The Dream Spheres - Elaine Cunningham [147]
"Send out messengers," Arilyn said with grim certainty. "Gather all the elves you know. I'll do the rest."
* * * * *
Lady Cassandra regarded her youngest son with uncertainty. "No more flaming books?"
"Just a simple warning, Mother. I have come to the end of the path, and you should know what I have found."
She nodded as if she had been expecting this. Danilo told her what he had learned.
"I did not order the tren assassinations," she said in a tight, worried tone, "but if this comes to light no one will believe it and the Thann family will be anathema. How much more so, after the battle between the families is over!"
"It will not take place," he said adamantly, "at least, not in any way that touches Thann. For once, stay your hand and let someone else handle the problem. Take precautions to protect the family, but keep all your retainers out of this."
Cassandra did not agree, but neither did she disagree.
After a moment, Danilo spoke the one question to which he must have an answer. "Arilyn and I have shared the elven handfasting. We have bonded in rapport. She wears my ring, and we intend to marry. Know that she has my first and deepest allegiance. She is worthy of that and more."
"That I never doubted," the woman murmured.
"Then tell me why you have been so opposed to our union."
For a moment Cassandra looked weary, almost fragile. "You and Arilyn might have children. It is possible that one of them might be half-elven in appearance. That would raise questions."
Danilo nodded encouragement.
"When you spoke of your elven heritage, I thought you knew, but after the first moment of surprise passed, I realized that Khelben must have passed along some tale of distant ancestry. The son of Arun had a half-elven father. However, there is a closer tie."
She took a long breath. "I was born before my father came to Waterdeep. My mother died in childbirth, attended by none but my father. He remarried soon after. The Khelben whose name the archmage borrows was born of that union, and I always called his mother mine. Very few knew otherwise. None living know that she was half-elven."
"You were ashamed of this," Danilo said in wonder.
"Not so, but you have seen how the nobility regards those of mixed blood." She swept a hand toward the well-tended estate. "See what I have done. The family business was in utter disarray when I married your father. I have earned this place for myself. None of my family-not even those who have the magical gifts I so notably lack-have achieved nobility. It is what I have. It is what I am."
A faint tremor underlay the cool tones. Danilo considered it long and well before he spoke. "I have no desire to take this from you, lady."
She shook her head. "Without the two-city trade, all is lost. I am not speaking merely of fortune. Do you think the others would let Thanns survive, if we attempted to remove ourselves from this alliance?"
Danilo had already considered that. For good or ill, this was a secret he would never speak. "Thann will survive," he said.
Still Cassandra was not content. "What do you propose to do? And how will this not come back to our door, if it is known that you are involved?"
"Rest your mind on that," he said. "I have allies no one will connect with this noble house or any other."
She considered that, then let out a short, humorless laugh at the irony of the situation. "Do what you must, my son." She hesitated, then gave him a smile that was genuine-all the more so for its self-mocking edge. "Sweet water and light laughter until we meet again."
The traditional elven farewell surprised him, then left him feeling both confused and deeply touched. He did not understand this woman and would never find his way through the many layers and convoluted passages of her mind. This much he knew: she had given him her blessing, in words she knew would be meaningful to him. He took her hand and kissed her fingers, then turned and walked