Chapter 97: Trespassing

Stefan's POV

The Hand led me through two quieter corridors and out into one of the smaller rear courtyards where the palace grew its more delicate flowers. The air smelled of turned earth and something sweet I couldn't name.

Dove was standing near a low stone basin, giving rushed instructions to three court ladies who were carefully pruning and watering. The moment she turned her head and saw me approaching, she stopped mid-sentence.

She dismissed the women with a short gesture of her hand. They bowed and left quickly, casting curious glances in my direction as they went. Dove waited until we were alone before she spoke.

"You were not anywhere inside the palace this morning," she began immediately, straight to the point. Her tone was calm, but there was a clear edge underneath it. "No one could account for your absence. At where were you?"

I kept my posture relaxed and gave her an easy, slightly self-deprecating smile - the kind that had gotten me out of worse conversations than this one.

"I needed fresh air. The walls were starting to feel a little close after a few days inside and I'm not the kind of guy who stayed inside so I decided to walk the outer grounds. Wanted to see what the place looked like beyond the immediate courtyards."

Dove's eyes narrowed slightly. She did not smile back.

"That is not something people inside the palace are permitted to do," she said. "Not aimlessly. Not without purpose and not without leave. The palace holds many confidential matters. Those who belong to Her Majesty do not simply walk out, and those outside do not simply walk in. Anyone who disobeys that order is considered to be engaging in treason."

She let the word hang in the air between us like a blade on a string.

"The punishment," she added, almost conversationally, "is beheading."

I felt the swallow move through my throat before I could stop it. Beheading. Of course it was. These people never did anything by halves. One mistake and they went straight for the neck.

Still, I didn't let the reaction stay on my face longer than a heartbeat. I pushed Charm and a measured amount of Authority forward and kept my voice smooth, reasonable, the voice of a man who had learned his lesson.

"I understand your point very well, Dove. Completely. It won't happen again. Consider this my formal acceptance of a warning." I said.

Dove studied me for a long moment. Her gaze was sharp enough to peel skin. Whatever she saw in my expression seemed to satisfy her enough or at least she decided pressing further wasn't worth the effort right now.

"Very well. This time it remains a warning." she accepted.

I inclined my head in acknowledgment, then decided to test the water while she was still willing to speak to me.

"And Her Majesty?" I asked, keeping the question light, almost casual. "I noticed she hasn't been in the usual halls since early morning. Is she -"

"Her majesty, the Queen does not give account of her movements to anyone," Dove cut in, her voice suddenly becoming sharp. "Least of all to an Alien who has already shown a tendency to wander."

"Of course," I said quickly, raising both hands a little in surrender. "Simple curiosity. Nothing more."

"Take this advice, do not be curious about matters that do not concern you."

With that, Dove turned and walked away, her steps measured and quick. I watched her go until she disappeared through one of the arched doorways, then let out a long, controlled breath through my nose.

Beheading for wandering aimlessly? Wonderful. Add that to the growing list of creative ways this planet can end me.

I made my way back to my rooms without further incident, taking the longer route so I could think. I didn't even remember the Hand was trailing behind me until I pushed the door to my rooms open and she stepped in behind me.

Once inside I washed the remaining tension off my skin, changed into clean silk, and had the Hand bring food. She hovered near the wall afterward, clearly uncertain what to do with herself now that the immediate crisis of my absence had been handled. I pointed at the low stool beside the chair I had claimed.

"You're just standing there," I said. "Make yourself useful. My neck is still tight from all the near-death experiences."

She obeyed without comment. As I had detected earlirr, her hands were competent, applying steady pressure along the muscles at the base of my skull and down into my shoulders. I let my eyes close halfway and allowed the quiet to settle for the first time since morning.

My mind drifted, almost against my will, back to the previous night. The Pleasure Device. The way it had turned every sensation sharp and overwhelming. The way Jonquil had sounded when she finally stopped trying to stay quiet. The way she had looked at me afterward with those gold eyes soft for once. I would need to get my hands on more of that item. Preferably soon. Preferably before the System decided to make the next version even more expensive.

I was still half-lost in the memory when a sudden noise reached the room - raised voices speaking rapidly in the beast tongue, the sound of multiple pairs of boots moving fast down a distant corridor, the sharp bark of someone giving orders.

I opened my eyes.

"What is that?" I asked in curiosity.

The Hand's fingers paused on my neck for a fraction of a second.

"They are saying a trespasser has been discovered in the palace," she translated quietly. "Someone was seen fleeing from the direction of the Queen's private quarters. The Flowers are being called to search every hall and courtyard."

My blood went cold for an entirely different reason.

A trespasser. Fleeing from the Queen's quarters?

My mind went straight to Kara.

Had she actually come into the palace to finish the Silent Matriarch's task?

Before I could finish the thought, the door to my rooms slammed open hard enough to bounce off the wall.

Kara stood in the doorway, her chest heaving, eyes wide with raw fear. Her usual blunt composure was completely gone. She looked like she had been running for her life.

"Help me. Please." she said in a tight and urgent voice.

At the same moment, a cluster of voices rose just outside in the corridor sharp, clear, and far too close.

"The trespasser was sighted this way!"

"Check every corner!"

"She cannot have gone far!"

Kara's eyes locked on mine, desperate and waiting for an answer, while the footsteps of the searching Flowers pounded closer down the hall.