Orn laid his cards down. Finally, a good hand. Now I just need…. His thoughts trailed off as his father began to set cards down on the table. After the third card Orn realized he had lost, but his father kept putting more down. How does he do that?

Orn turned to his mother for help only to see her drop her hand on the table and roll her eyes. No help was coming. Sighing Orn began to count the points for the round. His parents made him do the count each round to ‘practice his math skills.’ Recently his father had taken that as a challenge to see how high the numbers could go before Orn struggled.

“For the round Mother has 12, I have 16, and you have 25.” Orn read out the numbers as he wrote the score on a piece of slate. “For the game, mother has 40, I have 26, and you have … 247.”

One of the scullery maids popped her head in from the kitchen, “Dinner will be ready in a quarter hour.”

His mother smiled at the maid, who nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen.

“Just enough time for one more hand. Orn it is your turn to deal.” His father passed him the deck.

Orn had just started shuffling when his mother interjected. “Oops, it looks like I dropped one earlier.” Reaching under the table she grabbed the card and handed it to Orn.

Really? Orn considered the high rank card. How long has this been out of the deck?

His father brought his attention away from the card. “Orn just shove it in the deck somewhere, it will be fine.”

Orn nodded and then slid the card in near the top. He could not say why, but it seemed like the correct place to put it. With the lost card returned to the deck he began dealing.

The game ended a few minutes later when his mother played the card, improving her mood greatly.

…

The next morning found Orn sparing with Kao in the garden.

Kao knocked his sword aside. “That is what you are worried about?”

Snapping back to a guard position Orn began to circle. “Yes, I know it is wrong to cheat, but it bothers mother when she does not win at ... “

Kao’s blade flashed and be barely caught it with his own. Stepping in she put her weight on the locked blades and pressed Orn back. “I cannot believe you. Do you think it is normal that anyone can win by that much, that often?”

Orn stepped to the side and drove the pommel of his sword at her middle. She casually sidestepped the blow, but he was able to disengage. “You mean he has been cheating?!”

“You can be so dense at times.” Kao looked at him incredulously, “Of course he is cheating. He is just waiting for you to call him out.”

“But why?” Orn hesitated, his mind racing.

Kao immediately punished him for getting distracted. Orn’s blade was knocked from his hand, and she pressed her blade to his throat.

“Ask him if it bothers you. But first, “ She smiled evilly. “ I believe you have something to say.”

Orn groaned and began to repeat the embarrassing rhyme she had created. “I yield, oh great goddess of farm and field, ….”

[Clo]

She nudged a couple threads. I hate doing this.

Her fingers ran over the fabric. Good the changes barely made any effect. They must be things they would have eventually done anyway.

She looked at the changes, there is nothing similar about any of them. Lac what are you doing with all these madmen?

Then she remembered something mother told them. Madmen are easier to make prophets. Internally she groaned as it finally occurred to her. Lac can you not be lazy for just this once?

Looking through the changes she was asked to make she found a glimmer of hope. He is obsessed, but it is a matter of faith. The only change he needed was to stumble on a book, Psalms of Obedience.

At least she is not completely… Clo traced the thread back and recognized it. That is just like her. The only thing she does right, is done as a joke. She is almost as bad as Kao…