A/N: This chapter takes place over a month after the last. Enjoy!

Chapter Six: Curst Dreams

Over a month had passed since Beka's return to Corus, and ever since that first night's supper, Beka and Rosto had kept their distance. The only time they saw each other was at their morning breakfasts which they still shared with their friends, or when Beka and Tunstall collected the Happy Bags each week from the Court of the Rogue. Even so, they rarely talked with the exception of "Pass the meat pasties please?" or "You didn't have that poor cove that was discovered in the gutter this morning killed, did you?"

Rosto disliked that the only other topics they seemed able to talk about that were neutral ground were Pounce's antics or the changing weather. If he had to remark upon the weather one more time to fill the silence between them, he thought he would scream!

But he knew it was also partly his fault for the awkwardness between them. With his jabs at gambling and gamblers, and through those his indirect jabs at Dale Rowan, he had distanced himself from Beka those first few weeks after she came home. Now it was almost impossible for him to get her to open her gob around him to do anything more than scold him for some cove or mot just discovered dead in the streets.

And, Mithros, if he tried to flirt with her? She would just about bite his head off! Before he had always expected to get some kind of rise out of her, but now she was turning lethal. As of late, her tongue was becoming sharper than a blade around him!

Just the day before she had been in a foul mood, which in Beka's case makes her deadly quiet and causes her eyes to shimmer dangerously, when he had simply complimented her on the dress she wore to go visit her siblings at the Lord Provost's House. She had replied with a none-too-ladylike response that Rosto was sure the Lord Provost's lady would no doubt have passed out upon hearing. Of course, Rosto had only made it worse when he had chuckled at her response and asked her, "Havin' troubles with your man, love?".

"I am not your love, and you have no business mucking about in my relationship with Dale Rowan! We're perfectly happy together without your comments! And the only man I seem to be having problems with is you, Rosto the Piper!" she had replied heatedly.

He had never seen her before in such a heated fit…and those weren't all that rare lately whenever he seemed to be around.

It confused him to no end.

"Majesty."

Rosto turned from his thoughts to look at the cove standing before him. He was dressed in simple street clothes and he looked tired. Rosto nodded to the man, who he recognized as the cove he had sent to Port Caynn, to watch over a certain…gambler. Knowing that Beka had received no visits from him nor was Rosto aware of any letters between them, Rosto had sent this spy of his to look in on Dale Rowan. Though he had joked with her the day before about Beka having 'man troubles', he had pondered more seriously on it before, noticing the lack of correspondence between the two. He had wanted to find out further, wondering if it was indeed the cause of Beka's bad mood. According to what Beka had told him, she and Dale were still together.

"I have returned wi' my findin's," the man said, bowing. He straightened. "When I arrived in Port Caynn, I soon discovered tha' Master Rowan had journeyed from the city. That is why it has taken me much longer to report. I tracked him on one of his many trips, Majesty. There he did nothin' more than deliver his cargo, stopping in many gamblin' dens for his leisure. He sent no letters, nor did he receive any."

Rosto listened with interest. No letters? He had Rowan pegged for the bad poetry type.

The cove continued on with his report, filling Rosto in on what Dale Rowan was doing. After listening for a while, Rosto had to admit the man's findings were rather uneventful, until…

"…as popular with the ladies as he is, Majesty. His charmin' talk works better than a mage's spell, it does. It's no wonder he found favor wit' the mots."

Frowning, Rosto looked at the man. He was actually probably no more than a lad, but hard life in the Lower City made him look almost five years older. "What do you mean by 'favor'?" Rosto asked. Though the lad was young, Rosto knew he was well old enough to know about what went on between coves and mots.

"Jus' flirtin' for the most part," the young man replied. Then he added, "But he did take a few mots to his rooms, on different evenings."

Rosto's anger boiled. That sarden spintry! Did he not value what he had?

Then he thought of Beka. She had remained faithful to the tosspot while he went off and bedded other mots! Did she have any idea? Rosto was certain she did not. What would she think of her beloved sweetheart when she found out?

Rosto stood up. Someone had to tell her. He knew he was probably the last person she would want to hear it from, but he had no choice. She had the right to know.

Then he stopped, remembering the hour. Beka was on duty. He sighed, sitting back down. There would still be a couple more hours left to her watch. He'd have to wait.

As he drained his cup of ale, he wasn't able to see one of the women of this Court slip from the room. The woman quickly left the Dancing Dove, padding across the street to Mistress Trout's lodgings quietly. Using her magic to open the door, she slid into Beka's room, closing the door behind her. Kora found a comfortable seat to wait in, her face grim.

Sarden tosspots! Loobies, the lot of them!

Beka stumbled into her rooms after her watch, tired and angry. That night she and Tunstall had gotten caught in the middle of yet another brawl down at one of the river dock's taverns. Ale had been flowing heavily down the throats of the scuts inside and tempers had flared easily. As in most tavern fights, Beka's only goal was to stay alive, clubbing some hot-headed tosspots when she could. With the help of some other Dog pairs, the brawl had settled just before the end of watch, which meant she was still in a right foul mood. Not that she hadn't been before, but the drunken tarse's had just added to it.

These last few days, Beka had been in a rotten mood. She tried to get in better spirits, but soon relapsed whenever she ran across idiots like the ones in the tavern…or whenever she saw Rosto the Piper.

She didn't like to dwell on why his presence always made her so edgy lately. Whether he was commenting on news in the city or flirting with her, she rounded on him just the same. Just his presence put her in a bad mood. She would rather think that she didn't know why…but she did, much to her annoyance. Ever since she had returned to Corus from Port Caynn, her damned traitorous mind had been plaguing her with memories of Rosto and his kisses. Why, she had no sarden idea. It confused and aggravated her all the same. Shouldn't she have been thinking of Dale Rowan? She had just ended a relationship with him only a month back, and she had liked him a lot! And they had definitely been more intimate than those of a few stolen kisses from a Rogue. Yet why did she not think of those nights? She certainly had enjoyed herself. So why was she only able to think of the warmth of Rosto's mouth and his chaste kisses?

Then of course there was that curst dream she had but two nights ago…

It hadn't been any better that the first person she saw when she left for the Lord Provost's House that morning was none other than Rosto the Piper. She had practically bitten his head off in shear annoyance, as if he had deliberately manifested himself in her stupid, girlish dreams!

Beka was tearing off her shirt when she heard Pounce say, Are you listening to me, silly girl? You have a visitor.

She stopped removing her shirt to look around. She could see Pounce's purple eyes glinting at her in the dark room. He sat on someone's lap.

"Bad day?" It was Kora.

Beka sunk down on the edge of her bed. "Tavern fight," she said in way of explanation. "I think I got clubbed on the head a dozen times. The tosspots only have such good aim when they're in their cups," she ground out. Then she looked at her friend. "Kora, what are you doing here? Ersken's going to worry when you're not there when he gets in."

"Don't worry, I left him a note," she told her. Then she leaned forward in her chair. Pounce protested slightly. "I came here to talk to you, Beka. Lately you've been in a bad temper, and I came to find out why. What's wrong, Beka?"

It was a moment before Beka said anything, then she grimaced. "Nothing. I'm sorry; I've just had a miserable last few days. But you needn't worry, Kora, I'll work it out."

Kora didn't accept that so readily. "Truly?" she asked. "Truly, you're okay? There's nothing you wish to talk about?"

When Beka shook her head, Kora asked quietly, "Is everything okay between you and Dale?"

It was too dark in the room for Kora to see the guilt showing in Beka's eyes. She had let everyone believe that she and Dale were still together, when in truth they had not been since before she left Port Caynn. She hadn't wanted to lie to her friends, but it was necessary, and it was all because she had let Rosto believe they were still together. In truth, the way he had regarded her after her return, his eyes so guarded and even slightly hurt-looking, had affected her more than she cared to admit. But to even consider going with a rusher, and the Rogue to boot…it scared her silly. Though she was fairly certain Rosto had still thought her involved with Dale Rowan, she had confirmed it on impulse two mornings after her arrival. At the time she had surprised herself with her declaration, but now she realized that it gave her reason to distance herself from the Rogue's affections that confused her so. Of course her mind had decided to do the opposite and remind her practically every minute of Corus's Rogue and his soft lips, and her confusion and frustration about it had kept her on edge.

How could she explain this to anyone else when she didn't even know for certain herself?

Beka looked at her friend, replying softly, "No. Everything's fine between us."

For a long while Kora sat running her hand over Pounce. Finally, she spoke, "Then I think there is something you ought to know." Kora told her what she had heard of Dale Rowan entertaining other mots, though she did not reveal her source. After she had finished she said, "I'm sorry, Beka, but I felt that you'd rather hear it from me than-"

"It's alright, Kora," interrupted Beka, getting up to pour herself a cup of water. "I'd be lying if I said the news did not hurt, but in all honesty, it does not surprise me. Dale likes having mots around, and he treats them well. It's just that one mot cannot hold him down for a long time." She smiled with sad understanding. Then she sighed and turned to look at her friend. "Kora, Dale Rowan and I are no longer together."

Kora got up, taking Pounce in her arms. "Oh, Beka, I'm so sorry, when-?"

Beka put up her hand. "Not since Port Caynn actually," she admitted guiltily. "I'm sorry I lied."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Kora asked, puzzled.

"It's…complicated," answered Beka. "I- you won't tell Rosto, will you?"

Kora frowned for a moment. "Why-?"

"Because I don't want him to gloat of course!" said Beka suddenly, striding to a chair.

Watching her with a strange expression on her face, Kora still frowned. It was a poor excuse and they both knew it. "Where did you get such a crackbrained idea?" she asked. "You know Rosto wouldn't do that. He cares too much-"

"I just don't want him to know," said Beka firmly.

"But he already does," Kora told her, "at least about Dale Rowan goin' around with other mots. He was none-too-pleased when he found out this evening. I wanted to beat him here before he came to tell you."

"It's none of his business," Beka protested.

"He made it his business when he noticed your temper running short. Beka, he cares for you and doesn't want to see you hurt."

Beka bit her lip and looked at the floor. She knew Kora was right.

Placing Pounce down on the ground, Kora asked, "Is it alright if I let him know the truth? That way you won't have to deal with an angry Rosto come morning. It's not a pretty sight."

Giving her friend a small smile of gratitude, Beka just gave one suggestion. "Just don't let him know we've not been together since Port Caynn. Let him guess."

Kora's smile glinted in the darkness. "It will drive him crazy, but I'll do so. It may even prove to be entertaining."

A/N: So, Beka's having dreams about a certain Rogue ;D Poor Rosto didn't know what hit him that morning :D

I'll update in a few days!