Straw was a smell Caroline preferred to associate with her childhood and perhaps a few romps in the palace barns. As a child, straw held a surprising fascination of playtime and fantasy, and in the latter incidents no one cared about anything. There was little good about drudging one's self from sleep only to find the horrible stench of straw and the scratchy stuff itself burrowing its way down one's throat. Especially when her head pounded like it did. She instinctively coughed and sputtered and in those processes drew another shard of straw into her mouth. It tasted like those squirrels Peter was always telling stories about. She made another, and this time successful, attempt to spit it out, though its brothers still stung at her face. She didn't dare open her eyes. Get those scratched out by straw… ha.

Caroline lay on an odd position between her side and her back; not comfortable. If that bastard with the knife had expected a little romance in the straw, she highly doubted it happened with the way she felt—at least the way she would have wanted it. Oh, heaven and hell, no. No. No. Tears of horror seeped from her eyes, and she could feel it mix with the dust on her cheeks.

Damn it, she was not a whore and she would never let a man make her one. She didn't feel any different. That new fantasy was a nightmare and nothing but. Hopefully.

She wriggled her shoulders, only to find her hands squashed tightly against the middle of her back. Her ankles, as well, refused to separate. She could even feel the rope. Poor quality, dry and itchy—not that she knew rope.

If he came back for her, she was his.

But why the hell had he not bothered to gag her? She had to get out, and that just might require screaming.

Unless he was in the vicinity. Maybe he had gone off for his precious Princess Rebecca, whoever the hell she was.

Where was she, anyway? Like another blow to her head, the terror flew out of her to make room for an overwhelming tide of curiosity. She continued to wiggle and roll. She clearly wasn't secured down, and after a dozen rolls she managed to shove her head out of the straw. Her eyes fell open to see nothing but vague shadows and plenty of straw. It was enough to show her this wasn't a palace barn. She waited as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The place was still, save for the soft chatter of some tiny animal—no doubt Peter's squirrels. The door was open, just a crack, and moonlight flooded inside. Beyond that, there was more noise, the talk of people.

Caroline prepared herself to scream when the door flew open.

"I'll look in here one last time, Rina. He might have fallen asleep in the straw, and I don't think anyone combed all the way through it."

It was a man. In an instant the terror came back, accompanied by a direct command not to scream. One that her body failed to obey. Every power in her lungs collapsed into that single scream.

The man made an exclamation of his own, and she vaguely realized this was not the man with the knife. It was someone different. An accomplice.

Her heart ached for Isaac. Why wasn't he here? He was supposed to be protecting her.

"Timber?" came the answer. "No, you're not Timber. Who in Heaven's name is up there?"

She collapsed forward onto her knees, the tears running out with sobs. "Oh, thank-you. Thank-you so much."

A ladder bonked against the loft—she realized she had to be up in a loft. "My name is Adam. Who are you?"

She could see his face as he scrambled over the hay toward her. A handsome man, quite older than her, not that such things mattered. But he looked kind. Someone she could trust. If only she could stop crying.

He gripped his hands gently around her shoulders. His eyes bored right into hers. "Are you all right, miss?"

She nodded, then shook her head. "I… I… My name is Caroline. I'm a servant at the royal palace. I… I don't know how I got here. There was a man with a knife and he hit me and I woke up here." A few sentences took more energy than she would have thought.

"You can't be serious." The man called Adam continued to study her face. "You were here the other day, weren't you? I recognize you."

She nodded and hiccupped. "I was. I came to see Rina Wood. And Jay Miller."

"Bluejay is at the palace now. You say you came from there. And Rina Wood… her boy has gone missing."

The bastard with the knife probably had the boy. And here she was, back in Wheat Hill, sitting in a loft, her hands and feet bound.

Not for long. Adam whipped out a knife and cut her free. "Come on," he said warmly. "My wife will take care of you. Don't worry about a thing, Caroline."

Lake was very successful in finding Hyrum, if she did say so herself. The man certainly didn't move very fast, for all his claims of tracking down a murderer. She smiled as she saw him, trudging up a small servant corridor, knife all out like he was some big bad guard. Which he was.

A guard that asked a few too many questions.

Her better instincts told her to return to Hannah in the library. Find Jay, find her father, grab some treasure while everyone was worried over Caroline's murder, and leave. If all went well, she would be considered nothing more than a vanished murder victim. And Jay and her father could say they left in account of grief.

But never had she met anyone so cynical about the gold. And that bothered her.

Or maybe it was Hyrum himself. No, never himself, he wasn't worth it. Handsome, admittedly, it a boorish sort of way; she wasn't about to deny that. So what if he intrigued her. Was there anything wrong with finding someone fascinating? And smart enough to be suspicious. Not that he would ever figure anything out.

And if she did follow him, and the murderer did pop out, he would protect her. He had said as much.

The halls were so empty, though, like death. A footstep in an empty room could be as loud as thunder. And his ears had to be open, scoping for a murderer. She wasn't the fairy child, had never claimed to be. She certainly couldn't creep so delicately.

What a lousy guard. Why had King Cherdith hired the man? Still, Lake remained at a healthy distance behind him. Yet was it a sin to admit she enjoyed the little game?

Then, to her surprise, Hyrum began to sing. It started as a little hum, a search for notes, but grew from there—slightly, never going much above a whisper. She didn't recognize the song, not that she could hear the lyrics. But his voice… it was a good voice, a surprise coming from someone like him. It was an upbeat tune, for a whisper, quick and jaunting and hardly suitable for tracking down the murderer, if Hyrum were trying to create an epic of his adventure. And the voice…

She recognized it. She nearly gasped as her memory did a fall-back to nights ago. Her first night spinning, the singing she had heard.

It had been Hyrum.

Goodness. The Bear was a secret singer. This was valuable information. If they both survived this murdering spree, then she could…

"The singing surprises you, doesn't it?"

She stopped short. So had Hyrum and his song. And he had turned around to glare at her.

Quickly she nodded. There was nothing else to be done. "I didn't think it was wise to lure out a murderer with song."

His expression did not change.

"How long have you known I was following you?"

"From the moment you left the library," he replied stiffly. "I'm not a fool, Miss Lake. I did not get this position because I only look tough, and I'm insulted if you honestly think I can't hear the clumsy footsteps of a little miller's daughter."

She smiled, albeit one of a sudden shyness and embarrassment she did not expect. Getting caught did not suit her. "Then be insulted, Hyrum."

He sighed and pushed the hair from his face. "Lake, you're supposed to in the library. Why aren't you in the library?"

"Because I think Hannah is perfectly capable of taking care of herself?"

That did not win a smile. "Lake, this is dangerous."

She walked to him. It was a strange feeling, the dim corridor with just the two of them. It was almost creepy, in a way, as only she moved while he just stood there. "Then why are you here?"

"Because I do dangerous things. It's my job."

She looked him up and down. Yes, she supposed he could look dangerous. "Hyrum, I don't think I can just sit in the library. Not with something going on. My brother is…" She stopped short. She hadn't even thought about Jay until the words slipped out.

Hyrum leaped on the slip. "Brother? You have a brother? Is he in the palace?"

No one was ever supposed to know about Jay. Never, ever. "I didn't say anything about a brother."

He laughed, a rather threatening laugh that drove of a fistful of spite into Lake's heart. "Yes, you did. Is he involved with your little game?"

"Why would you say something like that?"

He held his knife up to examine it. He was smiling again. He looked a little better when he smiled. "You seem awfully anxious to protect your non-existent brother. And he's in the palace. Or else you wouldn't be so worried about him."

She had half a mind to grab that stupid knife away from him. It made her sick to watch it. "I might have been in the middle of saying 'my brother is worried about me'."

"So you admit you have a brother."

Damn it.

"And you weren't in the middle of saying that crazy line."

"And you seem a little anxious to catch me in the act of something." The half a mind was gone. Lake reached up and clasped the knife.

But he was stronger than her. He easily pulled the knife away, grin fading with it. "Careful! I will not have you cut!"

She kicked him in the shin. "I hate you."

He turned away, hardly affected by the kick. "Lake, I need to have you somewhere safe."

"No, you don't! You just want me out here to confess everything, don't you?"

She had said too much. He turned back, eyes locked on hers. "Lake, please tell me. Tell me everything about it. I know already that you have a brother who is involved. Is your father involved, as well?"

She hated the way he stared. She stared back as long as she could. Then, without a warning even to herself, she felt her determination slip away. "Yes. Yes, they both know everything."

"Good. Then we're getting somewhere." He was smiling again, but it wasn't happy. It was one of determination, like a fox. "How did you make the gold?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." Hyrum slid the knife back into his sheath.

"What about you?" she demanded. "Why do you need to know this?"

"I'm the king's guard. I need to protect the king, and I don't want him involved in something that will hurt him."

"You said something back in the library. About this man being after me. Saying he knew what my family was doing and he had come after me for that reason."

Hyrum nodded slowly. The fox-like smile was gone. "I lied."

Lied? If she didn't feel the way she did, she might have leapt for joy. "What are you talking about?" Her heart pounded so hard she felt dizzy. This was not right. This was not right. Scratch the leaping for joy.

He shook his head and sighed. "If I tell you the truth, than I shall expect the same from you. Maybe I didn't lie. I don't know why this man is in the palace. I don't know why he killed Lord Orson or Caroline. All I know is why I'm here, and that's because I'm after you."

Her heart spun out of control and tried to slice itself against her ribs. This was the part where she should be running. "What?" If he went so far as to take that knife out… certainly that would free her legs.

But the knife stayed put. "I told you a story in the library. My theory. That you had done whatever you do with the spinning too many times. You aren't as smart as you think you are, Lake, though I won't deny you are very, very clever. But if the same things happen to enough people, they become wise."

Lake needed to run. She had to get out of here before the Bear went wild on her with that knife. She had to warn her brother and her father.

Hyrum continued. "About a year ago, in the court of a prince, a miller and his daughter arrived with a story that this young woman could spin straw into gold. This prince accepted the daughter's offer to spin him gold. He even offered to marry her. However, the gold, the girl and her father vanished, along with much of the prince's treasure.

Lake found herself wondering which court this had been.

"Now admittedly this prince was probably a little greedy, but the girl and the miller did offer. And he was kind to them. He planned on rewarding them for their service. All in all, this prince was a good man. He had little power; he was a younger brother, so he would never be King. But he was given over which to govern while his older brother was groomed to become King. The prince did his best, not expecting too much glory. It wasn't fair that he should be robbed. So I, on behalf of the prince, have done all I can to track down the miller and his daughter. And here I am. I have found the girl who spins straw into gold."

Damn it, damn it, damn it. Lake felt like fainting, slumping to the floor in a heap. "If you knew this, why didn't you take me in? Capture me?"

"Because—" The retort began like any other, but didn't get very far.

Lake's jaw fell as fresh realization hit her.

Hyrum looked angry now, as if a personal secret had been revealed.

A laugh jumped in her throat. "Say it."

"Because I think I could fall in love with you." Then he turned with a furious jerk and marched down the hall.