Chapter 34: Press Your Blood Up on the Wall

Chapter 34: Press Your Blood Up on the Wall

It was night now, and Aaron didnt know how long the Lady had been watching him practice in the courtyard. Maybe she had just arrived; maybe the slight swing in her woolen cape was from having stopped a moment ago, rather than from the wind. Maybe she had been there five minutes, ten, more; maybe that was why she looked cold. Her arms were crossed, her hands running lightly up and down over her coat sleeves for warmth. She did not speak until he noticed her. Even then, it took her a moment. They stared across the courtyard at one another. Gray eyes, watched by blue.

So this is where you disappear to, the Lady said.

He straightened himself, letting his knife drop back next to his side. Its a poor place for disappearing, he said, gesturing up at the wall. Most of the guards know I come here. And a few others.

The princess, she said, and Aaron nodded. Rose, of course. And Connor, and Orin. The elder prince had passed by some time ago, with a preoccupied nod; escaping, however briefly, from the banquet. If any of them had told the king about this spot, then Aaron would have the complete royal set.

The Lady took a step farther into the space. He could see her moving, but he couldnt hear her; the soft leather of her boots made no sound. It was like watching a deer step into a clearing. Her footfalls light, her head tilted at a graceful angle, strands of her blonde hair caught up in the moonlight. A deer wasnt quite right for the Lady, though. Perhaps a vixen, or a wolf.

A decent enough place, to pretend to be alone, she said.

And what brings the Lady herself out tonight? Pretending to be alone?

The curve of her smile matched his own. Your father requested my presence after the banquet. Happily, I have acquired pressing business outside the castle. I was in such a hurry, my room was left in quite a state of disorder as I departed. I fear his request will go unseen by my eyes until the next time a kirin lies. Or when the archipelago rejoins the continent; I havent quite decided which.

His smile twitched uncertainly. Your father. Had she actually just said that? Your father. Not Duke Sung, not even simply the duke; your father. Outside of her rooms, he was always Aaron. Always the errand boy, the reformed cave rat. Generally, not even someone worth paying attention to. Shed only visited him once while he was recovering, and only brieflyhed pretended to be asleep. Shed tucked his covers up a little higher, and stood by the window for a few minutes before leaving as quietly as shed come.

Aaron didnt have a father; it was Markus who did. It was the first mistake hed ever heard her make. Her hands were still rubbing at her arms, trying to bring some warmth into them.

Are you all right? he asked.

Come with me, Aaron, she said.

Wouldnt that be odd? The Lady and the housekeepers errand boy, leaving together in the middle of the night?

Something flashed over her face, or he thought he saw something flash over her face. It was gone before he could read it.

So practical, she said, her voice even. Who raised you to be so practical, I wonder? Youre right, of course; it was only a whim. Good night, Aaron.

Good night, Lady, he said, and she did not look back at him as she left. She wore boots, pants, light leather armor, and a cloak of no particular magic so far as he could tell; on her hips, her rapier and dagger. He could not hear her footfalls as she left.

When he went back inside, he was unsurprised to see the guards in the royal wing looking more stirred up than usual, especially not in that very particular way they had when they were trying not to appear stirred up. Nor was he surprised to see the activity centered around Roses room, or to find his favorite second lieutenant in attendance, still dressed in his finest. It appeared Lochlann had been called away from the feast.

Is she with you? Lochlann asked.

Doesnt seem to be, Aaron replied.

The guardsman spared him exactly the look that deserved. Aaron.

I havent seen her since this morning. She was rather miffed over a conversation with her big brothersomething about, Stay in your room for once, this is not a game for children.

That got exactly the look it deserved, too. This time, it wasnt directed at him. The prince said that to her. He actually said that to her.

I may be paraphrasing. Ohand I order you as the crown prince and your brother went in there, somewhere. I dont remember where.

He could actually see the moment the lieutenant gave up hope in finding Rose until the girl herself was ready to be found. It came with a certain slumping of shoulders under his dress uniform.

Youve checked my room? Aaron asked. The man nodded. Well, I just came from the courtyard. Shes not there, either.

No, it really didnt surprise him at all. What surprised him was when he opened the door to his room, and found the princess waiting for him in her usual chair, reading the book of childrens stories shed left with him. Kingdom Between the Hills and Other True Tales. Hed managed a few sentences earlier, enough to know that the first story was The Foxs Tongue.

A human child was alone in the woods. A fox found her there. He was hungry, and he had kits to feed back in his den.

Rose looked up as he entered. For his part, he resisted the urge to glance back down the hall towards the distraught lieutenant, and simply pulled the door shut.

Can I trust you? she asked.

Oh, he said. Huh.

Which was, by the furrowing of her eyebrows, not the answer she had been looking for. What does that mean?

Could you be a little more specific? It was a reasonable enough request, he thought. There were a lot of kinds of trust. Could she trust him not to run and tell Lochlann where she was? Of course. Could she trust him with her virtue? No problem there, either; that wasnt exactly an interest of his, and she was a kid, besides. Could she trust him to be truthful with her? More or less. Could she trust him to keep her safe? He wasnt sure he could, but hed try. Could she trust him not to disappear the moment all this was done? Probably not.

With a secret, she said. Can I trust you with a secret?

Oh, he said. Well then, yes.

Leave your coat on, she said. She shut the book. He left his coat on. I wanted you to know that I really can do it. I can protect you. Here, help me move this. Its a tight fit otherwise.

Theres a door to the old ways in my room? Aaron asked. Which, come to think of it, rather explained how she was in here.

From her tone, shed trade a warm summer day to have that joking back.

You can open the old ways. Could a changeling do that?

No. Maybe. I dont think its ever been tested. She tucked a knee up under her chin. Unless Im testing it now. Changelings base themselves on the original child; maybe they copy enough of the blood to fool the ways. I dont know how it works. Maybe doppels could use them too, if they copied a princess.

Your father asked me if I was training you to fight, he said.

Her grip tightened around the gargoyles neck; just by small degrees, hardly even noticeable. Did he.

He ordered me to keep doing it, Aaron said. This is a direct order from your king, he said; Even when Im dead, keep training her.

In the silence between them, he was not at all sure she believed him. But her grip on the gargoyle relaxed.

What about your mother? he asked, before he could think better of it. I mean, do you know who she is? Its no trouble if you dont. I dont. Its pretty common not to

I do, she said softly. And for the space of a spring breeze against their backs, she left it at that. At least, I think I do. No one comes out and says it; father never has, and she certainly wouldnt. But I know. Theres a way she looks at me and Connor sometimes, like she would get closer to us, if she knew how. And a way she looks at father. And father looks at her. Just when they think no ones watching; but everyone always forgets that Im there. And Ive checked; she came just a few weeks after our births were announced. Shed only visited before that, just for a few days at a time, but the staff had been told to have her rooms ready even though no one remembers her sending word. And her husband stopped visiting, even though he used to come all the time. And they spent so much time together during the war, father and she, except at the end, when she dropped out of sightout of sight for months, you understand. Eleven months, not nine, or six, or however many it takes from when a woman starts showing, but shes discreet, so of course she wouldnt just do nine months or everyone would know

She lives in the castle, then? Aaron interrupted, because it seemed like she needed someone to interrupt. The princess nodded. Who?

She didnt ask again if she could trust him; she didnt make him promise not to tell. The Lady, she said. It has to be.

I dont know who else it could be. That was implied.

You dont believe me, she said, finally.

He leaned back on his palms, and stared at the dark shapes of guards patrolling the castle wall below. Its not that, he said. Im just trying to picture it. Shes not very maternal.

No, Rose agreed, resting her fairy-marked cheek against the gargoyle. She really isnt.

I saw her tonight, he said. She seemed off. She as good as called me Markus, right out in the open, where anyone could hear.

The princess nodded knowingly, her scarf rustling over the stone statue. An edge of it caught on one of the gargoyles horns, though she didnt immediately notice. It makes sense. With the petition, and all the southern lords here. Especially Duke Sung.

For him, that wasnt the point. Aaron uncrossed his legs. Right foot, left foot: he peeled off his boots, and set them safely behind his back, farther up on the gentle slope of the roof. He brought his knees up to his chest, his arms draped over their tops, and his sock-covered toes flexed over the roofs ledge. He still wasnt used to boots. The cold tiles bit into his feet with an ache he knew.

She still hasnt figured it out, he said. Hes dead. Markus is dead. She just keeps calling me that, and every time, I feel like his ghost is going to put its hand on my shoulder.

Rose didnt say anything. Silence wasnt what he wanted right now; it rested uneasy in the air around them. If she wouldnt break it, it left him no choice.

Hes dead because Im alive, he said. The night I came to the castle. The Rafferty brothers thought he was me; he was walking the way I usually came, and Id gone a different road. They killed him. I was the one who should have died.

You cant know that, she said. Maybe it was just his fate to

His laugh was brief, but heartfelt. Oh yes, he said. I do know. On this, you can trust me: I was supposed to die.

She didnt ask stupid questions. Not How do you know? or Who are the Rafferty brothers? or even Why did they want you dead? No. She asked something he hadnt already asked himself.

Why did you go a different way?

He was quiet for a moment, trying to remember. Before hed stepped onto Kings Street; before hed seen his own Death. Why hadnt he gone his usual way?

Someone was singing, he said at length. Just an old nursery rhyme. Something was familiar about it; I dont know. I tried to follow.

Did you find whoever it was? she asked.

He shook his head. No; the singer had stayed a turn ahead of him twice in a row, which was enough to make anyone from Twokins suspect a trap. Hed been afraid the singer was luring him on so they could kill him. So she could kill him; it had been a womans voice, low and sweet, like something from the memory of a dream.

You cant bring him back, Rose said.

I know. But still. I wish she wouldnt call me that. I wish I could just be Aaron again, to everyone.

Rose worked her scarfs edge free from where the wind had caught it up on the gargoyles horn. It was in utter disarray by the time she was done; she had to take it off completely. She tried finger combing her hair under control in preparation of putting it back on, but between the tangled scarf and the wind, it was a mess.

Here, he said, moving over behind her. Let me.

He worked her snarled braid loose, and set about redoing it. She sat patiently, her hands in her lap. The wind tugged at the scarf under her fingertips as she looked out on the city.

Im glad youre the one whos alive, she said.

Later that night, back in his room, she helped him finish reading The Foxs Tongue. It gave his nightmares new ideas.