Slaves of the Night

Chapter 12

Rax

"Okay, okay, okay, I'm okay with this---I'm fine. Okay. So tell me what we do know?" Eero is pacing the floor of his private drawing room. The girls are safe doing their lessons. The new Princess, after trying to memory-steal practically everyone at breakfast, is off for a fitting. I should honestly tell him that his new wife is a mage. I haven't yet. I got distracted.

"Okay, so here's what we know:

1) Maija's still coming back and wants to eat my face

2) My mother is a professional irritant

3) Somehow, someone, maybe Maija, tried to lure the girls to the observatory

4) Your new princess is a memory-stealer—"

"COME THE FUCK AGAIN??"

"---you heard me.

5) The new handmaid has a really nice set of knives

6) My dad is a dick

7) I really think I need new knives they make me happy---"

"What do you mean memory stealer? She's a mage?"

"Uhuh, I did tell you she had magic, I told you that yesterday. She's got a second sight," I say, shrugging as I lean against the door. Great way not to be walked in on.

"She's---a----mage. She can take memories—can you do that?"

"No. I haven't got second sight."

"So she can like----see our memories? Of everything?"

"No just select bits---usually whatever you're thinking of most recently, like you're playing with your daughters she might see the memory of the night they were born or just you tucking them in last night---if you're introducing yourself to her maybe when you introduced yourself to Maija; whatever is most prominent. It's just to do with what you're think of."

"That's really bad!" Eero says, tugging at his hair.

"Why? She'll see endless stupid conversations about day to day life and then the occasional memory of a hunt or something? She knows about Maija and she now knows that Maija's coming back—since her handmaid knows so that's really it," I say, shrugging.

"No this is bad! How can you not see how this is bad?"

"It's not—why, what are you usually thinking about?" I say, exasperated.

"You, you idiot!"

"Oh well then we are screwed aren't we?" I laugh a little, "Not like she can call off the marriage though."

"That's the least of my concerns--- what if she tells people?"

"Who would believe her?  'Oh they've been being queer under our noses all this time? We don't think so, we're very stuck up and self absorbed'," I do the last part imitating my father rather well.

"Stop being cute when I'm upset, damnnit. It confuses me."

"We've got this. Maija's already coming back it's not like things can get much worse."

"Please don't say that. I'm actually begging you not to say that."

"We," I walk up to him, "Are," I tug him down by his shirt to kiss his lips, "Fine. We will be fine. I will take care of us. I will take care of Maija, and my mother, and any other supernatural threat that crops up, all right? You focus on being beautiful and getting ready for your wedding."

"I don't want to marry anyone who isn't you," he says, quietly, putting a hand through my hair.

I smile and kiss his hand.

There's a rapping on the door. We step apart, and both sigh at once, I think.

"Come in?" Eero says, touching his shirt where my hand was on it.

"Good morning Your Highness," Mistress Huta comes in, her black long velvet dress swishing on the floor. "It's about the children."

"What about them? What are they doing?" Eero asks, knotting his own shirt, quite at the end of his rope.

"Nothing right now, this really isn't addressed to you," she turns to me. I look over my shoulder because she knows she loves me. She glares at me. "The children's nanny, Lady Helga, departed sometime mid day yesterday."

"What now? Again? That's the eighth this month----RAX," Eero says my name as I slowly start to back away.

"Precisely who I was blaming," she folds her arms.

"Whom? Me?" I ask, innocently, "What would I do? Ever? That was wrong? I'm very blameless? As well as lovely and charming? Did I mention handsome? And blameless?"

"Did you or did you not arrange for that girl's hurried departure citing monsters from under her bed attacking her feet?" Mistress Huta folds her arms. She knows perfectly well I did it. She wouldn't turn me in though. I'm the closest thing she has to a child of her own, for her sins.

"I decline to answer."

"RAX! You promised after the beetle incident," Eero groans.

"You can't go scaring off every young woman now," Mistress Hute sighs.

"Well, clearly I can," I say, putting a ruined hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.

"Why? Do you realize how much you're stressing me?" Eero sighs.

"She put the little tiny one to bed with no supper—and if that wasn't enough she spanked her for wetting the bed," I say, with a deep sigh, looking down at my feet rather than at them.

"That's not a crime, Rax," Mistress Huta sighs. She never spanked me, my sweet face and clever tongue usually got me out of that. With her. Plenty of other people beat me though including my own father.

"She's only a little tiny girl she ought not be spanked," I say, self righteously.

"No she shouldn't---but you can't just scare away or hex—stop denying it, close your mouth—every nanny you don't like."

"It's quicker than telling him who then he tells the Queen who then fires them," I point out.

"I'd noticed. I am asking you to stop," Mistress Huta says, pushing my hair out of my face and inspecting the bruises, "Do you look like a traffic accident for the same reason your dad's a case this morning?"

"Yeah, actually. He's not overly cross with me, more than usual, the new handmaid sassed him," I say, shrugging.

"She does look like a fresh one, all right I'll leave you two to it, talk some sense into him, Your Highness?"

"I'm sorry, not today, far too busy, possibly later on, though not likely," Eero says, getting the door for her as she leaves. He glares at me. I shrug. He glares more. I shrug again.

"Idiot," he hisses, walking closer to me.

I continue shrugging.

"Idiot," he says again, kissing my forehead, "Stop harassing the staff."

"Never," I say, kissing his mouth (I can't reach his forehead).

"Stupid idiot. When are you going to cut your hair anyway?" he asks, petting a hand through my hair, which incidentally is the reason I don't cut it.

"No idea. You have a fitting in ten minutes though."

"Why didn't you tell me???"

"I just have!"

"I know, but I wasn't mentally preparing to see people. Stupid wedding."

"You want me to come and make stupid comments under my breath or go skulk around causing problems."

"Is there a way you could---not do either of those things?"

"No," I say, smiling charmingly.

"Fine, come on then."