By Tevvuk"s Beard. She had underestimated Raphael's senses once again. Why was she constantly doing that and getting herself into trouble? Since it had come to this, Leyla figured she might as well brazen it out and satisfy her curiosity about the spy.
Pushing the door the rest of the way open, she walked into the room and took a good look at the woman.
"Katuna?" Leyla blinked at the flat-nosed blonde who was the head of the Princess' guard. "But it can't be - your voice was different..."
"She is a face changer," Raphael said from the couch. Then he motioned for Leyla to take the seat beside him.
"A face changer?" Leyla saw the surprised look on the defence minister's face, but decided to ignore it. Whether he was appalled at her dishevelled appearance or surprised that she had been standing at the door, Leyla wasn't planning on giving explanations for either. "What is that?"
"I'll explain it to you later, but at the moment we need your thoughts on what the Warrior King is up to." Raphael turned towards her, his eyes taking in the sight of her in his shirt without comment.
Leyla noticed that he had managed to get a new shirt and looked his usual impeccable self. Holding her head a notch higher she took the seat he offered, "Explain what a face changer is, then I will give you my opinion."
The corner of Raphael's lips curled in amusement, but the defence minister was quick to protest: "Prorex, divulging classified information before the wedding ceremony is against protocol-"
"Show her." Raphael cut him off with a command addressed to the spy.
"Yes, Prorex." The woman raised her hands to her face without hesitation, then pushed and prodded at several spots in her hairline. Leyla watched, somewhere between amazement and horror, as the spy pulled slowly and a thick layer of what looked exactly like skin came off of her face. Beneath the flat nosed, large foreheaded visage lay a sharp featured face with a thin, upturned nose.
"You were pretending to be Katuna?"
Katuna's likeness dangling from her fingers, the spy gave Leyla a nodded. "Yes, Consort. Though not for long. We often change faces to make sure the double existence of a single face does not get discovered."
"I see." So this was how the Land of Light spies went undiscovered. They had been using a method which was beyond everyone else's imagination. "What about your voice? How does it not give you away?"
The girl gave a soft smile, then rubbed her throat. When she spoke next, she sounded just like the Warrior guard, "We are trained in imitation."
"Are you satisfied?" Raphael asked from beside her.
How was she meant to be satisfied when Leyla just realised she had probably been duped by a face changer countless times? "What exactly do you want to know?"
"I'm sure you've already heard the Warrior King has left his castle with a group of fifty elite Warriors," Raphael said. "What do you think he set out to do?"
The defence minister shifted in his seat, now watching her with interest.
"I can't claim to know what Alec - what the Warrior King is thinking, but he has never been a proponent of War." She thought back to the night when Alec had explained why he had to marry the Warrior Princess and how not going to war had been one of his primary reasons. "Since that is the case, I can only imagine that he is using the troop as a show of force."
"Show of force?" The defence minister scoffed. "Fifty elite Warriors can take the Healing Lands by force in a single day. They could even pose a serious threat to the Greenlands if they wanted to!"
"They could," Leyla agreed. "But they have no reason to do either. Taking the Healing Lands would be easy enough, but keeping control of it and ensuring the Healers continue to cooperate would take too much manpower to be worth the hassle." She leaned back, picturing the alternative scenario. "As for attacking the Greenlands with a group of fifty? It's not enough power for an ensured victory. Plus, such a move would need a several step plan in place to account for the reactions of other Kingdoms. Preparations would need to be made for expected and unexpected retaliation, which would mean the Warrior keep and the village outside would be on high alert formation." Leyla looked at the spy, "Are they?"
"No, Consort."
"Then his intention can not be war," Leyla concluded.
"So who is he doing this show for?" The defence minister asked. He still didn't look convinced, but his tone lacked the sarcasm from earlier. "The Healers are non-confrontational, the Greenlands already received extra Warrior guards on their boarders after King Alec's 'accident' and showing force in the No Landers territory is meaningless." The ministers eyes suddenly narrowed, his thin moustache pursing beneath his hooked nose. "He wouldn't be stupid enough to come to our gates?"
"No Warrior King has ever dared," the spy spoke up. "And it is well known in the Warrior Kingdom that our land has technology beyond imagination. I don't believe King Alec would be so foolish."
"I think he might just be." Raphael said calmly. He had been listening intently so far, but he stood up now and crossed to the shelves of books behind the couches.
"With all due respect, Prorex," the minister frowned. "We have received no reports that the King has gone mad, and that is what he has to be to march to our gates."
"Indeed," the spy nodded her agreement. "King Alec is known as one of the greatest tacticians the Warrior Kingdom has ever known and I have come across no information that would put his sanity into doubt."
Raphael looked up from the book covers, catching Leyla's eye. "Don't think of him as a King. Think of him as a man. A man who may have just found out what his new wife got up to behind his back."
Was he suggesting that Alec was coming here, because he found out that the Queen tried to kill them? Leyla tried to imagine Alec's reaction to the news, but still couldn't make sense of this move. Yes, he might initially be worried whether the relationship between the Warrior Kingdom and the Land of Light was on steady ground, but to come here with an elite troupe? A messenger with a letter would have made more sense. "Do you think he will ask for an audience?"
The Prorex didn't look up from the book he had opened. "I suspect he will."
"So he is coming here." Leyla said the words, but she couldn't quite digest the idea. Somehow, until this moment, she hadn't really believed Alec was coming to the Land of Light. So much had happened in the short time since she last saw him.
"I don't follow. You were both in the Warrior Kingdom up until a few days ago. Is there a reason the Warrior King would want to visit you, Prorex?" The defence minister asked, showing Leyla once again how little information was passed along, even to those in the highest positions, unless deemed relevant.
"Do you suspect King Alec found out about the Queen's plot to kill the Consort?" The spy joined in.
The minister's eyes became saucers, and he gaped like a fish. "Pl-plot to kill the Consort?"
"Forget that and don't mention it again." Raphael said, closing the book with one hand. "We can safely say that King Alec is not out to start a war. Nevertheless, he is likely coming to our gates, so we need to prepare." He looked at the minister: "Get ready to leave for the inner keep within the hour, I will speak to the Teacher and inform her of the situation."
"Yes, Prorex."
Next, Raphael addressed the spy: "Leave the Kingdom, but stay close by. If and when they come here, I want you to infiltrate the troop when they set up camp."
"Yes, Prorex."
Finally, Raphael turned to her. "Stay here with the Teacher. I will resolve the matter and return in a few days."
"No." Leyla said simply. Both the spy and the minister held their breaths at her response, but she didn't care. She was not getting left behind, not when it was Alec coming the gates. "I know Alec better than anyone in this Kingdom. I can be useful."
Raphael looked at her for a long time, then nodded. "Fine. Change out of those wet clothes and be ready in an hour." He dropped the book in his hand on the couch beside her, then headed for the door.
As the other three occupants left the room, Leyla stared at the title of the book: Love is War.