When I arrived, the house was empty. I sighed disappointedly, but decided not to take issue with Daegwin’s absence. She had a life of her own, after all, and I only required her to be at home for meals. I did not deign to do any of the preparatory housework myself, so instead I retreated to my room to prepare the outfit that I wished the Prince to see me in. I had been reasonably well-dressed today, as I was whenever I ventured into the main part of Hollowhold, but I could wear something a bit more intimate if he was coming to my own house. A slightly shorter skirt, a more tight-fitting blouse… The possiblities were endless, and I ran through all possible combinations in my bedroom, making piles of clothes upon my bed. When Daegwin eventually came home, she gave a groan upon sighting the state of my room.

'My lady, was it necessary to create such a mess?' she asked. She would have been overstepping her station if not for her jovial tone. I smiled, wanting to respond with a quip, but unable to think about anything other than Prince Alum.

'Prince Alum is coming here!' I burst out suddenly, unable to contain it any longer now that Daegwin was home.

'Here?! When?!' she exclaimed, her voice just as excited as mine and her face lighting up with enthusiasm.

'Tomorrow, maybe. Soon, was all he said,' I replied. 'He's a busy man, you know.'

'Oh I know, my lady,' Daegwin replied. 'How would you like things rearranged for his visit?'

I thought about that for a moment. 'Hide the living room chairs, except for two. It'll be more intimate that way. And we'll put a candle in the middle of the table, like at a restaurant. And we'll string some beads together and hang them from the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, to create the illusion of privacy. You'll still be able to hear everything, but he won't be able to see you.'

'Good ideas, my lady,' Daegwin responded. 'What would you like served for his visit?'

I paused, wondering if I was getting ahead of myself. His previous visit had lasted all of a minute, and I had no proof that he intended to stay for a full meal. Yet I would not risk a less than perfect experience on that chance. 'Can you cook quail, Daegwin?'

'We had it last night, my lady,' she replied sourly, hurt by the lack of attention I paid to her cooking. I ignored it.

'Duke Crower served quail at Helmfirth. I think it is in fashion now. Quail will be sufficient. And to drink – bloodberry wine,' I declared. Bloodberries were not restricted to Ebonreach, but the Reach did produce most of Halivaara's bloodberries. It would be a fitting drink for the Prince who was visiting ostensibly to discuss the Reach. Bloodberry wine was also the only wine that I had tasted, and I felt more comfortable drinking that than some untested variety from the mountains.

'I have some rumour to share regarding Duke Crower, my lady. But first, I must ask, are you certain you wish to serve wine? You are only sixteen, my lady,' Daegwin said. I was surprised that she had the courage to speak out, but I supposed that her pay came from Father so she had to be careful not to treat me in any way that he might take issue with.

'I am certain, Daegwin,' I replied. 'I do not want the Prince to think of me as a child.'

I half-expected Daegwin to point out that I was a child, but I think she understood. Instead, she said 'bloodberry wine is difficult to get a hold of out here. It doesn't grow on the mountainside, I think. It might be expensive.'

'Spend whatever you need to,' I permitted her. 'If only I had not drunk all of the juice, it might have been turned to wine.'

'It might not have worked, my lady. There is a risk of spoiling the wine by making it from juice. It's better this way,' Daegwin said reassuringly. I nodded.

'What was this talk about Duke Crower? Of which one do we speak?' I asked, remembering her earlier words. As we spoke, we traded places, so that I was in the doorway ready to walk downstairs to survey the living room and plan changes to it for Alum's benefit, and so that Daegwin could put my clothes back into my wardrobe.

'The younger one. Duke Wilbern, Countess,' Daegwin replied, hanging up my tight-fitting blouse. I interrupted her briefly.

'Keep that one out. I want to wear it for the Prince,' I instructed her, and she nodded.

'Aye, my lady. Anyway, Duke Wilbern. His attendants arrived a few days after him, travelling separately. I've gotten to know a few of them in recent weeks, and they tell the most interesting tales. Before I continue, my lady, I would temper my words with the knowledge of your own thoughts on the Duke,' Daegwin said. In other words, she was scared that I liked the Duke, and she carried bad news.

'He's attractive,' I admitted, thinking about him. 'Though not as attractive as Prince Alum. I think… He was very nice to me at Helmfirth. Yet I was uneasy in his company on the road. I'm concerned that his father's adulterous ways have rubbed off on him.'

'The apple falls not far from the tree, my lady,' Daegwin replied, and I raised my eyebrow at her odd metaphor. 'Just one of my da's sayings, my lady. I think you have seen the crux of it. His attendants do not speak well of him, and fear for their homeland when Duke Wiseria passes.'

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

'He does not seem incompetent,' I objected. He acted strangely around women, perhaps, but he did not seem like a weak or useless man. Daegwin shook her head.

'No, my lady, they do not fear his incompetence. They fear his sadism. They tell tales of how he would capture insects and pull their wings off to make the walk, and how he would save rats from the Helmfirth rat hounds, only to set a dozen that he had captured and starved upon the hounds to “even the odds,”' Daegwin said, and a chill went down my spine. Still, I dismissed it.

'The antics of a boy,' I suggested. 'Yet he is a man now.'

'I have heard something more worrying, my lady,' she began. 'The rumour goes that during a visit to one of the larger towns in Trent, Wilbern indulged in the services of a whore.'

'He wouldn't!' I exclaimed. It was not unheard of, but to risk the creation of bastards before one had legitimate children was an invitation to catastrophe. 'Surely his father would not have allowed it, after his own bastards put the succession in jeopardy.'

'The word is that he does allow it, but not for reasons of succession, my lady. They say that the whore emerged from Wilbern's chambers bruised and weeping,' Daegwin said, and my already slackened jaw dropped to my feet.

'He beat the whore?' I asked incredulously. Whores were often beaten, it was a dangerous profession, but for a nobleman to treat any woman as such was scandalous. Even a common woman, a whore. It was unheard of, and incredibly ungentlemanly. It was suddenly unsurprising that he was as yet unwed.

'It's just a rumour, my lady,' Daegwin shrugged. 'But that's the risk of having more than one attendant: gossip flows more freely, because it's impossible to uncover which one told the tale.'

I laughed. Not because of the subject matter, but due to Daegwin's sly words. 'The increased pay doesn't come into it then?'

She laughed too. I left her to pack up my clothes. Over the course of the next few days we made some adjustments to the house, and I wore my tight-fitting blouse and short skirt after my lessons concluded in case the Prince decided to come by. A week passed, and I began to lose hope. Perhaps he'd forgotten his promise. He was a busy man after all. Ironically, that was the same reason Daegwin gave for his delay. I hoped she was right, and I persisted in spending every evening at home for fear that the day I left to wander the city would be the day that he chose to show.

It was a fortnight after our meeting at the stone table that his knock came at my door. My persistence had paid off, and I smiled in appreciation of my own patience. It was almost seven o'clock according to the wall-mounted clock, and I was hungry. I hoped he would be too.

Daegwin opened the door for him, and he stepped into the house. 'Good evening, Countess.'

I pretended to be surprised by his appearance. 'Oh, Prince! I wasn't expecting you this night. Do come in, and take a seat.'

The words flowed from my mouth as a practised speech, probably because they were a practised speech. I had not rehearsed them in my mirror, but I had imagined this scenario in my head a million times. Possibly more.

'Thank you, my lady,' Alum said, sitting at one of the two chairs that Daegwin and I had left at the table. I took the other as she retreated through the stringed bead doorway into the kitchen. I trusted that she was cooking quail, though perhaps she would be hesitant due to the fact that the Prince hadn't stated his intentions.

'Will you do me the favour of staying for dinner?' I asked him politely. Just as at the stone table two weeks earlier, I put on my prettiest smile in an attempt to sway him.

This time, my smile was reciprocated in kind. 'I had hoped to.'

I could feel my dimples becoming more pronounced as my smile became genuine. This was really happening. 'My Prince…' I began, but he interrupted me.

'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I do wish to hear your tales of the Reach. By now my men will have reached Haelling Cove and pledged their service to your father. Yet I must be plain. You are a beautiful woman, Countess, but I am approached by many beautiful women and I must not be seen to prefer one until a time comes that I must choose a wife. I hope that we can enjoy each other's company, but I must ask you not to construe simple friendliness as romantic intent.'

I gulped. I had hoped that such words would go unsaid, lest they become reality. 'Of course, Prince.' I considered using my age as proof of my virtuous intent, but I feared that would only make me a less likely partner in his eyes. 'Though, if you change your mind… A marriage with me would have many more benefits than one with Countess Djiron.'

'Countess Djiron?' he asked. His cheeks were suddenly red, and his eyes unsteady. I had done it on purpose, using his secret attraction against him. So secret, perhaps, that he had not even admitted it to himself. I risked making him so uncomfortable that he left, but I felt that the benefits of forcing him to become aware of his emotions in my presence were worth the risk.

'Never mind, my prince. What would you like to know about the Reach?' I asked him. He was still uneasy, but I chose to direct our conversation back to its original purpose before he realised that my invitation for his visit was a pretext.

'Umm…' he said, clearly struggling to keep his mind on topic. To make things more difficult for him, Daegwin appeared with two glasses of wine. Mine was only half-full, but I spoke not a word of complaint. For Alum's part, he gave no thanks to Daegwin. It would not have been unseemly to do so, but it was not necessary for a noble to thank a servant for such a task. I was impressed by his decision, as I had never seen fit to thank Daegwin for merely doing her job. 'I would. Start with Haelling Cove.'

'Well,' I began. 'The city is on the north bank of the river, with the castle against the coast to the west and the city to the east. Some folk live on the south bank of the river, but not many. Farmers mostly, I think.'

'Tell me about the castle,' he instructed me.

So it went, for about an hour. I told him of how the gatehouse faced the river mouth and the keep faced the northern Reach coastline. I spoke of watching the Western Islander and Frostlander raids from the top of the gatehouse. I made sure to temper every bland descriptive word with a personal anecdote so that he would associate me with the city. I had been planning this for two weeks, and knew exactly how I was going to speak of my city.

Eventually the quail was cooked and Daegwin brought us two plates. This time he thanked her. I too was hungry, and had to restrain myself from delving into my meal with an unladylike vigour.