In Which Dangers Arise
Although my bad dreams were coming less often, they were still an irksome presence in my life. I saw old family members and friends being led up the stairs to the scaffold, about to give their lives for their beloved--and dead--king. The past might have been frightening, but the uncertain future was even more so. Those were dark, dark days in Nond House: we were very afraid of what we did not know.
We are in grave danger, I can feel it.
Cecila blinked her eyes against the bright sunlight streaming in through the window. Marius had obviously opened the curtains to wake her up, and she burrowed more into the covers. Three months had passed since their move to Nond House, and they all had settled into an almost comfortable little routine.
She dragged herself reluctantly out of bed and grabbed her brocade dressing gown. She was just reaching out to turn the doorknob when Aly rushed in, her face green and miserable. "I'm beginning to think I'm not really pregnant," she announced gravely as she gazed out the window. "Maybe I just have some horrid illness where I'm sick in the mornings, and I'm going to die tomorrow. I mean, it's been a month and a half, and my stomach is still practically flat!"
"And you're complaining about that?"
She scowled. "I'm crown princess of Tortall now, Cecila. Women like me are beheaded for false pregnancies. I have a right to be worried, don't I? This is my child we're talking about, after all."
Cecila marveled at the almost miraculous turnaround in her friend's attitude. When she had discovered the fact that she was pregnant only mere weeks after her wedding, she had broken down sobbing, inconsolable for several hours. Liam, however, had reacted like a typical man: swaggering, boasting, his head swelling with pride. "Well, that didn't take long," his brother had remarked with a slight snicker.
As the weeks passed, the crown prince grew more and more protective of his young wife. Although she refused to admit it, Aly loved all the attention lavished on her at all times.
"I need to get out of this house," she said suddenly. "Can we go to the market, dressed like servants? If we're careful, no one will notice us." She didn't wait for an answer, instead practically skipping out the door and down the hallway. Cecila sighed, exasperated with her friend's incredible mood swings, and shut her bedroom door behind her. If Aly wanted to get out of the house, no one was going to stop her, and she might as well go along for the fun of it.
"Look, silks from the Copper Isles!" Jasson pointed out as the three of them, dressed very plainly, made their way through the marketplace. He had insisted upon escorting them; as the youngest prince, he would hardly be recognizable by most of the commoners.
Aly reached out and fingered a bolt of cloth of gold. "Lovely. It's nice to see good fabrics again."
Cecila nodded in agreement as she paid for the bolt of taffeta, but elbowed her friend in warning. Even the vendors had watchful eyes and ears, and they were already looking suspiciously at the prince's jet-black hair and his sister-in-law's large violet eyes. "Come along," she ordered them loudly. "You know the master will be angry if we're late again."
"What was that for?"
"That was to keep us from being arrested," she hissed back. "This is too dangerous; we should go back now. Too many people are taking notice of us."
"We're not that obvious," Aly whispered indignantly.
Jasson grabbed their arms suddenly and pulled them into a back alley. "Yes, we are obvious. Look there." Cecila paled at the sight of two of the cloth merchants talking to two armed soldiers, pointing in their direction. She turned and began to walk calmly in the opposite direction. "Come on, let's go. Now."
She gasped, shocked to see that the end of the alley was suddenly blocked off by two men in dark clothing. She spun around to see that there were three more cutting off their escape. Jasson cursed under his breath and brought out his sword. "I can't hold them all off by myself, you know," he complained.
"Relax." Aly's hands were now holding two very sharp-looking daggers. She glared at the men around them. "Even those Assembly bastards won't stand for thieves in their city."
A thief bowed mockingly and gave her an innocent shrug. "We're just tryin' to make a livin', my lady. Now just put the knives away and maybe we'll talk."
"Over my dead body." She shifted her position, settling into a fighter's crouch. "Come and get it, you son of a bitch." She stood back-to-back with Jasson, both of them watching the thieves warily from either direction. Cecila backed off, thankfully unnoticed by everyone.
"Little vixen's got quite a mouth on 'er, eh, gentlemen?" He shook his head. "Like ye'd know how to use weapons like those."
"Why don't you come over here and find out?" she shot back, her voice pure acid. This was a very different Aly from the laughing, flirtatious girl she presented to the rest of the world. "I think you will find yourself unpleasantly surprised."
The thief lunged, trying to draw her into a fight, but she refused to be tricked. "I'm not as stupid as you think."
"Now there's a shocker," one of the other ones jibed, leering. "It's not like ye'll do any damage to any of us anyway. Ye're naught but a child."
Jasson shifted uncomfortably. "Do something," he hissed.
"Why're you looking at me?" Aly snapped back, before turning back to the thieves. "You know what, you're right. I'm not going to do any damage today, but not because I'm only a child." She handed Cecila the knives and walked casually towards the two thieves in front of her. "Thank you for positively boring me out of my mind, gentlemen."
They looked at each other, confused. She took the opportunity and punched each of them in the low stomach, hard enough so that they keeled over. "Run!" she shouted, Jasson and Cecila hot on her heels. They all but sprinted back to Nond House, doubling back a few times so that they were positive they wouldn't be followed. Once inside the garden, they collapsed on top of each other, gasping for breath.
"They weren't thieves," Marius said, leaning back in his chair. The five of them were holding a small conference in the former study, discussing the events of the afternoon.
Liam looked up from where he was fussing over his wife. "What do you mean, they weren't thieves?"
"He's right," Cecila agreed. "If they were, they would have just taken our money and ran, but they didn't. Instead, they stalled around for time. They were hired by someone to kill us."
"Assassins? But we were released from prison!"
She sighed. "That doesn't mean the government doesn't still want us dead, Jasson. We're a threat to them whether in shackles or not. But they couldn't kill all of us, or else the citizens would accuse them of being no better than we once were, blood-stained butchers. At the moment, the government is between a rock and a hard place with nowhere to go."
"The economy hasn't risen enough," her husband added flatly. "The Assembly isn't able to deliver everything they promised to. After all, people are still starving. More so than they were before the Revolution. Just because this country has rid itself of a monarchy doesn't mean things are going to miraculously get better, and the people were expecting that. Most of them don't understand how economies work, and they're uneducated. They bought everything those rebel scum gave them, because they were impressed by big words and even bigger promises. And now they've got to face the music."
Aly looked up from where she sat near the window. "Are you saying we do exactly what they did, manipulate the masses into following us and overthrowing the Assembly? That's insanity, Bocton."
Marius shrugged. "It's worth a shot, isn't it? We can beat them at their own game; besides, we all grew up at court, we're masters at exploitation and deceit. Why are you complaining? If all turns out as planned, you'll be a queen."
"I'd rather have my family back," she snapped. "And if I do do this, it's for them, not for a stupid title."
"We'd all like our families back, but it's not going to happen." Liam put his hand reassuringly on her arm. "Listen, I'd rather you not distress yourself. You've had enough excitement for one day."
She threw her hands up in the air, admitting temporary defeat. "Fine, I'll go rest. But just because I'm pregnant doesn't suddenly mean I'm going to break if you push me too hard." She slammed the door indignantly behind her.
Jasson glanced at his brother. "How do we go about doing this? I mean, won't the Assembly somehow get wind of our plans?"
"Send a letter to your sister in Carthak," Cecila said quietly. "Explain the situation. I'm sure Kalasin will be able to do something. And we can perhaps get help from the Yamanis, since Princess Shinkokami and Lady Haname were both killed by the rebels. Doubtless they have grieving relatives who want revenge now."
"We probably have more support amongst the common people than we would imagine," Marius added. "I've gathered in the last few months that they're now feeling like they bit off more than they could chew."
Cecila found Lianne sitting in the walled garden reading a book, while Gwen and Marco were mock-fencing with tree branches, Meris happily cheering them on. Her friend didn't even look up, but said brightly, "Lovely day. How was the market?"
"Gwen, Marco, take your sister inside. I believe there's a small fencing gallery in the basement with foils that you can use. Just make sure you don't do something ridiculous and kill yourselves."
Lianne raised her eyebrows as they left at a run. "That bad?"
"It was perfectly fine until we were cornered by five assassins in an alley," she retorted, trying to keep her voice light.
Her remark was met with silence as the princess contemplated the gravity of what had just been said. Someone knew about them, and probably where they were living as well. "It's no longer safe here," she whispered after a long pause. "We need to leave before someone really gets hurt."
Cecila looked up to see Liam standing behind his sister and jumped. He could have been there the entire time and they wouldn't have known, so silent was his entrance. He nodded. "Corus is no longer safe, but where else do we go now? All of our homes have been seized by the government, and we have to stay together."
His sister craned her neck and looked up at him with a frown on her face. "Why do we have to stay together? Aren't we more conspicuous as a large group?"
"Because," said Marius as he sat down next to her, "safety in numbers, or did you never learn that, Highness?" He turned his attention to the prince. "Who are they letting out today? I heard it was a large number."
Liam bit his lip and appeared to be thinking hard about it. "Katerene of Naxen and her sister Mariana, a few of the lesser nobles, perhaps Faleron of King's Reach, Lady Yukimi."
"Fal will help us!" Cecila exclaimed, perking up, then slumping back down. "Did you say Katerene of Naxen? Oh, gods help us."
Liam and Marius walked away, talking quietly to each other, and went inside, leaving the two women in the garden by themselves. Silence stretched between them until Lianne finally rose and walked inside, giving some vague excuse about the tapestry she was working on.
Later that afternoon, Cecila sat in one of the sitting rooms, staring at Katerne of Naxen warily. The duke's third daughter returned the look with one of her own that was quite possibly more malevolent. Sixteen-year-old Mariana was engaged in a joyful reunion with Kassandra, and both were oblivious to the tension in the room. Of the duke and duchess's five daughters, Katerne was the only one who took after her father, with her brown eyes and long chestnut-colored hair. Roxana and Iona had been blue-eyed blondes like their beautiful mother Cythera; Mariana and Kassandra were mini-versions of them. Technically, the Naxen sisters were second cousins to the remaining Contés, although the relation was through the King Jonathan's mother. Because of this, Katerene would be recognized as rightful duchess of Naxen, throwing the rules of primogeniture out the door for the future king's cousin.
"So," Katerene began coldly. "I see you finally wed Marius. Hardly the idyllic life that once awaited you."
"I've learned to make sacrifices. You will find, Your Grace, that freedom in this world is just as hard, if not worse, than life in prison. It was made apparent that we are no longer able to stay here this morning when Prince Jasson, La--I mean Princess Alianne, and myself were almost killed by men surely hired by the Assembly. This is about as real as it gets."
The duchess wrinkled her nose. "Yes, I had heard that little half-blood twit married Prince Liam. Never would have happened under different circumstances."
"That 'half-blood twit' will one day be your queen, you pathetic little ingrate," an angry voice snapped from th e doorway, "and you will do well to remember that."
Lianne and Aly had arrived, the latter looking dangerously furious, although Katerene was unfazed. "You, queen? Ha! When pigs fly, my lady. When pigs fly." Mariana and Kassandra slipped unnoticed out of the room and away from the potential catfight, presumably to find Gwendolyn and Elara.
"Stop this at once!" Lianne snapped, stepping into the middle of the room. "By the Goddess, you've all been like this since the convent, and we were eleven then! Don't you think, now that we're grown women, we can but our petty differences behind us and attempt to get along? For everyone's sake?"
Cecila nodded, looking ashamedly at the floor. Katerene and Aly continued to glare daggers at each other, until the princess cleared her throat significantly. Both hesitated and then nodded reluctantly. It seemed a shaky sort of truth had been forged, albeit an extremely fragile one.
A/N: Now, I don't normally do this, but I wanted to address one thing from the reviews: yes, I have read the Trickster's Choice excerpt on Tammy's site. I'm a member of Sheroes...how could I not have? There was a ginormous thread on it at the beginning of the summer (or was it later than that?...I can't remember). Concerning the excerpt, I really didn't like it very much, but then again, I hated the first few chapters of Lady Knight and Squire too. I definitely am still looking forward to it, since I've heard from those lucky bastards with Advanced Reader copies (excuse the language...I'm just jealous) that it's a really, really good book.
In this fic, I'm totally acting as if Trickster never really happened. I needed one of Alanna and George's children in my story, and I don't really know enough about Alan yet to build a strong character for him. Plus, I've liked Alianne ever since I first heard Tammy's plans to write books about her a few years ago. And Thom was, well, dead. Poor him. At least he was beheaded, and not burned alive like his parents. Quick and painless. Whoa, I'm starting to get kind of morbid here. Eeek!
