Kelton gave up fighting. Yanda was going to handle his hair, or life was going to become less enjoyable. She had him washing, and now she piled grooming onto the morning activities. Already, his red hair had been shortened, trimmed to shoulder length, and now she was twisting strands of it together. Var'que she called it. He called it girly. What was once free flowing like the wind was weaved into heavier portions, each tied off at the ends to lay still down his head. His copper collar was less irritating.

Filgot had laid down the law the evening prior, which helped to sour Kelton's mood. It seemed the whole city was talking about the vicious sword-wheeling picture mind. Repeatedly, Kelton vowed to never touch a blade to no avail. Filgot lacked the trust necessary to accept his word. Entering any of the kitchens, or any other building containing a blade, now required a guard. He could have fought the restrictions, probably get his new masters to overturn them. He decided it wasn't a good idea to anger Filgot. Security was the man's concern, and what happened on the ship wasn't Filgot's fault. Time would cure it. Hopefully, it was the last remnant of the curse that had followed Kelton since the Choosing.

"Oh...good," Yanda said as she stepped away from the bed to look at her handiwork. One of her new words. Working for Glenda was increasing her knowledge of Kelton's language faster then Kelton could learn hers.

"Yeacum," Kelton replied, flicking the braids with his hand. The word meant girl, or woman, or something close to them. Yanda laughed and shook her head. It was hard to argue with a naked woman, especially when he had already let her do the weaving. Yanda took his hand, making him stand as she examined her work from multiple directions. She was pleased.

"Mayhap, I'll shave it all off and save time in the morning," Kelton said. The words were wasted on Yanda, though she understood the tone. She gave him another smile, softer this time. She pulled his head down and kissed his forehead. Kelton decided to not shave his head. It was a small price to pay if she found the task so pleasing.

The looks at the morning meal were uncomfortable. Yanda sat proudly next to Kelton eating gravied bread. Kelton pretended he wasn't the topic of conversation, but could tell his hair was being discussed at length. It was difficult to know if they thought it funny or just odd. Maybe shaving his head wasn't a bad idea.

"That looks difficult to do," Vasco said as he sat down. There was a smirk on his face that made it feel more like an insult.

"She did it," Kelton said, tilting his head to Yanda. Vasco discussed the hairdo with Yanda for a moment, his eyebrows arching.

"When a Sorinnian boy reaches manhood, it is signified by a female relative weaving his hair," Vasco said. "Yanda says you are a better man than many she has known. Since you don't have a family, it falls on her to show it to the world." Yanda gave Kelton a quick smile, then returned her attention to her food.

"A man?" Kelton stammered. He grabbed one of the braids and pulled it in front of his eyes. "I thought it girly."

"Not to Yanda," Vasco said with a shrug. "My knowledge of her culture is limited, but I think it is a proud moment for her. The standing of the women in her land is somewhat based on the men who venerate them. She sees her standing increased because you value her. In turn, she made you look girly." Vasco laughed.

"A man," Kelton whispered to himself, ignoring Vasco's humor. He looked at Yanda. She was smart enough to know the difference between a man and a boy. She had seen him clothless as well. He smiled. It didn't matter what anyone else thought about his hair. Men don't worry about such things. Kelton sat up straighter, more like a man.

"Sorry," Vasco said when his laughter died down. "The weaving was meant as a compliment, and it does look better than that unruly nest you wore before. She'll probably work on the fuzz on your chin next."

"I kind of like it," Kelton said. He reached up stroked the fine hairs that had begun to grow on his face. Manly hairs.

"A Sorinnian man is shaped by the women around him," Vasco informed him with a wink. "I think you'll have little say in the matter. Mayhap, you should have chosen a more pliable woman to save."

"Nay," Kelton said, proud of his decision. Yanda thought he was a man and wanted the world to know it. "My bargain was a good one." If she wanted his chin clean, it would be clean. Boys worry about such things, not men. He glanced at Yanda again. She didn't think he was a boy.

"I'll teach you to read some easy text this morn," Vasco said, changing the subject. "You've got the letters down, and it's time to put them together. This afternoon, Master wants us to attend him. Sorry, but it is a meeting with Master Laradia, and he wishes to see the picture mind. Our Master intends to show you off."

"Master Laradia?"

"House Laradia is a mining house. Coal mostly. That black rock you see us burn for warmth." Vasco took a bite of his bread and chewed a moment. "A wagon load is being delivered, and I think Master Laradia is using it as a chance to see you. It is under the guise of bargaining future pricing, but I suspect he'll test you as before."

"So far, it's been an easy thing," Kelton said with a shrug. "Mayhap, it will fail one day, and I'll find myself in the mines."

"Doubtful, but sums, reading, and reasoning are just as important," Vasco corrected. "I will teach to deliver profits with or without." He smiled. "Your picture mind just makes it easier."

Learning to read was both easy and difficult for Kelton. There were words that sounded the same, but written differently, and there were words written the same but sounded differently. Exceptions were far more numerous than Vasco had first let on. Kelton's mind worked best with absolute rules. He suspected it would become more straightforward with practice, which was Vasco's intent. Kelton thought it was going slow. Vasco was impressed that Kelton was learning so quickly. After the noon meal, they entered the main house as Master desired.

"I had to retire two more this month. At this rate, I might as well live at the auction," a tired voice said. Vasco and Kelton were moving toward the sitting room. Vasco had said it was for informal gatherings of no more the five or six.

Vasco knocked on the threshold of the open door.

"Come," Master Tarvakian said. Kelton entered into a room designed for comfort. Over cushioned chairs that showed no bones of their innards. Just molded cloth, soft looking, that seemed to grow from the floor, yet held the two men easily enough. Kelton assumed it was Master Laradia who had been speaking since he would have recognized Tarvakin's words.

Laradia was a thin man and short of stature. His hair was gray yet still full on his head and had a confidence about him that Kelton suspected all masters owned.

"Ahh, the picture mind," Laradia said, rising from this chair. The exhaustion was no longer evident in his voice. Kelton bowed his head slightly, less so than he would have for his Master.

"What happened to your hair, my boy?" Tarvakian asked. There was humor in his eyes, so Kelton knew it wasn't a rebuke.

"Yanda thinks me worthy of her land's look, Master," Kelton said.

"A mark of manhood in her eyes, Master" Vasco added.

"I suppose you have crossed that line," Tarvakian said. "Though everyone seems young to me these days." Laradia nodded in agreement. Tarvakain rose from his seat and gave Kelton's hair a good look. "Yes, I'll have to stop referring to you as ' boy.' Only a man could woo a woman like Yanda." He and Laradia shared a laugh.

"This Yanda, she's the one that stopped your sword?" Laradia asked. Kelton looked at him confused.

"It is for her that he bargained," Tarvakain answered before Kelton could put together a response. "It is for her that he is with my house now."

"She must be quite a woman," Laradia said as he too walked up to Kelton. "It is told that you were doing battle against twenty men. The story I hear is that they thought you a demon with a blade - unstoppable."

"It was many less," Kelton said, shaking his head. No wonder Filgot thought him a risk. The story was growing with each telling. "And I am sure I would have fallen quickly if it had gone on."

"He doesn't much like the tale," Tarvakain said, putting his hand on Kelton's shoulder. For a second, it felt like Gossamer's hand, warm and guiding. "I've given word that it wasn't to be passed around the house."

"Of course," Laradia said and left the topic behind. "Vasco, is his mind as sharp as your Master claims?"

"It is," Vasco replied.

"May I?" Laradia asked Tarvakain with a grin. Tarvakain nodded and stepped away from Kelton. The two had apparently been friends for a long time, able to discern meaning without many words. Laradia pulled a sheet of folded paper from his shirt pocket and handed it to Kelton. Kelton unfolded it and examined a columned list of words and numbers. He gave it back to Laradia after a moment.

"What is the fourth number?" Laradia asked, referring to paper as Kelton answered correctly. "And seventeenth?" Kelton had to think a moment, counting down the list in his mind. Again he was correct. "Amazing, and how goes your reading lessons?"

"Not well, I know some of the words on that page, but mostly only the letters," Kelton replied. Vasco laughed, then covered his mouth as if he hadn't meant it out loud.

"What do you find so funny, Vasco?" Tarvakain asked.

"Sorry, Master. Kelton only learned the letters yesterday and just this morning begin putting together words." Vasco couldn't hide his smile. "That he recognized any of those words, much less knows the letters is much better than 'not well.'"

"What is the third line from the bottom?" Laradia asked with new excitement.

"Ahh..small...g-r-a-d-e...wagon, then the number 37," Kelton said. It was a struggle since he had to see, decipher, and speak it at the same time.

"Not well? I think you are advancing months in days," Laradia said.

"I have seen words once before," Kelton said. "It is hard to keep them straight when the rules of them keep changing."

"Oh, my friend," Laradia said to Tarvakain. "This boy...this man is truly a profitable find. And here I was dreading my judge day coming next month. Now I fear I will be testing them all, trying to find one such as he."

"Vasco found him," Tarvakain said, smiling and pointing at Vasco. "One wise purchase led to another. Tell me Kark, have you no one to offer the silver too? I would be lost without Vasco, and now I fear my house will be indebted to his protege as well." Vasco was beaming. Kelton could almost feel the pride emanating from him. It was then, Kelton realized that Vasco truly loved the Tarvakain House. It wasn't the library, it was the House that was his life. His stature in it meant everything - and it now rested with Kelton's success.

"Alas, the sickness makes it difficult to build the trust necessary," Laradia said. "You have years to discover someone like Vasco." He bowed his head slightly in Vasco direction. Respect. "I inherited a necessity of the kingdom, and the shortness of service that comes along with it."

"Sit, sit," Tarvakain said. He pointed to the available chairs, his eyes indicating that Kelton and Vasco should join them. Vasco looked used to it as if it was a regular honor to sit among owners. Kelton was more awkward, almost sliding off the seat as his backside sunk into the cushion. It wasn't long ago he had thought slave owners were only worthy of the respect necessary to survive in their midst. Now, offering him a seat among them made him feel important. It wasn't an old story like Kushiel's Answer that impressed them. It was talents Kelton could reproduce at will that they admired.

"They say you were destined for the mines," Kirk Laradia said to Kelton. "It is a good thing that Vasco found you. Everyday I have watched the men leaving the mines coughing the dust from their chests. I have as many infirmed as I do working." He waved his hand idly at the world. "I know they were violent men, yet still it is an ignoble end that few deserve. Their lives fuel the kingdom as much as the soldier does in times of war."

"Can not wood be burned for heat?" Kelton asked. He questioned the wisdom of his words as soon as they left his mouth. No one flinched, and Vasco gave no hint of his query being an issue.

"If only it could be so," Tarvakain replied.

"We have grown too large, let our cities spread like the plague," Laradia added. "Even if we cut down every tree, we'd be back to the mines in a season. We are used to warmth and the sturdiness of stone."

A woman entered the room, collared in copper and carrying a tray laden with pot and cups. She had twice the years of Kelton with a face that had maintained much of its youth. Auburn hair worn long and straight with perfectly even cut bangs that threatened to cover her eyes. Kelton had never seen her before, which wasn't too much of a surprise. He was spending most of his time outside of the main house.

"The tea has arrived," Tarvakain said. He pushed some trinkets out of the way on the short table that was in front of the chairs. The woman placed the tray on the table, then knelt on the floor to prepare the tea. "It is a new blend I have discovered. Yarkic brown mixed with green from Sullernee. I find it fascinating and very different from anything I've had before." Kelton watched as the woman packed four infusers with the mixed leaves from a jar. She was careful to keep the blend even, adding either brown or green depending upon the overall color of her initial pinch.

"Interesting," Laradia commented.

"The Yarkic is a local leaf," Vasco told Kelton. "The green comes from a land way to the east, imported by ship. Master has been sampling teas his whole life."

"One of these days, I'll have to acquire some land and try growing it myself," Master said. "Always thought I should have been in the tea business." He chuckled.

"I have only tasted a few types before, and never had them mixed," Kelton said honestly.

"Then you are in for a treat," Tarvakain said, his excitement growing. The woman kept working in silence, her eyes never leaving her task. There was no emotion on her face, not even contentment, or lack thereof. She was simply there.

The tea was good. It wasn't South Allyander great, but better than what Kelton had sampled so far. It had become Beldin's job to bring Kelton and Yanda tea in the evening. Kelton could recognize some of the flavor from his nightly leaf, but the green added a pleasing effect. A nuttyness that stopped just short of woodsy.

"This is very good," Kelton said. Vasco nodded with a mouthful.

"Ah, I almost forgot. Eveyin, bring a bowl of those crogerts that just arrived," Tarvakain ordered. It was strange to hear it worded so sharp. Master's eyes did not find Eveyin's, and she bowed quickly in response and left the room in silence. True master-slave, without the pleasantness that Kelton had become accustomed too. The respect was missing from the order.

"Crogerts? Where did you procure those?" Laradia asked. Kelton shrugged at Vasco, letting him know he had no idea what a crogert was.

"It is a nut, Kelton," Tarvakain said, interpreting Kelton's shrug.

"The finest nut," Laradia injected. "If I were a suspicious man, I would think you were looking for advantage in our negotiations."

"My Master would never think of such a thing," Vasco said, smirking.

"He would, and he is." Laradia laughed. "He also knows it's working. If I wish to be pampered with rare tastes in tea and nut, I must somehow find profits here. Reading and sums are only half the battle, Kelton. Your master uses unfair tools as well."

"Master does, and his word is like iron. I was made his property, yet I find myself desiring his success," Kelton said. "It is not what I imagined when first I was taken on that ship."

"A future silver," Laraida said.

"Indeed, indeed," Tarvakain returned, pride shining in his eyes. It was not a bad place for Kelton to be, basking in Master's pride. There were fewer rules with Gossamer, but here Kelton could learn so much. And, for the first time in a long time, he felt safe. There was no one chasing him, nor threatening others because of him. Besides, Yanda thought he was a man, and he was tired of being a frightened boy.

Eveyin returned with a bowl of large nuts. The shells were tan and crinkled like the skin of an ancient man. She placed them down on the table, her eyes never glancing upward. There was something odd about her. She didn't fit the rest of the house. Expressionless, she retreated to the edge of the room and waited. She was the first slave Kelton had seen that acted like a slave.

"It is a learned talent getting to the meat," Tarvakain said for Kelton's benefit. He picked up two of the nuts and enclosed them in both hands. "You squeeze one against the other until the weaker of the two gives up." He smiled when a crack could be heard, then opened his hands. One of the crogert's shells had shattered, and two large wrinkled sections of nut meat were exposed. Tarvakain deftly took the meat and tossed it in his mouth, bouncing his eye at the flavor. He signaled for everyone to partake as he chewed, dropping the broken shell onto the tea tray.

Kelton found the crogert to be his new favorite nut. There was a hint of sweetness in it's earthiness. The meat was not rock hard or tiny like some nuts. It yielded to teeth, and the flavor spread across the tongue like soft cloth.

"Put a few in your pocket," Tarvakain said with a wink. "I'm sure they will please Yanda."

"Thank you!" Kelton tucked four away. His master laughed at how quickly it was done. Kelton knew he was being manipulated. Molded into a tool for the family. It didn't matter. Yanda was safe, and in some ways, slavery had returned him to his childhood, when everything was new, and Gossamer bore all the troubles. Vasco was right, a person could find happiness in the house of Tarvakain.

There were brief negotiations on price, discussions Kelton felt were resolved before they had started. Laraida had wanted to meet him, and Tarvakain wanted to pull Kelton in tighter. There were only two disturbing parts of the meeting. The conversations about the short work span of miners, and the presence of Eveyin.

Eveyin had stayed unmoving against the wall until Tarvakain signaled for clean up. She dutifully collected the cups and bowls, carrying them out in two shifts. Never did she meet Kelton's eyes, nor anyone else's for that matter. No smile, no frown, just duty. Vasco and Laraida didn't indicate any strangeness too it, so Kelton left it alone until he was walking out of the main house.

"I have not seen Eveylin before this day," Kelton said to Vasco.

"She works in the main house. Takes her meals there as well," Vasco replied, then quickly changed the subject. "We've been notified of a harvest of corn. Zello wishes you to accompany him to acquire some. I believe he wishes to work with you more."

"As do I," Kelton said, realizing it was the truth. If he was Zello's future, then Zello was his. "But what is corn?" Vasco laughed.