Page 69 of The Well of Ascension

“Do you want me to summon her?” Demoux asked.

“No, thank you,” Elend said. “I’ll get her. Tell Ham to make the messenger comfortable.”

Demoux nodded, then withdrew.

Elend turned to Tindwyl, who was smiling to herself with a look of satisfaction. Elend brushed by her, walking over to grab his notebook. “I’m going to learn to do more than just ‘fake’ being king, Tindwyl.”

“We’ll see.”

Elend shot a glance at the middle-aged Terriswoman in her robes and jewelry.

“Practice expressions like that one,” Tindwyl noted, “and you just might do it.”

“Is that all it is, then?” Elend asked. “Expressions and costumes? Is that what makes a king?”

“Of course not.”

Elend stopped by the door, turning back. “Then, what does? What doyouthink makes a man a good king, Tindwyl of Terris?”

“Trust,” Tindwyl said, looking him in the eyes. “A good king is one who is trusted by his people—and one who deserves that trust.”

Elend paused, then nodded.Good answer,he acknowledged, then pulled open the door and rushed out to find Vin.

17

If only the Terris religion, and belief in the Anticipation, hadn’t spread beyond our people.

The piles of paper seemed to multiply as Vin found more and more ideas in the logbook that she wanted to isolate and remember. What were the prophecies about the Hero of Ages? How did the logbook author know where to go, and what did he think he’d have to do when he got there?

Eventually, lying amid the mess—overlapping piles turned in odd directions to keep them separate—Vin acknowledged a distasteful fact. She was going to have to take notes.

With a sigh, she rose and crossed the room, stepping carefully over several stacks and approaching the room’s desk. She’d never used it before; in fact, she’d complained about it to Elend. What need did she have of a writing desk?

So she’d thought. She selected a pen, then pulled out a little jar of ink, remembering the days when Reen had taught her to write. He’d quickly grown frustrated with her scratchings, complaining about the cost of ink and paper. He’d taught her to read so that she could decipher contracts and imitate a noblewoman, but he’d thought that writing was less useful. In general, Vin shared this opinion.

Apparently, however, writing had uses even if one wasn’t a scribe. Elend was always scribbling notes and memos to himself; she’d often been impressed by how quickly he could write. How did he make the letters come so easily?

She grabbed a couple of blank sheets of paper and walked back over to her sorted piles. She sat down with crossed legs and unscrewed the top of the ink bottle.

“Mistress,” OreSeur noted, still lying with his paws before him, “you do realize that you just left the writing desk behind to sit on the floor.”

Vin looked up. “And?”

“The purpose of a writing desk is, well, writing.”

“But my papers are all over here.”

“Papers can be moved, I believe. If they prove too heavy, you could always burn pewter to give yourself more strength.”

Vin eyed his amused face as she inked the nib of her pen.Well, at least he’s displaying something other than his dislike of me.“The floor is more comfortable.”

“If you say so, Mistress, I will believe it to be true.”

She paused, trying to determine if he was still mocking her or not.Blasted dog’s face,she thought.Too hard to read.

With a sigh, she leaned down and began to write out the first word. She had to make each line precisely so that the ink didn’t smudge, and she had to pause often to sound out words and find the right letters. She’d barely written a couple of sentences before a knock came at her door. She looked up with a frown. Who was bothering her?

“Come in,” she called.

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