"If I could pass on my title as your Thief to an Eddisian, I would." The King of Attolia leaned out over the crenellations of the wall around his palace. It was a rare moment that he could speak with such candor to the Queen of Eddis, his cousin and political ally. It had taken a good deal of wheedling on the Attolis's part to shed his numerous attendants, but they had acquiesced if the he agreed to keep guards with him. They were perched along the wall, just out of hearing. "But as that would require my death," the King continued, "I must hold on to it for some time."

Eddis, not for the first time in her life, wanted to snatch the back of his elaborately embroidered jacket and drag him away from the open air. "If you keep dangling out over the ground like that, I may have my Thief back sooner than you think." She was visiting Attolia on the matter of the war that was looming over their heads. Ever since the three nations-Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis-were united, Eddis had spent a lot of time bouncing back and forth between the three courts.

"There was a time when I would have been standing on top of the wall. You should be thanking me." Regardless, Attolis leaned back obligingly. "Who would you give that honorable title to after my untimely demise at the foot of my own walls? Surely not Actaeon." Actaeon was one of Eddis's younger cousins on her mother's side of the family. The boy was a brutish lad of fourteen, older than Attolis had been as Eddis's thief, but far more likely to trip over his own feet and meet the defenestrated fate of many Queen's Thieves.

"You are so cruel to poor little Actaeon."

"I heard he nearly spitted himself on his own sword when my father tried to teach him fencing."

Attolis's father was Eddis's esteemed Minister of War. Attolis himself had proven to be an adept swordsman under his father's tutelage, but had sworn off the life of a soldier early on. Eddis briefly reflected that his life would have certainly taken a different path if he had joined the fighting. He would probably be dead at the hands of the same men who protected him now. "Swordsmanship isn't a requirement for my Thief, Eugenides. And I wouldn't pick him. One of your descendants will do nicely."

"One of my descendants?" Attolis raised an eyebrow. "Do you plan on waiting around and stealing one of my nieces or nephews? Or perhaps a rebellious grandchild?"

"One of your children would work nicely."

"So you would stoop to robbing the royal cradle. How low of you. No doubt you have your eye on an Attolian heir."

"It's not my fault you got the role of Thief tied up in Attolian politics."

Attolis craned back out over the edge of the wall. "And who is to say that I will have children? Perhaps I will die old and senile, and leave the throne to Actaeon." Eddis bit back a laughing defense of Actaeon as an entourage of guards approached, led by the Queen of Attolia herself. The king smiled weakly at his wife's grave expression. "It appears I am in trouble again. Excuse me."

"Excuse us, Eddis," Attolia said stiffly. "I must speak to the king. He usually climbs the walls on his own and I did not expect company."

"Of course." Eddis retreated back a safe distance. The guards did likewise.

She watched her cousin as he listened to his wife. She was speaking under her breath, her mouth pinched and her eyes cast on the ground near his feet. They certainly were an odd pair, and it had taken quite a bit to convince the Attolian court that they did indeed love each other. Eddis could tell just by the way his eyes would meet hers that their emotion was indeed devotion, but she had known Eugenides far longer than the Attolian court had.

The King by now was staring straight forward, blankly. This was, of course, at the Queen's ear. His Eddisian heritage never did let him catch up to his wife's height. Eddis had only seen the King at a loss for words a handful of times in his life, and it seemed he was at a loss for words now. Just as Eddis was considering walking over to rescue him, he gathered himself enough to murmur a reply to which the Queen gave a brief nod.

The King returned to Eddis as if it was an afterthought. He leaned back over the wall bemusedly, even farther than before until nearly his entire upper body was shoved out into the upper air.

"Are you alright, Your Majesty?" Eddis formally addressed the back of the King's head after noting that the guards had moved into earshot.

After a moment, the King responded. Eddis could see his mouth work slightly as he uncharacteristically fumbled for words. "It seems my grand plans for Actaeon are out of the question now," he said at last, studying the ground below. "I am to have an heir, after all."

"She chose a strange moment to inform you," Eddis said lightly.

The King still appeared lost in thought. "She assumed I would be alone up here," he said distractedly, echoing the Queen's words.

"And this is something that should be kept secret?" Eddisian folded her arms, leaning against the wall.

"No, she wanted to know if we should announce it today or tomorrow. I wasn't left much choice in the matter."

Attolis shifted subtly away from the prying ears of the guards, who no doubt would spread the news around the palace long before an official announcement was made. "What am I to do?" He said in a horrified tone. "The Queen isn't expected to make public appearances as she prepares to have a child. I'll have to show up in public by myself."

His dismay reminded Eddis of the time he had realized that being King meant appearing before people and being cordial. His selective inability to think things through never failed. She laughed, patting him on the back. "May I be the first to congratulate you, Eugenides? I'm sure you'll do just fine."

As she was called away by a message from Sounis, Eddis cast a look back at the king. The concern on his face did not seem to be completely from distress of parading alone in front of barons and courtiers, and that worried her. If a thought was enough to take the words away from Eugenides, it would be a grave thought indeed.