"Where should I put these?"
I glance a the basket of lilies and calendulas beneath a small offering of bright fruits. "Take those to King Rainier and Queen Edila. Eagle Wing, second floor, the fourth door from the Highland Tower - and if you see Lecia on your way there tell her to find Grace, and make sure the preparations in the Council Room are being properly handled, please."
"Of course."
"Thank you!" I yell at the short woman's disappearing figure.
Another already waits for me when I turn around, her hands carrying two dresses and a wooden box likely full of jewelry. "Oh, perfect. Take those to the Queen of Cressida upstairs and hand them to her guards posted outside her door. They won't let you inside so don't bother trying."
She nods and scurries off, weaving through the rushing craziness of the castle halls. They're full of the castle's staff, all carrying one thing or another, and if they're not it's because they're rushing to get something that will.
I spot Bell in the madness and intercept her course to the Healer's Tower. "Did someone get those linens to Siscilla?"
"I sent two of the incomers to handle it."
"How long ago?"
We both jump out of the way of a boy with a wheelbarrow of dirty linens heading for the laundress downstairs. "Twenty minutes."
"While you take those bandages up to make sure they got them. Otherwise, Siscilla will have a fit, and you don't want to be there when she starts yelling."
"Heads up." She gestures to five more of the incomers, all walking all too casually for the chores that need to be done for today.
Darius redrew the lines of those who work in the castle, making sure it was all voluntary and not forced. Oddly enough, we had parents from the town sending their children and themselves if they were able to help us out. We call them the incomers. New and completely oblivious to the hard work that actually goes into working for the King.
"Oof. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving side of that glare," Belle teases.
"Then get your ass to the Healer's Tower." She leaves with a light laugh and I turn to the incomers and step in their path. "Enjoying the fun?"
The boy in the center looks me up and down slowly, his tongue licking his lips like a dog. "Not yet, but we can go somewhere less...crowded to have some." His friends snicker and I resist the urge to hurl.
"If I take you somewhere less crowded, it's to toss you over the castle walls for incompetence and childish behavior that will get you killed if one of the Kings or Queens hear you."
"She's a feisty little thing, isn't she?" I narrow my eyes to the blonde at his left, wondering what would happen if he knew that this 'feisty little thing' is involved with the Sinister Fox.
"I always liked my food spicy," another comments.
"How about angry?" They all spin around, blanching at the sight of Makatza still dressed in her demon blood drenched armor, her hair also matted with the sticky substance, and glaring daggers at all of them. "No? Well, then I suggest you think twice before attempting to get the Sinister Fox's Lady and the Queen of Thralia's best friend into your bed. Wouldn't want those pretty faces of yours to end up with a kill mark, now would we?" They shake their heads passionately. "Now run along and find something to do before I suddenly find myself very hungry."
Her eyes turn into reptilian slits for emphasis and they all shove each other to back away as quickly as possible. The one who looked me up and down trips over his own feet in front of me. "Apologies, My Lady."
Lunch will be served soon, and I'm starving.
"I had that handled," I tell Mak, turning back down the main hall and walking for the Queen's Garden. I have to check on the Council of Thralia who have taken over the ballroom along with the Generals of the Vandarian Army to use as their main base.
Mak easily falls in step beside me. The staff members all give her a decent enough berth, recognizing the shapeshifter. That, or the gruesome stench. It's not hard to remember her. I mean she's got bright orange hair, how are you supposed to miss her?
"I'm sure you did, but I've been bored all morning and needed something to cheer me up," she says.
"Can't relate. I've been up all night and haven't even had a moment to sit down." We step into the Queen's Garden and I aim for the back entrance. There won't be anyone using the back door behind the dais, granting me a small reprieve from the chaos.
"Isn't there a head staff lady or something? Why are you running around?"
"Because one head staff lady isn't enough for a whole castle filled beyond its capacity. Lícia is my boss, and I'm a lot of other people's boss."
"So you're boss number two?" she quips playfully.
"I'm not so sure about that, but - hey!" I yell at three staff members carrying those linens I asked Belle about. "Those go to the Healer's Tower! Over there!"
"Oh, sorry!" the oldest one calls back. They change their direction and walk faster than they originally were. This castle's layout isn't that hard to remember, yet everyone seems to be fucking incompetent.
When I turn back to Mak and the door to the dais tunnel, I find her looking at me with raised brows. "What?"
"You looked a little stressed, Katarina." I roll my eyes and push past her, pulling open the door.
"It comes with the job."
"More like it comes with the war."
Her boots click against the floor, my simple flats muffled. "Speaking of which...where is the war front now?"
"No idea. That's why I'm here?"
"You think I know where the demon man is?" I ask, pushing the door open with my back. I have to put all my weight into it to get it open. It's made of stone, and not at all as light as wood.
"No."
"Then why come to me?"
"Because I can't find where Clarice and Darius went."
My shoes squeak against the polished floor as I stop. Snickers and dirty looks turn to us at the sharp noise, but I ignore the Council members and Generals and stare up at the tall woman. "What do you mean you can't find them? You're their guard, you should know exactly where they are."
She shrugs. "Well, I don't. None of us do."
"They came in with you early this morning. How could possibly lose them in those few hours since?"
She crosses her arms and widens her feet like she's sizing up for a fight. She may be a magical shifter, but I will kick her ass to the underworld if she tries anything after losing the very people she's sworn to protect.
"They were tired and wanted some space, so we gave them some. We left them in the King's chambers and stood in the halls. When we went in this morning, they weren't there."
"Unbelievable," I sneer. "I'm here doing a thousand jobs at once and getting them all done, and ten immortal and magically gifted women can't even do one so simple as to watch their King and Queen."
"It's harder than it sounds," she defends, pouting a little like a scolded child.
"I find that all too hard to believe. Did you at least look for them before coming to me?"
Her bright eyes roll. "What do you think we've been doing for the past two hours."
"They've been missing for two hours-" I cut off my own words and fist the air in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I rub at my aching temples. "Did you check the hidden room in the Moonrise Tower?"
"Yes," she clips. "Along with every other room they've been known to occupy, the King's Garden with a few hundred other people running around, the Jade Assassin's keep, the tunnels below the castle, and even the stables and dungeons."
"She wouldn't go anywhere near those cells."
"We are highly aware of that, but we checked everywhere else so that was our last hope. Aside from you. We thought you might have further insight into the Queen's mind."
I shake my head, trying to think of the last places to look. "You really should be asking Lance."
"That's not an option."
"Why not?" Her mouth clamps shut, eyes moving to look around the room and avoid my eyes. "Why not, Makatza?" I ask slower.
"It just isn't, okay? Now can you tell me where else to look?"
"Not until you tell me what's wrong with Lance," I challenge.
"Nothing's wrong-"
"Bullshit. Tell me what happened to him, right now, or so help me the Gods won't be able to stop me from choking the life out of you."
"Could you even reach my neck?"
"Makatza!"
"Oh, for Saint's sake, Katarina, he's fine. Unharmed. Not a single scratch. He's just busy with his own duties as the King of Jade's, that's all. We didn't think adding this to his plate would necessarily help him out."
My anger could burn the large table next to us, but I bite down on my tongue and try to think of happy thoughts.
She's right, of course - but that doesn't make me feel necessarily comforted. If he knew his sister went AWOL again, he'd drop everything and send his assassins to find her. Seeing as they all currently stand watch on the walls, I don't think it's wise to remove them from there.
I take a gigantic slow breath and gather my thoughts, feeling the weight of that tricky dagger weighing down the left side of my dress. "Did you try the library?"
"The librarians said they hadn't seen the King or Queen anywhere."
Saints sometimes I really do believe that these immortal women don't live up to the older the wiser saying. "They wouldn't have to walk through the front door to get in, Makatza. They would've taken the tunnels to Darius's old tutoring room."
Her jaw works itself. She doesn't seem happy that none of them seemed to have thought of that before. I shake my head and walk to the second door to the right of the thrones on the dais. I'll send someone else to check on the Counselors.
"I don't suppose you know where to find some food?" Mak asks, catching up.
I sigh longingly up at the ceiling, wishing for a single reprieve that would slam a hardcover book of common sense into everyone's mind. "None of you have eaten yet, have you?"
"The Bhaltayr likely did. We sent them to their own rooms when we got back, taking the morning shift."
"They wouldn't have eaten," I tell her, knowing the men all too well to think they were actually responsible enough to do so. "Nor would they have slept."
We make it to another main hall and I turn towards the Library doors. I search the staff for one not doing anything and catch his arm gently. "What's your name?"
"I, uh...Seth," he answers after glancing between me and Mak.
"Seth. Would you do me a favor and go down to the kitchens and tell Lícia that King Darius, Queen Clarice, and their guards request food to be brought to the study room on the seventh floor in the library, please? And when you're done, find chef Tyr and tell him Katarina told him to give you my rations for the evening."
He blinks at the gesture, then nods without another word and heads to the kitchens. The rations are small as is with all the people we're currently housing, but he's doing me a favor, and I'll likely just end up stealing something off of the plates that they bring up anyways, so my portion is useless.
"That was kind of you," she muses, once again matching my pace and easily following the weave I set about working through the crowd.
"I am a kind person, Mak."
"I am plenty aware of that."
I lead her into the library and up the steps to the seventh floor. Clarice would've come here for the quiet. If the King's chambers weren't solitude enough for her, this is where she'd go next. Somewhere where the noise outside couldn't reach her, and she could be surrounded by books, and no one would bother looking in here because why would they? Nothing special ever happened in here. Everywhere else in the castle can't give her the peace she'd find. And if the Ginerva already checked all their usual spots, then this is the last place they'd be. Here, or in the training room in the tunnels, but I don't think she'll be going anywhere that could remind her of the torture she went through.
I sure wouldn't.
We turn down an aisle, the door at the end closed with no guard outside or anywhere nearby. "Where's the Bhaltayr?"
"On their way." I don't ask for further information. Her sisters are likely rounding the men up now. If I know them, then they're likely training back in the barracks of the guardhouse, sweating out their own thoughts and trying to get whatever energy they have left out.
I pause in front of the door, Mak saying nothing as she does the same. I'd usually just barge in, but if they came here and away from the King's chambers, then it's their choice to let us in or not. I wait until I feel a tendril of wind wrap around my wrist like a bracelet, then open the door and walk in.
They both share a chair despite the dozen set around the table. Clare sits on Darius's lap with her head resting on his shoulder, her eyes closed. I pause again, planning on walking back out when her head rises. I thought she was asleep.
"Something wrong?" From the sound of her voice, she should be sleeping. They both should.
"Yeah," I answer, walking deeper into the room, but not too quickly. "You two look like absolute shit."
"Feel like it too." I notice her pale coloring and the darkness beneath her eyes. She goes back to leaning her head back on his shoulder and I shove down my yearnings to drag her upstairs and get rid of all the sadness written all over her in different fonts.
He doesn't look much better than her, but his skin is still the same shade as before. I eye the rest of her body, noticing the hand on her stomach and the purple coloring of her nail beds. I heard about how she plunged a stone arrowhead into her stomach to kill the baby. The staff are horrible gossips, and the healers love to brag about the events of their days when they include large, exciting injuries.
I threw up in the garden over a bush after hearing about it. I could never imagine having to do that, even if it was a mutt. And then it scared me because I did the stupid thing and went to find Siscilla or Willa and demand what really happened, only to end up finding a few Sitara's trying to soak up a pool of blood and change the sheets on a bed, also soaked. My appetite left me then, and it hasn't returned.
"You two should be sleeping," I tell them.
"Couldn't sleep," Darius answers. I watch his arms tighten further around her, a shadow going over his face. Demons wouldn't keep them up, not when we've encountered them for the past cycle and they've slept nearly okay then. Or okay with nightmares, but they at least got a few hours.
"Anything I need to know?"
"Nothing you didn't already know." I squint at the coldness of his words. Apparently, their lack of sleep is somehow my fault.
Mak returns to my shoulder and leans down to whisper, "The babe and the fating bond."
My eyes snap back to Darius. If she's speaking those words in front of him, then he knows. That's why he's mad. He found out that I knew and said nothing. He has every right to be mad, but his foul mood is because he's been thinking about it all night and not getting any sleep. I want to apologize, but even I know that's useless. Words don't fix actions, they just keep reminding you of them.
"Well, shit. If we're going to hold grudges about secrets, then I guess I'm pissed at you for keeping the one from me and Lance." Clare's head shoots up, and Mak slams a palm to her face. It was honestly a gamble in thinking that it was secret that Mak earlier referred to, but my gut is rarely wrong. "So there is something wrong with him."
"I didn't tell her," Mak whispers to the elementals.
"You didn't need to. I know Lance better than any of you seem to think. I knew something was wrong with him before you showed up," I tell Mak. "He would've come to see me first before going to his Jade's, and he definitely wouldn't have had me working all night and morning without giving me a much-needed break."
Her face scrunched in disgust. "That's not something I need to picture."
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong with your brother? Or are you still keeping your little secrets?" I ask Clarice. I don't fault her for not telling me right away, I fault her for thinking she could keep it from me for longer than this. Not to mention think that I wouldn't notice his absence.
Clarice studies me for a moment, but I don't shrink away. If something's wrong with Lance - really wrong - then I need to know. We made a promise to keep the other from jumping over the edge, and I can't do that if she doesn't tell me where he is and how I'm supposed to help him.
She sees that, and then she suddenly bursts into tears. "For Saint's sake, Kat. We just got her to stop crying," Mak scolds.
"I...I didn't mean to...is it really that bad?" No one answers and I suddenly get a very bad feeling in my chest. Gut feelings can be questionable sometimes, but chest feelings...that's your heart telling you that something's wrong.
Still, I get no answer and Darius tucks her back into his arms. The door opens then and the rest of the Ginerva and Bhaltayr all walk in. Willa comes in behind them, along with some familiar pirate faces.
"Saint's, Darius," Alex scolds. "What'd you do? Pinch her?"
Darius gives his friend a warning glare, and I take it as well, dropping the subject for now. The restraint has my foot tapping, and I let it do so as Arlene and Thyra approach me with big smiles.
"How's our little Kitty Kat?" Arlene asks, throwing her arm over my shoulders. Thyra does the same on my other side, and I get a thick whiff of sea salt and days without bathing.
I step out of their friendly hold and plug my nose. "Crying thanks to your stench."
"Still sassy, I see," Svenja chimes, giving me a wink as she leans against the doorframe. Her eyes go to Clare and Darius and she pushes off the wood to walk to the table. "Gods and their Saints. I never did think I'd live to see the day the great Ebony Rheasydia shed tears."
"Go throw yourself off the plank and into a shark's mouth, you cretin," Clarice mumbles between her sniffles. I blink at the odd retort.
Svenja just stares at Clarice before responding with a crooked smile. "Go dig yourself a grave and choke on the dirt, you pitiful wretch."
Clare raises her face from her hands and looks at Svenja with a matching grin. Despite the little fight and unfinished conversation, a part of me is relieved to see her smiling. I never want to see her hurt, and I don't like being the cause of it, but how am I not supposed to be mad when I'm left in the dark?
"Cockroach."
"Clod." Clarice's laugh fills the room.
I look around the room, watching as everyone's face lights up with it.
One person. One person can do this to dozens. Make them feel like there really is hope and a future for them to have. Not only that, it's one they can look forward to without fearing what it may mean. They just light with the force of it.
"Glad to see you've got your good ol' memories back."
"Your memory's back." Everyone looks at me like I turned into a demon.
"Gods, Kat. Did you stay under a rock all night?"
I flip Ethan off. "More like making sure the castle is still running properly and people are being fed and taken care of."
"This castle wouldn't run without you, Kat."
"You wouldn't run without me," I correct Darius. "I mean look at you. None
You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net