Here's a chapter in time for Christmas.
Lady Lioness: Chapter Seven
Raoul fit into Myles' small group as if he had been there from the beginning. He sat near Alanna, and the two of them had a quiet side conversation about just what else Roger had done during Raoul's time at the palace while the group discussed bandage shortages in the medical wards and the chances of changing regulations in the stables. Alanna wasn't surprised that several nobles suspected Duke Roger in Prince Jonathan's death, but did need to hold Raoul's hand very tightly when he told her about losing Jon in halting words. Jon might have been headstrong and a bit thick about people sometimes, to hear Raoul tell it, but he had been a devoted friend and champion of anyone that fell under his protection. That protection had extended to the lowest-ranked maids in the palace, and the people had loved him in a way that King Roald would never see.
Later, Raoul had several useful suggestions for Myles. Proclamation or not, Duke Roger had yet to begin the actual work of acting as the page's training master, so Myles was left with the work and none of the benefits or resources. Raoul promised to take several of the first-years in hand for the basics of chivalry and a knight's duties, effectively taking on the role of Myles' assistant, and was moderately sure that he could "drag Gary along to make him stop moping about the library," as he put it.
Raoul was one of the first to leave, as he also dragged Gary to most meals, but the group as a whole was happy to announce their hopes to see him again. Alanna wasn't surprised. Raoul had been a very easy man to introduce to the crowd of upper servants and the more practically-minded nobles. It seemed that the big knight was popular with everyone, not just red-headed ladies that could use the rumor that she was not to be courted. Raoul was polite to the servants, wonderful with his big warhorse, and mostly immune to the pettiness of other nobles. It was no great surprise that Raoul was a popular addition.
Alanna had stayed after the meeting again, to talk to Myles about the strange buzz moving through the court. Myles explained everything very succinctly.
"Ozorne was crowned Emperor of Carthak while a red star blazed overhead. No one is entirely sure if it's a portent, but it seem safe enough to say that any man of that sort, let alone a man of his ilk with a public friendship for our smiling duke, will be any kind of good for Tortall."
Alanna shook her head reflexively, and couldn't distract herself even with the bouncing curls that Salma had somehow created with only a warm iron bar and patience. "I'll trust your judgment and learn everything I can about Carthak tomorrow, then."
"You might learn more tonight, if you like. Duke Baird mentioned you had a lesson on healing tonight when he complimented your progress. Might I escort you?"
Alanna hesitated before remembering that Myles had been the one that introduced her to George. "I would be happy to have your protection, Sir Myles."
He grinned, bowing to her in his most courtly way. "I would like the chance to defend you properly, after the muddle I made of it last time."
Following his lead, Alanna took his arm. "I'm sure that Eleni wouldn't mind another to dinner, warning or not. She's used to people popping in all hours of the day, as she puts it, so there's always extra in the pot."
They chatted about light things after Alanna stopped by her rooms to fetch her jacket and let Salma fuss over her a little. Salma enjoyed fussing, and Alanna did like having someone there to pay attention when she left or came back. Faithful was usually content to remain in the rooms, especially with Salma there to stoke the fires and pet him, but he leapt onto her shoulder and made no sign of moving. She was wearing one of her work-dresses suitable for the city's free healing clinics, and Eleni did like cats, so Alanna didn't try to persuade her cat to stay behind.
Coram was not happy about her plans to visit Eleni (and therefore George) when she stopped at his guardpost, but did soften a little when she kissed him on the cheek and introduced him to Sir Myles. Between Myles and Eleni, Coram must have felt that her honor was secure, because he only lectured her for two minutes on the dangers of charming liars.
Almost as an afterthought, Coram hugged her when his lecture about brigands was done. "You're quite the lady, lass. Marinie would be tickled to see you with such good friends, and I imagine his lordship will be just as impressed."
Alanna shook her head. This time, she was all too conscious of the curls in her hair, and all the things that were different from when she and Thom had been children. "Thom barely notices that grass grows anymore, Coram."
"Not Thom, miss. His Lordship your father is coming to Corus on a few matters of business, and on Sir Myles' request."
Myles looked so abashed that Alanna bit her tongue, and let the accusations subside for the moment. Faithful settled lower on her shoulder, as if he were listening.
"I… well, I meant to tell you earlier," Myles said. He had the grace to realize that he had made a mistake in not telling her, at least, and he hadn't led her wrong before. "I wrote to Alan after the unpleasant business involving your brother and finances, and detailed a few ways in which Thom may benefit from his present. I didn't dare write a word against Roger, and from Alan's reply he knows to tread carefully. I did mean to tell you, Alanna."
He hadn't misled her before, and she wouldn't lose a friend over such a small mistake. "It's alright, Myles. I'm just surprised. My father hates court, and with mother gone…"
"I promised him access to the libraries," Myles admitted. "You aren't likely to see much of him, but he did expect to arrive tomorrow. Your mention of researching Carthak reminded me that there was something I really ought to have remembered."
He was obviously sincere, at least to Alanna's eyes, so she smiled and took his arm again. "Don't beat yourself around about it, Myles, I'm happy that you wrote to my father. Libraries are about the only thing to draw him anywhere near court politics, and mother wouldn't want him to be a recluse."
Coram didn't look quite so convinced, but he would always be protective. Sometimes he was over-protective, like with Myles and George, but Alanna wouldn't change her faithful guardsman for anything. She could hardly forget that Coram had been the one to see her with the Goddess, not when he always regarded Faithful very carefully.
Faithful looked perfectly satisfied, at least, and Alanna had always trusted her cat's judgment before. The kitten (now an adolescent cat, as she expected Faithful's dignity wouldn't permit such terms as 'kitten' at six months old) had detested Roger on sight, and still would have little to do with Thom on the rare occasions he stopped by for tea and awkward, stilted conversations. Alanna knew that all of those meetings happened when Roger was otherwise engaged, and that Thom was only coming out of boredom, but she could pretend that he still cared for something other than the social status of being a considerate brother.
Faithful purred when they were nearly to Eleni's door. She had spent nearly the entire walk in thought, but still didn't know what to think about her brother.
"That's enough wool-gathering, then," she said. "It seems you did have an easier time of it, Myles, but I was distracted enough to miss at least four vagabonds attacking us."
Myles chuckled, shaking his head. "Nothing so challenging, I fear. After George chastised Marek for attacking anyone in my company, let alone someone that ended up as a friend of his, no one of the Rogue would dare to touch us. George made it exceedingly clear that you aren't to be touched."
"He hasn't told me anything of the sort." Alanna absently petted Faithful, wondering why it seemed that animals could listen in on conversations so easily.
"You aren't the type to assume you'll get special treatment, Lady Alanna, and that's quite a bit of why people can so easily give you such advantages. We trust that you won't abuse what small powers we can give you."
Alanna was still blushing from the compliment when Eleni came to the door.
"Alanna, dear, will you introduce your escort?" Eleni's words were kind as she peered into her shadowed doorway, but Alanna wasn't fooled. Eleni had a bit of tatted lace in her hand, and she could do more damage with that half-work than some knights could do with swords.
"Sir Myles, Mistress Eleni Cooper, my healing teacher and a good friend. Mistress Cooper, Sir Myles of Olau, my mentor at court and a friend of George's."
The last bit of the introduction led Eleni to smile far more warmly and set the bit of lacework aside. "Then I'm quite pleased to meet you properly, Myles. It's no offense to my hospitality, I hope, but I'd as soon not leave my son to clamber out my own windows for some knight of the realm."
"I'm one of the oddest knights in Corus, as it happens, because I may be the only man that has taken a meal with the Lord Provost and his favorite target within sunrise to sunset. Neither would ever ask me to betray the other and ruin the game, so I stay quite out of it.'
"Oh!" Eleni's expression had cleared entirely, and there was a speculative look in her eyes when she looked the knight over a second time. "You're that Myles, then, and I suppose I might have guessed sooner. Any over-proper sort isn't like to have Lady Alanna's approval, let alone her arm when she's coming by here."
"Myles is alright, ma," George said from the doorway, nodding to Alanna before clasping the knight's forearm in greeting. "I imagine your recent scarcity is due t'runnin' the full palace without much helping from th' king."
"It's a challenge, but it's hardly out of the ordinary," Myles said quietly, regaining his usual volume when the door was shut safely behind them. "It was hard enough to lose his only son, but with Lianne gone… I suppose I can't expect him to care about people anymore, not when all his family but Roger is gone."
"And it's Roger he's most like to trust, all while Roger's the last man he should be trustin'." George looked very dangerous for a moment, silhouetted against the kitchen's cheery light and idly toying with a knife, but that faded as he stepped back into the bright, safe space of Eleni's kitchen, where Alanna had taken all of her book-lessons about healing. "I've worse news, as it happens. Alanna wanted t'know about Roger, and it seems that we already have a spot of bother. Roger found his move that'll cement his place as Roald's heir."
Myles half-collapsed into the seat that Eleni offered. "Mithros, George, how could you know all of that?"
"Carthak's equivalent of the Rogue does a brisk business in exporting slaves, and not in the way most folk would imagine. Whoever the man is, he gets slaves to Tortall where they can be free, and I'm his contact man here that's helped a few of the less-savory types find gainful work."
"You recruit Carthaki thieves and cutthroats," Alanna corrected, not at all irritated with George's creative way of wording things.
"Well, yes, but that sounds all uncivilized-like." George had smiled at her, but the smile didn't last long. "As it happens, most of us in this room would guess, and my Carthaki friend knows—Roger sent the Sweating Sickness, and deliberately infected both her majesty and his highness. It's fair to bet he helped Queen Lianne's later weakness along, and it was intentional that Prince Jonathan took sick so late. No natural fever drains healers, and my ma nearly drained her core helpin' the few poor folks to catch it—and there's a thing. There's never a fever that falls on the rich that don't trickle right down t'the poor."
"So, Roger did indeed kill Jonathan." Myles' lips were very thin, and his hands clenched very tightly around the sturdy wooden mug of water Eleni had placed before him. "What else?"
George's expression promised that it wouldn't be good. "Roger and the new emperor of Carthak are friends, though they would demur and insist that they merely attended school together. As such, it fits both of them to find someone t'blame for a sickness cast on the Tortallan heir.
"A friend of Ozorne's saw th' light recently, as it happens, and denounced a few darker types of rituals and darker practices. That young friend is about t' get pegged with the murder of Prince Jonathan and some number of others, and he'll be sent to Tortall within the month to face justice." George shook his head. "That boy's an academic mage, and all of fourteen."
"Can I do anything to help?" Alanna asked.
George's smile promised many, many kinds of agreeable mischief. "As it happens, yes, but not just yet. I know I promised you all I know about Roger t'night, but we have enough to think about with this mage. I'll want you to go to the library and research away at whatever you like. Try to befriend Sir Gary. He's a good lad, when he isn't angry, and that ought to distract Roger well enough."
"I am going to learn about Carthak, or at least find all that I can."
"Perfect. Roger wants Gary isolated, I'd imagine, as the boy's a duke with near to Roger's claim toward the throne." George turned to Myles. "As for you, friend, let's see if you can start another bit of fuss over the sweating sickness. Roger won't stop you playing into his hand, or so he'll think, but get Baird and his ilk a mite suspicious before the answer gets sent in out of the blue."
"What's his name?" Alanna asked.
"Arram," George replied, looking very pleased that she had asked. "Arram Draper."