Teren was in his office when Lo’isha returned. He gratefully put aside his writing and said, “Please, have a seat.” Lo’isha sat in the one available chair in the cluttered and paper–filled office.
“Always one chair not used for storage, I see,” the Shaman offered with a chuckle.
Teren shrugged and nodded and chuckled back. “It’s my way. If anyone were to straighten my clutter, I’d never find anything again. But as to the other . . . Thank you for your aid in this matter. This is most awkward. Students are unaccompanied, and if they are not single when they commence training, they are by the time they graduate. This is how it is done, and most arrive knowing it. If he’s to be a Herald . . .”
“You are assuming he will complete the training and follow your chosen path. There are at least two people assuming his fate for him. It seems to me that is a question for him to answer.”
Teren looked startled at that. “How could he refuse to be a Herald?”
“Quite easily. Are you asking, ‘Will he be the first to refuse?’ ”
Teren had no response. He never considered that possibility. There were traditions and cultural assumptions at the Collegium. Those weren’t necessarily the traditions and assumptions of the boy, and they most definitely weren’t those of the girl.
By choosing him, Yssanda had thrown things into a fine tempest. Perhaps it was an amusement for her. Or, it might be a necessity. What would have possessed a Companion to go all the way to the Dhorisha Plains to choose a Shin’a’in child? What would Valdemar need him for, or was it that the Shin’a’in would need him more?
Regardless of the cause, this situation needed resolution.
“I suppose we should arrange for them to meet,” he said, leaning back and stroking his chin. “After that, we’ll see.”
“Are you going to warn the young man?”
“I’m not sure we should. He’ll want to meet at once, and it will distract him. I’ll arrange some time, and we’ll let them meet. He can explain to her better than we.”
“I’m not sure it will be that simple.”
“Oh, of course he’ll have second thoughts and some homesickness. However, he’s a fine pupil. He’s learned a lot of fundamentals quickly, and he’s even accepted the separation. It was long in his mind. They’ve both grown and changed, and this will make it clear.”
The next morning, Lo’isha met Nerea at the ekele entrance. She was staring wide-eyed at the lush and fragrant growth. It was very different from the Plains. and being surrounded by the local terrain only emphasized the differences. Hearing his footfalls on the graveled path, Nerea turned and greeted the Shaman.
“Bright the day, Elder,” she said cheerfully.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I did, thank you.”
“How are the younger-sibs?”
“They are comfortable and getting refreshed. How much is stabling? I have little money, but I can offer work.”
“Nothing is required for now. You are a guest at our invitation.”
“That’s gracious of you.”
Quite a few youths would have assumed hospitality without even thinking. They expected adults to manage things for them. The locals had trouble grasping that, by Shin’a’in tradition, she was a woman grown. Of course she asked about debts.
“Actually, it’s gracious of the Dean and of the Queen,” he smiled. “But it’s something they plan for, so you need not mention it.”
“I will do so, at least once, but I understand,” she said.
He sighed, slightly. Yes, the ways here were strange, but as a guest, one should learn and abide by the local rules. She was a headstrong and inexperienced youth, well-intentioned but fiery.
“If you are ready, then please come with me.”
They walked out into a damp spring morning. It had rained during the night. It might be warm and muggy later, but was clear and fresh now.
He led her through Companion’s Field, along Palace garden paths, and to the Collegium main hall. At a side entrance, Teren awaited, and with him Keth’re’son shena Tale’sedrin.
Nerea was not so formal with Keth’. She charged forward and threw her arms around him in a tackling hug, feet off the ground and looking melted in place. Lo’isha stood back and let them resolve that. Their embrace was one of innocent companionship, not of long-parted lovers, but it still held that same intensity.
Keth’s mind whirled. How did Nerea get here? But she was so warm, and her grip so tight. He could smell her hair and the scent of her leathers. He closed his eyes and hugged her closely.
When he finally bent to put her down and her feet touched the ground, she stepped back and grinned hugely at him, her dark eyes glowing.
She said, “It is so good to see you, my pledged. I have traveled far to keep our bond.” Her voice, that language, was music to him, after months of the strange tongue and stiffer rules it used. Shin’a’in flowed from the lips as was proper, Valdemaran seemed to march backward instead.
He remembered there were others here, and they were being watched. He kept hold of one of her hands and said, “I am so thrilled to have you here. But I must introduce you to someone.”
He tugged and she followed him, smiling, into Companion’s Field and away from prying eyes.
“Who did you need me to meet?” Nerea asked.
They had been walking away from the Palace and the Collegium for some minutes now, while he enjoyed her company. She’d come so far. He had so many questions and so much to say, but first he had to introduce her to his Companion.
There she came, from a shady copse of trees, toward them. He pointed as she came close, then laid a hand on her shoulder.
He said, “This is Yssanda. She is, in part, the reason why I came here.”
“She’s beautiful. Good lines, broader head. How did they get the silver hooves, and does she suffer any eyesight problems with those blue eyes? Do the hooves breed true?”
:I can see as well as you do, dear, and sometimes clearer. And don’t you even think about breeding me—I can pick my own mates, thank you very much!: Yssandra let him hear her comment, even though she spoke to Nerea.
Well, that certainly moved things along.
Nerea stood very still. The sensation of having someone speaking inside one’s mind was disconcerting to say the least, he recalled. Having that sensation come from a horse made it even more so. While the Shin’a’in consider horses to be their younger-sibs, they didn’t expect them to talk back.
“Nerea, she’s not a horse,” Keth’ said gently. “She’s a Companion, a person in her own right. She’s been my friend, teacher, and ally while I’ve been in this foreign place. Even after I’m done here, she’s going to have to be a part of any of our plans.”
“What are those plans going to be? You’ve already been gone so long, am I still a part of any plan?”
Keth’s heart went out to her. She seemed to shrink inside herself a little, both wanting to hear the answer and not wanting to hear. Nerea deserved his honesty, but he wasn’t sure himself.
“We need to talk about that. I think that’s why you’re here.”
Dean Teren sat in his office, yet again considering the problem that Nerea and Keth’ presented him. Neither one of the youngsters was taking into account what the Collegium might have to say in the matter—they just assumed that they could order the world according to what they wanted. After all, they were young and together—who could stand against them . . .
That was exactly the reason Herald Trainees were expected to be unaccompanied.
It occurred to the Dean that while it was certainly possible to stand against them, it might be very problematic to do so—sufficiently so to give the Bards song fodder for a long time.
Keth’ wasn’t precisely a disappointment. He learned very well. However, he hadn’t internalized the right attitude and didn’t see a problem with Nerea remaining here. She stayed at the ekele and had worked out a labor exchange for lodging. She was quite competent.
Teren realized he’d underestimated them. A Valdemaran youth of that age could be swayed through reason,
