Interference

"Rule 67: Interference

a) A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who interferes with or
impedes the progress of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck..."

-NHL Rulebook

I'd say that I can't believe the last couple of months happened - but I gave that up already. Denial doesn't work too well when you keep waking up and the first thing you realize is that it's way too warm to be Home.

Guess I'd better back up a little.

It all started the last time I wore the show-skates - and I'm never wearing the damned things again. The boys and I got trashed; I don't even want to go into details. It was bad. Uncle Jesse showed up later, after I showered, reminded me about the charity event Mom had talked me into, and took off. Looked like he was working; sometimes it drives me crazy, looking back, that we just talked about the stupid charity event. I have to wonder - had he already ticked off Fallia by then? If he had, why didn't he say anything to me? I mean, yeah, it's not like I even knew we were smugglers... but Mom and Jesse and Salimon had to know I'd be a target if anything happened. And all it would have taken was a, "watch your back."

Okay, so I'm a little upset about this.

I was late for the show, as usual - not like I hadn't seen El Daimondine before, or the Glacier Theatre, but Mom liked me to show up on time to play Rich Girl in the receiving line. Yeah, that didn't happen. She teased me about it when I got to our box; the last thing she said to me was, "Translation: you forgot until Jesse showed up. Right?"

Yeah, I'm not too happy about that being our last conversation, either, but the very last time I could have spoken to her, I'm pretty sure she couldn't have heard me.

I'll get to that.

We were into the third act when the note from Joran came. I hadn't heard from him in a while - not since just after we broke up - so I went down to find out what was up. Waited twenty minutes or so, I guess, before I headed back. He didn't show. He always was a little flaky.

I headed back up, like I said, and the screaming started. It came from our box, from whichever one of Mom's married pals she'd decided should have a night at the Glacier with her. I can never remember their names, any of them. When I came in, on the heels of the cops, the husband was trying to stop the bleeding - Mom's bleeding.

I didn't jump in - looked like the guy had it under control. But he didn't. She died, right after I came in. She didn't see me; she'd been hit in the throat and the temple, and she was out cold when I came in. I guess... at least I was there. I don't know.

Damn. That still has an edge to it.

I saw the ammo after that - it was from an airgun, although I didn't quite realize that at the time. In the wall, and showing it'd been through flesh and blood. I traced the path, and spotted the box it came from.

Now that I think about it, I bet they all thought I was in shock. I sat down, stood up, stared at the wall, stared at a box across the way, and charged out of the room. Maybe I was.

Anyway. I looked up at the box, and saw the person I now know as my father. At the time? This guy - dark skin, dark hair, dressed all in green, standing up with the airgun in his hand. And he was furious, and I guess he was hurting too, and the minute I broke eye contact, he fled.

So did I. Only I wanted to catch him - sorry, Father, but I didn't know who that was, only that he had a weapon and was in the box where the shot originated. Didn't manage to get to him; I checked on the guys he'd knocked out on the way out, then checked the box where he'd been. Took the weapon, too, since he'd left it behind after braining someone with it.

Someone'd left a body in the box - the cop I talked to later said his name was Instiago DelMaricci. He'd had a bad case of stab-to-the-kidney and slit-to-the-throat, but I found the note that told him where to shoot. Took that with me, too, and handed it and the weapon off to the first cop I saw.

Glacier security and a doctor were taking Mom out when I came back down to the lobby. I made nice with Mom's friends, but I was starting to lose my temper. Some asshole had just killed my mother and vanished. I was not happy; the cops wanted to talk to me, though, so I had to keep playing nice.

They told me then that Uncle Jesse had bought it, off at one of the warehouses. It took a while, and some convincing, to get out of the police station once they got me there. First they thought I was involved, until I handed over the note from Joran, then they needed permission to search the business records to find out if we had enemies, since I didn't have a clue. If I'd known what the family did, I wouldn't have signed; but I'd gotten bored so early in my career that I didn't know much except "something with ships."

Anyway, I headed back home. Cops were there, too, for my protection; I called the morgue to make arrangements for Mom and Jesse, and found out that Uncle Salimon was there too. Things just kept getting worse...

I went to bed after that. Not much else to do at two in the morning, other than wake people up. In the morning, I called Jacqueline to find out a recent address for Joran, and had to convince her I was all right in the process. She's a sweet girl, but I don't need to be suffocated when bad shit happens.

I called Joran, but no one answered. So I decided to go over and see what was up. The cops had vacated during the night; nice to know the local police were on the job...

Joran's place was pretty quiet when I got there. After knocking a couple of times, I noticed that the front door wasn't latched. That's never a good sign. The back door was locked; that's not particularly good either, not with the front undone like that.

I headed inside anyway. I didn't draw my sword yet - after all, there could be nothing going on, and I'd scare him half to death if I showed up with a drawn blade. I tried the light switch after I opened the door, and it didn't work. I probably should have left at that point.

I didn't. I went inside and started looking around. The kitchen and living room were clear; I intended to go down the hall off the kitchen, but a noise came from upstairs - a creak, a person moving, something like that that drew my attention. I started in that direction.

Next thing I knew, someone'd pulled me back, put a hand over my mouth, and whispered, "Silence, if you wish to live."

Uh... sure, if you insist. Not much else to do, since you just grabbed me.

Something crashed - realized later that a crossbow bolt had hit a vase - and I got unceremoniously dumped on my ass while my rescuer ran upstairs. Before I had time to do anything, I heard assorted noises (turned out to be thrown daggers) and a body falling... As I started up the stairs, sword drawn this time, the guy from the booth in the theater tossed a plainclothes policeman over the railing and into the pedestal that had held the vase I heard shatter earlier. He (the one in green - Father) disappeared back into the upstairs while I was looking at the cop and the crossbow bolt in the wall where the vase had been.

I continued on up. The daggers I'd heard thrown before were in a corpse with a crossbow at the top of the stairs. Joran - well, most of him - was in the bathroom; let's just not discuss that. The last room had a (living) guy with a crossbow, two corpses, and Father. A stupid guy with a crossbow, I might add, since my entry distracted him. He didn't last long.

At that point, I still wasn't sure about the green guy's role in things. I mean, the first time I saw him, he was in a position where he could have shot Mom. The second time, he saved my life. So my first words to the father I'd never met before were, "Okay, do you want to explain all this now? Or try to kill me? I assume you're going to do one of the two."

Sorry, Father, but I was a little confused - and a lot pissed off.

He said we needed to leave, and then more of the enemy showed up, torched the stairway, and shot crossbows through the window. The man who lit the stairs shouted, "Senior Fallia sends his regards!"

Senior Fallia was an idiot.

Father was somewhat upset by the whole thing. So was I, but I didn't take time out to bitch about it like he did; I finally told him that I'd rather he did something constructive.

That's where things changed. "Two things. One, you must trust me," he said, and then gave me the creepiest grin I'd seen in a long time. "No, that is asking too much... Just do what I say when I say it. And two, you are not going insane, even though you are about to believe so."

I agreed to it, but I don't think he would have stopped if I hadn't. He pulled out a card, with a golden Unicorn on a green background on the side I could see, and stared at it. I put away my sword, and then he started talking.

I know now that he was using a Trump, and I know that the side I couldn't see has Uncle Gerard on it. But it was surreal then, sitting in a house with fire roaring up the stairwell on one side and crossbowmen outside waiting to pick me off, next to a man who was staring at a card and apparently talking to himself.

After a short conversation with Gerard, Father grabbed my arm. And then I was on the Unicorn's Run, in the seas a day or so out from Amber.

Yeah, we can say climate shock. Among other things. It didn't help that Gerard looks exactly like one of the saints back Home - the patron of the local hospital, actually. He and Father proceeded to have a conversation over my head, and my request for an explanation was refused again before I ended up below deck with a plate full of food.

Father came down after a while and quizzed me a little on family business until he realized I hadn't been involved but had finally figured out what we did. Then he asked how much I knew about my father.

Well... pitifully little, actually, Father. When I was little, I always just assumed that my father was on one of those boats out there in the wild blue yonder, and just couldn't make it home much. I think I asked once, when I was eight or nine, but Mom said it was complicated, and didn't want to explain further. I asked one other time, right before I moved out, but it was a bad time to ask; she said something about him leaving, and something about me leaving, and - I mean, shit, that was one of the few times we fought, so I've never been sure how much to believe of the little I got out of what she said. She really didn't want me to move out then, and she won; I didn't move out until the next year. And once I moved out, I didn't ask again; it just didn't seem all that important.

I got distracted asking for an explanation again, and being told that, "An explanation is too big of a question to ask. I understand you may be new to the whole question asking art, but you have to start with small distinct inquiries."

Yes, Father, I understand that, but that's not helpful.

So I asked him about my father. Well, actually, I realized halfway through the question that he might just be my father, so it was more of a statement than a question.

And my sudden guess was right... but I'm not supposed to tell anyone. It makes sense - now - but at the time... well, I was stressed, and I didn't understand. So I asked, and mentioned that 'it's dangerous' isn't a good answer.

So of course that was the answer. Father and I need to talk about that particular answer to questions at some point...

After that... well, we talked about the fact that he'd rescued me twice, and the whole Joran note thing - Father's fault, although he only intended to look at me, before he saw DelMaricci. I'm still kind of wondering about that, but I haven't asked. I mean, was he intending to do anything other than look? Had it happened before and I didn't notice? There's not much point in asking - I mean, so he saw me. So what? It's not going to change anything.

I really just wanted to ask what the hell was going on - but after the spectacular failure with asking for an explanation, I figured that wouldn't work either. The only thing I could come up with was, "Where, exactly, are we going, and what are we doing about all this?"

He answered that - Diega, and hiding me while he taught me... well, what he's taught me (I'll get to that) - and then had to supply the next question, because I just couldn't think of one. It was an obvious question, too: "Who are you?"

Okay, so it was, "Who the hell are you?" But it's the same thing.

I don't know that I could forget his answer if I tried. He laid his Trump on the table between us and said, "Caine. Prince of the Blood Royale of Amber. Admiral of the Northern Fleet. Smuggler, Juggler, and your Father."

Of course, then he had to explain what Amber was. And Shadow, while he was at it. His explanation of Shadow wasn't as clear as I wanted at first, so I had to ask for a better one. At that point I got to watch my cash become two other kinds of money - and since it was pretty unlikely that he'd be carrying around two different kinds of funny-money just to do a spur-of-the-moment demonstration, it was hard to argue with that. Basically, he said that Shadow is everything that isn't Amber and can be affected by those with the power over Shadow - us.

From there we talked about Family. It's still weird - in one day, to go from a mother and two uncles to no family at all to a father to a father, grandfather, and huge numbers of aunts and uncles... I'll get used to it, but it's weird.

No, Father, I haven't forgotten. I do learn the lessons I'm given; it's just the ones I'm not interested in that don't always stick as well as they should. "Trust none of them."

"None of them?" I had to ask - that same damned "too dangerous" had to be the answer, but I had to ask. I followed that by asking if I was going to get tired of that response - as though I wasn't already.

"Not if you wish to keep breathing. In fact, if you don't have an answer to a question about this family, assume that to be the answer. Each and every one of us has... ambitions. Each and every one of us can go anywhere and do or be anything. But it is not enough. Because for all of us, only one place really has any meaning: Amber."

I didn't forget, Father. Not likely to, either, not as hard as you've tried to drill it into my head since then. Trust-no-one, tell-no-one. Got it.

We talked about Trumps after that. Communication and transportation all in one, if you think the other person isn't going to stab you when you go through. Riiiiight. And Father has theories, and he won't tell me what they are. Damnit, if he wasn't telling me everything else as soon as I ask, it wouldn't be so irritating...

After that, Father decided it was time to get some sleep. Not that I was objecting. It had been a long day.

Not that the night was much shorter for either of us. Father apparently sat up with Gerard and got drunk. I just dreamed - about Mom, and Joran, and fire, and Father, and the Pattern. Didn't realize it was the Pattern then... it was just blue flame, in a swirly shape of some sort, and it was calling me...

I went up onto the deck in the morning - I was feeling a little cooped up, between the dreams, and the cabin, and the motion of the ship, and the fact that I hadn't been on any kind of boat since I moved out. From there, I saw Amber.

I don't think I can do it justice on paper. I'm not going to try. It's no use fighting a memory like that to put it into words, not if the words aren't right. But I remember what Gerard said.

"I envy you, niece. I remember the first time I saw her from the sea. Sometimes I think that is why I chose the sailor's life: so each time I came home from work, I would have this view. It never fails to work its magic on me. But to be able to see it for the first time, with new eyes.... Yes, I envy you."

I didn't have any memories I would fight to keep, before I saw Amber.

After that, I went to talk to Father again. He was eating. I always wondered why Mom was so amused by my grumpiness at breakfast. Saying, 'good morning,' is fine, but don't talk to me once I start to eat - I'll grunt at you and keep eating. Well, I know now. Of course, it could have had something to do with the hangover.

We talked about Gerard once we finished eating; I actually had thought of another question. Basically, we were there and he knew about me because Father considers him the least harmful of the family. I think... I'm not quite sure what to think of Gerard yet. I was way out of my element, and I'd had a bad day or two, and I'm not at my best under those circumstances. He seemed friendly; Father called him a fool, and blind, and a relative innocent, but I don't think I've seen enough to say one way or the other.

Father pointed out again that I shouldn't trust my aunts and uncles - apparently a quarter of them are dead or missing, and most of those are probably the fault of another family member. Not much you can say to that.

The assuring me that he can be as mean as the rest of them was a bit unnecessary, though. I saw the look in your eyes in the Glacier, Father. I never doubted it.

I spent most of the day at a porthole watching the city, while Father ran assorted errands designed to get us safely off to Diega. It was evening before Gerard came by to let me know that it was time to call Father. So I did. Another new experience; not much to say about it, other than that it's... unique... to watch a card come to life.

I Trumped to him in the cabin of the Sea Devil, which took us to Diega. Let's just not discuss the 'necessary fiction' Father decided on, shall we?

Anyway.

Along the way, he pointed out Rebma and Tir na Nog'th, Amber's reflections below the sea and above the city. Yeah, great. I'm sure they are reflections, but mostly they were shiny places underwater and in the sky. Apparently Tir na Nog'th only appears when the moon is full. Yeah, I had a boyfriend like that one time...

We met some unfriendly pirates on the trip; I got hit in the shoulder, and Father made a pretty big deal of it. Apparently I should have received better weapons training. I pointed out to him that I could beat the hell out of anyone back Home, but it didn't faze him. I got to go back into training.

Diega - Diega is still different. It's warm, and humid, and... well, tropical. Definitely not Home; it's kind of hard to get used to, after living in snow and ice for most of my life. The whole place is tied up in boats - shipping, smuggling, etc. Father basically runs the place - goes by the name Captain Cortez. Yeah, funny thing... "Cortez" only trusts Father and Gerard when he trades with Amber.

Yeah, sure.

Father ran down the family for me. Not quite sure what to make of them, but I think I get why they fight each other so much. Gotta wonder what Grandfather was thinking; I mean, he's had a ridiculous number of kids, and then he's left them to fight amongst themselves without saying who his heir will be. That's just asking for trouble. And it sure sounds like Father, Gerard, and Julian are the only ones with more than a passing acquaintance with normalcy - even though I know I've got a biased source... Hm. Let me run down the list.

First is Grandfather Oberon; basically, it sounds like you jump if he tells you to and be happy if he leaves you alone. Well, and hope he doesn't bring home any more women. I suppose I can't begrudge him enjoying life - but take some precautions already, man.

The first of Father's brothers are Osric, Finndo, and Benedict, the sons of Cymnea - I think that was her name. Father said that Osric and Finndo are dead, "in one of those wars Amber occasionally has out in Shadow," or so the official story goes; Father claims it's more likely that they'd upset Grandfather and he arranged for their deaths. He also said it was before his time. Benedict is either alive or dead; apparently he's been away from Amber for a long time, and certain of my aunts and uncles believe he's dead, but Father doesn't agree with that, either. He didn't say much about Benedict's personality; about all he said was that he's brilliant at fighting, and that even he wouldn't mess with him. Okay, sure, I wasn't planning on fighting any of my uncles anyway.

There's a play that occasionally makes the rounds of the theaters in Isbrann (I guess I should call Home by it's proper name now and then), about two brothers who fight over the same woman. I can't remember how it ends, but it seems like Eric and Corwin wouldn't have to act to play the parts. Although it sounds like they're fighting less over a single woman and more over their circumstances of birth and everything that interests either one of them. Corwin is now missing-assumed-dead, because of Eric; Eric is apparently out of favor with Grandfather, because of Corwin's disappearance. So, basically, I probably don't need to worry too much about Corwin unless he decides to show up again, and I probably want to stay away from Eric, especially since he has those creatures Father described - the wolf-things. Got it.

As for Deirdre - I think I'm just going to leave her alone, if I ever have a chance to meet her. According to Father, she's the object of Corwin and Eric's "unnatural attraction" - basically, she's one of the things they fight over. I've known a few women with men fighting over them, and they were all real bitches; from what Father said, that's probably an accurate guess about her.

Next was Father. "My sainted father," huh? Riiiiight.

Then he talked about Clarissa's children - well, two of them for the first round: Fiona and Bleys. Basically, they're creepy and arrogant and usually manage to get Grandfather on their side.

Llewella was up next - she's apparently the daughter of the queen of Rebma, where she spends all of her time. To the end of this, Father added, "Only the fact that I am speaking to a daughter will prevent me from making any comments on the appropriateness of this choice."

Okay, so Father and I obviously have very different ideas of what will offend me. I let it go, though; it's kind of entertaining, in an old-fashioned sort of way.

Brand came next; he's the last of Clarissa's children before Grandfather divorced her. Father described him as "the Arteest" - yeah, that says a lot. I've known a few of those - I think I'll just stay far away. I don't like being considered an object that might be worthy of representation.

Father didn't have much to say about Flora, other than that she's spoiled, a security leak, and not completely stupid. Uh... okay.

Then came Father's full brothers, Julian and Gerard. The stuff about Gerard was pretty much what I'd heard earlier, aside from mentioning that he's very strong. I'm not quite sure how to read what Father said about Julian, though: "cold, calculating, and absolute master of his chosen domain, just like yours truly," and "He too knows how to fight dirty when he has to." Is it good or bad to compare someone else to yourself? He said the three of them had "come to an understanding of each other," so maybe it's not positive or negative. Maybe it's a kind of respect. I'm not sure.

Last up was Random. Father seemed rather unimpressed with him; apparently he's annoying, a smartass, and lazy. I've known a few of those, too. They're usually good for a laugh, but mention physical exertion, and they're gone like you've lit their pants on fire.

I'm kind of curious about most of them, but at the same time, if Father's right - and he hasn't been wrong on other things he told me - it actually would be dangerous to go talk to them, for both of us. I really hate being told 'it's dangerous,' but I guess I can deal with it this once.

Just don't get complacent on this, Father - I won't always decide to just cope.

Anyway. He also said there were some others who are either dead or missing and without existing Trumps. He said they basically didn't matter, since they were, well, either dead or had showed no inclination towards the throne before they disappeared.

I received more tutoring on the Trumps, too - more than I got in the five minutes we discussed them on the Run. I even know how to refuse a call - not that Father is positive that there will ever be a Trump of me. He said the guy who made all the Trumps, someone called Dworkin who might've been insane, has been missing-assumed-dead for a long time, and he doesn't know if anyone else can make them.

Aside from the Trump education, and discussing the Family, and weapons training, Father spent a lot of time teaching me more about Shadow - things to do, things not to do, that kind of stuff. After that - and after I'd healed a bit more from that shoulder-wound - I walked the Pattern.

No, I don't think I want to write about that yet. I mean, obviously I succeeded, or I wouldn't still be here. The story can stand like that. Then it was back to Father for more lessons - the practical ones this time. I got to try the things he had been telling me about, which was much less irritating than just hearing about them and seeing someone else do them.

He gave me a few more Trumps - Gerard, Julian, and Grandfather. And that's the order I'm supposed to try them in if I can't reach Father and it's an emergency. I'm just going to hope I never have to go farther down the list than Gerard - if I get that far - since he, at least, is a somewhat known quantity.

Then Father basically set me loose. He suggested I go wander around and see what I could see; he also described the Sunlands for me - and Fallia's stronghold down there. "Should you ever get curious about southern climes..."

Yeah.

I came back home first, to check on things. I had to deal with the cops - who now knew what the family business was - and remove Fallia's local agents. Then I went for a short trip to the Sunlands - probably best not to mention what happened there. Let's just say that Senior Fallia was not the brightest man in town, and that I never did find out what Uncle Jesse did to piss him off.

From here - well, I think I'll wander. There might be something interesting to find out there.