Tahni refused to believe that her luck had soured to such an extent, but when faced with the obvious, she had to admit defeat and set off in search of another solution. Among the mass of humanity milling around and inside the palace each and every day, she still found it ridiculously difficult to believe that she'd somehow ticked off one of the only people whose wrath could actually harm her. The man's title was as intimidating as his physical appearance - which was to say, not at all, given the sullied reputation monarchs had garnered in the past few decades; however, Eker IV King of Kassinem, Havidrem and the Northern Endoria Archipelago had enough sycophants nearby in search of a quick way to make themselves noteworthy and curry favor with His Royal Majesty.

Hopefully, her father wasn't one of them.

She bit off a curse as a protruding twig of a decorative rosebush that had no business being planted so close to a rustic hunting lodge tore off a hefty chunk of her delicate sleeve, ripping the green overlay and revealing the mottled fabric underneath. In her humble opinion, the newly dyed riding habit could have done with more time soaking in the green fountain, but she hadn't dared risk leaving it there overnight. The resulting color was fashionable enough, and now also proved to be a real asset by providing relatively decent camouflage. The last thing Tahni needed was to be caught snooping around the shrubbery outside the lodge.

She'd gotten lost as she'd made her way downstairs, judiciously avoiding further human interactions, so she couldn't remember which outer wall housed the window to the study from where the cup had dropped. If she'd only been able to focus better, this would never have been an issue, and while the recent revelations and discoveries hadn't demolished her self-confidence, they'd certainly battered it something fierce. She was now uncustomarily careful, and consequently slow. If someone had gotten to the discarded cup before her, or if the men who'd been under the windowsill when she'd accidentally knocked it over had picked it up in that same instant, she would have nothing to show for apart from the newly risen suspicion of the country's monarch.

She dropped down onto her knees and plastered herself against the grimy lodge wall as a pair of under butlers crossed before the threadbare hedgerow on her left, but they were in a hurry, and so didn't notice her, just as she didn't get a chance to register the subject of their whispered conversation.

Despite the danger having passed, Tahni remained in her tense position for a few seconds longer, breathing as noiselessly as she could even while her heart threatened to hammer its way out of her chest. Her vision swam and she allowed herself to slip even lower, sitting down on the moist, cold earth and leaning her full weight against the wall. She let out a calming breath, then regarded her shaking hands.

This was not her way. She'd always ached for freedom and excitement, and she hadn't felt chained by her own fear in a long time to the point of being almost paralyzed by it. Pinpointing the cause was even more difficult, given the abundance of likely explanations: the king's all but promised vengeance, her father's reaction should he learn the truth, Meyo's accident, Steppo's infuriating and potentially harmful presence, the shadow of doubt cast onto people she otherwise though she could trust, the cutthroat competition among the women fighting to become queen, the rumors of war, and the fact that after years of trying, she still hadn't reached her target sum.

Tahni gritted her teeth and forced herself to get back up and be on her way. It was true, she had a myriad of reasons to surrender and wallow, but she only needed one to keep going. Deep down, she knew this was what she truly wanted, what she'd always dreamed of. If recovered, that cup would go a long way to securing the capital she needed to finally take the proverbial leap and run away to Terevansia, like almost everyone was thinking of doing given the current political landscape.

Slowly, she approached the corner of the house leading to what she was certain would prove to be the correct wall. Except that it appeared she'd arrived too late.

Someone was in the bushes immediately to her right - careful, but still making distinguishable noises - and if she peeked around the corner, she was sure she'd be able to make out the unwanted intruder.

She hesitated, weighing the risks. It wasn't as if she could go all the way around the hunting lodge to come up on the other side, and if the cup had already been taken away, it would be best to learn of it at once so she could redirect her focus and hopefully not return home empty handed.

She therefore braced herself against the wall, tensing every muscle of her body as she prepared to risk the quickest of glances. Unfortunately, just as she'd started moving again, a blasting horn reverberated from the terrace and caused her to hit her head on an overhanging wooden log in the corner joint. She was of course unable to completely muffle her subsequent curse and brought herself back around to lean against the rough wall, head pounding and knees buckling. It certainly didn't help that the horn kept on blaring, no doubt signaling the beginning of the hunt. Tahni couldn't help but wonder whether it was now too late for her and she'd already been caught.

The damned horn blower kept at it for what felt like minutes on end, and Tahni saw several retainers rush past the shrubbery ensconcing her in the little protective space immediately surrounding the lodge, but she found herself neither worrying, nor caring too much when the immediate danger was much closer.

Unnatural silence settled in the aftermath of the hunting horn ceasing its call, and Tahni perked her ears curiously in an attempt to make out what was happening around the corner. Had that other person already fled?

"Who's there?" came the tense inquiry, and Tahni briefly closed her eyes, summoning the remains of her mental resilience for the day.

"It depends," she whispered back. "Intentions and allegiances are more fickle than the wind."

She winced, barely refraining from slapping a palm against her forehead. Now was not the time to quote Empress Ettari, no matter how appropriate the saying might be.

"Yet even the winds have their seasons," continued the voice, "so it follows that human nature is as inevitable as it is cruel."

Oh, dear, this was a learned one. And from the timbre she'd distinguished, Tahni was now ready to reasonably assess what, or even who this other person might be. There was just no way around it now, so she pushed against the wall and leaned around the corner, ready to draw back at a moment's notice should she find herself faced with a direct threat.

What she saw instead was a pair of clear blue eyes no doubt reflecting her own worry.

Tahni whistled low and took an appreciative glance at the woman.

"Nice suit," she complemented.

Druelle Odarsi had discarded her traditional wedding gown in favor of a light brown worker's outfit, replete with sturdy field boots and a battered wide-brimmed cap to hide her features as well as her hair. The satchel she'd had before was slung over one shoulder, with no suspicious bulges in the shape of large hunting trophies. Tahni swallowed, fighting the urge to crane her neck past the girl's shoulder and inspect the grounds directly beneath the wall.

"Likewise," she said in a level tone that belied her concern. Tahni didn't need a trained eye to notice Druelle's tense stance, or the way she clutched the strap of the satchel as if her life depended on not letting go.

"I dropped something," she blurted, feeling an embarrassing blush creep its way up her neck. "You didn't happen to see anything...?"

Druelle broke from Tahni's hopeful gaze to cast a look behind her, but she was already shrugging.

"I just got here myself," she murmured.

"And got changed so fast? That's impressive."

"I came prepared," said Druelle, and Tahni was pleased to notice that she wasn't the only one blushing. This didn't have to be awkward or dangerous if none of them had the intention of revealing their presence.

"And dare one ask what you came prepared for?"

Druelle would not meet her gaze now either, so Tahni was left to speculate. Fortunately, as far as she could tell, there weren't that many likely scenarios, and the first one that came to mind revealed a possible path for her to get her hands on that blasted cup by outright earning it.

"I'm not keeping you from something important, am I?" she ventured. When the other girl started, she pressed on, wishing for this encounter to materialize itself into an actual opportunity. "Because it would be a shame for the other teams to get a head start on the hunt."

Druelle regarded her with utter disbelief.

"How did you..." she began.

"Even uncommon minds think alike sometimes. Now, you wouldn't happen to be accepting any new teammates on this glorious quest for errant chickens... would you?"

Druelle rolled her shoulder uncomfortably, shifting the weight of the satchel.

"I work best alone," she said slowly, "though I suppose I might be persuaded otherwise."

"Well, isn't that convenient." Tahni grinned and detached herself from the lodge's outer wall, rounding the corner to stand directly before Druelle. "Just let me check the shrubs real quick and I'll do just that."