Chapter IV
Rule #4: Unjustified murder of a fellow Court member is not allowed.
Ati slammed the towels onto the counter. She had been in and out of what seemed like millions of rooms already, and she was still delivering laundry.
“How much longeh till weh done?” She demanded of the woman leading the way.
“We kehp goin’ till weh done!” The woman informed her. “Weh still goht two mohr flohrs!”
Ati stifled a groan. This was tedious and she still hadn’t found Bry’s palace contacts.
Halfway down the hall, the woman abruptly turned to a narrow door. Ati had figured it was simply another bedroom, but it turned out to lead to a narrow staircase. Warily, Ati followed the woman down the stairs. If this was a trap, there would be little space to maneuver in a fight, and even less room to escape. But she had to risk it, or her masquerade as a slave was up.
The stairs led to another door. As Ati entered, she looked around in surprise, then grinned. “Noh mohr lahndreh?”
The woman smirked. “Nohpe. Ahlso, yohr ahccent is ‘orrible.”
~*~
Susan was crouched, waiting, behind a crate. She was watching a door, studying the people who went in and out. After ascertaining that it did not lead to a kitchen, she crept forward. When it next opened, she shot inside.
She didn’t bother looking around to figure out what room it was. Instead, she sprinted for the door at the other end of the room. Once safely through, Susan paused to look around. She was in a hallway, in the lower level of the castle where slaves bustled back and forth. With a very un-cat-like sigh, Susan set off down the hall.
Soon, she had ended up in a more narrow hallway, without any people around. Yet, if no one was around, why did she hear voices? Susan looked around. She saw no one, but those voices were definitely coming from somewhere. Ear pricked towards the noise, she slunk forward. The voices seemed to be coming from the other side of the wall, but she couldn’t see a door. She paced up and down the length of the wall, looking for a way in. About halfway down the hall, she spotted a hole.
After prodding and poking the hole with her nose, Susan determined that the voices were coming from the other side, and that she, as a cat, was too big to fit through. Stepping back, she concentrated on a new form. It wasn’t easy, switching from a cat to a mouse. A predator never wanted to become the prey. But, a few minutes later, a mouse was crouching where the cat once sat.
The mouse inched to the hole and slipped through. The voices were definitely coming from here, but from a mouse’s view, it was hard to see who was here. After all, all she could see were table legs and people’s feet. Then she heard-
“There’s a mouse!”
“Oh ghoss! Ahn’t thohse cahts s’posed to geht rid of ‘em?”
“Yehs, ew, squish eht!”
“Squish it”? Really? You don’t ‘squish’ mice, idiots, Susan thought disdainfully. But when a foot descended towards her, she bared her teeth and scampered to a corner.
“Hold up.”
Both the foot and the mouse paused. Susan recognized that voice.
“Somehow, I don’t think a normal mouse would decide to hang around people like this,” Ati leaned down towards the mouse. “Susan?”
The mouse sat up on it’s haunches and gave a distinct nod. A woman in the background gasped.
“Thought so.” Ati reached down a hand and carefully scooped Susan up. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce Bry’s other messenger, Susan the mage.”
Susan surveyed the place. Besides Ati, there were five people sitting at the table. Three Ciarian women, a Cirarian man, and a pale-skinned man. He and two of the women were eying her with a mixture of fright and distaste.
If a mouse could look smug, Susan certainly did as she hopped off Ati’s hand and onto the table. She back into a cat, but this time into a more regal-looking seal point. She watched the group’s reaction, and was delighted to see one woman’s expression turn to horror.
“A mage?” The woman squeaked. “Bry sent a mage to…” She trailed off, fairly cowering uner Susan’s glare.
“Yes,” Susan purred, “Bry sent a mage. An excellent mage at that. One that doesn’t squeal at the sight of a mouse.”
The woman flushed. “You-“
“Enough.”
Everyone turned to look at the stocky washer-woman. “Instead of bickering like children-“ The other woman hung her head, and Susan held her head high, “-We could be listening to whatever message Bryant has for us.” No one argued against that. They all had their own duties they had to get back to before they were missed.
“Alright, here’s what’s up.” Susan stalked to the middle of the table. Everyone leaned in to listen as she relayed Bry’s message, with Ati filling in the details.
Ati slammed the towels onto the counter. She had been in and out of what seemed like millions of rooms already, and she was still delivering laundry.
“How much longeh till weh done?” She demanded of the woman leading the way.
“We kehp goin’ till weh done!” The woman informed her. “Weh still goht two mohr flohrs!”
Ati stifled a groan. This was tedious and she still hadn’t found Bry’s palace contacts.
Halfway down the hall, the woman abruptly turned to a narrow door. Ati had figured it was simply another bedroom, but it turned out to lead to a narrow staircase. Warily, Ati followed the woman down the stairs. If this was a trap, there would be little space to maneuver in a fight, and even less room to escape. But she had to risk it, or her masquerade as a slave was up.
The stairs led to another door. As Ati entered, she looked around in surprise, then grinned. “Noh mohr lahndreh?”
The woman smirked. “Nohpe. Ahlso, yohr ahccent is ‘orrible.”
~*~
Susan was crouched, waiting, behind a crate. She was watching a door, studying the people who went in and out. After ascertaining that it did not lead to a kitchen, she crept forward. When it next opened, she shot inside.
She didn’t bother looking around to figure out what room it was. Instead, she sprinted for the door at the other end of the room. Once safely through, Susan paused to look around. She was in a hallway, in the lower level of the castle where slaves bustled back and forth. With a very un-cat-like sigh, Susan set off down the hall.
Soon, she had ended up in a more narrow hallway, without any people around. Yet, if no one was around, why did she hear voices? Susan looked around. She saw no one, but those voices were definitely coming from somewhere. Ear pricked towards the noise, she slunk forward. The voices seemed to be coming from the other side of the wall, but she couldn’t see a door. She paced up and down the length of the wall, looking for a way in. About halfway down the hall, she spotted a hole.
After prodding and poking the hole with her nose, Susan determined that the voices were coming from the other side, and that she, as a cat, was too big to fit through. Stepping back, she concentrated on a new form. It wasn’t easy, switching from a cat to a mouse. A predator never wanted to become the prey. But, a few minutes later, a mouse was crouching where the cat once sat.
The mouse inched to the hole and slipped through. The voices were definitely coming from here, but from a mouse’s view, it was hard to see who was here. After all, all she could see were table legs and people’s feet. Then she heard-
“There’s a mouse!”
“Oh ghoss! Ahn’t thohse cahts s’posed to geht rid of ‘em?”
“Yehs, ew, squish eht!”
“Squish it”? Really? You don’t ‘squish’ mice, idiots, Susan thought disdainfully. But when a foot descended towards her, she bared her teeth and scampered to a corner.
“Hold up.”
Both the foot and the mouse paused. Susan recognized that voice.
“Somehow, I don’t think a normal mouse would decide to hang around people like this,” Ati leaned down towards the mouse. “Susan?”
The mouse sat up on it’s haunches and gave a distinct nod. A woman in the background gasped.
“Thought so.” Ati reached down a hand and carefully scooped Susan up. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce Bry’s other messenger, Susan the mage.”
Susan surveyed the place. Besides Ati, there were five people sitting at the table. Three Ciarian women, a Cirarian man, and a pale-skinned man. He and two of the women were eying her with a mixture of fright and distaste.
If a mouse could look smug, Susan certainly did as she hopped off Ati’s hand and onto the table. She back into a cat, but this time into a more regal-looking seal point. She watched the group’s reaction, and was delighted to see one woman’s expression turn to horror.
“A mage?” The woman squeaked. “Bry sent a mage to…” She trailed off, fairly cowering uner Susan’s glare.
“Yes,” Susan purred, “Bry sent a mage. An excellent mage at that. One that doesn’t squeal at the sight of a mouse.”
The woman flushed. “You-“
“Enough.”
Everyone turned to look at the stocky washer-woman. “Instead of bickering like children-“ The other woman hung her head, and Susan held her head high, “-We could be listening to whatever message Bryant has for us.” No one argued against that. They all had their own duties they had to get back to before they were missed.
“Alright, here’s what’s up.” Susan stalked to the middle of the table. Everyone leaned in to listen as she relayed Bry’s message, with Ati filling in the details.