Storm Breaking

new fellow may be the highest-ranking native to survive Ancar, and that means he'll be bringing a fair piece of the country with him. Not to mention his escort, and they looked as if they probably represent some major armed forces.'

'So how old is this baron?' Darkwind asked. He had a good reason for asking; the surviving nobles of Hardorn tended to be mostly very old, or very young. The former had survived by being no threat to Ancar, and the latter by being hidden by their relatives, usually with reliable farmers or other family retainers.

'I'd say early teens; fourteen, fifteen at the most,' Elspeth replied.

'Hence the reason he'll be more impressed by a Hawkbrother than a Herald. He may not even know what a Herald is, until someone tells him.' Darkwind shook a finger at her. 'You're stealing Tremane's silver, you little cheat.'

'Then he shouldn't bet with me. He ought to know by now that I never propose a bet unless I'm certain of the outcome.' She nodded at the guards on either side of their door and opened it herself. Their own guards from Valdemar stationed inside the door brought their weapons up until they saw who was entering; then they grinned sheepishly and returned to a deceptively relaxed posture.

'Is that any way to treat a monarch?' Darkwind asked her, and sighed as he began climbing the stair to their private quarters. 'Never mind; forget I asked. I suppose it won't hurt him.'

'I never treat Tremane casually in front of anyone else,' Elspeth reminded him, taking the narrow staircase a little behind him. 'This is calculated behavior; it shows him that I consider him my equal and will treat him as such. And as Mother often reminds me, the fact that I abdicated in favor of the twins does not make me any less a princess. It's not a bad thing in this case to have one of the Blood Royal acting as ambassador.'

'True, all of it.' The next floor was the purview of their guards and staff, who were currently lounging about, engaged in various off-duty occupations in the main room of their circular suite. Elspeth and Darkwind both waved at the rest of their entourage as they passed through, but did not stop on that floor. He continued the conversation. 'Well, I take it you think this latest delegation is worth bringing out the full formal gear.'

'Every feather, bead, bell and bauble,' Elspeth said firmly. 'Full Whites for me, and the circlet, with badges and medals. And don't pretend you don't like to dress up, my love.'

'I wouldn't dream of it.' The scent of the balsam incense he used both to perfume the air of their private quarters and to discourage pests met them as they reached their own floor. 'Unlike you so-called 'civilized' peoples, we Tayledras know how to create clothing that is impressive, functional, and comfortable.'

'Don't put me in that 'civilized' category!' she protested. 'We Valdemarans feel precisely the same way! Well, we Heralds do, anyway, and that category includes the ruling family.'

'Impressive?' He raised an eyebrow even as he went to the chest containing his clothing and raised the lid. 'I'll grant you the functional and comfortable, but you Valdemarans have no sense of style, or at least, you Heralds don't. You horrified my poor hertasi with your uniform, you know. They thought you were wearing the sacks your clothes were supposed to be carried in.'

They 'argued' about clothing, style, and decoration happily all the time they were changing into their formal clothing, she into the Whites that he had redesigned, with the additions of rank, and he into the most elaborate outfit he owned, although by the standards set by Firesong, he was rather drab. His draped clothing of scarlet, gold, and warm brown was augmented by a sculpted leather tunic with a padded shoulder, and when he was dressed, Vree left his perch by the window and lofted straight to him, to land on the shoulder with a fraction of the impact he would have used in making a landing on a perch. Having Vree on his shoulder instead of his wrist served a double function. First, no falconer would ever have let one of his birds sit on his shoulder; that was a tacit invitation to facial scarring or losing an eye if something startled the bird or if it suddenly decided that this was a good time to strike out for freedom. This marked him to the knowledgeable as a Hawkbrother with no doubt. Only a bondbird could be trusted to sit this way, with no jesses, no hood, and no means of 'control' over him. And second, if the exotic clothing would not set him apart from the rest, then Vree, who was much larger than any forestgyre or other gyrfalcon these people had ever seen, certainly would.

Elspeth, who had a lifetime of rapid changes-of-outfit to fall back on, waited with an exaggerated expression of boredom for him to finish his belt adjustments. 'Bring your head over here,' Elspeth commanded, the feathered and beaded ornaments meant to be braided into his hair dangling from one hand. She already wore the beaded feather he had given her as a token of love, one of Vree's own primaries, braided into her own.

'Should I leave the rest of me here?' he suggested. She made an exasperated tsking sound, and pushed him down into a chair. Vree flared his wings to stay balanced. She wove the feathered cords deftly into his long hair, as cleverly as if she had been born in an ekele rather than a palace.

'There,' she said, bending to kiss him, then rapping him lightly on the top of his head with her knuckles. 'Now you're presentable.'

'So I am. And so are you.' He rose and headed for the door, this time taking the lead down the stairs. The entire procedure, from the time they entered the room to this moment, had taken a fraction of the time it would take Tremane to get ready. But then again, they were not going to have to be laced into ceremonial armor either.

Their own entourage was so used to this by now that there had been no need for Elspeth to ask anyone to go get Gwena, drape her with her ceremonial barding and bells, and bring her to the Great Hall. The Companion was already waiting for them when they arrived at the side entrance they would use to get in place before either