Grielle had planned to sleep through the afternoon and early evening, except her mattress felt like gravel. She tossed and turned until she abandoned the effort and instead paced the room.

Her father had taught her every skill he possessed as a master thief. More than just lock-picking and evading detection, she'd learned to cultivate a cunning mind and a cautious heart that prevented her from letting her emotions cloud her judgment. She used it all in order to protect herself and her crew from harm. Those abilities were the reasons people twice her age followed her lead as captain. And now they all seemed to be crumbling at her hands.

She wished her father could have been there to set her straight. He would tell her to focus on her mission. In the coming days, they would face greater dangers in Bleakwood than just pirates.

After a proper bath, she wandered the halls in an Andorian gown delivered to her by Henrik's servants. The palace was beautiful; every room boasted magnificent views of the city. She turned down a passageway that overlooked the great hall where she'd encountered Henrik early that morning. Pausing along the stone railing, she leaned over to watch the throngs of people now bustling about below her.

Someone appeared at her side. She turned to see Henrik, but at this point, having spent all of her energy yelling at him and then at Benedikt, she could barely muster a decent scowl.

"Having trouble sleeping?" he asked with a knowing grin.

She remembered a time when she'd found that lopsided grin charming. Now it made her want to punch something. "Yes. I couldn't get comfortable." She turned back to watching the people below, determined to hold her emotions in check in a way that would make her father proud this time around.

"Interesting..." Henrik mused.

Grielle tried her best to ignore him, for he seemed to have caught onto something he wouldn't let go. A thread he couldn't resist pulling. He ran his hand down her back and let it come to rest in the small of her spine. "Beautiful dress. I think I got the size right. I've always been good at guessing a woman's dress size."

"You will remove your hand immediately, or I will remove it for you," she growled. The warmth of his hand spread through the thin fabric onto her skin.

He drew his hand away, but only after letting it linger a second longer to show she was not in control. "Such authority for a common thief," Henrik said as if she might be something more.

"What are you trying to say?" she asked sharply, her patience worn too thin for veiled comments. She rubbed her lower back to remove the ghosting warmth of his hand on her.

Henrik circled around to the other side of her. "Nothing, except that I know your secret."

~

Benedikt woke with the setting sun and readied himself for King Henrik's banquet. His limbs ached a little after the battle at Osgarden, but all of his scrapes seemed to be healing up nicely. After a hot bath, a fresh shirt felt like the greatest luxury in the world. He exited his room and found Ludvig and Yorick hanging about the hall. Shortly after, Reyn exited her room in a long flowing gown of emerald green that brought out the warm tones of her dark brown skin. It appeared they'd all been provided with a set of dress clothes, free of pirate blood stains.

"It appears Grielle has already headed down to the banquet," Reyn said to Benedikt's dismay as she closed the door behind her. Moose and Berne joined their gathering in the hall, equally clothed in niceties, though Benedikt wasn't quite sure where Henrik had found dress attire large enough.

"I guess we should head down then," Benedikt said, before leading them down the wide marble steps. Once they reached the main area of the palace, servants directed them along towards the banquet hall. They passed through a pair of towering marble doors and found themselves in the throes of a lavish dinner party. A large reflecting pool with a bubbling fountain filled the center of the room and reflected the light of the golden chandeliers above it. Long marble tables, filled from edge to edge with trays of delicacies, lined either side of the reflecting pool.

A large number of guests strode about. Their chattering was just audible over the sounds of a small band of players. All were dressed in the finery of Andor tradesmen, who were known for their elaborate embroidery and thin, flowing fabrics. In the very center of the room, Benedikt saw her. In a gown of pale lavender that hugged her through her waist and fell in loose ripples about her legs, Grielle stood by the reflecting pool. It seemed like nothing else in the room mattered, and a magic string attached to his chest pulled him towards where she stood. Benedikt's feet carried him through the crowd as if they had a will of their own.

His mouth suddenly felt dry as he stopped at her side. She watched the large orange fish swim slowly in the fountain pool at her feet. Her familiar calm seemed to have come back to her. "You look—" He fumbled for a sufficient word. "Stunning."

Grielle looked up from the pool and met his gaze. "Thank you. You look well."

"Thanks." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked around the room to keep himself from staring at her. "Have you tried the food yet?" He could have kicked himself for failing to make any interesting sort of small talk.

"I seem to have lost my appetite," Grielle said wistfully before returning her gaze to the floor.

"Is everything all right?" Benedikt placed a gentle hand on the sheer sleeve of her gown. She didn't draw her arm away, much to his surprise and relief. Instead, she wound her arm through his, which was equally as shocking as it was exhilarating.

"Let's walk around the room." Grielle led him through the crowd. "It's very hard for me to be around Henrik. I met him just before I lost my father. I'm now confident he knows things about my past even I barely understand."

Benedikt didn't want to push too far, but at every turn, Grielle piqued his curiosity. "Anything I should know about?"

"Not particularly. It's nothing truly pertinent to your quest."

"What if I wanted to know," he began, drawing Grielle a little closer to his side with a small tug on her arm, "As a friend."

"I will tell you, but it's a longer story than we have time for now." Grielle let her arm slip away from his. "But I will tell you that Henrik asked me to be his queen."

Benedikt stopped in his tracks. "He did? Before he left you to the Ogres?"

The corner of Grielle's lip turned up into a smile. "No, this afternoon."

Benedikt watched her closely from the twinkle in her eyes to the little dimple that formed on her cheek. "And what was your reply?" His blood pounded in his ears as he awaited her answer.

"I think I made my reply quite clear." Grielle's eyes darted to another part of the room.

Benedikt followed her gaze to see a grumpy-looking Henrik with a red gash on his left cheek. As Grielle lifted a goblet of wine from a passing tray and brought it to her lips, Benedikt noticed a white bandage wrapped around her right knuckles.

"You didn't."

"I did."

Though he maintained a composed appearance, her handling of the situation sent a wave of relief rushing through his body.

~

After several hours of merriment, the guests, full of food and wine, began to wander off to bed. Reyn and Ludvig approached where the rest of the Liberators stood.

"Reyn is tired, so I'll escort her back to her room. You're all welcome to join us." Ludvig patted Reyn's hand which rested lightly on his arm.

"You go on ahead," Benedikt suggested. "I have a few things I want to attend to before the morning."

"Ay," Moose agreed. "I need to check with the kitchens before they stock us up with food supplies. Berne can check with the smith on the status of our weapons."

"So be it. We'll see you in the morning," Ludvig said before leading Reyn out of the banquet hall. Moose and Berne soon followed.

Yorick seemed bored as he spun a gold butter knife between his fingers. "What sort of business do you have to attend to, your royal vagueness?" he asked.

Benedikt didn't really have a reason other than a hunch for letting Reyn and Ludvig venture off alone, but suddenly he saw one headed right for him. His eyes caught those of a determined-looking King Henrik, who made his way through the crowd directly towards them.

Grielle stiffened at Benedikt's side. Henrik could have just as easily thrown them out when Grielle assaulted him the first and now the second time, but he still kept them around for some reason. Benedikt didn't really want to stick around long enough to find out what that reason was.

He stood from his chair. "I think, for diplomacy's sake, I'll have a chat with our friend the king before we go."

"I'll leave you to it then," Grielle said, taking Yorick's arm. "I couldn't sleep a wink this afternoon and I'm eager to get to bed." They turned to leave, but then Henrik appeared at their side.

"Off to bed so soon?" Henrik cooed as he stood in their path to the door.

"Yes," Grielle replied, her tone measured and full of icy indifference. "You'd think a king could afford some decent mattresses, but I couldn't get to sleep this afternoon on that uncomfortable bed in my room."

A grin spread across Henrik's lips. "Well...sweet dreams, then." The honeyed words slipped from his lips, pregnant with some unknown meaning. Grielle and Yorick pushed past him and hurried into the hall. Henrik stepped beside Benedikt and they both watched them go.

"Quite a woman she is, Grielle," said Henrik, biting his lower lip.

Benedikt cringed to think anyone could compare him to such a man. He didn't know if that bothered him more than the fact Grielle had once been charmed by him. Everything about his manner begged not to be trusted. "She is," he replied coolly.

"I have some information that might be of interest to you," Henrik said, turning to Benedikt. Henrik gestured for him to follow, so he did. The king led him down several passageways until they arrived at a small door in a dark corner of the palace.

Henrik entered first and Benedikt followed behind him. The room was lit only by a dying fire in the hearth. It was a study of sorts, walls of shelves filled with books and charts of varying sizes. In the center of the room stood a large wooden table which held a particularly large map of Floryndal and its kingdoms. Benedikt leaned over to examine it as Henrik stoked the fire back to life.

Henrik pulled another map from his stock and laid it down on the table. This map showed great detail of much of the kingdom of Andor, as well as Rosenfjell and Bleakwood to the East. Benedikt hungrily scanned the parchment, memorizing major features: the major river that ran through the middle of the woods, a large lake, and a few small hamlets.

Henrik took a quill and ink and marked a circle in the far eastern part of the forest. "That," he began, "is where your princess awaits. My scouts have passed her coffin of glass on several occasions, but I'm afraid I can't be any more specific. We do not like to linger in those woods long, so it's hard to put an exact bearing on the maiden's location." He rolled up the map with a careless smile and handed it to Benedikt.

Benedikt took the offering hesitantly. A gift from Henrik seemed like it might include additional clauses and expectations. "Thank you. This will surely help me on my quest."

Henrik took a seat by the fireplace. "It is my greatest pleasure to help a fellow royal in need. I admire your commitment to your kingdom's traditions. When you want something, you won't stop until it's yours."

Benedikt got the sense that they were no longer talking about just him. "I've thought about giving up my quest on several occasions," he said, desperately trying to dispel any idea of similarity between them.

"I have seen how you look at her," Henrik said without taking his gaze from the fire.

"Look at who?" Benedikt realized where the conversation was heading and wished desperately for an out from what was sure to be an unpleasant discussion.

"Captain Grielle." Henrik almost growled her name — like a dog guarding a spare bone.

"I look at her plenty, I guess," Benedikt said. "It's kind of difficult to avoid when my fate is in her hands."

Henrik stood from his seat and closed the gap between them. He patted Benedikt on the shoulder, his lips lifted on one side. "You see, Grielle and I have a certain passion for each other. A shared history. I can see how she is still drawn to me. After all, I was the one who rescued her from her oppressive father."

Benedikt stepped back from Henrik's grasp. The king was delusional. "I thought she cared deeply for her father. He taught her everything she knows."

Henrik's deep, genuinely amused laugh filled the room. "The man was a loon. Heartbroken over the loss of her mother, he had her locked in a tower when I found her. I'd been about to whisk her away to be my queen when the whole ogre thing happened, and the rest you know." He pointed at the red welt on his cheekbone where Grielle's fist had made impact. Benedikt's chest filled with pride at her decision making.

"If I thought she was beautiful then..." Henrik touched his fingers to the angry mark on his cheek.

Benedikt wanted to know more about Grielle, but he would rather have heard it from her own lips. "I should probably head to bed soon." He made a move towards the door.

"After a good night's sleep, she will be in a better state of mind. Even she won't be able to deny the attraction between us." Something sinister shone in Henrik's eyes. Benedikt took another step towards the door.

"Sounds good," he mumbled. "I'm off to bed. Thanks for the map." The words jumbled together as he hurried from the study. He shuddered as a chill ran over his skin. He headed back in the direction of their bedchambers, eager for sleep and to be rid of King Henrik in their lives. His footsteps echoed through the empty halls and for some reason he couldn't shake Henrik's words to Grielle from his mind. Sweet dreams.

The hairs on his neck raised in alarm. He didn't know to what extent, but he suspected one thing for sure—Grielle was in danger.

~

I know this was a longer chapter than we've seen previously, but there was so much happening!! I can't wait to hear what you think! Make sure to vote and comment! What do you guys think Henrik is up to?!