From whisper@io.org
Fri May 10 11:07:20 1996
Subject: [AM] Trump Contact
 
 
     Julianna eyes flicked open abruptly as she snapped awake.  She had 
never been a deep sleeper, and the talent for sleeping lightly but 
restfully was one she had cultivated over the years.  She had discovered 
long ago that such a skill was a necessity whilst travelling in shadow, 
and essential when staying in Amber.  One never quite knew what one's 
cousins were capable of.
 
     Amber...
 
     Her dark eyes flicked from side to side as she absorbed her 
surroundings.  She was in a familiar apartment...
 
     Her apartment.  Her apartment in Castle Amber.
 
     Ah, yes.  She had teleported from the centre of the Primal Pattern 
to this place for the rest she required.  The experience of walking the 
centre of order in the universe had been exilierating and purifying, but 
exhausting.  She had needed rest, and her home in Amber had come 
immediately to mind.
 
     She sat up, stretching her long, thin arms out.  Home.  What an odd 
word she had selected.  It was certainly not how she would have 
described her apartments in Castle Amber had anyone asked her of it.  
She looked about the room, and saw, with a small amount of satisfaction, 
that all was how she had last left it.
 
     Now that she considered it, she realized that it had been some time 
since she had last slept in that bed, or, indeed, been in this room.  It 
was good to see that everything was still in order.
 
     Standing up, she shook her head gracefully, causing her long mane 
of midnight black hair to tumble behind her back.  She tilted her head 
to the side to remove a kink in her neck that had developed during the 
evening.  Noting that she still wore the black gown of the night before, 
she slowly maneuvered herself towards her closte for a fresh change of 
clothes.  At least, she noted, she's had the presence of mind to remove 
her cloak before collapsing into her bed the previous evening.  The dark 
velvet cloak hung over a chair, the black orchid clasp glittering 
slightly as she glanced at it.
 
     The door slid easily at her prompting, well oiled as usual even 
after all this time.  Quickly, she selected her clothing and removed 
them from the closet; a creamy-white frilly shirt, black riding tights 
along with matching black riding boots, and a black belt for asthetic 
purposes.
 
     Once she'd changed, she retrieved a hair clasp from a drawer and 
pulled her hair back, capturing it in place.  It flowed down the length 
of her back in one single bundle.
 
     It was as she was making the final adjustments to herself in the 
mirror when she felt a pull at the back of her mind.
 
     The familiar itch of a Trump Contact.
 
     Hmmm.  She had not received a contact from any of her cousins for 
some time, save Zachary.  And no doubt, knowing the lad, he was already 
aware of her presence in Amber.
 
     Then who?
 
     She supposed that there was only one way for her to find out.
 
     "Who is there?" she asked as she answered the contact.  A girl's 
face formed itself in her minds' eye, a girl she did not recognize.  But 
her face was rather familiar...
 
     "My name is Karina," the girl answered, "and I am Prince Corwin's 
daughter, recently arrived in Amber."
 
     Inwardly, she nodded.  That certainly explained the familiarity; 
her face was certainly that of Lord Corwin.
 
     But other questions still remained.  And she was no longer in 
shadow; she would have to remain on her guard.  "Why are you contacting 
me?" she asked of the girl.
 
     "I wish to know more and know about the people here, who I assume I 
am related to.  May I ask your name?"
 
     "Julianna," she replied simply.
 
     "I don't wish to seem impertinent, but I want to know more and do 
you have time for us to get together and talk?"
 
     Julianna smiled slightly at this.  This wayward child of Prince 
Corwin's certainly had not been in Amber long, at least not long enough 
to learn the family games.  But, Julianna had to admit that she found 
the girl's apparent honesty a refreshing change from the usual verbal 
sparring she found herself drawn into during her breif visits to the 
True City.
 
     And, at the very least, she was intrigued.  She wondered if this 
Karina yet knew of her father, or her siblings Merlin and Khrynna.
 
     Hmmm.  Khrynna.  Karina.  She noted the marked similarity in the 
name.  Could one be a shadow if the other?
 
     She immediately discounted the possibility.  She had, unfortunatly, 
had sufficient dealings with her mischievious cousin to know that she 
was truly of the Royal Blood.  And, if this girl who was new to Amber 
was indeed a shadow, then how was it that she managed to possess her 
trump?
 
     But, it was intriguing nonetheless.
 
     She noted the expression of growing impatience on Karina's face.  
Well, it would seem that she shared that familial trait as well.  It was 
obvious that she had much to learn; the girl did not realize how 
fortunate she had been in contacting her and not another of her 
relatives.  Many of her cousins would have liked nothing more than to 
mould a youth such as her into whatever image they desired.
 
     Julianna smiled, a faint expression of mild amusement on her face 
as she spoke.  "Very well, Karina," she said softly.  "I shall endeavour 
to answer your questions about Amber to the best of my ability.  But I 
had best warn you; while I am no stranger to the true city, it has been 
some time since my last soujourn to this place.  I am afraid that my 
knowledge may be a tad out of date, so to speak."
 
     "Anything you can tell me will be helpful," Karina replied.
 
     Julianna nodded.  "It would be best if I joined you at your 
location.  Would you be so kind as to pull me through, Cousin?"
 
     Karina furrowed her brows.  "Pull you through?" she asked.  
"Through what?"
 
     "The trump contact," Julianna answered patiently.
 
     "Huh?"
 
     She definitely had much to learn.
 
     "The Trumps, the cards that you hold, are more than a simple means 
of communication," she explained.  "Through them, we can travel, without 
havng to shift shadow.  They can be a very efficient means of transit."
 
     "Is that how Zachary brought me here?" she asked.
 
     "I know not," Julianna answered, "but it is likely.  However, you 
will have to reach out to me if I am to come through to you."
 
     "How do I do that?" Karina asked.
 
     "You see my image on the card before you, yes?"
 
     She nodded.
 
     "Think of me actually standing in your presence.  Concentrate on 
the image you see before you."
 
     Karina's brows furrowed in concentration.  "Okay," she said ater a 
few moments.
 
     "Now reach your hand out to me, as if to grasp hold of my hand and 
pull it towards you."
 
     She did so, and Julianna reached forward.  Karina looked startled 
as Julianna's hand grasped her own, and she stepped from her own 
apartment into her younger cousin's.
 
     Karina looked from the card to Julianna and back, who, now standing 
in her presence, stood almost a foot taller than her.  Karina felt 
suddenly awed and condused at the same time.
 
     "But how..."
 
     The bemused smile once again played upon Julianna's lips.  "It is 
the power of the Trumps," she answered matter of factly.
 
     "Now that I am here," she continued, "allow me to properly 
introduce myself.  I am Julianna, Lady of Amber, and Princess of Eithne 
of the Golden Circle.  Your cousin," she said with a gesture that was 
somewhere between a bow and a courtsy.  "Before you ask your questions, 
Cousin, I was entertaining the idea of a morning ride through the Forest 
Arden.  Would you care to join me?"
 
NRPG: See Kat?  I told you I'd get something out 
 
If Karina wants to join her, she'll answer her questions while they 
ride.  If not, Julianna will remain with her for a while before leaving.
 
While she'll try and answer any questions she can, her answers will be 
rather vague and ambiguous.  She has known Corwin, but hasn't seen him 
since prior to the PatternFall war.  She will tend to make allusions to 
things rather than answer directly.
 
If Karina asks her anything about herself, she be be subtly evasive, and 
will reveal nothing   She's trying to feel Karina out, and has 
reserved her judgement until she does so .
 
Krish: So, will we bump into Ivy or Unca Julian?