Alexius: Afterhours in the Girls' room

To Crispin's credit, he did wait until they were well out of the presence of their family and guards to pull the tin out of his jacket. He flipped it in his hands, a self-satisfied grin on his face. From the heft of it, it appeared to be made out of silver, and was the size of a pack of playing cards. While it had Random's symbol engraved on the front, both Corisande and Alexius knew that wasn't what it contained. It was a cigarette holder. The king's cigarette holder.

"Crispin!" Alexius said in a soft tone of voice, with just a short edge to his voice. "You really do want to dance with the devil today, don't you. First your trip to the You-bee-emm, and now this."

Harri looked from on to another of them, puzzled.

"What is it?" she wanted to know.

"Uncle Random's cigarettes," Cori said, and shook her head. Anything else she had to say would wait for the privacy of their ride back home. It was an important rule: never criticize in public.

"He shouldn't have left his jacket on the back of the sitting room chair like that," Crispin said, nearly pious in his reaction to the looks of his sister and cousins. "Besides, he's losing his edge. I'm helping him keep that." He considered the doors of their respective suites as they turned into their hall. Tapping the case on the heel of his hand, he finally picked Corwin's suite. "Easier for Lex and me to sneak back than the girls. Come on."

The room, already dark save for a single oil lamp, was even deeper in shadows with the black wall hangings, threaded with silver. Even though the servants had long since gone to their chambers, and the adults were safely ensconced in their coffee and grown-up talk, the group of cousins found themselves trying to walk as silently as wolf. Crispin cracked Harri's door at Alexius's nod, then wased himself in.

While the others settled themselves, Crispin cracked a window and opened the case. He carefully extracted a cigarette and looked around, eyes sweeping for a box of matches.

"There" Alexius made out the rectangular shape in the dark, sitting on one of the dressers.

"And you're welcome to them, I don't want any. Mother made me smoke fifteen in a row. To make sure, as she said, that I don't pick up the habit."

"Father threatened to lock Wolf out and give me a good hiding if he caught me smoking," admitted Harri. "And Wolf isn't terribly fond of smoke - I'd lean out of the window a bit if I were you ... "

She looked around the darkened rooms a little doubtfully. "I know these are Father's colours ... but do you think I'll have to have them in my room too?" she asked a little plaintively.

Alexius turned away from Crispin and his forbidden pleasure and moved slightly closer to Harri. "I think, especially given that you will be here for a while, that we can arrange to have the room decorated in your own style. I'll talk to the Chatelaine tomorrow."

"What color scheme would you like?" Alexius asks.

Cori stood where she was, neither joining her brother in his cigarette nor coming to close to the courting pair. She busied herself in examining one of the wall hangings.

"Blues," said Harri firmly. "Blue like the day sky and night sky in New Avaloon, and the green blue of the lake water. And the grey blue of the sea when it begins to get dark."

"Will people let me do that?" she asked hopefully. Then she turned towards Corisande. And will you help me? Tell me what to buy and what I need to have? New Avalon is ... different."

"I'll help," said Cori, looking up from the hanging and over at Harri, almost as if she were startled. "Don't ask Aunt Flora, though, or you'll never hear the end of what you ought to do. She has decided opinions about the proper way to do everything."

"Flora has lots of opinions about lots of things," said Crispin darkly, his form a sillouette by moonlight as he hung out the window. He took small puffs at the cigarette, doing his best not to cough as he exhaled. Then he turned, and his smile was clear again.

"We can pick you up some things from our excursion tomorrow! I know I saw a few peices that would fit into a blue scheme perfectly. I think I saw a bow with wood like silver... Some statuettes..."

"I'd never inflict Flora on Harri." Alexius says with a grin. "She'll probably try to turn Harri from an outdoor girl to a perfect little china doll." Alexius rolls his eyes.

"Midnight blue, sea green, grey blue." Alexius sums up. "I think we can work around dear Aunt Flora, can't we, cousins?"

"And yes, Harri." Alexius smiles reassuringly to Harri. "Its almost de rigeur to have a color scheme in this family. I sometimes wonder if its not hardwired into us to pick one."

"Oh!" said Harri, sitting up with a bounce. "Do all of you have colour schemes? How do you choose them? Should it be something about me? I should have a little black then ... for Father and for Wolf. Or perhaps just Wolf's eye colour ... "

She looked at her companion thoughtfully.

"So - what are your colour schemes?" she demanded of her cousins.

"Mine are red and white." Crispin tossed his barely used cigarette out the window, and moved to sit at the other side of Harri. "Trimmed in gold. You have to put a metal in there, for a touch of flash."

As Cub was flanked by the Boys, Wolf sat at her feet, looking up at her with ice-blue eyes, rimmed around the edges by a slender line of darker blue. He whuffed, shaking his head, and staring for a moment at Alexius, then longer at Crispin.

Cori shrugged. "Red and white, and a little gold. Flora keeps saying I look pretty in pink. She gave me a pink dress for my Nameday last year. I didn't think it did much for me but--" and she shrugged again. "Crispin or Alexius could say, I guess." Her tone was doubtful.

"I don't think my father cared for it, though. I hope your father likes blue and green on you."

Harri grinned. "Daddy is so used to seeing me in brown home-spuns and grey that I think he'd find anything else a relief. Our colours are mostly in nature in New Avalon. Mama has some lovely dresses that she wears when vistors come - and I have a few made from the same material."

She gave a little wriggle. "Father said there would probably be choices to be made in Amber. Perhaps this is one of them. And I don't think he'd want me to wear black and silver ... "

She looked down at Wolf, smiling.

"A dress in Wolf's eyes colour. With darker trimmings. You know ... that could be spectacular."

Wolf barked, and laid his head in Cub's lap. She could feel a sense of approval at that, tinged with perhaps, amusement. Although from that angle it was difficult to maintain his watch of the Boys... he contented himself with turning his head, still in Cub's lap, so that he could watch Crispin.

Alexius nodded.

"Sea green and a bolder blue." he added into the chorus. "Not quite your shades, Harri, but similar." he said. "As far as a metallic contrast, I haven't settled on one. Probably silver or platinum."

He then turned to Cori "I am not sure if Flora is jesting about the pink or not. I certainly think red is much more striking. Matches your hair."

He smiled easily and turned to watch Wolf with Harri.

"I don't think Aunt Flora jokes about fashion," Cori replied.

"Only as much as Benedict jokes about war." Crispin was keeping a wary eye on Wolf as he leaned back, his hands behind him, supporting him. "Or Julian on how to dress a deer. But Flora's bark is much worse than her bite... If she starts getting on to you, just wait until one of our Uncles does something bad. Then she forgets all about you." He leaned forward again, slowly extending a hand to pet Wolf's head.

Wolf remained still, although he made a soft whuff, blowing air over Crispin's hand. But watched the Boy and allowed the touch.

"Careful, Crispin. I've not seen Wolf bite yet, but have no doubt that he will, if he feels threatened." Alexius said as he watched Crispin lean forward.

"You're right though, I was just hoping that Aunt Flora doesn't get in her mind to send you pink clothes for the next ten namedays." he explains.

He then smiled back to Harri. "But I like the idea of a dress in the color of Wolf's eyes. I like it a lot."

"I think you'd look pretty in that, Harri," Cori agreed.

After a moment, she added, "How long do you think they'll be? If we get caught in here, we're all for it, you know."

Crispin's hand landed on wolf's ruff, the fingers trembling and smelling of smoke and sweat and dust. Behind it, though, there was still the sweet smell of being a pup, and of scented soaps. Crispin brightened, flashing a victorious grin at Alexius. "See? He likes me!" He froze, though, as the parlor door opened, and they could hear the footsteps of someone entering the suite.

Harri at once rose to her feet, a small hand gesture for Wolf to come to attention at her side.

To Wolf the gesture read, "Need you to protect me. Be wary."

She spoke aloud, her voice almost completely composed.

"Daddy? Is that you?"

She moved forwards, then turned and breathed over her shoulder - "Hide!" to Crispin and Alexius.

Cori had risen to her feet with the first sound. The lighter and the cigarette case had vanished, probably into the cushions of her chair somewhere. It was as if she'd had a lot of practice covering up for her brother's mischief, enough to anticipate disaster and have a plan in place for dealing with it.

Light blue skin had its uses, namely that it didn't reflect light that well.

He inched his way around an armoire, trying to fit into the space between it and the wall. Heart racing, trying to control his breathing as best he could.

Wolf came to attention, glued to Cub's side. He sniffed the air, seeking a scent to recognize, a step that sounded familiar.

"It's me," came Corwin's voice. "And your Uncle. Why aren't you in bed?"

Crispin moved with frantic silence to hid behind Corisande's chair, trying to fold himself into the smallest ball possible. He pulled his legs in even more as Corwin's footsteps appraoched the door.

Cori tried to catch her brother's eye. There was no way the boys could hope to hide from Corwin and Random; they might as well 'fess up and take whatever talking-to they were going to get. Better that than for the cigarettes, anyway. Hastily, she slid them into a pocket of her dress, hoping they weren't too heavy.

"We were all talking, Uncle Corwin," Cori said loudly. "Harri was showing us the suite, and we were all so excited, we lost track of the time. It's my fault. I was the one who asked. I'm sorry."

"It was my fault really," said Harri firmly - but with a grin at Corisande, "because I invited them in.

"But it is my nameday," she added coaxingly.

There was a terribly long pause, in which the children could guess many silent looks were being exchanged between Corwin and Random. "That it is..." The voice wasn't Corwin's but Random's. The doorknob turned, and the door opened. Random was there, Corwin right behind him. Random looked over his son's feet and Crispin's shoulder with a dull interest.

"And in the interest of that, I'll scrub this from my memory, given you boys get to your rooms now."

Crispin's hand snaked around the chair, tweaking his sister in the side. "Snitch!" he hissed.

Alexius stepped out from his ineffective hiding spot, quiet, reticent and pentient.

"Yes father. Uncle." He gave a nod to Cori, and then managed a smile to Harri before making ready to lead Crispin out of the room and back to his own.

Harri smiled at her father in relief, and then a swift smile at Corisande too.

Once the boys had left the room, she added, "We were talking about colours, Father. Are mine the same as yours, or can I choose? Because I'd like mine to be like wolf's eyes, the icy blue and the darker. And then perhaps silver too - so we'd share somnething."

She hoped to distract his attention from what else might have been happening in the room.

Cori ignored Crispin's jibe. She'd deal with him later.

"I think Harri would look very pretty in blue, Uncle Corwin. There's a seamstress that Aunt Flora recommends--she had a dress made there for me for my last nameday--who makes lovely dresses." There was almost a Flora-ish echo in the tone of Cori's last sentence.

She watched as Alexius left with her brother in tow.

Wolf watched the Boys leave, settling back on his haunches comfortably. He looked at Corwin almost as if to say how could you worry, I'm here. A soft whuff, and he stays close by Cub's side.

Corwin stepped forward, bending before Wolf and looking him straight in the eye. "I think it would be wise," he said, "If you were the only boy in this room, while Harri is here." He laid a hand on Wolf's head, then stood, giving his daughter a long look. "Is that understood?"

Random watched as the boys retreated. While Alexius didn't receive much in the way of reproach, Crispin got the full brunt of a glare. "My case?"

Crispin gave an innocent blink worthy of a new born babe.

Cori remained still as Uncle Random turned on her twin. She kept her hand from going to her pocket by main force of will, and kept her eyes on Uncle Random. Declining Crispin's offer of a cigarette was looking smarter and smarter. If she were caught, her breath would only betray how much wine she'd had with dinner, and not the stink of tobacco smoke.

Cori didn't look at Harri or Alexius either, and hoped both of them had the good sense not to look at her.

Harri was, however, focused on her father, and looking guilty.

"Oh yes, Father!" she assured him. "Perfectly! And Wolf has never moved from my side all evening! Even when Cris ... pin was telling us all about his colours."

It was an almost flawless recovery from a hesitation.

Wolf's bark back to Corwin was simple, solemn assent. And his head butt as Cub spoke was almost unnoticable, his ruff insinuated beneath her hand.

Alexius just gave a nod of assent to Corwin's words. And he didn't look at anything except the floor in front of Random's feet.

Sometimes you had to suck it up. Even if it did just that

"How about this..." Corwin stood, and looked back at his brother. "If we find the cigarettes by morning, we can just forget about this and blame it on overzealous mice?"

Random grumbled, muttering a deep shadow vulgarity under his breath. "Fine. Mice. I get up at seven."

Crispin nodded, face still pleasant, as if Random were complimenting him on his jacket.

Harri beamed. "Thank you, Father!" she said. "I'm sure Wolf will make sure the room is kept free of mice in future."

She caressed Wolf's ruff gratefully. His intervention, she thought, had acted in their favour.

Cori let the breath she hadn't realized she was holding out slowly enough that she hoped her uncles wouldn't notice. She said nothing and waited to see what the boys would do.

"Yes father." Alexius says with a nod. "Crispin and I will be returning to my room now." he says. His fingers tightened in his palms nervously.