“Now,” he said, “she told me I’m ineligible as a witness now. I’ll not get any witness-pay. So you die but I get no profit. There’s hate between me and you, but I’ll not stand by profitless and see you killed unjustly and borne false witness against by avaricious false witnesses I’m not one of.” He whispered. “This way now.”

We scrambled past endless guy-ropes.

“Where are you taking me. Blob?”

“Just trust me, and shut your little gob. To get that bird of yours. You don’t want a fine creature like that to leave with the army tomorrow dawn and you not on its back, do you? Well, then.”

Blob went in to get Urns because his fellow-groom must not be able to say later that he had seen me.

Urns is not Sheg. There was no snarling and whining and coughing. He came quietly out with Blob who is good at birds, his great slanting red eye only glaring.

When he saw me his neck unstilfened and the half-raised crest went down. I went to him and talked to him and he turned his neck and thrust his beak between my arm and my left side as if it were symbolism of trust.

The little shadow now joining us is Narra.

“Narra!” I said. At Urns’ side we embraced. We ran together and irresistibly embraced without having meant to. I held her tight to me. I realized with glad surprise that she was straining me as tight to herself. The crooks at her elbows were as sharply angled as her little arms were bony.

“Stupid brat, why don’t you run away again? What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been up late till now, Cija, the lord Smahil asked me to take water to his tent and then he made me stay and drink to be with him and sing my Northern peasant lullaby to him. I hope he’s not getting worse again, so soon after being better. He was ever so fretful. I did wish you were there, we always used to nurse him together.”

“And you’re still up late. Go up to the girls’ room in the palace.”

“You’re in trouble, or you wouldn’t be stealing your Unis with him .”

She irritated me. “Go on up, Narra, or I’ll be cross.”

“You’d better hurry and/or shut up,” whispered Blob heavily. “Those soldiers’ll be after us here soon, and the regiments’ll be getting ready to move before dawn. We ought to be out of camp as soon as possible.”

“Cija—” She pronounced it Ceee-yah, drawing the whisper out in half-wonder-half-realization. The skinny fingers fastened painfully on my arm.

“Shut up, don’t listen to him, darling,” I said frantically. “He’s only waffling.”