scowling, folding his arms, pensive. He had the definite impression that he had gotten in over his head, somewhere along the way.
Tavi frowned, pondering. "Finish what I started."
There was a gentle knock at the doorway, and Tavi looked up to see Fade's scarred, homely face smiling in at him from the hall. "Tavi," Fade said, his tone happy.
Tavi smiled. "Hello, Fade. Come in?"
Fade shuffled inside, eyes vacant, carrying a long package of red cloth.
"What's this?" Tavi asked.
"Present," Fade said. "Present, Tavi." He offered the cloth bundle to him.
Tavi reached out to take it and found it heavier than he expected. He lay it on his lap and unwrapped the cloth from around it. The cloth turned out to be one of the scarlet capes from the Princeps' Memorium, and wrapped within it, in an old and travel worn scabbard, was the battered old blade Amara had carried from the Memorium, and that Fade had used upon the wall.
Tavi looked up at Fade, who smiled witlessly at him. "For you."
Tavi frowned. "You don't have to keep up the act, Fade," he said quietly.
For a moment, something glittered in Fade's eyes, above the coward's brand on his cheek. He regarded Tavi in silence for a moment and then gave him a deliberate wink. "For you," he repeated in that same voice, and then turned to go.
Tavi looked up to see a man standing in the doorway. He was tall, broad of shoulder and long of limb. His face did not look much older than his uncle's, but there was something about his faded green eyes that spoke of more years than were evident. Silver streaked his hair, and a heavy cloak of plain, grey fabric covered him except for what his hood revealed of his face.
Fade drew in a sharp breath.
"A princely gift," the man murmured. "Are you sure it is yours to give, slave?"
Fade lifted his chin, and Tavi saw the slave's shoulders straighten. "For Tavi."
The man in the doorway narrowed his eyes, then shrugged his shoulders. "Leave us. I would speak to him alone."
Fade glanced warily back at Tavi and then nodded his head deeply to the stranger. He shuffled out the door after giving Tavi another witless smile, and vanished into the hall.
The stranger shut the door quietly behind Fade and moved to sit down on the bed beside Tavi's, his green eyes never leaving the boy. "Do you know me?"
Tavi shook his head.
The stranger smiled. "My name is Gaius Sextus."
Tavi felt his mouth drop open. He sat up straight, stammering. "Oh. Sir. Sire, I didn't recognize you, I'm sorry."
Gaius held up a gloved hand in a soothing gesture. "No, stay in bed. You need your rest."
"I thought you were coming tomorrow, sire."
"Yes. But I came here incognito this evening."
"Why?"
"I wanted to speak with you, Tavi. It would seem that I am in your debt."
Tavi swallowed. "I was just trying to get my sheep home, sir. That's all I meant to happen, I mean. After that, everything just sort of..."
"Got complicated?" Gaius suggested.
Tavi flushed and nodded. "Exactly."
"That's how these things happen. I don't want to keep you up long, so I'll come to the point. I owe you. Name your reward, and you'll have it."
Tavi blinked at the First Lord, his mouth falling open again. "Anything?" he asked.
"Within reason."
"Then I want you to help the holders who got hurt, and the families of those who were killed. Winter's coming on, and it's going to be hard for all of us."
Gaius lifted both eyebrows and tilted his head to one side. "Truly? Given anything to choose from, that is your choice of rewards?"
Tavi felt his jaw set, stubbornly. He met Gaius's eyes with his own, and nodded.
Gaius murmured, "Amazing." The First Lord shook his head. "Very well. I'll have Crown aid dispensed to those who suffered loss on a case-by-case basis by the local Count. Fair enough?"
"Yes, sire. Thank you."
"Let me add one thing more to that, Tavi. My Cursor tells me that you wish to attend the Academy."
Tavi's heart thudded abruptly in his chest. "Yes, sire. More than anything."
"It might be difficult for someone with your... limitations, shall we say? You will be in the company of the sons and daughters of merchants and nobles and wealthy houses from all over Alera. Many of them strong crafters. It may provide you with a great many challenges."
"I don't care," Tavi blurted. "I don't care about that, sire. I can handle myself."
Gaius regarded him for a moment, then nodded. "I believe