Disclaimer: Do not own Graceling. Kristen Cashore does.

Because I have at least 5 assignments and 2 assessment tasks coming up in the next few weeks (and more coming by the day), I won't be able to update as much – probably only once a fortnight. So don't get impatient – once all my exams/assignments/assessments and what not are over (about early November), I'll be back with uploading chapters weekly (or maybe event twice a week).

Chapter 6 – The Middluns

"Welcome to the Middluns, where we may or may not get killed," Kaide announced, looking down at Randa City from their vantage point on a high hill. The sun had just risen minutes earlier from the horizon, sending rays of orangey-yellow light over the sky. As if on cue with the light, both Blaire and Kaide could hear the baying of animals, and the entire city waking up.

"Stop being so...cynical. You will get yourself killed if you keep this attitude up with Leck," Blaire replied, covering her mouth as she yawned.

"Whatever." Kaide still felt hurt after returning to Leck's castle several hours after releasing the animals in Leck's shed. It was the realisation that she was alone and had no purpose in life that hurt her – and now, a week later, this pain hadn't changed. It had actually gotten worse. Kaide guided her horse Jacie towards Randa City as Blaire followed. They would easily reach the city by noon.

Po woke up with a pounding headache, only just realising that he had fallen asleep in a chair. Sitting in front of him with an amused expression on her face was Katsa, her blue and green eyes shimmering as the sun rose. Po groaned as his head hurt even further.

"Ah...morning Katsa," Po yawned, rubbing his temples.

"You alright? I'm sorry about not trusting you over your Grace." (1) Katsa asked, her eyes anxious.

"No... I just have this bad feeling about today... I can't describe it," Po answered, rubbing his eyes as he remained in the chair.

"Does it have anything to do about that time in Sunder when you woke up and couldn't remember much?" Katsa asked sharply, concerned.

"Yes," Po whispered, looking suddenly vulnerable. "It feels exactly like that."

"And who might you be, seeking shelter in this fine castle of King Randa?" the knight asked, shielding his eyes from the sunlight.

"Ladies Kaide and Blaire of Monsea. We rode up ahead. Our guards will be arriving later today or tomorrow," Kaide said, lying about the guards coming later. This was to be a quick mission, so Kaide and Blaire would've left by the time their 'guards' were meant to arrive.

"Monsea, eh? You should have no problems coming in. Feel free to explore the city, ladies, but make sure that you return in time to attend dinner with Randa and his nobles," the guard replied.

"That's fine. May we go to our lodgings to place our items down? I will also assure you that we will not need a guide – we can look after ourselves well, thank you," Blaire added. Unlike their visit to Sunder, where Kaide and Blaire had dressed up, this time both Blaire and Kaide made no attempt to hide their weapons or get changed. As far as the knight could see, Kaide and Blaire were a pair of high-born women who had been taught to defend themselves.

"Yes, my ladies." The knight stepped into the shade of the castle for a few second before coming out with a servant by his side. "Gertrude, please lead these ladies to any free guest lodgings."

"Yes sir," the servant said, bowing and motioning for Kaide and Blaire to follow her.

As Kaide and Blaire began their ascent to their rooms, they saw a figure that stunned them – standing with a puzzled expression on the top of the staircase they were to climb was none other than Prince Po.

"You have got to be friggin kidding me!" Kaide exclaimed as Blaire unwrapped a parcel that had been found on their return to Randa's castle after a day out in the city. Inside, were two extravagant dresses, much more expensive than anything that either Kaide or Blaire had worn before. Kaide snatched the card that was sticking out of the discarded wrapping. It read:

Because my niece does not have any need for any royal dresses that should be befitting a king's relative, I have decided to bestow these dresses to you noble ladies. I hope you will have better use for these dresses than that niece of mine will ever have.

King Randa of the Middluns

"Randa gave us these dresses?" Kaide exclaimed in horror. Blaire looked at her dryly, having just peeked at the card that Kaide was holding.

"If you were truly paying attention, the card basically said that because Lady Katsa doesn't wear these dresses he gave them to us. That is why Randa was giving it to us. Basically, they are unwanted cast offs!" Blaire answered back.

"Still... more expensive than anything that I have seen in Leck City," Kaide grumbled, holding up the hot pink dress. "I mean... look at the damn colour! If Randa was trying to force her into that, then I can understand why Katsa wouldn't wear them."

"Put it this way... at least this dinner is an actual feast that we are having. No tricks, and no flirting to get men to spill secrets. The real action starts later," Blaire added.

"I'm worried about Po. Did you see his face as we were coming up?"

"I did. And from what I can see, he looks confused."

"Blaire, he has the expression of a person who remembers something but can't! His subconscious remembers us, but we have no idea how long it will take for him to truly remember everything!"

"You were the one that said to leave him alive!"

"Ah, Ladies Blaire and Kaide, I would like you to introduce you to my dear niece, Lady Katsa," Randa smiled, as he pointed Katsa out to the two ladies that were dressed in the unwanted dresses that were once hers.

"There he goes again," Katsa hissed, her anger for Randa boiling.

"Katsa..." Po said warningly, as Katsa took a deep breath.

"Thanks." If Randa hadn't ordered her to attend this dinner, she wouldn't have come, but from the looks of things, it seemed that this time Randa hadn't asked another poor man to be a possible husband for her.

"Katsa, something isn't right. We shouldn't do the Council meeting tonight," Po said in a low voice.

"What is it?" Katsa asked, her eyes fixed on the two Monsean ladies that were happily flirting with the nobles that surrounded them.

"I think... it is those ladies from Monsea. I feel as if I remember them from somewhere... but...where?" Po whispered.

"Do you think they were at Sunder at that time, where you woke up with no idea of what you were doing or even did that day?" Katsa asked sharply. Po didn't reply, however, because he groaned, clutching his head.

"Po!" Katsa said, shaking him slightly. "Are you okay?"

"I remembered something..." Po whispered softly, still managing to give Katsa a weak wink that set Katsa's heartbeat to a new furious level. "Them. They were there. And that Kaide was trying to flirt with me... to find out what I knew about my grandfather's whereabouts and what I was doing in Sunder. My Grace... doesn't work on her..."

"Po! Do you remember anything else?" Katsa asked, demanding.

"It's coming...in flashes..."

It had been several hours since Randa's feast had finished, and the castle was mostly silent as the evening reached midnight. Kaide and Blaire had long since changed out of their dresses (Blaire was considering keeping the dress for the next time they visited another king's court) and were back in their usual garb – a tight-fitting but flexible black leather outfit for Kaide, and a dark long sleeved tunic with pants and thin armour underneath for Blaire. Both of them were long used to sneaking around castles at night, and had no need to carry a torch. The castle corridors were lit anyway with flaming torches at ten metre intervals.

"That's interesting," Blaire murmured as they reached the floor where the lodgings and different rooms of Lady Katsa were. They knew that it was Katsa who had broken into Murgon's dungeons and took Tealiff, but the only place where they thought they could go snooping around to find Tealiff was in Katsa's rooms. Hence why both Kaide and Blaire were filled to the brim with weapons, Kaide wearing her favourite blue sword on her hip, as well as her escape rope hidden in her belt, and Blaire was fully loaded with her favourite weapons – daggers.

"What's interesting?" Kaide asked eying the corridor they were in suspiciously.

"Look." Blaire pointed to the long stretch of wall from the door of Katsa's bedroom to the one that belonged to Randa's son, Prince Raffin.

"So?"

"So Kaide, if there are hidden passageways and rooms in Leck's castle, why wouldn't they be here? Unless the rooms of Raffin and Katsa are really, really big, there is enough room between the two rooms for another, smaller one, or it could be a passageway connecting the rooms together."

"Blaire, shoosh," Kaide snapped suddenly, her eyes bright with concentration. Blaire knew that face too well. Kaide had heard something.

"Blaire," Kaide said slowly, thinking on the spot. "If I asked you to go downstairs and see if you could find a secret stairway that leads to the secret room there from an alternate entrance to the ones on this floor, could you do that?"

"Yes," Blaire answered. Kaide knew that Blaire, despite the fact that Kaide's own Grace enhanced her own eye sight pretty well, was extremely good at picking up on small details. In this case, she could go hunting for a secret staircase, if there was one.

"And what would you do?" Blaire asked.

"What do you think? Eavesdrop on the very important meeting going on in that hidden room," (2) Kaide smirked.

"You have got to be kidding," Blaire exclaimed.

"Nope. And even better – this meeting is a secret from Randa."

"Do you need me to go now?"

"That would help. I don't want to miss any details," Kaide said, giving Blaire a wave.

"Good luck," Blaire mouthed, as she disappeared into the shadows.

Once Kaide was certain that Blaire was gone, she pushed the full power of her Grace into her hearing, so she could hear every word clearly though the thick walls and floors of the castle. Then, with a sigh, she rested her head against the cold stone floor of the castle. Why did this secret meeting have to be in a room that was between two floors of a castle!

"Has he said anything?" a lady's voice asked. Katsa.

"Nothing," said another voice, possibly Prince Raffin, "other than that they blindfolded him when they took him. He's still very weak. He doesn't seem to remember much."

"Do you know who took him?" Po said. "Was Murgon responsible?" This voice Kaide had no trouble recognising.

"We don't think so," Katsa continued, "but all we know for sure is that it wasn't Randa."

"Randa doesn't know he's here," Po said. It was more of a statement than a question. Kaide smirked at that statement. If Randa didn't know about this meeting, then it could be possible blackmail material if she needed it.

"Randa doesn't know," Katsa confirmed. "He must never know."

Kaide heard the shuffling of a person running across a room, as well as someone leaving the room in a quick hurry and several other garbled voices before being able to pick up more of what was said.

"Grandfather," Po said, relief lacing his voice.

"Po?" Tealiff's voice rasped with the effort of speaking. "Po. Great seas, boy. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see you."

"I've been tracking you down, Grandfather," Po said. Kaide couldn't help rolling her eyes for some reason.

"Move that lamp closer, boy," Tealiff said. "What in the name of Lienid have you done to your face?"

"It's nothing, Grandfather. I've only been fighting."

It was at this point that Kaide lifted her head off the stone floor. She had found out all she needed to know. Tealiff was in the castle, but under the protection of not just Katsa, but also Prince Raffin, Po and several other influential members of Randa's court.

"It will be impossible. There are too many protecting him. Too many important people. Even if we tell Randa about the meeting, it will be impossible," Kaide thought out loud. She punched the stone wall hard, not even caring when she split her knuckle and blood came dripping out. If she was to return to Monsea with the news that Tealiff was untouchable, she may really end up hurting Leck in anger as he fumed when a mission failed. And then she would need to flee for her life. Because, it would give Leck the excuse he needed so he could kill her.

"Oh, damn, save me," Kaide hissed.

"Save you from what?" a voice asked out of the shadows. Kaide's heart stopped for a second as her blood froze. Someone had snuck up on her without knowing... and if Kaide had to guess, she knew exactly who she faced.

Kaide let out a quiet string of expletives before the figure in the shadows stepped forward, Kaide stepping back in fear.

"What are you doing outside of my rooms? Trying to kill me with that sword you wear?" Katsa asked, her eyes frozen, and menacing.

Kaide stared at those cold frozen eyes for a split second, before abandoning all caution and letting out the full strength of her Grace, and ran as if the devil were after her. In this case, Katsa was the equivalent.

Katsa didn't hesitate as she drew out a dagger from her boot and ran after the silhouette of a fleeing Kaide.

Notes

While at this time in the book Katsa is unaware of Po's Grace, here I am making it so that she does know, to make the events in this story easier. But Katsa still got mad at Po, just like in the book, which was why she was apologising.

The meeting going on here is the one that happens in chapter nine of Graceling, where Po speaks to Tealiff for the first time since his kidnap. Of course, for the story, I have changed some details. The timeframe is screwed in this story if you compare it to Graceling. But this is an AU...remember that. : )

Another chapter done. And now...for study/assignments/actual work. Reviews would really brighten up my dull days. :P