In Which CeeCee Keeps Her Voice Down

July 24, 1188

Just as CeeCee's father had said, she and Lyssa found Renata and the other squires at Cuthron and Eleara's house, and not one of them looked pleased to be here. Severin was slumped over on the couch, Donnie beside him with his arms crossed, muttering occasionally. Renata and Falidor stood, whispering about something--something serious, if CeeCee was close enough to make out their expressions. It wasn't much like any of them.

Nor had it been like her parents to make haste down to her Aunt Aerina's shop in the village, stopping on their way out of the castle only to send CeeCee and Lyssa to meet the others, and two messengers to tell Thetis to stay at Honora's house and Xeta and her younger children to stay at Lady Celina's. The others squires, her mother had said, would tell them what had happened. It would be important that they got everyone's side of the story. Sir Karlspan would give his at Aerina's, and the others would give theirs here, when they were up to talking about it.

It didn't take a genius to figure out, between the healer's involvement and the abrupt end of the training session, that someone had been injured--badly. If her brothers and Renata and Severin were here, then it had to have been Arkon.

But how? CeeCee didn't want to ask just yet. Lyssa, however, wouldn't. There were often perks to being the bolder of a pair, but this wasn't one of them. "What happened?"

Severin furrowed deeper into the couch and Donnie shook his head. Falidor and Renata traded worried glances as CeeCee and Lyssa stepped toward them. It was Falidor--not typically the bolder of that pair--who spoke first. "Arkon's horse went wild."

"His horse?" Arkon, as far as CeeCee knew, had been riding the same horse for years. And he'd always been so good with horses! "How?"

"It was a new horse. A stallion. One of the men at the stables was complaining about how he couldn't break it, so..." Her brother cringed. "Arkon said he'd give it a shot."

"It was horrible, CeeCee." Renata crossed her arms together and shuddered. Hardly a characteristic gesture of someone so fearless. "He was barely on the horse when it started bucking, and it flung him right into a post. Then it galloped around in a rage and--" She cast a wary look toward Severin, who'd taken to shaking. Her next words were whispered. "Trampled him. Thoroughly."

"So Sir Karlspan had the men cart him to Aunt Aerina's. He was still breathing when they left, but..." Falidor stopped. This too was probably for Severin's benefit.

CeeCee had seven brothers, six still living. Six was more brothers than many ever had, and even with brothers to spare, the thought of one of them having some freak accident was a nightmare even as a hypothetical.

Severin had only one brother.

So CeeCee kept her voice down too. "Do you think he'll--?"

Renata sighed. "I don't know."

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