Royalty of the Night

From the castle, Myanan and Tori watched the procession approach. The large open balcony served as a great vantage point to overlook the southern wall. It was Myanan's duty to ensure the cooks had everything they needed. The festivities the previous night had cleaned them out of many herbs and much of their livestock. It was also her duty to make sure none of it was poisoned. She decided to bring Tori along to give her a taste of what needed to happen to keep the castle running smoothly.

The palace of Ilyranon was surrounded by an open swath of land, carefully maintained by the Master Gardeners. Between the park and the castle proper was a thick wall capable of withstanding a Golancz. Gatehouses had been built where the roads went through the wall. There the procession awaited Myanan's inspection. She took a deep breath before staring intently at the gathered wagons. Her brown eyes sparkled green and she flew from her body. The ability to scry had served her well over the years and she eventually landed herself in the royal family's servitude.

She inspected the soldier's faces. They seemed weary from a long trip, something that she would be happy to solve for them. However looking beneath their armor she saw bruises and cuts from a fight. Myanan pursed her lips. A few lacerations were puckered and red with illness.

"Tori!" She accidently barked. The poor girl started.

"Yes, Myanan!" Tori responded, waiting pensively.

"Bring me my notes," The girl hurried off to do her bidding. Her gaze returned to the procession. She felt the notebook enter her hands though she was scouring each bag of herb for possible tampering. Translating eyesight was by far the easiest form of scrying since she didn't need any other senses to keep track of where she was going. Hearing was much more difficult but was possible but scent which would be helpful in finding poisons was near impossible. With a quick jot she wrote a reminder to mention the attack to the queen.

"Tori, see that procession down there?" Tori looked around for a moment before landing on the carts. "I want you to practice scrying, make sure nothing dangerous enters the castle. Tell me if you see anything interesting." Myanan stepped back from the wall's edge letting Tori try it by herself. A cool gust blew across the patio. Myanan watched disapprovingly as Tori tried to keep her hair out of her face. This girl is going to need better training in elegance but Tynan seems to undo my work at every opportunity. What does he expect from her?

"Concentrate!" Myanan called.

"I'm trying!" Tori called back, finally taming her hair. Myanan was beginning to regret the amount of time they had spent on scrying or rather the lack thereof. With a sigh she walked back to the balcony railing.

"What do you see?"

"I see the guards, and the wagons. It looks like there's someone else there who isn't a guard, maybe a messenger. He seems happy about something. They're injured, some of the animals too."

"Speak like a lady, not like a list." Myanan reprimanded.

Myanan scryed to see what Tori was talking about. Her eyes landed on the new maid. The man was talking jovially with the guards.

"He is going to be a new hand servant here and he seems to have made friends already."

"I don't like the way he's smiling." Tori said, still scrying. Myanan cracked a smile. His grin didn't match the cold tone of his deep brown eyes.

"Don't worry about him. He'll just be replacing Rebanin and I'm still going to be your tutor. Do you see anything else?"

"The Cave stags are missing." Tori said.

"Very good. Get ready to practice with Geitz."

//

Tori groaned. Myanan had been testing her the whole time but of course she was. When wasn't she?. Soured by this realization she left the balcony. Past the balcony Tori took herself down a stone staircase that led towards the eastern pillar when a sudden pang of curiosity hit her. Tori crouched down on the stone step and she felt her vision fly from her body as she started scrying. She hurled herself back up the steps and to the balcony. Myanan wasn't there. Grumbling to herself she flung herself over the edge railing into the courtyard below. Attendants led flocks of animals away to the stables and those who had finished moving the cargo were greeting the newcomers. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of unwashed soldiers and manure.

"We ran into a bit of trouble along the way but I have to say this new guy's pretty sharp." One of the few soldiers well enough to stand said. The housekeepers leaned in eager to hear their adventure before the soldiers retired to the barracks. "Saved Benin's ass." He said pointing a thumb at a soldier resting under a tree.

"Saved a pile of animal shit you mean." the man called back.

"If they got to the animals your ass wouldn't be here. Probably wallowing in some bar whining to anyone who'll listen."

"Your ass too!" A housekeeper was hiding a smile behind her hand. No one spoke about the missing stags. Tori scrunched her face trying to ignore the cold step beneath her. She knew she could translate her sense of touch to somewhere warmer but a fear told her she might not be able to bring it back.

"Please no need to argue. We all arrived safely and wares mostly intact." Rebanin's replacement spoke up. Tori narrowed her eyes. So he's good with a weapon too, not good enough to keep the cave stags though. Hopefully they would say who attacked them. While the soldiers talked she combed every inch of the strange man's body, looking for weapons, poisons, anything. Tori tried to ignore the vertigo building as her vision passed through the various folds of his elaborate uniform. She didn't realize the palace commissioned such expensive garments. Numerous empty pockets lined the inner jacket and the undercoat moved like a light airy material. Myanan had probably told Tori what it was but she couldn't remember.

"-bandits I think. But it doesn't make sense for them to be so close to the main road."

"Yes, it's quite unusual. This is the first time a caravan has been attacked in months. I wonder what kind of bandits would have the courage to attack a royal caravan."

Tori perked up at Myanan's voice. Tori was growing bored with her scry but when she moved to inspect the man's back she grimaced at the deep scars of a vicious sword. Strangely the scars ended around the man's spine and young skin flowered his nervous system. Butterflies flew in her. The man had been healed. Healing magic was something she had only seen her father do and only in absolute privacy. She remembered asking him to heal the bruises after a difficult spar but he refused saying people would notice how they just disappeared. Eager for more Tori dove through the pant pockets. In the left pocket there was a book in a language she didn't recognize. She remembered the symbol on the cover in case someone at the library would recognize it. She squirmed with excitement in the stairway. There was nothing else in his pockets or in his meager belongings waiting in the wagon but the book was a start. Tori started making her way to her rooms but decided against it and made for the medical wing instead.

Tori informed the nurses about the guard's injuries and followed an entourage of nurses to the courtyard. Tori pointed to the guards with the most injuries where they sat in the shade of the carts; some still chatting nearby were the palace workers. The guards hushed their conversation as she approached. Tori told the nurses their injuries before turning to the palace workers.

"Princess Tori, daughter of Lydia and heiress to the throne of Ilyranon." All maids bowed. The new maid stepped forward to introduce himself.

"Princess, it is an honor to be in your service. I am Brenon. I look forward to serving you." Tori's butterflies returned.

"Have you acquainted yourself with the palace yet?" Tori asked.

"I've been listening carefully to my colleagues though I haven't the chance to tour it yet."

"I see. How was your journey here?" The man broke a calculated smile.

"It was very smooth save a few moments, it's nothing worth troubling you with Princess, I assure you."

"It will be no trouble." Tori shot back. The man pursed his lips.

"Our caravan was attacked by bandits while on the outer roads. A band of them tried attacking us at night though your men are vigilant and well trained. Fighting them off was trivial though a few received some minor cuts. Saying anything further would be speculation."

"Speculate." Tori said, trying to ignore the uncomfortable atmosphere she was creating. The man gripped his bare chin before speaking. She knew the attack had been much worse than he let on though from his perspective it probably was best to keep details to a minimum.

"Only the most desperate would be foolish enough to attack a royal caravan. It was night so they may not have noticed the royal crest. Their weapons were crude and they didn't move like experienced thieves but they were numerous and nearly overwhelmed us."

"You seem healthy."

"I was sleeping in a cart though I awoke when I heard the scuffle. I have little experience in combat so I would be most useful to your men if I remained where I was. Even still I made efforts to defend the animals though not without losing the cave stags" Brenon said

"So we lost precious cargo because you were hiding?" Tori asked. The man paused before bowing.

"This is the case, princess. I hope my shame can be worthy of forgiveness." Tori's mind raced. Had her intuition been wrong? Maybe she should feel bad about interrogating him but that could wait until she knew what was in that book. The look in his eyes was lingering in her memory though he hadn't shown it again since her arrival.

"Thank you, Brenon. I am eager to know more about this." Myanan turned to Tori. "Princess I will compile a full report for you tonight." Tori, taken slightly aback, nodded. Myanan had noticed the inconsistencies too.