"Well, I think that's everything that needed repairing," Eddin said, eyeing the new door, knob and lock shiny against the dark wood. Black sigils burned into the doorframe glinted faintly with silvery traces. "And it's not even noon!" He looked over to Vania, smiling. "What else would you like to do on our day off?"

"I don't know," Vania said with a shrug. "Usually on my days off, I just go to the bakery."

"And now that you finally visited Nanda, you can without worrying about Derry losing customers from it."

"Yeah," Vania agreed. "You'll come, too?"

"Um," Eddin replied quietly, looking down to where Prant lounged on top of his boot. "No. Not yet. I think it's still too soon."

"Oh," Vania replied. "That's right. Cianna's still... recovering."

"But, I can still escort you there," Eddin added. "Then maybe I'll walk through some market stalls on the way through lower quarter and merchant district. See if I can find Prant some ear plugs."

Vania giggled. "I think that'd be a special order. A need for ferret-sized plugs can't be very common."

"Well, no," Eddin agreed, "but it would be a good way to relax while wandering the city. And maybe I'd still be close by when you needed an escort back home."

"I don't need an escort," Vania replied. "But, I do enjoy walking with you." She stepped over to him and slid her hand into his. "Maybe I'll help you look for ear plugs for Prant instead of going to the bakery."

Eddin smiled. "If you don't mind giving up some of your time with Derry and Licia, then I'd be happy to have you accompany me."

"Your sister sure left in a hurry this morning," Vania noted as they walked. "Was she embarrassed by my house or something?"

"No. She was happy to come down and respell your wards. She would've stayed longer if she could. But, she had to hurry back home to prepare for her lunch guest."

"Oh?" Vania cast a glance up at Eddin before looking around the vendors' stalls once more. "Is her apprentice going to be there for lunch?"

"No." Eddin sighed. "She wishes it were him. No, she has to play hostess to a suitor today. Someone Mother arranged to come. Of course, it's traditional for the mothers of the prospective couple to also be in attendance, but Mother was called back to the capital earlier than she anticipated, so T'kanna has to be herself as well as represent Mother as head of the household."

Vania made a face. "That sounds horrible. Couldn't she have said no? Or, at least request a postponement until your mother gets back?"

"She's... postponed it as much as Mother will allow already," Eddin replied slowly. "She's already a few years beyond the age most a'marlon marry."

"Oh. But, surely with everything she does as a wizard and taking care of the house while your mother's gone... that excuses her from needing to pursue a marriage, doesn't it? She's busy enough?"

"That's the angle she's played the last five years. Mother told her it's time."

"But, that's..." Vania sighed. "Will A'lei'iana at least allow her to choose between whoever is presented?"

"Yes. Sis will be given the choice from among the suitors Mother has deemed acceptable."

"How many of these suitors has she met so far?"

"This is the first."

Vania stopped, causing Eddin to also pause. She turned around and began walking, moving away from the increasing market stalls and angling toward the hill where the upper quarter resided. "Maybe we should be there for her, Eddin. Or. At least you should. So she doesn't have to face this alone. Especially not the first time."

Eddin stopped following Vania, making her stop and turn back around to face him. "No, Vania. You're kind to want to be there; I'm sure T'kanna would appreciate the thought. But, K'landrin will be there, so she won't be alone."

"K'landrin?" Vania wrinkled her nose in disgust. "That's likely to make it worse."

Eddin replied, "He's actually... really good with T'kanna. He'll be a good, proper older brother for her during this lunch. He was always really good with A'razoru and S'reld'dia, too. And Mom and Dad. I'm... the one he's awful around. So it's... better if I'm not there."

"I'm having a hard time believing that," Vania admitted. She walked back over to Eddin. "He's a lewd, crude, vicious, rumor-mongering bastard."

"Yeah," Eddin agreed softly. "You've only known him when I've been around."

"And he's a disgusting womanizer," Vania added. "I doubt that changes, even when you're not around."

"His thoughts don't change, no, but he keeps them to himself better. And with the only women in the room being T'kanna and her suitor's mother, he won't have anyone to ogle or hit on, anyway."

"That still sounds awful," Vania insisted.

"It is," Eddin agreed. He moved over to peruse one of the straggling, sparse merchant carts along the street. "We can go see her after it's over, if you like."

Vania watched him for a moment, noticing how Prant anxiously paced across Eddin's shoulders. She finally returned to his side as he moved away from the cart, handing some nuts up to Prant. "She... asked you to not be there, didn't she?"

"Mother's orders," Eddin replied, walking down the street, away from the hill. "She specifically scheduled the meeting during the day, assuming I'd be at work."

"But, why? Why would it matter if you're there to keep your sister company or not? If K'landrin can be there, you should be, too."

"This first fellow is a rather powerful wizard." He glanced down to Vania. "You can probably guess why Mother doesn't want me in the same room."

"Oh. She thinks he might... notice. If he's powerful enough." Vania looked away from Eddin's troubled face. She blinked. "But, maybe he was powerful because of a deal with a certain demon king... and maybe he was arrested this morning."

Eddin chuckled slightly. "Maybe. And that would take one person off the list, since T'kanna would declare him untrustworthy. Won't help with the other four."

"But, it'd let her off the hook for today." Vania frowned and looked up at Eddin. "Four others? So, five total?"

"Yes. Five suitors to ask for a lady's hand. It's very traditional."

"What is with you people and the number five?" Vania muttered. "Five suitors... five kids..."

"...Five gifts from the groom to his bride... Five vows... Five toasts..." Eddin added quietly. He said in a normal volume, "And I don't know. Probably some superstition brought over from A'mardis from a long time ago that no one remembers the reasoning behind; but, it's tradition, so..." He shrugged.

"Wait. What did you mumble?"

"Nothing." He strode away. "Maybe Mother will begin trying to find a match for K'landrin, too. He's older than T'kanna, though it's traditional to marry your daughters off first. But, if she could get K'landrin married... It'd give us all some relief by getting him out of the house."

"But, I thought you said he... was only awful around you."

"Yeah. But we both live under the same roof." He paused at a fruit vendor. "Hungry?"

"Sure," Vania replied as Eddin held out a handful of plums. "Thank you. What can I buy you to contribute to this snack time?"

Eddin chuckled as he tossed a small apple into the air. "We'll see what we find next that looks good."

Eluri leapt from Vania's shoulder and flew up after the fruit, breathing fire on it as it fell, then snagging the roasted apple midair. She landed back on Vania's shoulders, standing on just her hind legs as her front claws gripped the apple.

Vania chuckled and patted Eluri's head. "Okay, show off."

Eluri tossed the core, snorted a flame at it to cook it further, then swallowed it whole with a snap of her jaws. She looked at Vania, stretching her scaly wings and cocking her head.

Vania just looked at the lucid quizzically and returned her attention to the vendors along the street.

Eluri turned her gaze to Eddin and whistled. As he turned, she flew from Vania's shoulder to his, landing beside Prant. She shuffled her clawed feet and looked between Eddin and Vania, wings flapping softly.

Eddin smiled slightly as he looked at the lucid. "That's for Vania to decide. But, sure, I'll ask her."

Apparently satisfied, Eluri hopped from Eddin's shoulder and glided back down to Vania's, landing lightly. She clung to Vania's shoulder, letting her tail curl around Vania's neck, head curiously thrust forward to look at what Vania was looking at, eyes lighting on the bronze chain Vania accepted as she handed over some coins.

Eddin stepped beside Vania and said quietly, "Eluri wants to know if you'd like to join her sometime."

"Join her? How?" Vania turned away, quickly pocketing her purchase.

Eddin lengthened his stride to catch up. "Well, you know." When Vania just frowned, he added, "She could make herself big enough to ride, too."

"I thought size changes tired her."

"She'd only need to be about the size of a griffin to carry you. That's not that great of a change. A little tiring, sure, but not enough to make her too tired to fly. I think it'd be a great way to start. Get you used to—"

"Let's talk about something else," Vania cut in quickly. She walked quickly down the street, eyes forward, toward the glittering waters of the pier far ahead, ignoring the myriad carts, wagons, and stalls full of goods she passed.

"Vania," Eddin said, hurrying to keep up. "Slow down. What's wrong?"

Vania stopped abruptly, breathing hard as she stared down the street, not looking up at Eddin as he stopped beside her. Finally, she said, "I used to. With Mom." She swallowed. "I was still learning. When I did something stupid, Mom was always able to rescue me." She drew in a deep breath and said quickly, "The night before they died, she had to rescue me from falling. She ended up falling with me. I was only bruised, because she managed to get under me. She was hurt. She tried to hide it, but I know it was bad. They dropped me off at Derry's the next morning, and never came back to get me. I always thought... when they got attacked by the Enforcers... she couldn't defend herself because she was injured." She let out her breath in a huff. "I never tried again."

"Oh, gods, Vania, I'm sorry."

Vania started to walk stiffly away, eyes staring straight ahead.

Eddin grabbed her elbow. "Vania."

She looked up at him, eyes welling with tears. "I just can't."

"It's okay," he replied. "I understand." He let his arm slip slowly around her shoulders and draw her closer. "When something's tied to such a strong memory... it's hard to get past it."

She shut her eyes as she leaned against him. "You..."

"Yeah," Eddin replied quietly. "I understand. There's things I can't do, either. For the associations..."

Vania nodded, then whispered, "Eluri's reading my mind again, isn't she?"

"No. Well, maybe. But if she is, she's not telling me anything."

"Then, how...?"

"I told you. I understand." Eddin squeezed her shoulder gently.

They stood there for a few moments, the crowd in the street parting and swirling around them like river currents around a rock.

Taking a deep breath, Vania straightened, wiping her eyes irritably. "Let's. Um. Keep moving." She swallowed against the lump in her throat. "And talk about something else."

Eddin nodded, slowly dropping his arm as she stepped away. "Sure. What would you like to talk about?"

"I don't know. Something." Vania started walking down the street again, looking over the various stalls and carts. After they passed a vendor selling exotic jewelry, the seller shouting that her pieces made great wedding gifts, Vania asked, "What do you think T'kanna's doing right now?"

Eddin sighed. "Oh... probably wondering to herself if she could do something to make this suitor decide to remove himself from the quintet of suitors." After a pause, he added, "She won't, though. She's too good. Plus, it'd made Mother upset. If T'kanna chooses someone else on the suitor list is one thing. Sabotaging the process is quite another."

"That's... well. There has to be some way for her to make her own preferences known." Vania looked over to Eddin as she handed him a steamed bun stuffed with chopped meats. "Would your mother consider a suitor who's not a'marlon?"

"Yeah," Eddin replied around a mouthful. He swallowed before adding, "But he doesn't have a mother or sister to make his case on his behalf. And are you forgetting he's already engaged?"

"No," Vania answered with a sigh. She plucked out a pinch of the meats from her own steamed bun and held up her fingers for Eluri to pluck the morsels. "It just seems silly. It's obvious what they want."

"We don't always get what we want, Vania."

"I know." Vania sighed, looking away as she walked slowly down the street. "I suppose the process will be much the same for K'landrin?"

"Well, no. Mother won't be trying to get five suitors for him. She'll be trying to get him to be a suitor for someone."

Vania chuckled. "Good luck. If the parents know what he's like, they won't let him near their daughters."

"Yeah," Eddin agreed quietly. "But, it's a mother's duty to see her son well wed, so she'll try."

"She'll have better luck finding someone for you. You're what you like to call a gentleman. He's an ass."

Eddin paused slightly, looking over at Vania, then looking away. "She won't marry me off."

"What? Why? Because you're secretly engaged and you didn't tell me?"

"No. If I don't get called back to resume my Animal Wrangler duties and die on the front lines, I'll just remain in my mother's house. Duertes."

Vania furrowed her brow. "Duertes?"

"An unwed son." Eddin walked away, turning down another street.

"What?" Vania hurried to catch up. "Why would she marry the other two off and not you? Didn't you just say it's a mother's duty—"

"Because, Vania." He held out one of his gloved hands to her.

Vania stared at his hand, remembering the sight of the eye in his palm. "That's silly, too," she said finally, still looking at his hand.

He slowly curled his fingers over his palm and dropped his hand. "No. It's how she protects the family name. To ensure her other children can get good matches and stay well off."

Vania sighed. "Nobles." She shook her head. "Easier to just not be."

 He smiled faintly, looking at her. "Maybe."