The Eavesdropper Part II (28 Dec 2001) Alice speaks with Yseult while Agatha goes hunting for an eavesdropper. NOTE: Tom should not read this log.

The Parlor of October
Though that's what the servants called it, "parlor" doesn't seem the right word for this chamber. It feels open and yet intimate, as if a glen from a forest in Autumn had been transplanted into the center of a house. Vibrant-leafed trees ring the room, growing overhead to form the ceiling, while a fire blazes on a hearth at the center, its smoke whisked through a gap in the trees overhead. Cunningly crafted chairs look reminiscent of carved boulders, though they're as comfortable to sit in as favorite recliner. On one rocky wall, a real waterfall burbles down, its water wending through a channel cut in the floor -- which is otherwise carpeted in plush, moss-like greenery -- and out through a hole in the far side.

The littlest of the girls looks on after the departing lord, then to his handmaiden, and stands from her chair. She follows along beside Yseult, whispering, "Miss, 'tis not proper to worry so, is it not? I think I worry now, to be sure, of Lord October and of other things."

Yseult gives a small smile to the troubled blond girl. "No," she agrees, "it is not good to worry -- at least, to worry without cause. What troubles you about the Lord of October?"

"'Tis his worries," answers Alice. She casts a look towards where the lord in question had recently past, and then looks up to the antlered woman. "Lord October did say he very concerned o'er the next king. But if I am the princess, then wouldn't I not be next? Oh, oh ... truly that is scary too, but ... I think Lord October wishes that I might help him with his worries. And, to that, I ... I ..." She looks down at her fingers and wiggles then, smile fading. "... I have been forgotten in this very long time away. I do not know my mother and father. I do not know Mirari."

"As for the first part -- Lord October is concerned that April will be crowned. Your highness, you are of Umbrecht, the line of Kings and Queens that have ruled Mirari well these past several Years. My lord would have no reason to decry your ascendance. However ... it is not quite so simple a matter. In fifty-two Years, we have never had a case quite like this one -- where the rightful heir is presumed dead, and another appointed in her place. Normally, an appointment of an heir is binding. Kings have, before, deliberately passed over their offspring to make another heir instead, and that has been upheld." Yseult pauses. "Whether that should be upheld in this case, I cannot say."

The little girl nods a little to the explanation, seeming to understand for the most part. She mouths an "Oh," and inclines her head a little. For a moment she does not say anything, looking at her fingers, but then she suddenly offers, "I do love Mirari. I like the forooves, the treemen, this house, and ..." Alice looks up at Yseult and smiles just a little. "... I even like the snow."

Yseult laughs. "That is well, for we have snow in greater abundance than anything else of late." Sobering, she adds, "I am glad you have joy of the country. Whether you are destined to be Queen or otherwise, your highness, you do belong in this land."

"I do?" asks Alice, uncertain and a bit scared. The girl looks on past the tall woman, to the trees and the river and to the way out. She remembers Dawn, and smiles all the more. "To be sure, yes, I was always here, ... here simply t'was not so very here 'til now."

The antlered woman doesn't look as if she fully understands Alice, but she nods anyway. "I can only imagine how delighted the Queen will be to see you again," she says. "You were but a wee babe when ... we thought you died."

Alice looks at her hands, holding them up and wiggling her fingers again. "Lady Sorceress Nymuae thinks me alive. The lady is my best friend," she tells Yseult. "I don't know if the Queen will like me. It makes me nervous. I want to be the best princess, I want the Queen- ... I want Mother to like me." Her hands lower, and she reaches over to scoop Lord Mel into a hug.

"The Queen is a good woman," Yseult says, heartfelt. "I am sure she will like you. She will love you, your highness. How could she not?"

Alice looks up again, head perched atop a half-smashed unicorn brow. The little girl beams. "Thank you. 'Tis nice of you," she says, assuredly. "Would you be ever so nice, ma'am, to teach me?"

"To teach you what, your highness?" the handmaiden asks.

The little girl lets her doll fall to be clasped loosely in her hands. "Why, how to be a princess!" She blinks, then looks down at Lord Mel who looks up at her. "I think I shall need have a new name, Lord Mel, t'would be like the Lady Sorceress said. About being one and another."

As Yseult answers, "I would be happy to teach you what I know -- " the Lord of October and Agatha sweep back into the room. In their wake follow two guards, holding a young man with leaves for hair captive between them. October scans the room, as if wary of others lurking in the corners.

"Anything odd happen while we were out?" Agatha asks the handmaiden and Alice.

Seeing nothing out of place, October nods to Alice, then turns to the guards, giving further instructions. "Bring twenty more men to this section. I want the other chambers checked for further spies, as well as the grounds beyond the windows. And this time, nothing shall be overlooked." The threat of what might happen if something was goes unspoken.

"Nothing, my lady," Yseult says, looking briefly at Teirtu, but asking no questions.

Standing beside Yseult is the young blonde girl, onyx and fiery red unicorn doll held loosely in her arms. She turns as the others enter and smiles to them all, though she casts a curious look at the man the guards bring in. "T'was nothing of consequence. Lady Yseult and I were talking, and Agatha, she is very nice," answers the little girl. She then adds, directing the words towards Lord October, as if nearly forgetting to say them, "Oh, truly, I have a name m'lord. I can say so now."

"This is Teirtu, Alice," Agatha says, introducing the tree-boy. "He's the one who seemed to react to the ripple in the big hall."

A brief smile lights October's somber countenance. Except for the two guards holding the young man prisoner, the rest clear the room. "And I understand your reluctance to speak it earlier, my lady," October tells her, glancing to the captive. "Not all ears are friendly."

At Agatha's words, the antlered man's brown eyes darken. "And that fact is more troubling still. What connection did you have to this event which troubled my guests, Teirtu?"

"Oh." The younger of the two girls nods a little. Again she looks to the captive, frowning briefly before she moves her gaze on to the lord. "I did not wish to lie. 'Tis not right, nay, 'tis not."

The young man looks up at the mention of his name, green leaves ringing his face. He looks worried. "Ripple? I, ah..." The implications appear to sink in. "I swear, milord, I had nothing to do with it! I was just struck by a sudden feeling, that is all, as if ..." He looks down as if ashamed to admit it. "... as if I'd suddenly lost a very dear friend. But, I don't remember losing anyone recently!"

For some reason, Alice's words please Yseult. October inclines his head politely in acknowledgement, but doesn't take his eyes from the captive. "Perhaps you misplaced your friend, the water snake?" he asks sardonically.

"It was when everything got wobbly, like when you look in a lake and the waves come by?" asks the blonde.

"I don't remember anything like that," Teirtu says uncertainly.

Agatha shudders suddenly and sits back down in one of the boulder-chairs. "That's just creepy. It makes me think that maybe someone Teirtu knew was erased from existence or something, so that nobody would even remember them."

Teirtu looks ashamed at Lord October's words. "Well, it was something she might have seen in the stream, milord," he manages, and then blinks at Agatha.

"Maybe you remember this, then -- why were you spying on my private conversations?" October asks. He gives a sidelong glance to Agatha, and says, less forcefully, "That is truly a disturbing notion, my lady."

"Was there something going on, milord?" asks Teirtu, looking blank.

Frowning, the girl holding the doll shivers too. "That is very scary, Agatha."

"So is hearing about a Bandit Queen in the West, Alice," Agatha says. "I played the Bandit Queen back home for a play quest for Simon. Maybe there was a ripple then, too."

The little girl turns to look at her young friend, blinking confusedly, then she simply hugs her doll tighter and turns back to watch the prisoner.

October stalks directly to the young man, until he stands mere inches away. The lord looms over Teirtu by at least a foot, not including the additional height his antlers lend him. "You try my patience, boy, and that of my guests -- " He pauses at Agatha's comment on the Bandit Queen, then continues, " -- I suggest your memory and your honesty improve. Immediately." He glowers at the leaf-haired fey, and the guards tighten their grip on his arms.

Teirtu yelps at the painful hold on his arms. "Mi-mi-milord! I -- I confess, I did hear about you welcoming home the Princess, but it was an accident! I didn't mean to hear it, and I won't tell anyone...." He struggles ineffectually to get the guards' grips to relax.

"But what were you doing in here?" Agatha asks the boy.

"Just as you were accidentally hiding in the bushes, and accidentally missed my guards' calls to leave the room, and accidentally told us you saw a water snake, I suppose," October growls. "Try again."

At the minor violence the Princess steps back a little, moving closer to Yseult. There she draws her beloved stuffed animal to a closer hug and peers over his head at the exchange between Teirtu and Lord October.

Teirtu says ashenly, "I f-f-fell asleep -- urk!" The guards seem to have increased their hold on him at Lord October's words.

Yseult stands beside Alice, dropping a comforting arm around the young girl's shoulders, while October shakes his head at Teirtu. "I think not."

The little looks up and smiles faintly up at the owner of the arm for a moment, then scoots closer still. It's not unlike the manner Agatha remembers Alice reacting to unpleasant moments when her mother was there to comfort her.

Agatha looks from Alice to Teirtu. "Maybe he could be questioned elsewhere, Lord October. His parents might be able to get him to tell the truth."

The handmaiden pats Alice's shoulder, reassuringly, looking to October. "My lord -- " she begins, then nods to Agatha's words.

October turns his head to Agatha for a moment, then steps away from the young fey. "Perhaps some quiet time in which to contemplate will refresh your memory, Teirtu," he says, his words courteous enough but the menace beneath them unmistakable. He nods to the guards, and they pull him towards the door.

The leaf-haired young man just looks down at this pronouncement as he is led away.

Brushing at the front of his tunic to straighten it, October shakes his head as he returns his full attention to his guests. "I am truly sorry," he apologizes. "In my own House..." His hands clench and unclench at his sides, then he walks back to his chair, taking a seat.

"I believe you had some information about the Year's End for us, Lord," Agatha prompts.

"Yes," October says. "...Yes, I do. Yseult?" He looks to the handmaiden, who nods in return. She seats herself again on a small sofa, hand still resting gently on Alice's shoulder, while she gathers her thoughts to begin.

The princess follows the handmaiden's lead in sitting down, and steps over to settle herself down on the small sofa-like rock formation with her hands around her doll and the handmaiden's hand on her. From there she watches Yseult quietly and attentively.

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