The “tutor” was a young woman in student Grays, slim and blonde, with a determined jaw and blue-gray eyes that considered him thoughtfully. He recognized her from the advanced weaponry class held at the very end of the day, although Dethor had never yet assigned Alberich to work directly with her.

“You might not remember me from the afternoon classes, Alberich,” the girl said, in a matter-of-fact manner, as she held out her hand. “I’m Selenay.”

“My tutor you are?” he replied, clasping her hand briefly. He didn’t bother to hide the doubt in his voice.

She laughed, which surprised him a little. “Unlikely, I know, but the powers that be intend for you to get a practical exposure to how things are done in Valdemar, and they decided that we might as well—as the saying here goes—shoot two ducks with one arrow. You see, I’m the Heir. Princess Selenay. And every other afternoon, I serve in the City Courts. No one likes me being there without a bodyguard, and with you as my bodyguard, you can observe—as Elcarth put it—‘government in action.’ Anything you don’t understand, I can explain, or Kantor can. Meanwhile, your presence will make the Council less nervous about my being there in the first place.”

Alberich controlled his expression, and managed not to splutter. “At your side, the presence of the Karsite less nervous will make them?”

“But they won’t know it’s the Karsite who’s my bodyguard,” she replied, with a bare hint of irony. “Who I pick—with the senior Collegium staff’s recommendations, of course—to act as my bodyguard is entirely the Collegium’s business, not the Council’s. All they will know, unless one of them decides to observe me, is that I’ve got someone in Grays to keep a weather-eye on my safety. They’ll rightly assume that since Dethor must have had a hand in picking him, my escort will be quite competent. Oh, eventually they’ll find out, you can’t keep anything like that a secret, but by that time it will be so long established that objecting to my choice would make them look like idiots.”

:Don’t spoil her fun; she’s been planning this for a fortnight,: Kantor advised.

:But—to trust me with the safety of the Heir—: He was utterly flabbergasted. He might have to look as if all this was just a matter of course, but at least he could drop any pretense of composure with Kantor, and he did so.