"Look at him."

The whisper carried clearly from the scrubby bushes a little way down the hill, and the bright clear afternoon lost its lustre. He'd hoped to get away with it this time, what with the harvest, but clearly some of the villagers thought it was worth shirking their duties to come and gawp. He held still, trying to be as boring as possible.

"... white hair...."

"Like I said. They all have it. It's the mark."

An acorn pattered on the dirt by his feet, and another bounced off his back. Small missiles, thrown to annoy, not to harm. He lowered his head, let his telltale hair fall over his face, trying to ignore the distractions.

"He's playing with leaves."

Saryth clenched his fist as the illusion fell apart and the piles of cards in front of him turned back into fallen leaves again. It didn't matter. Nothing did, not until they went away. There was no way he could respond safely, so he endured the unwanted attention in motionless silence until at last he heard the girls scurry back down the hill towards the village, their chatter and laughter trailing behind them. He abandoned the leaves and lay back, staring up into the vast blue sky, letting its immensity soak through until the annoying village girls had faded from his mind.

"Hello." A face intruded into his view, wearing a friendly smile. Saryth blinked and sat up, alarmed at the sudden proximity of another person. But it was a stranger, not one of the village or castle folk. She looked distinctly foreign, dressed in a long, deep red tunic with red trousers underneath, trimmed in decorated yellow, with a black cloak over the whole. She carried a staff, and a set of small bags hung on a wide strap over her shoulder. Her tanned face was framed by blonde hair twisted up through some complicated arrangement into two buns. Brown eyes met his own without a hint of fear or suspicion.

"I'm looking for the sun," she said.

"Your son?"

"How old do you think I am?" Saryth winced, but she didn't sound offended.

"Then do you mean the sun up there?" He pointed at the sky. The stranger laughed and sat down, seemingly at ease in his presence. He tried to edge away surreptitiously.

"I'm Kite," she said, "and I'm looking for the sun, but not the one up there. A different one."

"Why?" He was curious despite himself.

"Because it's lost."

"How can you lose the sun?"

"I don't know. But it's not there any more, so something must have happened to it. Is there anyone rich around here? Whose castle is that?" She half turned and pointed down the hill to where the squat turrets of Corwaith Keep were visible above the trees.

"The Duke's. He's the only rich person around. Why?"

"Because it might end up with such a person."

"Why?"

"Who else can afford their own sun?" Like her earlier statements, it did make a ridiculous sort of sense. "Do you know the Duke?"

Saryth was silent. The conversation had been a mistake.

"Do you?"

"Yes." He looked away from her, avoiding her gaze. "I'm his slave."

"There's slavery here?" Her tone was shocked. He gritted his teeth.

"Only for sorcerers. We don't have souls. So it's all right." He forced the words out, but they met infuriating incomprehension. "See?" He yanked his ponytail round and shook it at her. She recoiled from the grubby white tangles. He turned his back on her and hugged his knees, not wanting to see her reaction, afraid it would be the familiar disgusted scorn. "Leave me alone." To his relief, he heard her stand up.

"Thank you for your help," she said.

"Where are you going?" He hadn't meant to say anything.

"To the Duke's castle. Goodbye."

He watched her walk away down the hill.

The castle was big and grey and dull, guarded by two soldiers who stared down at the visitor dwarfed by the height of the walls. Kite did her best to look unthreatening, which wasn't hard; the castle was hugely oversized for the handful of villages it was supposedly protecting. Delusions of grandeur?

"Hello!" she called up.

"Who's there?"

"I am Kite, and I come on Quest." She hoped the terminology was still accurate. The database information was clearly sadly out of date. She hadn't even known of the marking of magic users in this world, never mind their persecution.

"Do you indeed. What do you seek?" She breathed in relief; the custom was still valid. The soldier on the left turned to the one on the right and muttered something, and he disappeared from the wall.

"I am looking for the sun!" Kite called up, familiar by now with the common assumption that she was dotty. But he had accepted her word that she was on Quest, so...

"Very well, then." The guard turned slightly. "Open the gates!" he called down, and a small door set into the massive main door swung open with a distinct lack of fanfare.

The open door revealed a wide courtyard set with big slabs of the same grey stone that made up the walls, unrelieved by any decoration. Kite stepped through the little door to be greeted by a short, slim man dressed richly but somehow still managing to look a little grubby. He smiled professionally at her.

"Welcome, my lady," he said. "I am the steward to the Duke. You are on Quest? Would you honour me with your name?" That's a lot of formality.

"I am Kite." The steward looked momentarily confused at the absence of a surname, then covered his expression with the same smile as before.

"Very well. Permit me to show you to your chamber, my lady... Kite." He gestured forwards, indicating a door at the base of the castle proper.

"May I not speak with the Duke?" Kite didn't want to spend any longer in the castle than absolutely necessary. It was making her itch.

"I'm afraid not, my lady. He is busy today. Perhaps tomorrow you may be able to speak to him in private. There will be a banquet tonight, however, and your presence would be most welcome."

Kite sighed.

"Then I shall be glad to avail myself of your generous hospitality," she said, and allowed the steward to usher her into the castle.

The steward led her to a small chamber partway up one of the towers. The bare stone floor was barely visible under the wooden chair and single bed that filled the room. Light filtered in from a small window high in the wall, and an unlit lamp stood on a shelf by the head of the bed. Kite looked around uncertainly. Most inns she'd stayed at had better accommodation than this.

"I will have a maid sent to you," the steward said as he left.

Generous hospitality, my... Kite sighed, and turned at the sound of footsteps that announced the promised maid, a young girl with curly brown hair and a sharp, clever face.

"What is your name?"

"Anna, my lady. Can I get you anything? Some food, perhaps?"

"Not now, thank you. I can wait until the evening. If there is a bath, though..?" Given the evidence so far, she almost expected to be told there were no baths in the entire castle, but Anna nodded.

"Of course, my lady." She walked out of the door, then hesitated as Kite came without putting any of her bags down. "Oh, my lady, you can leave those here.."

"They contain things I need in the bath," Kite said, stretching the truth. She did not fancy leaving her gear anywhere out of her sight, at least, not unprotected. She did not trust the maid, nor the steward, and some of the pouches held valuables useful in multiple worlds. Anna shrugged, and led the way down the echoing corridors to the bath suite, unoccupied at this time of day.

Later, feeling clean and dry at last, Kite sat in the little room brushing her hair out. Released from the buns, it fell most of the way to her waist, except for the braids that framed her face. She had put on the clean tunic she kept with her, hoping she would find somewhere to wash the dirty clothes before too long. She had chosen not to ask Anna if the castle laundry would clean the tunic. She had a feeling she wouldn't be staying here long. The castle was tawdry, the servants sly, and the Duke kept a slave; there was no evidence of anything so bright as a sun here. But because she didn't know, she wasn't sure of what she was looking for - and because she needed to sleep, and the bed at least was free - she was not going to leave. Not without being thrown out, anyway.

There was a knock on the door, and Anna came in bearing an armful of frilly, long-skirted dresses, her face bright and enthusiastic.

"My lady, it's almost time for the banquet, and we should be there before the Duke," she chirped. "Do you wish to select a dress?"

"No thank you," Kite said, standing up and fastening her belt around her waist. Anna didn't look surprised, but then, looking round the room, her expression became confused.

"My lady, your bags..."

"I put them away."

"But.." and well she might protest, for the bags were nowhere in evidence.

"They're fine, thank you," Kite said firmly, hoping that was true. Basic obfuscation spells didn't take much, thankfully, but still, she felt uneasy about leaving the bags in the room in what was only technically not plain sight. "Please, lead the way."

Anna dumped the clothes on the bed, and did so.