(Mabry Aldaran: Mabry Slemmons; Myria Lanart y Aillard: Julie Stampnitzky;

Congratulatia Ridenow Y Elhalyn & Marcello Ridenow: Marcello Bellavista;

Emelda Lanart-Hastur & Diego Storn: Jim Caccamo; Frank Barber: [email protected];

Jorik Hastur: Jurij Gosso )

Continues from At Neskaya Tower

Finally that seemingly endless voyage was over.

Congratulatia had arrived at the Tower of Neskaya and was eager to extract revenge on that little harlot from Aldaran.

She addressed a manservant. "Please, announce the Lady Myria of Neskaya that domna Congratulatia Elhalyn y Ridenow has arrived, as per my message to her."

She opened her fan and started fanning mildly, assuming a royal stance.

She was glad she was about to meet the highly respected teneresteis of Neskaya, one of the few Darkovan women she really admired.

Shann Elhalyn, mechanic at Neskaya, was not pleased to be treated like a servant. 'Doesn't she know that we have no human servants in the tower?' he wondered. But he certainly was not eager to start arguing with this woman, so he went to look for his keeper.

He found Myria in the shielded work-room with Mabry, testing to see if Mabry could feel the wind currents with her Rockraven gift. "Vai teneresteis," he said, "Domna Congratulatia Elhalyn y Ridenow has arrived, and is in the common-room downstairs."

"Congratulatia!" exclaimed Myria. "What is that singer [OOC: I'm not sure if this is the right word- I mean the word with a double meaning, as opposed to the polite term "lyric performer."] doing in my tower?"

Mabry looked shocked, and decided that Myria must not have known what the word meant. Shann, more used to his Keeper's sense of humor, stifled a laugh. "Well, I suppose I can't ignore her."

Mabry bit her lip. Congratulatia? There was only one thing this could mean. She must have read DI. She knew about her and Jorik. She was going to kill her! Mabry had to hide. "Domna Myria? I'm sure you'll be busy taking with Domna Congratulatia. May I leave? Please? I think Tallo's hungry."

"Domna Congratulatia!" said Myria with false warmth. "How kind of you to come out of your way to visit our tower. Come, you must have something warm to eat and drink before you continue your journey."

"Continuing my journey?" Congratulatia exclaimed. "But... teneresteis, has my servant not preceded me here to announce my arrival? I am most displeased!" She opened her fan and started fanning vigorously.

"I am here for two reasons. The first is to personally invite you to my upcoming nuptials with my beloved Jorik. The second is that I have been out of a Tower for too long now and I need to analise their current statuses in order to better satisfy their needs once I am queen of Darkover."

Myria said: "You lend us grace. It is very kind of you to want to visit Neskaya. Of course, only telepaths may stay in the tower, but your servants will be comfortable at the inn. Shann, would you like to show them the way to "The Golden Bell"?" (Much as he liked the tower work, the lad wouldn't mind a chance to have a drink in the middle of the day- and perhaps he could talk to the servant and find out some more about what Congra planned.)

"Actually it is you, vai domna, the one who really lends grace: to this Tower, to every Keeper and to Comyn as a whole. I heartfeltly thank you for your kind welcome." Congratulatia replied.

"I must confess that I am a bit envious, domna Myria: every time I see you, you grow more and more charming. Were you not a teneresteis, you could have every man available (and the unavailable ones as well, I am ready to bet)!" she continued.

She giggled in a silly way.

*She used to giggle just like that, back when we were girls at Arilinn. I forgot how annoying it was,* thought Myria. *As vulgar as ever... as if I would want to "have a man!" And how long will she stay, I wonder? Maybe I could tell her that we're cramped for space and she'll have to share a room with someone... no, that would be too cruel to the other person.*

"Shall we enter? Am I asking too much if I ask for a cup of herbal tea? I am exhausted for my travel from dom Regis Di Asturien's castle. Do you not think that Avarra has been particularly cruel with him? Such a gentleman deprived so early in life of the love of his life... whenever I think of it I can hardly manage to hold back tears..." And she started to fan herself vigorously in order to calm down.

Congratulatia, all dressed in a very elegant Elhalyn blue, went searching for Mabry at Neskaya Tower.

"Domna Mabry," she exclaimed when she finally managed to meet her prey. Her tone was soft, though, and she was smiling. "I was looking for you. I have accidentally overheard that you were here and I just had to come looking for you. How are you, poor dear? The last time we met, in Thendara, you had that terrible bout of cold and then you so foolishly abandoned our delightful capital city when you were still ill. We all were oh-so-worried for you, by Avarra!"

She opened her fan and started fanning herself with mild vigour.

"I trust that you are fine by now? We still have to take that cup of tea from way back in Thendara. Now that I am here for a few days, I strongly hope we will not let this fortuitious chance escape us."

She smiled, already tasting her sweet, poisonous revenge...

"Congratulatia," I began, "I'm tired of playing your game. I don't really want to drink tea with you.

"Ohhhh!" Congratulatia exclaimed, extremely scandalised. Her fanning intensified.

"I know you hate me, and I don't trust you.

"Ohhhh!" Congratulatia exclaimed, extremely scandalised. Her fanning intensified some more.

"I will strive to be civil to you, because for some reason that I will never understand, Jorik cares for you. I have no intention of spending anymore time with you than I must. Good day."

I turned my back to her, and headed towards my room. It felt so good to have all the bad feelings between us out in the open, rather than constantly dodging each other. Suddenly a very cruel thought occured to me, and I turned to her. "On a lighter note, I was wondering what are your best colors? Jorik would be hurt if you did not have some small part at our wedding, and I wouldn't want your clothing to clash with the other attendants."

Congratulatia burst up in laughter. "Oh, dear, I did not know you had such a keen sense of humor. A bit crass, maybe, but humor nonetheless!" Despite her outside demeanour, inside she was cursing Mabry with highly-censorable words.

You couldn't tell by Congratulatia's face, but Mabry knew she must be seething. Just for good measure, she added a few more insults. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have many more important things to do than spend my time disagreeing with you. Good day, mestra." That last she would not be able to ignore. Living around Valeria MacAran y Elhalyn for two years had made Mabry an master of the putdown. She walked calmly and quietly out of the room.

While they were still in the hall, Myria appeared. "Congratulatia!" she said. "The kitchen has your tea ready. Wouldn't you like to drink it now? It's my special herbal blend, good for colds or anytime. You can tell me how your trip was. Damisela Mabry, if your cat is all right, remember that we didn't finish our session earlier. I'll see you in an hour."

"Oh, domna Myria, you are always so corteous, my most dear teneresteis. I will most gladly drink that tea. Shall we go?"

Congratulatia closed her fan and went towards the kitchen with Myria.

Once there, she started sipping it and moaning. "This herbal tea is _delightful_! Would you be so kind as to, please, give me the recipe?"

"I must say, domna, that I do not envy you in the least. The Lady Mabry is _so_ ill-mannered to the extent of leaving me speechless. She boorishly declined my invitation for a tea together, added that she cannot brook me (can you believe that?!?) and, finally, she even dared to call me MESTRA! I do not know how intend to do that, but you must absolutely tame that peasant!" She drank her all her tea avidly.

"Well, I am trying to teach her. But if you find the company at my Tower displeasing, perhaps it would be better if your stay here is not too long, so that you need not be exposed to it any more than necessary."

That Myria had always been so keen, but she would not deprive her of her rightful vengeance.

Sipping on, Congratulatia replied with a smile: "Please, do not get mewrong, Myria dear, even though I do not appreciate the Lady Mabry's company, I will not retreat as if defeated. I am here to gather information about the current status of your most esteemed Tower and its needs. I will not leave until I have a satisfactory report in my hands. I owe this to every single Tower as future queen of Darkover and I owe you especially due to our long-standing friendship. And I will also put on a façade with that most ill-mannered individual for the love of my Jorik (I will never ever understand how he can be friends with her!)."

Said Myria, "Congratulatia, I want to say something serious to you. I hope you won't be offended."

"How could I possibly be offended? Haven't we been friends since we were girls at Arilinn?" answered Congra.

"Yes, that's what I wished to speak of. You and Jorik fell in love at Arilinn. But that was a long time ago, and you've been off-planet since. Jorik has changed- he's not the boy you once knew. I'm not sure that he would make you happy as a husband."

"Oh, please, I am most certain he will. Your memory is not serving you right, my dear. I remind you that I went off-planet in order to learn the skills needed to reign Darkover in this age we live in, and it was I the one who went because he - as Heir of Hastur - could not leave the planet. I sacrified myself for the love of him and when I returned he showed me he still loves me, even though he has chosen to make me grow angry at him every once in a while... You do not know men as I do, Myria, trust me: he just thought that by making himself unavailable I would chase after him, thus satisfying the urges of his overblown ego. It is such a tiny price to pay to have a man as he is..."

She finished sipping her tea.

"Oh, but I am being rude. I am keeping you here chatting with me while you have so much to attend to. Please, pardon my ill-manners. I am going to retire to my chambers this instant. Thank you so much for taking the time to make me feel most welcome here..."

She smiled and left.

Congratulatia woke up shrieking in the middle of the night.

She put on quickly a furred nightdress and went running towards Mabry's room, shouting all the while: "LADY MABRY! LADY MABRY! THERE'S DANGER FOR YOU!!"

And when she reached the door to Mabry's room, she found lying there a fork and shrieked.

"JUST LIKE MY DREAM! JUST LIKE MY DREAM!" She sounded half-hysterical.

"SOMEONE WILL TRY TO SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT!! LADY MABRY, WAKE UP!!"

Still awake, Mabry paced up and down her room, Tallo in her arms. Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by an ear-piercing bloodcurblingheartramming skreech.

No one can make a sound like that except Congratulatia Elhalyn. Mabry quickly turned the key in the lock. She would not let her in her room in the middle of the night. Mabry felt for the sword under her bed (Still hoping she'd gotten rid of it? Think again!). She drew it and found the whetstone Mikhail had found for her late this past spring. Mabry had to drown out that horrible noise! She began to sharpen her sword. Scrrrch! SCrrrch! SCRrrch! SCRRrch! SCRRRch! SCRRRCh! SCRRRCH! SCRRRRRRRCH!

Tallo darted under the bed and instants later his familiar yowling catcall joined the horrible din.

"LADY MABRY STOP MAKING THAT NOISE THIS INSTANT AND LISTEN TO ME! YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER!!"

That most hateful harlot kept on doing what the hell she was doing, to Tula's delight.

Congratulatia took advantage of her perfectly-trained lungs and shouted:

"MYRIA!! SOMEBODY! _ANYBODY_! THE LADY MABRY IS IN DANGER!!"

She discovered that she was liking playing the role of the heroine.

"HELLLP!!!" She shrieked in a very sharp voice.

Congra's screeching was getting louder. This edge was about as sharp as it would get, so Mabry turned the blade over, and continued. SCRRRRRRRRCH! Tallo's yoweling intensified.

Mabry could still hear Congratulatia. She grew desperate. She began to sing. She can't sing. She have a tin ear. It sounded like a angry banshee.

Myria was deep asleep, the blankets making a warm nest though the room was cold... she was a girl at Arilinn, and Congra was shrewishly berating Jorik, after she caught him flirting with a bargirl. *But this isn't right,* thought then-Myria, *Jorik is in the Yellow Forest, and Congra is in- is in my Tower-*

Myria awoke, like an underwater swimmer reaching the air. Reluctantly she pushed back the cozy blankets and donned a grey dressing-gown and fur-lined slippers. She followed the sound upstairs and saw Congra standing in front of Mabry's door and shouting.

"MYRIA!! SOMEBODY! _ANYBODY_! THE LADY MABRY IS IN DANGER!!"

"Domna Congratulatia! What under the four moons is the matter?

"Avarra be praised, someone heard me!" Congratulatia exclaimed as one of the Tower's technicians was approaching.

"Could anyone _not_ hear you, vai domna?" The technician replied, evidently waken up from his oblivious sleep.

"I was sleeping and I had one of my precognitive dreams... Anacleto, is that right?"

"Betelgeuse, actually." The technician corrected her.

"No matter. As I was saying, in this precognitive dream of mine I saw a fork stuck in the Lady Mabry's neck and of course she was bleeding to death!

I woke up screaming and ran here to warn her. You can imagine my horror when, as I was approaching the door to her room, I spotted this fork right here, lying against the wall!! I tried to warn the Lady Mabry but she just started making stupid sounds and then started this horrendous singing: now I understand why Marcello calls her 'harpy'!!"

"Indeed..." Betelgeuse confirmed. The matter was serious.

After causing all that commotion, Congratulatia returned satisfied into her bedroom, fell asleep and dreamt an erotic dream about Eduin.

Her plot has just begun.

The aircar made its trip from Edelweiss to Neskaya in short order. Diego told Frank to stay in the car and under no circumstances leave or let any strangers in. Emelda, with her imposing physique, went up to the Tower door, with Diego behind her, feeling apprehensive at the prospect of seeing Congratulatia again. Knock! Knock! Emelda was growing impatient, and an impatient Emelda is a rude Emelda. Knock! Knock! "Myria, you little wisp of a girl! Open this door immediately! I *must* be sure my precious niece is well." Diego paled, for he knew that Domna Myria Lanart was not someone that could be approached in such a manner. "Domna Emelda! No! You are only going to make matters worse!" But Emelda continued to beat on the door and frightened of the consequences, Diego backed away and started to head toward the aircar.

Upstairs in the tower, Myria watched as Marco tried to reason with Congratulatia. Idly she wondered why she was calling him "Betelgeuse."

Fortunately, there was no sign that Mabry intended to come out of her room and join the fray.

Suddenly she felt a shuddering. There was a disturbance in the tower's protective veil! *Who could be trying to enter at this time of night?* she wondered. The disturbance centered around the tower's main entrance. Reaching with her mind, she found that there seemed to be several people there.

*Why do these things always hapen at once* she wondered. She cautiously opened the door. "Aunt Emelda!" she exclaimed. What on Darkover brings you here?

"Well" said Emelda, her face flushed with the exertion of knocking. "I come all this way on an emergency and you leave me standing in the cold!" She marched toward the door belligerently. "Where in *&^%$ is that blasted Diego? And can't you offer your foster mother a cup of something warm?"

If nothing else, Keeper's training had taught Myria to control her temper under extreme provoction. She replied coolly:

"I'm sorry that you should be inconvenienced, Domna Hastur. Do come in and tell me what brings you here so urgently. And please ask your companions to come in as well- it would be a shame to leave them standing in the cold."

Emelda replied, "Certainly Dom Diego Storn is no stranger to you. However, the other person in our party is a Terranan with no laran at all. He does not belong in the Tower."

"It's kind of you to be concerned, Dear Aunt, but my policy is to allow even non-telepathic guests to enter the first-floor Common Room of the Tower. I would not want to leave one of your friends outside on _such_ a chilly night. [The night was lovely, but if Emelda was going to complain about the cold Myria was not above using the tactic against her.] He is certainly no less welcome than that renegade, Diego Storn." said Myria.

Emelda continued "But please, my dear Myria (how I cherish the summer you spent with us at Edelweiss when you were a child) we are concerned about Congratulatia. Diego had a vision through his Aldaran Gift that showed Congratulatia and Domna Mabry Aldaran in grave danger. That is why we are here." After waving to Diego to come, Emelda said, "Hurry, dear Myria. We must get back to Edelweiss before we are missed. As soon as we are assured that everything is all right here, we will be on our way."

"I assure you that everything is quite fine. [Inwardly she hoped that Congra would have stopped shrieking by the time Emelda came inside.] Damisela Mabry is in no danger, and Domna Congratulatia has merely, it seems, had an attack of the night terrors. So long as you are here, you might as well come in and see her, to reassure yourself."

She led the way inside. Seeing that Shann was hanging around to see the excitement, she whispered to him to bring tea for the guests.

Myria approached Frank. His entrance had disturbed a sensor in the Tower's protective Veil.

"Messire...Barber? You speak Cahuenga, yes? Are you aware that it is strictly forbidden to carry a blaster on Darkover, outside the Terran Zone?

"I don't have a blaster, lady. I'm just glad to see ya." Frank said to her. "Whatcha say the two of us go and get somethin' to drink. Sorta loosen up, ya know?"

Only her poor understanding of Frank's slang saved Myria from blushing

as red as her robe.

"This is no laughing matter, Messire. I think you had better give me your Terranan blaster. If not, I shall be obliged to contact the Sub-Legate to inquire whether you are authorized to carry this weapon outside of the Terran Zone."

Emelda rushed upstairs to look for Congratulatia, Diego in tow.

Congratulatia was having that most rapturous of dreams about Eduin when was rudely awaken by noises outside her door.

"I swear: if it is that harlot who is trying some kind of twisted revenge upon me only because I tried to warn her her life was in danger, I will kill her right there right now and then proclaim self-defense." Congratulatia was thinking, utterly irritaded.

"I am coming: stop making all this most unnerving commotion!"

She put on her white fur and with her platinum blond hair completely loosened, she went opening the door.

"Auntie Emelda!! What are you doing in Neskaya?"

She saw just one moment later Diego behind Emelda and hurled daggers at him with her icey eyes.

"Dear girl, Dom Diego had a frightful vision of potential harm to your well-being from a fork. We came to assure ourselves that you are all right."

Diego said, "Domna, forgive me, but until I perceived danger to you, I did not know my heart. I wronged you seriously when you were at Storn. Please forgive me, for I was jealous that you loved another. Your aunt and I were extremely worried about you."

Congratulatia looked at him in a haughty stance, not deigning herself to reply.

Stammering, Diego continued," You asked me to plead your case regarding your marriage to Jorik. Your aunt and I discussed this matter in the aircar, and both of us have come to the conclusion that your marriage to Jorik is a necessity and that we will do all we can to assist you. Don't get me wrong, Damisela Mabry is my kinswoman and a dear friend. This is in part for her protection, for certain forces may try to depose her in Aldaran if she succeeds in marrying the Heir of Hastur. Domna Emelda and I feel that by supporting you, we preserve the peace."

Congratulatia was all smile all of a sudden.

On hearing that Diego was at Neskaya Mabry was excited. Her favorite uncle had come to visit her! She pulled on her robe, and walked down the hall, past Congratulatia's room, only to hear his voice.

Mabry flung open the door, and stared at him. "Again! Again, Uncle Diego! Once again, you have betrayed me! I forgave you before, but this! This? I hate you!" She burst into tears. Was there no one she could trust?

"Accursed harlot!" Congratulatia thought. "This is what you deserve for your daring to interfere in a holy union!" She was enjoying seeing Mabry crying.

"Ah, chiya, no. I am trying to protect you. I know you love Jorik, and in a perfect world, I would be overjoyed to see the two of you wed. But in this imperfect world, too many people would try to taint your love and you and Jorik would never find happiness. I even fear for your physical well-being if you go through with this. Remember, Mabry, I have the Aldaran Gift in full measure and it has been giving me terrible, unsettling visions of you and Jorik. I do not mean to betray you, but others do. Please, talk to Domna Myria about this. Let her examine my mind and confirm that I speak the truth. Mabry, stop crying for a second and listen... please?"

"That [censored]! Marcello had been right all along! He is no more than a vulgar upstart. As soon as Mabry lies dead, I will have to take care of him, too." Congratulatia's chain of thought was endless.

Mabry regained control over herself. She must remember: she is Lady of Aldaran.

She slowly let out her breath. "The only reason you say that is because you love Congratulatia. I know, I would do the same thing for Jorik, if he really loved her, don't you know that I would? But he doesn't! He loves me, and I love him." Congratulatia burst up in laughter."I don't think I'll be able to forgive you again, Diego, I really don't. Goodnight, Dom Storn, Domna Emelda, Mestra Congratulatia." She turned and walked from the room.

"It is not I the one who was in danger, rather it was Mabry." Congratulatia started to explain.

"As I was dreaming, I had one of my precognitive dreams where Mabry would die because someone had stuck a fork in her neck. I woke up crying and went to her to warn her. You can imagine my shock as I found, just outside her door, a fork lying against the wall!"

She paused to fetch her fan and started fanning herself.

"I tried to warn her, but she would not listen. So I cried for help and managed to speak with a technician, a Bernardo or whatever his name is, then went back to sleep and was tranquil because I knew I had just done the right thing. This is when you came here, misinformed, abruptly woke me up from my most rapturous of dreams <her fanning intensified> and the rest is history."

She stopped fanning herself. "I can swear, though, that if that brat dares to call me just once more 'mestra', it is not the fork she will have to be worried about!"

Devastated by the chain of events, Diego staggered out toward the aircar. Jasper was curled up asleep in the front seat, right where Diego had left him, but where was Frank?

Emelda, once assured that her beloved niece Congratulatia was in no danger, went to leave the tower. Strange...Where was Myria? The last time Emelda had seen her was with Frank....

As soon as Mabry was in her own room again, she locked the door. Tallo rose from her bed, and slowly circled her legs purring, trying to make her feel better. Mabry wanted more than anything, to leave that place, this cursed tower! But she had given my word, and I would keep it. Wearily, she pulled out a sheet of parchment, and began to write.

Mabry tied it to the bird's leg, and sent it off. "Oh, Jorik," she murmured, "please."

Relays of Tramontana Tower to relays of Neskaya Tower: please transmit the following message to Lady Mabry Aldaran from her Regent Rafael Lindir

I don't know what the hell happened.

Head hurts. Guess we better go.

Emelda looked up and saw Frank staggering around, disoriented. How very strange! How could they have walked right by him and not seen him? That's why Emelda disliked Towers. Strange things happened there. "Frank" she cried, "get your narrow rear in here and take us back to Edelweiss." She pointedly ignored Myria's signal that they return to the Tower.

Frank climed in the aircar, fastened his belt, powered up, and went airborne.

If Diego and Emelda had any idea how disoriented Frank actually was, they would never have allowed the flight. As it was, they were well on their way to Edelweiss before they realized something was wrong with their pilot.

After the aircar left, the people at Neskaya finally got some sleep.

Myria slept well, despite the worrying presence of a Terran blaster, secured behind matrix locks...

The next morning, when Mabry eventually came down to the dining room, she found the keeper waiting for her. Myria handed her Rafael's transcribed message and said grimly, "Damisela, I must speak with you in my office now."

Once they were in private, Myria continued, "Please tell me: what is the state of your relationship with with Dom Jorik Hastur?"

"I don't know anymore. I thought I did. I know that I love him, and I thought he loved me, but some of the things Congratulatia said..."

Mabry burst into tears, unable to control herself. "He said that when I finished my training he'd talk to my regents about it."

"Talk to your- Did he say he would marry you?" asked Myria gently.

Mabry nodded her head hesitantly, and rubbed her eyes with her sleeve. She WOULD stop crying.

"You do know, don't you, that he has been formally betrothed to Congratulatia Elhalyn for the last ten years... How long have you known Jorik?"

"About half a year." I murmured. "He said he wasn't going to marry her. He's been saying that since she came back, even before either of us really knew how we felt about each other."

"So he has. She doesn't seem to have gotten the message..." Myria sighed. "I hope you realize that no matter how much you two love each other, this isn't going to be easy. You and Jorik are both Domain heirs, and this means that you are not as free as ordinary citizens. There will be some among the Comyn who will fight this match tooth and nail..."

As it happens, Mabry does wish.

She nodded her understanding. "He did say that. If it isn't impolite to ask, what do you think?"

"What do I think... you may not like what I think. First of all, I think this will be a test of your patience and maturity- qualities you'll need more and more in your future life. Second, I think your best plan is to proceed slowly and diplomatically, and to try to avoid offending people- and that includes Congra. You are young- it won't hurt you to wait a while and get to know Jorik better. And lastly, I think it imperative that Jorik should make it clear to certain people that he has no intention of marrying Congratulatia. Until he does that, it would be unseemly to announce his betrothal to a different girl".

"Yes, domna." Mabry tried to smile. "Thank you for your advice. I will try to follow it."

When she was alone again, Myria reached out along the psychic link that she had set weeks before. She found Jorik at Edelweiss, the day after the party. "Jorik? Your two would-be brides are here at my Tower. I think you should come here and make it clear to Congra whom you intend to marry."

Jorik almost had a stroke. He was enjoying my rest and he thought she was referring to herself and Mabry! He thought *This time she got me*. He realized an instant too late it was Congra the other one Myria was speaking about.

He replied "Myria, I cannot marry Congra. She brought away my first love when we were at Arilinn."

"Well, Congra doesn't seem to realize that things have changed since your youth at Arilinn. She is at Neskaya- If you are sure that you will never marry her, I think you should come here and speak to her and tell her that.

Myria didn't seem to catch Jorik's thought through the link. Well. Better this way.

"I have not problems to say it her again. Except that I'm at Edelweiss right now and that I'm needed in Thendara. I cannot think about what I'll find there!"

After talking to Jorik through her matrix, Myria received a short message from Marcello Ridenow:

Myria answered, through the relays:

On returning to her room, Mabry got out her best stationery, and wrote in scented pink ink - a present from her father. He used to say that no matter what you write, if you make it look nice people will take it better, and if it's already nice, it will seem nicer. She wrote slowly, curving her sloppy handwriting into her neatest possible script. It took an hour and her hand was sore when she was finished, but she managed to write out her message.

Mabry sealed it with an elegant piece of paper that was sticky on one side - her father called it a sticker. It was embossed with a picture of a pretty little horse with a horn on its head. The message loked very pretty. Mabry slipped it under Congratulatia's door, and returned to her room to answer to her Regent's letter:

Rafe stared at the letter as if he couldn't believe to his eyes.

Congratulatia! At Neskaya! So that was the reason for her rushing away from Castle Aldaran!!!

Aidan looked at him puzzled, while he was writing again to Neskaya:

Mabry sighed with relief after reading her regent's letter. She took out fresh paper and wrote:

Tallo curled around her feet, and examined both messages. He purred happily. He was so much more optimistic than her!

Continues in Neskaya gets crowded!

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