January 23, 463 H.E. – 23rd year of the reign of King Jonathan IV and Queen Thayet
The Royal Palace, Corus, Tortall
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It was already past midday, and Jonathan and Thayet still had not been able clear any time in their schedules to meet with their unexpected guests. So went the story.
Lianne knew otherwise. The king and queen had been in conferences with their counselors the whole of the previous day, and had begun again just after breakfast; no one admitted it to her, but she knew perfectly well who the topic of discussion was. On some levels, it comforted her. Her parents weren't just sending her away to the Copper Isles for the sake of a political alliance they hadn't been looking for, and that was a relief, but not a great one.
Obviously someone thought that simply saying 'no' to Prince Hiresh would be a bad idea. From what Lianne had heard of the monarchy in the Copper Isles, she gathered that whoever that someone was, they were probably right. The talk on insanity in the royal family (extended or otherwise) was never passed off as rumors. It was spoken of as fact. Lianne did not know much about war, but she knew Tortall couldn't afford to enter another one so soon after the last peace. Her parents had to be very careful.
Lianne was being careful too. In her own way. Just that morning, Jasson had found her in the private library only open to those in the royal family and those particularly close to them. Having run from the completely opposite end of the palace in search of her, it took him long moments to catch his breath. Between the pants for air, he had managed to tell Lianne that Prince Hiresh was inquiring around the palace for her.
So now, tucked away among bales of hay in the loft of the stable which, like the library, was only accessible by the royal family and their friends, Lianne hid. She liked the stables; they had some of her best hiding spots. In the winter, they were usually quite cold, which limited her options; this particular stable had generally always been the gathering spot of the idle holsters, and spells kept it very comfortable for their benefit. She expected she'd stay at least until dinner.
As far as she could tell, it was almost three in the afternoon. She was pretty sure that the two o'clock bell had rung quite a while ago, but at the time the hero of the book she was currently reading had been facing down a particularly threatening monster, and that had been much more interesting, at the time.
The book was no longer serving its purpose as a blessed distraction as well as it had been. The plots had slowed, and try as she might, Lianne could not keep her mind from wandering. She didn't want to think about the very large problem currently being given a tour of the menagerie, but she found she couldn't help it.
The biggest problem, she supposed, was that she had always taken her ability to marry someone of her own choosing for granted. Roald and Kalasin had known for a very long time that their marriages would likely be arranged, just as Lianne and Jasson had always known that theirs would likely not. Liam had always been debatable. Now, faced with the idea that, even if Prince Hiresh was sent home alone with no hope of marriage, other kingdoms might one day extend a similar offer, Lianne found herself extremely put out.
She wanted to marry for love, now that she thought about it. It was one of the few benefits to being a younger princess, or prince for that matter. And though she had no idea whatsoever who she eventually might pick to marry, she liked the idea of her mystery husband.
It was something to think about. Not 'sulk over,' as Kalasin would undoubtedly accuse, were she present. Lianne sighed. She wished Kalasin was with her; the boys didn't understand.
A horse's trot in the distance grew louder as it approached the stable, and then stopped just outside. Lianne could hear a muffled conversation and crawled to the ladder as the guard on duty opened the main doors to let a rider in. She peered down onto the ground level, watching as graying man rode in on a very familiar horse. Overcome with annoyance, she swung her legs into the gap in the loft's floor and silently descended the ladder.
"Here to tell us about my new friends from the Isles?" she asked, arms folded across her chest as she leaned back against the ladder.
George dismounted and turned to look at her, handing the reigns off to a holster. His face was grim, but not surprised. "So they have already arrived, then."
"Two days ago."
"I set out to warn your parents as soon as I got word – I didn't want to trust it with a messenger." The look on her face gave him pause, and he sighed, closing some of the distance between them. "Don't be angry with me, Anne. You know it wasn't my place to tell you anything."
Lianne softened despite herself at his use of her old childhood name, and managed a thin smile. "I know. Mother and Father are in a meeting right now, trying to figure out how to put him off me. I don't think it's going very well."
"I wouldn't expect it to. And our friends, what are they up to?"
"Jasson is supposed to be showing them around, as obnoxiously as possible, I can hope. He's been excused from his lessons to keep the ambassadors company until they leave. Numair's with them too, I think."
George raised an eyebrow. "Numair?"
"Father asked him too," she explained. "Imam is a mage – nobody's sure of how good of one."
"It just gets better and better, doesn't it?" he exhaled heavily, and then brightened a bit, offering his arm with the slightly silly, overly regal air she had come to expect from both George and his son. "Well, your Da'll fix it, don't worry about that. Now, accompany an old man to get something to eat – I'm famished."
-
As always, George's gift at bringing a smile to her face made Lianne feel much better, and by the time he had finished the bread and cheese she had fetched for them, the entire muddled affair didn't seem so bad at all.
They parted outside the kitchen, George on his way to find her parents and give them the few pieces of information he had that they didn't already know, and Lianne off to try and find Shinko, so she would at least not have to hide alone.
It didn't work out that way. Halfway to the royal wing, Lianne turned a corner, and there was Hiresh, coming in her direction. Before she had time to retreat, he spotted her, and she knew that she couldn't run.
"Princess Lianne," he said, stopping before her. "I was just looking for you."
"Oh?" Lianne asked, doing her best to appear previously unaware of this. "I thought my brother was showing you the animals."
"He was, but I slipped away. I've never cared for animals."
"I love them," she said, leaping on the chance to be quietly contrary and raising her chin. "The menagerie is one of my favorite places."
Hiresh offered her a wane smile. "So I've gathered. I was on my way to the stables; a servant directed me there and said that was where I might find you. I can see he was right." His eyes flickered to her hair, currently piled atop her head in a bun and, Lianne suspected, charmingly decorated with a few stray bits of hay. She made no effort to remove them.
"Yes," she agreed, mentally wishing severe discomfort on the unnamed servant sometime in the near future. "Well, I really must go change, my uncle has just arrived and I'd like to visit with him. Excuse me."
She move to the side and stepped past him, pace brisk. A moment later, a large hand grabbed her elbow. Lianne turned to look back at Hiresh, and then removed her arm from his grip.
"Wait," he began, "I wanted to ask if you might show me around a bit more tomorrow. Not that I don't appreciate Prince Jasson's tour. He's a very – opinionated young man, and an interesting walking partner, but –" he trailed off, waiting for a response. When he received none, he went on, "I'd like it very much if you would show me the rest of the palace, perhaps some of the city. Would you?"
Lianne searched her brain for a reasonable excuse, and in her slight panic, found none. On top of that, she had a growing feeling that, even if she were to have a good reason why she could not accompany him tomorrow, he would ask again the next day. She mentally signed, resigning herself.
"As you please. I'll meet you in the entrance hall at the ten o'clock bell. Goodnight."
She turned to leave again, not looking back. This time he did not stop her.
-
Normally, when Lianne wanted to track down the elusive Maera, she would leave a note on the desk in her room, where the maid was sure to find it. Tonight, she did not waste the time, and instead waited until it was late enough that Maera would surely have returned to her room, and then went to talk to her there.
Lianne had done it before, but not in quite some time. It took her longer than she had expected to find Maera's quarters, and by the time Lianne finally knocked on her door, she was already in bed.
When Maera answered the door, Lianne knew right away from the tired eyes blinking at her from behind blond curls that she had been sleeping.
"I'm really, really sorry to wake you, but I need a favor. It's very important."
"What is it, Your Highness?" Maera struggled to shake the sleep from her eyes, her quiet voice drowsy.
"I need a chaperone tomorrow. Someone I can trust. Do you mind?"
-
A/N: Wow! Thank you all so much for all the positive responses! I'm sure you all know how much good feedback makes one want to write even more.
Shayley, PsychoLioness, Lady-kitty: Thank you! I'm really, really glad you enjoy it.
Arabella: I think it's a shame that when the Conte children appear in stories, they're almost always there for romance purposes, or as a 'Jon' to someone's 'Alanna'. We know almost nothing about everyone but Roald – there's so much writers can do with them! I'm glad you like this story, at least.
Phoenix: I look forward to reading it!
M'Cha: I feel bad for Jasson, too, left out of things, but don't worry, his time will come! As for Hiresh & Co., I am going somewhere with them (I even know where that somewhere is!) and we'll be getting there soon. I'd by chapter 8 something big is going to change.