Rael woke up in a bad mood. Today was the day he met this contact of Yaslana's. The Prick. He really should have seen Yaslana as the Prick. For once his skills failed him. That made him really angry, angry at himself. In this game, he would be dead if he didnt see the obvious connections.He had ordered a coach nice and early so he could be in place when Yaslana's contact arrived. Prepared. In the hall he saw one of the coven, simpering bitch. Jazzella.

"Prince.... Would you like to come to my room... for a little....get together?" She asked smiling. The smile did not reach her eyes."I have unavoidable business. Try Yaslana." He shot back, amused to see the pout. He sincerely hoped she did try Yaslana, and that he punched her in her delicate, made up face.

This coach had damn well better be on time.

He walked out to the courtyard to see someone arguing with the driver of his coach. It was the Queen who had sat next to him, reluctantly in the court, shy no more.

"I don't care who he is! I ordered this coach for NOW. So you can return and pick him up." Suddenly her angry voice clicked.

"Lady, this is MY coach. I ordered it for now. So you can do the waiting."

The driver looked at them skeptically but said nothing.

10 minutes later and they were still arguing. Another 5 and they had very, very angrily agreed to share the coach, muttering under their breath the whole time. You don't need another Bitch pet Queen of Dorothea's STEALING your coach. Dammit this is a bad start to the day. The coach was fairly small and she was standing, apparently to angry to sit. He sighed, releasing some of his anger. No place for it yet.

Suddenly the coach stopped dead, the force flinging the Queen onto him, and him onto the floor then they rolled as it suddenly started again. He hadn't expected it, had no warning before he found himself lying on top of her warm body. He could feel her heart beating. He could smell her hair, nice.... like berries. They both froze. He registered the sudden fear in her golden eyes and quickly got off of her, saying nothing but thinking quickly.

She sat down across from him, avoiding his gaze, her body tensed as she stared out the window. How is she different? You are missing something vital here. She was / is scared of you. It can't be because of the Darker Jewels, she was only nervous after you fell on her certainly not before! Most of Dorothea's coven would have taken it as an invitation for sex. So why not her? And what is her fear of?

Puzzeled, he still hadn't manage to solve the mystery of the dark haired Queen when they arrived in Drega. When the coach pulled up at the Café he was surprised to see her get off, and even more surprised to see her enter. It all fell into place as she sat down at table 13. So she is Yaslana's "contact". It is she you will be working with. How very interesting. He sat down at the same table across from her. She glanced up. "This table is occupied, Prince." She coldly stated.

"Yes, by me." He managed an equally cold smile.

"You stole my coach, you won't be hijacking my table too!" She said, hot anger making her forget he was a danger. He grinned viciously.

"Who are you waiting for, a secret lover?" He taunted, knowing full well she was waiting for him.

"Yes, I am so will you please LEAVE?" She hissed quietly, probably not wanting to cause a scene, which was fine by him. He should stop this, it could attract unwanted attention.

"Then I am the man you are waiting for." He grinned, not being able to help himself at the irony he was the man she was waiting for. Then he sent a message straight to her.

.: I am the Bastard's man. Table 13, 11.11 am. Ring a bell?:. He sent looking at her. She stiffened, and if possible, seemed to resent his presence even more.

.: And I am the Prick's contact. You put on an awfully good show as an arrogant idiot:. She replied waspishly. He'd struck a nerve it seemed.

.: You put on a good act too. So what are we here to discuss anyway?:. he asked, curious about the assignment now.

.: We are waiting for someone:. She replied. After a few minutes of surreptitiously looking around she seemed to relax. Impatient he sent a spear thread to her.

.: It seems they are not coming, lady. Perhaps we should continue:. He said trying to get her to open up. But now something in her manner said that she wasn't worried about the other contact anymore. Think Prince. Could it be the other contact is here already? Who could it be? He scanned the room quickly, assessing its occupants.

She looked up.

.:It seems not. Here is your task....:. And she detailed their assignment he suddenly realised the true enormity of the task. They had to find out what Dorothea's interest and connections in Glacia were. Rumors were circulating about an underground movement and Daemon and Lucivar were unsure about the reigning Queen's safety. Somehow they had to decipher the state of affairs in Glacia, easy as that would be.

Rael sighed. Mother Night. You will need all of the help you can get! Will she balk? Can you trust her? Who is the mysterious contact that never showed? Or did they? He looked into her eyes. He would be spending a lot of time with this queen. Might as well get to know her.....