Pies and Tarts

"What?! Fannur is dead? What happened?!" Devrim's mind flooded with a thousand questions. "Why have I not heard about this?" He asked his advisor.

Junayd took the cue. "I will get the report, Your Majesty. Please excuse me." The bulky man hurried off with an agility that belied his size.

The Emperor led the Fate to a secluded spot in the maze of gardens and offered him a bench to sit. "I know why Hanna is currently unavailable, but should it concern us that Justum is not able to be reached?"

Métis thought for a moment and shook his head. "Sharing your consciousness is an active process. I doubt he is being secretive on purpose. We all chose positions to remain most of the time so that we could be easily found, though. So it is possible that Justum is off on a mission of his own design. Time will tell."

Devrim wanted to ask more, but something shifted in the Fate's demeanor that suggested the time for such questions was finished. They sat in silence for a while until Junayd returned with Hannah plodding angrily along behind him.

"You couldn't have walked to me Métis? Really? Did the Emperor not tell you what a state I am in?" Hanna pointed an accusing finger at the two males. Her eyes were fraught with lightning which echoed the thunder in her voice.

"Emperor Devrim told me nothing of the sort," Métis was quick to throw Devrim to the mercy of the female Fate. For a moment, the grey-eyed man thought he saw fear in the ethereal creature's eyes. Not that he could blame him. Hanna had the ability to be terrifying.

The Emperor held up his hands in defense. He had genuinely not thought that the Fate would be winded by so short a trip. "Forgive me, most gracious lady. I did think you would want to tell him yourself. I did not consider that the walk would be so difficult. I thought you said you were mostly healed."

Hanna's bluish skin tinged pink as she pursed her lips. "A slight exaggeration on my part is no reason for you to neglect common courtesy," she blustered.

"You are not healing?" The Emperor's eyes bulged.

"You are hurt?!?" Panic filled Métis's voice. "Where? Who? How?" He rushed to the female Fate and began to examine her body.

Hanna slapped him across the face as Métis touched her torso. "This is why I didn't tell you. You are worse than that meddlesome doctor!"

The masculine Fate recoiled at the unexpected strike. The sound of the slap reverberated through the garden like a cracked whip.

"I was merely concerned for your well-being. I cannot remember one of us being seriously injured since the dawn of time. And not healing? That is frightening!"

The self-proclaimed steward of the University was learning so much every day about the world that he thought nothing would surprise him anymore. It turns out, he was wrong. His jaw hung open as he processed the information.

"Shut your mouth; you look like a fish! And not to scare you further, but I was attacked by an unknown creature. I will share all of this with the rest of the Fates once I am fully healed. My magic has been…lacking." Hanna shrugged.

Her holding back had not only been due to her lack of desire to inform until she knew more (it was embarrassing for a Fate to be caught unaware, after all), but also the result of her lack of ability. The use of her magic to send the creature plummeting from the balcony had nearly cost her her consciousness. That alone was reason enough for her to conserve her energy and not try to do anything that might hurt herself, or worse, the other Fates.

"You've lost your magic too?!" Métis looked like he was going to hyperventilate.

'Add that to things I never thought I would see,' Devrim mused to himself. The Emperor wondered if the scholarly being was overreacting or if there was far more to be concerned about than he realized. Being mortal and of a limited lifespan, Devrim took most things in stride as being beyond his control and something to be dealt with or managed. With longevity on their side, Fates could see the connectedness of events and alter them if they desired or were so ordered. It was rare for them to be caught completely unawares.

Exasperated by her fellow Fate, Hanna rubbed her forehead and took a seat on one of the stone benches. "I didn't lose my magic, you fool. I will explain it all after you tell me why you have come."

Prickling at the reproach, Métis returned to his regular state of indifference. "Of course. As I mentioned to the young Emperor here. Chancellor Fannur was murdered last night at the University. I was hoping I might find some insight on the matter."

All eyes turned to Junayd, who had been quietly observing the whole sequence of events with wide eyes. The burly comedian would have plenty to joke about later, but just now he was trying to avoid the gaze and the wrath of the two bickering Fates. It seemed his luck had run out.

Pushing himself from the vine-covered wall, Junayd held out a small pile of documents. "These are what has arrived at the palace. The sergeant who took the report apologized for not bringing it to your attention. He assumed it was misguided robbers."

Devrim took the papers and resumed a seat on a bench next to Hanna. With Métis hovering on the other side, the three examined the pages of the report with undivided attention.

Métis verbally corrected a few of the errors of the sergeant's notes, but overall he was impressed. "Not bad for a minimally educated human."

Devrim was too engrossed in the report to acknowledge the slight. "If I followed you earlier, you said you had some unexpected visitors yesterday as well. Do you think the three mysterious figures are Mairwen, Renat and Alaron?"

"I am sure of it." Metis nodded.

"Why would they kill the Chancellor? My daughter and her husband spoke very highly of them."

"I am not sure that they did. They were discovered with the body, but that does not mean they caused Fannur's death. He was slashed brutally, which does not strike me as something those three would do."

"Look here." Devrim pointed to the page where the wounds were described and drawn. There were five parallel slashes for each strike. "Could it have been a wolf creature that attacked?" Devrim's mind went racing, but the short fate quickly shook his head.

"I see what you are looking at, but I would say no. I saw the cuts myself. They are far too thin and delicate for a wolf's paw. And why would a wolf be in the University, no less attack a man in the middle of the night?" The male Fate tilted his chin down as he furrowed his brow.

"That's what attacked me," Hanna said curtly.

"What? You must tell me—" Métis was cut off as Hanna reached past Devrim on the bench and clamped her hand across her companion's mouth.

"I will explain in a moment. First tell us, do you think these attacks could be related? Did you smell or see anything…wolflike?" Hanna could still remember the putrid smell of the creature's breath and musk of his fur. She removed her hand from the other's mouth to allow him to speak.

The male Fate licked his lips to wet them in case the lady tried the maneuver a second time. "The culprit of this murder may not be human, but I can say with certainty that I saw no sign of a wolf."

Devrim's face was grim. "An absent female scientist, two attacks in less than a week and now a murder of the Chancellor. So many mysteries on our hands. It is too bad that Aurora and Mairwen agreed not to speak until after she gets safely to the land of magic. We will have to settle for our own investigations until then."

He looked at Junayd, who was missing his lighthearted demeanor. His jovial grin was replaced with deep lines of worry.

"Junayd, have Fannur's body moved to the infirmary for the doctor to examine." The Emperor ordered. "I will find my wife and apprise her of this development. She may change her mind about contacting the princess."

"I will stay here and fill Métis in on what has happened. He can alert the rest of the Fates with my warning. Once I go with the Empress and get healed, then I will be able to share the story myself."

"Does Aurora know you are going?" Devrim asked.

"She will once you tell her…" Hanna said with a wave of her hand. "Now if you will excuse us, please."

Devrim bowed slightly, finding it mildly amusing that not only had he been dismissed from his own garden, but he had been turned into a messenger boy in the process.

"As you wish. Fate Hanna. Fate Métis. Let me know if there is anything else I can do."

Hanna's ever present smile returned along with a hint of mischief in her eyes. "I would love it if you personally delivered some plum pies from the kitchen."

Devrim's jaw dropped. "But that is clear across the palace!"

"Then it is a good thing you don't have claw marks across your back making every step difficult. How I envy you!" Hanna feigned a pout.

"…I will get it right away, Hanna. After that I hope we are even." Devrim gave a lopsided smile.

The beautiful Fate laughed musically. Tinkling bells filled the air. "Add a few cream tarts, and it's a deal. You know I never hold a grudge for long, dear…"

Devrim walked away, wondering how many pies and cream tarts would actually need to be delivered before the status quo returned.