Kings Game

Chapter 77 - First Blooms

The answer so thoroughly surprised Kell that she was stunned speechless.

"What problems are you working on?" she asked hesitantly.

"Roran problems, Darling problems. These are going to escalate before you can go hunting blades. After all of that is settled, you should be free and clear to focus on your main goals."

"Okay..." said Kell. She gave Darling a look who only lifted her shoulders in a delicate shrug, clearly as perplexed as Kell.

Catching their odd looks, Karyn put down the paper and smiled. "Sorry, I don't mean to be ominous, I've just spent a fair amount of time reading cards and casting smoke over the last couple of weeks. Everything will work out as it's supposed to. At least, it should. Oh, that reminds me." She started rifling through her desk. Pulling out a thick envelope, she handed it to Karyn. "Can you give this to Nul for me when you stop at the apartment?"

Kell accepted the envelope. It must have contained several pages worth of letters. The sides were almost splitting and the flap had been glued into place.

"Did you write them a novel?"

"Just some notes I jotted down for them during my divinations."

"Anything else?" Kell asked, amused. Karyn had always been full of surprises, but they were usually good ones.

"Well, I should probably go get ready to greet Orlas. He'll be here in a few minutes."

"You can predict the moment he'll arrive?" said Darling. "I didn't know tarot could do that."

"Yes and no. Reading the cards will not tell me when he'll arrive, reading the clock will." She pointed at the clock standing in the corner. "Orlas is perpetually five minutes early to every appointment, and five minutes late to every social gathering. Since this is a casual dinner, we have about ten minutes before he walks through the door."

"Oh," said Darling, then, "Oh!" as she realized what time it was. "I should also freshen up."

Karyn left her desk, paused to kiss Kell, then left, heading towards the bedroom Darling had assigned to her and Karyn. Darling also rose but paused before leaving the office.

"Your wife is quite talented," said Darling. "I'm very proud to call her my sister."

Kell grinned. "Yeah, she's amazing."

"When we first started working together, I was dubious about her claims to mysticism, but now I'm honestly convinced she can read the future."

"Funny, I felt the same way. Time and time again, she's managed to surprise us all."

"Indeed, if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare for the commander's arrival. Will you be joining us for dinner?"

Kell shook her head. "Nah, if you two are in good hands, then I'll take the evening to myself. There's somewhere I've been meaning to visit for a while. I'll be back tonight though."

(2)

While Darling went to preen herself for the dinner with Orlas, Kell wandered downstairs to the sitting room where Karyn was settling the Commander in with a drink. Kappa, Orlas's ever present hound, resplendent in its polished armor, sat near his feet, its eyes tracking every little movement Karyn and Kell made.

"I feel like I'm seeing you almost everyday, Kell," said Orlas.

"Getting tired of me already?" Kell teased.

"Hardly, you and yours are a constant source of entertainment. Roran's little stunt with the Prince was priceless. Honestly, it's something I would have accused you of doing."