Pendant of Fortune (10 page)

“
And you did, too, right?” Helfer chimed in, looking at Volle.

He had grown up on the streets of Caril in Ferrenis, but his identity as Lord Vinton included a childhood on a farm. For six years he had inhabited that identity, and he found himself falling back into it. “Yes, I did too.”

Streak was looking at him strangely; of course, he’d told the wolf that he’d never lived on a farm, and even if he hadn’t, it would have been obvious. He gave Streak a quick look back, and the wolf looked down. He should have prepared him better, he knew, but he hadn’t thought about the conflicts that might arise.

“
Nice to have that in common,” Laya was saying. “Helfer grew up in Divalia, of course, and I grew up on an orchard in Vellenland, so we don’t have much in common.”

“
I still spend most of the year in Divalia, though, so we don’t really have to.” Helfer grinned at Volle.

Laya glanced at him, managed a small smile, and then turned to check on the servant, who showed her the cub.

The second course arrived then, a tray of roasted vegetables with spices that were familiar to Volle from the palace dinners. He mentioned this to Helfer as they ate, and the weasel nodded. “These don’t grow around here, but we get them in trade like the palace does.”

“
Do you mostly trade ale and mead?” Streak was picking at his vegetables, and looked up from them to Helfer.

“
Mostly. But also dried fruit and some other goods.”

Streak nodded and turned back to his plate. Volle gave him a smile that he wasn’t sure the wolf saw, then kept talking to Helfer. “So what else is going on at the palace?”

The weasel grinned. “You know I don’t have access to all the best gossip.” He proceeded to tell Volle all the gossip he had heard, a recitation that lasted until midway through the dessert course.

“…
and Lord and Lady Oncit are back together; you remember he’d sent her away.”

Volle nodded and said around a mouthful of rich cake, “We thought she was going to have a cub and he didn’t want it to be at the palace.”

“
Supposedly she actually didn’t. They seem really happy together now. It’s charming. And a bit sickening.” He speared the remaining berries from atop his cake and slid them into his muzzle, then pushed the plate aside. “And that’s all I know.”

Volle chuckled, working on his dessert. He looked back at Streak and smiled. “The palace is a very interesting place.”

“
Sounds like it. I’m not sure I could remember all those names.”

“
Oh, you’d learn them.”

“
I guess so. This cake is terrific,” he said, looking at Helfer.

“
Thanks.” The weasel smiled more broadly.

“
We’re very proud of the cook and the kitchen staff.” Laya leaned over and chimed in. “My brother works in the kitchen.”

The servants cleared the dessert plates and poured a small glass of brandy for everyone. Streak downed half of his in one swallow, while the others sipped politely. “Very nice,” Volle said. “I don’t recognize it.”

“
Private stock,” Helfer said. He sipped again, then swirled it in his glass, eyes lost in the golden liquid. “Pear brandy, aged fifteen years. My father liked it particularly.”

Volle just nodded. Laya dropped her eyes sympathetically, but Volle thought he saw or smelled a bit of curiosity from her. Streak had finished his and held the empty glass out to a servant, who refilled it quickly.

It took only a moment for Helfer’s cheerful personality to resurface. “And it’s not hard to tell why, eh?” He smiled at Streak. “You seem to share his taste for it.”

“
It’s very good.” The wolf smiled, working his way through the second glass. In the ensuing silence, he said, “So you had no brothers or sisters?”

Helfer shook his head. “One sister, who died when I was seven.”

“
Me too. I had a brother who died when I was six.”

Laya looked quickly at her infant cub and took him back from the servant, rocking him gently. “Lyfar’s fine,” Helfer said with a smile. “My sister was never healthy, at least that’s what my mother used to tell me. I remember they told me not to pick her up.”

“
My brother got kicked by a horse,” Streak said. He downed the rest of his pear brandy, but didn’t hold out the glass for a refill this time. “I ran to town to get the surgeon, but we didn’t get back in time.”

The conversation slowed after this morbid turn, though the rest of the table was still chattering away. Volle finished his pear brandy and set it down. It glowed nicely in his stomach, and he could feel his eyelids drooping. “Maybe we should get some rest.” He tried to cover his yawn. “We have a big day tomorrow.”

Helfer grinned. “I’ll let you two get to bed, then.” He rose from the table, and at that, many of the other guests rose as well.

Volle stood, as did Streak, though the wolf had a bit of trouble with his chair. Volle smiled at the clatter and took the nearest white paw. “It’ll be good to rest. It’s been a long trip.”

Helfer walked them to the door, passing under the low archway with ease. Volle ducked his head, but a thump from behind him told him that Streak had forgotten to.

“
Ow.” The wolf leaned against the wall, hunched over, one paw pressed to his forehead.

“
Are you okay?” Volle put an arm around him.

“
Yeah, just…wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“
Too much brandy.” Helfer grinned, but was looking a bit abashed. “Sorry about the ceilings.”

“
Not your fault,” Streak muttered. “Should’ve been looking where I was going.” He straightened up as much as he could. “I’ll be okay.”

Volle insisted on walking behind him as they made their way back to the guest wing, where they could stand at their full height again. Helfer left them at the entrance to their rooms, clasping paws with both of them. He held Volle’s and smiled. “See you in the morning. I’ll send someone to wake you when we’re near ready.”

“
We won’t need much time.” Volle grinned. “Even though I lived in the palace for six years, I can still dress myself.”

“
Good. I was going to ask.” Helfer released his paw and clapped him on the shoulder. “Hopefully you’ll be in the palace again soon.”

“
He will,” said Streak unexpectedly.

“
I sure hope so.” Volle grinned. “Sleep well, Hef.”

“
You too.” The weasel closed the door behind him as he left their suite.

Streak was already making his way to the bedroom, only lurching once. Volle hurried after him. “Are you feeling okay? You never drink that much.”

“
We n-never have pear brandy like that.” He went into the bedroom and tugged at his shirt, pulling it off and dropping it to the floor.

Volle sat on the bed, undoing his own clothes. “You were also acting strange. Are you mad at me for going up to the castle?”

“
No!” The wolf turned quickly to look at him, then lowered his head. “No, I’m just a bit…overwhelmed. It’s all so much.”

“
It’ll be okay tomorrow.” Volle slid his pants down and sat on the bed, curling his tail around his ankles. “You never told me about your brother.”

“
I don’t think of him very much.”

“
How old was he? When it happened?”

“
Three.” He’d stepped out of his pants and was rubbing his head again. Volle just looked up at his muzzle, silvery in the moonlight from the window. His eyes were closed and one arm hung at his side while the other was pressed to his head. “We’d put him in the stable and somehow he let one of the horses out. I found him. There was so much blood, I thought he was already dead. But mother said he wasn’t, that I should run for the doctor. She trusted me, and I didn’t get back in time.”

Volle reached out for the paw hanging at the wolf’s side and squeezed it. After a moment, Streak squeezed back. “Come to bed,” Volle said softly, and Streak climbed in with him.

He protested when Volle put an arm around him. “My head still hurts.”

Volle nuzzled him gently. “I just want to hold you, silly. We had our fun this afternoon.”

“
We’ve done twice a day before. A lot.” But he didn’t object as Volle pulled him against his chest. Volle felt the wolf relax, slowly, and the white tail curled back around his waist.

“
Not today.” Volle licked the edge of his ear, and felt it quiver, then flick. He smiled. “You were, what, seven? There’s no way you could be expected to save his life. I don’t see how it could have mattered.”

The wolf tensed, then relaxed again. “I was six. I know. I told you, I don’t think about it much.”

“
Okay. I just want to make sure.” He rubbed his paw up and down Streak’s chest.

Streak turned and kissed him on the nose. “Thanks, fox,” he said, and smiled. “Let’s get some rest. Tomorrow’s a big day.”

Volle nodded and tightened his embrace. Streak snuggled back against him and clasped his paw tightly, and Volle remembered no more until the morning.

Chapter 4

Helfer had brought breakfast rolls in the buggy, and they ate them on the trip up. The sun shone brightly on the hills and fields, and in through the window onto their knees. “Sorry we didn’t get to do our run this morning,” he said with a smile at Volle. “Maybe tomorrow, when I don’t have to go up quite this early.”

“
I was amazed to see you awake,” Volle said around bites of his roll. “They must really have threatened you.”

The weasel chuckled, and handed another roll to Streak. “Alister wants to be at my side every hour of the day. With services tomorrow and all, he’s getting frantic. I had to promise I’d be there early today when I told him I wasn’t going to be around at all tomorrow.” He sighed, and shook his head. “It wouldn’t be so bad if he were a rabbit.”

“
I think it’d be worse. You wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything.”

“
Ah, you’re probably right.” He grinned across the coach at the two of them. “I don’t know how you manage to concentrate on anything with him around.”

Volle flicked his ears. “Cause I know I can concentrate on him at the end of the day.”

“
Or sometimes in the middle,” Streak added with a smile.

“
Mmm. Or sometimes both.” Volle nuzzled the wolf and smiled back.

“
Oh, you two are as bad as Lord Black and his paramour. No, you’re worse.”

Volle chuckled. “Tish didn’t know much about Blackie and Ashtora. How are they doing?”

“
She’s still living in the palace. Black wants to marry her but there are a couple questions about her lineage that she’s trying to clear up. I don’t think it’ll stop him, but it’ll smooth things over a lot if she does get them clear.”

“
He should hold onto her. I don’t remember many noble raccoon families around.”

Helfer shook his head. “There aren’t. They’re mainly concentrated up in the northwest. That’s where Black, Creane, and Ryngs are all from.”

“
Are we going to meet any of these lords?” Streak interrupted.

Volle looked at Helfer, who shook his head. “Creane is the only one senior enough to be invited and he didn’t want to travel.”

“
Lord Black is a friend of mine and Hef’s, though we stopped seeing him as much when Ashtora showed up. And Ryngs is a friend of Tish’s.”

Streak nodded and finished off his roll. He waved off the offer of another one from Helfer. “So I’m just meeting Lord Tistunish and his wife?”

“
As far as I know.”

“
They’re wolves, right?”

Volle patted his knee. “Don’t be nervous. Yes, they’re wolves. In fact, Tish is a black wolf. You and he will set each other off well.”

“
Better if they weren’t wearing clothes,” Helfer offered.

“
Tish isn’t into that, and anyway, he’s mine.” Volle clasped Streak’s paw, and the wolf squeezed back with a smile.

“
You’d still love me even if…” Streak trailed off.

“
If you slept with Tish?” Volle laughed. “I don’t really see that happening, but of course I would, dear. I hope you get along well with Tish. If things go well, you’ll be seeing a lot more of him. Until he retires.”

Streak smiled, and said unexpectedly, “I hope to.”