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"Not Juniper," Freda said sharply. "That was Father's. Make thisyour city,
Oberon. Putyour stamp upon it."
My own city& yes. I could see it in my mind's eye. Tall towers with minarets,
proud pennants flying. High stone walls, shining white in the rising sun,
surrounded by a beautiful town with red-tiled roofs and well-cobbled streets.
Down to the sea, where the sun shone like amber on the waves&
"Amber," I whispered. It fit this world. It resonated nicely with Juniper's
name, too& a proud and unashamed continuation of our father's legacy.
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"Amber? Is that the best you can come up with?" Aber asked.
"Kind of boring. How about Aberton? Nowthat's a name with personality!"
"No," Freda said flatly.
"Or just Aber. It's shorter."
"Only by one letter," I said.
Freda said, "Absolutely not!"
"Or maybe Oberonia?" he went on, grinning at me. "What do you say, brother?"
I had to laugh. "Actually, I kind of like Oberonia!"
"No," Freda said firmly, turning to me and folding her arms stubbornly. "Do
not encourage him, Oberon. He becomes very silly if you let him."
"How about Fredania?" Aber suggested with a knowing smirk,
She glared. "No! This world will be calledAmber . That is the end of the
discussion."
"I like Amber," Conner said.
"So do I," said Blaise.
"Then it's settled," I said. "We'll call it Amber. The name fits, and I like
it."
"No sense of fun& " Aber muttered.
"It is settled." Freda sighed and looked to the distance. "Now comes the hard
part."
"We all know an attack will come," I said. "The only question is when?"
"Maybe building here isn't such a great idea," Aber said. "Dad had a hundred
years to prepare Juniper, and he still couldn't hold it."
"We must build Amber to withstand greater forces," Freda said. "We know what
we will face. This time, we will be ready."
Aber shook his head. "Easier said than done!"
"Higher ramparts and stronger walls will only do so much," I said. "I've seen
what primal chaos can do. If Uthor unleashes it here, nothing will save this
Shadow."
"We cannot hide like animals," Freda said.
"I didn't say we should." I swallowed, eyes turning to the distance. "We need
a home. A place to plan and gather our forces. If war is inevitable, I'm not
going to wait for it to come to me. We'll attack first."
Aber gasped. "Attack the Courts of Chaos? Are you mad?"
I looked at him levelly. "I've never been more serious. If I have to fight,
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it's going to be onmy terms. If Uthor has spies in Amber, we'll have spies in
Chaos. If he gathers an army to attack us here, we will attack him first. I'm
not like our father I'm going to fight, and I'm going to win. No matter what
it takes."
Freda looked at me strangely. "I see our father in you," she said. "But there
is something else, something more."
"I have a mother, too," I reminded her, thinking to the unicorn I had seen
three times now. I half believed my father's claim that she had birthed me.
"If any of what I suspect is true, she is quite remarkable."
"Your mother, yes, that must be it," she murmured. "For the first time& I
believe you will succeed."
I chuckled. "Let's not get maudlin. We have work ahead of us. Hard work, and
a lot of it."
"I don't like the sound of that!" Aber said with mock alarm.
"Think bigger, beyond yourself." I gestured grandly, taking in the mountain
before us. "Look at this world as a blank slate. We have architects
stonemasons carpenters, all at our call. We can buy food in great supply. We
will hire all the help we need from Selonika and other nearby Shadows. Amber
itself will provide the rest. A quarry for granite and marble. Lumber by the
ton. Enough land for farming, fish from the sea and meat from the forests& "
"Whoa!" Aber said. "We haven't even had lunch yet!"
"Can Amber really be built so quickly?" Freda asked.
"Yes. We'll do it the old-fashioned way& with greed." I grinned. "And, for
anyone who doesn't want gold, there's plenty of land available. We need farms
and wineries. For anyone really valuable to us, we can hand out minor titles
"
"You would set up a peerage among the Shadow-people?" Blaise asked, looking
aghast.
"Why not?" I grinned at her. "I've lived in Shadows my whole life. There were
more people of honor and integrity in Ilerium than I found in all of Chaos."
"But none of them can control Shadow or Chaos," Conner said. "They have no
real power."
"Oh, a few generations of interbreeding with the likes of us, and I think
they'll share our powers, too. I certainly intend to take a wife. Every king
needs his queen."
"Then youwill be king?" Aber asked, sounding hopeful. "Not Dad?"
"Oberon must be King," Freda said. "The Pattern has chosen him."
"Great!" Aber grinned. "It was my idea, you know. As a reward, I expect a few
extra titles, at the very least."
"As the king's brother, you will be a prince," Freda said. "That is
sufficient."
"How about Arch-Duke of Aberton?" I asked. "And uh Lord of All the
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Marshlands?"
"Much better!" He laughed. "Do we have marshlands?"
Freda frowned. "You are both being frivolous."
"We also have to figure out where Aberton is," I said, ignoring her.
Aber turned and looked to the south. "Isn't it over there? I want to see it
from my rooms in the castle."
"Could be." I shaded my eyes. "I bet it's just beyond that forest."
"Insane, both of you!" Freda threw up her hands and stomped off.
Aber and I both broke up laughing.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
«^»
"No, no, no!" I shouted. I pounded my fist on the table inside the tent, where
dozens of sketches and blueprints lay in disarray. "I don't care whether the
mules are sick, only half the workmen are here, or it's raining flaming toads!
Work begins today!"
The two construction supervisors cringed before my wrath. "Yes, King Oberon!"
one of them squeaked. They bowed their way out of my tent.
Three weeks had passed since our picnic atop Mount Amber, as we now called
the mountain where the castle was to be built. Nothing but delays, delays, and
more delays had plagued the beginning of construction. Like a rusted wheel,
the machine of our builders needed to be unstuck to turn& my anger provided
the solvent.
I rose and paced. Aber, with his feet up on the table, just chuckled.
"It's not funny!" I roared. I'd had it with the lot of them.
"Did I say it was?" Aber asked. "The sooner I have a real roof over my head,
the happier I'll be. I hate rain, I hate sun, and I hate living in a tent. If
you didn't need my help with the blueprints, I'd be back in Selonika right
now, living the good life." He sighed.
"Oh, go ahead back," I said. I waved him away. "There's not much more to do
today, anyway. Tomorrow, after you've slept off your hangover, come on back
and we'll see what more needs to be done."
"You don't have to tell me twice!" He leaped up and ran out through the
tent's open flaps.
Sighing, I sprawled back in my chair and began looking through the
architect's sketches again. Something about the west wing bothered me, but I
just couldn't figure outwhat , exactly.
"Oberon?" I heard Freda say as she swept in. "I wish a word with you."
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