Cor is sneaking around and Aravis becomes suspicious, but so does Corin.

Sneaks

Aravis spotted Shasta as he came out of his room. He glanced over his shoulder, scanning the corridor and she pushed herself further into the alcove. With a twist of his lip, he went on his way, checking over his shoulder every few steps.

When he reached the top of the steps, Aravis hurried out of her hiding place and followed. She'd taken the precaution today of kitting herself out in full winter attire, because last time, she'd had to cut short the tailing because he'd gone outside and she could only manage a few minutes before her limbs had started to turn to ice.

She followed him to the bottom of the staircase, pausing at the bend before peering around the corner to check he was still there and gauge his direction. Outside the window, snowflakes fell from the heavens, piling up on the windowsill.

Shasta turned towards the throne room and Aravis hurried after him. She rounded the corner, only to walk straight into his back. He stumbled forward with a startled yelp.

"Sorry," said Aravis.

He turned to face her, frowning.

"Everything alright?" he said.

Her cheeks warmed.

"Fine," she said. "Wonderful. It's a beautiful day."

Shasta frowned harder.

"Er, I suppose," he said. "What were you doing?"

"I was just going to the throne room," said Aravis.

"Why?"

"Er…to practice my dancing."

Shasta grimaced and she congratulated herself for picking an activity she knew he wouldn't want to join in with.

"Aren't you a bit overdressed?" he said.

She glanced down at the fur cloak.

"I was going to leave the cloak at the side of the room," she said.

"Oh, okay," he said. "Well, I should let you get to it. You're not looking for a partner, are you?"

A scuffle of movement from a nearby alcove drew her attention and she spotted a pair of blue eyes, halfway down the wall, before their owner's face disappeared.

"No," said Aravis.

"Thank Aslan," said Shasta, then gave her an apologetic look. "I mean, I would, but I'm no good at dancing."

She tapped his upper arm. "No, no need to apologise. I'll just be going now."

She kept moving towards the throne room, glancing over her shoulder every few paces. Shasta watched her for a long time, all the way until she reached the doors and she even had to go inside. Luckily, it was empty. Five seconds and then she peaked out again.

Shasta's cloak retreated down the corridor and another cloaked figure darted out behind him. If Aravis hadn't known the first one was Shasta, she might have picked the wrong person to tail. Not that it mattered, because Corin seemed to be heading in the same direction as his brother.

She slipped out into the corridor herself, hurrying to catch Shasta before he turned off somewhere without her seeing. He went out of the castle. So did Corin, head down, darting glances to the left and right of himself and a sneaking suspicion set in Aravis' mind.

As she exited the castle, Shasta turned away across the courtyard and Corin hurried over to the other side of the path, ducking behind a barrel. His hair peeped above the snowy mound on top of the keg. Aravis glanced between him and Shasta, took a step in the crunchy snow, then realised that if she went after him now, Corin would see her.

She hesitated on the steps. But maybe Corin had noticed his brother was behaving shiftily as well. Which just reinforced Aravis' suspicions. For the last few days, she'd come up with all sorts of scenarios to explain Shasta's sudden awkwardness and his repeated excuses for why he couldn't do things with her.

Maybe he'd been doing the same thing with Corin.

Aravis knelt down and scooped up a handful of snow, her cheeks twitching with a grin as she compacted it together. Payback for the number of times Corin had caught her unaware since the snow had started.

She lobbed the snowball. It smacked into the prince's shoulder and he gave a surprised yelp. Then his gaze locked on her. He grabbed a handful of snow off the barrel and looked like he was going to lob it at her, but Shasta let out a noise.

Aravis ducked behind the stonework of the doorway. Corin dropped behind his keg and they both peered at the crown prince.

"Got to watch that step," muttered Shasta, picking himself up off the floor.

Laughter bubbled in Aravis' chest. Trust Shasta to trip over at the perfect time to save her from Corin's attacks, though she wasn't entirely convinced the distraction would stop him.

Shasta wandered into the stables and Aravis glanced at Corin. They locked eyes, then Corin scurried over to her. Aravis shrank back, because he was still holding the snowball in one hand, but he seemed to have forgotten it.

He pressed himself against the stonework next to her, grinning from ear to ear.

"So Ari –"

"Don't call me that."

"Aravis," said Corin, then gave a fake bow. "Lady Aravis."

"Prince Corin," she said stiffly. He glanced down at his snowball.

Aravis calculated her chances of escaping a hit at point blank range – not good. And then she'd have to throw another one at him. It was a bad idea to let Corin get away with mischief. He'd be emboldened to continue. And part of her liked to have the last say.

Corin stroked his chin with one hand. Deliberately. Exaggeratedly. Aravis' muscles tensed, but then he dropped the snow with a broad grin.

She frowned. Corin didn't normally give up his mischief, not unless something more appealing had occurred to him.

"Alright, I have one question for you," he said.

"What?" Aravis glanced towards the stables.

If they stayed here chatting for too long, Shasta might go somewhere else and she'd miss him again. And after she'd had all the forethought to wear warm clothes.

"Are you following Cor?" said Corin.

She folded her arms over her chest, still keeping half an eye on the entrance to the stables. "Are you?"

"Course I am," said Corin. "He's been acting shifty and I intend to get to the bottom of it."

"So you've noticed too," Aravis nodded to herself – she'd been right. She often was.

"Oh yes," said Corin. "Yesterday, I tried to ask him straight up and he said, and I quote 'Corin, I can't tell you – you can't keep a secret'."

"A secret," said Aravis.

"That's what he said," said Corin. "And I reckon I know what it is."

"You do?" said Aravis. Her stomach twinged and she told herself she was not annoyed that Corin had figured it out before she had, even though she could run circles around him in most of their academic lessons.

"He's meeting a girl."

Aravis' stomach twinged again, though she wasn't sure why this time.

"He's not," she said and Corin grinned, showing as many teeth as he could.

"Oh, I think he is," said Corin.

"He's not," insisted Aravis.

"Why, do you think if he were meeting a girl, it would be you?"

Her body heated like it was the middle of summer and Corin managed to cram more teeth into his smile.

"Have you actually seen this 'girl'?" said Aravis, making quotation marks with her hands, because nothing said maturity like air quotes.

"No," said Corin, then nodded to the stables. "But I intend to meet her today."

Aravis huffed. "I still don't think he's meeting a girl."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," said Corin.

He slid out of the doorway and strode towards the stables, like he'd forgotten he was sneaking. Then again, Shasta was nowhere in sight so he must be somewhere down in the stable stalls. He wouldn't be able to see them from there.

Aravis' stomach twinged again – the stables was where she and Shasta spent a lot of their time. Grooming horses and hiding from Shasta's sword tutor, because Shasta had started complaining his rear end needed more time to recover from the last onslaught – never mind he was on the third week of evasion. What if he was telling another girl about his princely rear end?

She laughed. If he was, he was even worse at courting then sword fighting. More twinges. She was not jealous and there wasn't a girl anyway. Corin was probably just winding her up.

But what if there was?

She stepped out into the snow, trailing a new line of prints next to Corin and Shasta's, reassuring herself that theirs were the only fresh prints in the snow. If there was another girl, she couldn't have come from this direction.

Aravis frowned at herself, but kept after Corin. He paused at the stable entrance and beckoned her over. Her feet were made of iron, but she joined him. Snow toppled into the stables in smooth slopes and the air smelt musky.

"Can't see him," said Corin. "He must be hiding in one of the stalls. Come on."

They entered. Aravis thought they'd duck down, check each row to be clear, but Corin just marched down the aisle. Clearly, he'd decided sneaking wasn't worth it anymore. Aravis hurried after him, every step like walking on a crumbling bridge.

There's no other girl, she told herself.

The first few stalls held only horses. Aravis' stomach twinged. Then she heard rustling. A clear, sheepish voice.

"No, no, you have to wait," said the crown prince of Archenland.

Corin put a finger to his lips and gestured to the final stall in the row. Aravis' skin tingled and she grabbed Corin's arm before he could move forwards. He raised an eyebrow, but she kept hold of him. She wasn't ready to run into Shasta with another girl.

"Aravis," hissed Corin, the word barely audible. He gestured to the end stall again and gave her a pointed look. "He's right there. Don't you want to know the secret?"

"No," whispered Aravis. "I think I forgot something inside."

But before she could move, a mop of blonde hair wandered out of the end stall. Shasta froze like the rivers of Archenland in the midwinter.

"Aravis?" he mumbled. "Corin?"

"Hello brother," grinned Corin, extracting himself from Aravis' claws. Her stomach lurched, but she forced herself not to grab at him again. "Now what's this secret you've been hiding?"

Shasta glared at him. "Why did you bring Aravis?"

There was an edge to his voice that made Aravis bristle. A hint of secrets.

"Brother, you brought her yourself with all your suspicious behaviour. Now if you don't mind," Corin tried to step past him, but Shasta blocked his path. "Don't make me knock you down," said Corin.

Shasta crossed his arms over his chest. "You can't just knock me down for no reason. That's not fair play."

"You're obstructing the prince's business," said Corin.

"You're obstructing the prince's business," said Shasta.

Corin raised a fist.

"You wouldn't want your lady friend to see you sprawled on your backside," he said. "So I suggest you move aside."

Shasta cheeks flushed and he glanced at Aravis.

Oh no. There really was another girl. Corin used the moment of distraction to duck past his brother and peer into the stall.

"Oh ho," he said. "What have we here?"

Aravis wanted to run out of the stables, but that would be showing distress and she didn't care if Shasta liked someone else. With her head held as high as her neck would allow, she strode towards the stall.

"Wait, Aravis," Shasta caught her arms, eyes wide and panicked. She pulled away and pushed past him, heart in her throat.

"A fine girl," said Corin. "Not your usual type."

Aravis pushed past him as well and the stall came into view. Straw littered the floor and a tan mare stood in the middle of it. Aravis was so preoccupied with finding a girl behind the horse's rear that it took her a few moments to realise that the animal itself looked very familiar.

"Surprise," said Hwin.

"There's no girl," said Aravis stupidly.

"Speak for yourself, young lady," said Hwin. "You may do your best to impersonate the male of your species, but I am quite happy to be female."

Corin waggled his eyebrows and heat rushed into Aravis' cheeks. She glared at him and grabbed a clump of straw to throw.

"Careful," a hand caught hers. Shasta. "You don't want to be obstructing a prince's business."

"This is what you were hiding?" said Aravis.

Shasta's arms pulled into his chest. "I thought you were dancing."

"I wanted to go horse riding," she said, then remembered Corin had already implied she had been following Shasta.

"I had a big event planned," said Shasta. "I was going to surprise you later with Hwin's arrival. Are you pleased? You look semi-murderous."

"Oh, that's just for Corin," said Aravis, then flung her arms around the fisher boy. The furs on his cloak tickled her nostrils, but she didn't let go. "But yes, I am pleased. Really, really pleased."

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time – I always appreciate reviews :) Some of your comments have given me ideas for future scenes and I can't wait to write them :) I love these characters :D