Silence had been in on Maverick’s secret talk a while back, and heard that some Elistan Nobles were behind the deaths of others, somehow killing their Lumani as well. He knew there was trouble here in Elista, and understood the need to uncover what was going on, but… “You’re sure we can trust the Vauphani?” Silence didn’t. He may not remember being tortured, but the pain had been real. He didn’t much like how things had changed.
Jack shrugged. “Am I sure? No. But the Boss is. Maverick trusts the Vauphani prince, and I trust the Boss. That’s good enough for me.”
Silence nodded slowly at that. He trusted Maverick too. He’d have to come to terms with this on his own.
“What will you need me to do?” Silence asked.
Jack grinned. “We can get into the details later, but mostly, be your mousy self and get into all sorts of interesting places around the capital, then listen in on things. Foggy will be doing the same. I can’t get into the same places you two can, so I’ll be running things behind the scenes.”
“Understood,” Silence said. Then, “I do hope we get a chance to see the others.”
“Missing Legs?”
Silence was a bit surprised the other man had gone straight there. He hadn’t known their relationship had been that well known.
Jack grimaced nodding. “Yeah, no need to say anything I can see it in your eyes.” The other man then drew in a long breath and shook his head. “You’re going to need to get in line, I think. She’s becoming a sought-after woman.” He looked off toward one of the windows. “I can’t blame you. She’s… something else.”
Was Jack interested in her as well? And what did he mean bya sought-after woman?
But then Jack swung his deep brown-eyed gaze around to Silence and there was a certain appraising look in that glance. “But then… you’re not so bad yourself.”
Silence was suddenly aware that he was wearing very little, the bed sheets and the tray on his lap covering him to his hips, but nothing above that.
Jack smiled and winked. “My offer still stands. If you ever get tired of chasing that hen and would like to see what a cock is like, let me know.”
Silence was flattered. He’d had always found both the male and female forms attractive and Jack was a handsome man. He had no memory of his parents and, for a while, when he’d been living on the streets, he’d stayed with a couple, two men. It was the only time he’d seen an example of true love. Right now though, he was a bit too consumed by thoughts of Legs to think of Jack.
Yet… Legs had asked him if he might like to have a man or woman join the two of them. It was clear she wanted to… experiment and try… other things.
And that worried him, a little, mostly because he wasn’t sure what she really wanted. Did she want himandothers, or just… others?
Silence was not an exemplar of manhood, being small and slight. He was as tall as Legs, but wasn’t sure he’d get much taller. There were bigger, stronger, and more experienced men out there… or women… if that’s what she desired. And if she wanted someone else instead of him… he’d be heartbroken, but he’d try to move on. Andifthat day came, he could do worse than the man before him.
But he wasn’t there yet. He needed to talk to Legs first. He was — mostly — certain she loved him and wished to stay with him. If so, then he’d need to figure out if he was good with others joining them. Perhaps, if Jack wished to… Silence might be well with that. He wasn’t certain about others. He’d have to see what Legs had in mind.
Perhaps he’d make an effort to find her, while he was in the capital. He was growing more and more impatient to be away and closer to her. He needed to speak to her, find out what she wanted, if it was indeed him or…
“When do we leave?” He asked.
“That’s the spirit,” Jack said rising and striking a bit of a pose. Silence suspected the way Jack was standing was meant to show him off in all his glory. And he was certainly a… taller and larger man than Silence. “We’ll head out tomorrow late in the day and stop at Grovner’s Green to rest. We want to keep a bit of distance between ourselves and the others so no one suspects…” He grinned. “We’ll also be pulling a bit of a switch in Grovner’s Green, just in case anyone happens to be watching us.”
Silence raised a brow at that, putting his tray aside. Jack kindly picked it up to take with him.
“You’ll see,” Jack said with another flirtatious wink and turned to leave.
And Silence did see. The next evening Silence, Jack, and Foggy all went to a tavern in Grovner’s Green. Jack encouraged Silence and Foggy to drink heartily, or at least look like they were doing so. They then all piled into their carriage and headed back toward Hedgewild in the wee hours of the next morning after having “partied” all night. However, the three of them departed the carriage outside the town and circled back to a farmer’s barn, where a wagon had been stowed. Along with the wagon were some new clothes for them. Jack traded in his Noble’s finery for home-spun rough cloth. Silence was a bit surprised to find himself in a simple dress. “I’m a farmer, you’re my daughter or young wife, your choice. Depends if you want to share my bed or not,” Jack said with a wink. Foggy became a beetle and stowed himself among the many bundles in the wagon. They headed out as dawn broke. To any who saw them, they’d be a couple instead of three men, on a wagon instead of in a carriage.
This mission would be secretive indeed.
Chapter 8
Alvere
The coronation was donein private; prince Alvere became King Alvere the Third. Publicly it was being put out that the prince was dead or missing, and the next in line, a cousin to the prince, named Pierre was being sought. Letters on pigeons had been dispatched already to Pierre, telling him he’d also be crowned in the coming days, as a decoy. Pierre had accepted the dangerous job as symbolic figurehead of the country, so the prince could rule in secret.
After the coronation the prince retired to his new rooms within the palace, a simple suite for a visiting noble and family. There he put the crown in a small, padded chest and locked it with a key which would remain around his neck.
“I’m now Alain,” he said to Fin, who’d waited in the rooms while he’d been crowned. “A simple young nobleman, who will counsel the new king on the war.”
