Chapter Five: A Set-up

(Disclaimer: Most of the characters belong to Tamora Pierce as well as the settings.)

That afternoon, I went to the market trying to pick up any signs of a rumor, with Trick as an extra set of ears. People passed me, giving me nothing but soft glowing outlines of a gift and a faint whisper of the palace rumors. It was as though these people were put to silence or they were kept in the dark about everything that happened in Corus. It was hard to keep things contained in the city of Corus, but it wasn't impossible. In the end, someone usually slipped but there wasn't any secrets buzzing around the market.

It was only normal gossip. I wasn't interested in such things, at least I wasn't at the moment. There was nothing in the talk that was relative to the palace. I sighed feeling as though nothing were going to come out of this, then I saw a knight walking around the market, looking uninterested in the things that were for sale. In fact, by the way his irises twitched away from my gaze, I could tell that he was interested in me.

How strange. I didn't even know the chap and he was staring at me like a hungry wolf looking at a piece of meat. My female instincts wanted to take over and attack the man with some vicious words. Men shouldn't fool around with married women; it was against the law.

Instead, I gave him a smile that was almost flashy. After being married for a few years, I didn't think that I could possibly flirt with another man. With a mental sigh, I whispered subtly to Trick that I might have to tell Nawat about that the next time we "talked." I didn't know how Nawat would take it; hopefully he didn't take it seriously. "Trick," I said, turning away from the knight that tried to lock eyes with me. "Remind me that there is a good reason for doing this if I try to back down." At that moment, I felt like a failure of a spymaster.

"I will," he said, vibrating comfortably around my neck. I touched him with a gentle hand and gave him a small smile. Trick was the only thing I currently had that I could trust fully. I knew that, deep down, I couldn't trust my father to the full extent, and I wouldn't. He was still a high class citizen of my potential enemies.

Hmm…what do I think of that?

I still don't know.

"Excuse me, young maiden," a man said. I could have laughed.

I wasn't as young as people thought I was.

"Sir," I said as I curtsied and fluttered my eyelashes. "Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you knew where I could find the Baron of the Pirate Swoop," he said. There was something in his voice that seemed awfully familiar to my ears but my mind couldn't bring up the relationship. I wondered silently if he was one of the young men who courted me for a short period of time…there were several of them roaming around Tortall. "You seem to know this place very well."

"How could you tell," I asked backing up a little as he invaded my personal space. "I don't know the place as I used to, I mean, it's been several years since I stayed here." There was no lie there, but I was going to bend the truth just incase.

"One can't forget an old home," the knight said with a smile. "So, are you going to help a lost knight out?"

How lame of him, I thought to myself. I couldn't do this any longer. "Saying that you are a lost knight doesn't really make you a good knight does it?"

"There are other ways of being a good knight," he argued with a half smile. "But I can't help my humanistic faults."

Humanistic faults…I've never heard anyone use a word combination such as that except from the books my teachers made me read when I tried to be scholarly. This man was well educated, it might have been to impress someone but for some reason, I doubted that. His eyes flirted genuinely at me causing me to cock and eyebrow. He was far too young for me; maybe about six or seven years younger than I was.

I smiled slightly at him and shook my head. "I'll take you to the house of the Baron," I told him kindly. I turned away slowly, listening to him shuffle behind me in the background as we weaved in and out of crowds. "May I ask what your name is," I called over the loud chatter, turning back to see him half devoured by a hungry crowd.

"Kristofer of Pearlmouth – just Kristofer, if you please. If you'd like, you can call my Kris," the young man said bowing slightly but it was hard as we were walking. "What is your name?"

"Aly," I told him. "What brings you to the Pirate Swoop?" I asked.

"I'm looking for Alan," he said. "I'm traveling with him back to the palace." I nodded pretending to be only halfway interested. "Do you know him?" I tilted my head and gave him a small smile but didn't answer, just continued to walk. I brought him to the home of the of the Baron and Baroness and left him. There was no point in staying, he would soon figure out who I was the next day if not earlier.

Back in the market, I heard a big ruckus within a large group of people. Provost's Guards were there in the blink of an eye dealing with the mess. I caught a glimpse of the two men fighting. One was a sailor and the other a fisherman. I didn't know either of them but there was one face in the dissolving crowd that could tell me and it was Peter. He spotted me and came to me as though he read my mind.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about," he told me, not even giving me a proper greeting. "Something is going on. Those two men used to be great friends, but now look at them." He shook his head as he watched them walk away. His eyes were filled with pity as though the sight were something meaningful.

Peter's expression suddenly changed from pity to curiosity. "What are you doing here anyway?"

I was a bit taken aback by his question. "Can't I go to the market?" I snipped at him.

"Well, of course, but I thought that you would stay away after what I told you yesterday," he said. "What are you doing back out here?"

"What can I say, I'm a curious woman," I said with a playful shrug. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be fishing before the afternoon heat rushes in?"

"My father took ill," Peter explained. "I'm here getting a possible remedy and maybe a healer."

"Maybe a healer?" I repeated.

"Well," he said, tapping the toe of his boot in the ground like an embarrassed little boy. "All of the healers are busy right now. A lot of people are getting sick."

I looked around at the market. There were still a lot of people about but it was overflowing as it used to be. I didn't think anything of it because I was too busy listening for possible gossip. I mentally slapped myself for being so ignorant. There was gossip staring me right in the face! Just before the knight came to me, I heard a group of women talking about how their husbands and sons were sick. It was a strange time in Tortall. I just hoped whatever was causing it wasn't contagious.

"So, again," Peter said, a bit more demanding. "What are you doing here? Alone for that matter. I don't think that's very sensible of you."

I gaped at him with raised eyebrows. Was he worried about me? I voiced my question causing him to blush a little. "You don't need to worry about me." I told him with a small chuckle of laughter. "I'm a clever woman."

"Clever or not," Peter argued back. "It's not safe here." He sighed and pulled me away from any eavesdropping ears. "Listen," he said calmly. "This may sound strange…but I think something is going to happen here soon."

There was no sign of trickery in his voice and the look in his eyes bothered me because the intensity. He knew what he was trying to say, but he couldn't put it into words. "What is coming?"

"Something bad," he shook his head as though he couldn't say more. "It's a strange feeling that I have."

Just then there was a scream and then an explosion from the docks. Peters eyes grew round as he turned to look toward the harbor. Billowing black clouds pooled into the sky dominating over the white fluff like hungry animals feasting on its prey.

"Mithros!" he exclaimed. Before I could stop him, he dashed off to the harbor. I followed closely behind him. I wasn't finished talking to him yet.

"Peter!" I called. I heard a crow over head give a curious and horrified cry: fire. I assumed as much. With an explosion like that, there had to be some type of fire. "Peter!" He was still within view.

I chased him all the way to the harbor where five ships were set ablaze and debris was scattered on the docks. There was flaming bits of wood floating on the water.

Something moved under the docks. My eyes focused in on the strange boy-like creature scuttling beneath the dock of one of the burning ships. We made eye contact. His red eyes flashed at me threatening and a strange high pitched whistle filled my ears. He was getting closer and closer. The sight of him was terrifying but I couldn't take my eyes away from him.

"What are you doing," someone yelled as they grabbed my arm. The flames of the fire tried to caress my face but I jumped away from it. Peter pulled me back to safety. "Don't do that!" he exclaimed placing two firm hands on my shoulders. "You scared me."

"I think you worry too much."

"Blame it on my ma," he said with a small smile. "And my father. He has taken a grand likin' to you. You remind him of my sister."

"Oh," I said slightly surprised.

"Are you okay?" he asked touching a place on my cheek that stung.

I winced. "I'm fine just as long as you don't touch my face." I moved away from him. Another hand grabbed my arm and pulled me away. "Oh, excuse me," I protested then the man looked at me with his black eyes. "Oh." I stayed silent.

"What were you doing?" the trickster asked me. "You could have gotten killed!"

"I'm well aware of that," I snapped. "What was that thing I saw under the docks?" I yanked my arm away from him so that I could cross them.

"I didn't see anything under the dock," he said. Before I could say something, he cut me off with a firm hand. "Don't do stupid things like that again."

"What is wrong with men and worrying nowadays?" I asked. "I'll be careful. Tomorrow I'm going to Corus with my brother so I'll be out of…that kind of trouble." I inclined my head to the docks. Kyprioth let out a muffled sound and walked away.

"Who was that?" Peter asked. I sighed. I could never have time to process things with Peter and Kyprioth around.

"An old friend of mine," I replied rubbing my forehead. "I have to go back home, Peter."

"Be careful and don't do anything stupid," he told me. "Maybe we'll run into each other tomorrow."

I shook my head. "I won't be here. My brother and I are heading to Corus." I gave him a small bow and ran back to my temporary home.

When I burst through the doors of the dining room, everyone looked at me as though I were unexpected. Though I knew they could hear my thundering footsteps from down the hall.

"Aly," my mother exclaimed, her eyes were directed at the burn on my cheek. "What happened to you?"

"There are several ships in the harbor that are on fire," I told them. "I kind of got really close to one." I looked around the room and noticed that Kristopher had spotted me. His eyes were on me curiously but I looked away. I think I had to deal with too many men.

Where were the women? I felt a little outnumbered.

My mom pulled me into another room and began to rub some balm on my face that made the burn heal rather quickly. She was shaking her head at me. "Aly," she said. "Must you always get into so much trouble?" I didn't answer her. "You are just like your father." I couldn't help but grin at such a high compliment such as that. I kissed her swiftly on the cheek and excused myself to my father's study.

My father was sitting at his desk looking over some papers; translating them into something he could understand. He didn't look up at me but I knew he was aware of my presence.

"Sit," he commanded after a few moments in silence. "We need to discuss a few things before you leave tomorrow." It was about time.

I sat myself down, trying not to look eager.

There was more silence.

He set aside his work and looked at me with folded hands. "Jonathan wanted me to talk to you about this but he wants you to see his son. There is something wrong with him, Jonathan knows there is. He told me to send you these letters."

"There was a rumor at the Islands saying there was some type of conflict against us," I said.

My father smiled. "Don't forget," he said. "I still have my loyal birds."

"So you set me up to come here because you knew that Queen Dove would want me to do the spying myself." My father nodded. I was again tricked by my father. It had been years since that happened. "But Jonathan is the one who had you set me up."

"Now you are complicating things, but yes," my father said. "People in the palace don't trust me anymore. They think that I'm trying to over throw the King because I'm nine kinds of greedy." He chuckled softly. "If Jonathan couldn't handle at his age, then I sure couldn't." He was a few years older than Jonathan, that was true, but he still moved as he did twenty years ago; stealthy and quick. "Keep your eyes and ears open."

"Why couldn't one of your birds do this?" I wanted to know.

"Because we thought that you would like a challenge and that Jonathan's son would enjoy seeing you. You see, he doesn't know that you are a spymaster for his supposed enemy." That is strange, I told myself, I thought everyone knew.

My father put something on the desk between us. It was a small circular piece of blue glass with silver tendrils. With my uncanny sight, I could see that it shimmered with a purple light. That was my mother's signature when it came to her Gift.

"What is this?" I asked, picking it up.

"It's something that your mother and Uncle Numair have been working on. They call it a Looking Glass. I'm not entirely sure what it does but they told me to give it to you. Your Uncle will explain it to you when you get to Corus." I nodded and stored the Looking Glass in my sash. "Now go to your room and get cleaned up. You smell like your on fire."

A/N: I need help...kind of. I just wanted to know if my story is progressing slowly? I feel that it is but I always think that my stories are going to slow or two fast. Should I pick up the pace or is it fine the way it is?