Sly

Chapter Twelve

Sly

Mid-day came, and brought with it the hunting party. The Festival of the Hunt was a three day celebration of Claw, god of the hunt and all wild things. This was the only time the royal family allowed actual hunting in the Godswood, though foraging has always been acceptable. Legend says this is the only three days Claw allows men to hunt his creatures in the sacred forest.

And after my last encounter there, I wouldn't even risk it during the festival.

Two large boar and a stag were hauled to roasting pits in the kitchen courtyard while the nobles who hunted them down retired to wash up and rest. An array of smaller game was cleaned and prepared as well. Maids with baskets of spices dashed about madly, seasoning the meat as men expertly broke down the animals and dumped them in stew pots. Vegetables roasted, bread baked. The smell of dripping meat perfumed the palace and resulted in a detail of palace guards to be posted before the kitchens, much to the disappointment of more than one hungry guest.

The commotion made it easy to slip around unnoticed, though the thought of the feast did leave my belly growling.

While the Muses spent the afternoon practicing their craft, I was free to roam the palace until dusk. Panther promised that the first night would be light on the props. A few fans, and an instrument or two, but they wouldn't need me to help with pinning up hair as Orchid had teased.

I didn't try to hide my relief when she said that. However, it didn't save me from my fate in the styling chair myself. In order to look the part of a Muse initiate or a hired maid, I was poked and prodded and stuffed into a simple but flattering dress. My hair was even washed and contained, with the help of more than a few pins. But when Orchid tried to apply lip paint to me, I slid out of the chair and escaped the room. I could hear their giggling all the way down the hall.

"Henpecking Muses," I mumbled as I stormed away. "Meddling nannies. As if I need help slipping about unnoticed. A soot-covered chimenea sweep would have been just as effective as all this."

I looked down at my fine clothes, frowning that I'd have to mind that I didn't ruin anything.

With a huff and a pout, I lifted my chin and straightened my posture. Rule one when blending in was always act like you belonged. That meant embracing the roll of a busy lady's maid.

Through the upper halls where the guests were housed for the festival, I was able to see quite a bit. I knew who of importance was staying where, I knew which visiting servants were eager to share gossip, and I could see exactly who came and went from the courtyard thanks to my view out the corridor windows.

Unfortunately, I also found out how easy it was to become lost in the maze of doors and hallways.

Despite a passing page's directions to a garden, I quickly lost track of the turns. I wandered through the cool stone halls, letting myself slow down to listen for gossip. The palace was ripe with it, but nothing I thought useful. This lord took a mistress, the scullery maid had her babe. Nothing about the goings on outside these stone walls.

My feet carried me by several windows. A light rain pattered gently, but the sky didn't look to have much more to give today. I sent up a prayer to whoever may listen for the roasting fires to be spared from the rain. If I could find my way to the feast, I at least wanted to make the most of it.

I stayed at the windows for perhaps half a bell as the servants below scrambled around the courtyards trying to ready the feast to come. At some point I tired of watching, or perhaps I remembered my duty to my brother, and continued my wandering.

For a little while at least. Somehow, I ended up in a library on the second floor. I wasn't sure a library would hold the secrets Davery was hoping for, but the smell of printed paper beckoned me inside all the same. A chance like this doesn't just come along every day for a girl from Swamp.