Kingdom's Fall

Chapter 23, Part 2

Carolin Buloch was willow-thin, and as she rose to greet Aiden she seemed to float effortlessly onto her feet. Over her skirts and shirt she wore a cream-coloured wrap as long as a plaid, shot through with stripes of blue and red. The thick fabric hung loose across her shoulders and pooled in the crook of one elbow, her hand raised to support it. It was a peasant's outfit, but the quality of the garments and her natural grace gave it a regal air. She was older than Aiden, not by much but enough that he could remember the first time he met her, back when she had been a young woman and he was still running around barefoot, finding adventures in the unfinished parts of the palace. She had had a warm smile, and he had flushed crimson with embarrassment when he was finally forced to talk to her. A ghost of that memory came back to him as she turned that same smile on him again, as genuine and disarming as it had ever been. It took an effort for Aiden to remind himself to step carefully, as behind Carolin's delicate features lay a mind and a will of steel. 

"Lord Baird. Aiden." She smiled and held out her hands as she said his first name. "I have been hearing strange tales about you."

They were in her office, a high-windowed room on the floor above a merchant's counting-room that housed an army of clerks. Buloch was a businesswoman, and although she had been born into nobility she had gained considerable advantage and respect by how well she had profited off of her position. She had investments everywhere, both locally and across the north, and there was a good living to be had in her service for anyone with a clever head for figures. Aiden had made use of it in the past, packing some clever but dangerously ambitious heads off with Buloch's recruiters in lieu of outright banishment. He couldn't be sure if it was his imagination playing tricks on him, but their parade past the rank and file of Buloch's clerks caused a significant distraction. He had already made a mental note not to eat anything he hadn't seen another person taste first, just in case.

"Carolin," he said, taking her hands and following her lead into informality. "It's been a long time."

"You killed Varion, I heard." There was no change in her tone. She said it as lightly as if she was discussing the weather. Step carefully, he thought. She's a heartbeat away from having you killed where you stand.

"I was there when he died, but I didn't kill him."

"Really? Who did?"

"The princess."

Carolin arched an eyebrow. "Little Morwen?"

"The very same."

"She must have grown up since I last had word of her." Carolin's tone was dubious.

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"You could try. You seem to have done a fine job convincing my men not to place you under arrest, so it's not as if you don't have a talent for it."

Aiden winced. "Yes, about that..."

"Aiden, I already know what's out on the water," she said. "I can look out of the windows, you know."