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Rob looked at the house and shook his head. It didn’t matter that he had lived there all his life it still was silly to see the three story spawning mess, and the fact that they had painted it bright blue last year didn’t help. At least all the turnings had made it easy to get out unseen. Something all of them had done until they realized they could walk out the door and not get noticed, long as they were there at supper. Hard to believe there were only nine bedrooms, looked like it should have twenty at least. He looked at Vin, John and Petter. “Last chance to leave. It is going to be a mess. By not there will have been a few messages as I bet that everyone knows.” Vin said. “You know that Mom would have a fit if I wasn’t here. She is going to want to know how yours takes the letters and who didn’t send one.” Petter said. “We missed last week and tomorrow is Market day. We can’t leave until the escort gets here in two hours. We just barely made it out without one, and only on the grounds that we would stay to this side of town until they arrived. You know how paranoid they get with everyone in town. So lead the way.” Best not to say it was worse now with everyone sure there were assassins left behind the Alkland, and that will likely get worse when Kat shares what ever it is she is hiding about their new friends. At least her being the ambassador convinced everyone that Nightlin isn’t a threat. Rob said. “Well now you can’t blame me.” Laughing he opened the door and lead them into the chaos that was the living room. It was always bustling, with six or more project taking up the space and the large table kept for game nights in the center. There was loom off to the side, a basket of embroidery by the couch, some carving tools and wood over by the other one, off the carpet, with a broom there to clean up, a table had a half built model on it, and there were books around. Even with out the dozen or so Katie would have had. However the bits of old pottery fragments or writings had vanished shortly after she had. Not normal was the bird standing on the table. Rob blinked as Alice sat a bowl of grapes on the table in front of it. Alace said. “There you are you missed super and the first three letters. This just came from Aunt Fren and uncle Quin. I haven’t heard what they want. Aunt Helen was first and Mom was upset said that she no no reason to writ that. Whatever it was. Then there was Aunt Suses. It said something about Katie being here, but that was all Livie saw before dad took it. Next one was Uncle Herb and he is coming next week to find out just what all dad has been lying to him about. Telling him he didn’t know where Katie was when she. And dad took the letter at that point. So is Katie here? Where is and why didn’t any tell me? How can I not see here?” That was accompanied by a foot stomp. John looked at Rob and shook his head. “I don’t know. What they were thinking? They.” He stopped as he heard footsteps. Rob said. “We had supper with Kat, she is enrolled at Schoalrs ans has her apartment in the Tower. She hasn’t been avoiding you, but hasn’t been in town long. I didn’t see her before registration. We can try and find her in the Market tomorrow.” His dad coughed and his mom was shaking her head. “You met someone at registration and had supper with them? Isn’t that a bit odd to impose like that. You should have been here. At least you made it so I don’t have to worry about you. Did everything go alright? The lines looked awful, I think they have tripled the new students. I heard there is even someone from across the Ocean, something about an Empire over there.” Rob nodded. “Kat’s home is in the Nightlin Empire, which covers a good deal of the southern content from the sounds of it. Far more than we have seen. I saw nothing wrong with going to sis’s for diner. After all there are four years to catch up on. Katie went to a school across the ocean called Jursn. It is a lot like Sheves so during her schooling she received a new name, so now is known as Kat Wildstone.” His father frowned. “I still. Did she say why she came back now of all things. I don’t know why she left and to go there. To that. Then to bring it here. There is too much travel going on. Those there should not be trying to encroach on us. It isn’t safe. Come on, no need to be standing around. At least now I have some idea of what we were lying about. That helps. Though just how we were to know.” Rob said. “Kat told us of the letters she sent, and her side of the fight. She said that she was acting out of anger and took it to far. However she is a changeling and needed to learn to use the gifts she had. Strong ability can’t be wished away or ignorer. Mild ones can be, but sis’s magic was never mild.” He went a bit red. “She says that now she realizes that she was hearing you only through her anger, that you likely weren’t meaning to tell her that she didn’t need the lessons she knew she did. Yet what she heard was you saying that as long as she was living here she had to act like that side of her wasn’t there. As she couldn’t do that she left. Not wanting to hear what you had to say she never gave you away to contact her before the last two letters.” Zander just looked at him, redder than before. Clearly wishing he hadn’t asked. Ruth said. “That was a bit unneeded. No she didn’t say where she was, and that. I don’t know where she got such an idea. We were worried about her crossing. It is not good to spend a lot of time over there. The lands outside of the protection are not safe. I was hoping she had understood that. How did she even go there? I just don’t see what she could have found in the wild lands. No we didn’t know where she was. As we told you she just let us know that she was well.” Zander said. “That night I was startled to learn she fully intend to drop out of school, even if after she agreed to step out of the dangerous expedition. That is what we were fighting about. It had nothing to do with her gifts. I had no problems with her taking the classes for them at Scholars or City, as she had been doing. I just didn’t want her risking her life in the wild lands on some foolish treasure hunt. No matter how well regarded the one that organized it was.” Rob said softly. “We have ancestors that were born across the break, some were changelins. Those gifts lie dormant for generations, but they are still people. Sis couldn’t get the training she needed here. She is a powerful mage, she was feeling the lines by the time she was eight. The lessons she got here just barely let her control it enough to get buy, but it was growing. That is why we started crossing, it helped, but she needed a real teacher. That is why she want to go. To find one. Yet she realized that it couldn’t wait so started hunting down rumors that led her to a contact for a school. She was going to tell us, but her anger took over that night. So she left. She knows it was wrong that it was anger that was directing her actions, but it took time to realize it.” Zander said stiffening. “We are not affected by that. She would have been have with she was getting here if she would have just tried. I do not know why she had the notion she needed anything over there. Now after so long. Well she made her choice.” Rob said. “It only works that way for those less affected. She can’t change what she is. At least she has found her place and is happy. Just needed further lessons in the spells now that her other is under control. She came here over the schools closer as the teachers there are all from here and the Emperor wanted to know more of us, know if we here would be willing to open up to more regular trade with them.” Livie said. “She knows a Emperor? She said, well hinted, that she was in the guard. I mean for him to trust her on something like that.” Rob looked at John he nodded so Rob said. “You all remember that ceremony that was held for the guards that saved our Ambassador and the other dignitaries at Cailm Meeting?” They should, after all the yelling that went on here about it. Knighting pepole from the wild lands did not go over well. “Sis was one of them. She was on the stage when the attack happened. She had just stepped in to fill a spot she found, not truly having the rank to, being just a student. Someone more experienced was on the way, but before they got there. Well she ended up in the middle of everything. When the dust settled she was a Knight of the Empire, and a Lord of the court, she holds second in the Emperor’s guards. So yes he trusts her word.” Ruth’s eyes narrowed. “Just why would the second be here? If she is that highly placed her traveling to a different land, even one so far away, isn’t done. Not where there is no treaty. We do not need any grater ties with that. We have far to many as it is. Just why are they seeking help?” Rob said. “The Nightlin Empire could roll over us and not even know it. They don’t need our help. We are nothing to them. However they would be a powerful ally to us. They are strong enough to make Akland take a long look. So we need them, but didn’t look for any more contact than we had been given by being allowed to attend that one meeting. Yet it turns out there was talk in there court of reach out to us, but as they are from the other side they were not sure such would be welcome. Sis offered to come and make the first contact, for she dose need the classes ans Scholars is the best place to get them. She was not expecting to go to Court until Midwinter, but Coronation has caused changes. She knew I would insists she attend, but she couldn’t do that and not be here formal. So next week we will have an Ambassador from the Nightlin empire.” They were all looking at him now. “Petter talked them out of going formal with it, but instead Sis will be sat at the high table for the Coronation feast. Oh and as she is a Knight of the realm, and an Ambassador as well as related to me she will be crowning me. I hate to think of the reactions that is going to get.” There was stunned silence. The children were looking at their parents. All of them know that it wasn’t going to be welcome news to them. There had been a lot of yelling about John sitting next to Petter and it being an embarrassment. They didn’t like the ieda of the crown, for all they could see that there was no way to get out of it now. Zander said. “What? As a knight I hope, not as some sort of wild land ambassador. Of all things! Just why are we even reach out to them,? It is. We shouldn’t even have that token office there. To be trading with that. To encourage it. There is a good reason to leave all that. They were going to have a formal? When they barely even welcomed Galven and Fisher? Who are civilized and far more needed, being from the interior! All the same we had best see that letters are sent. It is not fit, but so be it. I can’t believe that she has been putting her self into places like that. Then given where she went it shouldn’t be shocking I guess.” Petter said. “Sir, the military of the Nightlin empire would not even feel a fight with ours. Ninety fiver percent of it would never even know there was a fight. It is that large and that well trained. We would love to have such a strong friend. Akland would be a fight for them, but money would be on Nightlin. They are powerful and were so before the shift. They lost a bit when the shift happened, but have recovered fast. We are glad that come as friends, it is better than we thought. Kat will be at the table as the Ambassador, and there as an honored guest. She is Crowning John because she is his sister. Remember they wanted Rob to, but he refused on the biases that he was not in government. Kat can’t use that, she is a Knight of the realm and an Ambassador. Trust me she doesn’t like it, but has enough experience to know that she can’t refuse.” Ruth said. “No she couldn’t it is just. We are finding it hard to believe the trouble she found. I just can’t get used to her doing that. Going to there of all places. Live out there. What it must have done. Of all places. To live in such wild ways!.” Rob said. “Just because they do not have the same types of tec we do doesn’t mean they are not civilized. Cailm Port is much like any of port cities, the laws of Nightlin are like ours and there police and gaurd just as dilagent. Yes there are differences, but they are as mordern as we are. Just more divurse and depended soloy on magic where we are able still to use some engines. Not that we do much here that they don’t. They have soalr genrariors powering computers, stove and refigraories. They do not have phones, but they don’t need them. Look at how little they are used here. You didn’t even think of calling, just send a bird to the reltives, as they have done to you. Just because some of there citcesns have fur or wings dosen’t make them uncivlized. We need to get over think that it does. Once the next the shift happens we will be seeing more of the other races here.” Zander said. “This is not the time to talk of such things. There is enough fear being caused without you bring more. There is no need to be spreading rumors. Just because a few more engines failed. There are always fluxes at the edges. It doesn’t mean that that the shield will fail let those others in here. It is enough that there are some crossing. Foxes that think and act like humans are not safe, and that they treat them as though they are people is ridicules. Elves I can see, as sad as it is that they are there, they sat least are not animals. The others through. Twisted magic is a danger no matter is it appears to be a thinking being. It is just a mimic and is a threat. No matter that the laws say they are people. It is a shame, and a reason to be thankful for the protections we have.” Rob shook his head. “John take a breath. You said you wouldn’t yell. I send message orbs across town all the time. I am still human. John is a mage, yet your child. He can use lines with a breath. He has made gates, sent messages, cast wards and a dozen other things. Does that make him a danger? You must not think so as you never put him out, never tried to keep him away from us. In fact you yell at him if he doesn’t come over at least one night a week. So why is he safe but a person born outside the shield with the same gifts a danger? It just doesn’t make sense. By the same token I can not see a person who has fur or might have if wished to as one. I grew up with Kat, I trust her with my life. John and Wills would trust her with the King’s life. Have trusted her, as she had the run of the plaice. You never objected. Yet now you would because she found a home in a place you found unfit and learned how to use the gifts she was born with. Being a changeling doesn’t make her a monster, it just means she has abilities and needs we do not, and disabilities that we do not.” He looked at John then at Petter. Petter said. “He will be fine, we will go soon. The guards are almost here, and there is a servant waiting for us. “ John said. “I am sorry, but hearing it confirmed upset me a bit more. I know she said it, but to hear him. I was just. Just why are you so scared of her? Why did you have to force her to pretend to be something different? To think how hurt she must of have been. I just wish. At least I know why she left the way she did. Why she didn’t come to me. I just hope that I can get her to believe that I don’t care that she takes other froms, or uses there strengths when she needs it. I don’t care that she can’t go to the center. There was no reason for her to ever hide that she is a changeling. There is nothing about it that needs to be hidden! We should have all know it years ago. Then she could have been taking lessons with the others in the village. I know you thought you were doing the best for her, but right now. I just don’t see how you didn’t see her.”