Court of Snakes: This Desert Cage

Recognition - The Palace | June of the Second Year

"Parisa," Lord Talbot ruminated and leaned on his elbow, "I hear from Commander Crevan you are out of training."

"Yes, My Lord," Parisa reported and kneeled before her father respectfully. She was unsure if she even considered him a father anymore, and the only thing that connected he and she as related were the shapes of their faces and their eyes. "He tells me all that remains is experience."

Lord Talbot nodded and continued, "Then I have a new job for you. You and that other Elite boy who's Captain... Perseus, was it? You two will be the Embassy's personal guard. He will be required to keep up on his duties as Captain, but he should be able to order around a bunch of other boys from the inside, no? My spies have picked up word on an assassination attempt that is brewing amongst the common folk and I fear The King is up to something. I'm satisfied with your performance in the guard and appreciate that you're better at running than at school, so I trust you with the responsibility of protecting me and my colleagues."

Inside, Parisa felt relieved that Perseus was the one picked to work with her. She replied, "Yes, My Lord. Thank you, My Lord."

"I had not expected you to come so far in so little time, and Commander Crevan reminded me that Perseus is an ignorant illiterate. I'm assigning Esmond to him. I will not have my best men unable to read books. That's an embarrassment to Segeno. You two will live here from now on, and when I need you or when I get a lead on the traitor, I will summon you, you will go to him, and you will stop him dead in his tracks. Otherwise, you must stay here and watch over the palace, keep an eye out for any intruders. Do you understand?"

Parisa felt her heart flutter with happiness and she could not believe that she had come across such good fortune. "Yes, My Lord," she said.

"Captain Perseus is on his way. You are dismissed."

Parisa stood and bowed too fast for it to be polite, but as she moved down the hallways that led to her old bedroom, feeling the walls she missed so much, her heart skipped a beat. When she entered the room she had once called her own, she found that nothing had changed, save the fact that the bed was larger and many of the frivolities of her old life had gone. When she checked the drawers, she found combat clothes in place of all the Embassy gowns she had once worn, and there were a few sets of formal attire, but not many. She flopped down onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, ever so glad to be home.

And then she remembered.

She leapt to her feet and dashed into the elevator to head toward her teacher's room. He sat at his desk, his silver spectacles lightly falling off his nose as he read, and when she knocked on the door frame, he glanced up and then returned to his book, seeming a little surprised that there was an Elite guard in his study. "Yes?" he asked absentmindedly. "What do you need?"

"Master Esmond! It's me! Parisa!"

Esmond raised his eyes from his literature and when they met Parisa's face he gasped for breath. He jumped to his feet, rushed to her, and hugged her tightly, lifting her from the ground. "I hardly recognized you!" he exclaimed. "You've grown so much! What happened to your hair? What are you doing here?"

"Father said I can stay here and that he'll call me if he needs me. O-Oh, and my hair?" Parisa rain her fingers through her short curls. "Commander Crevan made me cut it. It's silly, I know—"

"It's beautiful."

A smile pooled across Parisa's face and she took his hand. "Did you get my message from the well?"

Master Esmond moved to his desk and pulled out the piece of paper she had written on only a few months ago. "Of course! I still have it here. Did you get my response?"