After they finished dinner, Dav accepted Zachary's offer of a place to stay at the castle. Colin watched him go carefully, still suspicious of his motives. He could tell Zachary believed him, but he had always felt the king was much too trusting. He was also sure that the fact that Dav claimed to have a relation to Zachary's mother had swayed the king's opinion.

Glancing up, Colin caught the eye of Donal who stood watch in the corner. He flitted his eyes to the side, indicating Dav who was just moving through the doorway. Donal nodded almost imperceptibly, slipping out a side door. He returned a few minutes later, and Colin knew that meant he had found someone to watch Dav and make sure that he did not have a more sinister reason for his presence. Colin relaxed slightly and turned his attention back to Zachary and Karigan who were deep in conversation. Sperren and Cummings had left shortly after Dav, and Colin noticed that with the relative privacy of only Weapons surrounding them—for Colin still counted himself as part of that group even though his current position was more political than anything—they had relaxed somewhat, standing closer than he had ever seen them. Zachary's hand rested on the small of her back, his fingers rubbing small circles there. She leaned towards him, her head nearly resting on his shoulder. Colin would not consider himself a romantic man, but he could not help but see the connection between the two, and it did make him feel a bit better about the future of the kingdom.

"How would you feel about a moonlit walk?" Zachary questioned. His voice was soft but carried well in the nearly empty room.

"It sounds rather romantic. Is that even allowed?"

Zachary chuckled. "I'm sure Colin wouldn't mind coming with us." He turned, raising a questioning eyebrow towards Colin. Colin started, for he had not realized that Zachary had known he was still in the room. After many years as a Weapon, Colin prided himself on his ability to be non-obtrusive. Sometimes, he forgot just how observant the king was. He would have made an excellent Weapon.

"A walk would certainly be nice, let me stretch these old muscles," Colin agreed easily. Zachary gave him a small smile before offering an arm to Karigan. Colin followed them out of the dining room and down the hall. The cold air hit him as soon as he stepped outside, and he pulled his cloak a bit tighter as he gave his body time to adjust to the change in temperature. Ahead of him, he watched Zachary pull off his great coat and wrap it around Karigan's shoulders. She objected, pointing out that she wore a cloak of her own and he was down to his vest, but Zachary insisted. It took longer than Colin expected for her to relent, and he could not suppress a small smile. He had watched Zachary grow up and knew he had been stubborn even as a boy, so it was good to see he had met his match.

"You didn't seem too worried about what Dav said," Karigan remarked.

Zachary shrugged. "It's not that I'm not worried. But I've had a feeling for awhile that something big was coming, so while I didn't know the details he gave, I was not too surprised by them."

"What are we going to do about it?"

"Exactly what we have been. Building up our supplies and the army and working to forge as many alliances as possible."

"The contingent who went to talk to the Eletians has not yet returned."

Zachary frowned. "Yes. I know that does not bode well for their success."

"Perhaps we should consider reaching out to other humans in the area as well. After all, the Eletians may feel the same way as the Querilians."

Zachary smiled at her and nodded. "An excellent idea. There are a number of tribes in the area surrounding the kingdom, so we can definitely send out delegates."

"What about the Sons of Rhove?" Karigan questioned. Zachary rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"An alliance with them would certainly be ideal. They are a large kingdom, nearly as large as Sacoridia itself, with vast resources."

"I sense a but."

He gave her a smile. "But they are a fiercely independent people and not exactly friends of Sacoridia. I know my grandmother tried to establish trade agreements with them many times, but she never received a positive response. Most of the delegations were actually driven away by their warriors before they even made it to their capital city. Only one actually managed to speak with the king, and he told them that they had no use for Sacoridian trade."

"Perhaps we will get a different response if we are looking to establish a military alliance with them instead of trade."

"Perhaps. But it will not be easy, and it could also be dangerous. We'll have to choose the group carefully." Karigan opened her mouth, but he shook his head before she could speak. "Maybe once we establish contact, but I think it's a bit premature to have either of us in the initial delegation."

"Zachary, we talked about this."

"Yes, and as I recall, you agreed to stay through the wedding."

"Which is only a month and a half away now."

"Given everything Dav said tonight, we should probably send out a delegation before that point."

Karigan sighed. "Fine. But I would like to once again state that you cannot keep me locked up forever."

"Duly noted." They walked in silence for a few minutes before he changed the topic. "How are the wedding details coming along?"

Karigan groaned. "Mara and Dale won't leave me alone about it. It seems like every time I see them, there's something else they want my opinion on. They don't seem to understand that I don't care what type of flowers are at the altar or what color the bows tied on the chairs are. I really just want you there beside me."

"Then we are in accord at least."

"And my aunts are sending me near daily letters with their own input! I don't know how they keep finding messengers to carry them, but somehow they do."

"They are talented women, I suppose. Are they on their way here?"

"Their last letter mentioned they left a couple days before, so they should be about three weeks out." She frowned then, and Zachary turned to her curiously.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing major, just. . . well, they mentioned how close the date was. It was hard to tell since it was just a letter, but they seemed to be suggesting there might be a reason for that. And they're not the only ones." Their steps had slowed, and Colin matched their pace, trying to stay far enough away that they would have some privacy though close enough to stop any passerbys from starting any more rumors. They had enough of those flying around already. Even Colin, who tried to keep himself above gossip, had heard a number of them, including the one to which Karigan alluded.

"I thought we had agreed not to listen to those rumors. We know the truth, and when there is no child within a few months of our wedding date, everyone else will as well."

"I know. But it was easier to ignore them when it was just strangers spreading the rumors. It's a lot harder when it's your family. I would have thought they knew me well enough not to believe such lies." Zachary stopped, turning to fully face Karigan. He took both her hands in his, bringing them up to his lips one by one.

"If it helps, it is likely me they don't trust, not you. I'm sure they believe that I coerced you into my bed in some way."

Karigan gave a small smile at his words. "If only they knew the truth."

"We could always just send the next person who asks to the moon priests and see if maybe they will budge from the date that Aeryc decrees."

Karigan chuckled. "My aunts arguing with the moon priests. That would be a sight to see." Zachary laughed as well, tugging on her hands to pull her closer.

"Aeryc, you're beautiful," he remarked. His words were soft, but they carried well on the still night air. "Have I told you yet today how much I love you?" He started to lean forward, but Karigan leaned back before their lips met. She glanced over to where Colin stood in the shadows, and Colin stepped back, concealing himself further.

"Colin is a former Weapon, love," Zachary remarked, leaning closer. "He has the utmost discretion and an uncanny ability to fade into the background so you don't realize he's there. Why do you think I chose him as chaperone for this particular outing?" Colin sunk further into the shadows to bolster the king's words. They were all too true—the nature of the Weapons' work meant that they were privy to many secrets of the monarchs they served. They had to be discreet with that knowledge. In truth, the fact that the king was kissing his betrothed would be far less scandalous than many of the other secrets Colin had learned while protecting his father and grandmother. Generally, the amorous activities he witnessed from them were not with their spouses.

Karigan gave one more token protest before they fell silent. Colin chanced a glance in their direction and noticed that they were entangled together, their lips locked. Watching them, he was once more struck by just how connected they seemed and not just because they were pressed together. Colin knew that they loved each other, for they would not have pursued such a difficult courtship if they did not, but as he watched them, he was struck that the connection seemed almost deeper than love, more complete. Perhaps they truly were fated to be together as Dav had suggested.

Colin snorted quietly, turning away from the couple. He must have been more tired than he thought to be thinking such things. As a rule, he did not trouble himself with things such as love or fate. As far as he was concerned, they had no practical purpose.

The king and future queen spent a few more minutes enjoying the moonlit night before turning back to the castle. They kept the topics lighter for the last portion of their walk, discussing childhood memories and future plans. There were a number of additional kisses, and Colin noted with some amusement that Karigan no longer protested them. In fact, she even initiated a couple. By the time they reached the castle again, both seemed to be in a much better mood, and they said goodnight to Colin outside the Rider barracks. Once Karigan had slipped inside, Zachary turned towards the main wing of the castle where the Royal apartments were, but Colin turned in the opposite direction, intending to take a shortcut across the grounds to his own apartment.

Colin had not gone far when he heard a shuffling sound that indicated he was no longer alone in the courtyard. He stopped, gripping his staff more tightly. He had stopped carrying a sword years before after age had finally caught up with him, making a weapon is his hands more dangerous to himself than others, but he had the staff specially made just in case he ever needed to defend himself. He stayed quiet and still, listening for the sound again. He finally heard a soft footfall to his left, and he whirled in that direction, raising his staff high. Before he managed to hit his attacker, however, something hit him squarely in the back of the head, and the world went black.

Colin awoke to unfamiliar voices. He started to open his eyes, but his vision swam, leaving him dizzy and nauseous, so he decided it best to keep them closed. He focused instead on his other senses, gathering as much information as he could about his surroundings. It was a trick all Weapons were taught early, for one never wanted to be overly reliant on sight in a fight. Sight was one of the easiest senses to trick or remove.

He counted three distinct voices. They were talking in a language he did not recognize, but he could tell from their tones that they were arguing. Colin filed that interesting piece of information away in case it became useful later before focusing his attention on other matters. Slowly, he tried to move his hands and feet. They were bound, but the bonds did not seem overly tight. He rubbed his hands together, letting them slide up and down his wrist. Yes, he could probably do something with those.

He stopped the movement when he heard footsteps drawing closer. "Awake, are you?" one of the voices asked. His foot kicked out, hitting Colin's shin hard. Colin could not suppress a flinch. He added a bit of extra emphasis to his groan, hoping to lure them into a false sense of confidence. "Open your eyes, Old Man." This time, Colin did not have to dramaticize his groan as the other man landed a hard punch to his stomach. He slotted his eyes open. "Ah, good. We are going to talk." The man spoke Sacoridian with a bit of an accent, but Colin could not place it. It did not sound like any of the accents he had heard before, and he was well-travelled, having visited much of the kingdom as a young boy.

"I don't have anything to say," Colin told him.

"Oh, I'm sure we can help you find something." The man nodded behind him where the other two men stood in the shadows. One of them stepped forward, his face illuminated by a glowing object in his hand. Colin did not have long to wonder what it was before the man pressed it to the flesh at his side, causing a searing pain to suffuse his body. His scream that time was not at all faked. The man finally pulled the object off, leaving Colin panting hard. "Perhaps that will make you a bit more cooperative. Now, there was a man who visited your king earlier. I want to know what he said."

Interesting. Colin knew immediately that they were talking about Dav. He had no idea why they would care much about what Dav had said, for much of it seemed rather fantastical, but Colin also knew that it was best not to give information to men who were torturing you. For one, if they received what they wanted, there was generally no longer a need to keep the victim around. But they also had a reason for wanting that information, and Colin did not want to help them further whatever goals they might have. "There was a man," Colin groaned, twisting as if in pain while he discretely surveyed the room, looking for a means of escape. "Average height, slightly heavy. He had blond hair."

"What did he say?" the man questioned. The question told Colin two things. One, the men in front of him were not interrogation experts. No one skilled in the art of interrogation would confirm what the person he was questioning said before he gave the information sought. And two, the men did not know who Dav was or, Colin suspected, why he was important. That meant they were either hired hands or lower in the chain of command. Given their lack of interrogation skills, Colin guessed it was the latter.

"His fields had been flooded by the early thaw and rains in the southern region. He was seeking help from the crown in recovering from the devastating loss."

With a growl, the man hit Colin again, so hard he saw stars. "Not that man!" he shouted.

"There was another man," Colin said. "Thin, wiry build. But he seemed tough. He had dark eyes, almost black." Colin described the next petitioner in great detail. Again, once he started to talk through what the man had asked for from the king, his captor grew angry, this time poking him with the hot iron. Surprisingly, it did not hurt as much as it had the first time. Or perhaps Colin was just growing accustomed to the pain. He felt quite tired and wanted to close his eyes, but he knew he could not. The longer he kept talking, the longer he was likely to live, and Colin wanted to live more than anything.

Unfortunately, it had been quite awhile since Colin had needed to resist interrogation, and his body was much older and more worn than it had been then. It did not take long for him to begin to feel the effects of the torture, and he felt consciousness slipping. He tried to continue to describe the petitioners for the day, but he could tell his words were becoming slurred, and he was sure he repeated some of them. At some point, the men who captured him began arguing in their strange language. Colin suspected they were trying to decide whether or not to kill him. He half-hoped they would if only to put him out of his misery. He suddenly heard a word he recognized—a name. It was, in fact, the name of the young woman who had been wrapped up in the king's embrace just a few hours before. Or maybe it had been days—he really was losing track of time. Colin was not sure what they wanted with Karigan, but he was sure it was nothing good. He needed to warn her, but of course, he could not do that if they killed him. Perhaps a note.

With what little strength Colin had left, he managed to reach one of his bound hands into the back pocket of his pants where he kept a penknife. It took quite a bit of time to extract it, but he was persistent. It took him a few tries to get it open, and he managed to cut open his fingers and hands in numerous places, but that pain was only a dull ache compared the fire that suffused the rest of his body. The knife clattered to the floor from his slippery fingers, but his captors were so intent on their debate that they did not hear. Working quickly since he knew he may not have much time left, Colin grabbed a corner of the parchment he kept in his other pocket, tugging it out. He scribbled two words on it in his own blood. He was sure they would be difficult to read, but he also had no time to try and do anything better. He saw his captors moving toward him, and he bunched up the paper in his fist, hoping it would be missed. One of the men reared back, landing a hard blow to his temple.

His head lolled to the side and the world went black.