Page 21 of The Faceless Mage

Her hair was black, with threads of gray, her skin a warm, tawny brown, her gaze dark and direct. A simple gray silk dress flattered her form without being in any way ostentatious, and she wore no jewelry.

“Lady Piperell, I apologize for speaking abruptly, but are you one of those who has been assigned to replace my own ladies?”

“Would you like me to be, Your Highness?”

Leisa considered the question. Lady Piperell was probably almost twice the princess’s age, so she was likely to have far more court experience than the vast majority of waiting ladies. But it was also odd for a woman of her years to remain at court, unmarried, when most were promised by their twentieth year for the sake of alliances.

So was she here in hopes she would appeal to a motherless girl such as Evaraine and thereby encourage confidences? Or because she was disgraced, and therefore a logical choice to look after the uncultured, backwoods princess?

Trying to think like a spy was giving Leisa a headache.

“I would be pleased to have you, yes,” she said, for lack of any reasonable objection. “To be more blunt than is strictly diplomatic, I believe I would enjoy the company of another woman who shares my less complicated sense of style.”

Lady Piperell threw her a quick, surprised glance, then broke into what could only be called a grin as she looked more closely at the borrowed dress. “I thought this looked like one of Her Majesty’s.”

Leisa had been parading around the court in a borrowed dress? There was no way that had gone unnoticed. She would be a laughingstock for weeks. But had Portiana planned it that way, or simply considered it less humiliating than Evaraine’s own dresses might have been?

Leisa wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“In that case, I’m quite grateful for Her Majesty’s generosity,” she said, without a shred of truth.

A raised eyebrow greeted her lie. “And yet you’ll be even more grateful to be rid of it?”

Leisa’s eyes widened at the older woman’s willingness to say such things aloud, but she wasn’t ready to make either enemies or allies of these strangers just yet. “I will be grateful to rest in a proper bed,” she replied instead. “My journey was long, and I slept poorly while traveling.”

Lady Piperell seemed to grasp her meaning and nodded briskly. “Then I will see you to your suite and ensure that you have whatever comforts you require. I understand your maids and ladies will be returning to Farhall, but will we be accommodating your honor guard while you are with us?”

Leisa resisted the urge to glance over her shoulder. “I have been informed that two of my guards will be allowed to remain, yes, but I fear only for the sake of appearances. I have been advised that my safety during my stay is to be assured by the King’s own bodyguard.”

Shock crossed Lady Piperell’s face, and she literally stumbled before recovering her former aplomb. “That is… unusual,” she said. “Are you…” She looked over her shoulder, and Leisa read in her eyes the same fear the Raven seemed to inspire in nearly everyone.

“I feel that this situation is one my father will wish to discuss with His Majesty, King Melger,” Leisa replied carefully, and instantly felt proud of herself for such a politely pointed answer. Perhaps she could manage this diplomacy thing after all.

When the other woman didn’t seem reassured, she tried again. “Such arrangements may be highly out of the ordinary, but I am confident no harm will arise. I have every reason to trust that His Majesty has acted in good faith and that his provision for my safety will prove more than adequate.”

Perhaps that was a bit much, but Lady Piperell seemed comforted. She leaned closer. “I know he seems threatening,” she whispered, “but there is no real reason to fear. Rumor says that he cannot act outside of the king’s directive. If he has been commanded to guard you, he should not be able to harm you in any way.”

Wait. What?

Rather than being reassuring, her words disturbed Leisa profoundly. She was forced to resist the urge to stare again at her bodyguard as their meaning sank in.

He should not beableto? Lady Piperell was implying something far beyond mundane orders. The only thing that could so completely command the will of a thinking being was a magical compulsion, a practice only indulged in by renegade mages. It was a dark, foul form of magic, one no decent mage would contemplate. And this from a king who rumors declared an enemy of all magic?

Then again, this could be simply another rumor. An assassin who did the king’s bidding without question could well be assumed to be under his control in some way, and magic was often used by the ignorant to explain anything they didn’t understand.

But if it were true?

It simply wasn’t a problem Leisa was equipped to deal with. Not with all the other truths she’d been tasked to discover. She knew little enough of her own magic, let alone how to dismantle the craftings of others.

They completed the walk to the princess’s suite in not quite comfortable silence, at which point Leisa was relieved to see that her things, at least, had all been delivered safely to her rooms. All twenty-three trunks worth, twelve of which were nothing but dresses she would probably not be permitted to wear—dresses Farhall’s treasury could ill-afford.

Lady Piperell oversaw her preparation for bed, including the administering of her “medicine,” which came from a series of carefully prepared bottles of harmless nothings. Leisa was thankful no one asked questions about them, nor did they try to replace her night-wear. The idea of wearing flounces to bed wasn’t one she was willing to contemplate, even for the sake of diplomacy.

She was just tying the belt of her dressing gown when she heard a bit of an uproar coming from the hall outside her rooms. Not stopping to wonder whether it was appropriate for a princess, Leisa rushed from her bedroom into the antechamber where her new bodyguard lurked, arriving just as the door from the hall burst open.

“…speak to Her Highness immediately!”

Four of Evaraine’s guards entered the room, swords drawn. Zander came first, followed by Kip, then Terek and Nyssa.

---