story - part 13 - intrigue - 1169 words

Another long day, another chilling night; they blur into two days, three, a week. Things settling back down into a familiar, monotonous routine. Lessons, court, time spent with the young prince. I have to coax the sleeping potion down his throat, I have to convince him to take something for the pain. I down more than my share.

Pulling out of his room and into drafty hallways. There is a familiar couple at the end of the hallway, anyone would recognize the figure he cuts, with broad shoulders and huge golden wings. I pause in a corner, three-quarters hidden in darkness, to listen to the whispered conversation, to look her over.

"...worst times, Corbin." Hissing, nervous. Her eyes shift in tiny, flickering motions, too brief to actually take anything in. All they do is give her away as suspicious, the fact that she is doing something she knows could get her in trouble.

I cannot make out his response, but I can read the slight shift of his body, the way he steps in closer to her. Even without words, he is persuasive, and her anger or nervousness begins to melt away. In flickering torchlight, I can see a smile ghosting across her features, something vaguely teasing in the way she lowers her eyelashes and leans to the side.

"No, of course I can't say no, but..."

There is something in her tone, in her coy manner, that makes me want to hit her. Realistically, I know this could be because she is my father's mistress, but there is more to it than that. It is the sneaky way that she plays reluctant virgin, no matter how many times he has visited her rooms in the past few months. It is the smirk that spreads across her face even as her eyes are wide and demure. It is her posture, shoulders curled up and hands folded innocently before her, with hips cocked lustily forward.

Amazilia. She hovers somewhere between servant and Lady. The low ranks of second generation nobles, of too high rank to get her hands dirty but still too low to settle comfortably into the court. She has done a fine job, though - her goal was to get close to the King, as so she has, crushed under the force of his ego and his self-confident grin.

I settle back against the wall and wait for the whispers to fade away into silence, my eyes pressed closed. The sound of shuffling feet against the ground, a quiet murmur of a laugh, the wet sound of lips pressed against lips and rough breaths. For a beat, there is nothing. Another moment before I let my eyes open again, before I shift away from the wall to peer down toward her door.

There are no more golden wings, glowing in the torchlight. She stands alone, fingers lifting up to smooth dark hair back from her forehead, that easy flirt going out of her posture. There are masks around every corner, in this city. No one tells the truth, every opinion is twisted and obscured, intrigue piled on intrigue. It is no wonder that Tumaire knows nothing of how common folk work. They are too direct for him to comprehend.

It takes me a moment to realize that black eyes are locked on me, that there is something angry in her expression. She thinks I have been lurking, spying, and she is not too far off the mark.

We are at a standstill. I, settled back against the wall at the corner of the hallway, too tired to move or to try to explain myself. She, hovering in the open doorway to her moderate rooms, feigning pride and indignance to cover that edge of fear and uncertainty. She is new to her power, she does not know how to order me over, or how to properly chew me out.

"What are you staring at." Dull and flat, as she stares down the hall in my direction. Now that she has given up trying to keep young, I can see the shadows under her eyes, the exhaustion in the way she slumps against the doorway.

It has been a while since I laughed. It comes out as a dry noise, rough and humorless. Finally, I push away from the wall and continue my journey up the hallway. My door is just around the next corner, I can almost feel warm blankets curling up around me - but first I have to get by her, I have to get out from under that steady gaze.

"Hey. I asked you a question." Hand shooting out as I step too close to her door, snatching a hold of my wrist and dragging me back. She realizes too late what a bad idea this is. I am five inches taller than her, even with my slight slump, and am colder, more confident. She has perfected the resentful glower, but it has no effect on me.

"How old are you, Amazilia?" Surprise flashing across her face at the name, she snatches her hand away. She had not expected me to be so calm, or to bite back. Usually the servants play along with her games, smile and patronizingly bow down to her rank. She does not know how to react to one who brazenly meets her eyes and speaks to her by name.

"Twenty, twenty-one? Not older than that, I am sure. And what are you wasting your life on, a King who will never marry you and does not even care about you?" Casually, as I swipe at my arm, where she touched me. As if to brush away any lingering bits of her, any memory.

"He cares. He does." With a 'but...' in her voice. Perhaps she is not as stupid as I assumed, she does recognize how hopelessly this situation is. At least she knows that she will never be queen, she does not cling to hopeless dreams of love and marriage. She is only playing the game.

"He cares about you as much as he cares about his dogs. But I will let you in on a secret, shall I?" Tonight, I am sick and tired of the intrigue. Power plays and secrets. I want something real to happen, something solid and horrible.

"Something you can use to get just a little closer." A beckoning finger - she leans in obediently, head cocked back and eyes fixed with awe upon my face. She could not be more attentive, she will hang on my every word.

"The Queen is no more faithful to him than he is to her. Wander your way stealthily into the eastern wing, at some point, and you will catch her playing this same game." Lives could be shattered this way. I could ruin the careful balance that is kept here, the delicate arrangement of power. And it feels really good to push that over, I slip away down the hall feeling better than I have in weeks.