[center][h1][b][color=DAF6C7]Ríoghnach "Riona"[/color][/b][/h1][color=DAF6C7]Time/Date:[/color] Nighttime, Sola 28th
[color=DAF6C7]Location:[/color] Birthday Party Boat[/center]
[color=F7FDF3]
How hard would it be to clobber a grown man and heave him overboard without anyone noticing? 

She’d been arranging Lady Thea’s birthday decorations when that shock of orange hair caught her eye—[i]him[/i]. The same bastard who’d attacked her and Cal in Wystan’s bedroom several nights ago.

Tight as a spring, every muscle in Riona’s body coiled. Slowly, carefully, she reached for the heavy brass candelabra on a nearby table. Perfect for caving in an unwelcome skull.

[color=DAF6C7][i]How in seven hells did he get aboard?[/i][/color]

“Whoa, hold up,” Mr. Window Lurker raised his hands in surrender. “Not here for another scrap.”

Riona’s eyes narrowed to slits, dark with suspicion. [color=DAF6C7]“Right. Then why are you here?”[/color] Each ridge and whorl of the metalwork pressed reassuringly against her palm as her fingers closed around the candelabra.

An exasperated sigh gusted from the redhead. “Seriously? Didn’t His Whininess tell you about the giant?”
[color=DAF6C7]“You mean His Whininess who had you cornered like a rat?”[/color]
His jaw worked soundlessly for a moment before he wisely kept his thoughts to himself. “So did he tell you or not?”
[color=DAF6C7]“He did.”[/color]
“Then why in blazes haven’t you—” He flung his hands skyward in exasperation.
[color=DAF6C7]“Oh, I don’t know,”[/color] Riona bit out. [color=DAF6C7]“Maybe because the first time I met your lot, I had some mountain of a man stalking me. Then, the second time, you tried to kill us. Forgive me if I’m not eager to skip off alone to meet your employer, gods-know-where.”[/color]

Heads turned at her outburst. Nearby servants paused mid-task. The redhead stepped closer, gesturing for her to lower her voice. “Geez, woman, calm down.”

Ah yes, because telling someone to calm down always works. [color=DAF6C7]“Don’t you ‘woman’ me,”[/color] she hissed.

Sighing, the man reached into his jacket. Riona’s grip tightened on the candelabra, ready to swing, but he only pulled out a folded paper and held it out.

Her eyes flicked between his face and the paper.

“It won’t bite.” A pause, a sidelong glance. “Well, not ’til you say the word, anyway.”

Brow furrowed, she snatched the paper and unfolded it. Her breath caught—it was the scroll this thieving bastard had taken from Cal. 

“Call it a gesture of good faith,” he said, almost smug.

Riona tucked it away with a scoff. [color=DAF6C7]“I don’t even know who your boss is.”[/color] For a split second she wondered if it could be Marek, but quickly dismissed the idea. All she knew was that their employer—boss, or master, or whatever—came from Varian.

“You there! Both of you!” The crisp, no-nonsense voice of Mrs. Copperfield, one of House Smithwood’s most senior maids, cut through her thoughts. “If you’ve hands to spare, carry those empty crates off the boat and stack them with the others!”

[color=DAF6C7]“Yes, ma’am,”[/color]
“Yes, ma’am,” they chorused, then shared a look. Only now Riona noticed the redhead wore the same pressed uniform as the boat servers. Questions formed and died on her tongue.

Together they hefted the crates and made their way down the gangplank onto the dock.

“Fritz Hendrix,” the redhead said abruptly.

The name came out of the blue that at first Riona had no idea what the redhead was talking about. [color=DAF6C7]“Count Hendrix?”[/color] Why would a Varian count send men skulking through the castle? What could he possibly want with—... With her?

Her heart stuttered. A wild, desperate hope leapt up inside her, so sharp it hurt.

The redhead set his crate on the boards with a hollow thump and turned to Riona, amber eyes fixed on her. “He’ll be at the birthday party.” She knew—she’d memorized the guest list. “That’s your chance to talk to him.” The weight of the box lifted from her arms as he stepped back. “And get your prince’s sword back.”
[color=DAF6C7]“... And my dagger?”[/color]
His eyes rolled skyward before he shrugged. “[i]Eh.[/i]”[/color]