Traitor, Traitor [NaNoWriMo 2013]

Chapter Nine

I knocked on Lyon's door. The guards standing outside shot me odd looks. They hadn't seen me leave.

Lyon opened the door and admitted me in without comment.

"Well?"

The wardrobe had been pushed to cover the vent again. "He's gone. He still thinks we're out," he said.

I nodded and sat down on the sofa. My happiness was fading with the sunlight. I still had no way of alerting the rebels. Even if Larkin did find out, there was nothing he could do. Aaron had been smart enough to detain Larkin so that if he was siding with the rebels, he wouldn't have time to alert them.

He really was paranoid.

Lyon waved his hands in front of my face. "Hello?"

I linked. "Oh, sorry. I was thinking . . .."

"Did you inform the people?"

I shook my head, eyes far away. "I couldn't get out of the palace."

Lyon said, "We need to inform the people. You know these hunts get out of hand. I don't want the people loosing more than they have to."

That there was the difference between Lyon and Aaron. Aaron was an aggressive man. He enjoyed violence and noise. He would ransack peoples houses without a second thought for their property or livelihood. Lyon would be more orderly about it. He would check the house thoroughly, without hurting anyone.

I nodded. "Your father has set up guards everywhere. We cannot leave the palace without being noticed."

Lyon plopped down next to me. "Can I ask you something?" he said, after a moment of silence.

"Of course."

"Why do you care?" I gave him a confused and offended look. "No, I mean, you root out rebels, but you want to warn the people. You side with my father on everything, and yet, you would disobey him for something as small as this."

I considered how to answer that. He didn't know that I used to sneak out at the dead of night before the days of the hunt and send out anonymous warnings. They days of pillaging that followed were all an act. Yes, people lost their homes and a lot of their money. The places the rebels had stayed had been either burnt or knocked to the ground, but the king would have expected nothing less. I didn't enjoy it. I only did it because I had to. The next day, I had sent Ella out to distribute money to the mourning people, so that they could at least get shelter and food again. They didn't know where the money was coming from, but accepted it. They were desperate.

I remembered the first night after the hunts. I had come back raw and exhausted. I rushed to my room and threw up all my dinner. I stayed in my room for two more days before telling myself to suck it up. That wouldn't be the first time. And it hadn't been. Since Aaron was highly impressed with my work, he sent me out to root out all the rebels. Eventually, I had managed to block out the cries and laments of the people and watch with a stony expression as their life crashed down around them. I still hear them in my nightmares. Sometimes, my parents cry with them.

It was only because of how I led the hunts that people feared me. I didn't wish to be known as someone people ought to be afraid of, but nobody saw me as anything else. Eventually the few rebels that had been residing in the kingdom had had to retreat to the forests. Once Aaron was convinced the rebels had all been 'killed', the hunts had stopped. Now they were going to start again.

"The people are the only source of income for this kingdom," I said, choosing each word carefully. "We need the money. Also, I think the first rebel hunts strained them enough. Nobody needs to go through that again."