Ferdinand slowed when we reached a row of brick houses with red doors. He bit his lip, pausing for a moment before approaching one of the houses. He knocked on the door and a moment later a woman with a child on her hip answered. A white rose adorned her apron.

"Does Mr. Parpet live here?" Ferdinand asked, after dipping his head in lieu of doffing a cap he didn't wear.

The woman rolled her eyes and adjusted the child. "That preening peacock was forced out weeks ago," she said. "We were given his house by the Common Army, but we don't know where he's gone off to."

"Oh," Ferdinand said. "I'm sorry to bother you." He stepped down, reaching for my hand. The woman watched us. There was not the suspicious slant to her eyes that normally followed us, but more one that seemed almost wishful.

"Be careful out there," she said, glancing at a group of men down the street. "My brother is one of the Vigilant, and he says that everyone not on the side of workers is an enemy. So get a white rose."

She shut the door with that, and Ferdinand and I made our way away from the group of men.

Our steps were now aimless. With Ferdinand's old ballet master no longer anywhere where we might find him, and my new apartment out of the question, that left us without any goal for the night besides not wanting to stay out in the snow as the air got colder and colder.

"Perhaps we could try the old boarding house that we used to live in before the king's funding?" I said, my breath fogging.

"That might be our best bet. I don't like the idea of going anywhere that Lennox was associated with, just in case the Vigilant Men discovered it and went there as well, but we're running out of options," Ferdinand said. "We'll go check on the building, and see if it's safe before we go in."

The idea was a very risky one. Neither of our faces were very forgettable if the person doing the looking was at all familiar with Mr. Lennox. I was the girl always at his side, and Ferdinand was a celebrity and star. Any Vigilant Man that had the privilege of ranking high in the Common Army would know us for certain. Going to the old boarding house was not the best, but the cold drove us to accept anything that might be of help.

We started our journey to the impoverished side of town, but we got no more than a mile before we were halted at a crossing by a familiar voice.

"Nadia? Ferdinand?" the soft voice said.

My first instinct was to run, and from the tension in Ferdinand's arm I could tell his was the same. Anyone who knew our name would know that we were connected with a perceived enemy of the Vigilant Men. But just as our legs were ready to spirit us off, a woman stepped out of one of the side streets and held up a hand in greeting.

"Mrs. Lephard?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm so glad it's you," she said, a smile creeping up on her lips. They seemed strangely naked looking, lacking the prominent red stain that she normally wore. In fact, her whole face looked paler and tired without the stage makeup on. She still bore a commanding aura around her. She walked like a star even while she had to hike up her skirts to avoid a large pile of horse dung on the road between us and her.

"What are you doing out here?" Ferdinand asked, glancing around to see if anyone was falling her. Her guards were absent, and she stood there as alone as could be.

"I was out getting a few essentials," she said, pulling back a corner of the handkerchief she held bundled between her gloved hands. Buried within was a handful of bullets, all shining and silver. I looked up at her face and she quickly covered them again.

"I have a gun but nothing to put in it. I thought today would be just the day to remedy that," she said.

"Did you hear what happened at the theater?" I asked.

She nodded grimly and placed a hand on my arm. "Yes. It was in the newspapers, though they were magnificently doctored in favor of the Vigilant Men by order of that young lion Matveev," she said. "It said nothing about the dancers, so I hoped that you had made it out without being one of the bodies they hauled to the front of the palace."

I felt sick. "They displayed the bodies?"

"I'm afraid so. They seem to be rather fond of showing everyone the exact nature of their hearts."

"Was Mr. Lennox...?" I didn't want to finish the question.

She sighed. "I really don't known, Nadia," she said. "The newspapers were very clear that they exterminated the Common Army leaders, in order that they might squash any of the pockets of soldiers still resisting, but they didn't mention any names."

Ferdinand rubbed my arm and I nodded.

"Come along, let's get you somewhere warm," Hannbella said, stepping to my side and linking her arm through mine.

"We didn't want to go back to the apartments," I said.

"No, that would not have done," she said, steering us across the road and down one of the alleys that cut to another road entirely. "I have a small room in a very unsuspicious house that no one is going to think to search for you in. You'll be safe there, as long as the fighting is held off by the relative pacifism of the men and women on our street. We try to help the Vigilant Men when we can, if only to keep them happy, but sometimes nothing we can do will keep them from their righteous anger."

----

Hannabella's room was indeed small. It barely fit her bed, a wardrobe, a small stove, and a sofa pressed up against the wall. She hung up her coat on a hook over the bed and gestured for us to sit on the sofa. She sat on her bed. The mattress was barely more than a scrap of fabric and it looked so very strange underneath such a great lady.

"Welcome to my abode while I stay in Rumonin," she said, patting the dingy blanket that must have come with the bed.

"Not quite like my cottage in Flauns, but I suppose it is better than living in that room that practically was a jail cell with my two guards outside night and day," she said. "I know it is quite horrible, but I do find myself just a little glad that they were at the theater that night."

"Do you think in the chaos of the fighting that you will be able to sneak across the border and go back to Flauns?" Ferdinand asked.

Hannabella shrugged. "I can only be hopeful, but I am not sure. It is a long hike through the wilderness to get to the border, and I do not like the odds of being out there alone where any stray band of escaping Common Army soldiers might find me. I've heard stories of people trying to escape Rumonin, and it is generally agreed that it is safer here than out in the wilderness."

"Surely it can't be that bad out there," I said. "You could be shot for just stepping the wrong way here. Out in the wilderness, at least you can find something to eat without having to give your life and heart to the Vigilant Men."

"Yes, but the war is not only here," Hannabella said. "Prest and Lenotskaya have just started sending their own troops in to help reclaim the city. The two kings want to try and put one of the royal line back on the throne and quell this uprising before it causes any ideas in their own people. If Rumonin completely falls to the Vigilant Men, Prest and Lenotskaya know that it is only a matter of time before their people see what comes of revolution and want to join in. So the kings have pooled armies and are trying to force their way back into the city. It is not just the Common Army and Vigilant Men fighting. It is four armies, all exploding within this one small kingdom."

Fear was so constant in my veins that it felt more like anther stone dumped onto the pile that already weighted my heart. "We are all doomed."

"This is not the kind of talk we should be participating in," Hannabella said, her voice rising to a cheerful chirp. She patted my hand and began tucking away the stray tendrils of my hair that stuck to my skin with sweat. "We should get you two to sleep. I'm sure you're both exhausted after all that happened today."

"I think that would best," Ferdinand said, his hand squeezing mine. "Thank you."

She got up and opened her wardrobe, pulling out a spare blanket and a large coat which she bundled in her arms. "You two take the bed, and I will sleep on the sofa," she said.

"No, I'll take the sofa," Ferdinand said.

"Nonsense," Hannabella said. "I toss and turn and even my own husband says that he wishes I could be strapped down at night. I wouldn't wish that on poor Nadia."

"I insist," Ferdinand said, standing and taking the blanket from her. I looked down, fighting a flush to my cheeks. She looked from him to me and shrugged.

"If that's how you want it," she said, as if we were so strange to her that she had just given up on understanding us.

Without having brought any clothing, we went to bed with whatever we wore. The blanket offered some warmth, but Hannabella was my main comfort.

When the room quieted and I thought everyone was asleep, the tears came in silent waves. I struggled to keep quiet, not wanting to wake either of my companions, but unable to keep the dam from bursting.

My home. Gone in an instant. There was no way my Company could survive this change in power, and I was now without my guardian and without my ballet. Who was I without dance? Who was I without Mr. Lennox? Just an orphan with no skills or money or connections.

As I shook with the muffled sobs, a hand reached across my shoulders and pulled me close. Hannabella's breath stirred the back of my hair and she rested her head close enough for me to hear her whispered words.

"You're going to be fine, darling," she said. "We're not going to let you be harmed."

Her arm over my shoulder, she reached for my hand and held it tightly. I couldn't stop the tears immediately, but in her tight embrace I slowly began to get a handle on the emotions that ran rampant in my chest. I slowed to a few juddering breaths and a sniffle here and there.

Hannabella smiled against the back of my head and squeezed my palm, and I wondered if perhaps this wasn't what it felt like to have a mother. That warmth and comfort in the times that you needed it. A few whispered words when you were thinking of things that were already done and gone. My heart ached for that woman I lost so many years ago, and I closed my eyes before I could think of yet another thing I could not replace.

---

Thanks to everyone who voted on The Price! Your names have been bumped too far down in my notifications to find, but I wanted to let you know that every vote is highly appreciated. I really do treasure the time it takes all of you to read my chapters, and when you let me know that you enjoyed them it just sends a smile to my face! So thank you, thank you, thank you! I wish I had enough time to respond to comments and votes as soon as they happen, but just know that even if I can't thank you personally for votes, I still see them and appreciate your support!