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Lucas waits, long. It seems like it's far too long. Eventually, the alarm bell stops and the portcullis begins to rise, with loud complaints from the chains and mechanisms inside. One of the guards calls down, "Prince Martin says to admit you, Lord Lucas."
Lucas grinds out his current cigarette with his boot heel and strolls into the castle, as calm and as relaxed as though returning from an evening constitutional. It would take high water on the scale of a tsunami to see any inward perturbation.
"And my children?" he asks. "You sent to my suite? Just what is happening here, eh?"
But even as he calls these questions up, he is moving smoothly through, and in the direction of his suite, seemingly unhurried - but most who attempt to match his pace would find themselves breaking into a little run.
"Madman loose in the castle, sir. Prince Martin says it's over," the guard calls down as Lucas passes by. No guards follow him, and there's no answer to his other question--but he's moving out of the guards' view quickly enough that they'd have to leave their post to answer.
Lucas privately resolves on having a little chat with the guards on the efficacy of answering questions in the order they are given, but decides now is not the time and place. Well, now is definitely not the place - he is already well beyond the gatehouse and moving through into the castle itself.
Lucas makes his way through a disturbed castle easily enough. There are guards in the family quarter, and they eye him a bit suspiciously, but he's able to establish bona fides and get through without significant argument. The strongest concentration is near his suite but not outside it. If he had to guess, it was Paige's suite that underwent the attack.
Lucas absorbs all this. It doesn't make him deviate one iota from his chosen destination, however Homing pigeons would jotting down envious notes for later study if they were to witness the directness of Lucas' passage to his suite.
Then he is at the door of his own suite, which is closed. Probably barred.
Lucas raps loudly to get attention - and then he whistles a few bars of music, before breaking off into speech - a code, perhaps, to establish his identity. "Le jour de gloire est arrivi! C'est moi, Gaston! Ouvres le porte!"
He knocks again, imperiously.
"Lucas, they're safe."
Turning around, he sees Solange standing several feet behind him, dressed in castle guard armor. Her face softens when she sees his eyes. "The attack appears to have been directed at Paige's children," she explains. "Your rooms were not beset."
He releases a long breath that he has not visibly been holding. Then he smiles, a little crookedly. "I hear your words - but I'll only believe it when I have my arms around them."
Then he blinks. "Paige's children? Where? How? What happened? Are they all right?"
"They were fine, last I saw them. Paige took them through to be examined by Father in Xanadu."
Solange pauses, looking as if she might say more, but then gestures at the door.
"Why don't you go ahead and make sure Hope and Philippe are fine? Afterwards, I'll give you the news and then Martin wished me to escort you to see him--he wants to talk to you."
From inside Lucas' suite, the sound of creaking wood can be heard - it seems Gaston is setting about unbarring the door. Lucas nods towards it.
"It will take Gaston a few minutes to open it. You may as well tell me now - there may not be much left of me once Martin is finished with me - I purloined one of his trumps to get here. We can sit on the window seat ..." For the first time he pays attention to her face, to her expression. "Hey," he says, and his voice loses some of its usual bitchy drawl as he speaks with unaccustomed gentleness. "Hey ... what's wrong, cos? What happened to you?"
Gently he draws her to the window opposite the door to his suite, where there is a cushioned seat in the full light.
Solange lets him lead her to the window, but she shakes her head at the proffered seat. "I'm all right, Lucas. Only a...a bit out of sorts."
He nods without speaking, but his eyes are intent upon her now.
She runs a hand over her face, glances out the window briefly as if to take comfort in the scene of normalcy it offers, then looks back at Lucas and smiles wryly. "I should have this whole recitation well memorized before I'm finished relating it to people, tone and pace and dynamic. You'll be the third."
Her eyes slip to look through the window again. It's the upcoming recitation she's dreading, the one where she reports to Julian in the exacting detail she learned as a ranger the events leading to Adonis's death. Will he react, the uncle who always has such a tight control? Or will he stare at her with those fathomless eyes and show no emotion? She's unsure which outcome will be worse to her.
Solange snaps her attention back to Lucas. "Sorry," she sighs, "got distracted there for a moment. It appears we only have a few minutes so I'll give you the brief version. If you want more details, you're going to have to provide me with either brandy or whiskey. Preferably whiskey. And a comfortable chair."
Lucas lifts a hand in an eloquent gesture. Such things can be arranged, the gesture says, and will be hers to command when the time comes. But for the moment ...
She runs a hand over her face again.
"A ranger went insane--hindsight suggests he was possessed at the time--and attacked Julian and ran into the castle, destination unknown. The tocsin sounded, the gates closed, and I shrugged into guard's armor and ran to attend the queen. She sent me to aid Brita and Conner, who were tracking the ranger to Paige's quarters. When I arrived...wow, there was blood everywhere. Five people in the room were possessed--two servants, the ranger, and Paige's two children. Adonis named the possessing entity as 'grandmother.' It then left the five and tried to possess him. It was my perception that he held the entity at bay and it then left the room. I trumped Father at that point to send everyone through to be examined and treated. Before I could act, Adonis walked over to the fireplace, poured perfectly good brandy over himself, and then stepped into the flame."
Lucas' eyes seem to flare briefly with shock, but then he is controlled, intent once more on Solange.
Solange pauses, her eyes wide. "He burned, Lucas. Like dry kindling. He was gone before Brita could stop him, burned completely to ash. Why would he do that?"
Lucas is silent for a moment, perhaps visualising the terror and horror of the scene that Solange describes. Then he shakes his head slowly, like one putting such visions aside.
"To burn like that ... when does wood burn so, Solange? Not when it is young and green, I think."
Solange spreads her hands. "Was he so very old, his life nearly over and his usefulness gone? He smiled, you know, right before he stepped into the fire. He smiled."
She looks back out the window and folds her arms across her chest, her expression troubled. "I just don't get it. I hope to hell he had a good reason for committing suicide, that there's something I'm missing."
A particularly loud creak of wood, followed by the thud! of something being lowered makes Lucas look up, but as the creaks start again, he returns his attention to Solange.
"I know it's lamentably easy for me to talk - that I didn't actually witness it. But there are some species, you know, that die once they have reproduced themselves - a trait which, I am happy to say, most of us share only to the extent of making extraordinary sacrifices when our children are in danger - or if we believe them to be in danger."
Solange turns her head back to look at Lucas. "You've changed," she states quietly, barely audible, as if to herself.
Lucas does not appear to have heard her, for he continues smoothly.
"Nevertheless, for us there may be a life to be lived. I suppose it is possible that Adonis' belief system was such that he saw Paige's twins as his successors in a way that no other of his children were. Poor babes! One must hope they are too young to remember the whole thing. If they were Hope's age, of course ... "
"Hope's age?" Solange asks, bemused. "Paige's children are teenagers. I didn't even know she'd had children at all, let alone that they're that old. That must've been one helluva fast time shadow. Either that, or I've been gone longer than I thought."
Lucas blinks. "Teenagers? I knew they were growing fast but ...
"Solange, only the other night, Paige's 'teenagers' performed in the Children's Concert we held here in the Castle. They played maracas and tambourine, being too young for instruments more complex. They appeared to be healthy one year olds ... older than Phillippe, but considerably younger than Hope."
Solange narrows her eyes at Lucas and shakes her head slowly.
"As far as I know, Paige hasn't left Amber between the Concert and now. Neither have her children."
"Then how...? Oh, great Unicorn, I just want that drink."
"You shall have it," Lucas promises. "I need to make sure all is well here, before I face Martin. And before we go to him ... I need to set things in train."
He looks at Solange. "I'm getting my family out of Amber - as soon as possible."
"It certainly sounds like a reasonable precaution, considering what happened today. I plan to stick around long enough to see the Hardwind estate settled, then I'm gone, too."
Solange shrugs.
"If you need any help, I'm at loose ends after the Hardwind affair. Just let me know."
"Thanks," says Lucas. "I may take you up on that. Actually, I looked out some material I had on the Paresh for you, but I took it across to Xanadu. If we get the chance - we should talk again. Today is liable to be a little .. disrupted."
It is at this point that the door to Lucas' suite cracks and Gaston's lugubrious face appears. "Would M'sieur prefer my letter of resignation now or later?" he asks, opening the door wider once he confirms that Solange and Lucas are alone in the hall.
Solange swallows a smile.
"Later," says Lucas firmly. "Masterpiece of the epistolatory genre though I am sure it is, my perusal of it must wait upon events. For the moment, please bring my cousin here a tumbler of the best - do you mark that? - the best brandy. And the staff who've held - as it were - the fort here - may also allow themselves a modest glass - or, in the case of Nanny Starch, a modest shot in her tea."
Solange raises a hand to protest, but Lucas continues on. She thinks better of it and drops the hand. She would prefer not to imbibe until things are more settled, but she also doesn't want to offend her cousin who is trying to help. And he did say "best" brandy. Who could turn that down? It would be impolite.
"I'll wait out here," she tells Lucas. "When you're ready to talk to Martin, I'll escort you back."
Lucas nods, and moves into his suite. "Hope!" he calls. "Phillippe!" He heads for the nursery.
When he arrives there, he finds Nanny Starch armed with a broom, ready to fend off any attack on her charges. Philippe and Hope are nowhere in sight. "My lord," Nanny Starch begins, but before she can finish, Hope has burst out from her hiding place under the crib and is running to her father. "Papa!" she cries.
Lucas promptly drops to one knee and opens his arms so that Hope can run into them. Then he wraps his arms around her and holds her tight against his heart, inhaling the warm, fresh scent of her, and feeling her small hands cling to him tightly. "My brave girl," he whispers in French. "Did you do as you were told and stay safe and snug with Phillippe?"
"Oui, Papa. Until you came."
He rises to his feet, still holding her against him as she clings to him like a little monkey. He nods at Nanny Starch to produce his son too - he is anxious to see Phillippe, but aware that his small son will have been less affected by what has happened than his daughter. So he holds Hope steady with one hand while the other stretches down to caress his son's head gently, and he continues to speak soothingly to Hope, praising her bravery in this great adventure she has had.
Philippe seems to have slept through the entire business. He wakes up and looks at his father sleepily.
Satisfied that all is well, and his people have acted just as he would have wished, he moves through the apartment, checking and praising the arrangements that were made by Gaston, Gouter and Nanny Starch - probably more handicapped than aided by Pert. Lucas' approbation is not given easily or often to his staff - but it is given now.
But as he does this, he is resting his cheek against Hope's, and wondering at the power of the emotion that has brought him here. A useful tool - he appreciates as never before how this emotion can be used as a tool for manipulation.
The unfortunate downside of this is that it has, rather glaringly, exposed his own weakness.
He is really going to have to do something about that.
No wonder so many of his mother's generation abandoned their children with their other parents. Maman, of course, showed her steel by keeping him around till he was old enough to fend for himself.
But was it steel against her siblings in that she chose to keep her rather indolent cub? Or was it the steel of indifference against him? Hidden in plain sight, because it really didn't matter if the vultures took him? Interesting. Something to think about - later.
Now he has the interview with Martin - and other responsibilities he has taken on.
"This was excellent," he says to his staff (presuming that Gaston has returned by now from serving Solace). "We will, however, be moving shortly to somewhere safer, I believe. I would therefore like you all to start packing the essentials, and the treasures. Pert - in addition to not handling anything fragile - I would like you to run an errand to the stables. You will discreetly convey the news to Cheval, and have him ready our horses. You will also find the Master of Horse, Donavon, and tell him that I would speak with him - and hope to be with him shortly. Another message to be delivered discreetly."
And that, for the moment, must do, Lucas suspects.
The servants all accept their assignments, and Pert slips out to run his errands.
Hope by now should be growing weary with all the excitement - Lucas will, with a last kiss, hand her back to Nanny Starch, and then set off to find Solange.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Solange can hear Lucas calling for his children as he dashes into the suite. Gaston looks at Solange and asks, "Would madam care to come in, or shall I bring the brandy to you here? I'm afraid you will find the parlor a trifle disarranged."
From the sound of things, they had all the furniture shoved up against the door, so that wouldn't surprise Solange.
"I'll take it out here, thanks. And only two-finger's worth please, not a tumbler-full," Solange adds.
She removes her sword belt, places it on the window seat within easy reach, then sits down beside it. She rests her hands palm-down on her knees to keep them from shaking, physical reactions settling in now that the danger has passed.
Solange watches the corridor while listening to the familial voices within Lucas's rooms, lost in her own thoughts of family, duty and responsibility, life and death.
After a moment, Gaston returns with the brandy, which he presents with a bow.
She accepts the drink. "Thank you."
Solange holds the tumbler up to the window, fascinated with the play of sunlight through the amber liquid, then downs it in one gulp. She sets the empty glass on the floor and sits back.
It was, indeed, fine brandy.
Some time later, after a period Solange hasn't kept track of, Pert comes out the door. He stops and looks at her, surprised, and bobs a bow at her before dashing off down one of the hallways.
And soon Lucas comes out of the suite to rejoin her. He seems his usual relaxed, urbane self.
"Shall we go?" he asks.
Solange nods and stands. "Solace and Hope and Phillippe are fine, I take it?" she asks while buckling the sword belt back on.
He nods. "I don't think Phillippe woke at all," he says wryly. "After all, he sleeps through Hope's bugle practice. Hope, however ... " He is silent for a moment. "She was glad to see me," he says finally.
"Where did you say Martin was when you last saw him?"
"In the receiving room with Bleys, Fiona and Merlin," Solange replies. She starts down the hallway, glancing over her should to make sure Lucas is following.
And nearly bangs into him, so close behind is he.
"Sorry," he says, allowing her to move forward slightly, but she has the feeling that he is preoccupied by something now.
When she moves again, he will follow, allowing her slightly more room.
Solange accommodates him easily, picking up her pace as well. She remains quiet, keeping her own counsel, and escorts Lucas back to Martin.
As he walks, Lucas withdraws something from his pocket to hold in his hand. Solange can see it is a trump of the castle.
"Martin's," says Lucas briefly. "The one I purloined."
"Is that what he wants to talk to you about?" Solange asks, after glancing at the trump.
"It could be why I get an armed cousin as an escort," agrees Lucas with a faint smile. "Rather than a friendly note dispatched by a footman asking me to drop in for a chat when I have a minute to spare."
Solange chuckles. "Or it could be that I was just handy and your paranoia is for naught."
"Or it might be that he guessed I'd ply you with some decent brandy after hearing your experiences."
She smiles and looks straight ahead. "It was very decent brandy. Thank you."
"But nor should one discount the possibility that he wants to draw together as many of the Order of the Card as he can lay his hands on in Amber to utilise their experience in dealing with another fine mess. Perhaps he's hoping that one of us will come up with a cunning plan."
"Perhaps." She looks at him sideways. "Do you have a cunning plan other than just evacuating everyone to Xanadu?"
"Xanadu?" Lucas looks slightly off balance - and then shrugs. "I can think of a few people Random would prefer not to see in Xanadu. Martin too."
"Who?"
Lucas smiles. "My belle mere for one." Then he looks more serious. "There are certain others. Judgements will need to be made - is it better to have certain personalties in plain sight ... or should we make the most of the opportunities to be rid of them? For the safety of the realm ... "
"Remind me not to get on your bad side."
"Avoid wearing bright pink and that shouldn't arise," says Lucas. "And capri pants, for that matter - a fashion error that the inhabitants of that luscious little isle would never be guilty of. In fact, if you ever appear before me in bright pink capri pants, expect to be shot, strangled, throttled or immersed in boiling oil on sight."
Solange smiles pleasantly at him, and Lucas can imagine that she's committing his comments to memory for future reference.
"So what has your mother-in-law been doing these days? Does she know that we are relocating to Xanadu?"
Lucas shakes his head. "She's not on the Need To Know list. I suspect that list might be lengthening but not - I devoutly hope - as far as Lady Vesper."
"How is Solace? I...saw her at the Children's Concert." Solange stops there, letting Lucas either broach the topic or change it, as he chooses.
"She's not well," says Lucas briefly. "She hasn't been strong since Phillippe was born - but it's getting worse. I'm hoping that relocating her to a centre of reality will help. If not ... I don't know how long she can survive of her trace on Amberite blood, and her love for all of us ... "
Solange looks at him sharply.
His face is very still as he continues to walk forward rapidly. "I've watched mortal lovers age and die before now. I've even seen them die before they aged. None of them had borne me children, though."
"Amberite blood? Who's, may I ask?"
"I don't know," says Lucas. "One set of rumours favours Eric. But if she's his daughter, why is she so vulnerable - not like Jerod or Cambina? It's possibly the blood might show more distantly, which would explain several things.
"But Solace's bloodline is perhaps not an immediate priority."
Solange looks forward to see that they have indeed arrived at the receiving room where she left Martin. "Shall we?"
Lucas, ever the gentleman, bows her in.
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XLIV: Dash to Amber | Index | XLVI: Facing up to Martin
