Edon did keep his word after his proclamation that he wanted to learn. So Aleci introduced him to a simple game, Lantrunculi, normally played on a wooden board with carved stone pieces. They didn't have a board or the pieces, so he'd settled for pebbles Edon found along the lake, and a hastily drawn board in chalk on the cabin floor. As he suspected, Edon was the same as Ediann in his insistence on winning.

"You don't learn by winning," Aleci told Edon who scoffed and took a victory point.

Sometimes he wondered if Edon deliberately misunderstood him. That was the case with Ediann, now that the young boy had learned some signs, he had taken to pretending to ignore Aleci when his shoulder was tapped or when he word was signed right in front of his eyes. His spelling was hit-and-miss nowadays as well, Aleci laid the blame squarely at Domerc's feet. But it made Ediann giggle and laugh at Aleci's and Finne's attempts to understand what it was he was saying, so perhaps it was tolerable for the time being. Then when Kaeso had no problem understanding Ediann, Aleci had accused him of sabotage. 'Would I do such a thing?' Kaeso had said sweetly, 'I am just so familiar with Domerc's creative approach to spelling, what with you forcing me to read his missives and all.' If Finne hadn't been there, Aleci would have no doubt thrown his friend over his shoulder and carried him straight into the lake. He wouldn't do it, though, on second thought, Kaeso had been nothing but kind to the children and Finne. Which was saying something, Kaeso was never fond of children, and made that clear to Aleci many times.

So they passed three days in relative peace and tranquility before Domerc, like he did before when he found Finne and the children, came running to fetch Aleci. It was early morning, and Iachos had paid them an early visit to check on Ethain.

"It's a very small party," Domerc said, "Praefect."

"You've detained them?" Aleci asked.

"In a fancy tent," said Domerc, nodding with a pleased grin.

Finne looked concerned.

"You can leave the children with me," offered Iachos.

Iachos didn't take into account Ediann and Edon's stubborness, as Edon was now capable of understanding basic words, he refused to stay and Ediann followed his lead.

"Come then," Finne said to Edon and Ediann, defeated."Behave!" The last words was signed and Finne waited for them to nod their understanding before taking Ediann's hand.

Domerc lead them to the tent, which was, as expected surrounded by soldiers. There were four horses outside, and the pattern on their saddles were the same as Stygian's. Imrukians then, thought Aleci, half wondering why a bigger party wasn't sent. Domerc gestured them to come inside, Aleci had to stop himself from praising Kaeso's brilliance. There was a table with a glass of wine on it and an elaborate cushioned chair. Kaeso stood next to it, and as Aleci took his seat, winked from the corner of his eye. Kaeso gestured for Finne to stand next to him, facing the four Imrukian men. One of them was very old, his beard a grey-white. Out of the four, the one that elicited a reaction from Ediann was the youngest, with braided hair. Red hair, observed Aleci, almost like Edon's but more red.

The man's smile upon seeing Finne was not returned, and he didn't wait for Aleci to sit himself before blurting out, "You have stolen my brother's bride!"

"Oh?" said Aleci, well, that made things so much easier, "Then why had he sent you? Why did he not come, hm ?"

"Our chief Ethach sent us on his behalf!"

Very defensive, thought Aleci, curious at what the spool would reveal in the red-haired man's head if he pulled at the thread. Next to him Kaeso let out an audible sigh.

"Quiet Arbech!" the older man glanced at Finne and Aleci, his face inscrutable, "He sent us on his behalf."

From within his cloak he produced a sealed letter, which he handed to Aleci. He thanked the man, out of habit, reaching for his knife to open the letter. Over the course of his life Aleci had read many letters. The first ones he'd read had been correspondence between his mother and her sisters. They contained regular everyday chatter, about their children and families and what recipes they'd tried. In the academy the letters were slightly more formal, but there was always an undercurrent of childlike wonder, and occasional confessions of mischief. Then it had been the senate letters and decrees. Those were a delight, truly there was nothing Aleci liked more than the cat fights and back stabbings of ambitious senators. This one on the other hand… Perhaps it was all three.

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The letter started out normally enough, with Ethach's entire title, and his friendly salutations, asking how Finne and his children were. His, Aleci noted, not ours. Then the tone shifted, and Aleci swallowed his distaste. 'I do not care for whores, and their bastards', Ethach had written, 'do with them as you will. However I want the horse he stole from me-'. Aleci's lips twitched. For a man who claimed to be Imrukian, Ethach would have fitted in quite cozily with the senators. Taunting a child, how original and cruel.

He looked up from the letter and whatever expression on his face caused Kaeso to shake his head, hand on his forehead.

"Aleci, no—" Kaeso began, and Aleci interrupted him.

"You follow this man?" Aleci said, unable to stop himself.

The older man, the one with the white in his beard, looked disappointed. His younger companion, though, bristled at the insult.

"Read it then," said Aleci. "Read it aloud and see what your Chief brother has written. He has quite a way with words."

To Finne he said, quietly, "You should leave, there's nothing there worth hearing."

Finne nodded tersely, taking Ediann's hand, and reaching for Edon's "Come Edon."

"No!" Edon shook his head. "What did athair say?"

"I don't think you would like hearing it," Aleci said honestly, even as he knew from the stubborn tilt of Edon's chin that nothing would dissuade the boy. "Go," he signed to Finne, "I'll bring Edon later." He handed the letter to Finne's brother, and the young man began reading it aloud.

His eyes widened when he reached the very same part Aleci had read, and he hastily skipped over the passage, casting Edon a brief glance of pity. But he didn't expect Ethach's demand of the return of Stygian, and when that was read aloud, Edon's lips trembled.

"Wait—" Aleci said, reaching out a hand to him. The boy shrugged it off, running past the men.

"I'll go after him," Domerc called out.

"Aleci—" Kaeso began again as Aleci made to stand up.

"Your chief sent you on a … chase for a goose," Aleci said, barely concealing his grin. "A horse, in this case, a black horse. Are you going to take it?"

"I—" Arbech began.

"No," Aleci shook his head, standing up from where he sat. "Stygian is Edon's horse. If your chief wants a present back then he'll have to talk to the son that he gave it to, won't he?" He glanced at the two men. The older one looked torn between pity and disgust, the younger barely concealed his anger. Perfect. "Why do you serve him?"

"I—" Arbech began again.

"Is it not the duty of his chief to care for those under him?" Aleci questioned, interrupting him. "There is a popular saying in Imruk, something about a man and his bow? For even as Eosvenn loves the flight of arrows, he also loves the stable bow that sends it to flight?" he recited, watching as their eyes widened, "What would Eosvenn say of a useless archer?"

"You—"

"Your brother has cast aside his wife and children as if they are nothing. Does he look towards his sisters now, for a new one?" Aleci smiled, soft and deadly, letting his gaze travel between the four men. "Does he look upon your daughters and carrier-sons for a new bride?"

It had the intended effect, the three men stormed off, nearly collapsing the tent as they flung the flap open. Only the older man remained.

"You have talked with Maera."

"Yes." Aleci said, voice steady.

The old man let out a soft laugh, "So she did go to the Empire. If you see her again, please tell her Laisre wishes her well." He looked away, then met Aleci's eyes, "Please take care of Finne and his children." His accent was immaculate. "He would have made a great chief, but..." Laisre looked at Aleci, "perhaps you two can find happiness. I wish you well, Praefect."

Then he was gone with the others.

"Mytea!" Kaeso exclaimed, as they watched the four men ride away, "do you fucking realize what you just did?"

"Oh, I know," Aleci smirked, "I know."

"You hate cats, but here you are, acting like one of them," Kaeso sniffed, miming climbing. "Here I stand, Aleci, on this wooden table, let me just push this cup of wine over, to see if it makes a nice clanging sound."

"It's not like you haven't done it either," Aleci said cheerfully. Then in a more serious tone he said, "I should see Edon. That wasn't a fun piece to have read aloud."

"Of course," Kaeso agreed, nodding solemnly, "it isn't."

As it was, Edon didn't go far. One of Domerc's men pointed to where Domerc had run after Edon, and Aleci found Domerc standing a safe distance away from where Edon sat making mud pies.

"You've given away my horse," Edon muttered, wiping at his eyes, "his horse."

Aleci opened his mouth to say that he didn't, but decided perhaps it would be a pleasant surprise when Edon found Stygian later. Besides, that wasn't the problem at hand. "Edon," said Aleci, and when Edon refused to look at him, reached out to cup his chin, "Edon, look at me. You don't need to please your athair," Ethach had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with Edon. "I know he… gave Stygian to you as a present, and I'm very sorry you learned this of him. It's not easy to know that, is it? But you know, if you don't have to please him anymore, what's stopping you from making your own way? You don't have to care what he thinks anymore. You're a free man."

Edon's chin trembled, he wiped at the tears running down his face with a muddy hand, " He wants the horse! He wants the horse and not me or— or anyone! Why?"

"Because."

"Because what?" Edon shouted, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Because he's the type of person that doesn't..." Aleci hesitated, picking his words carefully. " You played Lantrunculi with me, remember the little pieces? That's what he sees people as, his little pieces to move around. You didn't move how he likes and that's why he wrote it."

"I'm NOT a pebble!"

"But he doesn't think so."

"Why?"

"Because he's just like that," said Aleci softly.

"But why? He said he..." Edon swallowed, "he was lying ?"

At Aleci's nod, Edon let out a scream of grief-and-fury. He made to throw himself to the ground, like Ediann did days earlier, but Aleci thought it best to intervene.

"Your mamaí loves you," Aleci whispered, rubbing Edon's back gently. "I don't think he's lying."

It took a long time for Edon's wails to temper into sniffs, and he pushed himself away from Aleci.

"Everyone would know I cried, " he muttered miserably.

"If you covered yourself in mud, you can claim you've fallen in," Aleci suggested, struggling to keep his voice even.

"That's even worse!" Edon shouted, but Aleci saw the smile before it quickly disappeared. "What did uncle Arbech read? He stopped himself, what did he read before he said ath—" Edon swallowed, " athair wanted my horse?"

"Nothing good about your mamaí," Aleci said softly.

Edon signed deeply, "He's… never said anything nice about him."