Chapter 168: They Listened

I got my pillow back after dinner. It was the most important development of the day, and the child disagreed with it.

She had both arms around Dream Haven and the expression of someone who had recently escaped a cellar and now considered ownership a flexible idea. I stood beside the bed. She stared at me, and I stared at her. Saera watched from the window.

"You’re fifteen," she said.

"I know."

"She is six."

"I can see that."

The child tightened her grip.

"That feels irrelevant," I said.

The corner of Saera’s mouth moved. I had learned what that meant: she was enjoying this.

"I lent it to her," I said.

"You expanded it for her."

"Temporarily."

"She has slept on it twice."

"That doesn’t establish legal ownership."

Saera glanced at the door. "Shall we call the magistrate?"

I looked at her. She was definitely enjoying this. The child pressed her face into Dream Haven, and I sighed.

"She can use it until I leave."

The child’s ears lifted. Saera translated, and the child looked at me with deep suspicion.

"At dawn," I added.

Her ears went down again, which was fair. I sat against the wall, and Dream Haven stayed on the bed. This was suffering.

***

The Crown had turned Merrow’s estate into something between a military post and an office. There were guards at every door, officials at every table, and paper everywhere. I had once thought nobles owned too much paper. I had been wrong; governments owned more. By dinner, the magistrate had taken over Merrow’s study, his steward’s office, one dining room and half of the central hall. Lord Merrow had lost his house without technically leaving it, which I found efficient.

He and the Tigers were being kept apart, very much apart. The Tigers had been moved into the old stone barracks beside the western wall, under twelve Crown soldiers and two Academy guards. Merrow stayed in the central house with his lawyer. His lawyer had objected. The magistrate had listened to the objection, and then done it anyway. I liked her more every hour. Not enough to speak to her voluntarily, but more.

***

We ate in the smaller dining room: the five of us, Sorel, Renn, and no host, which improved dinner immediately. James was halfway through his second plate when Renn came in with a folded relay sheet. Everyone looked at him except me. I had learned that looking interested often led to more responsibility.

Renn stopped beside Elizabeth. "Fort Halden answered."

I looked up. Apparently I had limits.

Elizabeth set down her fork. "The Crown?"

"And the Foreign Office."

"And the beastkin delegation?"

"They were consulted." He unfolded the sheet.

Saera’s request had gone west under diplomatic seal that afternoon, and I had expected an answer tomorrow at the earliest. Apparently people moved faster when a treaty was less than a week away and someone had found trafficked beastkin under the house of a Crown-approved lord.

"What did they say?" asked Sophie.

Renn read it out. "The thirteen remain under Crown protection. No return west until their identities and clan affiliations are verified, and no transfer to beastkin custody without a representative they accept."

Elizabeth’s shoulders lowered, only slightly, but I noticed.

"And Merrow?" asked James.

"Not addressed in this reply."

"Convenient."

"It’s a different office."

"Government is strange."

"Yes."

That agreement surprised James enough to stop him. Daphne drank her water. Her wrists were still wrapped. I didn’t look at them, which was becoming a skill.

"The beastkin delegation has also asked for access to the rescued group," said Renn. "A representative is being sent here."

James stopped eating. "Who?"

"The message doesn’t say."

"How long?" asked Elizabeth.

"I don’t know. The representative may already have been closer than Fort Halden when the message went out."

That told us nothing useful. Half the border was moving toward the signing: officials, soldiers, merchants, people who liked speeches, people who liked profiting from people who liked speeches, and apparently people who hid Tigers in noble houses.

"What about us?" asked Sophie.

Renn folded the sheet. "We leave at first light."

Nobody spoke. Then James said, "Which road?"

"A different one."

"Very specific."

"Deliberately."

"Do we get to know which?"

"Tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Because the last route ended up in a room with five armed Tiger beastkin."

That was difficult to argue with. James tried anyway. "We aren’t the ones who leaked it."

"We don’t know who did."

"We’re students."

"Exactly."

James frowned. Renn turned to Elizabeth.

"The signing is still on schedule. Losing another day would put us too close to the formal arrival window."

Elizabeth nodded. "And the thirteen?"

"Stay here."

Her face changed, only a little, but I saw it. She didn’t like that. Neither did I, which was inconvenient.

"The magistrate stays?"

"Yes. So do the Crown soldiers and the three healers, and more people are coming from the regional post."

"And the Tigers?"

"Transferred east under a separate escort."

"Merrow?"

Renn paused. "That depends on what the magistrate decides overnight."

James looked disappointed. He probably wanted Merrow dragged behind a horse, possibly literally.

Sophie looked at Elizabeth. "Are you all right?"

Elizabeth’s expression immediately became more ordinary. "I’m fine."

Nobody believed her. We had all become too good at that.

***

After dinner Elizabeth disappeared into the investigation room, which surprised nobody. James tried to follow her, which also surprised nobody, and Renn stopped him in the doorway.

"I want to hear what they found at Waystation Fourteen," said James.

"No."

"Why?"

"It’s an active Crown investigation."

"I was part of it."

"You were part of the rescue."

"That’s the same thing."

"No."

James looked at me. I shook my head; I had no intention of helping. He looked betrayed.

Daphne walked past him. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"My room."

"Oh." He watched her go, and then looked at Renn. "Can I go to my room?"

"Please."

He left. Renn looked tired. I understood.

***

I went east. Not because I was responsible for anything; I had learned that much, mostly. I went because Dream Haven was still being held hostage, which was different.

The east rooms were quieter now. Several of the injured were asleep. The woman whose ankle I had mended enough to walk on had been properly treated by a Crown healer, and the man whose collar had torn his neck had a clean dressing over it. Nobody wore black metal around their throat. That was still the first thing I noticed whenever I came in.

The child was awake again, and still on my pillow. Saera sat beside her, and looked up at me.

"You leave tomorrow."

News traveled quickly in houses full of officials. "Yes."

"And we stay."

"Yes."

She nodded, with no argument, and no visible fear.

"The beastkin delegation answered," I said, and that changed her. "They’re sending someone here."

"Who?"

"They didn’t say."

Her mouth tightened. "When?"

"I don’t know."

"From which faction?"

"I don’t know."

She stared at me.

"I’m extremely well informed," I said.

"So I see."

"The Crown agreed not to send you back until you approve whoever receives you."

She looked at me for longer this time. "Your princess."

"Mostly."

"And you."

"Less mostly."

The almost-smile again. I was getting used to it.

"They listened," she said.

"Apparently."

Saera looked toward the beds. Thirteen people. No: Saera, and twelve others whose names were folded in my pocket. I knew better now.

"They did not have to," she said.

I thought about the magistrate, and Renn, and Elizabeth, and all the paperwork and soldiers and the Foreign Office. "They did."

Saera nodded once. That seemed to matter more to her than whether they’d had to.

The child’s eyes opened, and she saw me, and immediately put both hands flat on the pillow. I stared at her. She stared back.

"She knows you are leaving," said Saera.

"That doesn’t improve her claim."

Saera spoke softly to her in their own language. The child’s ears flattened. Then she looked at me.

"Don’t make her sad," said Saera.

"That sounds manipulative."

"It is."

"At least you’re honest."

Slowly, with the visible suffering of a person making an enormous sacrifice, the child pushed Dream Haven toward me. I took it. She kept one hand on the edge, and I waited, and eventually she let go.

"Thank you," I said.

She looked away. I shrank Dream Haven and tucked it under my arm, and her eyes followed every moment of it. I understood. It was a good pillow.

I reached into my storage ring, and then stopped, because I had nothing appropriate to give a six-year-old. Potions seemed excessive, a dagger seemed irresponsible, and money felt strange. I did have snacks. I took out a wrapped honey cake from dinner and held it out to her.

Saera looked at me.

"What?"

"You carry cake in your ring."

"I prepare for emergencies."

The child took it, and her opinion of me improved immediately, as it should have.

Saera shook her head. Then her face became serious. "When you see Lyssairia."

"If."

"When."

I let it go.

"Tell her Saera of the South Reed line is here."

That was new. "South Reed."

"Yes."

"Saera, of the South Reed line."

"And tell her I saw the striped mark on human soil."

"In Marrowfield too."

"Especially Marrowfield."

I nodded. "I’ll tell her."

Saera watched me. "Do not promise more."

I stopped. She glanced at my pocket, where the thirteen names were.

"You promised to tell her. Good. Do that."

"I wasn’t going to promise anything else."

"You were thinking about it."

"I wasn’t."

She looked at me. I adjusted Dream Haven.

"Possibly," I said.

She nodded. "Humans promise too much when they want to be kind."

"Humans do a lot of inefficient things."

"So do beastkin."

"Good."

"Good?"

"I dislike unequal standards."

That nearly made her laugh. Then footsteps sounded in the corridor, and Elizabeth appeared in the open doorway. She stopped when she saw me, and looked at Dream Haven.

"You got it back."

"Finally."

The child looked offended. Elizabeth smiled slightly, and turned to Saera. "May I?"

Saera gestured to the room. Elizabeth came in. One of her guards stood visibly outside the door; apparently princesses didn’t get to wander alone after someone had tried to kill them. Elizabeth stayed standing.

"There are chairs," said Saera.

Elizabeth looked at me, and I looked at Saera.

"I’ve heard that before," I said.

Saera didn’t understand. Elizabeth did, and took the chair.

***

For a little while nobody said anything. The child unwrapped the honey cake, and it became the loudest thing in the room: paper, small teeth, and a very serious expression. I approved.

"I wanted to tell you myself," said Elizabeth. "We leave tomorrow."

"I know."

Elizabeth paused. "Of course you do."

"Your house talks."

"It isn’t my house."

Saera glanced around. "Crown house now."

That was fair. Elizabeth folded her hands.

"The magistrate is staying, and so are the Crown’s healers and soldiers. Your request went to the beastkin delegation, and they’ve agreed you won’t be moved until you accept the representative."

Saera nodded. "I know that too."

Elizabeth stared at her. I looked away. This was going well.

"Your boy told me," said Saera.

Elizabeth’s eyes moved to me. I frowned. "Not her boy."

Saera looked at Dream Haven. "I did not mean that kind."

"Still inaccurate."

Elizabeth’s mouth twitched. Saera turned back to her.

"You are leaving because of the treaty."

"Yes."

"You do not want to."

Elizabeth went quiet. There were many lies she could have told, and she chose none of them. "No."

Saera nodded. "Good."

Elizabeth blinked. That hadn’t been the answer she’d expected, and it wasn’t the one I had expected either.

"Good?"

"If you wanted to leave people behind easily, I would worry about your treaty."

Elizabeth stared at her. Saera looked toward the beds.

"But you should still go."

"Why?"

"Because we are alive. You came here. You saw us. You stopped what was happening. Now other people can stand at the door."

Elizabeth’s hands tightened slightly. "I don’t know if they’re enough."

"No," said Saera, and that surprised her again. "You do not know."

Elizabeth looked at the open door, at the Crown guard outside it, and beyond him, at the healers and officials and a magistrate who enjoyed asking questions. It wasn’t enough to guarantee anything. It was enough to be real.

"You cannot stand beside every person in your kingdom until nothing bad can happen to them," said Saera.

Renn would have approved, probably too much.

"Someone told me something similar recently," said Elizabeth.

"Then someone was correct."

I smiled. Elizabeth saw it.

"Don’t."

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were going to."

Saera looked between us. "Does everyone know when you are going to speak?"

"Unfortunately," I said.

The child went on eating her cake. She had the right idea.