Favorite of the King

Chapter 10

    Yvaine woke to sunlight streaming in through a window. She squinted against the light and rolled over. A thought occurred to her drowsy mind, suddenly. She had never left the palace yesterday, which meant that she was still in King Edmund's room.

    Yvaine bolted upright, her eyes wide in mortification. She let out a sigh of relief, spying him slumped over a desk. A half written letter lay beneath his palm. She slid off the bed and grabbed her own gown. Her hair was matted and Evolet's gray gown, which she still wore, was wrinkled and covered with dirt.

    She was out the door within minutes. Yvaine ducked down a servant's passage and hoped that it would lead her to the stables. She'd followed Edmund through them a few times, but only to the stables once.

    Luckily, she chose the right passageways. When she opened one last door, she stepped outside right next to the stables. Her horse whinnied as she approached. Yvaine swung onto his back, not bothering with a saddle. She took off before one of the stable hands could see her. Yvaine kept to the side streets, riding quickly towards her house. She hoped her father would be gone already.

    She slowed her horse as they neared the house. A stable hand gave her a curious look and altered her horse. Yvaine nodded to him. "I went out early this morning, before anyone was up," she lied quickly.

    "Did you enjoy it?" He asked.

    "Yes." She brushed past him and entered the house. Yvaine ran up to her room and slammed the door shut. Evolet was pacing back and forth. She stopped and let out a sigh of relief, spying Yvaine.

    "I thought you would be back last night. When you didn't come, I was worried something might have happened. Are you all right?" Evolet took in her disheveled appearance. "Actually, answer that from the bathtub." She took Yvaine's gown, then helped her shrug out of the gray one.

    Evolet quickly drew up a warm bath and Yvaine slid in gratefully. "I meant to come back. I fell asleep before I could," Yvaine said finally. "King Edmund..."

    "Just called him Edmund."

    "All right? Edmund asked me to help him with something. He said King Hakan claimed that Narnians had crossed the mountains and killed Telmarine soldiers, but he offered no proof. Edmund and I snuck into his office last night and went through some of his reports, but there was nothing, which means Hakan is either lying, or he's got the proof hidden."

    "That was risky. What if someone saw you?"

    "Two guards found us, actually, but they didn't know who we were. It was dark, thankfully."

    Evolet shook her head. "What did any of that solve?"

    "Nothing, really. It just helped us confirm that Hakan is lying and has no actual reasons for declaring war." Yvaine thought for a minute. "I think Queen Mira is pregnant."

    Evolet began scrubbing her hair. "I wondered. She's started wearing her dresses loose around her stomach. It's not entirely noticeable yet, if you're not looking." She rinsed Yvaine's hair and handed her a towel. Evolet disappeared back into the bedroom while Yvaine dried herself. She returned with a pale yellow gown.

    Yvaine dressed hurriedly and left her hair down. "I suppose Madame Tanith is waiting for me?"

    "Yes, she'll be mad if you're late again."

    "Let's go." Yvaine quickly recalled her plan of protection and grabbed a dagger. She hid it beneath her skirts, where she could reach it through the pocket slit. They started towards the door.