A Tale of the Princes

A TALE OF QUEENES:BOOK V

MISCHIEF AND MAYHEM OF TWO YOUNG PRINCES

~*~Taliennse accompanied by an armored guard, a maid with a basket, and the children---- her own Timoleon, and the Teirs, Archos Edain and Archos Torbrand escaped from their tutor's guardianship--- walked up from the harbor of Terestai. Behind her the boatmen backed away from the quay, returning to the royal fleet. They would return when the sun came to noon.~*~

~*~Twas still early morning. The Queenes were still abed though nae asleep, attending to matters that could be attended to in comfort. Most of their courtiers slept the sleep of the Dead or of revelers who had drunk till dawn. Taliennse suspected that the High King's men were in similiar case.~*~

~*~The market was lively. So were the children. Timoleon objected in principle to the company of, as he put it, a hatchling. The hatchlings,who were all of five years younger than Timoleon, smiled much too sweetly at him. As much as a hellion as Timoleon could be, Archos Edain and Archos Torbrand were the children of Archos Zyan and Edain Siveni. They had their wits and their arrogance, and their capacity for trouble.~*~

~*~Taliennse did nae fancy herself a match for them, but she had one thing that e'en the princelings did nae: the knowledge and gift of Command. Both of them had tested it before and discovered that once she,like their Mother, had laid the Word on them, it held them until she pleased to release them. The threat of it was good for almost an hour's obedience. That got them off the ship and onto the land, and e'en into the market.~*~

~*~There, before they could erupt into rebellion, Taliennse turned them loose in the custody of the royal guards. "But mind," she said to Timoleon,"that yea stay with the Teirs and watch out for him. ANY mischief all of yea get into, I'll hold yea to account."~*~

~*~"Tis nae fair!"said Timoleon.~*~

~*~Of course, tis nae!" said his Mother.~*~

~*~He opened his mouth, then shut it again. Some children would hath argued with the inarguable. Timoleon was wise for his years: he settled for what he could get. Twas hardly freedom,but twas better than a long dull morning of dangling at his Lady Mother's heel.~*~

~*~Trailing the smaller boys and the lithe young soldiers, Timoleon darted off toward a vendor of sweets. The guard held the purse, another insult to Timoleon's pride,but Taliennse was nae a merciful creature. She saw them off with a mingling of relief and mild alarm. "The Goddess knows what they will get into,"she said to her maid.~*~

~*~Hebe was mute,but her ears were as sharp as a cat's, and her mind was keen. She grinned whitely in her dark Avernian face. She was nae so much older than Timoleon that she had forgotten the joy of mischief well committed.~*~

~*~Nor, for that matter of that, had Taliennse. She answered the maid's grin with a wry smile, and began her own circuit of the market. There was little enough that she honestly needed, but after a month on shipboard, e'en with the pauses as they made to come to harbor and to show the Ard Rhighan's majesty to a dazzled populace, twas a pleasure to stand on solid earth again. She chaffered o'er a bit of wool that the seller claimed was Tyrian purple but Taliennse knew was berry-dyed and sure to fade in the first washing; picked through a tray of silver brooches and armlets;bought a grapeleaf filled with spiced meat and barley, and ate it still scalding hot, sitting on the plinthe of a statue dedicated to the Rhighan Infanta Aurora Talera Shadakaura Siveni Tempestas Godslayer. She felt quite as young as Timoleon, and rather more free to do as she pleased.~*~

~*~That was enough of a rarity that she took time to savour it. Hebe was amenable;she could move quickly when she saw the need, but she loved to drowse in the sun, blinking like a great glossy cat.~*~

~*~Their resting place was just at the edge of the market square, near the platform on which Archos Zyan had sat so very much alone--- was it only yesterday? Taliennse had to admire the Ard Rhi's coolness in the face of such a humiliation.~*~

~*~He was nae there this morning, or perhaps only nae there yet. The dais was empty e'en of the pine throne, his chair that went where he went. He had nae brought it onto Edain's ship. Perhaps he meant something by that. Folcuth was a sovereign Nation still, whate'er he might think.~*~

~*~She ate half of her grapeleaf, fed the rest to a little sun-and-shadow cat that had came to investigate. It was a shy and skittish thing, all bones and eyes and enormous, preposterous feet. Mother Bastet had blessed or cursed it: its paws were strange, with an extraordinary count of toes. When it dropped a bit of meat, it reached as a child would, and picked it up in its paw that was like a hand with a thumb, and ate it.~*~

~*~Hebe hissed. Her hands flashed in a sign against evil;she swooped toward the cat as if to drive it away. Taliennse stopped her with a hand. "Nay! Tis Mother Bastet's child. See, she understands us," --for the cat had paused in its devouring of the grapeleaf to answer Hebe's hiss with a hiss of its own. But then it turned its head to blink shyly at Taliennse, and inquired in a voice so soft it was barely to be heard,"Mao?"~*~

~*~"Mao," said Taliennse. The cat butted its hard round head against her arm and purred.~*~

~*~When Taliennse got up to go on, the cat followed. Taliennse was careful nae to acknowledge her new Companion. If the cat chose to remain with her, then she was blessed of Bastet; but she was too wise to force matters. Cats belonged to no one but themselves and their Goddess. Sometimes,howe'er, they chose humans for their servants.~*~

*earth walked down to the market place, quite set on finding something to repay her friend..she had great skill in the arts of the hands, especially with clays and paints..she hoped to find something that appealed to her creators heart..she was amazed and taken in by the amount of people, color and sound, never mind the smells, as she had refused stil the food offered to her by her host..*

Meanwhile........

*her keen ears pick up the sounds of children and she reflexivly looks up to see them..but shecan't pick out tiny forms amoung the people..and it's no more then a seconds passing that she remembers they will not be her own..*

*people look apon her a bit strangly..even in a place as diverse as this she is quiet obviously not common race..her dark coloring and constantly changing eyes, lean build and strange mannerisims are unsettling to some, charismatic to others..she finds a place to sit a moment and thinks to herself about what precicly her task is, as she fights to not remain on the greater plan ahead of her..it's then she smells something familiar*

*there at her feet, is (the) cat..six toes and all..*

Asa-Wouf little sister..*earth smiles and some sort of connection would seem to happen between them..but it is all too brief as shuffeling feet and loud noises cause the cat to run..*

Drat..

*she gets up and follows the cat slowly, it gets quite aways ahead of her, and she catches up just as it turns to follow the grande lady and her entourage*
hey..I know that from the ship that chame in..

*she looks curiously on and follws just out of suspicions way*

~Earth Song

~*~A little distance from Aurora's statue was a fishmonger's stall. Taliennse bought a handful of small silver fish, nae for the cat,nae exactly, but the cats who owned her house were fond of such a dainty. Further down,she found a woman willing to sell a cup of goat's milk fresh from the udder. Some of it she drank herself,some she gave to Hebe. There was enough left for a small cat who had eaten a pair of the fish and showed an inclination to drink as well.~*~

~*~While Taliennse sat on a step by the goat-woman's stall with cat and cup in her lap, she realized that she had an audience. Of course she knew that ambassadors and emissaries only wore their robes of elegance for state occasions; they were much too unwieldly to be comfotable in. E'en so,she was mildly surprised to see Galen Servi the Augur in a tunic and sandals like any man in Terestai, insofar as any man in Terestai wore fine new linen and fine soft leather and a new cloak that was nae berry-dyed purple,but was the lesser Tyrian,the lucent amethyst that Taliennse rather preferred to the deep-dyed vermillion of kings and quuenes. He seemed amused to see her there, and nae surprised. "Good morn," she said to him.~*~

~*~"Good morn,"he replied civilly, with only a hint of a blush."Do yea adopt cats whene'er yea visit a market?"~*~

~*~"I should hope nae!"said Taliennse."This cat adopted me!"~*~

~*~"They have a way o' doing that,"said Galen Servi.~*~

~*~When the little cat purred, she purred from head to tail. She looked up from her breakfast to study the Ferenghi {foreigner}, and pronounced her verdict: "mmrrrrrrt."~*~

~*~"She says yea need a mother,"Taliennse translated,"but she is nae adopting men nor multitudes today."~*~

"Particularly Ferenghi multitudes?"

"Cats do nae care for tribes nor Nations. A human tis a human, poor thing, where'er it comes from. She is only adopting two women today."~*~

~*~Galen Servi laughed. In daylight, in public,he seemed more at ease than he had at Edain's feast. He did nae offer to pet the cat, which Taliennse thought remarkably perceptive of him.~*~

~*~"Probably yea hath dogs,"said Taliennse, considering him.~*~

~*~"Dogs art charming,"he said,"and frightfully servile."~*~

~*~"Do nae Ferenghis prefer servility to independence?"~*~

~*~He caught her meaning: his eyes sparked. But he did nae seem angry. Interested, rather. Diverted. "Ferenghis may,"he answered. "This Ferenghi does no'."~*~

~*~The cat's purr rose to a thunder. She was done with her breakfast;she sat on Taliennse's knee to wash her face. Galen Servi, after a moment, sat beside Taliennse. He did nae seem to have the foreign propensity for standing on his dignity where'er he was. He sat boylike, clasping his knee and watching people pass in the streets. He was quite beautiful, Taliennse thought, and quite evidently unaware of it.~*~

~*~The cat finished her toilet and curled in Taliennse's lap. Hebe, squatting against the wall a little distance down the street, regarded the cat balefully. The cat paid no attention to the maid's distrust. Taliennse decided to follow suit.~*~

~*~"Is yea son in the city today?" asked Galen Servi rather abruptly.~*~
~*~Taliennse's heart forgot,briefly, to beat. "Why? What was he doing!?"~*~
~*~"Nothing,"said Galen Servi."he had two younger boys with him, and was leading them and some guards a merry chase. Did he own a bright green tunic ere yea turned him loose?"~*~

~*~"Goddess, nay,"said Taliennse. Then she drew a breath of relief. "If that's all he's done, I am content."~*~

~*~"Twas quite a shocking shade of green,"the augur said. "Bilious, at the very least. I hope he didnae pay a fortune for it."~*~

~*~"He would nae hath done so. Diomedes has the purse of coins."~*~

~*~"Diomedes is the guard," Galen Servi deduced," and the boys art yea sons."~*~

~*~"One of them,"said Taliennse."The eldest. The younger boys art the Ard Rhighan's."~*~

~*~He started, nae obviously, but enough for her to see.~*~

~*~"Aye,"she said as if he had spoken. "Twas the Teirs Archos Edain and Archos Torbrand."~*~

~*~"And the Ard Rhighan---their mother---YEA--let them run wild in the streets of Terestai, as if they had been any commoner's children?"~*~

~*~"Yea did nae,"Taliennse pointed out,"object when yea thought they might be mine children. And I am NAE a commoner."~*~

~*~He caught the edge in that;it brought him up short. "The High Queene has--hath--had-sisters--but ---"~*~

~*~"Nay, I am nae the Queenes' sister,"said Taliennse. "Mine family began with the brother of the first Ard Rhi who ruled in Folcuth. We ne'er wanted to be kings, or queenes either. But neither art we the sweepings of the street."~*~

~*~Galen Servi looked half mortified,half angry. "I ne'er said yea were. But the High King's sons running loose in Terestai----if he hears, he'll quite possibly be outraged.~*~

~*~"Archos Zyan is nae such a coddling sire,"said Taliennse coldly.~*~

~*~"Perhaps he shouldst be."~*~

~*~"Why?"Taliennse asked. "Because a Siveni Sidhe queen is no fit parent for a Ferenghi's get? E'en ones bairn out of lawful wedlock?"~*~

~*~"They art the Godslayer's sons!" said Galen Servi.~*~

~*~"And Edain's," said Taliennse.~*~

~*~They glared at one another. Taliennse did nae know which of them realized first how truly absurd they were, sitting on a doorstep in the market of Terestai, glowering o'er the head of a small peculiar cat. Taliennse laughed first, but Galen Servi grinned before he laughed.~*~

Meanwhile...........

*she watches the lady Taliennse and her gentleman...she cannae do this very long and must bring her eyes down to the cat........the feline glances over at her*

Good fortune has found you yes little sister?

*she speaks quietly to the cat, whether human ears will pick it up or not..the cat goes back to it's meal..she looks up to the Lady again..yes, shes definatly one from the boats and the feast.. she hears them laugh and tilts her head, but she has picked up that amoung the children are relatives of hers..she finally decides to approach them, swinging her feet nervously, then lifitng her head and quietly approaching*

*once at a presentable distance*

Pardon me..M'lady and Lord..escuse my inturuption..but I do belive I saw yeh both at the ships?
~Earth Song

~*~When the gust of mirth passed, Taliennse leaned back against the doorframe. The cat butted her chin. She sighed a little. "I can see that the Ferenghi and Folcuth hath much to do by a way of compromise."~*~
~*~"Why should the Ferenghi compromise?"demanded Galen Servi. But before her temper could rise again, he shook his head. "I am too stubborn by half. Ridiculous,too, debating matters o' high import with mine feet in a gutter."~*~

~*~"That should stop yea?"Taliennse asked. "It ne'er stops anybody that I e'er knew. E'en gladiators hath political opinions."~*~

~*~"Politics art important,"said Galen Servi. "The most important thing in the worlds."~*~

~*~"I do nae think so,"Taliennse said.~*~

~*~"A woman would nae."~*~

~*~"Thou sound like mine husband,"she observed.~*~

~*~He looked startled. She did nae see why he should. Respectable women did nae bear children outside of marriage according to the Ferenghi. Unless of course they were High Queenes.~*~

~*~"In fact,"she said,"thou remind me of why he divorced me. He can be unbearably self-righteous."~*~

~*~There. He was startled all o'er again. She had rather hoped he would be.~*~

~*~While he stared at her,struggling to fit her into his conceptions of his universe,she stood. The cat did nae wish to ride in her arms: it poured itself out of her grasp and sat beside her foot, smoothing its ruffled fur with its tongue. "I hath better find mine offspring,"said taliennse,"and the Queene's, ere they decide that a green tunic is only the beginning and dye themselves green all o'er."~*~

~*~He rose more slowly than she had. He was of middling height, tall beside her smallness, but nae too tall for comfort. "May I escort yea?" he asked.~*~

~*~She thought of refusing. The Goddess knew, she had done everything she could, knowing or unknowing, to antagonize him. Maybe this was his revenge.~*~

~*~She did nae find him hard to look at. If he had other things in mind,he would learn that she had more defenses than met the eye. E'en, maybe, the eye of a seer.~*~

~*~For a moment he seemed moved simply by courtesy, and perhaps a touch of curiousity. He would want to see the Ard Rhi's sons, of course. They all did.~*~

~*~Trailed by the maid , the augur, and the cat, Taliennse went back into the bustle of the market. It was nae unduly difficult to find the children. Although it took some little time. She simply went where a child would be most inclined to go.~*~

~*~Sweetseller,vendor of clothing both lurid and shoddy,juggler in a whirling crown of knives, fur-lad savage leading a dancing bear , seller of meat pasties,blind singer with a dog crouched at his feet. Taliennse paused to listen to him. The dog was asleep with its ehad on its paws,but its ears were alert to anything that might threaten its master. The little cat hissed; the dog ignored it. Taliennse retrieved the cat before it could begin hostilities in earnest.~*~

~*~A body hurtled into her. She staggered;strong hands caught her before she fell. She took no notice of them or of the augur who belonged to them. Archos Edain had caromed off her and come to a stop,breathing hard. "Taliennse!Taliennse, come quick!"~*~

~*~She caught him before he could bolt."What?!Who is it?!"~*~

~*~Torbrand and Timoleon,"he said.~*~

~*~She was running before he finished the word.~*~

*Earth took a good look at herself in the mirror, a good long hard look...then she flashed a smile to light up the sky and laughed, for the first time in months*

It'll have to do! But I must admit..it's a tad too big..

*she flushed in the mirror..in a set of mans breeches and an overflowing and bellous shirt*

*the maid beside her smile and laughed a bit as well* Well M'lady, thats what one gets for being taller then I..my husbands close are all that will fit ye!

I would hope to think that Ah ahm not that tall lady..

*turns to the mirror again..washed now, free from dirt and blood, hair again neatly in it's braids, all dangeling about her eyes and face, th long one falling down her back graceful and together*

I can't thank you enough for helping me out..Ah have had none other clothes then what I had on mah back..

Tis not a problem M'Lady..

I do feel the need to repay you for the lent of your husbands clothing..

Not at all..it's a duty to be hospitipal..

And is MINE duty to make you eat those words..*grins* I wil be back..I do long to see this morning..clean..

~Earth Song

~*~It did nae look like a threat to life or limb. A lesser square lay beyond the great one, with a fountain in it, dry and choked with refuse. Past the fountain was a circle o fpeople, mostly men. laughing and shouting. Inside thecircle was a man with a stick, and a very small donkey under a very large burden, and Timoleon and Archos Torbrand.~*~

~*~Timoleon's tunic,Taliennse noticed, was e'en more ghastly than Galen Servi had led her to expect. It was also much too large for him. He had tied it up with a bit of cord unearthed from who knew where, but the hem trailed grubbily out behind him. He was taking no notice of it at all. "Yea let that donkey go,"he said in his clearest and most imperious voice.~*~

~*~I'll hath Mine Mother will turn thee into a snake," shouted Torbrand.~*~

~*~"You just do that,"said the donkey's driver, to the raucous approval of his audience,"and I'll turn right around and bite you in the foot. Now you get out of my way,little cock, and let me get about my business."~*~

~*~"I wilt nae!"said Torbrand. "That donkey's load is too heavy and its back hurts!"~*~

~*~"Who says?" the man sneered. "The donkey?" Others echoed him. Still others cheered Archos Torbrand. They were laying wagers on how soon the man would tire of the play and give the impertinent child a taste of his stick. He was close to it, if nae there already. "The donkey says this, the donkey says that. The donkey's owner says he's carrying this load of oiljars to market, and that's that."~*~

~*~"Thou can carry them thyself,"Archos Torbrand said. "Or drag them, since thou art going to be a snake. Doth thou like mice? Or wouldst thou rather eat crawly things?"~*~

~*~"I'd rather take a piece out of your hide,"snarled the man,slashing his stick through the air.~*~

~*~Taliennse caught it before it struck. She had no memory of movement from outside the circle to within it. She was simply there,with a stinging hand and a startled drover, and the stick between.~*~

~*~Her expression must hath been alarming. The drover backed away from her. The rest of the circle had gone mute. Torbrand looked as if he could nae decide whether to be dismayed or furious. Taliennse fixed both Archos Torbrand and Timoleon with a terrible stare. "What did I tell yea?"she said very quietly.~*~

~*~"I---"Timoleon said. "I could nae -----"~*~

~*~"Back to the ship,"she said. "NOW!"~*~

~*~"But tis nae noon yet,"he protested. "There won't be anybody to take us across."~*~

~*~There wilt be,"said Taliennse. Her glance encompassed the guards, who slunk in Timoleon's shadow. At the moment she did nae particularly care if Diomedes vanished from the face of the earth.~*~

~*~Torbrand got a grip on the donkey's neck, and clung grimly. "We art taking him,too!" he declared.~*~

~*~"Yea can nae take him on the ship,"Taliennse said. "Come with me."~*~

~*~"Nay,"said Timoleon and Torbrand, as stubborn with the Lady Chatelaine as theyhad been with the drover.~*~

~*~"Yea may come,"said Taliennse, measuring each word,"on yea own two feet. Or yea may come on four, or on none. But yea wilt come. Do yea understand me?"~*~

~*~Yea will nae do it," Timoleon said with a lift of his chin.~*~

~*~Taliennse raised her hand. The people nearby, she noticed distantly, had scrambled out of the way. Some of them were shrieking. Idiots.~*~

~*~"Well?"she demanded of her son and kinsman."Since yea both art so free with yea Lady Mother's Powers and mine, trumpeting them to every ear in Terestai--what is it yea both want to be? Snake? Goose? Dog?"~*~

~*~The boys' chins rose higher. "Thou can nae turn me into a puppy. That's just for sticks and snakes."~*~

~*~"Yes?" Taliennse said. Her magick was there, in the depths of her, where the Goddess was;bestowed by Edain;it was ne'er absent. Nor did it know mercy, or the scruples that bound human will. Such was the nature of the Ard Rhighan's sorcery. Siveni Sidhe could transform children of their body, nae without cost, but nae with great difficulty, either.~*~

~*~She let Timoleon and Torbrand see that. Timoleon was young as was Archos Torbrand,but they were nae entirely fools. All at once, Timoleon wilted, transparently considering tears, but determining that his mother was in no mood to be swayed by such expedients. Archos Torbrand remained unbending and glowereing at the Lady Chatelaine.~*~

~*~But Mama,"Timoleon said in a small voice,"if we leave the donkey here, he'll be beaten worse than e'er!"~*~

~*~Taliennse could nae deny it. The drover had the look of a man who beat his animals and his children the harder, the more the world thwarted him. He was terrified still, and silent with it, but that would nae last much longer.~*~

~*~She gestured sharply to Hebe. "Mine purse." Her maid produced it from the basket, face eloquent of disapproval. Taliennse flung it at the man. "This for yea miserable beast and all he carries."~*~

~*~She got out of there before he could recover his wits enough to haggle. And what she would do with a mangy,fly-bitten, underfed donkey..~*~

~*~"I can take it, I suppose," said Galen Servi. "I am sure there be some use that we could put it to, somewhere in the army's pack train."~*~

~*~"Thou hast to be good to it,"said Archos Torbrand," and feed it, and nae make it carry too many things at once. Tis carrying too many now."~*~

~*~"So it is,"said Galen Servi, who was singularly undismayed by so outrageous children. He stopped in the middle of the street and began to unload the donkey's cargo. "I shall send men back for this,"he said.~*~

~*~"Do yea honestly believe it wilt still be here when they come?"Taliennse asked. "Nay, leave it. Tis only rancid olive oil and bad crockery."~*~

~*~E'en at tha, beggars were circling, ready to seize the largesse. Galen Servi shrugged and stripped the beast of its burden, e'en to the saddle, which looked as if it had seen half a dozen generations of hard use. The donkey's back was raw with sores, and scars under that. Timoleon,seeing it,cried out in rage. "Oh, Mama! Make it better, mama , please!"~*~

~*~"Nae in the middle of the street,"said Taliennse.~*~

~*~The stables,"said Galen Servi,"would know how to look after such wounds as these."~*~

~*~"Mama wilt make it better NOW,"Timoleon said in a tone that brooked no opposition.~*~

~*~Taliennse slapped him lightly, to get his attention, and said,"Galen Servi wilt take it to the city stables and make it better as soon as yea let them get to it."~*~

~*~"I want to see," said Timoleon.~*~

~*~Taliennse's head had begun to ache. There was this stranger, this Ferenghi augur, who seemed to find nothing surprising. There was Diomedes the guard, looking as if he expected to be flogged at any moment, and well he deserved it, too. And there was Archos Torbrand, holding Hebe's hand and keeping quiet in his rage, and Timoleon now expecting his mother to work miracles simply because he asked her to.~*~

~*~Taliennse was weak: she surrendered to Timoleon's whim. "Very well,"she sighed. "We'll go to the stables. But only as long as it takes to make sure this beast is settled. Then we hath to go back to the ship."~*~

~*~Aye, Mama,"said Timoleon wearily,"yea may walk beside him. And no more bold rescues, Archos TOrbrand. Both of yea promise. Promise. Or we go straight back to the ship."~*~

~*~Timoleon and Torbrand jibbed at that, but they had won enough to be magnanimous. "We promise,"they chirped in unison.~*~

~*~"And how long do their promises last?"asked Galen Servi.~*~

~*~The donkey was established in the city stables, its back salved, its manger filled with good barley, its stall bedded with straw;it rested as well as any horse in Terestai. Timoleon and Archos Torbrand would hath no less.~*~

~*~Now they were all returning to the harbor,where the boat should be waiting to take them back to the Ard Rhighan's ship. Galen Servi seemed determined to see the end of the adventure;Taliennse could nae see why else he would accompany them."Their promises,"she answered him,"last just as long as theyremember them, which is anywhere from an hour to a week. I give this one a day at most."~*~

~*~"I see yea know them well,"said Galen Servi. The corner of his mouth had turned up again in his crooked smile.~*~

~*~Taliennse smiled back. "Oh, we knew early on that these children were trouble incarnate."~*~

~*~"And other things, too?"he asked with a return to his foreign gravity.~*~

~*~"Such as a call to the Goddess' service?"Taliennse inquired. "nay; that only happens to daughters in our branches of the family."~*~

~*~No' sons?"~*~

~*~"Nay,"she said. "We belong to the goddess, yea see. She prefers daughters."~*~

~*~"I see,"said Galen Servi, as if in fact he did nae. "And yet she gave yea sons."~*~

~*~"Oh, aye,"said Taliennse. "They drive me quite as wild, too, as if they had been goddess-brats,and Edain's children, too, but in different ways. Mine own--Timoleon has decided that he wants to be a sailor, chiefly I think because he does nae need to wear clothes to do it; and yea hathseen what he doth do when he is loose in the market with his cousins. Now, mine elder son, Androgeos is his father all o'er again-----such a stick, but endearing when it's young. He stayed in Ahelas. His father keeps him, since he is the eldest son."~*~

~*~"Yea hath another?"asked Galen Servi.~*~

~*~Mine husband does. His new wife is much more to his liking than I e'er was. I hath opinions. Laodice lacks that failing."~*~
~*~"I suppose it is a failing,"Galen Servi mused as they came down the steps to the quay. The boat was indeed waiting , and Timoleon and the Teirs, who had run ahead, were with it, hopping with impatience. "Yea took yea time,"Timoleon said before Taliennse could speak. "Archos Edain is being a baby again! He keeps whining for his mother."~*~

~*~"I do nae!"said that prince from where he sat on a piling. "THOU art jealous because thy mother wants to talk to someone else besides thee."~*~

~*~"I am nae!" snapped Timoleon.~*~

~*~"That,"said Taliennse,"wilt be enough of that. Get in the boat, Timoleon, and stop thy nonsense."~*~

~*~Timoleon did nae e'en pretend to obey her. "Do yea know what they call yea in the city? The little goddess."~*~

~*~"Tis arrant nonsense!" said Taliennse.~*~

~*~He grinned at her. "Yea art, y'know. Which goddess art yea? Yea can nae be Mother Isis. Tis the Ard Rhighan."~*~

~*~"Off hand,"said Galen Servi,"I wouldst say Aphrodite."~*~

~*~Timoleon shot him a dark glance. "I'd rather she was Artemis. Artemis hates men. She turns them into deer and hunts them."~*~

~*~"Oh, she can no' be that,"Galen Servi said. "She is a mother, after all."~*~

~*~"Yea supposed to say I am a bloodthirsty brat!"Timoleon said. "Why don't yea?"~*~

~*~"Because I do no' like to be predictable,"said Galen Servi.~*~

~*~Timoleon stared. Galen Servi gazed back,half-smiling. Abruptly, astonishingly, Timoleon grinned. "Why, thou art almost worth it! I know yea, too. I saw yea with the High King. Are yea nae a soldier? Why do yea nae wear yea armor?"~*~

~*~"Because tis beastly uncomfortable,"Galen Servi answered him, as calm as e'er. Taliennse could nae help but admire his aplomb. Surely it was tested to the utmost, but he gave no sign of it.~*~

~*~"So are the court vestments,"said Timoleon.~*~

~*~"True,"Galen Servi conceded,"but the clourt garb comes off alot more easily."~*~

~*~"Do yea have any armor?"~*~

~*~"Two sets,"said Galen. "One for parades and one for battle and use."~*~

~*~Timoleon, Taliennse could see, was settling in for a long interrogation. She pushed him toward the boat. "In, sir. Yea'll have time later to wear this gentleman out with questions."~*~

~*~"Oh,"said Timoleon,"but he can nae be a gentleman,can he?He's a Ferenghi. Ferenghi art all commoners."~*~

~*~"Except when they art patricians,"said Galen Servi. He did nae look at all insulted. Taliennse could almost have thought that he was laughing behind his solemn face.~*~

~*~"Art yea a patrician then?" Timoleon asked.~*~

~*~"I am a priest,"said Galen Servi,"and I shall be dragged into the senate, I suppose, when I go back home--mine father was an ambassador. I am head of the family now he is gone. I was foolish enough to hold office when I wast younger: I was a quaestor, which is a kind of paymaster, except tis very respectable. There tis no getting out of that robe, short of staying fore'er away from the senate house. That is as close to a patrician, these days, as most people back home get."~*~

~*~"Oh,"said Timoleon, just before his mother was moved to gag him and throw him in the boat. He got in with the grace of a sailor bairn, and swung Archos Edain and Archos TOrbrand o'er the gunwale squawking,"I can get in MYSELF! Let me GO!"~*~

~*~Hebe sat already in the bow with her knees drawn up, keeping out of the way of feet and oars. The oarsmen were in their places. Taliennse was left on the quay, wondering exactly how to apologize to Galen Servi for her son's various transgressions.~*~

~*~"Ne'er mind,"he said as if he could read her thoughts in her face. He smiled. "Yea and the Ard Rhighan hath interesting children."~*~

~*~"Thou hath a gift for understatement,"Taleiennse said. She bent her head to him. "Thank yea, sir. I am a little saner for that yea were with us."~*~

~*~"I hope so,"said Galen Servi. He offered his hand. She thought about it for a moment, then took it, and let him help her into the boat. The cat folowed, bristling and starting at shadows, but determined to be a sea-cat if it must. When Taliennse had settled herself, the cat came to her lap, sitting upright in it, staring hard at the land as they were rowed away from it.~*~

~*~The Ferenghi Augur stood watching, nor did he move til Taliennse had returned to the Ard Rhighan's ship. Then he raised a hand and left the quay, turning back toward the Ard Rhi's villa.~*~

*earth watches the distress over the donkey..she decides that this mother has a lot on her hands with out strange women and mens clothing approaching her...she turns and resumes her graizing..*

*she finds for her hosts a fine wine and a small silver locket, she figures if she likes so will the young lady..she gazes up at the sky and sees by the sun it may be in fact late enough to see if she can present herself to her parents..*

*she begins a leszuirly walk back towards the ships, yawning periodically..enjoying the sun and the serenity of the place..*

~Earth Song

BOOK VI

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