by Drae Box
“Aldora, I’m not a royal detective,” said Raneth. “I don’t know much about leading an investigation. Just everything that comes after.”
“It’s like canvassing for a murderer, isn’t it? But instead we’re looking for a motive as well as a person, especially if the body shows signs of the Shotput,” said Aldora.
“Which we do not know much about,” stated Pedibastet. “Here is what you two will do. First, you and Raneth will check Adelard is alive and well. Second, we will get that almost-friendly inspector to give us the files for all of the incidents Regina has noticed in Oreg and sift through them for those that catch our eye. Third, we will check out the burned body. Shall we get going?”
“Not until tomorrow morning,” said the Newer queen before Aldora or Raneth could respond. “If you leave now, you’ll be without a bed and it will be dark.”
“Aldora,” whispered Pedibastet.
Face down on her pillow, Aldora turned her head to look at him. He was standing on the bed, his head in line with his chest, his ears lowered but not completely flat against his head.
“Someone is picking the lock.” Pedibastet turned his green eyes to the door, tail twitching.
Aldora slipped her right hand under her pillow, revealing the Dagger of Protection. She stepped out of bed, moving the canopy curtains aside. Pedibastet jumped off the bed and hid underneath it. The door opened. Aldora drew the Dagger from its sheath and pointed it at the intruder. She frowned when she realised it was the female Newer Royal Guard, Rena.
“I didn’t want others in this corridor to hear me knocking,” she stated. She pointed at the Dagger. “Mind lowering that?”
“Do it,” hissed Pedibastet from under the bed.
Aldora lowered the Dagger but kept it in her hand.
“I’m here to warn you that your talk at lunch went badly,” stated Rena, keeping her hands palm out towards Aldora, letting her see that she didn’t intend to use a weapon. “After lunch, Algernon was more interested in the Dagger than before. Too interested. He went to the library and consulted some really old books on Giften history. I took a peek at one of them when he wasn’t looking – it talked about the Dagger Bearers and a few of the other Weapon of Protection Bearers. Be careful. Nobody is ever sure what he’s up to, but I’m sure your companions have told you their theories. He plays for keeps, Miss Leoma.”
“Thanks, Rena,” said Aldora, giving a slight smile and a nod.
The guard nodded, then slipped back out of the room, locking the door behind her.
“Interesting,” uttered Pedibastet as he crawled out from under the bed. He licked his side as Aldora sheathed the Dagger but held onto it, waiting for Pedibastet to continue. “Rena is looking out for you, I daresay thanks to Regina. We must tell Raneth about this in the morning. I suspect he will want to protect you too.”
“I’m not completely helpless,” stated Aldora. She shook the Dagger. “I did find this without much help.”
“Some think Raneth was key to that,” stated Pedibastet patiently. “Let’s go back to bed. We’re safe for now. Algernon won’t try anything within the palace if he has any sense.”
Some? Including Pedi? I shouldn’t worry about that. Raneth and I know who did what and that’s all that matters really. That and that the Dagger was found and my village saved. Aldora frowned, thinking on what else the cat had said, then nodded. “I probably won’t be able to sleep now.”
“Then lie in the bed and be warm so I can snuggle up to you. And no wiggling. I cannot stand humans who wiggle when I am curled up next to them.”
Chapter Five
Raneth
Raneth’s skin tingled as the sun rose, his Bayre blood-gift encouraging him to wake like it did every morning when his blood-gift reset with the sunrise. He blinked at the window. Already? he thought with a heavy exhale. He rolled onto his back and sat up, observing the guest room carefully. Exactly how it was when I went to sleep.
He shuffled to the end of the bed and stepped out from its semi-transparent curtains. He found it difficult to sleep in canopy beds, but knowing he was somewhere he was considered valuable meant that he didn’t have to worry about the reason he didn’t like such beds; here he knew he wasn’t in immediate danger. He strolled over to the window, opening it just enough so that the frame didn’t meet with the metal bars in front of it, and then headed towards the door.
Someone knocked as he turned the handle. Opening it revealed one of the serving girls in a standard light blue uniform, holding a fluffy white towel and a bar of soap. “For you, sir,” she said, holding them out to him.
He took the offering, but before he could say thank you the girl was already hurrying down the corridor. Weird, he decided. Anyway, Aldora doesn’t wake up early… What exactly should I do while I wait? He opted to dump the towel and soap onto the bed and head to Regina’s mission room for another look at her map.
“Raneth.” The royal official glanced down at Pedibastet, who was already waiting for him at the door of the mission room. “Aldora had a visitor last night.”
“Is she OK?” he asked, his voice lowering as he checked either side of the corridor.
“Yes. You should talk to her about it later. She was sleeping when I left her,” admitted Pedibastet. “If you ever find the bravery you need to ask her to carry your kitten, you will be bored for many mornings.”
“I…” Raneth frowned, then glanced at the door of the mission room. He knelt next to the Prince of the Cats on one knee. “I plan to ask her to marry me. When we get back home. Once I’ve asked Isadore if he’s OK with it.”
“Ha!”
Raneth’s frown deepened.
“I don’t feel he will say yes,” explained the cat.
“I’ll have to respect that, if that’s his decision, Prince Pedibastet,” whispered Raneth. “Bayres tend to ask.”
The cat used a back leg to scratch behind an ear. “Open the door, would you? Let us get a better look at those cubes of Regina’s.”
Raneth nodded and knocked on the door. There was no response, so he picked the lock and held it open for the cat. Pedibastet strolled through, tail slowly curling back and forth at the end.
“What will you do if Isadore says no?”
“The only reason Cally, Dad and Cray have stopped pestering me about the whole late-getting-married heir stuff is because I’m interested in Aldora,” stated Raneth, closing the door with a hard shove like he had seen Regina do. He prowled over to the map table, where Pedibastet was already settled. “If things don’t look like they can progress with us, they’ll take the choice out of my hands and make me marry into one of the other lord families.”
“Breaking Aldora’s heart.”
Raneth frowned at the cat. “Mine too,” he said.
Pedibastet nodded. “I didn’t mean to forget your feelings.” The cat’s white whiskers pressed against his furry cheeks. “Although, I am sure Regina would have some suggestions.”
“Did you… Was that a joke?”
“Funny, yes?” asked Pedibastet with an underlying purr.
“No,” muttered Raneth.
Pedibastet hit his arm with his tail. “Do you see a pattern?”
Raneth rested both hands against the table beside Pedibastet, quietly viewing the cubes which he noted were dated with pencil. “There are more in the western settlements, those nearest Giften. As if someone is travelling.” Raneth tapped the map. “A lot in Oreg, then a few in Cole and Tren.”
“I’m surprised by Cole. Given how inspector-infested that town is, and how loyal it is to their inspectors, I would have expected almost zero,” said Pedibastet.
“Still, it gives us something of a basic plan to try and find the Shotput – we follow that pattern of movement.”
“Yes,” stated Pedibastet. “But we must ensure we do not investigate any of these unless there is a good chance they are related to the Shotput. We cannot allow Regina and Algernon to use us to clean up for their own benefit.”
“Even if they aren’t related, aren’t you curious about this movement? It suggests whoever is responsible for the majority of these came recently from Giften.”
“Do not get distracted, Raneth. We are not chasing murderers or any sort of criminal. We are supposed to find the Shotput and get ourselves safely back home. That pattern is not a concern for us. Cray and the royal detectives can worry about it once we have returned and told them so.”
Raneth frowned, viewing the map quietly. It could lead us to the Shotput, though, if even a quarter of these are being caused by whoever has it. He turned to Pedibastet. “But–”
“Compartmentalise, royal official,” ordered Pedibastet.
“Yes, Your Highness,” grumbled Raneth.
“Good. Now, I believe you and Aldora need to clean yourselves up before breakfast. Go and wake her.”
Raneth rocked on his feet as he waited for Aldora to answer her door, with bathing supplies tucked under his left arm. The corridor of her wing was busy, forcing the royal official to stand closer to the door than was comfortable. He shifted slightly to allow a servant with a large bundle of dirty clothes to go past just as the door was yanked open.
“What?” snapped Aldora.
Raneth recoiled, almost colliding with another servant, who just managed to prance out of the way with some quick footwork. He glared at Raneth and Aldora over his shoulder as he hurried down the hall.
“Um…” Raneth tried to ignore the way Aldora’s hair stood messily on end on the left side of her head. “Good morning.” Grumpy.
Aldora frowned at him then pulled at the band in her hair. Raneth waited as she smoothed her hair out and tied it back up.
“Have you seen Pedi?” she asked.
“Yeah. He’s with Regina. We took a look at the map earlier, but I’m more interested in how you slept.” He raised his eyebrows to warn her that he didn’t just mean to ask about her sleep. “Want to hit the showers? Your towels and soap were by your door.”
“Please. I didn’t get much sleep,” she stated, holding out her hands to take her share of the towels and soap. After she had taken one of the larger towels, Raneth held out another one, smaller than the others. “That’s for my hair, thanks.”
He nodded with a smile then kissed her cheek. “Tell me about your night in the showers,” he said, strolling down the corridor.
Aldora hesitated, glancing down at her bare feet.
“You won’t need shoes,” he added.
“Here we go,” said Raneth several minutes later at the doorway of the showers. He tugged off his boots and socks and dumped them on a shoe rack built into the wall of the corridor, and he watched as Aldora looked down into the shower room; it was flooded to ankle height, the surface rippling from the constant stream of water that gushed from the copper pipes protruding from each of the walls. The walls were clad with white marble tiles, the lines between them almost invisible thanks to the steam that choked the room. There were support columns at regular intervals in the middle of the room and along the sides, with those in the centre carved into eight gigantic canines: four growled whilst the remaining four panted happily. In each corner, large grey stones broke up the expanse of white, sitting proud of the water and high enough that they would come up to Aldora’s waist.
“How do I shower without everyone seeing everything?” she asked quietly.
Raneth smiled. “Keep your underclothes on.”
Aldora frowned at him. “You’re serious…”
“Yep. We’re supposed to put our towels on the nearest corner stone. It’s fine. I’ve used these before.”
“Yeah, but I bet you’re not shy about strangers seeing your dangly bits. You’re a soldier, after all.”
Raneth turned and faced her, his smile gone. “I…” he hesitated. “Actually I’m not a fan of showcasing myself. Come on, we can share a stream if that makes you more comfortable. I’ll stand behind you and shield you with my body.”
He waited patiently as Aldora looked him up and down.
“Are you going to keep your underwear on?” she asked as her skin started to redden from under her collarbone, up her neck, to her cheeks and ears.
Raneth nodded patiently. “Yeah.” He pulled off his trousers so they wouldn’t get wet and shoved them on top of his boots. Slowly, Aldora slipped free of her trousers and placed them with Raneth’s. He stepped down into the room, which was almost a foot lower than the corridor that led to it. He held a hand out to her. Gingerly, she took it before stepping into the room and walking briskly towards one of the grey stones. “We’re lucky,” he said. “Normally when I come here there’s other people here.” Raneth strode after her and placed his towel on the stone, along with his bar of soap. He gave Aldora a lopsided grin as she placed her towels next to his and smiled at him. He watched as she looked down at their feet in the water. Raneth pulled his dark blue, long-sleeved top off and dumped it next to their towels. She stepped closer to him and drew hers over her head and placed it with his. Raneth swallowed, turning his eyes from her, but she gently took his chin and encouraged him to meet her eyes.
“You’re welcome to look,” she said softly.
Raneth swallowed again, resisting the urge to look below her neck, to take in her torso. Feeling guilty, aware she was watching him too, he lowered his attention to her left side, between her hip and her belly button. A scar nestled in her skin there, no longer as angry as he suspected it had once looked.
“I’m sorry,” he uttered, looking her in the face again.
She frowned and looked down at the scar, trailing a finger across it. She slid a hand down Raneth’s scarred left arm.
“Don’t be,” she said. “You were being run too hard and you were looking for Cray. It’s not your fault.”
“Still,” uttered Raneth, his right hand going to touch it before he withdrew.
Aldora took his hand and pressed it to the scar. “Girls are not delicate flowers. We can train and fight just like you boys.”
“I’ve never–”
“I know,” she uttered softly. She pressed her lips to his, giving him a quick kiss. “You’re a good man, Raneth.”
He frowned and then gave a shrug. “I try.” He unbuckled his belt and took off his weapons, placing them on the stone as Aldora did the same. “Which shower do you want?”
“That one,” stated Aldora, pointing to one close to the corner stone. She walked towards it, reaching back for Raneth’s hand. He grabbed the soap then slipped his hand into hers and followed.
Together they stepped under the stream, wincing in unison at the water’s heat. It was almost too hot, but after a few seconds they both grew accustomed to it. Raneth positioned himself to interrupt the view of Aldora from the doorway. “Tell me about your visitor last night,” said Raneth.
Aldora eased one of the soaps from his hand and rubbed it against his chest. He jerked at the touch.
“Easy,” she said with a light laugh. “Anybody would think you’re nervous, royal official.”
“I am a bit,” he admitted, the lopsided smile reappearing. “This is the first time we’ve seen each other in almost nothing, other than hospital smocks.”
“Relax,” requested Aldora softly.
Easy for you to say, thought Raneth as he enjoyed her smile. I’m not used to anyone but the royal doctor seeing me in my underwear.
“Rena came by last night. She lockpicked her way into my room.”
This can’t be good. “Rena is Regina’s eyes and closest confidant. Good soldier too. What did she want?”
“I messed up at the lunch yesterday. She warned me that Algernon’s grown interested in the Dagger.” Aldora hesitated, frowning up at Raneth. “Has Regina made any moves towards you?”
“To ‘borrow’ me? No, weirdly. She must like you, otherwise she would be up to her normal behaviour. Algernon putting me in the same wing as her isn’t a coincidence – he’s trying to angle for something to happen between her and me. It won’t though, I promise.
”
“I know. You’re a good man,” she stated again, smiling. “What do we do after this?”
“Have breakfast and then leave to continue looking for the Shotput. We’re gonna need to head back to Oreg. We’re not finished there. There’s a pattern in Regina’s cubes – it looks like someone has travelled from Giften and caused a good chunk of those incidents. Sasha will probably put us up at Oreg so we don’t have to sleep anywhere dangerous. The prince thinks we shouldn’t worry about the cause unless it’s related to the Shotput, but we should follow the pattern.”
“Is Pedi aware we’ll be staying at Sasha’s? He didn’t exactly approve of its condition.”
“I didn’t mention that bit when we were talking about it,” said Raneth, as Aldora gently placed his hand holding the other bar of soap against her stomach. He dutifully started sliding the soap in small circles across her skin, creating a lather that the water quickly stole from them.
“Good morning, you two.”
Aldora shrieked, and in her surprise her voice gave way to the screech of a hawk. Raneth winced as a sharp pain erupted behind his eyes. He clamped a hand quickly over Aldora’s mouth, drawing her wet body close to his with his other arm. He trembled against Aldora as his vision slurred the images around him. He clamped his eyes tightly shut, then opened them as Aldora gently pulled his hand away from her mouth. He felt her warm arms wrap around his waist as his knees weakened and gave way under him, knocking him into her hold. She swallowed three times by his ear. “Can you hear me, Raneth? Are you OK?”
He jerked his head back and frowned at her. She’s made my vision all blurred. “Just,” he said, on the verge of shouting. “But everything’s off. My vision, and ringing in my ears like last time.” He rubbed at his eyes with his left hand, using his right to press against Aldora’s shoulder so he could reclaim his weight.