This has been such a busy week! We were out of town, and now with the holidays coming, work is crazy and I am trying to finish up christmas shopping and cookies. So, that is why this is a little late - its a little shorter than usual (not the shortest, but still short), but I didn't want to delay anymore ;)
Thanks to all of you reading, commenting, and following - it means a lot!
Hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Adalind woke to the alarming sensation that she was being watched. Her fears were immediately confirmed when a strong arm wrapped around her and a hand clamped over her mouth.
"Adalind," the voice whispering in her ear was familiar, but she was unable to immediately place exactly who was currently holding her in a vice grip, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just needed to talk to you. If I take my hand away, do you promise not to scream?"
Adalind nodded, still trying to place the voice, and not wholly committed to the promise not to scream. The hand slowly moved away from her mouth, and the grip around her was eased. She turned hesitantly and her mouth dropped open as she identified her intruder.
"Ian?" she couldn't have been more shocked if the Pope himself was sitting next to her on her bed, "what the hell are you doing here? In my bedroom? In the middle of the night?"
She scooted back on her bed, pulling her blanket up to her chest, and eyed him warily. He held up his hands in surrender.
"I'm sorry I scared you," Ian said apologetically, "but I really need to talk to you."
"We have a front door, ya know," Adalind said with sarcasm, frowning at him as she crossed her hand defensively over her chest.
"I couldn't risk anyone seeing me come here," Ian replied, scooting a little closer to her. She frowned again, and scooted back a few more inches.
"Why?" she asked suspiciously.
"The Royals," Ian said flatly, "they're coming for you."
"For me?" Adalind's eyebrows shot up, "why would they want me?"
"Because of your connection to Sean Renard," Ian answered, then added, "and the grimm."
"Oh," Adalind replied, then sat back against her pillow in contemplative silence before responding a moment later, "but why do they need me? They could just go to Portland, get what they want, and get out. What could I possibly offer them?"
"We believe they want to keep the bloodshed to a minimum for once," Ian said with a hint of anger, "Eric Renard is not quite willing to kill his brother just yet, and they want the Grimm for themselves, if they can manage it. Perhaps they think you still have some influence on the situation."
Ian looked at her questioningly, and Adalind could tell he was waiting for her to confirm the truth of that statement.
"Sean would prefer that I never show up in Portland again," Adalind said with a shake of her head.
"And the grimm?" Ian asked, his eyes probing.
Adalind wasn't sure why she was hesitating. Partly because it still felt a bit unsettled in her mind, what exactly they were to each other. It had been a couple weeks since Nick had drunkenly asked her to be his girlfriends, and while they had talked since, they hadn't really talked about that. Things had been progressing along the same lines, Nick calling her when he got home from work at night, telling her about his day. She liked hearing about his crazy wesen cases, and sometimes being able to help him sort through what exactly he was dealing with. But she was starting to think it was time to go home to Portland. Her grandparents had been wonderful, reminding her that there was life outside of being a hexenbiest, but if she was being honest with herself, she missed the intrigue of her old life, missed being part of something bigger. She wanted to help Nick change the way wesen saw grimms. She hoped he would let her.
Ian was still watching her and she blew out a sigh, still not sure how much she should tell him. While she trusted him, that trust had limits, and she was still cautious about how much information she was willing to share with him.
"It's complicated," Adalind responded finally, noting to herself that it wasn't exactly untrue - everything about their relationship was complicated. Except the way she felt about him.
"The royal family has reason to believe that the grimm feels protective of you," Ian continued, still watching her, "that he cares for you."
"How on earth would they know that?" Adalind asked in disbelief.
"The idea may have been planted there," Ian responded, and at her raised eyebrow, he continued, "one of our operatives within the family may have given them that idea."
"You set me up?" Adalind's voice raised an octave, and she glared at Ian," after I helped you escape, this is how you repay me?"
Ian had the decency to look embarrassed, but then he shrugged, "I know we don't know each other very well, but I got the distinct impression that you were cut out for this sort of thing. That you enjoyed it."
"Enjoyed being a target for the royal family?" Adalind was incredulous, "oh sure, who doesn't like to have the constant threat of death hanging over their head! I came to my grandparent's farm to get away from all that! Not to be sucked in even more!"
"I should have talked to you first," Ian stated the obvious and Adalind rolled her eyes.
"Ya think?" she shook her head, then sighed, "well, there's no use crying over it now. What's done is done."
They were both quiet for a moment and then Adalind looked up at Ian, a sudden thought occuring to her.
"If they think Nick is protecting me, why would they come to me for help?" Adalind asked, "why would they think I would help them?"
"They have something they think you want," Ian replied.
When he didn't continue, Adalind glared at him in impatience, "well, don't keep me in suspense, what is they think I want?"
"We're not sure," Ian replied with a disgruntled frown, "but apparently Eric Renard is confident enough that he is willing to come to Idaho to present the idea to you directly."
"Wait…" Adalind sat up, and shook her head, "they CANNOT come here. This is my grandparent's farm. They have NOTHING to do with this."
"No harm will come to them, Adalind," Ian said in a placating voice, and Adalind fumed silently as he continued, "the royals want something from you. And as long as they need you, they will treat you as if you are royalty, too."
"So you want me to go along with this little plan of theirs," Adalind was still angry, but she held it in check as she probed Ian for more answers.
"We would," Ian replied.
"To what end?" Adalind asked, "you already have people planted in the family. What could I possibly add?"
"Our man on the inside was recently discovered and had to make a hasty exit," Ian admitted, "we don't have anyone else placed that high up. If you agreed to this, you would have access to Eric Renard."
"I don't see why he would give me any information unless I….." Adalind's words trailed off as she realized what Ian was implying, "Oh no, I'm not going to become some royal asshole's mistress for you guys!"
"We would never ask you to do that," Ian seemed insulted by the suggestion, but then he added, "of course, a little harmless flirtation wouldn't hurt."
"I have a feeling that 'his royal highness' is used to getting a little something out of even the most harmless of flirtations," Adalind countered, shaking her head, "I'm not sure this is a good idea."
Ian sighed, "it may be the only chance we have to get someone back into the inner circle. I know it's asking a lot…."
"Yeah, it really is," Adalind replied.
"But he is coming after Nick," Ian said quietly, "and this may be our only shot at stopping him."
%%%%%
Nick collapsed on his bed in an exhausted heap. He had spent most of the day following up on dead end leads, which left him feeling more than a little frustrated. It was in moments like this that he had somewhat mixed feelings about living alone - on the one hand it was a bit liberating to not have anyone expecting him at a certain time, or badgering him about missing dinner or some other event. But on the flip side, he missed having someone care about where he was...although, he thought he always detected a bit of relief in Adalind's voice when he called her. This experiment in living alone was actually showing him a lot of himself, and what he really wanted out of relationship.
It was also showing him what he did NOT want. In some bizzare twist of fate, he had started to notice that Juliette was spending quite a bit of time with his Captain. He was fairly certain he was noticing this because they wanted him to notice. Juliette had started showing up at the precinct at lunchtime -she had given him a nod in greeting, then continued on to the captains office, shutting the door behind her. He had been mildly curious at the interaction, mainly because his Captain wasn't exactly the most trustworthy person. The visits had continued, and his curiosity had turned to exasperation as he noticed that every time Juliette showed up at the precinct, the captain and she would both try to hide their interest in his reaction to the situation. So he had stopped reacting at all, telling himself that it was not his concern what Juliette was doing, even as his conscience pulled slightly at the bank of his mind that he should warn her away from Renard. He hoped as they caught on to his disinterest that they would give up the charade, but ultimately he knew that if Renard put Juliette at risk, he would have to intervene. He still felt responsible for her involvement in any of this mess.
He contemplated the ceiling for several more minutes before finally convincing himself to get up and get out of his work clothes. A glance at the clock told him that it was too late to call Adalind tonight, and he felt a twinge of disappointment that he would have to wait until morning to talk to her. He changed quickly before climbing into bed and was just drifting off when he heard the buzz of his phone next to him.
"What now," he grumbled to himself, answering the phone without even opening his eyes to read the display, "Burkhardt."
"Nick…" he heard Adalind's voice, slightly agitated, and he was suddenly very awake.
"Adalind, is everything okay?" Nick sat up in bed, the fact that she was a solid five hour drive away making him feel suddenly helpless. He would be of no help to her if something was wrong.
"Nothing urgent," Adalind reassured him, but his relief was short lived as she continued, "Ian's here."
"Ian is there?" Nick shook his head, trying to process what she was saying, "Rosalee's Ian? What do you mean he's there?"
"I mean, he's here," Adalind said, her voice suddenly irritated, "as in, he is in my room, sitting on my bed, in the middle of the night, in Idaho. Uninvited, I might add."
Nick was silent for a minute, letting her revelation sink in before he bit out, "Put him on the phone."
"What? No, Nick, it's not like that," Adalind tried to reassure him, although in his current position five hours away, he wasn't easily convinced, "and I can handle him if it was. He's here because of the royals. He says they are coming here, to my grandparent's farm. They want my help."
"What do they want with you?" Nick asked, his mind still trying to catch up.
"You," Adalind answered bluntly, "they want me to get the key, and you, on their side. They think I am angry enough with Sean to work against him, and they think they have something I want."
"And what is that?"
"I'm not sure," Adalind sighed, "anyway, the Resistance wants me to take their offer so they have someone on the inside. They think they are planning something big, and that it involves you."
"You need to stay out of this," Nick replied, "It is way too dangerous."
"I want to help, Nick," Adalind voice was firm, and Nick frowned, knowing it wouldn't be easy to change her mind, "I came here to figure out who I want to be, what I want to do with myself now that I'm not what I was, and this is what I want to do. I want to help. I want to help you, and I want to help the resistance. I want to be part of something bigger than I am. Something that will make a difference."
"That's hard to argue with," Nick responded with a resigned sigh, "how is this going to work."
"I have to wait for Sean's brother, Eric, to contact me," Adalind said, "and I am not really sure when that will be. Could be tomorrow, could be in a week. But Ian thinks it will be sooner rather than later."
"I don't like this," Nick replied, and he heard Adalind laugh lightly.
"I know," Adalind's voice was soft, "I don't like it much either, but it's something I have to do."
"I know," Nick parroted her words, "I should come there…."
"That's not a good idea," Adalind replied quickly, too quickly for Nick's liking, "I mean, if it was any other time, it would be a great idea, but not now. They don't know how…..close we are, and I think we should keep it that way. I don't want them to think they can just use me as bait to get to you."
Nick frowned again, but had to admit to the logic of her explanation. If they knew what she meant to him, they could use that against him, and he refused to put her in anymore danger.
"Fine," he said through gritted teeth, "but you let me know what is happening, every step of the way."
"As much as I can," Adalind promised, "I don't know how much they will trust me, so I may not be able to contact you as much as I would like."
"Adalind, please, be careful," Nick said, his voice becoming softer as he allowed his emotions to leak through just enough to let her know how much he cared, "I don't want anything to happen to you….."
"I will be," she replied, and they were both quiet for a moment.
"Now let me talk to Ian," Nick said, his voice hard once again.
"Nick…." Adalind's voice held a warning, but he cut her off.
"I just want to talk to him for a minute," at her continued hesitation, he sighed, "how much harm can I do from here."
"Fine," Adalind huffed out, "but be nice."
"I'm always nice," Nick grumbled as he heard her shift the phone to Ian.
"Hello Nick," came the calm, british-accented voice through the phone, and Nick tamped down the urge to reach through the phone and punch him in the face.
"Ian," Nick returned, just as calmly, "I thought we had a deal - I let you walk, and we don't hear from you again."
"Well, circumstances changes, and all that," came the flippant reply, and Nick silently promised himself that if he ever was face to face with this guy again, he would get at least one punch in.
"And if you want to be precise about it," Ian continued, "I promised to never come back to Portland. I believe I am in….Idaho? Is that right, Adalind?"
The reminder of his close proximity to Adalind did nothing to improve Nick's mood.
"If anything happens to her, I am holding you personally responsible," Nick warned him sternly.
"Nothing will happen to our girl," Ian replied, and Nick could hear the smile in his voice, could picture him focusing that smile on Adalind, "she's much too smart for all that."
Nick closed his eyes and counted to five before answering.
"You and I, and likely Adalind, all know the risks here," Nick replied, taking a breath, "we all know how lethal the Royals can be."
"You're right," Ian said, his voice much more serious, "and that is why what Adalind is doing is so important. We need to destroy the family, and the best way to do that is from within."
%%%%%
"This stupid plan of yours isn't working," Juliette paced in Sean's living room, frustration showing in her face, "he doesn't care that were dating."
"I'm not so sure he realizes that's what this is," Sean replied evenly, taking a drink of whiskey before walking slowly to her and putting his hands on her arms and rubbing slightly, "He may think that we are just friends. That I'm helping you understand what happened to you when you were under Catherine's spell."
"That's the other thing," Juliette angrily shook of his hands and started pacing once more, "he doesn't even care enough to ask WHY I'm coming to see you."
Sean had to admit that Nick's lack of interest in what was happening between Juliette and himself was puzzling. Perhaps it was time to push it to the next level.
"Well, we'll have to show him exactly what is happening between us," Sean replied, as he picked up a an envelope and handed it to her.
"What's this?" she asked, eyeing the envelope with curiosity.
"The Portland PD is giving me an award for my service," Sean said, "we can go….together."
"And why would we do that," Juliette asked, giving the invitation a cursory glance before dropping it back onto the table.
"Because Nick will be there," Sean smiled, "and he will see us there...together. And we will be sure that he realizes just how together we are."
Juliette gave him a long look, her eyes changing from mild curiosity to something else altogether. Her smile started slowly, before turning slightly seductive.
"Maybe we had better work on that," Juliette said slowly, taking a step closer, "just to make sure that it looks realistic to Nick. I've never been that good at faking it….."
Her words trailed off as she reached him, tipping her head up, waiting for his reaction.
"A gentleman would never want a lady to have to fake it," Sean replied before lowering his head to hers, capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss.
%%%%%
Adalind had kicked Ian out of her room as soon as the conversation with Nick was over. She had no patience left for the man, and while she sensed that he was hoping she would ask him to stay, he didn't push the issue and made a graceful exit.
Sleep had not come easily after their conversation. There was too much to think about, too much to plan. She had to warn her grandparents about the possibility of royal visitors to the farm, and ask them not to intervene in what was to transpire.
As soon as the sun was up, Adalind climbed out of bed and pulled on a sweater and a comfortable old pair of jeans. It was rare that she was up before her grandparents, but today was one of those days. She headed downstairs and started the coffee. She was staring out the window, taking her first sip, when her grandmother came up behind her, startling her out of her own thoughts.
"You know," her grandmother said nonchalantly, "I was thinking you should invite your young man for Christmas….maybe those blutbad and fuchsbau friends of yours, too."
Adalind choked on the drink she had just taken and looked at her grandmother, "you want to have Christmas with a grimm…..and a blutbad and fuchsbau?"
"These people are important to you, dear," her grandmother responded reasonably, "your grandfather and I would like to meet them."
Adalind calculated the amount of days until Christmas (just about two months), and considered whether she would be done working with the Resistance before then. It seemed to much to hope that they could have a normal, happy holiday, but it was nice to think about.
"I'll see if I can arrange it," Adalind said noncommittally, and her grandmother smiled, seeming to take her answer in stride.
"There is something else that I need to talk to you about," Adalind started to say, but her grandmother cut her off.
"Now what do you suppose all of this is?" her grandmother was looking out the window with curiosity. Adalind walked up next to her and sucked in her breath, holding it for a moment before releasing it.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Adalind replied, as they both watched a line of several black cars make its way up their driveway, "I didn't know it would happen this quickly, but we are going to have some visitors."
"Who are they, Addy?" her grandmother asked, wide-eyed.
"The Royals," she responded with a sigh.
%%%%%
"I thought she left Portland to get away from all of this," Monroe shook his head as Nick finished telling him and Rosalee about Adalind's involvement with the Resistance and the Royals, "you can't get more in it than she is about to….you know, be in it."
"I think she left more to find out what she wanted to do now that she didn't have to be part of the wesen world," Rosalee said, her understanding of Adalind a bit deeper than Monroe's, "she wanted to know what kind of person she wanted to be. I'm glad that she decided she wanted to be someone who helps."
"I agree with you," Nick replied with a sigh, "I just wish she didn't have to help like this. She'll be isolated with the royals. If they find out what she is up to, no one will be there to help her. She'll be at their mercy."
"I don't like that one bit," Monroe said with a shake of his head, "there has to be someway we can help her."
"All we can really do is be ready when she has whatever information she is hoping to get," Nick said with a shrug, "I know they are coming here for the key….and for me. They don't want Renard to have a grimm, so they want to lure me to their side. They'll use Adalind to do that, so at least I will be able to be in contact with her without raising suspicions."
"And why do they think Adalind would help them?" Monroe asked.
"Because they know she hates Renard for betraying her," Nick stood up and started pacing the room, "and they think she is not overly fond of me because I took her powers, but they know that we struck an uneasy alliance because of Renard's betrayal."
"That's it?" asked Rosalee.
"That, and apparently they have something that they think Adalind would want," Nick said with a shrug, "but we don't know what it is."
"Well, she was a hexenbiest, so maybe they think the promise of wealth and power will be enough," Rosalee said thoughtfully.
"So, I'm guessing they don't know you two have been...you know...doing what you've been doing," Monroe asked with a suggestive lift of his brow.
"No, as far as we know, they know nothing of our actual relationship," Nick replied.
"Hey! You actually referred to it as a 'relationship'!" Monroe said with a smile, "you're making progress."
"Yeah, well this separation and now this double agent business with the Royals isn't really helping our 'relationship'," Nick replied, a bit bitter, "would it really be so much to ask for, I don't know, maybe a week where we can just hang out, go to a movie, maybe have a pizza….."
"I could eat a pizza…" Monroe replied.
"Monroe, it is 8:00 in the morning," Rosalee said with a shake of her head.
"There is no wrong time for pizza," Monroe responded seriously, and Rosalee huffed out a laugh.
"Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know what was going on so you could be on alert," Nick said, "the royals have targeted Monroe before, so I just wanted you know that they may be back in town."
Nick stood up to leave and Monroe gave him a pat on the back.
"It will be okay, man," Monroe said with a reassuring smile, "things will calm down and you can get back to your almost normal life again….someday."
"I don't really believe that, but thanks for the effort, buddy," Nick returned his friend's smile and headed off to work.
%%%%%
Adalind could not convince her grandmother to let her face the royals alone. So, she sent a silent prayer of thanks that her grandfather was still asleep and they both went to the front door to greet their visitors.
A tall man with dark hair got out of the back seat of one of the four black SUVs that had pulled to the front of the farm, and Adalind assumed by his general bearing (not to mention the arrogance written all over his face) that this was Eric Renard, the crown prince.
She made no move to greet him - she had no reason to expect a prince to show up at the farm, so she put a confused smile on her face and waited until he was standing in front of her
"Are you gentleman lost?" Adalind asked, her voice all pleasant civility, "we don't usually get many visitors this way."
The man she assumed was Eric returned her smile and bowed his head slightly to her, "Ms. Schade, I presume?"
"You presume correctly," Adalind said, maintaining her smile, "and you are?"
"Eric Renard," he replied simply, "I believe we have an...acquaintance in common."
"Renard?" Adalind said in what she hoped was her best confused voice, "are you related to Sean Renard?"
"I have the unfortunate burden of being his brother," Eric replied with mock sadness, "half brother, if I am to be honest."
"So you are the….." Adalind trailed off and looked at him in deference.
"Yes, well, we don't need to get into titles and all that right now," Eric replied in amused gratification, "I would like to speak with you regarding my brother…. As well as another issue. Is there somewhere we could talk?"
"You can take the front parlour," Adalind's grandmother finally spoke, and Eric turned to her with a smile, only to suck in a breath as her grandmother woged into a hexenbiest, "but don't even think about hurting my granddaughter."
Erin recovered himself and smiled once more, "I hold your granddaughter in highest esteem, ma'am. My intentions are nothing but honorable. I hope that we can become great friends and allies."
Her grandmother came back to her human form, and nodded at Eric before leading them all into the parlour. Eric's men stayed stationed outside, a respectable distance from the front porch.
"We don't often see so much security in Idaho," her grandmother said conversationally.
"Yes, well, a man in my position can never be too careful," Eric replied, his voice slightly bored.
"Grandma, would you mind bringing us some tea?" Adalind asked, "and maybe some of those cookies we made yesterday."
"Of course, dear," her grandmother said, although she seemed hesitant to leave, "I'll be right back."
They waited until her grandmother was out of the room, and then Adalind turned to Eric with a tight smile.
"So what is it you really want, your highness," Adalind asked, her voice slightly mocking.
"You're help," Eric replied.
"And why would I help you?" Adalind asked, crossing her arms over her chest, "what could you possible offer a simple farm girl like me?"
"The one thing you lost that you want more than anything else," Eric replied, bearing his gleaming white teeth in a wide smile, "we can make you a hexenbiest again."