It was only the next day that Yseult was installed in a grand suite of rooms in one of the long galleries of the castle, as far as possible from Aelga's quarters but still too close for Idelle's liking. The enemy queen had swept into the room as if it had been owed to her, and took to ordering the servants around more harshly than they were used to. Idelle considered warning her about the wrath of servants, but thought better of it when she thought of the satisfaction of Yseult eating spit or finding all her dresses had loose hems.

Security naturally rose in the castle, now that the Glastonbex queen was allowed to wander the halls under escort. No one quite knew what powers she or her bodyguard possessed, but no one wanted to find out either. Servants stayed away from the rooms unless summoned, and guards were regularly switched out to provide coverage from dusk until dawn. Idelle had fought to put some of her Guards on the roster, but Reynard had refused, saying it was an insult to put the Queen's Guards in such a menial position. Which only made Idelle know even more that it was the smart thing to do. With her hands tied, though, she had to leave it up to the regulars and their commanders.

At dinner, Yseult swept into the dining room and plopped down at the seat right next to Aelga. Had there been any visitors, she wouldn't have been taking the honored seat given to Aelga's closest friends, but it happened that the castle was empty for once. Only Torran sat with Aelga, on the other side of the table from Yseult, picking at his peas. Idelle had to silently stand against the wall. Still, she gave Yseult a glare even if the enemy queen couldn't see it from her angle.

As Yseult grabbed hold of the conversation as if she was a bull tamer, and strangled it into submission, Idelle leaned a little over Torran's shoulder from her position against the wall behind him. "She's been let out," she whispered.

"I see that," Torran answered back, voice low. The table was wide enough that it wasn't obvious to anyone on the other side that he was talking, but Idelle still waited a moment before continuing.

"It's definitely Reynard's doing. He wouldn't let me put any of my men on her guard rotation."

Torran sighed. "I've been asking around, but I can't find anyone who will admit knowing about Reynard's hand in Aengus' death. Someone had to have seen something, but I think he's either paid them well or killed them. Perhaps both."

Idelle nodded, leaning back as Yseult gave them a curious glance. The Glastonbex queen's attention soon left, but Idelle and Torran kept silent for the moment. There wasn't much they could discuss with Aelga around, let alone Yseult, so it was better to wait until the end of dinner.

As Aelga tried to wrestle the conversation back from Yseult, Idelle stared ahead of herself... which happened to be a direct line of sight of Torran. He looked different from behind, and Idelle saw he had a cowlick that swirled his hair messily at the crown of his head. That would explain why he always looked as if he'd just woken up, with hair tossed everywhere. The candlelight picked up his blonde, creating a glowing orange that reminded Idelle of warm fires on the battlefield. His shoulders stretched out, broad and sturdy under a purple silk shirt, and she couldn't help but stare at his shoulder blades as they flexed while he lifted and lowered his fork to eat. She only realized how intensely she was staring when Sabena shifted next to her.

Idelle snapped to attention, clearing her throat and pretending that she had merely been examining the back of Torran's chair. She hazarded a brief glance at Sabena, but the older woman hadn't seemed to notice anything. Idelle let out a small sigh and then returned her attention to where it was supposed to be: Yseult.

The enemy queen reached over to pat Aelga's hand, and her long sleeve trailed across the plate of butter and Aelga's goblet of wine. She didn't seem to notice, or at least care, and continued to talk to Aelga as if she was all of three years-old. Idelle bristled, but there wasn't much she could do. Yseult's words were fine, but her tone made Idelle's teeth grind.

"So hard for you, your dear big brother passing away. Leaving you with the whole kingdom, you little sweetheart." Yseult clicked her tongue, her features arranged in a farce of concern. Her chin and bottom lip stuck out, like a pout, and she blinked a few times too many. It was if she thought Aelga was an infant with no ability to care for herself or others!

Aelga, to her credit, merely smiled and gently pulled her hand out from under Yseult's and laying it across her lap, safely out of reach. "I've had much training, and a wonderful council. It hasn't been that hard, stepping into the role I was born for," Aelga said.

Idelle wasn't sure, but she thought she saw Yseult's shoulders stiffen. It was gone within a second, and the older queen laughed and acted as if they had been talking about parties and card tricks the whole time. She waved her hand in the air, her ridiculous sleeves nearly knocking over Aelga's goblet again.

"We may be pitted against each other, darling, but I think we can both agree that it is nice to have a dinner finally to ourselves," she said, leaning back in her chair and looking around the empty room. Aelga seemed surprised a bit at this, but an actual smile crept up the corners of her mouth.

"Yes. It's always a blessing to have some alone time," she said, and it sounded genuine. Idelle knew she was in almost constant communication with someone or another all day, as Idelle and the Guard had to follow her, and the silence of the hall was a great relief. Though most of the visiting nobles were kind and respectful, it was still a chore to sit through their conversations one after another, day after day, with only a brief break of a few minutes to gobble down something or run to the watercloset.

Yseult, still leaning back, seemed to mull over some thought in her head. She then sat back upright, her fingers drumming on the tabletop. "Come, let us become a little more friendly. I'll apparently have to be here for at least a few more days, and I'd prefer it if you didn't think I was trying to murder you, and I didn't think you'd throw me back in the dungeons."

Aelga glanced at Torran, who gave her the smallest of nods. Since Reynard wouldn't let them get rid of her all together, it wouldn't help to be at least courteous to the queen.

"Of course. We don't have to fight while we await the decision on the treaty," Aelga replied.

Yseult grabbed her wine and raised it into the air. "To us trying not to saw each other's heads off," she said, downing the last bits and pouring herself more.

Aelga chuckled and raised her own glass as well, before sipping from it and replacing it. Torran hadn't raised his cup at all, and in fact he had been uncharacteristically quiet the whole time. Normally he was chatty with almost everyone, sometimes to Idelle's annoyance, and he especially spoke up whenever Aelga and Yseult were involved, but today he just poked at his food and kept his shoulders hunched. He was upset about Yseult being in the main part of the castle, Idelle knew, and that Reynard was able to leverage so much support for his obviously bad plan.

The two queens talked for a few minutes more before they finally finished dinner and got up to retire for the evening. It was already late and the sound of the frogs and crickets outdoors blew in with the gentle breeze. Aelga stifled a yawn, but still managed to look lovely and regal as she walked Yseult over to the doors, where Sabena and two of Idelle's other men named Jaspip and Benter took over. They would lead her down to where the regular guards would take her back to her room. But while she was in the presence of the queen, thankfully, the Guard were allowed to keep an eye on her.

Idelle was making sure Sabena knew where to make the trade-off when she saw out of the corner of her eye Yseult and Aelga collide in the hallway. Everyone reacted at once. Idelle ran forward, Jaspip drew his sword, but no one was close enough to catch Aelga as she went sailing forward, toward a corner of the hallway's wall. Idelle sucked in a breath, praying that the corner would miss Aelga and she'd only hit the smooth edge of the wall. A corner could blind or crack her skull open, but a smooth edge would only cause a nasty lump and headache.

Everyone was suspended in time, staring at Aelga as she flew forward. And then, suddenly, Thellamy appeared around the bend in the hallway, inches from Aelga as she plummeted downward. He reached out his arms and caught her, almost in an embrace, and stumbled into the wall. She splayed across his chest, breathing heavily, and time snapped back into place. Jaspip leapt forward and grabbed Yseult's arm, yanking her backward and holding his sword to her side. Benter and Sabena took a covering stance, their swords drawn and eyes scanning the hallway to make sure no one was going to sneak up on them again. Idelle marched to Thellamy and Aelga, and pulled her queen away from the bodyguard who looked a bit rumbled but not at all disturbed to find himself suddenly pinned between a red-headed girl and the wall.