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February 15, 463 H.E. - 23rd year of the reign of King Jonathan IV and Queen Thayet

Rajmuat, Kypriang Island, the Copper Isles

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Despite reassurances from Aly - who seemed to be greatly enjoying her breakfast - Lianne was certain she saw something sinister in the bowl before her. Rice and eggs were innocent enough, she supposed, but the small bits of red and green breaking up the beige mixture worried her. Though allegedly not spicy at all, she was reminded all too painfully of her previous attempts at stomaching the local cuisine, and a tiny voice in her mind shouted in panic every time she so much as glanced at a utensil. Rather than risk singing her tongue once again, she resigned herself to a breakfast comprised entirely of thankfully unoffensive honeyed rolls.

Across the table, Aly was entirely too enthused with her breakfast to be sincere, just as the night before she had been so eager to go to bed that Lianne doubted she was really tired. She had noticed the slightly unnerving phenomenon then, but hesitated to bring it up over the relaxation of the long table. At either elbow, servants she estimated to be somewhere in their twenties spoke to Aly between mouthfuls of their own breakfast. Lianne suspected it wasn't more than casual conversation, but as both bore accents too heavy for her to regularly understand, she wasn't positive. Rather than interrupt and possibly cause a reversion to Aly's increasingly common tight lipped persona, she ate her bread in silence and watched the table.

It was taking a great deal of willpower to not flat out demand an explanation as to how she was supposed to be seeing her brothers, as promised. The temptation to kick her friend beneath the table until she received some sort of answer was incredibly strong, and only marginally overpowered by the knowledge that Aly and Alan - whom Lianne was certain had organized most of whatever was supposed to take place - had not parted on the best of terms. She had decided even before going to bed that broaching the subject would require cunning and great diplomacy - it was a shame, she also decided, she didn't posses much of either.

"So, then," she finally said, taking advantage of a lull in the conversation and speaking across the table in what she hoped was a very nonchalant manner, "I suppose I'll go back to the stables now?"

Aly, hand paused halfway between her bowel and her mouth, looked across the table as if Lianne had asked the color of the sky. "Don't be ridiculous," she said, sounding surprised. "Why would you go there? We're heading into the market."

Bewildered, Lianne opened her mouth to ask why, exactly, they would want to do that. Before the words had reached her lips, Aly's eyes flicked almost imperceptibly to Lianne's left. She realized, after a very long, puzzled moment, that Aly's strange behavior was somehow related to their dining companions. Lianne closed her mouth, looked back to the table, and continued shredding her roll.

-

When Aly had stopped her just outside the gate to the Balitang estate, pulled an eye-catching red cloth from her bag, and declared that it was meant to go around her head, Lianne had been certain she was joking. Even after Aly had wrapped the cloth around Lianne's head and shoulders - and commented several times on how, with a hair cut, it wouldn't have been necessary - Lianne remained unsure as to how such a bright material could possibly help her be less conspicuous. It was only when they left what Aly referred to as the 'estate district' and entered the appropriately named Market Town did Lianne realize her head covering was on the duller end of the spectrum.

Almost immediately upon passing through the gates of the market district, Lianne realized her preconceived notions about color were all wrong. It was everywhere; the street they walked - which Aly identified as the market district's main road - was more colorful than anything Lianne could ever recall seeing. Men and women, skin growing increasingly darker the further they progressed, milled about the stands set up alongside the road dressed in hues she wasn't sure she had ever seen before. The more elaborate stands and shops often displayed small, colorful flags hanging in strings from their doorways and sign posts. Only Aly's persistent hand at her elbow kept Lianne from stopping and staring around her, and she found herself thinking on several occasions that her wrap, lacking some of the elaborate patterns that other women passing by could boast of, was actually rather boring.

Ahead, she could just make out a very noisy crowd which seemed to be milling around something out of sight. As they drew nearer, the air began to smell faintly of burnt wood. Through brief openings in the crowd, Lianne caught glimpses of what looked to be the extremely blackened foundation of some sort of building; before they reached the fringes of the onlookers, Aly made a sharp turn and led Lianne - quite deliberately, she thought - down a side alley. They emerged onto a street quite similar to the first. Hand still on Lianne's elbow, Aly began quickly in the same direction that had been traveling.

"What happened over there?" Lianne asked.

Aly shrugged casually. "Looks like a fire. A lot of these buildings are very old. Stop." Her outstretched hand prevented Lianne from moving any further; ahead, a scuffle broke out at a small, cheap looking jewelry stand. When the shrieking had been quieted and the small boy apparently responsible chased off, Aly started forward again. "Happens all the time."

"Oh," Lianne nodded, unsure if Aly was referring to the fire or the apparent thievery.

Further down the road, a very large, dark skinned man was shouting enthusiastically about fish. "Don't make eye contact," Aly warned in a low voice as they drew near. "They'll never let up if they think you're interested. No, thank you." She held up a palm to the man as he turned his attentions on them and shoved a very large sample of his wares in the direction of Aly's nose. "Already ate. No, she's not interested, either."

Nose crinkling slightly at the extremely strong smell waved in her direction, Lianne kept her eyes resolutely fixed on the ground until they had passed and the man had moved onto another target. "Suppose markets are the same everywhere, then," she mumbled.

"Usually." Aly agreed. "Watch your head."

Before she could totally process the advice, Aly made a quick turn around a building, and Lianne only just avoided smashing her head into an extremely low archway as they hurried down several steps. The next several minutes passed similarly; Aly led them through a series of rapid turns behind haphazardly organized shops and Lianne did her best to keep from wounding herself on any of the archways, awnings, or uneven ground. Well after she was certain that they would never be able to find the street again, Lianne found herself quite abruptly stationary, largely due to Aly's back - which she had accidently walked straight into.

"Are we here?" she asked. Over Aly's shoulder, Lianne could see a small square, much quieter than the rest of the market and lined with stalls which generally looked to be in better condition than those on the main streets.

"Mmm. Take this," Aly said, face turned downwards and she pulled some paper and what looked like a coin-purse from her bag, "And this, and give them to that man. He'll know what to do with them. I'll be here."

Lianne looked across the square at the man Aly had indicated. His stand was quite large, and she imagined he was probably a very established merchant. "But I don't - "

"Lianne," Aly cut her off, pressing the purse into her hands and reaching around to tuck the paper into her pocket, "You're a princess of the most powerful country in the Eastern Lands. He sells fruit. Just go."

Gathering herself, Lianne started into the square with what she hoped was confidence and nonchalance. She didn't notice her steps gradually slowing and becoming more tentative until the man, now only several feet away, looked up and saw her slow approach. "Aaah!" he said, smiling and waving her in. His eyes, Lianne noticed right away, flickered more than once to the purse clutched in her hands. "Come on, come over. What can I interest you in?"

"I - ah, here." Lianne fished the paper from her pocket and held it out. Was there etiquette one was supposed to follow at fruit stands? She wasn't sure.

"Oh," the man, taking the paper and looking over it quickly, frowned slightly. His accented voice, Lianne noticed, shifted very quickly from friendly to businesslike. "Chenaol's girl, are you? You're late."

Lianne found herself flushing, despite the voice in her head that protested it wasn't her fault. "I'm sorry, I - "

The man waved the apology off impatiently, still looking over the paper. "You tell her I'm not holding her order every time one of you girls dawdle. Wait here." Before Lianne could reply, he turned his back to her and began busying himself with something on the table behind him. Somewhat confused and completely unsure what she was expected to say, Lianne looked awkwardly down into the baskets of fruit lining the ground in front of the stall.

Several moments passed before someone murmured "Nice hat," directly into her ear.

Lianne jumped and turned so quickly that she collided with the man standing behind her. Strong hands gripped her forearms to steady her, and she looked up, flushing further under Alan's amused stare. "That was impolite."

"Well I do like it," he said, dropping his hands once she had gained her bearings. "It's a nice color. I'm not sure how it'd go over at home though."

"It was this or let your sister cut my hair," Lianne said, tone slightly accusatory as she touched the edge of the wrap self-consciously. "And that would not go over at home at all."

Alan moved to her side, reaching down into one of the baskets and pulling from it an extremely large orange. "She's just trying to start a trend," he said idly, examining the fruit. "Do they come this big naturally?"

"Not at home they don't." She turned back to the stall, sighing. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm your escort. Didn't she tell you?"

Lianne shook her head and glanced over her shoulder, scanning the crowd for Aly. "No . . . we just started walking."

"Hmmph." Alan, apparently deciding the orange was suspicious, returned it to the basket. "Pay."

She looked forward. The man, who had turned around once more and was placing a large crate on the wooden stand before him, was glancing in her direction expectantly. "Oh!" Somewhat startled, she held the purse out uncertainly.

The man gave her a strange look and took it, then selected several coins from within and pocketed them. "Right then, you tell Chenaol what I said."

"A lot of money for fruit," Alan observed, scratching his nose and looking casually towards the sky.

"It's out of season," the man snapped, thrusting the purse back and looking skeptically in Lianne's direction. "Are you going to be able to carry this?"

She had just opened her mouth to reply when Alan cut her off. "Have it delivered," he retorted. "You can afford it. Come on." Hand around her own, he led Lianne from the stall and the merchant, scowling after them with tight lips but making no objections.

"That was very impolite," she scolded when they were out of earshot.

"He swindled you." Alan assured her, releasing her hand. "Next time, take the money out of the bag."

"I don't have market skills," she said defensively, walking quickly to keep pace. "Shouldn't we find Aly?"

"Oh, I saw her." Leading them in quite the opposite direction from where Lianne had last seen Aly, Alan seemed unconcerned. "She'll catch up later. Now listen - if Jasson were to mysteriously vanish, would you be very upset?"

"I am a bit fond of him," she allowed, letting the change of subject pass without comment. "That's treason, you know."

"It'd be worth it," Alan decided.

-

Several hours later, during the third argument concerning the etiquette of bluffing, Lianne set down her tea, looked across the small table which served as the only real ornamentation in the room the three boys had found for themselves, and announced, "I've changed my mind, Alan. I won't be upset at all, and I absolve you in advance."

"What?" Jasson asked.

"Nothing," she said brightly, glancing sideways at him. "We're only discussing your unfortunate demise. But by all means, keep arguing, don't let me interrupt."

"Would it be treason if you did it?"

"Fratricide," Liam offered over the top of his cards, sounding extremely unconcerned.

Jasson scowled around the table, reorganizing his hand. "I'll be ignoring you for that as soon as we get home."

"So noted," Lianne nodded.

-

"I still don't really understand," Lianne sighed, nudging a small stone with her toe.

Alan shrugged, leaning back against the stone wall of the shop bordering one side of the alley. "She's a bit concerned about your looks. She thinks the three of you together would be a bit distinctive."

"Well, yes, I suppose," she began, turning her eyes to the orange sky, "If we were in Corus. But who here is going to pick us out of a crowd and think, 'Oh, look. Tortallan royalty!'?"

"Someone looking for Tortallan royalty?"

Lianne shrugged and did not reply, instead stepping towards the end of the alley and glancing anxiously down the street. "Shouldn't she be here?"

"She probably lost track of time," Alan said, unsuccessfully keeping worry from his face. "She'll be here."

"It's just - I could just ask someone how to find my way," Lianne began, plucking nervously at the edge of her wrap. "It's almost dark."

"She'll be here," he repeated, taking her hand and tugging her away from the street. "You can trust Aly, she knows what she's doing."

Lianne looked up at him in the fading light, eyebrows slightly raised. "You two are all right, then?"

Alan shrugged. "We've always looked at things differently. She prioritizes differently. Doesn't mean she doesn't have good intentions, does it?"

That's not an answer, Lianne thought, frowning. "Mm," she allowed, uncertain, eyes drifting downwards towards the ground.

"I really do like this," Alan said after several moments of silence. He nodded towards Lianne's head when she looked up once more. "Bet you could make quite a fashion of it at home. All the girls would want one."

She made a face. "It'd look terrible with a gown."

"But its fashion!" He assured her grandly, "It's supposed to look ridiculous, isn't it?"

Lianne flashed a quick grin. "Oh, is that why you dress the way you do?"

"Oh! That was uncalled for." Alan sniffed, not looking at all offended.

"I doubt it," a voice muttered from behind them. "Keep your voice down."

Lianne glanced over her shoulder; Aly had appeared at the alley's entrance, face grim and something clutched tightly in her hand. She looked, Lianne realized after a moment, more on edge than she had appeared to be in the whole of their time together.

"All right?" Alan asked, frowning and dropping Lianne's hand.

"No." Aly said shortly, closing the distance between them in a few long strides and extending what looked like a notice in their direction. "Copies of this were delivered to every noble residence and posted all over the city an hour ago."

Alan took the paper and glanced over it. From her angle, Lianne wasn't able to make out any of the words - a few letters she recognized, but her mind didn't seem to be able to make sense of the small, upside down writing. Still, even without knowing what the notice said, Lianne could recognize from the official looking seal at the top and the bold signature scrawled across the bottom that it was most definitely some sort of official announcement. She looked up and blinked, surprised; Alan had evidently finished reading the notice and was looking at Aly with wide eyes.

"What?" She asked, moving to read the notice over his shoulder.

Let it be decreed that until further notice, no vessel shall be permitted to exit the harbor without a full inspection of passengers and cargo by Royal . . . Lianne froze, suddenly feeling quite cold as the words she had been reading registered in her mind. Her eyes moved to the bottom of the paragraph, reading quickly . . . as ordered by His Royal Highness, Prince . . . She glanced upwards again, breath catching, . . . No vessel shall be permitted to exit the harbor . . . And then down several lines, . . . person or persons discovered trying to sail from the harbor without approval shall be severely . . . The seal, the Royal Seal, stamped to the top of the notice, was mocking her and Lianne felt as if the ground had slipped away from beneath her feet.

"Lianne," someone said sharply.

She let out a quick breath and looked up, returning to herself in an instant. "This isn't because of me, is it?" She asked, seeking reassurance she already knew would not come. "This is something else, isn't it?"

"We need to go back." Aly said, looking from Alan to Lianne quickly, mouth tight. "We - I need to think about this more. Take that, let them know. I'll come see you tomorrow. We'll figure something out."

Alan nodded, rolled up the notice, touched Lianne's shoulder in a manner she absently realized was meant to be reassuring, and was gone before she had a chance to completely process what was going on.

"Wait, I don't - " she began.

Aly started towards the street, glancing briefly over her shoulder as she moved. "Come on - we should be in before they light the lanterns." She paused at the end of the alley, turned fully, and after a moment said, "Lianne, we need to go."

Lianne shook herself from her daze and followed quickly. As Aly led them through the slowly darkening streets, all she could do was run the words over and over again in her mind.

No vessel shall be permitted to exit the harbor.

-

Authors Notes: Still with me after that psycho absence? YAY! Thank you. I apologize.

The story, if anyone is interested, goes like this: Chapter finished, computer infected, Dad angry, data completely wiped, chapter lost, Tia sulking, Chapter re-written. That is, at least, the gist of it. Serious apologies to everyone for the wait.

Also, today's not so subtle plug brought to you by my livejournal: tailyn - that's me. (I'd provide a link, but ff.n wont let me. Try: wwwlivejournalcom/users/tailyn, with the s replaced as periods.) I can tell I have a long, boring summer ahead - would love some extra people to talk to! If anyone's interested, it's friends only - just say you're from FFN.