Last Chapter (cuz I know that no one can remember anything that happened cuz I haven't updated in forever)
Stormwings. A whole group of them, circling over the city.
Kel saw them and cursed in a most unladylike fashion, then started running. "Come on, we need to tell the king."
Anders took off after her, which left Faleron doubtfully eying Kai's crutches.
"Aren't you going with them?" she asked.
"I'm pretty sure they can handle it. Unless they get lost on their way there, but I'm sure some nice, friendly citizen will point out the huge towers. They'll get there eventually."
"You're such a nice friend," Kai told him, her eyes still on the Stormwings. "Why are they so worried about a bunch of Immortals?"
"Bad omen," he said simply. "They always go wherever they think there will be bloodshed. Not good."
"What happened to the smart government we always hear about that's so much more informed than us common folk?"
"We don't ignore signs from the gods," Faleron replied ominously, shooting her an appraising look, "And you shouldn't let them tell you that you're inferior because of where you were born."
"Tell that to the rest of the world," she said, rolling her eyes.
They came back to the gate into the city, and soon they were back in the courtyard, practically a whole different world, Kai thought. By now the servants were openly hurrying through the corridors, people had long since woken up, and the building had sprung to life once more.
Chapter Eleven (finally)
There were people hurrying through the hallways. A lot of people. So many that they had a difficult time getting through.
"What happened?" Faleron asked one of the passing cooks, who was balancing a rather large tray on his way into a noble's apartments.
"There was a fight, my lord. A group of Carthakis against a score of Tortallians. It was a slaughter, they're saying."
"Who?"
"The people on the streets. Some of them saw a little of it, and word's getting around fast. All the nobles are worried that there will be political trouble between us and the south now."
"Just what we need," Faleron muttered as they walked away, "Another country out for our blood."
They found Esmond standing outside of their rooms, pacing back and forth.
"Finally!" he exclaimed when they got close enough. "Kel said that you're needed at the trial."
"Both of us?" Faleron asked.
"I guess so. Kel said for you to bring your maid. I'm not sure why. I had just walked in so I don't know what was happening."
"They caught them already then?" Kai asked. When they both looked at her, she explained, "There was a big fight in the streets. Now there's a trial. They must be trying whoever started the fight." She almost rolled her eyes at how slow nobles could be sometimes.
"I guess so," Esmond said, shrugging. "But everyone was really worried about it and they're all hurrying to get it over with."
"They don't want trouble with the Carthaki trade," Faleron said.
They didn't speak again as Esmond led them to the courthouse. It was situated right in the palace grounds, right next to the main entrance opposite the stables. The large room was already crowded with people who were talking at what seemed like the loudest volume possible. They quickly went around to a side door that led to a smaller back room, likewise already crowded with people, but they were quiet and, though tenser, all obviously of greater social status than the other room.
No one said anything at their arrival, but it was clear that they were waiting for something. It was only a few more minutes before a tall, black-haired man walked in, flanked by an older, graying man and a short woman with bright hair and purple eyes.
"Now that we're all here," the older man, who Kai realized was Duke Gareth from seeing him a few times in the city, said, "You should all know why we're here. There is now, as we speak, a new legion of commoners banding together for the purpose of raising themselves, forcibly if necessary. They are led by one who calls himself Fang.
"Today, the group's first act was instigating a fight between some of the local thieves and a group of Carthaki nobles. We have some of the thieves who were involved, which is where we got the information from, but we cannot determine how trustworthy this is. The Carthakis are either dead or at the palace Healers'."
"Who is this Fang?" one of the nobles asked. "Where did he come from?"
"We have our intelligence system looking into this, but so far we have very little. He came into the city sometime between last week and a month ago. Time enough to blend in with the Midsummer crowd and escape notice from the guards. He is thought to be of either northern or Scanran descent, and has been described tentatively as young, blonde, and has a scar that resembles a fang on the left side of his face."
"How many of our people are in his group?"
"We aren't positive of that yet."
"How safe are the streets?" "Are we in danger?" "How can we trust this information?" The questions continued as Kai wondered why she was here. She was simply standing quietly in the background while the nobles argued about the chances of an uprising when someone said:
"What are we going to do about this?" It was the redhead who had spoken; Kai had easily recognized her as Lady Alanna from the stories that were told about her in the city. Kai wondered why she was here if her husband had already left for Pirates' Swoop.
"We want a select group of people to question the thieves and see how dependable our information is and if there is anything else to know. We will double our guards around the city and send out our spies to find out about this Fang. Lastly, we will need everyone to convince the commoners that everything is as it should be. You all will be expected to continue as usual; go into the city as you would, but be alert for rumors and signs."
Immediately, there were comments from the nobles: "Who will go talk to the thieves?" "Who's paying for the extra guards?" "How long will this last?" "What parts of the city are the safest?"
The king raised his hands. "Go about as you would. That is all you need to know. We have spoken about the people who should interview the witnesses, and we have chosen Sir Raoul, Lady Alanna, Duke Gareth…" The list was short, but Kai wasn't particularly attentive at that point, after all the talking, so she was surprised when she heard her name called.
"Get up," Faleron said, grinning as he shoved her toward the door where a group of about ten nobles were standing. She looked back at him wide-eyed. What was she supposed to do?
"Umm…sir," Kai said tentatively as she walked up, "Why me?"
The king turned around, fixing his piercing blue eyes on her. "Sir Geard was telling me that his squire had taken in a girl from the street. It's always useful to have someone who's been there, could have heard the talk around. Do you happen to know anything about this?"
"No, I hadn't heard about this when I was out there."
He nodded. "Well, you still may be of some use."
They walked across the hall and down the stairs to a much smaller room, which, when unoccupied, would have had sparse furniture, except that the furnishings were unnoticeable with the amount of people in the tiny room right now. About fifteen assorted people stood, obviously not in the happiest of moods right now.
"When can we leave?" demanded one as the king walked up. He opened the door and Kai eyed the room dubiously. It was lucky that all the thieves had fit in there alone, adding their group would be a god-given miracle. Fortunately, though, he motioned for the to file out into the hallway, where they stood in a long line facing the nobles. Kai stayed off to the side a little, studying the newcomers.
"Ver!" she said suddenly, recognizing the one who had spoken first.
He turned. "Kai? What are ya doin' with them?"
She grimaced. "It's a really long story. Didn't Danai or George or Lora say anything about it?"
He shrugged. "Not that I heard. So, are ya workin' fer them now or something'?"
"Not exactly."
"She's here to help," the king explained, choosing this time to interrupt their conversation, which Kai realized that everyone had been listening to. "So just tell us your side of the story again and you can go."
"We already tol' ya, and then ya tol' us we was free," pointed out one of the other thieves, who Kai vaguely recognized from the Dancing Dove.
"We told you that we would consider what you said, and then, if we didn't need you anymore, then you could leave," explained Duke Gareth patronizingly. Kai frowned. She tended to believe the commoners' story, but she wasn't here about that, and arguing with the duke wouldn't get anyone anywhere.
"Jus' tell 'em again, cuz these nobles are kinda slow," Kai said, winking at them as she slid into their method of talking. All commoners really didn't talk like that, but a lot of those on the opposite side of the law did. One or two of the nobles frowned at her behavior, but said nothing as then Ver grinned back at her and started talking. Kai thought that she saw the Lioness smile in her direction, but she could have been mistaken.
Ver began, "See, we was takin' a buncha crates off ta the wharves fer this merchant, he pays us good fer stuff like that. Then, we was on Main Street an' Dal here's mate comes up an' tells us that those Carthakis across the way was plannin' on makin' a fight that they could blame on us, ta get some money, see. Well, some of us was thinkin', an' we decided that we couldn't risk it, cuz they was big, mean-looking brutes with guards and weapons. They didn't look like they was about to do nothing, though, so we was jus' gonna keep an eye on 'em, see, so they couldn't surprise us or nothing."
One of the others took it up. "It was all 'a the sudden, too, so none of us saw it. All 'a the guards jus' turned to us, like some'un had said something to 'em. Then they jus' started shooting their arrers at us, an' what were we supposed ta do but fight back?" he asked the nobles, who all looked like they thought that they could have handled they situation better.
"Well," the king said, glancing at his companions. "Questions?"
Sir Raoul asked, "Did you actually see anyone go up to the Carthakis?" They shook their heads. "Were the Carthakis watching you before they began shooting?"
One of the silent boys spoke up. "They wasn't even payin' attention ta us before that. It was all 'a the sudden."
"Do you know anything about the leader of this new gang?"
Ver said, "I heard 'im talkin' in a bar Midsummer night. That was the first anyone 'ad 'eard a 'im. He was kinda tall, but slouched down like, an' he 'ad this scar that looked exactly like he had a fang stickin' outta 'is mouth."
"How do we know that you're telling the truth?" the duke asked.
It was here that the king turned to her. "Kel assured me that you were trustworthy, so we'll have to rely on your judgment, Kai."
"Sir," she said slowly, meeting his gaze, "If they say that they're telling you the truth, then I would believe them. They wouldn't lie about something like this."
She glanced over at Ver, who was watching her with an odd expression. Like he couldn't believe that she had just said that.
Well, Kai thought, if she had said otherwise, then they would have been here all day. She normally wouldn't trust everything that a lot of these people told her, but the king did not have to know that. Besides, none of the thieves had ever once looked insincere, and she had enough experience with them to know when they were lying. Or so she hoped.
"You can all go then," the king said. "Duke Gareth, will you please inform the others of what has happened during this meeting?"
What followed was comparable to a mad dash to the door, but at a slightly more dignified pace. Slightly.
"Kai!" she heard someone call. She turned to find Ver right behind her. "I need to talk to you," he said.
End of chapter. I don't have any time to write the A/n, or else there would be like a paragraph of meaningless rambling right here. Umm anyway, please please please review so I know someone read this. Tell me what you think.