James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

"Whether we can talk to each other, we still can't really say anything," Tarrin reasoned. "They could be listening with magic."

"True, but Jervis won't think it unusual if he sees me talking with you," she said.

"Who's Jervis?" Tarrin asked.

"The man my father sent to watch me," she replied. "He looks like a completely ridiculous fop, but Jervis is one of my father's best spies and diplomats. When I found out it was Jervis, I couldn't help but start coming up with new plans. And looking forward to it," she said eagerly. "Jervis is the best. And to be the best, you have to beat the best."

"The best what?" Allia asked.

"The best liar," she replied with a grin. "If I can lead Jervis around by the nose, everyone back home will realize that I was never the spoiled princess they thought me to be. That's my own measure of revenge in all this."

"I thought the idea was to keep yourself secret," Tarrin said.

"When I leave here, I'm not going back," she said bluntly. "And I want them to know just who I am."

"Fair enough," Tarrin shrugged.

"And, of course, I'll appreciate the company," Keritanima admitted. "My maid and bodyguards know about who I am, but she's only one girl and they always kept my rooms under surveillance, and it gets tiring being nobody but the brat for months on end. Back home, I had two or three people that knew who I was. They worked for me, so I could always talk to them. But here, I'm alone."

"Worked for you? As in, did your sneaky work?" Tarrin asked.

She nodded. "Kalina looks just like me, so she worked as my double. Ulfan is a high-level member of the thieves' guild, so he could always arrange to have people disappear. He's the one who taught me all my tricks."

"You do tricks?" Allia said with a smile. "Like rolling over and begging?"

Keritanima snorted, stepping up to her. She patted her on the shoulder, then stepped away. Then she turned back around and held up Allia's ivory symbol necklace, dangling from its gold chain from between two of Keritanima's fingers. "Tricks," she said with a impish grin. "Ulfan thought I was Kalina one day when I'd snuck out of the palace, and dragged me off to the guild. That happened when I was about twelve. That's how we met. After he realized I was the princess, he let me go. But I went back the next week and started harassing him into teaching me all about thieving things. Like picking pockets and other dirty tricks. I figured that they'd be very handy later on." She handed the necklace back to Allia, then sat back down on the bench.

"What else can you do?" Tarrin asked curiously.

"Oh, pick about any lock made," she said grandly, polishing her claws on the front of her dress. "Take anything from anyone without them knowing about it. I'm also very good at signing my father's name. I learned that right after I stole one of the royal seals."

Tarrin laughed. "What more could a girl ask for?" he chuckled. "The royal seal and being able to forge the king's name? That's like being able to make your own decrees."

"It has been unbelievably useful," she said modestly. "I pestered my father for such important lessons such as juggling and tumbling when I was younger. They were good fronts for learning how to control my hands, and sneaking about without making alot of noise. And I can still juggle," she winked.

"Have you been taught to defend yourself?" Allia asked curiously.

Keritanima laughed. "I'm a princess, Allia," she said. "I'm not expected to be able to protect myself."

"Which means that you can," Tarrin reasoned with a sly look.

Keritanima reached under the hem of her dress modestly, then produced an eight finger long poinard, a thin bladed, needle-pointed dagger. Then she dipped a pair of fingers into the bodice of her dress and showed them a small, thin-bladed throwing dagger. "I keep another one as a hair barette," she told them with a smile. "Ulfan showed me how to use these. They're small and easy to hide in my royal dresses, and he didn't fancy me being alone and unable to fend for myself."

"Well, you need more than that," Allia said bluntly. "No friend of mine goes without being able to fight. I will teach you how to protect yourself the right way."

Keritanima gave her a curious look. "Truly?" she said. "I'm not much of a warrior, Allia."

"Tarrin?" Allia prompted.

Tarrin speculated a moment. He'd seen Keritanima move. She was graceful and well coordinated. She wasn't very strong, but that was beside the point. There were many ways one could fight without muscle. "We could do it," he said. "She has good hands, she's fast, and from the way she moves, she's pretty agile."

"Not all fighting is strength, shaida ," Allia told her. "I fear that you will never be Selani, but you could easily learn some basic techniques for close-quarters fighting. I can teach you how to use an opponent's strength against him."

"Now that sounds fun," she laughed. "I hate to say it, but I can't stay any longer," she said, getting up. "I'll talk to you later."

As she slipped out of the opening, Tarrin leaned back. In a way, he understood what all that was about. It was nothing more than a social call. Here, so far away from what was comfortable for her, she felt more vulnerable, and that made her very insecure. She just needed someone to talk with. Really talk with. Even if it was for only a few moments.

"I see that she's starting to feel closed in," Allia remarked.

"You can't really blame her, sister," Tarrin replied. "All alone with nobody to talk to, when everyone hates you? I'd be looking for companionship myself."

"We'd best wander back, before they start looking," she said.

Tarrin nodded. "I'll see you back in the rooms," he said, standing up. Then he changed shape and slunk out a small hole in the hedge.

To: Title EoF

Sweating with effort, Tarrin sat straight up in the chair, his tail lashing behind him. His eyes were closed, and he struggled to reach out and grab nothing.

That was about the best explanation he could come up with. He could feel it out there, just begging to be touched, but it slipped out of his grasp like smoke. It was maddening, but Dolanna did very little by way of suggestion or instruction. She told him that each Sorcerer touched the weave in a different way, and he had to learn it on his own. She also told him that all it took was one successful attempt. Conscious attempt, that is, for he'd already used Sorcery before. Now, his conscious mind was struggling to learn the trick that his subconscious one had already picked up. She would give him very basic help, but there was nothing more she could do.

"Relax, Tarrin," her voice soothed. "You cannot yank at it. You must reach, but you must also bring it to you at the same time. You are trying to reach out and grab it."

"That's what you told me to do," he protested.

"I said to reach out for what is there," she elaborated. "Part of the trick is drawing it in, the other part is reaching out to meet it. Once you make the connection, you will be able to charge."

Blowing out his breath, he tried again. He reached out with himself, something that he was used to doing with his senses. Now he was doing it with that something , that thing inside him that made him a Sorcerer. He could feel it within him, reaching out to complete the circuit that would make him a part of the Weave. But it couldn't find anything to connect with .

"Gently," Dolanna urged. "Gently. Do not force it. It is not something to seize, it is something to greet."

Closing his eyes again, he tried to visualize the strands in the room, from what he remembered of the day before. Then he reached out to them, the way flowers reach out to the rising sun, trying to draw in its warmth. He could feel them around him, but they would not respond to his call. He physically reached out with a paw, claws extending, as if to hook the elusive magical energy, but there was nothing upon which for his claws to gain a purchase.