I hope this chapter is long enough for you Shinigami Clara. And a word of thanks here to the great Sunny1388 who has done such great things for my awards. I can never say enough praise to this girl. I hope to see you all there when it opens so you can praise her work. Rock on girl!
Should be up soon guys. It's not too late to help with judging and doing a couple pictures!!!
Chapter Nineteen; Espionage.
Alanna walked down the corridor from the kitchens, in her arms she carried a full tray and a royal blue tunic. She balanced the tray on her knee and knocked on Jonathon's door.
"My Lord? Are you decent?"
"Come on in."
She pushed open the door with her foot, Jon sat on the edge of his bed, pulling on his boots.
"Alanna. You didn't have to bring that. I usually eat in the hall."
"I know, but it is easier for me to conceal myself if I am seen doing chores befitting his highness' new maid. So here is your tunic, nice and clean. And your breakfast." Jon accepted the tunic with a rueful grin.
"I thought you said most of the servants at the palace know you anyway." he pointed out to her,
"They have seen me around the palace before, when I came to collect any news. They either know me from the Rogue, or they think I am a relief maid." She sat down opposite Jon as he moved across to sit at a table. "I say nothing to draw any attention to me unnecessarily. And most nobles ignore the servants completely, unless they want something. But that just makes it easier. I use their conceit against them."
"You don't steal from them do you?" He asked sternly
"Not in the Palace. Too risky." She sighed at Jon's expression "I am a thief Jon. One of the best in Corus. You don't survive as long as I have without being good. I didn't like it when I started, but it was either that or starving. I didn't trust George at once. I spent about three months on the streets, fending for myself before I gave in and went to the Dancing Dove. Even then I only stole from nobles, never those poorer than me. Most nobles make a good bit of their money from hiring their servants out as seamstresses or whatever and then reaping in most of their wages."
He conceded to her point and pushed half the food towards her on the table.
"Join me?"
She wrinkled her nose and pushed it back
"I can never eat early morning. I'll grab something later."
"You really should eat something." He held out half a roll. "At least eat that. I hate eating alone." She rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Fine." She took the roll from his outstretched hand "But only because of the guilt trip."
He grinned unrepentantly.
"It is for your own good you know."
"Thank you mother."
"Any time."
By the time the two of them had finished the meal, Jon had to go to a meeting with the King and his council. Alanna casually enquired,
"Who else has to go to these things?"
"Uncle Gareth, My Lord Provost, Sir Myles occasionally. Roger will join them now he's been here for a couple of days." He tried not to noticed how she had started when he had mentioned his cousin. He excused himself then, pulling his tunic over his head. Alanna declined his offer of helping her clear up. After he left, she locked the door of his room and shielded it with her magic
She felt for the threads of her magic which held the Glamour she wore in place, and severed them. Glancing over at the mirror, she saw herself as she usually appeared. She had never worn a glamour for so long before. It was beginning to wear her out slightly, but she could last until this was over, if she let down her disguise more and used wigs often anyway. She turned to examine the room,
"If I wanted to keep an eye one someone in this room, where would I do that from?" Scanning the walls she was nothing that could be used as a spying tool. Except... She spun to face the mirror, quickly raising her Glamour once more. 'So much for saving my power', She thought wryly, then she reached out towards the mirror, then retracted them and altered her Glamour to show a short black haired young woman. After a second's thought she also darkened her skin to the brown of someone who worked outside in the fields, her appearance was now a far call from her disguise as Lienna, the Prince's maid, and her own true looks.
Then Alanna reached out again to the mirror and placed a hand on each side of the gilt frame. A sharp shock ran through her body. Startled, she stepped back and gathered her Gift, feeling it build up inside her. She pointed at the mirror and spoke the incantation that would reveal the presence of a spell.
When she lowered her arms, Alanna nodded in grim satisfaction. A twinning spell had been laid on the mirror. She had learned of this spell from a travelling mage who had stayed at the Dove a few months ago. A twinning spell meant that whatever was reflected in this mirror would also be seen matched in the mirror matched with Jon's by the sorcerer.
That made up her mind, Alanna darted out into the corridor and hurried along the halls. She had asked the cook that morning how to get to Duke Roger's rooms. She repeated the instructions in her head until she found his room, far away from the rest of the palace, in a small turret.
The door in itself was unremarkable, solid oak wood with a round brass handle. She laid her hand on the knob and pushed. The door would not open. She gathered her Gift once more, to push it through the spell placed on the door. With her aura shining a pale lavender around her, she took the fires of her magic and shoved it at the lock.
Fireworks exploded behind her eyes, the pain burning through her like a white hot blade. But she persevered, pushing as much of her magic as she could gather into breaking the spell. Eventually the pain and extended use of her Gift wore her down.
Alanna crumpled to the ground. The last ounce of her Gift she had kept back, she kept on the Glamour. She felt the familiar tingle of magic cementing her disguise and securing it to her.
She awoke suddenly as a rough hand shook her shoulder.
"Girl!" She struggled to pull herself from the depths of unconsciousness, opening her eyes. "You shouldn't be here." The pink blob floating above her slowly condensed into a face. The bushy eyebrows shaded clear grey eyes and a straight nose.
"Who are you?" She asked as she accepted his hand.
"Balern Seyan."
"Annlia." The two warily stepped back, silently assessing the other. When she stood next to him, the man was two heads taller than Alanna, and as thin as a willow wand.
"And what are you doing here by his Grace's chambers?"
Alanna fumbled for a response, lying didn't come particularly easy for her, she preferred to tell the truth whenever possible, but there were times like these when telling the truth would not help the situation.
"I was told to see if his Grace's rooms had been cleaned yet by the housekeeper."
"They have not." he said "I am Duke Roger's manservant. Are you assigned to help me?"
"For today only sir. The normal maid will return tomorrow."
He fished an ornate bronze key from his belt ring and slid it into the lock. He laid a hand on the inscribed name plate and twisted the key twice. Alanna took in every detail of his actions.
When she followed Balern into the room she gasped in awe at the sight before her. Several bookcases were overflowing with ancient scrolls and magical volumes. Other surfaces held ongoing experiment, liquids flowing and bubbling in pots. A small room that lead off this main one was obviously the bedroom, the bed rumpled. Another open room lay next to it. She casually moved towards it, pretending to be fascinated by the books and strange equipment. Before she could get a good look at what was in the darkened room, the manservant hurried over, almost at a run, and locked it with the same brass key that opened the main door.
"The bedroom is through there girl." He gestured to the other room beside him "Do what you are here to quickly. Do not touch or move anything unnecessarily."
"Yes sir."
Alanna hurried into the smaller room, it too was full of books. One, lying on the miniature table beside the pillow, was a loosely bound plain book, used for taking notes. Risking a glance out the door she saw Balern go into the room he had locked not a minute previously. Quickly she flicked through the leaves of the book, finding that the entire thing was filled with a smooth, slanted handwriting. Alanna laid the volume back down and quickly made the bed, smoothing the sheets and plumping the pillow. She pushed all the other books into neater piles and collected all the dirty plates and glasses. Alanna then slipped the journal and a few other similar books she had selected into the pile of dirty sheets and gathered them up into her arms, being careful not to let any sharp edges or corners show through the fabric.
"Master Seyan?" He emerged from the forbidden room. "I have finished." The man walked over to the bed chamber and gave her work a cursory once over.
"Very good. You may go."
"Thank you sir."
Alanna hurried from the room with her prizes, grinning at the simplicity of it all. 'Sorry, Jon this is the one time I will be stealing in the Palace, though it was far too easy. Duke Roger should be more careful about his private belongings.' she thought 'Otherwise he may get a nasty surprise one of these days.'