by K. E. Young
That required a little thought. It meshed with some of the myths around the world so I couldn't dismiss the idea. Which meant I couldn't discount the idea of a Goddess either. That fit too though. Most of the world's cultures originally worshipped a mother goddess or included one in their pantheon.
Which left me with a whole lot of questions about how all this happened. Mero had mentioned Lady Sara was a mage, which implied that magic existed.
Pieces clicked together in my mind and I gulped the last of my wine. "That's how the boats traveled so fast, isn't it? Magic."
He smiled a little and nodded affirmation.
I sighed. I suddenly felt a lot more tired than I had a few moments ago. "It seems I have a whole lot more than etiquette to learn. Magic is not a part of my world and I have to wonder if it's added to the science of my own world, or replaces it, and to what degree. It might be a good idea if I were to get a briefing on what magic is, what it can do, its limitations, and how to recognize it."
He nodded again and leaned forward to refill my cup. "Yes. We also must test you for the ability. Most Aria Atlani, have at least some ability. The more intelligent the person, the greater the chance they have the ability and the greater the ability itself. You appear to be extremely intelligent, so chances are high.
"I don't know if the fact you come from a world without magic would affect that or not. Lady Sara came from such a world as well so while it's possible you have no ability whatsoever, the probability is high that you do. If so, I'll arrange for lessons, it can be dangerous if you can't control the ability."
"Since 'fractal' is a word in my language, I'd say the chances she and I come from the same place are high. Sara is a common name there. It means 'princess' in Hebrew if I recall correctly. Aria Atlani? You mentioned the name earlier." I had no clue what that meant. His phrasing implied he and I had more in common than friendship and hair color.
His eyes twinkled. "Princess would fit since she married Prince Shalatu Kaio. All of the descendants of Atlan are all the children of Atlan, even if they went to other havens. Aria Atlani in the old tongue. The Goddess works with her own children, never any others. If she brought you here then you are Aria Atlani."
I didn't understand quite how I could be hers when I didn't believe in any god but chose not to interrupt. People get funny about religion sometimes.
"So what does Kendra mean?"
I blinked and flushed with embarrassment. "It means prophetess or knowledge, depending on the source. There's also an alternate breakdown. Ken, meaning royal obligation combined with Sandra meaning protector of man."
He raised a brow and his lips twitched like he was suppressing a laugh. He was kind enough to refrain from commenting though.
"Those native to this world are Ansoren, Dogaren, or Arboren depending on what breed they are. All three breeds are shorter and broader than we are. Dogaren are dark with silver or gray hair and gray or black eyes, the Arboren have pale golden skin with blood red to orange hair, and the Ansoren are pale with bleached gold to light or gray-brown hair. Aria Atlani and the natives of this world cannot mix their blood so spotting those of Aria Atlani blood isn't too difficult. There may be other breeds elsewhere that we haven't met though."
So… very distant relatives, but how distant? "How long ago was Atlan destroyed?"
"Somewhat less than four thousand years ago by our reckoning. The evacuation of Atlan was three-thousand-eight-hundred-sixty-six years ago. However, our scholars claim time does not necessarily flow the same between the havens, so the only place we can be certain that timespan applies to is this world."
Huh. Physics was never my best subject but as a librarian, I had some idea of how freaky and convoluted cosmology was getting as the scientists looked into the fabric of reality. That was a rabbit hole I wasn't prepared to wander down. Ever. What little I already knew made my head hurt.
I ran my fingers through the hair on top of my head and sipped at my wine. "I'm not a complicated person. What you see is what you get. Coming here, things have gotten a lot more complicated. That's a big change for me. I'm afraid it'll take me awhile to get used to all of this. I hope you can be patient with me."
He smiled in sympathy. "In all honesty, you're handling this much better than I expected. Besides, you are hardly the first Nakairu I've met. One of the other dragonlords here in Vallen is himself a Nakairu.
"The scholars aren't so sure of that designation though. No task has ever presented itself for him. He is also the first Nakairu to manifest a dragon. They theorize he descended from a dragonkin taken as a Nakairu to his world and the Goddess brought him here because his dragon would not thrive there without his own kind." He shrugged.
"His name is Dantalion and over the years he has worked his way up to become Lord of the Army here. You'll like him. His colors are red and black. I'll introduce him when he arrives in the capital. Part of the reason I was out handling those Karthim raiders is he was off hunting the bandits plaguing our north-western trade routes."
"And from what I saw of the city coming in today, trade is important."
"Trade is always important if a land and its people are to prosper, but we are more prosperous than our neighbors so we seem to get more bandits, particularly to the north."
Something felt wrong about that. "Interesting. My understanding is that bandits are most common in less prosperous areas, not more. Are you sure they're bandits? What is the relationship with the country to the north?"
He laughed. "North-west specifically. I personally am sure they are not bandits, at least, not in the usual sense. You're right, our relationship with Marin is strained, but they don't dare attack openly. Marin is one of the last refuges of the Arboren. That's part of the reason the army is hunting these bandits. I've sent along… helpers. I expect to have a clearer idea of what's going on soon. If it's warranted, I'll send specialists across the border to reduce their willingness to support banditry."
"Sabotage or assassination?"
He gave a sly smile. "If one doesn't work I'll use the other. I haven't decided which will come first though. It depends on what we learn." His smile broadened. "The fact you didn't even blink at that tells me we'll work well together." He paused with a thoughtful expression. "I've had problems finding a capable adjutant because too many of those I can trust to remain quiet either can't handle the realities of the position or don't have the ability."
Mine was a pragmatic soul. "Sometimes the greater good requires cleaning up sewage. No one wants to clean it up, but it's still a necessity. It's best to get it done before the smell gets worse or it spreads disease." I smiled.
Mero chuckled. "Well phrased." He downed the remains of his wine. "It is late and tomorrow promises to be a busy day. We'll continue this tomorrow in my office after breakfast. I'm sure you can find it." He escorted me out to the hallway and bid me good night.
I took quite some time to get to sleep afterward. He had given me a lot to think about, not the least of which was how I would handle working for a man I was rapidly developing a major crush on, schoolgirl flutters and all. I'm twenty-five years old dammit. I'm too old for this nonsense.
Chapter 4
Day 5: 43rd Day of Sanctuary, 3866
I woke up at dawn when the sun attacked my eyes with an icepick. Sunshine is wonderful, but not directly into the brain like that. I cleaned up, dressed, and went down to the dining room. Mero was there working his way through some of the oatmeal stuff.
"You look tired."
I groaned. "Mornings start too damned early." He looked amused at my tone. "I slept fine once I fell asleep last night. It just took me an excessive amount of time to do it. Then, the sun viciously attacked me this morning. I swear it was using an icepick and a mallet." My tablemates laughed at this.
"To be honest, the day feels a little longer than the one I'm used to and my body hasn't adjusted yet. It was just after midnight for me when the Goddess dropped me into this world at dawn. I had been awake for most of
two days by the time I met you. My body still thinks the middle of the night here is late afternoon to early evening."
"Ah. That explains it. You still haven't caught up yet.
That wasn't the only reason I was tired. It had been a rough few days despite the rest time on the boat and I hadn't had time to recover yet. Jet lag, staying up late, and broken sleep did not help but complaints wouldn't help anyone and I wasn't about to tell him about the dreams that had woken me from sleep. They had starred him and had been too graphic for my peace of mind. I had tried to relieve my frustration but it wasn't enough. Working with my new boss would be problematic until I got over my little crush.
He finished up long before I did. "Don't forget. My office when you're done."
"Yes, sir!" Mero grinned and left.
The warrior sitting next to me was a sharp-featured blonde with light brown eyes I recognized from the boat ride. "Hello again, I noticed during the fight with the Karthim that you're good with a knife. I didn't know you could be that effective against a sword with one. Are you willing to teach me? I would have asked on the boat, but…"
I laughed. He was right. Lack of a common language makes something like this conversation difficult. "Good morning, Takas. I don't see why not. Mero wants me to teach Koris so I may as well teach you while I'm at it. I'll warn you, I'm very strict when I teach."
He waved that off. "I'd rather have a strict, but effective weapons teacher than a kind, but ineffective one. I have to get to my duties but I'll see you later at practice. If you have any questions, my rooms are the ones to the left of yours." He flashed a boyish grin. "Oh, if things ever get too loud just pound on the door."
He was good-looking and the ladies he passed eyed him appreciatively so I had a good idea why he might get loud. I just hoped that the walls were as thick as they looked.
When I had finished, I made a quick trip back to my room to wash my hands and face to find someone had delivered boots and a couple uniforms while I was at breakfast. I changed and looked at my reflection in the window glass. Mero was right. Warrior gear suited me. The dark gray sleeveless tunic was of a heavy cotton-like material with a teal and gold dragon embroidered in the center of the chest. It laced up the sides to fit snugly. The seamstress had included bras and underwear in the package as well. I wound my hair up into a bun and skewered it with the carved hair stick I had been wearing when I arrived in the stone ring. If nothing else, I looked more professional now.
I high tailed it down to the second floor and asked a page for directions. This one was rotten at giving directions, but I found the office I was looking for when I recognized the warrior on guard at the door from the previous night's dinner. He nodded in recognition. "He's waiting for you. Go on in."
I squared my shoulders and strode in. Mero sat behind a messy desk with too much paperwork stacked on it, frowning at whatever he was reading. Without looking up, he told me to shut the door than waved me to a seat in front of him. I shifted a stack of papers and maps onto the floor and sat down.
I looked around the room. The windows were high on the wall and maps papered the space below. A round table with chairs sat next to the fireplace in the corner, covered in more papers. A tiny cast iron brazier sat under a steaming teapot on a stone shelf next to the fire. Additional stacks of papers and books sat on the floor next to Mero's desk. Against the wall, opposite the fireplace, was another desk, this time empty. The wall behind me bore heavy shelves on both sides of the doorway housing locking chests half the size of a footlocker. About a quarter of them were open on the shelf or stacked on the floor.
When he finished he looked up. "I wish that some of these idiots could learn to write a proper report. Some of them ramble all over the place and it's almost impossible to pick out the relevant details. If he weren't so bloody capable in other respects I'd send him back to the army." He dug a pencil out from under a pile of papers and pulled a blank piece of paper from a drawer.
Handing me his finds, he said, "Make as quick and exact a transcript of what I tell you as possible. Don't worry about missing something and don't interrupt me, just do the best you can." With that, he picked up report and read it off. I snatched a book from the floor to use as a desk and wrote as much as I could. I almost kept up with him by skipping the articles, punctuation, and some of the adjectives, and the liberal application of contractions. When he finished he had me read it back to him from my copy while he matched it to the original. He seemed quite pleased with the results.
Then he handed me more paper and asked me to summarize the report he had been reading when I came in. He was right, the writer rambled. I read it through twice before I was sure I had a handle on it. I then wrote out a summary. Once I finished, I had a half page to the original's three and a half. Bulleted. I checked it over to make sure I had missed nothing and handed it over.
Mero read it and checked that against the original. When he finished, he contemplated me. "I wish they all read like this. I had missed that last bit in Felat's report. Sure enough, it's there I had just missed it. How are you at filing?"
My heart sank. It was looking like he wanted me to be his secretary. Not my first choice but I needed a place to live and food to eat. This fit the bill and he mentioned there were the other duties. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. "I worked as a secretary to pay for college. I did a lot of filing."
"Good. The regular secretary can handle most things, but some tasks I can't let him handle. They pertain to my unofficial duties. The reports of the spies for example. In the absence of a capable adjutant or assistant, I've been handling it myself, but I've gotten behind. Most of your duties will deal with other things. I've needed someone I can trust and until now, the only ones I could trust were out of contention for other reasons." He tugged briefly on his ponytail, his eyes blank as some thought distracted him.
"Why do you have such a hard time finding someone for the position?" I figured I'd better ask while I could still get a word in.
He glanced up in surprise, attention torn from his thoughts. "Ah. I hate to admit it, but it's my fault. I'm fussy, demanding, disorganized, and difficult to work with. My faults are something I'm well aware of. You can add arrogant to that list too, I suppose, since I see no reason to change."
He was bluntly unapologetic. I could appreciate his stance since I shared it, although my list of flaws was different. I nodded acceptance of the answer and he relaxed.
"At first, you'll be just an assistant. When you become more familiar with Vallen and comfortable in the job, I'll move you into the Adjutant spot. At that point, you'll take a more active role. When I officially name you my Adjutant, I'll move you to the empty quarters adjoining mine. In time, you'll end up doing the administrative work of running the spy network while I work on analysis, extending the network, and deciding where to position the agents. It's something I badly need. I'm missing too many things. Marin's antics should never have gotten this far as an example."
He stopped and took a breath, then flashed a wry smile. "Now, you mentioned secret passages. Care to elaborate?"
Again, the quick change of subject, just like grandma. It had been unsettling with her too. "Thermin showed me the original builder's diagrams for the palace. They're fragile and a little faded, but I noticed that there were spaces between the walls with openings into some of the rooms indicated differently than the regular doorways.
"The library showed one of those openings. When I looked at the wall, I saw nothing but paneling. I saw a couple passages of this type, but it's probable there are others. I noticed last night that many of the walls are excessively thick. There's room for a narrow passage if the wall isn't solid. At least one led outside the palace."
Mero looked tired and sighed. "First duty. Go to the library and draw me a map of the secret passages. Check that entrance to the library. See if you can figure out how it opens. I want you to report back here before mid-day meal, even if you aren't done. There are some larger sheets of paper in the cupboard beh
ind you and any other supplies you might need."
I gathered what I needed and headed towards the library. As I was leaving, Mero yelled out, "Thal, Kendra will take over assistant duties. Make sure the others know she's to have full access."
Thal muttered, "It's about time," under his breath and flashed me a grin. I waved at him and headed off to the library.
Thermin was out when I arrived. Fortunately, I remembered where he stored the blueprints. I unrolled them cautiously on a table out of sight of the door. There were more passages than I had originally spotted. It took me hours to locate them all and draw good maps since some of the passages crossed multiple floors. I also did a map of the tunnels leading out of the palace with special attention placed on the landmarks of the outside exits.
When I finished, I checked out the location of the library entrance. I found that the paneling moved a little in that spot even though it didn't sound hollow. I examined the trim and surrounding floor. The trim closest to the floor to one side of the panel moved and I heard a click but the panel didn't budge. I kept looking.
It wasn't until I pressed another bit of trim at the top that the panel budged. I surmised that the first piece was a lock release for the latch. You would have to press both in the correct order to open it.
I opened it enough to examine how the door and latch worked and check the passage. The passage inside smelled stale and was full of cobwebs and dust. I opened and closed it again to make sure I had the details right before shutting it to maintain the secret.
Thermin still hadn't returned, so I carefully put the plans away and returned to Mero's office. Thal waved me through and I handed the maps to my boss.
"The door uses a two stage latch. Press and hold the first latch to release the second. The first is at the bottom right of the panel closest to the floor and the second is at the top left. The door is hinged along the top and weighted so it latches when it swings shut with a handle on the inside. It doesn't look like anyone has used it in a long time."
