Later, much later, I had lost track of how many doors we had gone through, which direction we were heading and, perhaps, even which day it was.
"It's a wonder there are any trees left in Korin," I mumbled to Seymuhr. "There's an entire forest guarding this approach."
We stood beside one such door, just recently opened. Seymuhr leaned against the stone wall, feet and arms crossed. Broo Fang Tane was just outside, in the last antechamber, his hands tucked into his sleeves. His eyes were half-closed and I wondered if he was napping. Ahead, Shonfiddylchamevven bent in front of yet another locked door, fiddling with his key ring. He stretched, a hand exploring the small of his back and gave us a weary grin.
"I know it's here somewhere," he said.
Seymuhr straightened up. "I need a privy. Is there one behind one of these other doors?"
Shonfiddylchamevven blew a long breath through his lips, making them rattle like a soaked banner. "Of course." He closed his left eye and scratched his head. "Let me think. I know it's around here somewhere..."
I held up a hand to stop him from retracing our steps. "Good Shonfiddylch...Shonfid....Good Shon, are we close? Perhaps it would be faster to go forward than back the way we came." I glared at Seymuhr, who shrugged.
"I was merely trying to be polite," he said, then turned toward the corner and fumbled at his belt.
"So. Now you try."
Tane spoke up. "You should have con...trol...of your body at all times," he said in his usual, halting sing-song. "The Or...der of the Op....timists teach such things. I c.............ould pass a.....long the lesson."
"If you were able to teach Seymurh such control, that would be a cause for optimism," I said. "Celebration, too."
"It would be a sin," Seymuhr responded, "to deprive so many noses of my special fragrance."
"Ah, that's the one!" Shonfiddylchamevven turned the key and we heard the now-familiar sound of the lock opening. He pushed open the door revealing, to my horror, yet another door.
"Oh, for the love of Pordeth!"
"At ease, good friends! At ease," Shonfiddylchamevven chuckled nervously. "This one's not locked. I'll give you a few moments to, er, compose yourselves. Then we shall be just a few short steps from the queen's antechamber."
I stepped away from Seymuhr and straightened my tunic as best I could. My hair, as usual, was beyond repair, but I ran my fingers through it, anyway, in hopes of untangling some of the mess. I stuck a finger in my mouth and scrubbed my teeth. I realized in that moment that a momentous change was about to come upon me. After so many travels and, most recently, so many thrice-cursed doors, I was about to step into my true purpose.
Assuming, of course, that Shonfiddylchamevven spoke true and there wasn't another delay on the other side.
"Right," I said, nodding to him. "Let's go."
