An Alan Interlude

Alan had just switched to the piano because his lips were starting to chap on the horn when the door to his private music room opened and his brother walked.

"Someone offered to have you killed again," his twin said, as Cadbury stepped in after him holding a small tray containing some small sandwiches and a green blossom steeping to make tea. The butler nodded at his opposite number in Alan's staff, Ferrero, and made a gesture. Ferrero made a gesture in turn, and all the servants start filing out, leaving only the two butlers. Huh. So this was serious.

"You'd think they'd learn," Alan said, checking the clock with a frown. Huh, a few days back from the academy and he was already staying up late composing again. With a sigh, he decided to stop falling into bad habits and closed the lid on the piano. He started to gather up his scores, dividing the between the ones he liked, the ones that had bits he liked but not everything, and the ones that were utter failures for his current project but might be useful in future. "So, are they going to get a sudden tax audit or are their next of kin just going to get a sudden windfall?"

His brother sounded odd, as if preoccupied. "Neither, actually."

Well, that was a surprise. "Don't tell me you're actually sparing this one?" Alan said. "That's not like you. Jeffery's the one who likes to draw his support from the gutter-trash crowd. Are they at least cooling their heels in the dungeon and not seeing the light of day for decades for threatening a member of the royal family?"

"Not that either," his brother said, sitting down on the sofa he preferred. Alan preferred it to, but as these were his rooms he always sighed and took the other one. Gracious host and all that. Mary would have nodded approvingly.

"Really?" Alan said, surprised. He turned to Cadbury. "Has he seen one of the Light Magic wielders? I think he might have hit his head or got Dark Magic-ed or something."

"Yes, of course I did, I do it every time I'm in close quarters with Maria," his brother said, waving away the issue. They'd both been a little nonplussed that the royal family actually had protocols for dealing with friendly Dark Magic wielders, but on the whole it was just another thing that came with ruling this land. "Who do you think offered to have you killed?"

Alan started, straightening at his seat and leaning forward. "Wait, what? Are you saying Maria offered to have me killed?" Alan was surprised at how much that sudden surprise hurt. He'd thought Maria had actually liked him. He certainly used to get fewer mutters of 'this country is doomed'.

"Wasn't just you," his brother said, still sounding odd, despite the apparently being declared unaffected by Dark Magic. "Mary, Sophia, Nicol… basically everyone we know but Katarina."

"Oh," Alan sad flatly. "One of those offers." He remembered the first time his brother told him he'd gotten such an offer. They'd both been thirteen and it had been one of the few times they'd gone to their older brothers for advice.

The next day, everyone in her family swore up and down the person who'd made the offer had never existed. They still weren't sure which of their brothers had been responsible.

They'd learned to take care of it themselves after that.

"Threatened to use Dark Magic on me if I didn't take her up on it, too," his brother said as if he wasn't talking about multiple treason offenses.

"Huh," Alan said. Despite his hurt, he took a moment to think about it. "Well, you're not covered in blood, so how did you manage to defeat her? Some kind of pit trap?" They were the traditional method of killing someone stronger than you, provided they couldn't fly: just lure them to a pit or a high point and push them over the edge, preferably into water. "Or did you manage to break her mind with fear and she agreed to come quietly to a merciful execution." His tone conveyed the fact he thought that last an utter impossibility. Commoner stories and rumors were one thing, but six knights had sworn up and down she'd singlehandedly kicked their culets. With evidence like that, some of the more numerically skewed stories about 'Lady Maria the Wandering Knight' started seeming more believable.

"Actually, I left her to have a sleepover with Katarina and Sophia," his brother said.

Aland gave him a flat look, then stood up, walked to his balcony and looked down from the ledge. Then he went back inside. "And the reason enough of the Royal Guard to take down a dragon isn't organizing for a march to attack her in the middle of the night is…?"

"Well, she'd just found out her mother had been kidnapped, she had no leads as to how to find her and she seemed literally at her wit's end, even if she hid it well," came the reply. "So I thought I'd cut her some slack and forget the whole thing."

His brother took a sandwich and bit down daintily.

Alan twitched, and wondered if it was time to break out the toy snake he'd bought in town to throw at his brother. That seemed overly belligerent, so instead he took the saucer from under the nearest cup and flung the disk to bounce off his brother's forehead. "Ass," he said irritably. "You could have led with that." He took a deep breath. It still hurt a little knowing Maria had offered to have him killed, but if something had driven her to the point of insanity where it seemed like a good idea to make that offer, he supposed he could let it slide.

…

He'd give her a year to apologize. Then maybe he'd see about finding out what her toy snake was.

"What are we going to tell father?" he asked.

"Oh, we'll think of something we can use to blackmail Maria with in the future, he'll want to know his interesting little liegewoman is experiencing someproblems," his brother said, a cruel smile on his lips. Yup, there was he black-hearted pain in the culet he'd resented in the before times that Katarina hadn't been in their lives yet. He supposed it was mildly nostalgic to see the old monster was still in his brother somewhere, enjoying retirement and brought out only for special occasions. "She did threaten to use Dark Magic on father, Uncle Dan and everyone short of Katarina. And probably only because Katarina has no spies for this sort of thing."

"You didn't mention she threatened to use Dark Magic on father," Alan said. "Technically, we're committing treason for not reporting it."

His brother shrugged, smiling a wide, beatific smile that was an unholy parody of Katarina's real thing, the demon lurking in his eyes. "What's a little treason and potential blackmail material between friends?" he said. "Besides, now we know for sure Maria has another handle. Not that we'd use it, of course."

"Of course," Alan said dryly. They probably should wait to see what happens to whoever had grabbed it this time, just to be sure.

"On that note, young master," Cadbury said, "I want a raise."

"I want more days off," Ferrero said.

"Aren't you supposed to selflessly keep our secrets?" Alan said grumpily.

"Probably," Cadbury said, "But I really need a raise. More great-great-grandchildren, you know how it is."

"I need the days off since travel to Hasard takes so long now," Ferrero said. "And no one's gotten around to fixing those roads yet."

Alan sighed. "We really should just talk about these things without tea and snacks," he told his brother, glaring at him accusingly.

The blond gave him a look he probably copied from Katarina. "What, like savages?" he said, faux aghast.

"Probably cost less than the raise," Alan pointed out.

His brother finished his snack. "Well, taking her up on her offer of murder or not, Maria's likely to still be deliriously grateful for any leads," he said. "I took the liberty of leaving Rafael a note about it, get him to put his mother issues to use for his young lady. Will you join me in keeping her from doing anything else crazy tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll set a few things up and join you for breakfast," Alan said grumpily. "Was that it?"

"Was it what?"

"What she offered. Was that all? Killing your competition for the throne and Katarina?"

His brother shrugged. "She offered me nothing I hadn't already decided I didn't want," his brother said flippantly. "Good night brother. May the good sun guide your way."

He left, and Cadbury followed soon after.

Alan sighed. Then realized he'd de facto been stuck with telling Mary.

Well, he could probably leave out all the parts about Maria offering to kill people and just leave her mother being kidnapped and the implications of delirious gratitude. It would not help with Mary's ridiculous fear of commoners.

He'd better get an apology for this.

"So," Sophia said after Katarina had fallen asleep on the pile of comforters they were using as a sleeping pallet next to Anne, who being off-duty had been pulled into the sleepover by her charge. "What did you really want me here for?"

"I will soon leave to rescue my mother and exact violent vengeance on those responsible," Maria said. "As such, you will need to handle the affairs of the Nightflower and Arsenal Workshops by yourself until I return, possibly indefinitely.

She held out a large leather folder stuffed with papers. "These are the what you'll need to take care of. Don't worry, I'll talk you through this."

Three hours later, Maria was unconscious when Sophia looked up from the sheet of handwritten notes she was reading.

"Lightweight," Sophia said smugly. She went back to reading…