Storm Rising

'And on yours, Highness,' he felt constrained to tell her. 'You have only my word and hers that she will not bring an armed force through this Gate.'

But both Selenay and Talia smiled, and it was Talia who spoke. 'The queen gave her greatest trust when she sent me into Karse with an escort of two,' Talia said gently. 'And logically speaking, it would take a great deal of time to bring an army through a Gate, one man at a time. I am sure we could do something about disrupting the Gate long before she could bring enough people in to threaten us.'

'As for this,' Selenay tapped the letter with her finger, 'you know, of course, that I cannot possibly give you a yes or no answer immediately?'

'You must first consult your Council, if not the Grand Council,' Karal agreed. 'And I am certain you will have many questions, both of a personal nature and involving logistics, that you must put to Solaris.' He spread his hands wide. 'I am at your disposal.'

'And Altra, too, I presume.' Selenay's mouth quirked in a quick smile. 'Although the idea of a cat being at anyone's disposal is rather at odds with the species.'

Karal chuckled; he couldn't help it, since she was far too accurate. 'Altra is also at your disposal to convey messages directly to Solaris so that you can have your answers immediately. If you would prefer, he and I can wait just outside your Council Chamber; you can have your pages bring me questions and Altra can take whatever communications You wish to have sent to Solaris, bringing back the answers. We are willing to remain on duty however long this takes to get settled.'

'You may regret that offer.' She wrote out something quickly; an order for an emergency Council session he guessed. Talia took it outside to a page, and Selenay herself stood up. 'I think we should hold the meeting here, in the interests of security,' she said, and nodded at a door just to the side of the office. 'You can remain there since you have offered. I will send a page to you every so often to make certain you don't perish of hunger or thirst. Is there anything I can send one for now?'

'Hot water and the row of mugs on my mantlepiece,' he replied quickly. 'It is medicine I am supposed to be drinking. Or else send to the Healers for more of it.' His stomach gave a lurch, as if to remind him that it would be a bad idea to forget that medication.

Selenay gave a glance of inquiry at Talia who nodded. Satisfied, she returned her gaze to Karal.

'If you would go in there, I shall see your medicines are brought,' she promised, as Talia rose and walked over to the door, opening it for him with an ironic bow and a little flourish. 'If you would please take your place?'

He bowed to her with no irony whatsoever, and followed her gesture to the door Talia was holding open. The Queen's Own closed the door behind him, and he found himself in quite a cozy little room, equipped with a piece of furniture that could serve as both a bed and a couch and was supplied with a blanket neatly folded at the foot of it. There was a single table, and one wall was a floor-to-ceiling bookcase full of books. A tiny fireplace kept the room comfortably warm; at the moment the light from the single window was more than adequate, but there were candles on the table for after darkness fell.

A page's waiting room, or else the Queen's reading room, he recognized, and relaxed. If the meeting went on for very long—

:Not bad. You can sleep in here if they decide to debate things for hours.: Altra faded into view; predictably, he appeared sitting on the couch. :They probably will—and you can certainly use the rest.:

'You don't mind my promising your services as a messenger?' That had been the one thing he'd been nervous about.

:I expected it. I'll be pleased and surprised if they can agree on this in a day. It may take several.: Altra curled up on the couch leaving ample space for Karal. Karal took the implied invitation and sat beside him. :Karal, I am very happy to be with you again. Believe me, it was not my choice that I was away for so long. I was needed elsewhere, but if there had been an emergency, I would have come to you at once.:

Impulsively, he hugged the Firecat who purred just like any ordinary feline and rubbed his face against Karal's. 'I can't even begin to say how happy I am to see you. I've missed you, Altra, I've missed you for yourself, and not just for what you are.'

:I'll bet you didn't miss the cat fur up your nose.: Altra batted him playfully, which practically left him speechless. He'd never seen the Firecat in quite so light a mood!

:I don't need to scold you into sense or spine anymore. You're doing quite nicely on your own, leaving me free to be your friend as well as your adviser.:

Karal blushed with embarrassment and pleasure, and was left utterly speechless. But that was perfectly all right, since Altra was quite willing to fill in the silence.

:You might as well pick out a good book and get comfortable. There will be a page along shortly with your medicine and something to eat for both of us.: Altra curled up on the foot of the sofa, the end of his tail twitching ever so slightly. :I believe that the fish is for me. Meanwhile, enjoy your leisure.: