'I don't think my big 'little' brother has gotten back from his hunting trip yet. What's wrong, Mother? Has he ruined some secret plan of yours? Did you have a bevy of potential wives to parade past him tonight and now he's missing the show?'
Shamur did not rise to the bait.
'I was a touch concerned,' she replied quietly. Before Tazi could add anything else, Shamur continued in a more firm voice, 'I wouldn't worry your pretty little head about it.' She stepped closer to her daughter and ostensibly straightened some part of Tazi's costume. 'I don't suppose you worry about much, though. You don't have to.' She stepped back in a crinkle of blue and silver satin. 'Enjoy yourselves tonight and see that you share your attentions with some of our other guests, dear Thazienne.' She began to walk away from the two.
Angry at her mother's jab, Tazi called out, 'Oh, Mother? I love your dress. The silver really brings out the warmth in your eyes.' Shamur smiled stiffly at her before continuing to walk away.
'Do you have to do that,' Steorf asked as soon as Shamur was out of earshot. 'I think she was genuinely worried about your brother.'
Tazi dismissed his concern. 'I'm sure Talbot stretched out his trip just to avoid this evening, the lucky dog. As for my mother, she just brings the worst out of me. That could be me in a few years, you know,' she exclaimed after a brief moment. Steorf took a step closer.
'Never in a thousand years could that be you,' he whispered. She smiled up into his face, and he took another step closer.
'Is this a private conversation, or can anyone join in,' interrupted a richly, almost foppishly dressed red- haired elf. His amethyst-hued velvet doublet was covered with gold embroidery and the sleeves were slashed to reveal tissue thin undersleeves of lavender silk. His leather boots announced their newness with every squeaky step he took. Unlike many of the other guests, he wore no mask at all.
Steorf stiffened at his approach, but Tazi could only snicker.
'It seems,' she replied, 'that I have precious little privacy from people tonight. Please, join us,' Tazi offered solicitously. The elf immediately stepped past Steorf as though he had been cloaked and stood close to Tazi. He reached for her hand and gallantly touched it to his lips.
'Sweet Ebeian, always the gentleman.' She curtsied deeply, but noticed Steorf's discomfort. She didn't want to see these two start to bicker tonight, so she tried to defuse the situation. 'Steorf, would you mind finding me some wine,' she asked innocently. 'All the dancing we've done has given me a terrible thirst.'
'Yes, dear boy,' Ebeian dismissed him. 'See if you can scare us up some refreshments.' Choosing not to notice Steorf's fuming, Ebeian turned all his attention to Tazi. She looked past his shoulder, smiled at Steorf and mouthed the word 'please.'
'I'd be more than happy to find a full vat for Ebeian and help him into it headfirst,' Steorf mumbled to himself. He almost smiled at that image and went off in search of something to drink.
'How radiant you look in that ankle-length red gown.' Ebeian used the comment as an excuse to reach over and capture Tazi's hands in his own jeweled ones. 'The tight sleeves emphasize your slender arms and, well, that gold breastpiece…' His voice trailed off suggestively. 'Of everyone in the room, I think only your mother does not appreciate your taste for Cormyrean fashion.'
'There's much that my mother does not appreciate,' Tazi replied, letting her hands rest in Ebeian's. 'But I do not dress to please her.'
'It's a good thing you don't. You would be a miserable failure,' he said, laughing.
Tazi extricated her gloved hands from his. 'What brings you out this evening? When we last spoke, you mentioned other plans.'
'Plans change, pretty one,' he answered. 'You know how that works.' He leaned forward and discreetly slipped his hand along the gold breastpiece Tazi wore. Instantly, she grabbed his thin hand and bent it back.
'You forget yourself this evening, Ebeian,' Tazi warned him.
'Do I?' He looked at her meaningfully.
'You'll pay for your familiarity one day,' Tazi threatened lightly.
'Sooner or later,' he countered, 'we all pay, Thazienne.'
Before Tazi could say anything else, Steorf returned, a servant in tow carrying a tray laden with an assortment of drinks and snacks. He did not miss the grip Tazi had had on Ebeian's wrist, but he said nothing. The three selected glasses of wine, and Tazi and Steorf waited while Ebeian picked through the food until he discovered a satisfactory morsel to nibble on.
'I'm surprised,' Ebian began, after dabbing a silken scarf at the corner of his mouth, 'to see that you are still here this evening, Thazienne. Normally you do not grace these events for very long.'
'Observant of you, Ebeian. I'm actually searching for someone.'
'It's not me,' Ebeian asked in mock horror, clutching at his heart. 'I'm shattered.' The ploy worked. Tazi broke up into chuckles and lightly slapped his arm.
'Do you recall the small party my family hosted a few nights back,' she asked.
'How could I forget?' Ebeian began to extol the virtues of the beautiful gown Tazi had worn that night. She interrupted him before his commentary became too long. The heavy-handed way he always complimented her was beginning to strain her nerves.
'That's not what I meant. Did you notice the man my mother was throwing at me all evening?'
'Tall, brooding chap, much like our hawk over here.' He pointed a delicate finger at Steorf. 'Unusual tattoo on his neck, as I recall.' For all his pompousness, Ebeian had a keen eye, and very little escaped his notice.
'That's the one. As always, to humor my mother, I flirted with him a bit.'
'A bit,' grumbled Steorf.
'As the evening wore on,' Tazi continued, trying to ignore Steorf's remark, 'I gave him a little something to remember me by. He was dashing, all things considered. Normally, my mother's picks aren't nearly so easy on the eyes. That mark he bore made him seem exotic.'
Ebeian reached over and rubbed her gloved hands, though the purpose was more than mere flirtation. 'You didn't give away that emerald ring you always wear,' he noted astutely. 'I can still feel it on your finger. Don't you ever take it off?'
'That always stays with me. It was a gift from a mage a long time ago.'
Ebeian gave a high titter of a laugh. 'At twenty-one years, there isn't much that was 'a long time ago' for you.'
'As I was saying,' Tazi continued a bit peevishly, yanking her hands free, 'I gave him a token of my affection.' She paused and moved a thick lock away from her left ear to reveal a diamond stud. 'He has the other one,' she explained, 'and I plan to liberate it from his dwelling this evening. At some later occasion, I'll demand that he show it to me, to prove how much I mean to him. When he can't produce it, I can denounce him as not being true to me, and then I'm free once more!' Her eyes crinkled in amusement.
'How do you know he won't be home? Or if he is out, that he won't have the earring on him,' Steorf asked. 'He might be a dedicated suitor, you know.'
'Oh ye of little faith, questioning me like that. Have I ever led you wrong? Don't answer that,' Tazi quickly added.
'What will you do if you get caught,' Steorf asked her.
'You, of all people, should know what I'm capable of. Remind me, Ebeian, to tell you the time I pulled his fat out of the fire.' She hooked a thumb in Steorf's direction. 'Almost seven years ago to the day, and he still follows me around out of gratitude.' She laughed deeply.
'After she does that, Ebeian, allow me to tell you the real story,' Steorf returned, as close to bantering as he ever got. The wine had mellowed him.
'He won't be there,' she continued confidently. 'Everyone who is anyone will be here tonight. And,' she added, 'I gathered from our conversation the other evening that Ciredor is very eager to see and be seen. He won't be home. Though,' she paused to scan the costumed gathering, 'I have to admit I haven't yet been able to pick him out in this crowd.'
'I hope you're right about him being here,' Steorf replied seriously.
'And I hope you don't get caught like when you tried to rob me,' Ebeian offered graciously.
With her mask in place, it was next to impossible for either man tell if Tazi blushed at that remark. Underneath it, a frown did cross her face at the memory of a night not too long past. After being introduced to him
