"He remains in the Kingdom," the Spymaster told his Queen. Simyon knelt before the mighty woman, nervous about the consequences of delivering his report to his ever more unstable sovereign.

"This I knew." The Queen's tone was deceptively calm. Simyon did not trust it.

"Of course, my Queen, I apologize for stating the obvious." He remained bent over, not daring to look at her, and awaited her reproof.

"Continue." Her command surprised him, or the lack of further admonishment did.

"The King has taken him as a counselor, and he rarely ventures out of the palace."

"The one place we cannot get at him," General Lucius spoke now, bolder in his Queen's presence than any other. His position as the Assassins' leader was secure and rooted before they had lost so many other leaders.

"Yes, for now," the Queen granted. "What else have you learned of my Lukas?"

"He has ..." Simyon paused. He did not want to tell her this part. The Queen's unhealthy infatuation with the Mind Master was well known. He cleared his throat and began again. "Apparently, he has taken the youngest Prince as his new mate."

"Prince Theodore?" the Queen's voice sounded curious but not angry. The Spymaster did not dare look at her to see her expression; he knew it would be unchanged. Simyon barely remembered how beautiful he had once thought that face. When he had been a young servant in the castle, many of his fellow servants had stolen glimpses of the lovely Heir when possible. Then, her delicate features had been framed with soft brown curls, and her lips had always been curved in a smile. Simyon could not remember when he had stopped seeing that smile or hearing the easy laugh that often accompanied it. He had left for his training as a spy before the old Queen had died, but he remembered even then that the Heir had stopped smiling. When he had returned, the woman who he now served bore little resemblance to the beautiful Heir of his youth. His Queen was still beautiful but in a distant, cold way.

"Yes, my Queen," his answer timed perfectly to allow enough delay for further questions but not too long. Servants died when they took too long to respond to this Queen.

"Interesting," she answered. Then Simyon heard, from his bowed position, the Queen stand and walk over to him. "And of his old mate? Any news?"

"My spies have traced him as far as the mountains that border the Council Lands. These are thick with magic and hard for them to penetrate. I have lost several of my men in the attempt. One with some Earth magic made it the farthest and found signs of a Master." The Spymaster grew more fearful at the Queen's closeness, afraid he might join his predecessor soon.

"Ah, the Council has awoken; they have finally interfered. Good, then I can deal with them when I finish with the Kingdom," the Queen sounded pleased, and he heard her walk away from him again. "Rise, Spymaster, you have done well. Give the rest of your report to my Assassin. His men will finish where yours have left off. They will not have the difficulty with the Elements that your men do."

"Of course," Simyon felt he had been granted a boon. He still rose cautiously, careful to do nothing to offend the Queen, and only lifted his eyes enough to see the hem of her elaborate gown. He walked to the Assassin General and handed him the report Simyon's scribe had completed moments before the Queen had called the Spymaster to this room. Lucius, the Assassin, as the Queen called the general, looked at Simyon with something resembling respect. More than anything, this told him he had done better than the last Spymaster. Perhaps he would survive to his next briefing with the Queen.

"Oh," the Queen said as Simyon neared the door. His heart sank with dread that she would find some fault in him. "What happened to the girl? The one who built the cage?"

"She was cleansed in the Fire Temple by the report of the acolytes." Simyon's spies had not collected this information. He had to trust the work of the former Spymaster, who had died because of his incapability.

"And do they speak the truth?" The Queen's voice sounded disinterested, but that she asked meant she was not. Simyon knew that his Queen always had a purpose with her words.

"We found no trace of her in the Temple," Simyon was proud that his voice sounded confident. He hated that he gave the Queen information he could not fully confirm. He didn't even know which spies had gathered this information. He had read all the reports the previous Spymaster wrote before his first meeting with the Queen in case she asked questions on old investigations. Because his Queen had shown interest, he would send out some of his trusted spies to the Fire Temple to confirm.

"And the soldier who brought her there?"

"Returned to his unit soon after the cleansing." This information, at least, was documented in the city logs. The castle guard logged every soldier that entered and exited the city.

"Ah, and that unit?" Simyon felt sweat on his brow, so many questions about someone he had spent little time thinking of. He was happy that his second had reviewed the logs with him a few days ago. Delia proved once again why she was his most precious asset.

"Dead, all were within the castle grounds. Their captain had been called to be an Honor Guard that day, and they had followed."

"Ah, of course," the Queen answered. Simyon stood with his head bowed, awaiting further instruction.

"Thank you, Spymaster. You may go," General Lucius said, and the Queen did not naysay him.

Simyon did not hesitate. He bowed and left the room, grateful for his survival. With this one completed, he had survived three briefings, more than his predecessor by one.

***

The Queen watched as the Spymaster left. He was more cautious than the last and better prepared for her briefings.

"I do hope that one survives a while. He has the best command of his people of any of the newer batch of leaders," Lucius said, echoing the Queen's thoughts, as he often did.

"Cousin." They were now alone; she could speak more freely with her only remaining family member outside her Heir. "I am tired of the frequent leadership changes. He will survive if he continues to prove himself competent."

"His intelligence is sound, or at least as much as we can tell." His voice sounded doubtful, piquing the Queen's interest.

"Oh, what part do you question?"

"We do not trust the Fire Priestess Superior and have no one we can fully trust in her order. All spies have remained isolated from the inner circle."

"She is savvy, this Priestess." The Queen had never liked the woman but had no reason to take her from her position. "Is there evidence that she aided the tribesman?"

"Ah, this, yes, I have found some for you," Lucius sounded pleased, as well he should be.

"Well?"

"She returned a horse to the tribes that resembled the one seen being ridden by the rebel. One of the stable keepers remembered the horse and, when questioned, mentioned the Priestess herself directing the horse be brought to a caravan heading back to the tribes."

"It is not a certain thing that the horse was his?"

"No, but it matches the description. It is enough to bring her in for questioning."

"Why has it taken so long to find even this much?" The Queen snapped. Too much time had passed since the loss of her Court, wasted in replacing people. Most of her staff and advisors were gone; she had to train new people and develop new plans. Her allies thought her weaker now; they were not as quickly brought to heel. Even the Temples were trying to become more independent, except the Earth Temple, which was always at her command.

"The Temple was hard to penetrate, you know this, my Queen. My assassins had to threaten the girl with her family's death before she told them this much.

"And did they kill them?"

"No, she may prove useful later. The family proved a good incentive. They will live as long as she continues to be a good source of information."

"Always thinking ahead, cousin. This is why you are still alive."

"That and the good fortune to have not been in the castle that night," Lucius teased.

Anger flowed through her body at his words. Had it been anyone else, she would have killed him on the spot for even mentioning it. But it was the Assassin, her father's nephew. She had chosen long ago to let him live unless he betrayed her. Though it was harder now to restrain herself, the reason was still good enough that she let him live that day.

"Yes, and the horse keeper, does she remember the girl?"

"Yes, well, she remembered more the poor condition of the horse he brought the girl to the Temple on. It had been run hard and long without a break."

"Typical foot soldier, not understanding the importance of caring for his mount."

"Yes, she remembered them arriving and the horse leaving to return to the castle. She never saw the woman leave."

"So, she truly was cleansed?"

"If the Fire wanted it, the Priestess would not stop it."

"Indeed," the Queen said as she contemplated. She had asked the Priestess to cleanse her enemies with the Fire in the past, and she had refused. It was always because the Fire God refused, never the Temple or Priestess. The Queen had stopped trying to send anyone to the Fire. It saved her the frustration of having no recourse for the refusal.

This time, it seemed, however, that this wily Priestess had obeyed her. What a shame that this girl's death had been the time the Fire Superior had followed her orders so efficiently. It would have been nice to have found out how the cage had failed. The girl had been much on her mind of late. Her Mind Masters had sworn it would not fail. They had claimed that the girl's strength was substantial enough to make the cage impenetrable.

She had not been aware of who the girl was for many years. No one had dared tell her. When one of her advisors discovered the truth, she entered a furor. How could they have let Lukas's wife survive?

According to experts, her survival had been due to the child she carried. It made some sense that a man could not kill his offspring, even when ordered to. She had wanted to test the theory and had rounded up several of the children he had fathered among the rebels for this purpose. Pity those children had not been on the castle grounds that night.

At first, she thought of using the woman as a lure. But she had already been given to the Earth, and there was the possibility that he might not have believed she lived or cared. By that time, he had moved on. The Queen frowned when she thought of her reaction to finding out about Lukas's new mate. She had been disgusted and angry to think of Lukas with a man. The spy who had told her had not survived that encounter. Men should know their place. None of the men in her country would have dared try to replace her in Lukas' bed. She eventually understood it as a compliment. No woman could replace her, so he had to turn to a man. After she came to this conclusion, the thought of a woman with Lukas would have upset her more than another man.

The Queen sighed. Perhaps Lukas had never loved this woman whom he had married. She had decided that the risk was too high to potentially lose the only Mind Mage still alive who could cage Lukas on such a weak tie as marriage. This creature whose Mindmagic could build a cage fed with the captive's strength was of more value than as a lure. Like any leader, she had been reluctant to lose this asset after Lukas' capture, but the Mind Masters had insisted that only the woman's death would make the cage unbreakable. Too bad the men who had given her this assurance were already dead. She would have liked to have killed them herself. The Queen needed someone to control her anger, so she focused on the next logical person.

"And the tribesman?" The Queen asked once she noted that Lucius had completed reading the report.

"The spies have done well. I will send some of my assassins, who are stronger in the Elements, to meet this spy who has penetrated the mountains."

"Good. Perhaps we will get a Council Master at the same time as the tribesman." The Queen leaned back with her eyes closed, smiling at the thought.

"Perhaps, but is this Raja as important a prize now that Lukas has chosen another? Is he worth the potential loss of more spies or assassins?"

"Yes, even if he is discarded, he is my enemy!" The Queen hated this man who had taken Lukas from her all those years ago. She had never forgotten this treachery. And when she heard that this man had scattered the rebels and escaped before her soldiers and assassins could arrive to kill them, she had been so angry that the messenger had not survived.

How had Raja known to run and why to the Fire Priestess? These details still bothered her. The best that Lucius, her only dependable counsel, could venture is that it must have been too long between communications with Lukas. They assumed he went to the Fire Temple for information. But they had only recently found this proof. It must have been an existing plan in the case of Lukas' capture. Lukas was an intelligent leader; perhaps he had learned that from observing her for those years.

"Of course, my Queen, we will capture him if possible, kill him if not."

"Good. And Lukas?"

"He is, as the Spymaster has said, inaccessible. He has not left the castle since his arrival," he said thoughtfully.

"What, cousin, are you thinking?" The Queen enjoyed her cousin's mind. It was devious.

"Perhaps we can lure him out."

"How so?"

"The Prince. If he has taken up with young Theodore, perhaps your traitor can give us a way to put the Prince at risk without it being obvious."

"He is useless!" The Queen found the Kingdom traitor infuriating. She had invested so much in him, yet he still gave her so little.

"Nonetheless, perhaps I could glean something from his information that would be helpful."

"You can try. I will have my scribe bring you what we have from him."

"Good. I will give you a plan in a few days."

"I look forward to it, and the Priestess?"

"That will need to be the Queen's Guards. It would not be proper for my assassins to bring in the Priestess."

"No, you are correct." The Queen knew to tread lightly around the Temples. The Water temple's loss had been a blow to the Queendom and still hung heavy on the Queen's mind. Those who had advised her had been so inadequate in the early days, and she regretted following their advice. Had she known that the lack of a Water Temple would stop the gift from appearing among her people, she may have done more to reform them.

Now, she had even lost the Healer, the last of his kind. She could not know how he had fallen victim to Lukas' blow. But she suspected that the weak man had intentionally opened his shields. The pathetic priest had desired death for so long, constantly babbling about the tortured mind's effect on him. The Queen had denied him what he had craved because of his usefulness. After thinking about it, she was sure the priest had seen Lukas' plan when he healed him; how could he not have? And he had allowed death to come to him finally. He had let so much death happen, warning no one. But then again, who would the Water priest warn? He had no friends and was undoubtedly not loyal enough to warn his Queen. No, the Water proved treacherous to the end. Perhaps it was good that no Water gift survived in the Queendom. The followers of the Lady were difficult to control. This thought calmed her. She hated regret; it implied a mistake, and that was a weakness. The Queen could have no fault.

"I will send them in the morning to escort her to the castle," the Queen said. "Do you have someone in mind for her questioning?"

"I have some suggestions, my Queen," The Assassin smiled as he spoke. Lucius's suggestions were always helpful, though she only sometimes followed them.

Usually, the Queen would have enjoyed discussing his ideas for the Priestess's interrogation. But she felt another headache coming on, one of the after-effects of Lukas's escape. She may not have died, but Lukas had left his mark.

"Good, we will discuss them when she arrives," the Queen said, her voice still stable and confident to her ear, and waved her hand in dismissal. He had to leave before the pain became noticeable on her face. Weakness in any form could be used against her; no one could know of this one.

Lucius bowed perfectly and left without any appearance of haste. He was a valuable counselor, the Queen had no friends, but he was as close to one as she allowed. Many things that would have meant death for others, Lucius survived. But only because he knew his limits. He was aware of his tenuous position as all the others, maybe more, because he continued to survive.

After he left, she pulled the latest tonic the medicine men had given her. As she took a painkiller drink, she realized this was another reason to regret the Healer's loss. Her mother's son could have healed this headache with little effort, and she would not have had to cut out his tongue to ensure silence afterward. 

WC3017

Last Edit 6/22/2023