"Ruby." At the sound of Jasper's new name, he - or rather she - began to wag her tail. Mentally, Ruby was screaming at this newest indignity, but her body had a mind of its own. And that mind was a loyal, royal bitch. "She is one of ours!"
"How can you tell?" the rebel asked. Ruby's master patted her on the head.
"My family name is Riverford. All the hounds we send here have names that start with R, to match our family name. The other breeders that send hounds follow the same convention." Ruby's master smiled at her. "Longgens, Ruby!" Ruby jumped to her feet and followed the rebels as they resumed their search of the halls for stragglers.
To Ruby's relief, they didn't come across anyone other than rebels. If they had, no doubt she would have been ordered to attack them. And she couldn't resist any orders from her master. No matter how much she wanted to. They finished looking and stopped in a doorway. Ruby sat next to her master, who obligingly scratched her ears, making her tail thump in happiness.
"I might keep Ruby," her master said idly. "She is a fine hound. Not only would she be a good working dog, she would also be suitable for breeding." Ruby's heart dropped at this, but her traitorous tail continued to wag. "The people we gave her to effectively abandoned her, so ownership returns to us." He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Unless you would like her."
"My family could use a guard or hunting dog," the rebel agreed. "And she seems quite lovely. Would she be good with children?"
"Of course! All our dogs are trained to guard children."
"Hmm...it is tempting. But if you give her to the new ruler, you may find yourself in a privileged position," the rebel pointed out. Ruby's master nodded.
"True, true. Hmm..." Ruby listened intently, wondering and afraid of where her master was going to take her.