"Come in."

As the door opens, a large gray form pads into the room, followed a
moment later by Martin.

Random is sitting at his desk, papers laid out in front of him
haphazardly. "Hello, Martin, Martin's wolf." His voice is even and calm,
if preoccupied.

The wolf pauses in the middle of the room, sniffing the air, and cants
its head at Random's voice, tongue hanging out the side of its mouth.

Martin crosses to the chair opposite Random's but doesn't occupy it,
yet. "What's going on?" he demands, irritated.

Random frowns at Martin. "What do you mean?"

In reply, Martin flips a coin onto the desktop before Random. "That," he
says.

The coin bears an image of Bleys where the King's should be.

Random picks up the coin, studying it for a moment, then replies, "We
haven't figured it out yet." His finger brushes over the image.

Around the edge of the desk, the wolf can been seen investigating the
base of the bookcases.

"So you're making them legal tender?" Martin sounds incredulous.

Random sighs, "At least until we figure out what's going on, to stop the
fighting in the streets." His eyes rise. "This informaiton is
confidential. Lorelei is leading an investigation into what impact the
coins are having on the economy.

"Benedict has men picking up some of them. He investigated their origins
and found they came from Shadows very close to Amber that didn't seem to
have paths here. Bleys is being contacted about the possibility of it
being something we brought back from Chaos with us. There seems to be no
pattern to their distribution, nor any logical source."

"I note you chose not to inform me of this," Martin replies levelly.

Random replies, equally evenly, "I found out about it yesterday
afternoon. I've been waiting on hearing from Bleys before passing it to
a wider audience. We're passing the story that these are in preparation
for a festival of some sort to keep things in the City under control."
he adds, "I haven't even told Vialle about it, yet."

"If you had cared to keep me informed," Martin continues in the same
level tone. "Then maybe the Kingdom would look a whole lot less
foolish. Maybe we'd at least look like we knew what was going on, even
if we didn't. Unless that's what you wanted."

Random replies, a bit of a bite in it, "If you cared to keep me
informed as to your comings and goings, perhaps I would be a little more
inclined to." He runs a hand through his hair. "Ive been trying to treat
you as equal partner, backing your decisions, and all I've gotten from
it is shit about all the things I'm /not/ doing, or should be doing
differently.

"I chose, in this case, to only include those who were either already
involved, i.e. Lorelei and Benedict, and the one person who might be
able to give us an idea of what's going on. Forgive me if this spells
some sort of breach of trust. In the future I'll inform you of every bit
of tedium I deal with on a daily basis so you can push as many papers as
I do."

Martin's voice is a low growl, "You have never treated me as an equal
partner in anything. You have never given me your support. You don't
even bother honoring your agreements with me."

Random says, "Name one time when I haven't! I supported you in the
Golden Circle, you did a good job there. I would have /liked/ to have
been informed when you first returned, but I can overlook that."

"Tessa," Martin answers in a snarl.

From a corner the wolf watches, ears pricked, eyes gleaming in the
shadows.

Random looks osmewhat confused, "What about her? She was your student, I
never interfered."

"You made me a promise you never intended to keep," Martin replies, his
voice low and edged.

Random slams a fist down, "What promise?"

Martin says, slowly, as one might to an idiot, "You agreed to leave her
education solely in my hands."

Random nods, "Unfortunatly, I was superceeded by a previous arraingement
I had no knowledge of until after I made that agreement with you." He
pauses, then says, annoyed, "Didn't Tessa tell you any of this? I
informed her she needed to check everything past you."

"No knowledge?" Martin repeats, the anger beginning to rise. "You made
the same promise to Bleys the day before and didn't know it? Just how
much of a fool do you think I am, Random?"

Random eyes Martin, "Day before? I was informed of Tessa agreeing to be
Bley's student /after/ you and I spoke of her education, Martin." He
adds, "I spoke to Bleys later about it."

"But not a word to me," Martin says coldly. "You keep me in the dark,
you cut me out of the circuit, and then you have the audacity to tell me
you treat me as an equal partner."

Random says, icily, "I assumed Tessa or Bleys would convey the situation
to you accurately," he bites out. "I asked Bleys to, and to make sure
nothing conflicted with your education for her. He was most agreeable to
that. Did he fail to make good on that?"

"He told me in his own inimitable way that I had no business teaching my
own sister," Martin smiles thinly. "Something the King apparently agreed
with."

Random looks absolutely floored, "Bullshit," he raps out. "The only
reason I approved of his teaching Tessa was that if I didn't, she
wouldn't feel able to tell me what he was teaching her."

"You granted him your blessings," Martin's smile fades. "But I had to
drag that promise out of you like a new tooth." A pause. "Not that the
promise had much worth in the end."

Random shrugs a shoulder, "He would have done it with or without my
blessing," he replies. "You know Bleys, I hope. He'd already asked
Tessa, she'd already agreeded. Nothing I can do to nullify that, not
in any sensible manner."

Martin just stares at Random. "Remind me," he says nastily when he finds
his voice. "Who's running this Kingdom again?"

Random says to Martin, flatly, "If I had said he couldn't teach her,
Bleys would have found a way around it, manipulated Tessa until she no
longer trusted me and used the fact I was denying her education in
something she obviously excelled in against me." His tone is flat,
knowledgeable.

"There are few people as persuasive as Bleys, and he had her prior
agreement. Yes, I could have given a fucking royal edict from the
stars, but that would have meant little in a practical sense." He adds,
with a sigh, "We ignored Dad's edicts enough, and he had a hell of a
better reputaion and base of power than I do."

"So rather than make a stand you give in to anyone who's pushy enough?"
Martin sneers. "This is how you're going to rule us?"

"No," Random replies, sharply, "but the only way I'm going to hold this
country together right now is if I have the overt support of all, or
almost all, my siblings. I have Benedict and Gerard definitely. Llewella
is acting positively, as is Bleys. Caine is still a wild card. And then
there's you." His voice grows hard.

"Would you like to put on this Coronet and pick up these papers and deal
with a family you've despised oyur entire life, trying to keep a country
you've never before cared about together, trying to protect a daughter
you have no right to call your own, trying to relate to a son you've
hurt and betrayed in the past who seems determined to hate you. Would
you like to switch places, Martin? I won't say I'm doing a wonderful,
perfect, peachy-keen job, but I'm keeping this fucking Universe afloat
in the best way I know how."

Martin eyes Random a long time before answering. "No," he says, very
quietly but steadily, his gaze fixed on his father's. "But if I had to,
I would. And I would do it better."

Random says, simply, "Maybe you would. If you want, we can go back to
Chaos and push another sibling in with the Jewel and see if the Unicorn
comes out and hands it to you."

Random says, "All I know is, for some reason, I'm the one she chose. I'm
doing the best I can."

"Of the ones present, yes," Martin points out. "And your best isn't good
enough."

Random asks, flatly, "Why not?"

A winged form glides past the window, the light glinting off its scales.

"You're too trusting," Martin answers, as flatly. "You don't check
things out for yourself, believing instead everything that's told you.
You don't have a clue what's happening outside of what you're told. You
don't have any authority that's respected outside of your immediate
presence. You aren't trusted, and you aren't feared. Want me to go on?"

Random narrows his eyes. "No," he says, flatly. He stands, then, pacing
to the window.

"Everything between you and me is just that, personal." Martin
continues, his gaze following Random to the window. "It can keep for
another time. But this thing with our currency I should have been told
about as soon as you had made a decision."

Random leans against the stone window, nodding, "Yes, I know that now,"
he replies. "I'm sorry for the oversight. To be honest, it never occured
to me."

"No, it never does, does it?" Martin answers bitterly.

Random looks Martin in the eye. "No, it doesn't," he says. "I'm not used
to... explaining myself." He laughs,shortly, "I'm not used to staying
anywhere for longer than a few months." He continues, after a pause, "I
am trying to work on making sure everyone knows what they want to, but
things have occasionally been falling through the cracks."

He adds, "In the future, you will be kept abrige of any of the
need-to-know information, provided I can speak directly with you."

"I'll keep you posted if I'm in town then," Martin replies eventually,
the bitterness replaced by the recognition of 'here we go again'.

Random asks Martin, seriously, "Will you ever be able to forgive me?"

"For what?" Martin asks, eyes narrowed.

Random gestures, slightly, "For any of it. For my not being a man you
can honor and respect."

Martin'gaze remains narrowed. It is a good while before he speaks again.
"That's up to you," he says, without rancor. "My vendetta with you
finished the day you redeemed my mother's name. It was dead before that
actually but, well." He shrugs, "You can be an asshole sometimes. I
can't help that."

Random replies, stance unchanged, "So can you." He adds, a breath later,
"I'll talk to Bleys."

"About what, Tessa?" Martin shakes his head. "It's probably too late for
that now. This was something you should never have given away in the
first place. Bleys will probably be amused anyway."

"Bleys," Random replies, "is always amused. On another personal note,"
he continues, without stopping for beath, "we may have found another
cousin."

Martin adds in a mutter, "Might just as well have given Tessa to Antonio
to teach."

Random snorts, once, "I didn't think you thought /that/ low of me."

"Believe me, you make it damned easy," Martin answers with a hint of a
smile. "So what's this about another cousin?"

Random smirks, faintly. "Named Saiden. Gavin is convinced he's Brand's
son." The king frowns slightly, shaking his head a little. "He does have
a similarity, something about the eyes, but he could be any of the
redheads'."

Martin's expression doesn't change. "And what do you think?" he says
after a time.

Random shakes his head, "I've only met him once, briefly. He mentioned a
father, which somewhat rules out Fiona. He mentioned inheritance, which
somewhat rules out Bleys. He's teling so little of his story that I'm
impressed." He adds, smiling slightly, "He's also safely trapped at
Gavin's House in Amergin."

"He may not in fact have any story to tell," Martin says.

"We've had to deal with people like that before," he explains. "There
was this kid named Alyn claimed to be Florimel's, for one."

Random shakes his head, "He has a story, I just haven't fingured out the
angle to wrench it out of him yet. Shame Gavin introduced us... I could
probably have gotten more out of him if he hadn't known who I was."

In its corner, the wolf yawns a wide gaping yaw, clearly bored now that
the earlier tension seems to have dissipated some.

Martin shrugs, "Maybe. You did say he was safely housed in Amergin,
right?"

"He can shadowwalk, so 'safe' is relative, but yes, that is where he was
staying." Random eyes the study, thoughtfully.

Martin says darkly, "You're sure of that?"

Random arches a brow, "Sure that was where he was staying, or sure of
the shadow walking?"

"The latter," Martin replies.

Random considers, "He mentioned a squiggly line he had to walk. I didn't
actually see him walk though."

Martin muses over this. "I see," he says thoughtfully, before dismissing
the topic for the time being. "Anyway, I came to tell you that your
cover story about the funny money isn't being bought all over. There're
a lot of unhappy people out there."

Random shrugs, "It's a stopgag. Blame Benedict for it. I thought of
the practical joke end but was informed it was even less convincing." He
says, after a moment, "Do you have a study?"

Martin quirks a brow. "Not as such," he replies.

Random glances up. 'How would you like one?"

Martin's brow stays quirked. "Never really thought about it. Why?"

"Most of this tower is lying vacant, waiting for Oberon. I'm thinking it
might be time to give up on his coming back, since he's dead and all."
Random's voice is thoughtful. "This tower would make a good base of
operations for both of us and would ensure easier communication, since
we'd only be a stairwell away."

"What about the Golden Circle?" Martin asks warily.

The wolf lazily scratches behind its ear.

Random shakes his head, "I never said you had to live in a ship
perminantly visiting them," he replies. "I just wanted you to worry
primarily about them so that I'm left to worry about the City, the
Universe and the Jewel. With the right agents, you can do most
everything from the Castle." He pauses, thoughtfully, "I may well have a
good man for you, too... a captain, by trade."

In the stillness, the creaking of stone and wood of the castle settling
can be heard.

"What's his name?" Martin asks after a long couple of seconds.

Random says, "Sven Tasker. He works with the Amber Navy, HMS. Renegade I
believe. Interesting man.... Rnadal met him not long ago."

"I think I know him," Martin answers, still watching Random.

"Nice guy," Random says, then. "I think I might work out some trade with
him, as Randal of course. I wanted a few friends everywhere. Comes in
handy."

Martin doesn't comment. "When were you planning to do this?" he asks
instead.

Random gestures, vaguely. "Whenever I run into Sven again."

Martin thumbs the study, "I meant this... moving into Oberon's tower, or
whatever."

Random raises both brows, "Oh, well, I just thought of it," he says. "It
would take a while to clear out the rooms of the tower, maybe in the
next few months. I'd have to see how swamped Henden is."

Martin nods. "Sure," he says eventually. "Whenever."

Random glances around the room. "I'll send Henden by you," he says, "to
work out how you want to redo this room and what you want to keep. I
might be swiping a few things myself." His eyes fall on the globe, oddly
enough.

Martin glances to the globe, too. "Any idea where that is?" he wonders.

Random shakes his head, "No, not really," he says, "but there's
something... something about it." He shrugs.

Martin nods. After a while, he says, "I guess that's it then. I'll let
you get back to your paperwork."

Random almost smiles at Martin. "Thanks," he says somewhat dryly. "I do
so enjoy it."

"Good thing, too," Martin says as he turns and heads for the door, the
action hiding his amusement. "There seems to be a lot of it." He pats
his thigh, and the wolf pads obediently across the room after him.

Random watches his son leave, thoughtfully.

"Good day to you," Martin says as he goes out the door, the wolf ahead
of him.

Random says, "Unicorn bless."

-------
7/30/98