32. Ember, Thorn, and Bitter Starshell at Indigo Cloud

Ember sat beside the firebowl in his bower, with Thorn and Bitter across from him.  Both fledglings were dressed neatly, wearing the correct amount of copper and polished stone beads for fledgling consorts. Ember wished he could believe the two had selected the jewelry for themselves, but he was fairly certain he was looking at Rill or Blossom's careful work. "I sent for you because the first consort has decided that you need to start your formal lessons," Ember told them. 

It would be more accurate to say that Ember had finally realized that he needed to tell Moon that the fledglings should start their formal lessons, but there was no point in mentioning that. Stone should have done it, of course, but Stone had said that he didn't remember having formal lessons, that everyone had just known what to do without being told, which was patently untrue. Ember added, "Today I'm going to teach you to make tea."

Bitter cocked his head slightly, eyes narrowing. He leaned over to whisper to Thorn.  Thorn listened for a moment, then translated, "We already know how to make tea. Everyone does."

"Of course you do," Ember said. It would be good if he could get Bitter to talk aloud, but he was fairly certain that wasn't going to happen today. Bitter didn't even speak aloud to Moon. The consensus was that they would just have to wait until he was ready, like they had for the flying. "But there's a proper way to do it for consorts, and I'm going to teach you about that."

"Why?" Thorn asked, so calm and patient it was hard to take exception to the question.

Ember matched Thorn's calm. "Because you're consorts, and you should know."

Thorn clarified, "Why is it different for consorts?" His attitude was more like a teacher or a mentor trying to get to the root of some important mystery.

"It's not different, but..." Ember discovered trying to explain the reasoning behind something he had always taken for granted wasn't easy. "It's a little different. It's more formal. It's traditional."

Bitter lifted his brows skeptically, and leaned over to whisper to Thorn. Thorn listened, frowning slightly. "When did the tradition start?"

"Well, a long time ago, obviously, because--" Bitter and Thorn watched critically as he floundered. Ember gave up and sighed. "I don't know. If you want, I'll take you to ask the mentors later. But you still have to learn it."

Bitter whispered to Thorn again. Thorn translated, "Bitter thinks you should takes us outside to the fruit orchard so we can look for red snail shells."

"Why?" Ember countered, hoping to fluster them.

It didn't work. As if it was obvious, Thorn said, "Rill needs them for a dye she's making."

"Oh. Well, that's a good reason, but we need to learn about tea first."

Bitter's expression indicated this was unsatisfactory. Thorn didn't even bother to consult him before he asked, "Why?"

Ember was beginning to suspect this was an attempt to test his temper. "So you can serve tea to visitors."

Bitter's expression indicated that this answer was extremely suspicious. Thorn said, patiently, "Arbora do that. They won't let anyone else do it. They get mad if you try."

At least Ember had an answer for that objection. "When you have unattached daughter queens visit you, you will need to serve them tea."

Bitter frowned, as if Ember had touched a nerve. Thorn seemed a little confused. "We don't have unattached daughter queens visiting us."

Ember kept his expression neutral. "Not yet, but when you're older, you will."

Their stares were identical, and extremely skeptical.

Ember was beginning to wonder if the problem was simpler than it seemed. Maybe the two of them simply didn't believe they would ever be considered acceptable mates, because of their history. He said, "You two carry Sky Copper's royal bloodlines, and there will be young queens who will count themselves honored to add those lines to their own. Your own royal Aeriat may not be here to support you, but Indigo Cloud is."

Bitter's skeptical expression turned thoughtful, and Thorn's expression was still calmly blank, but something told Ember that he might be on the right track. Ember continued, "So you'll need to learn how to help and support a queen, both within a court and when other queens and consorts visit. It seems odd, I know, but that starts with learning how to make tea the right way."

Bitter and Thorn exchanged a look, and Ember thought he detected an air of concession. He allowed himself a small feeling of triumph. Bitter leaned over and whispered to Thorn again. Thorn translated, "Bitter wants to know how much older we'll be when the daughter queens want to visit us."

Encouraged, Ember said, "Oh, quite a while. Ten or fifteen turns at least."

Bitter smiled, and Thorn nodded and said, "Then we have plenty of time to learn about tea, but Rill needs snail shells now."

Ember sighed.  Still, he felt he had made some progress. And it wasn't as if anyone would judge him for conducting his lessons outside on a garden platform instead of in here. Indigo Cloud wasn't that kind of court, and sometimes the lack of formality was a relief.  "If I take you to look for shells, will you learn about tea afterward?"

Thorn looked at Bitter inquiringly. Bitter shrugged and nodded, indicating this was an acceptable compromise.