// These characters belong to Tamora Pierce. The plot belongs to me : )
// This chapter contains some mention of slash (you know what THAT means)
Fairy Tale
Minuet
King Jonathan was uncomfortable.
He was sitting upright in one of the luxurious chairs in Sir Paxton's apartments, the room well lit by the afternoon sun. Paxton was seated in the chair beside him, and across was the squire, sprawled out along the sofa, watching the king with and indolent, lazy blue stare.
*Why am I the one who has to do this?* he thought petulantly. * Myles is the Spymaster, after all.* But the shaggy knight had found some "urgent" business, leaving Jon with the task, the instructions, and a "good luck." As the boy's teacher for four years, he knew
exactly what it was like trying to instruct a disagreeable Joren.
Jon cleared his throat. "Squire Joren, I presume Sir Paxton has filled you in on what you'll be doing?" The blonde shrugged noncommitally.
"Joren! Sit up and answer the question!" hissed Sir Paxton. Joren propped himself up on his elbows, but that was all. Apparently he didn't find it necessary to show much respect to his sovereign ruler, but then, this sovereign ruler was more or less desperate for the boy's cooperation. Jon tried again.
"So, exactly what has your knight-master told you about this task?"
"That you want me to be girlfriend to some poofy prince and sleep with him to get information so you can blow his kingdome out of the water?" Joren was going for 'apathetic,' but his voice cracked on the word "sleep," betraying him.
"NO!" exclaimed the king, with such force Paxton started in his seat. Jon lowered his voice. "You...you won't be a /girl/ per se, but the prince of Kangen will need a dining companion and someone to show him around Corus...as well as a date for the Summer Festival." Joren arched an eyebrow.
"And if I have plans for the Summer Festival?"
"Do you?"
Joren sneered elegantly and looked away. The
king ignored him and continued. "According to our
resources--" Joren made a cough that
sounded suspiciously like "*spies*" which Jon chose to
ignore--"his Highness of Kangen prefers the
company of--of boys, and as far as that goes, his tastes run to the
effeminate."
"Meaning?"
That took Jon aback. Joren ought to at the very least know the meaning of that word, considering his picture was probably next to it in the dictionary. "You know, not so buff--more, more, ahh, slender, smaller, with more delicate features..." Joren's progressively souring look could have curdled stone.
"You mean 'pretty'?"
"...yes. But don't worry," he added quickly. "As long as you get the information, you won't have to sleep with him unless you want to."
Joren bolted up. "How DA--"
"Joren." At Paxton's warning tone, Joren shut his mouth and lay back again, scowling. Jon smirked to himself.
"...and you won't have to dress like a girl. Probably."
"PROBABLY?!! What's THAT supposed to mean?!"
"Relax, Joren," interrupted Sir Paxton calmly. "It's not like you've never done it before." Joren blushed furiously, casting a dark look in his master's direction before looking away.
"So, what's the information, anyway?" he asked, attempting to change the subject.
Jon drew a breath.
"It's complicated. In the past six months, the kingdom of Kangen has increased its military and strengthened security, as well as broken off diplomatic relations with its neighbors, the Yamani Islands, Jindazhen and the Rainy Isles. However, there has been no provocation in the slightest for them to do so. Your job is to find out what the prince's motives are and also anything you can regarding his plans."
"Won't he be expecting you to set him up with someone for this?" The boy slid into a seated position on the sofa. "He'll probably guess what I'm doing."
King Jonathan shook his head. "You're right, the prince of Kangen is an exceptionally clever man, and even if he weren't he'd still most likely catch on. However, we are setting him up with someone /else/ whom he will think is the spy. We will seat him next to this person at banquets and arrange for them to be dancing partners and to meet elsewhere on occasion. You he will meet outside the palace, and he shan't know of any affiliation with us whatsoever. Therefore, while with the other lad he'll always be on his guard, with you the prince ought to be completely relaxed."
"Who's the 'other lad'?" Joren was curious, but did his best to sound bored.
"You aren't allowed to know. You might let it slip in the heat of the moment." This earned Jon a Joren-death-glare (tm), which he ignored. "Have you opened the package yet?" Joren thought of the bundle still sitting untouched at the foot of his bed.
"No." As though it should have been obvious. Jon felt his patience wearing thin.
"Well, you need to try them on soon so Mistress Kuri can ensure that they fit perfectly."
"Whatever." Joren rolled off the sofa and gracefully onto his feet. Without bothering to bow, he began to walk towards his room.
"Where do you think you're going?" Paxton hid a smirk at the king's irate tone. Jonathan wasn't used to being treated with such blatant disregard. The blonde knight always found it amusing to watch the inexperienced interaxt with his obnoxious charge. Joren turned.
"Now what?!" he demanded impatiently. "I was *going* to try on those outfits since you were throwing such a tantrum about it." The ebony-haired king's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. *It might make me look bad if my own squire gives the king a heart-attack,* panicked Paxton.
"Go on and do that, Joren," he replied authoritatively, as though it had been his idea. "Stay in there and I'll check on you later." The boy disappeared into his room, and Paxton turned to the king to apoligize. "Please forgive him, your majesty. Joren doesn't have what people call 'manners.'"
"Oh?" replied Jonathan coldly.
"Yes. Although I instruct him primarily in swordsmanship, martial arts, chess and other forms of aggressive combat, I devote particular attentions to his manners (or lack thereof), especially with regard to authority figures. I increaded these lessons after that 'incident' at the trial. Please believe me, his behavior has improved vastly since he began as my squire." This was true; in Joren's first week as squire he had broken Paxton's favorite vase, dyed the knight's warhorse's coat a bright blue, and set fire to the privy. A more complacent Joren who threw the occasional tantrum (and vase) and poured coffee into Paxton's lap was much easier to live with.
Jonathan rose. "I understand. It must be difficult raising that demon into something resembling human." Paxton laughed; the king allowed himself a small smile and turned to leave.
"Oh, your majesty?" Jon turned around. "Do you think he'll actually be able to pull this off?" The king paused for a moment and considered.
"Yes," he replied after a while. "Much as I hate to admit it, he's clever enough to accomplish it." *And he's not too bad in the looks department either,* he added mentally. Guessing his ruler's thoughts, Paxton grinned and bowed.
to be continued...
/* I hope you like the chapter, please review and thank you for reading! Any comments and questions are welcomed with confetti; please continue to read this story. If you haven't noticed, there is a musical theme to this work ^^ The chapters are types of musical pieces, Ariose is a musical term, and Kangen may or may not be Japanese for "music" (shrug) . */
