III

"...a bloodbath prevented, it is believed, by the interventions of Mrako, advisor to the Kandor Family in the time immediately before the Dark Age..."
                                                                                                                  Xanaran Royals-- V. Clemra




"Good morning."


Rane started awake and saw the silhouette of a man in the doorway. He could make out no feature of the man's face, though something in his voice put him immediately at ease.


"Good morning, sir."


"You are Rane, are you?" The man asked, ever so gently.


"Yes, and, if you don't mind my asking, who are you, sir?"


"My name is Koram, I have been assigned to show you the grounds, and acquaint you with your duties." Rane had not considered the fact that he would have "duties"; he did not much like the idea.


"Just give me a moment to get dressed." said Rane-- forgetting to add "sir", a gaffe that went apparently unnoticed.


"Of course" said Koram, withdrawing with a dancer's grace and silently closing the door.


Rane rubbed his eyes, this was not at all how he had envisioned his coming to the Palace. He had been naive, he supposed. In his mind he had seen the Queen rushing to him, professing undying love, doing away with the King, and crowning him. He had not expected this muddle of affairs, nor to be signed on at the Palace as a mere Attendant. He sighed, dressed, and stepped out of his room.


He could now see Koram in the full light. Koram was thin, with dark hair and eyes and an utterly neutral  expression.


"Follow me, please." And Rane did.


Koram led Rane down a narrow stairway and through an even narrower hall.


"This is the servants way through to the kitchens," said Koram, "and through here you may access the front grounds. Food will brought to you during your breaks. Where were you last employed?"


"I've never been employed, sir."


A pause.


"How is it that you came into service here?" Neither expression nor tone of voice changed in the slightest.


"I...I was here for the public feast and got to talking with the King and Qu--"


"You spoke to The Family? Who introduced you?"


"Well, no one we just...  got to talking."


It was  unnerving that Korams face and voice never altered; it was obvious he was dissatisfied with this response.


"You will forgive my probing, Rane, but it is my experience that members of the public have no oppurtunity to 'get to talking' with The Family. But I am clearly mistaken in that, aren't I? It matters little in the end. Here is where the washing is done, and down there is the latrine."


The continued out onto a terrace overlooking the city. The view was majestic! A sea of turrets and roads and people.


"Have you ever been to the city, Rane?"


"No, sir."


"Well, we have some time before evening, let us see some of the more eccentric districts while we can."