Alaia Skyhawk: Hehe, writing Nimueh is fun. She does the 'play nice before smirking evilly when no one is looking' WAY better than Morgana does :D

Disclaimer: I don't own the Merlin TV series etc, but I do own the star of this fic... LIAM!

Music: The Machinations of Cedric (Merlin OST)

~(-)~

Chapter 50: Negotiations ~Part 2~

It was with a yawn and an uncharacteristic degree of reluctance that Liam opened his eyes the next morning, far more tired than usual due to yesterday's workload. It was as well most of that was over with now, but it didn't change the fact that King Bayard would be leaving again at noon. The servants among his entourage did not know exactly which guest rooms housed which guest, and as the servant who had arranged all that it was his job to show them this morning.

And that meant getting up half-an-hour earlier than usual...

He sat up and got out of bed, pulling on the clothing he'd set out for himself last night. He might as well get on with it, since things would be back to normal tomorrow. He'd return to his usual routine of collecting, sorting, and dealing with reports, and Lord Hargren would probably give him an extra morning off to make up for all the stress of yesterday. Yes, that would be something to look forward to.

He left his room and made his way down the narrow spiral stairs at the far end of the hall outside, descending all the way to the ground floor and heading to the spare rooms where Bayard's servants had been placed. He then went along them and thumped on the door of each one, calling out loudly to the occupants within.

"Time to get up! All of you are to gather in the servant's dining hall you were shown last night! Don't dawdle!"

He sighed after thumping the last door, not being fond of yelling out blunt orders like that, but in this case it was speed versus courtesy. Had he gone along them nice and polite it would have taken him five times as long.

They were soon all gathered in the requested chamber, all of them given a quick but hearty breakfast before the chief of the manor staff called them over. As he gave orders for the personal servants to follow Liam, and the rest to follow him, the woman from last night wove her way through the group and lay a gentle touch of a hand on one young man's shoulder and whispering into his ear. That man followed the regular servants out, the woman remaining with the ones who served specific masters. She smiled at Liam when he noticed her, but just as last night he didn't respond to her flirting... Just as well for her plans that she didn't need him to.

That much smaller group followed Liam up to the nobles' wing, filtering off one-by-one as he pointed out where each knight and noble were situated. He wasn't really paying attention to who was left when he reached the last room, that belonging to the visiting king, and so when he turned around he couldn't help but take a step back in surprise.

The woman from last night smiled at him in amusement, laughing a little.

"You seem surprised? Yes, I am King Bayard's personal servant. My name is Kara, since I didn't get the chance to introduce myself last night."

Liam found himself staring down at her offered hand, before reaching out and shaking it. Women didn't usually directly serve men...

"I'm Liam, one of Lord Hargren's personal servants. I'm in charge of helping him with administration. Fyren takes care of his meals and his chambers."

She continued to smile brightly, the ease she radiated making him relax. Her voice had the same effect, lulling him into acceptance of her words and making his thoughts of her incongruous statement fade from his mind.

"You must be quite the trusted young man, to hold such a position. Could you perhaps spare the time and use that to help me? I need to prepare my king's gift for King Uther and his son, for I fear they may have tarnished during the journey, but my lord guards them zealously. I fear I won't have time to clean them both before we depart for Camelot. Could you buy me some time, once he comes out from his chambers to share breakfast with your lord?"

Liam blinked, slightly dazed. She seemed like a nice person, and she just wanted some time to make sure the gifts were perfect, so why not?

He smiled, happily agreeing.

"I'll suggest to Lord Hargren that your king be shown where Ulwin trains its fine horses. It'll keep them both occupied for at least a couple of hours after they dine. Will that be long enough?"

Kara smiled sweetly.

"That will be more than enough... Thank you. I won't forget the help you've given me."

Liam walk away, Kara's smile turning victorious. She entered King Bayard's guest room, a few arcane words cast over him ensuring he would garb himself and believe his servant had helped him. She then exited the chamber, checking no one else was nearby before hurrying away to retrieve her plain silver cup. By the time she returned, the king had dressed himself and left, meaning she would now have two uninterrupted hours to see her work here done.

Checking among Bayard's possessions, she located the large ornate box she was looking for. Inside it were two silver goblets, the smaller of which she picked up with a smile. This was far too easy.

~(-)~

The two servants followed behind their lord and his guest, the image of how those in service to a lord were expected to behave. This was the boring part of the job, pretending that neither of them were anything unusual when both of them were right at the heart of a conspiracy.

Fyren fought back a yawn, resisting the urge to fidget while they trailed the two noblemen, before directing a sidelong glance at Liam

"Given that this will delay Bayard leaving for Camelot when he was supposed to leave at noon, I'd have said this was a bad idea. But the look on his face, and how impressed he is by our lord's horses and facilities, I have to say... Nice call. I think you just put yet another feather into Ulwin's cap. Our reputation for fine horses and fine trade will be even better after this."

Liam smiled a little, knowing that Fyren didn't give compliments like that unless he meant them.

"It just seemed like a good idea. In terms of value, the horses are Ulwin's biggest export, even if only a few of them ever go beyond Camelot's borders. If we can get King Bayard really interested in them, it might mean trade contracts to supply them later once Mercia is officially Camelot's ally."

"Which will mean more money for Hargren to spend on the border defences... and more he can siphon off for the side-projects. I'm impressed."

Liam flushed, feeling a little guilty. It was true he'd thought of those angles after suggesting this tour to Lord Hargren, but they hadn't been his reason for doing so. Accepting credit for a lucky fringe benefit of a lie, albeit a small lie, didn't quite sit right with him.

Hargren and King Bayard came to a stop at the edge of one of the training pens, a gesture to a nearby horse-trainer telling them to bring one out and show off its paces for the guest. The boredom became too much at that point for Fyren, who discretely slipped away and left Liam to his fate. In the end he too pretended to go off and deal with a task, by seeking out Yale so he could go talk to King Bayard as Ulwin's expert on the horses. He then remained by one of the stables, sat on a crate to continue his waiting.

It was for that reason he almost jumped in fright when a hand touched his shoulder, Kara smiling at his reaction when he stood up.

"Did you get the gifts cleaned up?"

She nodded, still smiling.

"I just came by to thank you. It wouldn't be courteous for me to ask for help and then not show my gratitude for it. You've done me a great favour, Liam."

Liam glanced over to where Hargren and Bayard were now talking to Yale, it looked like they might be at it for a while.

"I'm sure your master will appreciate it. He seems a good man."

"Yes, it will be a shame to see him fall when the time comes..."

"Huh?"

Liam stared at her in reaction to that, but was beguiled back into acceptance when she renewed her smile.

"Thank you again, Liam."

She turned and walked away, slipping out of sight behind one of the stables. Once there she pulled out the cup concealed beneath her cloak, a cup that was now a perfect replica of the one in Bayard's guest room. The sweet smile then changed to one of malice, winds swirling around her when the words of a spell passed her lips. The trap was set, and the lingering magic cast over Liam would keep him unsuspecting of her disappearance so he would not raise any alarm. For now she had work to do back at her cave. Only then would she slip back in among the King of Mercia's procession.

Three hours later, with their baggage repacked into the carts, Bayard and his people rode out of Ulwin to resume their trip to Camelot. Liam craned his neck trying to spot Kara among them, wanting to wave her farewell on her journey, but it seemed there were too many in too muddled a line to spot her.

Fyren noticed Liam's actions, nudging him in the ribs to make him stop fidgeting.

"Who are you looking for?"

Liam glanced at him, his gaze then trying one last time to spot the one he looked for.

"Kara, King Bayard's personal servant. She seemed like a nice person, and I wanted to see her off."

Fyren frowned, puzzled.

"...But nobility never have a woman serve a man, or a man serve a woman..."

"Hmm, really?"

The carefree way Liam said it set off alarm bells for the other servant, who dissembled and changed the subject.

"Uh, never mind. You stay here and make sure no one gets wedged in the gates... You know how that can happen when too many horses try to pass through at the same time."

"Yeah, I will."

"And watch out for the white one that walks backwards."

"Sure."

That convinced him, that Liam had taken a blatant joke as if it were serious. Backing away, Fyren turned and gave Lord Hargren a meaningful glance as he headed into the manor. The lord took the hint, following after him and falling into step once they'd reached the inner hallways around the study.

"What is it, Fyren?"

The red-head frowned, his expression grim.

"I think we've been played... Bayard's been manipulated into stopping here, so that someone could slip in and do something, and I think that someone used Liam... He knows as well as I do, that women are never the personal servants of men of the nobility, yet for some reason he thinks a woman by the name of 'Kara' was Bayard's servant. He's acting like he's had a haze charm cast on him. I told him a joke and he took it seriously, when it's one he's heard me say a dozen times. He normally elbows me when I mention the 'white horse that walks backwards'."

Hargren stopped in his tracks. There had been an intruder right under their noses?

"But to pull off such a deception would require more than just convincing one servant, it would mean..."

Fyren nodded.

"Using magic to beguile not only Bayard, but his entire entourage. This is work of a master of the Old Magic... We need to warn our spies in Camelot. I fear whoever it is might be going after Arthur."

Hargren cursed, setting off for his study at a pace just shy of running.

"I'll send Timothe, immediately. If he rides hard he can get there well before Bayard, and warn Georg to watch for that 'Kara'. About our only advantage right now, will be I doubt that sorceress will have expected someone to notice so quick."

Fyren grimaced.

"We just have to hope that lets us make a difference. I just wish I'd paid more attention. Liam was fine when I left him at the training yards, so she must have deepened the spell on him some time after that so he'd not realise he'd been used. He's not going to be happy when that charm wears off, especially if we find out something happens during Bayard's visit to Camelot because of it."

Both of them frowned at that thought, knowing Liam all too well. If something irreversible happened because he'd been fooled, he'd blame himself. It had taken years to build his confidence to the levels he had now, and this could prove a serious setback.

Something hard to accept for a lord who had raised him like a second son, and a servant who saw him like a younger brother.

~(-)~

Alaia Skyhawk: Hmm, I dunno this one seems a bit rushed to me yet I can't really do much with the events than what I did without dragging them out. (sighs) I guess I'll just leave this one as is.