Kazelia!

You end up in a contraband storage closet. This wouldn’t be so bad, except you dumped a couple of boxes onto your lap, breaking them open. That wouldn’t be so bad, either, except inside them was a) a bunch of weird potions, I don’t even know what they do, feel free to tell us what happened when they got all over you, and b) a bunch of formerly dormant Jedadi rope vipers.

Formerly, mind you.

So here you are, getting trussed up in interesting ways, trying to shake loose the two curling around your neck and gliding menacingly up your chin, when you hear the voice that makes your stomach plummet at a million miles an hour, far past Devilhome.

Your father’s voice.

“Pathetic.” He’s standing there in his dark cloak and finely pressed formal evening wear, looking down at you with mild contempt. You don’t deserve anything more than that. “Every time I lower my standards to accommodate you, you miraculously manage to somehow disappoint me again.”

This... this isn’t real. This can’t be. There’s an illusionist here, right? Breathe. Don’t panic. Breathe. Use your words while you still can, and try in vain to reach for the box containing the song... just in case.

***

Adila!

“Am I okay? Am I okay?” Oh, boy. That hit registers usually reserved for small birds. “No, I am not ‘okay,’ you date-brained lizard!”

She pouts like a champion. “You ignored my legitimate complaints, you allowed that mad dog of yours to molest the Captain, you allowed harm to come to me inside your very own citadel, and I am telling Shazari everything!!”

So. Um. This is not good, per se. This is in fact bad, and if you don’t do anything about her...

Nothing will happen! Right now and immediately, that is.

Later, Things Will Happen.

You will probably not like those things.

But that can be a problem for future Adila, if you like!

***

Alina!

The King completely misses the exchange of meaningful, pained looks that pass between you and Rhyza, but we have to cut him a bit of slack here: his mind’s racing faster than a Rowani thoroughbred.

“Alina,” he says, after a moment, clapping you on the shoulder. You nearly drop the music box! But he instantly course corrects, brings a hand up under the corner tilting into space, and saves us all from having to watch your face as you look at a broken music box on the floor.

“If you’re right, and these Riders have their eyes on the Bazaar, they’ve got the Watch on their payroll. I like the sellsword as much as you do, but we can’t really trust the Watchwoman.”

Ugh. Double dealing. It’s such a mess, isn’t it? He continues.

“Other than that... the smart thing for them to do would be to have eyes and ears at the House of Hospitality. The Watch has all the princesses holed up there. They might even have princesses working with them.” That is the most horrible thought ever. “But I think I can get you inside to investigate and figure out for sure. Don’t worry, no one will know you’re Alina Cascade. That’s our little secret.”

Maybe you ask out loud, and maybe you just give him a puzzled look, and he winks at you. “They’re a bunch of princesses, and everyone knows they’re most dangerous when they’re bored. So there is a lot of demand at the old H-oh-H for... entertainment.”

Oh no.

Oh no oh no oh no.

You can tell he’s asking you to do this because he trusts you, weirdly. You’re a princess! They can do anything, and so you must be familiar with all the other princesses and able to sniff out any suspicious activity, and of course you’re the one person in this room most likely to be able to sniff out the Riders. It all makes sense.

But you also know exactly how he intends to sneak you in.