“Who is in your party and where have you come from?” one of the guards inquired in a brusque voice.
“My name is Count Trellnar, and these are my aids and servants,” Thistledown replied in an arrogant tone. “We have come from my estates.”
The guard did a small double take when Thistledown gave his status, eyeing his less-than-opulent clothing with a doubtful eye. “I am sorry, my lord, but we did not hear word that you were coming. The Lady Sentina has given strict orders that we can only allow nobles on the list to enter the city. If you could wait inside the guardhouse, I will send a runner to the palace.”
“So much for that idea,” Thistledown muttered, sounding disappointed. “On second thought, we are just going to go through the gates.”
“Very good, sir,” the guard replied woodenly. “Go right on in. I am sure the Lady Sentina just missed your name.”
“I am sure she has more important things on her mind,” Thistledown said dryly, booting his horse into motion.
Morindessa marveled at Thistledown’s subtlety. She had not even felt his yar reach out. As she passed the guard, his wooden gaze passed through her, barely pausing on Riah. The streets inside the wall were lined with inns and taverns. The shops did not start for several blocks. There were small island gardens in the cobblestone road, mostly grown over with weeds. King Fedrin had not been very interested in the appearance of Shalilayo for the last couple of years. Morindessa wondered how long the Gorinthian had inhabited the king’s body before Seranova had killed it.
They rode for over an hour, moving deeper into the giant city as the sun moved closer to the horizon. They were nearing the inner city stables, where horses were required to be left behind before entering the wealthy part of the city. The nobles and wealthy merchants that inhabited the inner city did not like the smell of manure on their streets, so they had banned any kind of transportation that involved horses. Instead, they used litters that were born on the backs of slaves, or in some cases, peasants from the outer city that could not find work.
After leaving their horses in the large array of stables that ringed the inner city wall, Morindessa and Ferrich released the light curtain they had surrounded themselves with to stay invisible.
“Ferrich and I will stay at the Silver Swan,” Morindessa told Thistledown and Riah. “Let us know how things work out in the morning.”
“I think I will stay with you,” Riah decided with a smile. “I still haven’t caught up on all of the lost time without you.”
Thistledown nodded gravely. “I will come down in the morning to fill you in on where we go from here.”
Wishing the rest of the youths in their party good luck, Morindessa led Ferrich and Jesha toward the Silver Swan, with Riah walking next to her. Morindessa was surprised that Seranova was going to the palace with the others. She would not have thought Seranova would be comfortable in that environment. Jalorm seemed relieved she was staying with them, though. He seemed determined to break through her wall of indifference.
“Where is Lochnar?” Ferrich asked suddenly. “I haven’t seen him for quite a while.”
“He’s around,” Riah assured him. “He likes to stay completely separate in populated places. He will probably pay us a visit once we have some rooms.”
The Silver Swan was not far and they reached it within a quarter of an hour. It was a completely white building, with a large sign of a silver swan hanging above the door.
“I used to stay here when one of the nobles had a job for me,” Morindessa commented. “The innkeeper is a woman I helped once, so she takes extra care to make us private from others.”
The dining room was already half full of customers. Most of the people who stayed in the inns outside of the inner city were wealthy servants of great houses, sent on various errands. Several heads turned to follow them as they moved toward the front desk where a plump woman sat in an armchair, knitting. She rose with a smile on her round face.
“Mistress Shellna, it’s so good to see you again.” The plump woman beamed at her. “Is it just the four of you?”
“Yes Delila, just the four,” Morindessa replied with a warm smile. “How are your daughters?”
“Nina just gave birth to her second daughter,” Delila said proudly, leading them up the stairs to their rooms, “and Sorsha is engaged to the stable master’s son.”
“That is wonderful news,” Morindessa exclaimed brightly. “He is a nice young man.”
“I always keep these rooms empty unless I fill up, just in case you come,” Delila told her. “I know how you like to be close to a back door.”
“Thank you, Delila,” Morindessa said, squeezing the plump innkeeper’s arm. “You do too much for me.”
“Considering that I would not be here if not for you, I don’t think it is possible that I could do too much for you,” Delila disagreed.
“Well, I don’t know how true that is, but you have my thanks,” Morindessa replied, opening the door to the room she always stayed in. There was a large bed against the far wall with a large wardrobe next to it. The room was furnished with a finely made table and a bookshelf filled with Morindessa’s favorite novels. Morindessa invited the others into her room once Delila finished showing them where their rooms were. There were several armchairs in her room as well. Jesha jumped up into one, folding her legs beneath her.
“Nice room,” Riah commented approvingly. “What did you do to earn Delila’s favor?”
“One of the idiot nobles had taken an interest in her daughter a couple years ago.” Morindessa replied in disgust, “He had a bad reputation for treating women roughly, and Delila would not consent to let him marry her daughter, Nina. He showed up here with a few of his guardsmen dressed up as servants and tried to kidnap Nina, after attempting to murder Delila. I happened to be here when they attacked Delila, and I took care of them. Delila knew who I was, but she has kept it a secret ever since. And she always gives me this room when I come here. No one else stays in it.”
“That sounds fair,” Riah said, her cat-like eyes twinkling. “You learned the trade better than I thought you would in so little time.”
There was a soft knock on the door. Morindessa reached out with her yar to see who it was before opening the door and found that it was a servant girl from the dining room.
“Would you like dinner brought up to you, or will you be dining below?” the young girl asked in a clear tone. She had long, blonde hair and short stubby face that looked like someone had smacked her with a frying pan when she was younger. She glanced past Morindessa at Riah and her eyes widened. Riah had taken her cloak off, and her golden hair was cascading over her shoulders, glowing in the soft candlelight. Her face did seem to have a light of its own, lighting up her perfect features.
“Two of us will be eating in the dining room,” Morindessa said after a moment's thought. “Please bring up the other two meals.”
The girl seemed unable to break her gaze from Riah. Her eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open. Morindessa stepped between the girl and Riah and repeated herself. The girl gave herself a shake and nodded. She tried to peer past Morindessa at Riah as she backed into the hall, but Morindessa purposefully stayed between her and Riah.
“Did I sprout horns or something?” Riah asked in puzzlement when Morindessa closed the door. “Everyone has been staring at me for the last four days.”
Morindessa was not sure how to tell her that she had somehow given the word beautiful a new meaning. “When was the last time that you looked in a mirror?”
“Several years,” Riah laughed shortly. “Not since before Jerard captured me, anyway.”
Morindessa walked over to the wardrobe and pulled the mirror off the wall that was hanging next to it. She walked back to where Riah was sitting in an armchair and held the mirror up in front of her. “What do you see?”
“Oh my!” Riah gasped loudly. “What’s happened to me?”
“I don’t know,” Morindessa said carefully, “but it h
appened after your father healed you. He must have done something.”
Riah seemed unable to break her gaze from the mirror. “But this is ridiculous! I can’t go around looking like this! I’ll never get anything done!”
“That’s why I am having that girl bring two of the meals up here,” Morindessa informed her. “Between Jesha and you, there are enough oddities to catch every eye in the common room.”
Morindessa took the mirror back and hung it on the wall. “Are you hungry, Ferrich?”
“I thought you would never ask,” Ferrich grinned. “I was about to start eating the chairs.”
Morindessa led Ferrich down to the common room and the two of them sat down near the fire pit at the back. Morindessa always made sure that no one could approach her from behind.
A servant walked across the room to their table, a small frown on her face. “What can I get for you?” she asked in a high-pitched whiny voice.
“Chicken please,” Ferrich requested. He blinked as the servant girl kept staring at him. “Is something wrong?”
The girl jumped slightly, as if someone had goosed her. “I’m sorry, I dazed off a little,” she whined.
“He said he would like chicken,” Morindessa repeated, staring hard at the girl, “and I would like a potato with butter.”
The girl backed up a step as she felt the full force of Morindessa’s gaze. “That will be just one minute, mistress,” she sounded slightly out of breath. She turned and hurried back to the kitchen.
“What in the world was the matter with her?” Ferrich wondered aloud.
“I think that she recognized you,” Morindessa told him somberly. “I didn’t think that anyone outside of the inner city would recognize you, because of all the time you spent at the University.”
“Should we leave?” Ferrich asked nervously.
“Let’s see what she does before we jump to any conclusions,” Morindessa decided. She reached out with her yar, sensing for anything unusual. Almost immediately, she sensed a disturbance outside the inn. A moment later, three men charged through the doors toward Morindessa and Ferrich, with swords drawn.
Morindessa flipped a dagger out of her sleeve and had it lodged in the first man's throat before he even passed the initial row of tables. Leaping high into the air with the aid of her yar, Morindessa launched herself across the room and came down on the remaining two men. Time slowed for her as she swatted the second man's sword aside with the flat of her palm at the same time that she kicked the third man's head. She landed softly on the ground behind the one remaining assailant. She wrapped her arm around his neck from behind and used her yar to help pull him up high in the air before slamming him down onto one of the sturdy oak tables. Pulling a second knife from her sleeve, she stuck it under the corner of his eye.
“Who sent you?” she asked in a whisper, her mouth next to his ear. “Don’t make me ask twice.” She pushed the point of her razor sharp dagger until a small spot of blood appeared beneath the man's eye.
“I don’t know his name!” the man cried out in panic. “He would only talk to us through a wooden panel.”
With a quick flick, Morindessa sheathed her knife. The man began a relieved sigh, but Morindessa cut him off as she twisted his head sharply sideways. There was a loud crack followed by silence. The other customers had not even had time to leave their chairs before it was over. They sat gaping in astonishment at the massacre that had unfolded in front of them. Morindessa heard retching sounds coming from one the tables as a woman regurgitated her meal onto the floor.
“Where is that chicken?” Morindessa called to the serving girl. The girl had just come out of the kitchen to see what all of the noise was. “The longer I have to wait for it, the messier things will become.”
The servant girl backed into the kitchen as fast as she could, her eyes as wide as teacups. Morindessa went back to her table. Ferrich had barely stood up by the time that she had finished.
“That was cruel,” Ferrich accused her.
Morindessa looked back at the dead bodies and then back at Ferrich in puzzlement. “Would you rather I let them kill us?”
“Not them,” Ferrich said gesturing at the bodies. “What you did to that servant girl.”
“Oh, that,” Morindessa said with a grin. “I have to do things like that to keep my reputation up.”
Many of the customers were leaving the common room, some of them moving toward their rooms, others moving toward the exit. A few of the braver ones were sitting back down, watching Morindessa and Ferrich sideways when they did not think they were looking. Delila emerged from the kitchen with a concerned expression on her face. She gasped loudly when she saw the bodies on the floor, her eyes flying to Morindessa. A moment later, she was calling one of her servants from the kitchen.
“Dered, go fetch your brother and haul this rubbish outside, before the guard shows up,” Delila shouted back through the kitchen door. She turned back to Morindessa and Ferrich and began making her way to them. At the same time, Riah came rushing down the stairs, daggers drawn and death in her cat-like eyes. She rushed past the round figure of the innkeeper and up to their table.
“What happened?” Riah demanded, turning to study the bodies on the floor.
“We had a few rowdy patrons,” Morindessa told Riah dryly. “I think that someone recognized our companion here.”
Ferrich was frowning, his brow creased in thought. “The guard at the gates said that my sister, Sentina, was in charge at the palace. Out of all of my siblings, I would not have thought she would be the one to survive the succession. I cannot believe that she would try to have me killed.”
“If she thinks you killed your father, then she might not see you in the same light as she did before,” Riah observed pointedly. “Especially if she knows you left Shalilayo with Morindessa.”
“I think I need to have a little chat with your sister,” Morindessa said grimly, “and explain a few rules to her.”
“Don’t hurt her,” Ferrich said firmly. “I have no interest in running the kingdom, and if she dies, there will be a succession that will make our little family get-together look like a picnic.”
“Of course not,” Morindessa said with a toss of her head. “I just want to persuade her that it would be in her best interest to play nicely.”
Delila was waiting at a discrete distance from their table for an opening in their conversation. Morindessa waved her over with a smile. “I am sorry for the trouble Delila. The company that I keep seems to attract enemies.”
Delila had been staring at Riah, along with everyone else in the room, but at Morindessa’s comment, she looked at Ferrich. She jumped slightly, and then dropped into a deep curtsy. “Your highness, forgive me. I did not recognize you.”
“Quite alright, good mistress,” Ferrich murmured with a glance at the bodies that were being hauled out by two of her servants. “It seems that anonymity has its limits.”
Some of the other patrons were growing curious after seeing the innkeeper curtsy so deeply to Ferrich. They began craning their necks, trying to see around Riah and Delila. The servant girl emerged from the kitchen with a steaming chicken on a platter. She practically ran to their table, pushing the roasted bird in front of Morindessa, and then hurriedly retreated to the kitchen.
“What’s gotten into that girl?” the innkeeper muttered to herself, frowning at the girl's retreating back. “I’ll have to have words with her later about manners.”
Ferrich stared pointedly at Morindessa. She returned a bland look, daring him to answer.
“We might not be staying the night after all,” Morindessa told Delila. “I am going to make a stop at the palace, and then come back for my companions.”
“I understand, Mistress Shellna,” Delila replied sadly. “You be careful up there. Scheming lot of slippery eels, nobles.” She suddenly remembered that Ferrich was at the table. “Begging your pardon, you’re Highness. I surely did not mean yourself.”
Ferrich laughe
d around a mouthful of chicken. “What a perfect description! I will try to remember it.”
Morindessa, turned to Riah, “Will you look after him until I return?”
Riah tousled her hair, the way she had when she was a little girl. “You don’t need to worry about a thing. Between myself and father, I don’t think anyone will have chance of coming close to young Ferrich here.”
“Young?” Ferrich protested indignantly.
“Speaking in relative terms of course,” Riah said with a grin. “Why don’t you bring what’s left of that poor bird up to the room.”
Ferrich stared down at the demolished remains of his roasted chicken. “I guess I was a little hungry.”
“A little,” Morindessa agreed with a small smile. Leaning down, she kissed Ferrich on the cheek. “Don’t die while I am gone, you’re Highness.”
Ferrich’s face had lit up like a torch. “I’ll make a special effort of it,” he mumbled. He stared up at her, unable to take his deep blue eyes from her own dark-eyed gaze.
Morindessa turned and walked past the remaining patrons to the front door. Most of the patrons had returned to staring at Riah. The night air was cool, with the smell of salt from the ocean blowing through the well-lit streets. It only took her ten minutes to return to the inner city gate. Rather than deal with the guards at the gate, she wrapped herself in a light curtain with her yar. Once again, her image disappeared, as well as her shadow. She moved quietly past the gate guards, who were playing dice on a small table under the archway. There was not very much traffic between the inner city and the outer city after dark. The houses grew steadily larger the closer she came to the palace. The streets of the inner city were decorated with ornate fountains and delicately manicured hedges. Many of the larger houses were walled in and resembled miniature palaces more than houses. The inner city of Shalilayo was a wonder to most of the continent. Beside the marble colonnades that lined the street, with lamps sticking out of them to light the streets, the inner city was also the host of many of the University’s more glamorous accomplishments. Large walkways rose above the street, supported by the marble colonnades, making it possible for the residents to show off their homes inside their walls. Along the elevated walkway was an open waterway that flowed down from the University, branching out to the many botanical projects, like veins in a leaf. The result created the musical effect of a walk in a mountain meadow next to a small creek.
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