Wen-ci sat in her chair in her area, frowning lightly at the crystal bowl of Water Apples set on the large table at the front of the room.
She glanced to the side and nodded gravely at Shal-ye who was sitting in her own area, restlessly twitching while almost glaring at a similar bowl. Wen-ci followed the look to see a bowl of Fire Lemons.
Wen-ci winced. Fire Lemons were expensive and indispensable in the training of young fire mages of which the Ye clan possessed a bounty of. They were also tough to grow which made each ripe fruit precious. Fire natured soil was hard to nurture.
"I heard that the Kals are also joining the meeting. They have tainted Water Berries," Drak-ci said as he dropped into the chair next to her.
Wen-ci frowned. Water Berries were necessary to nurture water natured soil. They could effortlessly turn even the most non-natured, barren soil into fertile land. For them to be tainted as well was a sign that this might be far more serious than she'd first assumed.
Everyone's heads swiveled at the sound of the door being flung open. Despite its hefty weight, it slammed into the wall. In stalked Lala-kal, a ferocious frown marring her adorable face. Behind her, her second brother, Alton-kal followed, carrying a familiar crystal bowl piled with ominously dark blue Water Berries.
Lala-kal flung herself into a heavy ornate chair upholstered in a dark blue that nearly matched the tainted berries' color. She huffily blew at an errant lock of vivid blue hair that flopped into her eyes. Then she transferred her glare to Wen-ci and Drak-ci. After a moment, the expression blew away as if it had never been, and excited shock replaced it.
Wen-ci silently winced inside at that expression. Lala-kal looked like she'd barely passed her fifties, retaining a youthful look that sparked envy in various females. She also had an unrelenting crush on her childhood friend which was also a reason Wen-ci used to hide away in the Institute. Everyone knew it was a smokescreen, but no one wanted to be the one to point it out.
"Wen-ci!" Lala-kal yodeled, flinging herself in Wen-ci's direction.
She was intercepted midair by Drak-ci who passed her to an apologetic Alton-kal. Lala-kal struggled in their grasp like an unhappy cat.
"You know how it is," Alton-kal said with a smiling nod in Wen-ci's direction
Wen-ci sighed and nodded back. Lala-kal protested the whole way back to her seat, trying to climb over Alton-kal's back. She smiled as Alton-kal unceremoniously dumped his sister back into her seat and sat down in a less ornate chair next to her.
"How long until she actually gains the dignity of a Rhine do you think?" Drak-ci asked Wen-ci, chuckling.
"She's new to the position. Give her time. We're not at war." Wen-ci paused, tapping her bottom lip with a thoughtful index finger. "Or are we?"
"All I know is that the Kals need their new Rhine to settle down. It's not like she can go gallivanting everywhere now." Drak-ci settled back into his chair, brooding. "I don't like the fact that there are so many tainted fruits in so many clan houses."
Wen-ci nodded. In addition to her, Shal-ye and Lala-kal's bowls, there were innumerable others who'd only sent one or two representatives. The range of fruits was astounding, and the most worrisome thing was none of them were regular fruits.
"Did you tell Kali-ye that Alton-kal came back to town," Wen-ci asked, leaning back against the overstuffed back of her chair. She grinned at Drak-ci's glower. "What? It was a legitimate question!"
"Kali-ye had no interest in being Kali-kal," Drak-ci returned levelly. "We're having the name change ceremony in the new year, at a most propitious time."
"Seriously? That is so old-fashioned," Wen-ci complained.
They fell silent as the doors opened one last time, and someone they hadn't quite expected swept in, flanked by two royal guards.
"Let us begin," their father said, coming to a stop at the front of the room.
*****
"I can't believe you!" Wen-ci cried.
"I agree!" Lala-kal echoed, standing beside her. "Wen-ci is just a researcher. She should stay here. Where I can keep an eye on her," Lala-kal added, eliciting an exasperated look from Wen-ci.
"That is not helping," Wen-ci pointed out.
"Wen-ci, Lala-kal, you two are not seeing the bigger picture," Wen-ci's father, Dalke-ci Vi-Liannen said patiently. He glanced around, spotting Alton-kal. "I'm sure that you need to disseminate the information to your clan," he told Lala-kal in a mild tone that had Alton-kal scurrying over and dragging his protesting sister away.
"They should find a good alliance for her fast," Dalke-ci Vi-Liannen said to his two children.
"I'm sure they will, Father," Drak-ci said, eyeing the royal guards that were stolidly standing by the entrance to the meeting room.
"Rhines are so unstable unless they're part of a bigger whole," their father lamented. "Perhaps they should give her a pseudo-harem or something."
"I think Lala-kal would object to that," Wen-ci said mildly.
"I think Alton-kal would object to that." Drak-ci looked scandalized. "Sisters are precious and shouldn't be squandered on undeserving people!"
Wen-ci and Dalke-ci Vi-Liannen both stared at him. Drak-ci gave a harrumph of disapproval and started studying the ceiling, effectively leaving the conversation. Their father shook his head, though there was a faint smile on his lips.
"You will have to pack fast. I recommend taking a caravan to the furthest point. As far as we can find, there aren't any heading towards the Collectives themselves. No wonder the Yes have been raking in such profits," Dalke-ci Vi-Liannen mused as he threw himself into the chair that Wen-ci had vacated.
Wen-ci and Drak-ci were silent as their father wriggled in the chair with a sigh of relief. Their father was on his feet for most of the day, no matter what his activities were.
"Your uncle is quite clear on this matter, and as descendants of the Vi-Liannen line, you will obey." Dalke-ci Vi-Liannen pinned them with a sharp look. "I will take care of your mother. There will be no recriminations or illicit engagements while you're gone."
"See? At least you're getting something out of it," Drak-ci muttered to Wen-ci who jabbed him with her elbow.
"Children, children," their father chided. "This matter might have spread beyond our little hamlet and into the kingdom at large. Wen-ci, while you are traveling, keep your eyes open."
"Because you also suspect that this is intentional," Wen-ci asked.
"All these fruits? So many varieties and tainted? This isn't about a faulty water supply or having brushed through somewhere the merchants shouldn't have ventured. I fear that we might be seeing the beginnings of something serious."
Drak-ci Vi-Liannen stood up and dusted the seat of his pants of imaginary dust.
"It's nearly time to start the evening meals. The king has decreed that the stores be searched, so I need to return."
"That's why he sent you to represent the family during the meeting?" Wen-ci asked. She glared at the guards who'd stiffened at her outburst. "How could he?"
"Your uncle is not worried about me," her father told her with a smile. He reached out and ruffled her hair. "I have to go see what's turned up. That might give us another direction."
"Be careful," Drak-ci said as their father walked in the direction of the entrance. He was rewarded with a careless wave of the man's arm.
"He won't be careful," Wen-ci said with a wry twist of her lips.
"Of course not," Drak-ci replied. "Don't you realize? Those two are playing some game we should be happy not to be entirely aware of."
"As long as they don't saddle me with Vi-Liannen or you." Wen-ci rubbed her arms. "Makes me want to dive back into the Institute and not come out for a decade."
"In a decade, might be a war," Drak-ci teased. "Come on. I think I have a recipe for journey bread in one of my older notebooks."
"Journey bread? Seriously?" Wen-ci frowned as they drifted towards the exit.
"Don't make fun of the journey bread. People who aren't us would love to eat it, and I heard that the weird two-leggers love the stuff." Drak-ci shook his head in amazement. "How anyone loves that is beyond me."
Wen-ci couldn't keep her lips from curling into a snarl. If there was one food that she couldn't stand, it was journey bread. She'd rather eat the humans' hard tack or the dwarves' meadenbrau.
"Maybe we can tweak it a bit? Make it more palatable?" Drak-ci offered, trying not to grin.
"There's nothing in the world that can make it palatable unless you turn it into something completely different," Wen-ci retorted with some heat. "Journey bread is the world's worst food."
"I thought that stuff that the mers love was the worst stuff?" Drak-ci asked.
"Journey bread makes that stuff look absolutely delicious." Wen-ci glanced back at the crystal bowl on the table. "They're going to wash them before returning, right?"
"Of course," Drak-ci assured her. "Can't let the taint go back to the clan houses, after all." He sighed. "I hope this doesn't affect the restaurant." Then he froze. "I didn't check our produce."
"Really?" Wen-ci rolled her eyes. "Come on then. Besides making me some trade goods, I'll check through your produce for any tainted fruits."
"I don't think we had many elemental natured fruits. I can't remember if we were thinking of experimenting, though." Drak-ci started walking faster.
Wen-ci sighed as she followed after him.