((Takes place about a week after Conspiracy.))

June 9th, 1615

A dark night for dark deeds. The midsummer festival in Berengaria loomed, and the pieces were moving. Lords were entering the courtly ways, an assassin was hidden in the city itself, and to one opulent townhouse, two separate deliveries were made. One in a black cloak, his face hidden from any casual glance, escorted under arms and taken charge of by princely guards; the other in a carriage a while later, pale faced beneath her hood as she, too, was given into the care of those guards. Any who tried to enter with them were politely but firmly rebuked, for this was a prince's home, and none may enter where they are not invited.

Though he'd been told he was a guest, kept at the townhouse for his own safety until his presence was needed, Henry felt more like a prisoner. Though a simple commoner, he wasn't stupid enough to think they were going to let him live once their plan came to fruition. What did he know about being a prince or even pretending to be one" He knew the men who'd brought him here were up to no good, but there wasn't much he could do to stop them so long as his sister's life was in danger. They had already murdered his mother, and he could not allow the same thing to happen to his sister, and so, what choice did he have but to go along with their scheme, as much as it went against his own nature. He was beginning to believe that his supposed resemblance to the Crown Prince was more curse than gift. Though he had once fancied himself a soldier in service to the king, all he wanted now was to live his life in peace and make sure his sister was safe.

Left to his own devices, he'd thrown off the cloak and was pacing the rooms that made up his quarters, like a bird in a gilded cage. The men who'd brought him here had been different than those who'd taken him from his house, though it mattered little whether they were polite or rude. He was be played as a pawn in a game of chess where people's lives were at stake, the most important life being that of the Crown Prince of Pomerania.

The sound of the carriage arriving was audible to him, though his window did not give a good view of who alighted. He did not have to wait long, however, to find out who had joined him in his gilded cage. There was a knock on the door - more warning than request - and it opened to reveal a middle-aged woman who must have been the housekeeper. She nodded to him with a gentle smile, looking back over her shoulder to someone behind her. "In here, milady," she said, reaching back to draw that someone into the room.

Cloaked and hooded, there was no way Henry couldn't recognize his own little sister, despite the bruise on her cheek and the finery she now wore. As the door closed behind her, Elspeth burst into tears, rushing across the room to thump into her brother's embrace. "I thought you were dead ..."

He peered out the window, trying to discern who it was that had arrived to no avail, but he didn't have to wonder for long as his sister was soon rushing into his embrace and dissolving into tears. "Els," he whispered, in a soothing and obviously relieved voice as he wrapped her in his embrace, before taking a moment to take a really good look at her. "Is it really you? They told me they'd kill you if I didn't do as they said."

Lifting her head, she sniffed, nodding as though to confirm that it truly was her, his sister. "They- they killed Mother," she whimpered, gripping his tunic tightly in her hands. "Harry ....what?s going on' Why are they doing this to us?"

The first thing he noticed about her was the bruise on her cheek, and his expression darkened with anger, even as he tenderly traced it with his fingertips. "Els, what did they do to you, the brutes" I'll kill them for daring to lay their hands on you! Tell me they did not hurt you ....they did not ....violate you," he pleaded, hating the sound of the word. His expression changed once again, softening as she whimpered and tugged on his tunic. "Yes, I know about Mother, Goddess rest her soul," he murmured, refusing to give in to the grief just yet. His sister needed him to be strong now if they were to survive this. "I'm afraid it's my fault, sweetling. They think I bear a resemblance to the Crown Prince, hence this ..." he said, indicating the scruff of a beard that was uncharacteristic of him.

She shook her head once again as he pleaded with her. "It doesn't matter," she said quietly. Whatever had been done to her, she could bear it now she was with her beloved brother once again. "None of this is your fault, Harry. You can't carry the blame for your handsome face, or the plots and plans of others. Mother would turn you over her knee if she could hear you."

More cursed than handsome, he thought, if a simple thing like his face had brought this trouble on them and cost their dear mother her life. "Mother would be hard pressed to do so now that I've grown," he said, his heart aching at the thought of her. She had been a kind and loving mother, proud of her children and doting on them as much as she could, despite their lot in life. He pulled his sister to him once again, not wanting her to see the tears that burned his eyes at the thought of her suffering and that of their mother. "I am glad you are safe, Els. I swear I will let no harm come to you." Even if it cost him his life, like their mother, it was a price he was willing to pay to keep his sister safe.

Elspeth tucked herself close into her brother's arms, more pleased to see him than frightened of being caught showing that delight. "I have missed you, Harry," she admitted quietly. "I did not know where you were, or what they were doing to you. I have prayed so much to the Goddess, She must be tired of my voice by now."

"I have missed you, too," he replied, gentling his voice. Though she was dressed in finery the likes of which she'd never known, and an ugly bruise adorned her face, she was still the same sister he had always adored and that he had sworn to protect. The thought of that stabbed at his heart painfully. "I have failed you, Els. I failed you and I failed Mother," he confessed mournfully.

"No!" She drew back, gripping his tunic once again as she scowled up at her brother. "Don't you ever think that. What could you have done" They took you weeks before they came for us, and I have not seen you in all that time. You have failed nobody. Mother ..." She faltered, but tried to go on. "Mother's dead because of me. Her death is on my conscience, Harry, not yours."

One brow flicked upwards at her confession, though he sincerely doubted his sister could be blamed for anything, much less their mother's death. "Listen to me, Els. None of this is your fault. None of it. I don't know what happened after ....after they took me away, but I know Mother's death was not your fault. It was their fault, and they are going to pay."

"How?" she asked, her voice and expression close to hopeless. A few months ago, they had been simple, common folk, loyal to their duke and their king. Now they were caught up in some game that was entirely beyond her to understand. "They said ....they said I'm to be someone's mistress."

"You will be no one to anyone, unless you choose to be!" Harry told her, though he knew his own words to be false. He wasn't sure what their plans for his sister were precisely, but he hoped that by cooperating with their captors, he could at least keep her alive, though he'd failed their mother. Whether her virginity would be kept safe was another matter altogether, but he would do what he could to protect that, too. "What happened to you, sweetling?" he asked, gentling his voice again and touching that bruised cheek of hers. He guessed she had a story to tell and perhaps it would ease her pain to tell it.

The door opened, and a tall, dark-haired man entered confidently, richly dressed. He looked at them both, intelligent eyes touched with compassion for their situation, and bowed. "My lady, my lord," he greeted them. "Forgive me for the manner in which you were brought here - the secrecy was, and still is, necessary for your survival." He looked about the room. "Has no one brought you food or drink?"

Harry gripped his sister's hand, letting her know without speaking that he would not let any more harm come to her. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the man who entered, unwilling to trust him, despite his lordly manners. "Please don't insult our intelligence by pretending we are your guests and not your prisoners," Harry said, with just a trace of pride and defiance.

The dark haired man held his gaze for a moment, and snorted with amusement. "When your hair is dyed, not even my mother will be able to tell the difference, I'll be bound," he chuckled, shaking his head. He sighed, raising a hand to still any further response. "You have no reason to trust me, I know. But I am afraid I must ask for your trust. For without it, my brothers will die, my sweet little sister will be cast aside, and the future of Pomerania and her realms will be forever fallen into shadow." He went to one knee, his hands and expression open and without guile. "I am Maksim, second son of the High King, and I ask you this not as your prince, but as your cousin. You are of our blood, both of you. We will not see thrown to the wolves."

Beside her brother, Elspeth gasped softly, her grip tightening on Henry's hand. "The prince?" she repeated in shock, her eyes turning to her brother. Who was she to believe here"

"Liar!" Harry shouted, surging to his feet, all the anger and rage that had been pent up inside him since their lives had been turned upside down coming to the fore as he threw a fist at the man claiming to be the second son of the king.

The fist connected, dropping Maksim down onto his back with blood blooming from his lip. Elspeth lurched to her feet, reaching for her brother, even as armed guards burst into the room, leveling their weapons directly at Henry.

"Hold fast!" the captain ordered the young man who had struck his prince. "How dare you lay hands upon a prince of the blood!" The guards advanced, clearly intending to take Henry into their custody at the very least, only to be forestalled by the prince himself.

"Hold, hold," Maksim wheezed, rising onto his feet as he touched his bleeding lip. "He has cause, and right. Captain, return to your post. Do not return unless you are summoned."

And though clearly reluctant, the guards did as they were ordered, marching smartly from the room at their captain's back.

Maksim mustered a wry smile for the young man who had hit him when he wasn't expecting it. "You have a good arm," he complimented him. "Care to try it when I know it's coming?"

But Henry was too angry - or perhaps too distraught - to let the armed guards frighten him. If they wanted to kill him, they might as well do it. He was tired of playing the part of a pawn and a puppet, and the offense to his sister's virtue only fueled the rage that burned inside him. He was also no fool, however, and he froze where he stood, hands fisted at his sides, his face a mask of mingled rage and pain and defiance. He watched as the other man ordered his men out, despite the offense, and turned back with an unexpected smile. "Care to explain why we've been brought here and what you want from us?" Yes, the man had explained a little already, but Henry was reluctant to believe his explanation.

"This plot is bigger than you think, or indeed, the plotters believe," Maksim informed them, gesturing for the siblings to sit down as he pulled a napkin from a nearby drawer to stem the blood from his lip. "They think they have found a mirror of my elder brother by chance, that it is simply luck that brought your likeness into this world. But no man bears such a resemblance to another without some familial connection, and I told you the truth. You are cousins of the royal blood; your father is Prince Henri, Commander General of Pomerania's armies, and younger brother to the High King. And in making you a part of their plot to seize power, the Coimbrans and the Pomeran lords have played a hand too vast for them to possibly survive."

Harry, as he was commonly known to those close to him, returned to his sister's side, circling a protective arm around her shoulders as if to shield her from this man claiming to be prince. He was not sorry he had split the man's lip - not yet. If he was telling the truth and he was indeed a king's son, there would be time for apologies later. "What proof do you have that you speak the truth' Our mother is dead - murdered defending my sister's honor, and as far as I know, the dead do not speak. If this man is my father - our father - he has made no acknowledgment of our existence, so where is your proof, prince - if indeed, you truly are who you say."

"My proof is in your face," Maksim pointed out. "And in the stipend my uncle paid to your mother after your birth, a stipend that was increased with the birth of your sister. She never married, though she could have been given to many suitable men. My uncle was not so careful in hiding you as he thinks, and I have reason to believe he will acknowledge you both now, to protect you from further machinations."

Though Harry's hand was throbbing from the punch thrown, he made no mention of it. It was just another bruise and one he did not yet regret. He listened to everything the man had to say, seeing the sense in it. It made far more sense than anything he'd been told or assumed thus far. He knew his mother had loved their father, but she had told them very little about who he was or why they were not together. "I want no part of this plot to kill your brother. We are loyal subjects to the crown, but if what you say is true, I will do whatever I can to thwart such a plot and bring those responsible to justice, not only for the prince's sake, but for that of my mother's memory and my sister's safety."

"Then, cousin, you will need to trust me a little," Maksim told him. "Please, sit down." He gestured once more for them to sit, making himself comfortable in a chair not far away from them. "I apologize, my lady, for what you have suffered. If I had known that Maverly planned to take you to his own estate, I would have demanded custody of you sooner. Rest assured, he will be punished for his treatment of you." And if Henry was in any doubt as to Maksim's sincerity, he need only notice the fury in the prince's eyes as he spoke to Elspeth.

For herself, Elspeth was lost in the minutiae of what was happening, sinking down into her seat without even thinking as she glanced between the prince and her brother.

Henry waited until his sister and the prince were seated before he followed suit, looking to his sister's comfort before settling himself beside her. No, no food or drink had yet been brought to them, but they had not been here very long before the prince arrived to join them. Henry clenched his jaw again at the mention of the lord who had molested his sister, but he said nothing about it, not wanting to upset her more than necessary. It would take far more than an apology to appease Harry's desire for justice. "Forgive my impertinence, but you will need to give me time before I can trust you completely."