"I'd forgotten what she was like when she was happy," Jasper said. He stood with Alanna and George to the side of the dancing, watching Liam and Olivia across the room, both of them laughing and whispering to each other.
"That's an odd thing to say, your highness," George finally said.
"Not really. She's rarely happy at home, and lately it's been worse. Father confined her to the castle the last six months. Wouldn't even let her go for her daily ride. She lived for that ride. It doesn't bother me as much. I like reading and studying inside, but she hates being confined. She just paces the castle like a caged tiger. Some days I'd expect her to hammer on the widows like a crazed animal would attack the bars of its cage," Jasper replied.
Olivia whispered something in Liam's ear, but he rolled his eyes and nodded before turning around to walk over to Princess Kendra. Kendra smiled at him prettily, hiding the anger that had graced her face only moments before. As soon as Liam left, a young man asked Olivia to dance and off she went.
"Could she stay here?" Jasper asked softly.
"She always has a home with me if she wants it," Alanna said. "So do you. You're both family."
Jasper nodded. "I doubt I'll be able to convince her to stay, but thank you. I'll make sure she knows that at least."
"Go dance. You're allowed to have fun too," Alanna said.
Jasper raised an eyebrow at her, and she laughed. "Go talk to the mages then."
As he walked away, the smile dropped off Alanna's face. George put his hand on her lower back. "You alright, lass?"
Alanna nodded. "Seeing them. It just reminds me. Losing Thom, it was like losing a limb. I always knew he was there before, even when we didn't speak. I'd gotten used to that feeling of loss. Always present, but I wasn't cognizant of it. Watching them, I just feel more aware. They're definitely closer than we were, at least by the end."
"They were never separated. You two were all you had when you were small, but they have always been all they had."
Alanna nodded. "Liam seems happier than I've ever seen him, too."
"Do you think they're sleeping together?" George asked.
"I don't think it matters."
George looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Liam's actually made a connection with someone. Have you watched him with other people? He doesn't even have that close of friends. He keeps every one two steps away from him. He's a warrior and that's all he wanted. He doesn't want distractions."
"How can you possibly know all that? I'm the one whose job it is to read people," George said teasingly.
Alanna looked up at him. "It's what my plan was. The problem was I had stubborn friends who refused to leave me alone."
George smiled and pulled her a little closer. "You know you're glad of it lass."
Alanna smiled back at him. "I never said I wasn't."
They were silent as they watched Olivia dance with Sir Balduin of Disart and then walk with him to a group of knights that included Alanna's former squire, Sir Nealan of Queenscover and Lady Knight Keladry of Midelan. She began chatting easily with the group. Across the room, Liam chatted with Princess Kendra. He hid it well, but to those who knew him, his boredom was fairly apparent. Occasionally, he glanced over to the group Olivia had joined, each time causing Kendra to clench her teeth slightly before touching him on the arm and trying to draw his attention back to her.
Olivia danced with most of the men in that group as well as a few others, and Liam took Kendra through a few turns on the ballroom floor. As the ball winded down, Liam excused himself from Kendra's presence and asked Olivia for the last dance of the evening. They moved through the steps gracefully, as beautiful as a picture. The gold detailing on both of their outfits glinted in the low light, and Olivia's red hair shone against the darkness.
"They look like they were born for each other, don't they?" Thayet said, moving to stand near Alanna and George.
"Don't let Jon hear you say that," Alanna replied.
"I'm not going to let him marry Kendra. I talked to the maid I assigned to Kendra. I got her to tell me that Kendra smacks her at least once a day. She also overheard her saying that she didn't want any of those dirty female warriors near her, and that she plans to try and get more money out of us for dresses and jewelry. I'm pulling all my servants. She can use her own," Thayet said.
"I take it you're not for trying to wait," George said.
"I'd like to drag it out, like Olivia asked," Thayet responded. "But Gary's right, we won't be able to."
"I may have an idea for that," George said, his eyes twinkling.
"That sounds ominous. Meet you in Jon's study once this is over to talk it over?"
George and Alanna both nodded. The last song ended, and Olivia dropped a slight curtsey to Liam before walking over to Thayet. She curtsied again, then said, "Thank you for letting me borrow your necklace, your majesty."
"You're welcome. It looks lovely on you. Do you know what it means?"
Olivia smiled, touching it. "Of course. My mother had a claddagh ring. I only have a few memories of my mother, more like flashes really, but I always remember that ring. She would turn it round and round on her finger."
"Which way did she wear it?" Thayet asked, watching the younger woman.
"I don't remember," Olivia replied, her expression guarded.
Thayet reached out to touch her face. "You're safe here," she said softly.
Olivia looked away. "I won't always be here though."
She moved to unclasp the necklace, but Thayet stopped her. "Keep it. May it bring you luck."
Olivia fingered the necklace, her face blank. "Thank you," she said finally. "Good night, your majesty."
Liam walked over and touched her arm. "Weapons practice?" he asked softly.
Olivia smiled and nodded, curtseying to Thayet before she left.
"Please tell me they did not just leave together," Jon said, walking over.
"No. They definitely did not leave together," Thayet said.
Jon glared at her. "Do you want them to start something? Are you that set against this?"
"I want them both to be happy," Thayet retorted. "Did you see them talking and dancing?"
Jon sighed and nodded, his eyes sad. "It's one thing for this marriage to fall through, but I think anything between them would actually antagonize the relationship between Tortall and Saren."
"Come on. George wanted to talk to us," Thayet said, tugging her husband's arm and motioning to Gary, Raoul and Buri to follow them.
"It seems pretty clear this marriage is not going to happen, so we need to drag this out," George said, once they were all present.
Jon looked at Thayet.
"She hits the servants and is as conservative as a Stone Mountain, perhaps worse. I talked to one of the maids myself. I pulled all of our servants out of service to them. Maybe she'll learn from that, but I doubt it," Thayet said.
"Why do we need to bother to drag this out then?" Gary asked.
"He'll crack down on the K'mir as soon as we pull out of negotiations," said Buri. "That will make it more difficult for the twins to do whatever it is they are up to, which also is are best chance for a trade agreement at this point."
"Well, I got an interesting letter from Aly today," George said. "The pressure is on Queen Dovasary to marry. She plans to marry a local, but she wants to hold them at bay for awhile. I was thinking we could set up marriage negotiations between Liam and the raka queen. It would keep all suitors at bay for awhile, and the Saren delegation would actually be forced to bend over even more for us."
Gary smiled. "I like it. How long will it take you to set up?"
"Not long. Aly and I have a magical way to communicate if necessary. I would guess they could have delegates here to negotiate within three weeks," George replied.
"Do it," Jon said. "I knew having your daughter as a spymaster in another country would come in handy eventually. I kept telling myself it wouldn't always just mean it would be exasperatingly difficult to get any information from there. But make it clear the marriage won't happen. Roald is set on having Liam as his general, and I agree with him. We need Liam here, not in the Cooper Isles."
George shook his head. "They'll never let a foreign luarin on the throne. Not now anyways."
"I wish we knew more about what Olivia and Jasper were going to do," Thayet said.
Alanna spoke up. "George and I were hoping to go back to the Swoop in a week's time. I want to take Olivia and Jasper with me. I want them to know they always have a home with me. It might help us break through a little bit. Jasper has already begun talking to me some, but I have a feeling he follows Olivia's lead and she's a tough nut to crack."
Jon nodded. "Take them with you. Three weeks?"
Alanna nodded, and a knock sounded on the door. A man in the Own's blue walked in, "My lord, we have reports of a spidren nest."
"How many?" Raoul asked.
"Unknown, sir. A town got raided. Eight people were taken."
"So, a large nest, probably with young. Where?"
"Due South of us. Straight inland from the Swoop."
"Alright. Ask Evin to come join us here, and then tell Third Company to ready."
The man nodded and left.
"Want to come?" Raoul said, looking at his wife.
Buri smiled grimly and nodded.
"Take Liam with you," Jon said. "He's been out of the field several months now. Whenever he stays at the castle much longer than a month or so, he usually starts behaving badly. I'm shocked he made it this long."
"He seemed to have other distractions," Buri said wryly.
Jon grimaced. "I'll go get him and tell him to meet you at the Own's barrack."
"He's probably on the practice courts," Thayet said.
Jon nodded and walked out, followed by Buri and Raoul. They separated as he moved towards the practice courts. Olivia and Liam's voices reached him before he could see them.
"I like the sword," Olivia was saying, sounding surprised. "I think I can even practice this on my own. So I want to keep my shoulders straight and my stomach muscles tight. Anything else I should work on?"
"Balance," Liam replied, "Always stay balanced. You good for the night?"
"I want to do some archery. You don't have to stay though."
"I'll wait around. Why do you always like to finish with archery?" Liam asked as Jon rounded the corner. Two wooden swords were at Liam's feet and Olivia was stringing a bow.
"I like the simplicity of it. I'm in control, not like swords and other weapons where I'm reacting to others. It's soothing."
Olivia pulled an arrow back. Liam touched her elbow, lowering it slightly. He stood close behind her, and she looked back at him, her face close to his.
Jon cleared his throat, and Liam instantly backed away and Olivia dropped the bow carefully.
"Liam, we just got a report of spidrens down South. Raoul is about to leave. I thought you might want to go."
Liam's face lit up. "Of course, I'll go get my things together."
"Meet Raoul at the Own's barracks."
He nodded and moved to walk back to his room. Olivia stopped him. "Be careful," she said softly. "Good luck."
Liam smiled. "I didn't think you cared."
Olivia shoved him slightly. "Go kill monsters."
"Keep practicing and make sure to keep that elbow lower when you're shooting. You hit the bullseye every time when you do."
Olivia swatted him again. "Nag nag. You'll see. When you get back, I'll be able to outshoot you."
"Want to bet on that? I'd take the terms from before."
Liam grabbed Olivia's hand to stop her from hitting him again. He turned her hand, palm down and kissed it. "Until I return, your highness."
Jon rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, Liam. You need to pack your things. Raoul won't wait forever."
Liam nodded still looking at Olivia, holding her hand for one more moment before releasing her and walking towards his room.
----
Review!!! I think this will go M in the next few chapters, depending on how long it takes me to get to certain plot points.