Chapter 17

When Larra had been returned to her quarters, it was with no small amount of satisfaction Bessa observed the slave's usual air of superiority was gone. However, Bessa doubted the bitchy little slave got what she really deserved for what she had pulled with Amanda.

Bessa waited until she was past the slave quarters before she uttered a tiny forlorn sigh. She had not realized how much she missed Amanda until the girl was absent a second night. She never thought she would give the slaves any more than a cursory glance despite their obvious beauty, as she hated talking to anyone who had little to call their own between their ears.

But thinking about Amanda was better than thinking about Marris, which would just upset her again. She knew she shouldn't get involved. Be like the rest of the staff and keep your head down, that's what the others would tell her. Despite all her bluster, she was just a washing maid and had no delusions of attaining any higher station in life.

Bessa entered Lord Norlan's parlor, which stood quiet and empty. Usually she enjoyed the silence which accompanied her work, but for some reason it unnerved her that night. Now she wished Marris were there if for no other reason than to argue with him. She needed a good argument to use up restless energy stored in hopes of something which could never be.

Like so many other times, she became fascinated with one particular piece upon the mantel, the blue pearl embedded in glass. The pearl looked like those she saw her betters use to Farview one another. She could not understand why it was buried inside glass.

She wished she were one of the chamber maids instead, where she would have the excuse to linger over it as she carefully dusted and polished it. But her only purpose was to gather the things which needed to be laundered and wash anything in the room which could be washed on the spot.

As she took one last glance at the orb, she had the odd notion it had something to do with Amanda, if for no other reason than it shared the same quality as Amanda: it looked rather out of place as well.

Bessa had gathered the coverings from the chairs and sofas when she heard a noise at the threshold. Bessa turned her head and jumped back with a gasp, the coverings tumbling from her arms.

"Is there a problem?" said Lord Norlan.

Bessa stared wide-eyed at the man for another few breaths, still in shock over seeing him in anything less than formal attire. He stood in little more than a robe, loosely sashed and slightly parted near an intimate region beneath his waist. Not that Bessa was much interested; it simply looked undignified.

"Ah, no, m'Lord, everything's roight as rain! Wot problem would there be? I jus' be Bessa, the simple washin' maid." Bessa started to edge around Norlan and towards the door. "Ah ... I'll jus' come back later when yew ... ah..."

Norlan held up a hand until Bessa quieted. He let out a slow sigh and trudged past her, yanking his robe closed to Bessa's sigh of relief. "No need." He headed for a cabinet and withdrew a goblet and a gourd of wine. "You need not change your schedule based on my insomnia."

"Ah, of course, yer Lordship," said Bessa. She scrambled to collect the coverings as quickly as possible, but slowed and glanced at Norlan's back as wine splashed hard into his goblet. This was the first time she could remember Norlan being awake at this hour, let alone admit he was actually having a problem sleeping.

Norlan took a long drink of his wine, and his shoulders slumped. Bessa became still, her shimmering eyes still on his back. Norlan turned around, and Bessa went back to work before his eyes were upon her, though she had trouble finding the enthusiasm to leave which she had just moments ago.

"And you are sure there is no problem?" Norlan said.

Bessa blinked, and realized only then she was still staring at him. "Ah, no, m'lord," she said, forcing her attention back to her work.

"Because it would be most appropriate if I were handed yet another one from even the lowest echelons of the palace."

For a startling moment, Bessa felt a surge of righteous anger towards Norlan. Lowest esh'lons, aye? Bessa thought. Not like this place would stay clean fer more'n three candlemarks if we were gone! She would have loved to have said that out loud, which surprised her as well. "I 'ave nothin' that would concern the likes of yew, m'lord."

Norlan took another deep drink of his wine and stepped forward. "Perhaps I should be the judge of that. I insist you tell me. Whatever it is, it cannot make my life any worse."

Bessa wondered just what was upsetting him. She could remember him being tense when involved in some delicate negotiations, sometimes right in that very parlor, but he always relaxed once it was done.

Now she was stuck for what to say, and her mind went into a blind panic. She wished she could tell him about Marris and how foolish he was acting, but that would only earn him a dismissal. She would have to deal with him herself.

And why in 'ellfire am I gettin' so involved? she thought.

But she knew the answer to that, and it let her finally form a response. "I'm worried 'bout one o' yer slaves, m'lord."

Norlan raised an eyebrow. "Do I even need to guess who it is?"

Bessa had no idea how to interpret his sarcasm and simply came out with it. "The pretty dark-haired one yew got from Oceanus. Ah ... I think 'er name's Amanda."

Norlan sighed. "Yes, of course. What of her?"

Bessa considered her answer carefully. "Ah ... I saw a little of wot 'appened 'tween 'er and Larra."

Norlan had raised the goblet to his lips. He froze for a moment, then slowly lowered it. "What?"

Bessa's heart pounded. Stupid girl! 'e's pr'bly already got a punishment lined up fer poor Amanda, and now yew got to make it worse!

"What did you see?" Norlan's voice boomed in the confines of the chamber.

"Ah ... I saw ... I saw Larra fall t' the floor."

"And?" Norlan prompted when Bessa hesitated.

"An' ... an' Amanda lookin' all confuddled. Jus' like someone that's saw somethin' weird."

"And did you see Amanda strike Larra?"

Bessa shook her head, her ponytail whipping back and forth. "No, m'lord, I didn't." Another pause. "I ... I don't think Amanda touched 'er at all."

Norlan regarded Bessa, who looked back at him with glistening, anxious eyes. He turned away. "Thank you," he said in a cool, flat voice. "Now do what you came here to do and get out."

Bessa did not even bother to verbally acknowledge his order. Her heart racing and her legs shaking, she pulled all the coverings into a misshapen lump and careened out the door.

Gedric stared at his slave, his lips parted, his face a mask of confusion. He slowly closed his mouth, and the muscles along his neck twitched. His eyes narrowed, as if he meant to be angry with her, yet worry shimmered there as well. His mind rolled through a large gamut of emotions, his face merely the release valve, betraying only isolated moments in time.

Amanda did not back down from his gaze, nor did she soften the earnest look on her own face. Her eyes remained intense and unwavering, and Gedric gazed into them as if trying to ascertain how serious she could possibly be.

Gedric finally let out a long, slow sigh. "If those words had come from a Urisi slave, I would have..." He trailed off and shook his head. "No, even from an Oceanus slave, I cannot--"

"You do not believe me, Master?" Amanda asked.

Gedric frowned. "Realize what you have just said!" he roared, his eyes ablaze. Yet Amanda still did not back down, as if knowing -- or at least guessing very well -- that his ire was not directed at her. "Even from one of my own trusted men I would ask if he were hitting the wine too hard!"

"I am sorry, Master, but I knew of no other way to say it. If I had used any other words, we would be dancing around them all evening."

"And do you seriously believe your own words? Can you claim some sort of insight my own Lord Admiral does not have?"

"Yes, Master, I do."

Gedric flinched as if a fist had flown at his face, his eyes wide.

"I was there when the Inonni invaded the D'ronstaq Manor, Master. I saw what they could do. And now I think I know how they did it."

"How they--? How do you know about--? What in blazes are you talking about?!"

"I know how they accomplished their invasion so quickly and completely."

Gedric opened his mouth as if to protest again, but closed it and ran his fingers through his hair. "Do you realize how unreal this is, to be told this by a slave, even an Oceanus-bred one?"

Amanda clamped her jaw for a moment to suppress a frustrated sigh. "Master, I am a former Oceanus slave who is considered undisciplined and almost untrainable by the Urisi. Just a few words from you would earn me more punishment than I've had since I arrived. Would I invent such a story if that is what awaited me?"

"And yet I may still not believe you and report your behavior anyway!"

Amanda nodded. "Yes, Master, I know," she said in a low voice. "But at least I tried."

Gedric's eyes widened. "By the gods ... I almost want to believe you, if for no other reason than to spare you that punishment, especially after the pleasure you have given me."

"Master, I don't care if I get punished anymore."

Gedric let out a tired sigh. "And that I almost believe as well," he said in a somber voice. "That is the great tragedy of this moment."

"Please, Master, let me tell you what I know."

"And if this is even a more fantastic story than what I have already heard?"

Amanda paused. She could sense an undertone of fear in his voice. She had to hope it was not simply wishful thinking, that he was worried enough to give credence to her story.

"Regardless, you will tell me," Gedric declared. "Now."

"The Inonni have developed a Portal technology which doesn't require the use of a focus at the location where it's to be opened."

Amanda hesitated, but the expected protests did not come. Instead, Gedric simply stared, and now there was no mistaking his fear.

She plowed on. "But the Portals still need to be directed. They use the memories from people who are familiar with the area they want to visit. I think they can also use the memories of a person and open a Portal very close to that person. Then they only have to--"

Gedric suddenly bolted out of the bed and to his feet. "Great gods!" he gasped, burying his face in his hands.

Amanda sat on the edge of the bed. "Master, what is it? What's wrong?"

Gedric turned towards her and raised his head, and Amanda nearly flinched at the haunted look in his eyes. "I had only half-believed the stories of what happened in the waters outside the D'ronstaq mansion."

Amanda's eyes widened. She knew of a great sea battle, but she had seen only the aftermath of barely scathed Inonni ships circling wrecked Oceanus vessels. "What happened, Master? I did not see it myself."

"A fantastic story of ships appearing from nowhere through great circles of blue light. I had heard it third hand through Admiral Vortas, and he second hand through the few who had escaped the onslaught."

Amanda leapt off the bed. "Those must have been Portals, Master! Master Roquan told me several merchants had gone missing several moons before the invasion. They could have helped the Inonni open those Portals directly onto the water in front of the Oceanus fleet."

"That is preposterous!" Gedric shouted, his eyes blazing. "A fairy tale! It has to be!"

"But if it's true, wouldn't it explain how quickly the invasion went?"

Gedric remained silent.

Amanda stepped forward. "Master, please, I know it sounds incredible, but--"

"But if your words have the slightest bit of truth," said Gedric in a grave voice. "Then there is indeed a greater danger to myself, and my former mentor."

Amanda nodded. "Yes, if they can really open a Portal to a specific person, then they could capture you and use your memories to locate Lord Tarras."

"Which implies he escaped the initial occupation, and they feel he is important somehow." Gedric's lips twisted into a smirk. "And he likely either does not realize or refuses to accept his own importance. That would be very much like him."

And then Gedric suddenly laughed.

When Amanda looked askance at him, he quieted but continued to wear an amused if wry look. "I laugh because only recently I have lamented my uselessness as Captain of a fleet which goes nowhere and has no future. Now you have given me a new mission. You have returned the excitement to my life. Perhaps that is why I am all too eager to accept your words as truth despite the danger."

Amanda had no idea how to respond, so she gave him a tiny smile and hoped it would be interpreted as support.

Gedric chuckled. "As stunning as your insight can be into my feelings, slave Amanda, I do not expect you to understand. Suffice it to say you have convinced me your claims have some merit."

Amanda let out a gushing sigh. "That's all I wanted to do, Master."

"I suppose it would be too much to ask you have a solution to this problem as well?"

Amanda hesitated. All along she had assumed Mandas' implied promises of freedom meant she would leave with the Oceanus fleet. Now she wondered exactly what Mandas had in mind. Did he somehow glean the danger Gedric faced and sought escape for him as well? For all she knew, the Urisi have already learned of Inonni Portal technology through other means, perhaps through their own Mages.

Or was he also blind to the real danger and wanted only to further his own interests?

And yet Mandas was her only resource. She could not go to Norlan, for he surely would apply her information to his own agenda, or do what he claimed was right for the Urisi Nation and let the Inonni take Gedric. Or he would ignore it on the premise that she was a Urisi slave, and Urisi slaves had nothing useful to say beyond "Yes, Master."

"I'm not sure yet, Master," Amanda said.

Gedric's eyebrows rose. "That was certainly more than I had expected."

"I cannot explain any further, as much as it pains me to disobey you."

Gedric slowly nodded. "And I believe you once more. If there is one thing Oceanus slaves have, it is loyalty. You have shown nothing but loyalty to me tonight."

Amanda's smile was uneasy. She, too, was working towards her own aims. She wanted to escape, and Gedric was her means to do so.

Gedric gathered his clothes. "Come, slave Amanda, and we will tell the Lord Admiral. He must hear this immediately."

Marris' accommodations were no less spartan than those of the slaves, the slaves' fetters the only real difference. Even then, he envied them. When they returned to the carriage, they had no trouble falling into a deep slumber. Unlike Marris, who tossed and turned on his cot for several candlemarks before he finally heaved a great sigh and sat up.

He ran his hand through his disheveled hair, slightly damp from perspiration despite the chill. His thoughts had remained in a tumult since Mandas departed; not even the shot of strong brandy before retiring had managed to chase it away. The liquor had made him drowsy but brought sleep no closer.

He was grateful the slaves tended not to return until late into the night. Many arrived groaning and whimpering in lingering discomfort from affections a little too ardent. Each distressed noise felt like an accusation.

The only bright spot had been Amanda, who had returned from her tryst the night before in good spirits and no sign of distress. He hoped all was just as well with her that night. No words could describe the guilt he had felt at arranging her in such a tight and dangerous pose for Mandas' pleasure earlier.

Marris stood and wandered to the window. He pulled back the flap of canvas buttoned across it and peered into the featureless black night.

Get Bessa out of the way; that was his directive. If it had been any of the other washing maids, he would have dismissed the idea. They were at the lowest end of the internal class hierarchy at Norlan's palace. They rarely socialized with one another and thus could never be counted on to band together for any cause.

Bessa was different. She managed to get others to listen to her, and the other maids respected her even if they didn't like her. Yet the only trouble Bessa could stir up would get him terminated, and she claimed she didn't want to see that happen.

Marris let the flap drop over the window and covered his face with his hands. Two rules he had been taught early in his career: never get chummy with the rest of the staff, and never feel sentiment or sympathy towards the slaves. He felt he had violated both. Curiously, loyalty to one's employer had never been mentioned as a rule.

Marris lowered his hands and shook his head. Why was he letting this get to him? Staff did this all the time. Nary a single servant had no price high enough to allow him to spy on his own employer without a single twinge of conscience. This should be no different.

He fell upon his cot and stared up at the ceiling. He sometimes wished the Oceanus fleet would set sail and make a run for it with Amanda on board. Then at least she had a chance to escape her fate.