In Which Alina Has an Announcement

February 10, 1188

"Severin!" Alina burst through the library doors of Leo House, Rina close behind. Primus had told her that her brother would be here, but she hadn't needed the tip. "My God. Do you ever leave this room?"

"Sadly, my professors won't allow for correspondence." Severin shoved aside whatever massive anatomy text he'd been reading and left the table. "Rina, is my sister bothering you?"

"No, of course not." A casual answer--too casual. From what Alina could gather, Rina and Severin had kissed once some months back and then... that had been it. Neither would provide a clear answer of whether or not they were courting now or planned on doing so or what. And Alina had thought Hamrick's string of horrible dates before Esela had been frustrating. "We just saw a guest lecturer."

"I hope they were better than the one Sister Fabia brought in last term."

"The abstinence man?"

"Yes. Nata said Lady Rahileine even apologized to her when she went to complain." Not a surprise. Lady Rahileine was a Kemorin, after all. It had become a crude urban joke that every Kemorin was born sans virginity.

"Maybe the clergy staff are bitter about students having sex," Alina ventured. "You know, since they can't have it themselves." "Yes, because saying a few words render your genitalia useless forever." Severin rolled his eyes--and Rina, Alina was pleased to hear, snickered. "Really, what their superiors don't know won't hurt them. If Sister Fabia wants to rendezvous with some man in the wine cellar, I'm sure God has more important things to worry about."

"I don't much care to think about Sister Fabia in the wine cellar." Alina made for the couch and collapsed upon it, lounging. Severin and Rina would have to sit together. "Make yourselves comfortable, will you? Rina and I have an announcement."

Shrugging, her brother stepped around her couch and took the nearer side of the other one. Rina, as planned, sat down beside him. "It was a banking lecture."

"Banking?" Severin straightened, no doubt pretending to be interested. Had Alina come alone, he probably would have yawned and told her to stop wasting his time.

"Yes. The speaker was a woman named Rebekah. Her father was a money-lender, and she took over the business after he passed. She had some interesting insights about the intricacies of currency exchange."

"We won't bore you with the details if you don't gross us out with your dissection notes again," Alina offered.

"All right. But if you don't want to share the details, then why are you here?"

"Because," Alina pushed herself up, near to eye level as she could get with her brother. "We have decided to start a bank."

"Not now, of course. When we've graduated." Rina edged herself a little closer to Severin, rather to Alina's amusement. "We spoke with Rebekah after the lecture, and she said she'd love to correspond with us and give us more tips. And my grandmother said that the king just claimed some more land to the west, and she thinks it'll be going cheap in a few years to populate the area, so Alina and Jothein will head out there to lay the foundations, then I'll join them when I graduate."

"Maybe you can start up a practice there too, bro."

"Maybe." Couldn't have him and Rina living in different shires, after all. "You know, I think the kingdom could use an established bank."

"The Bank of Naroni does have a nice ring to it," Rina agreed. "I can probably get my step-grandfather to help with the start-up capital. It shouldn't take long to pay him back if we can win over a lot of the knights and nobility."

"Plus Father has his connections who find him amusing. Perhaps we can finally put his eccentricities to good use."

"Father as a bank mascot." Severin smirked. "I'm sure he'd find some way to make life difficult. You two could handle it, though."

"I don't think your father's that bad." Probably the greatest bit of proof that Rina was destined to become Alina's sister-in-law yet. "Anyway, assuming it all goes to plan, could we leave some pamphlets for the bank in your surgery?"

"Sure." Severin slung his arm over Rina's shoulder, black hair brushing brown as they both leaned inward. "Just as long as I can leave some pamphlets for my surgery in your bank."

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