Alexandra pulled into the stables, at top speed. The sun was overhead. At best it would be one in the afternoon. Which mean in nine hours, she had to be in Idgard.

It was not impossible. But it was extremely difficult. Her eyes immediately fell on a small black horse. It looked fidgety and in a hurry. Markings of a swift horse. Alexandra pulled out some hay from the neighboring horse's pile. It neighed in complain but was ignored. She piled the hay in front of the black one.

'There!' She said, 'eat up, I need you to travel a lot.' She added, standing back and watching the horse tuck in hungrily. It had taken her an overnight journey to arrive. No less than twelve hours. And now, she had just nine. Even by the shortest routes, she knew it was tough - why, it was very easy to be late, since once the sun was down, she would have no sense of timing. But she just needed to do it. Liam had to be saved - and if possible, Than had to be finished. He was dangerous - and if he passed the art down, it would be disastrous. If she was late...

Alexandra shook her head. She couldn't even think of it. But while she did, through the corner of her eye, she spotted something glinting in the distance.

A single patch in the roof of the stable, a single beam of light. And something shone mutely - it was alluring. Though she was not supposed to waste a second, Alexandra trudged to it, and knelt down on the dry grass. 

A rectangular frame - with golden borders. Valuable and in perfect condition. Either somebody had dropped it, or thrown it. She picked it up and turned it over, gasping as her eyes fell on the portrait.

It had been ten years of it, yet she recognized it immediately as the one Olivia had kept. Liam's portrait - the one she hadn't considered giving a second glance to. 

Despite everything else, Alexandra smiled. A familiar nostalgia creeped into her, and the likeness was interesting enough. It was a Liam not much different from what she remembered. Tall and impressive. Of course his eyes were golden - and charming - but they weren't as pretty as the pair she remembered. A little lost, a little sad, a little mysterious and troubled, as though saying that I can be doing a hundred, better things right now. He was not smiling - just the lightest of grins. And there were two swords strapped to his belt - he seemed to be making a conscious effort to not reach out for them. But the eyes still pulled her in, the dark hair still needed setting and it was he - no doubt - for even without trying to, he made Olivia appear common.

Perhaps Olivia was now done with him. Perhaps she had succeeded in banishing him from her heart. Perhaps she no longer needed it.

That was just as well. Alexandra stood up and pushed the portrait into her waistband, next to Moira. She hardly knew why she was doing it, but one look was not enough. She would keep it with her to examine at leisure, and admire. And criticize, why not, though somewhere deep down...

She knew she was past the phase of criticism. And the bumpy ride had just begin.

* * *

Half an hour later, she was on the horse's back. Her veil still covering her face, lest anybody saw her. She didn't want any trouble. Any more trouble, that was. What she had wasted half an hour in, Alexandra herself did not know. She had no intention of going back to the inn - Jade could just fly back to the Council. Her things could be disposed off. It left her with a half and eight hours - and she knew was in for the most tremendous journey of her life. Between Akwanda and Idgard, through the shortest routes, there roughly lay - a forest, the tip of a desert, three rivers and a small hilly expanse of volcanic origin. Of course, Alexandra could not help feeling apprehensive.

Apprehensive, until - the horse surprised her.

When it began to gallop, she felt they was gliding through space. The black beauty was so swift, so energetic, it seemed to run as if its tail was on fire. His feet almost did not touch the ground and she was of the opinion that if they kept this up for long enough, her horse would simply soar up into the sky. Alexandra laughed for the first time in months, at the silly thought and her face muscles felt awfully sore at it. 

Silence was unbearable, and there was nothing much she could, with the horse having taken matters in his own limbs. Calling the horse, "the horse", was not convenient at all, and so, just like she had named Jade, she thought of a name for this one.

'Shall I name you Cupid?' She asked the horse, nuzzling him as he ran. It snickered in protest, as though the very idea was unthinkably deplorable. Alexandra herself realized that Cupid was too bad a name for simply about anybody - and the term "anybody" most certainly included horses. 'It's bad - I agree. And you aren't Red. How about ... Mercury?'

It was silly again, but definitely better than anything like, or remotely near to, Cupid. Apparently, the horse hadn't kept his standards too high, because he assented to the label at once. In almost no time, They had left Akwanda behind and plunged into the winding forest that reminded Alexandra of the one she had spent her first night of exile in. Remembering that time made a dull flush rise to her cheeks with an almost inaudible groan. She wondered how utterly defenseless, frail and vulnerable she would have appeared to Liam at that point.

Since when did I begin caring?

The question, her own, stupefied Alexandra. And more so because she had no answer for it - she had no idea how to deal with it - and she could not bring herself to sidestep it either. As the forest whizzed past her in streaks of brown and yellow and green, at the thunderous pace she was advancing with, she wondered if that was one of the less conspicuous, negative aspect of her change. Was she becoming a woman? Had she started caring about the way men saw her? Was she craving for some womanly association?

If possible, her cheeks reddened. And was that easy blushing another sign of change? 

'No, I am not becoming like Olivia.' She declared, shaking her head and gripping Mercury's reins tighter. 'Or the way she wanted me to be. The way anybody wanted me to be.'

How good an attempt, how worthy a try that was, to calm the heart. Alas, if it could have changed anything. Olivia was the not the only epitome of womanhood in history. Better ones and worse ones, crueler ones and murkier ones have long come and gone. But as far as Alexandra was concerned, she was yet to realize that things didn't mean what people believed them to - that being a lass did not mean being like her sister. And that positive and negative, good and bad - depended upon the way one looked at it.

They were past the forest.

Thankfully, Alexandra was out of her nostalgia now. And she had finally turned her attention to the most pressing matter at hand - that she simply could not be late. Time wouldn't wait for her, neither would Than and certainly not Liam. If that assassin was at their head, nobody could deny that assassins, entry - Than had his own ways. Leaping on parapets, over terraces, on the railings or under the gates - but the assassins would reach Liam - because they did not know fear. No assassin knew fear - and that knit them closely to spies. Naturally, as a spy - Alexandra could read certain things that Than would surely do - if he got the chance. 

He would make it appear accidental - the death. As accidental as possible and it could be anything under the sun that had killed Liam - from a heart attack to a poisoned apple. The worst part was that Than would alone suffice for it - in case his heart was set. The very thought sent a shiver down her spine, and that was how spies and assassins were different - Alexandra had a conscience. A living one, a breathing one that appealed often. The stories she had heard about Than, unfortunately, were enough proof to show how his conscience was dead.

Sitting around the fire, at the Council, during winters - the spies exchanged stories and experiences. A senior one, Augustus Barret, had recounted - while he had fed thick logs to the raging fire - what he had known of Than.

And it had been quite a lot. He had recounted how the assassin's true name was a mystery, how he claimed to be Akwandian but there was no way anybody could be sure. From popular opinion, it was clear that from a very young age, Than had reveled in causing pain to any form of hapless living being he found. Added to it was his tricky and clever mind, such that he was never caught. Growing up, he had discovered that not many job opportunities were available for men shrouded in darkness - and through a series of misadventures he had turned homeless by the time he had been Alexandra's age. And then, in that dark void of misery, had Than discovered his art. He had made it into a profession such that perhaps he had riches worth at least half the entire Akwandian treasury. That was no wonder why. The richest of men employed him to get rid of their obstacles. Often, Kings employed him to finish off the nobles who were getting too strong and starting to threaten the autocracy. More often than that, governments employed him - of the smallest of kingdoms - at a scale were large monetary gains were involved, but Idgard wasn't in question. In fact, this was the first time Than had turned his attention to Idgard and that - was bound to be a cause of worry.

'Please don't let me be late!' Alexandra pleaded - having no idea whom she was pleading to, if not time, who was both deaf and heartless. 'If there is destiny, fate, whatever, please don't let Liam's life run so short. He deserves better - way better than Than.' She added, with a conclusive shake of head.

Through all this, Mercury was the one shining object in a sea of darkness. Alexandra had never seen such a horse. And Olivia, had really done her a favor.

Olivia had learnt, perhaps, a thing or two from Aunt Sabel. Revenge and its art, haughtiness and its craft, stubbornness and its trade. And of course, meanness and its expertise. But she was not bright - or clever - or cunning - or anywhere close to them. If Than succeeded, that was his merit. If he failed, more than Alexandra's eminence, it would be Olivia's plain foolishness. Did Alexandra ought to be angry with her eldest sister? If so, she found it impossible. It was impossible to be outraged at somebody's stupidity. Why, such a person could only be held in contempt. Contempt - of course, Olivia was not worthy of anybody's anger - contempt, a much lower emotion, was better suited to her.

And when Olivia had not done justice to herself, how could she be a fair queen? 

It was sorely out of question.

***

Mercury was very tired, agreed. He was out of practice, agreed. He didn't know how to halt, agreed. But he should have given some sign of it! Flinging one's rider down was the worst form of etiquette a horse could show and it was mightily worthy of some grooming at a professional stable.

Just as the Idgardian sign-stone came into sight, the horse had skidded abruptly to a stop. The halt was so sudden, Alexandra was thrown to one side. And with so much force that hitting the ground (which she hit often enough) felt like hitting Blaise Quill (which she religiously avoided at all costs). It was pitch black and complete night had set in. So perhaps, had Alexandra's complete bad luck set in.

She landed on her chest and pulled aside the stupid veil, on contact. Her ribs ached terribly as she got up and looked around at the surroundings she barely recognized. But it smelt of a different familiarity, one that could be associated with Liam. Or was it Liam's rule? Or was it simply Alexandra's obsession with him for the past six hours that was making her feel that way? In any case, it was reassuring. Coming back to her senses, Alexandra put a hand to her chest and felt around. The ribs' shape felt different than what she remembered - they were buzzing with pain and seemed to protruding out at places. Her eyes filmed over with tears of physical pain, tears she pushed back with herculean effort. And one part about not crying was it made one feel stronger - some endurance, some amount of "holding oneself together" and "not letting the dam burst" - that did distract one from pain.

Mercury was standing a few feet away from her, bowing his head apologetically, as though it was just about to be whipped. Alexandra melted seeing that, wondering how people brought themselves about to hurt such gentle creatures? 

Wait until you encounter some wild, Vedessan horses. Mind suggested - and true enough, it had a point. But that was just as well, Mercury was not wild in the slightest - in fact, by the looks of it - he was not even a complete adult.

'I get it... you are tired,' She said, getting up with difficulty and approaching it. 'Go there,' and she gently pushed him to the pastures to her left. 'Feast. And you're free now. We might meet someday.'

Mercury raised its head as if to say, What do you mean?

'I mean whatever the mean I'm saying!' She exclaimed, now a tad bit hurried, 'go on, Mercury, eat up, rest. Be - be wild! And - I - have got to ... hurry!' She added, putting a hand to her hip and looking around. Thankfully, the horse obeyed. Alexandra then looked at the sign stone in front of her, wiping her face with her arm - the hot buzz of chest pain showing no sign of subsiding.

IDGARD - 4 MILES

Not bad ... the sun had set, but it didn't seem like too late. It be eight, at most. And still, she needed to hurry, because the Palace was even deeper in-town. And in the Palace - interior chambers were annoyingly difficult to find.

***

If Alexandra had thought she was ready for anything, she had been mistaken. She was no way ready to run with broken ribs.

Her pace was too slow. Every single breath hurt. Running meant panting. Panting meant longer, deeper breaths. Longer deeper breaths meant more pain. And every breath send a shock up her spine, till her neck. Alexandra cursed Mercury now. Why did the horse have to fling her down?! 

Despite it, she kept moving. Even hundred yard's progress in a minute was better than nothing. And she was waiting in between for rests - without which, she would have certainly not lived for long. Alexandra was surrounded by familiar scenes - finally - she was in Idgard - the home territory she remembered. The markets she had stumbled past occasionally. She caught gists of conversations going about, children going about with their unhurried demands and exasperated women dragging them away. It was so merry - so simple - so much like any other day. They had no idea whatsoever that their king was about to murdered, that if a woman in black with a a dagger and a portrait in her waistband, did not reach on time - tonight would see the end of the line of Vitus.

Alexandra gulped down three, entire jugs of water at a stall. The huge clock signaled it was nine at the night, wiping her face once again, she set out on the same path she had taken seven years ago in accordance with an invitation to the Royal Gardens she had received.

Things did improve after that. Her ribs and spine still ached, but her legs felt much more agile - water always had that effect on her. Alexandra bolted down the lanes faster - the fastest in her life. Not even in the first year weekly assessment had she run as rapidly; which had been her idea of a problem then. Now, she'd happily have those problems a hundred times more - than agonizing moments like these.

When the Palace was in sight, Alexandra could have almost cried with happiness. She raced down the lanes, flashed her gold batch from afar, she could have thrown it on the guards' faces had they been near sighted. Thankfully, they were not - and she charged past them. The barracks were lazy, it was a normal day for them. If now she got late, she'd have died of shame. And guilt and - and true grief. For the first man who saw her the way she was, and the last man who knew who she truly was.

Alexandra shot up the Palace steps, four at a time - and she had almost forgotten about her ribs. The very fact that she had ribs made no difference to her, at that point. Darting ahead, her eyes fell a guard. Barreling to him she grabbed his collar, not caring what rank he possessed - and asked in a cracked voice, 'where in the-' she held the curse back, 'where is the King's Chamber?!' She demanded, staring at him with her bloodshot eyes.

'W-what?' he stammered, caught unaware. Apparently - young, vicious and armed women didn't ask for the King's Chamber everyday.

'I am an Agent - and now, you tell me - WHERE IS LIAM'S CHAMBER - THIS INSTANT!' She barked, pulling out Moira and touching its point to his chin.

'S - s - seventh floor, l - left side - c - corridor!' He managed, Alexandra flung him across and took the flight of steps. She skidded to a halt on the seventh, turned left and just as she did, she spotted the Idgardian King. He was in the corridor, and had almost turned to enter the chamber right in front of him. Than - Than was there, waiting for him - she just knew.

Alexandra's final effort: she ran ten steps and realizing that it was not speedy enough, simply launched herself at Liam. She fell perfectly on him, her momentum pushing him back harder as they both toppled over to the side. She could almost feel his confusion, but she did not care a bit about any confusion in the world. Just as they were out of reach, if it needed more proof, a shower of about half a hundred arrows shot out from the chamber and lodged themselves into the portraits lining the wall on the other side of the corridor.

Perfectly fatal. Easily done.

Alexandra was dimly aware of her surroundings.

'Alexandra-' Liam began, but she was not listening. The final effort had made all the chest pain return. She rolled off Liam and came to a halt on the hard Palace carpet, touching her head to the floor in the most painful flinch of her life. Guards - they were waking up now - and the whole Palace was in an uproar. Liam was still by her, and he knew Alexandra had something to say. So be it, she opened her mouth - and her ribs creaked. 'Akwanda ... Olivia ... Than.' But those were the only three words, the names she could pronounce. There was no more energy left for anything - there was no need for anything more. Her head lolled to the side and her eyes felt extremely droopy. She closed them and the last thing she felt before slipping unconscious, was Liam's hand around hers - checking for a pulse.

Was it that serious?