A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long. I've had writer's block for the longest time, trying to figure out what should happen to Rachel next. I'm not giving away any secrets, but things should move along more quickly now! JMaumauka
Rachel--POV
Once I had gotten dressed (and silenced the nagging voice in my head that asked me what the hell I was doing mooning Pam), we returned to the blue room. Sophie-Anne was seated in a rose-colored chair. Hadley stood behind her. She gestured the three of us to a sofa opposite her.
"Your first job with me will be to accompany me to Arkansas. The King of Arkansas and I are meeting to discuss how the 'resources of our two territories might best be combined'." Sophie-Anne's tone was drenched in irony. You could hear the quotation marks in her voice. "For a demonstration of his power, he will bring his best muscle to the table. I will do the same. Have your skills with fire improved since the last time we met, Rachel? I understood from your aunt that you were badly burned."
"Yeah, I was. But once I got well I went right back to work on them. If your fireplace has wood in it, I'll demonstrate."
Sophie-Anne pointed to the fireplace, which was set up with a couple of large logs. I was able to light them from across the room, and it looked pretty impressive. Even though it's much easier to light a fire when you are near the material to be burned, lighting it from across the room was a quite an attention-getter. Sophie-Anne's smile practically blinded me as my line of flame streaked past her, while Hadley's eyes bugged and the nasty smirk left her face.
"That's wonderful! And how about regular combat?"
"Rachelle's learning ees steel in 'ze beginning stages, as I told your Majesty" Tante Aurelie replied. "'Zat ees what caused me to make my offer to you. Eef you need 'zat kind of 'elp, you weel need someone weeth experience."
I bit my tongue to keep from saying the first thing that came into my head. Tante Aurelie was in her eighties, and while I had no doubt of her power, I feared what the strain of combat magic would do to her. She had already begun teaching me basic hexes, but she had warned me that we needed to take it slowly; fighting magically takes enormous focus and is a terrific drain on the body. I could do little things like momentary paralysis, and things that caused minor cuts to the skin, but nothing lethal. Even the small things exhausted me.
"Is this guy—the King of Arkansas—trying to take you over or something?" I asked. Sophie-Anne gave a bitter laugh. "Yes. But right now he wants to do it diplomatically rather than by force. It could mean some kind of political treaty, but it could also mean he might try to assassinate me discreetly. That is what I need you for, Rachel. You and Sookie Stackhouse, if Bill can get her to agree to help me."
"Ah." Pam said very softly.
"Yes, Pamela? Did you have a question?" Sophie-Anne's tone was perfectly pleasant, but I sensed the warning underneath.
"None, your Majesty" Pam's tone was equally bland. Sophie-Anne gazed at her for a moment, and then seemed to let it go. "I have other bodyguards, of course--men who provide the brute physical strength, but you, Rachel, will be my secret weapon."
Hadley looked like she was grinding her teeth. No doubt she was wondering if I would be Sophie-Anne's secret something else, as well. And since she was a vampire now, Hadley had the potential to give me a major headache. I decided right then and there that if I could confuse her, create some doubt in her mind, it would be a good thing. I deliberately laid my hand on Pam's knee. To Pam's credit, she didn't flinch when I did it; she even covered my hand with her own. "Okay" I said, looking Sophie-Anne straight in the eye. "What exactly do you want me to do?"
"The King will bring along a vampire called Jade Flower. She's one of his best guards. She's absolutely vicious and everyone knows it, which is why he always brings her along during negotiations. I'll bring three guards of my own, but she knows not to challenge them. She'll probably zero in on you because you're new. When she does, do not take the bait until she actually calls you out. Then you can unveil yourself. You need to defeat her."
"Uh-huh. What kinds of weapons does she use?" I tried to sound confident, but I was envisioning some sort of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon thing. Maybe I needed to invest in some Ninja throwing stars.
"Swords, mostly, but she's not bad with just her hands and feet."
"Guns?"
"I don't think so. She'd consider it beneath her."
I reckoned I could handle anything but a bullet. Even with my transformation, I doubted that my reflexes would be that good.
"Aurelie, you need to be the most secret weapon of all. I don't want them to even notice you unless the situation becomes extreme."
My aunt nodded but did not reply. I wondered how she planned to stay hidden as a human in a crowd of vampires.
"You will be my eyes and ears" Sophie-Anne went on. "I need to know what his followers are thinking. There may be a few alliances we can shift."
"Of course, Madame."
"And me?" Pam asked. She gently rubbed her thumb over my knuckles and smiled at Sophie-Anne. I felt my pulse pick up, half in fear. I had no idea if Sophie-Anne would want me intimately again or not. I knew I was running a risk in acting like Pam and I had gotten together in her absence. But her rather bitter smile wasn't directed at me.
"I see no reason why you shouldn't continue in your present…capacity."
Pam laughed softly. "Your Majesty is most generous. I truly appreciate it."
Sophie-Anne gave a deliberate little shrug. "Just keep out of the way during the negotiations. I assume Eric will want a report. You may give it to him, but only after we return. Understood?"
"Of course."
Sophie-Anne spent the rest of the time talking to my aunt, explaining what she wanted done. I expected Pam to let go of my hand, or at least quit stroking it so much, but she didn't. It made me feel odd. I had the uneasy feeling she was going to take full advantage of my little ruse.