*We will talk later if that is okay. I was just checking up on you at the request of Kendra. There are a few small problems, but things in Landor are not good.*
*Let me guess.*
*You already know the story. It is not nearly as bad as other places, but there are traps and spies and constables and even bounty hunters. We’ve managed to evade them all so far. Got to go now.*
She winked out of my mind like a soap bubble poked with a finger. Elizabeth was still taking but I’d heard nothing of the conversation. The woman behind the tall counter acted impressed although I was certain Elizabeth hadn’t revealed her title.
I stood aside and took a step back. Perhaps habit. My eyes took in the rest of the entryway. The walls were mudded or spackled heavily, and a faint design formed. The color was not one. It was at least two shades of brown overlaid with a pale green that complimented it. The colors had been splotched in place.
I liked the effect.
I also liked the aromas drifting in from the next room, where another set of double doors prevented us from seeing who might be eating in there. Another, a smaller door stood at the end of the counter where the woman worked. She indicated it and held it open for us.
Behind the door were stairs. Simple, bare, and a little dark. They were the back stairs, the ones used by workmen, servants, and filthy guests. There would be another stairway in the main dining room, more ornate, but for now, while we might be accepted as paying guests, we were not presentable to those gentle souls eating legs of chicken with greasy fingers.
Elizabeth was not upset, at least, not that I could tell. I copied her manners and attitude. I kept a smile on my face. We were shown to a room, that was comparable to our quarters at Crestfallen, only smaller. The walls were treated much the same as those in the entry, but tapestries draped two walls, a bed large enough for a party occupied the center of the room, and a narrow bed sat against an outside wall under a window. I supposed the placement was so that if an intruder entered the room, he would attack the servant first. That would be my bed.
Since there were only two beds, my instinct was to attempt to claim the big one. I may have tried if the hostess was not still with us. Elizabeth was busy giving orders. She counted on her fingers, making certain the hostess understood whatever she said. I spotted a basket of strange-looking and familiar fruit and wandered to stand beside it.
The hostess glanced my way and smiled wanly as she said like addressing a child that she knew would do something stupid, “It’s not real.”
She was talking about the exact fruit I had my eye on. Closer inspection revealed a tiny chip on the leaf clinging to an apple. Under the chip was white, as in a plate or bowl.
Now that she knew I was of a lower class, and maybe a bit ignorant, I felt free to examine the room in more detail. The floors were bare wood, polished to a soft glow. The ceiling was high, giving an expansive feel to the room.
The furnishings were all top-grade. The wood, the material, the construction, and presentation were all fit for the king’s private quarters. I placed our things on a sofa large enough for only two and ignored the scorn the innkeeper directing my way. I had ignored the chest near the wall. Our bags were tired, dirty, and worn. Even my sword nestled in an ordinary scabbard, but I felt like pulling it out and slashing it through the air to impress her.
Before I could do my act with my sword, or think of magic that might embarrass the woman, she fled. That is no exaggeration. Elizabeth had given her final instructions and waved a limp wrist in her direction. That was enough to send her on her way.
When the door quietly closed, Elizabeth spun on me. “Can’t you behave yourself?”
“I can . . . when I want to.”
“She was a prig, wasn’t she?” Elizabeth went to the bed and tested it with the palms of her hands. “Too soft.”
I pointed to the small one under the window, the one I hadn’t even been near yet. “That one isn’t. It is nice and firm. You’ll like it.”
“Liar. You haven’t even tested it.” She sat on the bed and said, “Your eyes went blank downstairs. Talking to Anna?”
“She said Landor is about like other kingdoms as far as the Young Mage goes. Him, or his people, have been at work. They have spies, agents, bounty hunters, and all that.”
“Here too, if you didn’t catch what Bran said. Not as many, but it is starting. The Young Mage plans ahead. You have to respect that.”
I said, “I may have caught that idea from Honest Bran between the flirting, joking, lying, and cheating going on between the two of you.”
She rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling before answering, “Wasn’t it wonderful to find someone like him right from the beginning?”
“You like him?” I blurted out.
“Not romantically, but he’s the one that knows the city, the people, the seedy underground and the pretenders. If we require knowledge of the inner workings of the royal palace, he knows the cooks, chambermaids, and all their secrets. He reminds me of you.”
I tossed a pillow her way and she caught it and flung it back without hesitation. I asked, “When are we going to eat?”
“Not soon. We’re not dressed for it. Maybe we can get our food sent up here.”
“Why not go down and eat?” I asked, more curious than hungry.
She shrugged. “I’m here to meet with the king. I don’t want word of someone in filthy desert tans that hasn’t had a bath in a week reaching him or his henchmen. That would close off any chance of a reception.”
“How are you going to do it?” I asked. “Get his attention, I mean.”
“Honest Bran will help us with that. Tomorrow there will be a ball in the palace. We are going. You and me.”
Words failed me.
She continued, “That is why three seamstresses and two tailors will arrive here soon. Also, there will be a cobbler for both of us, and oh, yes. It is a formal ball, so the men will wear their decorative swords.”
“You’ve arraigned all that?”
“And baths. For both of us. And a woman to do my hair, and yours. And we need our nails trimmed, our hands softened with creams and more.”
“More?” I asked, stunned.
“Well, yes. It’s a royal ball. We need jewelry. A selection will arrive tonight. It must be impressive.”
“Elizabeth, slow down. We do not even have an invitation yet. You’re putting all your trust in a carriage driver who maybe boasts too much. Besides, how can we afford all this?”
She removed her purse and spilled a few coins on the bed. Only two were gold. The others silver, copper, and brass. Then she removed her left boot and peeled out the inner lining. More gold coins joined the rest. The other shoe had the same.
“That will more than pay for what we need,” I admitted. “That would buy this inn if you want it.”
Her face was tinged with pink because of the anger that I’d doubted her. She said, “If you’ll turn your back for a moment, I’ll produce more.”
“Really?” I asked as I stalked closer to her and reached out. “If you don’t mind, I’ll search for it myself.”
The hand-to-hand training we had received since childhood was supposed to be equal. It was not. Before I could touch her, she grabbed my fingers and twisted them while rolling on the bed and somehow coming up behind me, while she bent my fingers in an unnatural manner. She shoved my face down into the softness of the bed. Instead of resisting, I rolled over and splayed my arms and legs claiming the bed for my own.