The Way We Fall

Chapter 70 (Tigris)

"Wakey wakey, princess!"

The curtains were thrown open, sending beams of sunlight searing across Tigris' eyes. She groaned, burying her face in her pillow to block it out, but a hand was already tearing away her blankets.

"Come on, princess! You've got a tax meeting and tons of practise to get in shape for the tournament."

Tigris groaned, the chilly fall air making her shiver. She stretched to grab back her blankets, but ended up brushing up against a scarred palm. Her eyes flew open.

"Roche!" Tigris exclaimed, shooting upright in her bed.

Her insolent maid, damn her, shot her a cheeky grin. "That is my name. Good to see that your brain is working."

"Oh, you have hell to pay today." Tigris growled, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. "You abandoned your duties to go drink in the tavern! You are lucky that I haven't fired you."

Roche had the audacity to act confused. "The tavern?" she sputtered.

Tigris was going to enjoy this. "Don't play dumb. Verita told me the truth." Tigris took a moment to inspect the girl. With glee, Tigris noticed that Roche looked rather pale. "I didn't know you had it in you to drink for an entire day." Tigris increased the volume of her voice until Roche winced.

"I can't believe Verita said that." Roche muttered, rubbing her probably aching temples.

Tigris smirked. Good. The girl deserved it.

"I hope you learned your lesson about drinking during your shift." Tigris said with relish. Roche muttered something obscene under her breath.

"What was that?" Tigris asked sweetly as she padded towards her washroom. Roche crossed her arms.

"I said that I left you for one day and you made this place a mess!"

"Well, I expect it all to be cleaned up by lunch!" Tigris shouted over her shoulder, chuckling to herself when Roche groaned in frustration.

-------

Tigris jerked her head towards Roche who obediently approached to distribute the documents that Tigris had spent all night working on.

"We'll be able to decrease taxes on the lower town significantly when winter comes." Tigris explained to her father and the gathered nobles.

One of said nobles frowned. "This would require a hike in taxes for the upper town for the upcoming term," he pointed out. Disapproving murmurs spread across the nobles and Tigris felt a flare of heat fill her cheeks.

"It's well within the budget," Finn came to her defense. He was still pale from his hysterical fit, but he'd recovered well once he'd learned Roche was safe. He pushed his glasses up his nose as all eyes turned to him. "The upper town certainly has the means to support a hike. At most, we'd be facing a reduction in luxury goods for a month. The lower towns on the other hand would face starvation considering the expected poor yield of the merchants."

"You expect the nobles to deprive themselves of luxury goods for the sake of a few hungry peasants, my lord?" another courtier sniffed. Finn's cheeks bloomed a hearty red. Aodh rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Prince Finn said it was only luxury goods," he pointed out, irritated. He stood behind his chair, arms crossed.

"Still," the courtier muttered, "it seems excessive to do this all for a few hungry peasants, my lord."

Finn's eyes flicked to where the servants gathered and Tigris hid her wince. Her brother had never been good at hiding his emotions. It was well known that he listened to those from the lower town more than any of the royals. Unfortunately, that only devalued his opinion.