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January 21, 463 H.E. – 23rd year of the reign of King Jonathan IV and Queen Thayet

The Royal Palace, Corus, Tortall

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The one o'clock bell had just stopped ringing when Lianne returned to her chambers after lunch. The wing which housed her living quarters was quiet, a fact Lianne was getting used to, but still didn't like. Inside the wing were the living chambers of all five children of the Royal Family, though many of the rooms were seldom used. At one time, Roald occupied the first several rooms, and Liam the next. Across the hall lay Kalasin's quarters, and beside them Lianne's own. The door to Jasson's lay at the end of the hall, where the nursery once was.

Jasson's room had been unoccupied for four years, and would be for another four. All pages and squires roomed in the same wing, or with their Knight Masters, and princes were no exception. Liam had been gone for the same reasons, but had returned to his quarters at midwinter, now a full knight. Kalasin never officially left her room, but did not stay there for prolonged periods of time when she was with the Countess, or in Carthak, as the case currently was. Only Liam and Lianne herself remained in the wing, and Liam was often in other parts of the castle. Roald, though he did return for a time after being knighted, had now permanently left the children's wing. He and his wife, Shinkokami, were given a suite elsewhere in the palace, for privacy, among other things.

It was Shinkokami who caused Lianne's footsteps to be hurried as she returned to her dressing room. The ice had only recently thawed enough that archery practice was possible again; now arrows fired at targets would actually stick, rather than leave a sizable dent in the ice and bounce right back off, as they had been doing. Lianne was due to meet her sister in law at the fields, so that they might catch up on the practice that the frigid weather had caused them to miss.

Abandoning her gown in favor of more practical clothes, Lianne redressed quickly, pulling on breeches and a shirt (Which, in her opinion, were infinitely more comfortable) as well as several extra layers to guard against the cold outside. Normally, she would have been in this type of attire all day, but many nobles still remained after midwinter, and not all were as open minded about female behavior as the majority who lived year round in the palace. Lianne had decided years before she'd rather wear a dress more often than usual certain times of the year than have to hear about not doing some every time she sat entered a room. Liam and Jasson had tried to break her of this habit, firm in their belief that she shouldn't have to be uncomfortable for a bunch of stuffy old men, but has thus far failed. Roald, at least, understood why she did it, and when Roald was on your side in an argument, you generally had already won.

He was strange at lunch today, Lianne thought, absent mindedly sitting and beginning to lace up her boots. It was the truth; he had been behaving oddly, and so was Liam, now that she thought about it - especially when they addressed Lianne. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was, but she knew something was off about her two brothers. Several times through lunch she caught Liam watching her longer than was necessary, or would see Roald exchanging glances with Shinkokami when she said something that Lianne would consider perfectly innocent. Lianne did her best to ignore this, as did Shinkokami and the others seated with them; though, Lianne was sure that Roald has kicked Liam in the knee at least once, and that was something she'd more expect of Jasson.

They weren't the only ones behaving oddly. Alan had been perfectly normal the night they had danced at the party, but the next day, he had been uncommonly serious and thoughtful. Since then he had been on and off serious and silly, attitude changing by the day, sometimes even by the hour. Mood swings were not unprecedented in Alan, but he demeanor lately was far too like his older brother, Thom's, for Lianne's comfort.

The unusual atmosphere made Lianne wary. She still didn't know what was in Aly's letter home; Roald was as tight lipped as always, Liam continued to feign ignorance and Jasson, as usual, had no clue whatsoever. Lianne hadn't even bothered trying to get it out of her parents; she knew it'd never work. They, too, seemed tense lately, but that was nothing unusual. There was always something for them to worry about.

Fully dressed, Lianne fetched her bow and quiver and set out for the archery ranges. Out of habit, she did not take the fastest route, which would lead her past the public areas of the palace, which she knew would be full of people; instead she took the back exit, through the servant's wing and the kitchen, and then doubled through the stables. No one seemed terribly surprised to see her. The palace staff, especially those in the kitchen and stables, was used to Lianne using the many smaller connecting rooms there as hideaways when someone she didn't want to talk to was looking for her. Many had helped make sure no one looked in that particular pantry or broom closet in the past.

By the time Lianne arrived at the archery range, Shinkokami was there and waiting for her, bow in hand. She did not seem annoyed to have been kept waiting. She rested comfortable against a wooden fence, chatting casually with Buri, a regular face at the archery ranges, and the wife of Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, another of Lianne's adoptive uncles. The two women smiled as Lianne approached.

"You took the long way around?" Shinkokami asked, eyes crinkled with silent laughter. When Lianne nodded, she went on, "I wish I had thought to. Leyia of Stacine caught me on my way out. She was very cranky."

Lianne nodded again, sympathetic. "I've met her. She wanted to introduce me to her son the second night of Midwinter."

"I've met her son," Buri said darkly, clearly unimpressed. "I hope you said no."

"Oh, I would have been just delighted to meet him," Lianne replied, sighing a little too dramatically to be sincere and grinning cheekily, "But unfortunately I had to give a very important message to my father and I simply couldn't stay, no matter how much I desperately wanted to."

"Really?"

"Of course not."

Buri laughed and stood, picking up her bow and returning to her practice area, a bit further down the field. Lianne and Shinko, likewise, gathered their bows and quivers and took their positions beside one another. For quite a while the two shot in companionable silence broken only so often by a comment from one to another on the wind or the icy conditions.

"I don't think I'll ever catch up to you," Shinko sighed some time later, making a face at her target and the arrows sticking from it. "This type of archery is not for me."

"Yes, but I can't pick up a glaive without personal injury, as I'm sure you remember," said Lianne, flashing a quick smile. After a moment, she explained, "When I was younger, I wanted desperately to join the Riders when I was old enough. I practiced all the time. Daine taught me, too, so I couldn't have asked for a better teacher."

"Why didn't you join?"

Lianne hesitated, glancing down the field at Buri, who was restringing her bow. "Mother misses us when we aren't around," she finally said, voice lowered slightly. "She won't admit to it, but she hates it that Kalasin's off, and when Roald or Liam go up to the border. She's dreading Jasson being taken as a squire. It almost makes me hope he won't be chosen by a field knight, but I know he will. If I joined the riders, I'd be gone all the time too. So, I didn't."

"She wouldn't like it at all if she knew that's why you didn't join."

"Which is why she doesn't." Lianne snuck a look at Buri again. If the former commander of the Queen's Riders had heard any of the conversation, she wasn't acknowledging it.

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By the time she returned to her room, Lianne was covered in sweat and aching. When she found a hot bath waiting for her, she found herself wishing she had the energy to find Maera, the maid she knew was responsible. Painfully shy, Maere had the tendency to slip in and out while Lianne wasn't paying attention, but she seemed to always know exactly what Lianne needed, sometimes even before Lianne knew herself. Vowing to catch her before she went to be, Lianne undressed and slip into the tub, her back screaming in protest. That means you did it right, she smiled, hearing Alanna's voice in her head.

Leaning back and letting the hot water work on the knots in her muscles, Lianne looked to the ceiling, thinking. She had taken the long way back inside, and on her way through the stables, noticed two horses she was not at all familiar with. Their tack didn't bear markings of any division or house, and the slates attached to the front of each stall had yet to be marked with names. The holster she questioned didn't not much more than she did; only that the horses' owners had ridden up from Port Legaan early in the afternoon.

Normally, she would assume the riders were couriers or something of the like and think nothing of it. It was the particular stable the horses were being kept in that drew Lianne's attention. That stable was only used for important guests to the palace who did not plan to leave quickly or expect to be called away on short notice. That ruled out couriers and officers from any of the Scanran patrols. The lack of markings on the tack led Lianne to doubt it was a visiting noble, either. She sighed and sank lower in the water, closing her eyes. She'd ask Liam later.

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When she opened her eyes again, the water was chilly and someone was knocking on the main door of her quarters. Lianne sat for a moment, dazed, before climbing out of the tub and reaching for her dressing gown.

"Lianne?" Jasson's voice asked from the hall, the knocking momentarily paused.

Lianne straightened her robe and tied the sash as she crossed to the door and opened it a crack. Assured her brother was alone she opened the door fully, stepping aside to let him in.

"You should get dressed," he told her, surveying her attire. "There's people here."

"I saw the horses," she said, glancing over her shoulder as she returned to the dressing room in search of something to wear. "How dressed should I get?"

Jasson quite literally threw himself into a chair, tapping his fingers on the armrest impatiently. "A dress. Something nice. They're ambassadors from the Copper Isles."

Lianne, despite her surprise, smiled to herself. Jasson was trying very hard to contain his excitement concerning these mysterious guests, and was failing quite spectacularly. She could understand; if she had heard about any ambassadors showing up, she had completely forgotten about it. "Did we know they were coming?"

"Nope." A pause. "What's taking so long?"

"My hair."

Jasson snorted in disgust, as Lianne expected he would. She could hear him get up and begin to pace around the sitting room, making small noises of irritation at being kept waiting. She ignored this entirely, and continued to plait her still damp hair.

Securing her hair with a leather tie, she surveyed herself in the mirror as she began pinning the braid around her head. A pair of hazel eyes, leaning towards green, looked appraisingly back at her, set in a face that looked a good deal like a younger, less startlingly beautiful version of Thayet. They eyes were basically the same, as was the ivory complexion and the coal black hair. The perfect mouth she regrettably lacked, having instead inherited her father's smile, but the more finely boned facial structure she had also inherited from him lessened the sting somewhat. Lianne debated applying some face paint briefly, but decided quickly that the gown was enough.

When she emerged into the sitting room again, Jasson had pulled a flower from a vase and was idly picking petals off and dropping them into a small pile. Taking one look at the deep green gown Lianne had chosen, he dropped the flower stalk onto the table beside the petals, and moved to the door. "It took you long enough," he sulked.

Lianne rolled her eyes at his back as she followed, fully aware that, unless she was completely naked, he probably wouldn't care in the least what she was wearing at this point.

By the time Lianne and Jasson reached the entrance hall, it had become clear to her that the arrival of the two ambassadors had stirred up a great deal of excitement.

"…requested to meet with Father and Mother as soon as possible, of course, but Father's been in a meeting since mid-morning and Mother's certainly not going to see them without him. Nobody had a clue they were coming."

He led her to the formal drawing room, where visitors customarily waited while it was sorted out where they were supposed to be going. Lianne expected that the guest wing was the busiest area of the palace right now, as maids rushed to ready rooms for the new arrivals.

Jasson clearly would have marched right into the drawing room, but Lianne paused in the doorway, blocking his path. Inside, two men were seated comfortable in chairs, doing their best to draw Liam, standing near the hearth, into conversation. Liam was obviously not interested, and Lianne found herself puzzled by the cold look to his face and posture. Typically, he was very polite to guests, especially ones on business with their parents. Leaning against the far wall was Alan, arms folded across his chest and an extremely serious look in his green eyes. It was Alan who first noticed Lianne lingering in the doorway a moment later, and he stood straight abruptly, a neutral mask she had seen before slipping over his face. The rooms other inhabitants looked up at his sudden motion, then followed his gaze to Lianne.

She stepped inside and curtsied to the two men now standing to face her, casting Liam a quizzical glance. Jasson entered just behind him, then stopped short at the dangerous looks his brother was sending in his direction.

"Your Highness," the shorter of the two visitors said, bowing to her.

"Forgive me," Liam began after a long breath, a pleasant expression overtaking his features. "Gentlemen, may I present Princess Lianne and Prince Jasson of Conte." He turned to Lianne and Jasson, and despite his cordial air, Lianne could see something very dark in his eyes. "These are ambassadors from the Copper Isles. Lord Teuku Imam and His Highness, Prince Hiresh Rukhev"

The two men smiled at Lianne, and she found that she did not like their smiles at all.

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A/N: I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far – I'm so excited to get such positive feedback! M'cha Araem: As far as I can tell, that's the right order. Lianne and Jasson's birth order is a little ambiguous – Tamora identifies them as the youngest prince and princess, but never says which one is the older of the two. I just took a guess. My guestimation on the ages is this: Roald – 23, Kalasin – 22, Liam – 17, Lianne – 16, Jasson – 14. (As for Alanna's brood, that would make Thom 19 and Alan and Alianne 17) I'm sure I'm off a little, but I think I have them all in generally the right range. I hope! ; )