Learning to Fall

"Master Luffin," someone called as he was leaving the building.

Aytin turned, catching sight of a dragonette striding purposefully towards him. She was fairly nondescript, if well dressed. The colors and bits of heraldry on her uniform looked familiar, but he didn't immediately recognize what house they were from.

"Yes?" he asked, eyeridges furrowing slightly.

"I am Alzella, in service to House Carnot."

Aytin nodded slowly, still not quite understanding. In response, she extended an envelope. "I have an invitation for you."

He took the letter, turning the envelope over and carefully breaking the seal; real beeswax, from the look and feel, embossed with what he could only guess was the house's crest.

Inside, written with silvery ink on thick paper of the purest white, there was a message. The ornate, looping runes seemed more art than writing. Between that and the flowery language it was difficult to make out exactly what was being said.

"Odit Carnot has invited you to tea at your earliest convenience," the messenger explained when the difficulty became apparent.

Odit wasn't a familiar name, but Carnot was. An old family, large and well to do, with all sorts of interests. The kind that could buy and sell Luffin Keep on a whim.

Such an invitation without any warning could only be trouble. "Would, uh, later this afternoon be acceptable?"

He had hoped for at least that long to prepare, but a pained look crossed the servant's face. "Lord Carnot would prefer to see you sooner than that."

Aytin looked down at himself. His outfit was for a casual meeting with a guild functionary, but definitely not up to responding to a summons by a major house.

"This is an informal meeting," Alzella assured him as she guessed at the source of his discomfort. "The lord knows the invitation is somewhat sudden."

'I was kind of hoping to talk to uncle Cork to figure out what this is all about.' But he couldn't think of any other excuse to delay. "Alright, then. Where do I meet Lord Carnot?"

Their destination was actually close by. Barely worth the flight. A massive, sprawling estate that covered multiple city blocks. Manicured grounds and a number of outbuildings surrounded the family mansion. Alzella led him straight to that central building, albeit to a side door rather than the main entrance.

As they walked through the corridors, Aytin got a few curious glances. No one stopped him, though. And everyone they passed seemed to be staff rather than family.

Their path led them to a central courtyard. Rising up out of the perfectly trimmed lawn, a wall of hedges barred their path. Alzella strode straight for a small gap in the bushes and Aytin followed behind.

It turned out to be an actual maze. Back and forth, left and right. It almost seemed a wasted effort when he could have just spread his wings and flown over the entire thing.

Finally, they reached a central clearing. It held a fountain and several benches. One of those was occupied by an elderly male.

"Lord Carnot?" Aytin ventured. If he hadn't been expecting a senior member of the house, the robes would have given it away. They had the sheen of silk, and the shining metallic thread was likely pure spun gold.

"An honorific only," the dragonette replied, waving a hand and indicating an empty space on the bench next to him. "I have little enough to do with the running of the family these days. Please, call me Odit. And I hope you will not mind if I call you Aytin?"

"Of course not." There was never any question otherwise. He settled himself on the bench and servants brought up a small table followed by a cup, saucer, and plate of pastries.

"I often take tea out here in the courtyard," his host commented as the servant poured some of the steaming liquid into Aytin's cup. "I find that it helps to frame my thoughts."

"It's, uh, very beautiful." The fountain was especially ornate, inlaid with gold and covered in engravings that flowed like the water spilling from each of its basins. It probably cost as much as Faelon's entire cargo.

"It's a gaudy eyesore." Aytin blinked and turned to stare at the elderly dragonette. Odit's expression betrayed nothing, though, as he continued to stare at the fountain.

Not knowing what else to do, he lifted his cup and took a sip. Eyes widened and ears perked at the taste. The tea itself was fine enough, but there was a sweetness to it as well. Almost certainly honey from the flavor.

He looked back up, only to find Odit peering at him. Still, the patriarch remained silent.

"Is... there something I can do for you?"

His host gave the barest hint of a smile. "I believe so, yes. Tell me, would you mind terribly answering an old dragonette's questions?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

Aytin regretted the flippant comment as soon as it left his mouth, but Odit's smile only grew. "Quite right. I heard of your... let us call it adventure."

Now he understood. And he couldn't help but be a little annoyed. 'I'm getting asked to tell this story so often that maybe I should just write a book. It would be faster and I might be able to raise a few gold from the sales.'

Aloud he said, "Of course. Where do you want me to start? I assume you aren't interested in the weeks I spent as a passenger aboard Faelon."

Odit shook his head, but then surprised Aytin with his answer. "Ah, you misunderstand. I have several acquaintances among The Spire who were there for your recounting. Not to mention that I count several of the guild members you have recently spoken to as personal friends."

"Then what-"

"I want to know about Xantha."

The request - no, demand - was so sudden, so unexpected that Aytin could only blink and stare stupidly.

"Why would you want... want to..." Then the memory hit. Xantha's rants. Her hatred. Focused on the nobility, but revolving on one family in particular.

"You knew her?" It was half question, half statement, and Odit nodded.

"You could say that I made her into the person who you knew."

That was certainly not the answer Aytin was expecting. The elderly Carnot evidently took his confusion for accusation because he went on.

"Not deliberately, you understand. At the time I believed the whole thing a rather neat solution. Rid the family of an embarrassment with minimal fuss. Alas, in my cleverness I forgot that an egg might grow to become a dragon."

"She said that you kicked her out of the family. That... that you stole her daughter."

Odit's response was a matter of fact nod. "Yes. Kesti. I will not argue the point. Not now."

It had seemed so absurd when Xantha had said it. Screamed it into his face. What use did a noble family have for a hatchling? But to have this old dragonette admit to it so frankly... He could only ask, "Why?"

"I could tell you much the same as I told her mother. That the girl had done nothing wrong and she was one of us by blood. That we had a responsibility to her.

"That would, of course, be a lie. Or little better." His head cocked slightly as he considered, like one trying to decide if the day had crossed from pleasantly warm to overly hot. "A sliver of the truth, at most," he finally decided. "No, I used Kesti as a blunt instrument. An ax to irrevocably sever her mother from the family in the most painful way possible."

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Now Aytin was staring at Odit like he had discovered the other male was a poison-fanged nauliker in a dragonette's skin. "That's... that's..."

"Monstrous?" the older noble asked sardonically. "My apologies, I forget that while a noble you might be, you are not from the capital. Suffice it to say that it is not the worst of my sins, and my hands remain cleaner than many who have risen to my position."

That did nothing to calm the twisting emotions in Aytin's guts. "I can see why she hated you. I think I would, too."

"You would be wise to learn some tact if you plan to stay in this city for any length of time." The reproach was mild, like a teacher correcting some minor error. "However, I'm given to understand that may not be the case?"

Grudgingly, Aytin nodded. "You're not exactly making it a difficult choice."

"Oh, most noble bickering never reaches the lengths I have had to take. I dare say that even if you married into a more established house you would never experience worse than the occasional snub at a ball. No, the knives only come out for those of us who fly to the rarified heights of power."

"Xantha never got there, and she seemed to know how to use a knife." He rustled his wings, making sure the scars were clearly visible.

Odit blinked and flicked one ear in acknowledgement. "A special case, and one I happen to regret. One among many."

They were silent for a time after that. The only sounds in the courtyard were the trickle of water and the clink of the saucer as Lord Carnot sipped his tea.

It was difficult to see Xantha as anything other than pure evil. As a victim. Not justified. Never justified. But maybe, maybe, there had been reasons for what she had done.

At the time, he had been sure that her justifications were lies and excuses. Stories that she told her band of thieves and murderers to keep up her legend. Maybe with a grain of truth buried inside to help the lies sound real. Nothing more than that.

Only he had been wrong.

Aytin didn't regret killing her. There had never been any question. Even if he knew then what he knew now, he would have let her fall a thousand times over.

Now, more than anything, he pitied her. And he didn't know how he felt about that.

"What was she like?"

"Huh?" Aytin blinked. He had been staring into the distance, lost in thought.

"Xantha." Odit's voice was calm as he explained, although the hint of something more lay behind his eyes. "I stayed informed of her comings and goings after she was released from the mines. Then she disappeared. I thought she was long dead until I heard your story. What was she like, in the end?"

That horribly cruel face flashed in his mind, gloating as she toyed with him. The flash of a knife in the firelight. The gleam of the moon on bared teeth.

"Angry," he finally answered. "Angry and driven."

"I had wondered about that," Odit mused. "The drive. She fought so hard for her place among us. It's one reason we let her stay, even after Tilvi died."

"That was her mate?"

"Indeed. A distant nephew of mine, though we were never close. Had we been he might have listened when I advised against their relationship."

Memories of the tortures that Aytin had suffered at Xantha's hands were returning. As unwelcome as they were, they brought with them snatches of her rants.

"She didn't care about him."

"Oh?" Odit sounded unsurprised at the revelation, asking for elaboration rather than evidence.

'Found a young noble from House Carnot and got him to fall in love with me.' At the time, he hadn't thought about the words. They were the words of a traitor. Things to be ignored.

Now, he couldn't ignore them, or any of the rest.

"Some things she said. The way she said them. I think she saw him as a tool."

"I expected as much," the older male replied, expression tinged with only the slightest shade of disappointment. "Tilvi absolutely doted on her. And she certainly appeared to return the affection. But he was never a very confident boy. Attracting the attention of a guard officer in the time between two wingbeats? No." He shook his head sadly.

"She lied to us all on the trip out. No one had any idea. And I think she did it before, to other crews."

"Strong wings and a willingness to follow orders are all one needs to thrive on a dragon's crew."

The dismissive remark made Aytin's ears dip as he thought of Reed and Bush and Voxin and all the rest. They had been more than a flock of menials.

'He's probably never ridden a dragon without a pack of servants to refill his glass of honey wine.'

He had to bite back his first instinct, which was to say exactly that. Instead, he said in a flat tone, "A simple crewmember wouldn't have been much use in their scheme."

Odit snorted. "Arguable, but I see your point. I take it she managed to place herself in a position of some importance?"

"She had some relic that let her predict the weather," Aytin replied, a bit stiffly. "That and a forged recommendation. It was how she got Reed and Faelon to fly off course. We were supposed to be getting around a storm and instead the rest of her crew were there to ambush us."

"Fair enough. A considered plan, if somewhat overly complex. And well done, although you must work on getting your expressions under control."

"My... expressions?" Suddenly taken aback, Aytin struggled to figure out what the other dragonette was talking about.

Odit was more than happy to explain. "Yes, you wear your emotions plain for all to see," he said, as if elaborating on some particularly tricky lesson. "Not something others could call attention to without seeming gauche, although they will talk behind your back."

Aytin could only stare in confusion. Finally he shook his head slightly, as if to clear it, and asked, "Why exactly did you ask me to come here?"

"Curiosity, in large part," Lord Carnot answered almost immediately. "And I must admit to some lingering guilt on my part. I do not claim any responsibility for what befell you, you must understand."

'Of course you don't.' But outwardly he only nodded in response.

"Very good. Nonetheless, I feel that some small token is appropriate in this case."

"What about for the rest of the crew?"

Odit didn't so much as blink at what was very nearly a demand. "Ivy is setting up a fund for the families. I will, of course, mention a willingness to contribute the next time I am at The Spire."

"And Faelon?"

"I understand you are handling affairs for him. Rebuilding a keep, was it?" At the nod, he continued, "Sadly, that is far in excess of the sort of aid I am able to provide."

"What can you provide?"

The elderly dragonette spread his hands wide, richly embroidered robe flowing across them like water. "My influence in the family may not be what it once was, but I am not wholly without means. I have friends and connections throughout the kingdom."

"So a favor, then." Aytin thought about it for a few moments. Odit Carnot might not be a good dragonette, but he was certainly a good dragonette to know. The right word from someone at the top of one of the kingdom's most prestigious families might mean more than a pile of gold.

Only, what did he need? The expedition was on its way. Nothing could speed it up. There were no pressing concerns for him or his family. Nothing worth spending such a valuable favor on.

"You needn't answer at this very moment," Odit said after watching the younger dragonette agonize for a time. "I will leave word with the staff that you may call on me in the future."

"That's... very generous of you."

"Nothing more than is deserved."

It was clear that the conversation was over. Aytin could see a servant hovering just inside of the maze, no doubt ready to escort him away at a word or a gesture. Still, there was one question he needed to ask.

"Xantha's daughter- Kesti. What happened to her?"

"She is still with the family, if that is what you are asking, and doing very well indeed." A hint of genuine warmth had crept into Odit's words as he spoke. "Away from the city on business, I'm afraid. But I expect that she will be eager to meet you when she returns."

"She... knows about her mother?"

"I never hid it from her. She understands that in many ways it worked out for the best. And when Xantha never tried to find her, well..." He trailed off with a shrug.

Aytin was fairly sure that not finding the girl had less to do with a lack of willingness and more with Carnot family guards at every entrance, but he nodded all the same. "I guess she's enjoying the life that her mother wanted for her."

"Certainly, although she does rather more to earn it than Xantha ever did. Kisti works as one of the family messengers."

"Oh, so she's a courier? Or part of a dragon's crew?"

"Ah, no." Odit paused for a moment, as if in thought. "Sometimes a message is too delicate to convey on a sheet of paper. Or requires something more than written word. Kesti handles that sort of message."

The concept seemed a little odd. "Like a family representative? A negotiator?"

"She does that, yes," Lord Carnot agreed. "On the whole, a good description of her position."

Aytin got the feeling that there was more to it than that but, before he could come up with a tactful way to ask, his host was rising to his feet.

"I'm afraid that our meeting has run its course," the older dragonette said by way of a goodbye. Sure enough, the sun had moved noticeably in the sky, slanting towards the western horizon.

"Thank you very much for the invitation," Aytin replied with a bow. He wasn't completely sure he meant the words.

"The pleasure was all mine, young Aytin. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. And remember, should you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

With that, Alzella was once again at his elbow, guiding him out of the maze and into the city beyond.