Granny's Arrangements
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 43830
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Few people could successfully lie to Granny, with her keen mind and the
knowledge of body language she had acquired from a lifetime of careful
observation, and Astra was not one of them. Granny was fairly sure that
Black Zari's tale was pure fabrication, but what she did not yet know was
what the girl's motive was. Was she spying for the authorities, who might
suspect that Golabi was underpaying its taxes? That did not seem very
likely. Was she perhaps working for the alchemists? For someone else? Or
did she have some scheme of her own? No, Granny did not yet know, but she
intended to find out.
She went into her own quarters and took down from a shelf a small phial filled with a colourless liquid. Then she sought out one of the hamlet's women. "Mary," she said to her, "please see that one extra place is set for dinner this evening." "The tar woman?" "Yes. In her honour, you will serve the best pear brandy to accompany the meal. Into hers, please pour a few drops of this." She handed over the phial. "Is this...?" "Never you mind. I will join you towards the end of the meal." As soon as Astra's guide Bella - a short stocky young woman with a cheerful countenance - had led her away from the meeting area, the princess asked the question that was uppermost on her mind. "Why does Granny want me to go to Corona or Polabi once I leave here? I would much rather resume my journey westwards without the long delay which that would entail. My sister is expecting me, and will soon start to worry." And that's no more than the truth, she thought. My sister - and the rest of my family - must be frantic following my mysterious disappearance from the palace. I've been gone how long now? Let's see: four days as a 'guest' of Gilder and now almost two days on the run. So it's the best part of a week. And even if all goes well, I still have a journey of weeks, if not months, ahead of me. Bella was not really aware of the political considerations that had influenced Granny, and even if she had been she would have known better than to mention them to an outsider. But she thought that she knew why Granny had made the decision that she had. "The area west of here is a wild one, Black Zari - or should I call you 'White Zari' now?" Astra chuckled. It would suit her if people assumed from her adopted name that her natural hair colour was black. She replied: "Or even 'Red Zari'. Though hopefully my skin colour will return to normal after a few days. Already the wrinkles in my fingers and toes are vanishing." Then she thought: No, 'Red Zari' wouldn't do. Someone not knowing the reason for it might link it to my hair. So she added: "Joking aside, I'm happy to remain known as 'Black Zari'. But you were telling me about the area west of here..." "It would not be safe for a woman travelling alone to go that way overland. Apart from anything else, they say that west of here is where the alchemists are based. From Corona you could take another ship to complete your journey. That would be the sensible thing to do." "But why did Granny mention Polabi as an alternative? And why the Courthouse?" Bella shook her head. "I do not know. I suppose they might want to ask you about the loss of your ship." Astra tried unobtrusively to adjust her dress and tunic a little. Not surprisingly, the village had not had anyone of her dimensions. Designed to be ankle length, on her the dress came only to mid-calf. More significantly, it was too tight across the bust and too loose at the waist. Astra wasn't going to complain, though. She knew that beggars could not be choosers.
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JH
7/31/2004 2:09:19 AM
Extending Enabled
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