Your Mission, If You Choose To Accept It (Mint & Aiden)

Bleys reaches out and pulls Mint through.

She appears in one of the sitting rooms of the main residential wing. Fiona sits in a corner, fingertips together and forehead slightly furrowed in thought. Queen Vialle also sits, but more towards the center of the room, with Random a little bit away, standing with a Trump in his hand saying "Get them all together and watch their reactions. No way this is a coincidence." Benedict stands at the window. From the light, she can see it is almost dusk.

Yet another seeming coincidence? Too many of those of late.

"Yes Uncle, I believe I can guess at the location of Commander Julian, but my understanding of his orders constrains me from doing so."

As she says the last her gaze flickers to His Royal Highness, King Random the First.

"I may volunteer that I did notice a disturbance of his legendary calm when I delivered my most recent report. I have not spoken with him since I saw you. Indeed I spent almost the entire time since either in my quarters or upon the Rebma ship Hippogriff with cousin Triton joined later by cousin Aiden. Had you not Trumped me I planned to join the Rebma celebration momentarily."

Mint sighs.

"I have other information which I may volunteer, but I would need some direction in terms of what you need to know."

Bleys blinks, a grin on his face. "You may know? Really? I am most impressed!" His eyes stray a moment and he follows up in a lower tone "Lovely dress by the way."

"Random," Bleys says.

The King puts his Trump away and turns to them. "Yes?"

"Mint has some news. In fact she may have a bit more than that. Quite a bit more."

Random indicates a seat next to Vialle, as he sits down opposite that and takes his queen's hand. "Well, that is good. I hope. Let's hear it."

Mint blushes at the compliment. Pity I never quite made the party

Mint kneels and bows to Random with a speed and agility that would surprise many, but none in this room.

"Your highness, I can tell you much , but in this exact matter I may not tell you without a direct and explicit order."

"When I last spoke privately to Commander Julian he said to me..."

Mint's voice becomes a fair approximation of Julian's albeit with a slightly more feminine pitch. "What I'm about to tell you must remain confidential. To the point where you must not volunteer this information to anyone so long as you believe I am alive--and that includes Random. If Random himself asks, I know better than to believe you would disobey him. But if I tell you what I know, you must agree to tell the King I asked you not to reveal it--and that I request he honor my wishes. Is this clear? And do you agree?"

Mint's voice resumes its normal character. "So unless you have evidence that Commander Julian has died, I ask on his behalf that you respect his wishes in this matter."

"On any and all other matters I will willingly report. May I assume that this convocation has something to do with Oberon's secret history, the hidden Pattern, Isabel's family, and the Crimson Unicorn Trumps?"

Mint know encounters something she never thought to--the sight of Bleys, Fiona, Random and Vialle all utterly baffled.

"I'll bite," says Bleys after a few moments, "who the hell is Isabel?"

"Most of the rest," says Random, "might almost make sense but I think Bleys has cut to the heart--who is Isabel and her family?"

Mint can't help but stand a bit taller at this moment.

"Princess Isabel, Sister to Fernand and Josette, was known as her family's greatest explorer."

Mint turns to Fiona. "You have seen her Trump in the forest with the Kier. I hope that you have shared the image with all present."

Mint turns to Bleys. "You showed me a card from her deck."

I understand that she disappeared from her family around the time of the Shadowstorms at the end of the Great War. Fernand believes that Josette murdered her, which Josette denies and seeks to disprove.

I have reasons to believe that Isabel has walked a Pattern other than the three I know, to suspect that she may have begat several of my generation, and to seek the truth of what has happened to her."

"I have less information about most of her family save for Josette, beloved of Captain Medraut, and the woman with whom I spoke a bare 20 minutes ago. I know that she counts herself one of the three most skilled warriors of her family, that she fears a civil war, and has a reputation for honesty if not ethics. I have reason to believe that she has the power of Pattern. I can produce a sketch of her appearance if that would help. I can get a fair amount more information from Josette if I can prove to Fernand that she did not murder Isabel. I believe that she did not."

"I have arrangements with Sister Mircalla to gain an introduction to Fernand. I know that Josette counts him also as one of the three most skilled warriors of her family, that she finds him honorable, and that he has affection for the sister of the Sister."

"I know that Josette counts someone named Leontes as one of her family's three most skilled warriors. Of him I know nothing else."

"I have seen a Crimson Unicorn Trump of a Blond woman who I presume belongs to their family as well as a sketch of a man who may well belong. I can produce sketches of those two as well if it will help."

"I have reason to believe that they live in a beautiful city of towering domes, that Oberon had some contact with them, and that they have their own Pattern."

"Cousin Aiden knows a bit that I do not as does Sister Mircalla. I also feel for no good reason that Cousin Reena knows something relevant, but she failed to answer her Trump."

All stare at her for several seconds. Random looks at the others. "I think I got most of that. I think. The sister of the sister bit was not at all clear."

"Yeah," says Bleys, "I wondered about that one myself."

"Me too," Fiona adds.

"If I may," Vialle says, tilting her head, "I suspect sister of the sister might refer to Sister Mircalla? Which would refer to maybe Princess Valentine? Perhaps?" They all look at Mint.

"Yes, Valentine."

Everyone except Benedict nods.

"Dad," breathes Random after a moment, "him and his secrets."

"Right!" Bleys proclaims "We've got a possible lead on Fergus background and these red unicorn trumps! Turns out there's a whole family and a bunch of them show signs of being of the blood. Maybe by blows of Dad from the old, old days. Any theory on that, Benedict? You're the eldest."

Benedict shakes his head.

"Given what you describe, Mint," says Fiona, "sounds most likely we're talking about a near Shadow of Amber, probably with a broken Patten of its own."

"Then why haven't we encountered it before now?" asks Random.

Fiona makes a gesture. "Dad probably put up wards for reasons of his own, and they came crashing down when all those Shadow storms rolled on through reality."

The door to the study opens and Aiden walks in.

"Beg pardon," says Aiden looking around the room with a mildly sheepish expression. "A funny thing happened on the way to my room....."

Mint carefully mulls over Aunt Fiona's theory.

An interesting theory, but does it fit the facts? Could Aiden tell if he saw a true Pattern or a damaged reflection? Could Triton tell if he opposed true Pattern or a broken variant? Still even if this strange family has a true Pattern that does not eliminate the possibility that Oberon found this near Shadow, knocked boots with his female opposite number and repaired the Broken Pattern into a whole version. That would give him an entire second secret family. Would Oberon do such a thing? Does a Manticore shit in the woods? Still I'm not convinced that the Shadow Storms would damage a ward such that Oberon would have made. I have seen no evidence that the ward does not remain intact, which makes learning how to find their land all the more crucial. I'm glad I asked that.

"Dear cousin, I see that you have not made it to Rebma's party either." Mint says warmly.

Your turn on the hot seat now I warrant. How much will you say when His Royal Highness King Random the First asks it of you? And this funny thing? What do you mean by that? Did someone bring you here? Anyone in this room might have made that happen in various ways. That would not worry me so much as an outside actor. In that it resembles the issue of the flowers. I do hope I can find an opportunity to ask about that soon.

"Funny," says Bleys, "we were about to Trump call you anyway."

"Its been too long Aiden," says Random. "First thing's first--what's all this about crimson unicorns and a branch of the family no one's ever heard of 'till now?"

Bleys didn't bring Aiden. Intriguing. I still have no clue what precise event precipitated this gathering, but I shall become as invisible as I can and play the fly on this particular wall. Who knows, perhaps the people I most wished to see at the party will end up here after all. I do love a good inquisition as long as it targets someone else.

Mint takes a practiced half step backwards yielding the floor to Aiden. She then retrieves her pad and pencils and begins to work upon the previously offered sketches. She remains near Bleys, but has positioned herself such that he will need to shift his position if he wishes to see the drawings before their completion.

I won't hide these from you Uncle, but let me see how curious events have made you this day.

"Majesties," says Aiden lifting his hat as he fully enters the room, closing the door behind him.
Taking a deep breath, he continues. "Let me see, where to begin? As you all know, I handle special commissions to find and retrieve various artifacts around Shadow for a wide variety of clientele. About a month ago I received a commission to find an ancient relic for a new client - a
small puzzle box of extraordinary workmanship. My research led me to some ancient ruins - a city on a lifeless Shadow of dust and sand. Upon retrieving the item I contacted my employer and was asked to meet him on the Isle of Gont to make the exchange. Upon arriving, I had a bit of time to kill, and moved by my own curiosity, I decided to open the puzzle box to see what it might comtain. Upon so doing, I found this."

Here Aiden crosses the room to stand before King Random. Reaching into his pocket he pulls out the strange Trump with the picture of the blond woman and shows the Random and the assembly.

"Naturally, I was quite surprised. After deliberating a bit, I decided to try the Trump to find out who this person is. The experience was...quite intense. All I was able to get was some chaotic imagery...scenes of a strange Pattern contained within a large courtyard, images of Oberon from what must have been long ago, a towering city of domes under an everchanging sky. It was like being inside someone's dreams. The image of the city seemed to be the most important...at least it was that image that kept returning amidst all the other ones. I couldn't hold the contact though. It seemed as if something, maybe some greater will forced me out. I tried to go back in a second time, but nothin' doin'. All I got was a an intense feeling of nausea as I was pushed back out"

Aiden pauses, recollecting....
" Following my feet, I decided to investigate a little around the Island. Oh that reminds me. I came across a ship that had pulled into the harbor..pretty beat up and with less crew than it had started with. I talked with one of the crew who was quite badly shaken up. He mentioned something about Merewives, and all the lads hearing strange music from under the water and then walking into the sea. There was something about the Merewives are supposed to never leave their paths, but that they had. Apparently this hazard has moved to a new location. I've never heard of these creatures before but it might be a good idea to let our sea captains know about it."

"Anyway, to make a long story less long, I followed up some investigations and found out several things:
1) The cards we've been finding scattered across Shadow belong to a princess Isabel who has been missing for a number of years.
2) She is the sister of another Princess of this unknown realm named Josette who has become involved with a privateer captain named Medraut who tends to take employment with governments, or governmental factions such as independence movements and the like. He was involved with one of the sides of a civil war in a place called Outremer. He does have the reputation of being an honorable man, by the way. All accounts testify to that.
3) Princess Josette and her brother Prince Fernand have had a falling out. He seems to suspect her of doing in their sister Isabel although she denies it. Both seem to want to find their sister.
4) There may be other players we don't know about. One such person was at the meeting I had with my client on Gont. Seems they had worked out a private deal to give him the contents of the box upon my arrival. He was quite displeased when I told him that I had the contents - the strange Trump - and was holding on to it. It's possible that he is an agent of one of the two siblings rather than the member of a third party. I just don't know at this point. I made a sketch of him for Mint after I came through on her Trump aboard the Hippogriff."
5) Incidentally, I have manged to get the last known location where Isabel was living. I was going to go there after the party....

"Oh, I forgot to mention. Isabel is the redhead with the gold and purple eyes on the Trump that 2 of our new cousins are carrying. There is also another new cousin, Fergus, with the same unusual eyes. That's the reason I was planning on hitting the party. I had trumped in and was heading to my rooms to prepare when I came upon the fabled Hall of Mirrors. It led me here. I can't think of anything else at the moment. If there are questions.....? " Aiden falls silent.

He didn't mention his latest commission. Does he consider that an issue of professional ethics? And who or what invoked the Hall of Mirrors just to bring him here now? That seems like a major working for such a seemingly small purpose. Perhaps his arrival means more than I think?

Mint produces Aiden's sketch and hands it over to Random as well.

Hesitantly Mint speaks up. "Could you tell if the strange Pattern seemed complete or if it appeared broken in some way?"

"What did you see in the Hall of Mirrors?" is Fiona's instant question.

To Mint Aiden responds, "Its difficult to say given the chaotic nature of the contact, but I believe that the Pattern was complete. At least I saw no broken lines."

Turning to Fiona he says, "In the mirrors I saw my clothes changing little by little from my usual attire to something that would would be more fitting here in Amber. In the last mirror, I saw upon my cape both the symbols of the white unicorn and the red. Both were rampant and facing each other. This was the only symbol I saw and it was repeated over and over on the cape that I wore. Afterword, the cape blew off my shoulders and sailed away into the sky. And then I was here, standing in front of the door to this chamber. Not sure what it represents. Maybe I'm supposed to do something to bring the houses together? It may also portend conflict between the houses given the positioning of the charges, but it was on MY cape, which I don't yet understand. Maybe after I've had time to mull it over..."

One vote for complete Pattern, but far from a certainty. I guess I need to ask Triton when I see him next.

Mint listens intently.

I really need to find out more about this Hall of Mirrors. Does it have predictive qualities like Tir? Or do the images have a symbolic quality as this one seems to? Who is Aiden's mother? We focus so much on the Amber parent and so little on the other except in cases of uncertain parentage such as Fergus. I wonder if Bleys or Fiona know who my mother is? I think that they would have said something if they knew. Then again father obviously knew and never said. My mother might know the location of Iv. Which brings me back to the damn flowers. I'm going to keep obsessing over them until I can ask Fiona.

Usually Fiona knows far more about, well everything, than I do. She really seemed surprised by Isabel. I'm not used to that. I wonder how often she just says something mysterious and everybody accepts it because she's Fiona. Still the situation between Josette and Isabel seems to parallel the situation between Eric and Corwin. Wait a minute. If Josette is some sort of opposite sex Shadow of Eric then Isabel is the opposite sex version of Corwin. And it looks like Isabel and Eric had the twins. Ewww. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. What kind of man searches out an opposite sex version of his brother and worst enemy to have sex with? Maybe the twin apples didn't fall that far from the tree.

Mint takes a swig from her canteen.

I really need to brush my teeth now.

Bleys shakes his head mockingly. "Signs and portents, oracles and soothsaying. It isn't that I mind a good riddle but would it really be so much to ask the cosmic powers that be to write a note?"

Fiona gives a little laugh at that.

Random looks directly at Mint and Aiden. "First I'd like to hear your impressions or theories, any you haven't shared yet."

Impressions and theories, that's a laundry list and a half. I really need a couple minutes to organize my thoughts.

Mint bows ever so slightly toward Aiden. "Age before beauty."

Let him answer Random first this time. He does the investigation thing professionally. I'm curious what he makes of all this.

Gee thanks, Mint. Remind me to return the favor. This is going on your 'permanent record'... along with the appropriate number of frowny faces.

Aiden slowly replies, " I don't really have a working theory yet. Still too many pieces in the air. We may be dealing with an entirely new Pattern representing a whole universe of unknown Shadows. We may be about to be affected by a Shadow wide civil war. There may be an entirely new Power at work that has caused the dissappearance of the Princess Isabel, whoever she might be. It seems to be taken for granted that all of these Shadow storms and other strange occurances are simply the results of 'fallout' from the Patternfall War, but are they really? Could they be contrived by another Power we know nothing about to further its own designs?"

Aiden shakes his head. "I'd like to get a little further in my investigations before I offer any speculatations as to what we're really dealing with. I need to make a trip to a Shadow called Nexus. That's the last place I know of where Isabel was living. I may be able to offer something more useful upon my return. I think she may represent one of the most important keys to this investigation..."

"You know," continues Aiden after a moment's thought, "We might could take a page from history. If we had the Trump of Isabel, we might be able to do something similar to what you all did when you rescued Brand from the place where he was imprisoned. If we were all to focus on making a connection, we might be able to get through to her...if she's still alive."

After another moment, "It also occures to me that we might try the same thing with the Trump that I have. We might be able to forge a path to this 'domed city' that I saw in the mind of the woman on the card. Then again, we might not want to reveal our intense interest in that place just yet. It might be wiser to go about this more surreptitiously to avoid tipping our hand. "

Aiden flashes a grin at Random. "You're better at cards than me. Should we raise or call ?"

Bleys, Fiona, Random and even Benedict all share a look.

"Isabel--this lost princess was last seen on Nexus?" Random's stare looks serious--with an edge of humor as if seeing a cosmic practical joke.

Benedict speaks. "Gerard and I recently returned from Nexus. We rescued a young man who showed signs of being one of the family. He has red hair and eyes of different color--gold and purple." He lets those words sink into those listening.

Random sighs. Bleys gives an appreciative chuckle. Fiona goes very, very still--watching everyone in the room, listening to every breath.

"Uh huh," nods Aiden. And to Benedict, "Yes, Fergus. He should be at the party in Rebm...."

And then, seeing everyone's expressions, he says hesitantly, "I feel like I'm missing something here. Did someone make a joke and forget to tell me?"