Kaprinicas wiped off the table, grumbling about the sailors who had just left. It was not enough that they were rude; they had to spill ale on everything - a sticky mess that added to the stale smell of the tavern. She had to decide if it was worth opening the windows - live with the scent or double the flies. She shrugged - flies could always be swatted.

"Straight from the ship," Weri said, a small girl who was the Captain's only tavern copper. The idea of owning property sat well with him, even if it was just one. "You would think they would bathe first," she added and began wiping down the chairs.

"And emptying their pockets of coin," Kaprinicas agreed, shaking her head. "I would wager there be a wife or two poorer this day."

"Mayhap, it is they who send them, so they do not have to smell them," Weri said. Kaprinicas laughed. Weri had a way of making work less tedious. The collar had yet to smother the better parts of her, even if the patrons thought it gave them more leeway. She spent her days fighting off many more hands than Kaprinicas.

The front of the tavern went silent. The lack of the din was more noticeable than the breaking of glass. Kaprinicas saw two soldiers on either side of the entry. They did not look interested in ale. After they glanced around, the taller of the two pushed open the door and nodded to whoever was outside.

Royalty stepped through the door. Kaprinicas gasped, for it could be none other than the new Queen. She was beautiful, and her clothes were so perfect. Others followed her in, two of which were not of this land and equally well dressed - a man and woman of Sorinnia, most like. Kaprinicas suddenly felt inadequate, as if she were dressed in rags.

One of the guards confirmed Kaprinicas's guess by announcing the Queen. Kaprinicas, and the rest of the tavern, bowed. Weri took a knee. Then, Kaprinicas moved toward the corner to watch - and hide.

"Your Majesty," Captain Sol'in De Marque said as he ran toward the Queen. He looked as nervous as Kaprinicas felt. "I do not know the purpose of your visit to my simple tavern, but we are the better for it."

"We are parched and require a drink, sir." the Queen said. She looked around the tavern. Her eyes did not seem to notice how diminished it looked in her presence. Kaprinicas could not imagine what brought such a woman to a sailor's den. "Mayhap, a table?" the Queen asked as if it would be declined.

"Of course, your Majesty," De Marque said. It was strange seeing the typically raucous patrons sit silently, each of them watching the Queen cross the tavern as if she were too delicate to disturb. The Queen nodded her head in greeting to each table as she passed, causing smiles, some of them toothless, to emerge. Usually, the five armed soldiers who followed would have caused fear in such a place. Now, they were ignored as if they were nothing but the wake of a goddess.

Kaprinicas swallowed hard when De Marque waved her forward. The rag she was wiping the table with felt dirty, and there was no place to hide it. To her relief, Weri took it from her as she moved toward the table selected for the Queen. Weri wisely stayed in the shadows. Kaprinicas wanted desperately to join her, though that was no longer possible.

The Queen, the two Sorinnians, and two soldiers of high rank sat at the table. The other three soldiers remained standing a respectful distance away, strategically surrounding the table. Two other soldiers still guarded the door, and Kaprinicas suspected more outside. She was terrified. Not of the soldiers, but of being unworthy. She was sure whatever drinks she carried would be spilled, or she would commit some other grave insult. Sailors were easy, Queens were hard.

"What may I offer you, Your Majesty," Kaprinicas asked. The words did not flow as she had hoped, so she added a slight bow. The Queen only returned a soft smile and looked to her Sorinnian companion. The woman nodded in return to some unanswered question.

"What would you recommend?" the Sorinnian woman asked. Kaprinicas was surprised that she spoke the language so well. There was a pleasant foreign tang to her words, but each one was said clearly. The woman's face held strength and strangely cast it forward. There was no judgment in her eyes, only a query on her lips.

"The ale here is better than the wine, my lady," Kaprinicas replied. "Though it does not seem right to serve you such a thing."

"And why is that?"

"It is a sailors brew, my lady. It is not as fine as you and her Majesty deserve."

The woman spoke to the Sorinnian man using words Kaprinicas did not understand. His eyes studied her, then snapped to Captain De Marque, then back to her. He smiled and responded in their strange tongue.

"My husband says that if the ale is served from your hands, then it will be better than the finest of wines," the woman said.

"There you have it," the Queen said. "We will have five - flagons - is it?" The soldier next to her smirked, as did many of the patrons who overheard.

Kaprinicas tried not to smile. "A flagon is quite a lot, your Majesty."

The Queen looked at the soldier sitting next to her and covered his hand with hers. "Save me, brother." There was humor in the request, and it also announced that the Prince was at her side.

The Prince chuckled. "Five mugs, my lady," he said to Kaprinicas. Only one other had ever called her 'my lady.' Her face flushed, for it felt like the greatest of compliments from one so regal.

"Five, Your Highness," Kaprinicas acknowledged, unable to hide her smile. She turned before her face burst into flames and went to pull the ale. She returned with a tray of mugs while her footsteps echoed on the stone floor. The tavern was still uncharacteristically quiet, which would make a spill all that more embarrassing. She placed the tray on the table and served the mugs from there, not trusting her skill to deliver them from the less sturdy platform of her hand. Slower, but safer. It was a wise plan, for all five of them were staring at her as if they were waiting for some failure.

Kaprinicas bulked at her normal routine of demanding coin before the first sip. There was no comfortable way to ask such noble people for payment. She looked at De Marque, who thankfully shook his head. A relief - no coin was required.

The Sorinnian woman rose from her seat as Kaprinicas attempted to turn away. She took Kaprinicas's free hand and placed a coin in it - silver. "I thank you," the woman said. There was something off in the way she said it, almost as if there were a deeper meaning.

"I...I thank you, my lady," Kaprinicas stuttered. A silver was far too much for five mugs and far-far too much for the thanks of delivering them. Perhaps that is the way of the royal houses. They share some when they can. The woman smiled and retook her seat. Kaprinicas moved quickly away and attempted to look busy. She made a show of cleaning the already clean counter.

"If I may be bold, your Majesty," De Marque said. "I am Captain Sol'in De Marque, owner of this tavern. Perhaps your father has spoken of me, for I have done tasks at his command in the past."

"Captain?" the Queen said, looking at her companions with confusion.

"Aye, your Majesty," De Marque verified, though he sounded less than confident.

The Queen looked toward her brother. "Did you not say he had passed on his ship and flag?" She spoke as if De Marque was not standing near and could answer himself.

"Aye, sister," the Prince replied. The way he said it and how they were all looking at De Marque gave Kaprinicas a chill. Their visit here was not happenstance - De Marque had done something to the crown. Her first thought was for her position. She had gotten used to her life and enjoyed a warm room and full belly. There was some power in running the tavern, even if she did not truly rule it.

"Your Majesty, I did not mean to..." De Marque began but was cut off by the Queen's palm that snapped up and demanded his silence.

"I love my father dearly," the Queen said. "Though some of his past dealings make my stomach curl. I know to the copper the coin my house has given to you, and I know what you have done to earn it."

They are going to arrest him, Kaprinicas thought. She had no love for De Marque, but her lot was tied to him. She would be out on the street by the end of the day. De Marque stepped back as if creating room to run.

"He was my King, Your Majesty," De Marque pleaded.

The Queen sighed and waved her hand to wash away her words. "I will not hold you to account for my father's ventures, but do not presume that it puts you in my favor."

"Of course not, Your Majesty," De Marque said, bowing and taking another step backward. The guards at the door stepped in front of it. It did not go unnoticed by De Marque or any of the silent patrons. No one moved.

"Your true problems lie with our ally, sir," the Queen said. "The Queen of Sorinnia has requested that you visit her land. I am inclined to grant her request."

"I...I do not know this Queen. I know of nothing I have done to offend her," De Marque said. He looked at the Sorinnian woman, probably wondering if she was the Queen. "Certainly, you do not mean to hand me over for no reason, Your Majesty?" Only one time before had Kaprinicas seen De Marque so terrified, and then he had two blades at his throat.

"Am I mistaken, brother," the Queen asked. "If a royal is taken, is it not a captain's duty to report it to the crown."

"Aye, sister," the Prince said. "A crime against two crowns, if I am not mistaken." Kaprinicas looked closely at the Sorinnian woman, who was now ignoring the conversation and smiling at her. The recognition came all at once, a screaming red-haired boy and a Sorinnian girl struggling to comfort him. De Marque was done for, and Kaprinicas knew she was not. That smile held a promise backed by the power of two crowns.

The realization came to De Marque a moment later. His eyes went wide, and he pointed at the Sorinnian woman. "She did not declare. She said nothing." In his panic, he had forgotten all the honorifics as he blurted out his excuse. The smile on the woman continued, and Kaprinicas knew his defense would not be accepted.

"Do we allow ignorance as a defense?" the Queen asked his brother. Kaprinicas knew it was all for show. They could have sent soldiers and just hauled De Marque away. Instead, they meant to ruin him in his own tavern.

"At times, sister," the Prince said, then looked at De Marque. "Mayhap, you took the time to ask before you sold the Crown Princess of Sorinnia as property, sir?" Kaprinicas's eyes widened - crown princess.

De Marque dropped to his knees. "I did not know, Your Highness," he begged the Princess.

The Princess stood. "You tore the clothes off my back and meant to claim my virtue." She stepped to his kneeling form. "Worse, you claimed another's in my name." She reached down and lifted his chin until they were looking eye to eye. "My mother wants you moving rock to-and-fro in the desert. A strong man can survive a year or so - some less." She let go of his chin. "Alas, my husband thinks an accident will befall you on the ship."

"I was in error, Your Highness," De Marque begged, his eyes dropping. The movements of his shoulders spoke of tears. Whatever future of rest he had envisioned was evaporating quickly.

"Mayhap, I will just take from you as you tried to take from me," the Princess said. De Marque eyes rose in terror. The Princess smiled, letting the idea of retribution sink in, then she broke the spell. "Your tavern - sell it to me."

"What?"

"I shall buy it for a copper," the Princess said. "Wall to wall and everything in between."

"It seems a just trade," the Queen announced.

"It is worth far more than..." De Marque began to argue. The tavern was his life, in a way.

"You are right," the Princess interrupted, turning her back. "My mother would be upset if I returned without you." She began to return to her seat as if the offer had been rescinded.

"I agree," De Marque yelled. "I will sell it to you, Your Highness."

The Princess turned, her hand already holding a copper. She tossed it on the ground at his knees.

"The deal is done," the Queen commanded.

"I will give you a moment to gather personal things," the Princess told De Marque. "Take only what is yours, and do not dip your hands into my till."

The Prince nodded at two of the guards. "Help this man find his way out." They moved as if it was all planned, without hesitation or questions. De Marque stood with defeat in his shoulders and made his way to his room, two guards in tow. Unsurprisingly, he left his copper lying lonely on the ground. What little pride he had left lingered in the ignored coin.

"That was most satisfying," the Princess said to the Queen. They must be close to each other, for there were no titles between them.

"And now you own a tavern," the Queen said. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Make a profit, of course," the Princess said. She turned and headed straight for Kaprinicas. "You know how to run this place, do you not, Kaprinicas?"

Kaprinicas was shocked that the Princess knew her name. "Aye, Your Highness," she replied, adding a slight bow. "If you wish it, I could manage things in your name." Perhaps the Princess meant to run it herself, and Kaprinicas was pushing too hard for control. "Or, mayhap, teach you how."

The Princess smiled, and the Queen laughed. Kaprinicas looked between them, wondering when the jest had arrived. Perhaps it was an insult to insinuate that a Princess would run a tavern. Or worse, they thought her incapable of doing or teaching such a thing.

"I am skilled, Your Highness," Kaprinicas argued. "I have been running it for a long time, and I do far better than he," she added, pointing in the direction De Marque went. It was not until she was done that she realized it came out more forceful than prudent.

"The Princess does not doubt your skill, Kaprinicas," the Queen said, her smile still in force. "Nor does she want you to run it for her."

"I do not understand, Your Majesty," Kaprinicas said. It was only a moment ago when she thought De Marque would be the only victim.

"I mean to sell it for profit," the Princess announced. She smiled and said softly, "For a silver."

It took a moment to sink in. Kaprinicas reached into the pocket of her dress and retrieved the silver the Princess had given her earlier. It all seemed unreal. She held it forward. The Princess presented her palm, and Kaprinicas placed the coin in it.

"The deal is done," The Queen announced for the second time. She stood from her chair, and the shocked patrons rose as well. "Sit, sit," she said, patting the air with her hands as she made her way to Kaprinicas.

"I did nothing to deserve this," Kaprinicas whispered, as much to herself as to the world. She did no great deeds to earn such a thing. She had suffered, and then she did not. She deserved this no more than Weri deserved her collar.

"Who is to say, who deserves what?" the Princess said. "A crown will fall upon my head one day, and I did nothing but emerge from the right womb. Am I any better for it than you?"

"Or I?" the Queen asked. "Fate is an odd thing, pushing us this way and that. It is what you decide to hold onto that defines you. Unless you let free your grasp, you are now Owner of House Kaprinicas."

"All of its property, Your Majesty?"

"All," the Queen verified. "Princess Yanda," she indicated the Princess, "and the King of Aragonia devised this plan. Fate made them despise De Marque, and thus they forced fate to move in your favor."

"You suffered in my name," Yanda said. "I will see you firmly set and steering fate as you see fit."

"I thank you, Your Highness, Your Majesty," Kaprinicas said, with small bows to each. There was a mixture of surprise, joy, and the trepidation of responsibility filling her. She decided to ignore the latter for the day and grow her smile. She was an owner of a tavern, and it was taken from De Marque as he had taken her youth - publicly, if not as brutally. Fate had swung its hammer with a vengeance. "I would thank this King of Aragonia as well, though I know him not. I do not even know of the land Aragonia."

"Some know it as the Dark Isle," the Queen said and shared a smile with the Princess.

"A demon?" Kaprinicas asked, regretting the words as they left her lips. Superstition should not be repeated, not to nobility.

"To some, mayhap," the Princess said, then whispered, "but we know better, and you know him well enough. I am told you hold his vow."

"Kelton?" Kaprinicas said. "He has a crown?"

"Aye," the Princess replied, pleased with her surprise.

"Has he found happiness, Your Highness?" Kaprinicas asked. Last she saw him, there was an aura of ire about him. It was as if someone had wrapped goodness inside of anger.

"Aye," the Queen answered before the Princess could respond. "But we will save those words for the ball." She smiled. "It is my mother's doing, a banquet whose only purpose is to be seen. I would have you there, Kaprinicas. A breath of fresh air and good conversation instead of the usual prattle. It is in twelve days - I will send a couch for you."

"A ball?" Kaprinicas said. Panic - rags for clothes - the uncouth amongst royalty. "If you wish me there, I will be there, Your Majesty." She could not say no, not after being gifted a tavern. Perhaps she would die before; there was always a hope of that.

"So be it," the Queen said. She turned to the tavern patrons and raised her voice. "The crown desires to celebrate Owner Kaprinicas and wish her all success. It shall be her first customer - a flagon for each table."

The silent patrons were no longer. Cheers and shouts of long life to the Queen returned the usual din to the place. Of course, work returned just as quickly.

Weri came running at Kaprinicas's signal. "What would have of me," she smiled as she added, "Mistress."

The sound of the title erased the fear of the ball. Kaprinicas studied the girl's smile and saw the happiness in it. A change of owner did that as if one was better than the other. Weri thought her lot improved - Kaprinicas only saw a friend altered into property.

"Remove that collar," Kaprinicas said. "I will have you here on your own accord or not at all."

"I have to eat," Weri said with some concern. Freedom held unknown risk.

"And you shall, by your own coin," Kaprinicas said. "I offer you my old position and all the coin that goes with it. I ate well enough."

"Of course, my lady," Weri said, her agreement curling her lips.

"I do like the sound of that," Kaprinicas said, then sent Weri on to pull way too many flagons. There would be a great profit and a horrible mess by the time the night was through.

"My lady, might you be Owner Kaprinicas?" a sharply dressed soldier asked. He was a stocky man, youngish, and obviously proud of himself.

"Aye, sir," Kaprinicas replied. More of the Queen's doing, she was sure. It, unfortunately, reminded her of the ball - eleven more days of hoping to die. That, and there was so much to do before the morning waned.