Chances

Only thirty days until NaNoWriMo! YEAH!!!!! (No, not excited at all!). Anyway, here’s a post that took me a couple days to type. Martin has a question for Sona. Enjoy!
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Sona needed out. She was surrounded by people she didn’t know, their faces covered with masks and their outfits costumes. She was more comfortable in the enemy camp than in the ballroom! It didn’t help when men kept approaching her and asking her to dance. All they saw was a pretty young woman without an escort. She was fairly certain than none of them knew that she was a commoner.

That alone had her searching for the closest exit.

However, in order for her to get to her room in the servants quarters, she would have to pass through the bulk of the partygoers in the center of the ballroom. She didn’t feel up to that. That left her with one option.

The Santer ballroom had a wall full of windows and doors that led to the garden outside. Though it was a chill evening, the balcony leading to the garden was open for whoever wanted to be outside for a bit. It was early in the evening yet, so many stayed inside the ballroom for dancing, flirting, socializing, and whatever else they could do. She wanted no part of it.

Thankfully, she had entered the ballroom so she was close to the balcony. Even as she walked to the fancy doors leading out, she was stopped by men, all with the same question.

“May I have the honor of a dance?” the fifth man asked her as she neared her goal. He might have been considered dashing. He wore a regular black suit with a plain black mask. His raven black hair was pulled back in a sever tail. He must have been trying to portray a lover.

“I’m sorry,” she said, curtsying somehow in her dress. The man’s eyes twinkled at her flimsy attempt. She blushed. This dress defiantly showed off more chest than she ever wanted. “I’m waiting for someone.”

“Waiting?” he asked, frowning. “A shame. A pretty Sea Guardian like yourself normally doesn’t wait for anyone.”

Sona scowled. It was her idea to come as a Sea Guardian, but she didn’t count on having to deal with men thinking she had the same nature as a Sea Guardian.

“You know the stories,” she said, side stepping him. “A Sea Guardian can have a true love. I don’t think you’re him.”

Before he could protest his case, she slipped out, breathing a sigh of relief as the cool air greeted her. Taking a few breaths, she walked out farther onto the balcony. Just as she suspected, there weren’t many people outside yet. A few couples had already disappeared into the gardens to be alone, but at the moment, she was the only one on the balcony.

She slowly walked to the balcony edge, taking off her mask. It was nice mask, perhaps, but it itched. Once off, she put it on the stone railing. Folding her arms, she rested against the stone and stared up at the full moon.

“I am way in over my head,” she whispered. “What am I doing here?”

“To be with him.”

Sona stood straight, looking around. Where did that voice come from? There wasn’t anyone around, not even beneath the balcony. Frowning, she leaned back on the railing, wondering who just spoke to her.

“This is pointless,” she muttered, gazing down at the gardens below. “He’s not coming.” Why she ever thought he would follow her out here, when he hadn’t even seen her and plenty of other women to interest him….

“What are you doing out here alone?”

Sona froze, immediately recognizing that voice. Slowly standing up and turning around, she blushed to find Martin walking towards her. He looked so handsome in his rugged clothes. Girls might like his neatly pressed uniform, but she thought he looked his best in his simple, dust covered clothes.

“Martin,” she said, trying to find her mind again. What could she say?

He stopped beside her, picking up her feathery mask. She suddenly wished she still had it on. At least that would have covered her blushing.

“A Sea Guardian?” he accurately guessed, smiling at her. “That’s a pretty dress. It looks good on you.”

She knew her face was flaming. “You usually don’t care about what I wear,” she said, almost snapping. It figured that he would notice.

“That’s not the case,” Martin chuckled, putting the mask back down. “I think you look wonderful in anything you wear. I’m just noting that you took extra care to look good tonight.” He bowed deeply to her. “And you’ve far surpassed any woman I’ve ever met.”

Sona felt as if her hair was going to burst into flame by how hot her face felt.

“And it looked like you didn’t take much care to your appearance,” she noted, trying to find a topic that wasn’t about how she looked.

“Sara wanted us to be matching,” he sighed as he straightened. “She finally decided on adventurers. I luckily have something that fits that.”

That you do, she thought, wishing her blushing would stop.

Laughter trickled from inside the ballroom. Martin glanced at it and then extended his arm out to her. “Would you like to join me for a walk in the gardens?”

She silently nodded and took his arm. He led her to the edge of the balcony where stone steps led to the garden beyond. She was glad there was moonlight to light their way. Pomace also wanted her to wear tall heels. While she could walk without tripping, heels weren’t her preference.

They walked in silence for a bit, wandering around the paths. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. She figured that they both had something to say and neither of them knew just how to approach it. Once the sound of even the band had faded in the distance, she finally decided to break the quiet.

“I finally understand why you lied about being the prince,” she said softly, not looking at him.

“You do?” he asked, surprised by her choice of topic.

She paused in the path then let go of his arm. She walked over to a nearby pool and gazed down at her reflection. It wasn’t her own. It was of a noblewoman. She was a commoner. “Let’s not drag this out,” she said softly. “You want to marry me. That’s why Pomace convinced the Court to allow you to pick your bride.

“But I don’t think I could be a princess,” she whispered, tears threatening to fill her eyes. “I know nothing of nobility, of politics, of running a nation. And neither did you. You were a street urchin, a spy. What did you know of those things? I don’t blame you for lying. But now you’re the prince.” She closed her eyes tight, trying hard to not cry. “I don’t think I’d be able to do it.”

He lightly touched her shoulders. “And you think,” he whispered in her ear, “that I’m ready? I still don’t have my reflection.”

Sona opened her eyes, surprised to see only herself in the pool. She turned her head to look at him. He smiled sadly at her. “I’m playing a part still,” he confessed. “I’m not a prince yet. If I were, I’d be able to see myself.

“And no one,” he went on, turning her around to fully face him, “not Fred, not the queen, or Sara, or the Court, know me any better than you do. You know what I’ve been through, they don’t. You know how to act around me, they don’t. You know words mean nothing to me, they don’t. You are the only person who has ever fought to know that much about me. You were the one to pursue me.

“And,” he whispered, resting his forehead against hers, “because of all that, I don’t want anyone else.”

“But,” she breathed when he silenced her with a finger on her lips.

“You are a wonderful, magnificent, brilliant, beautiful woman,” he said softly, smiling a bit. “I know you don’t see yourself that way. So I just ask you one thing. Just give me a chance to show you the queen I see in you.”

Sona was lost in his hazel eyes. Just a chance? she wondered. A chance to see a greater woman? To match what she saw in her reflection?

To be with the man she loved?

“Alright,” she whispered, hesitantly smiling. “Just a chance.” Martin grinned and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him just as tight.

“I’ll show you,” he whispered in her ear. “You are more than any title in my eyes.”

“Stupid idiot,” she chuckled, burying her face in his shoulder. “You make a mess out of me.”

He chuckled, lightly kissing her cheek. However, before he could give her a witty comeback, music drifted through the night air. She frowned and pulled back a bit.

“Right,” Martin said, glancing around. “Sara wanted this to be an outdoor party. There are musicians wandering around the garden. They’re probably playing for another couple they found.”

Sona couldn’t suppress her laughter, imagining the couple’s shock at being found. “You think they’ll find us? I don’t partially feel like getting mobbed by the Court yet as your mysterious lover.”

“I don’t either,” he snorted. “No. I don’t think they’ll find us.” He paused, gazing at her with a particular expression. Suddenly, he let go of her and gave her a deep bow. “Sona Merette, may I have the honor of this dance?”

She smiled as she curtsied. “The honor is mine.”

They stepped into each other’s arms and began to dance. All spies knew how to dance, Suit made sure of it, but Sona was sure Martin had been practicing. Or perhaps he had always been a good dancer. It was the first time they had danced. At one point, he pulled her close.

“See?” he whispered in her ear. “You can already dance.”

She laughed, spinning out again.

All too soon, the song ended. They didn’t let go, smiling at each other. He started to lean down to kiss her when his expression changed.

“Someone is coming,” he groaned, dropping his head to her shoulder.

“Who?” she asked, feeling a bit annoyed. It was typical that someone had to ruin the moment.

“Considering the strong curiosity I feel,” he said, lifting his head. “It’s Ann Norman.”

“The reporter?” she asked, a bit surprised.

“She’s doing a follow up on me,” Martin complained. “She must have decided that I snuck into the gardens. She’s searching for me.”

Sona snorted. “Well, she can’t have you. Not until I’ve made up my mind.”

Martin stared at her in surprise then burst out laughing. “Oh,” he said, still chuckling. “I love you.”

“I know,” she smirked. “You stupid idiot.”

He grinned. “Do you want to help me get rid of her?”

She returned his grin. “What’s your plan?”
*********
Ann figured that the prince had to be out in the gardens. No one would allow him to leave the ball without a huge farewell. So, leaving out the rest of the palace that he couldn’t escape to, that left the gardens.

“I always knew these gardens were big,” she muttered to herself, wandering aimlessly. She just didn’t expect them to be this big. How was she supposed to find Prince Martin in this huge garden?

You know, Ann, she thought to herself, he could have come into the gardens and then slipped back into his own rooms. It was very possible. He had managed to evade her many times when she tried to interview him as Ghost Eighty-One. The one time she managed to get a long enough hold of him, they got captured and he had to rescue both of them before they got killed.

But she was determined. The thrill of the hunt, of digging deeper to get a story, that was why she became a reporter. The pay may stink, the long hours on the road miserable, but the places she had been and the thrill of seeing her name in print made up for it a hundred times over.

Undaunted of the task before her, she wandered through the gardens, happening across couples and musicians, searching for only one man.

She finally found him standing by a pond, skipping rocks. Alone. She managed to hold in her sigh. Perhaps it was too much to hope to catch him with his mysterious lover.

“Prince Martin,” she called, grinning in a way that she knew annoyed most people.

The prince turned around, frowning to see who had hailed him. “What are you doing here?” he asked, turning back and skipping rocks again.

“I could ask the same of you,” Ann laughed. She walked up beside him, noting the rocks still in his hand. He must have been at it for a while. “Why are you skipping rocks instead of attending your sister’s birthday party?”

“You should already know that answer,” Prince Martin snorted, tossing another rock. “I like some solitude.”

That was an understatement. The prince often sought solitude. Perhaps it was unseemly for a prince, but he did it anyway. It was almost as if…

Suddenly the prince turned, his eyes searching beyond the trees. “Someone’s coming,” he said, sounding a bit uneasy. “If you don’t mind, I’ve got to go. I’d rather not be caught, however accidently, with a woman alone in the gardens.”

Ann frowned. Didn’t she count as being alone with him in the gardens? However, she realized that she was the reporter. She was considered a normal pain and in places where she shouldn’t be. She was the one most likely to set rumors going.

“I could stall,” she offered. Yes, she wanted to find out the prince’s whole story, but she rather not have complications of an insistent stalker. “Give you time to leave. Will you be going back to the party?”

Martin was already leaving when he turned to her, smirking. “Wouldn’t you love to know.” He quickly vanished back into the garden. Ann sighed. That man. She might have found him attractive if he didn’t have so many annoying habits. Nice looking yes, but he had far too many secrets and quirks that put her off.

But that didn’t matter at the moment. She was stalling for him. Turning to face the direction he said someone was coming, she waited patiently for the intruder.

The intruder was a beautiful woman in a sea blue dress. Her feathery mask covered most of her face so Ann couldn’t recognize who it might be. That didn’t matter. Obviously this woman was pursing a prince and she wasn’t going to get him this night.

“Oh, hello,” she said in a light, airy voice, as if she were trying to catch her breath. “Have you, by any chance, seen Prince Martin?”

“That way,” Ann said, pointing in a direction the prince didn’t go. “I’d hurry if I were you. He had another woman on his arm.”

The woman gasped. Gathering her skirts up, she dashed in the direction she had pointed. Ann shook her head. Some women were really dumb. She slowly walked back to the party. She may have lost the prince tonight, but that didn’t mean the next day he would be so hard to track. She smiled to herself. His was a story she would get.
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Steve knew he had lost too much time already and would have kicked himself in the butt if he were double jointed to do it. He should have known more of the party before he decided that his entry to the prince’s rooms through the gardens. While it had seemed empty, there were people scattered throughout the gardens. Couples and musicians to be precise. He hadn’t been in the garden for more than five minutes when he ran into a group of musicians. When asked what he was doing there, he had to lie and say that he was looking for his group. He couldn’t refuse their help to find his fictional group.

Then he found himself spending most of the evening with the same group of musicians as their singer as they wandered around the garden to entertain couples. Though the couples were less than amused when they were found. Steve was then pressured into helping the musicians. Because he hadn’t brought an instrument, he was left with singing. He wasn’t too bad at it and knew most of the songs the musicians played.

But the night wore on and Steve knew his time was getting short. He had to steal that dog tonight, before the party was over. Giving his excuse that perhaps his group had already left, he also left the company of the musicians, though they tried to convince him to stay. Giving them his apology, he hurried away, hoping that Prince Martin hadn’t decided to retire early.

He got to the tall wall that surrounded Prince Martin’s private garden. There were a couple iron gates that he could have used to enter, but Steve didn’t want to take a chance. Who knew what sort of magical protection where on those things? His best bet was to climb over the eleven foot wall. But he had come prepared for that. Sliding the bag off his shoulder, he opened it and found his grappling hook and rope. It was an easy toss and he was soon over the wall. The easy part was done. Now for the hard bit.

He carefully approached the apartment, already knowing which door led to the room. The less doors he had to go through, the better. There were no lights on inside, but that meant little. He crept up to the large double doors, scanning the inside like his uncle had taught him. As far as he could tell, no one was inside. The bed was empty, no lights shown from the other rooms. There was very little clutter in the room to hide anything more than a medium sized dog, much less a full grown man. His luck was holding. No one was around.

It took Steve a couple minutes to work on the lock though. It was infused with magic and he had to work around that before he could work on the lock itself. Again thanks to his uncle’s training that he managed to get inside. He paused as he walked in, waiting for a full minute to listen to the sounds around him before he approached the bed and the small stuffed dog that sat on it. It was another trick Willy taught him. A trap generally always let out a sound, be it a soft sound of something about to happen or a sound of alarm. A smart thief knew what to do if a sound went off. But there were no sounds.

This isn’t so hard, he thought, picking the dog off the bed.

The lights turned on.

Steve spun toward the door. Prince Martin stood there, leaning against the frame as he gazed at him with an unreadable expression. Steve felt his stomach drop a hundred feet. Caught in the act. But that wasn’t what made his stomach fall out.

I’m never going to be a spy.

“Come here,” the prince ordered, pointing to the entry room behind him. Steve sighed and did as commanded, his shoulders slumped. He still held onto the dog though. His dreams were dashed because of it. Though, for some reason, he couldn’t blame the dog. It was his own stupidity that he got caught. He should have checked the other rooms first before entering the prince’s room.

“Sit,” the prince commanded, pointing to a chair by the fire. Steve sat, not looking up once. The prince stood in front of him. Steve couldn’t help notice that he wore battered boots and rough pants. It was a masquerade tonight. He probably dressed nothing like a prince tonight.

“Well?” the prince asked, his tone devoid of any emotion. It was a bit unnerving. “An explanation, Willy?”

Steve focused on the boots. “Not really,” he muttered. What could he say? He couldn’t lie, say that he was stealing. There were far more valuable things inside the apartment than the dog. But he couldn’t say that it was a test to become a master spy. Who would believe it?

“Hand it over.”

Steve sighed. Looking up just far enough to see an extended hand, he gave the dog back. His spirit sank farther than his stomach did. How was he supposed to tell the spymaster that he had failed his task? He was probably going to be sent to jail for this.

“Why did you want this?” the prince asked. “There is no monetary value to this.”

Steve shrugged, keeping his eyes on the floor. “Some things are worth more than money.”

“Learned that from your uncle?”

Steve started to say yes, when he realized that the prince had no idea that he had an uncle. The prince should have said that he learned it from his father. He snapped his head up, finally looking at the prince’s face. He wore a smirk similar to the spymaster who had met him near the docks. But those hazel eyes… They were the same.

“Steve Noodle,” Prince Martin said, holding the dog lightly, “you have passed your test.”

“What?” he asked, too stunned to think. It was impossible!

“I am who you think I am,” the prince said. “I am that spymaster you met. I am the one who made a deal with your uncle to get you into the Network. But I am also the prince, Ghost Eighty-One.” He paused and smirked again. “But not many people know that I’m also the Alex of Aeterna.”

Steve felt his jaw drop.

“Disguises,” he went on, “is one of my many specialties. I could walk into the ballroom and no one would recognize me.” He sat down on the short table in front of the fire, looking him directly in the eye. “And you did pass your test. You gave me my toy.”

Steve stared. The turn of events scrambling his thoughts. “But you caught me,” he said, uncertain why those words came out of his mouth.

“Spy lesson number one, then,” Martin said. “You never know who is an ally and who is not. Best keep an open mind on that matter.”

“And you’re the Alex?” Steve asked, still trying to get his mind around the concept.

“Before I was ever the prince or a Ghost,” he confirmed. “Suit, my predecessor, is pressuring me to find my own replacement for the Alex title.”

Steve felt his stomach shoot back up from underneath him and into his throat.

“I’m not saying that you could be the Alex,” Martin said firmly. “But consider yourself a candidate for the position. Either way, you’re now a spy master’s apprentice.”

He couldn’t stop the tears of joy from blurring his vision.

“Don’t get teary on me,” Martin said, his tone sounding a bit tired. “I’ve had enough emotions pounding at me tonight.”

Steve nodded, quickly wiping the tears from his eyes. “When do I start training?” he asked, glad his voice did not reflect his tears. “Do I need to pack and go to the Tree?”

“At some point, yes,” Martin answered. “But I could use you here right now. For reasons I’ll explain later, I need you to do things here. I’ll train you in spying until I can send you to the Tree. Alright?”

“Better than alright,” Steve agreed.

“Good,” Martin said, smiling. “I want you here tomorrow morning. I’ll give you some money to get some nice clothes of a minor noble. I need a page to run around for me.”

“But some of the servants and guards have already seen me,” Steve argued. “They’ll know…”

“I don’t think so,” Martin said. “A boy looking for work is a lot different than a young nobleman who’s working for the prince. You just have to hold your bearing different and talk like a noble.” He paused. “Which I’m told you are one.”

Steve flushed. He had hoped Willy hadn’t said anything of his parentage.

“Don’t worry,” Martin said, seeing his embarrassed expression. “Your secret is safe with me. Now head on out. Don’t want the guards to catch you.”

Once Martin gave him money to get his new clothes, Steve left by a gate and left the grounds. He felt his feet never touched the ground.
*************
Were you expecting a marriage proposal? Snicker. We’re not yet there in the story. Sona needs convinced that she could be a queen. (And yes, that was the Spirit talking to her. Hee, hee, hee!)

Well, time for me to be off for physical therapy. Hopefully I’ll be able to sit down for NaNo. I’m a bit nervous for this NaNo. I think I’ll be finishing the story. I don’t know if I’m ready for that or not…. I shouldn’t be thinking like that. The story isn’t done yet and I doubt that it’ll ever be. Martin’s been a part of my life for too long now for the story just to end. There’s still an entire lifetime to go through, right? ;)

One last question before I head out. Does anyone know anything about publishing or knows someone who does? I think it might be time for Martin’s story to be actually published.

Enjoy the journey!