This one goes out to those of you who reviewed even when FFN was all crazy. Thank you, TheWackedOne, xDarklightx, R0KI, Tishica, spazzysassyangel!
Summer rolled into Corus at the same pace as the cargo barges did from Port Caynn. Slowly and steadily the barges and the days drifted by, neither in any real hurry. The weather was surprisingly kind, cool enough that people weren't getting to hotheaded or fussy. Without the oppressive heat waves, some found the days to be incredibly enjoyable. Overall, it was a very relaxing time.
The impossibly slow pace was driving Eleni Crow mad.
All of her friends had returned to their homes for the summer, virtually abandoning her in Corus. She was sad to say that the only people who remained in the pages' wing were Alex and Pier. Both would have stabbed Eleni in her sleep before carrying on a proper conversation. So that left her with only Lokejo, her ever dutiful servant and friend.
After two aggravating weeks in the palace, George had reluctantly offered her a room in one of his "hideaways" as he called them. He owned a few houses all over the city, places were his informants could meet, rest, and, if ever necessary, hide. Eleni had given her grandfather a lopsided smirk when he had explained the houses' purposes to her.
"Now I'm a fugitive?" she had asked while leaving his study. "Thank you, Grandfather, I'm sure it'll be informative."
George could only laugh at his granddaughter's wordplay. A tiny, surely much more logical, part of his mind wondered about how safe his young, misguided, and overconfident granddaughter would fare in a secret house full of spies. Many horrible things could happen. Someone, anyone really, could find out her secret. On the other hand, it would offer an excellent chance to learn skills not highly regarded by the nobility.
It was quickly silenced when Jonathan entered the room. Business never seemed to slow down for George. Eleni would be able to take care of herself, he assured himself. She had Lokejo, after all.
And so, on the eve of the first of July, Eleni was found packing her trunk, keen on getting to her grandfather's house. She had to admit that her interest was piqued at the thought of meeting the people that worked for the Tortallan Spymaster. Alianne had all sorts of interesting characters working for her, but everything she knew, she had learned from George. His people had to be brilliant!
In her haste, Eleni had left her door slightly open. She didn't care much, it wasn't as if a dozen boys could walk in at a moment's notice. They were gone, and no one would bother coming except Lokejo. He was currently sulking somewhere. Eleni had refused to let him go with her to the city. It was a sort of vacation for her, to be free in Corus without anyone lurking behind her.
Lokejo, simply stated, was a master at dogging her shadow.
It had been a long and drawn out argument, but in the end, Eleni had won. Elated at having beaten the old mother hen, she never noticed the boy leaning on her door frame. He, however, had done a quick sweep of the state of things and come to his own conclusions.
"Leaving already?" Eleni ignored him. If wanted to rile someone up, he'd have to go find someone else. "Without so much as a goodbye, lion cub? I'm hurt," he drawled. Impatient with how the conversation was proceeding, he walked into the room uninvited.
"What do you want, Alex?" Eleni didn't even bother to look up from her trunk as she asked. She was trying to make sure that she had everything and wouldn't be forced to come back to the palace and a gloating Lokejo. "I don't have time for you," she said lightly.
"Or the manners to hold a conversation," he retorted. Inclined to bother the redhead, knowing that it wouldn't take much to anger him, Alex sat on his bed and reclined on the pillows. "These are very comfortable, you know," he said in an offhand fashion. He could have been talking about the weather, the way his words never shifted from their usual bored tone.
Eleni only glanced up for a second, but she instantly didn't like what she saw. "Off of my bed. Now," she added for emphasis. For some reason, seeing Alex on her bed had made her stomach flip. Eleni didn't particularly like the sensation. "I said to ge-"
"I heard you," he brushed off the command. "But," he flashed a wicked smile at the reddening Eleni. "Like, I said, these pillows are amazingly comfortable. Wherever did you get them?"
Alexander of Tirragen had enough control of his senses to get off the bed before he could get hit by whatever it was that Myles was going throw at him. Throwing himself to the floor beside the bed, he stared in amazement. A lock CRACK was heard from right above his head just before a rock fell onto the bed.
"Did you just throw a rock at me?" he screeched. It was almost funny, the boy had never lost control of his voice like that. "You're mad!," he exclaimed. "And for that matter," he picked up the dark, dense rock. "Who carries around a rock?" Alex tossed the damned thing into the air, only to catch it as it came down. He saw how Eleni's eyes followed the black stone. "Oh, important is it?" He gave her his most devious smirk yet. "In that case, I think I'll be keeping this. A souvenir for my efforts at trying to tame a lion cub."
Cocky , Alex fully intended to bask in the sweet glow of victory back in his own room. He didn't count on the door being blocked. He really didn't count on a large, obviously offended, Raka man blocking his only exit.
"Good evening, young master," he greeted, cordial with every syllable. "Visiting Myles?"
Alex could only nod at the behemoth. Lokejo was definitely not pleased to see him, much less when he was clearly teasing Myles. Eleni calmly walked up to Alex and took back her rock. He didn't resist.
"Alex was just leaving, Lokejo." Both gave her disbelieving looks. "Let him be on his way, please."
The boy scrambled out of the room, gathering the remnants of his pride. A foreign servant had just put the heir of Tirragen in his place. That was embarrassing. The two Kyprish natives watched him go, both secretly amused with how the matter had ended.
"Now do you see why I don't like leaving you alone?" he asked with a hint of seriousness. "I just don't like the idea of you all alone with boys, much less men." Lokejo set to rearranging her trunk, knowing that the girl wouldn't pack properly. "Why can't I just go with you?"
"Because I need to get away for a while," she replied.
Never one to pass up a decent chance for a joke, Lokejo said, "Lass, you're going past the palace gates. If you wanted to get away, Scanra was a better choice."
Eleni knelt beside him and placed the rock in a small bag. "I want to be myself for a while."
Lokejo's eyes widened in misunderstanding. "Don't you dare reveal that you're a girl!" he whispered harshly. "If anything were to happen to y-"
"Calm down." Eleni leaned back against her trunk. "I meant that I wanted to be normal for a few weeks, like I was back home. No one bowing to me al the time or hurrying out of the little noble's path. Remember those days?" she asked wistfully.
"Oh." Lokejo was silent for a few moments, reminesing with Eleni. It was true, what she said about life on the islands. No one had treated Eleni like nobility. She was respected as the daughter of one of the heroes of the revolution, but that was it. No bowing, no groveling, no real responsibilities. "Fine," he relented. "But you have to let me visit, at least."
"Agreed." Eleni couldn't fool herself, she knew she would miss her dear friend. Visits were fine, as long as he didn't go over the top.
The next morning Eleni and Candy heading out of the palace and down the Palace Way to George's hideaway house in Patten District. Past the Palace complex was the Temple District. Eleni had given the area a precursory glance on the few and rare occasions she had accompanied her friends down to the city.
It was a beautiful sight. With its marble temples and countless priests and priestesses wandering the area, the district conveyed a sense of divine greatness. Something about the place made Eleni feel uneasy and she urged Candy into a trot. She didn't see a young priestess stop her conversation to follow Eleni with her eyes. Something was definitely off about the place.
Once in the city-proper, Eleni felt much better, more welcomed. Just like on her first day in Corus, Eleni compared the buslting city to her own dear Rajmuat. Both were so full of life, humming with the day to day activities of people who didn't have to live up to noble expectations. It was an extremely welcomed change of pace.
With George's directions written on a slip of paper in her hand, and with the help of a few patient commoners, Eleni had little trouble finding the house. What did give her trouble was the place itself.
The Hearty Hart, as was proclaimed on the ridiculous sign hanging above the front door, was one of Corus' most "exclusive" eateries. The sign depicted a white deer charging out of a ruby red heart. It was utterly ridiculous and ostentatious.
What a stupid sign, she thought.
A three story building that looked like it had seen more than its share of winters. Apart from hem gaudy sign, it fit in just fine with the rest of the street. Most of the surrounding buildings were decent businesses and homes of the comfortably situated. George hadn't sent her into the dreaded Cesspool, but he had kept her away from the frumpy, well-to-do districts. It was perfect.
"Are you George's grandson?" A young, delicate, and very beautiful woman was leaning out the window, watching with delighted eyes. "My lord never said that you would be such an adorable morsel." Her pouty red lips pursed and blew a kiss in Eleni's direction. Coupled with the saucy wink sent her way, it was Eleni's undoing.
Suddenly, Eleni felt like she would have to repay her grandfather dearly for the headaches that were sure to follow her in the weeks to come.
A doxie, Grandfather? A damned doxie! Perfect choice of chaperon.
Sorry, sorry, sorry, and sorry to the nth power. FFN has been nutty, and I've been medicated. It's hard to work up the will to do much when you're spitting out blood every few minutes. Oh, the pain your orthodontist can inflict on you...
Anywho, who likes? Anyone? I figured it was time to get Eleni out of the palace and out in the real world. You know, without the feathers and beak and stuff...
Ugh, I had to bust out Terrier to get Corus right. Three guesses on how long it took me to find it among the dozens of books on my desk.