"So it's time," murmured Rosa. Her hand rose to her chin, and she looked to be deep in thought. "Was it... the queen?"

"Yes. You've already heard, then," I said, eyebrows furrowed. "Everyone's in a panic." 

For as long as I had been alive, Durova had been peaceful, at least in terms of political reign. We hadn't had any notable revolts or coup d'etat attempts for the past fifty years, or so people were saying. The very term of 'treason' seemed so unfamiliar and dangerous to even say.

"The first treasonous act of our lifetimes." Rosa shook her head. "And there are many more to come."

I swatted Rosa on the back. "Don't say that!" I hissed. "Don't jinx it."

Rosa only squared her shoulders even more and met my eyes evenly. "The wheel has started turning, Filian. There's nothing we--nothing even I-- can do about it."

I sighed. "I'm starting to really think you might need some help," I said, eyeing her warily. The way she was going, putting more and more importance on herself, acting like she knew the future-- maybe I really did need to seriously consider Paul's suggestion and bring her to an apothecary.

"It would be nice if I did get some help," she agreed. She suddenly straightened up, her hand back on her chin and her eyes losing focus. "Actually," she said slowly, "that's not a bad idea. But enough of that. That's not what's important. Is the bar opening tonight then?"

I barked out a laugh. "As if we would ever close on a night like this. With this kind of news going on around, I doubt half this village will want to miss out on getting a seat at that place. Who knows what kinds of juicy rumors they'll get to hear?"

"What rumors?" a new voice asked, and we looked up to see Rosa's mother on the stairs. She was standing on the top most step, peering down at us with her shawl drawn over her shoulders. "Is something the matter? And hello there, Filian."

"Mother Lily!" I bolted up with a wide smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Still a bit under the weather, unfortunately." She smiled back weakly, coming down the stairs one step at a time. "That cold really got me bad this summer." She looked around. "Where are the little ones?"

"Outside playing," Rosa answered. She frowned. "Did you take your medicine?"

Mother Lily (for some reason, I'd called her that since I was little, and the nickname had sort of stuck--even though I was no longer a five-year-old confused about what to call adults around me.) rolled her eyes. As thin and weak she seemed nowadays, after months of suffering from a dire cold, her feisty nature didn't really change at all. "What are you, my stepmother? And yes, I did eat that nasty thing," she said, cutting Rosa off before she could say anything. "You nagging grandma."

Rosa turned around and gave me a look that said would you believe this woman?, but I was always on Mother Lily's side, so I lifted a shoulder and brushed past her. "We were just talking about the news, Mother."

"News?"

I lowered my voice. "Treason."

Her eyebrows shot up right away. "Treason? Now?"

I nodded. "I know, right? It's so unprecedented."

"Well actually," Rosa began, "it wouldn't be unprecedented because we did have prior treasonous--"

"Unprecedented, yes," Mother Lily smoothly cut in. "Go on. Tell me all the details." She sat down right on the bottom stair and looked at me expectantly. Rosa sulked.

I sat down cross-legged on the ground next to her and motioned Rosa to do the same. "You know how the king has always been a bit sickly these days? And the court was worried that Prince Alexander will have to take the throne at an early age?"

"He's not that young anymore, though," Mother frowned. "He's 17 already, isn't he?"

"Yes, but it's apparently still grounds enough for a regency. Some kind of law, made like a hundred years ago." I shrugged. "I don't know the details about that. But some people were afraid that his brother--"

"Whose brother?"

"King Sylvester's brother, the Prince's uncle! What's his name again?"

"Baltazar," Rosa said. "Prince Baltazar."

"Yeah, him. They thought he would try to establish himself as the regent over Prince Alexander, or something like that." I lowered my voice here into a hush. "But it turned out that the king had been sickly not because he was of a weak disposition, like we all thought, but because Queen Ilana had been poisoning him all this time!"

"Poison?" Mother gasped. Then she tilted her head. "But why? And how unfashionable, a death by poison. And why not kill him off with something stronger right away?"

"That's what I was thinking about," I said, straightening up. "The only reasoning I can follow is if she didn't want anyone to suspect the king's death wasn't natural."

"Right, and she would be able to time his death to be the most beneficial to her," surmised Mother. "And how did they figure out it was her?"

"I heard it was Prince Alexander who figured that out," I shrugged. "Though why he would call his own mother out, I wouldn't know."

Rosa stood up. "Okay, okay, enough of that, both of you." She shook her head. "I swear, whenever it comes to gossip, there's nobody out there to beat you two, even in the bar."

We looked at each other and laughed. "Oh, by the way, my mom wants you to come visit sometime. She said she has something ready for you. She wanted me to tell you that she was going to pay you back for what you did last time."

Mother Lily stood up as well, chuckling. "Good ol' Avaleen. Tell her I'll come by in a few days on one of my better hours. When will she be in?"

"Oh, but she said it has to be late at night, because you won't want anyone else to see what she's giving you."

"Ha! I already know what she's going to give me." Her grin turned mischievous. "Nah, tell her I'll be coming in the middle of the day when the sun is brightest."

I shrugged. "Whatever suits you best, Mother." I turned to Rosa. "And before I leave, cook wants you to know that it's full staff today. You know what that means, right?"

Rosa sighed. "Of course I do. Actually, if you're heading that way right now, I'll go with you."

I shared a few more pieces of gossip with Mother Lily while Rosa got ready, and after she had bribed the little ones to have this place clean by the time she'd be back from work, we set out in the dusty afternoon.

"Look, there's Paul!" I said, pointing to the man clutching his shoulder bag and going in front of us. I started waving. "Paul! Over here!"

Paul flinched and looked back, wariness just oozing out of his eyes. Ouch, but I was also kind of used to it by now. "Rosa, Filian," he greeted. 

"Going to the restaurant?" Rosa asked once we neared him.

He nodded. "It's full staff today."

"Don't we know it," I agreed. "How lucky! We'll be able to walk together." I flashed him a sunny smile, though his own smile seemed to scream that he did not consider our meeting to be lucky at all.

"So Paul, what made you move into town? Minstia's such a small place that--" I stopped. "Paul?"

Paul had stopped walking, looking like he'd seen a ghost. His hands loosened around his shoulder bag strap, and I stared back at him. "Paul, are you okay?"

He mumbled something.

"What?"

Rosa frowned, following Paul's gaze to the front of us. "Looks like he's staring at that lady," she whispered to me. I turned my head around to see who she was talking about, only to see a girl sweeping the road near her little house. 

"Do you know her?" I asked, looking back at Paul. He didn't answer, and instead he turned paler than before, going rigid. When I turned to the girl again, she had dropped her broom and was staring, open-mouthed, at Paul, too.

"Um, what is happening?" Rose asked me in a low voice.

I leaned towards her and answered, "You're asking the wrong person here, Rosa."

The girl took a step forward. "Paul...? Paul, is that you?"

"...near me."

She took another step forward, her hand reaching out towards him. "Paul?" 

He took a step back. "Don't..."

"It is you, isn't it?"

"No, no! Don't-- don't come near me!" And suddenly Paul bolted away. But he accidentally crashed into the fruit cart that had been passing by, and watermelons began rolling everywhere on the ground "Ack!" he yelled, then slipped on a watermelon and half-sat on another. He bounced off of that one and landed on his knees, groaning and rubbing his behind.

"Hey!" the cart owner cried. "My watermelons!"

"I'm sorry!" Paul yelped. "Very sorry! Excuse me!" He scrambled to his feet and somehow managed to run off amidst the rolling watermelons. 

"Young man, you better pay for this!" the owner cried, shaking a fist in his direction.

The girl, Rosa, and I all stood there, quite frozen ourselves, as watermelons rolled past us.

"What was that?" I said, in a daze.

Rosa shook her head. "That was just like a scene out of a drama."

"Yeah," I agreed. "It would've actually been funny on stage."

"No, not that drama-- well, I guess that one works too."

We fell silent once more. 

"I guess we should--"

"Yeah, probably--"

And that was how we spent the next thirty minutes hefting watermelons back up a stranger's cart, our coworker nowhere to be seen.