“What? You can tell me.”
“She says the court is like leeches, and it costs a lot to have so many servants to take care of everything. His Majesty was tiredof paying so much for the upkeep. We can save on firewood by not heating as many rooms too.”
Jaki laughed. “He’s not wrong. When we come to court, we’re getting free food, a bed, wine, and entertainment. I suppose I’ll have to leech off the King right now for a meal in my room.”
She smiled. “Of course, m’lord. I’ll bring it up.”
“Once I’m finished, I’d rather not be disturbed since I’m tired unless the King returns and asks for me.”
“Of course.”
“Where are his rooms?” he asked. “I understand he’s gone out, but I will need to see him in the morning.”
“It’s upstairs, and to the right. There are two guards by his hall, and you can’t miss them. They won’t allow you in. His Majesty likes total privacy and peace in his rooms. No offense, m’lord. If you’d like, you can use the sitting room a ways down from his quarters. Sometimes, he uses that one, and you could wait in there. A servant will leave a note on his breakfast tray, so he’ll know you’re here tomorrow morning.”
Once the servant left, Jaki took a deep breath. He had planned to use a fake son story so he could stay at court and “rest” for a few days before continuing his search. He’d say his son ran away with some trollop he was besotted with.
Thanks to Lord Smith, Jaki knew that his western cousin had a grown son from a Mistress. A young man might make such a foolish decision.
During dinner the next day, once he got the lay of the place a little, he’d planned to deal with the two guards near Tivar’s quarters. He was sure he could handle two on his own since they wouldn’t be expecting an attack. Day after day of easy guard duty could make a man grow lax.
He’d figured Tivar was holding Lumi in his own rooms. It would be easier to keep an eye on him. Since servants weren’t permitted inside, it made sense. They likely thought he valuedhis private space so much, he was willing to clean up after himself, and after many years, they’d be used to his ways.
Since Tivar wouldn’t be an issue tonight if he was out at a whorehouse, Jaki could act now. He also wouldn’t have to rein himself in to keep from gutting the false King as soon as they laid eyes on each other. If he did kill Tivar, half of the damn area would be hunting him down for murdering “the heir.” With Lumi, Tivar couldn’t send as many or be too open about his prisoner being taken. Jaki and Lumi would have a better chance.
Getting past the gate guards with Lumi wouldn’t be hard because anybody leaving must have had a good reason to be there in the first place. Those on duty wouldn’t know that a certain someone wasn’t permitted to leave. Jaki would keep the glamor up, and Lumi would wear a cloak with his hood concealing his face. Since Lumi must have been brought there in secret, the gate guards wouldn’t even know who he was. Guards worked in shifts, and the later ones would assume he’d arrived earlier.
It was quite a stroke of luck that Tivar had gone to the whorehouse and would be gone for ages while he played games, got drunk, and fucked. He'd grown lax too, thinking no one would ever look for Lumi.
Jaki wasn’t sure if he could look at the man who had partly ruined the Kingdom and do nothing. He’d told himself repeatedly on the trip that he could, but he knew if it came down to it, the temptation might be too hard to resist.
Lucky for Tivar, he'd be out.
***
Later, after Jaki had washed, dressed, eaten, and spent some time pacing, he went to the top floor with a book in hand. He said hello to the two guards who returned it and didn’t seem concerned about the visitor. If he'd gotten in, he belongedthere. Since the King was gone, they were leaning against the wall and chatting instead of standing at attention, although they straightened up at the approach of a supposed lord.
Jaki slipped into an open sitting room ahead where a fire was lit, and he set the book on the table in front of the couch. He waited a minute while he scanned a shelf, listened, finally selected a vase, and hefted it in his hand. The intricately painted scene on the front of two fairies copulating in a field of sunflowers was done in gold, and the vase must have been worth a lot. Oh, well. He hurled it at the wall.
The shattering was loud enough to wake the dead. It didn’t take long before footsteps came hurrying down the hall.
“Hello? Is everything alright, m’lord? Did you knock something over?”
Jaki remained tucked behind the open door and saw the guard step in.
“What-”
In a flash, Jaki had a hand over the man’s mouth and his dagger driven into his back. The leather armor didn’t stand a chance against the wicked point, and for good measure, Jaki gave him a strong shock too. The guard stiffened from the electricity and made a slight noise before he went limp. Jaki quickly dragged his corpse behind the couch and yanked out his dagger.
Blood oozed from the wound, but Jaki had kept things neat, so there wasn’t a mess all over the cloth carpeting. He went back to wait behind the door. Since his buddy was taking too long, the second finally ambled in.
“Billy?”
He went the same way as the first.
Jaki hurried to the King's rooms. The huge double doors were locked when he tried them, and he kicked them near the handlesuntil he heard something crack. He still had to use his dagger to jimmy the lock, and he started sweating as he worked.
He was finally able to enter, and he stopped dead at the sight of the mantelpiece. In the center sat a gold Crown as if it were a mere trinket or ornament to collect dust.
