Decoy Danger

When Shila woke up, Queenie was nowhere to be found. She quietly peeked around the house to look for her, but did a double take when she walked past the study and found Mylo sitting on the floor with her, flicking a string around while she chased it. Shila just stood in the doorway with an amused look on her face until he noticed her.

"Don't you knock?" he asked.

"The door was open," she said. "I thought you didn't want a cat around."

"I don't," he said. "She was just attacking a loose thread on my pants so I'm letting her keep it. My ankles are scratched up."

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience," Shila said sarcastically.

She patted her thigh and Queenie's attention turned to her right away. The little white cat trotted over to her and leapt up into her arms. Shila held her close and scratched behind her ears with a smile.

"If nothing else, at least Lady Emory gave me Queenie," Shila said. "I mean she didn't, but she might as well have. Lord Emory got her Queenie a year ago because apparently having little dogs and cats were trending, but Lady Emory lost interest fairly quickly. She liked buying her ribbons to wear, but I'm the one who took care of her."

"They have no respect for life," he said. "Human or animal."

"Well, they haven't learned anything," Shila said. "Lady Emory always talked about how they could just hide out in their summer home until the 'little people' calmed down and they could return home."

"Summer home?"

Shila nodded.

"They have a summer home on the coast, in Goldshore," she said. "People don't know that. I assume most everyone thinks they would go straight to the capital, but they're not actually welcome there anymore after Lady Emory insulted King Alfred's pet monkey. She accidentally implied that it looked like his wife."

"How do you know all of this?" he asked.

"Because I was there," she said. "I keep trying to tell you this. Maybe I can't do fancy blade work like you, but I know more about the Emorys than anyone. I watched everything from the background."

"And they just let you?"

"They didn't notice me," she said. "As a maid I blended in, but I'm really good at hiding in plain sight. I used to do it all the time so I could sneak into my father's rallies and meetings when I was younger. It worked when he wasn't there, but when he was around he would always catch me."

Mylo was quiet for a moment, picking cat hair off of his shirt.

"So let's just say they did run away to their summer home," he said. "You know how to get there and navigate the house?"

"Sure, easy," Shila shrugged. "You could probably find the house on your own with those documents I gave you."

He moved to the desk and shuffled through the papers until he found the records for the purchase of the Goldshore summer home, which included the precise location of the home. He glanced from the paper to Shila, but he didn't say anything.

"You can get there easy," she said, reading his mind. "A couple weeks travel if we don't get into trouble on the way. But you'd have to take me with you."

"That's out of the question," he said firmly. "If anything, you stay here."

"What?" she frowned. "No, I'm not staying. What, do you think I'm weak or something? Trina is still a teenager and you let her throw knives."

"I can't take on being responsible for you," he said.

"Then don't be," she said. "I can take care of myself."

"Then why do you refuse to leave?"

"Because I want revenge on them just as much as you do," she told him. "And I want justice. They imprisoned my father and they tried to leave me for dead. Maybe there's a chance I can have my father released. I'm not ready for him to become a martyr."

"Shila, I can't."

"I watched my mother die, slowly and painfully," she said. "She fell ill and she was denied medication because we couldn't afford it. This was the same summer of the famine. She starved to death while she was sick, because of the Emorys."

"I'm sorry that happened, but-"

"You've lost someone too," she said, cutting him off. "I can see it in your eyes. Maybe you won't say it out loud, but I know you lost someone just as brutally as I did. And so many others that suffered in the hands of the Emorys. Please don't keep me away from justice."

Mylo was quiet and his lips were pursed into a tight line, but he finally sighed and shook his head.

"Fine," he said reluctantly. "But we do this my way and you do what I tell you to do. No more running out on your own and bringing home animals. And don't tell anyone about this yet. I need to come up with a plan first."

"Can I have a sword?" she asked, beaming.

"Definitely not," he said. "Please leave my room."

She rolled her eyes but she was smiling. She had always wanted to be involved in the rebellion, but her father never let her. Maybe this was her chance. Queenie climbed from Shila's arms to her shoulder, then leapt from her to Mylo's shoulder. He turned a bit red as the cat slinked around and settled on his shoulder, her fluffy tail curling around his neck.

"Sorry," Shila said, moving forward to take her back. "I guess she likes you."

"It's fine," he mumbled.

As Shila got closer to take Queenie back, she took a good look at Mylo for the first time. He would have been handsome if he wasn't so grumpy all the time. He shifted awkwardly under her gaze.

"Have we met before?" Shila asked him. "In Oakheart?"

"I don't think so," he said simply. "Excuse me."

She shrugged, carrying Queenie out of his room so he could skulk around in peace. She met everyone else downstairs, and found that she got along quite nicely with them. It was nice to be around people similar to her, rather than Lady Emory. They all seemed to accept her as well, despite the strange circumstances of them meeting.

She wasn't much of a fighter, but she was able to impress everyone when she was helping Lola in the kitchen and was able to stretch the small amount of food they had into a much larger meal. With the right spices and seasoning, it was hard to tell they had limited resources.

"I always cooked at home," she explained. "I used to say that if I ever had the chance, I'd open a little bistro. If we ever came to a future where we didn't scrounge for scraps."

"All the more reason to fight for it," Bret said with a grin. "I'm going in for seconds, so I'll be at that bistro when it opens.

Everyone else made noises of agreement as they ate, except for Mylo who kept his eyes on his bowl. Shila didn't think he hated her, but he was definitely concerned about something. She'd find a way to pick his brain eventually.