As he crept down the hunting lodge's ridiculously narrow corridors, Eker couldn't help his instinctive search for welcoming armoires, where he could huddle his fears away like he did in the days when his mother insisted on controlling every single instant of his schedule. She would find him more often than not, and the consequences would be merciless, but that only made him want to run away more often.

Today, playing hide-and-seek with his duties was no longer a viable option, no matter that he'd never wished to assume the responsibilities a throne entailed. He would have been perfectly content to turn into the most boring academic imaginable, toiling away at theoretical treaties that would likely never see practical implementations, while trying to evoke his vision of a better world in front of generations of students who might actually go out and implement some morsels of his ideas.

However, the station that had been forced onto him had changed his dream, tainting it with the desperation of survival and the even more dangerous notion that he could actually make a real difference. The price, of course, was a steep one to pay, be it his precarious position until a queen was chosen for him, the limited influence he would be able to exert given the opposition of the other courtiers, as well as his personal safety. His would be no enviable reign, given that he was now more likely to become a target rather than an object of begrudging admiration.

Did they all hate him now for how he'd altered the age-old tradition of the Tzeru hunt? If they did, then they had no idea how dire the circumstances of their local wildlife truly were. In truth, every endemic game had gone extinct decades before, and the famously exotic targets of the last hunts had all been imported, either from Terevansia, or even farther away. When Eker had been informed of the woeful truth - one that he'd suspected long before - he'd been forced to scramble for a solution that would not prove entirely disappointing.

Upon subsequent investigation, he'd discovered that Kassinem's primary animal exports consisted of rare species of freshwater sable trout from the western regions, as well as rare poultry from the royal coops - the existence of which was news to Eker. Naturally, he couldn't make everyone go fishing, while the birds they usually sold to foreigners were expensive and on the verge of extinction themselves, given how his father had seen fit to eat three or four each week. However, the birds had given Eker the idea of attempting a new kind of competition, one that would see the monarchical institution in a way he personally found more appealing, without inflicting terrible damage on the environment. He'd therefore asked his own servants as well as the Tzeru gamekeepers to lend a hand, get a hold of a few dozen chickens, place a bulk order of colorful talismans and get to work on fitting them to each bird. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly sure whether the yellow-coded chickens were more difficult to apprehend than the red ones, but the hunters would likely not be able to tell the difference. Eker was cautiously optimistic about the whole endeavor.

Unfortunately, his spirits had sunk as he was currently as if he'd been turned into prey instead. Upon reaching a side corridor, he breathed in slowly to calm his nerves and clenched his fists. He slowed down and carefully peeked beyond the corner, starting upon hearing mutters coming from the main corridor behind him.

He'd climbed to the first floor as soon as he'd spotted a flight of stairs, cruelly reasoning that if any ministers were trying to intercept him for some little "chat" regarding his proposed reforms, some personal interest, or covert praises to their daughters, they'd have a much more difficult time keeping up with him as he got away. Of course, there were also said daughters to think of, but he'd been given every assurance by the chatelaine that the ladies would all be confined in the lodge's most comfortable salon for the majority of the hunt. The reason given for this was safety - the women's, but especially, the king's.

So far, so good. He'd successfully managed to avoid the courtiers on the ground floor, the women on the first floor, and his own guilty conscience's constant attacks.

Alas, it seemed that his luck had finally run out. Rapid footsteps sounded behind him, quickly morphing into the heavy tread of booted soldiers. Eker closed his eyes and groaned; he'd forgotten all about Hanadan's goons, but it seemed they wouldn't let him make up his own mind about how safe he wanted to feel.

He quickly ducked into the side corridor, stifled a yelp upon hearing voices from the nearest open door, then darted behind the door itself and stood waiting in anguish.

"Sorry," said a gratingly familiar voice from inside the room. "I thought this was the bathroom."

Eker's eyes widened in disbelief and he braced himself against the wall to keep from toppling. A short, but polite exchange later, he caught sight of a green dress as a woman drifted out of the room, paused to peek back inside, then nimbly scurried to the row of doors on the opposite side. She tried one at random and upon finding it locked, produced a hairpin or some similar tool, and got it open in a matter of seconds. Eker's jaw dropped as he watched her slip inside the darkened room, shutting the door behind her with a soft click.

He quickly found himself holding his breath again as two men exited the first room as well, the color of the uniforms glimpsed in the hinge gap revealing them as under butlers. They were chatting eagerly about some of the chickens the staff had withheld from the hunt, promising to turn them into a delicious supper for all retainers. Unlike the green-dressed woman, the pair was headed for the main corridor, from which the noise of heavy footfalls had faded away.

Still, Eker felt as far from relieved as he could get. He might even go so far as calling himself outraged. After all the safety precautions, could that dreadful thief from two days before have snuck into his vicinity again? Even after he'd expressly forbidden the candidates from bringing along more than one lady-in-waiting?

The line, wherever it had previously stood, had long been crossed. After casting a quick glance to the closed door across the hallway, he stepped around his own door and entered a well-furnished study with tall bookcases and generous drinking cabinets lining the walls.

Two things caught his eye: the first was the conspicuous lack of chairs - not entirely unexpected given the difficulty the staff had had with accommodating all the guests, and the second was the shining giant silver cup resting on a dark velvet cushion in the middle of the desk - which, given that woman's presence, was also not surprising.

Gritting his teeth, Eker finally decided on an appropriate hiding spot.

***

Tahni had left Reyoma's side while the girl was still clinging to the windowsill following her bout of hysterical laughter, prompted by the king's announcement of the new rules. Several other girls had been rendered speechless while the rest repeatedly asked each other what had been said. A quick, final look around the room had revealed that Ederra was nowhere in sight, which Tahni realized with no small amount of admiration. The fact that she'd been able to sneak away while Tahni herself was there spoke volumes about her improving skills.

Now, if only she could get away as easily. It seemed that two guards had been stationed outside the room, while the ladies-in-waiting of the other girls lined the wall opposite the entrance, eyeing the two men as well as each other with an almost comical amount of distrust.

"I need to pee," she squeaked breathlessly as she stumbled over the threshold, barely casting a glance at the two guards. "So bad," she moaned, then started scurrying down the hallway as fast as she could. The men, as well as the ladies-in-waiting close enough to hear the nature of her trouble must have been appalled following the uncharacteristic lack of tact displayed by a noble woman aspiring to become queen of the country. What they didn't know, of course, was that this was very typical of Tahni - at least when she wasn't in the middle of a carefully-planned heist.

She ducked into a side-corridor as soon as she could, peeked behind the corner to make sure she wasn't being followed, then frowned in concentration as she brought to mind the general layout of the hunting lodge. It wasn't a large space in and of itself, but the passageways were incredibly narrow, and most of the rooms uncomfortably small, given the almost unbelievable number of doors lining the walls. Her search would therefore have to be swift and methodical. She couldn't try every door handle in sight, but she could hunt for human presence, since they weren't about to let the Cup unguarded.

Tahni decided to start with the first floor, since she was already there, circle back to the drawing room she'd just exited without being spotted, then use one of the other staircases to do the same on the ground floor.

She let out a heartfelt sigh as she checked her pockets for the essential lock-picking and distraction-inducing essential toolkit. Like most of her plans, the theoretical part was almost deceptively simple, while the practical aspects bore Lenga's fickle touch, so she didn't precisely expect her search to be successful.

It was therefore with unaccountable bafflement that she stepped forward into the shaded study almost a quarter of an hour later, the cup glinting innocently before her, the entire room bereft of staff and guards alike. Despite every time-honed instinct screaming at her that it must have all been a trap, she stepped forward confidently and picked up the cup. She grunted, then immediately felt like dropping it back onto the cushion, but she held on and smiled broadly instead.

The thing was exactly as heavy as she'd imagined a real tersdom cup to be, cool and smooth to the touch. A part of her still couldn't believe that her luck could run this way, but she also knew that this moment of exceptional divine benevolence wasn't going to last, and so she'd have to seize it and use it to its full potential.

Clenching her teeth, she tensed her muscles and carefully carried the loot to the nearest windowsill. She glanced behind the curtains and retreated a step when she noticed a cluster of soldiers conferring below.

"You must be proud of yourself," said a chiding male voice, loaded with bitterness. "Already taking the next step in your criminal career."

She'd whirled around as soon as she'd registered the first word, but scanning the room at large revealed no other intruders. Scowling, she felt her grip tighten on the cold window ledge, while the mad rushing in her ears didn't appear likely to cease any time soon. Her breath caught in sudden panic, until she registered some motion beneath the desk, where someone had slowly started crawling out. He seemed to have encountered some unseen hurdle, because he suddenly halted, cursing and twisting against his own overflowing and unnecessarily elaborate garments.

Tahni therefore had enough time to analyze him, or rather the parts of him that were visible. He appeared quite lean and even a bit scrawny, with long, thin fingers unused to physical labor, and a head of tousled black hair, with a propensity for curling around the temple area. It wasn't until he finally stepped clear of the desk and he turned his flushed face directly towards her that she connected his appearance to his voice. A smirk came unbidden as she regarded him critically.

"While you, on the other hand," she retorted, "have downgraded considerably in terms of hiding-place choices. I thought the wardrobe was significantly better."

He raised a trembling arm at her and frowned in a way that she couldn't possibly take seriously.

"That does not belong to you."

She glanced down at her dress, willfully misunderstanding, while still blocking the sight of the cup on the windowsill with her own body.

"Oh, I know," she said. "My friend gave it to me after doing some modifications. I think green suits me, wouldn't you agree?"

"The only color that suits you right now is the bright red of the Northern Ackan Detention Center. I've heard that at the king's own suggestion, they've started entering prisoners into creative programs such as arts and crafts and theatre in order to nurture their community bonds while quelching their selfish impulses. So you might want to experiment with that, if you're really that much into costume changes."

Tahni fought to keep a relaxed composure, all the while assessing her chances to fight her way out of this mess. It wasn't a question of whether or not she was capable - after all, he was built like the human version of the Scarecrow Man from children's fairy-tales, while she'd had more than enough experience clashing with her much more imposing older brother. The problem was that a direct confrontation would run the incredibly high risk of discovery by other members of the staff, the guards, or anyone else who happened to be within hearing range of an indoor brawl. Within moments, everyone at Tzeru would know her true intentions, and she'd never be able to escape again.

But there simply weren't any other choices. Short of throwing herself and the cup out of the window and making a run for it, there was no way past this inconvenience. She'd have to move swiftly and incapacitate him, doing everything she could in order to gain the upper hand.

Perhaps if she lured him into a false sense of security? She could play at being innocent and harmless if she widened her eyes and blinked often enough - at least, that was what her mother had once taught her. And then she'd strike decisively before he got the chance to cry for help.

So she simply watched him quietly for a few seconds, doing her best to appear stumped and unthreatening.

"There's no need to cry," he said at last, not unkindly. "I've heard the prison wardens have also started to upgrade the facility and focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment."

"I'm not crying!" she snarled, insulted at the very idea. He blinked back at her, seeming on the verge of taking a step back, but his retreat was blocked by the desk.

"Then there's definitely something wrong with your eyes," he pronounced gravely.

"I'll tell you what's wrong with them," she hissed, stepping forward. She grinned in satisfaction as he watched his own eyes widen in fear while his hands started trembling at his sides. "They've had the terrible misfortune of beholding you."

A collective cry of shock brought them both around to stare at the open window, where the gauzy drapes were fluttering gently and the cup had mysteriously disappeared.

"What's wrong?"

"He's collapsed!"

"Call the doctor!"

"What doctor?"

Tahni heard wardrobe-man breathe in sharply and she turned to regard him intently. He looked contrite, almost pitiful as he turned his sharp gaze back to her.

"That careless elbow of yours might have just earned you an additional stint in the hard labor division," he said. "Pray that he'll live, or you'll end up sacrificing years of your youth for a completely preventable crime."

"You don't even know what happened," she spat angrily. "And you have no proof!"

"Then let's head downstairs and find out."

She'd just opened her mouth for an acid retort when someone else spoke and her breath instantly rushed out of her body.

"There you are, Your Majesty. The lot of us have become increasingly distressed following the discovery of your absence."

Two opposing onrushing waves waged a brief war within Tahni, but in the end, neither relief, nor panic won at the sight of her father standing in the study doorway. She simply froze, eyes widened to an almost alarming degree, not unlike her unwanted companion, who also seemed at a loss for words. It was therefore with a significant delay that she actually managed to process what her father had said.

"Your Majesty?" she whispered in disbelief, doubting whether she'd heard him right.

Sebek stepped into the room, and relief won out in the end when she noticed that he wasn't being accompanied. With the right mix of excuses, she might just spin this in her favor, despite the less than ideal situation.

"You are here as well," observed her father, without the smallest hint of surprise. "Have you gotten lost, my dear?"

"Yes," replied Tahni at once.

"I have always found the Tzeru hunting lodge quite difficult to navigate," he confessed after a curt nod, "but there is a pattern to the corridors and chamber placements. Could you not follow your sister-to-be? I believe I saw her go outside just a few moments ago."

Tahni blinked, surprised that her friend's passage had been noted, but one couldn't be certain of avoiding every possible witness on every occasion. She scrambled to find a plausible excuse.

"I asked her to get me something to eat."

"But the first courses of the famed hunting feast have already been brought out," replied her father. "You might accompany me back to the terrace."

Unfortunately, it was then that the insufferable wardrobe-man remembered that he possessed vocal chords and an occasionally functional brain.

"Forgive me, Minister Sebek," he asked in a trembling voice, "but do you know this woman?"

Her father smiled at him, a sight that brought Tahni no comfort whatsoever.

"What a curious inquiry," he commented. "Yes, Your Majesty, I have been acquainted with her from the day she was born."

"What Majes-" began Tahni with a scoff, curling her lip as she eyed the other man. It was then that she took note of the elaborate pattern of a stylized hillock-mole on his dark, billowing sleeves, as well as its larger rendition just above his breast pocket. As almost everyone knew, that particular animal was the crest of the royal family of Kassi, and if it happened to appear on his back as well...

"-ty!" she finished with a pitiful squeak, taking an involuntary step back as her hands began to tremble. She'd known the king didn't possess an imposing build, but she'd never bothered to look closer on the handful of occasions when they'd occupied the same space. His face had therefore remained an unappealing mystery up until this very day, when it had been revealed in the most undesirable of circumstances.

The only saving grace was that he appeared quite displeased as well, with just a touch of confusion as he alternately watched her and her father.

"This cannot be," he muttered. "She's a third-rate swindler."

"And you're a first-rate half-wit!" she spat out before even realizing it.

Fortunately, her father seemed to have missed the brief exchange as he drew closer, his wide smile encompassing them both.

"Would you bestow me the great honor of accompanying Your Majesty back to the terrace?"

The apparent king spluttered, turning beet-red and suddenly not knowing where to look.

"I... She-I mean, the cup... And the thefts!"

"Minister Amster insists that he is quite beyond upset after being deprived of your company," said Sebek, gently reaching out to grasp the royal forearm. "The beginning of the hunt is also approaching rapidly, and we need to ensure Your Majesty is properly positioned to signal the hunters." He started goading the man towards the door, then turned and smiled one last time at Tahni. "You may follow us as well, my dear, in your own time," he added.

"Thank you, Father."

But Tahni remained rooted to the spot, clenching and unclenching her fists while her legs tensed and tingled with the overwhelming desire to flee. As she watched her father gently guide the flabbergasted king out the study door, she couldn't decide whether she should count herself lucky or done for.