AN~ Sorry about the long wait, guys. I wasn't actually going to add any more to this for a while, 'cause I have three other stories I'm supposed to be updating first, but two of them need me to have book nine, which happens to be in New Jersey. I am in Georgia. So I'm updating this.

I also want to apologize for the walls of text. This chapter is a lot of background information and stuff about the world, but it's mostly important, so I'm going to ask you to read it. Next chapter we'll get more into the fun stuff. Like dialogue. And Puck, maybe. Actually, he might not show 'til chapter three.

Her majesty Queen Sabrina Grimm was scrubbing floors when the news came.

Scrubbing floors was something royalty in Sneak were expected to know how to do. Actually, pretty much everything was something people in Sneak were expected to know how to do. The theory was that, unless one knew how to do everything, one would make a truly horrible spy. So children were taught the basics in every career possible, often being sent out to other tradeskingdoms, particularly Artisa, to learn how to perform every task. They were also taught about other cultures, and expected to learn how to blend in with them, and to own at least one article of clothing from most of the major styles.

Sabrina had done particularly well in training, which is why, when her parents had disappeared, she had been crowned queen with no questions, and her grandmother only named regent.

To become a liscenced Sneak required at least twenty years of intensive training, sometimes as much as thirty, and for the first five, children were taught the rudiments of other languages, the basics of how to move quietly and watch without being seen, geography and math. The second five were spent, almost entirely, in Artisa, learning crafts and trades and living with a family there. This part was supposed to teach children how to blend with another culture completely.

On their thirteenth birthday, children were finished with this stage of training, because schooling was started the day they turned three, and continued year-round, with only short breaks in between. Princess Sabrina had been finished with this stage of training, and had just started stage three, which was five years of far more intense cultural studies, combined with intervals of reminders on the trades, and a beginning of the true Sneak training: tracking, weapons, and espionage, when her mother and father, who had been away on a tour of the country, disappeared. No one had worried about it for a few weeks, because the royal family snuck as much as anyone, but when no word came after six weeks, and they missed the younger Princess Daphne's birthday, it became apparent that they'd gone missing.

A search had been put on, with the best Sneaks sent out to find the king and queen and their son, who had been too young even to start school, and taken with them. No signs had been found, which was very unnerving for a Sneak focused in tracking, and after a long six months, Princess Sabrina was named Queen unanimously.

She didn't perform many queenish duties, because she and her grandmother had agreed that she ought to focus on her studies- the Sneaks wouldn't take too kindly to a queen who hadn't finished becoming truly one of them, but she'd found that her workload was going to become heavier, because the material that wasn't usually added until stage four, politics and interpersonal studies, had been stuck into her curiculum, along with some classes from her grandmother on how to rule wisely.

Cleaning was a break from all that, and one the servants were happy to give her. Most of the servants were either older, Sneaks who had retired from the life, and were now supporting themselves with jobs that were less hazardous, or still students, supporting themselves through the upper stages of training (stages four through six contained legal adults, who were expected to support themselves. Their parents had better things to do). They were happy to either give their backs a rest or go study and let her mop a floor, and she was happy not to be disturbed.

She was thinking what she'd do in stages five and six, when she got there, because five and six were the first specialized stages. In stage four, the option to choose some areas of study arose, but in stages five and six, classes were almost entirely specialized to a certain country or career, or type of sneaking. Sometimes all three. It was how they chose which Sneak to send on which mission, which was part of the job of the king or queen, along with the Board of Sneak.

She was considering which weapon she'd like most when her sister found her, literally popping out of nowhere. She loved magic, and already knew she wanted to focus on Magica when she got to stage five, though Sabrina hated it. Most Sneaks did. They used tracking spells and cloaking ones when absolutely necessary, but it was considered cheating, and dangerous, by the majority of the citizens.

"What is it now?" Sabrina asked her sister, making a face and pushing the mop over where Daphne's feet had just landed, tracking mud onto her clean floor.

"Grandmother wants you," the princess Daphne said, dusting off her brown and gold frock. "I'd suggest you go now, it seemed to be rather important."

Daphne was ten and precocious, and though she was far too loud to be a proper sneak, she was smart, and had mastered the things that interested her (languages and magic) in record time, though she had difficulties with the parts of the training that Sabrina most enjoyed (weapons and espionage), though Sabrina wasn't half bad at languages, herself, and they were both excellent at cultures. They got along quite well, despite their differences in personality and age, and had bonded even more when their parents disappeared.

"Did she say what she wanted?" Sabrina asked, finishing the floor.

Daphne shook her head and said, "All I know is that she wants you. Now."

"I have to clean up," Sabrina pointed out. Sneaks learned early to never give up on a job without finishing it to the best of their abilities.

"I'll do it," Daphne offered, "if you promise to tell me everything once you're done."

"Of course," Sabrina said, rolling her eyes and handing off the mop and bucket to her younger sister. "Where is she?"

"North tower," Daphne said, "Top room."

Sabrina sighed. The north tower was the tallest in the castle, and the top room was, while beautiful, extremely hard to get to from anywhere, let alone the southeast entrance hall, which she'd been cleaning. It had windows that had no glass on the bottom, allowing the countryside for mile around to be seen, and stained glass on the top for no practical reason at all except to give someone practice at glassmaking for their schooling. This meant it was rather lopsided, but stable and still pretty enough.

She leapt across the wet floor in seventeen bounds, using only her toes. She'd seen her master (who was, granted, six two) make it in nine once, but her lowest was sixteen, and when she did it this time, she almost lost her balance on the slippery flagstones. She didn't bother to practice sneaking as she ran to the base of the north tower, but she was still very close to silent anyway, the only noise made by her swishing dress as she passed the equally silent servants.

Once she reached the base of the tower, she stopped, smoothing her hair and gown, and pulling her crown out of her pocket. The only thing the north tower was used for, other than watching, was important guests. This was for two reasons: first, it was impossible to be listened in on, as the next room down was about thirty feet below and could only be reached by a folding staircase that was drawn up whenever it was not prudent to be walked in on, and second, it was impressive, even if the stained glass was crooked and the reliefs on the walls weren't particularly detailed. So the likelihood of someone else being in the tower, someone who would care how she looked, was high.

She walked to the top completely silently and found the staircase down. At the top, she found her grandmother sitting at the round table in the center of the tower with another woman: a tall, thin, beautiful lady with dark hair, in a shimmering dress. Sabrina recognized her as the queen of Trickster. She ducked her head back down under the floor, shocked.

Quick. She told herself. Why is she here? What's known about her? Her mind ran through a list of facts: 1) Married Oberon, man now deceased. Suspicious circumstances. 2) Thirty-two, two children, both boys. 3) Formerly of Magica, daughter of a high ranking citizen. 4) Unknown skills. Genealogy suggests high magical abilities. 5) Fought with her husband often, did not choose her marriage. 6) Has alibi for his death. 7) Queen Mother of Trickster, now. Eldest son puppet king. 8) Cold, conniving, allegedly. 9) Competent ruler.

That was it. And it gave Sabrina no ideas why she might be there. She'd have to read up on her when she got out. The library had a room full of profiles of people, there had to be more information on her. But that would have to wait. Now she had to go see her.

"You summoned me, Grandmother?" Sabrina asked, which was code for 'what exactly is going on here, do I need to make and impression?

"Have a seat, Sabrina," her regent instructed. "No need for formalities."

Sabrina pulled out her chair, berating herself for the noise it made against the stone floor, and sat, examining her grandmother closely for any information. The woman's face was blank, so she switched her gaze to the Trickster, studying her, reminding herself to ask 'what can I learn?'

While Sabrina studied, her grandmother said, "Recent reports have been... worrisome, Sabrina, as I'm sure you know." Sabrina nodded, so she continued, "Trickster has been having some similar situations, and we have decided it is time to take some cautionary measures." She took a deep breath and said, "We're forming an alliance."

Now Sabrina turned to her regent, her head whipping around. An alliance? With Trickster? But everyone in Sneak hated Trickster! They were everything Sneak was not, and couldn't get along. It must be worse than she'd thought, if things had come to this. "What... exactly are the... terms of this alliance?" Sabrina asked her grandmother, choosing her words carefully.

"Well, for one thing, we plan to combine forces on outside threats, and train together," Relda began, "And, of course, we need to seal the treaty. We would like to do so with a marriage."

Sabrina nodded, working to keep her mouth from tightening. She didn't like where this was going. "Who?" she asked.

"The Trickster King," the regent started, taking another deep breath, "and you."

Sabrina froze. No. No. No. She'd heard about him, but her mind wouldn't list the facts over its mantra of 'not this. Anything but this,' and it took her a long time to work herself into a state that she could say to the Trickster woman next to her- his mother!- "Would you excuse us for a moment?"

"Of course." The Trickster Queen nodded regally. It was the first time she'd spoken, and a far-off bit of Sabrina's mind seemed to be coming back, because it noted that she had a very rich voice, even if it was expressionless.

She stood up stiffly and walked down the stairs, following her grandmother to the floor below- a mostly unused room that Sabrina wouldn't have minded moving in to if it wasn't so hard to get to, collapsing the staircase behind her.

"Sabrina-" Relda started.

Sabrina cut her off, holding herself carefully still as she half shouted, "What on earth, Granny? The Trickster King? He's- You want me to marry a man from Trickster?"

"Yes, because-"

"I can't!" Sabrina wailed. "A marriage, fine! But why me? Why couldn't Daphne do it? She like things like that! I'll... I'll die if I have to put up with that all the time! I hate them!"

"Daphne's too young," Relda pointed out.

"So am I!" Sabrina snapped. "I havent' finished my training! How am I supposed to do that? And how are we both supposed to rule our countries if we're married to people from other places?" She couldn't hold it in anymore, so she slammed her fist into the wall, then again, and again and again, until her knuckles snapped open and she was bleeding on her dress. She slid down the wall and glared at her grandmother, then whispered, "Why?"

Relda knelt down by her granddaughter and said, "Sabrina, we need them. And to get them, it needs to be you."

"Why?" Sabrina demanded again.

Relda sighed and said, "It's worse than you know, the situation. There's going to be a war. A war we can't win on our own, and one they can't win, either. So we need this alliance to protect ourselves. Because we have discipline, but they have numbers."

"So why me?" Sabrina asked.

"Sabrina..." Relda said, looking at the girl, "You're... you are the ultimate Sneak. Not only are you good at what you ought to be, but your personality... You're brave, you're headstrong, you won't let others do work for you, you have to be in the thick of things, you can't follow orders, you look for ways around things, you never give up, you hate magic... And he's just the same, but for his country. If you two can make it work, the rest of the country will follow."

Relda sighed. "I'm asking you to do something horrible, something nobody should ever have to do. I know how you feel about that boy in your class, Bradley, and I'm asking you to put that aside. I know you have what it takes to be a good ruler, to put aside yourself for your country. I'm asking you to make the ultimate sacrifice, and to give up any chance to be with this boy, to have your happiness, because otherwise we will all die, or worse, become part of Magica, to be used for whatever they want. Will you do it?"

Sabrina took a deep breath and nodded, standing. "I'll... I will do anything to keep my country safe," she whispered, "I'll marry him."

Oh hey, look, it's Bradley. Maybe I'll give him a personality. Maybe.

Some anonymous reviewer replies:

PenguinLoverGurl: I hope this answered most of your questions. Glad you liked it!

oah ehm gee: If it was a oneshot, I'd have marked it complete. Also that would be a really stupid oneshot. Nothing happened!

McKenzie: I do not. By the way, this will be a very irregularly updated story.

OlympianGoddess: Thank you for the review!

K: I hope you're still keeping an eye on it, it's been over a month...