Day 2

During the hour of morning petitions, Richard settled comfortably on the throne and prepared to become no more than a listening ear. The people who came to him simply wanted to be heard. Their fears, their desires, their envy and their anger—all of it made him realize how petty his own troubles were.

The current man in front of him, Wulfric, ran a shop, which had recently been robbed clean. Marking the man's misery as genuine, the king had promised the man a loan to restart his business and more guards to patrol the area. As Richard exchanged a pleasant good-bye with Wulfric, a servant entered from a side door.

A quick, almost reluctant bow followed the servant's entrance. "Your Majesty, Jasmin requests permission to see you at work."

"Granted." Richard felt his eyebrow inch upward as Jasmin forced her way past the grumbling servant at the threshold. The woman stuck her tongue out at her escort as he made a hasty exit.

"I hope you don't mind if I petition for your aid, do you?" Her smile gleamed like a well-honed knife.

"Well, it looks like there isn't a line today. " Richard gestured to the emptiness of the atrium beyond the doors to the throne room. "Go ahead."

"How lucky for me that I can stand before such a popular king without waiting! I wanted to thank you." Jasmin came closer but paused before the few steps before the throne. She had tied back her hair in a ponytail that gave her a business-like air.

"With a dagger?" His entire body prickled for danger. This change of attitude, the compliment…all of it rang false. Richard grasped empty air at his side; he had left his rapier in his rooms. The adrenaline rushing through him dwindled as Jasmin backed away to the middle of the chamber.

"I know I'm acting very suspicious, but I wouldn't put a blade in you. Well, if you annoyed me enough…" Jasmin placed a hand over her mouth and then added, "You can have someone search me if you wish, but I don't have a weapon on me. I just wanted to convince you to let me go."

Richard managed a smile, reproving himself for the paranoia. Even now, the scar that his uncle Cedric's betrayal left had not healed. "One cannot be too sure. After all, you are the one who broke windmills."

"No, a Nova monster ruined Lord Windegarde," Jasmin stated. Her fingers had become balled fists, and she would no longer meet his gaze. "The same creature took out the other windmills as well."

"We eliminated the monsters months ago." That had been the purpose of the Fodra mission, after all. Suddenly, Richard felt a grin stretch his face even as the thought of such a destructive Nova monster in the peaceful town troubled him. "You're telling me the truth."

"You're such a child, Your Majesty."

Richard glided from his throne, across half the room to take Jasmin's hand. He ignored her gasp and gently unwound her fist to expose tapered fingers. "Perhaps. Though I am not one to stick my tongue out at servants."

"Not even once? As a child?" She didn't pull away from his grip.

"No," Richard realized. "Not even once." He shook his head and wondered at how he had become so distracted. "A Nova monster, you say?"

"It's fairly powerful, one-of-a-kind. It also seems to like high places," she continued, brows furrowed in remembrance.

"How much do you know about this creature?" Richard had expected her to pull away at the question and so released her.

Stumbling back a bit, Jasmin looked at her freed hands with slight consternation. "Enough to know it must be stopped. I will do that. I was hunting it down when Lord Asbel found me."

"You cornered it three times, but…" Richard began to pace. "What happened? How did Asbel not see this monster?"

"It's smaller than you would think and slippery for something that causes so much trouble. You must free me now, Your Majesty, so I can go find it."

"Yes, I will free you, and I'll come with you, along with a guard. I won't see you get hurt."

She became once more the distant, cold woman he had first met. "Is it, perhaps, because you don't trust me?"

Richard hesitated. Was that his subconscious reason for following her? No, surely it was to help a person who had undertaken such a dangerous task. "A Nova monster of that caliber is not something for one person to tackle."

She waved a hand "I can defend myself."

Richard pondered for a moment. "Prove it. Duel me."

"Your Majesty!" That produced an adorable laugh.

Not to mention, he had grown fond of the prickly woman who dared to speak to a king with such a bold tongue. "Please let me help you."

Jasmin shook her head. "I shouldn't have told you."

"The burden of dealing with this monster, regardless that you discovered it first, is shared with all those in Windor who are equipped to fight. It is not your personal responsibility."

"Oh, but it is." With a sudden conflict of heart apparent in her eyes, Jasmin scurried from the room. Richard commanded his feet not to follow.