Page 58 of The Well of Ascension

Tindwyl smiled—the first such expression Elend had seen on her face. “Sazed mentioned you as well, child. You and I should speak soon in private, I think.”

Vin slipped into the room, drawing mist in behind her, then closed the shutter. She didn’t bother to hide her hostility or mistrust as she put herself between Elend and Tindwyl.

“Why are you here?” Vin demanded.

Tindwyl smiled again. “It took your king there several minutes to get to that question, and here you ask it after a few bare moments. You are an interesting couple, I think.”

Vin’s eyes narrowed.

“Regardless, I should withdraw,” Tindwyl said. “We shall speak again, I assume, Your Majesty?”

“Yes, of course,” Elend said. “Um…is there anything I should begin practicing?”

“Yes,” Tindwyl said, walking to the door. “Stop saying ‘um.’”

“Right.”

Ham poked his head in the door as soon as Tindwyl opened it. He immediately noticed her discarded bonds. He didn’t say anything, however; he likely assumed that Elend had freed her.

“I think we’re done for the night, everyone,” Elend said. “Ham, would you see that Mistress Tindwyl is given quarters in the palace? She’s a friend of Sazed’s.”

Ham shrugged. “All right, then.” He nodded to Vin, then withdrew. Tindwyl did not bid them good night as she left.

Vin frowned, then glanced at Elend. He seemed…distracted. “I don’t like her,” she said.

Elend smiled, stacking up the books on his table. “You don’t like anyone when you first meet them, Vin.”

“I liked you.”

“Thereby demonstrating that you are a terrible judge of character.”

Vin paused, then smiled. She walked over and began picking through the books. They weren’t typical Elend fare—far more practical than the kinds of things he usually read. “How did it go tonight?” she asked. “I didn’t have much time to listen.”

Elend sighed. He turned, sitting down on the table, looking up at the massive rose window at the back of the room. It was dark, its colors only hinted as reflections in the black glass. “It went well, I suppose.”

“I told you they’d like your plan. It’s the sort of thing they’ll find challenging.”

“I suppose,” Elend said.

Vin frowned. “All right,” she said, hopping up to stand on the table. She sat down beside him. “What is it? Is it something that woman said? What did she want, anyway?”

“Just to pass on some knowledge,” he said. “You know how Keepers are, always wanting an ear to listen to their lessons.”

“I suppose,” Vin said slowly. She hadn’t ever seen Elend depressed, but he did get discouraged. He had so many ideas, so many plans and hopes, that she sometimes wondered how he kept them all straight. She would have said that he lacked focus; Reen had always said that focus kept a thief alive. Elend’s dreams, however, were so much a part of who he was. She doubted he could discard them. She didn’t think she would want him to, for they were part of what she loved about him.

“They agreed to the plan, Vin,” Elend said, still looking up at the window. “They even seemed excited, like you said they’d be. It’s just…I can’t help thinking that their suggestion was far more rational than mine. They wanted to side with one of the armies, giving it our support in exchange for leaving me as a subjugated ruler in Luthadel.”

“That would be giving up,” Vin said.

“Sometimes, giving up is better than failing. I just committed my city to an extended siege. That will mean hunger, perhaps starvation, before this is over with.”

Vin put a hand on his shoulder, watching him uncertainly. Usually, he was the one who reassured her. “It’s still a better way,” she said. “The others probably just suggested a weaker plan because they thought you wouldn’t go along with something more daring.”

“No,” Elend said. “They weren’t pandering to me, Vin. They really thought that making a strategic alliance was a good, safe plan.” He paused, then looked at her. “Since when didthatgroup represent the reasonable side of my government?”

“They’ve had to grow,” Vin said. “They can’t be the men they once were, not with this much responsibility.”

Elend turned back toward the window. “I’ll tell you what worries me, Vin. I’m worried that their planwasn’treasonable—perhaps it itself was a bit foolhardy. Perhaps making an alliance would have been a difficult enough task. If that’s the case, then whatI’mproposing is just downright ludicrous.”

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