Ian punched his little brother on the shoulder.
Onric punched him back.
Ian didn’t feel a thing through his padded armor, though he suddenly felt quite warm. “I hadn’t even noticed she’s pretty. But now that you say it...”
Onric punched him again.
“Fine, fine. I’m sure she can find her own way through the castle, whoever she is. Let’s go get out of this obnoxiously warm armor.”
Chapter 3
With the help of a friendly servant, Robin found her way to Lind’s room in the wing of the palace reserved for the royal family.
“The opulence of this place is staggering,” she seethed, shutting the ornate door behind her.
“Isn’t it?” Lind replied, her eyes wide with excitement. “I’ve never seen such sparkling white stone. And the furniture! Every single piece is covered in woolen cushions and lined with velvet.” She threw herself onto the large four-poster bed in the center of the room.
“I meant,” Robin said through gritted teeth, “that the amount of luxury they have here while the rest of the kingdom suffers in poverty is staggeringly immoral.” Channeling her anger against the king, Robin ignored the twist in her stomach at the sight of her own maid sprawled across the large comfortable bed.
After traveling for two days, Robin had her doubts about the thin straw mattress she had been assigned in the servant’s wing.
“Oh, right.” Lind sat up on the edge of the bed, her face sobering. “If it bothers you so much, I could ask for a new lady’s maid and you could be assigned to an outdoor task. You’d probably enjoy that more.”
“Shouldn’t this be bothering you?” Robin asked, her arms folded.
“What do you mean? I plan on enjoying this for every second I possibly can. Shouldn’t you be doing the same? Has half a day as a servant already been too much for you? It’s hard work, I well know, but I always thought you had more grit than most.”
“No, that’s not what I meant at all,” Robin shot back.
“Hush!” Lind stood from the bed. “You are supposed to be my lady’s maid. We don’t know how thin these walls are, and you can’t be heard yelling at me.”
“It hasn’t been too much for me,” Robin said, her voice quiet but firm, “I had a perfectly fine afternoon. After lazily brushing down Humphrey and making sure he was happily situated, I explored the castle. It’s huge. The old ruins seem like the most interesting part. What did you learn?”
Lind turned her back to Robin. “Could you undo these ties?” she asked. “I need to dress for supper, and I can’t wear these traveling rags.”
Robin stepped forward and started unlacing her own dress from Lind’s back.
“The royal family is lovely,” Lind said in response to Robin’s previous question. “Especially the crown prince. He’s lovely, and he’s escorting me to supper tonight.”
“Did you learn anything useful?” Robin asked, uninterested in what—or whom—Lind considered lovely.
“What would be considered useful?” Lind asked, confused, as Robin slid a deep green gown over her head. The fabric had seen better days, but it was the best they had brought with them.
“The royal family,” Robin said. “Did they seem conceited or self-absorbed?”
“I don’t know,” Lind responded. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
Robin pulled the laces taut as she worked them up the back of the gown.
“I’ll pay better attention tonight,” Lind said. “Or tomorrow. Tonight, I think I’ll just enjoy the food. You wouldn’t take that joy away from me, my lady?” Lind looked back over her shoulder with wide, begging eyes.
Robin smiled at her. “No, enjoy the good food tonight. We can play this ruse for as long as we both like.”
“Right.” Lind turned her face away from Robin. “As long as we both like.”
Chapter 4
Ian eyed his younger brother as they circled each other in the courtyard. Despite the frigid temperature, his brow dripped with sweat, so he spared a moment to wipe his face with his free hand.
