"I have a task for you," Oriana announced as soon as Sage stepped through the door. She was in much better spirits than she had been the previous morning, which Sage decided was probably related to the empty broth bowl beside her chaise.

"Pardon?" Sage's heart quickened at the glint in her eye, spreading a hot worry that was at odds with the frigid wind blowing in from the open balcony.

"A little adventure into the palace," said Oriana, twirling a paintbrush between her fingers even though the easel was still blank. "I don't suppose they gave you the full tour, though that won't be too much an issue. For this task, you only need to go back down those stairs and past the tapestry with the serpent."

Sage felt a discomfort roll through her stomach. On her very first day, the Chamberlain had warned her she needed an escort when inside the palace. But had he only meant when being granted entry, or at all times? She had left the palace on her own yesterday without any problems.

Oriana continued to speak, blithely unaware of the turmoil in Sage's head. "The sun is so gorgeous today, and the Council meetings are dreadfully dull. So I'm going to send you in my stead. It should only be an hour or so, and then you can return here and report your conclusions."

"But..." Sage stuttered to find her words. "But, won't the Council object to me being at the meeting instead of you?"

"Oh, absolutely," Oriana replied. "And that is why I'm not sending you to the Council Chamber, but to a room just above it. You'll be able to listen in—though not pose your own arguments, unfortunately—and take notes for me in my absence. You have a notebook, yes?"

"Yes," said Sage, her stunned hands fumbling in her satchel for paper and a pencil.

"Excellent. The meeting is usually arranged for nine. A good half of them are always late, but you'd better be off now so you don't miss anything."

Oriana was herding Sage towards the door, and it was all she could do not to grab the frame and refuse to let go. "How will I know which room is the right one?"

"Ah, I almost forgot you wouldn't," said Oriana as if everyone should know the exact layout of the palace. "You'll find a corridor past the tapestry. It goes quite a distance because it's designed as a circuit for Monarchs to take without actually having to walk through the palace proper. But after you enter, you must look for the third steps on your right. After that, take the door with a snake eating its tail and find the chair with a velvet cushion. Underneath the chair is a grate, and you'll be able to hear everything said in the Council Chamber through there."

Sage tried to remember the directions even as she desperately said, "But I'm just a Student, maybe I shouldn't be listening to private Council discussions."

"You are a citizen of the city run by these men," Oriana corrected sharply. "The matters of their discussions should be entirely public to all those interested. You have every right to listen."

"And yet, you're making me eavesdrop through a grate?"

"Correct."

Only minutes later, Sage was at the bottom of the stairwell with a hand clenched on the serpent's tapestry. It had sequined eyes that glittered with unspoken secrets. Sage guessed that it must've seen plenty of private affairs, because if she was being sent to spy on Council meetings, then there was no doubt that the pathways had been used for other discreet deeds.

The corridor beyond stretched just as far as Oriana had warned, but what she hadn't said was just how much it turned and twisted. Sometimes, the walls grew so narrow that claustrophobia clung to Sage's chest and, to reach the third flight of steps, she had to crouch beneath an overhang so that cobwebs wouldn't catch on her coat. It certainly didn't seem very regal, but it appeared that even in the palace, privacy came at a price.

In the next room were several matching doors, though only one had an engraving of a snake eating its tail around its doorknob. It didn't take long for Sage to find the chair with a velvet cushion after that, as the windowless corridor was bare and simple. It made her wonder if many others had been made to sit in this spot and take notes without the Council's knowledge.

Instead of settling on the cushion, sage arranged her paper on the floor beside the grate. It was built with thick and closely-arranged bars, so she couldn't see much of the Council Chamber, though she could hear the slow shuffle of Councilors as they placed themselves around their table. True to Oriana's prediction, the meeting didn't start for another ten minutes, and when the Chamberlain called for attention, his voice came echoing loud and clear through the grate.

He launched straight into an order of business, which quickly gave way to an apparently urgent proposal of raising a city-wide tithe. Above the squabbling Councilors, Sage settled into a rhythm of writing her unauthorised minutes. It wasn't unlike taking notes during some of the duller lectures at the University, and her mind was soon drifting while her hand did the work. An hour passed before something finally caught her interest.

"Now, onto matters at the University. How are our trials going, Mathias?"

Sage rocked forwards to peer through the grate, seeing glimpses of a wispy man as he rose from his chair and stepped up before the Chamberlain's dais.

"The trials are progressing steadily, though as of yet we have reaped no clear results," said Councilor Mathias in a high, reedy voice. "But let that not discourage us, gentlemen. We still have plenty more experiments lined up, and the University's facilities have proven more than adequate."

Sage didn't know of any trial happening at the University, although the Scholars were always working on something, and she doubted the Council would turn to Students to pursue their alchemical hypotheses.

"Thank you," said the Chamberlain as the Councilor returned to his seat. "The matter is of course open to amendments and queries."

When no hands were raised, the Chamberlain closed his logbook in preparation to conclude the meeting. But before he could speak, someone directly to his left cleared his throat and the room regained its silence.

"Is there another matter you wish to bring up, Abbott?"

"In fact there is," said a man that Sage had already recognised. He held a power over the room that the previous speaker had not. Even the Chamberlain was attentive to his every drawled word. "I've become aware that a placement in the palace was offered to a Student at the University, and was surprised that this was not brought up as a voting motion during our last meeting."

"Ah well," the Chamberlain blustered. "The position was directly proposed by Her Highness."

"I was not under the impression that Her Highness knew enough of the University to request a Student by her own discernment. There are a number of extremely capable Magister Students who were passed over for such an unprecedented opportunity."

Sage had stopped breathing. She hadn't been prepared to hear herself being discussed by the city's Council. The idea alone would have made her feel nauseous, but now she felt seconds from imploding. It was clear that Councilor Abbott was referring to what he perceived to be a snub against his son, but what was less certain was whether he knew Sage by her name as well as her predicament. If he did, then Lawrence would doubtlessly know too.

"Might I suggest that when another placement such as this one is made available, that it be considered by the Council before any choice is finalised."

The entire room immediately murmured their agreement, and the Chamberlain garbled out, "You're quite right, Abbott. Quite right."

The meeting was adjourned soon afterwards, but Sage remained in an uncomfortable crouch until she was sure all of the Councilors had left the Chamber. If she stayed still for long enough, maybe she could fade into the secret passageways and be forgotten for the rest of time. Then there would be no need for her to be discussed by strangers or frowned at by professors. She could simply vanish, just like Valerie.

But soon her legs began to cramp and she unwillingly stood up, rearranged the chair and cushion, and walked back to the room of doors. But when she stepped inside and looked around, Sage realised she had no idea which door to return through. The room was small but covered with doors, all painted with the same oak varnish. Their only differences were the snake engravings. Some were small and subtle while others took up the entire door, one had a ruby-red eye but another opposite disappeared as soon as Sage stepped backwards.

She was disoriented and unnerved as she stood under the sly gaze of so many snakes, all seeming to slither closer as claustrophobia clamped again around her ribs. She chose one with an indigo belly that reminded her of the serpent tapestry, stepping swiftly through its door and crouching beneath a shelf of stone. The dim light made her fumble, her hands colliding with a wooden board that immediately swung forwards.

Sage staggered onto a thick, purple rug, turning just in time to see a large mirror slide back into its place on a panelled wall. Apart from a faint shudder across the glass, there was no sign of the passage she had appeared from. Sage stared at her stricken face in the mirror and saw she was now standing in a games room, complete with a billiard table tucked into a corner and a cart of amber liquids in crystal decanters.

In the centre of the room was a marble chessboard. Pawns were tossed on either side, but two golden queens were set in mid-match against one another. Beneath the board was a time control mechanism built with shiny cogs and wheels. None of the cogs were moving, but when Sage peered closer, there seemed to be something off balance about the clockwork.

Behind the closed door, Sage suddenly heard footsteps fast approaching. She desperately tugged at the mirror, but it stayed firmly set into the wall. The billiard table was high enough for her to squeeze beneath it, but she had wasted too much time at the chessboard and a hand was turning the doorknob. In silent horror, she watched as the door swept open and Councillor Abbott strode into the room.

A/N Hi! Apologies for not uploading last week. I took a little break from online work to read more stories away from the screen. I'm back now with a longer chapter and a bit of a cliffhanger, but Sage will be returning to the University soon!