Just as he was about to begin again, Stefen spotted someone coming toward the little group on a wagon-road that bisected the grove of trees. He was moving slowly, and as he neared, Stef could see why; he was carrying two heavy baskets on a pole over his shoulders. A farmworker, then, not someone coming to look for himself or Treesa, and nothing to concern them.
He continued to exchange news of the Court with Treesa, while the other ladies leaned closer to listen, but there was something about the man that vaguely bothered him, though he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He watched the stranger draw closer out of the corner of his eye and could not figure out what it was about the man that gave him uneasy feelings.
Certainly none of the others seemed to think there was anything out of the ordinary about him. They ignored him as completely as if he didn't exist.
Then - I thought Treesa said that no one works out here at this time of year. So what's he doing out here?
He took a second, longer look at the stranger, and realized something else. Something far more alarming.
The man's clothing was of high quality-actually better than Stef's own Bard uniform.
What is that peasant doing dressed like that?
The feeling of wrongness suddenly peaked, and Stefen reacted instinctively, flinging himself at Treesa and her chair and knocking both to the ground.
Just in time, for something small, and with a deadly feel to it whizzed over both their heads, cutting the air precisely where Treesa had been sitting -
Vanyel leaned out over the edge of the balustrade. The granite was warm and rough under his hands; solid, and oddly comforting. I want solid things around me, he thought slowly. So much of my life is in flux - so much depends on luck and the things others do. I'd really like to have one point of stability; something I could always depend on.
Or someone. . . .
The balustrade overlooked nothing; bushes were planted right up against it with trees beyond them, and had been allowed to grow until they blocked whatever view there might have been. With trees on all three open sides and the wall of the keep behind him, the porch wasn't good for much except the occasional lounger.
Sun beat down on Vanyel's head, warming him even though his Whites were reflecting most of the heat away. He stood so quietly that the little yellow-and-black birds that nested year-round in the branches of the bushes resumed the chatter he'd disturbed when he came out onto the porch, and actually began flitting to sit on the balustrade beside him.
:Brooding again, are we?:
He blinked, and came out of his nebulous thoughts. Yfandes was below him, barely visible through the thick branches of the bushes, a kind of white shape amid the green.
:I suppose you could call it brooding,: he admitted. :It's about -:
:Stefen, of course,: she interrupted. :I thought you'd probably had enough time to stew over it and make your insides knot up.:
:Huh.: He raised an eyebrow :Dead in the black. Am I that predictable?:
:On some topics, yes. And I expect by now you've laid to rest the fact that you're lifebonded, and that he really does love you on top of that. And that you love him. So what is it that's turning you inside out?:
He sighed, and looked up at the clouds crossing the cerulean sky. :Danger, love. To him, and to me. To me, because he can be used as a hostage against me. To him, because he's going to be in harm's way as soon as it's obvious we're a pairing. I don't know that I can afford that kind of liability, and I don't know that it's right to put him at that kind of risk.:
Yfandes withdrew for a moment. :Well, as to the first - he's assigned to Haven, and a very valuable commodity, even with the Healers learning how to duplicate what he does. They still have to be in physical touch, and their subject responds best if both parties are in a trance. Try conducting negotiations that way, and see how far it gets you!:
He chuckled at the mental image that called to mind.
:So far, Stefs the only answer to keeping Randi on his feet and functioning when he's in pain,: she continued. :And as such, he'll have the best guards in Haven. And as for your second question - Stefen's a grown man. Why don't you ask him if he's willing to take the risks that come with being your lover?. My bet is that he's already thought about them, and accepted them as the price he pays for having you.:
He pushed away from the balustrade and folded his arms across his chest. :Do you really think so?: he asked, doubtfully.
He heard her snort in exasperation below him. :Of course I think so, I wouldn't have said it otherwise! You know I can't lie mind-to-mind!:
He felt comforted by her matter-of-fact attitude, and by her solid presence. No matter what happened, no matter what went wrong in his life, 'Fandes was always there for him. It made all of this a little easier-
In a single moment, the feeling of comfort vanished, to be replaced by one of immediate danger. All his internal alarms shrilled, and without a second thought, he leaped the balustrade and crashed through the intertwined bushes to land in a crouch at Yfandes' side.
She felt it, too - they were so closely linked she couldn't have ignored it. In the next second he had vaulted onto her back -
She evidently had signals of her own, for she plunged forward through the undergrowth, aimed toward the orchards, as soon as he was securely on her back. That gave him a direction: he clamped his legs around her barrel and twined his fingers in her mane, and invoked FarSight and Mage-Sight together.
Magic -
Strong, controlled, and near at hand.
Dear gods - his mind screamed. The pear orchard!
'Fandes leaped the hedge surrounding the gardens-they hurtled through, her hooves tearing great gouts of turf from the lawns - she leaped the second hedge on the other side and flew into the orchard.
Women were screaming at the tops of their lungs, and scattering in all directions - not with any great success, at least not the highborn. Their heavy skirts encumbered them, and they fell as much as they ran. The serving maids had already hiked their dresses above their knees and taken to the dubious shelter of tree trunks. Cushions were tumbled every which way, and the air was full of feathers where one or two of them had burst.
It was obvious whom they were fleeing, as a brown-clad stranger with his back to Vanyel and Yfandes raised his hands above his head.
A mage - and his target was equally obvious. Treesa and Stef lay sprawled helplessly just before him, and Van felt the gathering forces of energy as the mage prepared to strike them where they lay.