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Kadri: (before Mikal )

She regards Kay for a moment.

"I don't know. 'Betting onna fox' might not turn out the way you want it to but sometimes it might turn out the way you need it to instead. Don't dismiss it out of hand. Sometimes just 'to shake things up' and let the tiles fall where they may fall is the right answer. However ... you may be right that today is not that day. Hadrian is a vile snake that slithered out from under the darkest rock ... but he is not dumb. And he would not try the same thing twice, especially this soon after having the earlier move exposed. If he did ..."

Of course, 'betting on the fox' meant in some ways an entirely different thing than it would mean to Kay.

She pauses and looks over at the Khorral Korie.

"I believe it would be all the excuse needed to pull the Montague out from their hidey-hole by the root and salt the earth they were pulled from to assure they never rise again, given the level of sheer insult that would be towards your person - and the others here. Yes? And for that reason I cannot believe that the Jakal will be allowed to slip his leash. He will not attempt anything on such a party with all eyes upon it."

She sighs a bit.

"I will however not be letting the bride or groom walk without at least a talk."

The Heartwood
Talantal, the Grand Duchy of Talantal
Mid-Morning, Midsummer's Day

Kadri, Mikal and the Mouse, Daxia, Dandelion Koromov and Kisa Allaine and the Scamp

"You are not familiar with serpents, are you?"

"No."

Khorall Dorian Korie of the Grand Duchy of Talantal answered his question to Mikal for the mercenary.

"Look about this room. Choose two of those within these halls. Not just any two, but two among your own company, those you call family. Name them. Aloud.

"Now.

"Tell them that they are dead, in Krysta's arms.

"Having paid the cost for your vengeance."

Dorian stood.

"Ask the Allaine. Ask the Kierkegaard. Ask the Fathers Halahmbrah and Terilanquel. Ask Larsen.

"Would they return to Council knowing that the answer to a grievance is paid in blood?

"Ask yourself.

"Do you really wish to live in a world where there is no Midsummer's Council?"

The Noble Lord dusted off his hands.

"I challenged you to find a way to bring Jakal Montague to bay. Both Koromovs spoke well.

"You didn't listen.

"Listening is smart.

"You need to be smarter than the serpent or the serpent will kill you."

The Khorall of Talantal folded his arms behind his back.

"Unless there is more business before the Council, this Council adjourned."

Kadri



She gives Mikal a long look that definitely says that she sympathized with him.

"Mikal .."

She says quietly to just him.

"I cannot completely share your pain because I did not live through it. But ... the fact that you bear it does hurt me."

She looks to the Khorral.

"... There ... is one more matter for the council."

She motions to the two 'summoned imperials', then looks to Daxia.

Mikal

"What? Vague declarations that it is alright to let murders go free because if we just wait long enough they will do it again is what stands for wisdom in this chamber?"

"The answer that maintaining Justice can be dangerous so we choose not to do it is not an answer." He grunts angrily, then quiets at Kadri's comment, knowing he will never get satisfaction, not to mention sanity, in this room.

All they want to do is plot against each other. They are so absorbed in their plots they cannot see what is in plain sight. None of them seem to be able to understand that not only have they let guilty murders go free, but they have also just declared Open Season on Nobles.

The question is not how many might die dealing Justice to Montague, the question is how many of them will die once word spreads that there are no consequences to killing Nobles.

But then, he'd heard that Noble Justice was different than justice for commoners. Even that Imperial Justice was likewise different than that for Nobles. Had he done what the Montagues had done he'd have been hunted down and likely executed. It galls him to see this fact tossed in his face, and reminds him once more why his one wish in life is to remain as far away from Nobles as he can possibly get.

Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter

The Dayalan watched Mikal... and she worried. Oh, she didn’t let it show, but she worried just the same.

She understood his anger. She understood the words he said, she understood his reasoning and the conclusions as he saw them. But she understood politics, too. The Judges of Hastur couldn’t dispense their Justice if the Montagues had already fled. They hadn’t actually had a chance to do anything before Khorall Korie hurried himself, his retinue, and all the Imperials from the room. And then Montague ran away.

She felt some of that frustration, too. The her anger didn’t burn as hot as that of her Jvrillian friend, though.

Daxia found herself agreeing with Dorian Korie, something that felt... well, bizarre.

Montague was, indeed, a serpent, and a poisonous one at that. Capturing that snake would require careful planning; precautions would need to be taken to ensure no one else was bitten by the snake. At the moment, it had crawled back into its burrow. Its burrow would be watched by the Wild Horde, at least until Brockman’s Holdfast was steady and functioning again as a proper Keep. By then, there should be Knights and Squire of Rames to guard the burrow, to keep the people of Brockman’s safe.

Yes, the Nobles here had allowed Hadrian and Jakal to leave. Was it truly the mistake Mikal seemed to believe it was? Daxia didn’t think so, but only time would tell. Only a member of one of the Noble Families — or an Imperial — could level accusations against a Noble; clearly the Families directly affected had not felt the time was right... or perhaps it was not the right move... to accuse Montague of murder. The others followed their lead and also stayed their hands.

Unfortunately, it made sense. What proof did they have but the word and reasonings of a commoner? As cogent and well reasoned as her argument might have been, the brutal fact that she was not their equal most assuredly played a part in the Nobles’ actions — or inactions — even if it was entirely unconscious on the Nobles’ part.

Even if the Lords of Hastur saw the Truth of what she said, was it enough? She could not bring charges against the Montagues... nor could anyone else in their party. Before Montague had run off like beaten dogs, that very fact had been her primary rationale for having Kay acknowledged as an Imperial. Khorall Korie’s forthright reminder that the Council existed as a civilizing force, as a way to resolve disputes without bloodshed that could potentially lead to war, was not unheeded by the Starrider. Khorall Allaine’s insult to the Council last year had been political maneuvering of the sort at which Allaines were adept. War, though? With the scarcity of representatives from the Bankorpool Empire on the mainland, the Little Kingdoms could potentially devolve into the squabbling fiefdoms of the First Age.

She had no doubt of Montague’s guilt in the murder of Danton Kierkegaard and the kidnapping, rape and enslavement of Innocence Allaine. They were certainly complicit in her death even if it wasn’t dealt directly by their hands. But did allowing them to slink away in shame truly send the message that they’d gotten away with something?

They were a Noble Family who’d been disgraced.

By a commoner.

By a woman.

Who carried a sword.

All it would take would be for a few clever minstrels to hear those simple facts, and the Montagues might die of embarrassment.

True, in the years it took them to die that slow death, Daxia would be the lightening rod for their anger. But she didn’t believe, as Mikal seemed to, that the Montagues had gotten away with anything. Perhaps it wouldn’t be the Judges of Hastur who would deliver Justice, swift and sure. Likely it would be the court of public opinion that would kill them slowly with tiny cuts of laughter as numerous as the stars in the sky... at being foiled by a swordbitch.

Yes, indeed... Daxia would need to be looking over her shoulder for a good long time. But it might be worth it — for a little while, anyway — to hear stories and songs of Montague’s humiliation.

She wasn’t particularly happy with the idea of vengeance, though she understood there were some — and Mikal was evidently one of those — who lived for it.

Well, there was more than one way to capture a merebeast.

Daxia was almost relieved when the Lord of Talantal began the process of adjourning the Council session. And she didn’t even sigh when Kadri brought up the matter of Lord Hawthorne and Lady Anastasia. She did give Kadri a quick, lopsided smile before looking from the Judge of Hastur to the Priestess of Attera, then tilted her head slightly as she looked at Dorian Korie.

“If your Lordship would like me to explain my need for your Judge and Priestess now, I will do my best to do so with as few words as possible.” A slightly pained looked flickered across the redhead’s features for a moment. “It does involve a rather... peculiar series of events, however.”

The Heartwood
Talantal, the Grand Duchy of Talantal
Mid-Morning, Midsummer's Day

Kadri, Mikal and the Mouse, Daxia, Dandelion Koromov and Kisa Allaine and the Scamp

Dorian Korie gave the red headed Dayalan that stern look of his. No longer quite as happy.

"Go on."

Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter

Daxia drew a deep breath, held it a moment, then exhaled slowly before nodding once to the Khorall of Korie.

“In order that full weight be given the question I have for Lord Hawthorne, I must share some small bits of history and recall for you a recent incident. In sharing this history, I beg the indulgence of all gathered here, for it is a history passed from mother to daughter, from Priestess to Initiate; it is history as written and spoken in our one lonely Temple. Please soothe your vexations with the knowledge that every story can be told in many ways... and that there are often far more similarities than differences.”

She paused, biting her lower lip.

“And it’s quite possible that sharing these stories would have my Sisters in the Dawnview Temple quite displeased with me.” The redhead shrugged. “I suppose I wasn’t destined to spend my life cloistered with them anyway.”

Of course, sharing the history of the Dayalans didn’t mean she necessarily needed to tell the tales as she learned them. Some things need not be said; other things could have their sharp edges smoothed.

“Long ago, when King Yrick’s Bright Empire spanned the mainland, the keeps were built and smaller kingdoms were founded by those we now know as the Noble Families. But then — as now — they faced a familiar dilemma. As difficult as it is to have no Heir... what does one do when one has a handful or more of sons, a handful or more of daughters?”

She glanced at Kisa with a speculative look before turning her attention to the others on the Council.

“You probably don’t dissuade the younger ones from building a fleet of ships to explore what might lie out in the Sea of Opals. You probably don’t try too hard to exhort them back from the Port of Lys, away from the ships that would — in later generations and Ages — become known as the Forgotten Fleet.

“No doubt there were those who traveled across the Sea of Opals who could be younger siblings of all our forebears. Certainly those who were taught the secrets of navigation by the stars must have had a prominent role in the undertaking. Who can say what other families — be they Noble, minor Noble, or commoner — sent their sons and daughters sailing away to an unknown fate?”

Daxia shook her head and smiled ruefully, tucking errant strands of hair back behind her ear.

“Yrick’s Bright Empire ended with the first incursion from the East... what is known in our lone Temple as the Long War. It lasted a fullhand of fullhand years. Everything that our ancestors had seen built — King Yrick’s great city of Caer Maeyin, the mythical city of Dall Gwynn that still calls out to be found to this very day, that same Port of Lys that saw the Forgotten Fleet on their way, our own lost Starwatch Reaches — was destroyed or lost to history.”

She swallowed, trying to keep away the emotions that always seemed to find her when she thought of that war. The Eastern Gods hated Dayala more than anything else; their followers very nearly destroyed the cult of Dayala. There had been so few stars before that war... afterwards, the sky was bright with them.

“After the war, the people who survived scattered far and wide, finding ways to rebuild their families, their homes, their lives. We know the Second Age, the Coven Age, was a time when those of the Great Coven held sway. But I think we all understand it was also a time when farming and feeding one’s family was of the highest importance. Khoralls and farmers, Nobles and commoner, all had the same goal.” She smiled crookedly. “I’ve heard it said that in Darkdown, the Khorall himself worked the fields alongside the farmers.”

Again, the Dayalan paused. What she had been taught of the Coven and the Second Age was very different from what most were taught. What she had been taught of Coveners warred with the anger she still felt over Rurik’s role, his betrayal, at the Silk Creek Bridge that fateful night.

She sighed softly.

“I think the worst tales of that time are the ones remembered now. I have met those of the Coven. Like everyone else in this world, there are those who are clever... and those who are not. There are those who are most honorable... and those who have such a lack of honor that one might think they don’t know the word.

“Perhaps the tales we tell of that Age would surprise and bewilder those who lived through them.

“That Age came to an end, however, when the Eastern army once again came pouring over Darkdown Pass. They swarmed over Tor-an-Dal, Jeminy’s Hill, Brementown, Bordertown, and finally came to the Only Bridge over Silk Creek Ravine.”

Daxia looked at Mikal... at Kadri... at Dean... before looking around at the gathered Nobles again. She could no longer remain seated; her place in Court was always standing... out of the way. She felt comfortable in that role. If she was to be the center of attention, at least she would grasp at the comfortable familiarity of being on her feet. She was a warrior, she was an observer... she could just as easily be an advisor standing as she could sitting.

She turned and looked Dandelion Koromov in the eyes.

“Past and present have existed for an Age outside Bordertown, but now the past is at peace.”

Dazi could well imagine how Dandy must have raged at knowing of the Curse on the Dayalan and Coven Priestesses; it could hardly be less than Dazi’s own rage at the cowardly decision to do nothing by the pustulant idiots of the town’s Thing. But the Curse was broken, and a Koromov sat among them now. Camelia might be young, but she was Court-trained too... and she was a Koromov.

Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter, Starrider companion of the Immortal Morning Star, Knight of Dawnview Castle turned back to the Nobles, addressing Dorian Korie. She had every bit as much presence as any Knight of Rames, except... except... well, except she was a Knight of Dayala.

“The past and present overlap at Highside Heather on foggy nights.

“Starlord Tashka of Darkdown said to me, Tor-an-Dal lost us the Koromovs... Jeminy’s Hill our best... Brementown, the Jvrillians were betrayed.”

A self deprecating laugh escaped. “Perhaps it was exhaustion, or perhaps it was fear in the knowledge that I would need to face down an Avatar of an Eastern God to break the Curse that had held her and her beloved captive for seven generations... but it took longer than Dama Tashka had to live for me to realize what she’d said.

“Tor-an-Dal lost us the Koromovs...”

Again, Dazi shook her head.

“She didn’t realize, I suppose, that a little bit of a thing... but a Koromov... had attached herself to the Commander of the Dayalan troop holding the Only Bridge. And how could she have known that the wee Koromov’s family had fled Tor-an-Dal for Highgaard... or even Dawnview?

“The Koromovs were not lost.”

She turned her gaze to her Initiate. “I suppose you’re easy enough to hide, Scamp, but you’re both from Darkdown. Maybe there was no chance to let her know your family had escaped, da? But Verchovai Tashka worried nonetheless. Ah, but maybe it gave her some peace when I told her of this one,” she said, tilting her head in Dandy’s direction, “and her younger sister.”

She stared at Kay for a moment before raising an eyebrow.

“Lily Allaine called you Dama Koromov. Unironically. When you began eating the Kierkegaard levy.”

Daxia let the implications of that sit with Kay as she continued, telling her tale to the whole of the Council... sharing a few sentences with each delegation before turning to another.

“As I said, the past and present overlap at Highside Heather on foggy nights. Perhaps this, too, is a kind of a curse... or perhaps it’s something more. Ultimately, tracing back the tiles that knocked over each tile that led to the Battle of Silk Creek Bridge and the consequences that echo to the present, I might lay the blame at the feet of Davidson the Black, though he does not seem to have played the part in the breaking of the Coven that our tales ascribe him. Even Starlord Tashka was not sure if he was their prisoner or if he had betrayed those of the Tarn and Black Mountain Keeps. Were his words to the Eastern Avatar — Big enough sacrifices can summon anything — the first tile to fall, or was everything inevitable all along?

“I will say this: do not spend the night at the Lone Pine Inn hard by the western side of the Only Bridge. Especially on a foggy night. And if you have no choice, I do implore you to heed the Innkeeper’s advice and drink yourselves into a slumber so deep that the sounds in the night will not wake you.”

This time, she looked at Kisa, her lips thin from pressing them tightly together. She’d written of that night, and although most of it need not be conveyed to the Council, it was not something she could share lightly. And yet... there was the opportunity to cleanse one wound so it might heal. She looked up from Kisa’s face to look at Dorian Korie.

“We did not heed the Innkeeper’s advice and found that the night had slipped into the past... to the very night the Bridge was broken. Each of us seemed mired in a different version of that night. One constant, however, was the troop of Dayalans holding the bridge, and the Eastern army massed on the Lowside Tarn.

“For my part, I found myself one of that troop. I knew none of them, yet they seemed to know me. It was most disconcerting. The Archdruid...” She tried hard not to spit the word out. “...had apparently been promising reinforcements from Talantal. Despite the obvious anger on the part of the Dayalan commander over the failure of the Talantal troops to appear, it would not have mattered.”

Her gaze held the Korie’s and she gave him the slightest nod. “There would be some — Dama Koromov! — who would demand to know your ancestor’s reasons for delaying. There might be some youngling who is too soon off the battlefield to realize the size of the army arrayed against us made those promised reinforcements very nearly irrelevant. Yes, they had held that bridge for twenty five days. It feels like we’ve been doing this forever. It’s hard to remember anything else. Yes, holding that bridge every foggy night for seven generations can be tiring. But I say no Korie now or in the future shall need to answer for their ancestors when last the East came across the mountains. I say this as the Starrider who sat on that bridge astride her unicorn disguised as a warhorse, drawing the attention of the Eastern horde. I say this as cousin to Allaine. So be it.

“And yes, I was like a beacon to the Easterners. Foul, inhuman creatures they were, but when they came at us, our shield wall pushed them... pushed at them. The youngster stayed by my side, even though her place was at the Allaine’s side. A huge monstrosity used what seem to be an entire tree as a club, trying to unseat me. That last time he hit me, I very nearly went down and I felt several ribs snap; my next sword strike was not only wide, but I’d clumsily left myself open to his death blow.

“Which never came, for the young Koromov had taken the blow with her shield, leaving herself open to the Eastern spears.

“That was the moment we heard the horns, coming from the East... from behind the Eastern army.

“The stories say the Knights of Roth attacked the Eastern army at dawn. In truth, it wasn’t quite dawn yet. But this gave the East the impetus to break the Dayalan line, to get across the bridge to the Highside.

“You could hear the snapping, the crashing, the crackling behind us, and chanting, too. There were so few of us left; I couldn’t chance looking behind me. But it was as if the whole of the Eastern army was mesmerized by whatever was happening behind us. I heard Lily Allaine say, ‘Damn him...’ and didn’t understand. When I saw the youngster staring up behind me, though...

“I turned to see the small pine tree outside the inn growing huge, growing unnaturally, its roots reaching out to rip the foundation of that marble bridge built by Dayalan hands during the First Age... the marble bridge upon which Dayalans fought to buy time for the Knights of Roth... the marble bridge that I KNEW was very much made of timber at the spot where I sat upon my steed.

“And I saw my Sisters begin to fall with blocks of marble into the ravine.”

Daxia noted that her hands had curled into fists at the memory of that night. She felt the anger rising again... anger at the betrayal. She took a deep breath and relaxed her hands, tried to let go of the anger. It was one thing to be angry at the Montagues, for they existed here and now, and justice would be served eventually. It was another thing to remain angry at a man long dead. Unless he’d been cursed to live forever, which would be just perfect... as long as he understood what he did wrong and then had to watch himself repeat the mistake over and over and over and over.

That wasn’t nearly enough punishment for betraying an ally, but it would have to do.

“Through instinctive and monumentally stupid chivalry of Dayala’s newest Starrider of this Age, that wee Koromov was picked off a bridge where she surely would have died. I pulled her up behind me, and kept pressing into the Eastern line. I knew where that bridge stopped crumbling, and I did not want to test the theory that dying on that bridge would mean I’d not wake in the morning to punch an Innkeeper in the head for thinking an Immortal unicorn is a ‘critter’.

“And then She rose... and the whole bloody nightmare ended right then. There was no Eastern army, there were no Knights of Roth, the unicorn was once again a unicorn, and the bridge was again whole... albeit partially made of timber.

“It took a bit to realize that the youngster still sat behind me. Da, I had taken her from certain death on that bridge to...”

The Dayalan stopped and spread her arms wide.

“...to this. I dropped her hard in the middle of a world she didn’t understand. What did she know beyond farming and firsthand knowledge of fighting in battle after battle after battle? What kind of world did she find herself thrown into?

“A world in which the Forgotten Fleet had returned... first to be sent packing by Andwise of Korie and the army he’d gathered from across the mainland. Then the descendants of the Forgotten Fleet returned to stay, in the person of Prince Lhannon Bankorpool. He brought many things as the representative of the Bankorpool Empire — peace and prosperity, the Imperial Court, and the Imperial Families.”

Daxia paused to glance over her shoulder at the two Koromovs behind her before continuing.

“The Imperial Families.

“Bankorpool...

“Yrick...

“Deynnekko...

“Velikii...

“Translev...

“Faast...

“And Koromov.”

The corners of her mouth twitched as she looked at Lord Hawthorne, and echoed words she’d overheard Dandy say to Camelia that first night they met.

“I’ve heard it said that the Koromovs are the Conscience of the Empire.

“I have met three Koromovs, and I would believe this to be true.

“I have heard the tale of Thomas Koromov, of the fateful deed that caused his fellow Imperials to strip him of rank, power and holdings... and I would believe this to be true.

“Merely because Thomas Koromov was stripped of his Imperial title and holdings, it does not follow that all other Koromovs — either here on the mainland or still residing in the heart of the Bankorpool Empire somewhere in the Opal Archipelago — would be similarly affected. It was Thomas Montgomery Koromov who incurred the ire of his peers, though likely his Lady Wife had some small hand in the incident that triggered those of the other Imperial Families to cast him from their midst. Naturally, his descendants would also be expelled from the ranks of Imperials.”

Dazi glanced at Dandelion Koromov, a slow blinking of her eyes the closest she would come to a shrug before turning her gaze back to the Judge of Hastur.

“Ekaterina Koromov,” she continued, hooking her thumb over her shoulder at her Initiate, “is in no way descended from Thomas Koromov. To say she is not related to him at all would be disingenuous, though I promise that whatever relationship exists — should there be one — is painfully complex.”

The Dayalan snugged her thumbs comfortably between belt and surcoat, tilting her head slightly as she looked at Lord Hawthorne.

“So, my Lord, the question I’d ask of you... of Lord Hastur, if he doesn’t mind my impertinence... is Ekaterina Koromov an Imperial of the Imperial Family Koromov, with all the rights and responsibilities of a member of the Empire’s ruling families?”

She glanced between Lord Hawthorne and Khorall Korie, several implications obvious to her even if they weren’t... quite... obvious to Dorian Korie. Yet.

“If the man’s Book says ‘yes’, you’ve my leave to skedaddle, Scamp,” she said softly. “But you might want to visit the Immortal rather than seek out the tall and pale one.”

The Heartwood
Talantal, the Grand Duchy of Talantal
Mid-Morning, Midsummer's Day

Kadri, Mikal and the Mouse, Daxia, Dandelion Koromov and Kisa Allaine and the Scamp

"That thin .... that waif?"

The Justice's words were barked sharp, short and disdainful, drawing himself up slowly and opening his book equally slowly.

"No matter how many stories of the fair you may speak, an Imperial would never take after a pagan goddess. We shall test.

"Lord Hastur, he who set the laws which bring us peace, whose gaze sees through light and darkness, through fog and shadow, to see all that is required to bring justice beneath sky and stars ... who is this girl, the one called Ekaterina Koromov. Does she bear legitimate Imperial blood within the laws and customs of these lands?"

Looking up, he cast a cold look to the dark haired swordswoman.

"When she fails, against such an insult perhaps we can end the festival with a bonfiiiiiii ..."

Hawthorne looked down at his tome, eyes widening. Peering around him, a pair of priestesses peeked, one on each side. He quickly slammed the book closed. Priestess Jasmine stepped back, her hand upon her mouth. Priestess Anastasia simply bowed her head, the words that followed only tainted with the slightest hint of mischief.

"May I introduce to you her Imperial Excellency, Dama Ekaterina Koromov, great aunt several times removed of His Imperial Highness Prince Pavel Nikitavich Translev, who rules in the Emperor's name as Khorall of the Imperial Duchy of Trundle-On-The-Hill."










The silence that followed could have swallowed the mainland.

It was broken by a single syllable.

" ... gawk."

The cacophony that followed was the epitome of chaos within the bounds of an imperial court.

"This is preposterous! Read it again, Brother Hastur. My House is not about to bow before some farmgirl sword-bitch! It is unseemly for a Knight!"

"Pay me, brother!"

"It seems we indeed do live in interesting times. Well, we'll just have to find her a good husband! Clarissa will be so pleased!"

"There's an IMPERIAL in the court! Dallia, the Khorall's wine, fourth cellar, third rack, any with the star, crown and bear on the label. Wolfgang, find the Hunter, we shall need fresh venison tonight!"

"Father ..."

"Hus-what? GAWK!"

"Yes son. She can speak where we cannot, for those whom can no longer."

"She must be the dagger al'Nehrimstel warned of ... "

At the head table Dorian pounded his fist against the wood, many time, hard and sure, now so very definitely an unhappy Khorall.

"Order, order .... ORDER!"

Against this madness someone finally made a move. It was quick, fast, sudden and harsh. It came from an unexpected quarter, it came from a tall, slight, slender woman, a slip of a farmer's girl. Captain Dandelion Koromov stepped forward, and faster than could be stopped took up a handful of fancy collar, literally ripping her employer from her chair, raising her in the air, looking to Kisa Allaine eye to eye, blue eyes like lightning.

She turned her head, whispered three syllables into the redhead's ear, then let her drop to the floor.

For a moment she sat, stunned. Then her eyes narrowed. Daxia had seen this look before.

In her head the Heir to Dawnview was laying out double bluff stones.

Kisa stood, turning herself to face Dorian Korie, setting both her hands on the table.

"Dawnview Vale and the Noble Family Allaine recognizes Ekaterina Koromov as our Imperial liege."

Dorian looked at Kisa in shock.

"Do it."

She snapped back at him.

Dorian Korie gave Kisa a look that would freeze the flowers on Jeminy's Hill.

"Do it. And Dawnview Vale will stand with Talantal. Otherwise we shall retreat behind Snowgate Pass. If you want there to be a Talantal for your son to inherit, do it. Now."

The Korie looked between Kisa, Dandelion and the incipient Imperial.

"Talantal and the Kories recognize this Koromov girl. You had better keep your promise, Snowqueen."

One by one the other Khoralls spoke up.

"Kierkegaard the Black Mountain Keeps recognize Ekaterina Koromov as our Imperial lord."

"Clan Terilanquel recognizes this girl as an Imperial lass."

"But I don't want this!"

"What one wants and what the world gives us is often two very different matters. As long as you have folks who stand by you, you will be fine, lassie. I wanted to be a tailor. Larsen and Talesan's Village recognizes Ekaterina Koromov as our Imperial Dama.

"Clan Halahbrah recognizes this girl as bearing the Imperial bloodline. Halahmbrah speaks for Alhahnah. i can tell you now, Nehrimstel will not. They only recognizes Lloshad. But that is nothing new."

"There. It is done. Is there anything else you wish?"

At the end, it was Dorian Korie who brought the formalities to a close.

It was Captain Koromov who spoke up.

"Scamp."

Kay just blinked.

"Scamp. Repeat after me ..."

" ... repeat after me. Oh."

Word for word, still in shock, the youngest Koromov repeated what her elder relative spoke.

" ... Ekaterina Koromov, in witness of the Noble Houses of the Imperial Mainland .... do hereby lift the sanctions ... from the children of Thomas Montgomery Koromov ... restoring them to their rightful Imperial status ... with full rank, privileges and property."

As the young Imperial spoke, the blood slowly drained from Danton Korie's face. With a silent realization he just looked at the Allaine.

"Wait. Wait. Wait wait wait wait wait. I don't understand ... you want to be an Imperial?"

Kay questioned Dandelion.

"By Krysta's grace, no! I, Dandelion Alyssa Koromov, hereby abdicate my Imperial rank and title. I already got a better one."

Again, again silence fell over the council. Giving up an Imperial title? Inconceivable.

"I can go now. You said so."

Dama Ekaterina Koromov looked to Daxia, her Starrider.

Slowly she walked out of the hall, still blinking a bit. When kay passed one of the tall columns she vanished behind it - almost as if jerked. From behind the column came a gawk and then some frantic whispers. One heartbeat and then two and then Kay leaned out from behind the column, looking back at the Nobles.

"Wait. Wait wait.

"Rank. Rank means stuff, ja? Well then."

She leveled her sharp gaze across the hall, focused on one person.

Her steely look landed square upon Mikal.

"With all my herebyness and everything, being of Imperial blood and all, let it be known that old grumpy and his far too easy to pokiness, Jakal Montague, is now free prey. Anything happens to him ... no one cares.

"Second. I abdicates too! Awfvidders! Danya!"

The girl was then yanked, again, behind the column. There was the sound of two sets of feet running away - one obviously Kay's, the other almost silent and much more mouse-ish.

Dorian Korie spoke quietly to Kisa.

"Everything's just changed, didn't it."

Kisa simply nodded.

Dorian returned the gesture. Once.

"The Midsummer's Council is adjourned."

Mikal

He listens and watches all the goings on and talking with an expression that is half bemusement and half befuddlement. He really doesn't understand most of what just happened, although the Nobles present seem to think it's a big deal. He turns with the others to look at Kay when the Hasturian finally, and reluctantly, acknowledges her as an Imperial. The rest, he shrugs mentally, has little meaning to him. The whole thing with Koromovs and lifting of sanctions just goes in one ear and out the other, though he can see it is vitally important to some of the Dayallans present.

He does gather that Kay's status just increased dramatically, but what that means in "real life" he has little clue.

When Kay flees the room he grins, and his head nods in agreement. All he can think is what she would have to look forward to as an Imperial is likely a hundred times worse than what he was told awaited him if he was named Brockman's Regent.

When she stops, turns, and makes her last pronouncement about Montague, his bemused grin turns feral. He drops to one knee and bows his head. Something he has never done in his life, for any Noble, Imperial or not. "Highness." He says simply.

He rises as she immediately abdicates her rank and the bemused expression returns to his face, with a slightly feral grin attached as he glances around the room. The 'slight wisp of a girl' just had the courage to do what these grizzled men were too afraid to, and his look broadcasts that fact to all who glance at him.

Kadri

She listens to Daxia speak, her mouth starting to quirk and quirking more every minute as she started to see what was happening. Pretty soon, it was utterly impossible to hide on her face. She darts her eyes to a shadowed corner. And thinks.

"Oh Lady Mine, I think you must be enjoying this - because I know I am. I the the tiles have not only been disturbed, but I think the table just got flipped over. And someone may well be dancing on the overturned table."

She stands enough to essay a deep and flourishing curtesy, then a cross-armed bow to Kay.

"Your highness."

She is holding perhaps the most impish expression, bar none, they have ever seen on her face. She winks.

Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter

The Starrider had simply nodded to the Justice of Hastur, and did a credible job of not snickering at his outrage. It was far more difficult, although she managed it, to keep from laughing at his reaction to whatever his Lord had caused to be written in his book.

Because it wasn’t precisely funny.

Or... maybe it was. Because Lady Anastasia’s words were merely the first subtle nudge that started the sort of avalanche and rock slide that hadn’t been seen since the Snowqueen herself defended Snowgate Pass against the Bankorpool prince generations ago.

It started with a startled gawk and rumbled through the protest of the Knight of Rames... the wagering of the Amber Clans — did they wager on everything Daxia wondered — the delight of Lord Larsen, though he obviously didn’t understand Dayalans very well... the cacophony of one man speaking over another until the words were just noise. She did recognize another gawk from Kay, though. And then the sound of his very, very unhappy Korieness.

Yes, it was a right powerful mess of noise, but Daxia hadn’t actually expected anything less.

However, when her elder Temple Sister pulled Kisa from where she sat, almost as if the Heir of Allaine was nothing more than a rag doll, Daxia’s mouth opened to protest. But Dandy merely whispered something to Kisa, then dropped the Heir to the floor.

Dazi snapped her jaw shut as she watched Kisa calculating, laying out set after set after set of Doublebluff tiles in her mind. She stepped back, out of the way, as Kisa stood and stared down Dorian Korie.

And she watched suspiciously, with narrowed eyes of her own, at the exchange between Dandelion and Ekaterina.

My Lady...

Her jaw tightened ever so slightly as Dandelion Alyssa Koromov abdicated her Imperial rank and title. Her eyes flickered to a shadowed corner behind one of the many pillars.

...if I didn’t think so very highly of You, and almost as highly of Your Granddaughter...

She waved away the youngster, her words short and clipped... a young farm girl from the far side of Dawnview Vale.

“Yah. Go. No beef, you.”

The Dawnview slang might not have made the least bit of sense to Kay, but at the moment, it didn’t matter.

She watched Kisa, though she heard Kay declaring that, in effect, Jakal Montague was not any sort of Noble, and his death — accidental or otherwise — would be of no concern to anyone.

...I would start to believe at this point...

Daxia showed no reaction as she continued to watch the Heir of Allaine when Kay also abdicated her Imperial rank and title. Nor did she react to Mikal’s or Kadri’s acknowledgement of Kay’s new title and rank... which, of course, she’d just tossed in the midden with Dandy’s title and rank.

...that I had been manipulated from the moment I entered that terror of an Inn at Highside Heather, if not from long before that...

Oh, yes... everything changed. The Allaine and the Korie could agree on that. Everything changed. For them. For all the Nobles. For the Imperials in Trundle-on-the-Hill, too, though who could say how long it would take them to find out their Justice now outranked their Prince — possibly... it would take some figuring to work out the family relationship and, quite honestly, Daxia didn’t care.

...and may I say with all due respect, O Most Glorious Lady Dayala, I don’t care much for it. If there’s something you’d like me to do...

Daxia’s expression changed when Dorian Korie declared the Council session ended. She glared at Kisa.

...then just bloody tell me. Right. Or pass the message through the pompous Immortal, since I’m not all fine and fancy enough to be worthy of Your Words.

The redhead looked almost angry. Her expression was certainly not something she’d ever shown in Court, nor was it something Kisa had ever seen, either. But rescuing folks, killing demons and avatars, breaking curses, and getting all caught up in a different kind of curse gave a person a different perspective on the world.

Well, Dandy herself had said it... life in Dawnview Vale was comfortable and easy.

And a year ago... six months ago... two days ago... she would have been appalled not only at the words that came out of her mouth, but her tone of voice, too.

“We need to talk,” she said sharply to the Heir of Allaine. “Now.” Blue eyes of a Dawnview girl shifted to meet the blue eyes of an Imperial lass from the other end of the Black Mountain range.

“You, too,” she said to the Captain of the Wild Horde, unconsciously echoing the very words Dandy had first said to her.

“In addition to detailing the new configuration of the world, which I could most likely divine myself given the time — which I don’t have at the moment, it being Midsummers and somebody is bloody well going to dance with me until my feet hurt — we are going to find my sister...”

She looked at Kisa, blue eyes flashing.

“...and you are going to tell us everything there is to know about our family. Every. Single. Thing.”

Daxia started toward the door, then paused to look over her shoulder at Kisa and Dandy.

“Well? Come on. If I know Bekkah — and I do know Bekkah — she’s somewhere down in the First Ring with a very long head start on dancing.”

Then she looked over her other shoulder... at Mikal... at Kadri... at Dean. The narrowing of her eyes and tightness around her mouth made it clear she was not in the best mood at the moment. And that perhaps it might be a good idea to give her the space of a Ring or two, at least until she stopped glowering. Her expression wasn’t as foreign to them as it was to Kisa, but the only time she’d seemed quite this annoyed was when she’d practically hauled the innkeeper from behind his bar at the Lone Pine Inn to explain that Immortal unicorns were not “critters.”

But just in case her flashing eyes didn’t convey the message, she said, “Now would be an excellent time for you and your... retinue... to visit with your family, da?”

Dazi nodded toward the Amber delegation before striding out of the room.

Kadri lets her eyebrow raise for a moment, then fall. Then she pauses, then she nods.

She stands, collecting the folded dress from the table, and walks towards the delegation of Amber.

She pauses before her father, brothers - and The Lord Halambrah to her father and brothers she nods. To Halambrah ... She offers the appropriate respect. There was no point here in antagonizing.

"It has been a while. Interesting times."

Mikal

He turns to look at Daxia when she makes her statements to various persons around the table. He represses a grin, thinking she might not appreciate it, but he does see various levels of irony, layered irony even, in the tableau as it has played out.

When Kadri rises and moves over to her family, he follows, a careful half-step behind and to her left. As she didn't tell him to stay behind, he hasn't. And this being her family it is one of the times he might have listened to her had she done so.

The Heartwood
Talantal, the Grand Duchy of Talantal
Mid-Morning, Midsummer's Day

Kadri, Mikal, Daxia, Dandelion Koromov and Kisa Allaine

Kadri's words were an interruption, to the representatives of the three political families. The Nehrimstel could be called many things, but political was not one readily applied. as she held the attention of her father and hi equals, behind her small entourage the rest of the chamber hastily emptied - Nobles too, it seemed wanted to have at least half of day of revelry for themselves.

Soon only those with ties to Amber remained.

"Interesting ... like a filly with a head on each end. It is strange, unique and has no idea which way to run."

Somebody took a half step back, letting the Terilanquel, Kadri's father reply. He considered his runaway daughter, still and even, and when he finally spoke ...

He addressed her servant, Mikal.

"You have fire. But you are young and simple. You need to have a few wives and children to understand these things. There are always matters that cannot be condoned between those considered equals.

"A Father's hands may be bound by the traditions of hospitality, alliances may need to be held by the strength of one's word and honor. And only a fool bars the path of a plains buffalo.

"One can rail against the inequity.

"Or one can wait until the Council has been concluded

"And realize that is exactly what having strong sons are for."

His arms crossed as he looked to his three big, strong sons.

"As my runaway filly's ... husband ... found out."

She narrows her eyes.

"Father. Enough. I did what I had to do because I had to do it. What is, is - and I would have it go no further. I wish to clear the air, to wish my Sister happy marriage, and my brothers success and what that brings. I am what I am, and I will always be."

The Heartwood
Talantal, the Grand Duchy of Talantal
Mid-Morning, Midsummer's Day

Kadri, Mikal and sundry relatives.

Narrowed eyes were met with narrowed eyes, as if interrupted. Which, in this case, was true. The elder Amber lord had been talking not to Kadri, but the still and silent Mikal.

"They are where they should be.

"They understand tradition and propriety. Duty to one's family."

For all their freedom - the entirety of the Plains of Kaa to be openly wandered, to their loose ties to the Empire and only slightly stronger bindings to the Frontier Keeps and at that definitely more interested in Kierkegaard than the Vale but one could not have one without the other - life within the clans was strictly defined.

Thus the answer was clear to Kadri.

Somewhere, nearby, tents were pitched. Each family would have one large shelter for the lord and for the lord to host guests, surrounded by smaller ones; for the brothers, the sisters, the wives, the retainers. To an outsider it would look like one big concatenation of cloth, but to one of Amber it would be a distinct and small community of places.

They would cluster about a central open space, where there would always be a fire and the household banners set.

The only space large enough to hold them, that was also nearby, would the open grounds of Talnatal's highest ring, outside the manor keep they were currently within.

Mikal

He listened to Kadri's father silently. After a moment he nodded slightly. "Not so young in spirit as I may appear in age. My spirit has aged, well beyond my years. And it can be dangerous to mistake wisdom for simplicity. Sometimes ones mind and intellect becomes so entangled in plots and intrigue that one is not prepared for the simpleton's answer. While one is spending effort creating intrigue, and trying to think three moves ahead, the simpleton has driven a sword into your gut."

He nods again, taking Kadri's father's comments as an indication that the man is suggesting it is better to nod politely and then go do what one must. It is clear he is not referring, in his comments, to any of Kadri's family, nor the other Lords here, but more of Hadrian Montague.

(I wasn't aware you were waiting on me. Her next action was to a: find Talia, briefly, then visit sister/family)

She again bows, arms crossed, to The Lord Hallambrah.

"May the sky rise up above you, may the ground stretch out before you, may the grass brush the hooves of your steed, and may the sun never set on your sons and daughters. Health and prosperity to you."

She bows again and moves to extricate herself.

Her family, soon. First, she must find the Lady Talia Korie ... And share ... Words ... With her."