Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns it all. I'm just having fun borrowing the characters.
Author's Note: I wrote this ages ago and always intended to turn it into a larger piece, but it never happened and this little drabble-y scene has been gathering dust over the years. So I finally cleaned it up and decided to post it as is. This is basically my take on how Roger managed to sway Alex away from his friends during his squire and early knight years. Enjoy!
Surrender
"You don't like the Eldorne girl," Duke Roger observed.
Alex raised his dark eyes to meet Roger's, wondering what gave him away. He took care to keep his deepest thoughts concealed from his closest friends, yet Roger could always see through the walls he built around himself. Roger saw everything.
"I don't dislike Lady Delia," said Alex, choosing his words with care. "I'm simply not as impressed with her charms as the rest of the court." It took more than pretty manners and an even prettier face to gain his favor. Delia's shortcomings made up for neither.
"She is my future queen," Roger reminded him, his voice as calm and melodious as always. "Your future queen. You would do well to remember that, Alex." He wore a sapphire pendant around his neck and it sparkled in the candlelight, catching Alex's attention. "Delia has a necessary role to play."
Of course Delia was necessary, Alex quickly realized. She was a flirt and a nuisance, but she was devoted to Roger and would do all she could to help him succeed. What right did Alex have to question Roger when all his plans had been laid so carefully? He vaguely remembered a time when he did question his former knight-master, but whenever he doubted Roger his head would start to ache, as if invisible fingers were trying to nudge his thoughts in the right direction, until he eventually abandoned all of his doubts.
He heard the stories, of course; the whispered rumors and snatches of gossip claiming that Roger had the ability to control people's minds, but it was nonsense. Alex didn't doubt that Roger had the power, but the notion that Roger would use such power on anyone close to him—his faithful former squire, for instance—was preposterous.
"You're right," Alex said quietly, lulled by the sapphire that shimmered in the candlelight. "Lady Delia will make a fine queen."
"The envy of every king in the Eastern Lands. But of course I didn't summon you to discuss Lady Delia." Roger let a chuckle escape, its warmth bewitching Alex's senses like hot cider. "No, there are more important matters at hand. Such as Squire Alan."
Alex's posture grew tense. Roger spoke the name of a friend. "What about Squire Alan?"
"Delia's not the only one with a role to play. You're the only one I can trust to rid me of the redheaded thorn that's been sticking in my side since I arrived at the palace."
"What do you need me to do?"
Roger's eyes gleamed as bright as the jewel around his neck. "I need you to wound him—fatally—in a swordfight. Make it look like an accident. You'll be ridding me of a very troublesome obstacle, Alex, and believe me—when I've ascended the throne that is rightfully mine, the rewards will be tremendous beyond your imagining."
A sleepy thought struggled to rise within Alex's mind; a thought that sounded like a tiny voice shouting NO from within a long, dark tunnel. His eyes were drawn back to the sapphire and he nodded absently, captivated by the brilliant jewel that swung back and forth, back and forth on its chain. The little voice grew muffled, then fell fast asleep.
"It will be done," Alex promised solemnly.
Roger always knew best.