Staying in the Queens tent brought a new kind of comfort, that Lavinia had not experienced yet. It was always heated, and there was a real bath she could use, rather than the river. Every piece of fabric around was expensive-looking and unbelievably cozy and there were more pillows than she could count. More than that, there were also several books, most of them about the history of the Fourth Kingdom, some about war and one some kind of religious piece and while she could not read the strange letters they were written in, she certainly could admire the thousands of little illustrations, decorating every page, and even some letters in the books. They depicted not only the Fourth Kingdom, with red castles, wide stretches of what looked like golden earth and all it‘s Queens, Queenfathers and Noblefolk, but also fantasy creatures, with bumps on their body, unbelievably long necks and horns that could kill a human and very tiny birds that drank blood. They fascinated Lavinia to the point where she told Kebé about her finds, and was surprised when she broke into her characteristic booming laughter again.

„Those animals are not a fantasy, I’m afraid. “, she told her. „They are the Fourth Kingdoms fauna, along with some others.“

„You’re doing it again! You are lying to me! “, Lavinia accused her, but she denied it, crying tears of amusement over her, and insisting on her tale. Lavinia refused to believe her, mainly because these animals being real would make her seriously rethink whether she could go to the Fourth Kingdom.

Regardless of those comforts, however, Lavinia was not as happy as she could have been. Zoya, taken in completely by her new duties, had been visiting less and less, and the Queen was called back to her responsibilities as well. Since Lavinias health had improved enough, to not need tending to anymore, but not enough for her to get up or leave the tent yet, she was alone most of the time, silk walls separating her from the rest of the camp at all times. She was not sure, if she would actually have liked it better of, she was outside. The resentments against her had probably not ceased, maybe even gotten worse after this show of weakness, and she did not miss the atmosphere of impending war. Yet somehow the thought that all these negative things still existed and she was simply not able to see them clearly made her feel even more defenseless than standing among them. She might be a slug between snails, but at least she could sense the danger. In here, she was lulled into a false security, that could shatter anytime with her recovery.

She was torn. One second she resented her sickness, for disabling her in that way, the next she admitted to herself that she did not look forward to leaving and that maybe, it would be better for her to stay sick a little bit longer, sometimes even wishing, to be sick a little bit longer.

The conflict plagued her every waking hour she spent by herself with no one to snap her out of it. The only break she got from herself occurred during her dinners, which she took with Kebé who would distract her, by bringing news from the world beyond silk and baths.

She told her jokes, or anecdotes, or gossiped about the soldiers’ lack of discipline, or her Generals unbelievable amount of the latter. And now, finally, Lavinia felt like she was learning about the troops. When before she had barely been touching their shells, Kebé revealed their insides, from a place of understanding that Lavinia could not dream of reaching on her own.

She also looked at the books with her, giving her feathers and ink, so Lavinia could write the letters she taught her in the margins, insisting that this would not ruin the book, as Lavinia feared. And she was learning, slowly but surely. Not enough to read on her own, enough to read along while Kebé read to her, translating single passages and summarizing the rest.

She learned about the Fourth Kingdoms inner working, it’s royal family, it’s seventeen noble tribes and complex administrative system, it’s workers and troops and local delicatessens. She listened when Kebé talked about infighting among nobility, or described the ancient temples up in the mountains or in the depths of the desert, that was what they called the golden parts, and she accepted her suggestions, of visiting this or that place together after they returned.

And during all that her condition changed for the better, just a little every day, so she hardly noticed it until it was too late. The night before she was officially declared healthy again she cried herself to sleep.

She returned back to her own tent the next morning, after taking one last bath. It seemed cold now, even though the temperature was objectively fine and the interior seemed small, and scabby compared to what she had gotten used to. After the resounding failure, the Queen had decided to put a stop to her former routine, asking only that she attended meals and meetings with the officers. She still dreaded contact with the warriors, but it was thousand times better than the last plan, so she was grateful.

The great tent was more chaotic today, as if the Queens mood was transmitted to her subjects, a disease among the too loyal ones. Lavinia walked confidently between them, claiming her usual place next to Zoya, who’s shocked face she pretended not to notice. Instead, she turned to her other side, where General Isu sat, addressing her directly. „ Good Morning, General. My Queen. “She gave a slight bow. „Are you sending out a unit today? “She knew their answer would be positive. She could feel it.

General Isu exchanged an uncomfortable look with the Queen, before she confirmed, what Lavinia had assumed already. „Yes. We received a distress call around dawn, so we will send a unit out to explore. “

The smile came easily, sliding around on her face like soap on a wet floor. „Excellent! I have been thinking that rather than staying here, it would be more valuable for me, to accompany them and see the reality of what we are facing. “

The General seemed unsure. The Queens eyes, however, told her that she had taken the bait. They were sparkling with excitement, presuming that it had been her words that motivated Lavinias actions. „What an excellent idea. “, she said. „Officer Zoya can lead today’s operation, and General Isu should be free, to ensure your protection.“ She dismissed the Generals protests, and went on to inform the other Officers of her plan.

Lavinia offered the General a warm grin and focused on her food. She would have enough time to talk to Zoya later, should she feel like it.

They saddled their animals about an hour later, Lavinia once agin sharing one, since the Queen insisted. She chose to ride with Zoya, instead of the General. She had been disappointed by her, of course, but she also understood her position. She had a lot to risk, and the execution of a woman she did not know would not have been worth the trouble. They rode North, towards the village that had sent the distress signal.

„They are one of the settlements closes to the border, so they have smaller incidents quite often. “, Zoya explained. „But we think that this might have been a coordinated attack, maybe even directly by the First Queen’s troops. “

„Is the First Queen our main enemy?” Lavinia tried to make the question sound innocent. Unfortunately, Zoya didn‘t fall for it.

„Yes, I would say so. “, she replied sharply. „The Second Queen is fighting us as well, but she is weakened and she only attacks directly. The First Queen has a network of spies that are everywhere in our country, and they make us extremely vulnerable to coverts operations, and targeted attacks on the least protected communities. They are probably the biggest threat to our security right now. “

„I see. So that is why, I suppose, all of her spies need to be executed as soon as possible. “

Zoya’s whole torso stiffened and she gave a slight groan. „Look. “, she began. „I know you don’t like it, and I understand that. You thought you knew her, after all. But in reality, you didn’t. You did not know her at all. Only the illusion she created. None of these spies are civilians, quite the opposite, actually. They are hand-picked from the First Kingdoms highest ranking assassins, trained killers, if you will. And there are lives at stake here. “

She paused, waiting for Lavinia to react. After only receiving a non-committal hum, she continued.

„This is maybe new for you, but for us, the people in the borderlands it’s an ongoing problem. The Queen can not protect all of us at once, and they infiltrate our communities, to have their troops come in as soon as we ate defenseless. That is essentially the reason I am in the army now.” This, at least, was news to Lavinia, and though she sensed a sensitive history in Zoya’s defensive tone, she could not help being curious.

„May I ask why…?” “If you must.“ Her voice was strained, though not unfriendly.

“Our community was one that was targeted. The spy made friends with our mayor’s daughter, Eliza, while she was on a trip to the capital. They came back to our town together, which had a unit stationed there at the time. She was popular with everyone, and no one suspected anything. Then the mayor and his magistrates left to attend a conference, and the unit was supposed to bring them there. The moment they left the city, we were suddenly under attack. That woman burned the town hall down by herself, little Eliza still in it. Thankfully, the troops weren’t far yet so we could alert them and they came back. But by that time, almost half of us had died already. My father and my brother were among the Dead, and my poor mother suffered a head injury. She survived, but her brain still has not recovered. “

Lavinia was speechless. She had, of course theoretically known the danger of spies, but the rough spike of Zoya’s voice, when she spoke of her parents gave a new dimension to her understanding.

„Anyways. “, Zoya finished, regaining control over herself. „From that point on, we had financial troubles and I needed to find work. I was technically still too young for the army back then, but after I chased that woman when she tried to flee, and personally brought the head to General Isu, they agreed to let me join prematurely. Which I am very thankful for. I don’t know how we would have managed otherwise. My point is, if we had let that woman live she would have gotten away at some point, and then your town would have been next.“

That sounded logical, but Lavinia was bothered by one thing.

„But we were. The First Kingdom did not destroy us, but you did. It’s probably in ruins right now. “

Zoya shook her head, exasperated. „No, silly. We make sure to keep civilian casualties as low as we can, in neutral regions like yours. And if the mayors agree to a peace treaty, we help them rebuild. And yours did agree to our conditions- and to more than that, if rumors are to be believed. “

This was turning a little too gossipy to be useful now, but Lavinia decided to indulger her, for the sake of mending their friendship a little. „What rumors? “

„Well. “, Zoya giggles. „You see, General Isu… “She glanced at the person in question, making sure she wasn’t close enough to hear them before continuing. „She seems really tough, but apparently, she is a huge softie, and she gets really flustered when she is around pretty women. And so, she returned a whole day later than she was supposed to, for no reason, and the conditions she gave your town were really mild. So that’s why everyone thinks that she and the mayor…“ She let the sentence fade out, knowing that her meaning had been caught.

Against her own will Lavinia laughed a little as well, as she imagined the serious, diligent mayor trying to seduce the even more serious, terrifying General. She did not doubt one second that the mayor would be capable of it, but picturing the two of them, awkwardly holding hands while wearing matching poker faces was still pretty funny.

„Hey.“, Zoya asked. „Are we alright? I mean, are you very angry I did not tell you about…“

Lavinia thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. „No.“, she lied. „But tell me next time, please.“ Zoya nodded hastily. „Oh, yes. Of course.“ That was a lie as well, obviously and they both knew it. That was what made it easier to say. They would be alright.