The figure slipped like a shadow through the crowd, blending with the dark corners of the room, as if he was invisible to the other patrons, who, if they noticed his presence, gave no sign that they saw him. In a few strides, he reached her table. For a while, they just looked at each other, until Janice broke the silence.
"Are you here to taste Leden's famous root beer?" She asked the figure, repeating the sentence she and her correspondent had agreed upon as a way to confirm their identities when they had organized the meeting. The man sat beside her, evaluating her with his eyes before speaking. "Greetings, Your Grace. The Guild of the Shadows was glad to be chosen to complete your commission. Although... we were surprised when a duchess contacted us."
Janice lowered the hood, letting the spy look at her face, confident that no one would recognize her, tucked into a corner of the tavern. It was as if she flipped a switch, the man's demeanor changing abruptly, his eyes widening, losing their coldness. "Why so? A noblewoman can't have enemies?" She said smiling lightly.
His gaze flickered on her soft mouth before he realized what he was doing and raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, looking almost embarrassed. "We didn't think a noblewoman would know how to reach us; I'm sure you are aware of how we pride ourselves on our secrecy and discretion."
"Oh, I do; that's why I want to hire you. I need someone who will treat this mission with the utmost discretion." The man leaned close to her, interested.
"Then you turned to the right people. And what is it that Your Grace, wishes to use the services of our guild for?" Janice passed him a note from under the table. "This is a list of names; I need you to gather as much information as possible and compile a report on each one of them. I will pay you handsomely for the service." The spy quickly looked over the names before hiding the note in his jacket.
"All the names belong to people close to the ducal palace and the duchy's businesses, right?" Janice's eyes narrowed at the man's comment. "That is true. You seem very well-informed on Luden's situation."
"It's my routine to do a check-up on the people who want to hire me so that I can carry out my mission as efficiently as possible." He said smoothly, but Janice didn't miss the way his eyes avoided her, focusing instead on her shoulder.
"Very well then. You have ten days to fulfill your assignment, I'll give you now half of your payment. And one last thing, if we are going to work together, how can I call you?"
"Corvus, this is my name of choice." The duchess stood up and started making her way towards the exit when Corvus' voice stopped her.
"You still haven't told me how you knew how to contact the guild." She turned around and looked at him with a mysterious smile. "And you haven't told me the real reason why you know the duchy so well. I'll let you keep your secret if you let me keep mine." His eyes followed her figure until she disappeared outside the tavern, wondering what type of mess he was getting sucked into.
---
"My Lady, I'm not sure this is necessary." Mr. Jameson said, while shakily petting the glossy mane of the horse in front of him.
"Nonsense, Jameson. A good boss always knows well his assets; how can we manage the duchy if we don't monitor its activities?" She smiled at the evident unease of the man, clearly unused to being so close to a horse. He reminded her of Johnson, with his can-do attitude; she had never thought she could miss her awkward secretary but he had probably been the person she saw the most every day. And wasn't that depressing?
She caught a movement in the corner of her eye and before she could think about it she moved, trying to help the vassal, who, attempting to mount by himself his horse, was falling. But before she could even reach him, an arm appeared in her line of vision, holding the vassal's leg, the strain making the muscles bulge and stretch against the white shirt. A big, rough hand, covered hers, where she had placed it on the saddle. Janice turned around and was met with a mop of curly brown hair and big, maroon eyes, surrounded by thick, long lashes. It was the stable boy, well, the man who probably had heard the other man's scream. Suddenly, she was extremely aware of how close they were, so close that she could smell his fain scent, leather and wood, his arms circling her. His body, so much bigger than hers, crowded her against the horse's side, his hard chest against hers, much softer. Her gaze strayed away from his eyes stopping on his perfectly arched cupid's bow and then lower, on the delicate skin of his throat, where she could see the faint pulse of his heart.
The scared voice of Mr. Jameson made her tear her eyes away, her attention back on the reason they ended up in that position. "Thank you, boy. I've never gotten along with horses." He said, awkwardly fixing himself on the saddle.
The warm pressure on her hand lifted. "I apologize, Your Grace. I only wanted to help. I didn't mean to come so close." Janice desperately tried to ignore the shiver that ran down her spine at his deep, low voice, feeling the rumble in his chest, still pressed against him. She backed down, trying to distance herself from him.
"Don't worry" She waved her hand dismissively. "I should be the one apologizing for being in your way." He shot her a long look through his lashes. "Your Grace could never inconvenience me." Oh.
She hoped that the sudden surge of heat she felt on her cheeks wasn't visible from the outside.
"Let's go!" Said Janice, her voice unusually high, mounting her horse and quickly exiting the stables, her vassal struggling to follow her.
---
"It's stunning!" The exclamation left her mouth without her even realizing it, too entranced by the gorgeous valley in front of her; the river, almost blinding when hit by the light, morphed into ample meanders, reaching every corner of the vale. On his sides had been built small villages, surrounded by endless fields of the most diverse colors; the golden of wheat, the green of fallow, the vibrant shades of purple of the flowers. It was a picture of abundance and prosperity and it extended from miles and miles even beyond where Janice's eyes could reach. And it was all hers.
"It is, my Lady. Few wonders of the realm can be compared to Luden's spring. Unfortunately, beauty doesn't pay debts." The man beside her sighed sadly, his eyes glued to the sight in front of them. By his tone, Janice could tell how much he loved his homeland and how much it pained him to see it go to ruin without being able to do anything about it.
"Now I can see why in your reports you said that our main resource was water. That river must be a saving grace for our cultivations."
"It is; the Lothen river was named after the goddess of maternity and abundance, for it's the mother and the blessing of our duchy. It ends in the North Sea, allowing us to participate in maritime trade, even though the journey to the sea is long and dangerous and we have to pay a fee to go through other territories."
Janice took in the new information, half-thought plans, and possibilities sparkling into her mind. "You also mentioned our flower plantations."
"The earth is particularly fertile thanks to the river's recurrent floods and these types of flowers benefit from it. They are called Grandiflora roses. We have started growing them only recently; before they used to develop autonomously, and you could see them everywhere." The vassal smiled wistfully. "In these villages, it is still a tradition to gift them to the woman you want to pursue, and if she braids them in her hair it means that she accepted your courtship."
They stayed silent for a bit, the man lost in his memories and the woman avidly drinkin' into the sight, her mind buzzing with ideas.
"Have you ever thought about dyeing? The flowers' colors are bright and beautiful, they would look nice on cloth and we have all the water that the process might request. We would only need to buy good quality textiles; we could start with cotton and if it works invest in silk, satin, or even lace."
Mr. Jameson's eyes sparkled alight with interest. "I've never considered..." His voice trailed off while he considered the duchess' proposal. She was right, it wouldn't cost them much, having already all the resources, their artisans used to work with water. It would've been a way to make Luden's name known across the immense territories of the empire and an undeniable source of profit.
"I think we should give it a try; there are no major producers of dyed clothes in the empire and with our raw materials we could claim that spot."
"I think it's a good idea, Your Grace, but..." The vassal tried to find the right words, afraid to upset his duchess.
"But you fear it wouldn't start profiting soon enough for us to repay our debts? Don't worry; a few days ago I pawned some of my jewels and gave the money to the debt collectors. That should buy us some time."
"My Lady! They were-
"Trinkets, Mr Jameson. They were just trinkets. Sure, they were beautiful ones but still useless, left to waste in my drawers. At least now they will have a meaningful purpose other than embellishing my neck."
He smiled at her, an awed look in his eyes, but Janice didn't notice it. She was too busy inhaling the fresh air of the valley and listening to the cheerful gurgle of the river, feeling a sense of peace she hadn't experienced in a while, maybe ever. For the first time since she had died and arrived here, she felt like she belonged, like this had been her rightful place from the start.
Luden, its river, and its citizens were her new beginning.