On His Mane's Secret Service
Chapter 11

She woke up early and dressed quickly as Dar’Amon roused himself.

“Raj? Where are you going?”

“Just… stay here, will you? I’ve got something to do. I should be back before midday.”

“Can I come along? It doesn’t take me long to get dressed!” he said with a cat’s smile.

“Sorry Dar, not this time. But you’ll thank me if this works. Just stay here, and when the maids enter, for goodness’ sake don’t talk!”

“Okay. If you say so.”

She rushed out of the palace and to the headquarters of the HMSS, but at the door she was halted by the guard.

“Please, I need to see Queue. Can you get him for me? Please? It’s… important!”

“I’m sorry, Ra’Jirra. You know you’re not allowed in anymore,” said the guard she had known for years. “And there’s no one else here to take over for another ½ hour for me to go find him.”

Ra’Jirra nervously sought for some solution, but the outer door opened before she could think of anything, and in walked Em’s secretary, Ms. Ponsonby.

“Ms. Posonby! Thank goodness you’ve come. Could you do me a huge favor? I need to talk to Queue. It’s urgent!”

The old khajiit squinted at her. “Ra’Jirra. I’d not thought to see you back here again. Now what’s all this nonsense about? You’re not even supposed to be in the building as an ex-agent.”

Exasperated, Ra’Jirra appealed to the crotchety old cat, “I’m only a concubine of the fucking Mane now! JEEZE! Please Ms. Ponsonby! You helped me once. Just this once more!”

“Why?” she asked with suspicion. “What do you want Queue for?”

“I need something, and I think he’s got it in his lab.”

“What?”

“Ms. Ponsonby! Copper chloride, if that means anything to you!”

“Hmm… Well, I suppose I can ask him to come out to talk to you. On one condition.”

“Anything! Just name it!”

“What’s my first name?”

Ra’Jirra blinked. “Your first name?”

An evil smile crept across the old lady’s face. “Yeeeees, what’s my first name?”

Ra’Jirra searched her memory while the smile grew larger.

“Loelia!” she blurted out at a sudden insight, and the smile fell off Loelia Ponsonby’s face.

“Hmpf. A good guess. I’ll go see if I can find him,” she said and turned on her heel.

The guard turned back to Ra’Jirra, shaking his head.

“Bitch,” she muttered, then went to sit and wait in a chair nearby. The minutes ticked by like hours, but at last the big argonian came out through the door behind the guard’s desk.

“Ra’Jirra! Oh, it’s good to see you again! What did you do to Ms. Ponsonby?”

Ra’Jirra hugged the argonian in greeting. “Good to see you again too, Queue. As for that… person, I just made her day, that’s all.”

“Well, what can I do for you Ra’Jirra? You name it.”

“I need a chemical. Copper chloride. Do you know what that is?”

“Copper chloride? Ra’Jirra, I’m not a chemist. But we have some on staff of course. What on earth do you need that for?”

“It’s a long story, Queue, but it’s really important!”

“Well, come on back into the lab with me. I’ll ask my lead chemist if he has any of… whatever that is.”

“Thanks Queue!”

She looked at the guard as she passed, but he only shrugged and waved her on.

“I am the head of the whole research department, after all!” Queue said when she caught up with him. “He’d better not say anything!”

Within an hour, Ra’Jirra was heading back out with Queue, a bottle of blue powder in her hands.

“Em won’t like it,” Queue was saying. “If it works, you’re going to cost him one of our best agents, you know.”

“Em be damned, he can’t stop me!”

“No, but he can browbeat me for allowing it,” Queue said as they stopped at the door, and he opened it wide for Ra’Jirra.

“Come on, Queue. Em’s not that kind of boss. At least, I never thought he was.”

“He’s not. Go on, Raj. And good luck! Stop by again sometime to see us though. Sometime when you’re not on a Quest.”

“I will!” She said, and then turned and practically climbed up the tall argonian’s chest to give him a kiss on his cheek - if argonians can be said to have cheeks.

Queue stood at the door, watching her go, and touched the spot where her lips had been. He looked at his hand, then back at the outer door where she’d left.

“I’ll miss that cat,” he said to the guard.

“Me too,” the guard said, looking back at the closing door. “At least you got a kiss.”

Queue smiled at the guard. “Some of us have it, and some of us don’t,” he chuckled, then went back to work.

—————

When Ra’Jirra returned to her room, Dar’Amon was nowhere to be seen. She had a moment of panic, until the maid came in and told her about the cat they’d found in her room.

“Where is he!?” she demanded so forcefully that the maid cowered before her.

“I’m sorry Lady Ra’Jirra! I put him out back not five minutes ago. He’s probably still around I think.”

“Oh, sorry. He’s… he’s mine. Please, show me where, would you?”

She followed the maid to the back of the building, and Dar’Amon was there, stuck up in a tree while a dog barked at him from below. The Alfiq looked scared to death before he saw Ra’Jirra.

“Maid, would you mind shooing that dog away while I get my cat?” Ra’Jirra asked.

“Certainly!” she answered, obviously relieved that the lady’s cat hadn’t been harmed. She dragged the barking dog back to it’s kennel while Ra’Jirra caught Dar’Amon as he jumped down from the tree.

“Thanks, Raj!” he said as she carried him back inside. “That dog nearly had me!”

“Sorry Dar. But come with me to the main dining room. I need to light a fire.”

“A fire? It’s nearly summer. You look weird. Are you feeling alright?”

“You’ll see,” she smiled and was glad to see the room was currently unoccupied. It took her just a few minutes to get a nice blaze going. Then she sprinkled it with the copper chloride. Immediately the flame began to glow a fierce blue.

Dar looked at her strangely. “Is that… No. It can’t be!”

“Flame of the Harbinger,” Ra’Jirra smiled.

The Alfiq looked at her. “How on earth…?!”

“Don’t ask questions, Dar. Just approach the flame, if you want your lycanthropy to be cured.”

Cautiously, he did so. Suddenly a tongue of flame lashed out and covered him in a blue glow. Ra’Jirra screamed and rushed forward, fearing that she’d managed to kill her lover, but before she got to him the glow flared brightly then disappeared. At her feet, Dar’Amon lay in Cathay form, if somewhat under-dressed for proper palace etiquette.

“Dar! Dar, are you alright?” she said as she lifted his head.

His eyes opened and he blinked, then looked down at himself.

“I’m… back!” he said, grinning up at her.

Ra’Jirra got him to his feet as two guards rushed in.

“Back off, scum!” shouted one, brandishing a wicked looking spear.

“No! He’s my fiance!” Ra’Jira shouted, putting herself between the spear and Dar’Amon.

One of the guards looked at the other, who shrugged.

“Fiance or not, he’s not allowed in the palace. Gr’alt, go fetch the Chief.”

The other guard ran off, while another two guards came in, spears drawn.

“She says he’s her fiance,” the first guard explained. “Don’t worry Lady, we’ll get this sorted out. Why don’t you two have a seat till then, okay?”

Ra’Jirra and Dar’Amon gladly assented. A few minutes later the leader of the palace guard entered along with the prime concubine, Isdra.

“What’s this all about, Lady Ra’Jirra?” she demanded. “Who is this?”

Ra’Jirra rose and bowed to Isdra. “This is my fiance, Dar’Amon. He is an agent of the HMSS.”

Isdra turned to the naked Cathay. “Well,” she said. “Speak up young man. How dare you enter the palace?! Fiance or not, we’ll have no mating of the Mane’s concubines here!”

“No!” Dar’Amon protested. “It’s not like that! I wasn’t…”

“It’s a long story, Princess Isdra,” Ra’Jirra interrupted. I’ll explain everything. You can ask Em. He’s the head of the HMSS. He’ll corroborate our story!”

“I know who Em is, Ra’Jirra. Guard, go and send for him.”

One of the guards left the room hastily, while three of the other concubines entered to see what all the fuss was about.

By the time Em came in an hour later, Ra’Jirra and Dar’Amon had told the story twice to the prime concubine. Of course, nearly the entire harem had entered by then, leaving Dar’Amon unable to get out of his seat for modesty’s sake. Finally, when Em had corroborated their story, Isdra sent for some clothes for Dar’Amon and shooed the other concubines from the room till he was able to get dressed.

“Be that as it may,” Isdra was saying, “you cannot have him in your room here. Surely you must see the sense in that.”

“I do. And I won’t,” Ra’Jirra assured her. “This was… an aberration.”

“All right. I’ll give him an official pass till nightfall, but by then, I don’t want to see him in the concubine’s domicile again! As for you,” she said, turning to Em, her voice magically transforming into the sweet coquette, “Thank you for coming.”

Em stood, and the Princess Isdra left the room, leaving only Raj, Dar and Em.

“Well hell, Dar, you still want to work for me? I’m afraid your value in our operation may have decreased somewhat, but I’ve still got work for you.”

“Of course! But… maybe I could take a vacation? I’ve got a wedding to attend,” he said, squeezing Ra’Jirra’s hand.

“Fair enough. I’ll see you next week then?”

“And a honeymoon after that…”

Em sighed, “Okay! Two weeks.”

Ra’Jirra leaned on Dar’Amon’s shoulder. “It’s been a long time since I had him back in Cathay form, Em. A looooong time!”

Em scrunched up his face in disgust. “Okay, okay! You’ve got the month off, Dar. You’d better not wear him out, Raj! I expect him in good condition when he gets back.”

“As well as can be expected, given the circumstances,” she smiled evilly at Dar’Amon.

“Enough!” Em declared, standing up. “When’s the wedding?”

Ra’Jirra looked to Dar’Amon who watched her shrug.

“Tomorrow’s the big meeting. How about the day after that? Too soon?”

“Can’t be too soon for me, Dar,” she answered. “But it needs to be kept quiet. Concubine and all that, you know.”

“Just a small group then at Mara’s chapel. Day after tomorrow. And Em?” Dar’Amon declared firmly.

“Yeah?”

“Would you mind being my Second?”

Ra’Jirra got an idea at that too, “And walk me down the Aisle? I don’t have any family, you know.”

“Of course. Any other requests?”

“I… do have one,” Ra’Jirra replied and Em rolled his eyes. “I’d like Queue to be my second.”

“Queue? Isn’t that a job for a female?”

“Someday I should tell you a little something about argonians, Em,” she snickered. “But I don’t care anyway. I want Queue if I can’t have you.”

“Queue it is then. Well, Good luck you two. You’ve killed my afternoon. I’ve got to get back!”

They watched him go before returning to Ra’Jirra’s room.

She closed the door behind them, already breaking one of the rules.

“What do you think? We can celebrate now!”

“You know I’d love to, Raj. But Isdra made it pretty clear she wouldn’t approve. She’s been pretty decent really. I don’t think we should.”

“You’re probably right. Dammit. And I should stay here, what with the meeting coming up tomorrow.”

Dar’Amon kissed her passionately, which she returned in kind.

“I guess I should go find myself a room somewhere then,” he said, tearing himself away.

“Do that. And see if you can think of somewhere we can honeymoon. Somewhere far away, where I can forget about all this.”

“I will. I’ll be back outside the palace gates tomorrow after your meeting. Then we will celebrate for sure!”

“It’s a date, lover!”