Knife of Rebellion: Battles of Eyenwar, Book 1

Chapter 17- The Third Time is NOT the Charm

It turns out it was extremely easy to gain Jacqueline's approval. Mirabel was in a room alone with her for a maximum of five minutes before I hear a squeal of delight.

Apparently, a charity event is an opportunity to look more gracious and benevolent than all of the rest of your royal friends. The Queen threw herself into the project with impressive gusto. I suspect that she is quite lonely, and relishes the chance to prove herself worth her husbands attention.

The three remaining weeks until the ball are like agony. I still feel trapped inside the palace, and Garen has been very busy lately. Several times he has sent me a message saying he will be busy all day and can't train with me. I get nightly pestering from Brielle, who wants to know every detail of what's happening here since I forgot to make contact with him the night of the draft. Or as I like to think of it, the kidnapping.

I spend a lot of time with Mirabel's guard, planning and training for every possible disaster on the marriage tour. She and Garen will be in a carriage, surrounded by guards. At the larger cities, we will stop and stay with trusted friends of the king.

I do not trust any friends of the king.

Alaric has become noticeably more hostile as well. He was clearly unhappy with the idea of the charity ball, but he made no opposition. He has clearly made an effort to stop inviting me to dinner, which only strengthens my resolve to be there.

We are sitting in one such dinner now. The ball is in two days and Mirabel has been chatting continuously with the queen about dress fittings. I think Mirabel considers her a genuine friend. I wish I could allow myself to be so fond of her, she really is a sweet girl, not much older than us. However, I know that she is completely devoted to her husband, and when the time comes, and I do mean when, I cannot allow emotions to stop me from doing what necessary to protect my cousin and my country.

Our first course comes out, along with the wine pourers. Two wine pourers. That's interesting, we have never had more than one before. It's the sort of detail that I would never have noticed if I wasn't constantly ignored at these dinners. The lack of conversation allows for incredible study of my surroundings.

One of them makes the rounds to Jacqueline, Alaric and Garen. The other one pours only for Mirabel and myself, who are seeted opposite each other. Quite out of the way for one wine pourer to go. Once the wine trickles out into my cup I know something is wrong. I look up and see Mirabel ready to take a sip. I lunge across the table, desperate to get to her before the poison can touch her lips.

I manage to knock over my own drink as well as knocking hers from her grasp. And land in the mashed potatoes in the middle of the table. Garen, who was sitting next to me, jumped up to avoid the liquid dripping over the edge of the table into his lap.

"Get the wine bearer. Garen, get her now!" I yell.

He only hesitates a moment before lunging after the girl, who turned and fled once the words left my mouth.

"What are you doing?" Mirabel growls.

"Saving your life." I hiss back.

Jacqueline looks flustered, "Saving her life? From what? Gricadan grapes?"

I shake my head. I know there was poison in our glasses. Someone was trying to get rid of the foreign interlopers. And Alaric is my number one suspect, considering he hasn't moved an inch. He just sits there, a muscle on his jaw twitching in annoyance.

What I can't understand is why. Why would Alaric propose this marriage arrangement only to kill us once we arrived? To force Torrain into a war?

I stand up to collect myself, "My apologies. I simply got overzealous in the protection of my cousin. Family is precious, don't you agree?"