The next day was considerably harder.

I spent the whole morning in my study, trying to pen a letter which was neither too submissive, nor too aggressive, to Cora Halsey, the so called leader of the Definis rebels. I got through fifteen draft copies, and the sixteenth was just about acceptable. They needed an audience with father, that was the result of it.

I had made my way across the palace to find father in talks again with his advisors. They agreed with me to set a date of four weeks, enough time for both parties to draw up substantial evidence and preparation. Then of course the task of this preparation was set upon my shoulders, to write accounts of my time at the front.

I wanted to deliver the letter to Definis myself but Julian, one of father's closer advisors, gave me an open telling off about the security implications of doing so. For once I could actually understand his stance, as much as I didn't really want to. Julian had never liked me.

Thus so I was banished back to my study, and found myself by three o'clock surrounded in papers crammed with writing, or balled and thrown on the fire at regular intervals, almost stifling it on occasion.

I picked up one sheet of paper and sat back against the bookshelves with it.

In June of the sixth year of the war, my second year serving, I found myself readying for battle with my peers. This attack had been orchestrated deep in the Baracosian jungles, most of the wildlife had been trampled from previous efforts so few men were lost to the tangles of the vines

We were using bayonets, having just received a new shipment. Some of the newer recruits had not yet used these weapons, so I offered to train them myself, to great success after several drills. It seemed that -

Harry was one of those new recruits. He was the only person in 47 who was younger than me but my God did he have zeal. His energy was completely intoxicating, in fact before any battle he was the one to rile us up. After every day he was the one to sing us to victory. I suppose that tradition hadn't lasted the test of time.

Harry had been the one to notice my obsession with buttoning and unbuttoning my boots, an unhealthy habit which only made me feel worse. I had started it by accident, after my first battle, the fear had been paralysing and I had just needed to focus on something. Doing it made me sloppy, callous. Harry had noticed when I did it and he always took me back to Tommy, who would sit with me, sometimes in a tree, sometimes in our tent, until I was calm.

Tommy was the only one who could calm me, really. I didn't think I'd have survived the fights if it hadn't been for him. He saved my life at least five times.

But I took his life.

Wiping my eyes furiously, I leaned forward to take up the next sheet of paper, but the door was thrown open before I could get there.

"Alright idiot where the hell is it?" Fana stormed in, slamming the door behind him.

I jumped to my feet, trying to avoid my inky pages. "Where's what?"

Fana shoved my shoulders as he walked past, surprising me, before going over to my writing desk and wrenching it open. "You had better bloody know what I'm talking about."

I dived down to his feet, having to forcibly lift one of them off of my paper.

"Rili what the hell are you doing? Where are they?" Fana looked me in the eye then and he looked genuinely afraid.

Gently, I took his shoulders, getting him to focus on me. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what you're looking for."

He shoved me off again. "My blueprints. Grandma's blueprints. Please tell me you took them."

I threw my arms up in surrender.

"You had better be lying, Ganechka." Fana dropped his tone.

I raised mine. How dare he accuse me of lying when, "Oh please, it's you who's the liar." I spat.

Fana shoved me down onto the couch. "Do you not realise what a big deal this is?" He shouted.

"Yes it is a big deal!" I matched his tone. "You have no right to -"

"Rili if you haven't taken the blueprints then I don't know who has." My brother sounded genuinely close to tears. "And if someone else has then we're at risk of a serious security breach."

Those words hit home.

"Shit." I murmured. "Oh shit what do we do?"

Fana sat down next to me, his hands wearily rubbing his face. "Lockdown until we find them. They were there last night but not this morning, there's been no post sent out yet, so they're still here in the grounds. Fuck there's so many people in this bloody palace."

I shook my hands out. "Well we'd ought to start with just the likely suspects, but we can't cause a fuss else there'll be panic."

Fana nodded. "I know that. Mama is drawing up a list of any of the servants she doesn't trust as we speak, but do you know I'm almost certain it's not them."

I raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Well other than the valets, butlers and Mrs Grundle, they can't read. And we haven't employed any new staff since the war began, save for some kitchen maids, who as we established, can't read. It'd have to be someone educated, with good motive, who's had good opportunity to do so."

"So you're saying...?" I asked, feeling horribly slow, I'd spent too much time writing today.

"I'm saying I very much expect it's one of the Debutantes."

I raised an eyebrow, scanning through them in my memory. "Serena possibly? Maybe Angel, I've practically been shunning her."

Fana shook his head vehemently. "I've been keeping her company." He looked to me as though offering I changed my answer. I gave him a shrug. "Rili I think you're being blind."

Catching onto his train of thought, I laughed incredulously. "No its not Evie. I know her well enough now to say it's not her." My brother shook his head.

"I don't want to hurt you, Rili, but you have to be aware of the situation and be careful. You're the crown Prince for God's sake. But I'll leave it for now, until it's more relevant."

I shook my head at him, my senses consumed with the memory of that kiss last night. She was true, she was no spy. She didn't sound even remotely Baracosian.

Though was the spy Baracosian at all?

"Fan?" I pushed my hair out of my face. "Do you think it's a Baracosian spy? Or... Or the Definis group."

He shook his head in defeat. "It could be either, or neither for that matter. What's all the paper for?"

I groaned, frustrated that my efforts of today were now wasted. "Planning an audience with Definis. Don't suppose that'll happen now will it?"

Fana shook his head again. "Not until this whole thing is sorted it won't."

I stood up and kicked the side of the couch.

"I'm going to go and put things into place now, but Mama's set up cards and games with the Debutantes in her parlour, I really need you to go and find out what you can about what they've done today, potential motivations, anything you can think of." My brother stood up too then, he caught my gaze and I couldn't look away, no matter how much I wanted to. "Ganechka try and avoid Bence if you can. If it is her then she's very smart. She'd probably catch on."

I shook my head, now confident enough to keep his eye.

Fana shook his head then, and left carefully to avoid my sheets of paper.

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A/N

Hi! Just wanted to leave this link here, its an interview I did with the lovely @timidsavage. https://www.wattpad.com/story/172059386?utm_medium=pm&utm_content=story&utm_source=android I'd love it if you could give it a read

~Me x