Anya felt marginally better after talking to Jim. It made the journey more comfortable, but it was still excruciating. When the day grew dark they stopped to set up a camp. Marvin and Samson set up a tent for Anya, and she climbed into it and lay down. She was surprisingly tired for a day spent sitting.

"I just want to speak with her for a moment." It took Anya a moment to place the voice.

Lady Daphne slipped inside the tent. "I just feel like I need to speak with you," the lady explained.

Anya could not imagine why, so she just watched the woman as she sat down beside Anya's bedroll.

"I suppose this is a bit strange. I wouldn't normally seek out a prisoner to talk, but I'm curious about a few things. Were you really thinking about killing Theresa that night with Lord Wildwood's own magic?"

There was no point in denying it. "Yes."

"But you chose not to. Why not? Or did she just knock you out before you had a chance to?"

"I just couldn't. I don't know."

Lady Daphne smiled sympathetically. "It's not easy to kill someone, is it?"

Anya looked straight at Lady Daphne. "I've never actually succeed in killing anyone."

Lady Daphne cocked her head. "That's true. What's it like to plan a murder?"

Anya laughed incredulously. "Terrible, of course. What's it like to actually kill someone?" Anya returned flippantly, surprising herself.

"Terrible, of course," Lady Daphne said, her face grave. "Actually, that's why I came to speak to you. You know that I killed that man who was your brother, right? Or perhaps it was my husband; he's stronger than I am, so there's more force behind his shots."

"Yes." Anya could not imagine what the flighty woman hoped to accomplish in talking to her. Was she attempting to bait Anya or trying to find out more information? It defied any reason that Anya could conceive of.

"It was the night of my wedding, actually. Theresa had wandered off into the garden. She was under a malicious spell cast by our aunt and she was prone to be moody. She's much happier and a lot more amiable now that our aunt is dead and she is with Lord Wildwood. But at that time she was moping in the garden and Gage grabbed her. She was a bit idiotic to have let herself get into such a situation but she can be stubborn," Lady Daphne explained.

Anya nodded her understanding, even though she really did not understand the relevance at all.

Lady Daphne continued talking. "We realized that she had disappeared and that something was wrong. Of course Lord Wildwood arrived there first to save her since he always seems to be a step ahead of everyone else but Gage managed to stab him with a knife in the back. There was blood everywhere. I didn't even think about it. There were bows and quivers just there, I guess for the guards, and I picked one up and shot him. So did Thomas. I thought that he had died then."

Anya felt a sort of hollowness inside. She did not really want to hear, but she felt compelled to listen.

"And I would do it again, but I still have nightmares about it. It's the worst feeling, knowing that someone's blood is on my hands." Lady Daphne held her hands out and examined them. "They look the same as they did, but they feel different. I don't think I had a choice, but it changed me, you know?"

Anya shrugged, but she thought she knew.

"Do you hate me?" Lady Daphne looked directly at Anya.

Anya closed her eyes and considered the question. Did she hate Lady Daphne and Sir Thomas for killing Gage? Thorne had implied that she should. He was her brother and she loved him dearly but he was not the innocent boy that she had grown up with. He had nearly killed Lord Wildwood. Could Anya expect any less of Lady Daphne but to protect the ones that she loved?

"No, I don't think so. I did when I was first told about it," Anya said. "You were only protecting the others." She did not know how or when Gage had changed. If she had known, perhaps things would have been different. Perhaps Anya could have worked harder. Perhaps she could have talked to him.

Lady Daphne nodded. "Like your situation, in a way."

"I suppose."

The lady stood up gracefully. "You know, the oddest part is that I only began to learn archery as an excuse to spend more time with Sir Thomas. I never actually thought I would ever use it."

Lady Daphne swept out of the tent leaving Anya to ponder the strangeness of the visit until she finally fell asleep.

* * * * *

Anya was woken by the loud noises of the party moving about and getting ready for the journey. Her back was sore from sleeping on the ground, and she stood up and stretched gingerly.

She walked out of the tent. Marvin jumped to his feet when he saw her. Then he glanced in the direction of a loud ruckus.

"I don't want to travel slowly. I want to get to the capital by tonight," Anya heard Lady Theresa say in a petulant, angry tone.

Anya followed Marvin's gaze and saw that Lady Theresa was glaring at Lord Wildwood. He was clearly trying to pacify her. "I know that this trip is tedious. I want to get there as much as you do. But, in your condition—"

"My condition! My condition? Stop treating me as if I were some useless female!"

"I was referring to—"

"I know what you were referring to! And I will not spend all these months lying on my back doing nothing! And this is all your fault. And I want to get to the capital as fast as we can. The sooner we get there the sooner she won't be anywhere near you!"

"Theresa, I am perfectly safe—"

Lady Theresa practically hissed at her husband. "Stop taking your safety so lightly! What do you think I'll do if I lose you? What will this baby do? You're such a fool sometimes, Wildwood! Idiot!" she shrieked, then burst into loud, jerking sobs. Lady Theresa whirled away from her husband and dashed towards the woods. Lord Wildwood looked slightly stunned, and then followed after her. "And this is all your fault too," Anya heard Lady Theresa screech between sobs.

Sir Thomas was leaning on a supply wagon next to his wife while he watched the encounter. He was grinning. "Pregnant women can be moody," he commented cheerfully.

Lady Daphne shot him a slightly sour look. "I hope you enjoy it so much when it's your turn."

"I expect that I will," he said completely unabashed. "I, unlike Lord Wildwood, am an expert on women and their cycles and moods."

"My hero," Lady Daphne said sarcastically. Sir Thomas laughed.

Anya realized she had been eavesdropping and tried to pretend that she had not been listening. She turned around quickly and ran straight into a solid body.

"Anya."

"Jim! I'm sorry," she stuttered, feeling like a clumsy clod. Why him, of all people?

"No, I'm sorry," he returned, and moved away.

Anya looked around the campsite to cover her embarrassment. People were hurrying around. Some of them were looking with curiosity towards the woods where Lord Wildwood had followed his wife. Hanna was busy working on something. She met her eyes for a second, and both looked away. Anya turned towards the carriage and got inside.

* * * * *

There was only a brief delay before they began moving. Jim entered the carriage and they left. She wondered briefly how Lord Wildwood had calmed down Lady Theresa. Obviously he had. Probably by doing what she wanted.

So it seemed that Lady Theresa was really going to have a child. She seemed very worried for it. Anya had never really thought about the idea, what it would be like to be a mother. She always had too much to deal with and the men in the village with their suspicious, cautious expressions never appealed to her. She had never thought anyone would. She cast a covert gaze at Jim. He was looking out the opposite window.

Anya dismissed her errant thoughts. She had no business pretending she had any chance for a happy future. There was little hope for her. She could only hope to free the twins that they could have happy lives.

Anya's thoughts drifted in a direction that she had not allowed them to go. She had known it was a possibility, but what if she really was going to die? What if she stood before the king and he ordered her death? It would be the end of Anya. Fear overtook her momentarily.

She had not stopped to consider it, but she really did not want to die. She wanted to live. Why should she die for the things that Thorne had forced her to do? He should be the one to suffer, not Anya.

But if she said anything, it would be the twins who would suffer.

Damn Thorne. She hated him more than she had known was possible to hate a person. Every day, every indignity, every suspicious, angry expression, should have been directed at him. She gritted her teeth.

She could die a lot more happily if she knew the twins were safe and that Thorne had gone before her.

* * * * *

They spent the day travelling with only three breaks. By the time they reached the city the sun was falling low in the sky and Anya's body was stiff and sore from being jostled around in the carriage. She was almost glad to see the buildings of the capital looming over her. She was so close to home, only a few hours away. It might as well have been days for her ability to go there. It might as well have been an infinite distance because even if she could return the cottage would not be the same without the two tow haired brats running around.

It was just an easy flight away. She needed to let Sabin out of the carriage. "Can I open the window?" she asked Jim.

"Just unlatch it at the bottom," he said.

Anya scratched Sabin behind the neck the way he liked. "You have to go now, Sabin. If you stay they might put you in a cage. Things are pretty uncertain for me, so you should fly home or anywhere that you want to be. It won't be safe if they know that you're a witch's familiar, precious."

Sabin looked at her through his intelligent, dark eyes. Anya smiled a bit at him. "You have to go now." She pushed open the window.

Sabin cawed once and bounced to the edge of the window. With one quick look backwards, he flew away.

Anya tried to see where he was going, but he was quickly out of sight. She felt grim and alone again.

She watched the city pass by without much interest. She had never actually gone to the capital before, but she had heard many stories of the place. It was as dull and dirty as she had imagined. The people they passed seemed supremely disinterested in anything except hawking their various wares. The ennui bothered Anya. She could not help but imagine their bored faces watching as she swung from a rope.

She reminded herself that she had not been sentenced to death yet. There was no need for such dark thoughts. Surely the fact that she had been forced into the situation, and that she had not actually succeeded would be held in her favor. And even if it did not, there was no point in dealing with that black possibility before it was necessary.

She dreaded to think what would happen when Lord Reaumur denied everything. One of the two of them would surely take the fall, no doubt as Thorne had planned. He would get away free and clear.

Anya ground her teeth together in frustration. How she wished that there was some way Thorne would get what he deserved, that she could play some small part in distributing some much needed justice.

The castle loomed ahead of them, and Anya's palms felt damp and her heart began to race. She wanted nothing more than to run away. For a moment she contemplated it. What would they do if she simply jumped from the moving carriage and disappeared into the winding streets? Could she make it away?

What would Thorne say if she did? He would be angry that she disobeyed his orders. Anya's shoulders slumped. If she ran, she would likely never see the twins again.

So Anya sat passively as she was taken inside the great walls of the royal palace. She wondered what her fate would be.