by Lisa Daniels
Cursing the stupidity of the women in the city, for one angry moment, I could almost believe that they deserved the horrible fates that befell them. Almost.
Closing my eyes, I counted to ten to ensure that I didn’t completely lose my composure. “If he really did spare her life, the laws are very clear that she belongs to him.” I then looked at the woman as if to dare her to contradict me. “It would be far best if she were dead, and it would not take much to make sure she did not breathe long enough to become his plaything.”
My time was up. The shrill voice I had been trying to avoid was now at my back. “No! Absolutely not!” Though I knew how my guards felt about her, I did not expect one of them to actually reach out and try to stop her. Yet the foolish man did, further incensing the princess. “Unhand me! Falmen, is this how you train your men to deal with the princess?”
The one good thing about the princess’s arrival was that I knew exactly how to keep myself under control in front of her. “No, your majesty. I will have him punished.” I waved a hand and my men escorted the offender away.
The princess folded her arms across her chest, “How dare you, after everything? This is unacceptable.”
Seething from the events of the morning, I pushed my luck with my response, “Which part, my lady? The part where I apprehended a known criminal? Or did you mean the part where I disregarded your soft heart, which allowed him to get this close to the royal family?”
“I shall tell my father about this, and there will be consequences.”
Fighting back the urge to smile, I tried to make her feel the full weight of our positions. It was true she was the princess, but she and her father were no longer on good terms. I, on the other hand, was essential to him for as long as I remained alive. There wasn’t much she could do to hurt me. “Of that, I have no doubt.” It was a sarcastic remark that lacked the sarcastic tone. I watched with a small bit of pleasure as she glared at me. She had been angered into silence.
As she moved in her indignation, I noticed how the skirt of her dress moved in a very unnatural way. For a moment I looked at her with my usual contempt, but internally I was taking in the strange outlines that were barely visible in her dress. The princess was concealing weapons. But why? Mentally, I sighed because it was one more thing I didn’t have time to deal with.
And I did not believe that this was my problem.
Turning from her, I realized that the woman who had been foisted on me that morning could not understand what I wanted and was going to persist in whatever she was doing. Realizing that there was no way to save the fool who had stumbled into the courtyard, I resigned her to the life that awaited her as a toy of the shifter. “It appears that the fate of the foolish girl has been decided. She will need to be deposited wherever the prisoner goes. Then I have a different assignment for you as you clearly do not understand the gravity of what you have done.”
I could not look at my “ideal helper” because I knew that from that point on, she was going to be an outcast. Her interference had directly led to the shifter getting a slave. In less than 15 minutes, two women had found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time, and now they were condemned for the rest of their lives.
Worse still, neither of them knew what horrific fate awaited them.
Pushing down the pity I felt for them, I resumed the tasks that needed to be done to clean up the unexpected and disastrous morning. There would be repercussions. The question was on which should I focus?
And in that moment, as I ordered the women to be taken down into the dungeon, I knew that it was only a matter of time before I would be dragged down there myself. There were too many variables, too many things that had gone wrong. And I knew that the likelihood that my secret would be exposed was all but guaranteed.
With two shifters in the palace who knew what I was, it was only a matter of time before they revealed what I had kept hidden for almost my entire life. The question was how they would do it.
I would soon realize that it wasn’t the shifters whom I should have worried about, but the princess.
Chapter 1
Fallout from the Princess’s Rash Actions
Of all the consequences that I had thought would likely result from that morning, I did not anticipate the one that happened first. And because of the choices made after the events of the courtyard, the problem that ended up being the most detrimental was the one that I had ignored. While I was overseeing the different types of cleanup from the shifter encounter, the princess had marched off to talk to her father. Her skirts full of weapons, which she had to know was a risk not worth taking, the headstrong young woman had marched off to the men’s breakfast. Her father was negotiating her marriage, working it from a couple of different angles to see which would be the most beneficial. She knew what his temper was like and had to know that the gamble was just as likely to do her harm as it would me.
Yet still the princess interrupted his discussion with a room full of powerful men by announcing that she was going to wed the Prince of Evinough. Not only did she blow up her father’s attempts to weasel a better deal out of one of the lords, apparently she had given a timeline of a week for the wedding.
Knowing that she would end up paying for her actions, she had interrupted anyway. But why? I knew that we had an equal dislike for each other, but she had never shown that level of spite before. Unless I were to look at it as something other than spite. While I had no doubt that she had wanted to inconvenience me or try to make sure I was punished, I could not understand the motivation behind it. As a result of her meddling, the king had made her a prisoner in her room. She had to have known that he was vindictive enough to make her suffer for that last week under his roof, with her only escape being the marriage she had openly accepted. So why would she give up her freedom just to spite me? Unless she was trying to accomplish something else. If I looked at her actions in that light, they started to make a bit more sense.
Perhaps I had misjudged her. Maybe the spoiled little princess wasn’t quite the person she had been in her youth when she had tormented guards, gotten servants fired, and generally made everyone else miserable. Mrs. Teasdon had always had a soft spot for her, something I could never understand. Perhaps this was why—maybe the princess had a few deep secrets of her own.
When my guard had finished relaying the news about the princess to me, I closed my eyes for a second. It was only a matter of time before I would be punished for my role of giving a shifter one of our women, but I doubted that the punishment would be severe. Just another annoyance in a day that was quickly spiraling out of control.
“And, sir,” the guard was looking at me when I opened my eyes, “the woman has been left in the dungeon.”
“Which one?”
“Well, both, sir. But specifically, I mean the one who was working with you this morning. What should we do with her?”
“Make sure that she is given food and water a few times a week. Let it look like she is going to be cooking for prisoners, but give her good food. Can’t have her starving down there while I try to figure out how to get her out of the mess she made for herself.” I returned to writing up the orders that needed to be distributed, believing the exchange to be over.
Instead of resuming his duties, the guard stood before me pondering, “She was really beautiful. It’s a shame.”
“Yes, such a shame to lose a woman simply because she is beautiful.” The conversation was entirely unwelcome, and I was trying to make a point. Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears.
The guard clearly did not understand that I was being facetious, so he continued, “I mean, it’s not like she knew quite what she was doing. Perhaps even I might have a chance at her now, if I promise to forgive her for—”
Slowly I lowered my quill, knowing that the guard would start to feel incredibly uncomfortable as he waited for my response. I held his apprehension for as long as possible, slowly raising my face to look at him. I allowed my eyes to fall on his, and he
found it nearly impossible to hold my gaze. I could imagine how fast his heart must have been racing as I held my silence. I never wanted this man to try to engage me in conversation again, so I made him as uncomfortable as possible so he wouldn’t again initiate a conversation.
After several moments of him looking incredibly uncomfortable, I said, “It sounds as if you are offering to take her place.”
“What?” He looked confused. “N-no, sir, I was simply—”
“I would accept if at all possible. If looks are the standard we are using to determine if something is unfortunate or not, I would say it would be a boon to lock you up, then let all the pretty women roam free.”
He swallowed hard, and it was clear that his few brain cells were fighting. Part of him wanted to address the insult as the other part was trying to get him to shut up. The guard’s stupidity won, and he croaked out, “But, sir, men are not judged on their looks. They are judged on merit. You would stand to lose much by locking me up from that respect.”
I allowed another long, uncomfortable silence to descend before I finally responded, “So you condemn the woman because you are too much of a coward. How unfortunate for her that those looks will go to waste. Bring it up again, to me or any of the other guards, and I shall see you spend three months in a cell.”
The guard looked at me, and I could see the anger in his eyes. The better part of his mind had finally managed to take control, though, and he bowed. “Apologies, sir.”
“Since you seem to have time on your hands for idle chatter, go help clean the stables. You are to give a full report to Jacob within three hours.”
“But, sir—” The man’s eyes were wide in panic. There was no way to finish the task in the time allotted.
“You may choose four men to help you. Choose well, as they will all hate you for selecting them. In the future, keep your thoughts to yourself. Dismissed.”
His mouth moved a little as he tried to answer me. My orders would make him enemies among the guards. It was true that many of them hated me, but they would know that the punishment that I gave out was not without reason. Getting dragged into the punishment without having done anything, any guards he chose would blame him for their misfortune. I handed the orders to one of the other guards who was present and was going to head to the armory when the king’s summons arrived. There was no way to tell what would happen, but that was one thing that I couldn’t put off.
It went about as well as I could have expected. The king was angry and annoyed, and some of this he took out on me. He was going to put me on trial by the end of the week, around the time his daughter was to wed, though he did not specify whether my trial would be before or after. It would be for show, I knew that, but that didn’t mean that it would be easy. I was essential to the king, but that didn’t mean that he liked me or that he would refrain from making an example of me. His daughter had embarrassed me in front of so many important people to make me look bad. He would have to appear to take it seriously since what had happened would reflect badly on him.
Once he had finished letting me know about the trial, he sent me to collect whatever weapons the princess had taken. He had spilled wine on her dress, clearly showing the outline of a dagger. He wanted me to retrieve it and return it to the armory. It was also a way to insult both the princess and me. A man entering her chambers should make the princess uncomfortable. Making me do grunt work was meant to both insult me and put me behind schedule.
It was petty in every way possible.
However, I was glad that he sent me. If nothing else, I hoped to see just want the princess was planning. I was starting to get the impression that she was planning on leaving the palace, in which case, I had no desire to thwart her. Waving to a couple of guards to follow me, I headed to the princess’s room.
I didn’t even bother to knock. Whatever state the princess was in was not my concern. She knew that someone was coming to retrieve the weapons, so whatever her state was, it was a calculated move. Still, I was not entirely prepared to see her ready for bed. As soon as I saw her, I couldn’t help but comment, “Don’t you think you should dress in something a little more decent?”
Her response took me by surprise. “It was not my choice to wear this, so if Father believes that he can just send a man unannounced into my room, then let my shame be on him.”
I had expected that she would be trying to make things uncomfortable. For a split second, I pitied her.
There was no way I was going to let any of the other guards join me inside to fulfill this particular wish of her father. After telling them to remain outside, I entered and closed the door. “I suppose you know why I am here.”
“My father believes that we will torment each other. While I take no pleasure in being near you, I prefer not to give him what he wants.”
Her response was as accurate as it was off topic. The princess certainly knew her father well, but she was also avoiding answering the question. “That was not what I meant.”
With a wave of her hand, she seemed indifferent to my presence. “Search as much as you want.” Immediately she turned to stare out the window.
I watched her for a moment, and knew exactly where the weapons were hidden. She couldn’t have made it more obvious if she had tried. Still, I had to make it look like a search. Making noise, I moved things without really looking until it appeared to annoy her. Finally, she seemed unable to keep quiet. “Why did you dismiss your men?”
“Would you prefer that they be in here?” I spoke as much to distract her as to provide any real answer.
“It makes no difference to me.”
“Even dressed as you are?”
“As I said, if my father decides to send men unannounced into my room, he can deal with the repercussions. We both know that the prince has spies here, and I would be interested to see how my father would manage to lie his way through that one with the prince.”
It was a sad answer, but that did not entirely excuse her from playing along with it. “You realize that you could give people the wrong idea with that approach to your modesty.”
The cold laugh that came out of her mouth was not familiar, almost self-deprecating. “I fail to see how what people think of me matters. Soon none of this will have any bearing on my life anyway.” It sounded far too detached for someone as young as the princess.
I wasn’t about to let her know what I was thinking. And her current predicament was her own fault. “That is your own doing. I heard you told the prince you wanted to marry him within the week.”
“That’s right.”
“I don’t understand why you would do that because I know you have learned of his reputation.”
My looking for an honest answer to what had driven her was quickly shut down. Clearly agitated and defensive, the princess responded, “I have no reason to justify myself to you, Falmen.”
“That is true, and I have no intention of prying. Your choices are your own to make.”
Whatever she thought I would say, that was not it. Turning to look at me, she said, “How kind of you to respect my privacy.”
“I have no reason to learn more about you, especially after the mess you have left for me.”
“I have not left you any mess.”
Of course she had not heard about the trial, but she knew what she had done. That her father was going to take out his anger on me as much as her. “Your father has already set my trial date, thanks to what you told him after your theatrics. It just seems to be hurting yourself to spite me. Ultimately, it just makes me pity you.”
“What?” From the shrill response, it was clear she didn’t want my pity.
Amused, I responded, “I know you heard me.”
“I don’t need your pity.”
“No, you don’t. And I cannot help but feel sorry for such a sad existence. It is strange since I had never thought I would feel that towards you. Perhaps I have failed to understand your motives all of these years. It’s like you live to make oth
ers miserable because you are.” For the first time since I had met her, I was actually interested in knowing just what would make her decide to spite me. The weapons in her dress suggested that she had plans. Whatever they were, it would be much more difficult to execute the plans now.
She tried to make a show of her anger, letting the thin fabric show off everything as she stomped toward me. I would have smiled if it had been anyone else. With a frown on her face, the princess said, “I do not make people miserable.”
“And how often have you asked the people around you how you have made them feel?”
“Well, how often do people care what happens to me?”
And that right there was the answer I had been looking for. Or at least part of it. For the first time, I realized just how alone the princess was. I had always seen her as spoiled, stubborn, and spiteful. Given how she had been treated all her life, she never really had anyone on her side. Still, she wasn’t entirely right either. In the same matter-of-fact tone, I responded, “You are a princess. Of course they care.”
“I’ve never seen it.”
“The fact that you are still alive should be enough proof that they care. That does not mean that they want you to be happy. Or that it isn’t a selfish reflex. Yet it is still more than most people get. Think of the women that you saw today.”
“What happened to them was your fault.” It was obvious from how defensive she was being that the princess was trying to turn the conversation around to me.
“As much credit as you give me, it is far more than I deserve. I had only limited control over that situation. Not that I would expect you to understand. Everything would have been done differently had you been in either of the positions of those two women. Instead they are now condemned to miserable lives because you had to interfere. You never think before you act, and that will prove to be your downfall.”
“Shows what you know about me.”
The conversation was quickly devolving, and my interest was waning as I continued my search. As I lifted a pillow, something caught my eye—a cylindrical object rested on the bed. I picked it up and looked it over. “What is this?”
