by Janeal Falor
No. They shouldn’t have. “What’s done is done.”
“You’re right. Now we can be a family again.” She beams at me.
I force a smile, but I’m afraid it isn’t very heartfelt. They’re trying to impose a bond that needs time to be forged. I can’t make myself love them instantly, as happy as that would make them.
Chapter 10
I sleep only a little that night. I spend the day in council meetings, signing paperwork, then meeting with the people in the throne room, and after that, chatting with the ladies-in-waiting, I’m ready to call it a day. Unfortunately, Shillian is waiting at the door to my room.
“There you are, darling,” she says when she spots me between my guards. “I have the best idea. Why don’t we go shopping together? It’d be the perfect mother-daughter activity.”
The market is still open this time of day. Blades and poisons. She is taking what little free time I have. I can still climb up to the roof tonight and spend some time wandering around up there, if she hasn’t worn me out by then. “I need to check with my Head Guard. Why don’t you come in while I send someone to fetch him?”
I don't need to check with him, but it may give me a reason to stay here.
We enter the sitting room. She babbles on about the market and how we’ll be able to find clothes there, maybe even matching outfits. I school my expression to be neutral. I match nobody.
It feels like too long until Jaku comes, though it’s only about ten minutes.
“You called for me, Your Majesty?” he asks.
“Yes. Shillian here would like to take me to the market, to do some shopping. I was wondering what you thought of that.” I stare into his eyes, hoping he gets the hint that I want him to say no.
He’s quiet for a moment. “We’d be able to swing it for you, if you go in disguise and take guards with you.”
Ugh. No such luck. “What’s the point of going in disguise if my guards come with me?”
“I’ll have them change into Medi clothes. That should keep any attention away from you. In fact, I’ll join you. I’m done with my duties for the day.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“It would be an honor to serve you.” He gives a bow to me and a slighter one to Shillian. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go change and meet you back here with some guards.”
“Thank you, Jaku.” The tone of my voice says otherwise. I don’t care.
Shillian is dressed for a trip to the market, in a plain brown skirt and maroon blouse. She has a matching handkerchief over her hair.
“Let me change into something less flamboyant. I’ll be back momentarily.” I leave before she has a chance to respond.
Back in my room, I move like I haven’t a care in the world. There’s no point rushing, except maybe to get this over with. As I pull on a black skirt, I think perhaps I shouldn’t have such a bad attitude. Maybe I should invite Inkga or the ladies-in-waiting along. Then again, it would probably be best to go with just Shillian. We’re going to have enough company with the soldiers.
I slip on a light blue blouse and a pair of black boots. It’s easy to stash daggers on my person, and my poison pouch is at my neck. All is as it should be. I glance longingly at the bed. Its time will come.
Even going in disguise, I expect a few people—if not more—to recognize my face. Hopefully, that doesn’t become too big a problem. I leave my hair as is, twisted into a bun and pinned to hold the short strands in place.
Nothing left to fiddle with, I return to my sitting room, where Shillian is looking out the window.
“I’m ready,” I say.
“Wonderful.” She turns with a smile on her face, though it doesn’t quiet reach her eyes.
I wonder what that’s about, but I’m not about to ask. “Where’s Carver today?”
“He’s playing cards with some of the off-duty soldiers. Seems they like having a new person to play games with, and Carver likes to play to relieve the stress of looking for a job.”
“I hope he finds something soon.”
“As do I.”
I go out of the room. Jaku has returned with guards in casual garb. I must have dallied longer than I thought.
It takes some time, but we make our way out of the palace, through the open portcullis, and to the market. We’re quite the spectacle—a group of us, shopping. I keep my head down, but we’re not the only group out. There are many others. The market is bustling.
We glance at some of the stalls, but Shillian doesn’t seem interested in them. Why did she drag me out here if she doesn’t want to look? We come to the area where the stalls turn into shops, and she perks up. We glance at the windows of several but don’t go in any. Maybe this will go more quickly than I thought.
Until she stops. “Ah, here we are,” she says. “My favorite.”
Lovely. A dress shop. And from the look of the windows, a girly one. Not at all my style, though it’s Shillian’s, apparently. I may not be related to her after all.
Julina steps forward. “I’ll go in with you.”
“The rest of us will wait out here.” Jaku gestures with his finger, and they spread out so they’re close enough to reach the shop quickly if needed, but not so they’d impede the way of the other shoppers.
Julina stays close to me, not caring that Shillian wanders farther toward a section of lace. She oohs and ahhs over it. I exchange a glance with Julina, and we both stifle grins. Neither of us is much for frills.
I turn my attention to the bolts of cloth. Despite the flounces of the shop, the material is nice. Maybe I could find something to turn into a dress—just not as overdone as the shop itself.
“You have a fine eye for nice things, Your Majesty.” A woman walks up to me and curtsies. She’s clear-eyed and smiling, showing a gap between her two front teeth. Her brown hair is up in an elaborate bun. She wears lacy and pink clothes, fitting the shop.
So much for my disguise. “Thank you.”
“I would be happy to fashion something for you at no cost.”
I glance at Julina, to see if she knows why the woman would do so. Julina shrugs, and I turn my attention back to the shopkeeper. “That’s very kind of you. While I do like this cloth, I have someone at the palace who designs my clothes.”
“I see.” She purses her lips. “Maybe I can interest you in more materials then.” She heads toward the back of the shop, where more bolts of cloth await.
Julina gives me another shrug, and I leave her to follow the woman. There are so many colors—bright and muted hues, as well as black and white.
“I think you’d look wonderful in this red.” She holds up a length of cloth to me.
Blood flashes in my vision. My stomach churns. I gently push the fabric away, trying not to look at it. “Red isn’t for me.”
“All right, then. How about this nice blue?”
A crash sounds behind me.
I whip around, daggers in hand. Attackers are pouring in the shop. Men and women, all armed. Where are my guards? I hope they’re not incapacitated. Julina keeps her back to me but moves closer, sword in hand. Together, we can put a big dent in their numbers.
A shrill cry pulls my attention to the middle of the shop on the right-hand side.
My mother.
I rush forward. I have to protect her. She’ll never survive on her own. I rush forward. “Shillian, get behind me.”
Julina is at my side in an instant, Shillian racing to get behind us. A man thrusts his sword at her but misses. I hug the side of the table as she squeezes past. “In the corner.” There, we’ll hopefully be able to hold our own until help arrives.
I shove bundles of cloth to the floor as we go. Footsteps tread after us, heavy on the wooden floor. I turn around and run backward, hoping I don’t trip over anything. We make it to the nearest corner before the attackers get to us and manage to block Shillian in between Julina and me, a table full of cloth and Julina on my left and a wall on my right.
The attac
kers come at us from both sides. I have to trust Julina to help keep Shillian safe.
Unless she was the one that told them we'd be here.
I cross my daggers in time to block a sword aiming for my chest. “Why are you attacking us?”
The woman with the sword sneers at me and presses closer and closer. I move, giving her room, before thrusting my arm back out and up. She slams her blade down, but it’s too late. My dagger cuts into her with sickening familiarity.
I pull back, bringing my weapon with me, slick with crimson.
The woman falls back, and a burly man takes her place, leaving me little time to think. Our blades clash together, the sound of metal hitting metal clanking through the air. Sweat beads on my forehead. Behind me, Shillian whimpers. I look to make certain no one has gotten through Julina’s barrier. Shillian is safe.
I am not.
A sharp blade slices into my thigh, just above my knee. I hiss, moving my blades in a flash of silver and red. The man’s expression of glee quickly transforms to something more like fear. Within moments, I’ve dealt him three wounds. Not one is serious, but he backs up and moves aside for another to take his place.
“How many of you are there?” I growl.
“Enough to kill you,” my new female opponent says.
“Did Daros send you?” I ask.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She thrusts her sword forward.
I dodge and restrain the urge to throw my dagger. A quick glance shows me the room is teaming with attackers ready to take her place. I need to keep as many weapons as I can until things get desperate.
Things feel pretty desperate now.
Where are my guards?
I go back and forth with the latest attacker, trading blows with her with ease. I sneak a peek at Julina out of the corner of my eye. She’s holding her own, but I don’t know how long she can last. I know how much I’ve been training and practicing at night; I have no idea how much she does.
As I spar with my attacker, a movement closer than I'd like catches my eye. A couple of assailants are walking on the table to get to us. They’ll have easy access to Shillian if I’m not careful. I send my blade flying. It flies into my current attacker’s shoulder.
The two on the table aim their blades down at me. I block with the dagger that’s out, but without a second one, it takes more strength and maneuvering. A blade comes at me from the front. I block it, only to have the attackers from the table come at me. They’re going to get to me before I can move.
Out of nowhere, Julina swipes them away with her sword, pulling their attention on her. My attacker is small enough that I can see another man waiting behind her to get to me. He grins wickedly, but I force my attention back on the problem at hand.
There’s a loud ruckus at the front of the store. I look between the legs of those fighting us on the table to see the rest of my guards barreling in. My relief is palpable. No matter my skill level, I can only take on so many attackers.
The woman fighting me comes on harder at the sight of my guards.
“Give up. They’re going to take you out,” I say between breaths.
“I’ll do my job first.”
“What’s in it for you? Give up, and maybe things won’t be so bad.”
For the briefest moment, she hesitates.
That’s all I need.
I whack her sword away, twisting it out of her hands. She raises her arms in surrender. It’s not long before the rest of the uninjured attackers in the room do the same.
The shopkeeper comes out from under a table. I didn’t realize she crawled down there. “What have you done to my livelihood?” she asks the attackers.
Shreds of cloth are strewn around the shop, bolts everywhere. It’s a splattered mess of color. “Rest assured the crown will pay for the damage done.”
The shopkeeper sniffs. “Thank you.”
Who will deal with all these criminals, though? My guards will love this task.
“Are you well, Your Majesty?” Jaku asks.
“Fine.” Though blood is seeping down my leg.
“We need to get you back to the palace.”
“Yes, let's get you safe,” Shillian says.
I wait to answer as I look around the room again. About a dozen attackers are kneeling or laying on the floor, weapons on the ground. “We need to take care of these people first.”
“My guards will see to that.”
“I’m sure they will.” I grab hold of the shirt of the girl in front of me and pull her close, pressing my blade to her belly. “Who are you, and why did you attack me?”
“If I tell you, will you let me go?” her voice quivers.
“Don’t tell her nothin’,” the man behind her spits out.
I ignore him. “I can’t let you go, but your sentence will be minimized.”
Her gaze darts around the room, and then back to me. “We were hired.”
I let her take a step back, easing my dagger from her stomach. “All of you?”
She nods.
Someone either knows me well or wants me gone. “Hired by who? Daros?”
She licks her lips.
“The opportunity to lessen your sentence is going out the window.”
Her hands tangle in one another.
“Tick tock.” I need her to talk.
“It was a group of Kurah.”
Not Daros. My shoulders relax, though it may be worse that a group of Kurah want me dead and have enough money to hire attackers to do the deed. No. Nothing is worse than Daros.
The Kurah make sense. Sort of. They have enough reason to be angry with me over raising their taxes, and money they could pool together can afford to hire this many assassins, though they didn’t fight like they were trained. Perhaps just thugs off the streets who needed the money. Whatever the case may be, I’ve made myself some rich enemies, with power and connections. Unless Daros is one of those connections. He may not involved in this after all.
Another thought comes at me with such force my stomach revolts. I turn on Shillian. “Did you lead me here? Did you know the attackers were going to come here?”
“How could you think such a thing? I just wanted to spend time with you.” Her wide eyes fill with tears.
“Begging your pardon, Your Majesty,” says the attacker who explained the Kurah situation to me.
“What is it?”
“She had nothing to do with it. We’ve been watching the palace, waiting for an opportunity to strike once you were out of its fortifications.”
The oomph goes out of me. “You will be taken well care of if you speak the truth.”
She lowers her head. “I’m sorry I attacked you. It’s only that my family needs the money.”
“What for?”
“I have seven siblings that aren’t getting enough to eat. I had to find some way to feed them.”
A knot I didn’t know was in my stomach loosens. “We’ll feed them, but you have to understand I can’t let this action go unpunished.”
She bows her head. “I understand.”
“And I need to know who the actual Kurah is that sent you.”
“I don't know. I never actually me—”
The man behind her darts forward, his sword angled toward me. “You will die.”
The woman I was talking to stabs her blade backward, slicing into him before he can reach me. Another second, and Jaku is shoving the man backward, although the wound to his stomach is likely lethal.
“You will not harm the queen,” Jaku shouts. He ties the man’s wrists before turning him over and pressing a cloth to his wound.
I glance back at the short woman. “You saved my life.”
Her gaze drops.
When she says nothing, I tell her, “This will be taken into account when your punishment is decided.” I lean closer without touching her. “Thank you.” If she hadn’t joined the fight, this could have all turned out different, despite her joining to kill me. Her motives were noble, even if her
methods were not.
As one of the guards takes her, I turn back to Shillian, whose cheeks are wet with tears. I sigh. Being a daughter is much harder than I expected. “I’m sorry I accused you of leading me into a trap.”
“That’s all right,” she says, but still doesn’t look at me.
I lower my voice. “I’ve been taught to fear everyone my whole life. To see plots everywhere I go. I’m sorry I took it out on you.”
She licks her lips. “Not your whole life. There was a time we took good care of you. And we will do our best to do so now.”
Warmth stirs in my chest. I clench my jaw to keep my emotions in check. It means more to me than I can say.
Chapter 11
I enter my sitting room with a large stick as a walking support and find Nash. I want to rush to him, but Shillian is still with us. “Nash,” I say.
“I heard there was an attack.” His fists are balled up.
“There was, but everything is fine. Not much damage was done.”
“Not much?” He glances me over and notices the gash in my dress that shows a piece of cloth tied around my thigh. He growls. “I should have been there.”
Normally, I’d agree, but with the state he’s been in lately, I’m not sure that would have gone over well. “It’s all right. Just a scratch.”
He tightens his jaw. “Let me at least call for a healer.”
“One is on the way.” I sit in one of my less used chairs, putting the walking stick to the side. If I’m going to bleed, I don’t want to do it on my favorite.
He brings another chair over for me to put my leg up on. I hold back a wince as I prop it up.
“You should have seen her in action,” Shillian says. “She was like lightning, acting with a brutal but quick strike.”
Nash nods, not taking his gaze from me. “I know. I’ve seen her.”
A blush floods my cheeks. I glance down to cover it.
A servant enters and says, “The healer is here to see you.”
The healer rushes in the room before the man’s done speaking. She says, “Where’s the injury?”
“It’s not bad. Just on my thigh.” I motion to the affliction that’s tied up below my skirt. With permission from the shopkeeper, I tore a length of cloth off one of her bolts and tied it around my wound after talking with the girl who saved my life.
