Ruled by the Princess

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

“Shhh, Kit!” a familiar voice said as he pulled her to his chest. “It’s just me.”

Kit pulled away from Eli’s grasp, and he let her go. She punched him, hard, in the arm. “What in the hell are you doing? You scared the shite out of me!”

If her blow bothered him, he didn’t let on. “You’re a fine one to be asking what I’m doing, Katrinetta. Where have you been?”

“What makes you think I answer to you?” Her voice was too loud, and he shushed her again. Tired of being stalked, Kit stepped around him, headed for the armoire where she’d hidden her gown.

He followed but didn’t obstruct her. “Kit, did you follow Pierce?”

She didn’t turn to look at him, only pulled her clothing out and wrapped all of the pieces around her arms so she wouldn’t drop any of them before closing the door and heading for the secret passage.

“Kit?”

“You can follow me if you wish, but I do not want to stand in here and discuss what I have just witnessed.” Even in the dark, she imagined he could see the fire in her eyes. He didn’t respond, so Kit pulled open the door and stepped into blackness. Eli followed, pulling the door closed behind him.

It was difficult to find her way with him right behind her. He gave her space so that if she stopped suddenly, he wouldn’t bump into her. Kit thought it might’ve been a better idea to let him lead the way, but eventually, she reached the location she was looking for and spun the dial the correct amount of times to let them out.

Danyen was pacing the room and turned abruptly toward her when the door opened. “Oh, Kit. Thank the goddesses.” Obviously, he was worried. She had been gone a long time, but a check of the clock told her she still had several minutes before he was to sound the alarm.

She stepped out of the way and Eli came through. Danyen tipped his head to the side. “Look who I found. Or rather, who found me.”

“Why does that surprise me?” Danyen asked. “We should’ve known better than to think he wouldn’t know what we were up to.”

Kit couldn’t argue with that. She placed her gown on the back of a chair over by the armoire where it would be hung, once it was cleaned, and walked to her bed as Eli made sure the secret door was latched. She dropped down on the edge, not even sure how to begin to state what she needed to tell them.

Danyen was staring at her expectant, but hopeful. Eli just looked angry, or perhaps betrayed, like he always did when Kit did something he disapproved of.

“I didn’t get caught,” she reminded him.

“As far as you know. Kit, just because no one confronted you doesn’t mean no one saw you.”

He had a point. Still, she needed to be right this time. “I believe I would’ve noticed.”

“What you just did was extremely dangerous.” He turned to Danyen. “I can’t believe you allowed her to go through with this.”

“Me?” Danyen asked, pointing at his chest with his thumb. “Do you think I had any say in this operation?”

“Are you saying you agree that I shouldn’t have gone?”

“I told you from the beginning I thought it was dangerous, and you should let me go,” Danyen reminded her.

“And yet you let her go anyway....”

“Stop!” Kit insisted. “Yes, he did let me go anyway. Because unlike some people, Danyen doesn’t try to make my decisions for me.”

“Or protect you, apparently.”

Danyen opened his mouth to say something but then closed it as if he had no argument there. Finally, he said, “Forgive me. I was only trying to do what the princess thought was best.”

“Yes, the princess who does have a little sense about her from time to time,” Kit noted, although she thought, at the moment, Eli would disagree with that notion. “Listen, Eliason, you can be angry with my recklessness all you want, but after what I’ve just discovered, you’ll have to let go your wrath some other time.”

“What is it, Kit?” Danyen asked, a softness taking over his disposition while Eli continued to scowl.

Kit drew in a deep breath, considering how to word it. There was no easy way to phrase it. “Pierce is in more than cahoots with the queen.”

“What’s that?” Danyen asked, leaning forward slightly. Eli didn’t move in the slightest.

“I saw him... beneath her skirts.”

Danyen’s eyes widened, and Eli turned around, his hands on his hips. The Representative from Farlington flew to her side. “Oh, Kit. Are you certain? My goodness. How terrible! I’m so sorry.”

“I’m certain,” Kit assured him, glad to have his hand on her back. “It may well be the most disgusting sight I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I was there for part of Jecob’s operation.”

Danyen continued to sit with his arm around her, shaking his head slowly. A few moments after Kit’s revelation, Eli turned around to face them. “Danyen, would you mind leaving us for a few moments?”

Danyen looked startled, as if he hadn’t been expecting the request at all. Turning to Kit, he asked her thoughts with his eyes, and she nodded. Slowly, he rose and walked out to the antechamber, closing the door behind him. Kit hoped he wouldn’t go any further.

Eli replaced him on the bed, but he didn’t place his arm around her. Instead, he rested his elbows on his knees, hunched over. “Kit, now that you have this information, you have to be cautious about how you react to it.”

Her head turned, her eyes widened. “How I react to it? Eli, I’m furious! I’ve been betrayed, not only by one of my own Representatives, but by my own mother! Pierce needs to be dismissed at once, and she needs to be brought up on charges to the council. This is... reprehensible!”

His hands come out between them, modeling the caution he’d just spoken of. “I understand why you feel that way, and I don’t blame you. But Kit, you cannot bring your mother up on charges without igniting a fire we may not presently be able to extinguish. As far as Pierce is concerned, the queen will be outraged if you send him home now....”

“Good. Let her be.”

An exasperated half-smile took over his face. “Kit, I understand your incessant hate for injustice, that you can’t fathom how anyone could possibly choose to do wrong when we are compelled by the goddesses to do right in all things, but know that, if you choose to go through with this—if you call her out or in any way imply that you know what she and Pierce are up to—this will be the catalyst that sets your entire world on fire. If you truly believe you’re ready for that, I know I won’t be able to stop you. But, please, give it some thought, won’t you?”

A lump formed in the hollow of her throat, and Kit had to look away from him. She knew precisely what he was saying. Was a betrayal by a man she had no feelings for and a mother she knew had never loved her worth launching a revolution she could not turn back? Still, it had been hard enough to sit next to the queen and pretend she wasn’t aware of the way she’d treated Eli. Compounded together, the weight of both acts seemed impossible to bear.

“I shall think on it,” Kit replied. It was the best she could do.

“Thank you.” He didn’t get up, not yet. Nor did he reach out to her. Kit felt a space forming between them, and she didn’t like it at all.

If it was already there, she may as well ask the question burning in her mind. “Did you know?”

“I did not.” His answer came quickly, and she believed him. “I suspected. I had no evidence.”

“You knew of the tunnel. Why didn’t you use it?”

A familiar grin broke out over his face. “Because I’m not reckless? Foolish? Untamable?”

She smiled back at him and even let go a small chuckle, but she didn’t think her actions had been any of those things. Daring, crafty, clever—certainly. Definitely not foolish.

“I should take my leave.” He still didn’t stand, and Kit could tell there was more he wished to say. “Danyen has become one of your favorites recently. Is it because of this scheme, or is there more?”

“There’s more,” she assured him. “You don’t care for him?”

“No, it’s not that. I do. I did, anyway.” He shrugged, and she knew he meant before Danyen had helped her.

“Not everyone is as apt to tell me no as you are, Eli. Some of these men actually see me as their superior.”

His emerald eyes widened as he turned back to look at her. “Do you think I see you as anything less?”

“Apparently.”

“Kit....” He ran a hand through his caramel hair. “It’s not that at all. I pray you know it isn’t. It’s only... no one knows the dangers of this castle as I do. You cannot claim that you do, can you? Honestly?”

She shook her head slowly, admitting he was correct. Unfortunately, she was discovering the circumstances for herself.

“If anything should ever happen to you....” Once again, he was unable to find the right words. “Danyen may not stand up to you the way that I do, but he also has no real grasp of what might’ve happened this evening if you’d been found out. I pray he never knows. But if he knew a tenth of what I do about your mother’s devious ways, I should hope he would’ve never considered assisting you with this investigation of yours.”

There was no sense in disputing that. Not only was he confident in every word, deep down in the pit of her stomach, she understood that he was correct.

An overwhelming sense of guilt washed over her. She had been so careful to keep the entire operation from him because she knew he’d prevent her from following through. It had never occurred to her that there was a reason for that beyond the fact that he was being overly cautious.

“I apologize for going behind your back, Eli. I shouldn’t have done that. And while I can’t promise that I’ll never do it again, I certainly understand your perspective.” She wrapped her arms around him, and Eli pulled her close.

“I understand your thinking, Kit, and I don’t expect you to make any promises to me. But you must know, any impulsive actions you take may very well end in tragedy. Please, my love, weigh your actions carefully. For everyone’s sake.”

Kit nodded, not exactly sure what to say. She could give her word that she wouldn’t make any more decisions without consulting Eli, but she knew it would be difficult to keep that promise. As much as she respected his opinion, she had a feeling his caution would prevent her from following her own instincts, and if she couldn’t rely on that, then what was the point in ruling the realm in the first place?

He pulled away, and she let him go, hating the tension that had, once again, insinuated itself between them. She felt that hollowness inside of her chest, as she had the last time they’d been at odds with one another, and every other time, for that matter. This time it seemed different, and Kit didn’t want to see him walk away without correcting it. But she knew there would be no fixing it at the moment. It would take a little time, like it always did.

So when he stood and walked away without kissing her, she let him. He bid her good night and disappeared out the door, leaving it ajar for Danyen. Kit was relieved Eli had said nothing else to the other Representative about the choices he’d made in helping her because she didn’t know if she had anything left in her to defend him.

Danyen walked in cautiously, as if he wasn’t sure what he might find. Kit managed a smile, and he sat down on the bed next to her, waiting.

“I apologize for asking you to assist me.” Kit reached over and took his hand. “I didn’t realize it might put you at odds with some of the others.”

“You needn’t apologize, Kit. I made my own choices. I hadn’t considered everything that Eli just disclosed, but he’s correct in mentioning I should have. He seems to be of the belief that your mother is dangerous even to you, and I would’ve never considered that before. Do you think that is the case?”

Kit hadn’t been expecting the question. It was thought provoking, to say the least. Of course, she’d like to think her mother would never do anything to harm her, but she knew that wasn’t true, didn’t she? All of these years, hadn’t she learned to fear the queen like everyone else? Yet, somewhere deep inside, she’d always hoped that, should the circumstances arise, Rona would overcome her own selfish needs and spare her own flesh any cruel punishment. Now, after having spoken to Eli, and truly given the matter consideration, she had to admit the horrific truth. “I do.”

Danyen nodded slowly. “Then I shall do whatever is necessary to ensure you are never in such a circumstance, Princess. Forgive me my reckless behavior.”

She cringed a bit at the mention of one of the words Eli had used to describe their investigation. In all likelihood, Danyen would agree with the other two words as well—foolish, untamable.

“You must be exhausted, Princess, and we shall have to rise soon for the morning meal before the archery contest. You should get some rest.”

He was right. In only a few hours, her ladies would be in to wake her. Her thoughts were running wild, and Kit knew it would be nearly impossible to fall asleep, but she had to at least give it a try. “I’m sorry I don’t have the energy for a pleasuring this evening, Danyen. If I had known how this would affect me, I would’ve given you the opportunity before I left to follow Pierce.”

“No need to apologize, Kit. As much as I would’ve loved to be with you, as I always do, I understand that there will be times when we are together when we must tend to other matters.” He genuinely smiled at her, and Kit appreciated his thoughtfulness.

Danyen leaned over and kissed her cheek before standing and taking his leave. Kit waited until he was gone to bar the door, her hand resting on the warm spot on her flesh where his lips had been, wondering if perhaps she had made the wrong decision and should have kept him there. A yawn sprang free, and she was assured she was correct in trying to rest.

She changed out of the servants clothing and into her nightdress, stashing the uniform back a few paces into the tunnel. If she got the opportunity, she’d return it to Blankka the next day. Otherwise, it might just have to stay there while Kit wrestled with all of the other notions floating around in her mind.

Putting out the lantern, she climbed into bed and tried to sleep, but the image of her mother and Pierce kept coming to mind. How she would ever face either one of them again and pretend she hadn’t seen it was beyond her. Perhaps that was a question for Eli—how did he expect her to keep her thoughts to herself after what she had witnessed? She’d have to figure it out on her own and in the matter of a few hours because if she didn’t, trouble was sure to follow.