She stood on the stone path, covered from shoulders to feet in the white nightwear that was popular among the rich women of the court. There was a smear of something dark on her right sleeve. If this evening had brought her to this garden in sleeping attire Arrin would bet all of his brothers gold that it was blood.
Standing stock-still Arrin looked to his left and to his right hoping for an escape to appear. Nothing but damned purple plants. Behind him was the door to the main passageway and certain danger. The woman was between him and the only other entrance to the greenhouse, the servant's hallway. She had to have come through there.
Bloodstained, shoeless and in a heavy nightgown she was still stunning. Though Arrin had never met the woman, something about her felt familiar.
Dark hair, dark eyes, and lips that at any other time he would have spent a good while thinking about. Mentally he shook himself. Back to the current state of affairs.
If this beautiful woman walked in on him while he was half-naked in almost any other situation Arrin would have made every attempt to immediately cover-up. But it wasn't any other situation. He stood above the corpse of the kingdom's ruler with said deceased king's pants half on.
The woman was staring but thankfully not at his half-naked body. To be fair he was more three-quarters clothed than half-naked.
Her eyes were fixed on the still cooling corpse.
Arrin suppressed the urge to throw his hands up in a peaceful gesture and held tight on the pants, angling his arm to cover his intimates.
"It was those two guards and... The Kings Shield." The thief-taker said, almost not believing himself. The Kings Shield killing the king, it would be hard for anyone to believe.
He didn't know who she was but he wanted to state the facts loud and clearly.
Having his name and the word regicide uttered on the same day is something that he did not want. From where he stood he knew he looked guilty as all damnation.
"What?" The woman asked, voice shaking. "Is my father dead? By whose hand?" Her glistening eyes were caught by the moonlight and they sparkled. That must be it, she looked kin to the king. Was it Princess Theodora?
"If you're…" he left the question lingering though his mind was sure.
"I am, I am princess Theodora" she replied her voice finding that regal note that Arrin had gotten used to hearing in the palace over the past year.
This was a miracle, he could get her out of here before the prince returned or Pallum set the whole Palace to searching for her if he hadn't already.
By the fates this woman could make sadness beautiful. How unfair to all other living creatures.
He turned so that she wasn't getting a full frontal and with a few quick movements he was finished putting on the pants.
"Then yes. I am sorry your majesty. The King is dead," the stories had folks chanting the phrase 'long live the king' when someone declared him dead though at this instant, it didn't seem appropriate.
"He was murdered by Pallum Hitchen-" the princess drew in a sharp breath and he barreled on with what he had to say, "and these two," he gestured at the bodies of Carn and Boris, "were his accomplices. Pallum struck your father down and these men ran him through as he lay dying. I tried to help, but I was too late."
Leaving out the details of what exactly happened was for the best. He had not actually tried to help until it was far too late. He had waited, unwittingly letting the King be fatally wounded without trying to stop it. He buried his regret, the past is the past and the future is all there is he reassured himself.
She said nothing, her face screwed up and her eyes darted about the room.
He stepped toward her and around her father's prone body, palms held up "I was coming here to meet the King. I am royal courts thief-taker, Arrin. Truth be told I have been more than simply a thief-taker. I have been working for your father for months. Helping to… helping him with dangers." The feeling of failure flooded him. Many dangers but not the one that ended his life.
"Are you certain that Pallum... that the guards..." She asked, eyes still large and wet. Anger deep within them.
"Yes your majesty. Pallum struck him down and the guards... they stabbed him after Pallum left."
Her jaw clenched tight as she stared at the bodies of the three men.
"You're in danger, we need to get you out of here. Come with me. I know somewhere safe outside of the palace, somewhere they will not know to look for you."
As if on queue, footfalls sounded in the main corridor.
Arrin turned his back on the princess and moved quickly and quietly to the door, leaning over Carn's body and locking it. The shuffling moved past the garden and the sound they made went with them until they could be heard no more.
The tears finally fell from her eyes, not in a sobbing torrent but just a few large wet droplets from each eye, tracing matching wet lines down her cheeks. Theodora's face was as solemn and still as a church statue.
Facing her again he walked away from the door in the direction of the splayed-out form of guardsman Boris. As he walked he was consciously being careful with his body language, he didn't want her to feel threatened.
The princess ignored him. She placed her hands on her hips and drew in a long breath, tilting her head up looking at the sky. Theodora held it for several seconds before blowing it out.
"I tried to leave my room to meet with my father and I found the door locked. I thought it was a mistake. I pounded on the door to be let out and all that I heard in response were the sounds of fighting outside of my room. When the sounds of fighting stopped, I managed to open the door and hurt myself doing it..." she held up her right hand, displaying deep cuts," everyone was dead. My mother, the guards, the servants. Everyone." Pressing her eyes shut, she forced all remaining tears from them and she wiped the dampness from her face.
"All of this is him? Pallum?" She asked.
"Your mother, the Queen... I didn't know. I'm sorry your majesty. Pallum for certain and some others that I can only guess at. The guards seem to stand with Pallum." His mind spun. Were his suspicions correct? Had the Prince removed loyalists from the palace to give his friend Pallum the opportunity to stage the coup?
There was too much unknown, the only thing he was sure of was that the Princess was in danger. Why had they not killed her when they had the chance, what pawn was she to be?
Arrin observed Theodora, she was looking up, peering at the receding dawn. Her body was stiff, she seemed tense. No, not tense, that implied she was uncomfortable. Coiled. The princess was coiled like a viper ready to strike. From destroyed to destroyer in an instant. She was dangerous.
Arrin was beginning to feel wary of her and that was when she struck.
Her gaze snapped from the sky to him, "So the Kings Shield killed the king and is searching for me? What do you know? Tell me what you know!" She seemed a foot taller and while her voice was raised she had not sounded out of control.
Shocked by the fire in her voice and a little confused Arrin spoke, "Pallum told your father before he killed him that he would take care of his family. His tone did not imply that he was going to be making you tea and putting you to bed. He is probably on his way to your quarters right now to ensure that you're still locked up and the Queen is... dead. When he finds that you're not there, the entire palace will be looking. Your brother put down a riot last night, I overheard guards saying that he was returning to the palace."
Her eyes shot wide open, "My brother lives? He is returning to the Palace now?" He could feel the concern in her voice.
"Yes, but we can't know when he will return or what will be the," he paused searching for a neutral way to say 'your brother might be behind this all' Arrin settled on, "result of his return."
She tilted her head and said, "Speak plainly," Arrin thought he heard accusation in her tone.
"What I mean is there could be fighting in every corridor. It won't be safe in the palace today. We can't know the intentions of anyone we see." He empathized the word anyone. Arrin did not know the relationship between Theodora and Kavish. What if she were plotting with the Prince? Had he just painted a target on his back with the archer standing just feet away?
"You're right. The palace is too dangerous. We can't trust anyone here." The way she emphasized the word anyone assauged his fears. Did she too suspect the Prince?
Arrin dismissed his fears that she were working with Kavish, it made no sense, she had been home just a few months.
"We need to get you to safety, princess. Our only choice is to find a place safe to hide until we can contact," he paused as he realized he'd almost said The Faceless Woman. Reconfiguring his choice of words he finished the thought with, "friends."
He stooped low and picked up Boris's sword and worked it through a few motions. He listened for sounds in the hall as he weaved the blade through the air.
He dropped the blade. Poor balance, the handle rattled, and to the eye, the blade was rolled over and hadn't been sharpened in a long time. The sword was clearly dull. It was disgraceful that a guard of the king's court would carry such a pitiful excuse for steel.
"My brother, we could wait for my brother," Theodora said, her eyes moved from her father's body to the door.
Damnit, Arrin thought to himself, of course that would be her first thought. She had not picked up on his hints that they should fear him. Arrin considered explicitly stating his worries that Kavish and Pallum were in cahoots on the coup. No good would come of doing that now, it was all speculation on his part. Evasion it was.
"We will figure out where we are going after I get us out of here. For now, Pallum and his supporters roam the halls. We know little of your brothers whereabouts," Hopefully the reminder of immediate danger would coax her along.
He grabbed the dirk off of the headless man's other hip moving back to the door where Carn lay. Sticking the dirk into the dirt he pulled off Carns boots and put them on, they were a good fit. Then he crouched over the dead man, purposely blocking Theodora's view. He unclasped the sword belt bringing the weapon and the scabbard with it. Arrin did not draw the blade but it looked identical to the other guard's sword and could be no worse. When the sword and belt were off the corpse, he eased his throwing dagger from the dead man's face. It was in deep but the smooth thin weapon came out easily and bloodless.
He stood and made to run the sword belt through a few loops, but there were none. He wore a King's pajama bottoms. With nothing else to do he sinched it tight around his waist and swished his hips. It shifted on his waist but did not fall, not the worst outcome. Arrin considered giving the dirk to the princess but she would be as likely to stab him or herself as any opposition they came across.
Looking up through the glass roof, the sky had started turning from star-studded and moon bright to a black and blue canvas. The sun was arriving and with it, their chances of escaping dwindled.
Still looking up to the sky Arrin said, "We need to go now, we have maybe ten minutes to get out of the palace." With no real sheath for the dagger, he stuck the thin assassin's weapon into the hard leather sheath of the sword. It wasn't a perfect fit but it would do.
When he turned around he was almost startled. She had moved and was kneeling holding her father's hand but he hadn't heard any sounds. There was more to her than met the eye.
He watched as she kissed the hand and stood. The human in him saw a woman morning her father and saying goodbye. The thief-taker in him saw a woman stealing a ring. He banished the thought. The dead man was her father and that ring was rightfully hers.
Rising from where she crouched she connected her eyes to his, "I suppose I have no choice but to trust you. You speak some amount of sense. Get me from the palace. We will go to my brother's estate outside of the city." There were no questions or suggestions in what she said, only orders.
Arrin did not respond, telling her anything right now would slow them down. Instead, he nodded and moved towards the servant's hallway. The sound of her footsteps following him through the purple garden let him know that she trusted him. At least enough for now.
There would come a time when he could tell her of his suspicions, of the work he and her father had been doing. Of the work, he and the faceless woman had been doing. Right now though they needed to get as far away from the Palace as possible.
Arrin led and she followed closely behind. Pushing aside leaves, stepping over flowers, and ducking under branches Arrin made his way to the servant's door. It crossed his mind that she never asked why he was stealing the king's pants, she didn't ask as many questions at all. The poor woman was shaken than she let on. The princess was lucky to have him he thought as he opened the narrow door to the narrow hallway.
At a run and doing their best to be quiet they ran down the servant's passage. Arrin had their escape completely planned out. It was the only way he could think of that avoided any areas that they might be seen. He had used it once before when sneaking from the palace on one of the king's missions.
They rounded the last corner and stopped at the door that led to their salvation, the servant's latrine. Peeking in he saw that it was empty and entered, drawing the Princess inside with him.
Had he known that he would have to smuggle the princess out so quickly he would have just stayed in his bloody clothes. In a few minutes he would be covered in human waste and dirty moat water, the blood would be the last thing that anyone would take note of. Hopefully, there would be no one near the waterway.
Looking at Theodora's face he grimaced, flicked his eyes to the hole in the ground, and looked back at her. She gave her head a quick shake 'no'.
He nodded his head 'yes' and said, "I'm afraid we have no other option, your majesty. Thankfully it looks like it was recently emptied." He hoped. "Once we're down there I'll open the sluice and we can drop into the moat. From there we can make our way to somewhere safe."
She closed her eyes and shook her head. A deep breath in. When Theodora breathed out she stepped up to the hole, her ten toes hanging over the edge.
"Princess, it's going to be nasty down there and you have no shoes. They won't be a comfortable fit but if we tie them tight enough, they should do." Arrin said. He kneeled and began unlacing his boots. Curses, why hadn't he thought to put her in Boris's boots, that man had smallish feet.
She broke her gaze from his face and looked at the two holes in the ground.
"Keep your boots thief-taker, I'm going to be covered head to toe in shit. What does it matter if I get some on my feet?" She said annoyed.
Her eyes never leaving the hole beneath her feet, she bundled her long tunic around up about her waist under which she was wearing some kind of short pants.
Theodora glanced back to Arrin, and then back to her target, the hole at her feet.
"Princess, you're-"
Without another word, the woman who might someday be queen disappeared wordlessly down into the shitter.