Blood and Stars

Bad Orders, Noble Man

When Mia walked into the kitchens a few hours later, there was a commotion. The maids had figured out by then that she was the maid the visiting princess had been looking for.

They also knew she was the one who had found evidence against Lady Margaret.

She was bombarded with questions as soon as she walked in, and had to leave instantly. The squeals in her ears were just too loud.

Mia returned at night, too hungry to resist. There, she saw the on duty cook and smiled.

"Need somethin' to eat?" The old man asked, smiling faintly.

Mia liked that cook. He was friendly and always passed snacks around to the maids. He seemed pure and innocent.

"Yes, please."

She sat down in his chair while he got up to prepare a tray. At the same time, she saw Nicki enter the room.

"Harper!" Nicki exclaimed. "How are you doing? Everything alright? I thought you weren't supposed to be here!"

Information flew quickly through the palace, evidently. 

"I'm getting my dinner," Mia told her. "And I'm fine. What's going on down here?"

"Well," Nicki dusted off her maid's uniform. "After you left and I sent the princess on a wild goose chase - you're welcome for that - it got quiet. Then we heard you had gotten caught and taken to see the King and Queen, and then that Lady Margaret was a traitor to the throne. The gossip has been flying down here."

Mia wasn't stupid. She knew Nicki was happy to gossip and was not good to confide in. Anything she said would be a known fact within an hour.

"I assumed so." Mia smiled when the old cook handed her the tray, the lid on top. "I'll be going now."

"Harper," Nicki called. "Are you going to come back to work after this all dies down?"

Mia paused, and replied somewhat coldly. "No. I'm going home." And then she left.

---

The meal was delicious. The bird had been cooked to perfection, and everything else about it was astounding. Mia felt kind of rude for eating a meal not meant for a maid, but shoved that away.

She wasn't even a maid. She was a thief and about to leave.

There was a knock on the door. Mia glanced up, frowning, but stood and made her way to it.

Cracking open the door, she saw a guard in armor. 

"Yes?"

"Harper?" The guard asked impassively. Mia felt a bit uneasy.

"Yes, that's me. Can I help you with anything?"

"You can." He pushed the door open, and Mia took a startled step back. The guard shut the door, and that when she saw the symbol on his lapel.

It wasn't the symbol of Astana, with three stars - it was foreign. This guard wasn't loyal to the Starlings.

That became quite clear when he drew his sword and advanced on Mia. Her eyes went wide, and she backed up quickly.

"I don't like doing this," he said quietly. "But it has been ordered. Pray to the gods, Miss Harper. You will see them soon."

Mia shrieked as his sword cut down toward her, barely getting out of the way. Her eyes landed on the tray at the table in the guest room, and the knife sitting on it.

The guard saw her intentions and stepped in the way. Mia hissed between her teeth, hopping to the side again to avoid another swing of the glinting sword.