And so it came to pass, I guess. I woke in Castle Amber, or at least a decent replica. Feigning sleep, I used a bit of subtle prestidigitation to determine my surroundings. One life form, female. Pattern imprint, albeit odd readings. Magical vibes. Peeking an eye open, I saw her bundled on the floor, a lantern turned down very low giving just enough illumination. I hopped to my feet, gathered my things, dressed myself properly, and made my way to her side, after illuminating the room a bit more from the other lights.
I tapped her on the shoulder, and she rolled away from me, jumping into a crouch. I jumped back myself. The woman scrutinized me, and I her. She looked young, short brown hair and greenish eyes. Something about her struck me as familiar. Her expressions wander quickly from worry to consternation to some sort of relief.
I decided to take the initiative.
"Excuse me... Who are you? And where am I?" Best to not let her think me more lucid than I was.
"You're in Castle Amber." Her features began to soften.
"Really." I drew the word out, making my suspicion obvious.
"I'm Quinn." She peered at me. "Do you know who you are?"
"Yes," I said, biting back a *Do you?*
She sighed heavily. "There's that, then. Merlin, you've been in a coma for seven days..." She began a fantastical story about myself having been bushwhacked and dying, until my Uncle Bleys had put me in some sort of suspended animation. Neat trick, that. I observed her as she told her story. Not unattractive, but her haircut and many scars seemed to suggest a spartan lifestyle of some sort. I thought of another cousin with classic good looks and a military mind with whom I'd had a dalliance in the past. And I'd half decided that this Quinn was perhaps a cousin of mine. She did have some passing resemblance to Caine, or maybe Eric...
I acted as if I were investigating myself. "Do I have you to thank for bringing me back?"
She smiled. "No, technically that was Connie, though I did have a vested interest in seeing you return to life." Her smile grew wider, in such a way as to make me nervous. Time to find out just who she was.
"We're not married, are we?"
"No." She seemed to draw up some reserve. "Actually, I'm your sister."
Sister. Not likely, but I wouldn't put it past Mom. "I didn't think Dara had any other children."
"Not by Dara..."
"Whoa." The implications of what Quinn just said hit me like a left hook. Corwin? Not that I would be surprised that Dad had sired another child, but she looked younger than myself by a few years. And Dad had been gone since taking part in signing the Concord at the end of Patternfall...
And as she regaled me of stories from another universe, where Corwin lived as king, a nagging feeling pulled at the back of my brain. That skeptical part of us Amberites, that part of us that keeps us from believing that a blood relative would have someone elses best interests at heart.
I questioned the most nebulous aspects of her story, and seams began to unravel. I wondered if this was all some fancy simulation designed to get information out of me. More than one end of the universe had tried or successfully employed me for reasons of espionage. I tried to figure out how I had come to be injured as I had.
She countered all of my queries, finally crying out, "It was Martin who attacked you!"
"Now I know you're lying!" As if Martin would do anything to me. We were friends, not totally familiar with each other, as Luke and I had been, but friends the same. Martin's prior experience with Brand had made him wary of any situations in which he could be seriously hurt. But he'd been trained by Benedict, so he could take care of himself.
Her nose crinkled, and she snapped out at me. "Were you always this paranoid?" I tried not to chuckle when she pulled out a small sheet of paper and began concentrating. I prepared for anything... but she pulled out another cousin of mine, Connie. One of my last fleeting glimpse of memory involved him and Simon and I moving towards Chaos past old Ygg.
They proceeded to collaborate each other's stories. Apparently Connie was the one to return Frakir to me.
Then I tried to call their bluff, and succeeded. "Maybe I should Trump someone who isn't supposed to be here," I said, looking them over while drawing out my Trumps. "Like Brand... or Deirdre..."
"No, don't Trump Deirdre," they yelled emphatically.
Deirdre alive. Not bloody likely.
"Look, I think I'm just going to go to my room and get some sleep," I said, heading for the door. Connie gave up on me and left. Quinn wanted to accompany me, and so I let her.. She seemed to look at me now and then, waiting, expecting something. I walked in silence, not wanting to reveal any of my confusion over the whole situation.
"Well, good night," I said as I reached my door. Good to see it was still here.
She looked defeated, but extended her hand to me. "Truce?" She looked into my eyes. I didn't like this whole deal, but I guess I'd have to play it out until the Truth was discovered. I grasped her hand in mine.
"Truce."
She smiled faintly and left, and I closed the door. Still a bit woozy, I fell to my bed, not before lighting a lamp. I looked over my Trumps. I needed to talk with someone else here to find out if this was real or a hoax. I grabbed one of my Chaos Trumps and smiled. Family will help straighten this all out.