The door was answered by a girl wearing a simple green dress. She was holding the edge of a tray with her right hand; the other edge was balanced against her hip. It had a plate and bowl laden with food, as well a tall mug of some sort of drink. She looked a little flustered as her eyes trailed over Tannix, trying to figure out who he was. She completely ignored me, but I'd put on the good servant act so it didn't bother me.

"That's for Lord Tandrin." Tannix said it more like a statement than a question.

The girl nodded. "Yes, my lord, I was just on my way to bring it up to him. He's been waiting for you. Please follow me." She led us into a spacious front room. A hall led farther into the building towards what were probably the kitchen, dining room, and servants' quarters. A huge white staircase curled up towards the second floor, and then carried on even higher. We followed her up the stairs, passing by the second floor and stopping at the third. The walls were decorated with paintings, statues stood in corners, and there were plants sitting on little tables or shelves.

I nudged Tannix and whispered, "The Order doesn't look half as nice as this."

"The Order aims for functionality more than luxury," he replied. "If you think this is nice, you should see our rooms in West Draulin."

My witty reply was cut short when the girl stopped in front of an ornate wooden door. She knocked on it lightly and shifted the way she was holding her tray.

When there was no reply, she reached up to knock again, but Tannix gently caught her hand. "Let me." He reached past her and banged his fist against the door once. "Tandrin! Stop being so lazy and come get your lunch."

The door swung open almost immediately. "Calm down, little brother!" The young man pulled Tannix into a warm hug. The girl slipped past them into the room and returned a moment later without her tray. She left without a word. I stood there quietly and watched the two brothers. Tandrin looked so similar to Tannix that it took me a little by surprise. He was a bit taller, and his hair was the typical Telt bright blond instead of golden brown like Tannix's, but they had the same blue eyes and the same smile. Tandrin was wearing a loose blue tunic with black pants, making me wonder if blue was the only colour their family owned.

They broke the hug and walked into the room. Although Tannix didn't say anything to me, I walked in after them and closed the door behind me. Then I stayed near it nervously while the brothers continued greeting each other.

Tandrin smacked his brother's shoulder playfully. "Why are you so dressed up, little brother? You're meeting me, not a council."

"I have an image to maintain," Tannix said. "People in Zianna actually know who I am now."

Tandrin grinned and plopped himself down on a red armchair. He crossed his hands behind his head and put his feet up on the little table in front of him. "Right. Because you enjoy showing off who you are so much."

"I've gotten used to it," Tannix replied.

"Of course you have. And look at you! You've grown."

"You haven't seen me in four years."

"Which is why you've grown," Tandrin said.

Tannix took off his cloak and quite unceremoniously tossed it onto the nearby desk. Then he removed his sword and gently placed it on the table in front of the chairs. He sat down on the armchair facing his brother's. "Where's your guard? Father will be furious at you for not having them around."

Tandrin shrugged. "Out exploring the city. You're one to lecture me on having my guard nearby. Where's yours?" He pretended to think. "Oh, I believe they were left behind in West Draulin. Great help they'll be when you're attacked."

"I don't need them following me around here. Acen has them training constantly, so they're not bored. I'm usually within the Order, in any case. And I can defend myself."

"I suppose you did get rid of those two assassins. Father was delighted. Really, you should have heard him when he got the news. I swear he reminded me of it every day. 'Tandrin, your brother killed two assassins. What have you done recently?' As if it's my fault I'm the eldest and had to stay back in West Draulin while you got to run off to Zianna and learn useful skills. Would you like to know what I had to go through yesterday? A council meeting with all the higher lords of New Teltar. Do you have any idea how boring that is? I'm a good twenty years younger than any of them, and... Why are you grinning at me?"

Tannix laughed. "I would much rather take on two assassins than a council of lords."

"Exactly my point. You get to be a general and do exciting things with your life. I promise I'll force you to accompany me to as many meetings as I possibly can."

"As much as I appreciate the effort, don't go out of your way. I'm sure you can handle the politics on your own."

Tandrin groaned good-naturedly. "My only hope at this point is that by the time I take over, I might be old enough not to find meetings boring. Until then, I'll just have to sit through them and stare blindly at the maids... and drink lots of wine."

"Is that all you do at the meetings? How about paying attention?"

"Staring at the maids is much more fun. Have you ever tried?"

"There are no maids in the Order."

"You're missing out."

"Doubt it." Suddenly, Tannix seemed to remember my presence and he glanced over at me. "Come here."

Unsure of how exactly I was supposed to be acting, I stepped up next to Tannix's chair and dropped my gaze to the floor. It was proving difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I was standing in the same room as the heir to West Draulin. I thought I'd gotten used to being around rich Telts, but I was clearly wrong.

Tannix lightly touched my arm to get my attention. "Finn, Tandrin hardly counts as someone we need to be careful around."

"He doesn't?" I asked, surprised at how shaky I sounded.

"Finn?" Tandrin spoke up. "Oh, this is the thief you told me about in your letters."

"Yes. See, I already told him everything."

"Why wouldn't you tell me that?" I said.

Tannix made an attempt at an innocent smile, but I saw right through it. "I wanted to see how you'd act around him. You're always going on about how much I'm like royalty. Well," he paused to gesture at his brother, "he's even closer. He's actually inheriting something."

"Inheriting the right to sit through meetings." Tandrin sighed dramatically. "Truthfully, Finn... Finagale, right? Anyway, truthfully, I couldn't care less whom my little brother decides to befriend. The very fact that he actually has a friend is so amazing that I'm happy for him regardless. He was never good at making friends." 

I made up my mind then, at the sound of my full name, that I liked Tannix's brother. He had an easy charm that Tannix hadn't quite mastered yet, which made it difficult to not like him.

"What Tandrin means," Tannix said, "is that because I'm not nearly as cocky as him, I never saw the need to have hoards of children flocking around me when we were young."

Tandrin grinned. "What can I say? They loved me. Whereas Tannix's best friends were his guard."

"Are you implying that being friends with the people meant to protect my life is somehow a bad thing?" Tannix asked.

Tandrin shook his head. "No, of course not. Your men are fantastic. I'm just saying that you never made friends with our peers. Granted, your knights are your peers, I suppose. Regardless."  He glanced at me. "Despite what you probably think, I didn't come to Zianna just to annoy my little brother. So, Tannix. Your ceremony."

"Tell me about Tairia first," Tannix replied. He paused to look at me and gestured to the wooden chair in front of the desk. "Pull it over, Finn. You don't have to stand."

"Bring over my lunch while you're at it," Tandrin added.

"He's not a servant," Tannix said sharply.

I paused halfway to the chair. "I'll do it if you let me have some," I said, this time surprising myself with my boldness.

Tandrin looked at me and for a moment, I thought I'd gone too far, then he started laughing warmly. "I like him, Tannix. You can have the salad."

I quickly moved the desk chair so I could sit beside Tannix, and retrieved the tray of food to place on Tandrin's lap. I kept the salad bowl and settled down on the chair with my legs crossed. Tandrin didn't have an extra fork, so I started eating with my fingers. Tannix sighed but didn't bother correcting me.

"Tandrin, tell me about Tairia." He leaned forward in his chair and rested his forearms on his knees. "Is she getting any better?"

His brother was busy sawing through the thick piece of meat on his plate. After a moment, he held up a bite-sized piece. "No, but she hasn't gotten any worse and the physicians think it's just a fever. They even said that if your ceremony was a few days later, she would be healthy enough to attend." He stuck the piece of meat in his mouth and chewed it slowly. "It's a shame you can't delay it."

"Why can't you?" I spoke up curiously. It seemed to me that the lords of West Draulin should have been able to change the date of a ceremony quite easily.

"It's symbolic," Tannix replied. "It marks the end of my fourth year in the Order."

"Oh." I turned my attention back to the salad. It had been a while since I'd eaten so many vegetables, and I was enjoying it thoroughly. Tannix watched me for a moment before his attention went back to his brother.

"My ceremony begins at noon. Father needs to make a speech, but you don't have to do anything but watch," Tannix explained. "I don't need to remind you that we're representing West Draulin."

Tandrin shook his head. "No, sir, you don't," he replied with a grin. He stabbed another piece of meat with his fork. "Carry on."

"The king and most of the higher advisors will be there. Before you ask, the princesses will not be. Not to mention all of the available lords who are members of the Order. Lord Macad is attending."

"Without his daughter? Odd."

"I'm under the impression that he wants to inspect me a little more before he lets Lady Mayah and I spend time together."

"You're engaged. You have been since you were two. Even if you were the ugliest, laziest lord in the kingdom, he'd have a hard time backing out of that agreement. That said, there's nothing about you that he can dislike. You're successful, you're talented." Tandrin sat up and put his tray on the table, suddenly serious. "Tannix, I know you're nervous about being in front of so many important people, but believe me when I say you'll do spectacularly. And not because you were born into power, but because you're smart and you're charismatic and people like you."

That's exactly what I'd been talking about when I said that Tannix would make a good king, but the rest of it was new. It hadn't occurred to me that he might be uncomfortable around other lords. When we first met, I remembered him being a little uneasy about his power, but since our reunion he seemed so comfortable with it.

Tannix ran a hand through his hair, ruining its usual perfect styling. "I've gotten used to the power that comes with our name," he admitted. "I know where I stand and I have learned how and when to use it. But..."

"It's a lot of people," Tandrin said gently. "I understand."

"I just don't want to disappoint anyone."

"Look at it this way, little brother. How many people at the ceremony do you actually need to impress?"

Tannix shrugged. "I don't know. You, Father, the king. Maybe the director. Lord Macad."

"Father and I are nothing to worry about. The director and the king are already impressed with you for killing those assassins, and Lord Macad won't be able to find fault with you even if he tries. As for the rest of the lords and advisors, you're from West Draulin. You're already more important than most of them."

Tannix smiled ruefully. "Well that solves all of my problems, doesn't it?"

"I'm simply trying to point out that there will be no one at the ceremony that you need to worry about. If you stop worrying about impressing people, you'll do fine. Trust me, I've been learning how to stand up in front of groups of lords my entire life." Tandrin rolled his eyes. "And it's terribly boring, but that's beside the point."

"Are you sure people don't like me just because I'm important and they're supposed to?"

Before Tandrin could answer, I cautiously spoke up. "I don't like you because you're important and I'm supposed to. Really, I should hate you for being a Telt, but I don't. And it's not because you give me food and money, it's because of what your brother said. About being charismatic." That wasn't the only reason I liked him, but it was hard to put my feelings into words. "You're different. You listen to what people say, what I say. I don't think everyone's willing to listen to other points of view. And you're honest. That's why Baisan and the others like you. They wouldn't otherwise. You know we're all taught to hate Telts."

"I thought Baisan disliked me."

"You make him nervous, but I think he likes you as much as he can. He trusts you, in any case, and it takes a lot to get a thief to trust somebody."

Tandrin glanced between us, obviously confused. "How many thieves are you friends with?"

This time Tannix's smile was genuine. "Only Finn, really, but he lives with a group of seven others that I've gotten to know a bit."

"Right. So, feeling better about yourself?"

"Well..." Tannix paused. "If you two are convinced that Lord Macad and Baisan both like me, then I suppose the rest of the lords shouldn't be a problem."

"There you go." Tandrin punched Tannix's arm playfully. "Would it make you feel even better if Finn went?"

"Went to what, the ceremony?"

Tandrin nodded. "Of course. You are allowed to invite friends."

"Yes, but Finn's..." Tannix trailed off.

"In that cloak he looks like a normal servant to me," Tandrin said. "I'll bring him."

"You can't bring him into the Order. He'll be arrested." Tannix sounded more alarmed. "Finn, don't get any..." He cut himself off with a groan and buried his face in his hands.

I was already nodding.