "I'll tell ye later. It's a long tale, and would bore the youngsters who didn't live through it."

Vialle waits a moment more, and says, "If there is nothing else, I believe the meeting portion of dinner is adjourned. Jovian, we'll send for more dinner for you, and if you'd like company, I'll stay."

"You are very kind, my Queen," Jovian bows from the neck, recovered entirely from earlier moods. "But it's six or seven bells of middle watch by my lights. And I wouldn't want to detain you from other matters. I can have the kitchen put some meat and greens on a penny loaf of bread and be content to call it what everyone else thinks is an early night."

Brennan looks at Jovian and says, "If you want some company, let me know." The offer is open ended, and applies to that evening, or some later date.

"Thanks, but I really have had a long day," Jovian demurs. "Breakfast? Two bells of forenoon? And Marius, will you join us? I seem to recall I owe you breakfast."

"Done, then," says Brennan.

"Great. Red Room," Jovian adds, knowing this will imply Ruby business and that their sibling Knights are welcome (but not required).

Brennan gets up and strides out of the room after Caine and Gerard.

Marius looks after the departing Vialle and Lucas for a moment, and then nods to Jovian. "Unless other business asserts itself, breakfast it is." He smiles belatedly, as if something else had caught his attention. He lingers, though, and says, "I will tell you what I told the rest; Aisling's disappearance is none of my doing."

For a second Jovian looks entirely poleaxed, as if the idea that it had been Marius' doing hadn't occurred to him, then he nods once, abruptly.

Marius' smile becomes much more natural and it stretches across his face. "What I know is yours," he says, softly. "I do not know what part of me can accept a dragon as a person, and not...whatever Aisling is. But the dragon doesn't reject its nature to play at being human. It's my failing, and I accept it as that, but I wanted _you_ to know."

A shadow passes very briefly across Jovian's eyes before he nods again, with both acceptance and a sense of laterness.

[Lilly is in a holding pattern. She's going to wait and leave with the Queen unless someone pulls her aside.

Lucas, friendly and open-hearted soul that he is, is quite willing to chew the fat with any of his cousins who fancy a late night snifter of really rather good armagnac.

Whether any of his cousins would reciprocate his sentiments is, of course, moot.

Reid will want to chat with Llewella, and if Caine were not otherwise engaged, he could be included in the discourse.

Having completed the evening's discussions, and Jovian not having asked her to stay, Vialle excuses herself and departs. (Presumably Lilly goes with her.)

Llewella departs alone.

Cambina departs alone.

Caine and Gerard leave together, perhaps to discuss the smuggling case that Gerard mentioned during dinner.

Flora will linger with Jovian unless he seems to be otherwise occupied.

Ossian rises quietly and leaves with a bow to his cousins.

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VI: Missing Chaosians | Index | VIII: After Dinner Drinks (and Considerations)