Nightingale and Eagle; Dinner With the King
This is the second story covering the 5 years that were just mentioned in the initial series.
Again, Nightingale is not my original character, but is based, loosely, on the Royal Thieves character in the mobile and PC game Evony; The King’s Return by Top Games.
Duke seemed to chuckle as Nightingale checked her hair again. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine on this date.”
Nightingale turned to him a bit of frustration mixed with amusement in her voice. “It’s not a date. At least, not according to the message.”
Earlier that day, a messenger dropped off an invitation for Nightingale, alone, to join Eagle for dinner that evening. Her heart kept fluttering at the idea, wondering what the topic of conversation would be.
Ever since their return to the kingdom, a couple of months ago, people got used to seeing them, some even greeting them as friends. It was odd, seeing that they usually didn’t stay this long, but Nightingale still felt like they should stay. Something felt so right about this place.
And then this invitation made her heart flutter. It didn’t mention that it was an official date, no mention of courtship, nothing on that regard, but Nightingale still felt the faint stirrings of hope. Dare she believe it might be?
Before, when she’d hook up with a royal, she’d usually end up killing them, but that was centuries ago, before she started hanging around with Duke and Nell. Still, she’d never been invited to have dinner with any royal by herself.
She checked the mirror again, satisfied, finally. Nell sat in the corner opposite Duke, smiling. “You’ll be fine. You look beautiful, as always.”
She reached out and touched his arm. “Thanks. Now I need to get…”
There was a knock on the door and, a little hesitantly, Duke answered. It was an escort, an official escort, for Nightingale.
They’d been in the palace several times, Eagle himself sometimes guiding them on tours of it. Yes, it was very expensive looking, but it seemed a real crime, pun intended, to try and case the place. During the time they spent there, it became very apparent that the citizens thought Eagle was a good leader, a capable one. Quite unlike the others they’d robbed over the centuries.
Besides, like the citizens, they were taken care of. They helped Eagle to try and discover some more about their unique biology, since he was so curious about it. She had to admit, she’d been curious about it herself, for centuries.
Her escort opened a door to a room she hadn’t been in before. She had to gasp a little as it was lit with diffuse candles. It spoke of elegance, even though it was relatively small. “Ah, Nightingale, please, come in.”
Eagle stood, inviting her to join him at the table. It wasn’t a large table, not like the great banquet halls she’d seen elsewhere in the palace. In the middle was a single candle, bright but not too bright. Eagle was standing by one of the two chairs, so Nightingale approached the other.
Surprisingly, Eagle came around the table to pull the chair out for her. The simple act made her pause for a moment before she sat, smiling at the manners presented. Or was he just that kind of good person? “I hope you like this. I wanted it to be something good.”
The first course was brought in, with goblets of what appeared to be wine. Nightingale stuttered for a moment before she found what she wanted to ask as she saw what was before her. “So how is the kingdom today?”
Eagle laughed, but not at her. “Bureaucracies are really tedious and need to be streamlines. I’m inundated with them all the time. Then there’s the military budget and the healthcare. It can be surreal sometimes.”
Nightingale couldn’t help but laugh. She remembered only a bit about all that from….somewhere. But it seemed like he was being so genuine she couldn’t help herself. He leaned in after swallowing a bite. “But what about you and your compatriots Nightingale? How are you settling in?”
She put up a hand. “Please, my friends call me Gale.”
He seemed taken aback by that pronunciation. “So you like being called after a dangerous storm that uproots trees and homes? No, we need something better, something that fits you.”
She hadn’t really thought about that before, but, yeah, that seemed right. “Like what?”
He thought about it a moment before a smile crossed his face. “Thieves like you seem to do their best work at night, the best blending in perfectly. So why not Night?”
Here he was, complimenting her on her occupation, but she had one stipulation. “Okay, but only for you.”
He smiled at that idea before she decided she needed to get down to business. “Now why have just me here? The other two are a part of it as well.”
Eagle didn’t seem phased by the question at all. “You’re the leader.”
That surprised her. “Me? No, we kind of decide together, and…”
He cut her off. “I’ve seen the way they both seem to follow what you want to do. I’d say they’re enamored with you, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
Nightingale thought about it a moment as she took a bite of chicken. Good chicken. In fact, as she thought about it, everything just seemed good. “Okay, I guess. Why did you want to talk to me?”
Eagle reached across and touched her hand. She felt a jolt of electricity where he touched her, making her heart skip a beat. “I’d like to hire the three of you to be my personal bodyguards.”
She gasped a moment as he took his hand back almost unconsciously. She wanted him to touch her again, it felt so good, but she got her mind back on track. “Don’t you have guards and support staff around you all the time?”
He nodded, but went on with his proposal. “Yes, but think about having guards that, really, can’t be killed. Plus, if you three stay, we can do some more investigating into your abilities, maybe figure a few things out.”
She thought about it a moment, but went off on a tangent. “You know, we’ve been around so long I don’t even remember my birth name.”
He smiled at her, and she felt another warming sensation all throughout. “But do you remember the first time you died?”
She smiled, liking this so much. “Oh yes. Beheaded for a murder I really didn’t commit. But such is the life of a poor peasant.”
That seemed to make him think for a moment. “What? No investigation? No real looking at the facts?”
She sighed, admitting something about it. “I don’t really remember too much, but I think they just caught me with the dead body and assumed I’d done it.”
he looked troubled. “That should never be the case. There should always be some kind of investigation when something like that happens, never a rush to judgment.”
She nodded, agreeing almost automatically. “Oh yes. That’s part of the reason we do what we do.”
He cocked his head to one side, almost curious, so she went on. “We’ve been in places where the normal citizens are poor and can barely get by. We’ve been where the soldiers thrive on demeaning the peasants. That’s when we decide to strike.”
He nodded, thinking for a moment. “It’s not right for anyone in charge to think they have complete power. It’s the responsibility of the rulers to do what they can to lift people out of poverty without sacrificing the good of others.”
She couldn’t believe she was hearing him right. It was what she’d believed all along. She reached over and grabbed his hand unconsciously before she realized what she was doing. “Exactly. It’s something that people don’t understand, that other people, no matter what, are just as important as them.”
He looked down to where she’d touched him with a bit of a smirk. She realized she’d done it, almost apologizing, before she found herself saying something surprising. “I’m not a virgin, you know.”
As she took her hand back, he regarded her for a moment. “A woman as beautiful and as old as you are, I’d be surprised if you were.”
She had no idea why she’d said that, but he just took it in stride. Almost as if it was expected.
They talked like that for what seemed like hours, just discussing their views on things. She shared some thoughts about her condition and he promised to look into it, really curious about it.
After dessert, he led her to the entrance for the palace. “This was thoroughly enjoyable. We should do it more often.”
As he said that, she felt a rush of adrenaline. Yes, somewhere, she knew she wanted that so much. What was going on?
As he kissed her hand, asking an escort to take her back to her quarters, she really had to wonder. For the past several centuries, all she and the others seemed to focus on was their mission, to right wrongs, to fix injustices. But, really, were they selfish?
Eagle seemed selfless.
But, as she got back, Nell looked at her a moment. “What’s wrong with your hand?”
She looked down, a little surprised to find that the hand Eagle kissed was still up in the air, as if it had been bestowed a great gift. “Oh, nothing.”
Did her voice sound different? What was going on with her?