"Now," the king wiped at his eyes and resumed his regal demeanor, "back to the matter at hand. We did not make it public that you left. I would very much like to keep it that way. My dear, you said that no one knew that you were the princess except this man right here? Not even my guards at my door?"
Rhodri's mind began to move at a rapid pace. He could not rest in his sentimentality while there was still work to do. The princess folded her hands in her lap and took on an equally professional tone.
"Everyone in my party only knows me as Lady Alexis except Gilbert." Rose glanced to the corner of the room where the soldier stood. "Is that not right?"
After a wave of permission from the king's hand, Gilbert dipped his head and answered the question. "Her Highness was very discreet, Your Majesty. None of my men have given any hint that they know she is more than what she claimed."
"As for the men at the door..." Rose pursed her lips. This was a tricker question. As much as she hated to admit it, she would need to defer to the commander. He had been better able to observe their expressions.
Beside the couch, Borit stood leaning into one hip, favoring his left leg heavily. Rose had already noticed that his cane was missing. His vanity would not let him use the walking aide for long even though he was not fully healed. Both royals looked at the stubborn man in unison.
"I don't think they knew, Your Majesty, no." Borit shifted his weight to find a more comfortable stance.
The answer satisfied the King. "Good, then we must finish the farce. First we must change the guard. Then when you eventually leave, the men will not wonder when you entered or question why the mysterious visitor never exited."
"I do think my clothes might give me away," Rose looked down at her purple gown. It had served her well, but was not exactly fit for royal duty. Her cloak was likewise worn for wear.
"Of course we must get Lady Caitlyn to bring you a new gown. She will be almost as happy as I am to see you," the king smiled warmly.
Thankfully, the king hadn't relieved Caitlyn of her duty. Even without Rose's note begging for Rhodri to be lenient, he was far too fond of the young lady and respected Caitlyn's loyalty to his daughter too much to send her away for Rose's poor choices. And his own.
Together the king and Caitlyn had anxiously awaited the return of the lost royal, keeping each other company often to buoy one another's spirits. Rhodri motioned to the steely-eyed man.
"Please go change the guard and fetch Lady Caitlyn, Commander Borit. Then check on dinner to make sure everything will be in order. You know how I like things. I would trust no one else with the task." Rhodri did not see the commander's scowl. By the time the king looked upon Borit, the charming smile was already back in place.
"If it pleases Your Majesty, I would rather send a servant to get Lady Caitlyn. She still seems upset by my presence." The commander spoke carefully, but the words caught Rose's attention.
Before the princess had left, her lady-in-waiting had still been one of Borit's biggest admirers. Something must have changed, and Rose was anxious to find out what it was. The king, however, did not seem concerned by Borit's plea.
"All the more reason to bring her the good news and try to get back in her good graces. Unless you are too sore to walk all that way..." Rhodri hit a sore spot and he knew it.
Straightening his back, Borit cleared his throat and placed his hand on his chest. "I am as fit as I have ever been. I will do as you say." He jerked his thumb at Gilbert and pointed at the door. "You will wait outside while I am gone."
"There is no need for that, Commander," Rose said sweetly as she intervened. "Gilbert can deliver his message while you are gone. It is more efficient than putting it off until later anyway."
"Of course it is." Borit did not need to pinch his nose this time to show his utter frustration. After a curt bow, he passed by the dutiful soldier and scoffed under his breath. "Enjoy it while you can."
Gilbert kept a neutral expression, not making eye contact with his superior. With a huff, the Commander left the room and its occupants behind.
The door shut abruptly and the king burst out laughing. "Really Rose, do you mean to taunt Borit like that? And with one of his own soldiers too." Rhodri's shoulders bobbed up and down, thoroughly amused.
Rose, on the other hand, missed the joke. "I don't understand. I am not sure what I did to make him so upset."
The princess had assumed that Borit did not like that a communication was going directly to the king and past his view, but her father made her wonder if there was more to the commander's strange behavior. What could make the man more upset than information he did not know?
"You really don't see what you have done, do you?" The king at last inhaled to catch his breath.
"All I did was bring you a messenger who needed an audience and then invite him to stay for dinner." Rose pulled at her gown, now suddenly self-conscious.
"Ah so that is the missing piece. Well, I am most anxious to see this bit of theater play through, so to dinner your soldier will come. I will just have to make sure Borit doesn't get too carried away..." Rhodri looked over at the man who was still standing straight with his eyes forward. "Gilbert, was it? Come forward, young man, and do what you actually came for."
With graceful ease, Gilbert stepped forward, gave a bow and a salute, and presented the letter to the monarch. Rhodri was amused by the young man's serious nature, but less amused by the news he brought.
After opening the page, the king's face darkened. His fingers tightened around the page, crumpling it slightly. "Is this true?!" He demanded, waving the paper in the air.
"I confess plainly that I have no idea what the message says, but I do know that the colonel that sent it would never want to mislead Your Majesty. If he said it, then it is absolutely true." Gilbert did not hesitate in his answer. Especially after seeing Noeh's rush to deliver it, the soldier had full faith in the validity of the contents of the paper.
"What's wrong?" Rose leaned over and laid her hand on her father's arm.
He was spinning on a roulette of emotions: from worried to happy to relieved to amused to angry. It was the last emotion that concerned Rose the most. Especially since he was usually so calm and collected.
Rhodri read the paper twice more before reluctantly passing it over to his daughter. "I would try to shield you from the worry, but this may end up concerning you as well."
The princess read the paper. The message was short, but very clear. An inspector which Borit had placed in a fort to investigate it was actually a Lakilian spy. What's worse, the colonel was concerned there might be similar spies at other forts.
'So that's who freed Sir Kent then? I wonder if my brother had anything to do with this discovery?' Although the note didn't say it, Rose could feel that Silver must have had a hand in catching the criminal.
"Why would Borit put a spy into an important position at the fort?" The princess asked with both eyebrows raised. "Could there be more at the other military camps?"
"I hope not, but it is not out of the question." The king lowered his voice. "There may even be a spy or two here. I will have the palace staff checked for tattoos as soon as possible. As for Borit, he surely didn't know that the man was a spy…"
"But Borit is so cunning! He prides himself on knowing things like that." The princess could see a worm of doubt enter the king's head before he pushed it aside.
"Everyone makes mistakes, my dear, even Borit. But for your sake I shall look into the matter further." Rodri smiled at her once more and took the letter, tucking it into a fold in his robes for a later time. "Thank you for your service, Gilbert. I did mean it when I asked you to join us for dinner."
"Your wish is my order," Gilbert pressed his fist to his heart before backing away slowly. When he was not immediately dismissed, he returned to his place at the wall and stared forward.
Surreptitiously, Rhodri motioned the princess to come as near as possible. "Now, young lady, I want to hear all about your trip. What exactly caused you to run away from me?"
Rose took a deep breath. For better or worse, her next words would decide everything.