It was two days ter, and I was driving the cart back to the castle after my day off. I had still not gotten the payment of information that Albera had promised, but I was determined to talk to her that day.

  I had spent my entire day off sleeping, because I had been completely worn out after working the whole night at the castle and then a whole day for the undry as well. Now I was full of energy and ready to give Albera a stern talking to if she didn’t tell me what she knew.

  On the way to the castle Cato waved me down as he had so many times before. He was smiling.

  “Good morning Ria.”

  “Good morning, Your Highness.”

  “You know it’s Cato to you, Ria,” he grinned.

  “Sure,” I smiled. “I guess it’s your usual today, Cato. This time it’s on me, since you were such a great help the other day.”

  “You’re too kind,” he said. “But I insist on paying.”

  “There really is no need,” I said.

  “Please, I would rather you do me a favour instead.”

  “What favour?” I asked, sceptically.

  “Well it’s really one demand and one favour.”

  “What is it?”

  He looked very serious now.

  “First, it is very important that you never repeat to anyone what I said to you st night. That is the demand.”

  “About Jarion being your –”

  “Yes, that,” he said firmly. “It was a slip of the tongue, and if you are found repeating it I will really never forgive you. I will mess up your life.”

  “What will you do?” I asked, a little amused.

  Cato was such a calm and cheerful man, I couldn't really imagine him harming someone. Especially not a woman.

  “I’ll… have you fired.”

  “Right. Well anyway I’m no gossip, I won’t tell anyone you said it. I promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now for the favour. I would like you to consider meeting Jarion again. He’s been talking a lot about you since he found out we know each other. He really is very taken with you.”

  I frowned.

  “You should keep your forty decets, Your Highness. There is no way I will meet him again.”

  “Well the favour would just be for you to consider it.”

  “Fine.”

  He handed me the money and climbed in to the cart.

  I drove in through the castle gate and Albera stopped me right when I was through. She had me lead the donkey to the side and then she said:

  “Ria, I saw how hard you worked at the banquet. I’ve gathered thirty decets for your work that night. You deserve it.”

  I shook my head.

  “That was not the price we agreed on, and you know it.”

  “Ria, please!”

  I was so excited to find out what she knew. I was shaking.

  “Fine, but you have to promise never to tell anyone what I said. I’ve never told anyone this,” she said in hushed tones.

  “I promise,” I said.

  “When I was just a little girl, I was pying out here in the courtyard. I sat around there.”

  She pointed to a spot in a corner of the yard.

  “Then I saw the queen and that guard, Sir Alvar talking up on that turret over there.”

  She pointed to one of the turrets. It was weird to know that my father had stood in many of the same pces as I had in this foreign nd.

  “Then she grabbed him and kissed him.”

  “She kissed him?” I asked.

  “Yes! Everyone always thinks that he was going after her. I think she was in on it, and that’s not all.”

  “What more is there?”

  “Then Prince Plinius came out into the courtyard. He saw them and waved at them and called something like hi sister. He seemed cheerful, like he was happy that she was cheating! Then he went to go talk to them. This was a few days before he died.”

  “Wow,” I muttered. “What could all that mean?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve always thought that they killed him together because he knew what they were doing.”

  “Maybe,” I said.

  I couldn't imagine my kind, calm father killing anyone, but I could imagine a princess falling in love with him. He had always been very handsome, even in his ter years.

  “Well, thank you,” I said. “My curiosity is sated.”

  She nodded and went back into the castle.

  I pulled the donkey towards the storage closet, but then I felt a thump inside the cart.

  Cato! I had forgotten about him in there! Had he heard everything?

  I led the cart towards the alleyway in stead. As soon as we were there he popped out.

  “That lying –” he was red in the face with anger. “My mother would never do that!”

  “Hush!” I said. “Please, let’s not get discovered.”

  “I am having her fired first thing! I can’t believe she would say that!”

  “No!” I whispered forcefully. “Please, she’ll think I snitched.”

  “We can’t have our servants saying this sort of thing about their queen!” he whispered back, red in the face.

  “She said she’d never said it before,” I replied defensively.

  He started to walk away, I pulled him back by his shirt. We stood flush against each other for a moment.

  “Please,” I said desperately.

  Then I realized something.

  “If you tell anyone what she just said, I’ll tell everyone what you said st night.”

  He scowled.

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “I would and you know it,” I said and looked deeply into his soft brown eyes.

  I knew I had him. Even though he had the power to have me arrested or even killed, I knew he would always be too soft to wield it.

  “I just don’t think this is true,” he whined.

  “She was a child,” I told him. “She must just be misremembering. Probably it was another woman.”

  She really seemed like she had remembered everything correctly.

  “Maybe,” he sighed. “Fine, I won’t say anything for now. But I’ll be keeping a close eye on her.”

  “Thank you,” I said and started to walk away.

  “Wait actually,” he said.

  I turned around. He was grinning.

  “Actually I’ll only stay silent on one condition.”

  “What is it?”

  “You have to give Jarion one more chance.”