:As well as I can,: she replied. :You saw.:
So, she hadn't missed what her mother had done, binding herself to her lifebonded's fate. And she wasn't blinded to Randale's condition by her love of him. There was resignation in her mind-voice, and a sadness as profound as if her parents were already gone.
:They've closed me out,: she said, in answer to the questions he couldn't bring himself to ask :They've closed everyone out except each other. Most of the time I could be a thousand miles away, for all they notice I'm there.:
:Well, I notice you're here. Come on in.:
The door behind him creaked again, and Treven looked up and smiled. Vanyel started to get up, but Jisa pushed him back down into his chair with her hands on his shoulders.
“No you don't, Uncle Van. There's enough Healer in me to know how tired you are.” She kissed him on the top of his head, and Sent :Treven doesn't know, Father. I don't see any reason why he has to :
:Thank you, dearheart.: “I won't deny you're right. Are you part of the Council now, too?”
She sat down beside Treven. “Both of us; I'm here as Mother's proxy. I have been ever since late fall.”
“And doing very well at it, too.” Jisa had left the door open, and the rest of the Council filed in, taking their usual seats. The Seneschal had said that last, and he stopped on the way to his seat at the head of the table, pausing with his hands on the back of Jisa's chair. His inflection told Vanyel he meant the compliment; there was nothing paternalistic or condescending in his voice. “I frankly don't know what we would have done without her earlier this fall; We had a situation with someone who claimed to be a high-ranking Karsite refugee. We suspected his motives, but he was shielded against casual Thought-sensing, and we didn't want to tip our hands by probing him. We badly needed someone whose Gift was Empathy -”
“But Mother was exhausted and in any case, wouldn't leave Father,” Jisa said matter-of-factly. “So I went. He was a spy for the Prophet, sent to see if we were giving aid to their mages. It's hard to mistake fanatic devotion for anything else.”
“That was when we put her on the Council,” the Seneschal said, taking his seat. “And that brings us around to the Karsite situation.”
The situation, so Seneschal Arved told them, was stalemate. The followers of the Prophet had won, and were consolidating their victory. As yet they had shown no signs of resuming the war the previous regime had begun - but they had also been probing to see if Valdemar had been aiding mages, or were offering aid to those who continued to evade the “witchfinders.”
“They're just looking for an excuse to start things up again when they're ready,” said the representative for the South, Lord Taving, with a sour grimace.
“I'm inclined to agree,” Vanyel's father replied. “You know what they say: 'Nothing comes out of Karse but brigands and bad weather.' Whether they say their cause is for their god or for their greed, the Karsites always have been robbers and always will be.”
Lord Taving looked gratified to find someone who shared his basic feelings toward Karse. “The only problem is, we're still in no shape to fight a war,” he said, “or at least that's my understanding.”
“You are correct, my lord,” the Lord Marshal said. “Thanks to Vanyel's suggestions, we haven't had to resort to conscription, but our new Guards are still green as new leaves, and if faced with troops of seasoned fanatics they wouldn't stand a chance.”
“And why aren't they ready?” asked Guildmaster Jumay. “Zado knows we pay enough in taxes!”
“Largely because we've already lost more men to this war with Karse than in the whole of Elspeth's reign!” the Lord Marshal shot back heatedly.
“Which is why the treaty Vanyel brought back from Rethwellan is vital,” the Seneschal said, pouncing on the opportunity to introduce the subject.
The rest of the Councillors - who had not been at the Audiences - reacted according to their natures. Lord Taving was not inclined to trust anything South of Valdemar's Border. Withen wanted to know where the catch was. The Lord Marshal heaved an audible sigh of relief, until he realized the thing included a mutual assistance pact.
Vanyel explained the details of the treaty at length until his head ached, pointing out the ones Randale had requested and the ones he had gotten inserted. They finally agreed that it was an excellent treaty as it stood - which was just as well, since Randale had already signed it.
When they finally let him go, it was clear that they were already preparing for Randale's death and a period in which Treven would be just one of the Council when it came to decision-making. Which was a good idea - but it brought home the fact that Randi's days were numbered, and probably less than a year.
He returned to his room very depressed, and paused outside the door for a moment to think where Stefen might be.
Then the door opened under his hand -
“I'm glad you're back,” Stef said simply, and took his hand to pull him inside.
Fourteen
Stefen had been waiting for Van ever since the Audience session ended. He'd come straight to Vanyel's room once Randale had been put to bed. He'd had a page bring food and wine, and had gotten everything set up exactly like the supper he'd had with Vanyel the first night the Herald had brought him to this room. Except tonight he expected the end of the evening to be somewhat different.
He'd known Van was expected back at any time, but no one had been able to tell him exactly when the Herald would arrive, so he'd been as nervous and excited as a kid waiting for Festival for the past week.
When Van had made his presentation at the Audiences, even though he'd been in trance, Stef had known he was there. He had thought his heart was going to pound itself to pieces with joy. To stay in trance until Randale had no further need of him had been the hardest thing Stefen had ever done.
“I'm glad you're back,” Stefen said simply, letting his voice tell Vanyel exactly how glad he really was. “I've missed you.” He reached behind Vanyel and closed the door.
“I've missed you,” Vanyel said, then unexpectedly pulled the Bard into his arms for an embrace with more of desperation in it than passion. Stef just held him, not entirely sure what had prompted the action, but ready to give Vanyel whatever he needed. Behind him, the fire crackled and popped, punctuating the silence.
Finally Van let him go. “I was afraid once I was gone you'd find someone who suited you better,” he said hoarsely.
“We've lifebonded,” Stef reminded him, pulling the Herald into the room and getting him to sit in the chair nearest the fireplace. “How could I find anybody who suited me better than that? That's not something that goes away just because there's some distance between us.”
Vanyel laughed weakly. “I know, I was being stupid. It's just that in the middle of the night, when you're leagues and leagues away from me, it's hard to see why you'd choose to stay with me.” Stefen reached for the food since Van was ignoring it, and poured some wine for him.
“You're still being stupid,” Stef said, and put bread and cheese in one hand, and a mug of hot mulled wine in the other. “Eat. Relax. I love you. There, see? Everything's all right.” He sat in the chair opposite Vanyel, and glared at him until he took a bite.