The Way We Fall

Chapter 99 (Tigris)

Roche was ridiculously jubilant as she readied Tigris for bed. The evacuees from the lower town were allowed to stay another night now that there was enough wood, and some of the nobles in the upper town had the means to house many more. Tonight, the city was warm.

"You must have passed one of the tests," Roche insisted cheerfully, her fingers carding through Tigris' hair to loosen the braid.

Tigris rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous," she muttered, even though she'd been thinking of the same thing. She just couldn't figure out what she'd done right.

Roche snapped her fingers. "I bet it was when you spared that lady in the forest."

"What?" Tigris blinked, "That's absurd." She'd just not arrested the woman. Surely that wasn't enough to bring back the wood to the entire city.

"She told you that you'd be repaid for your kindness," Roche whispered, her eyes lit up as she leaned closer, placing a handful of pins on the counter, "This must have been what she meant."

Tigris bit her lip thoughtfully. The phrase had struck her as something odd initially, but she'd written it off as the ravings of a grateful, half-frozen woman. Perhaps it had been something more. Unease crept through her. It was such a simple, unremarkable interaction. That meant that any of her conversations throughout the day might have been another test that she hadn't noticed.

"You're doing it again," Roche's voice pierced the haze of Tigris' thoughts. She twisted in her seat, hissing as Roche's fingers tangled in her unruly hair.

"Doing what?"

Roche grinned. "Thinking. You usually just swing your sword around when you're worried. I'm starting to think that you actually have a brain in that thick skull of yours."

"Shut up. Don't speak of brains when you clearly don't have one," Tigris grumbled, swatting Roche away. The maid swerved out of the way, chuckling as she moved to Tigris' closet and rifled through the rich fabrics.

"I don't know why you're so worried," Roche's voice was muffled as she stuck her head into the closet, "You always make decisions, what with you being a princess. You just have to make the right ones, like you're supposed to do."

"I always make the right decisions," Tigris retorted. The words were meant to be a smug jest, but some of her worry leaked into the words against her will. Roche's head peeked out of the closet. Her eyes softened with fondness.

"You make the right decisions in the end," Roche replied gently. She stepped out of the closet, holding out a pale nightgown, "That's why one day, you'll make an excellent queen, my lady. Even if you are an absolute brat at the moment."

Her faith was comforting.

Tigris rose from her seat and slipped into the silky soft nightgown. The heat from the fire melted into her mind, making it hard to think past the beckoning of sleep. Tigris yawned loudly, ready to slip under the covers when a large crash sounded outside. Tigris expected the guards patrolling the halls to shout reassurances that one of them had just dropped their sword, or that something harmless had occurred. But the shout never came.

The hall was deadly silent.

Tigris was instantly alert. Roche traded a worried glance with her. Tigris shoved her back a step, grabbing her sword from its sheath.

"Stay back," she warned, prowling towards her door. She cracked it open. The halls were empty, devoid of the guards that should be patrolling there. She gripped her sword tighter, feeling the bite of the hilt against her palms. Roche was a step behind her as she darted into the hall. There was no sign of the guards anywhere, and the torches along the walls that should be lit were stubbornly dark, like no one had been there in a long time.