"Dez wouldn't do that. He can't." Austin said immediately after listening attentively to Ally. "Are you certain you heard right?"
"Yes." The princess affirmed. Her thoughts went back to the desperate, tired prisoner. "He was telling the truth, trust me."
He glanced at something else in her room in contemplation. Her word against their years of friendship? But then again, Dez had been away for years and who knows how he's changed then.
"I cannot believe it either." Ally admitted. "Dez is kind-genuinely kind." He's loud and overenthusiastic, but harmless in every way possible.
"We'll look into this further. But only between the two of us." He sighed, "I can't have this turn into a bigger mess if my subjects believe I'm spying on my trusted friend and ambassador."
"So we watch him really carefully?"
"As carefully as we can without seeming suspicious."
So they take turns watching his moves. Austin and Ally feel odd spying on who they consider their friend, but do it all the same. They can't stand having another rebel do something to the other, and they're desperate for a lead.
Dez doesn't seem to mind the constant company, and instead welcomes it.
"Just making up for all those years! No shame at all." He says joyfully when Austin shows chagrin for his frequency.
It both relieves and frustrates the king when he sees nothing questionable. Dez operates as he had years ago. Messy, scattered, but everything with its own apparent place.
They exchanged years of stories, and occasionally talked kingdom matters. What this country is up to, what that country is up to.
"…they've got a bad drought going on too. It's unfortunate, but the royal family's working on it."
Austin frowned. "We'll send some aid then."
"Of course," Dez agreed, "as a formailty. The rulers in power are overly wealthy, so they wouldn't need it. What they really need is to stop the spread of their desert-"
A soft knock sounded at the door.
"Come in!"
The door opened and Ally sidled in. They exchanged friendly greetings, already at ease with each other after a couple days.
"I think Sebastian was looking for you." She commented offhandedly to Austin while giving him a meaningful look.
My turn to look over Dez.
"Well, I better go find him then. See you at supper." The king nodded goodbye to both of them, and he was gone.
"So what are you working on today?" She asked, partly due to her spying, but also due to her curiosity. Dez had an interesting job and an endless amount of stories that came with it.
He shrugged. "Looking at some letters, writing some. Want to help?"
"Am I authorized to?" Ally said incrediously.
"I trust you." Dez grinned. She tried to stamp out the guilt she felt as she realized she couldn't exactly return the sentiment. "I don't think you're going to betray Austin anytime soon."
The princess let out a laugh at that thought. "No, I don't think anyone could." She said delibrately, observing his reaction.
He just chuckled in amusement.
"So, how can I help?"
"How do you feel about reading some letters and knowing the latest news? Some of it might be interesting, but most of it will be boring."
"Sounds easy enough." She barely finished before he handed her a pile of envelopes.
He pulled out a chair at the second desk of the study. "Just let me know any significant events! Natural disasters, some overthrowing, whatever."
They took their seats and soon the room was filled with the sounds of shuffling paper. Ally read the first few letters with rapt attention, but soon discovered that all of them were boring. So she let herself into the lull of mindless reading, rarely ever finding anything big.
"Royal wedding?" She said.
"Already sent a gift." Dez replied absentmindedly.
"Did you find anything good in your pile of letters?"
"Nope."
"And I thought your job was exciting."
"It is. Especially this part."
She hummed, focused again on looking for something of interest. It was a nice new source of information, as opposed to the messenger birds they got every morning from the city. Her pile of opened envelopes was soon starting to outnumber the unopened one.
She spotted an unopened envelope at the bottom, and snatched it up before it could sink deeper into the mess of paper. Her thumb ran over the intricate wax seal in interest.
I don't think I've seen this crest before. She combed through her mind, trying to recall this image from her books. What House is this?
She broke the seal and unfolded the paper. Her eyes scanned over its contents, bored. Surprisingly, it was a short message.
We are prepared to rise up against the King. Awaiting your trigger.
Her expression grew from bored to panicked. This was what they were looking for. She almost jumped in joy at a lead! But her face fell as she realized that Dez was a traitor. She glared at the sheet in her hands.
Both a blessing and a curse.
"Anything on your side?" The voice of Dez interupted, making her jolt slightly.
"No." She lied promptly. Ally quietly folded the letter, stuffed it into the envelope, and slipped it onto her person. A deep guilt gnawed at her but she tried to focus on the big picture. "I think I've done most of them. I have to go right now for something..."
"Don't worry, as you probably know now, they're not that important. See you tonight."
"See you tonight." She said half heartedly back. How soon would they arrest him? Would they arrest him?
She had walked away from the study for only a few moments until she came face to face with Xavier. He looked faintly surprised at her, but his expression cooled. The tension was thick as they stared at each other.
Ally had been looking to talk to him for several days now. Somehow, he always evaded her or never left the company of others. Now, they were alone, except for the occasional servant passing by.
She couldn't just interrogate him in the middle of a hallway, could she?
His hand moves and she tenses. Her caution is needless, however, when he reaches into the depth of his jacket to pull out a delicate metal thing.
"My mother told me to give you this." He says simply, no mention of what happened nights ago. His expression is unreadable as always.
She holds her hand out hesitantly. The object drops into her palm, surprisingly heavy. It's a bracelet made of silver vines and crystals of liquid scarlet. "Thank you...?" The princess says awkwardly.
Austin's aunt had probably sent it. Ally wasn't surprised as she had been accompanying the Sun Queen when she wasn't spying on Dez. The princess had played tour guide and tried to survive within the court of ladies she rarely dabbled in. It was a simple, if not bit early, token of appreciation.
"She suggests you match it with another red dress." Xavier mumbles and then he turns on his heel to walk away.
Urgency seizes her at the sight of his retreating back. "Wait!"
A couple servants turn their heads at her exclamation. Xavier notices this and stops in his tracks. Ally tries not to smile too widely because for once this week, the presence of other people finally worked in her favor.
"What did you hear the other day?" She asks casually for the sake of the servants, but her meaning is clear.
He feigns a bashful sort of look. "I've forgotten."
"Have you really?" She struggles to keep her voice light.
A challenging glint appears in his eyes. "I have." He confirms, and leaves.
The frustration begins to rise in her again, but as she moves, it shifts in her pocket. The weight of the letter is grounding as she stares at the prince. It wouldn't matter anymore if he knew, as she had the evidence. This letter would allow them to act accordingly, and soon, it would be no secret.
If only the thought of arresting Dez didn't leave such a dreadful feeling.
Uh oh, what's going to happen next?
10.10.15.