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Septima: The Beginning

Septima stretched, enjoying the feel of fine linen against her skin and the lazy, overly warm sensation of lying in bed when one ought to be up and around.

It was a nice hotel, she thought. The large four-poster bed had a decent mattress and the pillows were absolutely marvelous. The wallpaper, ivory with bundles of cornflower blue flowers at annoyingly routine intervals, was somewhat depressing, and the dried flowers on the bedside table were already falling apart. Still, the seascape above the cold fireplace was quite lovely, and the view from the balcony showed a sea even more spectacular.

She groaned and pushed herself out of bed. After all, she wasn't quite on holiday. She took as hot a bath as she could stand and then slipped into a gown of deep purple brocade with matching slippers. She took a few minutes to pin up her hair and fasten her bracelet, and then moved to the door.

****

It was a pleasant little Shadow, Septima thought as she ate. Sparkling sands, friendly but respectful people and wide grey oceans. Not to mention the libraries. If she was to find any information on the phenomenon of Amber City's Tir Na Nog'th, or rather if she was to find it in a less politically charged arena than that of Amber herself, it would be here.

She sipped her tea and then toyed absently with her bracelet. There were other reasons to be away from Mythgaerd. After her father's funeral things had been... different. Everything seemed smaller without the Duke. There had been Mother of course, and without Mother things would have been unbearable, with Aelius puffed up like a peacock with the honor of being Drusus' heir. Septima grimaced at the thought of her half-brother as Duke.

No, no, it was best by far that she move on. There were so many things she wanted to know, so many places that were bigger and brighter than Mythgaerd where she might find out these secrets.

Septima finished her tea and went to the library.

The library was fairly large, though not as large as some she'd seen while traveling with uncle Alexander. There were three wings, each of three stories. One wing was devoted to histories, one to sciences, and one to fiction and mythology. Taking a glance at each wing, she could see easily hundreds of stacks in each.

Septima took a deep breath in, drinking in the delicious, musty scent of old books and leather. Then she moved to the history section.

Her lips moved soundlessly as she looked over the titles: Advent, Alderon... no Amber. Septima shrugged and moved to the wing devoted to fiction and mythology. Sure enough, high up on the shelves were upwards of ten books devoted to Amber.

Septima slid the moving ladder towards the books she wanted and climbed up to get them.

The books she found were very, very old, telling legends that her mother and uncle had told her as bedtime stories - but vastly different than those stories, giving the characters the benefit of thousands of years of adulation.

Hmm. Septima frowned but continued reading. She was searching for something, a clue as to the secret of Amber's power or the secrets of its many oddities - Rebma, Tir Na Nog'th, or her favorite, the Hall of Mirrors.

It quickly became obvious to her that these books would be less than useless. One spoke of five Patterns, another said that Dworkin was one-half of an elder being, a third that Oberon had been called from Outside to repair what Dworkin had done.

Septima put the books down and rubbed her forehead. Not at all what she had been looking for, but interesting nonetheless. She made a few notes in the small leatherbound book she kept in her voluminous pockets, and then decided to break for lunch.

It had not been long enough to merit another meal, but Septima never ate much, and she could do with some more tea.

She left the library and headed back to the dining hall.

The dining hall was fairly busy at that point, with a great many scholars and students filling it, but was large enough that, even so, there was plenty of room for those who wished to remain alone.

Septima took a small table by herself, ordered tea and a watercress sandwich, and tapped her long nails on the wooden tabletop. It seemed that the only place she would get her answers was Amber itself. She had long wished to journey there, but from a position of power. It seemed that power would be unavailable until after she had made her move. Very well.

She sipped her tea and considered transportation.

Transportation from where she was to Amber would obviously be problematical. Alexander had told her repeatedly on the way to the one Pattern he took her to that most technology would stop working outside of Amber itself, though a strong will might keep it working right up to the passage into Amber.

Horses and carriages would work, but weren't terribly common in this Shadow. A train would definitely get her close, but she'd still have to handle several Shadows to get to Amber.

She licked her lips, finished her tea and went to the guest desk. "Pardon me, I would like to arrange transportation to the nearest train station, please."

The desk clerk nodded and pulled a teleson from beneath the desk, connecting to the train station before turning it over to her. (A teleson being basically a kind of crystalline mirror that gives visuals and sound.)

Septima pursed her lips, gazing deep into the teleson. When she was staring deeply into the eyes of a station attendent, she said softly, "I would like to book passage on the nine-fifteen train. My name is Sara Arlington. I would also like a cab to the station if you arrange such things."

The attendant nodded briefly. "We do. It will be done."

Within the space of a few minutes, all had, indeed, been arranged, and at 9:15, she was on the train as it began to roll.

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