Zoie

Present day

I found myself beginning to doze off as I remembered that day. It was crazy, honestly, how that moment with Anna changed me. It was as if something inside me clicked, like a missing part of me was finally filled and it gave me the idea that everything would be okay. I resolved that, once Castor and Siamon returned, I would tell them I wasn't going to go through with the marriage. I would forsake my blood oath and follow my heart, taking my life into my own hands. It was the moment I truly grasped the reality of my position and power. If I wanted, I could take any Fae's ability, including the king's.

Though, that wasn't my plan, exactly, but the mere threat of it if things got out of hand seemed like enough leverage to overturn the decision.

Unfortunately, I realize now that such things rarely work out for the best.

Anna had gone home after our talk. I had explained everything; about my father, his sickness, and Castor's warning that she could be in danger if she was seen with me. With a promise to keep in touch with her as I figured out how to quell or avoid suspicion, she had left. But not before a drawn out goodbye kiss that had left me warm throughout the rest of the night while I drank with Kes and Jace.

I still remembered everything about that day and the following ones so vividly.

Fours days after the inauguration...

"You haven't written her back yet?" Kes asked, her light blue eyes impossibly wider than usual.

We were both lying on my bed, utterly bored and talking about the letter Anna had sent two days ago through her friend, Rachel, since I had yet to find a safe way to see her. It was a short message but everytime I read it, I couldn't help smiling. Though I had yet to find a solution to our current dilemma, I wasn't close to giving up and when I reread her words, I knew I had something worth fighting for.

"I don't want to write her back until I have something of a plan. I need her to know I'm serious about this," I explained before sitting up.

Kes sighed and closed her eyes. "Yes, that's a great idea, Zo. Leaving her hanging like that will definitely prove your commitment," she muttered. "Have you heard anything from Castor?"

"Not yet, but the journey to Reysha is rather long, so I'm sure I'll hear from him soon if they won't be back on time."

"I don't get why you can't just go see her, then. No one is around to stop you."

I rolled my eyes, "I already tried that, remember? Vessus insisted I take a whole cavalry of guards if I leave. Showing up at her home with them would only heighten suspicion."

"We could still sneak out, you know. I've done it tons of times before and never been caught."

I bit my lip, contemplating her offer. She had suggested this several times already and each time I was getting closer to accepting it.

There was a sharp knock at my door and I got up to answer it.

I was met with one of the guards. He bowed with a soft greeting then straightened up.

"Lord Vessus has requested your presence in his chambers, when you have a moment. He says it is important."

"Did he say what it was about?"

"I am afraid he did not, Your Honor."

I nodded, "Tell him I'll be there shortly."

He bowed again and left.

"Ooh, you sound so royal, now," Kes joked, getting up off the bed.

"I do?"

"No. Not really," she shook her head. "You're way too hesitant. You need more confidence and shit. We'll work on that."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically.

"Anytime!" she smiled. "Guess I'll be going, then. Have fun. And seriously, write her back before she finds another royal to have an illicit affair with!"

"Shit, Kes!" I hissed, quickly shutting the door, "Did you have to yell that?!"

"My gods, you are so paranoid, Zo. Relax. I'll see you later." She squeezed my shoulder softly before leaving the room.

A half hour later I was standing in Vessus' chambers while he disappeared into a small connecting room which he'd made into a study. When I'd arrived and he'd told me he had something to give me from my father, I was intrigued yet a little scared. So far, nothing good had come out of my father's death and I had no idea what to expect anymore.

He came back holding a stack of books and set them in front of me, on his desk.

"These are journals that were written by the past kings, your father being one of them. They hold information about trials and other matters that judges have had to handle. I suppose you could look to them as precedents," he explained.

I took in the large pile, seeing that some of them appeared to be very old.

"Your father asked that they be given to you instead of Castor, seeing as you were unaware of your future position," he said and then shook his head, "I did try to reason with him, Zoie. It wasn't planned for you to find out the way that you did... but when the sickness set it in... well, we had thought he would have more time..." he trailed off.

"I understand," I told him, knowing that he was only a king's advisor and that he didn't have any say in how my father handled his business.

Vessus nodded and came around the desk to stand in front of me. "I am honored to soon be able to call you my daughter. I couldn't ask for anyone more wonderful for my son."

I felt a wave of nausea come over me but quickly pushed it down. Vessus had always been kind to me and was the most loyal servant to my father, whom he'd grown up with. I wondered, if my father had been a woman, would his parents have made him marry Vessus?

There was no use wasting my time thinking about the possibility, however. My father had been born a man, which I guess made him able to make his own decisions.

"Thank you," I said, since it was the only thing I could say.

He smiled and nodded. "Well, I suppose you'll be wanting to look through these, so I won't keep you any longer."

"Yes, I'll do that, now," I said, picking up the journals, eager to leave. "Thank you, again, Vessus."

I hurried back to my room and set the journals on my bed, then just stared at them. Could I let myself hope that somewhere among these 'precedents' there was a solution to my situation with Anna and my unwanted marriage?

I began with a random journal from, I think, my great grandfather. It was almost two thousand years old and documented the last years of his reign. I read for hours, and drifted off during the fourth journal I picked up.

"Zoie."

I heard my name, unsure whether I had still been dreaming or not. The room was dark, except for the candle next to my bed. I hadn't remembered lighting it, though. I sat up and the journal that was resting on my chest fell to my lap. Grabbing the candle, I looked at the open page. Instead of writing, this page depicted some sort of map. I squinted, trying to read the tiny scrawlings at the top.

"Zoie," my mother said, and I looked up. "Come with me. I have something to show you."

Now I was sure I was still dreaming because I got up and followed her, unable to stop myself. She led me out of my room, through the familiar halls and down one of the servants' stairwells. We walked along the hall where Kes's and Tenia's chambers were located, and then turned down a hall which I recognized as a dead end.

But when we got to the stone wall at the end, my mother whispered, "Don't be frightened," before reaching for one of the stones that was slightly protruding, though it wasn't noticeable until it was pointed out.

She pressed it and, despite it's heaviness, the wall began to rotate silently, revealing a dark passage way.

She disappeared into the darkness and I stood there, my heart racing, unsure if I wanted to follow her. However, I was still in a dream-like trance and before I knew it, my feet were carrying me forward.

When I stepped through the door way, the wall closed behind me, leaving the small flame of my candle as the only source of light. I held it out in front of me and examined my surroundings.

I was in a narrow hall; the ceiling was barely three feet above me and the walls were stony and damp. The air smelled stale, yet there was a subtle breeze. My mother stood a few feet away, then turned and ventured deeper into the darkness. Terrified, yet not able to wake myself up, I followed her.

We walked for at least a half hour, passing several other tunnels that branched from the main one she was leading me through. Finally, we approached several stairs that led to a metal door.

My mother turned to me, producing a small, oddly shaped object. Holding it up to the door, she placed it against a perfect imprint of it. I realized it was a key. She turned it and pushed the door open. It creaked loudly, obviously not having been used in quite sometime.

We walked through it and entered what seemed to be a cellar of a house. With my candle, I could see shelves meant to stock wine and barrels for ale and water. She started up a wooden stairwell and we reached another door, which didn't need a key to open.

It was, indeed, a house. Though, there was only a table with two chairs as far as furniture went. I looked around seeing dust and cobwebs everywhere. I wanted to ask her what this place was, but I couldn't speak, the trance I was in made it so I couldn't even open my mouth.

Most likely, this was a safe house of sorts. A place that royals could escape to, should the palace be attacked.

She headed towards what I guessed was the front door and as I reached it, my eyes snapped open and I was back in my bed. It was morning.

I sat up, the journal flying onto the bed. I went to pick it up, but stopped as I realized there was something hard and cold clutched in my hand.

I looked at the object, my heart leaping into my throat. It was the key, which meant that what'd happened wasn't a dream and maybe, my hallucinations of my mother were there real thing, as impossible as it all seemed.

I jumped out of bed and changed my clothes before getting my cloak and running out the door.

It was early, but I knew Kes wouldn't be in her room. Instead, I went to the kitchen and easily found the girl sitting on on one of the counters, eating some sort of pastry and chatting loudly with Salni, the cook.

"Zo!" she called out with her mouth full when she saw me. She was always so hyper in the morning, which usually annoyed me, but today I was glad for it, seeing as I was too nervous to seek out the hidden passage alone.

"I need you to come with me. Right now," I told her.

She raised her eyebrows, "Can it wait? I'm kinda in the middle of something."

I looked at Salni, who rolled her eyes. Clearly, Kes's departure would not be mourned.

"No, it can't. C'mon."

She huffed and jumped off the counter, stuffing the last of her pastry in her mouth before grabbing two more and holding them up to Salni, "For the road," she explained and the woman just shook her head and ignored the theft.

We started off towards the passage way.

"So, what's the hurry?" Kes asked.

I knew if I tried to explain it, she wouldn't believe me, so I settled for a simple, "You'll see."

I could tell she was becoming more confused as we headed down the hall where she lived, then past it.

"Uh, Zo? You know this is a dead end, right?"

I didn't say anything, but walked up to the wall at the end and began searching for the protruding stone. When I saw it, I was hesitant to push it.

"Zoie?" Kes said, her nervousness clear in her voice. "What are you doing?"

I glanced at her and then pressed the stone, taking a few steps back as the wall rotated. My hands were shaking at my sides as Kes gasped.

"What the hell?" she whispered in shock. "How...?"

I swallowed and took out the candle, which I had stashed in my cloak, and the striking flint to light it. "I'll explain on the way. Hold this," I handed her the candle so I could light it.

"We're... going in there?" she whispered.

"Yes." I took the candle and grabbed her arm, pulling her through the door. It closed behind us and she jumped.

"Okay, this is really fucking creepy. You better tell me what's going on, right now!"

I sighed and started walking, "This is going to sound insane, but my mother... she showed me this place."

"When you were little?"

I shook my head, "No. Last night."

She stopped walking and I turned around to look at her.

"Zoie," she said, trying to keep calm, "your mom is dead."

"I know that! But she was in my dream and... Are we not standing in this passage way right now? Is this not real?" I asked her, hoping she'd see my point. "Whether it was actually her or not, doesn't matter. Please, Kes, can we keep walking?"

I could tell she wanted to argue, but she just nodded and we started walking again, in silence.

After a while, she finally asked, "Do you know where this leads?"

"A house."

"A house?" she said dubiously.

"Yes."

She sighed and didn't say anything else until we reached the steps that lead to the metal door. I climbed them and pulled out the key.

"Where'd you get that?"

I decided the question wasn't worth answering, and instead I pressed the key into the lock and turned it, walking into the cellar. She stayed standing on the other side.

"Are you coming?" I asked, not wanting to get into a fight, but the tension between us was getting thicker by the second.

She stepped warily through the door and then turned around to close it. "Shit!" She squeaked, startled by her own reflection when the other side of the door turned out to be a mirror. She put a hand over her chest, breathing hard. "You so owe me for this."

"I know," I told her, softly, before heading up the steps.

The house looked exactly the same, as had everything else. I blew out the candle to save it for the trip back since the house was lit by sunlight now.

"What is this place?"

"It's a house."

She looked over at me with an irritated expression, "Obviously, it's a house, Zoie! But what I mean is 'why is there a secret passage way leading to this freaking house'?!"

I shrugged, "Let's look around. Maybe we'll find out." I walked over to the stairs and looked back at her, "There might be some clues up here."

Upstairs there was a hall and a door on either side. I went to the first door and opened it slowly. It was a rather large bedroom, with a bed not much smaller than my own, and a desk with only a few pieces of parchment on it. I walked over and picked one up, but couldn't understand what it said. The symbols were foreign and unlike any writing I'd ever seen.

"What's that?" Kes asked, walking up beside me.

"I don't know." I put the strange paper down and looked at the others. They all bore the same script. Seeing nothing else notable or unusual in the room, I went to the other one.

It was lined with shelves full of jars containing various leaves and powders.

"Whoa," Kes said, walking further into the room. "Zoie... You said your mother led you here?"

I was still occupied with staring at the countless jars, "Yes," I answered absently. There were no labels on the jars to indicate what they contained.

"Was she a witch?" she whispered.

"I don't know. But... if these are hers, then..." I trailed off.

"Maybe it's medicine?"

"Or poison."

"Your mother was a good woman, though. At least, that's what my mother, and everyone else who knew her, says."

I nodded, "She was. As far as I know."

"Well, let's go look outside and see where we are, yea?" Kes said uneasily, obviously not wanting to stay in the room any longer. I couldn't blame her, so I agreed and we went back downstairs and to the door.

I was a little nervous to go outside because my dream had ended right before I could. But I was surprised to see that it was surrounded by trees, and there was a trail leading away from it. The house, on the outside, showed that it was neglected but there were no signs of forced entry. Perhaps it was too secluded for anyone to find.

"Want to see where it leads?" I asked Kes, nodding towards the trail.

She shrugged, "Sure. Not like I had any plans today. But if we get lost-"

"We won't get lost," I cut her off. "It's a pretty clear trail. Lets go."

After only a few minutes of walking, we reached civilization. I wasn't sure what part of the city we were in, but I knew Kes probably did, so I asked her.

"We're not far from the main market, actually. It didn't feel like the tunnel led this far out into the city, though." She squinted her eyes as the sun beat down on us. "Hey! Wait a second."

"What is it?"

She looked over at me with a wide smile, "We're out of the palace and Vessus has no idea. I know you want to go see Anna and we know where she lives. Going to see her would be so much better than a letter and, well, I was thinking that, despite that creepy room, maybe we could fix the place up a little and you two could... do what you do."

I couldn't help the huge smile on my face as I pulled Kes in for a hug. "I knew there was a reason why you're my best friend!"

"Oh, thanks," she said sarcastically, returning the hug. "It might take a few days, you know, to make it suitable. But you can at least tell her today so she doesn't think you've forgotten about her."

"You think she thinks that?!" I asked, horrified.

"Gods, Zoie. You're impossible. Let's just go."

It was a half hour walk to Anna's because Kes and I took the less crowded roads to avoid anyone recognizing me. When we finally reached her home, I was too excited and too nervous to knock.

"Maybe it was a bad idea to just show up. What if she's not here or she's busy?"

Kes rolled her eyes, "If she has the courage to randomly come to the palace then you should be able to drop by her place, too."

"But what if she has someone in there?"

"Well, let's hope she doesn't," Kes said, knocking on the door before I could stop her.

A few seconds later, a tall blonde woman answered, her green eyes widening as she stared at us. She hastily cutsied, "Your Honor."

"H-hello," I stuttered, not sure what to say. Luckily, Kes stepped in.

"Hi. I'm Kes," she held out her hand and the blonde hesitantly took it.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rachel," she replied.

Hearing her name made me suddenly feel lighter as I realized she was Anna's friend and not her lover.

"Nice to meet you as well, Rachel," Kes said politely. "We're looking for Anna. Is she here?"

Rachel was still in shock as she nodded, "Yea- Yes, she is. Come in. I'll get her for you."

Kes nodded and pulled me inside with her while Rachel disappeared into what I assumed was Anna's room.

"She seems nice," Kes said softly.

I just nodded, still a little on edge. I looked around their home. It was small but nice. Everything was in order and clean; there was a pretty wooden table with intricate carvings on its legs with chairs that matched, and vase of beautiful flowers as a centerpiece. She must like flowers. I wished I had thought to get her some.

The door opened and Anna walked out, Rachel following her. She smiled at me, "Hey! What are you two doing here?"

"We were just in the neighborhood," Kes answered. "Your house is pretty, by the way."

Anna laughed, "Well, thank you. It's not much, but it's home." She looked over at me and I cursed my seeming inability to speak. The dress she was wearing was cut low and it took a lot to keep my eyes from travelling downwards. I knew my aura must've flared because she arched an eyebrow at me.

I cleared my throat, my face flushing. "Sorry if we interrupted anything. I was hoping to talk to you."

She shook her head, "No, I'm glad you came. I was getting a little worried since I hadn't heard from you."

I didn't have to look at Kes to know she was giving me an 'I told you so' look.

"You want to come to my room?" she asked before looking between Kes and Rachel, "You guys don't mind, do you?"

"Go for it" and "Not at all" crashed together as the other women answered, simultaneously.

"I was thinking of touring the neighborhood, anyway," Kes said. "Would you show me around, Rachel?"

The blonde seemed just as eager to clear the area as Kes. "Sounds great. Let's go." They both headed for the door. "We'll be back in an hour."

"You kids have fun!" Kes called over her shoulder before shutting the door behind her. I silently thanked her for her quick thinking.

"Thank the gods for best friends," Anna joked, stepping closer to me.

"I couldn't agree more."

"So," she said, "What did you want to talk about?"

She was so close to me now that her breasts were almost grazing mine, making me forget what I was supposed to tell her. "We only have an hour," I whispered. "Do you really want to spend it talking?"

She smiled, "No, but I guess it depends on what you're going to say."

"Fair enough. I wanted to tell you that I found a place for us to meet, so we can see eachother without you being in danger."

"Oh? And where's this place?"

"It's not far from here. I need to fix it up. It'll be a day or two, though."

She seemed to consider this before looking down and asking, "Are you still going to call off the marriage?"

"Of course, I am. Castor gets back in a few days and I'm going to tell him then. Why?"

She shrugged, "I just don't want you to get the wrong idea about me. I'm not going to be your mistress."

"I never thought you were, Anna. That's not what this is. I really care about you," I assured her, though I couldn't blame her for feeling that way. I should have thought this through before showing up. "This is only temporary, okay? If you'd rather wait, I understand. I guess I just didn't want to, but I will if it's what you want."

"It's not what I want. I needed to know you weren't backing out of this and I guess I let Rachel get to me."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed, her eyes meeting mine again, "She's my family, you know? She's trying to protect me and she told me not to get my hopes up about you. It's nothing personal to you, Zoie. She just doesn't want me to get hurt."

I swallowed, nodding, "I know. She's a good friend and that's what good friends do. I'm not offended," I told her, honestly. Kes was the same way and I would be, too, if the tables were turned. "But I want you to know that I wouldn't be here if I wasn't going to call off the marriage. I really need you to see that I wouldn't do that to you."

She continued to look into my eyes before smiling again, "I see it."

"That's good," I said, relieved, then added, "Cause I think we only have about fifty minutes, now."

She grinned mischievously, leaning in and giving me a quick kiss, "Well, would you like to see my bedroom ceiling?"

I stared at her, confused, "Why? Is it special or something?"

She laughed, "No, Zoie, it was a..." she trailed off, shaking her head, "Nevermind. Come on."