hexaing0703's Journal

Now, at the end of dinner, having spent the last...
Now, at the end of dinner, having spent the last half-hour turning their market expedition of the morning and afternoon into a veritable sea-voyage of discovery, Alais excused herself briefly and went back upstairsHer departure was followed by an abrupt return of grimness to the table, an inexorable reversion to the single dominating preoccupation of their livesEven Rovigo was not immune: he leaned towards Alessan and asked a sharp, low-voiced question about the latest foray outside the city walls
Alessan and Baerd, with Ducas and Arkin and Naddo, had been scouting the distrada, searching out likely battlefields, and so the best place for them to position themselves when the time came for their own last roll of diceDevin didn't much like thinking about thatIt had to do with magic, and magic always bothered himBesides which, there had to be a battle for anything to happen, and Alberico of Barbadior was hunkered down in his meadow on the border and showing no signs of moving at allIt was enough to drive men chanel mens watches j12 mad
They had begun spending more time apart from each other in the days and evenings, partly for reasons of caution, but undeniably because too much proximity in this mood was good for none of themBaerd and Ducas were in one of the harbor taverns tonight, braving the blandishments of the flesh-merchants to keep in touch with the Tregean's men and Rovigo's sailors, and a number of the others who had made their way north in response to a long-awaited summons
They also had a rumor to spread: about Rinaldo di Senzio, the Governor's exiled uncle, said to be somewhere in the city stirring up revolution against Casalia and the TyrantsDevin had briefly wondered about the wisdom of that, but Alessan had explained, even before Devin could ask: Rinaldo was greatly changed in eighteen years; few people even knew he had been blindedHe had been a much-loved man: for Casalia to have released such a word would have been dangerous back thenThey had gouged Rinaldo's eyes to neutralize him, and then kept it very quiet
The old man, fashion d&g huddled quietly now in a corner of Solinghi's, was unlikely in the extreme to be recognized, and the only thing they could really do these days was contribute as much as they could to raising tensions in the cityIf the Governor could be made more anxious, the emissaries a little more uneasy
Rinaldo himself said little, though it was he himself who had first suggested starting the rumorHe seemed to be coiling or gathering himself; with a war to come the demands on a Healer would be severe, and Rinaldo was not young anymoreWhen he did speak it was mostly with SandreThe two old men, enemies from rival provinces in the time before the Tyrants, now eased and distracted each other with whispered recollections from bygone years, stories of men and women who had almost all crossed to Morian long ago
Erlein di Senzio was seldom with them the past few daysHe played his music with Devin and Alessan but tended to eat and drink alone, sometimes in Solinghi's, more often elsewhereA few of his fellow Senzians had recognized the cheap louis vuitton troubadour over the course of their time here, though Erlein seemed no more effusive with them than he was with any of their own partyDevin had seen him walking one morning with a woman who looked so much like him he was sure she was his sisterHe had thought of walking over to be introduced, but hadn't felt up to enduring Erlein's abrasivenessOne might have naively thought that as events hung fire here, poised on the edge of a climax, the wizard would lay down his own grudges finally
He wasn't worried about Erlein's absences because Alessan wasn'tFor the man to betray them in any way was certain death for himselfErlein might be enraged and bitter and sullen, but he wasn't, by any stretch, a fool
He had gone elsewhere to dine this evening as well, though he would have to be back in Solinghi's soon; they were due to play in a few minutes and for their music Erlein was never lateThe music was their only sanctuary of harmony these last few days, but Devin knew that only really applied to the three of themWhat some fake gucci handbags of the others scattered about the city were doing for release he couldn't imagine
"Something's wrong!" Blind Rinaldo said abruptly beside him, tilting his head as if sniffing the airAlessan stopped sketching the distrada terrain on the tablecloth and looked up quicklySandre had already half-risen from his chair
Alais hurried up to the tableEven before she spoke Devin felt a finger of dread touch him
"Catriana's gone!" she said, fighting to keep her voice lowHer eyes flicked from her father to Devin, then rested on Alessan
"What? How?" Rovigo said sharply"We would have had to see her when she came down, surely?"
"The back stairs outside," Alessan saidHis hands, Devin, noticed, had suddenly flattened on the tabletopThe Prince stared at Alais"What else?"
The girl's face was white"She changed her clothesI don't understand whyShe bought a black silk gown and some jewelry in the market this afternoonI was going to ask her about it but I I didn't want to presumeShe's so hard to ask questions ofAll the things she chanel white bucket handbag bough