Magna'est sat cross-legged on a yellow pillow. Zandra sat with her back to him playing with a wooden doll as he braided her hair. He enjoyed the silken feel of it as he twisted the strands together. It was her new obsession. She liked to twirl the long braid around like a whip and laughed when she could make it hit him. He didn't mind as long as she desired it clean. The labor of braiding allowed him to think.

The red-haired boy was becoming a nuisance. Brother's have told him that the people's fear was waning. It hadn't manifested into action, but it was noticed all the same. Rarely did a commoner look a brother in the eye. Fewer still had the courage to not flinch when one came near. Now there were many who stood their ground. They smelled a weakness that didn't exist.

The death of the boy would solve the problem. A visible cleansing would also strengthen the Brethren's hold. Magna'est sighed. The old ways were becoming difficult. Cleansings had the side effect of lowering population, the very thing they needed to grow. Long held laws were in jeopardy. How does one enforce a mandate when the enforcement weakens the enforcer? Even the Wilted Rose was losing its value. It was a fine punishment for barren women, but to curse a fertile one was self-defeating. The Brethren's numbers had grown too large to support the old penalties.

"Ouch," Zandra squealed.

"Oh, my love," Magna'est said, letting loose of Zandra's hair. "I'm sorry. I was deep in thought and forgot what I was doing." He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. She leaned away, twisted her head and snapped her half-done braid back at him. She was smiling.

"You tricked me," Magna'est said, tickling her sides. He loved her laugh. It always came from deep in her belly, and she had trouble getting it to stop. It was so easy to keep it going until she struggled to breathe and he had to stop. Another joy in his life.

"Your Eminence," Brother Wai'err interrupted. Usually, his disturbances were well timed, a break from Zandra's incessant need for attention. This time it was more annoyance.

"Can it wait?" Magna'est said as he stopped his tickling. Zandra sat up, the pair radiated their annoyance toward Wai'err.

"My apologies." Wai'err bowed to the both of them. "You wished to be told of this news when first it is known." Magna'est knew it was the red-haired boy. There was nothing else that couldn't wait. He shrunk his shoulders in sadness for Zandra's benefit, though he did feel some of it.

"The world calls me, my love," Magna'est told her.

"No apples for him," Zandra said, pointing at Wai'err. Magna'est smiled at Wai'err's surprised look.

"A fitting punishment," Magna'est said, nodding his head. Zandra had eaten almost a whole basket of the fruit and thought them fit for the Goddess. She desired to hand them out,or withhold them as her private carrot and stick. "Why don't you go tell Don'aire your pronouncement. Let him know it is with my blessing. I should be done with this by the time you return."

Zandra nodded and gave Wai'err a frown as she ran past him to make sure her punishment was in force. Magna'est enjoyed watching her in authoritative mode. She was cute when she had a mission.

"I will miss those apples," Wai'err said, feigning pain with his eyes. It had been a long time since a sweet batch had shipped in. They usually lost their crispness by the time they reached Aragonia.

"Not to worry," Magna'est said waving away his fears. "I will remind her that Adley is being punished as well. She'll reconsider once she's happy again." Wai'err smiled. "Now, what is this news?"

"He has killed a captain of the King's Own," Wai'err replied. "I believe he is displaying signs of the knowing. The soldiers will be less effective unless they can reach him in numbers." Magna'est pointed to a chair for Wai'err, but rose himself.

"The commoners will begin to think he is our equal." Magna'est was thinking out loud as he began to pace. "His death is becoming more imperative. If he does have the knowing, he may become reckless. No!" Magna'est stopped pacing and turned toward Wai'err. "He will become reckless. That kind of power always goes to the head. A knowing boy of fifteen can face what - two, mayhap three trained soldiers at once?"

"Without training, three would be a stretch," Wai'err agreed. Magna'est smiled.

"The King will pass a dictate. Soldiers will travel in groups no less than five." Magna'est began pacing again, his fingers stroking his chin. "They will flush him out with words, taunting him with twisted stories of his past victories he will want rectified."

"The King claims he is short men. Says he can't be everywhere, though sightings of the boy seem to be."

"He is using this to increase his power," Magna'est said with disgust. He shook his head then stopped pacing. "Though what he claims is not untrue. We can't afford to allow him to look weak with an unseen running about claiming to be Kuschel's Answer. Giving up control in one area to gain it in another will make it all the more difficult. What are the King's demands?"

"The King desires to grow the ranks by one thousand." Magna'est laughed. If he were King, he knew he'd do the same thing. A thousand more wouldn't be near enough to threaten the Brethren, but pointed in the wrong direction could severely disrupt the balance of control. Gregory wasn't as weak minded as Magna'est had first thought. It may force the Brethren to compromise on minor things.

"Allow him five hundred more."

"Do you think that wise?"

"No," Magna'est replied. "Just less unwise than allowing this boy a long life. Make sure the King knows that his efforts at cornering the boy must increase two-fold."

"There is more." Wai'err looked at the floor.

"Out with it," Magna'est squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the next anvil to drop.

"There is word that a witness exists." Magna'est's jaw tightened. "The cursed are said to be looking for one that had burnt off the Wilted Rose. It is said she was condemned by brother Fan'tra and the reason the boy came forward."

"And we're just learning of this now?"

"Condemning a man to fifty winters as a breaker does not elicit cooperation, your Eminence."

"It was his own incompetence that made us remove him from sight." Magna'est looked at the ceiling, trying to pull wisdom from the Goddess herself. "Verify the story."

"It is being done as we speak."

"If it is true, we must act quickly." Magna'est sighed and sat down behind his desk. It was if the world conspired against him. One step forward and two back. "This witness must be hunted with the same vigor as the boy himself. More so, since she lends credence to his claims and should be easier to end since she's not Unseen."

"It will be difficult. She may be well hidden."

"In this case, cooperation will be mandatory." Magna'est looked up at Wai'err. "All those that refuse will be executed. I will not risk all that we have gained trying to be careful. Population growth is secondary to the witness's death."

"As you wish," Wai'err said. "I will set the King to the task and have a pair of the Brethren verifying compliance."

"No more than two," Magna'est insisted.

"Of course, your Eminence."

"It may be best if we also include pairs with those searching for the boy. I tire of the growth of his tale. Mayhap, we can sneak up on him." Wai'err smiled at the words.

"I did not do it," Zandra announced as she re-entered the room. Both Magna'est and Wai'err's eyes widened. "It would be unfair to Adley, and besides, it is his job to be annoying."

"You are wise beyond your years," Magna'est complimented. He meant it. It was rare that Zandra surprised him with any form of empathy. He did not encourage it beyond his own needs, so it was all her. Zandra smiled at the compliment. Wai'err bowed to her, which she returned with a slight tilt of her head.

"I have my instructions and will hopefully not bother you again this day," Wai'err told Zandra.

"Good," Zandra said, then rushed into Magna'est's waiting arms. He knew she wanted to be tickled again. As soon as Wai'err departed, he had her laughing as if they had never been interrupted.