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Keish- May 20, 2004


May 20, 2004

Dear Arri,
As I write this, you’re probably sitting down to begin your exam.  Good luck.  We’re all sending good thoughts your way.
Jace has chosen a valet, but Imato is being extraordinarily picky.  Even for him.
After listening to him discuss the pros and cons of each candidate last night (for the fourth time) Gretel finally just threw up her hands in frustration.
“Shall I just choose for you?” I asked.
Imato glared at me.
“Just thought I’d ask,” I said.  I shrugged and turning back to my own pile of options.
Jace came in just then and sat next to me.
“What are you smiling about?” Imato practically growled at him.  “And where have you been?”
“Asking Marta to inform my new valet when he may start.”
All of our jaws dropped.  He hadn’t said anything about making a decision.
Imato started shuffling through the papers in front of him.  “Who?  Who did you choose?”
Jace chuckled.  “Don’t worry, he’s not in there.  You still have fifteen to choose from.”
Imato’s head jerked up and I’m pretty sure I heard Gretel groan at the number fifteen.
I looked at Jace curiously.  “Does this have anything to do with the message you received this morning?”
He smiled.  “It does indeed.  It was a late letter of application from a young man who has just recently arrived in the city.  He was already looking for me when he heard I’d been interviewing valets, so he sent a letter of application along with the letter of reference he had brought with him.”
“Someone from Rousha?” Gretel asked.
Jace shook his head.  “No, he’s originally form Tourn, but hasn’t been home in many years.”
“When did you interview him?” Imato asked.  “You met with Master Byra before lunch and you spent the afternoon in the training yard with me.”
Jace shrugged.  “I didn’t.”
Imato and Gretel started talking at once-- each going on about why you can’t employ a valet sight unseen.
I was now even more curious.  “Who wrote the letter of reference?” I asked over whatever Imato and Gretel were saying.
“Darius.”
That stopped everything for a moment as we were all a bit stunned.
The implications were intriguing.
“He remembers who he is?” I asked.
“He didn’t at first.  Darius worked with him for some time.  When he was ready to leave, Darius gave him a letter of introduction and reference for us.  When he heard I was looking for a valet, he applied directly to me.”
Ever pragmatic, Imato asked, “That’s all well and good, and I’m sure Darius means well, but what qualifies this… fellow to be a valet?”
Jace laughed.  “Darius teaches whatever skills would be useful before sending people out into the world.”
“Well, what’s his name and when will we be meeting him?” I asked, thinking I’d get my chance to read Darius’ letter later.
“Ryland March.  He’ll be coming by tomorrow afternoon.  Marta is cleaning out one of the servants’ rooms below stairs.  It’s been used for storage since all of the servants have rooms in the palace servant quarters.  When you finally make up your mind, our valets can share the room until your wedding,” he told Imato.
I bit my lip, trying to remember the layout of the rooms around the kitchen.  Our kitchen, the main one, is below the ground floor where Jace and Imato’s room and study are along with the formal dining room.  “There are several servants’ rooms down there-- and I think they’re all empty.  I should talk to Marta about that.”
Gretel nodded.  “With you managing your own household the servants should be yours instead of just palace servants.”
I sighed.  Wasn’t that what I’d been trying to avoid?  Managing?  Though there are advantages to dealing with Marta directly.
With the mystery of Jace’s valet settled, if not fully revealed, the rest of us turned back to our piles of papers, but no one else made a decision last night.
Jace has been buried in his lesson plans all morning, so I still haven’t read Darius’ letter.
Gretel, while I’ve been writing, has narrowed it down to four (none of whom I was interested in) but still hasn’t gotten farther than that.  Imato still has fifteen, but refused to even look at any of it this morning.  At last something we agree on-- I don’t want to look at it today either.

Later
I hope you exam went well.  At least it’s over now, right?
I met Ryland, but only briefly.  Gretel and I were leaving to meet with the florist.  (Another thing that it would make more sense for Gretel to find in Rousha, but her mother would no more hear of that than the cake.)
When we returned, Ryland had already left.  Jace had shown him around and discussed his duties with him, but he won’t be officially starting until Monday.  He’s going to bring his things to his room tomorrow and then travel to Tourn briefly.  It’s only about half a day’s journey since Jace let him borrow a horse.  Ryland will return Sunday night.
Gretel has narrowed her selection to two.  It’s a good thing we did the interviews together, since I can’t keep them straight anymore.

May 21st
I received the most amusing letter from Taty this afternoon!  She said you wouldn’t read the clipping she enclosed from the Fly By, which is really too bad because it’s hilarious.  And not just because it’s hideously written.

May 22nd
I’m starting to think this whole maid thing is hopeless.
Gretel is meeting with both of the two she is considering.  Hopefully she will know which one she wants after talking to them both again.  She’s meeting them in a few days, though, so still no decision for now.
Imato is having a terrible time.  After breakfast Jace was trying to help him narrow it down.  Imato finally threw the papers at Jace and stomped out.
That’s about how I feel too.

May 23rd
I received your letter today.  I’m sorry your exam was so stressful.
Next time you see Mendel, please convey our highest commendation.  That’s absolutely brilliant.
Okay, so Imato didn’t seem so impressed, but I think that’s just for show.
Jace and I are very impressed and Gretel was amused.
And I really want that spell.
Master Yawmus sounds like a very nice (very) young man.  He must be an incredibly good student.
You’re absolutely right about Imato’s valet having to be precise.  If he ever manages to choose one, that is.
Not that I have any room to talk.  I haven’t managed to choose a maid.  I keep eliminating them, so I’m down to five, but none of them feel right.  I’m terrified that I will have to start over.

May 24th
It’s been a long and interesting day.
I finally got a look at Darius’ letter this morning.  Jace showed it to me before calling Ryland in to talk to him.
According to Darius, Ryland was a very strange case.  The fairies made a mistake.
Darius wasn’t sure exactly what happened, but hopes that Jace and I can help him.  Darius did all he could, but he thinks that Ryland’s family has something to do with it-- whatever “it” is-- and we’re so close to Tourn we can hopefully do something.
Darius’ letter is a little vague, but I can see why Jace took Ryland on straight away.
Ryland came into the library just as I finished reading.
“Sir?” he asked hesitantly.
“Ryland, come in, sit down,” Jace said, waving to a chair across from us.  “You remember my fiancée, Lady Lakeisha Leilani.”  (I rolled my eyes a bit at that.)
The poor young man looked terribly nervous as he came toward us.  He bowed slightly to me.  “My lady.”
I smiled.  “Hello, Ryland.  Is your room to your liking?”
He seemed startled.  “Yes, My Lady, it’s very comfortable.  Thank you.”
“I’m so glad.  And did you have a pleasant journey to Tourn?”
He finally say down.  “It was… not unpleasant, My Lady.”
“You still have family there?”
His face brightened briefly.  “My sister is still there.”
“Do you have any other family?” Jace asked.
“No, Sir.  It is just my sister and I.  Our parents died when we were young and we lived in an orphanage in Tourn until…” he faltered, unsure.
“Until you were taken,” I finished gently.
He nodded slightly.
“Can you tell us what happened?” Jace asked.
Ryland squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.  “My sister and I are twins.  We have always shared a deep bond, even beyond the normal bond between twins.  We were seven when it happened.”  He look anguished as he paused.
“The fairies took you quite late,” I observed.
He nodded.  “We had only just noticed that we were different form the other children-- that we could do things that no one else could.  We were at the edge of the yard at sunset.  I was making a flower glow.  It made Malia smile…” he trailed off.  “I’m sorry.  I still don’t remember exactly what happened.”
“It’s okay,” I told him, “most don’t.  What do you remember?”
“The only thing I remember from being with the fairies is that something was wrong.  They had made some sort of mistake when they took me.  I never made the transition to full fairy.  Eventually, I was returned to the world and Darius found me.  He helped me remember my childhood and Malia.”
“But you still aren’t sure what was wrong.”  Jace didn’t make it a question.
Ryland shook his head.
“And how was your sister when you saw her?” I asked.
“She was well, thank you.  She wasn’t at all surprised I was alive, even though everyone had told her I must be dead after so long.  She was very ill for much of the time I was gone, but she is better.  She helps at the orphanage, but I’d like to bring her to Adya eventually.”
I could feel Jace’s surprise as I said, “Then by all means, let’s bring her.  I’m sure we can find her a place here.”
Ryland looked startled again.  (I seem to have that effect on people.)  “But… are you sure, My Lady?”
“Of course.  What are her skills?  If she would prefer to work with children there are several families I can think of to make inquiries with.”
“Um, I’m not sure.  We didn’t really talk about that, My Lady.”  He seemed embarrassed.
“Well, it’s early yet, why don’t you go to her and help her pack her things and we can discuss if further tomorrow.  Unless of course she would need to give more notice than that?”
Ryland’s jaw dropped.  “I can go get her today?”
“I would recommend spending the night there and returning tomorrow,” Jace put in, amused.
“Yes, of course,” I said.  “I’m sure there’s a small cart you can borrow.  Talk to Bryce at the stables and he’ll set you up with something.”
The reality of the situation was finally sinking in.  “Yes, My Lady, I will.  Thank you, My Lady!”
After Ryland left I turned to Jace.  “All of this ‘My Lady’-ing is going to grate on my nerves eventually.”
He laughed.  “One thing at a time, love.”
I rolled my eyes.  “At least Marta says ‘Milady’ with affection.”
He laughed again and kissed my forehead lightly.  “Don’t expect me for lunch.  I plan to work through it.”
With Jace off to his study, I went up to my suite.  In just a couple of weeks we’ll be moving Jace’s things up.  Not only is it kind of a weird thought, it also requires some rearranging.  Other than my bedroom, very little of my suite is being used as intended.  Some of it isn’t being used at all.
Jace wants to continue using the study on the ground floor, at least until Imato’s wedding, but there’s still a lot to do upstairs.
I spent the rest of the morning making lists for each room.  Then after lunch I had a dress fitting, which took most of the afternoon, making me late meeting Gretel at the florist’s.
Which in turn made us late for dinner.

And now I’m sitting here writing and trying to figure out what to do for Taty’s birthday next week, when really I should have been in bed an hour ago.  Not to mention I need to revise all those lists I made so I can discuss them with Jace, preferably before Ryland returns with his sister and we need to attend to that situation.
Actually, this has gotten so long that I should really close.
I can’t wait to hear about your exam scores.  I’m sure you were wonderful.

Love Always,

Keish

PS Have you talked to Phyfe at all?

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