CHAPTER 41

Tianna had planned on spending the next day alone with Eveera. The star viewing party had been a late evening venture and she was exhausted from the toll of it all. She went to bed that night, after Chelsey had been summoned once more to help her undress without destroying her gown, and plotted a day or two where she did as she pleased and no one was trying to get anything from her.

Her plans were dashed, however, when she awoke in the morning, tired and rather groggy, to tend to Eveera, who, of course, did not have the grace to sleep in.

“Ah...bababa…,” the girl babbled excitedly, a big smile breaking across her face when Tianna approached the crib.

“Hello beautiful,” Tianna’s heart gave a little squeeze as she lifted the girl into her arms. This, she reminded herself, was what she was putting up with all this nonsense for. She was beyond redemption now; she knew she was wholly in love with the child. If she had to put up with the stupidity of men every single day, she would if it was going to lead to keeping Eveera safe.

Hiring servants turned out to be an enormous blessing. Zacharia, who was responsible for general duties, had secured breakfast without having been told what or when, and the steaming platters along with a large carafe of coffee were waiting when she entered the anteroom.

“Binessa Tianna,” he bowed a little nervously.

“Zacharia, oh goodness, thank you so much. You have made my morning,” Tianna gushed. If she were going to have servants held to their loyalty with threat to their loved ones, then she was going to do her best to make the job as pleasant as possible. Zacharia, indeed, looked pleased with himself.

“Is there anything else for this early morning, Binessa?” he asked.

“No, thank you, Zacharia, I plan on staying in this morning and lumping around the apartments.”

Zacharia nodded once more and gave her a small smile before slipping into Eveera’s room to tidy the beds and begin his cleaning.

She was able to get herself settled with a plate of toasted breads and preserves, a couple slices of very thick bacon, and the biggest cup of coffee she could muster, when Gordon, the older man whom she had settled on to manage everyone else, knocked and then entered the anteroom. She had settled Eveera on her lap and handed the girl a slice of toasted bread to mush.

“Binessa Tianna, forgive the interruption, but you have received several invitations this morning that I believe you will wish to be aware of and respond to.”

Ugh...invitations. She was all socialized out for the week…maybe the month. She glanced down at the back of Eveera’s tiny head. Her little horns were getting bigger, peeking up above the dark hair now. *You are doing this for Eveera*, she reminded herself. She would do as she promised and put herself out there, draw out whoever wanted to cause Eveera harm.

“All right, Gordon, I will see them.”

The old man nodded happily and came forward, several sheets of paper in his hands.

“This one, I believe, is foremost, Miss. It is from the Queen, herself, regarding tea this afternoon.”

Indeed, the first one he handed her was from the Queen wishing to have some time with her and Eveera that afternoon. Okay. She could do that. The Queen was a busy woman, tea would only be an hour or two, surely. The rest of the day was still hers.

Aside from several invitations for tea, there were two upcoming balls, a banquet to celebrate someone’s birthday...and an invitation to attend a hunt three weeks hence from Mizare of Bexitan. Tianna frowned at the last invitation. Why would Mizare invite her anywhere?

“Can the responses to these be delayed?” she asked Gordon.

“All but the invitation from the Queen could likely wait until late this afternoon or tomorrow without causing offense,” he told her.

“Ok, that is what we will do then. I will write an acceptance for the Queen after breakfast.”

Eveera reached forward at that moment and latched onto Tianna’s coffee; the cup tipped, the liquid sloshing dangerously before Tianna could steady it. It had cooled significantly, so there was no risk to the baby, but Gordon snatched the invitations up with lightning speed.

“I will leave you to your meal then. You can send for me when your reply is ready,” he told her before slipping from the anteroom, papers clutched protectively against his chest. It was a little humorous considering the danger to the invitations was well past. The man took his duties seriously.

Tianna tapped the table, thinking. She did not like Mizare and had refused her once. The invitation to the hunt took her by surprise, but it also aroused her suspicions. She would have to think on that one. It could just be the event the enemy was waiting for.

***

The Queen’s parlor was exactly the way that Tianna remembered it, except this day it was filled with Daemon women; three of them, to be exact, not including the Queen. They all looked up as Tianna was escorted in, creating a bit of an awkward moment where she had a mild panic about the dress Chelsey had chosen and the fact that the woman had elected to leave her hair down so that it tumbled midway down her back. She knew that the Daemon were sensitive about such things. However, they soon began smiling and cooing over Eveera, who very much enjoyed being the center of attention.

The Queen indicated a seat for Tianna and a spot on the rug for Eveera. She had handed the baby the same tangled ball of yarn that had occupied her on their first visit, along with a substantial collection of toys she must have procured for just this purpose.

“Isn’t she sweet?” one of the women cooed, kneeling down and shaking a wooden rattle so that it made noise. Eveera’s eyes went wide, and she swiped her chubby fist at it. Tianna smiled and relaxed a little. She thought she recognized these faces. Yes, the one on the floor with the baby was the woman who had spoken to her at her introductory banquet. She felt a little guilty that she had completely forgotten the woman.

“How is my niece faring?” the Queen asked.

“She is well. Growing fast, sitting on her own now, and beginning to crawl. I think she’s cutting teeth, too.”

The queen smiled warmly. “And you, Tianna? Are you settling in well? I realize this is quite the adjustment for you.”

Tianna shifted a little at the question. Three sets of curious eyes followed the action.

“I think I am doing as well as can be expected,” she ventured.

“And already catching the eye of some of our favorite courtiers, I hear.”

Ugh. Of course, she heard. It was the last thing Tianna wanted to talk about, especially here, crowded by near strangers.

“Honestly, I am not looking to catch anyone’s eye. I think I have to stand on my own first.”

“And this is why you will never be free of suitors,” one of the women, who had taken a seat next to the Queen, told her. “Daemon are attracted to strong women. The more you insist you do not need them, the more interested they become.”

The women chuckled, and Tianna smiled, though she didn’t really get the joke. *Or maybe you’re just a little bitter about the other night*.

“How do you like your apartments?” the Queen asked.

This she could answer honestly, and she was relieved for the change in topic. Her rooms were beautiful, if a little overdone for her simple needs. She shared her appreciation for them, especially the library, which delighted the Queen. Soon, the other women joined the conversation and the scope of it flowed from one topic to the other until it settled on a problem that Tianna had been mulling over. The hunt.

“Will you go?” Tianna asked the Queen.

The woman shook her head and took a long sip of her tea. “I cannot, though I would enjoy it very much. It is too dangerous and, without a husband or heir, should something happen…,” she trailed off.

“Dangerous?”

The women looked at one another.

“It is an old tradition, running back to wilder times. It isn’t often practiced any longer because of the dangers it presents. It isn’t unheard of for a Daemon to be seriously injured or even killed on a hunt.”

Tianna felt herself pale. Was that the purpose of her invitation? She couldn’t think of any savory reasons why Mizare would invite her to such a thing.

“You received an invitation?” the Queen asked, but it was more of a statement. Tianna considered the fact she already knew, possibly before Tianna herself did. She nodded.

“It is Mizare’s response to your slight at the banquet,” the woman on the floor explained. “If you refuse to go, she will have shown herself to have superior bravery. The same goes if you do go but show weakness on the hunt itself. She is looking to defame you somewhat.”

“And Mizare will go herself?”

“Oh yes, her family is one of the biggest proponents of the hunt. She has been on many and her fierceness when it comes to the event is well known,” the Queen answered.

Great, another pissing match she didn’t want to be part of.

“Your highness,” a guard had approached halfway into the room, a serious looking Daemon with the first hints of gray at his temples, just under his horns, “there is an item that needs your attention.”

The Queen sighed.

“I assume, since you’ve interrupted my tea, that it cannot wait an hour.”

“I am sorry, your highness.”

The Queen rose, as did all of the other women, even Tianna, though it was a bit delayed on her part. Social rules were hard. The Queen waved her hands at them dismissively.

“Sit,” she told them. “I am hoping this will be taken care of quickly. If I cannot return to you soon, I will send Lornok here to see you out.”

The women lowered themselves back down to their seats. The two that had been nearer the Queen, Tianna couldn’t remember their names for the life of her, began a soft side conversation.

“She works too hard,” the third woman had sat back down with Eveera, and was tugging on the ball of yarn, entertaining the girl.

Tianna sent her a questioning look.

“You haven’t been here long, so you wouldn’t know, but these essential interruptions happen all the time. It is rare that she gets to sit at all without someone needing something urgent from her. Despite what Lornok says, most of the missives are simply from courtiers who feel that everything about their lives is of the most important matter.” She glanced up at Tianna, a sad softness in her eyes. “I have encouraged her to set boundaries with them, for her own health, but she is the Queen and will rule how she sees fit.”

Tianna was a little surprised at the confession. She didn’t know much about the Queen, and even less about this woman, but it was obvious she cared for who the Queen really was, beneath the title.

“It is good that she has a friend like you,” Tianna told her.

A pensive look marred the older woman’s beauty for a moment.

“I wish I could do more,” she admitted. “It seems everything I have tried has had little impact. I would give much to take at least some of her worries from her shoulders.”

The declaration moved Tianna. True friendship like that was hard to come by. It was hard to see the other woman disheartened.

“Don’t stop trying,” she told her. “I’m sure your efforts mean everything to her, even when they don’t seem to have made much difference, I know they would to me.”

The older woman blinked and gave Tianna a surprised look.

“You are right,” she said at last. “I must keep going. If she won’t look after her best interests, then I will try to do so for her.”

Tianna smiled at the woman.

“Friends like you are hard to come by.”

“Do you have no one that seeks your well-being above all else?” she asked.

Tianna thought about it. Yes, once she did. Thanlos was the kind to put all others above himself. She had been in the Daemon world now longer than she had been with him, but his absence still struck a hole in her heart.

“I did once,” she admitted.

The woman tilted her head.

“Want to talk about it?”