A/N: Whew. Sorry for the wait! It's midterms at school :( (But they're finally over now!)

Enjoy! It's a packed chapter to make up for the wait!

Chapter Ten: Heated Words and Confessions

Port Caynn Docks. Two Weeks later.

The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard echoing off the dark, damp walls, the sound magnified with each step. Thinking she heard a noise in the distance behind her, the mot lifted the already dirtied hem of her skirts, allowing her to move faster. Her feet slapped against the damp floor as she ran. Thoughts of how Port Caynn's last Rogue was caught flashed through her mind and she picked up speed. Pearl Skinner had been captured in this same sewer by Clary Goodwin and Beka Cooper.

While she was indeed in the sewer, Fair Flory did not have Beka and her partner on her tail- but she did have other bloodhounds after her.

The last week had gone so terrible. She had received yet another shipment of rye two weeks ago and had proceeded to start giving some out to those who needed it. That's when it had all started. Suddenly people in Port Caynn were coming down with a madness and fever associated with eating bad food. It was all-too-soon discovered by the city's best healers that the disease was caused from rotten rye.

The Provost's Guard had then traced the rye back to the shipment in Fair Flory's storage. Outraged, Fair Flory had denied having known, but the Guards were relentless. Overnight, they spread the word that the cause of the sickness affecting many people was the cause of the Rogue's rotten rye. Of course the cityfolk were angry, as were many of those in her own court.

It was a perfect ploy of the new Lord Deputy Provost, of that she was certain. Her new source would never allow rotten rye to pass into her hands. Fair Flory was certain that she was set up. The Lord Deputy Provost was obviously not pleased that she had been gaining respect from her people and the people of Port Caynn, and she had figured that it would be only a matter of time before he reacted. But she had never thought he would go to such a measure, to deliberately make people sick and mayhap even die- for rotten rye caused madness and almost certain death- to get rid of her.

The new Lord Deputy Provost, she had discovered, was far from harmless.

She tried to explain this to her people and the people of Port Caynn, but to no avail. As Lord Valdric pointed out, the bad rye was traced right back to her storage. And when he finally tried to hobble her, she had found out and fled before he got to her door.

Now, as she ran through the underground sewers of Port Caynn, her mind raced. She knew of only one place to go…and she had to catch a boat on the Olorun to get there.

News of what had happened in Port Caynn raced through Corus. Rye trade was momentarily banned for two days after news of the outbreak reached the King's ears in Corus. When trade resumed, special mages were set to the task of examining every bundle of rye that came through the gates of Corus, Port Caynn, and every other major city in Tortall.

But the blame had been placed on Port Caynn's Rogue, Fair Flory. It was reported that the new Lord Deputy Provost of Port Caynn, Lord Valdric, had had the rotten rye traced back to her stores of rye. After that had been discovered, there had been an uprising of the people of Port Caynn and the Rogue, and thus Fair Flory had fled to avoid capture.

What had surprised Rosto was to find Fair Flory in his rooms the same morning he had heard the news from his Port Caynn watchers. She had looked the worst for wear and had had nowhere to go, so she had come to him.

Rosto had been concerned when he had heard the ordeal over the rye and had reassured her that he had not sent it, but he needn't have worried because she believed him. She then went on to tell him about the new Lord Deputy Provost and her thoughts on his part played in the bad rye situation. Rosto had listened attentively, frowning. He believed everything she told him, and agreed. It confirmed his suspicions he had been having about the man over the last few months. This new Deputy Provost was a rotten as the rye he had placed in Fair Flory's storage rooms!

Offering her a place to stay, Rosto let her use one of the many hidden rooms of the Dove. He knew those rooms would come in handy for something when he had had the building built.

Corus. Guards House. Meeting Room

Beka looked quickly around. The room was packed, overflowing with all the Corus Dogs that weren't on current duty. She, herself, was sandwiched between Tunstall and Ersken on one of the numerous benches. The sergeants and commanders all sat up front with Lord Gershom. Despite the amount of people, however, the room was completely silent when the Lord Provost spoke.

The meeting was to discuss the recent events in Port Caynn. Fair Flory had fled the city and no one knew aught of where she had gone. As Lord Gershom pointed out, most of what he told them, most Dogs already knew. Word takes longer to reach Lord Gershom's ears because he doesn't live in the Lower City where news of the Rogue and such travels quickly. What he said in the middle of his address, however, did get Beka's attention.

He was talking about Fair Flory's rotten rye when he said, "Fair Flory, Lord Valdric told the Privy Council, gets her rye from an unknown source. His Guards have been unable to catch these most recent shipments of goods, unlike the previous shipments they had intercepted. The shipment has thus been untraceable and so the charge for rotten rye has been placed on Fair Flory's head."

Beka bit back the urge to shake her head. She had seen the way Fair Flory was about the people of the Lower City. It didn't sound like her at all.

As for this unknown source- she wondered if a certain Rogue knew aught…

The Morning After

Rosto came in late for breakfast that morning. He was curst tired, but his grumbling stomach overrode his desire to go straight to bed the moment he arrived back at the Dove.

Filling his plate, he sat down and listened to his friends while he ate. They were talking about the happenings in Port Caynn of course. Rosto knew that Lord Gershom had gathered all the Dogs together the afternoon before to fill them in on any details known. Though Aniki, Kora, Phelan, and Ersken –and even Tansy and her husband- spoke about it, it was Beka who was the most interested.

When she finally tried to ask Rosto right out about it, all he did was grin and say how it was a fine day when the Dogs decided to add her to their ranks, curious as she was. He could tell she bristled at that since he failed to answer her question, but it got her off his back for awhile.

But he was acutely aware that she hung back when the others left, lingering apurpose as she pushed her uneaten food around on her plate. She had finished eating a while ago.

Not bothering to hide his amusement, he said to her, "Didn't Lord Gershom's Lady ever tell you not to play with your food?"

"What? I'm not playing, I'm just…digesting. It's not healthy to eat too fast I've been tol-"

"Out with it, Beka. I know you want to ask."

She sighed, giving up her game and setting her plate aside. It was a moment before she actually said anything. "Rosto…," she began, "I know you must have eyes and ears in Fair Flory's Court-"

"Me? You know I only mind my own business, Cooper," he teased.

Beka gave him a disbelieving look. He chuckled. "Anyway, I know you have to have watchers in Port Caynn, so you must know what Fair Flory is like as a Rogue and how she operates. Do you really think she would purposefully give folk bad rye?"

Suddenly serious, Rosto looked at her. "No more than you do." After a moment, he added, "Fair Flory was a good Rogue- a good Rogue in a downright nasty time. Any other Rogue probably would have been long gone before she left."

"Why do you say that?" asked Beka inquisitively.

Rosto shifted slightly as he decided how to respond. He had to remember that Beka was a Dog- as if he could ever forget- and she was a curst loyal one. He had to choose his words carefully.

"As you already know," he explained, "Port Caynn is not an easy place for Rats and rushers to live right now, which is why they've been coming here to Corus and going to other cities," he told her carefully. "Lord Valdric has been coming down hard on lawbreakers. He's not an admirer of the Rogue, to say the least. Thus, Fair Flory was his top enemy. He's wanted to get rid of her ever since he came into power, and he's been trying this whole time to do just that." He paused, then added, "And this time he finally succeeded."

He continued when Beka gave him a questioning look. "Do you not think it convenient that Lord Valdric knew to check Flory's rye so quickly?"

Beka shrugged slightly. "His Dogs could've found that out through questioning…"

"Mayhap you're right," said Rosto, in a tone that said he thought otherwise. "But I think he knew where the rotten rye came from before anyone told him."

"What do you mean?"

Rosto sighed. He knew she wouldn't like what he was about to say. "I think Lord Valdric planted the bad rye in Fair Flory's storerooms."

For a moment, Beka did nothing but look at him. Then, with a tone of doubt, she started, "But-"

Leaning forward, Rosto interrupted her. "Now, before you start going off on me, love, listen. Lord Valdric hates everything the Rogue stands for. He hates the idea of another governing body residing in the city besides the Guard. He wants the cityfolk to look to him for protection and the like, not the Rogue."

"So you're saying that he planted bad rye in Fair Flory's storerooms, causing people to get sick?" asked Beka in disbelief. "I'm sure there was another way he could get rid of her, Rosto."

Shaking his head, Rosto said, "He couldn't find any evidence. He intercepted her supplies to use for his own distribution, causing problems between Flory and her people. Then, when supplies came that he could not trace or intercept, he had to think of another way to cause a rift within the court. What better way than to plant rotten rye in her storerooms and trace the reason for the sickness spreading through Port Caynn back to the Rogue?" he asked sardonically.

"But Lord Valdric is the Deputy Provost, Rosto. He wouldn't get people sick apurpose!" said Beka, not liking what he was inferring. "It could just as well cost him his position if traced back to him! Somehow Flory's rye turned bad, yes, but saying Lord Valdric did it apurpose? That's ridiculous."

She was getting worked up but she didn't care. To say that the head of the Guard was purposefully getting people sick? The idea was cracked. Spoken like a true Rogue supporting a friend against the Guard. "Nobody, especially someone sworn to act in the city's best interest, would purposefully cause a sickness like that to spread!" she said, her frustration apparent.

Aware of her tone, Rosto said incredulously with his own frustration rising, "You mean to tell me you'd side with a man neither you nor Lord Gershom likes just because he's in the Guard? Whereas you know Fair Flory would never do such a thing? You and I both know that the Guards aren't made up of Mithran priests, Beka. There are loose Dogs and good Dogs, good Provosts and rotten ones. Lord Valdric, Beka, is a rotten Provost. Dangerous, even, and still you side with him because he is a part of your sarden Guard and you think he can do no wrong?"

"I didn't say that," replied Beka, her tone hard. "I no more like what he's doing in Port Caynn than Lord Gershom. But, he is the Deputy Provost, Rosto. He has a duty to protect the people of Port Caynn and you're saying he deliberately switched Fair Flory's rye with rotten rye to get her ousted? Rosto, people have gotten sick and some have even died from that rye! For all Lord Valdric is a scummernob, you can't tell me that he deliberately did that. His job is to protect the people!"

"As is Fair Flory's," said Rosto, his voice rising. "She checked the rye, Beka. I checked the rye."

With her questioning look, Rosto explained, "You wanted to know where I've been lately? I've been making sure those shipments have been getting to Flory as she asked. She asked for my help. I delivered that shipment myself- and it wasn't spoiled."

Hiding her surprise, Beka crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. "Well maybe you didn't check it thoroughly enough."

She was the damned most frustrating mot he had ever known!

Getting to his feet quickly, Rosto threw down his hand cloth. He had put down his plate earlier. "Can't you see, Beka?" he asked, his voice raised with irritation. "Lord Valdric was using the rotten rye; he planted it in order to get rid of Flory! She told me so herself!"

Standing up as well, Beka asked him, "Can you trust her word? She is a Rogue. Of course she'll try to cover her tail! A Rogue is good at lying, Rosto. You should know that."

"I gave her the rye, Beka," he reiterated, striving to remain patient. "So unless she switched it out, which I do not in one bit believe, then you're saying that I let rotten rye pass through my hands."

Rosto waited for her to respond, but she did naught but regard him steadily. Mithros' tears, did she actually think he'd let that happen?

Getting angry again, Rosto paced the room. "You think I would do something like that?" he asked, hurt and angry. "And what would that do, Beka? What would that do besides get innocent people sick? That isn't a way to gain people in your favor," Rosto said heatedly.

Beka was closing him off. Her face was calm and set. Her mind was already made up. "I don't know," she said tonelessly. "I'm not used to thinking like a Rogue. Mayhap…mayhap you wanted Fair Flory gone," said Beka, a sudden thought springing to mind. "Mayhap you wanted Fair Flory gone so you could take her place as Rogue of Port Ca-"

Rosto stopped pacing and was beside her in an instant, pressing a finger to her lips. Though his voice was hard, his finger was still gentle against her mouth. "Don't. Don't say any more."

"Why not?"

"I would never want anything to happen to Flory. We respect each other and she is a friend. I would never think of doing such a thing and I don't want to hear it from your lips otherwise, Beka. Not from you."

"Why?" she asked, her voice suddenly accusing. "Because you want to keep me fooled into thinking you're actually a decent cove, Rosto? A cove that would never hurt a mot? A cove that always tries to do the right thing?"

His brow furrowed, Rosto started to ask what she was talking about but Beka kept on, gaining momentum. "You may act the part of a decent cove, but what of the people you've hurt or killed, Rosto? Do you think they think you're a good man? How about all your mots and doxies? You think they like being left behind? Do you think these things make up a decent cove?"

Confused as to the sudden turn in conversation, Rosto asked, "Beka, where is this coming from?"

Still on her tirade, Beka didn't even hear his question. "That's been your sarden plan all along, hasn't it?" she continued. "Making me think you're a decent cove who really cares? The gillyflowers, the jacket, the worrying…it's all a bunch of streetscummer. For me to like you and give in. You're the Rogue, Rosto. You can have any mot you want. You only want me because you can't have me. You only want me to warm your bed. Then you'll move on, forget me. Another notch on your bedp-"

Finally Rosto interrupted, cutting her off short. "That's not true. None of it. Beka, where did you get such a cracknobbed idea?" Sighing with frustration, he said, "Has it ever occurred to you that mayhap I just want you? That I care for you as I've cared for no other mot before? Just because I'm a rusher-"

Beka cut him off with a scoff. "And those are your pretty words now, Rosto the Piper! But what happens if I do give in? If we do make love and share a bed? A Dog and a Rogue? It would never work, and you know it. It gives you the perfect excuse to end it, as no doubt you've already figured out! You're a rusher, Rosto, and rushers can't be trusted. I've known that since I was small," she finished quietly, her voice cold.

That set him off. "Well mayhap if it weren't for your damned stubborn thinking, mayhap then you would be able to see the truth!" he charged. "I understand where you come from, Beka, but not all- most, but not all- of us are the same!"

Irate, he paced back and forth, his stride purposeful and quick as he ran his fingers through his hair, his patience at an end.

Recovering from her surprise at his sudden outburst, Beka set her chin stubbornly and told him, her voice heated as well, "Rushers are lawbreakers, Rosto. Of course they can't be trusted! You're a rusher, Rosto, the rusher! What makes you any different from the rest of them?"

Growling in frustration, Rosto rounded on her. Without thinking, he shouted, "I care, Beka! I care about the people of the Lower City! I protect the people of the Lower City just like you do! I care for them and protect them much the same way as I care about you! For all your gods-curst, rotten, sarden pigheadedness, I love you, Beka Cooper, for reasons I don't even understand!"

Beka jerked back in surprise, her eyes wide. Rosto…loved her?

But Rosto didn't give her anytime to respond. Instead he continued on without stopping. "As for the mots and doxies? The only reason I was with them at all a few months ago was because I was so damned jealous of you and Rowan that it practically killed me to hear of you with another man! Here I had been waiting- hoping- for you to finally realize that I care for you, and what did you do? You ran off to Port Caynn and fell right into some stranger's arms! And after all that when I should have hated you? All I could do was love you even more!"

Her heart racing, Beka stood transfixed, staring at the man in front of her.

As Rosto stomped across the floor, Beka opened her mouth and closed it several times, her eyes wide in shock.

When he finally looked over to see her struggling to say something, Rosto held up his hand. His voice was still hard but much calmer now. "Don't. I realize now that my waiting has been for naught. You're a curst fine mot, Beka Cooper, and I don't deserve you. You're right."

Beka watched in stunned silence as he crossed the floor to the door. It was after he had yanked it open and was halfway out the room when he turned back around. His face drawn, his lips tight and his eyes dull, he said in a firm, quiet voice, "I'm not one of your ma's rushers, Beka. After all this time I thought you'd be smart enough to realize that. I guess I was wrong."

And with that, he walked out the door, closing it with a thud behind him.

Beka stood there, motionless. Then, to her surprise, she lifted a hand to her face and caught a tear as it rolled down her cheek…

A/N: Okay. I'll update soon!! There are only two more chapters left of this, so keep in mind that the resolution to this is coming very soon!