Royal Assassin (84 page)

“Where have you been, Bastard?”

Serene, stepping out suddenly from a doorway. She had expected me to startle. I had known by the Wit someone was there. I did not flinch. “Out.”

“You smell like a dog.”

“At least I have the excuse of having been with dogs. What few are left in the stable.”

It took her an instant to discover the insult in my polite reply.

“You smell like a dog because you are more than half a dog yourself. Beast-magicker.”

I nearly responded with some remark about her mother. Instead, I suddenly and truly recalled her mother. “When we were first learning to scribe, remember how your mother always made you wear a dark smock, for you splattered your ink so?”

She stared at me sullenly, turning the remark every which
way in her mind, trying to discover some insult or slight or trick in it.

“What of it?” she asked at last, unable to leave it hanging.

“Nothing. I but remembered it. Was a time when I helped you getting the tails right on your letters.”

“That has nothing to do with now!” she declared angrily.

“No, it does not. This is my door. Were you expecting to come in with me?”

She spat, not quite at me, but it landed on the floor at my feet. For some reason, I decided she would not have done it had not she been leaving Buckkeep with Regal. It was no longer her home, and she felt free to soil it before leaving it. It told me much. She never expected to come back here.

Inside my room, I reset every latch and bolt meticulously, then added the heavy bar to the door. I went and checked my window and found it well shuttered still. I looked under my bed. Finally, I sat down in a chair by my hearth to doze until Chade summoned me.

I came out of a light doze to a tapping at my door. “Who is it?” I called.

“Rosemary. The Queen wishes to see you.”

By the time I had undone the latches and catches, the child was gone. She was only a girl, but it still unnerved me to have such a message vocalized through a door. I groomed myself hastily and then hurried down to the Queen’s chambers. I noted in passing the wreckage that had once been the oak door to Shrewd’s room. A bulky guard stood in the gap; an Inlander, not a man I knew.

Queen Kettricken was reclining on a couch near her hearth. Several knots of her ladies gossiped in different corners of the room, but the Queen herself was alone. Her eyes were closed. She looked so utterly worn that I wondered if Rosemary’s message had been an error. But Lady Hopeful ushered me to the Queen’s side and fetched me a low stool to perch upon. She offered me a cup of tea and I accepted. As soon as Lady Hopeful departed to brew it, Kettricken opened her eyes. “What next?” she asked in so low a voice that I had to lean closer to hear it.

I looked askance at her.

“Shrewd sleeps now. He cannot sleep forever. Whatever was given him will wear off, and when it does, we are back to where we were.”

“The King-in-Waiting ceremony approaches. Perhaps the Prince will be busied with that. No doubt there are new clothes to be sewn and tried upon him, and all the other details he glories in. It may keep him from the King.”

“After that?”

Lady Hopeful was back with my cup of tea. I took it with murmured thanks, and as she pulled up a chair beside us, Queen Kettricken smiled weakly and asked if she might have one also. I was almost shamed by how swiftly Lady Hopeful leaped to do her bidding.

“I do not know,” I murmured in reply to her earlier question.

“I do. The King would be safe in my Mountains. He would be honored and protected, and perhaps Jonqui would know of—oh, thank you, Hopeful.” Queen Kettricken took the proffered cup and sipped at it as Lady Hopeful settled herself.

I smiled at Kettricken, and chose my words carefully, trusting her to read my meaning. “But it is so far to the Mountains, my queen, and the weather so hard this time of year. By the time a courier got through to seek your mother’s remedy, it would be nigh on to spring. There are other places that might offer the same cure for your troubles. Bearns or Rippon, perhaps, might offer if we asked. The worthy Dukes of those provinces can deny you nothing, you know.”

“I know,” Kettricken smiled wearily. “But they have such problems of their own just now, I hesitate to ask anything more of them. Besides, the root we call livelong grows only in the Mountains. A determined courier could travel there, I think.” She sipped again at her tea.

“Who to send with such a request; ah, that would be the hardest question,” I pointed out. Surely she could see the difficulties of sending a sick old man off on a journey to the Mountains in winter. He could not go alone. “The man that went would have to be very trustworthy and strong of will.”

“Such a man sounds like a woman to me,” Kettricken quipped, and Hopeful laughed merrily, more to see the
Queen’s mood lightened than at the witticism. Kettricken paused with her cup at her lips. “Perhaps I should have to go myself, to see the thing done right,” she added, and smiled when my eyes widened. But the look she gave me was serious.

There followed some light talk, and a recipe of mostly fictitious herbs from Kettricken that I promised to do my best to find for her. I believed I took her meaning. When I excused myself and went back to my room, I wondered how I would keep her from acting before Chade could. It was a pretty puzzle.

I had scarcely refastened all my door catches and bars before I felt a draft up my back. I turned to find the entry to Chade’s realm standing ajar. I climbed the stairs wearily. I longed to sleep, but knew that once I lay down, I would be unable to close my eyes.

The smell of food enticed me as I entered Chade’s chamber, and I was suddenly aware I was hungry. Chade was already at the small table he had set out. “Sit down and eat,” he told me tersely. “We must plot together.”

I was two bites into a meat pie when he asked me softly, “How long do you think we might keep King Shrewd here, in these chambers, undetected?”

I chewed and swallowed. “I’ve never been able to find a way into this chamber,” I pointed out quietly.

“Oh, but they do exist. And as food and other necessities must go in and out of them, there are some few who are aware of them, without knowing exactly what they know. My warren connects to rooms in the Keep which are regularly stocked with supplies for me. But my life was much simpler when food and linens were supplied for Lady Thyme.”

“How will you fare after Regal is gone to Tradeford?” I asked.

“Likely not as well as I have. Some tasks will be done out of habit, if those with the habits remain, no doubt. But as food becomes scarcer some will wonder why they store supplies of it in a disused part of the Keep. But we were speaking of Shrewd’s comfort, not mine.”

“It depends on how Shrewd disappeared. If Regal thought he had left the Keep by ordinary means, you might keep him
hidden here for some time. But if Regal knows he is within Buckkeep still, he will stop at nothing. I suspect his first order would be to put men with hammers to work on the walls of the King’s bedchamber.”

“Direct, but effective,” Chade concurred.

“Have you found a safe place for him, at Bearns or Rippon?”

“As swift as that? Of course not. We would have to hide him here, for days or perhaps weeks before a place was made ready. And then he must be smuggled out of the Keep. It would mean finding men who can be bribed, and knowing when they are on the gate. Unfortunately, men that can be bribed to do a thing can be bribed to speak of it later. Unless they had accidents.” He looked at me.

“Let that not be a concern. There is another way out of Buckkeep,” I told him, thinking of my wolfs way. “We have another problem also, and that is Kettricken. She will act on her own if she does not soon know we have a plan. Her own thoughts have taken her in the same direction as yours. Tonight she proposed herself taking Shrewd to the Mountains for safety.”

“A pregnant woman and a sick old man in midwinter? Ridiculous.” Chade paused. “But. It would never be expected. They would never look for them on that road. And with all the flow of folk that Regal has created going up the Buck River, one more woman and her ailing father would scarcely be marked.”

“It’s still ridiculous,” I protested. I did not like the sparks of interest I had seen kindle in Chade’s eyes. “Who could go with them?”

“Burrich. It would save him from drinking himself to death from boredom, and he could manage their animals for them. And likely much else they would need. Would he go?”

“You know he would,” I said unwillingly. “But Shrewd would never survive such a trip.”

“He is more likely to survive such a trip than to survive going with Regal. That which eats at him will continue to devour his life, wherever he is.” He frowned more darkly.
“But why it eats at him so much more swiftly these days is beyond me to say.”

“The cold. The privation. It will not help him.”

“There are inns for part of the way. I can find some coin for them yet. Shrewd looks so little like he used to, we almost need not fear him being recognized. The Queen would be trickier. There are few women with her coloring and height. Still, clothed heavily, we could increase her girth. Hood her hair, and—”

“You cannot be serious.”

“Tomorrow night,” he replied. “We must do something by tomorrow night. For that is when the sleeping potion I gave Shrewd will wear off. Another attempt will probably not be made on the Queen until she is on her way to Tradeford. But once Regal has her in his power, well, so many accidents can happen on a journey. A slip from a barge into a freezing river, a runaway horse, a meal of bad meat. If his assassin is half as good as we are, he’ll succeed.”

“Regal’s assassin?”

Chade gave me a pitying look. “You don’t suppose our prince is up to spreading grease and lampblack on steps himself, do you? Who do you think it is?”

“Serene.” The name popped to my lips.

“Then most obviously it is not her. No, we will find it to be some mouse of a man with a pleasant demeanor and a settled life. If we ever find him out at all. Ah, well, set it aside for now. Though there’s nothing quite as challenging as stalking another assassin.”

“Will,” I said quietly.

“Will what?” he asked.

I told him of Will, quickly and quietly. As he listened his eyes widened.

“It would be brilliant,” he said admiringly. “A Skilled assassin. It’s a wonder no one thought of it before.”

“Perhaps Shrewd did,” I said quietly. “But perhaps his assassin failed to learn”

Chade leaned back in his chair. “I wonder,” he said speculatively. “Shrewd is closemouthed enough to have such an idea, and keep it even from me. But I doubt, myself, that
Will is any more than a spy, just now. A formidable one, and no mistaking that. You must be especially vigilant. But I do not think we need fear him as an assassin.” He cleared his throat. “Ah, well. The urgency for speed becomes ever plainer. The escape must be made from the King’s room. You must find a way to draw the watchers all off again.”

“During the King-in-Waiting ceremony—”

“No. We dare not wait that long. Tomorrow night. No later than that. You need not keep them occupied long. Just a few minutes will be all I will need.”

“We must wait! Otherwise, the whole plot is impossible. By tomorrow night, you wish me to have the Queen and Burrich prepared, which means telling them you exist. And Burrich will have to see to horses and supplies—”

“Plug horses. Nothing fine. They would be noticed too quickly. And a litter for the King.”

“Plug horses we have in plenty, for they are all that is left. But it will stick in Burrich’s craw for his king and queen to ride them.”

“And a mule for himself. They are to be humble folk, with scarce the coin to journey inland. We have no wish to attract highwaymen.”

I snorted to think of Burrich astride a mule. “It cannot be done,” I said quietly. “The time is too short. It must be done the night of the King-in-Waiting ceremony. All will be down at the feasting.”

“Anything that must be done, can be done,” Chade asserted. He sat thoughtfully a moment. “Perhaps you have a point. Regal cannot have the King incapacitated for the ceremony. If he is not there, not one of the Coastal Dukes will give it any credence. Regal will have to allow Shrewd his pain herbs, to keep him tractable, if nothing else. Very well, then. The night after tomorrow. And if you absolutely must speak to me tomorrow, put some bitterbark on your hearthfire. Not a lot, I have no wish to be smoked out. But a generous handful. I will open the way.”

“The Fool will want to go with the King.” I reminded myself slowly.

“He cannot,” Chade said decisively. “There is no disguising
him. He would only increase the danger. Besides, it is necessary he stay. We will need his help to prepare for this disappearance.”

“I do not think that will change his mind.”

“Leave the Fool to me. I can show him that his King’s life depends on his getting away from here cleanly. An ‘atmosphere’ must be created, in which the King and Queen’s disappearance is not seen as … ah, well. Leave that part to me. I will discourage them from smashing walls. The Queen’s role is easy. All she need do is retire early from the ceremony, and declare that she wishes to sleep long, and send her attendants away. She should leave word she does not wish to be disturbed until she summons them. If all goes well, we should be able to give Shrewd and Kettricken most of the night hours to gain some distance.” He smiled at me kindly. “Well. I think that is as much planning as we can do. No, no, I know nothing is fixed. It is better this way. We are more flexible. Now go get what sleep you can, boy. You’ve a busy day tomorrow. And I’ve much to do right now. I must mix enough medicines to take King Shrewd all the way to the Mountains. And package them clearly. Burrich reads, does he not?”

“Very well,” I assured him. I paused. “Were you at the Keep well last night, about midnight? Supposedly the Pocked Man was seen. Some are saying it means the well will go bad. Others are seeing it as a bad omen for Regal’s ceremony.”

“Oh? Well, and perhaps it is.” Chade chuckled to himself. “Omens and portents they shall have, boy, until a vanishing King and a missing Queen seem but a natural thing in the midst of it.” He grinned like a boy, and the years dropped from his face. Something like their old spark of mischief came into his green eyes. “Go get some rest. And let Burrich and the Queen know of our plans. I shall speak to Shrewd and the Fool. No others are to know even a whisper. For some of it, we must trust to luck. But for the rest, trust to me!”