Heather's shadow, year one, day two

Today has been the strangest day. It started off simply enough. Mirelle and Mebd (Heather's servant) and I had a quiet breakfast. Heather was not there, although I did pass her on my way down. I briefly considered following her, but decided against it. Perhaps if I had, things would be different now.

After breakfast, Mirelle left to take Mebd back to Heather's shadow, although why anyone would want to go back to such a cold and gloomy place I will never know. I decided to spent the afternoon doing some more research about Amber, so I retired to the library. I had just settled down with a book when the most disturbing shaking of the earth occurred. I immediately raced outside to see what had caused it, and I beheld a sight that shall remain with me until I die. Huge black clouds filled every horizon, and they all seemed to be racing towards the very spot on which I stood. As the ground shook once more, even more fiercely than before, I ran back into the villa and ordered Kira and the guards to evacuate at once. But, although every sense was screaming for me to follow them, I went instead to Mirelle's quarters to find the deck of trump that she had shown me earlier. I managed to find them and escape the building with my life, but only just barely.

I stared intently at Driscoll's card, but (as I half expected) nothing happened. I suspect that those sunglasses which shield his mind from the likes of Heather may interfere with these trumps as well. I quickly found Mirelle's picture and stared at it instead, and, somewhat to my surprise, it became real and I was talking to Mirelle. I was startled for a moment, since I had only heard Mirelle's description of how trumps worked, and I do not think I completely believed her. But, with those terrible clouds bearing down on us, I quickly overcame my astonishment and told Mirelle what was happening. She became quite pale upon hearing my tale, and urged me to run for the two trees behind the villa and then to shift shadow as fast as I could. Needless to say, I quickly followed her instructions, and we all ran for our lives.

Just as I began to shift away, I turned and looked behind me. The whole world seemed to be tearing in two, and beyond the tear was the deepest, darkest blackness that I have ever seen. We ran even harder after that. It turned out that it was fortunate indeed that I saved Mirelle's trump deck. For one thing, if I had not contacted her, I doubt I would be writing this now, since her shadow could only be left through those two trees, and I did not know this at the time. And, had I not been in possession of that deck, I suspect that Driscoll would be very dead right now.

As I ran, I tried to shift to a shadow that did not have that awful storm, but it stuck to our heels like Kerberos. After a while, Mirelle joined us, though how she found us I did not know at the time. It occurred to me that we could make better speed if we were mounted, and suddenly we came across a heard of horses. This shifting of shadow has more possibilities than I had originally thought. So we rode, and after a while we began to put some distance between us and the storm. But it still persisted after us.

Then, much to my surprise, Driscoll rode up and joined us. I told him what I had seen, and I learned from him that it was called a shadow storm. He said that if we put enough distance between us and it, it would eventually fade away, like ripples from a pebble thrown in the water. Naturally I found this rather reassuring, but not as much as Kira, Jan, Arn, Randal and Lorin did. I am afraid they have encountered rather more than they were expecting when we first set off on our journey.

After we rode a while longer, the storm faded out behind us, just as Driscoll had said it would. We stopped with relief, to catch our breath and let the horses rest. Driscoll took off his sunglasses to wipe his brow, but just as I was relishing the opportunity to look at those beautiful eyes of his again, he staggered and then got this odd look on his face. I asked him if he needed help, but he said no. I finally placed the look on his face as being similar to the one that I saw on Felix's face when he received a trump contact yesterday at the villa, so I stood there and waited for him to be done. Imagine my surprise when he simply vanished away from us. Concerned, I found his picture in Mirelle's deck and stared at it as I had before. This time, his picture changed for me, but it was blurry and hard to see. I focused all of my will on clearing that picture, for I feared for his life, and justifiably so. When the image cleared I saw Heather holding onto him as blood flowed from his abdomen. They appeared to be in the center of the Pattern, although the Pattern I walked was in a cave beneath a castle, and this one was outside. I did not have much of a chance to look around, since Driscoll looked to be badly injured. Fortunately, he was still conscious (Can you trump unconscious people? I must remember to ask.) and I was able to pull him back to us. Unfortunately, Heather came with him.

The wound that Driscoll had looked like it was caused by a sharp object, but it was unlike any stab wound that I have seen before. And it was completely burned around the edges. I gave him something for the pain (and to make him sleep) and prepared a poultice for the wound. When I had done all I could for him, I had my guards put together a litter for him, and turned my attentions to Heather. After a great deal of questioning, she admitted that she had been placed on that Pattern by Brand, although she would not tell us why he put her there. I accused her of being the one who had injured Driscoll, since it only seconds passed between when he disappeared and when I contacted him, and she was the only person to be found near him. Driscoll later told me that Brand had placed her there as bait for him, but that Brand is the one who hurt him, using some kind of spell. That may be true, but I do not believe that she was unaware of what would happen when she lured Driscoll to her.

Heather was offended by my accusations and left us. I would have gone after her, but I did not want to leave Driscoll alone with Mirelle, since she had not demonstrated any ability to handle situations like those that had been occurring. Mirelle said she would trump another one of my relatives, Sand, and ask for her help in rounding up Heather. In the end, though, I was the one sent chasing Heather, while Sand took the others to a place of safety. I felt much better about leaving Driscoll with Sand, as she seemed much more competent than Mirelle. I asked how I was supposed to find Heather, since she had long since vanished from view. Sand told me that I could find Amberites in shadow simply by shifting shadow with them in mind. This must be how Mirelle and Driscoll found me while I was fleeing the shadow storm. I decided to leave Kira and the others behind, and instructed the men to guard Driscoll in my absence. It occurred to me that I might find other Amberites with Heather, so I asked Sand what to do if that happened. She did not seem to think that this was likely, but told me to stay hidden if I could and to report back to her, using a trump that she gave me. Of course, matters did not turn out to be that straightforward.

I left them and rode for a while, trying not to pay too much attention to the changing landscape around me. At one point, I thought I saw a huge metallic bird flying overhead, but in vanished before I could look too closely. Perhaps I only imagined it. After a time, I came across a large structure that rose further into the sky than any that I had witnessed before. It was surrounded by a fence made entirely of metal, and I wondered at the wealth that Heather must posses to have such a thing built. The climate was rather gloomy, with no sign of the sun through the clouds. If it is like that all the time, perhaps that explains Heather's sour attitude. Although why she chooses to remain there, I do not know. There was a bell by the gate, so I rang it and waited. After a time, an elderly gentlemen came to the gate, dressed in much the same fashion as Heather had been when she first arrived at Mirelle's villa. My own clothing seemed to disturb him, for when I told him that I wished to speak with Heather, he kept glancing back at me as he hurried towards the house.

As I watched him go, I was quite surprised to observe Felix, that odd fellow that Ariadne had brought with her to the villa, walking towards the stables. I remembered that he was an Amberite, and used the trump to tell Sand of his presence. He seemed to have spotted me at the same instant that I saw him, so it was too late to conceal my presence there. Sand seemed somewhat surprised to learn that Felix was there, and urged me to be careful. Soon after we finished our conversation, Felix came to the gate and let me in. He also seemed somewhat disturbed by my appearance. I tried to learn why he was there, and if he was alone, but I had only managed to discover that he too was looking for Heather when the servant returned and escorted us inside. To be honest, the more I talked to Felix, the more uncomfortable he became. I do not think he likes thinking on his own. Especially given his later actions.

We were shown to a large room filled with chairs and odd looking lounges. All of the furniture was covered with stuffed cushions, making them somewhat uncomfortable to sit in. At this point I learned that another Amberite named Ahab had accompanied Felix, and I attempted to find a private spot so I could inform Sand of this new development. Unfortunately, as I was leaving I ran into Heather and a tall man who I soon learned was Ahab. He introduced himself with a number of titles attached to his name, none of which meant anything to me, although he seemed to think they were important. I tried to follow suit by giving my full name, although I am sure it was equally meaningless to him. I learned from him that he is Deirdre's son, and that Felix is the child of Gérard and some woman named Isabeux. He seemed very interested in learning my parentage. When I told him that I did not know who bore me, he looked at me closely and told me that I resembled Eric the most. I had noted this myself, although I had not thought that I looked much more like Eric than I did Corwin or Deirdre. Still, if this is true, than I suppose that Ahab is probably the closest relative that I have met thus far. I am not sure if this is a thought that gives me much joy. He is rather an arrogant bastard, after all.

I am afraid that I let my temper get the better of me, and I began accusing Heather again. It did not help that I learned that she shared the same name as Brand. At first I thought she must be his daughter, since the picture I had seen of him was not very aged. However, Ahab told me that Amberites can live for hundreds of years (giving me my first clue into exactly how long my own life span might be). Still, if she is not his daughter, she certainly must be descended from him. After all, she is an Amberite, and why else would they share the name Rathkavren? Heather, in turn, told of Mirelle, and her shadow, at which point I mentioned the storm that had destroyed it. Ahab seemed disturbed by this, especially when he heard that I had found Heather and Driscoll at the center of a Pattern in the open. However, that was no excuse for him to so rudely bring Fiona into the conversation, without so much as a by-your-leave. Naturally, I was upset by this (since Fiona is the one that Mirelle was so afraid of), but when I tried to leave, Ahab had Felix block the door.

Now, I do not take kindly to being held a prisoner, no matter what the circumstances may be, and neither apparently does Heather. I lost my temper again and drew my sword on Felix, but quickly realized that I was outnumbered and sheathed it. I did not, however, move away from the door, nor did I speak to the others again. Other than Felix, of course, who I tried to persuade to move. But he refused to listen, obeying Ahab's every command like a common servant. In some ways, he reminds me of Mirelle. At one point, he made a grab for me, but fortunately I evaded him. I would not like for him to ever get his hands on me, for he looks strong enough to break me easily in two. Fiona seemed to find all of this amusing.

Ahab asked her about the Pattern I had described, but she turned the question back at him instead of answering. He told her everything he had learned, including his suspicions about my parentage. While she was thinking about what he told her, he left the room for a few moments. I tried to follow him out, but could not slip past that ox, Felix. Eventually he returned and, after I complained some more about being held prisoner, Fiona told Ahab to let me leave.

I went some distance down one of the halls and tried to contact Sand again, but this time the picture did not change for me. I concentrated on it as hard as I could, and it felt as though I was pushing against a barrier of some sort, one which I could not penetrate.

Giving up, I returned to the door of the room where the others were and listened for a while. Heather continued to complain about how she was being treated inside of her very own home, so the others agreed to leave. Heather ordered Ahab to return her portrait (Which Felix had been hiding in a saddlebag when I arrived. Apparently thievery is quite common among some of my relatives), and asked to speak privately with Fiona. While I would have given much to hear that conversation, I did not wish to be discovered lurking outside the door, so I left and rode for a while.

When I was some distance away, I tried to reach Sand again, and this time everything seemed to work. I mentioned my earlier difficulties in using her trump, which Sand told me she was responsible for. She said she was worried about my close proximity to a big gun. When she saw my look of confusion, she explained that she was referring to Fiona, but I still do not understand what a gun is supposed to be. Nor did Fiona seem to be very tall. I must remember to ask Driscoll about it. She told me that I could refuse a trump contact the same way that she had. I told her what had transpired at Heather's home, and asked her what to do next. It was then that I learned that what had happened to Driscoll had somehow helped Brand, which meant that we had failed in our task. I was rather disheartened by this, but it occurred to me that this meant my existence no longer had to remain a secret. Which frees me to further investigate my parentage.

I asked Sand how to find Amber, since that seemed the most likely place to start. She smiled and told me that all roads eventually lead to Amber. I assume this means that if I search for it the way I searched for Heather, I will eventually find it. She did warn me that things might not be very peaceful in Amber currently, and that the damage done by Brand might have changed things. But, since I could see no point in waiting around, I was determined to go.

I asked after Driscoll and my people, and was told that Driscoll had already healed and left. I could not understand this, since I had left them less than a day ago. I also asked Sand about Driscoll's parentage, since I find myself quite taken with him and I wanted to know more about him. Sand, however, would only say that he was a grandchild of Oberon, and that Driscoll would be upset with her if she revealed who his parents were. I am discovering that Amberites seem to be a highly suspicious group as a whole. They do not seem to like for people to know very much about them. Except for Ahab, who wants the world to know who he is and where he is from.

Sand took me to Kira and the others, and I learned from them that it had been several weeks since they had last seen me. It would appear that time flows differently in shadow, depending on where you are. I decided to look for Driscoll first, since I enjoy his company, and I find myself nervous about going to Amber alone, at least without more information. Imagine my surprise when I found myself traveling towards Heather's shadow again. I was concerned, so I pushed ahead as fast I could manage. I am afraid Kira was rather unnerved by the strange passing of images as we rode. I suspect the others were too, but they hid it better.

I soon found myself back at Heather's home, and saw that she and Driscoll were mounting up and preparing to leave. Driscoll looked glad enough to see me and said that he owed me a debt. I will admit that I enjoyed hearing that, especially since Heather looked so displeased about it (and about my presence, I am sure). I asked him where they were going, and when I learned that they were looking for information about what had been happening lately, I asked to join them. He asked if Heather and I could put aside our differences. I asked him for his version of what had happened on the Pattern under the sky, and he claimed that Brand was responsible, with Heather just a dupe. Since this matched what Sand had told me, I agreed to make peace with Heather about the matter. But I still do not trust her, and would rather she was not with us.

Of course, part of the reason I do not want her along is that I would rather be alone with Driscoll. I am really not sure why I find him so attractive. Perhaps because he was the first Amberite who bothered to contact me and let me know of my heritage. Perhaps it is because he is so mysterious. Or, it could be simply his appearance. I have never seen a young man with hair that white before, and his eyes, when they are not hidden from the word, are the most beautiful shade of blue. I do not really know, and to be honest, I do not much care. Love (or lust) should never be analyzed too much, or it is ruined. It is unfortunate that there really has not been an opportunity for me to learn Driscoll's feelings on the matter. I hope he is not like Heather in such matters. I do not think I have ever met anyone as repressed as she is, given the way she tries to cover every square inch of her body. I doubt she has ever seen a naked body, other than her own, in all her life. In a way, I almost feel sorry for her, growing up in that awful shadow. Almost.

"Outrageous Fortune"
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All text on this page is © 1993-1994 by Kris Fazzari.

Last modified on August 5, 1994 by Kris Fazzari.