"Lyon!" I threw my arms around him and he returned the embrace.

I held him tight, unaware of how concerned I had been for him. "Are you alright?"

He pulled away, looking at the wound that was half wrapped. "What happened?"

I shrugged. "Long story."

"Hello, Ella," he nodded to someone behind me. Ella smiled at him and continued tying my bandage.

Lyon turned back to me. "Father wants to meet us for lunch."

My eyes widened visibly. "Why?"

"He wouldn't say."

I took a breath, but my voice still wavered when I said, "Alright."

Lyon nodded. "I just thought I ought to inform you. If you will excuse me, I have some errands to run." He took leave of us and left.

"That was odd," commented Kirin.

I felt a sudden need to defend Lyon. "Not at all," I said coolly.

Before the both of us could get into a fight, Larkin stepped in. "Will you be joining us for breakfast, Lady Arya?"

I glanced quickly at Kirin and knew I wouldn't be. "No, thank you, my Lord, but I have work to do as well."

Larkin seemed visibly disappointed and I wanted to take back what I said.

"Very well," he said. "I was hoping you would perhaps take the liberty of showing the three of us around the palace. Perhaps, after your work is finished?"

"I could do that," Nicole interrupted. I rolled my eyes, irritated. Could she not find a corner to polish her nails and stay there? "I dare say I know the palace much better than Arya. She had been here only a few months."

"Yet, the king called on her to aid us," said Sasha, fixing Nicole with a steely gaze. "I wonder why that is." I felt a rush of affection for Sasha. I had not known her all that well while I had been with them, but I knew she was as firm as she was kind and would tolerate no nonsense from anyone.

Nicole floundered around for a response. "Yes, but, um, Lord Aaron only meant if you need something brought to you. Arya is only here to serve you," she finished smoothly.

"Relax your arm, otherwise I cannot bandage it," Ella hissed so that only I could hear. I did not realize my shoulders had tensed and relaxed them immediately.

Sasha glared so hard at Nicole that she actually squirmed. "Thank you for your offer," said Sasha, the sarcasm biting, "but I would prefer someone more compatible for my son."

Both Kirin's and my face flushed. He looked wildly at Sasha, wondering what had gotten into her, while I tried to glare daggers at Ella who was stifling a laugh. She cleared her throat and stepped back. "Your arm is wrapped, milady," she bit back a giggle.

"Thank you," I said. I turned to Sasha, ignoring Kirin's eyes, and said, "It would be an honour, my Lady."

...

When I woke up again, the silhouette of a man was skimming through my bookshelf.

"What are you doing here?" I grumbled, stretching.

"Your maid let me inside," Kirin said by way of reply.

Ella was sitting on a chair by the door. "You know, when a strange man wants to enter a woman's room while she's sleeping, you're supposed to alert her."

"Oh, do not worry," Kirin said. "She made sure I would not get closer to your bed than necessary."

Suddenly, it was terribly hot under the blanket. I threw it off and got up, glad I hadn't changed out of my dress. "What do you want?" I asked, not unkindly.

He cast a side glance at Ella before turning to me. "Father wanted me to see if you were available. He is excited to commence the tour."

Behind him, Ella nodded vigorously.

"I would love to," I said. "Let me get dressed."

"You are dressed."

"I just crawled out of bed."

"Yes, I can see that, and you look lovely. Now, can we go?"

"Why are you so impatient? I know my company is very desirable, but there is no need to rush me."

"It is not so much that your company is desirable as it is the doubt that will be on my parents' mind as to what kept the both of us."

"You could always say you had been detained by the fair Lady Nicole whom your mother so dearly loves."

"Is that jealousy I hear, Lady Arya?"

"You must be going deaf, for there is nothing there for me to be jealous of."

For a second, while meeting Kirin's grin with my own, I felt as if I had been transported back to a few months ago. Then, I remembered we were not supposed to be friends, and gods forbid anything more than that, so I turned away. I checked myself in the mirror  to buy me some time. When I turned back, Kirin's face was stoic.

"Let us go." I gave Ella a wave as we left.

...

Larkin and Sasha were better company than Kirin. They were cheerful and cooperative, while Kirin replied in monosyllables. I soon gave up on him and focused on keeping Larkin and Sasha happy.

I showed them around the front of the ground floor. I snuck into the kitchens and gobbled a few slices of bread, much to the amused chagrin of Martha, the head chef. I had finished showing them around the courtyard, the Great Hall, the Ballroom, the map and council rooms, and had just finished with the stables when they decided they simply had to go riding.

Sasha asked for me to join them, but I declined. After all I had gone through today, horse riding was the last thing I needed. Kirin volunteered to stay behind to keep me company, but I denied passionately. Larkin wouldn't hear of it and ignored the panicked look I gave him. He told us to carry on with the tour and rode out with his wife.

For a moment, both of us stood bathed in an awkward silence.

Kirin broke it first. "I suppose we should continue," he said.

"I suppose we should."

The silence between the two of us stretched time so it seemed as if each step took us an hour. I showed him around the Gallery, commenting on the occasional painting, and we proceeded to the library.

I was hesitant on showing him the place because I had long claimed it as my own. I did not want someone to taint it.

I pushed the doors open and proclaimed with a sweeping gesture, "This is the library."

Kirin stepped through and I shut the doors behind him, never taking my eyes off his expression. We had visited libraries before, but only fleetingly, and never any as huge as this.

I saw my own wonder reflected in his eyes and felt warm all over. His green eyes glistened, taking in the high ceiling and the wide array of books. His mouth hung slightly open. The soft light streaming in through the windows turned his hair a light brown.

He let out a small laugh of awe. "This is amazing!" His eyes shifted to me. "This is amazing!" he repeated.

I smiled. "I know."

He spun around slowly. "Are these all for us? I mean, can I read anything? Is there anything off-limits?"

"No," I said, walking forward confidently. "Fiction or fact?"

"Fiction," he replied instantly.

"Romance?"

He scrunched his nose. "Good," I said, "because I don't know any of those."

I strolled along the aisles of shelves, tracing my fingers along the books lovingly until I came across my favorite. I plucked it out of the shelf and held it out to him.

"'An Ode To The Dead'," he read. "It sounds morbid."

I waved a finger. "The book is everything but."

He scanned the title and tucked the book under his arm. "Very well then. It seems I have an errand tonight." He paused for a moment. "You like it here."

It was more of a statement than a question. "I love it."

"I can tell. You look like a child who has been offered sweets."

He looked around. "Do you mind if we sit for a while? This is a peaceful place and I do not wish to leave it so soon."

My heart flipped. "I do not mind in the least. Please, make yourself comfortable. I shall return with a book of my own."

Kirin settled himself down under a window and I moved to the religious texts section. There were books on every God and Goddess under the sky, and I had a particular one in mind.

It took me longer than I would have liked, but almost no book mentioned the particular Goddess. Sine I did not even know her name, I had to scan through pages of writing before I chanced upon the right one.

Carrying the heavy, leather-bound tome, I flopped down on the cushion next to Kirin. He looked up from his reading.

"What is that?"

"'Nyte With The Daemons'," I read.

Kirin raised an eyebrow. "There are more direct ways to kill me."

I shrugged. "None of them are half as fun."

I scanned the pages, my eyebrows furrowing deeper as I read. The sun rays slanted until they didn't beat down my back anymore. I looked up out the window. The sun was at its peak. I rubbed my eyes and looked back down at the book. I had read more than a hundred pages and none of it was pleasant.

Kirin was smiling lightly at his book and I took a moment to appreciate it. I could only hope he enjoyed it as much as I did.

I prod his knee. "We should go. It is lunch now."

Kirin looked up and blinked, disoriented. Then he seemed to realize where he was. "Oh! Yes, of course. Can I borrow this?" he held the book out.

"Yes," I said.

We were walking down the corridor to the dining hall, when Lyon emerged from it, looking harried. My stomach sank. I had forgotten about lunch with the king, but seeing the prince brought that reality crashing down on me.

"I am sorry, I forgot I had to attend lunch with the king," I told Kirin. "Would you mind seeing yourself to the dining hall?"

"It's no problem." He nodded curtly to Lyon and disappeared inside the hall, my eyes following his every step.

"Are you ready? asked Lyon.

My gaze was still on the doors that were shutting now. Kirin had seated himself near the head of the table beside Larkin and Sasha who must have returned some time ago. He looked up as the last inch of space shut with wood.

I turned to the prince. "I don't think I'll ever be."

...

I was sure I had been hungry a few minutes ago, but now I couldn't touch the food on my plate. Next to me, Lyon chased a couple of peas around with a fork.

Some of the anxiety had been caused by the king. He sat opposite us, gorging himself on the food. A lot of the anxiety was caused by what I had been reading for the past few hours. Most of the anxiety, though, was caused by the man standing next to the king, glaring at me with such fire it could put the Underworld to shame.

By the time Aaron had finished his first serving, I had finished my glass of orange juice. During the gap where the servants filled his plate again, he addressed us. "You must be wondering why I brought you both here."

I popped a piece of corn into my mouth and chewed on it. Do not look guilty, do not look guilty.

He gestured to the man standing beside him. "This is Immanuel, one of my most trusted servants. Recently, he was faced with a problem. Tell them, Immanuel."

The dark skinned man had small cuts across his face. He had a bandage wrapped around his head and my thoughts went directly to the wound on my arm. It had been bleeding before and I hadn't bothered to change out of my clothes. I cursed myself silently. This was definitely going to get me in trouble. My throat felt dry. I did not see a way out of this.

Immanuel's glare did not shift off from me. I put on the least interested face I could manage and leaned against the back of the chair, meeting Immanuel's black eyes.

"I was running an errand for the king," he said, "when I was attacked."

I rose an eyebrow but Lyon spoke before I did. "Attacks are not uncommon."

"By a woman," he said forcefully, as if that was something revolting. I felt anger dissolve a little of my nervousness.

"She was dressed all in black and covered her face. She fought like a whirlwind and managed to knock me out," he said, his voice picking up pace. "She was evil. I could feel it," he patted his chest for emphasis, "in here. She had the voice of a sorceress and wore the marks of a witch. I was lucky I survived. When I was fighting her, I saw a necklace. She wore a black stone with an eye carved on it, the official symbol of the rebels!"

I burst out laughing. The story up until then had been ridiculous to say the least, but to suggest I was a rebel. Lyon joined me and we laughed for a few minutes. My nerves had caused the outburst to be louder than normal.

I wiped a tear from my eye. "A rebel?" I repeated with a small laugh.

Immanuel was furious. "Yes! I am not lying."

"Immanuel," said Lyon, "the rebels are dead, Arya made sure of that. You cannot possibly suggest that it was a rebel! Perhaps you saw wrong."

Immanuel shook his head. "I know what I saw."

I took a deep breath an let it out slowly. "Alright, alright, so it was a woman. She was a rebel. She fights well. That is all very well, but what does she look like?"

Now Immanuel hesitated. "Well?" prompted Lyon.

"I did not see what she looked like," he muttered.

I narrowed my eyes. "You said you fought her."

"Yes, but her face was covered." 

I threw my hands up in the air, exasperated. "My Lord, surely you cannot believe this folly?"

"I cannot take the risk."

I looked at him in disbelief. "You really do not think there are any rebels left, do you? Your Majesty? I wiped them all out."

"Maybe not all of them," said Immanuel, a challenge in his eyes. I rose to it, eyebrows raising in a way that conveyed I knew what he knew, but I was the king's most trusted advisor and he was just a servant. There was no doubt in either of our minds which one of us would win.

"If you want," I turned back to the king, "I will organize another group to search the kingdom for rebels. If you could tell us where you got attacked, we could start there," I told Immanuel.

Immanuel looked to the king hesitantly. He couldn't give away the location, I knew. That would just lead to unnecesary questions. "That will not be necessary," Lord Aaron said. "I a more serious issue occurs, I will let you know."

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, "but I would rather my son stayed. I have to speak to him." I sent Lyon an encouraging smile before I left the room. I could hear Immanuel follow.

Once we were out of earshot of the guards in front of the king's room, Immanuel grabbed my arm, fingers tightening on the wound.

I flinched visibly and grit my teeth to keep from crying out.

"What is wrong, Lady Arya?" he asked, his fingers pinching around my arms. "Hurt?"

I stayed silent. "You and I both know what happened down there. If you even think of betraying the king, I will not hesitate to kill you."

I smirked despite the pain. "You can try."

He released his grip forcefully and walked away. My hand immediately flew to my arm. The way things were going, I would be surprised if it healed at all.