"What?" My ear twitched, giving away the nervous confusion that gripped me after hearing what my king had said.

"I want you to escort Minstrel Bronwynn to Servalt and keep an eye on her." King Keith ordered. We were alone in Keith's inner sanctum, where I’d been summoned.

Usually, no one was allowed in here, myself included. The only other time I’d visited in the last decade was to pick up the assassins stuck in his trap-hole.

I used the opportunity to admire the workshop. Great planetary alignments hung from the ceiling where a giant guardian snake golem lived. Solar and lunar time keeping globes circled the dome, keeping track of where the heavenly bodies were in the sky outside. And a giant wall of tools that would make craftsmen weep with envy.

The Dark Lord stood at his work desk, a masterpiece carved from treant bones. He had just finished painstakingly inking out a charm for enhanced durability on a tablecloth when I’d arrived.

I didn't ask why Keith was reinforcing a tablecloth, too overwhelmed with other burning questions. “You want me to escort Minstrel Bronwynn, the most popular bard on the continent. And keep an eye on her?”

“Yes.” Keith lifted a scroll with a broken seal from the Dark Enchanted Forest intelligence unit.

I unrolled it and frowned at the contents. “Does Henrietta know?”

Keith pushed up his glasses and hesitated only a second. “No.”

“When were you going to tell her?” I demanded, wondering what Keith had taken from all those relationship books I’d made him read. “Tonight?”

The Dark Lord said nothing. That didn't mean he wasn't going to tell her; Keith stayed silent when he didn't know what he was going to do yet.

“Keith.” I dropped the royal Title and spoke to my friend. “I'm only going to tell you this once: Henrietta won't leave you if you tell her things she doesn't want to hear. Or things that will actively hurt her. She won't leave you because you have to make choices that she disagrees with.”

“You don't–”

I didn't bother letting him finish. “She will leave you because you didn't trust her or communicate with her. She will feel hurt and betrayed that you weren't honest. And if you don't trust her, then she will stop trusting you.”

The Dark Lord took a deep breath. “Alright, I'll tell her tomorrow.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Tonight?”

“...”

“Fine!” King Keith waved a hand as he obviously opened a character sheet I couldn't see. The Dark Lord focused off in the distance for a time and then looked my way again. “I've summoned her.”

“Good. And I hope you remember my advice while I'm gone - new habits take repetition and reward. And I promise you will be rewarded with a happy and healthy marriage if you get your act together and talk to your wife about these things.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

With that matter settled, I looked down at the detailed comparison of Molten Ash Vane poisonings that perfectly coincided with my favorite bard’s inter-kingdom tour over the last few years. Including an attempt on the Sumbrian Royal family, Their Royal Highness Peldeep, and King Keith at the Spring Ball.

I resisted the sudden urge to rip up the scroll. There was no way my favorite musician on the continent was an illegal assassin.

Or was there?

…

“I think it’s absolutely a coincidence.” Henrietta declared, her finger tracing its way down the scroll as she read the incriminating evidence. “You forget, Brownie was kidnapped and enslaved with the rest of us - and she lost her beloved Suzette.”

I was pleased to note that Her Viciousness wasn't angry, her aura of calm remaining steady throughout. I also noticed Keith had succeeded in pretend confidence when he welcomed Henrietta and motioned me to hand over the scroll.

“Who?” Keith asked.

I replied, “Her lyre-harp.”

“Exactly. That lyre meant the world to her.” The queen held up her finger. “Why would she hit someone over the head with her greatest treasure, her instrument, if she was working with them?”

“It doesn’t say she is working with Servalt, my love.” Keith argued. “It simply says that she’s been everywhere a poisoning of Molten Ash Vane happened.”

Against my better judgement, I agreed, and added, “She doesn’t need to be working for Servalt to be a poisoner or assassin… and she knew about all of those assassins who were launching a surprise attack on us just before your birthday.”

“She was locked up in a carriage with me, battling slave-traders, when the Molten Ash Vane was being collected and delivered to your prison.” Henrietta reminded us. “And that still begs the question why Marquis Chadwick would have kidnapped her if he knew she was an assassin in his employ. He was getting the poison from someone else.”

“You make a compelling argument.” Keith surmised, “But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t involved in other ways. There is also the fact that the Marquis Dorset might not know it was her– She’s a performer. She could have a disguise.”

“As Queen of the Dark Enchanted Forest, am I allowed to order Rufus to do things?” Henrietta asked, suddenly changing the direction of the conversation.

I raised an eyebrow at my king and waited to hear the answer to that myself. I’d sworn an oath of fealty when Henrietta was elevated, but no one had experience following two rulers in a few generations in the Dark Enchanted Forest.

“Yes.” King Keith monotoned, then he caught my eye, coughed, and amended. “Within reason.”

“Rufus!” Queen Henrietta finished and thrust the page back into my arms. “My first official order as Queen of the Dark Enchanted Forest is to follow the Minstrel Brownie Lyriel to Servalt, and find proof that she is or is not, in fact, an undercover Assassin.”

“Yes, Your Viciousness.” It was already what Keith had ordered. I took back the scroll, looked it over once more, then did as I desired and ripped it up into tiny pieces. “But I won't go with the evidence on me.”

I dropped the remains into a bin beside Keith's filing cabinet against one wall, before turning back to the pair. They had been sharing a look, but returned my gaze steadily.

“You should probably have that conversation with the Assassins Guild while you're visiting too.” Keith instructed.

“Of course. If that's all?” I bowed and went to pack my bags.

This wasn't the first time I’d stalked my favorite bard across two kingdom's… and I felt this bad both times. This would be the first time she'd recognize me as I did so.

I sighed. If only I could forgo the secrecy and just–

Actually.

We knew each other now. Maybe going the obvious route wouldn't be that hard. And it cost me nothing to try.

I finished packing my things, watered my plants, left instruction with the guardhouse, and wandered off to Scowls.