Sayana collected her luggage and stepped outside of the port terminal. She looked around. Now, how was she going to find Reynard? Once she found him, how was she going to convince him that he needed to help her? So many unanswered questions, but she needed to answer them soon or she and Ethian would freeze to death. If it wasn’t -20, it certainly felt like it was.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” She turned to see a few men walking up to her. “Usually we don’t see people stopping and staring when they arrive. Are you waiting for someone? Or perhaps looking for something?”

“I’m looking for my older brother. He doesn’t know I’ve come, but I had nowhere else to go and I’m hoping he’ll be willing to help me.” Perhaps these men could help her and start the process by piquing his curiosity.

“What’s your brother’s name then, ma’am?” one of the men asked.

“Reynard. He’s a retired warmaster.” Sayana had a moment of panic as she’d nearly forgotten the man’s name, but it came to her in a rush.

“Oh, Reynard.” The man smiled. “Didn’t know he had a younger sister. He lives outside town. Vidar, would you run out to his place and get him? Let him know his sister and her baby are here to see him.”

“If he asks questions, go ahead and describe me to him.” Sayana knew the description including the veil would be a dead giveaway of what she was. “He hasn’t seen me in years. He might not remember me at first. I was very young the last time he was in the house.”

“What’s your name, ma’am?” Vidar asked. “And your baby’s name?”

“I’m Sayana. And my son is Ethian.”

“Right then.” Vidar nodded. “I’ll tell Reynard his sister Sayana’s come with her son Ethian. From where, ma’am?”

“The Throne World.” Sayana shivered at how far away from home she truly was.

“The Throne World?” Vidar was surprised. “That’s a fair old way to travel with a baby, ma’am.”

“It’s been a very long trip, Vidar.” Sayana didn’t have to fake the weariness in her voice.

“Well, I won’t keep you chatting with these fellows longer than I have to. I’ll be back quick as a quasar with Reynard.” With that, Vidar set off into the dimly lit snow-covered town.

As Sayana watched him go, she heard a feminine voice gasp in horror. “What are you idiots doing, keeping a baby out in the cold like this?” she demanded.

“Now Ariah,” one of the other men shook his head with a laugh. “We just sent Vidar off. I was going to bring her inside. We’re waiting for Reynard. I wasn’t going to leave them standing in the cold.”

Ariah made a derogatory noise. “I wonder. Come on then, ma’am. Let’s get you and the little one indoors where it’s warm. Vidar’s a good man. He’ll be back with Reynard quick as a quasar.”

Ariah led her inside a rather capacious kitchen and sat her down next to a heating unit that was blasting a significant amount of heat. “Sayana, what made you seek out your brother at this time of year?” the first man asked as he came inside.

“I didn’t realize it was still winter on Covus. I don’t know much about the colonies.” That was an understatement. She knew a little about the politics that formed them, but that was it.

“Ah, that makes sense then.” He nodded. “Only someone truly desperate comes out this way in the winter. Or truly determined.”

“I’m a little of both, I think.” Sayana tried not to think how desperate she was.

“Have some tea, Sayana.” Ariah handed her a cup carefully around Ethian. “It’s made from one of our local plants. It’s really quite pleasant. We don’t export it because it doesn’t travel well. We all agree it would become insanely popular if we could export the stuff.”

Sayana sipped the crimson liquid and found it pleasingly warming. It reminded her of cinnamon and apples and one other flavor she couldn’t quite identify. “It is very good. I think you’re right. If you could export this, you’d be growing nothing but that plant on Covus within just a few months.”

“I told you.” Ariah glared at the man who had been speaking

“I never doubted you, Ariah.” The man laughed. “I don’t drink the stuff because I can’t stand the taste of cinnamon.”

It was about an hour later when Vidar returned with a striking looking man in his mid forties. He had raven black hair and green eyes, a fact that Sayana had counted on when she’d first identified him in the list, and the general muscular figure of someone who’d worn power armor. He looked at Sayana curiously. “Hello Sayana.” His voice was deep and resonating.

“Hello Reynard.” She gazed up at him with tired eyes. “It’s been quite some time.”

“Yes, it has. I’d almost forgotten that I had a younger sister.” Reynard watched her as she sat by the heating unit. “Until Vidar came knocking at my door telling me you were here. What’s happened, Sayana? Why are you and Ethian on Covus?”

“There’s been some trouble on the Throne World.” Sayana decided to tell just enough of the truth to hopefully get him hooked. She’d tell him the full story later, if he accepted her into his household. “His father’s enemies are threatening Ethian’s life. You know how important Ethian is to his father. I was instructed to take Ethian and run, to get as far away from the danger as possible, so I thought of you and came to Covus, hoping you’d be willing to help.”

“You’ll have to give me all the details, so I know what I’m up against.” Reynard wasn’t giving anything away. “Right now, I want you behind my closed doors. No offense, Jhoel, Ariah, but I’ll feel safer if she’s home with me.”

“No offense taken, Reynard.” Jhoel nodded. “Ariah and I understand perfectly. Since she’s got that baby and it’s a fair old hike out to that house of yours, want me to take you and her luggage out there in the skimmer? It’ll be better for Ethian.”

“Normally I’d say no, but it’s -21 out there right now and a hike in cold like this could seriously injure my nephew.” Reynard looked out the window. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Your poor sister needs time to work up to a full walk from your place to town too, Reynard.” Ariah regarded Sayana with some concern. “She doesn’t look like she’s got it in her to walk a kilometer in any weather.”

“She might surprise you. She’s probably as fit as I am.” Reynard knew something about courtesans then, if he knew they tried to keep themselves in shape. “Not as strong, but definitely as fit.”

“Really?” Ariah asked.

“I have kept myself in very good shape.” Sayana smiled ruefully. A kilometer hike, after walking the halls of the Imperial palace, would be nothing. “A woman in my position can’t afford to allow herself to become anything less than perfect.”

“How odd.” Ariah regarded her curiously.

Jhoel pulled his skimmer around and everyone hopped in. Reynard tossed the luggage in the back and climbed in beside Sayana. He was silent on the ride out to his house. Sayana knew she’d better have a very good explanation, and what better way than by telling the truth?

They reached Reynard’s house. Reynard helped Sayana out of the skimmer and then grabbed her luggage. He wrestled it inside and Sayana followed. Once they were inside, Reynard closed and locked the door.

“All right, tell me what a courtesan is doing here and how she even knew about me in the first place? I know I never spoke with one of your kind.” Reynard crossed his arms and stared at her.

Sayana took off her veil and looked into Reynard’s face. He raised an eyebrow. “I know I am as safe with you as I am with Lord Arken, the Imperial eunuch who takes care of the emperor’s courtesans, Reynard. That’s why I chose you. As to how I knew about you, your name and location – as well as your, shall we say, proclivities – are on file at the Warmaster Registry Office for anyone with a modicum of intelligence to search for.”

“Because I have absolutely no interest in men or women, you find me an adequate substitution for the Imperial eunuch?” Then it hit him what she’d said. “Imperial eunuch? You’re an Imperial courtesan?”

“Yes, I am. The empress helped us escape because those members of the council not yet replaced by the emperor planned to poison our sons through us and kill them, opening the way for the empress to have a child with the emperor. She knew he’d never do it, as well as hoping to convince him to let her take our sons from us to raise as her own, so she provided us with the means and opportunity to escape the palace and flee into hiding. Until the emperor deals with the rest of his council, we are not safe on the Throne World. Myself and the other Imperial courtesans all felt this way, which is why we are all now in hiding.” Sayana put one hand on Ethian and waited.

“Ethian is an Imperial prince?” Reynard looked down at the sleeping infant.

“He is. The youngest of the six, though they are all within two months of each other.” Sayana waited to see what he’d do next.

“What do you want from me, Sayana?” Reynard wasn’t throwing her out. That was a good sign.

“Teach my son, Reynard. Discipline, physical fitness, tactics, strategy, things I could never teach him in the courtesan wing but that I desperately want him to know as much of as possible.” Sayana didn’t want to beg but she knew she might sound that way to him. “During the day, he is yours. In the evening, he is mine to teach him as a scholar would learn so he can be like his father.”

“You can’t interfere with my way of teaching him, even if it offends your sensibilities.” Reynard gave her a significant look. “I’m going to have to be harsh with him at times and it’s going to hurt you. Can you handle that?”

“It will be hard, but yes, I will.” Sayana swallowed past the lump in her throat.

“Then we have a deal for Ethian.” Reynard nodded. “For as long as you’re in hiding here, I’ll teach Ethian. Now, how are you going to pay me?”

“I don’t have a lot of money.” Sayana didn’t really understand how much money she had. She had no concept for how much was a lot or a little.

“No, I think something else.” Reynard looked around the house. “Do you know how to cook and clean?”

“Yes to the second.” Sayana still remembered cleaning the courtesan wing as a child in her father’s house. “No to the first. I was in the courtesan academy from the time I was nine. I was taught many things. Cooking wasn’t one of them.”

“They really should teach you to cook.” Reynard shook his head. “You might get a patron who wants something specific as a way to entice them into the mood, and it would be so much better if you made it for them rather than relying on a servant to do it. Well, I’ll have Ariah or one of the other women come out and teach you some things. You cook and clean, I’ll shelter you and teach Ethian.”

“Fair deal.” Anything was better than being thrown out and left to fend for herself.

“I’ve got two spare bedrooms in this house.” Reynard grimaced. “It was the only empty one when I got here, so I took it even if it was too big for my immediate needs.”

Someone knocked on the door. Reynard frowned. “Now who’s that?” He opened the door. “Ariah?”

“I know you don’t like charity, Reynard, but I didn’t know if you’d think about this right away, and your sister needs to rest her back.” Ariah smiled apologetically. “I brought you my old crib so she can put her son down. Vidar got a new mattress for it, and the sheets and blankets are new as well.”

“Thank you, Ariah.” Reynard sounded pleased. “I wouldn’t have thought of this for hours, maybe not even until tonight when it was too late to get one. I have a question. Sayana never learned to cook. Her previous employment and training kept her away from the kitchen. Do you think you could come out here and give her some lessons? She’s going to be cooking for us while she’s here and I’d rather not have her burn the house down.”

Ariah laughed. “We’d appreciate it if she didn’t burn the house down either, Reynard. I understand completely. These days, many women don’t learn to cook. It’s just not taught with all the conveniences we have. Don’t you worry. I’ll teach her the basics and then turn her loose with my recipe book. She’ll do wonders with it.”

“Thank you, Ariah.” Reynard nodded to the woman.

“I’ll be back in a couple hours to start her lessons.” Ariah grinned at them both. “I’ve got a few things to finish up in town first. Go put that baby in a warm bed, Reynard. Give your sister a break.”

“Where do you want this?” Reynard brought the crib and mattress into the house. Ariah brought the sheets and blankets in before heading out again. “In your room? Or in the third bedroom?”

“In my room for now.” Sayana was pleased by the kindness of the people in town. “I’d rather he stays close to me until he starts walking. Then we can put him in his own room.”

“Sounds good. If all else fails, we can lock him in at night, so he doesn’t wander off on his own.” Reynard was practical.

“That was the idea.” Sayana liked the way he thought. Reynard showed her where the bedrooms were. In the hall, there were three doors. The closest one on the right, nearest the door, was his room. There was an empty room in the middle, and then one more bedroom on the far left. They took everything into the room on the far left.

They set the crib up and Sayana laid him down. She left the door open so she could hear him if he started crying and joined Reynard out in the main room. “Do you have many outfits like that?” Reynard pointed to the clothing she was wearing.

“I have a couple.” Sayana gestured to the clothing she was wearing. “I didn’t want to spend a lot of time shopping before I came.”

“We’ll need to get you and Ethian more clothes.” Reynard looked her up and down. “Not just for winter either. Your usual outfits won’t fit for life on Covus.”

“I didn’t think they would.” Sayana held out her credit chit. “I’ve got money. I can pay for our clothing. I’m not sure it’s enough, but I can buy some things.”

“How much do you have?” Reynard asked.

“I had a million credits.” Sayana remembered what Lynet had said she’d given them. “I spent six thousand credits just getting here, and another three hundred on the clothing I did buy.”

“A million credits is a rather significant amount, Sayana.” Reynard smiled at her. “It’s obvious you’ve never dealt with your own money.”

“No,” Sayana admitted. “The academy took care of everything for me when I was there, and then Lord Arken handled our finances at the palace.”

“Well, I’d say you’ve got enough money to last you and Ethian for quite some time, if you’re smart about it.” Reynard closed her hand around the credit chit. “And I’ll help you with it so you can be assured of being smart about it.”

“Thank you, Reynard.” Sayana looked around with some trepidation. “I am completely out of my element now. I don’t know anything about living outside of a courtesan wing. My mother was a courtesan and I lived with her in the courtesan wing of my father’s house until I was nine and started my own training.”

“Life will be hard for you in the beginning, but if you’re half as clever as I think you are, you’ll adapt fairly quickly.” Reynard patted her hand. “With Ariah coming back in a couple hours to teach you some of the basics of cooking, we’ll see how far you get with that.”

“I’ve been studying new things for the past three years.” Sayana thought of all the things she’d learned in that time. “I read a lot. It’s one of the few things I was allowed to do. I enjoy learning so having a new skill to learn will be interesting to me.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Reynard glanced at where her veil was sitting on the table. “Will you be leaving your veil off for everyone?”

Sayana shook her head. “No. I do want the emperor to find us eventually. If I wear my veil when I’m out in public, or around other men besides you, his agents are going to hear about me. He’ll find me and pull me back to the Throne World. Hopefully he’ll have dealt with the council by that point, so I don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

“Well, with all of you ladies disappearing because of them, it should spur him to action.” Reynard stood and walked over to look out the window. “If you listen to the gossip in town, you’ll find out what’s going on at court. We do get the news from the Throne World in about once every couple of weeks. Some freighter captains bring us updates there regularly.”

“That’s good to know.” Sayana hoped to hear of something positive regarding the council soon. They continued to discuss their plans, and Sayana sighed with relief at the thought she’d found safe shelter at last.