"Incredible," Azakar mused. "How did you learn it?"
"I grew up in a travelling circus," she replied. "I learned the art of imitation from one of the other performers. He was much better than me. How much am I getting paid for this, Keritanima?"
"What you're going to be doing is dangerous, so I'll pay you ten thousand gold crowns for this," she offered. That made the fox Wikuni give her a strangled look. "Believe me, Kalina, you'll earn every copper farthing."
"What do I have to do?" she asked, putting a hand to her stomach unconsciously.
"Nothing more than pretend to be me," she replied. "It's just that I'm in a bit of trouble, so there's a chance that you may get flogged. Just so you know up front."
"Well thank you very much for telling me that after you get me up here!" she barked testily.
"That's why I waited until you got up here," Keritanima said with a slight smile. "All you have to do is play me when I'm not here," she told the imposter. "Your job is to convince everyone that you're not coming out of this room, and you don't want to talk to anyone. It should be easy enough for you."
"What about the flogging?"
"Oh, that. My father wants me flogged as punishment for what I did to him. He's trying to remove the barriers I put in his way. There's an outside chance you'll be in here playing me when they come to get me. If that happens, do your best to delay it until I get back, so we can switch places. If you can't, well, I'll heal you of any injuries you suffer, and pay you an extra ten thousand crowns in compensation."
"What did you do to him?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, not much. I just assassinated his entire circle of advisors and most of his higher officials," she said casually.
"That was you?" Kalina asked, then she burst out laughing. "Ulfan's going to kill you. The big mess after that happened put the army on the streets, and that hurt Ulfan's business."
"What happened?"
"Well, House Kalthak brought in a huge private army a few days after we heard about the assassinations," she answered. "I think the King felt that was a prelude to a coup, so he called up the army and put them in the streets. Some of them are still here. Things have been tense in Wikuna since you left, Keritanima. Damon Eram raised taxes again, and he's cracked down hard on anyone who can't pay. There's alot of muttering in the streets about a revolt."
"He probably raised taxes to buy back some of the free agents," Keritanima mused aloud. "That, or he's just being greedy."
"Word on the street is that he's been buying the support of some of the larger noble houses," Kalina offered.
"Which ones?"
"House Tarn and House Zalan. There have even been rumors of a marriage between Damon Eram and a lady of House Zalan. Some even say it's Sheba."
"Those two would be perfect for each other," Keritanima snorted.
"Word is that Arthas Zalan is trying to get Sheba off a ship. She's become a serious embarassment for Wikuna. Marrying her off would drydock her for good."
"Well, we can't have that," Keritanima said absently. "I'll have to do something about that."
"Why not?"
"I don't want any cooperation between my father and the other noble houses," she replied. "They're supposed to be at each other's throats. I guess I'll have to do something about that as well."
"Good luck. Now then, show me to all those pretty dresses and sparkling jewels I get to wear while I'm here."
"All gone, I'm afraid," Keritanima said. "Part of my punishment. I do have something clean and whole for you, though."
"I'm liking this job less and less," Kalina grumbled.
"You're just upset that there will be no pretty baubles to steal this time," Keritanima said casually.
Kalina flushed.
"Don't worry. I took it out of your pay last time, Kalina," Keritanima said sweetly, patting her on the cheek. "Now let's get you dressed. I have some errands to run, and from the sound of it, I'd better get started soon."
After dressing Kalina up and instructing her how to act, and putting on Kalina's soiled garment herself, Keritanima put on Kalina's red cloak and pulled it around her. "Azakar, Miranda, you're with me," Keritanima announced. "Binter, you stay here to reinforce the idea that I'm the one sitting in here."
"I do not like this, Highness," Binter said bluntly. "I should be there to protect you."
"I have Zak, Binter," she smiled. "You trust Zak, don't you?"
"Only so far, because he is still young and he does not know the city," he answered honestly.
"Well, I have Miranda here to help out. I should be alright, Binter. In another way, you'll be protecting me much more by staying here than if you were with me."
"How is that?"
"Binter, my dear friend, everyone knows I won't so much as go to the kitchens without you," she said with a toothy grin. "If you're in here, then they'll believe that I'm in here. It's that simple."
"You speak truth," Binter said after a moment. "I will treat Mistress Kalina as if she were you."
"Just keep your mouth shut, Binter," Keritanima ordered. "Not a word to anyone until I get back. That way nothing slips out."
He nodded solemnly.
Weaving was a chore, because she had already tired herself out, but she didn't have the time to recover. She ensured that they would leave without being noticed by anyone, then Keritanima covered the three of them in the Illusion of palace servants. Then she simply had the others walk out the front door. Not a single guard, soldier, servant, noble, or visitor gave them so much as a strange look. Keritanima led the way until they were several blocks away from the Palace, when she dropped the Illusions covering her and Miranda, and tugged a bit on the neckline of the dress. It smelled like Kalina, sweat, spilled food and wine, and a few other scents that made the Wikuni princess recoil from certain areas of the dress instinctively. Kalina's bosom was just a bit fuller than Keritanima's, so it made the daring neckline of the dress loose and prone to shifting whenever she moved.
"Alright, so where do we begin?" Miranda asked as they walked along the wide avenues of Wikuna.
"We begin with Ulfan," she replied decisively.
Keritanima led them across the wide city of Wikuna, picking their way carefully to avoid known areas controlled by her father and noble houses, places where spies and agents would surely see Miranda and send people to investigate. They ended up in one of the poorest sections of the city, a place where many of the brownstones and rowhouses had windows boarded over, where decay and refuse was littering the streets. The pedestrians in the area were all dressed in clothes that made Keritanima's torn dress look rich by comparison. This was Lowtown, the place where most people hard on their luck, beggars, and debtors eventually ended up. It was usually the last stop on the spiralling freefall before the grave. It was populated by the unfortunate, the mentally ill, the criminals, and the beggars. They lived in the abandoned houses and buildings and on the streets like squatters, where each building was controlled by whoever tough or strongarm could keep control of it. Keritanima, under the guise of Lizelle, owned a vast majority of Lowtown, and she refused to sell it. She held onto it for reasons both compassionate and coldly logical. If Lowtown were sold and knocked down for more respectable housing, the people who lived here would have nowhere else to live. They would scatter all over the city, probably causing trouble and getting themselves thrown into prison, where their life expectancy would be cut from years to months. Since Lowtown provided a central point for the lowest class of society, it made it easy for those organizations that helped them to know where to come and provide for as many as possible. The buildings at the fringes of Lowtown often served as daily soup kitchens to help feed the homeless and destitute. And since Lowtown was here, it kept them out of the more affluent areas of the city, kept them from attacking innocent people for whatever they carried in their purses. Many of them did that anyway, but if Lowtown were gone, then many many more would be doing it as well.