Mickey Reichert - Flight of the Renshai

Tae's chest tightened. He did not want to think about his son right now, could not afford the emotions it would raise.*Of course. But differently.* *Exactly!*

As Tae had no idea what she meant, he waited for her to explain. *Love is felt in different ways. Just because something is fast and intense doesn't make it better. In fact, sometimes that kind of knock-you-on-your-ass love wanes as quickly as it formed.*

Tae could not help contemplating the cat's words. Like Mior, Imorelda had moments of blinding insight.*You mean-?*

Imorelda did not wait to have her intentions explained to her.*I mean, when you fell for Kevral you were nineteen. Mature love, adult love, doesn't usually come in a rush of naive passion. It's cautious, slow-growing, steady. Full of thought and wonder.*

Tae wondered why he had never thought of such a thing. It certainly explained why he had never married. He was searching for that overwhelming, gut-wrenching fervor he had felt for Kevral.Yet nothing else in his life ever seemed that extreme, no decision so obvious and easy as when he had asked Kevral for her hand. He shook his head to clear it. He had no time for philosophical discussions or idle speculation.*Thank you for the insight, Imorelda, as well as for saving my life. If you would, please, go to Matrinka now. She needs someone to ease her soul over my decision. She needs to know I'm all right here.*

Imorelda made a sneezing sound from the darkness that displayed her displeasure.*Are you all right? I'd hate to lie to a queen.*

Since her only positive form of communication with others was rubbing and purring, Imorelda could hardly be considered a liar.*I'm fine. I promise not to get within reach of either of them again.* *Or do anything to provoke the guards?*

Tae did not currently intend such a deed, though he could not rule it out if circumstances demanded it.*Or that either,* he promised, not nearly as concerned about telling the truth as putting the cat at ease. She distracted him from a job he wanted finished as swiftly as possible, for his own good as well as Bearn's.

Tae did not hear Imorelda leave, but he felt certain she had done so. With a sigh, he curled up on the cold, hard floor of his cell and pretended to sleep.

On his sixth day in the Bearnian dungeon, Tae found himself trundled roughly into a thick-walled interrogation room no larger than his cell. Shoved inside, he stumbled. He could have caught his balance but did not bother, instead easing his tumble onto the solid stone floor. The guards did not need to know the full range of his dexterity, nor did he need to risk tearing muscles or ligaments. A few more bruises added to the mass seemed a much smaller price to pay.

The door slammed shut, leaving Tae in utter darkness. He lowered his head, reveling in the sudden peace and quiet, the chance to drop his guard and fully assess his person. He stank. Bruises stamped his body, the worst at his throat where the pirate had attempted to strangle him. His hair hung in tangles, and filth covered every part of him. Though once his natural state, it bothered him now. He had not felt so disgustingly vile for the latter half of his life. I'm getting too old for this.

The door winched open, admitting a beam of light. Tae remained in place, taking his cues from whoever opened the door.

Several moments passed in silence until Tae finally raised his head to see who had joined him. A tall, broad figure in a blue cloak played lantern light across him, then closed the door. "Oh, Tae," she said.

Recognizing the voice, Tae leaped to his feet and tried to look happily animated. "Matrinka. What in the name of all gods are you doing here?"

Carefully setting down the lantern, Matrinka caught Tae into a fierce embrace. "Oh, Tae," she repeated. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, but you don't want to touch me." Tae added with a smile, "I reek."

Tae's words did not put Matrinka off, though she did finally release him. "A good bath will take care of that." She ran her fingers into his hair, though they barely penetrated. "Then a combing-"

"No, Matrinka. No." Tae untwined her from the no-longer-silky black strands. "I can't come back from a torture session groomed and perfumed."

She hugged him again, speaking wistfully and with clear personal pain. "Must you go back?"

"Yes." Tae's answer left no room for argument. He had not accomplished nearly as much as he had hoped. "One thing I wouldn't mind, though, is getting out of small, enclosed places."

"Of course." Matrinka let go. She swished off her cloak and placed it lovingly over Tae. While he adjusted the sleeves and hood to hide his features, Matrinka scooped up the lantern and opened the door.

Swiftly, they walked down a corridor that did not take them past any prisoners, out of the dungeon proper, and into the torchlight of the main castle passages. Something brushed against Tae's leg, then twisted to twine along the other one, stealing his equilibrium. Tae hopped, stumbled, and barely caught his balance.

Matrinka steadied him. "Are you all right?"

Tae looked down to see Imorelda purring up at him.*Watch your feet, you oaf.You nearly crushed me,* she accused.

Tae responded to both of them, "Imorelda tried to break my legs." *I did not!*

"She can talk," Tae added conspiratorially to the only person who knew it. "You'd think she'd warn me before doing something stupid." *I shouldn't have to warn you. And claiming you is my right, not 'something stupid.'*

"Mior used to do that, too," Matrinka said wistfully. "I miss that."

"You miss having your legs broken?" Tae shook a head lost beneath the folds and hood of his cloak. "The day I miss that, you have permission to kill me."

Matrinka snorted. "Killing you would be easy. It's keeping you alive that drives us near to madness." She ushered him into one of the first-floor meeting rooms.

Tae stepped around her and into an enormous room filled with plush chairs and a single large table with smaller, harder seats around it. King Griff rose to face the door, his bodyguards, Rantire and Bard Darris, at attention beside him. The room's only other occupants were the ubiquitous silent page in one corner and a couple of cats lounging in the most comfortable chairs.

What caught Tae's attention, though, was a steaming plate of food on the table. The aromas of real meat, baked bread, and freshly cooked vegetables twined across the room, overwhelming even his own stench; and Tae found himself walking toward it before he could think to practice the decorum a king's presence demanded.

Luckily for Tae, he was also a king and among friends who did not require formality. Darris bowed low; Rantire afforded him a respectful, though grudging, nod. King Griff merely smiled in happy welcome. Either from her usual concern, or to cover his rudeness, Matrinka ushered Tae swiftly to the table. "Eat, eat!"

Tae took his place at the head of the table, seizing a fork and shoving the first piece into his mouth without bothering to identify it. It was a tuber, buttered and seasoned, and the taste seemed to explode as he bit into it. Flavor washed through his mouth, so intense it overwhelmed his other senses. He chewed happily as the rest of the world faded in comparison.

Griff sat at the opposite end of the table, while his guards took the chairs on either side of him. Matrinka placed herself beside Darris, at Tae's right hand. Only the seat across from her remained vacant, at least until Imorelda claimed it as a stepping stone to the table and Tae's feast. * Gimme, gimme, gimme!*

Lost in his personal heaven, Tae could not have stopped Imorelda from taking whatever she wished. The cat hooked a piece of meat, pulled it toward her, and grabbed it with her teeth.