"I sense deception, Highness, but a little danger is worth the profit of being freed from the commoner's tax," Keritanima said after a moment. "I accept your proposal."

"Then let's go visit your trading company and select a good ship," Kalina proposed.

"Indeed. I suppose I can have my man arrange for my absence."

"You'll need clothes."

"I keep a packed trunk at my trading company, Highness," she said calmly. "Sometimes the pursuit of profit requires unexpected trips. It's not the first time I've dropped everything for a sudden voyage."

"Then let's get started."

The group got up without so much as buying a drink and quietly filed out the door.

And left unmitigated chaos in their wake.

"How did I do?" Kalina asked when they were in their carriage and safely on the move.

Keritanima laughed and patted her hand. "Kalina, you were perfect !" she announced with a wide grin.

"I have to admit, Kalina, you really know how to impersonate Kerri," Miranda praised. "I was starting to wonder who was who."

Azakar was brooding a bit. "I'm starting to feel left out," he grunted. "I don't understand a word of what anyone says."

"I told you that Wikuni takes time to learn," Keritanima told him patiently.

"What did we just do?"

"Keritanima is having Lizelle go to Suld, and tell Darvon to send Knights, because she knows where the Firestaff is," Miranda told him with a cheeky grin.

Azakar gave Miranda a wild look, then he laughed. "Kerri, that's awful!" he said with a huge smile. "You're going to turn all Wikuna inside out!"

"And your point is?" Keritanima winked, then she laughed with him.

"What is this Firestaff?" Kalina asked.

"Just the most powerful magical artifact in the world, Kalina," Keritanima replied easily. "Right now, half the world is hunting for it, and kingdoms are getting into wars over mere rumors of where it lies. My father will have a fit when he hears that, because he wants the Firestaff for himself." She picked at her dress absently. "He knows that I was travelling with people looking for it. He'll bite at my bait."

"So will half the noble houses," Miranda added with an evil little smile.

"And they'll all be looking right at me," Keritanima grinned. "They won't dare touch me, because if I die, then my secret dies with me. And they'll do almost anything to hear that secret. I expect to become a very popular girl by late tomorrow afternoon." She looked at Binter and Azakar. "And you two have a very important job."

"What is that, Highness?" Binter asked. He never liked riding in carriages, for few could make him sit comfortably in their tight confines.

"Protect Miranda," she said bluntly. "I'm safe. She is not. They'll come after her to get to me, so you two have to keep a very careful eye on her for me."

"It will be as you command, Highness," Binter said easily.

"What about me?" Kalina demanded.

"You'll be safe enough, Kalina," Keritanima grinned.

"Why do you say that?"

"You'll see."

Keritanima moved swiftly into the trade compound when they arrived, all but running up to her private office. The others had to follow behind, and notice the strangled looks and hasty bows as some of the workers identified Kalina as Keritanima. She was tearing into her closet, pulling out her clothes trunk she kept there and having Binter put it up on her desk. Rallix nearly ran into the room a moment later, giving the scene a startled look as he closed the door. "Well, your Highness," Rallix said calmly. "I never expected to see you in the same room with Lady Lizelle."

"And why is that, Rallix?" Keritanima asked in her stern Lizelle voice.

"I'm not a fool, Lizelle," Rallix said to her directly. "Or, should I address you as Princess Keritanima?"

Keritanima stared at him.

"I must admit, you did do wonders at making Lizelle look much different from Keritanima. Seeing the two of you in the same room reminds me of how different you two appear, and yet also so similar. She's very good, your Highness," he praised, motioning at Kalina. "Where did you find her?"

Miranda laughed, and that drew a curious, confused look from Azakar.

"You knew?" Keritanima demanded indignantly.

"Of course I knew," he replied easily. "I'm not an idiot, your Highness. If I were, you would never have hired me."

Keritanima stared at him, which made Kalina shuffle a bit and Miranda laugh even more. Then Keritanima sighed lustily. "I always thought I did better than this," she grunted.

"Oh, it's a masterful identity, your Highness," he assured her. "It took me nearly a year to discover the truth. After I realized who you were, I realized that I found working for you to be both profitable and curiously satisfying. You may be the princess, but you made Lizelle a success without any help from your title. That's something to be very proud of."

"Well, I appreciate the complement, Rallix, but now that I know that you know, it just feels… wrong, to pretend to be Lizelle around you anymore."

"You are Lizelle, my Lady. You simply have more than one hat."

Keritanima stared at him a bit more, then she finally laughed. "Well, I guess this will make this much easier," she said. "Lizelle is going on a trip, Rallix. A very sudden and hasty trip."

"I deduced as much from the trunk, my Lady. Where are you going?"

"As far as the world is concerned, Lizelle is going to Suld," she replied. "In reality, she's going to hide at Falcon's Roost."

"A smart move," Rallix commended. "I take it that I should turn around now?"

"Why do that?" Kalina asked curiously.

"So we can switch dresses, Kalina," Keritanima winked.

"What?"

"Haven't you figured it out yet, girl? I thought you were smarter than that."

"You mean I'm going to-"

"Of course, you ninny," Keritanima grinned. "You'll be in danger if you stay in Wikuna, because people will mistake you for me. You're going to a secluded country estate, where you'll be treated like a queen for several months. You'll have all the pretty dresses you could ever wear and a fifty room house staffed with servants that will do anything you want. You just have to stay out of sight until I send a message telling you it's safe to return."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I think I could use a vacation," she smiled.

"I saw five ships in. Is that all we have right now, Rallix?"

"Yes, my Lady."

"Then pick the fastest ship with the best crew and start getting them ready to set sail," Keritanima ordered her agent.

"I'll have it ready before you change dresses," he assured her.

The exchange of dresses was a quick affair, but doing Kalina's hair so she looked more like Lizelle took some time. "You won't have to pretend to be Lizelle, Kalina," Keritanima assured her. "You'll just be dressed up in case anyone sees you leave. Falcon's Roost is only a day's journey north, so you won't really have to worry about pretending to be Lizelle on the ship. I'll have Rallix send instructions that you're to be treated as my guest and have the run of the house."

"Are there men there?"

"Some servants," Keritanima told her. "You'd think that a girl in your profession wouldn't think about men."

"Just because I sell a good time doesn't mean I don't have a good time myself, Keritanima," Kalina said with a naughty grin. "With the right customer, anyway."

"Well, just remember that Lizelle isn't a prostitute," Keritanima snorted. "You'll ruin my reputation."

"I was wondering something, Keritanima."

"What?"

"Why did you try to run away? Why didn't you just become Lizelle instead?"

"Because I'd have eventually been found out, Kalina," Keritanima sighed. "Lizelle gets away with it because people rarely see her. If I were Lizelle all the time, someone would eventually discover the truth. Rallix did, so that means that others would have too." She finished the bun and pinned it into place. "I never thought I'd be Lizelle again. I already had a will made out for her that they'd find when they realized that she'd just vanished, leaving my business to Rallix. At least I managed to get back before people began to wonder what happened to her."