Thaddeus was calmly sitting down. His eyes seeming empty, yet coldly staring at her, as if he waiting for something. Raina didn’t know who this man was, but he seemed too calm for someone who knew she came from the royal lineage; in fact, it seemed like he thought little about her position. The younger brother, Basil, his whole demeanor seemed to change after hearing who she was, his charming smile turning into a cold silence. She felt uncomfortable.

Raina knew he was waiting for her to speak, waiting for her to give more information; it was as if he was weighing her life on what she would say next. She was scared. Raina didn’t expect anyone would know who she was, she had dyed her hair black and even changed her eye color to green, most of all she was royalty and rarely seen by the common folk. How did he know who she was, and what else did he know, she thought. There wasn’t much time, and she couldn’t just wait. She was being hunted.

“Since you know who I am, it seems only polite to tell me who you are,” Raina said.

“Manners don’t suit riffraff like me, Princess.” Thaddeus snorted.

“How did you recognize me?” Raina pestered.

Thaddeus didn’t reply, he just started flipping a coin, Raina didn’t see where it came from but it was flipping through the air. It was a golden guilder. How does he have that, only nobles could afford it and a few merchant groups, she thought. I don’t recognize him and he is too young to be any Sharl for any merchant group. Maybe he stole it, a thief then.

“I only saw you once on this coin, much to your shame, but your beauty is quite distinct,” Thaddeus said softly.

Raina winced at the reminder, she knew what he was referring to, and it was about her appearance in the coin. It was something common among the royal blood, a competition; it showed who was favored and who received the most support among her siblings. Each coin was enchanted, the face side of the coin would change each month, and whichever child appeared was the one favored. There were two parts to this distinction, one was the value of the heir, and one was the favor of the Lord. At the end of each year, every golden guilder would reset and changed solely on the decision of the high lord, the first month of the year then was reserved for the favored heir. Every month forward was a show of support; it showed the power of each heir and the wealth of their supporters, this was done through the guilder. A noble, merchant or any power could vote for an heir among the seven children of the high lord. They would cast votes through a guilder, using their grimoire to force change upon their coins, at the end of the month it was tallied the amount of fortune collected by each heir and their face would then be assumed for the following month on the facet of the coin. She sadly had only imprinted her face once on her naming day; this showed her position or lack of position among the heirs.

“Who are you?” Raina prompted, her voice projecting fear. She looked around the room, hoping her fear would make her seem defenseless, distracting them. She had to find a way to leave. Raina breathed in slowly, seeming to calm herself down while preparing to manifest her grimoire. It would only take a bit longer before the poison was burned out from her system, she could then use her magic, she thought.

“I won’t ask you why you are here. Let me tell you what I think, the seventh princess, the black sheep of the family is finally being made useful by the high lord.” Thaddeus paused, his voice a whisper, “There is only one way a princess is useful to a kingdom, and it is through an alliance by marriage.”

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Raina stood there stunned; before quickly she regained composure, then showed an indifferent face. Who is he! How does he even know things that other nobles do not, or is it merely a conjecture? If so, he is an even scarier man than I originally assumed, she thought.

“A runaway Princess, not something you see every day, I wonder how much your worth.” Thaddeus said smiling.

Raina quickly manifested her grimoire, a book appearing before her, her eyes glowing a deep blue. “You will tell me who you are, you will lead me to where I wish to go, and you will die if you think of betraying me.” She commanded, her voice projecting strength and power through the air itself.

“Scary”, Thaddeus stood up, “Brother, it seems like a perfect time to show your blades aren’t for decoration purposes.” He laughed as he reached out for a shield to appear, a small buckler manifesting filled with tiny engravings and symbols strapping upon his arm. Basil quickly drew his two swords, calmly holding a stance with both his swords pointing forward.

“Now, Princess, let’s put all our cards on the table. I have a shield, which I won’t pretend has been fortified five times by an enchanter. While my brother is troublesome, he is quite adept at killing your kind.” Thaddeus stepped closer, “You might have won if you weren’t poisoned by gold, but right now you might just die if you fight.”

“And you will die with me,” Raina said, her voice filled with anger. I need him to fear me, think I am insane enough, or else he won’t listen, she thought.

“What was your plan? How were you planning to escape your marriage? Or a better question, how were you going to escape your fiancé.” Thaddeus laughed.

“She needed to distract him, play with his game, give her more time to regain her strength, she thought. “I was looking for the Merchant; men say he can assure passage to any fiefdom across this kingdom, they say he holds control to the ley lines, and that any wish can be granted with a suitable price.” Raina slowly said, her voice containing awe and respect.

“You bet your life on a legend, in order to run from a Lord that is feared by his people, a demon pretending to be human.” Thaddeus teased, his voice brimming with amusement.

Raina’s eyes glowed and she pushed, her grimoire pulsing with power and pushing everything in front of her away. The chairs and furniture pushing to the back of the room, yet the two brothers stood strongly in front of her. “He is real.” She snapped. He has to be, or she will die for the sake of her brother’s greed, she thought.

“Do you know where he lives, how he looks?” Thaddeus asked, his voice implying doubt.

“He has representatives everywhere, it is said any man can speak their wishes through them, I will meet one of them.” Raina rebuked, gnashing her teeth, as she prepared for a summoning.

“Silly games, I am getting hungry, aren’t you brother.” Thaddeus stepped back, his shield pulsing as a piece of paper appeared. “This is an enchanted explosive, it is both expensive and illegal to own, which means it is twice as valuable. I am confident I can cover my brother, and not die once I ignite it, but do you?”

Raina’s face quickly turned pale, “That’s insane, everyone will know, you will be hunted for this.” She shouted.

“Maybe, but that isn’t an issue for the dead is it?” Thaddeus exclaimed. “You just need to tell me one thing."

“What is it?” Raina asked.

“What were you going to offer?” Thaddeus asked.

Raina hesitated. If I tell him he won’t ever let me go, but if I don’t I’d probably die, she thought.

“It’s an unbonded grimoire, that’s what I will offer,” Raina whispered softly.

Thaddeus stunned stood there, he then smiled, his shield and the totem vanishing. He slowly walked to the back of the room, getting a chair, and he then sat down. He looked at his brother, just staring at him before he began to sheathe his swords. Thaddeus then looked straight at her eyes, deeply, calculating as he looked at her.

“My name is Thaddeus, I am the Merchant, what is your wish?” Thaddeus said.