(Chronicler's note: "A Healer is a person, almost always a woman, who can enter an alternate consciousness and sense what is wrong with a patient, called Checking, and psychically manipulate the energy flow to correct any problem in the body. Most Healers are able to do superficial Healing of cuts, broken bones and many minor illnesses. It is rare where one Healer can control the power necessary to change the strength of the energy flows or alter them entirely and perform cures that seem miraculous.

There are, however, for those who show Talent for handling the great energy fields necessary to do these fantastic cures, techniques that are taught by the priests in the monasteries in Tithede. Candidates for this training are put through the most grueling tests. These tests not only determine if a candidate is truly able to comprehend the power she is working with, but also test the strength of character to make sure these powers do not fall into the hands of one who would abuse them. It was this training that had shaped the Princess Karinna into one of the greatest Master-Healers Thaelia had ever known." HISTORY OF THAELIA, Vol. VIII.)

Karinna roused at the sound of Shima's whine, and her mind took a few moments to register the other noise in the background as Darla knocked on her door. She called for the girl to come in, and Darla held the door open as Shima flowed gracefully from the room. "Lord Harryhl said for me to tell you that he is at your disposal."

Karinna forced a smile to her lips. "Tomorrow it is, then." She sat up in bed and straightened the covers. "Now, however, to the matter at hand. Are you ready?"

"Not really, if you have to know the truth."

Darla's tone of excited skepticism reminded Karinna of her own first time at Checking a patient by herself, and she sought to reassure Darla as she had been reassured by her own teacher. "A Healer's first diagnosis is always a little frightening, Darla. You put all of your previous training and your Talent to the test. I was nervous, too, when I did my first."

"Somehow, that doesn't help." Darla closed her eyes tightly for a moment, and then moved slowly to the edge of the bed. "What do I do?"

Karinna easily became once again the teacher. "Place one hand on my forehead and the other on my heart. Good," she remarked as Darla positioned her hands exactly in the right places by instinct. "Now close your eyes and begin at the head. Visualize the life- currents as you've been taught. Sweep from head to toe in every- increasingly deeper stages and watch those life-currents. That's it." Karinna felt with her own Talent that Darla had shifted her mental gears correctly and was getting the correct information from her visualization.

A crash and a low scream from down the hallway made Karinna jerk her mental eyes from what an oblivious Darla was seeing. She cast out in Mindspeech, a Talent she had learned from her uncle during her days in his hall, and found the cause of the disturbance. "Darla, it's the Lady Rhia!" She reached up and shook the girl until Darla's eyes flew open wide.

"Karin! I saw..."

"Forget what you saw for the moment and help me get up. The Lady Rhia needs my help now!" Darla shook her head emphatically. "No, Karin, you don't understand..."

"Darla!" Falina bellowed from down the hall. "Come quickly!"

Karinna threw the covers off the bed and got up quickly. A wave of dizziness passed through her, and she clasped Darla's shoulder to keep from falling. When she was able to stand alone, she pushed the younger woman in the direction of the door. "Go to your mother. I'll be there shortly." Darla's voice was desperate. "Karin! You can't!!"

"GO!!!" The strength of the command coupled with the urgency of the moment turned the girl around and propelled her out the door.

Karinna drew on her robe and felt around on the floor with her feet for her slippers, eyes closed as she recited a power-gathering chant that few Healers even knew existed. The calming effects of the trance began almost immediately, and soon she was rock steady on her feet and moving quickly out the door. The air about her began to snap with energy as the Healing Power flooded her consciousness.

Byrol and Harryhl were outside Rhia's room, drawn by worry and the commotion. Just visible through the cracked door, they could see Falina and now Darla working feverishly over a still figure on the bed. Karinna caught Falina's thought, "The babe can't live, and I don't know if the mother will either," and hurried faster down the hall. She came up silently behind the men and spoke in a voice made hollow and echoing with all the Power behind it, "MOVE OUT OF MY WAY!!"

Harryhl and Byrol both jumped in fright at the uncanny voice and whirled to face her. Harryhl gasped as recognition came to him. "You!" he whispered.

Without a reply, Karinna stepped between them and into the room. The energy around her made the men's hair stand up on the back of their necks. Byrol, his eyes wide, leaned over to whisper to Harryhl after she passed, "You know her?"

"SILENCE!" Karinna's eyes glowed with a blue light from within. Byrol swallowed. Falina and Darla moved away from her as she bent over Rhia, who moaned softly in the throes of another contraction. "YOU!" She pointed at Darla. "PREPARE TO CATCH THE BABY! YOU!" The finger swung to Falina "STILL THE PAINS! WORK QUICKLY OR WE LOSE THEM BOTH!"

The two Healers fled to where they were told with a startled glance back over their shoulders at the men. Karinna raised her arms over the still form on the bed. Blue light burst over her head and ran down her arms into her fingers. She closed her glowing eyes, and the light started to fade. She swayed as if buffeted by a high wind.

A roaring began in the ears of all watching her. Darla was about to reach for Karinna when the light exploded in a blinding flash. The young Healer looked down just in time to see the babe's head begin to emerge, and with a wet swish the child slid into her waiting hands, blue and still.

Karinna's eyes opened, and the blue light within them flickered slightly. Slowly she spread her arms again so that one was over the child and the other over the mother. The blue light exploded again, blinding everyone in the room and hallway. In the moments after, the roaring in everyone's ears died down; and all saw Karinna sway. Making a supreme effort, she caught her balance briefly and smiled down at the woman on the bed, who returned the smile weakly.

"Catch her!" Falina cried as Karinna swayed again and fell to her knees by the bed. Byrol pushed the door open with a crash and knelt to reach for the young woman.

Karinna opened her eyes and turned to look weakly at the mountain Lord still standing outside in the hallway. "You have a son, my Lord," she whispered before closing her eyes and going completely limp. Byrol's arms caught her before she could fall any further.

The tiny infant in Darla's arms hiccoughed once and then began to cry; its voice getting stronger with each passing moment. Rhia held out her arms, and Darla gently placed the newborn in his mother's embrace. Harryhl came into the room to bend over his wife and son, marveling at the near-miracle which had not only restored his wife to him but saved the life of his long-awaited heir.

Falina looked up from caring for Rhia, and both men could see that her eyes were overflowing with tears of relief. "I couldn't save them. It was too soon, and the babe's heart had a hole in it too large to repair. All the major blood vessels were wrong, and she was so torn and had lost too much blood!" She gazed tearfully at the still, limp form in Byrol's arms. "She saved them both. How?"

Harryhl walked over to Byrol and brushed the hair back from the pale face to reassure himself of her identity. "Karin. I should have guessed." He studied the faces around him. "Have you really no idea who she is?"

Harryhl marveled at their continued blank stares and shaking heads, "This is Karinna, Master-Healer of Thaelia; who else could have performed a miracle such as this? I swore blood revenge against her and her father two decades ago when I found my family massacred. This woman whom I've hated my whole life has just saved my wife and son!"

"And may just have killed her own children in the process!" Darla's announcement broke like a thunderclap. She looked sadly at Karinna. "She wouldn't let me tell her before she came to help Rhia. She's carrying twins of her own!"

~~~~~~~~~*

Falina smoothed the covers over the still figure. "Only the spirits know how, but both she and the children are healthy and thriving. Darla's diagnosis is correct, by the way; there are two babies."

"And Karinna herself?" Byrol's voice was full of concern.

"A Healer risks death for herself when she Heals while carrying a babe; that is the lore. She came as close to death in saving Rhia and her son as one can come and still survive, but she should be waking up later tomorrow afternoon. It's strange, though. The babes themselves seem to be giving her strength." Falina shook her head again. "I guess she is the Master-Healer with good reason."

Byrol smoothed Karinna's hair in a gentle gesture of affection he usually reserved for his own family. "Poor child! To run from Tharea and seek refuge among us Halidu must have been a last resort. How long until her children are born?"

"I would estimate seven months, or maybe a little more."

"And she's been with us for four or five weeks at least. So she must have conceived not long before she came to us."

Falina pushed at her husband. "I'm sure she will tell us in time what happened. But for now, she needs peace and quiet, and you need to get some sleep yourself. Tomorrow's Festival, remember?" Byrol allowed himself to be pushed in the direction of the door by his wife. "Do you really think I could sleep after all this? Harryhl is downstairs celebrating the birth of his son, and I think I'll join him. Perhaps the mimosia will help me get to sleep later, and I could really use a drink." He looked one more time at the sleeping woman. "Take good care of her, Falina."

He heard his wife's mumbled assurances, and then found himself out in the hallway staring at the closed door. He turned and shuffled down the stairs and into one of the large sitting-rooms. Harryhl caught sight of him and raised a wobbling goblet. "Byrol! Come toasht my new...hic...shon with me." He sloshd some mimosia sloppily into another goblet, spilling half of what he poured.

Byrol caught the drink before any more could be spilled and raised the goblet. "To the heir of the Jedh!" he cried and dashed the whole amount down in a single gulp. He reached for the pitcher on the sideboard and filled the goblet more carefully.

Harryhl waved a hand around, actually pointing at nothing. "You musht pardon...pardon me, my Lord. I...ushally don't drink...mimosia...'cause it hitsh me hard if...yif I have more...more than two gobletsh."

Byrol refilled Harryhl's goblet with the remainder of the pitcher. "Forget it. Besides, you deserve it. It's not every night a man becomes a father for the first time."

"Here, here." Harryhl's goblet was raised in unison with his host's. "Do you know," he said, swallowing a large gulp of the liquor, "That thish ish the firsht shild for me? E...even my firsht wife couldn't ...couldn't give me a shon? Not...not even a girl."

"I know."

"Funny thing, your offerin' me...your eshtra Healer. An'...an' she turnsh out to...to be the one pershon who...who could...could shave..."Harryhl's voice broke. "Pardon, my Lord."

"You were lucky, we all were, to have Karinna here when she was needed."

"I hate her father, you know. An'...an' I hated her...hated her only becaush she wash...wash her father'sh daughter. A...at Counshil, I ushed to be cruel and rude...you know, jusht out of shpite. I would hear...hic...othersh shpeak sho well of her," his voice broke again. "an' I ushed to shpeak..shpeak sho ill of her."

"Don't think about it," Byrol soothed. "We all hated Gyrl, Harryhl. If I had lost almost everyone and everything I loved, I might have done just as you did." Byrol sipped more from his drink thoughtfully.

The Jedh chief put his goblet down and wiped at his eyes as if to clear away a fog. "You don't unershtan'. I made arrangesentsh for...for her to care for Rhia...thinkin' that she...she owed it to me."

"If she were here, I'm sure she'd tell you to forget it."

"But if she should..."

Byrol could follow his train of thought. "Falina says she will be alright after a good rest."

"If her babies..." Harryhl suddenly realized what he was saying. "Babies!" His glazed eyes widened and he swayed drunkenly.

"They're alright as well. Stop worrying."

Harryhl leaned toward Byrol, his eyes still bleary, but his mind struggling to work clearly again. "Look, I know I'm drunk...I need to shleep. Call me when she...when she wakesh. I need to talk to her. Thish..this might jusht shange everything!" He stumbled to his feet.

"I assure you I'll tell you when you can see her," Byrol promised. Harryhl nodded and staggered out the door. Byrol sat back and sipped his drink, wondering just what was on the Jedh Lord's mind.

~~~~~~~~~*

Karinna slowly surfaced through a sea of pain; every joint and muscle in her body felt as if it were on fire. She moaned softly and gingerly tried to move into a more comfortable position without success. The effort sent new skyrockets of pain into her head to explode in agony, making her cry out softly. She heard a rustling of skirts, and a gentle hand touched her forehead. "Lady? Be still now and I'll call the mistress." The touch left her forehead and the rusting moved away. Karinna started to sink again into the oblivion of unconsciousness, only to be pulled back by a new voice.

"Karinna? Karinna? Can you hear me? Karinna?"

Karinna opened her eyes, and Darla's face swam into focus. She opened her mouth but found it so dry that no words could be formed. Darla had anticipated her need and put a cup of liquid to her lips, speaking softly all the while. "Here, drink this. It's an herbal potion we Halidu use to clear the head. No, don't try to sit up. Lie still. That's it, Lady. Shora found me first, but I sent her on to find my mother so we can Check you again. Enough?"

Karinna pushed the cup away. "Darla." The word came out in a grating whisper. "I...Rhia?"

"Hush now. She's alright, thanks to you. The baby too."

"Hurt...all over." Karinna slowly turned her head to the window and noticed that despite the heavy drapes that kept the room dark, bright light flickered past the edges. "When...what time?"

"You've slept into the afternoon, Lady. That's why Shora was here. The feast is almost ready." Darla smoothed the hair from Karinna's forehead.

"Feast?" Memory started to return to Karinna in bits and pieces. "Feast of Ku...KU..."

"Ku Rachul. That's right."

"I...I did so want to see..." She breathed a deep, tired sigh. "But you know..who I am?...My name?"

Darla's voice was soft and comforting. "Hush don't cry. Please. Yes, we know. Lord Harryhl recognized you.."

"Then it's truly over." Karinna began to weep quietly, making her sore head throb all the more. "Now I will never have any place to run," she murmured brokenly. "No place to hide..."

"You've no need to hide from us, Lady. Don't cry. Hush. It's alright now." Darla's attempt to soothe the Healer had no effect. She tried again. "Why should you need to hide from us? We're honored to have you here. Please don't cry." With relief Darla heard the door behind her open and turned to face her mother.

Falina was startled by Karinna's tears and her daughter's stricken expression. "What's wrong?"

"Mother," Darla frowned in confusion. "She's so upset. I can't calm her at all. All she talks about is running and hiding."

The older woman approached the bedside and spoke to Karinna in a sensible tone of voice. "Calm yourself, Lady. You are with friends now. There's no need to hide anymore." She looked at her daughter. "Help me Still her pain, Darla. It might help."

Together, the two Healers mentally massaged the sore muscles and eased the throbbing nerves. As the pain lessened, Karinna's tears slowed. Finally, with another deep sigh, Karinna looked up at Falina.

Her voice held a vestige of the humor they remembered. "Your daughter's Talent is truly great, my Lady. I wish I could stay and train her as I was trained. She is the first I have found ever to have the strength to handle the Power..."

"Who said anything about your leaving?" Falina patted Karinna's hand gently and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I am a prisoner then," Karinna sighed and withdrew her hand.

Falina was shocked. "Prisoner?! Why would we do that?"

The tears began again, but without any trace of hysteria. "I am daughter to your worst enemy. Worse, I am the wife of the man who would probably enslave you all if he ever came to the throne. She sniffed. "In other times, I would have been an ideal hostage."

"Do you think so little of us that you believe we would reward your services to Larm, to our clansmen and, last night, to the Jedh Clan by making you a prisoner?" Falina shook her head in amazement.

"But I am an enemy to the Halidu people!"

"Who told you that? When?"

Karinna would not look directly into the eyes of the other woman. "In the Palace, when Lord Harryhl asked me to care for his wife. He called me a daughter of a..."

"Lord Harryhl spoke out of bitterness," Darla explained quietly, seating herself on the other side of the bed. "He lost everything in the Conflict, almost his entire family and his home torn down to boulders. You should hear him this morning, though. He speaks quite differently now."

Falina added, "He hangs about your door almost as much as he does around his wife's, waiting for a chance to apologize and speaks of some important matter he needs to discuss with you. He feels quite ashamed about his attitude, and quite excited or upset about something else. Byrol has threatened him with bodily harm if he upsets you at all."

Karinna looked up skeptically, hardly daring believe her ears. "Then I'm really not a prisoner?"

Falina threw her hands up in exasperation. "What must we say to convince you? Of course not! You are an honored guest here." She smiled again and put her hands on her hips. "Besides, do you think we would treat you poorly in your condition, or turn you out into the winter storms?"

"My condition?" It was Karinna's turn to be shocked. "What do you mean, my condition?"

Falina and Darla looked sharply at each other. "You don't know?" Darla stared at her. "I thought you had guessed and were just making sure when you asked me to Check you."

Falina took hold of Darla's arm and stood up. "You just rest now, and we'll talk later. I'll tell Harryhl that he'll just have to wait a while longer. Maybe that will keep him from wearing a rut in the hall between your room and Rhia's.

"No, wait," Karinna held her hand out to Falina. "Please tell me what Darla found out. I have a right to know." Falina looked unsure for a moment. "Please," Karinna whispered.

"Darla, go tell Lord Harryhl that Karinna won't be able to see him until at least tomorrow." Darla nodded and left the room. When they were alone, Falina sat back down on the bed and took

Karinna's hand in hers. "You really didn't know, did you?" She shook her head in amazement. "After all those years of being Master-Healer and you couldn't guess what was troubling you?"

"What is it?!"

"Well, I should have guessed from the way you've been acting lately - dizzy, nauseated, not eating, and so on. I'm happy to inform you that you will bear twins after the Spring planting."

"Twins? I'm pregnant?" For a moment Karinna's face was completely blank, and then the realization swept over her. Her face clearly mirrored the panic, anguish and disgust she felt.

"What's wrong? Aren't you happy?"

Karinna sank back into her pillow and shook her head violently back and forth. "I CAN'T be pregnant! Nooo..." Her voice trailed into a storm of sobbing that shook her whole body.

Falina gathered her into her arms and rocked her as if she were a child. She was shocked and confused by the woman's extreme reaction to what would have been good news to any Halidu woman. A Healer had few happy tasks, but one of them was giving the news of a coming birth and seeing the joyous faces of the soon-to-be parents. Karinna was acting in a manner contrary to all of Falina's experience.

Putting Karinna's reaction down to a simple case of still being stressed by her Healing at this dangerous time, she cooed soothingly and continued to rock Karinna in hopes that the tears and wracking sobs would soon subside. Finally, Karinna leaned against Falina's shoulder in a limp weight, and the sobs abated to silent weeping.

"I don't want his children. I won't have them," she moaned peevishly.

"Nonsense," Falina said emphatically, pulling Karinna away so she could look into her eyes. "You are just tired. You will feel better about this later, when you are more rested."

Karinna shook her head again, but less energetically. "No. I won't change my mind. I never wanted his children; I was never to have his children."

"The father is your husband, isn't he?" Falina asked more in the tone of a statement. Karinna gave her a disgusted look, but nodded anyway. "Well then, it is not unusual for a wife to bear her husband's child. Besides, you know as well as I do that the matter has already been decided for you."

"I should have never allowed my father to talk me into the arrangement in the first place. I could have left my position and gone back to Tithede, where I was much happier."

Falina sighed and stood up, reasonably assured that Karinna was no longer hysterical and safe to be left alone for a while. "The snows have melted long ago on that possibility, Karinna. Whether you like the prospect of being a mother or not, you might as well get used to the idea. Now both you and those babies of yours need you to rest. Sleep now; you can talk more tomorrow."

"How he'd laugh if he knew," Karinna said bitterly to herself after she was again alone.

~~~~~~~~~*

As Karinna rested and regained her strength, she also gradually came to grips with the new complication in her life. Both Falina and Darla treated her pregnancy with matter-of-factly, and neither of them allowed her to become too moody or depressed about her condition when they were around. In the hours alone, Karinna finally put into practice some of the mental discipline she had mastered so long ago, and her battle with her fate was quickly put aside in favor or grudging acceptance.

Oddly enough, the fact that she no longer had to maintain a facade of being someone she was not and simply be herself for the first time in weeks did much to aid her in regaining her spirits somewhat. The various members of the entire family managed to slip in and visit her from time to time during the days of her convalescence, and Karinna discovered that the only regret she had for having her identity revealed was the sense of awe and formality which each of them betrayed.

Most of all, she found she missed the comaraderie she had shared with Darla, who was obviously embarrassed by her former informality with the one Healer she had held in such high esteem. Karinna was at a loss as to how to regain the easy friendship with the Halidu girl again.

The morning dawned bright and sunny, and Darla appeared at Karinna's door with a tray from the breakfast table. "Are you feeling up to having some breakfast this morning, Lady?" she asked carefully, having trouble bowing with her hands so laden.

"Chan's bones, Darla!" Karinna could take the formality no longer. "I haven't changed that much, have I? I'm still the same person who needed you to teach me your language and laughed at your jokes. Just because of the life I led in the lowlands doesn't mean we can't continue to be friends!"

Darla gave a sheepish smile as she set the tray down on the edge of the bed and went to pull the drapes to let the sunlight warm the room. "I meant no offense, Lady...ah, Karinna. I just didn't know..."

"That was one of the things I always detested when I lived in the Palace, you know: the constant bowing and scraping when I walked into a room. That person no longer exists, and good riddance to her I say!" Karinna leaned over the tray and sniffed at the food. "What's all this?"

"Your breakfast. Mother told me to tell you to eat everything here, or she would come up and feed it to you herself." Darla came over to the bed, struggling to relax and having trouble figuring out how to act. "And you're to let us know if there is anything else that you think would set on your stomach."

Karinna picked up a piece of the new bread and nibbled at it. "I suppose I should really try to eat at least some of this, since I'm now eating for three." She looked up at Darla and threw the piece back down on the plate. "I won't touch a thing, however, if you keep standing there like a Palace Guard."

Darla giggled at the image and seated herself carefully on the bed so not to tip the tray of food.

"That's better," Karinna observed and picked the bread back up again. Determined to get the conversation away from herself and onto something that would bring back Darla's easy friendliness, she asked, "How was your Festival last night?"

"Wonderful!" Karinna could not have chosen a better topic, for Darla beamed with happiness. "We had one of the largest bonfires in years-the biggest I've ever seen. We danced and sang and ate. It was great!"

"I'm sorry to have missed it," Karinna said, finishing the bread and taking a sip of the weak cha. "What about all those people that came? Will they all go back to their homes now that Festival is over?"

Darla shook her head. "Not for a long time. The winter storms will start to get worse soon, and the herds of karlian are all inside the big stables in the valley for protection now. The roads get nearly impassable in a few weeks, so we all stay inside and keep warm and dry and safe."

Karinna looked at the Halidu girl and could not help noticing the glowing smile on her face as she spoke. "Come now, I can see you have something else on your mind when you think of the Festival than bonfires and singing songs. What is it?"

Darla giggled again. "It shows?"

"Very much. Now tell me."

Darla's eyes sparkled with excitement. "I have received permission to marry Banl next month, as soon as the arrangements can be made and the snows permitting! Isn't it wonderful? We had thought Father was going to make us wait until the Spring planting season."

Karinna smiled gently. "Congratulations! I take it you love him?"

"Oh, yes!" Darla exclaimed. "The marriage was arranged when we both were children, but we would have become betrothed even if it hadn't been a formal agreement for years." She became serious. "I was hoping you would stand as one of the seconds at the bonding."

Karinna blinked in surprise. "Shouldn't that honor go to one of your friends here in the hyl?"

"By tradition, there are two who stand as seconds, usually the bride's sister and the groom's brother. I have no sister, but you have been as close as a sister to me in the time you've been here. Please say you will stand with me."

Karinna was touched. "I would be most honored, Darla."

Darla smiled brightly. "I'm so glad. Oh," she suddenly remembered, "I almost forget. Lord Harryhl sent to inquire if you would be able to see him this morning. He wants to talk to you before he leaves this afternoon."

"He's leaving so soon?" Karinna drained the rest of the cha, hoping the action would hide the sudden tremor in her hands. "Is Lady Rhia going with him?"

"No, she will stay for at least a week yet, and then she'll take the baby home only if the storms aren't too severe." Darla narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "I think he has to meet with his advisors before the last meeting of the Council of Ku for the year."

Karinna sighed, still somewhat reluctant to meet with her former Council nemesis, although she knew that she would have to meet him sooner or later. "I suppose I should see him so he can get an early start."

"That's good. He's been positively breathless to see you since yesterday morning." Darla looked at the now-empty food tray happily. "You've finished! That's even better! Is there anything else I can do for you before I go tell him he can see you?"

"Before you go, could you give me a hand with my hair. I must look like I met the demon Chan himself!" Darla shook her head with a smile and brought the hairbrush and mirror from the small dresser and quickly smoothed the obvious tangles from Karinna's hair. Finally, Karinna took the brush herself and waved Darla toward the door. "Go on now, we mustn't make Lord Harryhl wait any long than he has to."

It seemed that Darla had just closed the door when Harryhl's heavy knock broke the quiet of the morning. Karinna shoved the mirror and brush under the covers and called for him to enter. He came into the room bundled for travel, a hearty and robust figure in contrast to the frailty of the woman in the bed. "Karinna?"

"My Lord?"

He came to the bedside with a look of concern. "Are you sure you're up to talking? I'll understand if you want to put this off until later."

"I don't think talking will tire me too much, my Lord." Karinna was cautious, not at all comfortable with the mountain Lord after all the bad words and feelings between them in Tharea.

Harryhl could feel her tensions and found it difficult to look into her eyes directly. He harrumphed nervously. "I wanted to thank you for my wife and son, and to apologize for everything I have said about you and to you before." His words sounded stilted, even though he had practiced them many times during the past day, but he went on quickly. "I have said many things that I now know were cruel and hateful - things I now know were totally wrong. I was wrong to blame you for things in which you took no part."

Karinna had an idea of how hard it was for the normally brusque Halidu Lord to make such an admission, and she eased her cautious manner a bit. "I think I understand, my Lord. Before you came, Darla told me of some of the reasons you had for feeling the way you did. The Conflict is only a fact from my history studies to me, but I think I would have probably reacted much the same way if it had been me."

"That doesn't excuse my treatment of you, though," Harryhl countered. "You weren't even born when your father defeated us in the Conflict."

"Let's let the snows melt on that, as Falina likes to say. Dredging up old hostilities serves no useful purpose." Karinna allowed herself a thin smile. "Perhaps we can now begin again with a greater understanding."

"On both sides, I think," Harryhl agreed with an answering smile. He pulled the bench from the wall and seated himself next to the bed while he searched for a way to ask the questions he had carried in his head for a whole day. "Karinna?" he started.

"Yes, my Lord?"

He cleared his throat nervously. "I don't want to upset you. Spirits know, Byrol has threatened me with cutting the braids from my beard if he even suspects that you were upset..."

Karinna smothered a happy smile, forcing herself to remark coolly. "It's nice to know one has allies."

Harryhl shot her a sharp look, then tried again. "There are some things I would like to know."

Karinna tensed again. "So Falina and Darla have told me. What kind of things, my Lord?"

"About your children and conditions in Tharea when you left."

Karinna blanched and sighed deeply. "I anticipated your curiosity on at least the first subject."

"I mean no disrespect, honestly, but...are you sure...are they Chlin's?" At Karinna's stark and unbelieving stare, he hurried to explain. "I...King Hariki and your father had to explain your, your...arrangement at the last Council meeting."

Karinna blushed, shocked and embarrassed that such intimate details of her private life had been aired in public, but then nodded mutely. It took an enormous effort to control a wave of nausea the mere thought of her husband brought on.

"Do you think he knows? I mean...were you expecting before you left Tharea?"

Karinna caught her breath back and closed her eyes for a moment before she ventured a reply. "If you know of our...arrangement, then you know that he had no reason to expect that I should beget...He was...drunk after being caught in the Treasury, and...he..." The shaking and tears of desperation and defeat were not far from the surface. To try to say more would be disasterous.

Harryhl blushed and then blanched himself at her words and the images they evoked. "Indeed, Lady, I had no intentions of prying into your private life. It is enough to know they are legitimate offspring of your husband. Would Chlin have reason to know where you went when you ran from the Palace?"

"Why in the name of the One would I do that?!" Karinna cried in anguish, but then controlled herself and her tumbling emotions. "He has no idea where I am. Besides, he would never expend any effort on my account. He's probably glad to be rid of me so he can pursue his... entertainments... unshackled."

"Good, I think. Now, can you remember what were the conditions in the city when you left?" He leaned forward.

Karinna shrugged. "You were still there, my Lord, when I left. You know as much as I. Things were hard because of the stolen tribute grain, but that was all. Why?"

Harryhl folded his hands in his lap and studied them. "You have heard the rumors of rebellion in the city?"

"Only what Lord Byrol told us. Have you had further news?"

"We have every reason to believe that Hariki has been overthrown. From the actions of your husband, I find it very likely that he may have been involved. If so, he probably sits on the throne right now."

Karinna's eyes widened in worry. "My father? Any word of him?"

Harryhl shook his head. "The soldiers of the rebellion were searching the city high and low for someone. Whether it was for your father or the King, we have no way of knowing." Harryhl looked at her stonily. "If he is dead, I hope you understand my lack of grief. He will answer to every spirit for what he did to me and my people."

Karinna nodded silently and lay back on her pillows, thinking aloud, "If Hariki is dead, that makes Chlin King; and that makes the babies I carry..."

"Heirs to the throne." Harryhl nodded, thankful that Karinna's mind was functioning clearly, and she would understand the danger. "You now see why it was so necessary for me to know. If Chlin did know of the babies, do you think he would hesitate to come after them and you?"

Karinna shook her head. "It was the one quality that could be called redeeming that he had besides loving animals and that detestable morynch: he wanted children in the worst way."

Harryhl looked deep into Karinna's grey eyes. "You do realize, then, that your presence here and the existence of your children must remain a secret known only to the Halidu, and of course to the Fromu Khyl."

"Why the Fromu?" Karinna asked in astonishment. "Why would he have any interest in my children?"

"Think, Karinna," Harryhl admonished gently. "Your first-born son - if indeed you bear Chlin's son - is heir to Chlin's throne. His claim must be recognized by the hierarchy of Thara, as your lowland customs require. If something should happen to Chlin, your kingdom should have continuity. That means there will have to be a clear path for your priests of Thara to lead the people."

Karinna shook her head. "I want nothing to do with "my kingdom" as you call it. I ran away from it, if you remember."

"You can run, but you cannot hide from the truth, Princess." Harryhl's use of her title brought Karinna's glare up immediately, which was what he had intended. "You are Thaelu royalty by marriage and bear the heirs to the Thaelu throne. If the land is in chaos, much like it must be now, those children of yours will become a rallying cry for all who would be looking for someone to turn to."

Karinna's glare softened, and she nodded reluctantly. "You're right, my Lord. It seems I have managed only to change the color of the intrigue around me. Only now the plots will center around my children."

Harryhl heard the fatigue in Karinna's voice and sympathized. "At least I can offer you the support of the Halidu people and sanctuary in our mountains until you are ready to return to your homeland."

"That, I promise, I shall never do willingly, my Lord." Karinna's voice was firm with resolve. "Never."

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