In The Cards

Lying is easy. I can trick, con and deceive, and I'm really good at it. But sometimes only truth will serve, and telling the truth can be the hardest thing there is.

Excerpt from 'Ruminations Of A Master Bard'

Lovely warmth and softness all around. Rini yawned quietly without opening her eyes. It felt like drifting inside a warm cloud. She supposed she'd have to wake up eventually, but right now she was far too comfortable. Fluffy pillow beneath her head, warm blankets all around, fingers tugging gently at her hair, almost stroking it… Hold on. The small girl sat up abruptly in bed and winced with pain as the unexpected movement caused a sudden yank at her red locks. Her golden eyes blinked owlishly as she tried to get her bearings.

She was in an enormous bed, one that could easily have harbored ten children her size. Amidst the clouds of drifting pillows and heavy blankets that surrounded her she could see that just one was present though. Edwin was sitting with his legs crossed under him, black hair tumbling messily into his eyes. He looked rather surprised and he still had a hand outstretched towards her. Next to him Softpaws lay on her back, still sleeping. The black kitten's paws batted at the air now and then. Probably she dreamt she was hunting.

"What are you doing?" Rini complained. She wasn't really at her best when just awakened and this was no exception. "What did you go and tug at my hair for?"

Edwin looked at his own hand as if he'd never seen it before and then hastily hid it behind his back. "I didn't do anything," he said. "It was you who yanked. I just…held onto it."

"So why were you holding onto my hair in the first place?"

The boy suddenly seemed to get very interested in the ceiling. "Er…no reason. No reason at all."

"What, you mean you go around pulling people's hair for no reason?"

"I told you, I didn't pull. You did. You're just being stupid."

"And you're being mean!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes! Admit it or I'll make you!"

"Ha!" Edwin gave her a superior smile and crossed his arms across his small chest. "You can't make me admit anything! I'm much too smart for you!"

"Oh yeah?!" The pillow hit Edwin square in the face, and made him fall flat on his back. Softpaws hissed and jumped out of bed, seeking a more restful place to sleep. And it was probably wise of her to do so, for Edwin immediately retaliated, swatting Rini with a pillow of his own. Within seconds the two children had a very satisfying fight going, all the more so since they were evenly matched. Pillows flew through the air and the blankets were a sad mess. The children chased each other around the huge bed, giggling and hitting each other with the pillows, and this led to the interesting discovery that the bed was very springy.

Rini smiled widely and turned to Edwin who also had an excited grin on his face. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked.

"I think so. Let's fly!" As they had both suspected the bed was perfect for jumping in, and you could bounce almost all the way to the ceiling with hardly any effort at all.

"Wheee!" Rini cried out. "I'm * bounce * flying like an eagle! * bounce *"

Edwin was occupied with trying to bounce from a sitting position to a standing one and then back again. So far he managed to succeed about a third of the times. "Check out my * bounce * lightning reflexes!" he boasted to the girl. "Bet you can't * bounce * do this!" At this moment his bragging caused him to forget to pay attention to where his feet were going and he fell on his face.

"Maybe… * bounce * But why would I * bounce * want to?"

The unfortunate bed gave in long before the children did, sagging to the ground with an agonized groan that caused Edwin and Rini to break out in a new fit of giggles. The two children lay on their backs, panting and hot. The bedclothes were a ruined mess and all the feathers drifting in the air made the room look like it had just been subjected to a snowstorm. The children had so many sticking to their hair and clothes that they looked like they had just been out playing in said snow. "That was fun, don't you think?" Edwin said.

"Sure was!"

"Want to do it again?"

"Maybe later." The half-elf girl rolled over on her stomach and climbed out of the bed. "I want to see where we are first."

You're late for breakfast, that's what, Softpaws said. If you're not coming soon I'm having yours too, just so you know.

The walls of this room were stone as well, but this stone was a warm and inviting red, smooth and radiating warmth. Soft and flickering light played along the walls, though there was no obvious fire or other source of light to be seen. Apart from the bed there was a large wooden table and two chairs, and on the table breakfast had indeed been set out. Rini stared at the feast, her eyes wide. Anything she could ever have wanted was there. Bread and cheese, sausages and ham, eggs, a large assortment of fruit, fried mushrooms, pancakes…even a large chocolate cake with pink glazing on top. Softpaws was sitting in the middle of the table, eating the last of what had been a plate of exquisite salmon. "Breakfast…" Edwin said, his voice filled with longing.

Rini kept staring at the cake, her mouth rapidly filling with drool. "Chocolate…"

Half an hour later the food on the table had been selectively diminished. The healthy food like the porridge, fruit and vegetables was mostly untouched. The pancakes and chocolate cake were nowhere to be seen however, except for the brown smudges on both childrens' faces. "Mmmm…" Rini said and licked her sticky fingers. "I love chocolate…"

"Mmmm…" Edwin agreed. "Me too." His dark eyes lit up as he thought of something. "Know what else?"

"No?"

"There's nobody here to tell us to wash our faces or anything."

The girl grinned at this pleasant thought. "What is it with grownups and washing anyway?" she asked.

"Don't know. I mean, if I don't care if my face is dirty I don't see why they have to. It's my face, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Grownups are so weird…" Both children nodded solemnly in total agreement over this fundamental truth. "Know what I thought of?" Rini asked after a moment.

"No?"

"There's no door to this room." She was right. The walls were smooth everywhere, completely unbroken, with not so much as a keyhole to hint at any door. There weren't any windows either.

Edwin seemed unperturbed by this revelation. "There has to be," he said. "Otherwise, how could they get the bed and the food in here? Or us? And if there's no ordinary door there has to be some sort of spell." As if in answer to his statement a note materialized on the table. Edwin picked it up, leaving more than one sticky fingerprint on it, and read it with a small frown on his face.

"What's it say?" Rini asked, eagerly leaning forward across the table.

"It just says 'This is the Test of Truth. Truth shall bring freedom.' That's it, except for a drawing of an eagle." He threw the note on the table with disgust. "What kind of magic test is that? It's just stupid."

"It's a riddle," the half-elf girl said, thinking about it. She'd always been good with riddles. "I think…we probably should try being truthful about something."

"Well, that's easy." Edwin cleared his throat. "My name is Edwin, and I'm a mighty wizard." Absolutely nothing happened. "See? Stupid, like I said."

"I said truthful," Rini said in a meaningful voice. "Try again."

"Oh, all right," Edwin said, looking a bit sulky. "I'm Edwin, and I'm not a mighty wizard…yet." With a faint rumbling sound a thin crack appeared in one of the walls, bright light leaking through it.

"It worked!" Rini crowed and jumped up from her chair to try to peer through the crack. She couldn't see anything though. "All right…um…my turn I guess." She thought for a moment. "I'm an orphan, but I live with my foster father Gorion." The crack widened a tiny bit more.

Edwin sauntered over, looking bored. "This is too easy," he complained. "Fine, I'll play along. My parents are Elvira and Galen Odesseiron, and they're both Red Wizards." The crack remained the same as before. "Now what?!" Edwin said, sounding very frustrated. "There's something wrong with the stupid spell, I wasn't lying, really I wasn't."

"I think I know what's wrong," Rini said. "The first ones were easy, like you said. I think we're probably going to have to tell more important truths to get it to open more."

"Like what?"

"I don't know…something you'd rather keep secret I guess. Come on, I'm sure you can think of something."

"But I don't want to tell any of my secrets!"

The half-elf girl gave her companion a frustrated look. "Would you rather stay here forever?" she asked. "And you can forget about trying to make me do all the work. You have to help. Go on. I won't tell anybody else, I promise."

Edwin sighed. "Fine," he said. "I'll do it. But you'd better not tell anybody. All right…um…I still sleep with my stuffed bear in bed. I know I'm too big really, but I…well…sleep better when he's there. And I feel sorry for him if I keep him out." The crack widened a bit more. "And if you so much as whisper about it to anybody I'll curse you!" Edwin said. His cheeks had gone a bright pink.

"Don't worry," Rini said, careful not to so much as smile. "Nothing wrong with that. And I wouldn't tell anyway. My turn again." She bit her lip and her face turned sad. "Sometimes…sometimes when the other kids at home tease me about being a half-elf…sometimes they almost make me believe they're right. I mean…I can talk back most of the time and I don't let it show…but…sometimes afterwards I still wonder if I'm really a…an ugly freak, like they say."

"But you're not!" Edwin exclaimed, his voice vehement. "At least…at least I don't think so." The crack widened still further. It probably would be possible to stick an arm through it now. "Um…you know before…when we were lost in the darkness. I lied when I said I wasn't scared. I just didn't want you to notice."

"I know. But I don't mind. I was scared too, you know." The half-elf girl examined the crack. It wasn't quite wide enough for them to fit through yet, but almost. "Just a couple more," she whispered to herself. "Here goes." She steadfastly avoided looking Edwin in the eyes. "I…like you," she said, feeling heat rise in her cheeks. "You're funny, and smart, and nice to play with. I want us to be friends forever and ever."

Edwin's face was about as red as his robes by now and he was shuffling his feet about nervously. "I…er…like you too," he muttered. "I want to have you for a friend too. You're…you're clever, and brave and…and…" He whispered something unintelligible.

"What?"

"AndIreallywastouchingyourhairbeforebecauseIthinkitlooksreallyreallyreallyniceandIjustcouldn'thelpmyself."

BOOM! The crack exploded open to reveal a door large enough for both children to pass through side by side with no problem. "You have passed the Test of Truth," a disembodied voice spoke. "Like the Eagle you have shown yourselves capable of seeing far, without and within. The mage need not speak the truth, but he must nevertheless learn to see it. This is the third and last test. You may pass through to the Master's study. The children looked at each other, embarrassment quickly giving way to relief. Then they both whooped with delight and ran through the door. ‘