Hollow Kingdom

"I like her."

Alec tried his best to ignore Erwin as the ferret nibbled on a piece of toffee in Alec's pocket. He was tempted to put his hands in his pockets to shove the ferret back, but resisted the urge.

"You shouldn't have run off like that," Alec grumbled. "If that dragon had caught you, or if anyone heard you talk, we'd be done for- OW!"

Alec yelped and flinched back when Erwin suddenly bit down hard on his hand.

"That's for assuming I don't know any better," Erwin sniffed, turning his attention back to his toffee. "You know that girl really seemed to try and wash you off, but your scent still clings to her quite a bit. Makes a ferret wonder what in heaven's name you did with her."

"Shut it, rodent," Alec snapped, holding his hand away so he wouldn't get bitten again. "Or I'll give Belle permission to put clothes on you again."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Alec played with the pebbles in his hand as he walked back to the tailor's shop, trying his best to sneak past Mr. Hale. Unfortunately, he didn't have much luck. The old man blocked his path, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You know, you can't steal clothes from my reject pile and expect me not to notice," he said sternly.

"We were going to give it back," Alec said.

"This is not a secondhand store, boy," he warned. "I won't have you stealing from me."

"I won't," Alec promised. "Starting tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!"

Alec quickly side stepped around Mr. Hale and hurried up the stairs before he could question him anymore, hearing the old man grunt in disapproval. Belle was up there already, bundled up in a blanket next to a cup of tea that had gone cold. Ever since Daniel had been executed, she looked terrible. Her black hair was a terrible mess and her face was pale, dark circles formed under her eyes. Beside her sat a younger girl, who couldn't seem to stop talking to Belle despite the fact that she wasn't even listening.

Prissy had only just turned fourteen years old, but despite Alec's warnings to her about staying away from the rebellion and the fights, she always came back. She looked up at Alec and turned red, fixing up her brown curls and giving him a sweet, dimpled smile. Alec always thought she looked like a little fairy. She stood up, holding her hands behind her back.

"Alec! I didn't think you'd be home so soon," she stammered.

Erwin crawled out of Alec's pocket and scurried away, slinking along a shelf to hop into Belle's lap. Belle raised a brow at Alec, waiting to see what he was going to say to Prissy. Her eyes said, "Hurt her feelings and I hurt you".

"Prissy, I'm going to be in a heap of trouble if your father finds out you're here," Alec said quietly.

"I just came to see Belle," Prissy said, though Belle was shaking her head. "Daddy can't argue against that. Plus, Evan isn't here right now."

Alec cracked a smile, thinking of the time Evan had made too bold of a move on Prissy's older sister, and their father, the baker, took a swing at him with a rolling pin. Although, his hate for Evan wasn't the reason Prissy wasn't allowed to hang around with them. No one in Aegaera wanted their children anywhere near the rebels and their bases. It was dangerous, even to be slightly associated with it. And with Prissy's not-so-subtle crush on Alec, it was hard to keep the young girl away.

"Go home, Priscilla," Alec said.

"This is no place for children," Erwin agreed.

"I'm not a child!" Prissy snapped at the ferret, reaching out to grab at him but narrowly missing as he hopped away.

She huffed and shoved past Alec to leave. He sighed, rubbing his temples and sitting down on the arm of Belle's chair.

"Don't you break that poor girl's heart, Alec," Belle warned.

"I didn't ask to be the victim of her sudden hormonal thoughts as she starts going through that change," Alec mumbled. "Where is Evan?"

"Someone asked for his help planting trees," Belle shrugged. "It's strange. There's rumors going around that he's a sudden expert on trees."

"Is there, now?" Alec grinned. "Well, someone needs to go get him. We have another party to go to."

.::.::.::.

The guard remembered Alec and Evan quite well, narrowing his eyes at them as he accepted their odd invitation and let them inside. Lily found them first, rushing over to greet them and introduce herself to Evan. Evan gave Alec a sort of impressed look, though the smile faded as soon as they noticed the queen approaching them as well. They bowed to her, as much as they didn't want to, and she gave them the same sort of emotionless smile she'd given Alec when they first met.

"Ah, well if it isn't the Duke of Satbury," she greeted. "It's always lovely to see my most valuable trade partners."

Evan shifted awkwardly, and Alec wondered how involved the queen was in trade. Then it hit him. She had already figured them out.

"Lily, why don't you fetch some wine for our dear friends?" Queen Angelique suggested.

Lily nodded and ran off to find a few glasses for them. She was right when she said this event was going to be much smaller and calmer. No one was drunk. Yet.

"It's terrible how I've never been able to meet you until now," the queen said, standing a little unnecessarily close to Evan with a sly grin. "Where would Aegaera be without trees?"

Evan struggled to find an answer as she reached up and fixed his collar for him, seemingly forgetting all about Alec. Not that he was surprised, of course. He was posing as a worthless servant.

"You know, boys, impersonating the nobility and sneaking into the castle by trickery is punishable by... What was it? Oh yes. Death," the queen said.

The color drained from Evan's face as she laid her hands flat on his shoulders with an amused grin.

"So it's a good thing you're too handsome to go to waste, isn't it?" she concluded. "Come along, m'lord. I think it's time we get lost in that maze."

Evan gave Alec a nervous look as she took his arm and led him away, and Alec gave him silent reassurance that he'd be fine. The queen knew they weren't royalty, but she didn't suspect anything else. Lily came back with two glasses of wine, but since Evan was gone, she kept the other for herself.

"Did you want to try the maze?" he asked her.

"Actually, I know a better place," she told him, nodding in the direction away from the party. "We could talk somewhere a little quieter."

Alec nodded and followed her away from everywhere else, up some stairs and onto a balcony overlooking a breathtaking view of the entire kingdom below. At least, the good parts of it. He leaned against the railing next to Lily, admiring the view.

"So, how is your family?" she asked. "Your mother?"

"She's, uh," Alec struggled to find words, "She actually passed away a few years ago."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Lily said, putting a hand on his arm. "Well, your father, then?"

"He disappeared without a trace about eight years ago," Alec admitted. "He was there, and then he wasn't."

"...your sister?" Lily squeaked.

"She's doing well," Alec lied.

He awkwardly looked down at his feet, then back at the balcony's view.

"It feels like you can see everything from up here, doesn't it?" Lily said.

"You can't see the town square," Alec noticed.

"Angie had it built that way," Lily shrugged. "She didn't like the way the square looked from above."

Of course she didn't. That's where the executions happened. Alec felt his muscles tense with this realization. She was hiding from her own crimes.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked.

"Fine, fine," Alec nodded. "I guess she's right. The place has been looking shabby since taxes have gone up. No one has the money to keep up the flowers and gardens anymore."

"Huh?" Lily frowned. "Taxes?"

"Yes, taxes," Alec nodded. "They've been rising steadily over the last few months. That's mostly why there's so many people on the streets now."

"No one lives on the streets in Aegaera," Lily said.

"What?"

Alec studied Lily's expression. She seemed confused and concerned, as if it were the first time she was hearing about this.

"They don't tell you anything," Alec suddenly realized. "You don't know what's happening outside these walls. You're not ignoring it like the rest of them... You don't know anything at all."

"Know what?"

Alec thought for a moment. His next move could jeopardize everything.

"Why don't you come visit me, sometime?" he suggested. "Outside of the palace."

"Just you and me?" Lily asked. "I don't know if Angie would like that."

"Does she have to know?" Alec shrugged. "You're an adult. You can do things on your own."

"I suppose," Lily said slowly. "I haven't really thought much of it before."

"Come visit me," Alec said, taking her hand and giving her a gentle smile. "It could be fun."

"Alright then. I will."