"I'm sorry."

Siles glanced up from his book as August walked through one of the throne room's many arches. "Did they reject it?" he asked. Given the new Councilmembers, he would have expected the majority to agree to a commoner education system. The new King had managed to track down and appoint a set of magicians whose opinions formed a polar opposite to Queen Samira's remaining selection.

August stuttered, "Oh, no, they passed it. I'm just... I'm sorry if I said anything weird last night. I can get weird when I'm drunk. It's nothing."

Siles ran a finger along the pages of his book. He had appointed other guards to morning duty and neglected to show at the Council meeting. Unfortunately, August knew his habits well enough to recognize when they changed. "No, you didn't say anything weird. You're fine. I just figured I should appoint guards for you in case the Council agreed to the plan."

August watched his mask, probably imagining the face beneath it. "Why would I need more guards because of a school system?" He hugged his arms as he spoke, looking more like a lost schoolboy than a regal king.

"Because I intend to help implement the school system." And escape the confines of the castle. Siles tried not to let his discomfort show as he continued, "I figured it would be wise for someone who is comfortable speaking with commoners as an equal to explain the situation to them. They'll have to teach themselves since none of ours would be willing to help, so I need to determine which buildings are available and who to hire."

Something in his voice must have changed, since August continued to watch him nervously. Maybe he had spoken in a softer tone, before. Though he was practically whispering, now, to avoid informing August's other guards of his plans. Siles couldn't remember how he normally interacted with August. One generally didn't keep track of that kind of thing. But it didn't matter. His excuse was valid; August couldn't reject it. He wouldn't. He was too much of a coward.

"Alright," August said, releasing a puff of a sigh. "Do you need anything? Materials? A horse? Some guards of your own?"

Siles hadn't thought that far ahead. Now that he did think about it, he realized that he would need to be more cautious with this trip than his previous ones. For the first time, he would act as the bookbinder on official business. The commoners would consider him a fellow commoner no more; they would know that he acted on behalf of the King. He hoped he would be able to maintain their trust if – no, when other rebellions arose. Even with a King as kind as Siles hoped August would continue to be, there would be unrest.

"A horse, yes," Siles mumbled, more to himself than to August. "Actually, you should assign the royal bookbinder as head of the program. He will know what to do better than I would. And he could use the program funds to borrow one of the royal horses." Rather than that mangy thing Bart called a horse.

August continued to trace Siles' mask with his eyes. "The bookbinder, right. I'll write up the necessary documents and deliver them to his quarters."

Siles watched August leave the throne room, then realized he had to change into the correct attire then run to his other quarters in order to collect the documents. One of the new guards watched Siles as she followed August from the room, so Siles kept his stride to a casual stroll as he exited through the opposite door. He reached one of the servants' halls, then sprinted. The servants stared, but they didn't matter. The bookbinder couldn't make the King wait – to do so would damage the King's reputation, especially since August would do so without complaint instead of reprimanding the disrespectful commoner. He had forgotten to tell August to use a messenger like the late Queen had always done.

He had chosen his quarters – his main quarters – because of their back door. The inconspicuous door allowed him to enter as the King's Guard and exit as the royal bookbinder without anyone knowing that they were one and the same. The door even opened into the servants' halls, as its presence was most likely a relic from the days when magicians called upon personal servants for their every whim. In the modern era, the magicians preferred to avoid the commoners' lesser presence.

Regardless of the door's original purpose, Siles used it now to slip out of his rooms, locking it behind him. He very nearly continued his sprint, until he realized that many of the servants had already seen the King's Guard sprinting. For him to do the same in a hall where everyone else strolled with the haste of a tortoise would be suspicious. One of the servants smiled at him so he forced a smile in return. They might recognize his stride. He didn't consider his mannerisms recognizable, but as he had told August, he didn't spend much time in front of the mirror.

Except they wouldn't be smiling at him if they thought he was the Guard. Siles reprimanded himself for his irrationality. Sprinting would be obvious, but he could at least jog. He glanced at the clock on the wall, feigned surprise with a splash of fear, then dashed down the servants' halls once again.

He nearly missed his turn, except the sound of August's voice echoed through the corridor. Siles skidded to a halt, then paused. August was talking to one of the other guards.

"Where did he pull you from?" August asked. Siles couldn't see them, so he didn't know which guard he spoke to.

"The city battalion, your highness," came the monotone response.

August didn't say anything for a moment, searching for something to stretch the conversation, Siles imagined. "Which do you like better? This or the city?" Siles almost laughed. Guards didn't have the same spunk the Councilmembers had; they would never tell August anything they thought he didn't want to hear.

"Working directly with your highness is an honor, sir." Of course. Siles stepped into the main hall and jogged to the doorway where August waited.

"I am so sorry for keeping you, your highness." Siles tried to adopt a deferential tone of voice, but he sounded like a pantomime of a servant. He had always left the castle immediately after changing into his bookbinding attire in the past; he had no practice interacting with the magicians. It would be a day of many firsts.

August's eyes traced his face just as he had with his mask, but Siles found it much more uncomfortable without the metal shield between them. Something he saw there made August turn his gaze away, to the papers in his hands, then to a loose thread on his sleeve after Siles took the papers. "We didn't wait long," he said. "You have been assigned the duty of implementing the new commoner school system. Those papers will allow you to use castle funds to do so. Within reason, of course."

Siles nodded, pretending to skim the papers. "I am honored, your highness." He examined the guards around him, noting the one who yawned with boredom. He would replace that one next time. Hopefully they would be able to keep August safe. August could defend himself, anyway. He just had to work on his reaction time.

The man in question paused for a moment, looking up at Siles' face once again. "Right," he finally said. "I expect you'll start immediately. Thank you."

The guards all watched August curiously, probably wondering how someone so awkward and complaisant had achieved the title of King. Although Queen Samira had been especially violent, her mannerisms fell in line with even the more peaceful of her predecessors. Siles hoped that August would improve, except he didn't really. The few times August had acted in a more regal manner, Siles had been horrified that he would become another Samira, forcing fear upon every creature that dared cross his path.

August left, along with his baffled entourage, returning down the marble corridors to the throne room where the worst danger he would face would be boredom, or perhaps the struggle of making conversation with a city guard. Siles hoped. If something happened...

Siles left the castle. The longer he stayed, the more he worried. At least with the Queen, he had hated her enough to not care whether anyone slit her throat in his absence. August was a nuisance.

But at least he was a useful nuisance. Siles proudly flashed the official documents as he approached the royal stables. "I need a horse, preferably one with endurance."

Bart squinted at the papers, then at Siles. "If this is the first time you've been on official business, what were you up to before?"

Siles glared at Bart's caterpillar eyebrows. Even when Siles wasn't blackmailing him, the man found a way to annoy him. "Unofficial business. Now get me a horse."

Bart grunted, handing the papers back in a disheveled state. Siles did his best to flatten them as he waited for his horse, but several sets of wrinkles had already become permanent. He hissed through his teeth and returned them to his breast pocket.

"This is the best one for long distance." Bart brought a chestnut horse forward, patting her on the back. "How many days will you be out?"

Siles practically had to pry the reigns from Bart's hands. "As many as I need to be." He raised his eyebrows, waiting for Bart to challenge him.

Except he had the royal signature in his pocket. Bart glared. "You spend too much time with those magicians. If you keep acting this way, one of 'em's gonna smite you. And I'll laugh."

Siles was tempted to tell Bart to actually read the papers he had handed him, thus revealing himself as slightly less of a schmuck than he pretended to be. But he enjoyed their spats – he didn't want to argue with August, and the perpetual power-play between magicians required that he act orderly within the castle walls. Bart provided an exit valve for pent up sarcasm and bitterness.

"Well, then I'll consider myself smitten. I'll see you when I see you." Siles tipped his sun hat and mounted the horse. He glanced back to the castle once as he pushed on towards the horizon, but he had other matters to focus on. August would be fine. The guards were competent enough; even Samira had survived Siles' many excursions. And if he wasn't fine... It didn't matter. Siles had intentionally found a reason to leave the castle. He didn't want to be around August anyway.

Except he arrived in Tern's neighboring town with lines of worry creasing his brow and no plan for the job he was there to do. Siles stared at the town sign, announcing the town's name "Amery" to the world. Rebellions often began next door to the rebellions Siles had already crushed, so Amery's location next to Tern made it a perfect starting point. He just didn't know where to start now that he had arrived.

The town blended in to all the rest, with the exception of its welcome sign. Wooden buildings leaned against each other for support, icicles dripped from the eaves, and commoners wandered about in clothes too threadbare for the weather. Siles felt overdressed, especially with his golden librarian's pin shining in the winter sun.

"Does the King have some evil plan he sent a single man to carry out?"

Siles started, and looked down to see August, except it wasn't August. Her hair was long and wavy likean ocean of brown and gold and her eyes were wide and brown just like his, but she was a girl no older than eighteen. She could be a distant relative, or a testament to the claim that all commoners – including the magicians who had been plucked from their population – looked alike. She stared at him expectantly, so Siles dismounted and held out his hand for her to shake. "I am the royal bookbinder, and I have been entrusted with the new commoner education program. The King has kindly decided to reverse the damage the late Queen Samira did to the schools."

"Just you?" Not-August raised an eyebrow. The expression perfectly matched that of the King.

Siles realized too late that it was strange for someone as defenseless as a royal bookbinder to travel alone, so he scrambled for an explanation. "Well, the King didn't deem it all that important, so... He figured since I'm not a magician I wouldn't have problems among my own... people."

She crossed her arms. That was where they differed; she had much more self-confidence than August. "You aren't a magician? Why would he entrust a commoner with any power at all?"

Siles let his hand fall to his side - she never shook it. "None of the magicians wanted to deal with commoners. Not in a way that would help them, at least." He wasn't wrong in that respect; it was the same as the excuse he had used to leave the castle in the first place. August couldn't assign the task of the school system to anybody but him, as nobody else cared.

Not-August maintained her suspicious squint, but nodded. "That's fair."

"What's your name, anyway? I'm Siles." He was curious whether August would recognize the name as a cousin or distant relative. The King had spent his first few years of life among commoners, after all.

"Sonia," she said.