Young Writers Society

Baring a forced smile, Qui stood for her friend. "Yes?" she asked softly.

"We've been hearing whispers that the little people of the world are becoming unhappy. They've taken the warnings we've made, and while we've had very little problems from them since the… executions, the nobles are starting to act up. It only takes a little spirit from people with money to spread to people who don't." Kamaria sat in her overly plush chair, still in her night clothes. They were surprisingly modest, thick and high necked.

Crossing her arms slowly, Qui merely listened, forcing her body to remain relaxed as she perched on the edge of her seat which was normal for her. The monarch's 'warnings' had been a slew of harsh executions of peasants on the temple steps. Most of the thirty men and women had been criminals, but their crimes had been varied from small theft to murder. A large percentage of them hadn't deserved death, but crime had been spiraling out of control, and there had been grumblings about the taxes which, Qui had to admit, were getting outrageous. The monarchy's paranoia had reached into the nobility as well. Lekan was one of several nobles who had been arrested at the wrong time. Compared to some of the others, his sentence was relatively easy. Most had been given immediate death. Something scarily close to anger tightened in her stomach. She knew it was dangerous to be angry at Kamaria.

Linking her fingers delicately in her lap, she smiled, reminding Qui of those days when the older woman was teaching her how to reel men in with a well-timed glance. As horrified as "Well, we need someone to spread the idea that the monarchy is for the people, that the lower nobility are the ones ruining everyone's lives."

Quietly picking and choosing her words, Qui took a deep, cleansing breath. She tried to ignore the tapestry behind her friend that was worth ten yearly wages of the normal commoner and the several candles that she'd seen commoners save religiously. "So you know how the lives of citizens without titles are?" she breathed, keeping her voice even and unaffected.

"Of course. I'm not stupid. If we have any hope of controlling these people we have to know what their mindset is." Shrugging, she regarded Qui carefully, a hint of disdain evident in the tilt of her lips and the angle of her eyebrows. "Don't tell me you consider yourself one of them? You've got more money than any of them could ever dream of. You're practically a noble compared to them. I can assure you that they don't consider you one of their own. Commoners are pawns. They're good for nothing. They're easy to control and easy to rob." She leaned forward, her eyes searching Qui's veil for the hint of eyes, attempting to make eye contact.

Qui shifted, purposefully tugging her veil, so the corner of her mouth, curved up in an easy smile, was visible. "I suppose you're right. Is that all?" While the veil was always a good defense, it was good to know when to let people think they could see through it.

Leaning back, she seemed to believe Qui was supporting her. "Yes. In a hurry to leave me?" she asked, her voice hard and slick with suspicion.

She laughed as naturally as she could, sounding a bit sheepish. "I'm afraid so. I have a client who insisted on an early appointment. I want to make sure I'm ready."

Acting like the friend Qui loved as she threw her head back and gifted the room with a full throated, alluring laugh, Kamaria nodded. "Those men who think that no one spies before nine are a pain in the ass. You better be charging him double." She rose, a signal for Qui to stand too, and yawned. "I have to catch some more sleep anyways. Rofi has been keeping me up today." She winked knowingly. "I always told you our skills would take you places if you did them right."

Rolling her eyes, Qui moved to the door, opening it and glancing back at Kamaria.

The whore queen waved, her persona a mix between the wise friendly prostitute Qui had worshipped and the tyrant queen Qui wanted to hate. "You're dismissed, dear. Please try to spread your opinion around your circles. I understand you're quite popular with those people."

Qui hesitated, split between asking her "Do you remember being one of those people?" and keeping her safe silence. Sighing, she nodded. "I'll try my best. Perhaps… You could do something for them, just a little something, so they'll believe what I say a little easier."

Kamaria was curling up in her chair again, looking like she was about to drop off to sleep. "Perhaps I will… That's an interesting thought at least."

Closing the door quietly, Qui walked through the maze that was the interior palace. She walked out into the dry heat that was already hovering above the stones, nodding at the guard who blinked in reply. Now that others would be walking around, granted only workmen who had a job to attend to, he was following the protocol much closer. She sighed heavily. It would be hard to slip around Lekan's home now without being seen.