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fears, but something is going on. Her orders were that no-one other than myself speak with any Alkiran.’
    ‘ Did she have any other message she wished to convey, other than her overwhelmingly generous gift and her kind invitation?’ asked Kelian.
    ‘ She did. There are things I was instructed to say, should I have the opportunity to speak to you alone.’ He hesitated and glanced back towards Danil. ‘The Empress said I should trust none other than you.’
    ‘ My King’s Marshall will not repeat anything that is said between us, if I ask him to be silent,’ Kelian stated confidently.
    ‘ Can you be sure?’ Captain Mercah whispered urgently.
    ‘ He’s of the Daoine Maithe,’ replied Kelian, and he smiled as Captain Mercah’s expression relaxed.
    The Captain laughed aloud. ‘Is he now? Well, in that case I will continue. Firstly, the Empress said if you refused my invitation because you felt threatened by our presence I was to personally beg you to come. Secondly, she said if you still refused to come I was to find some way of making it impossible for you to refuse her invitation, and thirdly, she asked me to express personally to you the sincerity of her desire for friendship between Tatharlia and Alkira, and lastly,’ he paused and glanced towards Danil before proceeding, ‘she advised that you bring a strong enough escort to ensure you reach the Empress’ Sanctuary safely. Trust no-one. You will be safe once within the walls of the Sanctuary.’
    ‘ But you can’t say why she wants me to visit?’ asked Kelian feeling frustrated by the lack of forthcoming information.
    ‘ I can’t say because I don’t know. What I do know is that the Empress is terribly worried, but by what she wouldn’t say. I do know she’s disturbed by her parents’ deaths, and she has made comments about strange happenings even within the Sanctuary, but I may say no more. Majesty, please don’t take it as an insult that we cannot accept your invitation to visit the castle, but we must be gone the moment the supplies are unloaded.’ Captain Mercah shook his head sadly. ‘Besides, from what I can see, I doubt you could feed a visiting mouse before my ship is unloaded.’
    ‘ It is looking a little grim,’ Kelian admitted. He stared thoughtfully towards the massive Tatharlian vessel. ‘I wonder why the Empress disallowed anyone other than you to leave the ship,’ he mused. ‘Is that difficult to control?’
    ‘ It’s not difficult. We Tatharlians are creatures of routine and habit. On board our ships, the same routine is followed day after day. As much as is possible, nothing changes. Everyone knows where everyone else will be, and what they’ll be doing at any hour of any day. It’s the same on board any Tatharlian ship. So if someone leaves the ship, everyone would know. Unless they didn’t know someone was on board in the first place. The Empress said this message for both of us before setting sail. ‘Trust no-one.’ In Tatharlia, that’s advice we take seriously.’
    ‘ I’ll make a suggestion,’ said Kelian. ‘Tell your crew that I have accepted the Empress’ generous invitation and will be leaving Alkira in two months when repairs to my ship are complete.’
    ‘ Two months!’ Captain Mercah cried in alarm. ‘That’s-’
    ‘ In actual fact,’ Kelian interrupted the Captain, ‘I’ll be leaving Alkira immediately and I’ll be there as quickly as the Swift will carry me. I’m sure Captain Gillam can have her ready even before you finish unloading. Who knows, I may even beat you to Tatharlia,’ he added challengingly.
    ‘ So!’ Captain Mercah rubbed his hands together. ‘It’s a race!’
    ‘ If it’s a race, it’s going to be a strange one,’ said Kelian. ‘If your crew thinks we’re not leaving for a couple of months, they might think it’s a little strange when we dart out of the harbor ahead of you.’
    ‘ That would serve to confuse them,’ laughed Captain Mercah. ‘I would like to