"Bergan," Vayne's voice is sharp enough to make the Magister wince. "Take this," he pushes the sobbing child to him.

"My lord?" Bergan asks, voice hollow beneath his metal mask.

Vayne turns back to his desk, slowly penning words onto paper in a flowing, neat script. He uses sand and breath to dry the ink and then he seals the letter into an envelope. "See that these reach Al-Cid Margrace."

The knock on his door is soft, and Al-Cid calls, "Come in."

It opens and one of his attendants comes with a small boy clinging to her hand like a lifeline. Al-Cid smiles. "Ah," he says delicately, "And what news have you for me?"

Mutely, his attendant hands him a letter, sealed with the Solidor snake. The grin slips from his face like rain. With steady hands, he opens it.

Al-Cid,
Next time I find one of your 'birds' in my home, I will send them back to you in pieces. Consider yourself warned.
Fondly,
Vayne

P.S. Also, children, Margrace? Truly, I thought you could sink no lower.

Al-Cid sits for a long time, re-reading it thrice before he sets it aside.

"Well," he says, "I will simply be more careful."