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When the king made her his future queen, she was given Lady Virginia as a lady-in-waiting.
She had never had any close friends before, and the only other women she spent time with were ones that she fought with, ones that she trained with and knew that she would someday kill. Within two days of knowing Lady Virginia, though, her perceptions of women had been altered. She had thought these ladies of the court were weak and mindless, lacking both strength and sense.
Virginia had both of those things and a determination that Natalia admired. Were this not a ruse, were she not returning to her own land and Alexei's orders when it was over and the king was dead, she would want to keep hold of this... companionship.
“Boys,” Virginia said, shaking her head, and Natalia looked over at her. The other woman sipped from her goblet and gestured to the ground below them. “They should have outgrown these games and this rivalry by now. They are such children.”
“All men are children,” Natalia said, knowing how easy it was to manipulate them.
“Yes, they are,” Virginia agreed, and Natalia thought she was speaking of a specific one that was not either of the two down in the courtyard preparing to ride. She had heard rumors of a lord that was a notorious scoundrel, rich as the devil but as lascivious as one as well, and Virginia had once been courted by the man—she was said to be the only one he had not managed to seduce.
He had not been seen in some time, though.
“He should not do this. It will only give them another reason to love Hawkeye instead of him,” Virginia said, setting her goblet down on the balcony's railing. Natalia nodded, joining her at the rail. She had already seen how much affection the people had for the younger brother. Her orders were to kill the older one, but if she wanted chaos, wanted a country that could be manipulated, the one that should die was the younger.
Hawkeye jumped onto his steed with ease and a bit too much flair, getting cheers from other nobles and the few commoners that could see them. The king scowled as he dragged himself into the saddle of his own mount.
“I suppose the men are taking wagers.”
“There would be little point in it,” Virginia said. “Everyone knows that Hawkeye will win.”
“Then why watch?”
Virginia only smiled, and the sound of the cheers grew louder as the horses started into motion. The king cheated, spurring his horse on before his brother. Hawkeye did not need the headstart. His mount quickly overtook his brother's, hooves tearing up the dirt as it sprinted ahead. He grinned back at his brother, allowing the king to catch him for a moment and then speeding up again.
They must play this game often, though Natalia had not witnessed it before. Hawkeye played it with affection, teasing his brother, trying to make it a challenge. The king played it with anger. He seemed to need to beat his brother at something, anything, though he had chosen a poor arena for that. His brother was a better horseman. Hawkeye could have ridden without a saddle or reins. The horse seemed to know what he was thinking and obey without direction from him, at least none that could be seen from here. He leaned forward and patted the stallion on the neck, speaking to his ear, and then the king was covered in dust, left well behind as Hawkeye circled back to the starting line.
The crowd began cheering again.
“Perhaps we should feel sorry for the horses.”
Virginia smiled, amused. “And I thought you were going to say you were marrying the wrong brother.”
“Excuse me?”
“You were watching Hawkeye the entire race, not the king.”
Virginia, Natalia decided, was a dangerous woman to know. She was wrong about Natalia's reasons for watching Hawkeye, but that did not change how observant she was and how much of a threat that could prove to be.