Disclaimer: the usual – don't own Graceling, but do own Kaide and Blaire (my OCs!) and the usual... Also, I'm writing this story without the aid of a copy of Graceling, so for the details that I am not sure about, I just made up, so don't go flaming me because I got facts and details wrong.

An extra thanks to smileysgoboing, for pointing out some errors in this chapter. I've fixed them, so thanks!

Chapter 3 – Ladies of Monsea

Kaide was jolted awake from her light sleep early in the Monsean morning by a loud crash that made the castle shake. In her shock, she bumped her head hard against the wooden headboard of her bed, and was rubbing the bump that was forming on her head when Blaire came running in, panic etched on her red face.

"What the hell was that?" Kaide demanded, continuing to massage her head as the bump on her head throbbed under her fingers.

"King Leck. He was throwing objects all over the dining hall! Everyone heard him!" Blaire replied, puffing slightly.

Kaide swore under her breath. Leck didn't just have a short temper. When ignited, his temper was explosive and anyone in the same room as him was likely to come out with some sort of injury. Kaide believed that it was one of the many reasons why Queen Ashen had begun avoiding Leck and barricading herself and her daughter Bitterblue in their rooms.

"What happened then?" Kaide asked wearily, reluctantly stepping out of her warm bed. For Leck to throw such as tantrum, something drastic must have happened.

"Someone rescued Tealiff from Sunder."

"What? But..." Kaide was horrified. How could this have happened? No wonder why Leck was so utterly furious.

"A messenger stationed at Sunder arrived this morning telling Leck that a Graced boy fighter had recently broken into Murgon's dungeons several days ago and took out all of his guards and took Tealiff with him. What makes this interesting is the fact that one of Tealiff's grandsons is at Murgon's City at the moment."

"Hmmm...we better go see Leck, before he storms in and ruins my room himself in his little temper tantrum," Kaide answered thoughtfully.

Blaire nodded, smiling slightly. "True. No doubt we'll be sent off to Sunder for some fun!"

After hastily getting dressed and belting on the sheath of her sword onto her hip, Kaide ran down with Blaire to the dining hall, where Leck and several brave members of the castle were dining for a very early and hastily constructed breakfast.

"My King, we are here," Blaire said the moment they arrived at the door of the dining hall. Kaide looked around the dining hall, noting that most of the glass chandeliers had fallen to the marble floor and had shattered into hundreds of pieces, making the dining hall glisten with the candle light reflecting off the glass, but also giving it the appearance of a glass graveyard. There were shattered ceramic bowls and vases all over the room, torn flowers scattered and carelessly discarded, and even the stone head of a statue had been cut off and shattered on impact on the ground. It certainly did not look like the tantrum of just one man.

"Ah...Blaire...Kaide...as you have guessed, I have urgent need of you. Please sit, and help me with this delicious breakfast," Leck said, smiling, all traces of anger gone. Kaide looked uneasily around her surroundings as she and Blaire carefully waded through the pile of shattered glass and ceramics that surrounded the central dining table.

"Your next mission will be to go to Murgon's castle and firstly, find out the motives of the Lienid prince that is there, secondly to find out who took Tealiff and where he is at the moment, and it would be nice if you could also find out why Tealiff was taken. If you succeed, I will pay you very handsomely. About 2 bags filled with my best jewellery. This is a very important task you need to do, ladies," Leck said to Blaire and Kaide. Neither of them nodded. This mission wasn't actually a request, it was an order, so neither of them felt the need to nod or to agree when they knew that Leck would assume they would go anyway.

"We will set off immediately after breakfast and when we are packed," Blaire said. "Will we be in the guise of Ladies Blaire and Kaide?"

"Yes," Leck smiled, even giving Kaide a rare smile, signalling his good mood. "Bring some guards to keep the front up, but I am sure you ladies can look after yourselves." Leck gave Kaide a quick sneer which she returned, making Blaire sigh in exasperation.

Kaide swung herself up onto her chestnut horse, Jacie, as Blaire packed a bag filled with rations, water, and several sharp daggers that Blaire couldn't hide in her clothing. Kaide looked at her with amusement as Blaire struggled to fit the last dagger in her bag.

"This is why I like having just one sword. You don't throw swords, so you don't lose them. But daggers..." Kaide gave Blaire a wicked smile before motioning for Blaire to give her the dagger, which Blaire handed to her, hilt first. The strong, but icy sunlight revealed the fact that the dagger wasn't made from metal but from bone.

After roughly shoving the dagger into her leather bag, Kaide looked towards the mountains and the path that would lead them to Sunder. Ten of Leck's ungraced guards, wearing heavy armour, waited impatiently on their horses for Blaire to pack.

"Lady Blaire, are we set yet? We are to travel in haste to Murgon's City," the captain of the guards, Adrian, said, the dull expression clearly showing the fact that Adrian was under the control of Leck's Grace, like most of Monsea.

"Yes, Captain. We are all set," Blaire replied, turning her attention to the slim figure of Kaide that waited impatiently for her. "I'm set."

Kaide snorted the moment that Murgon's City came into view. It had taken one sore and tired week at full speed to reach Murgon's City, and both Kaide and Blaire agreed that they were lucky that the Lienid prince was still there.

"This castle just wants to make me puke. Look at it," Kaide muttered, looking at disdain at the bright colours of the castle, and also its size. It was a tiny castle compared to Leck's, as much as Kaide hated to admit it.

"Murgon's been expecting us. Look at all the men that he is sending," Blaire noted, as a convoy of about fifteen men approached from the castle gates.

"We are ladies of the Monsean court. Act like one," Kaide hissed. She shivered slightly, the thin, yet elegant silk dress that she had changed into earlier not providing any warmth. Blaire was wearing a similar dress, but one that didn't have the odd rope-like patterning that Kaide's dress had.

"Lady Kaide. Lady Blaire. King Murgon has been...expecting you," the lead man from the convoy stuttered, clearly in fear of any representative from Monsea.

"We would like to see King Murgon immediately. We have some issues that need to be discussed urgently if you don't mind," Kaide said coldly, the threatening stances of the men that surrounded her adding more fear to the situation.

"Of cour-" the lead man began to stutter before being cut off by Blaire.

"We are entering the castle now, and we expect to be invited to the feast that I heard that Murgon was holding tonight. We have such great timing, don't we?" Blaire smirked. There was, of course, no feast planned for that night, but Murgon had a deep sated fear of Leck and would do anything to please him, which was why Leck had chosen to ask to him to hold Tealiff captive. This fear to obey spread to any representative of Leck's, especially Blaire and Kaide, who had negotiated with Murgon before and had more than terrified him.

Kaide and Blaire dismounted from their horses, both grabbing the leather bags tied to their saddles with them. The guards that had went with them to Sunder remained on their horses, Adrian and another guard managing to grab the reins of Kaide's and Blaire's horses. With a sharp nod from Blaire, the guards turned around and began trotting slowly to the stables, leaving Blaire and Kaide with Murgon's men.

"Ladies, please follow me," said one of Murgon's men, dressed simply in the attire of a servant. "I am Randall, one of Murgon's most respected servants."

Kaide and Blaire followed Randall (Kaide holding back a snigger at the words 'most respected'), as they entered Murgon's castle. They continued climbing stone stairs and rose higher and higher up into the castle, until they reached a floor so heavily decorated with jewels and tapestries that it was clear that it was reserved only for Murgon. Only a king's room, and the floor where it was located would have such splendour.

"Please wait here," Randall said, disappearing into the nearest room to the pair, green curtains fluttering. Seconds later, Randall came back out, looking flustered.

"Come in, come in. King Murgon is in his study."

Kaide and Blaire followed Randall's lead, entering through a pair of musty velvet curtains and into a small study, surrounded by dust covered books and in the centre, a brown oak table where King Murgon waited, nervous. It was clear that Murgon rarely used this study, as the room felt stale, and almost everything apart from the chair and table that Murgon was sitting on was covered by a thick layer of dust. Even the window that stood behind the study looked as if it were prised open earlier in the day.

"King Murgon," Blaire and Kaide said simultaneously, bowing down into a curtsey.

"Lady Blaire, Lady Kaide. What a pleasure to see you two again!" Murgon said smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. All Murgon's eyes did was to show his fear.

Murgon gave a sharp nod to Randall, who had followed Kaide and Blaire into the room, and another servant, who both immediately exited the room. The moment that the two servants left Kaide and Blaire changed their stances, from a ladylike one to a stance that was much more threatening.

"You have some explaining to do, Murgon," Blaire said, sitting down on the dusty corner of the oak table and leaning in towards Murgon while Kaide remained standing.

"What does Leck want to know?" Murgon quavered, eyes looking towards Blaire's leather bag, prompting Blaire to laugh.

"You're wondering? Firstly, we have no need to pay you because you so wonderfully failed the task that Leck had paid you to do – hold Tealiff in your dungeons. Secondly, all you can tell us is that a Graced boy fighter knocked out all of your guards and took Tealiff without alerting anyone? And thirdly, your interrogation with your main suspect, the Lienid prince, is going nowhere! And you still expect to be paid!" Blaire laughed, as Murgon's face blanched in fear.

"What can I do?" Murgon whimpered. "Can I help, Ladies?"

"Certainly, Murgon," Kaide whispered softly into Murgon's ear, causing him to jump with fright. Kaide had moved so silently to stand behind Murgon that even Blaire didn't hear her approach. "You can go organise a pretty feast to welcome our arrival, and make sure that you invite Prince Greening of Lienid over. What you couldn't get out of him..." Kaide left the question hang, and for a second, Murgon felt immensely sorry for the Lienid prince that was staying at the castle.

"He's leaving tomorrow," Murgon added softly, wincing as Kaide opened her mouth to reply.

"Good to know. We'll be making a quick visit as some ladies of Monsea, and we'll go back home. I'm sure you will be delighted, to get this issue over quickly. King Leck has been very generous, don't you think?"

Murgon could only nod, and Kaide and Blaire smiled in satisfaction.

"We better go to our guest rooms, so you have time to prepare, don't you King Murgon?" Blaire said sweetly, going back to her 'nice lady' act.

"Yes...good idea," Murgon said, eyes averted. "Randall! William! Can you please escort Lady Blaire and Kaide to their rooms? Their men have their luggage," Murgon called out, as Randall and the other servant, William, walked into the study, bowed to their king, and motioned for Kaide and Blaire to follow him.

"King Murgon," Kaide and Blaire murmured, as they curtseyed and left the study, leaving a very nervous and frightened king in their wake. The moment they were left alone in their rooms to unpack, they began planning.

"Blaire, you will be in charge of snooping in the Lienid prince's room for anything he may have hidden. I will be at the feast charming the prince and doing whatever I need to do to get info about Tealiff. Fine with you?" Kaide smirked, falling back into the soft, double bed that rested in the centre of her room.

"Did you see Murgon's face? It was priceless!" Blaire laughed, joining Kaide on the bed.

I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible, and reviews would be very nice too. I want to see how I am going with this story, and if you are enjoying it. And just as a clarification, this story is meant to follow the general storyline of Graceling, but with the involvement of my OCs if I haven't managed to make it clear in the summary.

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