A/N: The first part of this chapter has been proofread by Danaye. The rest hasn't, so please keep that in mind while reading.
I have tried my best to proofread it myself, but grammar isn't my best thing. I have currently two new Beta's, but as they have their own lives to be lived - the proofreading is taking time.
So here is the long waited chapter 45 (85% is non edited) - read and enjoy :)
Chapter 45
When Lenore finally reached what seemed to be their destination, Kahlan's eyes were hurting from trying to see everything in the dim light. Even though the underground tunnels were only made up of dirt, gravel and large boulders, she still felt as if the empty corridors were calling for her to investigate them. Unfortunately, she didn't have the time, so she followed Lenore up the slippery stairs.
With palms carefully placed on the wall like Lenore's, Kahlan waited for Lenore to continue. The way in front of them was blocked, but as Lenore's fingers finally located a hidden mechanism, a cracking sound broke the silence.
Slowly, very carefully, the wall slipped to the side revealing darkness. Lenore lifted up the torch and placed it back on the wall where it belonged. She was about to open her mouth to say something to Kahlan when a door opened and a sliver of light appeared.
Kahlan watched as the door was opened further, and a woman became visible. She was clearly talking to a person behind her while she balanced an empty basket on one of her hips in a well-rehearsed movement.
"No, Lowell, I specifically remember that I told ye to decapitate and pluck four hens, not bring them here with their feathers still on! Even though we are in lock-down it doesn't mean that ye can…" the woman fell silent as she chose that moment to look inside the pantry. Her brown-gray eyes opened wide with surprise and Kahlan could understand her reaction very well. It wasn't every day that someone would be found standing on stairs that lead down into darkness and maze-like tunnels.
Around them, food hung on hooks and had been placed on shelves. Kahlan's stomach growled slightly as light from the door lit up various sausages, cheeses and jars filled with dried fruit.
The woman continued to stare, first at Lenore and then Kahlan before she turned to a lad behind her. "Ye! Go do what I told ye to do," the head of the lad disappeared as she barked the last words loudly, making sure her words were heard, "and don't ye come back here again unless those chickens are as naked as ye were on the day ye were born!" With that, she came inside the pantry and slammed the door shut behind her back, "Lenore! What in Mithros's name are ye doing! What if it was someone other then me coming in here?"
Lenore smiled at her friend and confidante, casually gesturing Kahlan forth and ignoring the other woman's angry stare. "Hello to you too, Stel. This is Kahlan – Kahlan, say hello to Stella, also known as Stel."
Kahlan started to curtsy, making sure to do it right, but a hand grabbed her arm and stopped her in the process. "Untouchables don't curtsy," Stel snapped, "unless there is a noble present and I'm as common as any other working here." Stel openly ignored Kahlan's startled expression and turned back to Lenore, "I meant it Len! Ye could have been discovered by someone..."
"It was urgent," Lenore protested, looking like a girl whose fingers had been caught dipping fruit into the forbidden honey jar. It was a look Kahlan had seen several times on her sister's face when they were younger and their mother had caught them. Aura had always tried to justify her actions.
"Clearly," Stel answered and looked Kahlan over. Kahlan only stared back. The anger that had been visible in Stel's eyes became seriousness. She continued calmer than before, "I mean it! Those tunnels are not supposed to be used unless it is an emergency and not ever during a lock-down."
"I know," Lenore replied, "but I needed to have her," Lenore pointed towards Kahlan, "placed inside the palace as soon as possible."
Stel crossed her arms under her apron-clad bosom as she narrowed her eyes considerably. "What is an Untouchable doing..." she looked sharply at Kahlan, who's mouth had opened to speak, "yes, I know what ye are, lass — and close that mouth. Even though I try to keep the pantry free of flies, it does not mean that they don't exist. Flies don't taste as good as people say."
Kahlan felt her mouth snap closed, the muscles aching in the process. Stel continued undeterred, once again ignoring Kahlan's presence as she pointed a finger in her general direction. "She can't be here, Lenore. Ye need to bring her..."
"She's here on order from Ademia," Lenore finally revealed, "and the Lioness has ordered me to hand her over to Zofia."
That seemed to shut the other woman up. Stel allowed her eyes to land on Kahlan again. "Is it the truth?" she asked, crossing her arms more firmly and waiting for an answer.
Kahlan only looked at her, somewhat bewildered. To her knowledge, the existence of the cursed women was known only to former Untouchables. Kahlan doubted that Stel was one, as she hadn't seen her back at the sanctuary. Cautiously, she proceeded, "Is what true?" It couldn't be that Stel knew the Queen of the Untouchables, for to Kahlan's knowledge, Ademia had never crossed the boundary.
"Did Ademia send ye?" Stel asked, changing the question. Stel sighed, clearly exasperated by Kahlan's reluctance to answer. Stel turned to Lenore instead, raising her eyebrows. "Does she even know that there are other former Untouchables living here in Corus? The girl seems awful unintelligent for her age."
Anger rose inside Kahlan. It was the second time someone had called her a 'girl' that day. "Woman!" Kahlan found herself snapping, more loudly than expected.
Kahlan cursed under her breath and inside herself. "I'm a woman," she continued slowly, and placed her left hand on her swollen stomach as Stel looked at her strangely, "a woman who is going to bring a child into the world. And yes, Ademia sent me. She entrusted me to deliver a very important letter to the king — and if you know about the Untouchables, you know how much we need..."
Kahlan didn't get to finish her sentence as Stel's expression slowly changed. She went from being a woman that was furious about them standing in the pantry, where the hidden wall was slowly closing, to a woman whose eyes were filled with joy.
"A child?" Stel repeated in question. Kahlan nodded slowly, thoroughly confused over how quickly the woman's mood had changed. If Stel knew anything about the Untouchables, then she would also know that the cursed women couldn't become pregnant. Would the woman reveal Kahlan's new mortality? Kahlan was still worried about it when Stel clapped her hands together, clearly happy. "Then we should celebrate!"
Stel turned and open the door, "Out with the two of ye, so I can get what I came for..." Lenore's hand pushed Kahlan out of the pantry and into what was a really busy kitchen.
From behind Kahlan, Lenore followed suit. No one seemed to notice that two people had just stepped out of the pantry, when only one woman had entered. The kitchen was exactly what Kahlan had expected to find in a large palace. The room was one large space, only divided by large tables that were scattered across the room. Here and there chefs stood either chopping vegetables or ordering different kitchen-girls around.
Kahlan inhaled. She could smell the sweet scent of leftover porridge that was being worked into large piles of flour by sizable, skilled hands. The baker moved the kneaded bread over to a large stone plate, which a young man no older than Kahlan came and removed, only to fetch a new one.
It looked like everybody knew exactly what to do and when to take an extra step to the right to avoid disaster. As Kahlan looked around yet again, her eyes fell on a man who had stopped in the middle of chopping vegetables. First, she thought that his eyes had landed on her and that he was one of those who were not immune to the curse. However, when his eyes moved slightly to the right she discovered Lenore standing right behind her.
"Len?" the man asked as he slowly lowered the knife. Lenore smiled and walked passed Kahlan.
"The one and the same!" Lenore replied, smiling. Kahlan's mouth dropped as her friend placed a kiss on the man's lips. The greeting was far more intimate than anything Kahlan would have expected from a married woman. The man only laughed loudly as he led Lenore away, talking to her rapidly.
"That's Peter," Stel said, coming up behind Kahlan. Kahlan looked at her, noticing her knowing smile. "Before Lenore got married — before she became a mortal that is — she and Peter had a thing going on."
Kahlan returned her attention to where Peter was pouring tea into a large cup as Lenore laughed at something he had said. Stel came up beside her, "Well, Peter wanted something more, but Lenore rejected him. Ever since that, Peter hasn't had a sweetheart, though I think it is about time he got over her."
Kahlan didn't say anything. She almost envied the small loving touches Peter gave Lenore every time her attention drifted away. If the circumstances had been different and she had been allowed to love, Kahlan would gladly… Her thought trailed off as she noticed Stel observing her. Kahlan shook her head, "I can't be involved with anyone," she explained as she recognized the hope in Stel's eyes.
"Can't or won't?" Stel inquired as she moved over to what must be her usual working table. Everything was in neat order. The jars containing various herbs for seasoning the food stood in a straight line. Beside the chopping board, assorted knifes waited to be used.
Kahlan placed herself at the end of the table, unsure of how to answer. Knowing full well that in eight months she would be dead, would it be immoral to try and love someone? Looking back at where Lenore continued to obviously flirt with Peter, she knew the answer. "Both," she finally replied.
"That's a shame," Stel said, looking closely at Kahlan before she continued, "Peter could use some distraction, ye see..." Stel turned to where Peter was discretely trying to woo his friend.
Kahlan tried to take her eyes from the scene, but somehow she found it difficult as Peter once again touched Lenore. Somewhere inside her, she wondered if the man she had picked to be her child's foster-father would be as devoted to the Commander of the Queen's Riders as Peter seemed to be to Lenore.
Beside her, Stel continued to watch Lenore and Peter as well. She finally shrugged, turning to the filled basket she had placed on the table. Picking up different sausages and cheeses, Stel stopped as Kahlan's stomach once again growled. "Being pregnant can make a woman very hungry." It wasn't a question, but more like a statement, and Kahlan forced her eyes away from where Lenore still flirted with Peter. When Kahlan looked at Stel, the woman was looking her up and down. "When was the last time ye ate something?" She paused as Kahlan opened her mouth to answer, but shook her head, "And by something, I mean something other than an apple?"
"How did you —" Kahlan stopped short as Stel walked away, shaking her head like a disappointed mother. It wasn't like she hadn't been eating – Kahlan had made sure to bring plenty of food with her from the sanctuary, but after reaching Corus she had focused on her task. Knowing now that she was going to die, her task of choosing of a foster-parent for her unborn child and finding a way to get inside the palace had overshadowed her hunger.
However, now that she was standing in the middle of a kitchen, she couldn't deny that her pregnant body demanded attention. Kahlan's fingers itched to snatch one of the sliced sausages that lay abandoned on Stel's chopping board. She was about to give in to her urge when Stel returned from one of the bakers with fresh bread in her hands.
"Now," Stel took a knife and began to slice the bread. Picking up two slices of bread, Stel paused when she looked at Kahlan's expression, "hmm — ye look like ye could eat two sandwiches, correct?"
Kahlan chewed her food thoroughly after two strong lectures from Stel on proper manners. She had been ordered to take her sandwiches and sit in a nearby corner, or as Stel had commented with a motherly tone, "A place where I can keep an eye on ye..." Kahlan had accepted the plate filled with two sandwiches and a handful of dried fruit, thanking the woman, but her gratitude had been waved off with a snort from Stel.
Time went on and Kahlan experienced first-hand how the kitchen staff dealt with a palace in lock-down. Sitting down with no one to bother her, Kahlan could observe how organized everything was. Nobody bumped into anyone else or stepped in the wrong direction when walking from one place to another. It was almost scary to watch how life went on in the kitchen, while she knew that chaos thrived in the lower city.
As Kahlan took another bite from the sandwich, she contemplated what Stel had revealed to her. First, she had found out that Stel had known about the Untouchables from her grandmother, whose mother had been an Untouchable herself. It was surprising for Kahlan to learn that descendants from Untouchables existed, and how they knew about the curse and did everything in their power to not be one of them.
The second thing Kahlan tried to understand as another bite of her sandwich went into her mouth was that it seemed that everything was connected. While preparing more food, Stel had entertained Kahlan with various tales. One of them had been about how Stel, in her younger years, had been dreaming about a long, lanky man for several nights until she had finally understood that the Goddess wanted her to locate the man. Stel had done so, but she had needed to return to the palace to fetch the Lioness, as the man had been stuck with one foot in the Black God's realm and the other in the mortal one.
It had taken several minutes for Kahlan to finally realize that the kitchen-woman had been talking about Master Salmalin. After that tale, Stel had left Kahlan to ponder everything and allow her thoughts to wander freely.
She was in the middle of taking a bite, her teeth properly embedded in the bread, when a door was slammed open. She watched as a lad, carrying four plucked hens, rushed through into the kitchen. Kahlan continued to bite down in her sandwich as everyone in kitchen stopped what they were doing.
Cold autumn air snuck in around the boy and lifted strands of his brown hair, making his frantic eyes look insane. There was silence in the kitchen, until a cook cleared his throat, "Och, boy! Don't just stand there — close that bloody door!"
Kahlan recognized him as the boy, Lowell. She took the last bite of her sandwich, chewing carefully before licking her fingers where the butter had slipped. The lad pushed the door closed with a well-maneuvered swing of his hips. The door closed with a loud thud. The loud sound got the last of the kitchen staff to stare in the direction of the boy. Even Peter, who still flirted heavily with Lenore while he cleaned the first mushrooms of the autumn, stared at the boy. He stood still, with his knife lingering in the air.
Stel, who had been everywhere in the kitchen ordering girls about, stood still and stared until the boy moved down the few steps and headed in her direction. As Lowell stumbled forward, he passed several pages that waited for trays of food to be ready so they could bring it back to whoever had ordered it. It seemed to Kahlan that Stel knew that something was up with the boy as she began to push her way towards him. As he reached Stel's working area, he slammed the four plucked hens on the tables — their heads still attached. At the same time, Stel rounded the table.
Grabbing hold of his shoulders, Stel snapped, "What happened?" The boy looked shaken, pressing his lips together. "Speak up, lad!"
Kahlan rose slowly from her seat as Stel spoke again, this time more anxiously, "For Mithros' sake boy! Use that mouth of yours, or else..."
"I saw the Lioness in the inner court yard, ordering some of the Own to take an unconscious man down from his horse," the boy finally stuttered out as the color drained from Stel's face, "I think it was Master Salmalin..."
"What did ye say?"
"The Lioness is back from the city with Master Salmalin...Sir Raoul was in the process of placing Master Salmalin over his shoulder..." Lowell repeated, his voice tiny and miserable.
"How long ago?" Stel demanded as Kahlan moved closer. It was clear to see that Stel was upset and alarmed. The boy didn't answer at first and Stel shook him a little. "How long?" Stel tried again.
"Ten minutes ago," the answer didn't come from Lowell. The lad had his lips pressed together.
Both Kahlan and Stel, along with every other person in the kitchen, turned their heads towards a dark skinned woman. She stood on the third step from the floor. Her dark brown, almost black hair was pulled back into a small bun at the back of her head. The hairstyle complimented the dark, high-necked tunic and wide, baggy breeches she wore. As the woman came down the stairs the kitchen staff near her backed away.
Kahlan only stared. The woman's walk was slow and almost predatory, like a graceful cat that neared its prey. Well-trained muscles could be seen underneath the fabric of her loose tunic and when she moved over to where Stel stood, Kahlan could see that she wore a belt where two small knives were placed, along with various small pouches.
The newcomer was a Bazhir. It wasn't the first time Kahlan had seen one of the legendary nomad tribal people — it often happened that one or two young Bazhir girls came to the sanctuary, but recently it had become more of a rarity.
"Zofia," Stel greeted the woman with fear in her voice, "is he — please, don't tell me that he is dead!" Stel slowly released the boy.
"No," Zofia replied and Stel relaxed visibly. "He's unconscious — as always." The woman, Zofia, shook her head as she came to a halt. Kahlan saw that some kind of veil, maybe from her time as a Bazhir, was pinned to her hair.
"Thank the Goddess." Stel sighed heavily, clearly relieved.
"Don't thank her yet," Zofia said, looking around, "my lady is rather furious and she has requested food to be prepared."
"Of course," Stel nodded. "Ye there," Stel pointed to one of the kitchen-girls, "take one of the trays and bring it upstairs!" The young girl nodded and took one of the trays that had been prepared for one of the pages, who had been waiting a long time for it. The page opened his mouth, clearly to protest, but closed it as Stel crooked an eyebrow at him.
When the boy closed his mouth, not interested in attracting Stel's wrath, Stel turned back to Zofia. "So, merely unconscious?" Zofia nodded her reply. "Good," Stel smiled for the first time. She suddenly turned towards Kahlan and gestured her forth. Kahlan obeyed, knowing that she didn't have a choice in the matter, "Zofia, this is —"
Zofia's dark brown eyes looked into Kahlan's own. "Kahlan." Zofia said, cutting off Stel's words. "I know. My mistress told me that she hoped Lenore brought you here." Zofia turned to where Lenore stood with Peter lingering at her back. Kahlan saw the Lioness's primary lady-in-waiting nod at Lenore. "I'll take care of her. You can be sure of that."
Lenore only nodded, not saying a word. Kahlan, herself, was rather amused, but didn't show it. She had been well trained by Yuki to not show any sign of emotion in front of strangers.
Kahlan kept her mask, noticing that Zofia was very much like her mistress — sharped tongued and quite observant. As Zofia's dark eyes traveled down Kahlan's body, she suddenly knew that she stood before a person who carried secrets — secrets similar to Kahlan's own. Secrets that would turn everything upside down.
Zofia wasn't that kind of woman who could be either tricked, manipulated or even influenced by anyone. That was something her gift made sure off. Such as she looked at her new charge over she felt the sizzling feeling that accompanied the magic whenever it woke.
It was an odd feeling, but she had during the years learned to cope with the extra energy that the waking of her gift always brought. At a young age, when the something inside her woke, she always knew that minor disasters would happen; it could be that a pot exploded, splashing its extremely hot content everywhere or the small glow, that burned the rare tobacco in the peace pipe the elders from the tribe used, would be more excited and suddenly consume everything. Now she was controlling it and not the other way around.
With the feeling of her gift whizzing through her veins, Zofia moved her brown eyes to where Stel stood. There was things Zofia needed to say; things that was important to be discussed. She ignored her new charge and her friend, and turned towards the kitchen.
"Can I have everyone's attention?" Zofia spoke highly. She didn't really need to do it so loudly as everybody seemed to be looking solemnly at her. No words was uttered in the otherwise noisy kitchen.
"Good," Zofia said, not concealing her sad expression, "I'm sure that all of you already know that our king arranged a marriage for our chief mage..." everyone nodded as Zofia spoke – it was common knowledge now as they all had witness the young woman in question earlier that morning, "everyone of you have also felt the earthquake not long ago..." again everyone nodded.
Zofia looked at them all as she waited a few seconds. "Perfect – well, it is not perfect – Sir Alanna, along with her husband need information. It could be something you may have observed – an odd behavior, people you have not seen before walking the grounds of the palace trying their best to blend in, but you noticed them nevertheless...maybe someone you saw lurking, but by the time you didn't think that it mattered..."
One of the chefs held up his hand and Zofia stopped her words. "Quit playing around the bush Zofia, it's not a coincidence that the palace is in lock-down, which is the first time in like forever...tell us what happened instead of beating around the bush and what does that young lass has to do with everything? "
Everywhere voices demanded to know the same.
"Fine Millford -," Zofia sighed, but not before she glared daggers at the cook. The man only stared back at her, not intimidated like anyone else would. "There has been a massive attack on the city, which Sir Alanna and Master Salmalin has been involved in."
Everywhere folk turned to each other as they muttered highly while others simply exchanged glances. Zofia waited for it to quite down, before she took a deep breath and continued, "Sir Alanna, her husband and the king believe the attack on the attack served as a diversion..."
"A diversion to do what exactly?" Millford snickered as he glanced around, "The Lioness and Master Salmalin powers combined would make everyone run away as if their buttocks was on fire...We all know that happened to poor Otto Fajardo when he had a misplaced crush on our tall mage and tried to woo Master Salmalin..." Laughter echoed through the kitchen, as everybody remembered that awkward situation.
Zofia waited for Millford to continue as the laughter died down. "Corus is more secure than the crown-prince himself, nobody dares to..." The Bazhir-woman glared daggers at the cook and his words stopped.
She picked up the words. "Their majesties and Lord Grayer has reasons to believe that Lady Salmalin has tried to assassinate Prince Roald..." a rush of anger went through the crowd. Someone shouted as a few other only looked horrified.
Zofia looked over at Stel and saw the woman grabbing hold of the table beside her. The new girl, Zofia's new charge, rushed over Stel offering her support. Zofia gave the kitchen-staff a few extra minutes to calm down.
"However!" Zofia's voice echoed through the kitchen bringing the talk to a silence, "if someone know anything of value or have any information regarding Master Salmalin's wife – please give word to myself or Stel," Zofia pointed at the other woman who rather oddly seemed to be looking at a women Zofia immediately recognized.
Everywhere in the kitchen everybody nodded. Zofia saw Stel gesturing Lenore over to herself. The two woman stuck their heads together, whispering something while looking in the direction of the pantry. Zofia frowned as her gift buzzed eagerly. The two woman was discussing something private and secretly.
As nobody seemed to have any information regarding the assassination or any suspicious behavior Zofia moved over the two women. "The two of you know something, don't you?"
"Can you set up a silencing spell?" Lenore asked as she glanced around the kitchen, "We don't want anyone to hear this..."
Zofia nodded, but glanced over to where Kahlan stood. Lenore saw it and spoke, "She's trustworthy Zofia...I would trust her with my children if I had any..." Zofia's eyebrows rose and Kahlan understood her very well. It was a praise like no other and when it came from Lenore, a woman who was hard to impress it really meant something.
"Okay," Zofia replied and reached for one of the two small bags at her belt. From inside she produced a small crystal in faint pink called Chit – named after the famous elemental spirit living at the Roof of the World. It was a thing she had been gifted with during her travel after agreeing to be a traveling partner to Raoul. Back then, the man had been interested in following the Lioness footsteps and such, they had ended up living with the Doi for a few weeks. Once activated the crystal wouldn't influence the spells that kept diseases away from the kitchen.
Now she only waited for Lenore to speak. And what she heard was disturbing.
Zofia was consumed by thoughts. The information was going to change everything. Not only was the tunnels a well kept secret, the Lioness and the spymaster had kept for years, but they had also kept Zofia's abilities hidden for the majesties. They already had several strong mages supporting the crown, but what if they found out that Zofia was more stronger than the chief mage himself? She shook her head to clear her mind.
In front of her, Lenore and Stel was in a heated discussion about the tunnels and didn't pay much attention to Zofia's quietness. The only one who did was her new charge, whose startling bright blue eyes looked at her concerned.
"I'm sure that they won't be angry," Zofia finally heard Kahlan say and she turned her attention to the younger girl, feeling how her gift tingled strongly.
"I'm not sure what you are talking about," Zofia replied ignoring what Kahlan had implied.
The younger woman shrugged, "Okay, but I'm still sure that they won't be mad...I mean, a secret is kept a secret for a reason...right?"
Zofia sighed, "And what do you know about secrets..." She suddenly stopped, and almost dropped her mouth as Kahlan pressed her lips hard together. Of course! Why hadn't she realized it sooner? Her mistress wouldn't just hand over a mere girl to Zofia. She stopped in the middle of that thought as she glanced towards one of the many windows – the sun was setting and fast. There were so many things that needed to be done...such as replace old Maude, taking the child down to supper and after that prepare baths for them.
She placed the small crystal inside the bag and bid her friends farewell. Her mind was filled up with the news she had received and the things that needed to be done, but upon reaching the stairs, somewhere behind her, Lenore cleared her throat.
"Zofia," Lenore called as she looked over to where Kahlan stood fidgeting, her eyes dropped to the floor as some of the men from the kitchen was moving slowly towards her, "haven't you forgotten something?"
Zofia looked back at Lenore, realizing that her friend where right."Are you coming?"
The younger woman looked up at her startled, "Me?"
Zofia sighed low, before she nodded. She didn't have much patience for a new charge, but she had her orders from Alanna. "Yes, you – The Lioness has three children that needs to be feed, bathed and than tucked in before the sun is well buried in the horizon..." Zofia saw Kahlan look over to where Lenore still stood. The older woman nodded.
Zofia didn't wait for her new charge, but walked up the stairs. Behind her she heard running feet. "So," Zofia said, as she held a door open, "it seemed that you have intrigued my mistress so much that she decided to make an exception and hire you," Zofia looked at Kahlan sharply, her brown eyes suspicious, "how good are you with kids?"
Kahlan only looked back, seemingly not disturbed by Zofia's unkind behavior. "I can manage," she said slowly, trying to keep up the pace. "My aunt had twins and I, myself, is a twin..."
She stopped speaking and walking as they rounded a corner. Further down the corridor stood the King! Kahlan pressed her lips together as the letter hanging in a small pouch around her neck, burned.
The King stood tall, wearing a dark blue tunic over a pale cream shirt. Long-shafted boots was just as polished at the metal that flashed from the sword placed in a scabbard by his side. If Kahlan hadn't seen the Commander of the Own first, she would have chosen the king to be her daughter's foster-parent. The man was stunning; from the neat cut black hair to the dark stubble that covered his cheeks. The blackness only complimented the sapphire blue eyes, that almost matched Kahlan's brighter ones.
Kahlan eyes moved over to the King's companion and froze, wishing she could hide deep down under the floor or hadn't come to the palace at all. It was the man, she had hoped, she would never see again. In front of her, Zofia had also stopped as Kahlan quickly lowered her head and tried to hid behind her, which wasn't easy as the Bazhir-woman was tree inches shorter than her new charge.
"What in the Goddess name are you doing?" Zofia questioned trying to turn around, but Kahlan prevented her to do so.
Kahlan peaked over Zofia's shoulder seeing one of the men, a tall one with slightly tanned skin and a beaky nose wave at them. Zofia only nodded curtly, acknowledging his presence, before she hissed again. "What in the Goddess name are you doing?"
"Nothing...," Kahlan found herself replying as she peaked once more over Zofia's shoulder. The King and the other man, was walking away as they talked. The man with the beaky nose was starring strangely at Kahlan, but it was only when the king called, that he looked away.
When the men was gone, Zofia turned around, facing her new charge. "What's the matter with you? Haven't you ever seen a king before?" She said slightly annoyed.
Kahlan straightened herself as she growled back, "It wasn't the king I was hiding for!"
"The Baron then?" Zofia offered, but continued as Kahlan seemed clueless, "Lady Alanna's husband? The tall tanned man? I know that he looked at you strangely, perhaps he knows you from somewhere?"
Kahlan shook her head. "No," she replied gloomy, "if it only was that simple." She kept looking at corner where the men had disappeared, expecting to find them returning at any moment. Zofia only kept staring at her new charge, until Kahlan rather reluctantly continued explaining, "that man...the other one who was with the king..."
"Lord Grayer?" Zofia offered.
Kahlan both nodded and shook her head at the same time, until she realized that she looked stupid. "I don't know his name...only that he is poisonous." She continued to stare at the corner where the men had gone, until Zofia's frame stepped in front of her, blocking her vision.
The Bazhir-woman's posture was one of impatience. Kahlan sighed. How was she supposed to reveal that the man was double crossing the king as they just stood there in the corridor? She couldn't exact say that she had seen the man on various occasions, talking with the Commander, Sun Tzu, at different times. Should she lie or should she keep as close to the truth as possible?
Something told her that Zofia would have known if she had lied, so instead she began to explain. "That man, Lord Grayer, you say – I have seen him near the boarder to Scanra."
"Of course," Zofia replied as she began walking, "he's Commander of the King's Army. He's supposed to be near the boarder if the Scanran's is harassing the people who lives to the north...he sometimes accompanies Sir Raoul and the Own, whenever their help is needed."
Kahlan hurried after Alanna's lady-in-waiting, "No, not like that. I mean...He's working under Sun Tzu." That got Zofia to stop in her tracks, while Kahlan bit the inside of her cheek.
Zofia turned around facing Kahlan while narrowing her eyes. "What did you say?"
Kahlan fliched at the intensity of the older woman's gaze. Maybe Aura would have been better at this than her, but then again – knowing what she knew now, she wouldn't have a change to influence who was going to foster her daughter. If she had stayed back at the sanctuary, the safety of her daughter could still be questionable. The toddler could have, in one inattentively moment, gone through the boundary and get captured by Sun Tzu's men to be killed or worse, made a slave. Kahlan shuddered. No! Better to warn them and give the Tortallan the best possibly way to protect themselves, than to be back at the sanctuary – waiting for a faith unknown. She was lucky to know what was going to happen to her in the near future. Tortal rather unfortunately didn't know.
"That man is working with Sun Tzu – a Yamani Commander..." Kahlan began to explain, but Zofia only held up her hand, stopping Kahlan.
Instead of saying anything, Zofia grabbed Kahlan, and began to drag her through the corridor.
"Where are we going?" Kahlan asked as she stumbled over her own feet. If the circumstances had been different, Kahlan would have wanted to pause and allow herself time to admire the stunning embroidered tapestries they passed on their way.
They had entered a new section of the palace and Kahlan could only guess that this was the royal wing. She followed Zofia the best she could, her hand still in Zofia's firm grip. "You are going to meet the kids – than follow them to supper. They eat with the royal children in the nurse-wing, and after that it is time for their bad, before they are to be put to bed..."
Kahlan tried to follow the best she could. "Will you be there? What if something happens..."
"You worked with kids before, you said...You will be absolutely fine and you won't be alone until bedtime that is..." Zofia smiled to Kahlan as she reached a door and opened it. Pushing the young woman in, Zofia spoke to a new woman who was in the middle of combing the hair on a nine-year old girl. Long black hair was being straightened as the comb slowly moved through it.
"Maude?" Zofia called and a much older woman, mid-sixty, looked away from the girl over to where Kahlan stood, "I have brought you my new charge..." Maude smiled, making the wrinkles more visible as she lowered down the comb, "will you make sure she is introduced to Master Thom, Alianne and Alan?"
Kahlan tried the best to remember the names. It was obvious that the young girl with black hair standing in front of the older woman was a royal child. Other than Skinko and Yuki, Kahlan had only seen that kind of hair-color on the king she saw earlier.
"Of course," Maude replied in a rusty female voice and waved Kahlan forth. Behind Kahlan, Zofia closed the door. "Master Thom and Alan is being tutored by a Mithran priest, in there...we had to move them because of the lock-down..." Maude explained and pointed with a bony finger to another room where Kahlan could hear a male voice was speaking. It wasn't until her eyes moved downwards that she discovered another girl sitting plastered to the door with her ear pressed against the wood.
"It's unfair!" the girl complained as she pushed her reddish blonde hair away from her hazel green eyes, only to press her ear against the door again, "It's not like that I can't read. Da made sure of that! He even gave me one of his own books when I was six! And I read better than Thom does...if Da knew that he refused to teach us just because we are girls,he would take a piece of his ear..."
"Aly!" The black haired girl exclaimed with shook clear in her voice as she glanced over to where Kahlan stood, "mind your tongue – we have guests..."
The ten-year old girl snorted as she turned around, looking at Kahlan. She blinked twice, before she quickly rose to her feet.
Kahlan waited for the girl to say something and when she finally did, she regretted her patience.
"You have secrets," was the only thing the Lioness' only daughter concluded looking Kahlan in the eyes, before she continued, "I love secrets!"
Zofia stood for a few moments, listening to the conversation that floated from the door behind her.
Taking a few moments, thinking over how to proceed with the information she had just retrieved from her new charge, she stood very still. It wasn't until a door further down the corridor was being pulled open by a slightly angry-mumbling Duke Gareth the younger, that she moved. It was time to investigate her new charge accusations.
Turning her attention to where Duke walked, Zofia frowned. The Duke was walking with his attention turned solemnly down to where papers was being held in his hands. He walked steadily down the corridor towards Zofia, not looking at where his feet went while he continued to mutter something underneath his breath.
Knowing the man, Zofia was surprised to hear the otherwise so eloquent and well-mannered Duke to curse loudly as he carefully blew on the top paper in the stack, he held in his large hands. Taking a few seconds to just listen in to the Duke curses – Zofia's gift tingled as the name Lord Grayer reached her ears.
Looking closely at the Duke, she saw that the man bore a grim expression. Not hesitating, Zofia made a decision and hurried away, turning a corner further down the corridor. It was unsettling to hear the Duke become more and more angry as he walked, but that only made Zofia more determined to investigate the situation.
When the timing was right, she stepped around the corner and bumped into the Duke. The papers in his hands flew everywhere as the Duke's hands reached to stabilize her.
"Easy," he said, as he looked at down at the person in front of him. Duke Gareth grinned surprised when he realized who he was standing in front of, "I'm so sorry, Zofia...I should learn to see where I'm going..."
Zofia shook her head. Bending down, she picked up some of the papers as she grinned back. "It's okay – It was my fault as well, I shouldn't have walked in my own thoughts..." she said, giving back the papers, but not until her trained eyes had skimmed the text. Nothing! It contained only lines of numbers listing the amount of crops stored for the upcoming winter.
She bit the inside of her cheek, as Duke Gareth looked down at the mess on the floor. "More work," he sighed low, trying to organize the papers he picked up from the floor one at the time.
Reaching for a paper that lay upside down, Zofia saw Duke Gareth's serious expression soften, "I should have learned years ago that walking and not looking at where I'm going would eventually back-fire," he grinned, "well...Now I have an excuse not to give Lord Grayer this until is has been re-written..."
He looked down at one of the papers where delicate letters had been smeared out. Zofia leaned forth, skimming the paper and gasped. Reading upside down had never been a problem after her mistress' husband had taken an interest in her abilities to go everywhere unnoticed. "Are you changing the writs of execution?"
"The King is," Duke Gareth said, his voice filled with disgust, "Lord Grayer has persuaded his majesty to overlook normal procedures, so any assassin caught will now be escorted directly to Traitor's hill to be hanged instead of going through trial first."
Zofia didn't say anything at first while the Duke rose from the floor. She stayed on her knees as her brain tried to process that startling piece of information.
If an assassin were to be caught and executed right away, they, her mistress and the spymaster wouldn't have time to interrogate the prisoner or even find out who requested the hit! It was rather brilliant, she thought. It would give the person, who hired the assassin, more time to either get away or to continue the charade he was living!
Thinking about what she knew of Lord Grayer, Zofia frowned. She hadn't really liked the man when he had been assigned to the post of being Commander of the Tortall Army, nor had she ever thought of him during the many times she had been asked to look into someone backgrounds – and furthermore, she couldn't remember if she ever did get around to check his background. She knew that she had worked through almost everyone's past when they applied or was offered a place in the palace, well aside from Master Salmalin's new wife, but him?
Reflecting over the issue, she suddenly noticed, that whenever her mind touched the subject her thoughts was being directed back to the Lioness's children. Feeling slightly annoyed, she kept directing her thoughts at the name Lord Mardell Grayer and again it was like gripping a flighty butterfly...someone was manipulating her thoughts, she suddenly realized.
It was only when a large hand entered her line of vision, grabbing her elbows and pulling her to her feet that she came to herself. "Are you okay?" Duke Gareth asked, as he lifted her chin a bit, looking at her concerned.
Zofia felt angry and like a fool. "I'm fine," she replied, taking a small step away from the Duke. "I'm just stressed with the lock-down and all," she lied, instead of telling him the truth.
Calling for her gift, noticing the air becoming thicker as it grew inside her, Zofia pushed the feeling of manipulation away. When the feeling was at the size of a small ant, a thought suddenly hit her. "How many times has the writs been altered?" she asked slowly, looking up at the Duke's 6'2 against her own 5'2" inches. When she realized that Duke Gareth looked confused, she added, "the current criminal law?"
Duke Gareth scratched his neatly cut beard, as he reflected over her question. "I think it's the first time," he said slowly, "the only other time the law was re-written was when Alanna revealed herself after her dueling with Duke Roger. The old king thought it to be good to have a passage added, but now that Mindelan is training as a knight," he shrugged," the king will eventually change that part as soon he has presented it to the council to be discussed..."
Zofia nodded, biting her lip. "That's what I thought," she retorted depressed. From what she knew of Lord Grayer he had no magical gift, so to manipulate the king and herself, he must be desperate and when a man became desperate, they became clumsy. "I need to go," she said and hurried down the corridor, leaving a confused Duke behind her.
Walking through corridors Zofia was deeply consumed by thoughts. She could feel her gift fighting to keep the manipulation-spell at bay and the fight was draining her slowly. She needed something that could not only amplify, but also maintain the spell without her using all of her gift. She couldn't use the normal pendant she wore around her neck as it would only shatter into pieces, so she needed something stronger – something that only a stronger mage would use or be in possession of.
Coming to a stop, she quickly checked the corridor, only to find that it was deserted. Quickly and quietly she opened a door and moved inside. Pausing inside the chamber, she listened for any sound. When only snoring reached her ears, she relaxed. The owner of the room was laying in the chamber next door, passed out of exhaustion. Master Salmalin would have what she needed and Zofia was sure that he wouldn't mind her borrowing a pendant that could hold her gift.
Lashing out with a small golden thread of her gift told her that the Chief Mage stored his stash of crystals and stones in a small box that was hidden being large and hopefully boring books on one of the many shelves in the room. As Zofia moved towards the direction, she thought of the things she was about to do and how, if discovered, she would end up on Traitor's hills herself. Hopefully that would never happen!
Taking hold of a large book, she lifted it down and placed it carefully on the floor. There, on the self, was a box that hissed violently as it produced thorns from the wood.
Zofia rolled her eyes. Of course the mage had spelled it to protect itself, but she hadn't been brought to the Lioness for no reason when she had been twenty-five.
It only took one sneaky trick to see the weakness in the spell to break it and open the lid. Inside lay various items that could be used magically and picking up a small amethyst at the size of the nail on her thumb, she closed the lid quickly. The spell she used was only one that lasted seconds and if she hadn't done it quickly, the whole thing would have exploded along with everything around her.
Concentrating on the amethyst, she spelled it to fight whatever magic that was used to trick her. Once that was done, she hid the crystal in her pocket.
Now she needed only to do one thing. Thinking clearer now, she quickly strode over to the door, opening it and glancing out. When she found the corridor deserted, she closed the door behind her. She would hand the amethyst back once she was done with it.
Moving through the palace, nodding casually to those she met on her way, Zofia thought of the best way to go about it. She had to absolutely sure before she could go and accuse Lord Grayer, so she needed to do something that would make everything fall apart for him.
She had the needed ingredients stuffed in a bag somewhere in her small room. Closing the door behing her, she quickly walked over the wall hidden behind a tapestry. Pushing it to the side, she pulled at a brick in the wall. It wouldn't give in at first, but after putting some more strength into the pull, it came lose easily.
After placing the stone of the window-still she looked inside the hole. She reached inside and pulled out two bags in different color; one dyed blue and one in pale white color. Staring at them for what seemed to be the longest time, Zofia decided that she had to be sure about everything.
Holding up the smallest of the two bags that contained Bluebell, she stared at it. The dried plant had various properties when used differently; if it was added to incense it would aid in healing and dispel illnesses, but it could also be used by mages who had achieved shapeshifting. It could also be added to chamomile tea, that had a cleansing and purifying property, and it would force the drinker to tell only the truth about everything.
Zofia was debating inside herself, if she could risk not using the dried plant? It was only meant to be used when she had no other options, as too much of it would cause the recipient to die a fatal death. And had everything come to that? Her poisoning Lord Grayer was a big thing, but could they afford not to use any means necessary to find out the truth?
She looked at the other bag for a moment. It was a lot bigger then the first one and contained dried crushed chrysanthemum. Keeping the flower in ones home and garden would provide protection, but carry the flower on you could help you to protect yourself. Some again ate the petals in the hope to improve their moods. Zofia had chosen it for its other qualities. The petals from the flower, if added into a poison, would keep things going and make the poison last longer. In this case, it would aid the crushed bluebell and force the effect to last for two days, not one.
Moving over to the small table inside her chamber, she tossed the two bags down. From one of the bags hanging at her belt, she produced a small vial. It was so small that it fitted perfectly into her palm and couldn't be seen, unless one knew what to look for.
Uncorking the vial, she took one of her knives and very carefully dipped the tips down into the bag of Bluebell. Blue powder was very cautiously being drizzled down into the vial. When the powder was a quarter of the vial, Zofia opened the bags with chrysanthemum. With the vial now filled, and corked again, she returned the bags to the hiding place behind the tapestry and replaced the brick back to where it belonged.
Now she only had to make sure that the content of the vial reached Lord Grayer. Being employed by the spymaster, Zofia had been trained in different things and adding something to a cup of tea was just as easy as sneezing. The trick was to get the man to drink the tea with the added herbs, as they left an extremely bitter taste behind, but she even had a solution for that.
Flashback
The sun was burning hot with rays that made the scarlet color look like fresh blood. Eleven hooded woman stood patiently waiting for their Queen to arrive.
Their task was simple, or hopefully it would be once they managed to get passed the many Scanran's guarding the boundary. They knew what was on stake and eventually what was going to happen if they didn't manage to reach out to the many descendants of the Untouchable, who had found love and had settled down during the thousand of years the Untouchables had existed.
Some of them turned around as a woman, dressed in purely white, walked towards with bare feet on the grass. At her side, her second in command walked. Reaching the women, Ademia nodded to each of them. "I take it that you are ready?" She asked and looked at one person, Aila who with Naesala, was to travel all the way to Tusaine.
Aila nodded, forcing her small greenish bird to take flight from where it had been nested in her equally greenish hair. "Yes, my Queen, Naesala should be ready at any moment now," she replied and looked over to where a young woman was coming towards them in a quick pace.
The Queen waited for the young woman to reach them. The young woman's eyes glowed like amber in the sunlight. "Got it," Naesala said, holding up a bag.
Ademia nodded to Shinko, who walked a way from her side, to give the order to the others that it was time to begin the diversion.
"You all have your orders," Ademia said, as she looked at the twelve women. "It is crucial that you each reach your destination and begin the process of finding any descendants of the Untouchables who left the sanctuary many years ago. Recruit them, tell them that if they will join our cause, they may find the necessary training at Port Legan."
She stopped and looked over at the many armed women, each carrying either a bow or crossbow, that slowly appeared from the many tents. Turning back, the gentle smile that had played in the corner of her mouth, was gone. What, she was going to say next was serious and the twelve woman in front of her, understood.
"There comes a time, not many months from now, where we are in the need of any help possible. If somehow you fail your mission in finding any descendants with the knowledge of the Untouchables, you will make it your task to place a letter of warning," Ademia pointed to the small bag Naesala was in the process of placing inside her clothes, "on a table where a king may find it."
The twelve women curtsied low and was about to leave, when Ademia stopped two of them, "Rina, Breanna a word."
The two women, both fair-haired like their queen, stayed where they were. Breanna's black-silvered crow was floating in the air a few meters above her, whereas Rina's white squirrel was busy eating an acorn on her shoulder.
Ademia waited for the other women to be gone before she spoke again, "You both come from Galla, correct?" The two women exchanged glances before they nodded. "Good. I'm sure that both of you remember Rosalie? Well, she is now a mortal with three children and married to a Baker called Erasmo. I have chosen both of you because you already know Rosalie and have met Erasmo..."
"And you want us to pay them a visit, right?" Rina asked, while she provided another acorn for her squirrel.
Ademia nodded. "Yes. Also, both of you know that Rosalie has a foster-child from before she became mortal?" Here it was Breanna's turn to nod. "Her name is Daine and she doesn't know about Rosalie being an former Untouchable..."
"But Erasmo does," protested Rina.
"Yes," Ademia answered, "but here will come a time where she will be told the truth, but until then, please keep that knowledge to yourself, okay? In the meanwhile, as the two of you have already noticed, you are the only one without a letter..."
Breanna immediately looked inside the bag she carried. When her eyes found nothing other than coins, her eyebrows rose significantly. "No letter for the Gallan King?"
Ademia shook her head as she began to walk over to where the other woman waited near the boundary. She turned to the two women as she stopped. "The Gallan King will not live that long to receive it," her own blue eyes returned the patiently gaze Rina had as she continued to explain," – in the fall there will be a massive event...one that will turn everything upside down, and whatever happens, the two of you will not get yourself involved."
"But.." Breanna began, but quickly stopped when Ademia shook her head, dismissing her objection.
There were some things the Untouchables had to turn the blind eye to, and this was one of them. Ademia knew their frustrations, but she had to follow orders given by the Goddess."No, Breanna – whatever happens, let it happen – it that clear?"
Both women looked hesitant, but silently they accepted their queens orders.
Ademia tried the best to smile. She knew things, she wasn't supposed to know in the first place, but the responsibility came with duty of being queen of a cursed people. "You two are not the only one who has received this order. Jaodora and Kiana has been ordered to keep their distance when Daniel," the two women showed signs of recognition of the Sun Tzu's adopted sun, "assassinates the Marenese King."
At that, shock was well written in the facial expression of Breanna and Rina, but it was Rina, who spoke first. "Are you saying that we are going to look the other way, when that bastard is going on a killing spree?"
"Yes," was the curtly answer from Ademia. She knew that it went against everything she, through the time had learned each Untouchable when reaching the sanctuary. "It is orders from the Goddess," she said, and bowed her head, dismissing the two women, who just looked at each other, before walking away – knowing full well that they would have to restrain themselves from not interfering in the assassinations of two kings.
Jonathan stood with his hands folded behind his back, staring out of the window in front of him, trying to block out the heated discussion that took place behind him. He could hear in his cousin's voice how frustrated Gareth was, as he argued with the Commander of the King's Army. The subject of the discussion lay on the oval table behind him and waited for one thing; his signature.
He was, oddly enough, reluctant to pick up the quill and dip it into the ink, so the new writ could apply. Under normal circumstances it would have been the summoned council's job to vote yes or no, but he didn't have the time to call for a new meeting and chances was, that the council would take at least two weeks to come to a decision.
No. He was King and he could change the writs as he pleased, and then he would deal with the wrath of his council later, though the arguments made by Gareth didn't encourage him to sign it.
Leaning forth, against the window-still he noticed that one group of the King's Own was in the process of leading their tired horses back into the stable, to be groomed and feed. It was nearly twilight and the unrest down in the lower city was diminishing slowly. Nobody neither dared or wanted to be outdoor when darkness came.
He understood them very well. There was a lingering uneasiness to be detected, after the attack on the city. Before, the uneasiness had been so insignificant that the residents of Corus had ignored it, while their king had not. Behind his cousin and Lord Grayer still continued to argue, but Jonathan's mind began to wander.
He had a year prior to this day given the order to rearm the army, adding up the numbers of soldiers. I addition to that, he had given orders to fiefs located along the border of Scanra and Galla, to be prepared for invasion or receiving possible refuges that had been caught in the middle. None of that had happened yet, and that was why the Lords from the fiefs had begun to question his decision, making the preparations more difficult.
Jonathan sighed low. War was time consuming. They now knew who the rumored warlord was – or general, he corrected himself, but they still lacked information on why this man was acting like he did. What purpose did he have or what did he want? From the small piece of information George's spies had gathered, which wasn't much, Jonathan felt like he was walking in blindness.
He could only prepare the kingdom for war to such a length. Jonathan knew now, that small training camps for recruits to either the King's army or the Queen's Riders, had been set up in Port Legan. What Jonathan found very interesting, was that news of young men and women from respectively the Bazhir, Tyra, Tusaine, Galla and as far away as Maren and the Yamani Empire, was joining the training camps.
Small groups, finished with their training, traveled silently through the country to be spread throughout Tortall. Small and major cities further north experienced a growth in their population. So as he stood here, looking out the window, seeing the sign that autumn was coming faster than ever, he knew without a doubt that war was coming.
A light tapping on the door brought Jonathan back to his surroundings. Turning he saw Alanna's lady-in-waiting open the door awkwardly with her hips as her hands carried a tray of various foods. Jonathan's stomach growled and reminding him, that he hadn't eaten anything after breakfast. He smiled relieved over the brief interference. Both Duke Gareth, cheeks slightly red by anger and Lord Grayer, ice cold brown eyes, stopped speaking.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty," Zofia said, as she briefly glanced in the direction of her king, "but Her Majesty mentioned that you weren't down to dinner, so I thought..." Jonathan nodded, giving his accept to enter the room.
The three men had both skipped the meal. The only one who wasn't present was George. He had left the chamber rather annoyed after he had been informed that one of the Mithran Priests had refused to teach his only daughter. For Jonathan is was an annoying constant fact, that some of the older men didn't follow order about including both his own youngest daughter and her cousin into the mandatory lectures, but he couldn't do anything about it now. There was other more serious matters to attend to and, the one that had most priority right now, was his screaming stomach.
From the tray Zofia carried, three steaming hot bowls of hot stew stood and only waited to be consumed. He nodded silently his approval again, needing no words to say for one of his most trusted employees.
Coming over to the table, he pulled out a chair as Zofia carefully handed out the bowls. It wasn't until this very moment that Jonathan realized that Fermin Bivins, Lord Grayer's manservant, had been absent all day. He began to wonder where the mysterious man was? Normally it would be him, who severed the food, but not now. No words was exchanged when Jonathan dipped his spoon and lifted it, so he could blow on the stew cautiously. In front of him both Duke Gareth and Lord Grayer kept glaring daggers at each other.
Zofia disappeared and returned with a new tray filled with empty cups, beside them stood a pot of what he assumed was tea. Jonathan nipped carefully at the food, as Zofia served him the first cup. She then did the same to Duke Gareth as the protocol bid her.
Jonathan was in the middle of taking another spoonful of stew, when his eyes caught a small flash of light. Glancing around inquisitively, he noticed an odd expression on Lord Grayer's face. The man was practically making faces for each spoonful of food he stuffed into his mouth.
Glancing down at his own food Jonathan shrugged. Maybe Lord Grayer wasn't fund of stew? Whatever was wrong with it, Jonathan didn't care. It had forced the two other men to a much needed standstill. He was about to lower his spoon down into the bowl, when yet another light flashed.
Trying to focus on it's origin, he quickly found out that it was when he didn't focus on anything specific that the flash occurred. As he turned his head to the side, he located the flash again. Almost choking in the stew, both his cousin and his commander looked at him as Zofia placed the last cup in front of Lord Grayer, who grabbed it and almost emptied the cup in one single sip.
Jonathan coughed as he shook his head smiling, "I'm...fine...just hot..." Three sets of eyebrows rose as Jonathan continued, looking solemnly at Zofia. "Really good stew..."
First the bazhir-woman was tense, but she seemed to relax when he continued to smile. He wasn't going to tell the two other men in the room that he had just seen her add something from a small vial, hidden very carefully in her hand, to Lord Grayer's tea or that her body was shining like the brightest star at night.
The women bobbed a small curtsy and quickly moved back to the wall, allowing the men to eat. Jonathan chewed slowly on a piece of meat, not saying a word keeping an eye on his commander. He had known the bazhir-woman ever since Raoul had come back from his small adventure to the great desert. He knew his knight commander had wanted to meet the tribe that had adopted both Alanna, Coram and himself, but from the sparse information Raoul had given, he had accidentally stumbled into an ambush made by hillmen raiders.
Now, he wondered if both Alanna and his spymaster had forgotten to inform their king, that the Bazhir-woman, Raoul had brought back with him, had the gift. And not just any insignificant gift, but one that was greater then his chief mage's.
And what about that vial in her hand? Was she trying to poison them? Glancing down to his own cup of tea, he allowed his gift to examine the hot liquid...it was normal chamomile tea. Moving his hand, where a few jewels adored his fingers, he allowed the stones to detect anything out of the ordinary...again nothing.
Jonathan lifted his gaze and saw Lord Grayer grimace and push his cup of tea towards Zofia, who had remained in the room. Quickly she hurried over and purred a new cup, but this time without adding anything this time. Once the cup was full, Lord Grayer grabbed it, bringing the cup up to his lips and began to drink eagerly.
The King eyed his own cup. Knowing full well where Zofia's loyalty lay, he lifted up the cup and was struck by sweetness made by added honey and strengthening herbs when the medium hot liquid passed his tongue. Taking another big sip, Jonathan continued to observe Lord Grayer. There must be a reason to why Alanna's lady-in-waiting was poisoning the commander and Jonathan would like to know why, but that had to wait. From now on, he would have to be cautious and the issue with the new writs - well they would have to wait too, along with everything else.