Vere smiles and takes Robin's hand in his own.  "Shall we to the boat?" he asks her lightly.

“Boat.”  Robin sticks out her tongue as she twines her fingers around Vere’s lovingly.  “I gueeesss so.”  She says with mock-reluctance as she smiles up at him.
            Chirping cheerfully, she continues as they stroll down to the boat, “That went well, I think.  No blood, no screaming.  A reasonable amount of threats.”

"Indeed," Vere answers.  He looks at Robin, glances back at the hut they are walking away from, then shakes his head slightly.  "I was heartened by the meeting, and I believe I begin to see a way clear to an ending of this war.  Although it may not be completely to my sister's liking, which should prove interesting."

"You're amazing, Vere."  She says with heartfelt wonder.  "All I really got was the shape of the boulder I've been smashing my head against."

"Ah, well," Vere replies with a smile.  "Shape is so key to so many things, is it not?"
            He purses his lips and whistles, the sound of a robin warning of a crow overhead, and then smiles at her once more.

"That's pretty.  You're a great whistler, too."  Robin is still smiling and bubbling.  It would take perhaps a Vere to notice that her fluttering hands are near weapons both seen and unseen, her skips keep her head turning so that she can see in many directions and that when she turns to Vere, a rather good amount of peripheral vision goes up and down the path they're on.  Yep, Robin is all kinds of giddy-coated menace.

Vere smiles again, and says quietly, "I am the luckiest and happiest of men."
            Then, with a laugh, he begins to skip as well, and the two of them skip together, hand in hand, down the path to the beach and their waiting rowboat.
            "I shall row, my love," he tells her.  "And you shall sit and watch, and warn me should Leviathan, Kraken, Dagon, or the Dread Dooplevoomer of the Deeps rise from the sea and attack."

“Chameleon,” she wrinkles her nose at him with a chuckle, but her sparkling eyes do take in a lot of sky and sea as she seats herself in the boat.

"Indeed," he acknowledges as he pushes the boat off the beach, then springs into it and takes the oars.  "It is a valuable ability.  I must trust to you to know the true me, for sometimes I myself am not so certain."
            He begins to stroke, moving them away from the island smoothly and surprisingly quickly.

She blows a kiss to him.  "Okay," is her cheerful answer though her eyes show that she takes the charge seriously.

Vere rows silently until the little boat floats halfway between the island they just left and the island where his mother and sister currently are headquartered.  Then he ships the oars and allows the boat to drift.
            He looks around at the empty sea, then smiles at Robin.  "This is most likely as secure and private as we can manage, with witches and priestess about," he says.  "Bringing up the Pattern in our minds would no doubt ensure greater privacy against the possibility of scrying magic, but I am loath to do it given the current situation."

"Me, too!"  Robin says heartily.  "Soooo, why is this more secure?  Distance?  Salt water?  Something else?"  The girl is definitely curious about how the magic of this place works, especially along the how-to-defend-against-it lines.

"Nothing esoteric, I fear," Vere answers.  He removes his father's trump from his pouch, but for the moment continues to hold it face down.  "Rather, I am trusting that by now our guests have grown tired of watching us row, and that my mother's priestesses have not yet noticed that we are returning.  It is a risk, but with scryers upon both sides I fear there will never be a time without such risk."

Robin nods her understanding as she sits back with arms crossed.  "Yep.  Ever since I got hit here for havin' bad portents, I've sort of given up on any thought of privacy in this place.  Jove, though," she shakes her head, "I'm worried that he might have done something... extreme because he couldn't stand the thought that hostiles might be watching..."
            "You go ahead with your call."  Robin waves a hand to Vere as she stirs herself out of that thought.  "I'm going to take in ambiance," the girl chuckles as she turns her bright eyes out to the sea and sky.

Vere smiles again at the sound of her laugh.  "I do wish to speak with you about what we learned," he says.  "And before we return to my mother and Avis.  I do not think they will be best pleased by what I am going to suggest."  His smile quirked slightly, it was difficult to tell what that expression meant.

“Good.”  Robin nods with a mischevious twinkle in her eye.

"As well, please feel free to join in my conversation with Solange, if you wish.  I think she should be made aware of the situation in the Isles, and our thoughts concerning Ysabeau.  She deserves that."
            He raises his father's card slightly, but does not turn it over yet, waiting and watching Robin.

“Ooookkaaayyyy.” Robin allows.  “But it could get awfully girly.”  Her brow furrows for a moment at the thought of her and Solange getting girly.  But what the heck, stranger things have happened.  So, keeping her center of gravity low, she slides over to sit beside Vere in the boat, shoulders touching and one hand curled around his.

He smiles down at her, delaying turning over the card for a moment longer as he bends and kisses the top of her head.

Robin shivers in glee as a wave of squiggly-golden delight vibrates down from her head to her feet and bounces back up.
   
Then he turns the card and holds it between the two of them.  Staring at it intently, he wills the figure of his father to come to life.
            "Father," he says.  "It is Vere and Robin."

Trying to school her expre... oh, well *that's* a waste of time.  Robin beams into the card.

Gerard takes the call at once. "Hullo to the pair o'ye. Solange is speaking with Random for the nonce. Tell me how it went with Vianis' crew."

"Ah," Vere says.  He pauses then, before continuing.  "Not precisely as I expected.  In fact, I begin to wonder if perhaps Mother might be somewhat at fault, and if Robin and I might be forced to bring an agreement that is closer to the Chancellor's desires than those of Mother and Avis.  If they speak truly when they say that the war is fought over the Chancellor's belief that the Goddess wishes the people of the Isles to cease their old war against the Witch Queens, and seek friendship instead, then I find myself inclined towards the Chancellor on this matter.  I would greatly appreciate your thoughts, Father."

Robin nods her agreement with Vere.

"Yer ma's a stubborn woman," Gerard replies. "I've no truck with the Witch Queens for what they did to my sister, but it may be time to put away that old war. Most of those who led it are dead now, on both sides."

He frowns. "Do ye think they're tellin' the truth?"

"I think it possible, at the least," Vere answers.  "Enough so that I wish to pursue the matter.  Robin and I have arranged to meet with Viannis and one or more of the leaders of the Witch Queens in a sixday, at the city of Altona.  That meeting should prove most instructive."

“Very instructive.”  Robin nods her agreement with Vere, redux.  Then her brow furrows.  She hates to interrupt but Gerard has mentioned something that her father has been notably... quiet about.  “What did the Witch Queens do to your sister, sir?”

Gerard frowns even more. "That's a long story, and one that's better told in person than at a distance," he replies.

Solange steps forward and touches Gerard's arm, joining the trump contact. She nods to Vere and Robin but stays quiet, not wanting to interrupt their conversation.

“Okay.  That makes sense.”  Robin allows, though she really feels like it’s her fate to step in the poop on this one.  “Hi, Solange.”  The girl perks up as her sister joins the conversation.

"Solange," Vere says with a smile.  "We are in a boat and away from the envoys of the opposite side of this way, so we can talk more freely now."

"I would like to come through and talk, then contact Father again when I'm done. Will this work for everyone?" Solange asks.

"It is little more than a rowboat," Vere warns her.  "So you must take care when you come through."

Robin's eyebrows go up in surprise, but then a snicker runs through her at the thought of three Gods in a rowboat.  "Sure," she chirps.

"I'll wait for ye," Gerard says. But he clearly doesn't like it.

"I won't be long," Solange promises. She kisses Gerard on the cheek, then steps through the contact and into the rowboat.

The boat sways a bit with her sudden weight, but Solange easily compensates and steadies herself. She looks up at Robin and grins. "Hi sis. It's good to see you again."

"Father," Vere says.  "We should not be o'er long."  He waits a moment longer to see if Gerard has any last words before breaking the connection, and slipping his father's card back into his pouch.

"Let me know when you're done." A bit of Gerard's testiness has slipped into his voice. "Until then."

“Bon jour, ma soeur.”  Robin chirps back with a twinkle in her eye.  (While it’s possible that at some time in the far distant past, Robin’s rough-and-tumble patois may have had a brief-yet-intimate moment with the famed St. Just Langue, it’s likely that both tongues will now completely disavow that the meeting ever occurred.)  “It’s good to see you again, too.”  The cheerfulness of her greeting is somewhat belied by the worried weather-eye the girl keeps on their surroundings.

Solange finds a place to sit and turns herself so she can see both Vere and Robin. "Thanks for bringing me through. I wanted to talk to you about Father, the Paresh, and floating women. Is it safe to talk freely here?"

"Safe?" Vere repeats.  "A relative term.  Both my mother's people and her foes have sorceresses who can hear voices on the wind, or watch and listen from a distance via mirrors or still water."  He smiles slightly.  "Consider that we are as safe from being overheard as we would be in a high technology shadow, where we had no access to anti-eavesdropping devices.  Scrying is not a simple matter, and it takes time and attention, but there is little protection when someone is determined.  I am relying on my mother's people not knowing we are on our way back, the envoys we have just left having grown bored of watching us row back to my Mother's Island, and no one else knowing where we are."

Robin nods at Vere’s comment but is much more sanguine about being overheard.  “We aren’t going to get much better while we’re here,” she shrugs.
“Floaty women?”  The girl asks.

Solange smiles at Robin--she knows how strange that must sound. "Well, that's getting ahead of myself, but sure, I'll start there. "I found the Paresh. And I talked to Elder Germaine, who I know Vere is familiar with, though I don't know if you, Robin, have met him. Anyway, while there he decided to ask a question of the spirits--whatever exactly that means--and this floating woman showed up. We went out to investigate and she ignored everyone else but focused in on me."
            She pauses here, trying to find words to describe the experience without sounding too unbelievable.
            "She was searching for someone, but I wasn't the person she sought. I sensed from her apprehension...and expectation about something, but I don't know what. There was also a feeling of great distance, though whether that was physically or temporally--or both--I don't know.
            "The most disturbing thing about the encounter for me was that she took total control of me just by meeting my eyes--I had no choice in the matter. It...felt like a trump contact, like I was engaged in a trump battle, but I lost hands-down."

Vere frowns.  "Hair colour?" he asks.

"Reddish...and very curly...kinky and long.... She didn't look like anyone I knew," Solange replies.

"If it's the same lady, reddish, long and curly."  Robin nods.  "I may have met her too.  Twice.  Or maybe more like one-and-a-half times.  Or maybe once and a... something else."  She rambles to a stop, blushes and waves for Solange to continue.  After all, Solange already said the floaty woman bit was ahead of the story, and now Robin's already running off down that trail.  Better just to let Solange tell it her way.

Too late--Robin has Solange's full attention. "You've seen her too? She was doing this thing with her hand, like shading her eyes, looking off into the distance?"

“First time, yep.  Second time (or whatever) she was more active, getting real up close and personal.  I don’t know if she got any satisfaction out of her searching on that one, though.  The whole interlude-thingy was interrrupted... I think.”
            “Who was ‘everyone else’ and what was the sky doing at the time?”  Robin is curious now, looking for patterns.

"It was night. Elder Germaine said that she leaves when the moon rises," Solange replies, ignoring the "who else" part and hoping Robin wouldn't notice.

Vere asks, "What was she wearing when each of you saw her?  Was it a white robe?  And did you notice if she wore something on a chain about her neck?"  He tilts his head to one side, considering, and then adds.  "And you both say she was floating.  Did it at all appear that she might have been underwater, with her hair moving about her hair in the water?"

Solange snaps her fingers, getting animated. "Yes, wearing a white robe and her hair all floating out about her. Could be like she was underwater, yes. I don't remember a chain."

“Long white robe, yes.  I didn’t notice a chain if any was there...”  Robin’s tilts her head to one side and her eyes unfocus as the scene replays in her memory.
            “I don’t have enough experience to judge how hair moves underwater, but it was sort of all spread out around her head.  Like a corona.” She circles her hands vaguely around her own head.  “I do remember her hair reacting slightly to the winds Jove and me stirred up that first time.  And the moon.  There was definitely a relation between the floaty woman and the moonlight.”
            Her eyes snap back to Vere.  “First time I saw her was here in the Isles.  Jove, myself, Siege, Kourin, T’lon, L’tarn – lots of the riders did too.  The Dragons didn’t see her at all.  Even when they were looking.  I think it kind of upset them to know that their partners were seeing something they weren’t.
            “Nothing much happened that time.  But I agree with Solange, there was a sense of distance, searching... maybe dread as well.  I, uh, threw a rock at her,”  Robin blushes,  “but it passed right through her shoulder with no effect or reaction.
            “Second time...” her eyes drift off again.  “I have no independent corroboration.  Could’ve been a dream or vision or something.  Happened in the developing fuzzy lands between Arden and Arcadia.  That time...” Robin starts struggling with the words, “there were two others there.  Boy and girl.  Feral kids stalking the moon-lady.”  A fond smile lifts Robin’s lips at the memory.
            “They... I think they were Dad’s kids by Calliste.  Moon-lady locked eyes with... froze? the girl.  When I moved on the boy, I... got caught?  Big searching gaze.  Luminous.  Are you the one who will bring my journey to an end?  I... was still... I think I was still free.”  Those green eyes turn a sympathetic/horrified gaze on Solange.  Robin has never lost a Trump battle and hopes that she never, ever, ever has that opportunity.
            “Anyway, I... was woken right about then.  So I don’t know.  Though I do still believe that I saw my brother and sister.  Stalking the verge of Arcadia as wild things.”  There’s that fey smile again.

Solange, who had been leaning forward to listen to Robin's story, sat back thoughtfully. "Vere, you sound as if you've had an experience with her, too?"

"A dream," he answers.  "On the path down from Corwin's Paris to Rebma.  She sat on a throne in a great hall of stone, and called me a ghost.  While she appeared solid, I appeared misty and incomplete. Later, I heard there were legends in the Seaward of such a woman and throne.  They called her 'the Queen of Air and Darkness.'  I am led to wonder if there is a connection with Tir."

“Hunh.”  Robin blows out a breath in thought.  “Last time I saw Tir was in the land of painted immanence.  And there was no stairway.  Hmmm... mmaaaabbbbyyee we should mention some of this to Cambina?”  Robin allows reluctantly.

Solange shakes her head in puzzlement. "I do wonder that we alone of the family have seen her. I don't know that for sure, but I suspect it based on the fact that Brennan didn't know of her when I mentioned this to him--if there's something going on with the family he always seems to know about it. So I wonder if she's appearing only to Rilga's line or somesuch, and why?"
            She turns to Robin. "Oh, before I forget, Brennan knows you're Ysabeau's daughter. He came across a trump of her in Brand's effects and went asking around to see who she was. Caine told him her name and her story. He saw the family resemblance with me and inquired. I acknowledged it, and he immediately went to you as well. He said we looked more like each other than anyone else. I'm sorry if you wanted that to remain a secret."

"It was not a secret that would have lasted for much longer, in any case," Vere says, taking Robin's hand is his own.

She squeezes Vere’s hand and smiles back to him.  “Nope.  And the real secret was that I existed at all - not who my parents were.  And even as far parents go, I’m not really sure Mother was so much of a secret as opposed to something  that people don’t talk about.  Probably because King Oberon forbade the mention of mother’s name in Amber.
            “Thing is, though,” she shifts uncomfortably in her seat, “once this news starts making the popular circuit, you and me, Solange, are going to be painted in the colors of our Mother’s history.  Especially by our Aunts and Uncles.  And while I don’t know about you, I sure don’t have a clue as to what those colors will be.  Aaannnddd I’m thinking that might not be a good thing.”

Solange smiles. "Probably not."

“Oh!  Couple of other things.  Floaty moon-woman, Daeon never told me or Jove that he had seen her and I rreeeaaallly think he would’ve if he had.  And Dad hasn’t seen her either.  So it might be too early to hook it into Rilgan descent.  Also, our Mother left a Trump deck with Vere’s mother ‘for her daughter.’ I’m thinking it’s only fair we share it... but I already gave one card to Vere.  We can take that out of my share.”  She says with rueful grin and a bob of her head.

"Well...maybe hook it onto Ysabeau descent then," Solange replies.  "Vere can see ghosts, so that would explain the non-Ysabeau exception.  I don't know, but I think there's something there."
            Solange shrugs.

Vere nods thoughtfully.

“What trumps did she leave?" she asks curiously.

Robin reaches into her vest pocket and pulls out a leather pouch, well-worn and covered with decorative beads in the shape of a stylized bird. It's tied closed. 
            “Probably all the ones she had.”  Robin answers sadly as she hands the pouch to Solange.  “I gave the one of Corwin to Vere.”
“I think there’s something about floaty moon-woman and our heritage too, now that I know there’ve been other sightings and by whom.”  Robin says as she reaches into her vest pocket.  “I just wanted to get in a few more facts.”

Vere laughs.  "My habits are beginning to infect you, my love," he says.

She chuckles and bumps him fondly with her shoulder.  “Only because you’re so amazingly... contagious.”  Nose wrinkle for the beloved.

Solange nods at Robin's statement as she opens up the bag and slips the trumps out. She fans through them, doing a mental count. "Hey, looks like a full trump deck...though I don't see a trump of the castle...and who's this, do you know?" She holds up the half-finished trump.

“It’s our uncle Huon.”  Robin answers flatly.  “Met him recently.  Exchanged pointed opinions.  Was overwhelmed by his arguments.  Good money has him on the way to Rebma leading an army chock full of rifles and cannon.  Oooorrr if we’re *really* lucky, he’s still local, has figured it out and is hunting us.  Either way, Solange, he’s not a friend of mine.  The bastard’s canon killed Canareth.  And I still intend to seriously fuck him up the next time we meet.”  She's snarling by the end, but pulls back enough to send an apologetic glance to Vere.

Solange raises eyebrows. "Hunh. So that's what he looks like. Last I heard he was on his way to Amber with guns. Apparently he changed objectives."
She pauses, then her shoulders drop and she grimaces. "Canareth was Jovian's dragon, wasn't it? I'm so sorry, Robin. How is your brother?"

Robin blinks a little, then looks away out over the water.  “Broken,” she whispers.  A shudder of repressed emotion ripples through her and she looks back to Solange with liquid eyes.  “B-but he’s strong.  He might be... better in decades.  Instead of centuries.  We hope.”
            She’s sitting with the children of Gerard.  She knows they understand.

Vere takes her hand in his.

Robin squeezes his hand gratefully and smiles at him through her sorrow.

Solange lowers her gaze and is silent for a moment in sympathy.  Then bringing herself back to the present, Solange folds up the trumps and hands them back to her sister.

"Robin, I already have all these trumps--minus the half-finished one, of course--so you keep them, okay?"

“Okay.”  Robin allows,  “But they’re here for you to use too.  If you ever need duplicates or a replacement or something.”  The girl’s innate sense of fairness is sticking her a little.

Solange smiles. It was a gesture that Robin didn't have to make and she appreciates it. "Thank you."

"Huon appears to be seeking a sword, perhaps one similar to those wielded by Corwin and Bleys," Vere tells Solange.  "Corwin and Random have both been informed, and one assumes the information is being passed on as needed.  He did something, perhaps Pattern-based, perhaps Sorcery, in the temple of Ysabeau, and it appears the water there now partakes of the nature of Rebma.  Walking down into the flooded depths of that temple might be possible."

"That's interesting, and I imagine quite an expenditure of resources on his part. Do you have any idea why he'd bother? What's down there? How did it come to be underwater? Is that where she's buried?" The questions pour out, Solange for the moment having forgotten the things she wanted to discuss in light of discovering more about her deceased mother.

“Huhn.”  Robin says.  “He said he was there to pay respects to his sister.  I’m not sure if he was responsible for the breathable water nature of the place.  Though I will allow,” she nods to Vere, “that he – at the very least – disrupted some fairly sorcerous aquatecture.  If he didn’t create it himself.
            “The temple’s underwater ‘cause theeeerrrreee’s been a little problem with the weather over the city and it’s kind of flooded right now.”  Oh yeah, that came out natural.  Nothing suspicious here officer.
            “And yep, that’s where she was buried.  At least before the tomb was descrated.  I don’t know about afterward.”  She shrugs and looks over to Vere to see if he has anything to add.  (OOC – I don’t know what Solange’s water is, but medium to high waters would be able to tell that Robin’s very nervous – and perhaps more than a little scared – concerning the Temple.)

Solange raises her eyebrows at Robin's reaction to her questions, then her eyes also flick back to Vere.

"We are considering a thing," Vere says to Solange.  "With the importance that Ysabeau holds in the history of the Isles and the Mainland, we have thought that it might be valuable to seek conversation with her ghost."

"Oh..." Solange's expression turns wistful. "Is there anyway I can accompany you?"

"Ummmm... it's absolutely your right to come if you want to, Solange."   Robin's very firm on that.  "I-it's just that I... have a history with the place.  And, and get a bit... strange when I'm there."  Those green eyes turn to her beloved master of words as the language starts to fail her.

Solange's eyebrow raises at Robin's use of "strange." "Oh?"

"You would be more than welcome, sister," Vere tells Solange.  "Our only concern in bringing you into all of this has been that there are many here who would lay claim to you, if they could, and seek to bind you with obligation.  I have no doubt at your ability to tell them quite firmly where they can place their claims, if you so choose."

Solange nods agreement. "Oh, most certainly. I have no desire to get embroiled at this time -- Father is waiting for me return, as are...others." She shrugs. "When are you planning to do this?"

"Soon,"  Robin shoots a look of inquiry to Vere.  "Definitely within the next 3 days our time.  I'd like to leave a recovery-margin before the pow-wow at Altona."
            The girl's decided to leave definitions of 'strange' for later -- no point in spooking Solange ahead of time.

Vere nods.  "In point of fact, my preference would be for a brief talk with my mother and sister, then a meeting with the Children of Lyr and Lord Worth, and then a quick return to Ysabeau's temple.  We can make it quickly."  A smile flashes across his face.  "If you should see Martin any time in the near future, you might mention that I have commandeered the boat he left in the Isles."

"Sure," Solange agrees, wondering briefly what Martin was doing in the Isles. "How is my foster father?" she asks. "Well, I hope?"

Robin nods her agreement with Vere's timing.  And then lets brother and sister talk, as that was the original intent.

"Well, when last I spoke with him.  I fear I have been somewhat busy running about the place in the recent past, and have not had a chance to consult with him recently."  Vere frowns, but then lets the expression pass and continues.  "He will be gratified to hear that you are well.  With luck, we will be leaving the Isles in the very near future.  I intend to bring this war to a conclusion one way or another."

Solange nods. "I know Father will support you in that. And speaking of Father..." She shifts on her seat and grimaces, trying to figure out just where to start with this next part of their discussion.
            "I came up with a plan to fix Father's legs," she continued, looking at them both. "It's a bit...unusual. I thought it worth pursuing at the time, but now I'm not so sure, and I'm looking for outside opinions. Especially from you, Vere, because it involves the Paresh and it involves spirits. Ghosts.
        "I came across evidence that Elder Germaine--one of the Paresh's leaders (she added for Robin's benefit)--had traveled through time in some manner. Vere knows about this, for in the Paresh Temple he saw Elder Germaine as a young boy. And as a young boy Elder Germain sketched a picture of Vere in the back cover of a book I saw.
        "Vere, when you saw him as a boy, was he flesh and blood? Or a ghost?"

Robin keeps her mouth shut and lets Solange talk her way to her plan.  Though she can't quite keep the dubious look from crossing her face.  But what the hell, just because she's more comfortable with singing lizards than spirits doesn't mean it won't work.

Vere cocks his head to one side, regarding Solange.  "He and his mentor appeared to me in the same way that ghosts usually do," he answers.  "That is, they appeared to be solid, and I appear to be solid to them, but we cannot actually physically interact.  I have never seen a vision of a living person before, but clearly Germaine did not die as a boy, so that was not a ghost I saw.  And we have the evidence of a drawing from the days of his childhood to prove that he saw me in the past.  I hypothesize that the powerful emotions associated with losing his elder brother, who was carrying out the desires of his mentor, triggered Germaine's latent psychic abilities, which coupled with my own esoteric ability, and allowed us to see each other across time."

Solange nods, considering his words. "My thought was to somehow go back in time and warn Father not to be below during the time of the Sundering. If we could get a message backwards in time. And if Father would believe it and heed it."

Vere blinks.  "I beg your pardon?" he asks.  "Changing the past?  Can that even be possible?  What was, was.  If Father had not gone below and been injured, everything would have been different.  We would not exist as we are now.  To change the past is to destroy the present."

"Hunh."  Robin blows out a comtemplative breath that lifts her bangs off her forehead.  Rolling the idea around in her mind, what she comes up with is
"Boy,sis.  I don't know if that's possible or not.  But I *do* suspect that Vere's right and the attempt would have universal ramifications.  You might bounce the theory off Fiona and Random before you try it.  If they say it's a go though, let me know... I might have a handle on some potential time-travelers.  I think.  Maybe."

Solange runs a hand over her face. "I suspect you're both right--it's been too long. If we could've done something like this days after the event, rather than years, then the divergence would not be as big of a deal. After all this time, though....
            "On the other hand, maybe the divergence is not as big of a deal as we think. I mean, there's no reason to think you and Robin would not be together, for instance. Probably even married, because you wouldn't have the vow holding you back. We would've still won Patternfall. Random would still be king.
            "It's not like Gerard was dead and we're bringing him back to affect things. He was already affecting things all along with his counsel. Now he'd just be doing it standing rather than in a wheelchair. Right?"

"Orrrrrr.... the message intrigued Prince Gerard enough that he was investigating more closely and the rock fall killed him.  Without a Regent, no council was formed and the ruins of Amber were torn apart by bickering cousins.  Vere and I killed each other in a particularly bloody battle of the civil war.  And in desperation, you returned to the past again to stop yourself from interfering.  So all of that never happened and we are already living in the better world."
            Robin shrugs with a sad smile.  "Sorry, Solange.  The 'what if' game plays all ways."

"Indeed it does," Vere says with a firm nod.  "And however it turned out, if it were possible to change the present, the resulting people would not be us.  Perhaps they would be happier, but they would be different people.  If you change the past, you slay everyone in the present."

Solange looks away out over the water. She's quiet a moment, then asks, "Vere, you've spent time with Elder Germaine. Do you think he's nutters?"

Vere considers the question for a few moments, then answers, "His visions are real.  However, he interprets them, and everything else in the world, through his own particular conception of reality.  There were times when speaking to him I was certain that his mind had simply refused to hear what I said, and interpreted my statements as what he wished I had said.  I do not believe he could be swayed from his beliefs by reason or argument.  And I do think he is open to manipulation by anyone who understands his view of the world.  Some of these spirits he sees may well be sendings from powerful sorceresses or Lords of Chaos.  I, in fact, attempted to do that very thing in my brief conversation with him during his childhood, hinting that a new King of Amber would eventually supplant Oberon, and would deserve his support."

Robin listens with one ear to the siblings and casts her gaze around the waters and sky that surround their little boat.  Just to make sure nothing’s crept up on them during the talk.

Solange nods and forces a smile. "It was a crazy idea. Really.  Anyway..." She trails off, looks down at her hands, then back up to her brother's face. "I think that's it, and I really should be getting back. Will you contact Father when you visit the temple? He'll still be with me."

"Of a certainty," Vere nods firmly.  "Should we contact you somewhat ahead of time, so that you can prepare?  Or shall we wait until we are at the temple and prepared to descend, counting on you always being ready for immediate action?"

A smile crosses Robin’s face as her eyes come back to her beloved.  A good thought that, and something that wouldn’t’ve occurred to her.  Then she turns her smile on Solange as she waits for her sister’s answer.

"Ahead of time would probably be best, though I don't expect there will be a lot of surprises on a voyage from Amber to Xanadu," Solange replies. She returns Robin's smile.

Vere nods again.  He pauses for a moment, then asks.  "How does Father fare?"

Robin’s smile drops as sadness flickers through her eyes.

"I don't know truly," Solange answers. "I've been away in shadow and had just seen him for a few moments before you called. I asked for his advice in laying the seapath from Amber to Xanadu and he desired to actually come through and assist."
            She shrugs happily. "How could I say no? I'm glad he's aboard. I get to spend some time with him and he gets to be useful. Everyone wins."

"Aye," Vere answers, some of Gerard's accent slipping unconsciously into his voice.  "He'll be better off at sea and being useful than b eing treated as an invalid, that much is certain."  He frowns, then adds in a quieter voice.  "I will settle these affairs soon, so that I may assist in finding healing for him, Solange.  I will."

A soft sympathetic croon escapes through Robin’s lips.  So many concerns pulling them all in so many different directions.

Solange smiles at her brother gently. "I know." A pause. "It was good to see both of you. I look forward to your call in a few days. Take care, both of you."

“Solange.”  Robin leans forward to rest her hand on her sister’s and speaks quietly and earnestly.  “It’s going to take a crazy idea.  Keep having them.  Vere and I are just speculating.  As were you.  Get more advice – Fiona and the King, like I said.  And treasure your crazy ideas.  The universe is far crazier than you and you’ll need them.”
            Robin’s brow furrows as she rehears her words.  Okay, that didn’t come out right.  But hopefully, Solange understands.

"Thanks, sis." Solange smiles widely enough at her that her cheek dimples. She hugs Robin and impulsively kisses her cheek. After a somewhat self-conscious pause, she hugs and kisses Vere, too.

She pulls out her trump deck. Gerard's trump is on top and she concentrates on it.

Vere smiles at her and waits silently for her to depart.

Robin lets go of Solange and waves a little goodbye.

"Yes, it's Solange," she says. "Pull me through?"

In a moment, Solange disappears in a burst of rainbow light and Robin and Vere find each other alone in the sea between two islands.

Vere smiles fondly at the last faint flashes of light, then looks to Robin.  "Shall we on to my mother and Avis?" he asks here.  "Or is there aught else we should discuss in this possible privacy?"

“I’m okay with getting on.”  Robin says as she skootches back over to her original seat.  “But if there’s anything you want to know,” she cocks her head, “I’m seem to be pretty stable right now.”   She flashes a rueful grin at him.

He returns the smile, then leans down to kiss her.

She returns the kiss with vigor, pressing this moment - rowboat, sky, water, Vere - into the pages of her memory forever.

After a long, timeless moment, he pushes her away gently.  "Indeed," he says, his breath slightly ragged.  "Let us return to Mother and Avis immediately, so that I can end this problem with the Isles, so that I can return to Father, heal him, and fulfill my oath.  I find that presses upon me."

As Robin sits back, her eyes are glowing and her color is high.  "Yeah... uh, yeah."  She tugs her tunic awkwardly back into position.  Another breath lifts her bangs.  "Me, too."  A rueful and extremely unladylike snigger ripples through the girl.
            Those green eyes dart out over the water and sky.  Guarding.  That's what she should be doing.  Guarding... not...  A quick glance finds its way back to where Vere sits framed in the sunlight dappling off the water.  The breeze lifting an occasionnal strand of dark, soft, hair into the... Dammit, Robin!  Guard!  Eyes outward.

Vere turns his attention to the oars, and begins rowing.  If he puts more energy into the rowing than is strictly necessary, well, that is no doubt due to eagerness to speed the journey.
            The return trip is over quickly, and once they are both on land once more and the boat safely docked Vere takes Robin's hand in his.  "Ever onward," he says to her with a smile, before turning and heading for his mother's tent.

Robin has slipped past stability into the place of no words as she glows at Vere and holds his hand tightly.  Into the future with Vere, does NOT get better.  She walks alongside her love silently thrumming with happiness.