Chapter 64: Chapter 60: Inside Job

We approached the palace for another two hours. It was well into the afternoon now, and even on horseback it was slow going through the mass of people. Everyone was moving busily this way and that, and the constant patrols and squadrons of soldiers moving everywhere didn’t help people overcome their confusion in the slightest, or make our passing any easier. 

 

Finally we arrived at what was most easily called the foot of the palace. Because of its elevated position, a moat hadn’t exactly been an option. Instead, it had been built on the rocky outcropping at the top of the cliff. Anyone approaching the palace had to do so by walking up a winding path, or risk climbing the bare rock, and then they’d be faced by the high castle walls. It was an impenetrable fortress of a building. We walked around it slowly, trying to get a feel for the place. We’d hitched our horses. We wouldn’t be needing them anymore, we’d figured, and we’d attract less attention this way. On one side, the city came to an end at the bottom of the slope at the seaside, where the harbor was. There wasn’t going to be any way to approach the palace from that angle. On the other side was the sheer cliff-face with the Dergow Delta in the depths below. We were hundreds of feet up, and the only thing that kept people from going over the edge were makeshift wooden bannisters that had been put up all over the city’s perimeter. Apparently people just tried not to fall off, though we did notice that traffic was noticeably lighter the closer you got to the cliff-face. Who would’ve thought it. 

 

From the edge of the cliff we could see the rest of the palace, however, as it bridged the gap between the cliff and the natural pillar of stone. It was as imposing as it was beautiful. We sat at the edge and ate the last of our rations as we looked at the building and considered our approach. 

 

“I’m assuming the front door is out?” Sally said jokingly. I’d considered it, to be honest. Run through the front door, make a beeline for the Queen’s private quarters before anyone could stop us. But that wouldn’t have solved any problems. We need to free her, and convince the populace that Anastasia hadn’t been brainwashed by the Demon Dragon Queen. We needed to find a way to placate or silence the lies of the Regents. 

 

Kazumi shook her head. She’d clearly also seen the value in considering all possible approaches, even the ones that were, on the surface, more than a little silly. “We have to assume they know, or at least suspect, that Liz is coming. I wouldn’t be surprised if the kingdom’s most powerful mages are in there, protecting the Regents.”

 

I hadn’t considered that, but it made sense. The mages would be protecting them, because the rich, powerful and dickish always protected themselves first, especially over those looking up to them for protection. “Do you think they’re still expecting me to show up with an army?” I asked and squinted up at the palace. Now that the afternoon had come around, the sun was low over the palace, and it reflected uncomfortably off the grey stone. 

 

She nodded. “I think they’re expecting an attack via the river, or from the north-west, at least. It’d be the easiest approach for an army. Either you’d have stacked your armies in a fleet and come downriver, or you would’ve simply marched by the ocean’s edge unhindered.”

 

“Don’t you think they’d be suspicious of there having been no sightings of an army?” I asked. I figured that a large army walking or sailing towards the capital would’ve been some cause for concern. The lack thereof should have clued them in.

 

“They don’t know what you can do, my love. As far as they know, you might be able to make an entire army disappear. I’m sure they’ve sent patrols all over toward the Dergow after we were spotted there…” She trailed off as we remembered our fateful crossing of the river. To an observer, we might have seemed like scouts or spies, merely the spearhead of an attacking army. 

 

“We could,” I posed, trying to think like the Regents might have, “even have made a deal with the Dragonborn to travel our armies through their lands, to move unobstructed.” Kazumi nodded. “So what does that give us? We have to hope that the fact that it’s just the three of us gives us some advantage.” We all chewed on that for a while. 

 

“We’re small and we’re not obvious. Nobody pays attention to demure women all layered up,” Sally said. “Trust me, I know.” I nodded to show I’d defer to her expertise in this matter. “Maybe, if we can get our hands on some servant’s clothing, we can find a way into the palace and move largely undetected?”

 

Kazumi chewed on a piece of salted meat -- and the idea -- for a moment. “It could work,” she said. “None of us look like warriors or assassins. We look like spoiled rich women.” Sally snorted. “So with the right attire, we won’t be noticed. There is of course one issue.”

 

“Where do we get the clothes?” I asked.

 

“Okay, there are two issues,” Kazumi said with a soft chuckle. “We need to find servant’s clothing. And a way into the palace. I’m not seeing a servant’s entrance anywhere. A place that is as well protected as this means everything has to go through the front gate. And we won’t be getting in that way without a proper reason, I don’t think,” Kazumi said. 

 

Sally grinned. “I think I have an idea for that,” she said, and though she looked entirely human there was the idea of sharp teeth and black eyes. “I can fly us up there.” Kazumi’s eyes grew wide. Clearly she wasn’t thrilled about that idea. 

 

“Hey, I can fly too,” I said, and Kazumi’s head shot towards me, managing to look even more alarmed now than she had just a minute ago. 

 

“Liz, with all the love and respect in the world, no,” she said. I cocked my head. I had wings, didn’t I?

 

“You’ve literally never flown in your life. Turning into your Demon self in the middle of the city is probably a bad idea. This is not the time for you to learn how to fly.” I coughed awkwardly. That was all true and I blushed furiously. She smiled upon seeing my embarrassment and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. “You’re beautiful when you blush,” she whispered, then turned back to Sally. “Can you carry us both?”

 

Sally nodded enthusiastically. “I spent a lot of time practicing back in Whitehallow. I can lift two cows at once!” She seemed inappropriately proud of that fact. Kazumi raised an eyebrow.

 

“How do you know that?”

 

“Practice,” Sally said innocently.

 

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“The cows, specifically.”

 

Sally hid her face behind her flask as she drank the last of her water. “No reason,” she mumbled. Kazumi shook her head with a smile, then looked back at the palace.

 

“If I remember the palace grounds correctly, from what Daniel told us, if you can fly under the palace bridge,” she pointed at the part of the palace that was suspended over the river, “there should be a series of terraces on that side looking out over the ocean. I think it’ll be the easiest way to get in, and if you stay close enough to the cliffside, we won’t be spotted.”

 

I sighed and looked up at the palace again. “And the clothing?” I asked “We still need to go undetected. Our traveling clothes will get spotted immediately.” Kazumi nodded and seemed to think for a moment.

 

“If I remember correctly, a lot of those terraces belong to the guest rooms. If we can find one that is occupied but currently empty, we might be able to go through their clothing? There has to be a woman in the castle, no?” She considered. “It won’t be as inconspicuous as going as a servant, but it’ll be a lot better than nothing. And perhaps we can go from there?”

 

I nodded. It was the best plan we had. “When do we go? I don’t want to burn any more daylight than we can afford to.”

 

Sally shrugged. “I can go now.”

 

Kazumi looked at me, and I nodded. Sally flung herself off the edge of the cliff before we could say anything. In mid air, she’d taken off her transformation stone and she turned a deep red as her wings caught her, and she slowly ascended gracefully. She’d gotten very good at flying, clearly. She caught the edge of the cliff with one hand and hung off it like a swimmer at the edge of a pool. 

 

“Ready?” she asked with a cheeky grin.

 

“You almost gave me a conniption,” Kazumi said with a sigh. “This is going to be horrifying, isn’t it?”

 

“Well, it’s actually quite nice if you can fly,” Sally said. 

 

“I can not,” Kazumi glared. 

 

“Then it’s probably not gonna be great, no,” Sally laughed. She poked her head over the edge of the cliff for a moment. This close to the edge, nobody had paid much attention to us, but she couldn’t just jump up. A demon girl on the street would’ve been too obvious. “Hop on,” she said to Kazumi. With a groan, Kazumi obliged and climbed over the edge and onto Sally’s back, wrapping her arms around the girl’s neck. Sally barely seemed to notice and offered me a hand. 

 

“Ready?” she said. I nodded and took her hand and she yanked me off at the same time as she let go. Just like that we were in free-fall, and accelerating fast. The wind rushed past us, and tears got caught in my eyes simply from the friction. And then, just like that, we slowed down as Sally’s wings went whoompf. Then, with strong, swift beats of her wings, we started climbing again as she carried us close to the cliff-face. Just like she’d bragged, she flew as if we were barely there, clearly enjoying being airborne again. She hadn’t had the chance -- or the urge, as I remembered how melancholy she’d been when we were with the Dragonborn -- to fly much in the past few weeks. Spreading her wings again probably felt like true freedom. 

 

She carried us under the giant rocky outcropping the palace was built on, and I marveled as I looked up. The structure protruded with balconies and spires, and I couldn’t help but wonder just how structurally sound this whole thing was. We slowly ascended towards the palace, and the grey stone shone in the sunlight. Very carefully, Sally raised us to the lowest balcony and I grabbed on to pull myself up, peering over the edge. There was a door with a large window beside it. Nobody seemed to be on this or the surrounding balconies and I hoisted myself up with ease, and then pulled up Kazumi and Sally. Kazumi was pale in the face and I looked at her with concern. She politely raised a finger, turned around and threw up the last of her dinner over the edge of the balcony. I rushed forward to hold back her hair. I’d done so at parties before, but this situation was an odd first.

 

“Are you okay, love?” I asked when she stood back up and she leaned on the bannister to catch her breath. 

 

She wiped her forehead with her sleeve. “Never again,” she mumbled. 

 

“Do you need a minute?”

 

She took a deep breath and straightened herself up, coughed softly, retrieved her flask, swirled some water around in her mouth and rubbed her hands over her face. “I’m ready,” she said as she turned around, elegant as always. Sally had put her magic stone back on, and was busy fixing up her hair. We stepped inside the door carefully. There were three young women changing the bedsheets who all looked at us with utter confusion. I had to find a way to diffuse the situation, and fast. We couldn’t afford them running for help, but I also wasn’t going to condone straight-up murdering the staff. 

 

I had to say something.

 

“Hiya!”