| Moree awoke with a start. Her mind was instantly working, and she got the oddest feeling someone was watching her. She peered about her room, tense and alert. Her blue eyes quickly sought out the form of the Lor, snoring softly at the foot of the bed. Moree breathed deeply, Lor wasn�t even awake so it must be fine. Moree forced her muscles to relax, one by one, and finally she sunk down into her pillows. It was really too early to get up. A loud banging on the door caused Moree to jump, and she brought her blanket around her shoulders as she touched her feet to the cold floor, shivered, and went to answer the door. Who would be wanting into the apartments at this time of day? Unless it was her drunken mother, forgetting to use the back entrance again. That was it. Moree decided, and felt less apprehensive as she unlatched the door and swung it open. �Oh my!� A man was standing there, muttering at Moree. He was fat and bald, and Moree thought he looked slightly comical. He was wearing Harper�s clothing, but carried no instruments. His voice was a bit raspy for a Harper�s anyway, and Moree immediately tensed herself in case he should prove to be dangerous. �Oh my.� He repeated, and began to wring his hands together anxiously. �I am dreadfully sorry lady, I don�t believe I have the right place yet.� He quieted himself, and looked expectantly at the girl. Moree sighed, and relaxed a bit. This man hardly seemed dangerous to her, she opened the door another sliver and pushed herself closer to him. �Who is it you�re looking for?� She asked, trying to mask the rudeness in her voice. She didn�t want to hurt his feelings, even though she was aggravated that he had disturbed her. The man bowed his head, ashamed, and turned bright red. Moree could have laughed if she hadn�t stopped herself. �Well, lady, I was looking for the Weaver Hanoreel. I am sorry to have disturbed you, I know you are not she.� And the man bowed slightly, and quickly started to move along to the next series of apartments. What does he want Mother for? Moree thought, and then realized he was already halfway down the hall. �Hey!� She yelled after him, nearly dropping her blanket covering to lift her arm and wave. �Please come back! Wait!� Moree let her voice carry commandingly, as she knew it could, hoping it would stop this man. He seemed desperate not to be a nuisance. Her voice had the desire effect, and the bumbling man stopped and turned around hesitantly. �Yes Lady?� He asked keeping his head low and avoiding eye contact. Moree tried to smile gently, but she was getting frustrated. She hated people like this, people without the nerve to act decently and confidently. He was almost like a drudge, except he wasn�t dressed like one. He was dressed like a man of great importance somewhere, maybe second at a Hold. Moree waved him towards her, and forced her eyes to look friendlier. �Please wait. Can you tell me why you�re looking for the Weaver Hanoreel?� Moree didn�t want to reveal that Hanoreel was her mother, not yet. She would wait to see what this man wanted first. The stranger wrung his hands again, and started sweating. �Private business Lady, with the Holder.� �Please don�t call my �Lady�. I don�t rate that title. I am an apprentice here; and again I ask, what business do you have with Hanoreel?� �Oh Lady, you are beautiful indeed enough to rate a title. If it does not bother you mistress, I will continue to call you by the title you deserve. But my business with Hanoreel is private, and cannot be exchanged with her daug�.strangers.� Moree watched in disbelief as the man stumbled over his wording mistake, and began to mutter to himself again. �Oh dear.� He said, and stood cowering before Moree, who seemed to frighten him for some reason. Moree couldn�t imagine why a man would be so afraid of an apprentice girl, much less herself. But she didn�t care; she would use his fear to get him to tell her exactly what he wanted with her mother. �Her daughter? Don�t bother covering it up as a mistake, we both know what you meant to say. Tell me, sir, this time, what your business with Hanoreel is?� Moree was careful not to mention Hanoreel as her mother. Her coolness and ability to say what she wished would intimidate him further. Moree didn�t like manipulating people, but she was good at it. �No La�ma�am. I can�t do that. It is private business. An apprentice does not need to know about it.� And the timid little man stood up straight and tried to turn away. �Stop!� Moree�s voice boomed across the hallway, and the funny little man froze, trembling. He turned slowly back towards Moree, who stared at him sternly. Whatever made him afraid of her still kept him afraid at her command. �Now,� She said, making her voice very demanding, �tell me exactly what you want with Hanoreel. I will help you find her, if you tell me first your �private� business with my mother.� And Moree lifted her chin and stared the man straight in the eye. He trembled some more, seemed about to defy her, and then collapsed and wailed loudly. �Oh my Lady! I wish you wouldn�t have done that! It is my Master�s business that I must do with Hanoreel, I have no right to bring you into this. If only you weren�t so�� �Patient?� Moree said sarcastically. �Anyone else would have called for help by now. Do any of the Masters know you�re roaming the residential apartments this way? I�ll bet you five marks they don�t, and I�ll bet you another five marks that I know what they�d do if they found out. Now, please, tell me what you want with my mother. I won�t grow angry. She hasn�t done anything, wrong, has she?� Moree searched for the right words to use, and finally decided to take a pleading tone with the man who was in her grasp. He had an enduring strength, the kind that showed he�d many times over resisted torment such as Moree was giving him now, to do his work. While Moree didn�t understand such strength, she respected it in her own way. �Oh dear.� The man said again, and then sighed. His voice grew suddenly easier, and he nodded his head. �Alright Lady, I will tell you, only because I have searched in vain for Hanoreel for two days with no luck. You will help me I think, and at the very least, I can tell Master Sirien that I found you.� �Sirien?� Moree asked, confused. �What about me? I thought this was about my mother.� Then Moree shook her head, and opened the door all the way. �Come in. I suppose I trust you well enough, and my canine Lor will rip you apart if you try anything. We�ll be out of the hall this way, and no one will overhear you.� Moree showed the strange man into the apartments, noting how he seemed interested in the two rooms that made up Hanoreel�s residence. The entry room was half main quarters, and half Moree�s room. Beyond that lay the smaller room, which was Hanoreel�s bedroom. Lor looked lazily up from her place on the bed, and thumped her tail once as Moree passed towards the chairs in the second half of the room. Moree motioned for the stranger to have a seat, before doing the same herself. �Now.� Moree said evenly, trying to sound kind. �Tell me everything.� continue..... |