Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

vault, under armed guard.) In the meantime, she had a plan for the Royal wedding and investiture, and by God and all his
    saints, everyone was going to follow it. She glared the bridesmaids into sullen obedience, sorted out matters of precedence with icy logic, and lowered the noise coming from the kitchens just by poking her head around the door.
    Chantelle in full flight was like a force of nature, not to be diverted or denied by any mere mortals.
    Unless, of course, you were Adrienne Campbell. A force of nature in her own right, and twice as violent.
    Adrienne and Chantelle had both swept through High Society on their own terms, blazing a path through sheer unrelenting force of personality, but whereas Chantelle had gloried in her position, Adrienne had been famous for not giving a damn. Chantelle dominated her peers. Adrienne never admitted that she had any.
    The two women had never been friends, though they had shared a number of highly placed lovers, who all had enough sense to keep their mouths firmly shut about certain matters, but they'd never really been rivals either. It had been simpler, and safer, for them to simply smile in passing, and occasionally kiss the air near each other's cheeks, and then go their own way, rather than risk starting a war neither felt entirely sure about winning.
    And so things went, with two suns in the firmament, and endless orbiting followers, until Clan Campbell was suddenly brought down by Clan Wolfe, and the surviving Campbells had to run for their lives. Adrienne had to call in every favor she was owed just to survive, and with her husband Finlay a declared outlaw, her position became increasingly precarious. All her old friends deserted her, her enemies sneered openly, and creditors pursued her from one squalid bolthole to another. As far as Society was concerned, Adrienne was Out, as well as down, and nobody would help her. Chantelle went around saying she'd always known Adrienne was trouble, and they were all far better off without her.
    When Adrienne contacted her anyway to ask for help, driven by desperation, poverty, and fear of what might happen to her two young children, Chantelle laughed in her face, gloried in her downfall, and told Adrienne to go straight to Hell, by the express route.
    Of course, the wheel always turns, and now Adrienne Campbell was In again, welcomed back into Society with open arms, all bad feelings forgotten. Partly because of her social and political links with important rebel leaders, and partly because she was King Robert-to-be's favorite relation. Aristocrats could be remarkably pragmatic, when they had to be. So once again Adrienne was courted and acclaimed, and welcomed into every salon and private function. Old hurts and turned backs were laughed away, forgotten and forgiven, because in the end they and Adrienne knew the score. You don't blame sharks for doing what sharks do.
    But somehow Adrienne had never forgiven Chantelle. Because if anyone should have understood and helped her, it was Chantelle.
    Eventually, inevitably, the two women ended up together, face to face. They nodded and smiled, and all around people began surreptitiously backing away. The two women studied each other, as intent as two gunslingers on an empty street.
    The security guards looked purposefully in other directions. They weren't being paid nearly enough to deal with Adrienne and Chantelle. There wasn't that much money in the Empire. They were there to handle lesser problems, like armed terrorists and alien invasions. They could handle those. The noise in the great Hall died almost completely away, as everyone watched with bated breath to see what would happen. And then the two women leaned forward and embraced each other with fixed, unwavering smiles. There was a loud sigh as a large number of people let out their breath simultaneously. Peace, of a sort, had been declared. The
    noise level gradually resumed its normal din as everyone went back to panicking, shouting, and running around in ever-decreasing circles.
    "So," said Chantelle to Adrienne. "All is forgiven. Friends again?"
    "We were never friends," Adrienne said sweetly to Chantelle. "And we're not now.
    I just don't want anything to spoil Robert and Constance's big day. But afterwards… all gloves are off. I will see you utterly destroyed, Chantelle; including your reputation, your fading looks, and all your finances down to the very last penny. I'll see you crawl in the dirt and beg for drink,