The Queen, the Murderer, and the Governor's Wife

Chapter 10

Things only went better for York and Susannah from there. Her time spent with Hamnet was cut horribly short, as she then found a better use for her free time.

"You have never gone fishing?"

"N-No," Susannah said, shaking her head slightly. "I do no know how."

"You will learn, living in the Fount," York told Susannah as they walked through the streets of Regalia together. "If I had a few rods, I'd take you right now."

"I am sure I would not be very good at it."

"Of course you would," he said, elbowing her gently. "You would be learning from me, after all. I am the best teacher."

She glanced up at him, but smiled when he grinned at her. When she finished with her studies, Susannah had headed home to find York waiting for her, like he was most days. She told him that she could not waste hours with him, however, as she had to go pick up a few things to make him dinner. He shocked her by offering to go.

"You need me to pay for the things," was his excuse, though Susannah had her own coins. She did not have a job, like him, but she did have enough to go and get them some vegetables. Still, she accepted, as he was so insistent.

"The thing about fishing," he was saying then, as they continued down the street, her leaning closely against him, "is that you have to have the right mindset."

"Mindset?"

"Aye." York nodded his head. "You have to be aggressive about it, yes? But also passive."

"I do not understand, I do not think."

"You have to be upset, you see, with the fish. But you do not want the fish to know that you are upset with them. So you are calm, like the Waterway appears to us, yes? But you have to be angry, like the undercurrent. Understand?"

"No," she told him. He was not frustrated with her though, as that meant he got to keep talking. Honestly, Susannah thought that at times, York just spoke to hear the sound of his own voice.

"Fish are very temperamental. They only-"

"Hamnet told me that fish have poor memory. But they are able to know what you are thinking?"

He glanced down at her then, pausing for a moment before saying, "I like it better when you do not think for yourself."

"S-Sorry. I-"

"I am speaking in jest, of course," he told her, laughing slightly to let her know that it was okay. "You are probably right. What do I know of fishing anyhow?"

"I am sure a lot," she told him, nodding her head. "You are very bright, York."

That was most certainly the first time he had heard that. It made him smile slightly, even though he knew that Susannah was only trying to compliment him. She thought that she had offended his knowledge of fishing and wished to make it up to him.

"Those smell nice."

York glanced over at the shop Susannah was looking in. "I am not one for strawberries."

"You are not?"

"No. Yuck." He even stuck his tongue out in distaste, which made Susannah giggle into her palm. Grinning, he patted her on the shoulder before pointing out a shop.

"Here is my pouch," he said, pulling his coins out of his pocket. "Go in there and buy what you need. I see someone that I must speak with, yes?"

She nodded, watching as he took some coins out of the pouch for himself before patting her on the shoulder.

"Take your time," he told her as she headed off. "I am in no hurry."

She glanced back at him once, but he was already setting off, apparently having seen someone important. Or at least more important than her. She figured that most people were more important than her.

York, however, wasn't concerned with her any longer. He had seen some of his fellow soldiers, gathered outside a shop that sold different sorts of alcohol, and headed over there.

"Taking your child out to play?"

"Tell me again, why you are a soldier, when you are clearly just made to be a court jester?" York did not smile at the man as he approached the small group. "I did not know that your troop was back as well."

"Aye," one of the other men, Macias, told him. He was rather tall and thin, always with a serious disposition. York did not rather like him, but at the same time did not dislike him either. He just was. "It appears that Solovet has found another way to get to the gnawers than through a mass amount of soldiers."

"Which would be?" York asked, frowning slightly. He had spent most of his time with Susannah, the past few days. He honestly didn't even go to the mess hall that often.

"I am surprised at your lack of knowledge," the one from before, Alton, snickered. "Considering you are practically part of the royal family now."

"I am not anything of the sort," York said, frowning slightly. Now Alton, he could admit to hating. Very openly.

"The child you carry along with you begs to differ."

"She is not a child," York told him, keeping his tone even.

"Come now, York," yet another, Byron, said. "You yourself have said as much."

He only shook his head though before repeating his previous inquiry. "What is Solovet doing?"

"Some say that she is planning a special force. Already has it all together too. Did not even include her precious son," Byron told him with a shrug of his shoulder. "That is where she has been, why she has not returned to check on Hamnet. They're tracking the gnawer king."

"Hmmm."

"You honestly had not heard anything? That is more puzzling," Macias told him with a frown. "Though I have not seen you since I have gotten back. You have been home, what now? A week?"

"A little over. I am awaiting them to return me to battle."

"Seems unlikely, if the rumors of Solovet taking things into her own hands are true."

"Still, even if they kill the king, there will just be another," Byron argued. "And the gnawers will not lie down and be killed. I have heard that King Lucien and Queen Judith wish to annihilate all gnawers, regardless of their affiliation."

"You hear that said every time war sprouts its head and it is never true. Queen Judith fakes cold, but she would not have us put a sword through the bellies of gnawer pups. Her mother neither."

It was odd to York, hearing Judith addressed in such a way. Queen Judith. It would not have been, before his marriage, but now well over a month into it, he did not see Judith as his regal queen; he saw her as the tormentor to her younger, defenseless sister.

When Susannah returned to him some time later, York had distanced himself from his friends in order to avoid having to introduce her to anyone. After his experience taking her to the mess hall with him, there was not a chance of him letting her make nice with other men again. Never again.

"Here." He took what few things she had from her as she moved to put his pouch of money in his pocket for him, as his hands were full. This was new, as she usually was rare to touch him, but he did not make a scene of it. "Did you get all you came for?"

"Yes," she said, smiling when he grinned at her. "Everything."

"Except for one thing," he said as they started back the way they had come. He noted that she did not ask him what he had been doing while she was gone, which was nice. Not that he would not have told her, but not having to explain one's self was always appreciated.

"One thing?" she repeated, glancing up at him. "And what is that?"

"I think I have just formed the desire for strawberries."

She grinned at him then, rather widely, before ducking her head. If marriage was always as it was in that moment, it would not be so bad after all.

Marriage, at the moment, entailed very different things for Judith than it did her younger sister. That very second, it meant that she had to rub Lucien's chest down with some sort of salve every night before bed after promising not to add anymore lacerations any time soon. At least not until the wounds healed up okay.

If they healed up okay.

Which wasn't a total loss. They had to do something while she was tending to his wounds, which usually led to them talking. Not that Judith ever truly enjoyed, but it was at least some what pleasant at times. Once, however, it had also led to her having to rub his shoulders as well.

That was more of an accident than anything. Lucien had been complaining of his back hurting him for some time. She was almost certain it was from the way he rode atop his flier, Perses. He always hunched then and he had been having to fly places a lot recently, going to discuss things with the current king of the fliers, Kratos.

Well, once again, it was brought up that she had never rubbed his shoulders and, out of annoyance, she said that if it would get him to stop mentioning it, she would just do it. So then she was more or less stuck. Not that it was wholly bad. He had at least offered then to rub her shoulders back, but she of course called him foolish and went right to bed. Because she couldn't let him think she was too interested.

"You seem tired," Lucien mumbled as she continued to rub the solution on his wounds.

"Hmmmm?"

"You also seem soft right now."

"Soft?" she repeated, only watching him.

""Mmmm."

"I am not soft, Lucien."

"I know. You also never get tired. I am only telling you what you appear to be."

She was quiet for a good while as she laid there next to him on the bed, curled up on her side instead of in his lap, as she applied the salve. He honestly could have done it himself, but he kept telling her that it was not only her marital duty, but also her rightful punishment for doing it to him. She did not put up a fight though, as she knew that she would have felt slightly responsible, if he did get an infection.

"Lucien?"

He was mostly asleep by that point. He had a tendency to do that, when she was putting the salve on his chest.

"Hmmm?"

"You only cut me once."

"Mmmm."

"Do you not…"

"I told you," he sighed lazily, still not opening his eyes. His hands were folded beneath his head as he laid on his back, completely at ease. Relaxed. "The only interest I have in it is when you are doing it to me."

"That is not what you said," she told him. "You said it does not interest you at all."

"Not sexually, no."

"What we do when I cut you says otherwise."

It was his turn to pause, peeking open an eye to stare at her. When he shut it, he said simply, "Why are we speaking on this?"

"I do not know."

"We have found something interests both of us. Why must we ruin it, wench?"

She pressed hard on his chest, breaking open one of the scabs. He let out a slight noise, but gritted his teeth to cut the rest of it off. When he glared at her, she only gave him the same look back. She had grown tired of the moniker and it showed.

"We have been married a long time already," he finally told her, realizing getting angry with her would do nothing to help the situation. "And we shall stayed marry until the day one of us gets their light blown out. So let us not over think things now."

"That is not what I was attempting to do," she told him harshly.

"Then what were you attempting to do?"

"Tell you something. Suggest something."

He relaxed again, closing his eyes once more. "That is enough salve for now. And suggest what?"

She kept rubbing his chest however, as if unable to stop. "It is easier to show you."

That got his attention, though he only smirked at her. Not glancing at the night stand, he fumbled around on it until he produced the dagger once more.

"You wish for me to cut you?"

She shook her head slightly, ceasing her hand motion. "Not particularly, no."

"Then what?"

"Hold the blade to my neck."

Shifting onto his side, he stared at her as he moved to do so. "You wish for me to cut your neck?"

"No," she told him, staring into his eyes in the darkness. "Harder."

"Harder?"

"Press harder."

He did so.

"Harder, Lucien. Press the blade against my throat. Close."

"I could kill you right now."

"If I am to die, I am to die. If you are going to kill me, you are going to kill me. Now do it."

He pressed the blade against her flesh so deeply that he was almost fearful that it would leave an imprint.

She held her head up and moved her mouth barely at all as she spoke. "Keep it like this, Lucien. The entire time."

He only watched her. "The entire time?"

"That is the game."

"If you move or if I jerk the blade, I will-"

She backed away from him then, laying back on the bed. "Are you scared, Lucien?"

He never took well to taunts. Staring down at her, he pressed the blade to her neck again, tight without command.

"You hate yourself, do you not?" he whispered, staring down at her. He never thought that he'd be the one with a dagger to her throat. He always pictured it the other way around. And most definitely not for pleasure.

"You said it yourself. These things are best if we do not speak of them."

He only stared at her for another moment before shaking his head. Leaning towards her, he whispered harshly in her ear, "It is as you wish."

"Do you have any fishing rods?"

Judith blinked while Lucien stopped mid bite, his fork hovering over his plate. That sounded like her sister, but there was no reason for her to sound so chipper. Or to address them without first greeting them. Glancing at the doorway, Judith was not shocked to find Susannah there. The smile on her face did bother her somewhat, however.

"No," Judith said slowly as Lucien went back to his breakfast. "And you are too late for breakfast. All the other have departed. It is only Lucien and I now and he is nearly done."

"I already ate. I made York and I breakfast." She was almost skipping into the room. Sigh. If Judith was not going to ask, Lucien knew that he would have to.

"What do you need fishing rods for, Susannah?" he finally got out, her upbeat mood a severe contrast to his. This was more due to how tired he was, as he and Judith had not slept a considerable amount, given the previous nights activity…activities, rather.

"York is going to teach me how to fish, but did not wish to spend money on them."

"Why would he teach you to fish?" Judith frowned, glancing at her husband. "Is that something that one would do for…leisure?"

"I do not know," Lucien said with a shrug before glancing at Susannah. "We have men who take nets out to catch our fish. I assumed it the same in the Fount. Is it not?"

"I am sure it is, but York says that finishing for yourself is quite the experience. Very fulfilling and exhilarating."

Again, Judith blinked. Then, slowly, she asked, "Are you certain that fishing was what he was speaking of?"

"Judith," Lucien sighed before dropping his fork to his then empty plate. "Susannah, if money is a problem, I can get you fishing poles."

"N-No. You do not need to go through that trouble. York has already explained to me that it is very important that we learn to live off his money."

"Why?" Judith asked with a frown.

"He says that we are married now and our money is all we need."

"York tells you a lot," Lucien commented.

"Yes, well, he has a lot of experience in many fields."

"Women included," Judith whispered none too slyly to Lucien. Susannah only frowned, but did not say anything.

Rolling his eyes, Lucien merely said, "That is nice in theory, Susannah. And if you do not wish for my help, that is fine. I am certain there are other things that York can show you."

"Oh, he already has."

Judith would have choked on her wine, had it not been breakfast.

"He has taught me all sorts of war terms," Susannah began to gush making Lucien shake his head. "As well as taught me how to swim better, explained how to tend to crops, how to keep cattle-"

"York knows all of this?" Lucien asked, frowning.

"I think he just enjoys explaining things to her," Judith said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm sure if you were to put any of his lessons into action, Susannah, you would find-"

"You do not know him," she told her sister rather harshly then. "York knows a lot of things. He is very bright."

Lucien made a face at the tone that the usually so timid girl had taken. "We are not saying he is not, Susannah. Believe me."

"I think it is best if you leave now, Susannah, before I grow tired of hearing tales of your precious York." Judith was almost glaring at her sister then. "It is worse than hearing you talk about how much you love Hamnet."

After she had gone, Lucien only shifted to rest his head in his hands, shaking it slightly.

"It appears that this arranged marriage is going better than planned," he remarked with a sigh.

"Much better than expected." Judith still had a scowl on her face as she said, "And I will find it my job to ruin this little fairytale."

"Judith-"

"She cannot be happy with him, Lucien. He is only going to hurt her. And will it nor hurt worse, when he does, if she was so happy beforehand? I must-"

"Are you sure, Judith, that is not her being hurt that bothers you? Or the fact that she is happy in general?"

"I assure you that I do not know what you speak of, Lucien. You had best-"

"Aye. Calm down."

Letting a short breath out, she quickly stood from the table. "There is much to do today, Lucien. And none of it involves thoughts of my sister and her wretched husband."

"I actually agree. With part of what you said." Lucien stood as well then. "There is much to do. And this is where we part, I am sure. I am flying out to the spinner territory today. And less you wish to come along-"

"One of us should be in the capital at all times, given that we are at war."

"Then Perses and I shall go. Believe me, I prefer it that way."

They were facing each other then, so it was easy for him to reach out and touch her neck. Judith of course recoiled, but he only shook his head and leaned closer.

"Your game left a mark," was all he whispered before turning and walking away. Judith stood there for a moment, amidst servants and guards alike, running her hand under her chin and across her neck. He must have nicked her the night before. Damn it.

Huffing, Judith headed out as well. She needed something to take the edge off and she only knew one thing that would help with that. And with Lucien and her mother gone, there was no one to comment on her drinking before luncheon.

"I just am not built to be strong, York."

"Of course you are. You carry your mother's genes inside you, after all."

"I am far more like my father than I am my mother, sister, or brother. I-"

"Nonsense. A few more of my workouts and you shall be lifting entire calves for fun."

She giggled at that, which was what he was going for anyways. They were currently in their apartment, where she had done a series of pushups already and was now working on sets of sit-ups. Though she had done all of them diligently, it was obvious that she was not up to his caliber and more than likely never would be. She was not sporty, but rather analytical. It was what made her a doctor instead of a soldier.

"Do you not wish to spend any time with your friends then, York?"

He was down on the floor with her, holding her fit as she did her sit-ups, and only stared at her for a moment before grinning. She looked rather cute to him then. Instead of one of her dresses, she was wearing pants and a shirt, as she could not very well workout in a dress. "Is this your way of getting out of exercising?"

"No," she told him, giggling again and she forced herself up. Their faces almost touched then, as he leaned forwards, staring into her eyes. "I only know that we have spent a lot of time together recently. I-"

"Do you wish for me to leave?"

"Of course not, York." She went back down again and he relaxed some. "I only-"

"Susannah, you will come to find that I do not spend time with people that I do not wish to. Not unless they are my superiors."

"Do you mean-"

"If I did not wish to be here right now, holding your feet, I would not be." He shook his head slightly. "Of course, your feet do smell horribly right now and I am thinking of-"

"York!" She giggled, slipping a foot out from his grasp to kick at him. He responded by tackling her to the ground, which only got him another series of giggles. Grinning down at her, he watched as she patted at him, as if to push him off.

"Susannah," he mumbled when he realized that had to be the first time he had ever been over her in such a way. She only stared up at him obliviously, clearly more playful in that moment. Or in all moments.

"What?" She was still all giggles and he finally just leaned down, resting his forehead against hers. That made her pause. "York?"

He kissed her then, very chastely, more to see what her response to be. It was, of course, to turn very bright red and freeze under him. Sighing, York only moved his head to the side slightly, burying it in her neck.

"I am sorry," he whispered against it. "I normally… I forget at times, that you are not…"

"One of the women that you…engage with?"

"Aye," he said, though when she said it that way, it sounded far worse than it really was. "We were having such a nice time-"

"We still are," she mumbled.

"Hmmm?"

"I am not angry with you," she told him then. "According to what Judith told me you would expect of me, that was rather lenient."

He nuzzled her neck again, which made her tense up. He was pretty certain that it was pleasurable for her, at least in some form. Or at least it made her nervous.

"This is not how I expected this marriage to work out," he sighed softly against her flesh.

"I am s-sorry. I do not-"

"I did not say it was a bad thing, Susannah." He pushed away from her then, onto his back on the ground beside her. "Just different."

After a moment, she pushed up to stare at him. He was blank faced, but when he saw her inquisitive stare, he broke.

"What?" he asked, trying to keep a smile down.

"I only wonder if you did that to get out of the workout."

"Why would I try to get out of it? I-"

"I meant yours." She poked his stomach then, making him frown slightly. "It is your turn now, yes?"

"Susannah," he complained. "I am off from work for another three days. My body tires from war, yes? You saw me do my stretches this morning. And some sits-ups. A few pushups. But that is all I-"

"If you are fine with me being stronger than you-"

"You being what?"

"You heard me, York."

Reaching out, he pulled her back down to the ground then, closer to him. "You're stronger than me then? Huh? Huh?"

"York-"

He let her go then as he sat up. "Mmmm. I think I like you better this way, Susannah."

"W-What way?"

Shaking his head, he pushed himself to his feet before turning to pull her onto hers.

"Do you have any studies to do in the morning?" he asked. "Or tomorrow at all?"

"Well, no, not technically, but I was going to go see if I could help-"

"Good. I do not have to go train tomorrow either."

"Why is that good?"

"I am going to take you somewhere."

"What?"

He took her hand then, in his own, smiling. "Do you not trust me?"

That made her duck her head, as being put on the spot always did. "I-"

"Change into your dress. That is all you shall need."

"York-"

"It will be fun. I have already taught you so much this week. Do you want it to end there?"

That made her smile then before letting go of his hand as she rushed off to change. He only went into the bedroom as well, though that was to retrieve his swords.

"A precaution," he explained to her when he caught her staring. "Believe me, I would take you nowhere dangerous, Susannah. Never."

The funny thing was that she did believe him. She did trust him. And not just because he was her husband and she was supposed to, but rather…she actually rather liked York. The York he was when he was not all tense or worried. Not upset or bothered. He was rather kind and silly and considerate. It was what having a husband should be, or so she assumed. So she wished.

"It will be fun," he promised when they left their home, him signaling for Rhea, who was never far from him. She knew that her siblings bonds were never just waiting around for them, but she could tell that he and Rhea usually spent a considerable amount of time with one another. She hoped that she was not getting in the way of that.

It was different then as they both settled on Rhea. York had whispered something to her before he got on her with his wife, something that she had not heard, but Susannah did not truly care what his intentions were. Her main concern was how closely he was sitting to her.

"We are leaving Regalia?"

York only wrapped one arm around her, holding her to him. "Why did you think I was concerned with your activities for tomorrow?"

"York-"

"He fancies himself a man of mystery," Rhea remarked dryly, the way she typically did when York was goofing off. "But there is only one thing out this way, York. She is a smart girl."

She relaxed some then, glancing up at him. "The Fount?'

He smiled down at her. "Where else?"

It went without saying that when his sister did not show up for her regular visit, Hamnet had one other plan in mind for how to spend the remainder of his day.

Leaning back in a chair, a very pretty woman in his lap, with a mug of ale in one hand while loudly recounting war tells with other soldiers in the mess hall.

Some time during one of his buddies drawn out tales, the atmosphere in the mess hall changed. It was hard to tell at first, but slowly, conversations died and everyone was just still. The only time something like that happened was if someone of high rank came in.

But then, who could have come in? Most everyone of importance was gone, off with Solovet to…unless…

It was too late for Hamnet, however, as, just like that, his mother appeared next to him, a few of her generals as well, looking none too pleased.

"Get up," was the only thing she said to him, staring down at him in disdain.

"M-Mother," he stammered, sitting up then, almost causing the young woman to fall from his lap. "What are you-"

"Come. Now." She made a face at the woman before looking back at her son. "And leave your…friends, behind."

He was quick to follow her, even though his side protested at his quick movement. "I was not-"

"Siilently."

He felt like a small child then, being caught out after hours by his mother, breaking curfew with his silly friends and being reprimanded for it. Honestly, it was beyond embarrassing. It was downright mortifying. And he was no longer a child! He was far passed being a child.

…And yet, he would do anything Solovet told him to. Anything. Worse of all, she knew it.

He didn't speak the rest of the way. One of the generals gave him a slight smile, but Hamnet could hardly return it. Why was his mother back? And better yet, why had she bothered him? There for all places? She would only do so if something important was going on.

When they got to the royal wing, Solovet dismissed all of the guards before having her generals take their place. All save Caius, who she always kept close to her.

Judith and Lucien were in the sitting room, as well as Prince Edward and Vikus. He was the only one sitting, Vikus was, as he read over some sort of a scroll. He hardly looked up as his wife entered, only shook his head.

"So what is all this then, Mother? And why are you back so soon?" Judith was always one to get straight to the point. "I-"

"Fail already?" Lucien asked, no doubt finding some enjoyment from the slight chance of it. "And so soon?"

Solovet did not even take the time out to scoff at him. Instead, she only nodded at Caius, who bowed his head at Lucien and Judith before speaking.

"We have found and beheaded King Deadblood. The gnawers have fallen into a state of panic. We-"

"You did it then?" Judith grinned then, involuntarily of course, as she quickly remembered who she was and went back to an unimpressed face. "Well, it was your job, after all."

"Impressive work, dear," Vikus remarked from the couch. "You killed basically a pup. Can hardly think for himself. Remarkable."

"You have always been a rat, Vikus. Have always taken sympathy with them. Why do you not go live in the Dead Lands then?"

"And leave you behind, Solovet? I tremble at the prospect."

Hamnet scratched the back of his neck, not quite outgrowing that awkward feeling he got when his parents, well, 'discussed things' as his mother put it. Argued was more the word for it, but he was sure Solovet thought that was beneath her.

"How did you go about this?" Lucien asked skeptically as he crossed his arms. He was standing behind Judith, who seemed rather close to him considering they hated each other most of the time. Hamnet only shook his out of his head. "And who knows? I spoke with the spinners today and they knew nothing of-"

"Would have I have called a close meeting, here of all places, if I wished for the world to know?" Solovet rolled her eyes at him. "Honestly, your father would be more than disproving of you, Lucien."

"You-"

Hamnet was not stupid and knew something was up when Judith reached behind her to lay a hand on his shoulder, as if to calm him. Something very interesting had developed in his twin's relationship and he planned to become privy to it. And soon.

"Now, I come to you to tell you that I feel that the offensive as it stands is just fine. I will continue to put men in on rotation, to keep the gnawers preoccupied with that instead of the fact that they are, once again, leaderless."

Lucien snorted, but said nothing. Judith only leveled her gaze on her twin for a moment before back at her mother.

"Why is Hamnet here then?" she asked, sounding rather petulant. "He is not-"

"Because, Judith, I decided I wished for your brother to know this information. Not to mention I wished to check on all three of you, now that I am home." She gave Hamnet a once over before saying, "Although, I was unable to locate your sister. I thought that she would be here, when I found she was not at her new home."

"You went to her home?" Vikus frowned, glancing up finally to stare at his wife.

"Yes, Vikus. I-"

"You did?" he asked again. "You?"

"Well, not me personally-"

"Of course not," he said with a sigh.

"I had other things to attend to," she told him with a frown. "And besides, I was told that she was not home. That is why I assumed she was here."

"She threw quite the fit today, when I did not find her husband knowledgeable on all things ever in existence," Judith said with a slight shrug.

"Yes," Hamnet quipped. "I am certain that it happened just as you say."

"Thank you. You know, you could try this attitude more often. I am your queen, after all."

"I was not being serious and you know-"

"Enough." Solovet shook her head at her children while Edward snickered to himself. "Then no one knows where Susannah is?"

"She wanted fishing rods," Lucien said then, voice tight. "York was going to teach her to fish, but no one had any for them. Perhaps they were out purchasing them when whoever you sent to get her arrived."

"He is teaching her to fish?" Vikus frowned at that, but Judith shrugged.

"I told you, Father. York is extremely bright. Ask your daughter."

Rolling her eyes, Solovet said, "Well, when one of you locate her, send her my way. According to your father, Judith, you have not been too kind to her while I was-"

"I was most gracious," Judith defended. "Was I not, Lucien?"

He blinked. Then, slowly, he said, "Well, you did not outright tell her that you hated her, but-"

Judith elbowed him then, like she usually would, but he was not expecting it. She hit him squarely in his still wounded chest, causing him to let out a loud groan, shoving her away from him rather roughly considering how he usually acted when she became physical.

"Brother?" Edward moved to come towards him as Judith made a face and turned to face him. "What is-"

"Nothing." Lucien swallowed before looked at Solovet. "Your meeting is over."

"Lucien-" Judith tried, but he held up his hand.

"Done. All of you. Out. Now." He turned from his wife, angry with her, while she only stayed at his side, as if trying to comfort him.

"What is wrong with Judith?" Hamnet asked his mother when they finally did head out of the royal wing. He figured he did not have to be quiet any longer, as the news had broke.

"She has always been rather violent, Hamnet. You know this. You've been on the receiving end enough as well as your younger sister."

"No, I meant the way she was acting."

"She has always been arrogant as well," Vikus spoke up from behind them. Solovet only rolled her eyes at that, not finding it worth commenting.

"No, I meant how she was with Lucien."

"Oh, yes, him." Solovet's voice became tighter. "How dare he-"

"Never mind, Mother," he sighed.

Apparently, if he was going to find out anything about Judith and Lucien, it was going to be alone.