"The Thin Line," Part V
\*\*\*\*\* The thing I remember about that day, right at the end of summer, was how beautiful it was. "King's Weather," they called it. It was brilliantly sunny, not a cloud in the sky, mild, and with just enough breeze to make the Royal Standard...
"The Thin Line," Part U
\*\*\*\*\* The last month of summer would be very busy in Albric Tor. The local farmers were starting to bring in their harvests of fruits and grains, and there were symbolic tithes to the Royal Family, something that I'm told has been a...
"The Thin Line," Part T
\*\*\*\*\* There was a good reason that Albric Tor was chosen as a summer capital for the Empire, all those generations ago. Compared with some of the other areas of Faerie, in summer, it's a lot cooler. That comes from being up in the hills....
"The Thin Line," Part S
\*\*\*\*\* What **do** you say to a feral member of your own species? This matter of etiquette came up the morning after the somewhat abortive party held by Lord Twelveoaks. Lt. Rutter had taken me out of a formal classroom setting, and we...
"The Thin Line," Part R
\*\*\*\*\* I unburdened myself the next day to Sergeant Wing, who had managed to get me out of class for an hour. The sparrow listened to me in silence, slowly nodding. "Aye, lad, it's a rum 'do to find out wot yer got in th' Hall, but look...
"The Thin Line," Part Q
\*\*\*\*\* Two weeks later, Elvish poetry would have seemed a completely different world from that which I inhabited. My world consisted of, in no particular order, having to call out the Fundamentals of Gramerye while doing pushups (in a muddy...
"The Thin Line," Part P
\*\*\*\*\* More's the pity, there was no particular way I could skive and get on sick call for the few days following, without getting caught. I suspected this, and it was confirmed by Schweink. "We had a fellow back in the old Thirty Ninth...
"The Thin Line," Part O
\*\*\*\*\* At one level, things settled down a bit after that morning. Meadow and I regularly met and saw each other, to the point where our appearances together in the market-place caused no comment; at least, no comment that we could see. I did...
"The Thin Line," Part N
\*\*\*\*\* As it turned out, it did not make any difference. The Lieutenant had, evidently, already gone to bed, making it a very early night. On the table in the kitchen, propped up against the shove-copper board, was a simple note. "Private...
"The Thin Line," Part M
\*\*\*\*\* To my surprise, when I got back to the bungalow in BOQ Row, I was met not by Chitterleigh, but by Lieutenant Rivers, who was pacing back and forth on our verandah. "By Fuma's eyes, there you are! Now, look, come along to my...
"The Thin Line," Part L
\*\*\*\*\* The Lieutenant was growing more and more thoughtful and worried as we got closer to the bungalow. I asked him if he wanted me to perform a recce, and the fact that he was both listening and gave the offer thought was some kind of...
"The Thin Line," Part K
\*\*\*\*\* It was a long night, and an early morning, but I did get the bungalow looking like it would pass even the most exacting inspection. I didn't take offence when Chitterleigh took out a white cloth and began checking surfaces, even...