Page 73 of Valdemar

The other Companions drifted off, leaving only Ardatha and Radiant. The bird unglued herself from Starbird’s side, shuffled off a little way, roused all her feathers and then produced a monumental poop. Slice, he reminded himself. It’s called a slice, or a mute. Falconers are fussy about that. Was that the bondbird’s commentary on the situation, or did it mean nothing at all?

“That was—intense,” Starbird said, finally, looking at Silvermoon. “I am sorry, cousin, but—I want this. I want it very much. I like these people, and I want to help them. You cannot imagine how much I envied these Heralds their bonds with their Companions when I learned of them.” She shook her head. “And it’s everything I had dreamed it was, and more. Besides, I am just one junior Healer among many at k’Vesla. Now I can be much more than that.”

Restil’s pulse quickened a little, because as she said “I like these people, and I want to help them,” she cast a look at him that seemed significant.

Silvermoon nodded, as a breeze picked up and stirred his hair. “So I have been informed. Ardatha was quite emphatic that the Companions made sure you knew what you were getting yourself into.”

“I do,” she said firmly. “Though if I had known what this bond meant to my heart . . . I would have been flinging myself at every unpartnered Companion here and begging them to take me.”

“I’d laugh, but I feel the same,” said Restil, earning himself another of those sidelong, approving glances.

Silvermoon sighed. “Oh, you Valdemarans. Nothing but trouble.” But he said it in a tone that meant he didn’t mean any of it.

“So this is not going to be a diplomatic incident?” Kordas said, deadpan.

“No, this is going to be a further cementing of the alliance, of course.” Silvermoon snorted, and turned back to Starbird. “But don’t come crying to me, cousin, when you miss the Veil’s comfort in winter, and you find yourself wading through knee-deep snow just to get your breakfast. And there is nothing here like our heated pools! You haven’t experienced life without hertasi! You may still come to regret this decision, when you are wearing bland clothing and inspecting your bed for unwelcome visitors before you go to sleep!” Silvermoon looked at Kordas. “Not that I mean anything offensive by that, of course.”

Kordas just laughed. “No, you’re right, of course. But some things are worth a little suffering for.”

“Yes,” Starbird said firmly. “They are.”

• • •

Restil took it upon himself to get Starbird settled in with the Heralds. Of course he had an ulterior motive, as Darshay reminded him, not once, but several times.

:You’re not fooling anyone, you know,:she teased. :Probably not even Starbird.:

:And I should take the advice of a creature that has literally never had a body before—just why, now?:he retorted. :I don’t think the best source of advice on the first stages of courtship is someone I had to explain the concept to.:

Her only response was to laugh at him.

He was not deterred. The first thing he did, while Starbird met with the other Heralds, was to check with the acting Seneschal to find out how many housing units in the wall had been tentatively assigned to Heralds. When it turned out there were completely empty ones, he arranged for her to get one of them all to herself. That seemed the most prudent course of action to him, since she really didn’t know any of the others.

When he returned to where she and the other Heralds were slowly getting acquainted, he asked Darshay to ask Radiant if Starbird wanted to share with any of the others that had spare rooms.

:She says, “not really,”:Darshay relayed. :She’s used to having her own ekele,and prefers it that way.:

:Well then, let her know that when she’s done here, I’ll show her to her new living space,:he replied, feeling smug. :I’m going to go round up some furniture.: The spare furnishings, or so the Seneschal had told him, were all being stored in one of those empty spaces. He trotted over there to look through it and see what he could find.

The heaviest pieces were on the bottom floor; he selected one wardrobe, a kitchen cupboard and pantry, a bedstead in pieces with all its pegs in a bag, a couple of chests, and a wool mattress from a tall stack. Tables and chairs were upstairs, as were spare curtains, and with some sweating and swearing, he eventually assembled everything he thought she’d need in the front of the storage unit. At that point, probably prompted by Radiant, Starbird and three of the other Heralds turned up to help him wrestle it all into her new home and set it up. She chose a few more items after the basics were in place. Just as they got most of it in, four servants from the Palace arrived, almost invisible under piles of fabric.

“The Queen sent us with supplies and uniforms,” said one, muffled by the featherbed he was carrying.

Sure enough, Isla had found a featherbed and down duvet somewhere, to soften the wool mattress that had come with the bed, and had found Starbird some linens for the bed, towels, and other soft goods, as well as a stack of the uniforms that the Sempsters and Leatherworkers Guilds had made. Another turned up shortly with crockery and pans. He had no idea where these had come from, but Darshay did. :Palace storage,: she told him. :Wood furnishings won’t attract rodents, but fabric would invite nesting. And the kitchen stuff is just safer away from where it might get contaminated by mice.:

“You are very well organized!” Starbird said, with gratitude touched with a hint of surprise. “As organized as hertasi, it seems!”

Herald Temon, Chosen by Kiellie, laughed. “Not nearly. This is all due to the generosity of the Haven guilds, after we did that ferry rescue.”

Herald Merissa, Chosen by Lengstin, nodded. “They not only rigged all of us out, they came back again with more loads to take care of at least a dozen more new Heralds. Your uniforms probably won’t fit all that well.”

“I can sew,” Starbird laughed. “Not all of us depend on hertasi for everything. It will be fine.”

“You can thank Restil for getting this all started,” Merissa added. “We were just standing about and chatting while he was wrestling furniture down stairs and out of doors. I didn’t know that ‘furniture moving’ was part of the Crown Prince’s duties!”

He snorted. “Before I was a Crown Prince, I did whatever Uncle Hakkon or any other adult authority told me to do. And yes, wrestling furniture was part of that.”

“Well, Starbird, I don’t suppose the hertasi might be willing and generous enough to gift us with some . . . nicer uniforms? At some point.” Temon scuffed his toe in the grass. “If it’s not too big a thing to ask? Just so we have something that wouldn’t disgrace a fancy event.”