Nobody argued, and Jewels, Natalie, Gwen and Sam went back down the stairs, with Kira trailing behind them. At the door of the shop, Neddih muttered a quick, "Good luck, you owe me," before slamming and locking the door behind them, the frantic sound of the bell jangled behind them as they hurried away.

As Sam had said, the streets were slowly becoming crowded. As people realized that the soldiers were leaving they flooded out of their houses, gathering in crowds in the street. There was a constant buzz as Natalie and the others walked through, wild rumors and gossip already starting to spread like wild fire as people whispered behind their hands and shot wide-eyed looks down the street at the retreating soldiers. Natalie caught only snatches as they went by, but it was enough that she got the general idea that these people knew what was going on. They knew that the queen was somewhere, hidden away in her invisible castle on the outskirts of the village. They knew that there was some dire, important reason she was here. Beyond that it seemed to be a lot of speculation, which Natalie mused, meant that Kira was right about one thing, she really did have inside knowledge.

She shot sly, sideways look at the other girl, making sure that Sam was facing away from both of them. Princess Kira was scanning the street, her eyes narrow. Sam treated the younger girl like a child, like she had nothing to contribute, but Natalie was willing to bet that the other girl would be able to get her into the castle if she wanted to. If Natalie could convince her too.

Because this was not over. Oh no, she wasn't about to let Sam dictate what she was going to do about her mother. She was grateful that he had saved her, it was true, but he had no business trying to control her actions or tell her what to do.

The marketplace was even more crowded than the rest of the street. Some of the vendors appeared to have taken their wares in quickly as the soldiers had filed past, and now they were setting them out again, though their movements were cautious, and many of them were watching the ends of the street, just in case there were any sign of the queen's men heading back this way.

"They expect it to be another tithe," Kira said, and there was bitterness in her voice."

Natalie remembered them talking about this earlier, and now that they weren't in immediate danger her curiosity got the better of her. "What's a tithe?"

Gwen was the first to answer, and her face was dark as she explained. "It's a nice word for when the queen sends her people through the villages she's taken over, and they strip it bare of anything of value."

Jewels nodded. "It happens whenever anyone in the village resists a takeover, or it seems like there might be murmurs of rebel activity. A punishment disguised as a sort of tax."

They managed to slip through unchallenged, though when Sam—who was in the lead—rounded the corner of a cluster of stalls Natalie saw him slow down for a moment, his hand twitching toward his chest where his harness used to be. Then he picked up his pace again, rolling his shoulders, like he was trying his hardest to act casual. The thing that had made him stop was a gathering of people a little ways ahead of them. There was a man standing on a wooden crate, his arms spread wide as he addressed the crowd. Natalie shuddered, the man's bare arms were covered in ropey black veins, and the skin on his neck was slightly discolored, tinted a strange bluish black she'd never seen before, in a circular collar around his neck, as if someone had marked him with the magic. The black veins were the only thing that made him look like the soldiers though. He was dressed, not in the red uniform, but in a long, green velvet coat with brass buttons and there was fine white lace spilling from the sleeves. He wore a black, tricorn hat with a drooping feather, and as he spoke he waved his hands grandly, as if he were announcing something terribly important. Or rather, if he were terribly important himself.

As they neared Natalie sucked in a breath. She had seen this man before. He'd been one of the pirates in the village when she'd first arrived here, one of the ones searching for her.

She felt a jolt of alarm, before remembering that he couldn't tell it was her. The ring was making her look like someone else.

Not even really thinking about what she was doing, she found herself gripping Sam's arm tightly. He looked down at her, brows raised, but then the pirate was addressing the crowd, and they both turned to listen.

"Ladies and gentlefolk, lend me your ears, just a moment, a precious moment of your time." His voice was a low baritone, unexpectedly refined, and it carried over the crowd without effort. "My name is Captain Calipso, and I am very pleased indeed to make your acquaintance."

A buzz spread through the crowd, quiet at first, and then it began to grow louder. Sam had halted now, forcing the others to stop behind him. Natalie felt Gwen press up behind her, and heard her whisper something to Jewels. Natalie caught the grim look on Princess Kira's face before the other girl tugged the edge of her hood down to cover her eyes.

"Who is that? He was in the village when I first got here." Natalie whispered, and Jewels darted a look at the man on the crate before leaning sideways to whisper back.

"He calls himself the pirate king. His men control all of the eastern seaboard and he's at the queen's beck and call. Her right hand man." She traced one finger over her neck, expression uneasy. "The blue collar is her mark of loyalty. She trusts him. The magic can't reach his brain and overcome him, which means he's doing all of this of his own free will."

Natalie glanced back up at the pirate captain, who was still making his announcement in a booming voice, telling everyone how pleased he was to be here and how beautiful the town was.

"Now, as many of you may have guessed," he boomed over the crowd, "tomorrow you will be able to feast your eyes on the beautiful sight of the queen's palace."

The noise of the crowd swelled and grew, though Natalie did notice that many of the people around her didn't look surprised, only dismayed, though people seemed reluctant to express it openly.

The pirate king spread his hands. "Her majesty is here at the invitation of the good king himself. They will be meeting in a week's time for a great feast, to which you are all invited! But for now, I extend the invitation to sell your most quality wares in the palace of the courtyard itself. The open air market will begin tomorrow, with some of the best vendors in the country coming from far and wide to trade with you fine folks."

There was another murmur, though this one sounded more interested than disturbed, and Natalie glanced around at the crowd, eyes narrow. Was that all it took to change their tone?

"On top of this, the queen in her generosity has decreed that any merchant who sells their wares all week in the open air market will not be charged any taxes whatsoever."

Another swell of noise from the crowd, and the pirate king winked. "And thusly, we expect you'll be providing your customers with some real deals, right my friends?"

A cautious cheer went up, and Natalie saw Sam grimace around at the crowd. Probably he was thinking the same thing she had, that it had taken very little to appease them.

But perhaps that wasn't exactly fair. It was possible the people were optimistic because the king was the one who had invited her here. Perhaps they thought that peace might be achieved from this banquet, that a pact would be struck that would put an end to the queen's takeover of their land. That seemed naive, even to her, but the crowd around her were now watching Captain Calipso with something that looked like hope on their faces. Not full blooming hope, but a glimmer. From everything she'd heard about the queen she was sure they were going to be disappointed.

"I hope you will all be there." The pirate king swept his tricorn hat off and bowed low, before stepping gracefully off his wooden crate.

"Come on," Sam said, his voice low and tense. "Let's get back to Serana's tent. I want my daggers back."

By the time they had gone back to get the daggers and then returned to the pub, the streets had mostly cleared out, and the pub itself was mostly empty, save for a few drunks slumped over stools at the bar. When they went upstairs they found Edward standing at the far window, one hand pressed to the glass, staring at something intently.

He glanced up as they came in, and did a double take when he saw Princess Kira. "Is that who I think it is?"

Kira dipped her head toward him. "Kira, as you seemed to have guessed. Nice to meet you."

Surprisingly, Edward actually blushed. He ducked his head, and then glanced over at Sam, brows raised, as if to ask, What is she doing here? He didn't look happy about the new edition, but he also didn't look at her with the same venom he seemed to regard Natalie with, which sent a flash of irritation through her. Apparently she was the only one special enough to draw the full brunt of his disgust.

"Are the soldiers back?" Jewels moved to stand next to him at the window, and Edward's attention seemed to be monetarily drawn away from Kira once again. He shook his head, turning back to the window. "Worse. Look at that."

They crowded around the window, and Natalie noted that Sam let her go in front of him, which was good because he was far too tall for her to see anything past him. Edward was pointing to the spot in the field of lavender where Jewels had held up the thin glass gem. Where there had been nothing only moments before, a thin black mist seemed to be gathering. Or...perhaps it wasn't mist. Natalie narrowed her eyes, squinting, trying to make it out more clearly. It looked like black smoke, twisting up and up, tendrils curling around one another....black against the pale sky.