In Which Mona Is Told All

March 4, 1179

For all the Carvalli coast was renowned for its heat, the breeze did get nippy in the winter, even with spring almost close enough to touch. Mona had learned to cope, though. The blacksmith's forge was always lit and air in that room was better than any blanket she'd ever owned. The cute apprentice didn't hurt either.

The castle town was crawling with attractive men, actually. The baker had the clearest eyes. Those twin stable boys were built like gods and when that one guard flashed his smile... oh. The best part was that she was free to notice. Adrius wasn't hard on the eyes, but woe behold if Anna's eyes flitted elsewhere. Not that Mona thought Adrius would do much about it, but Devidra...

But! There was no sense thinking about that now. Anna liked Adrius. Adrius liked Anna. And if Anna wasn't Mona, no one was any the wiser, were they? Why should she waste her time worrying about it? It may have been crisp, but the sky was blue and the sun was out, she was freshly warmed and surrounded by dark, handsome men; there was no reason for her not to just enjoy the rest of the day.

At least, until a hand wrapped itself around her arm.

"Anna."

Mona froze. She recognized the voice as Zareth's, even given how little he spoke. But what was he doing here? She'd never seen him out and about in town. Zareth stuck to himself, kept to his rooms when he was off duty, paid local urchins some amount to run errands for him. Why had he come on his own today? Had he followed her? "Let go of me."

"I'm not going to hurt you." His grip eased, as if to make good on his word. The hand still remained. "I just want a word--in private, if you don't mind."

A word in private? One of the guards had asked her that her first week here. She'd been foolish enough to oblige and the next thing she knew, she'd been in the broom cupboard, a tongue down her throat and something that was definitely not a broom handle poking at her leg. Thank God Anna had walked by just in time to save her. "There's nothing that can't be said out here."

"Really?" He didn't press against her, but his head hovered over her shoulder, mouth at ear level. His breath wove through her hair and shot gales up her scalp. "So you'd be willing to discuss it all in public... your highness?"

Whatever remained of Mona's breakfast shot up from her stomach and wedged itself in her throat. The passing people blurred to blobs, their eyes their only distinct features. And every one was turned on her. "I--"

"As I said--in private."

He pulled her back into the alley and through the door behind the baker's shop. The room turned out to be a pantry: small, stocked with barrels and pots and bags of flour, not an occupant to be had before them. "Can we--?"

Zareth pushed her in further and shut the door behind them, hand lingering a minute on the wooden planks. "The baker won't mind, if that's what you want to know. He's an old friend."

It was the last detail she cared about. "You did see us."

He nodded. Mona perched herself atop a barrel and shivered. The warmth of the forge was a world away now. "I hoped you forgot, or the light had been bad..."

"I have good eyes and I forget nothing." She believed it. She didn't know him at all but she believed it. "I meant to tell you sooner, but there were no opportunities. I had to make one."

His eyes were a teal green like hers, but they were darker, meaner, and never moreso than now. They were the kind of eyes to which exteriors were transparent. He could see her toes twitching in her boots and her heart beating in her chest and her thoughts swirling in her mind. He could probably see her naked too. She hoped Anna would hold up better if he confronted her too.

Oh God. Anna. "It--it wasn't Anna's idea. I came up with--"

"I know." Mona exhaled. Zareth crossed his arms and approached, opting to lean against the wall by her back. The only warmth in the room was radiating off of him. "You come and go as you please. If she lets you do so, then she knows you won't tell, and if she knows you won't tell, then it's advantageous to you. You must have arranged it. You never wanted to marry King Adrius, did you?"

Did that make her a horrible person? "It's not that I don't like him..."

"No. You just don't want to marry him." She could do much other than nod. Satisfied, Zareth slumped somewhat. "But I won't tell, if that's what you're worried about. If I'd wanted to tell, I would have told earlier."

Mona frowned. It was true that he'd had plenty of time, but that made it all the more confusing. "What can you possibly gain from not telling?"

"Nothing."

"Then why would you keep my secret?"

If only to frustrate her, he shrugged. "It's not mine to tell."

Of course it wasn't. Didn't mean it would have stopped most people. "That's not all."

"No," he admitted, weary eyes leering back at the door, "but it's all I'll tell you."

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