«Come with me, Thea,» Alexander says when we pass next to the secret entrance of the Royal Palace.

«Come where?»

«To buy some clothes,» he murmurs, heading towards a shop on the corner.

Oh, I know this one! It's where I bought my peasant clothes when I wanted to visit the city in secret.

«We shouldn't get in like this unless you'd like rumours to spread through the whole Empire,» my husband continues. «But we'll manage to get in there without being discovered.»

I've used the secret passages to get out the Palace, not to infiltrate. Does it mean I was in danger all this time? If getting in is so easy...

«Have you used your knowledge to spy on me?» I inquire, pouting my lips. «To watch me sleep, bathe, despair over your strategies...»

«No, Thea, I haven't. Even though, now that you say it like this... I should have done that, indeed. I've missed you so much, especially after seeing you the first time for negotiations. If I didn't go mad after that, I won't ever.»

«You missed me?» I chuckle, leaning my head on his chest. «You already are crazy, husband.»

«Crazy for you,» he whispers to my ear.

«Don't get distracted now. Let's go get our clothes...»

We enter the shop, and a thin girl greets us.

«Hello, welcome to our amble shop. We sell clothes for all the pockets, just tell me your budget, honoured guests, and I'll help you find the perfect combination!»

She must be around twelve, with her twin braids and freckles on the nose. Her dress is simple yet of good quality, testifying to the skills of the seamstress. Her shoes are old, maybe too big for her, but whole.

I don't remember any child working here, so she must be new.

«Black, simple clothes,» Alexander orders, and the girl runs around picking anything dark in colour.

«Yes, yes, mysterious mister! For both of you?»

«Exactly.»

«Oh, I get it! You two want to look like normal travellers, not to be attractive to swindlers and thieves... Am I right?» she shouts while taking some fabric from the back.

«Something like that, yes,» Alexander chuckles, paying a gold coin for the rags we decide to buy.

«I don't have the change, mister.»

«You can keep it. It's for you.»

He seems to know who the little girl is, so I just keep silent and look at the simple dark dress in my hands.

«Can we change clothes here?»

«Yes, of course! You can do it in the back.»

It's so simple that I can wear it on my own. When Alexander is ready too, we pack our belongings in a sack and return to the front of the store.

«We also need two cloaks,» he says to the girl.

We cover our heads with the hoods and proceed into the red light of the sunset. The last rays make Polis seem like burning, and the calm in the streets is gone.

People are strolling around, chatting in groups, and resting from the long day. The scent of delicious food fills the air, and the inns open their doors wide and serve the clients sitting at the tables in the open. Even if it's early spring, the weather is just so pleasant.

«Have you forgotten the way?» Alexander inquires, seeing that I don't move.

«No, I was busy observing,» I say. It's my city, and I haven't seen it in many months. Even if everything changed, all is still the same.

«You can observe tomorrow... Now we should go.»

«Tomorrow?» I thought we were going to hurry to reach the capital.

«Yes, we'll stay a couple of nights. We need to rest and to find a carriage for the journey.»

«Aren't the knights working on that?»

«Yes, they are.»

«Your employees are all competent. They'll find the carriage by the end of the day.»

«Do you want to leave tomorrow morning?»

«No, I don't. But we should be hurrying up. We're so late, Alexander!»

«Do not worry, wife. No one will question Duke Kyre for taking a month to reach the capital.»

«A month? It already took us a month and a half. Another week to reach the capital means...»

«Two weeks, wife. We're not marching: stops are allowed.»

«Then, it will be two months! People will talk...»

«So what?»

«Aren't you worried about your position at the court?»

«With some luck, they'll all just assume I'm plotting something.»

«Which is what you need, isn't it?»

«It might come in handy in the future.»

«You!» I scold him, realising that he did all of this just to please me. On a whim, what more. «You're so irresponsible!»

«You followed me.»

«I was a naive Duchess. I didn't know you could make such a bad decision.»

«But you wanted to see Polis, didn't you?»

«You can't just fulfil any desire of mine,» I scoff. «You should consider the consequences first...»

«Would you prefer if I didn't do this?»

«No, I wouldn't,» I admit. «Thank you for everything.»

He raises his brows, pleased by my momentary surrender.

«But you have to consider your position as well. Please, do not act like this again. I'm not a child, Alexander. I won't whine and sulk just because you don't buy me a toy or bring me to some amusing place.»

«I know, Thea. I just wanted to do something for you, and this is the only thing that came to my mind.»

«It's because I already have everything else,» I chuckle. «It's difficult to please a spoiled wife, you know? You better pay attention, or it will get out of your control.»

«I wouldn't mind a demanding wife.»

I sigh, and he reaches for my hand.

«It would be easier to spoil my Duchess if she was the one asking for things.»

«Let's go,» I moan. It's better to reach the Palace before this conversation takes the wrong turn.

The secret passage is full of webs. It's always been, even while I used it. No one cleaned it, as it was supposed to stay hidden.

The air is stale and stinks of mould. It's dark and cold, but I know it by heart. I wouldn't need a torch if not for locating and removing the spider webs.

Actually, it's Alexander that does most of the work. I just follow suit, tagged on his cloak.

When we reach the small door that will give us access to one of the less used corridors, Alexander leans his ear on the wood to check that it will be deserted for real.

«We can go,» he whispers, and we infiltrate the Palace with silent steps. It's funny, especially because we don't risk getting killed for real if we're discovered.

«Come this way,» I say and pull him towards my chambers. «I want to see what happened to my room and garden...»

«All right.»

«Also, I'd like to see the throne hall once before leaving.»

«As you wish.» He shrugs, and I resist the temptation to start making further requests.

We walk for a minute, one step at a time until we reach the corner. Behind it, there is a big hallway. One where people might walk.

«Wait,» Alexander murmurs and pushes me on the wall. He shields me with his body, and we stay hidden for a few seconds.

Only after seeing two guards pass by, I thank heaven for my husband's precise senses.

When the guards disappear from sight, we continue our stroll.

«Your rooms might be guarded, Thea. There's a chance we'll have to use my chamber and enter from there.»

«From the side door?» I ask. Of course, he's talking about the door between the ruler's and their consort's room. It's been there to ensure some privacy to the couple, to hide how often they visit each other and who was the one taking initiative.

It's a right I wasn't allowed in Ethiro.

At least, in Kyre, we slept on the same bed. Hence, the servants didn't have any material to use for gossip.

My chamber's room is unguarded. Luckily!

We won't need to trick any guard nor take weird detours through the consort's room's windows.

We step towards it, looking around in search of any danger. There aren't people in this part of the Palace, and it's not hard to understand why.

These are the fallen Queen's chambers. Servants aren't required to clean as there isn't anyone living here, and the Ethirian delegation has been ordered to keep far. I'm sure Alexander made it clear that my spaces are off-limits.

If I were a maid, I wouldn't like the idea to come here. Do they even know that I'm not dead, by the way? Has anyone informed them?

Alexander was busy with other stuff, so he might have forgotten to send a message to Polis.

«Come on,» he murmurs, seeing my complicated expression. «We're almost there...»

We reach the door to my room and try the handle, but it doesn't open. It's locked.