Lavender & Fire

29. Behind the Scenes

"Halan, congratulations." Kietnan gave her a nod as he walked over to join the rest of the group to stand beside Ashima.

Kahal nodded at his sister in law but remained where he stood, watching the group before him. They were all standing in the hall just outside of Halan's office space. His four brothers, Thuq, three females they all have come to care for, three guards, and Rahn, who seemed to blend in seamlessly. He admired her skills yet again.

Then a thought occurred to him. What if the group's intentions were never to assassinate the premier. What if that part was only Zein's plan and the group had just provided him with the means to lay out his plan simply because they wanted chaos to erupt so they could fulfill some other motive?

He felt like his skin was beginning to crawl. They wouldn't all need to be together for that. In fact, it would be much easier while they were separate. Security is much easier to bypass when all the main players are separate and moving about. He glanced around each of the people before him again. Four princes all together, and loved ones. Only three guards and in a hallway far away from reinforcements.

And where were the other members of the premier? He had given their security details two options for after the performance. Gather in his parents entertaining room to discuss the performance and any other matters they felt necessary while gathered together. Or retire to their individual guest dwellings. They would all almost certainly be in his parents' entertaining room, surrounded by much more security than what his current group had. He felt like an idiot.

His eyes landed on Rahn, who was returning his stare. He noticed she had taken a few steps away. Had she had the same thought as him? Or did she know something? Perhaps something had clicked into place for her? Or maybe she just knew he had suddenly gotten tense.

He raised a brow in question.

She began slowly looking around, as if not trying to draw attention to herself but also trying to canvas the area. A large crash sounded from somewhere down the hallway and they all turned. Kietnan heard gasps and murmurs from the group that was now behind him.

"Go check it out." He informed the guards, who quickly departed. "Halan, how about you give our guests a tour of your office?"

"Hmm?" Then her eyes rounded in understanding. "Oh! Yes, please come in."

The party quickly entered Halan's office, Rahn positioned herself close to the females while Kietnan and Kahal made sure they were the last to enter. He was thankful for how spacious her office was.

"This area is where I can have performers come in and we can fiddle with costumes, smaller props, or work through some music. Any time I don't want to go out to the larger departments, I can have a handful of individuals in here so we can tinker with our projects. It saves time. And it's more comfortable for the times where it seems we spend hours trying to get something just right."

"Smart." Ashima commented. "I will admit, those couches do look comfy."

"They are." Halan chuckled. "I've slept on them a time or two." Everyone laughed when Joreth scoffed and crossed his arms. "It is a good thing my life partner is so understanding of how demanding my work can be at times." She winked at her partner and Kahal couldn't help but enjoy the warmth that was shown on his brother's face. He loved Joreth, but warmth and love weren't often things he showed outwardly.

Halan turned and opened a door on the other side of the room, revealing a smaller space. "And this is my actual office. I don't spend much time at my desk when I can help it. I did moreso for this production, however, because a certain soon to be king likes for me to have all of my paperwork and script approvals in order." She sighed and everyone chuckled while Kahal shrugged a shoulder while standing in the doorway where he could keep one eye on the now closed door to her larger space.