Heirot

Tenele smiled at Atul, feeling very proud of him. She took the seat to his right, grateful to have a chair under her. Her goblet was immediately filled with wine, and she drank it after thanking the serving girl. "I hope there isn't any dancing. I can't do dancing tonight," Tenele whispered, afraid she'd seem offensive if someone asked her and she refused them.

Tenele glanced around the room for Talon, spotting him sitting at the end of the long table. He was still wearing his hood. Talon thought that it would diminish the special implications the people had put on Tenele for looking like Attara if he showed his silver hair, so he chose to hide it away beneath the hood. She admitted he looked very ominous and mysterious sitting alone with such an outfit.

Tenele wondered if it even mattered. Maybe the people didn't think she was Attara anymore? Maybe it was best to set them straight and tell them she was only her mortal daughter.

Tenele greeted the people that came to their table with careful politeness, and whenever Vlad set his eyes on a target to torment she would promptly pinch his thigh.

The entertainment was a group of beautiful scantly clad dancing girls. Tenele watched them with fascination, and upon her enquiry, Atul agreed that he could convince them to teach her the dance if she wished. She leaned against her husband and smiled, "Would you like it if I danced like that?"

When the feast was over Tenele was more than happy to retire to her room. As Vlad and Atul were leading her from the grand hall a servant with a child in her arms burst through the row of guards. They yelled at her, but she kept running to them.

"Please!" the woman yelled. "Goddess! Please! Help me!"

"You! Stop!"

As the guards reared back to throw daggers at the woman Tenele lifted her hand. They stopped short, and Tenele was a bit surprised that they obeyed her. The woman slid to a halt. "Please, Goddess... Bless my child. She's sick. Bless her. Heal her."

Tenele shook her head, swallowing. "I'm sorry... I can't bless..." Her gaze narrowed on the bandaged leg. She then caught the sick stench of infection in the air.

"Please," the woman cried, sobbing into her little girl's hair.

Tenele glanced to Atul and Vlad, and then took a deep breath. She stepped out of their arms and towards the woman. It was a small distance away, but felt like miles to her tired limbs. Tenele nodded slowly, eyes watering at the poor distressed mother. She couldn't imagine how terrible it was to watch her child suffer. "Yes," she cooed softly, stroking back the child's hair with a quivering hand. "I will bless your child."

She clasped her hand over the wound, and a soft light glowed beneath her palm and between her fingers. A second later she removed her hand, unwrapped the bandage, and showed the woman the newly healed wound.

The servant cried tears of joy, planting loving kisses on the little girls head. "Thank you! Oh, thank you your holiness. Merciful Goddess.... Your holiness? Are you okay?"

Tenele's eyes hung heavy and her knees buckled, she tipped sideways towards Atul, trying to catch her balance before she fell.

"Alright, the show's done," Vlad intervened as the servants and guests began crowding toward Tenele. "The lady will rest. In a few day's time, she will be strong again. I'm sure word of this will spread quickly, so let this spread as well: Anyone who intrudes on her kindness before she is well, shall receive my attention instead."

The meaning wasn't lost on the onlookers. They spread apart to let him in, and Atul was close behind him. Vlad knelt down beside Tenele, gathered her into his arms, and stood. He put a firm hand around Atul's forearm, and then the three were gone from the crowded room.

"I know what your going to say, you don't have to scold me," Tenele told Vlad before he could utter a word. She let him set her on the soft bed positioned in the center of their cathedral-sized room. "I'll rest and gather my strength. I'll be fine, and then we can all play a game of 'kill the god'."

Vlad took a step back from the bed and crossed his arms. He knew the reason she'd healed the girl, and he didn't doubt she'd been honest in her intentions. Still, he couldn't help feeling like he'd been stalled. He turned his lecture on Atul instead. "Your people must leave her in peace for a few days. She can't be expected to watch children die while protecting her own health, but it's what she needs to do."

Tenele slipped beneath the sheets, curling on her side. "They'll leave me in peace," Tenele told Vlad, glancing to Atul. "It was a lovely dinner Atul, I do hope I can take those dancing lessons sometime when I'm better."

Atul smiled warmly at her, but she could read the concern in is eyes. "Of course," he whispered.

Tenele thought about how she could really use a shower before bed, but decided that it wasn't good to press her luck. Especially when Vlad's mood appeared to be dissolving. Was he really that eager to fight Verin, to risk losing? Tenele pursed her lips together. "Good night, Atul."

"I will have breakfast sent here in the morning." Atul gave her a small bow and nodded at Vlad before excusing himself.

Vlad waited for the door to click and took a quiet breath to settle his nerves back into place. He went to the jug of water that had been set out for them and poured some into one of the clay cups. "Have all of this before you sleep," he instructed her quietly, taking it to her. He was feeling bossy, and he didn't care.

Tenele sighed, sitting up slowly on quivering arms. She took the cup from him and drank it up in several gulps before setting it down on the bedside table. She reached down and unbuttoned her dress, stripped it off and tossed it on the floor. She didn't feel like sleeping in the constraints of clothing. "There," she sighed, slinking back beneath the soft silk sheets.

"If you aren't tired you can go play with Atul," Tenele told him quietly. "I don't need a babysitter." She was feeling irritated, mostly at herself. She didn't like being weak, and especially showing that weakness to a large number of people.

Vlad walked behind her, in the direction of the door. He slid the evening's attire off his muscled form. A few moments later, a weight settled into the bed behind her. Vlad's chest and abs painted a cool line along her back, and his arm and leg wrapped over her possessively. He'd chosen who he wanted to spend the evening with, and she didn't get much of a say in the matter. "Sleep, my love," he whispered.

As the days passed Tenele rested in the comfort of their room. The servants helped her attend to most things, like bathing and dressing, while Atul and Vlad were summoned to meetings about the affairs of state. She had Talon as an ever present guard, despite her insistence that she could call on Knight if she ever needed any help.

Verin never made an appearance, and for the most part the entire week to come was too quiet. When she was finally rested enough she tried to hide it for the first few days, even declining any advances her husband made. Her stomach just knotted at the idea of what they were going to face once the deal was up, and she was better.

Tenele sat in the garden at the palace center. It was a narrow square area with a deep blue pool down the middle. It was the only place, from what she'd seen of the desert, that had green grass. The Queen's Maiden sat quietly eating her lunch, admiring the blue sky and enjoying the warm air.

Her brow furrowed as she finished her meal. She excused the servants that had been hovering over her for the past few days and went back to her room. There she paced the floor over, knowing she was working on limited time. Eventually Vlad would put his foot down... But, how were they going to get the job done? How were they going to draw Verin out.

If they waited, what Verin would send for her would be hordes of demons, since he couldn't take her with his own hands. What worried her was that Knight would lose energy, too much of it, before finally facing down Verin.

Tenele tapped her chin for a moment, and swallowed. "Sagra ne reion... Knight."

Within instants, Knight flickered into existence, kneeling a few yards in front of her. Rising quickly to one knee, he raised his gaze to his summoner. "Lady," he greeted her, eagerness shining in his eyes. He rose and crossed the room, stopping just in front of her. "You called me." He liked to be called by name. Something about her name for him sent pleasant tremors through him. Especially when it felt like he'd been gone in the darkness for weeks.

Tenele smiled at him, at how happy he seemed. She stared at his beautiful face, forgetting for a moment why she'd called him. "I did," she finally said, standing up slowly and stepping closer to him. "I wanted to talk to you..." It felt wrong to call him for business, it felt wrong to keep him locked away, even if there really wasn't an alternative.

"And since I don't want to call you just for business, I'll let you decide which comes first. Would you like to discuss business or pleasure first?" Immediately after the words left her lips did she realize their implications. Her cheeks turned crimson and she walked off quickly for a glass of water. "I mean, would you like to discuss a serious topic or a not so serious topic first?"

His gaze evened out a bit. "Business is fine," he offered, staying away from the 'pleasure' topic. He summoned a large chair from the corner of the room and settled back into it with a casual stretch, crossing his legs. "I suppose this is related to Verin?"

Tenele winced. She liked better when he was enthusiastic about seeing her. Tenele turned slowly, holding a glass of water. "It is," she sighed, pacing in front of him. "I'm better now, stronger than I was a week ago. I agreed with Vlad that when I was feeling better that we'd call you and we'd deal with Verin. My concern is that when we do this, if we call you... That you'll burn through your energy before finally reaching Verin."

Tenele paused in front of him, the wind blowing in through the door catching the thin fabric of her dress. "So I thought of something that is a terrible idea, and I wanted you to listen to it. I don't think Vlad would want to hear it."

Tenele sat on the floor in front of him, holding the cup in her lap. There was a glint of fear in her eyes. "I want you to have all your strength when you face him... In three days the advisers of Atul have asked me to bless Verin's abandoned shrine. They think it will ease the people's fears of his return. We both know I don't have any powers when it comes to blessing things... But, I do have an great ability to anger Verin. As much as the idea frightens me... I am willing to be bait. I don't think Vlad would like the idea, since he doesn't want to put me in harms way. But, it will get me close to Verin, and when I'm close to him I can call for you. You won't have to worry about any mere demons, and you'll end up right there with him. But, it means angering Verin enough to make him want to come after me... or enticing him to." The idea revolted her, and the look was clear on her face. "I prefer anger."

Knight's expression darkened slightly. "You are certain you wish to do this without Vlad's consent? I cannot protect you from his reaction afterwards."

Tenele frowned, glancing away. Of course he'd know whether or not Vlad would be upset with her over it. "I don't know," Tenele told him softly, setting the cup away. "I don't want his anger. That's why I wanted to ask you. I wanted to know if you thought it was something I should pursue." Tenele drummed her fingers on the floor. "Out of curiosity... how angry would he be?"