Dani was tired the next morning when she went in to work. She had stayed up late with her friends, the conversation slowly turning from her own issues to more pleasant ones: Gene’s adventures on his ship, Gull’s latest hiest, Shem’s latest partner. That last one led to talk about kisses and other physical relations, which led to more drinking, which led to Dani confessing she had kissed the prince... and then kneed him in the crotch. She blushed at the memory, rubbing a hand across her face. It had drawn laughter last night, but the more she thought about it the more embarassed she was. She had enjoyed the kiss, but she had panicked. Was it her emotions making her enjoy it? Or his?

Damn bracelet!

She focused on it through the pounding of her head as she approached Mrs. Haversaun’s, trying to feel through it to Wulfram. She thought she felt something there, but it was so faint she couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination.

“Damn it all.” Dani muttered to herself, and let out a sigh. What was she even doing? As soon as he came back the bracelet would probably be coming off.

She froze in her tracks when she saw a gilded carriage outside of the shop, the royal families coat of arms promimently displayed on it’s side. She knew damn well Wulfram was nowhere near the city, he had gone to meet the Hesiodos king, so who the hell was at the shop? A guard looked at her as she edged around the carriage, standing at attention by its door. He offered her a polite nod before his gaze drifted away, scanning the street.

Her heart pounded in her ears, making the headache all the worse as she headed into the shop, bracing herself for what she might find inside.

Mrs. Haversaun was pouring tea for Madam Alodia, cookies already set out on the low table next to the chairs. Both women looked up as Dani entered, and Mrs. Haversaun started to pour another cup of tea. “Daniella my dear, come sit down. You look like something the cat dragged in.”

“You don’t have a cat Mrs. Haversaun.” Dani said, trying to force a smile. She smoothed out her hair selfconciously though and sat down across from Alodia, watching the other woman warily. “What are you doing here?”

“So direct Dani.” Alodia laughed and took a sip of her tea.

“Madam Alodia is here to take you to the palace. I tried to talk her out of it but it’s on the King and Queens decree. Luckily Lady Seela has been helping, but I may have to hire others to help as well with the business we’ve gotten.”

“Oh hell no.” Dani stared at Alodia, her eyes widening. “Wulfram ain’t around, I don’t see any reason to go to the palace.”

“Oh but you have every reason to go to the palace. First off, one doesn’t simply say no to the King and Queen. Secondly, one doesn’t simply say no to me. You need to do this Daniella. I promise it isn’t anything bad.” Alodia’s voice was perfectly calm, but somehow managed to carry a hint of danger to it. Dani felt a chill creep up her spine as Alodia took another sip of her tea. “Drink some tea, it will help your head.”

Dani took her cup of tea from Mrs. Haversaun, and looked to the other woman for help. “But I have work to do. We’ve got so many damn gowns to make before that ball!”

“And I’m sure you will get them all done in time. I’ll send some of the girls over to help, there are a few talented in sewing that can ease the load. Consider it an apology for taking your worker away Mrs. Haversaun.”

“Thank you Alodia. I’d dactually appreciate that. But make sure they don’t bring sticky fingers into my shop.” Mrs. Haversaun said.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Of course not! Your shop is under my protection, it always has been. They wouldn’t dare steal from you.” Alodia set her cup down, her unflinching gaze settling on Dani. “Now dear, drink your tea. We have some things to discuss before we go to the palace.”

“Like what?” Damnit all why was she getting shoved into this? Oh right, because someone had to go and say she saved him! She took a drink of her tea, the hot liquid spreading warmth down her throat and into her head.

Huh. It really was helping with her headache.

“Like what you will be telling the Council. The King and Queen are going to ask you to tell them what you know of the tunnels, as well as ask you to work with me to coordinate exploration parties. You don’t need to worry too much about that, I already have a selection of people to guide them exactly where we want them. But I want to make sure you don’t tell them too much about the tunnels. For instance, you will not be mentioning where the smugglers tunnels are, or anything about the keys to access them. We’re going to steer them well away from those tunnels and our interests there. You can however tell them about the crypts, the cistern, and any other random tunnels you’ve found in your explorations. I would very much be interested in that information myself.”

“I don’t know what I can really tell them about the tunnels. Most of the ways in are through smugglers tunnels anyways, and I’ve only gone down a couple of levels.” Dani said. She took another sip of her tea, muscles starting to relax slightly now that her headache was fading.

“Now now Daniella, we both know you are aware of more entrances than just the smugglers tunnels. Focus on those and we’ll be just fine. Tell me which ones you know of that aren’t through the smugglers tunnels.” Alodia leaned forward slightly, a smile playing across her face.

Dani thought she looked a bit like a snake about to eat her. She shivered, and looked down into the amber tea, digging through her memory for the tunnels she knew of. After a moment she closed her eyes so she could visualize the mental map. “There’s the entrance to that tomb that comes out by the docks of course, they already know that one. They’ll probably have found the old smugglers entrance in that building that fell down, ain’t gunna be able to hide that from ‘em. They might even have the key from it. There’s another entrance into the underground beneath the tanners, one behind that big pile of rocks up by old Jack’s place, another that leads right to the crypts behind the Quietus temple at the edge of the temple district, and another under the building with three arches and the broken statue out by old park.”

There were more, she knew it. The Rats Nest especially was riddled with entrances that people had found and hidden over the years. But those were the main ones she knew. When she opened her eyes, she caught just the faintest hint of approval on Alodia’s face. “You know more of the entrances than I thought you would. You can let them know all of them except for the one beneath the tanners. Going deeper shouldn’t be an issue, the smugglers don’t often go beyond the second level, but there could be treasures to find as well. I’m not sure how well we’ll be able to avoid the nobles finding out about them, but we’ll try.”

“Best of luck to you on that.” Dani said dryly, and finished the last of her tea.

“Best of luck to us, you’ll be helping us my dear. Oh, it is possible that Queen Mirabel and Lady Orlaith will be wanting to speak to you about how to improve Rats Nest, and discuss relocating people. I’ll likely be involved in those conversations as well, so let me take the lead.” Alodia stood up, gently smoothing out her skirts. “If you’re done with your tea, we’ll need to be going.”

“Relocating people? Why the hell would she be talking to me about that stuff?” Dani set her cup down, standing with a reluctance that felt like a physical weight. Alodia looped her arm through one of Dani’s guiding her to the door with a smile.

“Because you are going to be their point of contact for the Rats Nest, isn’t that exciting?”

Dani looked back at Mrs. Haversaun as they stepped out the door, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Oh yeah. Exciting.”

Mrs. Haversaun offered her an encouraging smile as the door closed, and Dani sighed. Shit. She really wanted another drink right about now, but it was far too early in the morning, and she was beginning to wonder if she was developing a problem. But who wouldn’t want to drink when someone wanted them to decide the fate of other people? She climbed into the carriage, Alodia gracefully climbing in behind her.

“Don’t look so stressed dear, you’ll give yourself wrinkles. Besides, I’ll be there to help guide you in these affairs.” Alodia said comfortingly, lightly patting Dani’s hand.

Why didn’t that reassure her?