Royal Assassin

I stood, grateful for the reprieve, and made my cautious courtesies. Lacey saw me as far as the door, and then stood watching after me anxiously as far as the landing. I tried to walk as if the walls and floors weren't wavering. I paused at the stairs to give her a small wave, and then started up them. Three steps up and out of her sight, I stopped to lean on the wall and catch my breath. I lifted my hands to shield my eyes from the brilliant candlelight. Dizziness was washing over me in waves. When I opened my eyes, my vision was wreathed in rainbow fogs. I closed them tight and pressed my hands to them.

I heard a light step coming down the stairs toward me. It paused two steps above me. "Are you all right, sir?" someone asked uncertainly.

"A bit too much to drink," I lied. Certainly the wine I had dumped over myself made me smell like a drunk. "I'll be fine in a moment."

"Let me help you up the stairs. A stumble here might be dangerous." There was starched disapproval in the voice now. I opened my eyes and peered through my fingers. Blue skirts. Of the sensible fabric that all the servants wore. No doubt she'd had to deal with drunks before.

I shook my head, but she ignored that, just as I would have in her position. I felt a strong hand grip my upper arm firmly, while her other arm encircled my waist. "Let's just get you up the stairs," she encouraged me. I leaned on her, not wanting to, and stumbled up to the next landing.

"Thank you," I muttered, thinking she would leave me now, but she kept her grip.

"Are you sure you belong on this level? The servants' quarters are the next flight up, you know."

I managed a nod. "Third door. If you don't mind."

She was silent for longer than a moment. "That's the Bastard's room." The words were flung like a cold challenge.

I did not flinch to the words as I would have once. I did not even lift my head. "Yes. You may go now." I dismissed her as coldly.

Instead she stepped closer. She seized my hair, jerked my head up to face her. "Newboy!" she hissed in fury. "I should drop you right here."

I jerked my head up. I could not make my eyes focus on her eyes, but all the same, I knew her, knew the shape of her face and how her hair fell forward on her shoulders, and her scent, like a summer afternoon. Relief crashed over me like a wave. It was Molly, my Molly the candlemaker. "You're alive!" I cried out. My heart leaped in me like a hooked fish. I took her in my arms and kissed her.

At least, I attempted to. She stiff-armed me away, saying gruffly, "I shall never kiss a drunk. That's one promise I've made to myself and shall always keep. Nor be kissed by one." Her voice was tight.

"I'm not drunk, I'm ... sick," I protested. The surge of excitement had made my head spin more than ever. I swayed on my feet. "It doesn't matter anyway. You're here and safe."

She steadied me. A reflex she had learned taking care of her father. "Oh. I see. You're not drunk." Disgust and disbelief mingled in her voice. "You're not the scriber's boy, either. Nor a stable hand. Is lying how you always begin with people? It seems to be how you always end."

"I didn't lie," I said querulously, confused by the anger in her voice. I wished I could make my eyes meet hers. "I just didn't tell you quite ... it's too complicated. Molly, I'm just so glad you're all right. And here in Buckkeep! I thought I was going to have to search ..." She still gripped me, holding me on my feet. "I'm not drunk. Really. I did lie just now, because it was embarrassing to admit how weak I am."

"And so you lie." Her voice cut like a whip. "You should be more embarrassed to lie, Newboy. Or is lying permitted to a Prince's son?"

She let go of me and I sagged against a wall. I tried to get a grip on my whirling thoughts while keeping my body vertical. "I'm not a Prince's son," I said at last. "I'm a bastard. That's different. And yes, that was too embarrassing to admit, too. But I never told you I wasn't the Bastard. I just always felt, when I was with you, I was Newboy. It was nice, having a few friends who looked at me and thought, `Newboy' instead of `the Bastard.' "

Molly didn't reply. Instead she grabbed me, much more roughly than before, by my shirtfront, and hauled me down the hall to my room. I was amazed at how strong women were when they were angry. She shouldered the door open as if it were a personal enemy and propelled me toward my bed. As soon as I was close, she let go and I fell against it. I righted myself and managed to sit down. By clutching my hands tightly together and gripping them between my knees, I could control my trembling. Molly stood glaring at me. I couldn't precisely see her. Her outline was blurred, her features a smear, but I could tell by the way she stood that she was furious.

After a moment I ventured, "I dreamed of you. While I was gone."