Fanfic:Casual Observances
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To all appearances, today was a day like any other. Lembirt, the oldest son of the house of Adillarn, was riding home from the Sun Palace. Traditionally he would have been in a carriage, or at least a sedan chair, but since the Dragon Reborn had come to the city Lembirt and many other young nobles had taken to riding about on horseback, as he did. After all, if the Lord Dragon could so something, then it was probably acceptable for a noble to do the same thing. Besides, this created a certain visibility; when you were inside your carriage, all that people knew was that you were from whichever house had its sigil on the door of your carriage. On a horse, though, everyone knew who you were.
Cairhien was a relatively safe city, with the patrols of Aielmen and Saldaean soldiers keeping the street safe, so it was customary for young noblemen like Lembirt to ride unaccompanied. Not only was it considered normal, but also very useful. Alone, he had more control over who saw him do what.
So, although to any casual observer it would have seemed that he was just a lordling going about his business in the city, but that statement was utterly false. There were no casual observers in Cairhien, and today, like every other day, Lembirt was playing The Game.
Today, he had an important negotiation to finalize. He was meeting with Lord Caersweth, an Illianer, to discuss the possibility of marrying a member of the man's house. Lembirt had every intention of marrying an outlander, but he didn't know which country would be most beneficial. In fact, at the moment, he was actually meeting with three different nobles, from Illian, Altara, and Amadicia, respectively. If any of them knew with his dealings with the others, they would think him insincere in his wish to ally with their house, given the animosity between those three nations, and would most likely completely deny his request.
As a result, it was extremely important that he lose the various men who were watching him before he met with Lord Caersweth, who was staying in the Redelwynn manor house. He maintained his steady, unhurried pace as he approached a small inn called the Rising Sun. After passing off his mount to the stable hand standing by the door, Lembirt walked into the inn with his usual stiff-backed, measured pace.
He knew which men were following him; there were three men in the street, in unassuming workman's clothing, who worked for each of the noble Lords. They were all outlanders, after all, so there was only so much they could do in a foreign city.
As he sat in the inn, drinking his wine, he waited to see what the three men would do. The back door of the inn met with one of the busiest streets in Cairhien, and it was common practice to duck into the inn, walk through, and lose oneself in the crowd. This wasn't what Lembirt had in mind, of course.
After a few minutes, Lembirt knew that when the men outside didn't see him exit, them would walk down the alley beside the Rising Sun and look form him in the street. From where he was sitting, be could see out one of the side windows as he sipped his ale. His eyes might have been fixed on the wine-cup, but he was using his peripheral vision to see out the window, so that to an observer it would have looked like he was just relaxing an afternoon away with his wine. As he watched, one of the men walked down the alley. Well, one was better than none, he thought to himself, and, after leaving a silver penny on the table for the serving wench, exited the inn.
Leaving his horse with the inn, he continued walked around the the opposite side of the inn from where the two men were waiting for him, and where the third man had walked. As soon as he was out of sight, he knew that the two shadows would hurry down their alley to find him on the other side. Of course, Lembirt was smarter that that, so as soon as he had made it a third or so of the distance down the alley, he turned and returned to the small street, now empty of his trackers. All he had to do now was cross the street, follow an alley on the other side to another busy thoroughfare, and make his way to the Redelwynn manor, located conveniently close to his own family's city palace. No one who saw him pass would question the direction he was walking in, and it would take only a minor course adjustment to enter the other manor without being seen.
Today would be yet another day when his superior skills of reasoning would lead him to further his masterpiece of planning. If Grace stayed with him, some day he would be King of Cairhien, and each day like this was one more step in the right direction.
