Little Red's Riding

In the Garden

A/N- We're so close to the end. And that's when I always start posting more often! Three posts in three days! 

"Dahlia? Why don't you stroll with me in the garden?" Lady Calla, or Tansy, as Dahlia was having a particularly difficult time learning to call the aristocratic Lady who had taken her under her wing, cast a caustic glance at the two guards who had risen as if to follow them into the King's private gardens. "Really, Ned? We aren't even free from your scrutinizing gaze in the King's own garden? Can you explain to me what the danger is to us here? Is security really so lax these days? Is an assassin going to strike me down over by the King's favorite roses?"

Dahlia watched, half in awe as Tansy's eyes seemed to grow a few shades darker as they narrowed at the poor guard. While the woman before her was tiny, several inches smaller than Dahlia even, and at least a foot and a half smaller than the giant of a guard, when they faced each other with Tansy's eyes flashing in anger, Dahlia almost felt bad for the giant of a man.

Almost.

Then she reminded herself where she was and who he was and her sympathy cooled considerably. Her attention returned to the pair who had been staring at each other for several moments, before the guard, who was apparently named Ned, but who Dahlia honestly couldn't tell apart from the other three who had been shadowing their every movement let out a long suffering sigh.

"I will be watching the two of you from here. Do not go near the barred section that faces the public road or near the locked gate. I don't want there to be any risk of messages being passed unless they've been looked over first."

Tansy rolled her eyes and made a face that rather shocked Dahlia. When they'd been having breakfast with her brother she'd seemed so proper, but all of that had fallen away in the past hour. "Fine. I know he reads whatever anyone sends me anyways, right? Even letters from my own husband? Jealous bastard."

Ned looked about rather nervously. "Are you going to tell him I said that, Ned?"

"I'd really rather not, Lady Calla."

"You like your head attached to your body then?"

"Rather a lot." He mumbled, not meeting her eyes now.

"We've known each other for a while now, Ned. And I haven't you into trouble yet. Dahlia is the Captain's sister. I have no idea why the King is making such a fuss over her. Look at her. She's a nice girl. She isn't a trouble maker."

At this the guard looked up with a smirk, but when he saw Tansy's eyes on him he looked down again quickly.

"Our conversation will be private, as was anything that you saw today at the dress shop." Tansy's voice had changed again and Dahlia was fascinated with how that was possible. It almost reminded her of her mate's Alpha tone. There was a note of command in the small woman's words that Dahlia felt course through her body making every part of her want to do what the Lady had just said. Dahlia thought it especially odd because she had always found it so easy to be able to resist Silas' Alpha command, but she was less sure if she would be able to say no to this magic, if it were bent in her direction.

"The King commanded that I tell him anything unusual that I saw-" Ned began, but Tansy was quick to cut him off.

"You will tell him that you saw nothing unusual and that we bought our dresses, ate lunch and came straight home. You will tell the King that Dahlia is a polite and lovely girl, if rather dull, and that nothing out of the ordinary happened. That is all that happened today. That is all that you saw. Did you tell anyone else that you saw anything else?" her voice was low and serious as she asked him the question.