A/N: Oh boy, a new chapter. You have to understand this is very exciting
for me because I've held on to this story for so long before uploading it.
I didn't lie; I really DID start it before I even knew this site existed.
Boatloads o' thanks to my very prompt reviewers, cheler and The Dark
Enchantress. I see you're registered, so you probably are acquainted with
the encouraging and inspirational powers of reviews. Thanks again. Here's
chapter TWO!
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Linnet shifted deeper into her seat between the stone lion's massive front paws. An identical statue lounged on the pillar that made up the castle's entrance across from her. It was never easy climbing up here, but it was also the only place Linnet could ever truly be alone. Nobody knew about this place, well, besides Taren, but he knew everything about her already, so he didn't really count in her mind. It had been where she'd run as fast as she could the day her mother died.
The radiant and exotic Queen Sunyoo from the west who'd arrived on elephant-back for her and then-Prince Paris's wedding. Storytellers still spoke of that day when the Kingdom came alive with the sudden contact with this alien culture that flooded across the borders in a great, colorful wave. And they never left out the description of the future-queen herself; jet-black hair, almond-shaped and chocolate-tinted eyes, and golden skin dressed in vibrantly colored robes of silk that fluttered around her as if alive themselves. Later, those renowned scribes would add to their account the new queen's brilliant mind in strategy against the rebels and in the politics of the Kingdom itself. Linnet hoped to be half the queen her mother was.
But now she only had the grossly embellished tales of the queen's greatness to go on, because the real woman was gone. A simple illness that any Kingdom-born man, woman, or child could've passed in a day escalated quickly in the foreign queen into a full-blown assault on her defenseless body. It took her down quickly, no matter how many tales the storyteller's could weave about her strength and power. Linnet at five years old had stood at her mother's bedside and watched the impossible happen.
"Follow only your own mind and heart," the queen had whispered to the frightened young princess, "Don't listen to what you think is wrong. Do what is necessary to do what is right, no matter what the cost." Those were her last words to her daughter before the girl was gently guided from the room by Tulsa's trembling but gentle hand. Linnet never saw her mother again, but those words became the basis for every action in the princess's life from then on. Those words were about to guide her again, and they would continue to in ways she never thought possible.
It had been three days since Chancellor Crane's announcement of Prince Burke's capture, and they had done nothing. King Paris had, as always, left it up to his advisors, who were worse than him when it came to making decisions. Linnet could think of no other time when she'd hated the fact that she was a princess more in her entire life. She was her mother's daughter, and the sight of the aged advisors sitting like over-fed pigeons in the castle while she silently boiled over with plans and ideas on Burke's rescue was driving her completely insane. That was what had fueled her climb into the lion's waiting arms and into deep thought.
The news of Burke's kidnapping had spread like wildfire through the Kingdom, and the repercussions were already beginning to show. Linnet had quickly realized that the look in Alexandro's eyes that had haunted her sleep was barely a fraction of the fervent adulation the entire population felt for the big fake. Those good ol' storytellers had done their jobs well once again, and without Burke many felt scoundrels and villains and rogues of every shape, size, and color would overrun the whole of the Kingdom in a matter of days. Merchants weren't coming to the marketplaces, fields went untended, even entire towns were being evacuated in preparation for the onslaught. And, still, neither the advisors, nor the king did anything about it. Linnet knew they'd never listen to her, and it did nothing for her mood.
"Do what is necessary to do what is right. . ." That's what her mother had told her. Now she knew what she had to do, it was just a matter of how. Hows always get in the way, she groused in her mind.
"Lin?" came a voice from below, "You up there?" It could only have been one person. And that person was the one she'd really have to convince is she was going to follow her mother's advice.
"Yes, Taren, I'm here." She didn't move in her seat, just continued to stare out at the Kingdom's landscape, at the village below sheltered by the castle.
"What's wrong?" She had to smile. He knew her so well. He knew undoubtedly that she only came to this spot when she was upset enough to scale the pillar without fear of a chiding for scuffing her expensive leather shoes or dirtying up her dress.
"Nothing," she responded, as she usually did when they had this conversation, in this place, "I just needed to think for a while." She waited for his well-rehearsed response.
"Do you want me to come back later?" She smiled again, took another look at the panoramic view from her perch, and sighed.
"No," she delivered her line with perfect timing, "I'm coming down now. My ass's falling asleep." She levered herself out of her seat and cautiously made her way down the pillar, toes gingerly searching out her personal niches in the stone as she made her descent. Upon her arrival at the foot of the pillar she dusted her dress off as best she could while Taren massaged the back of his neck irritably.
"I'm glad you came down now, my neck was getting sore. Do you realize how difficult it is to talk to you when you're up there and I'm down here?"
"Yes," she answered with a smile, "That's why I go up there."
"Ooo, that was a good one. Do you mind if I use that one?" He and Linnet started up an easy stroll back into the castle grounds.
"Not at all," she answered breezily, "Though I seriously doubt you'll find a good time and place for it if you live a thousand years."
"Ah, you wait and see, Princess, I'm quite the creative soul, if you haven't noticed. I'll find a way, and I seriously doubt it'll take me a thousand years."
Linnet sensed an opening, time to make her pitch, "Well," she said, keeping her offhand tone, "I know you'll never do it here in the castle. There's just no way. But I bet there's a million chances outside, dontcha' think?"
"Yes," Taren was already suspicious, he answered hesitantly, "Though I'm not quite ready to make it my life's pursuit or anything."
Linnet knew she had her foot in the door, "You're right, but still. Just think about it. Isn't your mind buzzing with the possibilities? I mean, there's so much outside the Kingdom we don't know about. Does that ever bother you?"
"Not really," Oh, his guard was up now, "I'm quite content feedin' the horses and shoveling hay right here. I can support my family and be around interesting folk like you, Your Highness." He gave a mock bow in her direction, or as much of one as he could while walking.
"Oh c'mon," she let her voice turn almost nagging, "Don't tell me you never wonder about what's out there. Or who's out there. All the great things in the world, and you're gonna stand there in broad daylight and tell me it doesn't arouse your curiosity for a second. You are so content among your smelly horses you'd never, EVER dream of leaving, of doing something great with your life while your still young and able-bodied." She stopped walking and faced him.
Slight confusion over his friend's sudden lecture made Taren's brows furrow, "Uh, no. No, I suppose not. I suppose there's nothin' wrong with wantin' a little adventure every now and again. It's just not something you embrace when you're like me." His face turned very serious, "I'm not like you, Linnet," he said quietly, "It's alright for you to have these dreams. Maybe even to live them out. But it's not for me. I've got people who depend on me. My mother, my brother, my little sister not ten years old. If I go on some big quest in some far off land, who's gonna take care of them? Xandro's old enough to work, and he's doin' alright so far, but they NEED me here." He sighed, "Adventure's all well and good for some people, maybe even most people, but not me." Taren started walking again, and Linnet watched her friend go with a heavy heart as she finally noticed the weight in his steps and the slump in his shoulders.
She'd failed to get Taren to come around once, she was determined to win this time. She was going to get him where he was most vulnerable, where she just might even get some back-up, if need be. She slipped on her only pair of trousers and a loose, boyish shirt. She tucked her ample hair into an inconspicuous bun at the back of her head. She snatched a cloth hat from deep inside her bureau and jammed it over her head. It was her disguise, if one was in a good mood, for going into the village with Taren. In these clothes she could pass for another young boy in search of a job or maybe just a handout if a passing peasant was so inclined. Linnet would have worn the disguise all the time if possible, the novelty of sprinting all-out in her trousers never wore out for her. She carried some fond memories of not going to the village at all in those trousers but walking into the fields beyond the castle with Taren and simply running free as a wild mare in the sun.
But now she had to focus. She scooped out all the shoes lined up meticulously by Tulsa at the base of her bureau onto the floor and smoothly lifted the false bottom from the wooden chest. Inside the hidden compartment lay fine leather gloves and a length of strong rope. She deftly tied the rope to a leg of her massive four-poster bed and slipped the gloves onto her hands. Taking a breath, she launched herself out her bedroom window and repelled against the castle wall until she hit the ground. Tying the other end of the rope to a horseshoe Taren had hammered into the ground just below her third-story window, she turned and sprinted in the darkness across the castle grounds and over the stone wall, silent as a jungle cat.
Linnet swore the air was different outside the castle, Taren said she was crazy, and she took deep draughts of it as she strode down the road toward the village. Lights from cooking fires inside the simple homes served as her streetlamps as she counted out the houses. One house, the one with the one nasty dog, she repeated in her mind, Two house, the one with the twins. Three house, the one with the three flower bushes. Eventually she stopped at one house. A fire blazed cheerily inside, warming her before she even got to the door. She wished she lived in such a house.
A small woman with curly blonde hair answered Linnet's knock, "Liam!" she cried happily with an easy smile, "What brings you by so late in the evening? You finished your supper, didn't you, young man? I'll not take in any naughty boy who skips out on supper just to visit with his mates."
"I ate my supper, Mrs. Wesley, every bit." The woman smiled warmly and led Linnet into the warmth of the cottage, sitting her down at their table and fixing her a bowl of stew, chatting all the time.
"You're ice cold, you silly boy. Don't you have a decent coat at home? Or at least a warmer shirt? It's not summer yet, my boy, don't forget. You'll catch your death uh' cold out there. Did I tell you about Sara Satchel's boy? Sick as a dog, last time I went to market, though he fell ta' swimmin' in that bad water out by the-" she paused, "the, oh where was it, by the- oh yes! Out by the castle. Silly fools up there should learn to take better care of their refuse, you ask me. Oh, if they'd just let me in there, I'd make some changes, believe you me! Oh, Taren!" Both women turned to the stairwell the man was currently descending, "Did I wake ya' up, son? Terribly sorry. Though it would've happened anyway, Liam's here!"
"I see that," he answered groggily. He lowered himself into a chair near Linnet, to whom he fixed a weak glare.
"I'll let you two visit," Mrs. Wesley said, and sat down in the rocking chair in front of the fire with some unfinished knitting.
"Something wrong, Liam?" An amused smile spread across Taren's face, "Kind of late for a visit."
"Just wanted to ask something," Linnet replied, carefully keeping her voice at a huskier tone. All part of the act, for Taren's family's safety, it was better if they didn't they were intimate friends of the heir to the throne of the Kingdom.
"Would this something have to do with our conversation this afternoon?" He was a clever one, no doubt about it. Linnet turned her gaze to Mrs. Wesley, who was far too intent on her knitting to be not aware of every nuance in the conversation, even is she didn't understand these nuances.
"Ma'am," Linnet said innocently. The lady's head perked up to meet the princess's gaze, "How's Xandro doing in the castle? Taren said he made royal tailor."
Mrs. Wesley's face lit up, "Oh yes, we are all so proud of him. He says it's not bad there. Sometimes he gets treated poorly, but he says they respect him well enough. Even listen to his suggestions sometimes. To think, our Xandro, effectin' the fashions of the castle itself. We're very proud."
"And what're they payin' our royal fashion expert?"
"Oh, about three gold florins a week, and more for special assignments. Ball gowns and the like."
Linnet eyebrows headed skyward, "That much?" Linnet said incredulously. Taren was silent.
"Yes, we won't have any trouble this winter, I can assure you. It's wonderful isn't it, Taren? You won't have to work nearly so hard in the stables with Xandro racking in such a salary."
"Well," Linnet replied. Only Taren detected the hint of smugness in her words, "I'm quite happy for you, ma'am. Always glad to hear some good news. Taren, aren't you happy?"
"Quite happy," he answered flatly.
"Is it alright if Taren and I go for a bit of a walk, ma'am? I finished my stew."
Mrs. Wesley shifted a little but conceded, "Alright, but be careful. No more than a half hour. And, Liam, you'll borrow Xandro's coat, it's freezin' out there."
Suddenly a sleepy voice was heard from the top of the stairs, "Did I hear my name?" The recently declared working-man pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes in an attempt to rid them of sleep.
"I was just about to lend Liam your coat, he and Taren are goin' fer a walk."
Xandro looked interested, "Oh, a walk sounds good. Can I come, Taren?"
Now all eyes transferred to the eldest Wesley child, who's own gaze shifted from his mother, to his younger brother, to Linnet in succession. Finally he sighed and jerked his head in the direction of the door. Xandro smiled and walked after the pair after taking the last remaining coat from his mother.
"Hello, Liam," Xandro said cordially once the trio were outside. He extended a hand toward Linnet, "I'm- I'm-" he trailed off after getting a good look at whom he was introducing himself to as they passed by the house's fire-lit window.
"Yes, yes, Xandro," Taren said wearily, "This is Princess Linnet. Xandro. Linnet. Linnet. Xandro. Are we done? Her Royal Highness and I have some words to exchange."
"B-b-but-" Xandro sputtered ineffectually.
"There is no Liam," Taren explained for his dazed brother, "Linnet just thought it'd be better if she stayed anonymous in the village. She has to sneak out every time she visits here anyway, way endanger our family in the process."
"Endanger?"
"Yeah, endanger. It's not all that safe to be acquainted with a princess, especially if something bad happens to her. What do ya' think would happen, huh? If she suddenly disappeared, and WE'RE the ones she was last seen with? Do you know what they could do to us, to our family? Do you want that?" Xandro shook his head emphatically, "Well, there you go. Linnet, why are you here?"
"Because I think I can rescue Prince Burke and I want you to come." The truth was she needed him to come, for many reasons. She wasn't sure what had made her say want.
"I told you this afternoon, I'm not goin' anywhere."
"What're you talking about, two minutes ago your mother just said Xandro's already pulled in enough cash to keep you guys in warm beds for the whole winter and THEN some! By the way, why'd you say you had to take care of your family if you clearly don't? Xandro's doin' a fine job far as I can see. There's plenty of-"
"It's none of your business!" Taren suddenly shouted. Linnet watched silently as the anger in his eyes cooled and his jaw muscles unclenched, "I'm sorry." He skillfully changed the subject, "So, what's your foolproof plan to rescue the great Prince Burke."
Linnet wished she could work her fingers into her hair, it made her feel better when she was nervous, "Uh- well, I wouldn't say it's foolproof. . ."
"Ah, I see," Taren almost laughed, "This is one of your, 'we'll just go and find him and spring him and come back' plans, isn't it?"
"It's slightly more complicated than that," Linnet pouted.
"I'm sure it is," Taren replied, condescension thick on his voice, "What do you make uh' all this, little brother?"
"It sounds good to me, let's go." Taren and Linnet turned to the young man between them, one with a smile another with a frown.
"Oh, it does now?" Taren said, "So you're against me too. The both uh' you are perfectly willing to run off into the unknown, risk your necks in search of somebody you don't even like. Perfect."
"Hey," Linnet started angrily, "This isn't about liking or not liking Prince Burke, okay? This is about doing what's right for the Kingdom before it's too late. I've been sitting around for THREE DAYS, Taren! Waiting for those moron advisors to get off their well-fed asses and do something, and they haven't, and if I wait any longer I'm going to scream or kill somebody. I'd like that somebody to be whoever kidnapped the hero of our Kingdom."
"Spoken like a true queen," Taren said quietly, almost imperceptible to his friend's ears. He looked up at the stars and let his mind wander through the daydreams that got him through his workday. Linnet had been right, he was extremely curious about what was on the other side of the Kingdom's border. This may be my only chance, he thought.
"So what do ya' say, Taren?" He turned back to her, fixing her with a crooked smile and warm eyes. She smiled in spite of herself, something about his face when he looked at her like that just made her stomach feel about five pounds lighter.
"Well, ya' need me, that's obvious."
"Oh," Linnet felt slighted somehow, "I NEED you. Are you so sure of that, Mr. Indispensable?"
"Oh yeah, you need me. At least until we leave the Kingdom. Then I'm no handier than you in the ways of the outside. But you are particularly useless, for all your brave words." He kept talking through his friend's offended gasp, "It's true, you know, She of the Castle Upbringing. You wouldn't last a day outside the castle, admit it. Maybe a day or two in the forest, but you've got no people skills. That's just a fact." Linnet ignored Xandro's snicker from behind her, "Don't get huffy now-"
"Too late."
"I'm just saying you don't have experience around people. You need me because I'm good with people. I'll do my best to keep you from getting your royal self hanged in some backwater mud hut town or shot in the head in some duel. That would be bad, losin' the royal heiress to snipers in the mountains."
"Fine!" Linnet shouted, "Enough. I get it, I'm a lost kitten outside the castle, and I won't survive without you. Happy?"
"Very, when do we leave?"
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A/N: Sorry if the grammar is screwed up on this one, I don't think it'll be, but you never know. So, what do you think of chapter two? Love it, hate it? I wanna know! Oh yeah, for some reason Taren somehow acquired a Scottish accent while I was writing. Go figure, but I like it, I think I'll keep it. Okay, gotta go to sleep, c ya!
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Linnet shifted deeper into her seat between the stone lion's massive front paws. An identical statue lounged on the pillar that made up the castle's entrance across from her. It was never easy climbing up here, but it was also the only place Linnet could ever truly be alone. Nobody knew about this place, well, besides Taren, but he knew everything about her already, so he didn't really count in her mind. It had been where she'd run as fast as she could the day her mother died.
The radiant and exotic Queen Sunyoo from the west who'd arrived on elephant-back for her and then-Prince Paris's wedding. Storytellers still spoke of that day when the Kingdom came alive with the sudden contact with this alien culture that flooded across the borders in a great, colorful wave. And they never left out the description of the future-queen herself; jet-black hair, almond-shaped and chocolate-tinted eyes, and golden skin dressed in vibrantly colored robes of silk that fluttered around her as if alive themselves. Later, those renowned scribes would add to their account the new queen's brilliant mind in strategy against the rebels and in the politics of the Kingdom itself. Linnet hoped to be half the queen her mother was.
But now she only had the grossly embellished tales of the queen's greatness to go on, because the real woman was gone. A simple illness that any Kingdom-born man, woman, or child could've passed in a day escalated quickly in the foreign queen into a full-blown assault on her defenseless body. It took her down quickly, no matter how many tales the storyteller's could weave about her strength and power. Linnet at five years old had stood at her mother's bedside and watched the impossible happen.
"Follow only your own mind and heart," the queen had whispered to the frightened young princess, "Don't listen to what you think is wrong. Do what is necessary to do what is right, no matter what the cost." Those were her last words to her daughter before the girl was gently guided from the room by Tulsa's trembling but gentle hand. Linnet never saw her mother again, but those words became the basis for every action in the princess's life from then on. Those words were about to guide her again, and they would continue to in ways she never thought possible.
It had been three days since Chancellor Crane's announcement of Prince Burke's capture, and they had done nothing. King Paris had, as always, left it up to his advisors, who were worse than him when it came to making decisions. Linnet could think of no other time when she'd hated the fact that she was a princess more in her entire life. She was her mother's daughter, and the sight of the aged advisors sitting like over-fed pigeons in the castle while she silently boiled over with plans and ideas on Burke's rescue was driving her completely insane. That was what had fueled her climb into the lion's waiting arms and into deep thought.
The news of Burke's kidnapping had spread like wildfire through the Kingdom, and the repercussions were already beginning to show. Linnet had quickly realized that the look in Alexandro's eyes that had haunted her sleep was barely a fraction of the fervent adulation the entire population felt for the big fake. Those good ol' storytellers had done their jobs well once again, and without Burke many felt scoundrels and villains and rogues of every shape, size, and color would overrun the whole of the Kingdom in a matter of days. Merchants weren't coming to the marketplaces, fields went untended, even entire towns were being evacuated in preparation for the onslaught. And, still, neither the advisors, nor the king did anything about it. Linnet knew they'd never listen to her, and it did nothing for her mood.
"Do what is necessary to do what is right. . ." That's what her mother had told her. Now she knew what she had to do, it was just a matter of how. Hows always get in the way, she groused in her mind.
"Lin?" came a voice from below, "You up there?" It could only have been one person. And that person was the one she'd really have to convince is she was going to follow her mother's advice.
"Yes, Taren, I'm here." She didn't move in her seat, just continued to stare out at the Kingdom's landscape, at the village below sheltered by the castle.
"What's wrong?" She had to smile. He knew her so well. He knew undoubtedly that she only came to this spot when she was upset enough to scale the pillar without fear of a chiding for scuffing her expensive leather shoes or dirtying up her dress.
"Nothing," she responded, as she usually did when they had this conversation, in this place, "I just needed to think for a while." She waited for his well-rehearsed response.
"Do you want me to come back later?" She smiled again, took another look at the panoramic view from her perch, and sighed.
"No," she delivered her line with perfect timing, "I'm coming down now. My ass's falling asleep." She levered herself out of her seat and cautiously made her way down the pillar, toes gingerly searching out her personal niches in the stone as she made her descent. Upon her arrival at the foot of the pillar she dusted her dress off as best she could while Taren massaged the back of his neck irritably.
"I'm glad you came down now, my neck was getting sore. Do you realize how difficult it is to talk to you when you're up there and I'm down here?"
"Yes," she answered with a smile, "That's why I go up there."
"Ooo, that was a good one. Do you mind if I use that one?" He and Linnet started up an easy stroll back into the castle grounds.
"Not at all," she answered breezily, "Though I seriously doubt you'll find a good time and place for it if you live a thousand years."
"Ah, you wait and see, Princess, I'm quite the creative soul, if you haven't noticed. I'll find a way, and I seriously doubt it'll take me a thousand years."
Linnet sensed an opening, time to make her pitch, "Well," she said, keeping her offhand tone, "I know you'll never do it here in the castle. There's just no way. But I bet there's a million chances outside, dontcha' think?"
"Yes," Taren was already suspicious, he answered hesitantly, "Though I'm not quite ready to make it my life's pursuit or anything."
Linnet knew she had her foot in the door, "You're right, but still. Just think about it. Isn't your mind buzzing with the possibilities? I mean, there's so much outside the Kingdom we don't know about. Does that ever bother you?"
"Not really," Oh, his guard was up now, "I'm quite content feedin' the horses and shoveling hay right here. I can support my family and be around interesting folk like you, Your Highness." He gave a mock bow in her direction, or as much of one as he could while walking.
"Oh c'mon," she let her voice turn almost nagging, "Don't tell me you never wonder about what's out there. Or who's out there. All the great things in the world, and you're gonna stand there in broad daylight and tell me it doesn't arouse your curiosity for a second. You are so content among your smelly horses you'd never, EVER dream of leaving, of doing something great with your life while your still young and able-bodied." She stopped walking and faced him.
Slight confusion over his friend's sudden lecture made Taren's brows furrow, "Uh, no. No, I suppose not. I suppose there's nothin' wrong with wantin' a little adventure every now and again. It's just not something you embrace when you're like me." His face turned very serious, "I'm not like you, Linnet," he said quietly, "It's alright for you to have these dreams. Maybe even to live them out. But it's not for me. I've got people who depend on me. My mother, my brother, my little sister not ten years old. If I go on some big quest in some far off land, who's gonna take care of them? Xandro's old enough to work, and he's doin' alright so far, but they NEED me here." He sighed, "Adventure's all well and good for some people, maybe even most people, but not me." Taren started walking again, and Linnet watched her friend go with a heavy heart as she finally noticed the weight in his steps and the slump in his shoulders.
She'd failed to get Taren to come around once, she was determined to win this time. She was going to get him where he was most vulnerable, where she just might even get some back-up, if need be. She slipped on her only pair of trousers and a loose, boyish shirt. She tucked her ample hair into an inconspicuous bun at the back of her head. She snatched a cloth hat from deep inside her bureau and jammed it over her head. It was her disguise, if one was in a good mood, for going into the village with Taren. In these clothes she could pass for another young boy in search of a job or maybe just a handout if a passing peasant was so inclined. Linnet would have worn the disguise all the time if possible, the novelty of sprinting all-out in her trousers never wore out for her. She carried some fond memories of not going to the village at all in those trousers but walking into the fields beyond the castle with Taren and simply running free as a wild mare in the sun.
But now she had to focus. She scooped out all the shoes lined up meticulously by Tulsa at the base of her bureau onto the floor and smoothly lifted the false bottom from the wooden chest. Inside the hidden compartment lay fine leather gloves and a length of strong rope. She deftly tied the rope to a leg of her massive four-poster bed and slipped the gloves onto her hands. Taking a breath, she launched herself out her bedroom window and repelled against the castle wall until she hit the ground. Tying the other end of the rope to a horseshoe Taren had hammered into the ground just below her third-story window, she turned and sprinted in the darkness across the castle grounds and over the stone wall, silent as a jungle cat.
Linnet swore the air was different outside the castle, Taren said she was crazy, and she took deep draughts of it as she strode down the road toward the village. Lights from cooking fires inside the simple homes served as her streetlamps as she counted out the houses. One house, the one with the one nasty dog, she repeated in her mind, Two house, the one with the twins. Three house, the one with the three flower bushes. Eventually she stopped at one house. A fire blazed cheerily inside, warming her before she even got to the door. She wished she lived in such a house.
A small woman with curly blonde hair answered Linnet's knock, "Liam!" she cried happily with an easy smile, "What brings you by so late in the evening? You finished your supper, didn't you, young man? I'll not take in any naughty boy who skips out on supper just to visit with his mates."
"I ate my supper, Mrs. Wesley, every bit." The woman smiled warmly and led Linnet into the warmth of the cottage, sitting her down at their table and fixing her a bowl of stew, chatting all the time.
"You're ice cold, you silly boy. Don't you have a decent coat at home? Or at least a warmer shirt? It's not summer yet, my boy, don't forget. You'll catch your death uh' cold out there. Did I tell you about Sara Satchel's boy? Sick as a dog, last time I went to market, though he fell ta' swimmin' in that bad water out by the-" she paused, "the, oh where was it, by the- oh yes! Out by the castle. Silly fools up there should learn to take better care of their refuse, you ask me. Oh, if they'd just let me in there, I'd make some changes, believe you me! Oh, Taren!" Both women turned to the stairwell the man was currently descending, "Did I wake ya' up, son? Terribly sorry. Though it would've happened anyway, Liam's here!"
"I see that," he answered groggily. He lowered himself into a chair near Linnet, to whom he fixed a weak glare.
"I'll let you two visit," Mrs. Wesley said, and sat down in the rocking chair in front of the fire with some unfinished knitting.
"Something wrong, Liam?" An amused smile spread across Taren's face, "Kind of late for a visit."
"Just wanted to ask something," Linnet replied, carefully keeping her voice at a huskier tone. All part of the act, for Taren's family's safety, it was better if they didn't they were intimate friends of the heir to the throne of the Kingdom.
"Would this something have to do with our conversation this afternoon?" He was a clever one, no doubt about it. Linnet turned her gaze to Mrs. Wesley, who was far too intent on her knitting to be not aware of every nuance in the conversation, even is she didn't understand these nuances.
"Ma'am," Linnet said innocently. The lady's head perked up to meet the princess's gaze, "How's Xandro doing in the castle? Taren said he made royal tailor."
Mrs. Wesley's face lit up, "Oh yes, we are all so proud of him. He says it's not bad there. Sometimes he gets treated poorly, but he says they respect him well enough. Even listen to his suggestions sometimes. To think, our Xandro, effectin' the fashions of the castle itself. We're very proud."
"And what're they payin' our royal fashion expert?"
"Oh, about three gold florins a week, and more for special assignments. Ball gowns and the like."
Linnet eyebrows headed skyward, "That much?" Linnet said incredulously. Taren was silent.
"Yes, we won't have any trouble this winter, I can assure you. It's wonderful isn't it, Taren? You won't have to work nearly so hard in the stables with Xandro racking in such a salary."
"Well," Linnet replied. Only Taren detected the hint of smugness in her words, "I'm quite happy for you, ma'am. Always glad to hear some good news. Taren, aren't you happy?"
"Quite happy," he answered flatly.
"Is it alright if Taren and I go for a bit of a walk, ma'am? I finished my stew."
Mrs. Wesley shifted a little but conceded, "Alright, but be careful. No more than a half hour. And, Liam, you'll borrow Xandro's coat, it's freezin' out there."
Suddenly a sleepy voice was heard from the top of the stairs, "Did I hear my name?" The recently declared working-man pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes in an attempt to rid them of sleep.
"I was just about to lend Liam your coat, he and Taren are goin' fer a walk."
Xandro looked interested, "Oh, a walk sounds good. Can I come, Taren?"
Now all eyes transferred to the eldest Wesley child, who's own gaze shifted from his mother, to his younger brother, to Linnet in succession. Finally he sighed and jerked his head in the direction of the door. Xandro smiled and walked after the pair after taking the last remaining coat from his mother.
"Hello, Liam," Xandro said cordially once the trio were outside. He extended a hand toward Linnet, "I'm- I'm-" he trailed off after getting a good look at whom he was introducing himself to as they passed by the house's fire-lit window.
"Yes, yes, Xandro," Taren said wearily, "This is Princess Linnet. Xandro. Linnet. Linnet. Xandro. Are we done? Her Royal Highness and I have some words to exchange."
"B-b-but-" Xandro sputtered ineffectually.
"There is no Liam," Taren explained for his dazed brother, "Linnet just thought it'd be better if she stayed anonymous in the village. She has to sneak out every time she visits here anyway, way endanger our family in the process."
"Endanger?"
"Yeah, endanger. It's not all that safe to be acquainted with a princess, especially if something bad happens to her. What do ya' think would happen, huh? If she suddenly disappeared, and WE'RE the ones she was last seen with? Do you know what they could do to us, to our family? Do you want that?" Xandro shook his head emphatically, "Well, there you go. Linnet, why are you here?"
"Because I think I can rescue Prince Burke and I want you to come." The truth was she needed him to come, for many reasons. She wasn't sure what had made her say want.
"I told you this afternoon, I'm not goin' anywhere."
"What're you talking about, two minutes ago your mother just said Xandro's already pulled in enough cash to keep you guys in warm beds for the whole winter and THEN some! By the way, why'd you say you had to take care of your family if you clearly don't? Xandro's doin' a fine job far as I can see. There's plenty of-"
"It's none of your business!" Taren suddenly shouted. Linnet watched silently as the anger in his eyes cooled and his jaw muscles unclenched, "I'm sorry." He skillfully changed the subject, "So, what's your foolproof plan to rescue the great Prince Burke."
Linnet wished she could work her fingers into her hair, it made her feel better when she was nervous, "Uh- well, I wouldn't say it's foolproof. . ."
"Ah, I see," Taren almost laughed, "This is one of your, 'we'll just go and find him and spring him and come back' plans, isn't it?"
"It's slightly more complicated than that," Linnet pouted.
"I'm sure it is," Taren replied, condescension thick on his voice, "What do you make uh' all this, little brother?"
"It sounds good to me, let's go." Taren and Linnet turned to the young man between them, one with a smile another with a frown.
"Oh, it does now?" Taren said, "So you're against me too. The both uh' you are perfectly willing to run off into the unknown, risk your necks in search of somebody you don't even like. Perfect."
"Hey," Linnet started angrily, "This isn't about liking or not liking Prince Burke, okay? This is about doing what's right for the Kingdom before it's too late. I've been sitting around for THREE DAYS, Taren! Waiting for those moron advisors to get off their well-fed asses and do something, and they haven't, and if I wait any longer I'm going to scream or kill somebody. I'd like that somebody to be whoever kidnapped the hero of our Kingdom."
"Spoken like a true queen," Taren said quietly, almost imperceptible to his friend's ears. He looked up at the stars and let his mind wander through the daydreams that got him through his workday. Linnet had been right, he was extremely curious about what was on the other side of the Kingdom's border. This may be my only chance, he thought.
"So what do ya' say, Taren?" He turned back to her, fixing her with a crooked smile and warm eyes. She smiled in spite of herself, something about his face when he looked at her like that just made her stomach feel about five pounds lighter.
"Well, ya' need me, that's obvious."
"Oh," Linnet felt slighted somehow, "I NEED you. Are you so sure of that, Mr. Indispensable?"
"Oh yeah, you need me. At least until we leave the Kingdom. Then I'm no handier than you in the ways of the outside. But you are particularly useless, for all your brave words." He kept talking through his friend's offended gasp, "It's true, you know, She of the Castle Upbringing. You wouldn't last a day outside the castle, admit it. Maybe a day or two in the forest, but you've got no people skills. That's just a fact." Linnet ignored Xandro's snicker from behind her, "Don't get huffy now-"
"Too late."
"I'm just saying you don't have experience around people. You need me because I'm good with people. I'll do my best to keep you from getting your royal self hanged in some backwater mud hut town or shot in the head in some duel. That would be bad, losin' the royal heiress to snipers in the mountains."
"Fine!" Linnet shouted, "Enough. I get it, I'm a lost kitten outside the castle, and I won't survive without you. Happy?"
"Very, when do we leave?"
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A/N: Sorry if the grammar is screwed up on this one, I don't think it'll be, but you never know. So, what do you think of chapter two? Love it, hate it? I wanna know! Oh yeah, for some reason Taren somehow acquired a Scottish accent while I was writing. Go figure, but I like it, I think I'll keep it. Okay, gotta go to sleep, c ya!