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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ladybird" data-source="post: 2969151" data-attributes="member: 10689">The Duke led Kit deeper into the forest, winding between the trees away from the camp and into the darkening night. In other circumstances, Kit might have felt apprehensive, alone in the dark with a strange man from a hostile country, armed to the teeth and with dozens of knights at his command. But she still had the Mindlink with Honore – and she could tell that Snattercaz was nervous about something.Bet you two silver that he’s trying to work up the courage to tell me about Princess Anastasia, Kit thought to Honore.Is it really proper to be wagering on something so serious? Honore’s words were disapproving, but her mental tone was amused. It turned more sober, though, as she asked, Are you sure you’re all right out there?If anything goes wrong, you can raise the alarm.Snattercaz took a deep breath, gathering his resolve. “My lady,” he began. “I’m afraid that I must inform you of another motive that Hanal has had, in our forays into the lands south of Canberry.”“All right,” Kit replied. She was grateful for the darkness – it made it much easier for her to hide the smile that she wasn’t quite succeeding in suppressing. It shouldn’t be funny, but it really was – the Duke working up to a big confession that everyone already knew.“We have been fighting the slavers wherever we find them, it is true. But our true purpose is to seek the Princess Anastasia, second daughter of the Empress Thyastis, may she reign in glorious darkness forever. Anastasia was last seen in this vicinity – she took one of her mother’s vollers, along with a small retinue, and came here in the hopes of combating the slavers herself.” The Duke’s voice warmed a little as he spoke of Anastasia. Maybe it was just a political match between them, but there seemed to be some honest affection in there, too, at least on the Duke’s side.Carefully, Kit said, “I see. It must be a difficult political situation, not knowing the whereabouts of one of the princesses.”“It is,” the Duke sighed. “And even more difficult than it may seem at first.” Kit’s ears pricked up – was there something new coming? “I admit my own personal involvement in the matter, since Anastasia is my betrothed…”“How does she feel about that?” Kit broke in, surprising both herself and the Duke with her directness. She gulped, reaching along the Mindlink to feel Honore’s reassuring presence, just in case. Still, how could I not ask? What if she’s just running away from a bad marriage?But the Duke didn’t seem to take offense, beyond an initial stiffening of his already upright posture. “She is aware of the need for someone in her position to make a political match. But she is not entirely opposed to the marriage for its own sake.”Kit nodded, flashing the Duke a quick, apologetic look, and he continued. “But it is not just the marriage.” Snattercaz spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully as he went. “There is a faction at court that favors Anastasia as the heir to the throne. She is impulsive, yes, as is the way with the young. But she is also idealistic.” Unlike his compatriot, when the Duke spoke of Anastasia’s idealism, he didn’t make it sound like an insult. “A follower of the Weeping Woman. And…much better suited to leadership than either of her sisters.” Kit grinned up at the Duke. The more she heard about Anastasia, the more she liked her. This was definitely the kind of heir that Canberry would like to see in Hanal. But… “What about the other sisters?” Kit asked, her smile fading a little.Snattercaz glanced around, as if worried about being overheard, even out in the middle of the forest, thousands of miles away from his home country. “The eldest of the Empress’s three daughters is…secure in her convictions, and not troubled with moral questions.” His mouth twisted wryly. “And fond of torturing her slaves. And her lovers. The youngest daughter would not be an objectionable candidate from that perspective – she has shown no signs of the kinds of personality traits that her mother and eldest sister share. But she is weak and sickly, and probably could not withstand the physical rigors of rulership.”“So which one does the Empress favor? The eldest?”“The Empress has not declared her preference,” the Duke replied. His voice still had that careful tone, even though there was nobody to hear besides Kit. “The eldest is the presumed heir, but Thyastis’s plan for succession is…to live forever, and therefore not need a succession.”Kit stared incredulously at the Duke for a moment. That does seem consistent with what we know of Thyastis, Honore offered over the Mindlink, when Kit relayed the information to her. Self-centered, and maniacally overconfident.Snattercaz was still speaking, though. “The difficulty is that if the eldest sister takes the throne after Thyastis’s death – may it not occur for a thousand years!” he added hastily. “ – she will have the legal authority to execute her sisters. There will not be a second chance to put a good ruler on the throne of Hanal.”Kit swallowed hard, and nodded. “Your Grace?” she began slowly. “I’m one of the Archduke’s advisors. From what I know of him, and from what I know of the situation in Canberry, I think that Princess Anastasia sounds like the kind of person that Canberry would very much like to see on the throne of Hanal. It would be to our benefit as well as yours, if she became Empress someday. If you’ll accept our help, we’d like to help you look for her.”The Duke nodded, giving Kit a small smile. “Thank you. I had hoped that you would. We’ll have to find some way of communicating, so that we can coordinate our efforts…”Kit reached into her pocket and pulled out the small stone that she had taken from the Hanalian lieutenant. “Would this help, m’lord? I’m not sure how it works, but I think it’s used for communication. It belonged to one of the leaders of the expedition we encountered earlier. I was going to return it to you,” she added, mostly truthfully.The Duke’s eyes lit up. “Ah! You found the linkstone. Good. We’ll have to get it recalibrated so that it will be keyed to you, but the bishop can do that. Let’s go back to camp.”The Inquisitor, still skeptical of the Canberrians in general and Kit in particular, was reluctant at first. But the Duke persuaded him to cast the requisite spell in order to realign the linkstone, allowing him to communicate with Kit, and vice versa.And Kit went to bed quite satisfied, after tossing off a Sending back to Canberry. Found sane Hanalians, she reported. Helping look for princess, so we can have sane heir to throne…</blockquote>

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