New Meetings...
I began to mosey for the door. I stopped short as I realized that I did not come in this way, and subsequently would not know my way back to my room unless I tracked for it. Before I realized it, I was blocking the door and could hear someone clearing their throat behind me.
"Ahem,"
Boy, was I feeling a bit stupid, and I'm sure the sudden thought of my predicament was all over my face.
"Uh, excuse me?"
I found myself facing the occupants of the table that Lachlan had been scoping out earlier.
"Are you lost?" the man was asking. I seemed to snap-to with the realization of what I was doing and could feel my cheeks flush.
"Oh! So sorry!" I instantly shifted out of the way with a smile and a nervous laugh. "As dumb as it sounds, I suppose I could be somewhat lost seeing as I had followed my nose and came in through the kitchen and not this way. I suppose I could try following my nose again. I could always find my way back on my own, or else find someone..." I trailed off as I realized I was rambling again and brought it to a definite close by squaring my shoulders with a decisive "Yes, I am lost."
The man's eyes went wide--as it seems the usual response to my rambling--and gave a little pause before responding.
"Ah. Well, where is it you need to go?" he asked.
"Well! Short of nothing better to do, I was going to head off to my room or see if my dad had gotten back yet," I replied truthfully. "But I could probably find it." I tapped my nose knowingly.
"I'm Tabby," I gave the introduction.
"Tabby, I'm Martin," he extended his hand as his eyebrow went up. "I don't know where your room is, but if you tell me who your dad is I might be able to help with that."
"Nice to meet you, Martin," I took his hand firmly. "I'm Eric's. I don't suppose you've seen him this afternoon? He had to leave on a sudden errand earlier and I find myself largely on my own."
"I see," Martin blinked. "It appears to be your lucky day, Tabby. This is Onyx, Sierra and Vanessa. We're family." He indicated the ladies behind him with a nod and a grin.
"Hello!" I greeted warmly.
"Nice to meet you, Tabby. I'm Vanessa, but friends call me Van," one of the twins smiled warmly.
"Nice to meet you, Van," I still had my big smile on as I catalogued her scent so I could differentiate her from her twin.
"I'm Sierra. Good to meet you Tabby." She extended her hand.
"Hullo, Sierra!" I gave her hand a squeeze.
"Hey," the lady introduced as Onyx greeted. "Do you run?"
I admit to be taken a bit aback at the sudden question, but I came back with an instant "Why, yes I do."
Martin decided to lead the way back to his rooms to carry the conversation on in more comfortable surroundings. He held the door open as we all trooped inside to his sitting room where there were sofas and chairs and big poofy chairs. They looked comfy, but I opted for one of the straight-backed ones as Martin announced "Please, make yourselves comfortable."
I noticed Sierra take up a sturdy chair by the fireplace. Onyx plopped into one of the poofy ones. Martin brought up the rear, heading for a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of wine and enough glasses to go around. Once he had served us all, he finally sat down himself.
"So, ladies! Where did we leave off?" he asked. No one seemed to chime in as first. We all seemed to be involved with our wine, and then Onyx spoke up.
"We were discussing other Chaosites who are here in the castle. Well, out cousin Vendric is correct, there are many here from The Courts. But as to who they are?" she shrugged. "Well, we would know if they wanted us to know."
"But I am more interested in hearing about our new found relatives," Martin looked from Vanessa and then to me. Vanessa looked at her twin and then looked back to Martin.
"M'kay. Where to start?" I asked, noticing that my glass was nearly empty. I was quite comfortable.
"What would you like to know?" Van asked. Martin couldn't seem to help a chuckle and looked at the two of us again.
"Well, let's go in alphabetical order. That would be Tabby first and Vanessa would follow. Tabby, we know you are a child of Eric, just arrived. You were recently with him but he had to leave suddenly and you were hoping to find him here in the castle," he nodded at me as he got his facts straight. "Why don't you share with us what you expect to accomplish here in Amber. What are your goals?" His fingers were steepled under his chin in interest.
"Goals," I repeated thoughtfully with another sip. "Well, I'm still trying to figure Amber out. I just entered a new chapter in my life and at the moment, I'm just going with the flow. So there are no long-term goals at the moment. However, I would love to know if there's anything going on--Flora didn't really tell me anything, and I didn't really have much of a chance to ask dear old dad as to why I was suddenly found and brought here. Up until the other day, I was blissfully clueless and didn't even know Amber even existed. So right now, I am trying to simply shift gears and adjust. I am curious about Amber, and even moreso about the sudden discovery of relatives! I am excited. I am stoked. And I am loving this wine!" I had managed in one happy breath and held up my empty glass.
Martin gave another chuckle and indicated the cupboard behind him. "Help yourself." I jumped up and headed over to find the opened bottle to get some more. I found it with no trouble and brought it back so anyone else who felt like it could also fill their glass. I set it down on the table closest to me, but I was sensing a strange presence that wasn't there a moment ago. I couldn't see anything, but it was there. I held onto my glass and found that I was absent-mindedly fiddling with my charm bracelet and barely keeping an ear to the conversation as Martin continued:
"So Vanessa. We know that you and Sierra are twins. We know that you are also newly arrived in Amber. And if I remember correctly," he paused for a few seconds looking back and forth between the twins. "You're not quite sure who your parents are. That should be a good place to start." He was still smiling and gave Van an approving nod.
"Well, according to the Pattern, our father is Corwin," Van replied with a glance at her sister and taking another sip of wine. "When we walked it, it shoed me images, maybe memories, of some red haired woman. So I imagine she was our mother. However, Fiona denies having twins or sleeping with Corwin. She isn't so sure anymore if Sierra is really her daughter."
I kept silent. Odd as this was sounding, I really didn't want to know, and this other thing happening in the room that I couldn't put a finger on was keeping me from caring too much.
Martin definitely seemed intrigued. Sierra confirmed Van's story with a nod.
"We confronted my mo--er, Fiona and her mother. They reacted differently, but still odd," she said.
"Do tell. How odd?" Martin asked.
"Well, Clarissa was rather annoyed and very dismissive, while Fiona was hesitant and unsure," Sierra said.
"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Lady Clarissa, but that certainly does not sound like Aunt Fiona," Martin mused for a moment and turned to Van again. "And what of Corwin? What does he have to say?"
"Dad was very surprised when we found out I have a twin sister and he burst out laughing at the idea of him and Fiona sharing one bed," Van replied.
I had set my glass down by this point, but I was still fiddling with my bracelet. This kind of story was something I had never heard of and would be considered pure scandal where I came from, and they were talking like it was an everyday occurrence. I'm sure I would have been more attentive and even horrified at this if it weren't for that--thing.
"Undoubtedly," Martin sounded interested and turned back to me. "So! Still curious about those relatives?"
"Hm? Oh yes!" I instantly snapped out of it. Odd, but it was like that presence simply left, like it had walked out the door.
"That's the spirit!" Martin chuckled again. He gave a heavy sigh and yawned.
"Well, ladies, I think that's enough to think on for one night, don't you?" he said rather pointedly.
"Yes, I think so," Sierra nodded and stood up to stretch. "And some of us have to get our beauty sleep." She gave a nod to each of us in turn with a smile.
"So do I," Van agreed. "Though I agree it's time for bed. I wish all of you a good night. Shall we go then, Sister?"
"G'nite, then!" I chimed and polished off my glass, feeling warm and happy. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea. So when did you want to get together next?" Martin burst out laughing.
"Can't get enough of us, eh? Well, I can't speak for everyone, but one of us has to start getting ready to be king. I'm sure we'll run into each other again," Martin recovered.
"G'nite," Onyx said quietly from chair as she got up as well.
I gave her a little wave in return and stifled a yawn as well. "I think I hear bed calling," I finally stood up. "Thank you for the wine and your company. I'm hoping I get to see a lot more of you guys around the place. Just let me know when you want to take that run. I'll be happy to join you," I turned to Onyx.
"Okay, I will," Onyx responded. I smiled with that warm feeling still and finally left the room, trying to reflect on what had been going on. Finding myself alone in the hall again, I was a little surprised at how tired I suddenly felt. It had been a full day. So I figured I'd have to track my way back to my rooms...