Idelle dragged Aelga to one of the private rooms and then called a page boy to summon Benter as fast as he could. They returned a few minutes later, Benter looking like he'd just been dragged out of bed, which he probably was since he'd had the night shift. He ran a hand through his hair, putting it back in place, while Idelle explained the situation.

"Pretend like you had a meeting set up with her," Idelle said. "Talk about funding for new weapons."

Benter raised an eyebrow. "Will she not wonder why she was pulled away so urgently just for a member of her Guard? Also, why would I be asking for budget raises instead of you--"

"Benter!" Idelle said, slapping her hands down on his shoulders. "It doesn't matter. I had to get her out of there and now I have to go see Torran about something urgent. Just keep her busy until I can get back."

Benter grumbled but she already knew he would do it. She smiled and patted his shoulder before rushing off down the corridor and leaving him to enter the room on his own. Since she knew Torran was going to be in the library, she made her way there, and found him resting his braced leg out into an aisle while flipping through a book on cattle sale records. As she approached, he glanced up and saw her.

"I can explain!" he said, tapping the book. "Lots of financial trickery has been hidden through the sale of imaginary cattle, so I thought maybe I could find some false record keeping on behalf of Reynard's mutual friend with the king..." He trailed off when he saw Idelle's expression.

"There is a huge problem," she whispered, keeping an eye on the other patrons of the library. She couldn't exactly spill Aelga's secret out in the open, so she hauled Torran up and out of the library and down a small hallway that led to a water closet.

"What?" Torran asked, concern etched all over his face. He held onto her forearms with a tight grip.

"Aelga's gone and fallen in love with Yseult's bodyguard."

Torran's mouth fell open. "What?" He stuttered, unable to find the right words for a few seconds. "How? Does she even know his name?"

"I don't know how or when it all started, but I do know that all those times she's been sneaking off? It was all to see him," Idelle whispered. "I followed her and found her kissing him in the middle of the night. And this morning she was almost blatant about it during midday meal. Yseult saw it, too."

Torran didn't need to be told why this could be devastating. "Did she set them up?" he asked.

"I have no clue, but she definitely at least noticed it today. It was not discrete."

Torran rubbed his eyes with his hands. "Oh, Aelga." He looked up at the roof for a second. "She's been so alone in this castle, it's no wonder she's forming attachments. But why to him? She barely knew him and he's an enemy of her family and the entire country. She knows his queen may have had a hand in killing her brother, and she has no idea if he was involved himself."

Idelle shrugged. "I can't tell you anything about how her affections formed, only that they have. I think we need to stop this before she falls too deeply in love with him to see any reason."

"Or before Yseult can use him to manipulate her into accepting the truce," Torran added.

Idelle glanced back out at the main corridor. "I need to get back to Aelga. I left Benter to distract her, but I don't know how long it'll be before she tries to get back to Thellamy."

Torran nodded, walking with her as they made their way back to the library doors. "I'll talk to you later about this." Idelle turned to leave but he caught her hand in his, holding her back. When she turned to look at him, he pulled her to his side so that he was looking down at her.

"Thank you for telling me. And..." he paused, as if unsure of his next words. "I never want to imply that I am grateful for Sir Hewe's death, but I am grateful that you're staying now."

Idelle looked down. "I couldn't just leave you and Aelga with no one on your side. Not with everything that's going on."

"I know. Thank you. It's a sacrifice on your part, to have to stay here. You have no duty to us and yet you still help. It means a lot to me."

Idelle bit her lip, wanting to tell him that she'd do much more for him, but knowing she couldn't. She flexed her fingers in his grip, making him let them go, and then bowed to him. It was rude, almost cruel of her, to be so formal after he'd opened his heart, but she knew that distance was safer for her. If she couldn't find it in the trenches, she had to create her own here.

Sensing the rift, Torran straightened up and saluted her before limping back into the library with a wrinkle between his brow and a frown on his lips. She had hurt him, and she hated it, but it was all she could do now.

She turned and headed back to the private room where she'd left Aelga, hoping the Guard hadn't let her go back to Thellamy or Yseult. As she passed by one of the main corridors that ran like the major arteries through the castle, she spotted a familiar figure hunched against a wall and peering around a corner. His back was to her, so he didn't even see her coming until she grabbed a handful of his collar and spun him around.

Rogerick yelped and scrambled around, trying to run away, but Idelle had a few inches, pounds of muscle, and anger on her side. She held him firm, pushing him against the wall. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, jabbing his chest with her free hand.

"I didn't do anything!" Rogerick shrieked. "I was only coming to help a noblewoman with some sleeping troub--" It was at this moment that his eyes registered on her face and she saw the recognition flow over him like relief.

"My my, if it isn't little Dellikins," he said, sneering. "What are you doing way out here, hm?"

"None of your business, Rogerick," she said, slamming him back against the wall again so that his head jangled and he whimpered from the jarring. "Are you really here for a noblewoman?"

Rogerick laughed. "Your brother thought maybe I'd had something to do with your disappearance. Almost had me flogged. You caused me a lot of trouble," he said.

Idelle fought her exasperation. What would Rogerick have to do with her disappearance? Drystan always blamed the riffraff that hung out around the house for anything he found unsavory about Idelle's actions. It was as if he couldn't fathom that she might not still be the perfect toddler he remembered so fondly. Still, she knew Rogerick was trying to get her off topic.

"Stop blathering. I want to know why you're sneaking around in the castle so soon after King Aengus was found dead of mysterious circumstances."

Rogerick held up his hands. "I did nothing to King Aengus. Nothing at all! I only came to help out my client recently."

"Who's the client?" She slapped the wall near his head, making him jump. "Male? Female? Give me the name."

He shook his head, placing a finger against his lips. "You know I can't give that information out."

"If you don't, I'll make sure a lot worse than flogging happens to you," she snarled.

He laughed again, and Idelle was growing tired with just how unafraid he seemed. "Oh, Dellikins," he said.

"Stop calling me that."

He smirked and his shoulders rumbled with his snickers. He placed a hand on her arm that still held him up by his collar. "You won't do any such thing, because I can tell from your nice clothes and that nice sword that you have a nice little life here in the castle. You probably wouldn't want to lose it all, and even more, should they know what I know about you."