“So, nothing relevant?”
“No, your highness, I’m sorry. Nestor, your spymaster may have more, but I doubt it, he finds himself annoyed that you don’t allow his people to use the passageways.”
“The passageways are not to be known about by the general staff. Nestor should be content with the knowledge that he knows of them, as should you.”
“I’m sure that he knows it deep at heart. You did give him the power to go anywhere in the castle and search anyone’s rooms at will.”
“Thank-you, you are dismissed.”
There was the tell-tale shuffling of movement: the squealing of a chair being pulled back; the rustle of paper being collected, followed by the opening and slamming of the door.
She waited until she was sure the captain was out of sight, and then knocked on the study door, entering at the sound of the muffled “come in”. A command only an elf would have been able to hear, she realised.
He knew, she thought, somehow the prince had known that she was listening in on him. Now this was going to be interesting.
She walked over and dropped the letter on his desk, turning back for the door almost immediately; she planned to leave before he could say anything.
“It’s open.” He commented, stopping her in her tracks.
“I was unaware of protocol. You have my apologies.” She replied in a voice that was arctic in its coldness.
“What about listening in? Do I get an apology for that too?” He asked, his tone light, joking. He was playing with her, she realised.
“Do I not have a right to know what others are saying about me?” She asked.
“As a slave you should have no rights other than what your master says you do.” He replied, still teasing.
But it hit a nerve. “Pull any of that Slave Master rubbish on me and you won’t have to argue about it with me anymore.” She replied.
“Because I’ll be dead? Is that a threat?” He asked
“No. Because I’ll be gone.” She corrected.
“Was it you who killed those men?” He asked, his ocean blue eyes searching her.
“No.” She lied, one hand behind her back with her fingers crossed against the Ancients striking her down for lying to a sovereign.
He nodded as if satisfied. “What did you read?”
“Only that your parents are insisting you attend a ball in Carin, which would require you to ride through known outlaw territory at night, not the most sensible of ideas.”
“If I thought that would sway my mother then I would have used it the first thousand times that she decided to play matchmaker.” He replied.
“I gather you’re not a regular participant in these events.” She guessed.
“Correct,” was his terse reply.
She waited a while for him to speak, but when the silence and his stare became uncomfortable for her she quickly brought up another topic.
“The guards didn’t all think I was nice, your captain lied to you on that front, or maybe they didn’t tell him, human’s are unpredictable like that.”
“What did they really think then?” He asked, his curiosity piqued.
“At least one believed I was a human who sold my soul to become stronger.” She replied “Something your priests seem to be encouraging.”
“My apologies if this hurt you, I’ll get the priests to stop, and encourage respect for elves among the garrison. They’ve never encountered any other elves apart from the royal ambassadors, and then they keep their mouths shut on my orders, with you around permanently, they probably thought that no harm could come of speaking normally to each other.”
“There’s no need.” She replied “As an elf and as a servant my emotions should not matter to anyone, of course that would be to presume I have any at all.”
“We both know that you would be lying if you said you didn’t.” He retorted. “Elves feel the most strongly of all the races, and are also the best at hiding them around people they don’t trust.”
Feeling her eyes narrow at his tone, she turned for the door, walking to it and opening it, before shooting him a look. “I have to get back to Katelyn, have fun at the ball.”
She left at that. The conversation had been wasting time anyway.
Alright, maybe he wasn’t the world’s greatest snob as she’d originally thought he would be, and maybe he hadn’t deserved to be walked out on like that, but she was hardly going to go back in there and apologise to him.
She stopped ten paces away from the door, and turned to look at it again. The man had given Katelyn an education and a future job, she did sort of, maybe, would never admit it, owe him a little politeness.
Stubbornness turned her back again.
“Well I can’t just stand here all night.” She muttered to herself.
“Then how about a walk?” A voice asked from behind her.
“When does the prince of the human realms lower himself to walk with a maidservant?” She asked, ignoring his offered arm and crossing hers firmly over her chest, he shrugged it off. “Shouldn’t you be signing petition slips or something?”
“When you’re in charge, you get to do whatever you want, when you want, and leave the scribes to deal with most of the paperwork.” He informed her “Now, do I have to order you or will you come nicely?” He asked.
She shrugged and took the lead. “Now we’ve walked three paces, can I go now?”
“I was thinking about a walk around the grounds,” He amended “At normal, human speed; taking at least ten minutes; accompanied by conversation. Did I miss any loopholes?”
“No, I don’t think so.” She replied, annoyed at this too clever prince. He stepped in beside her and they began the walk out of the castle. “If it gets to ten minutes and we’re still in the castle do we have to walk outside as well?” She asked, thinking about how slowly they seemed to be walking.
“Yes,” He replied.
Royalty and autocratic answers, a match made in hell as far as the rest of the world was concerned.
“What counts as the grounds?” She asked.
“Am I that bad to be around?” He asked, sounding a little exasperated.
“Humans require company, I have always chosen solitude.”
“What about Katelyn?” He asked, then he must have seen the truth in her far too expressive eyes. “You plan to leave her.”
“She needs human friends, people who will age and die as she will. It wouldn’t be fair for her to watch as I reach eighty and she’s an old woman while I remain the same.”
“You think you should be making that decision for her?”
“I have no choice.” She replied “I never intended to stay here anyway.”
“When do you intend to leave?”
“When she’s ready.” She replied. “You will take care of her.” It was a demand.
“You know that she hero worships you; she’ll try and follow, no matter where you go, and no matter how old she is.”
“You don’t seem too worried about losing one of your purchases.” She replied.
They crossed the threshold of one of the main doors then, and headed through the gardens, and he ran his hand through his usually neat hair. Tousling it slightly.
“I don’t think you’ll leave.” He replied, turning away. “Either Katelyn, or something else will make you stay.”
“Don’t make any gambles where I’m concerned.” She warned. “As my previous ‘master’” she sneered out the word “told you, I’m ‘unruly’.”
“And good at changing the subject. I want to know how you felt when you heard that the priests were saying these things about your kind.”
“What if I don’t feel like sharing?” She asked.
“I’ll use that favour you gave me.”
“Don’t waste it.” She ordered, “Once that’s gone I guarantee you that you will not be collecting any more from me, especially no more open ended ones.”
“But even if I used it, I’d still have one left.”
“I’ll tell you what I feel in return for a favour to be named later.” She replied.
“Done.” Was his instant reply.
“Careful, I might ask for half the royal treasury and a release from service.” She warned him.
“I still don’t think you’ll leave.” He replied “You’ll use it for privileges or information. But I’ll still trade one favour for honesty from you without a time limit.”
She carried on walking for a while in silence, looking back on the emotions she herself hadn’t examined before now. “It was a little upsetting,” she told him, trying to keep her voice as emotionless as before and failing. “I never expected universal acceptance from everyone here, but to know that a speaker for the Ancients was spreading hatred for my kind was a little worse than I was expecting.”
“You’re religious?”
“Logic demands that the existence of only one holy body between dozens of different races, with the same beliefs system, and similar places of worship must be correct. However, if you seek to know if I spend my fifth-day mornings at a flower-covered shrine praying, I do not. Simply because they were the first and most advanced species to evolve does not make them all powerful or superior.”
“There’s the typical elvish arrogance I was looking for.” He joked, smiling.
“You’re forcing that smile.” She informed him. “You got to play psychiatrist with me, now how about my turn?”
“Royal privileges.” He replied quickly, the answer so well rehearsed it almost sounded natural.
“Doesn’t work on me.”
“You have no way to force me.”
“I do have that wonderful little favour you just gave me.” She replied.
“Is anyone else getting déjà vu?” He asked sarcastically.
“Just tell me already.” She laughed, mock shoving him to one side.
He looked stunned for a second, then shoved her back slightly. “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh.” He informed her.
“No changing the subject.” She told him.
He rubbed his arm slightly. “There must be a law against hitting royal persons.”
“Is that how you win battles?” She put on a cultured accent and said “Don’t hurt me! It’s illegal!” She mocked. “Now, back to the matter at hand. What’s wrong? And don’t make me shove you again.”
“My parents want me to get married, and I don’t want to. End of story.” He replied.
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” She asked in a sugar-sweet tone.
He shrugged her comment off. He had a habit of doing that, she realised, something very un-regal for the heir to the throne.
“Who’s that boy?” He asked “The one you feed breakfast every morning.”
“Tit-for-tat.” She replied “I want to know why you want to keep an eye on me.”
“Elves are an advanced race; it made sense to keep one close to me.” He lied, but she let it pass.
“I caught the boy attempting to pick my pocket, he was half starved, and since I’m staying here long enough for Katelyn to grow to her maturity, I decided to begin collecting favours.”
“Next question.” He paused “Why did you stay at the slave shop when, legally, you could have left at any time?”
She paused. “Katelyn mostly, but until sixteen, as you probably know, my immortality hadn’t set. I was afraid to leave the safety of the slave shop. After I’d reached my maturity, the new Slave Master refused to let me leave.”
“How did he refuse?” The prince asked, and she knew he was expecting to hear tales of beatings or worse.
“They kept something of mine in a place I could never get to it.” She replied, he didn’t have to know about the punishment for her single failed escape attempt.
“What?”
“I don’t know.” She replied “It was given to the old Slave Master to be handed to me on my sixteenth birthday, and I never even saw it. It was supposed to be something of my mother’s.”
“Did they not give it to you before you left?” He asked.
She shook her head “I forgot to ask, and given his mood I doubt the Slave Master would have granted me anything.” He looked at her strangely for a minute, and then opened his mouth for another question. “It’s my turn.” She reminded him “And you’re in debt by two questions.”
“Of course, how thoughtless of me.” He replied, mock bowing.
He was joking with her, she realised. The prince of the Human Realms was telling jokes and doing impressions to make her laugh.
“Why do you allow the thieves guild to run freely around the city?” She asked. “You have the power and resources to have them executed and driven out. Why choose to allow them access to everywhere?”
“Think of it in terms of the laws of the city. Thieving is a crime, and so to get away with it, the thieves must become so good at what they do that they are almost never caught. In doing this, the city is training the most disciplined, intelligent force in the kingdom. The thieves must be able to stay in exactly the same place for hours, to stay hidden, and so they train themselves to do it. They are agile, fast, and some of the best street fighters I have. I even have a good relationship with the head of the guild. If I need a favour, it gets done, if he needs the guards to lay off the search for a thief, I may call them to search for something else. If he has a particularly good thief that wants an honest career, I call them into service as a guard or most often as a spy.”
“The spies are thieves?”
“They know almost everything anyone can know about the ways in and out of this palace and the city.”
“What about that new gang that some of them were talking about; you know, the one that only works while everyone’s asleep and charges protection money.” When he looked at her inquisitively she shrugged. “I’m an elf, and they speak loudly.”
“I employed a few of the thieves to help me find them, we’ve caught a few pawns so far, but they have nothing useful to tell us. We really need to find and question a larger player.”
“I heard they spread from a larger group down on Grenov. Is that true?” She asked.
“It appears the leader is related to them in some manner, but the situation in Grenov is far worse than it is here. Mainly because of my mothers neglect, I suspect. But we know what they call themselves; Viper’s Crew.” They arrived at the outside entrance to the servants’ quarters, having done a loop around the edges of the gardens. “You still owe me one question,” he informed her. “Would you like me to ask it now or later?”
“Now,” she replied; it was better than having him have another favour of hers.
“Do you think that eventually, you could end up liking it here; even if it was only enough to make you stay for a few years?”
She fell silent, considering it. She couldn’t remain caged anywhere; it had nearly destroyed her at the Slave Shop. Freedom, without commitments, was her aim in life. If she ever achieved it, she knew it would be something she would never again let go of. “I can’t live in a cage.” She answered. “At the moment, all I see here is another cage. A beautiful cage, and a big one, but it is still a cage to me.”
“Then I will be the one to change your mind about that.” He told her “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” She replied, unlocking the door, and walking inside, to find him already gone by the time she looked back. “What a mysterious man.” She said to herself, opening the apartment door, and closing it behind her.
She pulled out food for Katelyn’s dinner, and began making it up. Chopping was done in seconds using elvenspeed. But heating the food unfortunately couldn’t be rushed.
Then, just as she started serving the food onto plates, Katelyn skipped in; waving goodbye to the maid who had walked her back, she came over and hugged Romana.
“Hey kiddo.” She greeted her, “Go change out of your unifo
rm, and I’ll just finish serving up.”
“Are you eating with me?” She asked.
“No, I don’t need to.” Romana replied. “What did you learn at school?”
“We learned about the dwarves,” Katelyn said from her room, knowing that Romana would be able to hear her. “They live in the eastern mountain ranges, but they have a stronghold at Coal Mountain and several smaller ones. They also have the biggest mining industry,” she struggled over the word “in the whole world. So they’re really rich because everyone buys metal from them.”
Romana put the plate on the table, just as the little girl rushed out in the dress Romana had bought for her.
“Is that ratatouille?” She asked peering down at the meal that was her favourite.
“Yes, now eat up.” She replied. “I’m not going to be able to cook you breakfast tomorrow, so I’ll leave you and Tommy some cereal to make up ok?”
“Why?”
“I’m going to be fighting again, okay?” She replied.
“But you bought a dress in town, what are you going to wear?”
“I still have my clothes from the slave shop, don’t worry.” She replied. “Now finish up quickly, you really should be going to bed earlier.”
“You don’t sleep much though, so why should I?” She asked.
“Katelyn, you know I don’t need to. When I was your age I slept more than you do.”
The girl mumbled something unintelligible and Romana took it as a queue to go and get the bath ready.
Leaving the girl at the table, she used elvenspeed to turn the taps and get out fresh towels, putting the old ones in the laundry hamper outside for the washing maids in the morning.
When she got back inside she went into her bedroom and fished the swords and mask from their hiding place above the fire. Laying them out on the bed, she rushed Katelyn through the bath and then into bed, before checking the passageways were devoid of sound.
She put on the mask with a sigh, hoping not to run into any more assassination attempts on the prince. Strapping her swords over her back, she checked Katelyn’s breathing was still that of deep sleep, before opening the secret door and running along the passageways to her next lesson.
Romana's Freedom (Soul Merge Saga Book 1) Page 8