Jade Mouse

Chapter 1

Even with how messed up everything had been lately, the biggest pain in my ass was a no-brainer.

I'd spent the last half year slowly recovering my health after an attempt on my life, one that saw a sword-length of steel shoved clear through my right thigh in addition to a nasty cut to the side of my temple. The cut to the head had forced me to trim a generous amount of my long blonde hair for the sake of symmetry, something that I still wasn't too pleased about. As for the leg, let's just say that I don't recommend getting your limbs pierced by three feet of cold steel as a form of entertainment.

There was also the lingering guilt I felt from having killed Lord Redforne, a mere boy by my estimation, during the aforementioned attempt to kill me. Don't get me wrong, I'd do it again - self-defense, all that. Redforne had been a savage and vengeful youth who had been too clever by half, a Lord who appeared to enjoy inflicting pain upon my friends even as he very intelligently attempted to bring about my untimely demise. Still, not a day goes by that I don't think of him, of his wife who I made a widow, and of the small boy with the enormous green eyes who would now grow up fatherless because of me.

And then there was, of course, the Prince himself hinting that he possessed information regarding the seemingly chance outbreak of rose blight that had blossomed within the walls of Tucat Keep half a lifetime ago, his carefully chosen words suggesting that my family was murdered. Now, six months after being told, I had yet to hear anything more from him despite my repeated inquiries, both subtle and overt. My own investigation into the matter had yielded nothing so far, much to my frustration.

In addition, there was the problem of my new territory with which I'd been "rewarded" - an awkward, irregularly shaped parcel of territory over six times the size of my old estate, which I'd been managing to the best of my ability. It appeared that several shop owners and merchants in the new territory had begun withholding a substantial portion of their tribute as of late, the monthly dues I was entitled to for the protection I offered them.

I have a good reputation when it comes to merchant interests, (merchandise that was magically imprinted with the Tucat family crest was more or less considered off-limits for thieves who didn't wish their vital organs to see the light of day) and the rates I charged were much more reasonable than other Lords about town. Still, it appeared that several of my newest tenants wished to test the waters with their new Lord, see how much they could get away with. It was already starting to get a bit ugly.

With the new territory there was also the matter of what to do with Greybridge Keep, an extremely large and fantastically stylish building, one that dwarfed Tucat Keep handily. I'd been traveling between the two keeps these past several months. My new territory required a much larger staff than I'd had previously, and Tucat Keep was simply not equipped to handle the number of people I suddenly found in my employ.

Half of my business felt like it was being run out of one location, and half out the other, a situation with its own set of headaches and disadvantages. I was feeling pressure to move all of my affairs to the larger building and take up residence in what everyone assumed would become the new Tucat Keep, though I'd been resisting the notion rather vehemently.

And then there were the rumors concerning dozens of thefts about town recently, several of which involved Lords with territory neighboring mine. Most of these assorted Lords seemed to believe I had orchestrated these thefts as part of the ongoing games of one-upsmanship that were the very nature of Haraelian politics. I hadn't had time for creative burgling or anything of that nature, what with everything else going on, but apparently the thefts were impressive enough that the conclusion most of these Lords were coming to was that I was somehow responsible. Flattering, despite being entirely wrong.