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though
it were nothing.
    He struck the wall again, betrayed and angry,
and imagined for a split second that he was striking at Edith
herself, that the wall was her forearm blocking him as it had in
their occasional tries at hand to hand combat.
    "Brother."
    Dorran jumped violently and looked over his
shoulder to see Adhara standing in the corner, watching him with a
guarded look on her face.
    "Addie," his mouth said by reflex. "I..." He
realized quickly that he had no idea what he wanted to say after
that, and looked down at his hands instead. He had managed to avoid
doing any real damage to them, though his knuckles were red and
angry-looking; he lowered his hands and placed them in a ready
stance behind his back, as though he were waiting to receive
orders.
    There was a long moment of silence, which
Adhara was ultimately the one to break. "You should talk to
Myriel," she said firmly.
    "Why?" he asked.
    "She's comfortable with the affairs of the
castle, not to mention she is trustworthy those two qualities are
rare enough by themselves, and priceless together. You're feeling
out of your depth with the affairs of state, aren't you?"
    It wasn't really a question, and Dorran
didn't really want to answer, but she continued for him anyway. "It
wouldn't really be right for Nora or me to teach you, Mother's got
enough on her plate already, and going to any of the other members
of court would put you in their power...so Myriel's your best
option."
    "All right..." he said slowly. He hadn't
suspected that Myriel was more than a servant, albeit a very
reliable and talented one.
    She shook her head at him. "I hope it's not
her station that's making you reluctant. You have friends in the
barracks, don't you?"
    Dorran was too busy processing this to be
offended at her assumption. "Of course, but I barely understand
politics myself. It's not like I would ask them about it."
    She shrugged. "Well, trust me you're going to
need every ally you can get." The words were cryptic, and her eyes
were more so; they gave away nothing he could make out. "Talk to
Myriel, brother. I'll arrange to have her take over some of your
duties so you have an excuse to spend time with her."
    Then she turned and disappeared, leaving
Dorran to stare blankly at the wall, wondering about the
significance of what had just happened.

CHAPTER V
    Having Myriel assigned to his chambers turned
out to be an anticlimactic change. At first it felt a bit strange
to talk to her, given her connection to the scolding he received
the previous day, but she was so even keeled that he found himself
overcoming the residual embarrassment quickly.
    She arrived at various times at least once a
day to tidy up and bring meals or messages, but she remained silent
unless he brought up a topic of conversation. These conversations
were a bit awkward at first and incredibly short. As he got used to
coaxing Myriel into talking. Her responses were so polite and bland
he wondered whether she was even aware of the reason she'd been
sent to work for him.
    At first, he tried to convince her to open up
by asking her about her own life. "When did you come to the
castle?" he asked, figuring it would be good to know more about
her.
    "When I was five or six. I was raised by the
kitchen servants," Myriel answered efficiently as she folded down
the duvet on his bed and straightened the hangings on the canopy.
"I don't remember living anywhere other than the castle."
    "I see..." Dorran said. "Do you have any
plans for the future?"
    "I suspect I'll continue serving here, my
lord," she said firmly, tugging at one of his pillows before
getting up and smiling politely at him. "The Duchess is kind and
generous to those in her employ, and I cannot think of anywhere
else I'd rather be." From most people that line would have been an
indication of a boring person, but Myriel said it honestly and with
a surprising amount of vigor. Dorran was a bit taken aback at the
time.
    Even after such questions as these, though,
she