Sing Sweet Nightingale

Part 8

Dick was beginning to become discouraged. He didn't expect for her to be in the first house they came to, but the sun was beginning to set and no one they had met had any idea who she could be.

"This is the last neighborhood." Roy informed them. "It is the last village before we leave Lord Wayne's realm of power."

Dick nodded and sighed.

"You okay?" Wally asked.

"Yeah, I just thought we would have found her by now." Dick said.

"Well, we still have a couple more houses to go." Wally encouraged. Dick slouched further into his seat as they rolled up to the first house.

Their search proved just as fruitless at the first couple of houses they went to. Dick raised a brow as they skipped a house.

"Why aren't we going to this one?" He asked Roy.

"This is the home of my adoptive parents." He explained. "If Y/N lived there, Dinah would personally escorted her to you by now."

Dick chuckled as they came up on the final house. An odd surge of anticipation went through him as Wally knocked on the door.

An older woman opened the door. She was immaculately dressed and her hair was arranged intricately upon her head, but there was something in her eyes that immediately put Dick on edge. "How may I help you?" She asked demurely.

"We are canvassing the kingdom in search of someone. Do you know of a young maiden by the name of Y/N?" Wally asked.

The woman's face looked innocent as she considered his words. Almost too innocent for Dick's liking. "No, sir, I don't believe I have ever met anyone of that name before."

"Are there any maidens with you at all?" Dick asked hopefully. She shook her head slowly, looking down to avoid his gaze.

"Thank you, madam. Have a good night." Wally sighed as the door closed.

"Well, every house in the kingdom and we still haven't found her." Dick said as he kicked a rock out of his way. It struck the base of a large stone fountain as they walked passed it. A couple in the garden nearby looked up at the noise.

The woman got up and hurried over to meet them. "Roy Harper! I cannot believe you came all the way over here and weren't even going to come visit."

Roy smiled as he accepted the woman's embrace. "Dinah, you are looking well."

"Don't think your compliments can distract me." She said as she pulled back. She turned to Dick and Wally and Dick finally saw her face. She was a bit younger than Bruce and was absolutely beautiful.

"I'm Lady Dinah." She said, extending her hand to first Wally and then Dick. "I am sure you have met my husband, Oliver."

"How is it a lady finds herself hidden away in this corner of the kingdom?" Dick asked.

Dinah laughed. "Oh, I had the horrible sense to marry a rich man without a drop of royal blood. The people around here call me 'lady' because of my family, not my husband's title. Or, rather, lack thereof in this case."

Oliver rolled his eyes playfully. "So is there anything we can do for you boys before you head back?"

Dick sobered as he remembered their reason for being there. "Not really. We didn't find the maiden we were looking for."

"What is her name? Maybe I know her." Dinah said encouragingly.

"Y/N." Dick sighed.

A look passed between Oliver and Dinah. "Did... did the woman whose house you just came from tell you she didn't know her?" Oliver asked carefully.