8 March, 2002

Courtyard of Amber Castle

The courtyard hums and clatters with localized bustle. Tempest, Alix's tall and fierce dapple warhorse, is decked in full black-and-silver tack and exhibits her usual bad temper whenever one of the footmen comes too close. One nearly loses a finger before Alix steps in to soothe the restive beast. "Lise, do you think you're about ready to go? I believe we're about packed. Anything else we need can be picked up once we are there."

Lisle also has a fine beast. He's tall, over sixteen hands with wild green eyes. But he's not a war-horse, no. He's the kind of horse that can go forever and run fast, and sail over the highest jumps, the kind even he cannot see over. Her blade is attached to Blue's saddle where she can reach it if need be. "Aye sister, I'm ready enough."

"So you say." Alix chuckles. She grasps pommel and cantle, settles a foot into the stirrup, and swings herself astride with weightless ease. For a moment she's busy adjusting the pack behind the saddle. "You'll enjoy this, I think. Sometimes it's far more pleasant to ride through Shadow; the ubiquity of Trump has spoiled us." Tempest stamps one feathered foot and snorts in impatience.

Lisle lifts herself strongly into the saddle. Her gown parts so she may ride astride. Her gloved hands shake out the reins and Blue, he dances, hooves light upon the paved courtyard. "I love to walk through shadow. Blue is still a bit skiddish if I go to fast, but this journey should cure him of the last dregs of -that-." Lisle's spirits have been high since the night she walked the pattern. It isn't quite like being in love, but its something close. Poor Caivar had been replaced by the pattern?

"Remember," Alix murmurs, just loud enough to carry, "that we are swifter, now. Tempest is used to it. I'm sure Blue will be fine after some acclimation." She touches the reins with gloved fingers and with a snort the great grey jolts into motion, hooves striking sparks on stone until she finds a rhythm and trots out towards the streets.

As if Lisle could forget? She just smiles, dimples showing, and urges her Blue to follow. His hooves are light and, until he trots, his walk is more of a prance. Lisle posts upon his back, the lift and settle repeated. The day is brisk but the furs are warm. "Shall we take the path through Arden then, sister?"

Alix calls out, her smile flashing, "You're entirely too cheerful. So, where did you go?" Amber whizzes by swiftly as the impatient horses take their head, trotting through the streets with the casual half-attention of well-trained mounts.

Alix moves forward and vanishes, leaving behind a rapidly fading afterimage.

"I went to one of Amber's stars. The bright one, low on the horizon. I've renamed it you know, to 'Alyssan'. Lisle might be teasing, there is such a light in her eyes. A hand moves from reigns to her pockets to produce a thin package, the size of trumps.

"And what did you find?" Alix's glance is sharp, surprised. "You remembered oxygen at least." She reaches out with a nod of thanks, accepting the two slim plaques. "Ye gods. These things are all too common. I feel like I've got business cards."

Alix tucks the Trumps away with a sigh. "I worry like hell about who else might have some of these."

Lisle says, "Desdinova told me they were not stars in Amber's heavens. I'm pleased to report they are stars. I think they are all reflections, like mirrors, of Amber herself in some strange physics kind of way. I'm not sure." She laughs at the last, "Don't I know it. I think one Chaosian drew me and now the lot of them have my cards. I do hope Ryker can get my card back from Jeffrey. But I know Joshua, too, has my card."

"Jeffrey, at this point, probably doesn't need the card." The streets flash by, and soon the city walls are within easy reach. One of the guards, startled, salutes as the two well-swaddled Princesses ride past. "But it's awful. The only consolation is that we have managed to accumulate some useful cards in retaliation, eh?"

Lisle says, "Aye, that is the truth. But you know Alyssan? I don't like a man like that. A man that is so full of himself he sees fit to lie to others about a woman he hardly knows. I'm not afraid of either of them now, though. I don't think there's anyone can force me to do anything. Well, almost noone." Blue shakes his head, making reins jingle, pulling on the bit.

"Jeffrey is all ego." There's a note of what might be regret in the tone, all but overshadowed by irritation. "It's true, dearest - " Alix's glance is brief, amused, affectionate. "You are going to be very, very difficult indeed to push around." The wide road leading to Arden is busy with carts, horses and pedestrians this close to the City, and the two horses weave in and out of traffic with casual ease.

"It's about time, is all I can say. And Alyssan, do you remember we spoke of me sort of training with you? I mean for battles? I think we should pursue it. I once heard a rumor, a myth, that our cousin Joshua and his brother Dwight could not be beaten. Let them say the two daughters of Eric, when pressed, would never fall. Not that I want to be like them. They were all violence and had no moral fiber." And as the sisters approach the edges of the country, some people start waving to Lisle in particular, as if they know her. Lisle asides to Alix, "This turn off there is where I usually stop to water Blue -- tis the road that leads up to the observatory. I should like a trump of that place sometime."

"Moral fiber is overrated. We seem to scrape by despite." Alix chuckles softly, her glance flicking across Lisle's acquaintances as they pass now and again. "I can teach you a few things, Lisilka. What would serve us both well is long practice to find one another's strengths and weaknesses - we would do best complimenting each other, I think, and it would work well. We would not make a pair of powerhouses like Dwight and Joshua."

Lisle says, "I agree. Further, what I can do will depend on where we are. I understand we may change things to suit us, but if we go against our kin they will try the same. But sorcery, now, this I might use on our behalf. You need to know the breadth of things I can do, and what I cannot do. And I need to see what's needed and what isn't." As if she has no idea whatsoever.

Alix rides in silence a while, frowning in thought as the shade of Arden closes in around both mounts. "Do you know how to craft items of power, Lisle?" she murmurs at length. "I lack the art, and though I can find craftsmen in plenty, I know that works from the hands of Amber's scions are different. More potent, somehow. Besides, it would please me to have something with a bit of your skill poured into it." She flashes a merry wink. "I could make it worth your while."

Lisle says, "Oh sister, I do. What's more, I have known this art for a least 5 years, though I've only recently become competent. Of course, Uncle Brand has been my guide through the arts. When Niccolo found my horse, I made him a pair of vambraces that could dull another's blade, converting the energy of the blow to cold. And I have offered to make something for Laurent, too. But of -course- I can make something for you. I don't need payment of any kind. You are my sister."" Along this path, Blue tries to break into a canter, but Lisle holds him back. His whithers shudder for want of it.

"Brand." Alix shakes her head with a wry chuckle, and eyes Blue, amused. "I would love that, Lise, count on it. Perhaps while we're in Novosibersk we'll look for materials?" Tempest tosses her great head impatiently, tack jangling. "We are near enough to the edge of the Real that you could try touching on Shadow, dearest. Shall we let them loose and see what they can do?"

"We can. Would you like better armor? I'm trying to craft something magical for Laurent, too, but there needs to be a way to test if sorcery works well or ill wherever you're at." At Alix's suggestion she gives a little lift of her eyebrows and gives Blue his reins. His canter is a burst. Lisle's hood falls back. But its also pretty clear Lisle is enjoying this as much as the horse. He is beautiful to watch, and probably useless in a battle.

Tempest sounds a challenge - all but bugling, a deep and surprising sound that is hardly like a horse's at all - and she launches into a matching canter, in hot pursuit of the swift Blue. Alix laughs in surprise and pleasure, giving up on the conversastion, and with a whoop she leans over Tempest's arched and straining neck.

Blue's tail is high, long and black with tendrils like silk. Perhaps he's not good around fighting, and doesn't know how to fight himself, but he might be good for a fast getaway. Especially if he could jump a fence or two on the way. No fences in sight, though, he turns his head to glance back at Tempest periodically. After some time like this, he slows to a trot then a walk, tired from the sprint.

That Tempest doesn't entirely catch up does not seem to be entirely a matter of speed...she is alongside Blue in an instant once he slows, apparently tireless, chewing for an absent moment on her bit as she eyes the slimmer horse. Alix is breathless with laughter. "Monsters, both of them. Armor, hm? Are you sure I'll ever have a use for the stuff? At the rate we're going...." The air has gradually acquired more of a nip, gusty little breezes rattling bare branches.

"Monsters," Lisle agrees, equally out of breath /and/ rumpled, her hair a bit wild. "As for armor, I don't know. I know dad is being silly, but I don't think he's ever going to change. Does it change who you are? Does it change your talents? I don't think so. I think he wishes I wasn't a sorceress, too. But there you go." She pauses for another few fine breaths. "Let him think we are somehow at once his little girls and at once independent, at once a sorceress and a general. Let him not see it if he doesn't like. The fact is, when the chips are down he was glad to have us both."

Alix says dryly, "I don't know if we're fortunate or not that we are daughters. Personally I prefer it. Some lingering curse seems to hang about his boys...even Anselm, though less so. Armor might do." She lays a hand absently along Tempest's neck. "We could practice and learn a few things while we're at Novosibersk, perhaps? Do you need special materials?"

Lisle says, "Aye, I think we are lucky to be Eric's daughters. If he is blind to what we are, that is better than pushing us away like he has our brothers. And," with a little sigh, "I miss Anselm. I fear Panzer is going to break his heart." She adjusts the reins a little, touch gentle, before turning to smile at Alix, "Yes, we should do a few things in Novosibersk before going to try to find Desdinova. I was thinking after we find sufficient guard to satsify your ideas of what that might be, that maybe we should walk to some shadow past earth, bunkerk down there, lock it up tight, then begin the search." And, after a breath, "The materials depend on what I make for you. And that will take some thought and discussion between us."

Alix says softly, "I don't know what will happen with Anselm and Panzer." She sits quite straight in the saddle, frowning out at the landscape, which appears gradually more in the grip of winter. "We'll talk. Once we get there. It seems we have a fair amount to go over."

Lisle is not trying to shift shadow at all, this because of course she hasn't /been/ to this place, ever. But she is watching Alix, studying the surroundings. "Aye. We do. But just to get you started thinking about what you might like, let me tell you that I'm not /too/ bad at illusion. Aye, Alix, if I was standing beside you I maybe could make your army look twice its size."

Alix chuckles in soft surprise. "Interesting. Not necessarily a tactic I would use," she teases. "But interesting. To be honest I hate leading armies on the ground - it's a messy sort of warfare. Air support is my preference. Alas, it's not an option in Amber."

Lisle says, "It's something I know little about, but still, some illusions are easier than others. I just cannot imagine what would be useful. On a smaller scale, and provided we were in a place where sorcery works, I could make you a sphere or cube that when tossed, releases clouds of bees or flies."

"We shall have to think on this," Alix murmurs, increasingly pensive. "I like the way your mind works. As you know, having Sorcery be effective is sometimes just a matter of exercising one's will." Tempest, and Blue behind her, crunches along a shallow rise dusted with snow and crusted thinly with ice; her hooves bite through to black earth below.

Lisle says, "Aye. I have to practice changing things in shadow. Practice keeping it fixed while I finished hung spells. Though it might be better to hang them off conjured items. It must work out like wards work." She also seems pensive, but all for the thinking." Blue, satisfied with his run earlier, is now looking about the countryside with too much interest.

"You'll get used to it." Alix chuckles; the trees are growing darker, deciduous threaded in among pines, all the branches shining and heavy with a coating of glittering ice. The skies threaten snow; stiff little gusts pull at fur and at manes. There is, briefly, a sense of eyes upon the pair. "I wish I'd been of more use with spells - I know nothing of magic, something for which Mother upbraids me at every opportunity."

"Does she? I have often wondered what my mother would have thought. I wish I'd paid closer attention to her when I was younger. But I was so busy learning I hardly remember her. But you shouldn't let your mother's upbraiding bother you. One must follow one's heart, and yours is special."

Alix rumbles softly. "Mother wants me for her Heir, and there are certain things expected. Among them a willingness to leave Amber behind." She shakes her head, and gently urges Tempest to a trot. "Come on." The wind is rising, the cold more profound, felt down to the bones despite fur and woollens. "It's not so far." The hooves of both horses bite through a deepening crust of snow to some solid surface below.

Lisle says, "But you won't leave Amber behind will you?" Lisle's voice holds an earnest concern that this might be the case. "You have family in both places. And while the shdow of your ships and light is among themost beautiful, richest that I have ever seen, I think I would miss Amber in all her glory." Lisle urges Blue to a trot, good thing, too, for his eyes are turning a bit wild. Spooked.

"No, I think not." Alix's voice is pitched to carry clearly. "Stay on my heels, Lise! We are nearly there!" Tempest snorts, leaning into the wind, and launches into a ground-eating gallop. The snow, a ribbon of crystal white between the cathedral arches of tall dark trees, marks a clear path; a flash of grey indicates a rabbit dashing across the path, and the pursuing fox is a glint of yellow eyes for a bare instant.

You don't have to ask Lisle twice to run. She urges Blue to a canter, his blackness a streek against the snow, a bullet to the dark barrel of the tall dark trees. He sees the rabbit and makes a little kick, but this is nothing to unseat Lisle who is used to such high spirited animals. Lisle is smiling despite her eyes squint from the cold wind and the occaisional spray of icecrystals from Blue's fore hooves.

There is a strange silence upon the world - the blanket of snow muffles much, and it is as though the rhythm of hoofbeats is all that exists. Alix and Tempest lead the way. Together they are like icy ghosts gliding with strange and silent power upon the road, arrow-straight through the darkening woods. Time seems to dilate slightly. It is less than half an hour before Alix touches the rein. "There," calling out clearly, sweeping out an arm to indicate the buildings scattered deep amid the trees, and the beginnings of a settlement.

Lisle draws up beside Alix, then reins in a little so she may look where Alix points. Steam pours out of horse nostrils, horse mouths while chests heave from the run. Lisle's breath frosts too in the cold wintery air. "This is the shadow of Alaric's birth?" A long front leg comes out, inky black, a glistening hoove pawing fresh snow. Blue is still restless despite the ride.

"This is the place, aye. There's a Castle - " She gestures, and ahead through the trees an outcropping of cold stone is visible, crowned with shining stone and minarets of paint and gilt. The spires glitter despite the cotton-grey quality of the light. "Home. Alaric's kinsmen patrol the place. We'll be seeing them soon enough...they've certainly seen us."

There is a settling of Lisle's shoulders, a brilliant smile that comes unbidden into this relaxation just as Blue startles for certain, his whinny showing that yes, he saw something off to one side. Lisle has no problem staying ahorse, head fixed upon the trees even while Blue circles frantically beneath her. She finally scolds him, "It's only a rock, placed just in your line of sight you big brute, placed there by the evil horse god to frighten poor unsuspecting beasts." Blue stops his circling but he paws the snow, completely on edge.

Alix says softly, "It's probably the Weir. They scent like wolves." She urges Tempest to a walk; the wind picks up, blowing snow so that it stings the skin. "We'd best get in. The Palace is plenty comfortable, and I am eager to shed these furs."

Lisle's voice is velvet, soothing the highstrung horse in a manner that suggests she has done this many times before with him. She and Blue follow in the wake of Alix and Tempest. It's only after a few minutes at least she says, "It must be the wolves. No horse cares for wolves. A gloved hand reaches back, pushing the white fur hood back up to its place. Lisle is starting to get cold.

"Such a temper he has," Alix teases, having to raise her voice over the wind. There are a few shadows in the settlement - not many, the sensible are already inside - but once the two horses come up to the elaborate Palace gates, two dark-haired men in trim wool coats come to take the reins and greet the Tsarina in low calm voices. "Come on, Lise, it's downright frigid out here and I think we're in for a long stretch of snow."

"Aye, he does, but I love him anyway. Alix, he will go over those seven-eight foot jumps and all for /me/." Lisle gives the men a curious glance but she does not let them take Blue without reaching for her sword first, and one of the saddle bags. "They will understand to take care of him and beware of hooves I take it?" Oh yes, Lisle noticed the way the amber grooms respected Tempest.

"They understand horses, dearling. They will be careful." Alix draws her gloved hand along Tempest's nose, murmuring in some language that soothes the great mare or at least convinces her to behave. "Come on inside, Lise. The hearth will be roaring and we'll have vodka to warm the bones."

Lisle walks beside Alix, satisfied about her horse. The other things she holds under her arm, sword included. Boots make a path in what snow there is, unless the path has been cleared. "Both sound good. How long has it been since you've been here?"

Alix pushes back her hood with a sigh. "A year? No, less than that, though not much less." A great door is drawn open for the two women and a rush of warmer air welcomes them within. The Palace is graceful, clean and white, ornamented with giltwork and polychrome painted images of serene-faced knights with their ladies. One or two of the images bear a passing semblance to Alix.

Lisle walks beside Alix, shorter certainly. She takes off gloves one finger at a time, made all the more difficult because of the sword and the saddle bag. The sapphire shines at her throat, and that sapphire pendant, blue in the silver starburst, shines below, against the textured smokey grey of her gown. "I always wondered. I guess I finally feel like, you know, that dad trusts me. I mean, since he's allowed me to come here with you."

Alix eases hands out of her own gloves and tucks them into her belt. She nudges the hood back with a sigh; her hair is still sleekly braided but a few strands have worked loose to cling to her brow. "I'd have brought you at any time, but it is well you know where it is. This is our refuge, should we need it. Our haven. Remember that should things go sour."

Lisle says, "You mean for our father?" Her own hand comes fingers through her hair, which, for the ride, had been wound in a knot at the nape of her neck. Now its all undone and wild. She remarks, "Alyssan are those images of you?"

"For all of us. Aye - " Alix chuckles, glancing to one of the icons. "Some of them are. There's a legend here, resting upon Father like a crown; he is a God of sorts. I am his daughter. Which sticks me in an odd position. I have never been entirely comfortable with it, but these are good people, and they are quite patient with my periodic visits."

Lisle says, "I see. I guess I should not be surprised that someone thinks he is a God. When sometimes /I/ think so too," she flashes another smile at that as eyes roam over the palace. "Sometime you should speak to me of these legends. Father did tell me these people would bare their throats to protect us. I was afraid they might not find the younger so fair as the elder."

Alix snorts in soft amusement and reaches out to clasp her sister's shoulder. "You are my blood; you are my sister and a great lady here, I assure you." She flashes a wink. "In fact, the moment the folk got wind of your existence, they began to make all manner of preparations. You will see."

Lisle laughs warmly at this, eyes a little shy m aybe but hopeful. "I just hate to be a disappointment. I know I often am. I guess I'm getting used to it now, anyway. Will my quarters be near your own?" She lowers her voice, "Sir Alaric was sometimes alarming."

"You are no disappointment." Alix's tone brooks no argument. "Come, up here - " The staircase is sweeping, carpeted in richly patterned crimson; though there are few windows light from the many lamps is plentiful. "Alaric is alarming for a reason, Lisilka, it's his job!"

Lisle walks up the stairs beside Alix, and while she gawks at everything she nearly misses a step, but not to worry, her poise keeps her steady. "I know he is, but Unicorn, Alix, I saw him skin and eat a rat once," she makes a little grimace.

Alix quirks brows. "Must have been hungry," she teases softly. "He is a feral creature. Such is the nature of wolves, and remember that they -are- wolves...not men." She dips her head to a lithe young woman, who murmurs greeting and moves on ahead down the vaulted hall to open a pair of doors.

Lisle says, "You mean they're not both?" But once the young woman apears, Lisle quiest her voice, only smiling and, now, holding her saddle bag and her sword to her chest. It sticks out at an odd angle.

"Mostly the former," Alix murmurs, and leads the way to the first of the opened doors.

End of Scene