There was an ever-present nagging voice in the back of my head telling me that this was a horrible idea. From proposing a risky marriage interview process with the royal family to the timing of my visit to the actual process of sweeping every room that I thought was a risk factor – the entire plan was built on a foundation of sand.
Yet I foolishly ignored that voice. I was self-assured because of how other recent events had fallen into place for me by the power of narrative convenience. Naturally, it was at the exact moment when I tried to harness that power knowingly that it all fell apart. I had severely underestimated just how big the royal palace was.
It was a maze. There were hundreds of near identical-looking corridors to peruse. At first, I thought of finding the most securely guarded area and using that as a guide to learn where Thersyn was hiding, but that proved to be a bust almost immediately. I couldn’t even find the secured areas on my own.
I was left with the distinct feeling that this endeavour was a huge waste of time. I couldn’t cut and run now though – I had to sit through the rest of the interview process and come up with a convincing reason not to follow through with it should the field narrow to one person. Laundering the image of my father as a picky asshole would be the key. I could indicate that I was open to the prospect only to send a rejection under his name later on.
Of course, nobles wasted each other’s time with this crap constantly, but it was considered very rude to not have a reason. What a load of good that kind of rule did.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Franklin inquired.
“Do I look like I know where we’re going?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t. My hubris has bested me once again. I thought that this wouldn’t be as half as complicated as it is!”
I could find my way back easily, that kind of short-term memory was something I had trained extensively during my time as a hitman. The real problem arose when I didn’t know where I was supposed to be headed in the first place. I wanted to investigate as much of the palace as I could in the short time before the next meeting, but there were too many rooms and nooks and crannies to hide in. It was a hired killer’s personal paradise. They could be lurking anywhere and nobody would be lucky enough to find them.
The few servants we saw walking around didn’t spare us a second glance, nor did they lead us anywhere useful when I tried to tail them. I eventually decided to give up for the time being and return to the lobby so that I could make it in time for the next wedding contest stage.
“Maybe you should apply some of that classic Maria charm to dissuade the bachelors.”
“You mean scare the pants off of them?”
“I wouldn’t put it so crudely... but yes.”
“I am well aware of how terrifying some people find my presence.”
Franklin chuckled, “Is that so.”
“Oh yes. It’s all calculated. It keeps a healthy distance between me and the type of person I cannot stand existing in my presence. I’d rather be regarded as a cruel and cold little girl rather than endure one second of their incessant prattle.”
“I do feel that you’ve become more personable since attending the academy. It’s strange, a few years ago you were very quiet and reserved – but suddenly you became very talkative and frigid. Now you’re reverting to a happier medium.”
“Like I said, I can control my feelings. If I’m being cold then it’s for a good reason. I can choose to be friends with someone at any time.”
Even I didn’t believe that mouthful of utter bullshit. I was a self-flagellating moron who thought that she wasn’t allowed to enjoy herself on the second go around. Things would have been much nicer had I taken full advantage of my new wealth and privilege. Showing up the other girls at the academy could only entertain me for so long.
This was all besides the point. I was here to figure out where Thersyn was residing in exile from the throne so that I could ensure he lived to see the end of the week. They had good reason to suspect that an attempt on his life was incoming.
My initial plan to return to the lobby went out of the window, but it was for a very good reason. Another servant, or at least a man I believed to be one, walked across the intersection in front of us and stopped dead for a brief moment. Everything slowed to a crawl. I recognized him, and it was not because I had seen him while exploring the palace.
It was one of Marco’s friends.
His eyes met mine, and for all of his best efforts, he still looked like he was about to shit himself in fear. He quickly strode away, trying to open distance between us without running and breaking his cover. I was not going to let him get away with that. He was obviously here for a reason.
What followed was a farce. Neither of us was willing to break into a sprint for fear of attracting attention in the most securely guarded building on the continent. Franklin powerwalked in lockstep with me. Our quarry hightailed it for the nearest open room he knew was safe and slammed the door shut behind him.
We stopped outside.
“He’s waiting to ambush you,” Franklin whispered.
“But he’s not going to use a gun in here. Watch this.”
I twisted the handle and pushed the door open. He was cornered and he knew it. I stepped across the threshold into the room and ducked as he swung a vase at my head, shattering it against the doorframe. I kicked him away and slung a bolt of ionized air in his direction – momentarily locking his muscles and preventing him from drawing his gun.
I was already in his face before he could stop me. I reached around his back and pulled it from the back of his trousers. I finished him off by wrenching his arm and throwing him down onto the floor in one smooth movement. I unloaded the magazine and tossed it to Franklin, who was standing behind me.
“Was that last job not enough money to go on, Farhan?”
I could recognize his lovely mug from a mile away. It was insane. He went from committing arson to trying to assassinate the former King within three days. Farhan leant his head against the sofa and laughed.
“Of all the people, it had to be you.”
“Let’s not beat around the bush – as they say. You’re here for a reason and I don’t imagine it’s anything good. Are you the one Sloan sent to try and kill Thersyn Van Walser?”
“I have no idea what you’re on about, lass.”
“I would advise not being smart with me. There are fates worse than death that I can inflict on someone like you.”
He wasn’t moved by my threats.
“You can’t do anything to me,” he concluded, “Not without every servant in this building coming down here and seeing you covered with my blood. That’s why you didn’t kill me on the spot back there.”
“Hm. I suppose you were the ‘smart one’ of the group then, however, there is a small problem with your position. I am entirely capable of ending your life without making a sound, they’ll find your body tucked away in here long after I’ve left the palace grounds, and they will not be capable of deducing what happened to you.”
He smirked, “Bullshit.”
I snapped my fingers, “Franklin. A demonstration is warranted.”
He silently took a book from one of the shelves and handed it to me. It was a heavy tome, but not an old one, placed in here as a secondary storage location for what was undoubtedly a large collection in the dedicated library. Nobody would be upset should anything happen to it.
I held the book in the air and used my magic on the binding that held the pages to it. Farnham watched in silent terror as the pages slipped free from the leather-bound cover and plummeted to the floor in a disconnected pile.
“Nice trick,” he bluffed.
“It is a nice trick – and it’s especially effective when applied to the vulnerable spinal column at the base of the neck. I can reach into your body and slice one of your arteries open without leaving an external wound, or perhaps it would be more fitting to cut your Achilles tendons and leave you a cripple?”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“You’re full of crap, kid.”
Did he want to test me on that threat? I tossed the cover into the air and brought my hands down, wirelessly slicing it in two like the sharp end of a blade. The split cover landed on either side of his feet. He scrambled back up and supported himself using the table.
“That is going to be your spine in a second if you don’t tell me what I want to know.”
He finally got the picture, “I didn’t get paid to come here and scrub out the King. You think they’d pay a low-level crook like me to handle a job that intense?”
“No.”
He frowned as I answered his rhetorical question.
“You work with Marco, isn’t he considered a professional by everyone in the know?”
“Marco is, but us folks who work with him don’t get that much shine from our association. Not that I’m saying I deserve it. Marco’s been out there making a name for himself by taking a lot of risks – it’s his reputation to benefit from. The point is, I’m not being hired solo to kill someone that important. I can’t do it, maybe Marco could, but he’s packing up his shit and getting out of Walser as soon as possible.”
“Who paid you, and what did they have you do?”
Farhan shook his head; “They didn’t meet me directly. A friend of a friend told me that they were looking for extra hands, but I only ever met with another agent they hired. They told me to put on this uniform and show up on the same day as the staff intake because there were multiple vacancies. They haven’t clocked me for an infiltrator yet.”
Frankfort had to squeeze every source she had to figure that out. Either the person who hired him had the same amount of experience in espionage, or they were someone on the inside of the palace who had a vested interest in cementing Ekkehard’s hold on the throne. It might have been a close family member of his.
“Again, what did you do?”
“I delivered a pair of packages to the mailing office. One of them was left there for someone else, and the other I brought to a sitting room on the third floor. I don’t know what’s in them. A gun, maybe? But I could smuggle one in on my person without a problem.”
I exhaled through my nose and stepped away to give him some breathing room. This was a problem. I believed his story, Welt was smart enough to work with compartmented crooks who did all the dirty work. For an operation this sensitive a low-level goon like Farnham was being utilised as a mule to get what they needed into the building.
“I assume there are other people here for the same job.”
Farnham shrugged, “I was kept in the dark, so I think the rest of them are too. Fewer ways for us to screw it up. Stick to your role, keep your head down, and don’t ask any questions. That’s how a good job gets pulled off.”
At least we were here at the right time. I could justify extending the interview process a few days to make sure that I was around when the inevitable occurred. Farnham was happy to plead ignorance on more of the specifics with his life on the line, so I decided not to press him any further and let him settle for that.
“I’m going to leave you to the guards now.”
Farnham staggered away from the table, “Wait, wait a second! I can help you out. I’ll drop everything if you don’t turn me in!”
“You already said that you don’t know any more information.”
“But there’s only two of you. Wouldn’t an extra pair of eyes help you out?”
It sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that more than he was me or Franklin. I didn’t trust Farnham as far as I could throw him. Introducing a wild variable into the mix was frankly a terrible idea. I was asking for him to stab me in the back if I went along with his pleas. He could burn down a warehouse, but there was no promise of him being of use in this situation where an assassin was skulking the halls of the palace.
Franklin chimed up; “We’re almost out of time, Maria.”
“Come on, you’re a reasonable girl! That’s why you decided to work with Marco – you understood that he could do something for you! Even after what he tried to do with your Uncle!”
If I was anyone else that kind of insensitive comment would not go over well. Farnham was happy to throw Marco under the wheels as long as it helped himself. This wasn’t about Marco. I used him because he had a reason to get back at Welt after he tried to kill him twice over. Farnham had no reason whatsoever to assist me now.
It bore repeating. There was no trust to be had, just the type of leverage you used to control others. Farnham could sense that he was losing me. He needed to switch to my side or I’d throw him to the dogs and let them sort him out. There was no getting out of the palace either. The gates were closed to everyone, even the staff, until the rotation was over.
“I’m reasonable, which is why I’m not offering you a deal like that. Goodbye.”
Farnham scowled and charged at me in an attempt to keep me from turning him in to the nearest armed guard, but I was already one step ahead of him. I ducked his attempt to grab me and twisted his arm around his back, before pushing him from behind towards where Franklin was standing.
By chance, I had recently learned that Franklin enjoyed recreational boxing when he wasn’t working at the manor. He lashed out with a vicious right hook that clocked him across the nose and shut his lights out in an instant. I almost fell back as the weight of his body was suddenly put entirely onto my arms. I let him drop to the floor instead.
“Magazine.”
Franklin shook off his bruised knuckles and handed it over. I slid it back into the gun but also made sure to put the safety on, and break the internal mechanism so that it couldn’t be fired. The gun was placed back into his belt line in a place where the guards could easily spot it when entering the room.
“Go find a guard and tell them about the noise you heard,” I instructed, “I’ll go and see if the interview will still be on.”
“Yes ma’am.”
We parted ways, with Franklin heading off in search of a guard to sell our cover story to. Farhan wouldn’t be able to turn the tables on me by accusing us of being responsible for his unconscious state or the smashed vase, once again I was benefitting from the expectations placed upon the shoulders of every good noble lady.
Navigating back to where we started was more difficult than I expected. I was laser-focused on following Farhan through the hallways and did not pay attention to where we were going. I reoriented myself by getting to the lobby and then moving to the study from there.
Fleur was waiting for me at the door.
“Ah! There you are, Lady Maria.”
“I must apologise. We were just heading back and we heard a horrible crashing sound come from one of the rooms. Franklin has gone off without me to find a member of staff to speak with.”
Fleur was interested in hearing more – but his duty for the moment was to chauffeur these young men through a difficult and awkward interview process. I wondered if any of them had reckoned with the thought of being married to another person. Was it seen as a matter of course even at their age?
We stepped through and the small number of boys who toughed it out all stood to attention. I curtseyed, again, and moved towards the table at the front of the room. Just a few minutes ago I was interrogating a criminal and getting into a fight with him. It was almost enough to give me whiplash.
Even while I was offering pleasantries to the competitors, my mind was elsewhere.
“I am honoured to see so much interest in my offer of a betrothal. I should make it clear that my father is interested in meeting those who proceed to the final stage of this process, and that it will likely be a matrilineal arrangement. Are you willing to leave your current name behind and join our house?”
All of them nodded with little hesitation. Being the husband of an extremely wealthy noble was an upgrade from being a bottom-level royal in their eyes. They all understood what was at stake and what they would have to give to win my interest.
“This may be a strange proposition – but I would first like to know if any of you have an interest in business. As you may be aware, my family is heavily invested in mining and other productive ventures, and you may be asked to take on some responsibilities in managing those businesses in the future.”
Not really. Even Damien would offload some of his work to the site managers if he felt it was a lot to handle. It was entirely possible for me, or a prospective spouse, to simply kick back and let the money roll in. I had a firm grasp on what would be a sound investment into the future thanks to my previous life. I was just using that to posture as if I had an intention of selecting a spouse by the end.
“That’s good. It goes without saying that you will have a large amount of freedom to pursue whatever venture you please. It’s a good place for one who has ambition to build something new.”
Or they could leech off of the family fortune for the rest of their life, but that was rare. Nobles were all about making the line go up. Why settle for having enough money to live affluently for your entire life, and the lives of your ancestors fifteen generations removed from your death? It was easy to make money turn into more money. Failure was a temporary setback for someone like me, I could go back and try again none the worse for wear.
And that was before considering devices like the watch owned by Adrian’s family. It made me think that they had benefitted from that for a long time. Merely possessing the watch would put them in a position to trigger a self-closing loop wherein a future version of a family member could point them towards a particularly lucrative investment.
In the midst of my first real statement to the group, another servant poked their head through the door and whispered something to Fleur. He glanced at me and the suitors with a nervous leer. That must be the news about the armed stranger being found in one of the studies. Farnham was going to have a bad time being wrung for info by the guards, and then getting tossed into the courts to be slapped with an extremely lengthy jail sentence.
Fleur was internally debating what the best course of action was. It wasn’t as if the royal house members had anywhere else to go away from the palace, and scuppering the marriage interviews because of an attempted assassination would anger their parents and guardians. Come hell or high water they were going to worm their way into my good graces through marriage.
Fleur couldn’t in good conscious keep that information from me as a guest, so he pulled me aside as I finished my opening remarks and relayed what had happened.
“It appears that the sound was caused by an intruder into the palace, and he was armed. I would strongly recommend that he pause this interview and have you return home, Lady Maria.”
“Is that a requirement?”
“No. I’m certain that Thersyn would accept your desire to stay knowing this, but it does pose a risk to the safety of the guests.”
He knew full well that they were targeting Thersyn, not me. He wanted to cover all of his bases in case the worst came to pass.
“I would find that most inconvenient. I trust the men and women who are dedicated to the security of the palace. I am certain that no harm will come to me should I stay despite this development. We need only stay out of the way and let them do their jobs.”
Play up the ‘bratty’ attitude of a noble girl, make him really believe that I was more willing to get shot and killed than be momentarily inconvenienced...
“The Royal Infantry are the best of the best. I am simply obligated to warn you. It will not take long for them to sniff out these ruffians and see the palace secured again.”
...And he bit it, hook, line and sinker.
“I will defer to your decision, Lady Maria. I may have to arrange for a different room later. I will speak with the guard and make sure we are safe to continue.”
“Of course. I appreciate your transparency.”
It was time to move on to the individual discussions again. These were going to be longer, more detailed, and occur outside of earshot of the others. I planned to take each one through the back door and into the gazebo on the rear porch, rather than setting the entire thing inside of another boring meeting room.
I turned to my captive audience and smiled, “Who’s first?”
In retrospect – that grin and declaration came off as more predatory than I intended.