Mother never told me my husband would die. Nor did she say that my half-sister Carol would murder him for a jewel. Celia kept many secrets, and I asked myself time and again if Mother knew of Random's fate ere she and Carol escaped into our past to fulfill their destinies. I understand why Carol never confessed to the crime, and forgave her. It was a foreordained act, a necessity for the sanctity of our timeline. It was Carol Lisa's fate to become Clarissa, just as it was Celia's fate to marry my father in ages past. In truth, I could fault neither woman for keeping silence for 'the greater good', as my father would say. For years all of us played strangers to Celia's younger self in a tacit conspiracy, fearful that our reality would crumble with a misspoken word. Hardest of all was my lie to Celia.
Father retreated farther into the mirrorrealm. He lost Celia and the twins centuries ago to oblivion, but took comfort in watching over Celia's younger self. This time his loss was profound. She was his bright mirror, and I fathomed his pain. Though I was blind, I I knew of light and colours in Random. He was my bright mirror. He would never hold his daughter in his arms, nor whisper her name: Zillah.
I grieved in silence.
Random's death was the beginning of many changes in Amber and elsewhere. The ones I knew would vanish into the timestream, did: Celia, Carol, Orson, Pierre, Rhys, Caine and Bleys, among others. Some met their doom before they were born; others became matriarchs across time. With reluctance, King Martin ascended the Twin Thrones of Amber and Rebma, uniting the two kingdoms under one crown, as was his right by birth.
Though Martin pardoned Gerard for the death of Queen Moire, Gerard chose self-exile in Shadow. Fiona's treason was another matter altogether: betrayed too oft by Clarissa and her brood, Martin would have executed her if I had not pleaded for mercy. Was it out of the kindness of my heart, or in remembrance of Celia who once wore the self-same flesh? I could not fathom my own motive in this matter. Fiona was banished from Amber, taking refuge at Mandorways.
Martin took Florimel and Llewella as advisors in matters of the twin courts. Julian remained in command of Amber's armies, while Benedict assumed admiralty of the fleets. Benedict did what Caine and Gerard could not: Amber's Navy became unchallenged in all seas. Martin himself became solemn, as the burden of two kingdoms weighed heavy upon his shoulder. The Golden Circle fell, and a new order rose. By the wills and powers of Corwin, Luke and Coral, the Golden Rose blossomed. Kashfa, Begma, Gaiga and Eregnor were the first petals of the new empire, torn from their place in Shadow. The fortunes of the Twin Thrones were in ebb, indeed.
The day Emissary Louiche came from the Courts of Chaos, I gave birth to Zillah. She might not have survived had Louiche not assisted the difficult birth with a Chaosian birthing procedure. I owed my daughter's life to him. It was a blessing that she was alive, and sighted. Still, Florimel said Zillah would not grow up a normal child, but I did not care. Zillah sleeping in my arms meant the world to me.
After Zillah's birth, my thoughts slowly returned to sculpting. My old workshop materials had been moved into storage after I offered the royal suites to Martin upon his coronation, and only now did I have need of them. Tilda escorted me to the older workshop, where I rediscovered Celia's frieze of the Grove. The marble wall had been acquired for Celia by Gerard through Florimel's Shadow Earth connections, and moved in its entirety here. He had intended to gift her with it, but I knew not if he ever did. My fingers drifted over the marble engravings. It was Celia's first Trump, and it pulsed with her energy. I thought of her, my brothers Thalion and Jacob, and the others who were lost to another reality, and recalled something I once said to her when the young Celia first came to Amber.
"If I were to sculpt you, it would have to be marble. Or perhaps alabaster. Gerard told me your skin was pale."
"You sculpt?" Celia answered. "I had just finished this lovely frieze of a beautiful scene. The sort of woodland grove I've always dreamt about."
Those words from the past lingered in my mind, and I knew then I had the key to their return to this world. I would make eleven statues, carved to exacting detail. I would use stone and art to give them life and breath again.
I decided to fashion Jacob and Thalion first, for they had been lost for centuries and I ached to greet them again. I used two-thirds of the stone frieze: Thalion to the right, and Jacob the left. They were born of Celia's first Trump, the most flawed yet vibrant with potential piece any Trump Artist would create. That power would surely bring them to life. I could feel the texture of Jacob's skin, Thalion's eyelashes. Yet for all my skill, the stone would not breathe. Did I err? No, the marble told their features true. I had to seek more power to restore them to life.
Zillah, now a year old, was showing signs of a slow mind. Martin took little interest in his sister, and Julian offended me with an off-hand remark that Zillah would bring no dowry. I let him know of my disapproval, but my words fell upon deaf ears. Zillah responded well to Louiche, who brought news of Delwin and Sand. They were the fourth sovereignty, the Diamond Axis, with Corilaine at the center. Though little was truly known of the Diamond Axis, I was gladdened yet also troubled by the twins' resurfacing.
The next statue I carved was Raven's, in hopes that she might make Jacob come alive by her presence. I asked Louiche for a block of obsidian from Chaos, so that her Chaosian heritage might shine through. I fashioned a ruby lens for her eye to finish the piece. Yet there was no stirring of the statues as I had hoped. That was the second year.
Luke and Coral arrived in Amber that year to negotiate with Martin, yet Martin refused them an audience for their breaking of the Golden Circle treaty. Martin demanded that they first restore the stolen Golden Circle Shadows to their proper place, and that he deal exclusively with Corwin. That Luke was Brand's son might have destroyed any chance of successful negotiation. During their brief stay I did speak to them. Luke pleaded that Zillah and I return to the Golden Rose with them to stay with my grandfather Corwin. I declined their offer politely, but showed them my project.
The third year I made Andelia from alabaster from Shadow Lorraine, a gift from Corwin. Florimel called it a bribe. When I finished the statue, I thought I heard Jacob move. I checked the statue, and found that his lips were now parted in a sigh. I was encouraged by my efforts and continued my carvings.
The Diamond Axis also sent an Emissary that year. His name was Alexander, and in Gerard's absence he became the strongest of all in Amber. Despite his size, he was silent and graceful. He would not speak of his past, though he took exceptional interest in my sculpture of Andelia. Florimel was uneasy around him, but Llewella thought him harmless. She was more worried about my father and the state of the Mirrorrealm, and asked me to contact Madoc to see how he fared. I broke a Cheshire mirror to summon my father, and he came. He had aged more in these four years than he did in centuries. I introduced Zillah to Madoc. Madoc cradled his granddaughter in his arms, and cried. Zillah cried too, though she was too young to understand her grandfather's grief.
"Without her, my world suffers as I do," said Madoc. I showed him Thalion and Jacob, and told him Jacob sighed, but he was unconvinced. "They will not return. They are beyond your reach, love, and mine. I have tried all and failed."
"Your bright mirror will return, Father." I resolved to return Celia to him soon.
In the fourth year I abandoned my plans for Celia. I could not fashion it now. Instinct told me that she must be the eleventh and final piece. Instead, I fashioned Lorelei from blue crystal, a second gift from the Golden Rose, this time from Luke. Emissary Alexander took extraordinary interest in my carvings of Lorelei as well, and I thought he saddened as Lorelei's features took shape. Louiche disliked Alexander, and the antipathy was returned in kind by Alexander. Soon the situation escalated to an ultimatum by both sides for Martin to choose a single alliance: Chaos or Axis. Martin threw an ultimatum back in return: an alliance with Amber meant an active commitment to the reclamation of Golden Circle kingdoms lost to the Golden Rose.
Chaos sided with Amber, and Emissary Alexander was dismissed from Amber.
By the fifth year it was clear that open conflict against the Golden Rose would meet with failure. Benedict read the signs of war, but Coral commanded the winds and Shadow. Chaos had Jurt's elemental prowess, though the Diamond Axis thwarted their actions with equal force. It was a different Age, as evinced by Martin's plan to revolutionize Amber and Rebma by means of the newly available elemental lightning. It was a cold war, fought by spies and rebellions.
This was the year I received the third piece of stone from the Golden Rose: a monolith from a cromlech sent from Shadow Earth. I also realized at last that these were not gifts, but part of a dowry. They hoped that I would wed Gerard. Gerard! The thought shocked me, and the court as well. Martin cursed that they acquired Gerard's loyalty. Florimel gossiped that Gerard's estranged wife, Sioned, was outraged. Llewella maintained her position that Gerard remained justly in exile for the murder of Moire and should be refused. Julian was struck by the sheer audacity of his brother, and Benedict remained his tacit self. I simply recalled a good man I trusted, and a good father for Zillah. Still, I mourned Random and did not give an answer.
The cromlech became a statue of lost Deirdre. The true Deirdre, not Darthene who took over Deirdre's identity and intended fate. Only a few truly knew of her charade: Madoc, Fiona and I. She even fooled Corwin into believing. She sacrificed her life for Deirdre in the end. Perhaps there was still hope that she somehow fooled destiny, and was alive and well.
The following year I carved Teridias from a single pillar in the studio. The walls of the Castle would know him better than I ever did.
Zillah was diagnosed by Mandor to be an idiot savant. She could not relate on the most elementary social level, but exhibited an extraordinary aptitude for music. She could compose a single symphony on an organ keyboard at the spur of a moment, and her haunting music would echo through the castle. When Martin discovered her ability, he finally took notice of his young sister, who inherited the same love of music as he did from their father.
Still I gave Gerard no answer.
Year seven I cast Morgan's statue in iron, using the anvil as part of his body. I remember Random telling me of an anecdote of his first day in the forge, and the strange lesson that Morgan taught him.
This year Louiche also proposed to me. Martin was convinced that a political union with Chaos would strengthen the alliance, and bade me consider Louiche's proposal. Louiche was now the head of House Chorus, since Timoran died in a duel of honour. I did care for Louiche, and owed Zillah's life to him. I retreated into my work again, so that I might meditate on the best possible future for my daughter.
Zillah was a lonely child, with no one her age to play with. Yet she was adored by the animals in the castle. The wolfhounds, the hellhounds and Morgenstern all adored her. Mandor said her mind would not develop beyond this age, to my sadness.
The eighth year I made Urda from clay Dworkin gave me. "Make him real this time," he said. "And my blessings to Zillah. Take care, for she is watched." I did not know if he meant it as a warning or reassurance. To be safe, I asked Tilda to watch Zillah more carefully, and assigned Timene, Ancel and Lows to guard her. I would take no chances with my daughter's safety.
The secret war became not only a war of espionage, but a race for technological superiority. Pierre's choice of lightning for the fifth and balancing element revolutionized all four empires. Martin and Llewella worked day and night on esoteric projects, changing the dynamics of both Amber and Rebma. Likewise, secret projects were run by our enemies and our allies in an arms race I did not believe any would win.
The ninth year was the year I made Jaunquille from papier mache. I used metal wire from the chicken coop, and pages from a melange of books. I knew not what pages they were. An exotic, contradictory and random selection seemed the only choice for Jaunquille.
When Louiche saw the statue of Jaunquille, he was so startled that he stumbled backwards into Raven's statue and toppled it. With a sickening crash, the Raven figure shattered into many fragments. A year's work was destroyed in a single heartbeat. He apologized vehemently, saying he wa startled by the sight of his lost brother. But I felt a wave of hatred escape him, and in that moment I knew he would never be a man fitting as a father for my child.
That night I broke a Cheshire mirror to summon my father again.
Madoc came to me. He was hale, not depressed as the last time we met. I could sense he had something to tell me, but he waited until I explained my mixed emotions. Affection for Gerard on the one hand, obligation to Amber and the man who saved my child's life on the other. In the end, I came to realize that my place was with Gerard, and told Madoc so.
"So you move on at last, Vialle. As do I." He placed his hands on my arms. "I come not only to help, but for your blessings. I am to wed Sand in a fortnight."
The news shocked me. I sat down on the cold, stone floor. "But Celia will come back to you, father. Give me time to make her come back to you."
"You don't understand, Vialle. I need Sand. She is my bright mirror. Were it not for our new love, the Mirrorrealm would have perished. As I would have. The Shroudlings join the Diamond Axis with our union."
I could not find the words to stop him.
After Madoc left, I began the last piece of the Eleven to complete the ritual, though Raven's statue was ruined. I worked night and day, leaving little to no time for rest. I had a fortnight to do a year's work, for Celia's statue had to be perfect in every detail. Timene brought me food and drink so that I may continue my work. I lost track of both time and the outside world, knowing only that I had to bring back Mother to halt a wedding that could not be.
When I finished Celia's statue Trump, I was famished and tired, but there was still a last touch, and the invocation. I found what I needed, and placed the bracelet Celia lost years ago on her left wrist. With all the strength left in me, I shouted the spell.
"Rain, the tears I shed for lost loves,
Wind, the breath that whispers grace.
Flame, the fears that burn within,
Stone, the flesh and face.
Thunder, the spell that summons you
To bodies reborn, 'cross Time."
There were no thunderclaps, no tremors. Just the familiar jingle of a bracelet, and the sounds of my kith and kin awakening. Mother was home.