[Day 26, day after the hatching]

[Laria]

She hugged her father and inhaled the scent of his leather jacket.  "Be
careful."

"I will."

"And give my sisters hugs for me."

He smiled.  "You know I will.  Be sure and send word when my granddaughter
or grandson finally gets here."

"I will.  And don't forget, if Marrid needs it, Telnor's willing to help."

He swung up onto Koroth's neck.  "I'll remember.  Be good."

The Koroth launched into the air and winked out.

******

[Day 27]

[R'chein]

"Someone come quick-- there's something wrong with him!"  

The cry was obviously Eleanora's voice, and he had no question as to who
the 'him' was.  He rushed out of his office and down the hall to Sandor's
room.

Sandor was laying stiff as a board on the bed, his muscles tensed, and
then he relaxed and tensed again.  "Get me a syringe of Tinslet's
anticonvulsive, now!" he ordered the nearest nurse.

Just as he was delivering the medicine to Sandor's system, he noted the
bluish tinge to the former Wingleader's lips.  "He's aspirated something.
Probably vomit.  As soon as he's relaxed, I need you to hold his mouth
open so I can clear the air passage..."

It was a frantic, touch and go operation for several minutes, before they
finally got the Wingleader breathing again and stabilised.

He straightened and glanced around the room.  His eye lit first on the
table.  He ordered tests run on everything there, then turned to Eleanora.  
"What happened here?"

"I don't know, sir.  I gave him the cough medicine and then he just
started spewing and then flailing like that.  Is he going to be ok?"

One of the nurses grabbed the bottle of cough medicine and uncorked it,
sniffing.  Then she held it out to R'chein, who also sniffed and then
frowned.

"This bottle has been tampered with-- poisoned.  Have you left him
unguarded at all?"

Eleanora shook her head.  "I was late, but L'sein waited until I got here.  
Sandor was sleeping then and I sat down to watch him."  Then a thought
seem to occur to her, "Oh no, I went into the bathroom and took some
willow bark-- he was sleeping and I was only in there a second, surely I
would have seen if anyone..."

"Damn, damn, damn.  The whole point of you being here was to *guard* him."

"But, I--"

"Don't be ridiculous, R'chein, you can't expect her to watch him for hours
on end without once taking a bathroom break," Sarrine defended.

"She should get someone in here when she does that."

"And when she takes him to the bathroom?  The cough medicine could easily
have been planted on L'sein's watch.  You can't blame her."

R'chein tiredly ran a hand through his hair.  "All right, all right.  It's
obvious we weren't as careful as we should be."  He sighed.  <Lofflossit,
call Dalanth and tell him his rider is needed here.>

There was a pause, then.  <Dalanth says his rider is busy with a planning
session.>

<Goddammit, he was supposed to be investigating the attempt on Sandor's
life.  It's high time he did a bit more investigating.  Tell Dalanth to
tell him I said that.>

R'chein looked over at the bed where Sandor lay un conscious, then turned
back to Eleanora.  "Tell me as soon as he wakes up."  Then he turned and
stormed out of the room.

First Blaze, now this mysterious murderer with Sandor.  He didn't like
thinking there were such people at his warren.

No, he didn't like it at all.

******

[Laria]

She sighed as she went over the plans again.  It made a certain daring,
brilliant sense, but would it work?  It had to, or Telnor was doomed...

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened to reveal Kattibrie, her eyes puffy from crying.

"Kattibrie, are you okay?"

The junior queenrider shook her head.  "He hasn't come back yet.  I don't
think he's coming back."

Laria stood, walked around the desk and hugged Kattibrie.  "He'll come
back.  He just needed some time."

"I can't stay here without him.  I can't face all those people and--"

"Kitty, all those people are your friends.  Where would you go?"

The junior queenrider seemed to still as her face set in determination.
"I'm going to Geode.  They need all the help they can get after the battle
there.  And if he comes back, you can contact me there.  Please, let me
go."

Laria considered her and slowly nodded.  "Okay.  I guess I can understand.
After... what happened with my father, I wanted to leave here, too.
Just... come back when you're ready?"

"I will," Kattibrie promised, then hugged her.  "Thank you for
understanding."

Laria watched the junior queenrider leave, and knew, somehow, that she
would never see her again.

Respectfully submitted,
 Lynette R. F. Cowper
  Laria and Vithraena
  R'chein and Lofflossit

NRPG: R'chein's just mad at the world right now, not Eleanora in
particular, but I doubt she'll notice that.

Morgie asked me to write Kattibrie out, so this is how I'm doing it.
Please, make sure she's removed from your Telnor lists.

---

 Lynette R. F. Cowper <lcowper@indy.net>, INWO Line Editor