Medieval: the Kingdom of Kyth

[Elcie]

Carefully Xavier lowered Elin onto the bed, despite the fact that his muscles were aching badly by this point. He was glad his strength hadn’t given out before they could get her here. As he laid her down and started to pull back, Elin twisted and started to shake, and Xavier felt his chest constricted by panic. Impulsively he reached out and grabbed her trembling hand between both of his.

“I… she collapsed,” he said, and swallowed hard as he remembered the moment when she’d fallen. “I don’t know what happened to her before that, but… she looked exhausted, m-maybe in pain… I think her vision blacked out before she fell.” Xavier struggled to contain his panic so he could speak calmly, knowing that Elin’s life could depend on this, but his voice still shook as he spoke to the healer. “Th-there’s no major external injuries, so…” Internal or magical in nature, Morgaine had said. He felt a chill. If one of the Courdonians had hit her with a spell… He was all too familiar with the kinds of things that they could do with magic. She could already be dying and he knew how long that could take--

Xavier forced the thought out of his mind, tearing his gaze away from her face to look up at the healer, his distress showing plainly in his eyes. “Please,” he said softly, and gripped Elin’s hand tightly, his own hands shaking nearly as much as hers. He felt so helpless. He couldn’t lose her now, not just when it was looking like everything would be fine, when Elin had finally achieved everything she was fighting for.

SPOILER: Click to show

Xavier is still freaking out about Gelquie. He tells the healer everything he knows about Elin's ailment and starts to worry that she's been affected by a Courdonian spell, since he knows the Courdonians are capable of causing a very slow, painful death with magic.

[Killix]

Leif suddenly threw his arms around Kirin, and pulled the two of them into an embrace. Kirin let his eyes fall closed for a moment as he soaked in the sensation. Leif's closeness was comforting, as was the familiar warm and fuzzy feeling that came with it. He repositioned his arms around Leif to reciprocate the hug, still mindful to keep a light touch just in case.

“I’m sorry, Kirin - I’m okay - I was worried about you, too.“ Leif’s voice was thick and heavy with emotion and weariness. “I wanted to find you - but the mages and fights everywhere - and I didn’t know where you’d gone - I was in the triage but they needed me to lead a spell… I’m sorry. But I’m okay, I’ll be all right, I promise.”

Leif didn't sound quite as okay as he claimed to be; his explanation was ramble-y and confusing, and he sounded exhausted. Whatever the full story was, it was evident that the Jade had been through more than just a few small scuffles today. The mention of triage left Kirin wondering if Leif had been a patient or a volunteer... either way, Leif was a brave person with a kind heart, and Kirin wouldn't have been surprised at all to hear that Leif had overexerted himself - in the fray or as a volunteer healer - helping others.

“What about you? You got away from them, ri-”

A brief stinging pain flashed through Kirin's shoulder as Leif brushed his fingertips along the sensitive burn area. Leif tensed when he noticed the injury. “They hurt you?”

"Oh... I- That's right, a Courdonian mage was using me for target practice... It's really not too bad." Kirin's wince faded as the stinging sensation dissipated once again. He had been so concerned about Leif's injuries that he had completely forgotten about his own.

“There’s - there’s a triage, a medical-place, in the Keep,” Leif said. “We should go there, for your shoulder, maybe a mage there still has some energy for healing.” He nodded toward the castle, as if Kirin might have missed it, and the simple motion set his head spinning and pounding. “And - and I should lie down.”

That sounded like a good plan, and since Kirin was already convinced that Leif was about to pass out at any moment, the sooner he got some rest and medical attention the better. It would also be nice if someone could fix his shoulder, too, but he was sure that there were more than enough injured people to heal who had far worse things to deal with than a slightly inconveniencing burn.

"Alright, that sounds-"

Suddenly, from the crowd, someone - Isolde, apparently - called out from behind. The brief exchange ended with Leif asking her to search for the rest of House Jade and Stallion. Isolde pointed to the Keep, and then disappeared back into the crowd. Hopefully Isolde would find them all - safe and sound.

“Ready, Kirin?” Leif asked, looking back to the Stallion. “It’s not too far.”

Kirin nodded, and with his arm still draped lightly around Leif to help support him, let Leif lead the way. After getting himself lost in the Keep's corridors for almost the entire duration of the battle, he didn't quite trust himself to be able to find the triage in a timely manner, even though he now had the advantage of knowing it existed.

When they finally made it inside, Kirin made sure that Leif had found somewhere to lie down first before settling down and taking a seat on the floor beside the makeshift bed. Kirin held Leif's hand, and waited quietly for a while as he considered the future.

He thought about the battle, Courdon, the new King, and everyone they had met during their stay at Medieville... and then he thought about his own future. House Stallion would be heading back to Destrier, and that would be that.

"I'm... I'm going to miss you," he finally said to Leif, squeezing his hand slightly. "I wish we could stay... together, but..." he diverted his eyes to the tiles on the floor. "Our Houses will be going their separate ways. I- I was hoping that we could've worked something out, but... well, I guess we've just run out of time."

SPOILER: Click to show

Well, Kirin got that hug he wanted after all! 8D He's also still not quite convinced that Leif is as okay as he claims to be. Worry worry worry.

Leif's (Tiger) suggestion of heading off to the triage is the best suggestion, so that's where they go. It's where all of the cool kids are going. 8D In fact, some people are there already! (Who I won't tag because I still need to catch up on reading posts 'cause I am ~slow~)

Then Kirin tells Leif that he's going to miss him, believing that there are no options for them to be able to stay together. ;_;

[Celestial]

Laurie Kidde's gesture with the crown had been an interesting one but Alain was far more interested in what Galateo did. He seemed almost reluctant to put on the crown, despite the fact that it had been freely given to him and by all rights belonged to him. This could be taken in many different ways. The king was reluctant, yes, but at the same time, it meant that he was not likely to abuse his power and turn on those who had brought him here in the first place. Which Alain could respect. Loyalty and integrity were not bad qualities in a person in power, though he wondered how much of that would stay after a few years on the throne. But it was a good sign. Alain liked having a king he felt at ease serving.

This was also the sort of man he would happily entrust his brother to. Because among other things, it had been a mark of trust. He would never have left his only brother to a man who would not make good use of him, and in a place where he did not think he would be safe. It was for Galateo's benefit that he did not prove him wrong. It was also going to be good for House Stallion to have the new king's ear, to help him build his reign with even a little influence from them. While the Grand Duke did want the best for the kingdom, hence why he offered his brother instead of himself, that was a bonus he would not shy away from.

However, he did not say any of this. Alain only smiled a little when Galateo accepted his brother as his advisor. Ambrose, however, could not help but grin. Aldrich's praise was small but it meant the world to him that somebody would trust him enough for this sort of position.

"Thank you," he murmured and bowed his head. If he had not been so tired, he would have said more but as it stood, those two words felt like enough.

"We best leave you, I'm sure you have a lot to be getting on with," Alain said, bowing his head just a little before turning away. Ambrose turned to follow him, though he did not have a choice in this matter as he was still reliant on Alain's grip to keep him upright.

"Where are you going now, brother? If not to the Manor for Briar?" he asked.

"I am thinking, if you are staying in Medieville, you will need some help, especially with managing the Manor," Alain smirked. "Tell me, how does Master Kirin as an assistant sound to you? Just to help you manage things."

"Kirin?" Ambrose said with some surprise before he thought back to the last time he saw Kirin: before the coronation, with Leif. He smiled at Alain, knowing exactly what his brother was planning. "I would be glad to have him."

"Excellent," Alain smirked back at him and slowly removed his arm from around Ambrose's shoulders, making sure that his brother had a firm footing before he let go completely. "Will you be strong enough on your own?"

"I should be. I mean, I have to be. There's still things to do," Ambrose said weakly, shaking where he stood. "But go, I'll be fine. Have faith in me."

"I do, brother. I shall see you soon," Alain smiled before turning away, walking out of the courtyard as he tried to think where Kirin could be. For all he knew, he could be anywhere. He had not seen the young man since the fighting began. However, if Kirin was dead, Alain felt like he would know. His senses had alerted him to far less. Instead, he thought of the most logical places to go. Master Kirin was not a fighter, it was unlikely that he would have escaped uninjured. It was not a thought that brought Alain a lot of joy but he could not deny that it was true. So the best place to check would have been the medical point. And while he did not know where it was, he was sure he could find it. Alain strode forward confidently and headed towards where he thought it must have been.

It did not take him long to find it. The triange had been set up in the enormous room a hurry, which was no surprise given the sudden attack. Healers were rushed off their feet trying to attend to the wounded, who lay in makeshift beds which consisted mostly of mattresses and cloths laid out across the floor. It certainly was a horrible sight, and not one Alain hoped would ever be seen in the capital of Kyth, but here it was. While it disgusted him that Courdon would do this, disgust was not going to help these people, nor would it help him with his task. Besides, this was hardly the first triange Alain had seen. So instead, he scanned the crowd, looking for any sign of Kirin.

He spotted him soon enough; Kirin's white hair stood out from any crowd. And he was sitting next to Leif too, who was lying on one of the makeshift beds, which concerned Alain slightly but it was out of his hands. Medicine was something that was best left to the professionals. So, carefully avoiding the wounded and the healers bustling around them, who would no doubt have enquired what he was doing here, he approached Leif and Kirin. He gave them a cursory examination and was relieved to see that neither was mortally wounded, though Leif was hurt and exhausted and Kirin had sustained injuries from what looked like a gryphon.

"Hello, Master Leif, Master Kirin. I am glad to see you are both alive, though unfortunately not well," he said, smiling at them before turning to Kirin. "However, I have some news you might like, Master Kirin. Ambrose will be staying in Medieville and I need somebody to assist him. I can think of no better person for the job. I do hope you'll accept although," he glanced between Kirin and Leif. "I'm sure you will. But we can discuss the details later. I best leave you two alone to recover."

He smiled and turned away, looking around the triange for any more familiar faces. He had glimpsed Lucinda in the courtyard talking to the gargoyle that was with the king, which was a small relief. There was no sign of Garrick but wherever he was, if he was injured, somebody would have known by now. Alain kept searching.

It was not difficult at all to notice the form of Orrin in the crowd, there was nobody else around who had four arms. Alain approached him and coughed to attract his attention.

"Sir Orrin, hello. I must thank you for your hard work and I am sorry I did not tell you the full details about the assassination attempt. The man responsible for it, our alchemist, Ignotus Travers, is gone and I am cutting his ties with House Stallion. I am just very glad that you got to the young man he wanted to kill on time. We are in your debt," he smiled and nodded to the knight. Just then, he noticed who he had been talking to: Sieg. Alain looked away from Orrin and looked over the half-elf. The scars looked like they were mostly old but even so, judging by his unfocused eyes and the various lacerations across his chest, he was not in good condition.

"Sir Sieg," he said calmly. "It is good to see you, though your condition leaves a lot to be desired. But at least you are alive."

SPOILER: Click to show

Alain watches Laurie(Liou) hand Aldrich(Lizica) the crown with some satisfaction and reads a lot into it. He also thinks about his reasons for trusting Ambrose to Aldrich, of which there are many but doesn't say anything. Ambrose, however, is overjoyed that Aldrich would accept him and thanks him before they turn away. Alain finally lets go of his brother and asks if he'll be okay for Briar rescue party, which Ambrose has to be so he says so even though he wants to pass out so badly. With that, Alain goes to find Kirin(Killix) and uses clairvoyance senses to find the triange, where he quickly spots him and Leif(Tiger). He tells Kirin that, good news, Kirin is staying in Medieville so that he can be with magical boyfriend help Ambrose. Leaving the two lovebirds alone, he spots Orrin(Omni) and thanks him for his assistance in averting the assassination before seeing who Orrin was talking to: Sieg(Shinko), who Alain also talks to a bit.

[Gelquie]

((The Xavier line is written by Elcie!))

The healer listened carefully as the boy described the girl's symptoms, though she was not blind to his rising panic. It was clear that the boy was very close to her—a lover, perhaps? But right now, she was more worried about the girl's sudden change in condition. And if there were no serious external injuries...

“I'll try,” the healer said as she knelt down next to the girl and began feeling around, checking her vitals. True to his word, there were no serious injuries; just cuts and bruises, none of them bleeding too much and none of them in bad places. (Or at least, she didn't think so... But none of the places would have caused symptoms like this, she didn't think.) However, she stopped when she reached Elin's chest before putting her wand to it. The wand glowed... And then grew brighter.

“Magic, definitely magic,” the healer finally said. “Pain, weakness, fainting, plus tense muscles... I almost want to say it's the Pull. But... That doesn't explain everything, like her shaking, or this behavior...”

The healer looked up at Xavier. “Does she use magic? And what kind?”

"...What?" Xavier's brow furrowed in confusion. "Elin doesn't use magic. At least... at least I don't think she does."

The healer frowned, looking back down at Elin. “Well, there's something here, that's for sure. I guess she's been hiding it, though.” The healer sighed. “Shame. It'd make it easier to find out what this was.”

The healer closed her eyes for a moment, the wand still on Elin's chest... Then the healer's eyes snapped open, and she fumbled through her pocket.

“C'mon, dampener, where are you?!” the healer said, gritting her teeth and suddenly on edge. “Please don't tell me I forgot them now! Oh, here's-- No, gotta enchant it.”

She had taken out a small, simple bracelet. It wasn't much to look at, but the healer set to work on it quickly, tapping her wand in various places and saying some quick incantations. The moment she finished, she grimaced, feeling the pull within her own arm, but she took the bracelet and quickly tied it over Elin's wrist.

Shortly after, Elin stopped shaking, and she relaxed slightly.

The healer let out a sigh of relief and rubbed her arm before she began rummaging through a small bag. “Strange... I've heard of magic causing stress on the body, but never like that.”

The healer pulled out some items and set them on the mattress before putting the wand on Elin's chest again, the wand glowing. After a moment, it stopped, and the healer spoke again. “Well, it's suppressed for now. Got it before it could do too much damage. She should keep the bracelet on for at least... let's say a day. Until the worst has passed.”

The healer took a moment to stare between Elin and the things she took out of her bag, frowning. Then she brought a hand to Elin's shoulder and shook her. Elin grunted, moving slightly. “Wh-who's...?” Elin began to blink awake.

“It's okay,” the healer said, grabbing one of the things she brought out of her bag, which turned out to be a potion. She opened it while reaching for a spoon. “Elin, can you sit up?”

Elin only blinked again, looking confused. “What? Where... am I? Why am I...?”

“You fainted,” the healer said simply. Before she could continue, however, Elin interrupted.

“Fainted... I... Am I dying...?” Elin trailed off. If she fainted... If she fainted like he did...

“You're not dying,” the healer said firmly. She didn't know whether that was true, not with symptoms to strange, but it was generally better not to scare a patient. “But you need to work with me so we can settle your magic overuse, if it's even just that. Now sit up a bit so I can give this to you.”

Elin tried, although she cringed as she did so. Ultimately, she ended up not sitting up very far. “...Huh? Magic? But I... I think I... Did I...?”

The healer had poured out a measurement of the potion and put a hand to the back of Elin's neck to support her. “Here. This is just a muscle relaxant. The magic put too much strain on you otherwise.”

Elin blinked. She had woken up in a strange place, being spoken to by a strange person, and she couldn't help but feel slightly wary. “Tell... Tell me who you are first.”

“I'm just a healer,” she said. “Your red-headed friend is here; he brought you in.”

Xavier... She thought she felt something holding her hand. If he brought her... Feeling the warmth in her hand and the way it was held, Elin decided to trust her. She opened her mouth and accepted the medicine. It tasted awful, and she grimaced, but she forced herself to swallow. As soon as she did, the healer began to set her down. Elin could feel the medicine working right away, and she could feel her muscles begin to untighten. Elin took a moment, waiting for her head to clear more. At the very least, the bitter taste helped with that. She thought hard, trying to think back on the battle before she finally responded. “Magic?”

“Magic overuse, yes,” the healer responded patiently.

“But I didn't... I didn't cast anything today,” Elin said, dumbfounded.

The healer frowned. “Anything cast on you?”

“...I don't think so.”

“Hmm... When things calm down and they all aren't completely pulled, you should talk to a mage. ...But you seem to be doing better, and I need to get to the other patients.” The healer handed the potion to Xavier. “Keep the potion; she needs to take a spoonful twice a day for the first 2 days, including this one. Then no more than once a day until symptoms improve; it's addictive.”

The healer then handed over a small bag to Elin, one that turned out to be filled with ginger candy. “Sugar helps with the pull and other magical maladies. It'll help here too. Can't hurt anyway. Have some.”

As Elin shakily moved to put one of the pieces in her mouth, the healer stood up. “All of these should help, but above all, rest. And don't take that bracelet off for at least a day."

Elin looked at her wrist, only realizing now that it was there. She swallowed and gave a weak nod.

The healer looked to the others. "As for you... Thank you for bringing her in when you did. I'm glad I could stop whatever was happening to her in time.”

With that, the healer turned around and left, looking for other patients. So much for easy... She thought to herself. I came to heal, not solve mysteries... But I think she'll be okay.

When the healer left, Elin tried to get a look at her surroundings. Thankfully, her sight had returned when she woke. She turned her head to find that indeed, as she figured from the way he gripped her hand, Xavier was there.

She folded her fingers over his.

SPOILER: Click to show

The healer concludes that Elin's malady is of a magical nature, similar to the pull, but with something else. Apparently, it's urgent enough that the healer enchants a magic suppressing device and places it on Elin's arm. Elin wakes up shortly after, confused, and is given a muscle relaxant and ginger candy. The nature of Elin's malady is still a mystery as Elin claims she hasn't cast any spells, but the healer is content enough with her condition that she leaves to treat the other patients. Elin is now left with Xavier and Ilsa (Elcie). (Although Clare may have walked in at some point.)

Also, thanks to Tiger for helping me with some of the details. ^^

[Shinko]

((Omni, if you want me to edit so Orrin gets a reply in before this post, just shoot me a PM. Deadline stressing, sorry. 8'D ))

Sieg felt immensely relieved to see his mother in the triage, and even more so when she opted to treat the other patients instead of immediately coming to him. That was to be expected from her, given how many years she'd worked triage with the Nid'aigle company and how many times she'd had to put the work over checking on Belial. If she was thinking coherently enough to volunteer, chances were that Rosalie was also still fine, wherever she was. Sieg let his eyes slide shut as Morgaine turned away. He hadn't been joking about the fact that keeping them open made him feel nauseous. Actually, his eyelids were feeling pretty heavy in general. The fatigue of the battle was starting to catch up to Sieg, and it was getting harder to ignore the pulsing throb in his head now that he was no longer running on tension-fueled adrenaline.

The healer had peeled back his torn pant leg to inspect the half-healed spear injury that Leif had tended, and she hissed at it critically. No doubt she could tell how bad it had been before it was seen to.

"After this, you're done," she informed him as she began to rub salve on it. "The concussion we'll see to once we've recovered our magical faculties, though I can't say how long that will be."

The half-elf grunted in acknowledgement, still not having opened his eyes. That haze he'd felt when he first got hit was working it's way over his mind again now that he knew he was no longer in the middle of a combat zone. But then he heard someone call out to Orrin, and at the sound of that speaker his eyes snapped open and he glanced over in surprise to see Grand Duke Alain. Or, the vague shape of Grand Duke Alain- was his vision getting even worse?

"Sir Sieg," Alain said calmly, once he had finished addressing Orrin. "It is good to see you, though your condition leaves a lot to be desired. But at least you are alive."

"For which I am thankful, your Grace," Sieg slurred, letting his eyes shut again. With a sardonic grin he gestured to the old woman on the other side of the triage. "Mother would have killed me if I died."

Realizing he'd omitted something, the half elf opened one eye to look up at the Stallion. "Forgive me your Grace. I'd bow or nod or something, but just now I don't think I could manage it without my skull cracking apart. I should probably pass out soon, but if I did I'd miss all the interesting goings on. Though I guess I wouldn't actually miss much, I didn't even know for sure the battle had ended until Orrin and the other fellow told me. I was worried, but it turned out to be alright. Which is good... I think I'm rambling, sorry."

"Head injuries will do that if you don't rest them," the healer said dryly, having finished on his leg. Sieg leaned into his palm with a short laugh.

"Right," the knight said. "Anyway, I wanted to thank you for your advice, when I was thinking more clearly. But I guess I'm not really thinking clearly now either. So that endeavor is a failure."

SPOILER: Click to show

Now that the round is almost over Sieg is no longer running high on adrenaline, the concussion and general exhaustion are starting to make him a little bit loopy. When Celestial (Alain) arrives Sieg rambles at him like a drunken man for a minute, but manages to convey his gratitude for the conversation they had which, yes, did happen just yesterday in canon. XD

Orrin is also there.

[Elcie]

As the healer did her work, as Elin woke up and it became more and more clear that she would be okay, Xavier found himself sagging with relief. Hearing that Elin was apparently a magic-user was a shock, but that mattered less than knowing that she’d be okay, and that the symptoms hadn’t been caused by a Courdonian spell after all. He could ask her about the magic later. Right now…

She turned her head to look at him, her fingers curling around his hand. Xavier smiled weakly, meeting her eyes. “I’m right here,” he said softly, squeezing her hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Tears filled his eyes unexpectedly, and he freed one hand from Elin’s to wipe them away impatiently. “I thought… I…” He took a deep shuddering breath, trying to calm himself down. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he whispered. Thank ‘Woo they’d gotten her here in time. He ran his thumb in small circles over the back of her hand, still holding tightly.

There was so much he wanted to say, but his throat was tight, and he found himself yet again at a loss for words. But… maybe that was okay. The conflict was over, and Elin was alive. There was no hurry.

They had all the time in the world.

Xavier reached up, gently smoothing back her hair and caressing her cheek in one movement, and smiled at her through his tears.

Ilsa watched them, smiling. So, it was exactly as she’d suspected earlier. She’d always thought that Elin would be good for Xavier. And sometimes, the way he acted around her, she wondered… Now, he was looking at her as if no one else existed in the world. The innkeeper stepped back a pace, not wanting to interrupt them.

But she was still holding the book that Elin had dropped, she remembered. Quietly, so as not to disturb either of them, she leaned forward and placed the book on the bed beside Elin.

SPOILER: Click to show

Xavier is deeply relieved that Gelquie is alive, and is perfectly oblivious to anyone else in the area. Ilsa watches happily, glad for Xavier, and quietly returns Elin's book.

[Tiger]

The triage was a bustle of noise and frantic movement; it hadn’t bothered Leif too badly before, but he suddenly found himself faltering at the room’s entrance. Of course, he wasn’t going to get to lie down in the doorway - not unless he passed out, which felt entirely possible - and Kirin’s shoulder probably wasn’t going to be treated there, either. Clenching his arms a little more tightly around his chest and taking comfort from Kirin’s supportive arm around his shoulders, Leif stepped into the chaos.

Though it might have been smarter to just close his eyes and let Kirin lead the way, Leif tried to look around as best he could for his friends and his Housemates. He saw Sieg, who was probably going to strangle Leif if he found out he had left and worked more magic. Sir Orrin was talking to him at the moment. And...was that Morgaine Braham there?

And finally, Leif spotted Xavier. He was up and moving, so he couldn’t be injured too badly; the relief was like a physical weight lifting from Leif’s back. And Ilsa was with him - that was good. Of concern was that Xavier was hovering by someone’s side; Leif couldn’t see who it was around all the people. There was a healer there already, though - whoever it was should be okay. Please, Lord ‘Woo, there’s been enough death for the day.

Leif and Kirin found a place to sit, or in the mage’s case, lie down. His head swam from the change in position, but it was easily outweighed by the bliss of getting off his feet. Leif pulled his knees close to his chest, trying futilely to quash more of the pull than he could with arms alone. It at least gave him some security that he wouldn’t just...fall open, so he could reach out a little when Kirin’s fingers intertwined with his. Though, more likely than not, Leif would have done that anyway; he didn’t seem to be able to help himself when it came to Kirin.

“When a healer gets here, let them take care of your shoulder first,” Leif told him. “This is just the pull - it’s from using too much magic. I can sleep it off; your shoulder, you can’t.”

Leif was furious that someone had attacked Kirin. Maybe it was stupid to be surprised by that, considering it had been a warzone and the Courdonians had come to the coronation to fight mostly unarmed targets, but… Kirin had been hit in the back, so that must mean either the Courdonians had snuck up on Kirin, or he’d been running. Those miserable cowards! They couldn’t take on the knights or mages, so they went after an unarmed painter... Leif hoped the mage and everyone with them had met some grisly fate, preferably at the claws of their own gryphons. Or maybe a rebounded spell, that would be a nice touch of retribution.

He’d expected to pass out again the moment his head hit something solid, but now that he wasn’t trying to stand and walk, the pull reasserted itself as the stronger force, and Leif could only close his eyes and try to direct his thoughts to places other than how badly his ribs felt like they wanted to separate, while he waited for exhaustion to win out. Like how glad he was to have found Kirin alive, and Xavier, and and how long it would take Isolde to get back, what the Courdonians would do now that they’d lost...

Kirin’s voice drew Leif’s attention back to the present. Leif opened an eye to see his expression and was immediately daunted. "I'm... I'm going to miss you. I wish we could stay... together, but…”

Leif would have tried to sit up if he’d had the strength, and if he hadn’t suddenly felt a pain unrelated to the pull constrict around his heart.

"Our Houses will be going their separate ways. I- I was hoping that we could've worked something out, but... well, I guess we've just run out of time."

“But - you - you can’t be leaving already - there’s a new king, and - and if any of your House got hurt in the fighting - they can’t make you go back already. Destrier’s so far away - what difference is a few days going to make?” But Leif had the bad feeling a few days would make a difference - the Houses had both lost the battle for the throne, and if Alain and Everett weren’t interested in staying, then...then they’d be off to their respective capitals all the sooner to lick their wounds. Leif squeezed Kirin’s hand. “There has to be something we can do…”

Kirin’s eyes shifted toward someone approaching, probably a healer. Leif fell silent, hoping they would recognize the pull quickly and shift their attention to Kirin. His heart pounded so hard it hurt - what were they going to do about the Houses leaving?

"Hello, Master Leif, Master Kirin.”

...Alain? Leif raised his head and sure enough, when the blood had finished rushing to his head and Leif’s vision cleared, he saw the Stallion patriarch standing there. Apparently he was on business because he didn’t look injured at all. Before Leif could fumble out an attempt at a proper greeting, the Grand Duke announced that he had news and explained, ”Ambrose will be staying in Medieville and I need somebody to assist him. I can think of no better person for the job.”

Leif completely missed the Grand Duke’s pointed glance and comment, staring instead at Kirin with his heart knocking brutally against his chest, exploding right through the imaginary constriction. Kirin could stay? He would stay, right, at least if Leif could find a way, too?

Alain left barely seconds later, and Leif said to Kirin, “So - so if you stay - I just have to convince the Jades to let me stay. And - there’s time, we can’t leave until the mages are all recovered - that’ll take a few days. We can’t go on the Ash Road with our mages pulled,” he added by way of explanation, as if that was going to make things any clearer to someone unfamiliar with magic or the Ash Road. “That’s plenty of time. I’ll find a way to stay here.”

Logically, the odds of Lord Everett letting his Archmage stay in a foreign city were small. But there had to be a way to convince him - there must be. House Jade had plenty of mages - like Ruth, Ruth had helped summon a dragon, what better archmage qualification did one need? Though she might not be interested in leaving Medieville and going to Corvus. But it wasn’t as if Leif had been using his abilities for much that any ordinary mage couldn’t do - only the dragon-summoning and a spell he’d put on their lockchest were out of the reach of ordinary mages. ...And the Killing Curse, but Leif had no intention of using or teaching that to anyone.

And Aldrich is the king - and I know Aldrich. There’s got to be some advantage to having a friend of the king in Mediville… He would have to do a lot of thinking. The ache in Leif’s chest tugged again and he grimaced, resting his head back on the makeshift bed. It would have to wait. He wondered how long it would take him to recover compared to the other mages - he’d never pulled this badly before. It could take longer, because he needed to regather more magic… or less time, because his affinity for magic might make it easier to recharge. Or both could be true and he’d recover the same as everyone else.

“I’ll find a way,” Leif repeated, letting his eyes close again. “Whatever it takes. I just want to stay with you.”

SPOILER: Click to show

Down at the triage, Leif sees some people he knows - Sieg, Orrin, Morgaine,and Xavier in particular - and gets to lie down at last. Huzzah!

Kirin (Killix) brings up the Houses leaving, and Leif freaks out before Alain (Celestial) arrives and offers Kirin the option to stay in Medieville. Leif is relieved and starts trying to plan how to get House Jade to let him stay, too, but can’t really put the plan into action until he’s gotten some rest, dangit. Thinking he at least has a few days to plan and act since the mages need to recover, Leif promises Kirin he’ll find a way to stay before trying to get some sleep. Go for interactions if you want, though - the longer Leif stays up, the dorkier he gets!

[Sporty]

When Ambrose first approached the group and started talking, Clarissa had to hold herself back from responding in a way she would most likely come to regret. (Honestly -- he was telling them to keep their harsher members in line, after what his House had done to Briar and Arthur?!) Even so, while she followed the others down the hall she simply listened as both Stallions and Shadows said their fill. In the end, she was glad she did.

Clarissa had always considered herself an excellent listener. Ever since she was a child, taught to read by one of the luckier servants of the Keep, she had devoured information. In her girlhood she had spent much of her free time in the castle library, reading about great adventures and Kyth's rich history and the grand concept of noblesse oblige. As she grew older and wiser to the world, she took an interest in the current workings of the kingdom, and opened her ears to the thoughts and discussions of passing nobles.

What she heard then troubled her. Where her books had spoken of respect and wisdom, all too often she heard only an air of superiority and the hint of a sneer. Concerns for the people constantly gave way to petty politics, frivolous posturing and boasts of wealth essentially taken from those people. Between the awful stories she'd heard from her new friends in the surprisingly dirty city of Medieville, and the hints in conversations that she'd overheard from visiting nobles who assumed the silly little blacksmith's apprentice wouldn't pay attention, she had come to realize that something needed to be done about Kythian politics.

Clarissa was no fool -- she knew that there were decent people among the nobility, and that simply trying to overthrow the ruling class would do more harm than good. She had been wary at first, when Elin and Briar and the others had suggested they form a rebellion of sorts. But then she had heard that they had other, not so violent ideas for getting a peasant voice into the mix. And so she'd gone back to her reading and listening, and ultimately found that the long-lost prince of Kyth might yet be alive. Then when Galateo Owl had indeed been discovered... Well. That had seemed like a sign, a message from above declaring that they were on the right track.

Now, though, Clarissa was beginning to wonder if she hadn't been listening quite closely enough in the past two weeks. These Stallion brothers, as much as she... disagreed with certain actions and attitudes of theirs, actually seemed willing to work with a group of commoners and their peasant-raised king. She knew that other Houses would be more reluctant; that it would take work to get them to fully cooperate with the Shadows and their ideas. Yet here was stubborn Stallion, apparently more afraid of the Shadows' perceived intentions than their status, and willing from the outset to support and even advise Aldrich as their new king. Could there be other Houses, she wondered, that had breached that veil of superiority and relearned -- or perhaps never quite forgotten -- what it truly was to rule?

Clarissa watched silently when Laurie approached and handed Aldrich the crown. She reached a hand out and opened her mouth as the maid turned away, but the words would not form. They never had -- not since she'd first sensed Laurie's growing agitation with the Shadows and her place in it. Clarissa sighed. "Forgive me, Laurie," she finally murmured. I know you never wanted this. If only you knew how terrified we were that night, when we discovered a thief in our midst as we were discussing crucial secrets. It was the only way we could think of without outright hurting you or risking our companions' lives and livelihoods and... And I'm making excuses again. Please, just please forgive me.

Even as she thought this, though, Laurie stopped and began to speak with Arthur. Clarissa couldn't help but smile a little at that -- maybe, even after everything that had happened, her old friend could find it in her to see the good in her factionmates after all. And then Alain and Ambrose outright offered to free Briar. It was more than she had dared hope for, at least so soon after Aldrich's rise.

The time for pointing fingers was over -- Clarissa saw that now. Oh, there would still be arguments over how to handle the coming weeks and months. There would still be suspicions and hurt feelings over how those who had been vying for the throne had treated one another. But this cut-throat game, the anxiety of hiding and working in the dark and in the end not knowing, was over. A winner had been declared, and the losers seemed... if not fully trusting, then at least willing to give that winner a chance. And by 'Woo, she knew that Aldrich and the Shadows were not going to let that chance go to waste.

A soft clinking sound came from Clarissa's apron pocket. A little surprised, she reached in and pulled out a pair of vials. Her simple, yet special tools in the Shadows, for when her own tinkering wasn't enough to disrupt her rivals' plans. She'd nearly forgotten that she had taken them along to the coronation, just in case they were needed.

The blacksmith stared at the vials for a moment, and then simply let them fall to the ground. She would never be sorry for her involvement in the group, or for doing what had to be done to protect her friends and buy Aldrich the time he needed. But now the game had changed, and these tools of the night were no longer necessary.

"No more secrets," she whispered. She ground a boot into the vials, relishing in the muffled crunch of glass. "No more lies." With a wide sweep of her foot, the shards were brushed into a nearby toppled wastebin, leaving the stone path with only a dark stain she'd have to clean up later and a clear, scentless puddle that betrayed nothing of its sickening properties. "No more hiding away in the shadows, held back by our stations and our fears." From now on, Kyth will be governed the way it was always meant to -- with everyone getting a chance to have their needs heard!

Clarissa looked up at Ambrose, her posture straightening as some of the old fire returned to her eyes. "You said you were ready to free Briar? Well, we probably shouldn't keep her waiting any longer."

SPOILER: Click to show

Clarissa is mad at first when Celestial approaches and once again seems to be treating the Shadows like the big bad guys despite some of the things his own House has done. However, she holds herself back and simply listens to the conversation for a while, and ultimately decides that House Stallion might be better than she realized. She introspects some, and we learn a little bit about her backstory and how she ended up in the Shadows.

When Liou gives the crown to Lizica, Clarissa angsts a little about the messy circumstances under which Laurie ended up in the Shadows and quietly asks him to forgive her. She's happy to see that Laurie at least cares about Birdy, though, and is even happier when Alain and Ambrose agree to free Briar (Avery).

Clarissa is momentarily distracted when she remembers that she still has the poison and blotting ink vials (revealing her role as the Interceptor) on her, and she semi-ceremoniously destroys the vials upon the realization that she no longer needs to do that kind of dirty work. She then turns to Ambrose and announces that she's ready to join him in rescuing Briar.

(And because I haven't tagged enough people in this post, I believe icon is in the area as well)

[icon]

Several hours later, all of the citizens from the feast still hadn't been rounded up.

A few of them roamed the Keep, lost after the chaos of the battle; eventually most of them would be spotted by guards or nobles, alerted of the situation, and then dismissed to the triage if they needed medical assistance, or asked to move if they were just taking up too much space.

Not long after many of the nobles departed for their rooms, a woman wielding a rather cumbersome halberd burst open a door on the first floor of the Keep. "Hath Courdon's beastly fighters disappeared/that we might fin'lly see the crowning neared?"

The four servants sitting at the table stared at her, cards in hand.

An awkward moment of silence passed.

Eventually, one of them, a chambermaid, spoke up, saying, "The... they left. Several hours ago. They're all gone, miss."

Millian looked at them for a moment. "Oh."

The halberd fell to the floor with a loud clang. The serving boy winced.

"Incidentally, what actually happened?" She asked. "I rather got ferried off by a couple of the knights, I never got to see how the coronation ended."

"It, uh, it never really did end? It kind of. Got cut short. When the queen died, it was rather--"

Wait.

The queen died?

Millian was in the table's fifth chair before the chambermaid finished her sentence. She already had a quill and a piece of paper at the ready, and was fumbling to pull out a bottle of ink. "The queen is dead? How did that happen?" A dead queen would certainly be an enormous story, maybe even one worthy of a poem, if she wrote it well maybe she could get a patron out of this whole mess--

"To be honest, we don't actually know." This was the page. "We were here the whole time, didn't see a bit of the battle at all, except for Jules here--" he gestured to the cook "--who did a number on one with her rolling pin, it was quite the sight, honest."

"Knowest thou where I could hear from someone who does know the full story?" Millian was already rolling up her paper.

The cook turned to the page, then the serving boy. "Might check the triage? There ought to be some people there, still--"

Millian was only a pair of footsteps racing down the hall.

Another moment of awkward silence passed.

Eventually, the chambermaid spoke up. "She was a strange one, I must say."

"Pssh. Artists. You know what they're like."

The cook nodded at the page's comment. "Should do something about that ceremonial halberd, though."

"Losing hand has to put it back?"

They all nodded at this.

"Jules, you're up."

"Five aces."

"That is a barefaced lie and you know it."

SPOILER: Click to show

Millian has clearly been busy during the events of the coronation and I most certainly did not shove her aside since I couldn't think of anything for her to do, nope

[Gelquie]

Tired though Elin may have been, she felt satisfied just laying there on the mattress, staring into the eyes of her lover. She had prepared herself for questions, knowing just how many secrets about her had been revealed, or close to being revealed. But she felt relieved that she didn't have to answer them right away. She would have to eventually, she knew that. She knew she would have to look forward to some long talks for a lot of people. And along with that, there was a lot that she would have to think about.

But for now... this was enough. She had concerns about the Shadows, but they melted when she saw the smile on Xavier's face, the relieved tears from Xavier's eyes, and when she felt his thumb rub against her hand, and his hand against her face. She smiled back and clutched his hand tighter, or rather, as tightly as she could do in her state. As much as she wanted to return these nonverbal regards, her condition combined with the medicine made this almost impossible. But he knew this. He understood.

She smiled back weakly at him. “I'm glad too...” she said. “Y-you made it... We made it...”

She stopped; words were hard right now, to speak or think of. But it was enough. This was enough. He could stay... She didn't have to hide... And she could just...

Relax.

...She couldn't even remember the last time she was this relaxed. Even then, she knew there were still so things to worry about, so many things. Any retribution, trouble with the nobles, helping set things up in the Keep, the assassin, and so much more. The hiding and the secrecy was only the first step in the process. But even so... With the Shadows established, with Aldrich taking his rightful place, knowing that her aunt had gone to safety and that Elin could finally see her later, and with Xavier here with her...

Maybe, just maybe, things were finally starting to go right.

With a quiet and pensive look, Clare looked at them, having come in just as the healer was finishing. Elin... Thank 'Woo, Elin was okay... Her heart had simultaneously soared at the sight of seeing Elin and plummeted when she saw what kind of state she was in. She didn't fully understand what the healer was saying. Did Elin get sick again? Although even if she did, this seemed to be more extreme than the last ones... But either way, she'd make it. Thank goodness.

She thought of approaching right then and then, and giving Elin as much of a hug as she could. But she was momentarily surprised when she saw the way Xavier held Elin's hand, and the way they looked at each other. This was... Something she had never seen in Elin. But she knew fully well what it was.

Clare approached carefully until she stood besides Ilsa, and she gave her a look. She supposed she'd have to pay off that bet at some point. But that could wait. As much as Clare wanted to talk to her niece again, she knew that they probably wouldn't appreciate the interruption; she knew how lovers could be, and that wasn't how she wanted to approach her. She wasn't going to wait forever though; she was her niece for 'Woo's sake. But she had waited this long; she could wait a little longer. They would talk more thoroughly later though. She had decided that after there's been time to rest, she'd help Elin come home, and they'd have a long talk there. There was so much to say, and quite frankly, Elin needed to explain herself and her actions.

For now, she chose to give them her moment, instead choosing to revel in the fact that finally, she could lay eyes on her niece once again.

She wasn't lost forever.

SPOILER: Click to show

Elin has feels towards Xavier and savors the moment, completely blind to everything else. Clare approaches, but doesn't interrupt the lovers, not wanting to re-introduce herself that way. (But she plans to interrupt soon anyway, but not enough in-RP time for that.) She resolves to take Elin home later when she's better and then give her a long talk.

[Lizica]

After the Stallion brothers had departed, Aldrich paused; and in the silence, he suddenly heard more clearly the blood pounding is his head, and his beating heart, and his slightly trembling legs, and the people of Medieville rustling and milling and whispering, and in the distance—distantly—distantly—he heard screams. Aldrich didn’t recognize the voices, but the tone was unmistakable—despairing, full of anguish and pain. Someone was asking where the dead were being brought. He didn’t hear the name...there must have been so many names...but a sickening feeling twisted in his stomach, as if he was aware that it was another someone he knew, someone he cared about, someone he had failed, and his breath suddenly hitched and choked and staggered as he tried to keep a coughing fit at bay.

“I think—I—I think—” Aldrich stammered, his voice quickening, wondering what he was supposed to do. What was he supposed to do—

“I think you need to sit down,” said Babewyn, watching him with renewed concern. Her ear tufts, too, were perked up, as if she was also listening. She hefted Aldrich’s marble staff up vertically and clapped its base onto the cobblestones.

One hand still holding Laurie’s iron crown, with the other hand Aldrich shakily reached out and grasped the top of his staff, whose tip flared briefly with glowing dust at his touch for a moment before simmering down again as Aldrich used it to shudderingly ease himself to the ground, plunking down and sitting for the first time in...Aldrich didn’t remember. The cobblestones were warm, searing in the summer sun, and Aldrich clutched the stones with pale knuckles as he bent over, coughing heavily, and tried to catch his breath and as his exhaustion and the immensity of everything began to slowly sink in.

In the distance, he caught sight of the red-haired boy from earlier carrying Elin in his arms, carrying her away as a few others followed. She had passed out. Aldrich began to make a movement as if to get up and follow, but Babewyn patted his shoulder.

“Hey, don’t worry, she’ll be fine. She’s got people looking after her. And besides—Elin’s tough. She’s survived everything through now, from coming here to running all over town undercover and even getting thrown into a jail cell for two days. She’ll be fine.”

Aldrich paused, distracted for a moment. He quizzically looked back at Babewyn, his eyebrows creasing in fresh worry.

“Elin was in jail? Why? When did this happen?”

Babewyn blinked.

“You know, earlier this week,” she said, slowly, studying him. “By one of the houses. You even made the jailbreak plans to help the Shadows bust her out.”

“I did?”

“Arthur and Clarissa used your old pickaxes to crack open the wall.”

“R-really?”

Aldrich swallowed again, trying to find enough stamina to finally stand up again. He didn’t say anything else. He gazed over the courtyard; over people gathering and picking up those wounded; over people, Kythian and Courdonian, over gryphons, who lay there motionless; over people who sobbed and embraced, reunited. He felt his head was beginning to spin again, and he held a hand to it.

Meanwhile, Babewyn watched Aldrich carefully for a moment, then looked away, suddenly nervous, in the direction the queen regent had gone, and then upwards, where the latticework tip of the marble staff bubbled with magic dust. The immediate area was fairly clear now, fairly quiet and deserted. For a moment, it appeared as if Babewyn was fidgeting uncharacteristically and wanted to say something.

She was interrupted, however, by a bright cheeping noise, and before Aldrich could properly react, three stone birds suddenly launched at him, smacked him in his throbbing head, and knocked him backwards into the cobblestones.

In spite of himself, however, Aldrich felt a strange, soft twinge of relief as he tried to pull them off. Not everything was different. Not everything had changed.

“Stippling—Fettle—Slip—stop—I’m fine—get off me for a second—how’s everyone in the studio? Everyone’s alright?”

The birds obliged and calmly settled on his neck, hair, and face respectively, which he took to be a positive response to his question. Aldrich sat back up and patted the birds shakily, but fondly.

“Can I tell you something?”

Though partially blinded by Slip’s wings, Aldrich turned to Babewyn. She was still seated next to him; she was anxiously balancing the magic staff on her bad foreleg and tapping it back and forth with her other paw.

“You’ve never bothered to ask before, I—I don’t see why you need to ask at all.”

“Because this one’s important.”

Aldrich inspected the gargoyle; she had that nervous, earnest look about her, similar to when she had tried to keep him in the studio just this morning. He coughed a little and gently pried Slip off and relocated him to his shoulder.

Babewyn waited until Aldrich met her eyes fully. Then—

“I remember Queen Maia,” she said.

Aldrich studied her still, his increasingly tired face furrowing again with confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I—I mean, I remember her. Even though I’ve never met her before, when she opened the door and I saw her face, I remembered her.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“Do you know why?”

“I have no idea.”

“Do...do you remember that night we smashed the gauntlet? You were really out of it.”

“Uh...well, yes.”

“You were really knocked for a loop because for some reason I had had to remind you about how the Shadows had told you about being the heir to the kingdom, because I found out that you didn’t remember for some reason.”

“It was incredibly late and very dark, but I...I think I do remember that conversation, yes.”

“But it was probably a good thing you’d forgotten about being the heir somehow because you were freaking out beforehand, and if anyone had to break the news to you again, it was good that it was me.”

“Babewyn—where are you going with this?”

The gargoyle tapped the marble staff onto the cobblestones between them and shifted her wings.

“Do you remember your mother?”

Aldrich paused uneasily. “Well, I was so little, so no. At least—not—not up here,” said Aldrich quietly, gesturing to his bird-covered head. “But in here I know it,” he said, gesturing to his chest, his heart.

Babewyn’s birdish face softened a little before it turned worried again. “Well—okay, yes, but you don’t remember actual—memories. And—and I did. Do...do you know why?”

“I really don’t—”

“The reason you don’t remember breaking Elin out of jail is because you must have used that memory to bring your magic staff to life, because that jailbreak was the first time you truly, desperately wanted to protect the Shadows.”

“W-wait a minute, Babewyn—are you saying—”

“The reason you don’t remember that first night you met Arthur and Elin when they saw your brooch and told you about being the heir is because after a day of freaking out, you went to the royal cemetery to do repairs, and you must have fixed things by sculpting them to life.”

“Babewyn—”

“The reason you don’t remember Maia is because one of those memories went to me.”

“Babewyn—”

“And the reason why you’re so absentminded all the time, why before this all started you barely knew anyone in town even though you’ve lived here for years, why you seem to forget everything except for your sculptures because we’re always constant and there for you, why I was doubly worried about you making this marble staff and you got sick—is because whatever was in that ridiculously complicated life spell you cast so long ago, it must take something out of you, it must use your own memories as a basis for creating a seed of life, and each one of us must have a small piece of your memories, and before all this happened you used to always try not to think about things that bothered you, and—and so even you don’t remember not remembering, and—”

“...Babewyn.”

She looked up. She hadn’t realized that she was shaking now, too. Aldrich and the three little stone birds on his head and shoulders were watching her very quietly, very softly.

It was true that he’d never really been good about remembering things, and now that he thought about it, there were indeed a lot of gaps and a lot of past events that Aldrich did not recall that he should have. And it was also true that he often hadn’t had time to even think about how odd that should have been, due to shrugging it off and being exhausted from looking after the sculptures. And it was true that through thick and thin, no matter what, he had been unable to forget his sculptures, because indeed—they did feel as though they were a part of him somehow. He did not remember the conditions of the life-giving spell; he might not have even fully understood it when he cast it; but perhaps Babewyn was right about how it worked.

“...Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Aldrich asked after a moment, gently, sitting cross-legged on the cobblestones before her, watching his gargoyle with great concern.

“I...I guess I was scared.”

“Why?”

“There was that one memory of one of the past midsummer festivals you mentioned, and I think you got it back because Emery and I activated the red vase in the studio that exploded and got destroyed. –And, and, also, I only just figured it out and got all of my past suspicions confirmed, so I really couldn’t have told you sooner anyway, right.”

“Babewyn. If you’re worried that I would do something drastic to all of you in order to remember my mother, you’ve been panicking over nothing.”

“Are—are you sure?”

“Of course. Life isn’t just the seed, it’s what it grows into, right?”

Babewyn paused. Then she shook herself and tried to laugh. “W-well, I mean obviously, it would have been pretty dumb of you anyway, because we’re awesome, and you need us to help keep you out of trouble, because boy, do you get in a lot of ridiculous situations, I mean, KING? Honestly. How do you get roped into these outlandish escapades?”

Stippling, Fettle, and Slip gave a small chorus of excited chirps, and although Aldrich tried to smile wanly, instead he gave a light series of coughs in response.

“King Galateo,” came a familiar voice. Aldrich, still not used to the address, paused for a moment before finally looking back and up from his perch on the cobblestones to see Lady Lucinda standing there.

“Are you all right? After all, you're still not well, and this hardly a small thing to take in at once.”

“Ah—milady—I’m glad to see you’re safe! Are you uninjured? I worried about having to leave you in the Keep, but there was too much—too much that could have gone wrong.” Aldrich reached for his staff on the cobbles between him and Babewyn, and he used it to wobblingly haul himself back to his feet at last. (The three birds jostled a little but hung on.)

“I—I suppose I’m doing okay, all—all things considered, thank you, milady,” he answered her. Then, with a pause, he gestured at himself, at the birds, and at Babewyn, and he added, “But we’re all alright. We’re alright. But there is a lot to take in, and I’m just—I’m just not sure how much I can help with—with—” Aldrich swallowed, finally looking up and pointing to the courtyard, which was much less crowded by this point but still full of people trying to find each other. He heard the plaintive shouts again, and he began to move towards them to see what he could do. “And I’m just not—not sure how much I can really do to help—and I’m not really—even with everyone else’s help, I’m not really—off to a great start.”

Babewyn stood up and trotted alongside him.

“Hey, it’s not the seed, but what it blooms as—right?” she said.

SPOILER: Click to show

Oh, and there's just one more thing you should know about Aldrich...
He's the Heir, yes--but he is also the Amnesiac. 8D

After the Stallion brothers leave, Aldrich pauses and hears distantly the cries of Ilaria's parents (Pixie). Even though he doesn't exactly know that Ilaria is dead, the whole situation plus his sickness and exhaustion start to catch up with him, and Aldrich finally sinks to the cobblestones and sits down.

He distantly also sees Elin and Xavier (and probably Morgaine and Ilsa), which leads into discussion of Elin's jailing at the hands of House Jade, which Aldrich doesn't remember for some reason.
Before he can ponder this for too long, however, Stippling, Fettle, and Slip swoop into his face, and Babewyn begins asking him pointed questions.
As it turns out, the reason Aldrich's memory is so spotty (and always has been, really, there was so much behind the scenes stuff I haven't been able to be overt about, have I both hid and hinted my role well) is because his life-giving spell has to draw the life it gives from somewhere: namely, the spell's inciter and creator. Each object that Aldrich creates is imbued with one of his memories, which helps bring the object to life. Aldrich didn't realize this was happening until Babewyn finally figures it out and explains it here. So his sculptures really do know him better than he knows himself, in a way.

After Aldrich eases Babewyn's fears on this matter, Lucinda (Kristykimmy) approaches and asks if he's alright. He both is and isn't, for a wide variety of reasons, but he appreciates her asking. He and Babewyn stand back up and go on to see how they can help.

[Elcie]

((Collab with Pixie! (Pixie, if there is anything you need to edit in here, just let me know.)))

Later...

Xavier did not expect to see Frederick in the triage. The elf had not been seriously hurt while they were fighting together… so why was he here? Watching a little longer, he was surprised to note that Frederick was not here as a patient but as a healer, using magic to help out where he could.

It seemed that Frederick never failed to surprise him.

After hesitating a moment, he stood up and walked over to where Frederick was standing off near the edge of the triage, hit by the sudden impulse to go speak with him. “Frederick,” he said, trying to get his attention.

Frederick straightened where he stood at the sound of Xavier’s voice. He had left the half-elf and continued healing efforts once the conversation had become crowded. At the moment, his glamours were down and his mind weakened by excessive magic use. As much as he liked Xavier’s company, it was not an opportune time to be approached by him. Not wishing to betray his discomfort, he gave him a small grin and nodded. “Hello, Xavier. Do you need healing?” he replied.

“...No,” Xavier said, shaking his head. “No, I’m fine.” He studied Frederick’s face. For a moment, he was silent. The elf had protected him twice now, and he still could not figure out whether he could be trusted. Maybe that didn’t matter. Either way, Xavier realized, he was not afraid of him. They shared a strange kind of kinship.

“I just wanted to ask you,” Xavier said finally. “You… you’ve protected me twice now.” He swallowed, meeting Frederick’s eyes. “Why?”

The question took Frederick by surprise, more so than before. A pensive expression betrayed him as he pondered how much he should allow Xavier to know. As the young elf thought, the frown twisted to a grin, before morphing finally into the makings of a quiet laugh. His head felt very light, and it was as if it was just the two of them suspended in space. Now was his chance if he ever would inform Xavier. He was going to return to Elacs soon anyway, so it would not matter if he knew. Letting love be known would not endanger any lives, knowing the hearts involved. Frederick could make sure of it. Xavier deserved his honesty, and in this case he could receive it.

“I could not let you come to harm,” Frederick proclaimed, his hand straying to the nape of his own neck, “I care about you in a way I have never known. Simply put- I love you, Xavier.”

Xavier stared at him. It was not the answer he had expected, not even close. For a moment, he was speechless. A part of him wondered if Frederick was lying, but he dismissed the possibility almost immediately. What would he have to gain by lying about this now? And the tone of his voice was every bit as sincere as the time he had told Xavier about his past, shown him his scars. Xavier could sense no glamour aimed at him, either. No, Frederick was telling the truth - even if it was something that Xavier had a hard time comprehending.

He’d had no idea.

“I…” Xavier’s brow furrowed slightly. “I didn’t know.” So Frederick’s remorse had been real. He didn’t know what to make of that. Even knowing that, even after the elf had saved him twice, it was difficult to fully trust him after what he’d done. But he wasn’t angry anymore. He supposed he hadn’t been ever since that time in the square.

He looked away, partially so he wouldn’t have to keep looking at the expression in Frederick’s eyes, and realized that he was looking off in Elin’s direction. “I… love someone else, Frederick,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.”

Even if it wasn’t for Elin, he didn’t know if he would have ever been able to trust Frederick enough to return his feelings. But the elf didn’t need to be told that right now. He’d suffered enough remorse for his actions, Xavier did not want to worsen his feelings by reminding him of that broken trust.

Frederick had thought Xavier would have been more aware of the way he felt. Still, he had seen him kissing the other woman, and had known about who Xavier had eyes for. Love could be blinding. Though he still felt as though she had taken him away from himself, at least she made Xavier happy. That was more than Frederick could ensure for him.

“I understand this.” Frederick sighed, as he took another look at his lovely face, “I want you to have a happy life with her, as you deserve.”

He felt the darkness setting over him as the heavy magic usage caught up to him, and jolted back to attention the moment of notice. He couldn’t carry on with the healing or conversing for much longer. As disheartening as it would be to let Xavier go, it would be best to get to rest before he let something slip he would be more likely to regret.

“This is farewell, I suppose. Perhaps fate will let us meet again,” Frederick mused.

Xavier stared at the ground for a moment, silent. Then he looked up at Frederick and reached out his hand, grasping his shoulder above his good arm. “I won’t forget how you stood for me,” he said softly. “And, Frederick… what happened before…” He shook his head. “It’s in the past. I do not hold what you did against you.”

He felt better saying it, realizing this must have been why he felt the need to come over here in the first place - to reach a decision about Frederick at last. He’d not bear any grudge for the way the elf had manipulated him before; there was no point. And Frederick had shown that he was capable of more than that. In time, perhaps he could have come to feel at ease around him… but there was no more time. This would have to be enough.

Frederick’s first reaction to Xavier touching him was to flinch away, but he restrained himself and relaxed into his grasp. It was after all, just him. He knew Xavier had meant it as a comfort and not a threat. It was distressing to be brought back to when he had used Xavier and scared him out of his mind with the head games Frederick was otherwise fond of using. Still, his words were soothing and honest. He let the thoughts of betraying Xavier’s trust fall from his mind with the accepted amnesty. That was now he past, where the man he loved would soon be relegated to. He’d still have all the memories, but they wouldn’t sting as much knowing his forgiveness.

“I thank you.” Frederick returned.

“I hope we do meet again,” Xavier said. “And I wish you well.” He smiled at him, the expression slight and tired and tentative, but genuine. Then Xavier turned and walked away, back to Elin.

SPOILER: Click to show

Xavier goes to ask Frederick why he defended him twice. The answer is nothing Xavier expected: Frederick is in love with him. Xavier tells him that he's in love with someone else, which Frederick accepts and wishes him well. Xavier tells Frederick that he's forgiven his earlier manipulations, and hopes they can meet again. They part ways, bittersweet but reconciled.

[Birdy]

((Collab with Liou!))

Arthur had stood silently off to the side as the scene unfolded. After everything that had happened… The deaths of Destiney and king Malik… and then the Courdonians had just up and left… Things still seemed a bit surreal. As if this was all a dream – a terrible one, with all the death, and yet… they’d won. The Shadows had won.

A bittersweet victory, for certain, but...

They’d done it. They had reunited the Lost Prince with his mother.


Not long after the Courdonains had left, one of the Stallion brothers had approached Aldrich – Galateo? – and began to pepper him with questions. Before he had the chance to answer him, however, Elin had countered everything he’d said, bringing up the attempted assassination. Ambrose had seemed genuinely distraught, but Alain… Alain was too calm. His explanation— well. It reminded Arthur too much of that night just after Elin had gone missing. Showing up at just the right time, with just the right information.

He claimed it was one of their recruits acting on their own… that his House had no knowledge or approval of the act. (Such a claim was oh-so-very comforting… if they couldn’t even control their own recruits, then, well… ) And then, just happening to find out exactly when the hit would be taken out? How could one possibly know that? …Unless, of course, they specifically told an assassin when the best time to take a hit would be…

Arthur closed his eyes. Part of him wanted to believe that it had just been a fluke, just a random act, but… he couldn’t. Not fully. Not yet.

And there was more talk of promises… how both sides needed to keep and make them. He hoped this could be done.

Aldrich seemed to agree with all this – and after finally managing to get a word in edgewise and make sure everyone was okay, assured the Stallions that he did not intend to turn everything all “topsy-turvy”.

Or rather, Arthur was pretty sure that’s what all was being discussed. He found his attention kept drifting from the nearby conversation to other things…

His brothers. Were they okay? Had they all survived? How badly were they hurt?

The Shadows. How many had been hurt – or worse – when the Courdonians had arrived?

Other thoughts swirled about his head, and he found his mind just drifting… picking up on a stray thought or overheard word here and there.

He found himself drawn back to reality, though, with Laurie’s approach and question.

"Are you OK?"

“I… y-yeah…” Arthur said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’m fi—”

The word lodged itself in his throat.

As much as he wanted to say it, to pretend that everything was fine, to act like nothing was the matter… he couldn’t.

“I— n-no. No, I’m not okay,” Arthur said, voice starting to shake. “I- I nearly died. I nearly died, a-and everyone else seems to accept it was just… just a-a random act – a fluke – and… and I- I just-” he trailed off, blinking back tears and swallowing hard to try and rid himself of the lump in his throat. It didn’t work, and his next words came out a choked, cracking whisper. “I just can’t…”

Laurie wasn't sure what he had expected from Arthur; he was startled by the boy's reaction, so different from his usual boundless enthusiasm.

He had forgotten how kids reacted to death and near-death. Laurie was desensitized enough that he could make death threats himself, after all. But to see Arthur in this state, that was wrong, that was the world gone topsy-turvy.

Laurie frantically ran a list of things to say in his head. What could he say? This was not like with his little sisters. He half-raised his arms in an attempt at a hug, put them down because he was afraid Arthur would feel something strange about his body, and just lightly placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
He glanced around at the other Shadows and nobles, trying to catch anyone's eye, in vain.

As soon as Arthur had spoken, he felt ridiculous, if not ashamed.

I shouldn’t have spoken, he thought bitterly, noting Laurie’s silence. I should have just kept my mouth shut. With all the talk of peace and getting along… they don’t need my opinions tainting things.

But then… before he could apologize, or slink away, there it was – a hand, on his shoulder. Light, but… comforting. He found himself beginning to relax, if only slightly. Perhaps she wasn’t mad about his outburst, then.

Something in Arthur's speech caught Laurie’s attention.
Everyone else seemed to accept it was just a random act. A fluke.
No one seemed to be coming to protect Arthur, or even to care.

Anger bubbled in the pit of Laurie's stomach and a bitter little smile twisted the corners of his mouth, as he was reminded of every time he had been taunted and pushed down and trapped, every time he had been pulled out of danger by adults at the last moment.
Those had been random acts, too.

"Well, I'm glad you're alive," he told Arthur almost fiercely, "and something's wrong about this."

“I… t-thanks…” Arthur said, softly. “I… me too. That you’re alive, I mean.”

And then… she agreed with him? That something was up with Stallion? Blinking in slight confusion, Arthur glanced at Laurie. He wasn’t sure quite what to think about that. He knew how highly she regarded the Stallions.

Laurie then glanced back at the Stallions, surprised by his own words. He had always thought that the Grand Duke's perfection was pristine, untouchable. Arthur's reaction made him uncomfortable.
He had heard Lord Ambrose mentioning Briar at the Manor.

Laurie turned back to Arthur, his jaw set, his brain scheming through the tiredness and the back pain.

"None of this should ever happen again. I'm going to take my sister back from their Manor. I... I want to see exactly what they're doing in there. Maybe I'll hear something more about the so-called fluke."

Arthur hesitated. Maybe this was something he could help with too? The other Shadows, after all, had been more involved with all the planning before – and they didn’t really need his opinions at the moment, anyway, he figured, glancing over at where the Stallions were talking to Aldrich. Perhaps he could help rescue Briar…

Laurie no longer had a king to protect. He still hoped that his idols were as immaculate as they seemed, but the truth was more important now, and the truth was that he never wanted Arthur to go through any of this.

"That's what I'll do. I owe you, boy. You kept me sane, night after night. My turn."

Arthur couldn’t help but stare after hearing that statement. Had… had he really been so… so useful to someone?

Images came to Arthur’s mind, of the nights they’d spent thieving together. Of all the successes…and all the mishaps.

Making up his mind, he turned to Laurie.

“I’m coming with you,” he said. “To help free Briar. …After all,” he added. “We’ve been working together for so long, why stop now?”

A dozen different reasons to refuse Arthur's help popped up in Laurie's mind. His presence would only be reassuring during the expedition, but he had already been through a lot...

"Thanks." Laurie gestured towards Arthur's forehead. "Shouldn't you tend to that wound, first?"

A faint crash of broken glass was heard. Laurie turned around, wincing when it pulled on his back again, to see Clarissa joining Lord Ambrose.

"Ah, Clarissa might want to help Briar, too. Don't worry, Arthur, go to the infirmary if you need."

Arthur started to tell Laurie he was fine, that his head could wait, but then there was the breaking of glass. And then… he saw. Laurie’s back, covered in gashes.

“Wuh— I need to go to the infirmary?” Arthur cried. “What about you?!” He could feel the panic rising. “Y-your back… you’re bleeding!”

Arthur set his jaw. “I’m not going to the infirmary unless you do,” he told her, crossing his arms over his chest.

Laurie stopped, just as he was about to walk away.

"I'm not bleeding that much, I'm just...-"

He recognised Arthur's stubborn expression, then closed his mouth again, too tired to argue.
They were going with Lord Ambrose, he didn't seem to be in much better shape than them. They could look out for each other. The faster they found Briar, the faster they could get medical attention.

"Fine, I just want to find my sister. Let's go."

Without further ado, he strode up to Ambrose and Clarissa, giving a brief, tired curtsey out of habit.
"Thank you for the offer, my Lord. Good to see you, Rissa."

Arthur quickly followed Laurie over to Clarissa and Ambrose, staying close in case… he didn’t know. She passed out? To protect her?

He gave a small, polite bow to Ambrose and a nod to Clarissa. It was time to free Briar.

SPOILER: Click to show

Arthur thinks about everything that’s been going on, mostly observing things from afar, not joining in.

He finds little comfort in Alain’s explanation about the assassination attempt, however, and wonders just how Alain could know the time and place the assassin would strike.

He frets some about his brothers and the other Shadows, but then Laurie approaches and asks if he’s okay.

Arthur starts to say he’s fine, but can’t make himself say it. Instead, he starts breaking down, and reveals how not-okay he really is.

Laurie is hesitant as to how to comfort him, but ultimately decides on a hand to the shoulder, which works. Arthur starts to calm down and relax a little.

They exchange glad tidings that the other is alive and not bleeding out on the battlefield, and then they make plans to go save Briar.

Laurie tries to get Arthur to first go to the infirmary and get his head examined, but then when Arthur sees how badly Laurie is hurt, he refuses to go unless she does. Not wanting to argue, Laurie instead opts to go save her sister, and Arthur follows like the puppy he is.

Nearby are : Ambrose Stallion (Celestial ) and Clarissa Falconer (Sporty)

[Celestial]

Alain looked up in the direction which Sieg gestured, seeing Morgaine almost right away. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took in all the details. Something about her seemed off, like she was different from the last time he saw her. He wondered if she had been injured, though he had not seen her at the coronation or the chaos that followed. Of course, he had the option of simply asking her. But for now, he turned back to Sieg.

"That's quite alright, I do not expect to have formalities attended to by a man who is injured. Do not worry, everything is fine, for the most part. The important thing for you now is to rest," he gave Sieg a smirk. "And I am glad that you are taking my advice to heart, even if you are not...in the best of shape to act on it. I hope that as time goes on, they will begin to sink in better and take root. For now, your physical trauma is what you should focus on. I best leave you to rest."

With that, Alain nodded again to Orrin and turned on his heel, walking towards where Morgaine was busy tending to some of the patients. As he approached her, however, he got a better look at her. Her arm had been badly injured, to the point where it looked barely useable, and one of her eyes did not appear to be functional either. There were stiches on her neck, a bruise on her cheek and it was clear that she was exhausted, judging from her paleness and the dark circles around her eyes. What disturbed Alain slightly, however, was that her injuries did not look recent. If they had been, she would have been one of the patients in the triange. No, these injuries were at least a day old.

He coughed politely and nodded to Morgaine when she turned around, though he was no longer smiling. Instead, he kept his usual, neutral expression. Only his eyes betrayed his fury.

"Hello, Mrs. Braham. I am saddened to see you in such a...state, shall we say?" he said cooly. "It is good to see you up and about, however. I am curious as to the nature of your injuries, if this is not such a personal question. They do not look like they were sustained at the coronaiton. So...who did this to you?"

***

Ambrose almost instantly regretted telling Alain that he was fine. As soon as his brother had left, he suddenly felt very heavy and tired and for a second before he braced himself against collapsing, he could have sworn he was going to faint right there in the courtyard. Not yet, not yet, he could not do this yet! There was still so much to do; he had to take some of the Shadows to free Briar, he had to get back and make sure everyone was alright. Names and faces of people he knew flashed through his mind, forcing Ambrose to draw upon his last reserves of energy. He had to focus on one thing at a time. Letting Briar out could not come sooner, especially now that it was safe for them to let her go. If she had to remain locked up for one more day than necessary, he was not sure if he could ever forgive himself.

"The carriage should hopefully still be there, we can take it to the Manor," he said quietly as he turned his head to look at Laurie, Clarissa and Arthur, who he figured were going to be accompanying him. It was a bigger party than he anticipated but that did not really matter. He had no strength or desire to bar anybody from seeing their friend. However, as they walked, he could see how distressed and panicked Arthur was. No wonder. The poor boy had just had an attempt on his life and by Ignotus of all people. Ambrose felt slightly sickened at the thought. He slowly approached Arthur, giving him a weak smile.

"I am sorry for what happened. If I had known, I would have stopped Ignotus, by any means necessary. But I'm just thankful that Alain found out in time. He...he usually knows such things. I don't know how he does it but he does. And I'm just glad that he was able to send Sir Orrin to save your life. Enough people have died and you are so young, you don't deserve to," Ambrose said quietly, trying to sound as comforting as he could. "You're going to be alright now. Everyone is. You're alive, focus on that. And it's all going to get better."

Thankfully, the carriage was still there. The horses had clearly panicked, judging from the flurry of hoofprints around them and the fact that the horses were still wild-eyed and skittish, but they had remained in front of the Keep, thankfully. Without it, he was not sure how they could get to Stallion Manor. The idea of walking that far did not appeal to Ambrose at all and judging by the injuries Laurie and Arthur both appeared to have, he doubted they would have managed it either.

Wordlessly, climbed into the carriage and sat down. For a moment, the sheer relief at being able to finally take the weight off his feet overwhelmed him and Ambrose sighed happily, closing his eyes as the fog of his tiredness descended, threatening to whisk him away. All he wanted to do was rest, sleep if he could. Maybe just close his eyes for a second and surrender, what could be the harm in that?

He shuddered as his mind struck out against the sweet allure of collapsing, forcing him to jerk violently in place. Ambrose dug his fingernails in his palms, feeling the pain shoot through him to the point where he was convinced he was going to draw blood. Not yet, not yet...it was so tempting and yet he just could not!

As the carriage began moving, he turned to look up at Shadows who had come with him. No doubt they were going to be angry over what happened to Briar. She had been treated so badly by them, even though Alain did not do anything to her after what Ambrose had told him. He had done his best to look after her, brought her food, water, blankets and candles, but there was only so much he could do. Especially since she did not trust him and was so stubborn. She had not eaten much of the food that he had brought down for her, he noticed that, but no words in the world could ever convince her to eat more. It broke Ambrose's heart to have her waste away like that.

"I am so sorry about Briar and how we treated her. I did my best to look after her but it was not enough. I just wish she could have trusted me more but I know that after we captured her, for that is what happened, I could never have counted on that. But know that I do feel remorse. I wish it did not have to happen and that she could have been let go sooner but the truth was, we were afraid. Afraid of what the rebels would do to us if they found out about Briar's imprisonment. But now that you're in power, it is pointless to keep her for any longer," he sighed. He was beginning to ramble but at this point, he would gladly take anything to keep himself awake. "I do not ask you to forgive us anytime soon, all I want is that you do not take revenge against House Stallion for her. We did what we thought was right at the time. Every single one of us has done questionable things in this fight for the throne and now, we should all put it behind us. It is natural to want revenge, I understand that, but believe me...I've seen so much sorrow and suffering brought on by that desire. I don't want that to befall this kingdom, or worse, my family. We are not monsters, we are people just like you and we want what is best, believe me. Right now, especially after the attack from Courdon, nobody needs more bad things happening to them. So please, I beg you, don't strike back against us for Briar. We are no longer your enemy and I don't want my House to be your enemy."

He gave a sigh of relief as the carriage finally pulled into the courtyard in front of Stallion Manor forced himself to get out of the comfortable seat in which he had settled. It was definitely not the hardest thing Ambrose ever did but right now, if somebody had told it it was, he would have believed them.

Once the others had gotten out, he opened the door to the Manor and proceeded down to the basement, clutching the auxilary wine cellar key that rested under his robe. His head spun and there were times Ambrose had to clutch the wall to stop himself from falling down the stairs. He would have felt bad about holding up the others but at this point, he did not care. His only concern right now was putting one foot in front of the other in order to free Briar.

At last, they got down to the wine cellar and Ambrose took the key off around his neck, slotting it into the lock and pushing open the door. Briar was exactly where she had been left, which was no surprise. The candles he had had the servants bring down were still burning, giving the cellar some light. He walked down the last few steps into the cellar and towards Briar, clutching the key for her shackles which Alain had also given him. As soon as he got to her, he half-kneeled, half-collapsed next to her and with shaking hands, found the keyhole in her cuffs and unlocked them before putting his hands on her shoulders, trying to examine her condition. She was as subdued and quiet as she had been for the past few days. Ambrose swallowed. He had hoped that the sight of the other Shadows would have helped but clearly it did not. He felt a sudden rush of remorse and protectiveness and before he knew what he was doing, he was hugging Briar.

"Briar, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything that we've done. I wish I could have taken better care of you, I wish you didn't have to be captured in the first place," he said in a pleading tone. "I hope you will eventually forgive us but I don't expect you to any time soon. But know if there's anything you want, anything at all, please, don't hesitate to come to us. We owe you this much after you were treated so badly."

The hug did not last long as Ambrose became aware of the other Shadows, her friends, waiting for her. No doubt she wanted to see them a lot more than one of her captors. So instead, he got up and stepped to the side, letting the trio have access to Briar.

"I hope she will be alright. I did my best to look after her but I could not do everything. You are free to use whatever resources House Stallion has to tend to her, tell the servants that Ambrose Stallion ordered it and they'll oblidge. Just please, keep in mind what I sai-"

He barely even had time to register the vision as it struck him. In front of him was a machine that looked like a loom's frame, a rack with wooden beams attached to a table on which lay what looked like a slide with letters on it, all covered in ink. A man put a sheet of paper onto the slide and then brought down an enormous press onto the sheet with a lever. Then he removed the sheet and placed it down next to several others to dry, all completely identical. The letters were then rearranged into the next page and the process continued. Each copy was perfect, unlike the books created today, and it looked so much simpler too.

A new invention. It could be so useful. Imagine what could be done with it, with a press that could print perfect copies of text. Books would no longer have to be for the nobles and the peasants could learn to read easier too. It would be such a good thing to have, especially with the kingdom taking a turn to focus more on the peasants. He needed to record this. Figure out how it worked in detail and then try to build it, somehow. After all, is that not what he did for House Stallion? He brought the future forward for them in order for them to continue on their path of progress, to make people's lives better.

He stumbled when he came out of the vision, catching a nearby barrel for support. His mind buzzed with the desire to invent, to try to sketch out and figure out how the thing he saw worked but his eyes barely registered anything but darkness and the vague outlines of the three Shadows who had followed him.

"My sketching materials...I need to note down and draw...what I saw...I must...create...the invention..."

It was as if somebody had hit a switch. His mind emptied of the vision as his body finally gave in to the exhaustion. Ambrose's hand slid off the barrel as he plummetted onto the floor, where he lay completely still, only his breathing betraying the fact that he was still alive. The day had finally taken its toll.

SPOILER: Click to show

Alain spots Morgaine(Shinko), noticing that something is wrong. But he stays and talks to Sieg, telling him he is glad that he took his advice to heart and then telling him to rest and recover. He then goes to talk to Morgaine, noticing her injuries and deducing they were not fresh. He asks who did it to her, quite scarily because Alain is not happy that somebody hurt a person he respected.

Ambrose is very tired and wishes Alain was around to hold him up but there's no time because Briar rescue party is go. He tells Clarissa(Sporty), Arthur(Birdy) and Laurie(Liou) that they'll take the carriage. On the way, he tries to comfort Arthur after the assassination attempt, because poor puppy needs it. The carriage is still there against all odds, and Ambrose almost faints when he gets into it because he finally gets to sit down. He keeps himself conscious by rambling about their motives for imprisoning Briar and asking them not to hate the Stallions for what they did, because now they all have to work together and he doesn't want to see more suffering. It is such a relief when they all finally arrive and he leads them down to the wine cellar, unlocking Briar(Avery) but getting worried that she's unresponsive. Ambrose gives her a hug, because the poor girl needs one, and apologises, saying that if there's anything she needs, the Stallions will help her. Then he surrenders her to the others and tells them that they can heal her on Stallion's tab but he is cut off by visions! Visions of a very useful invention which would be good to have around, a press that...prints things. He comes out of the vision and wants to sketch down the blueprints but NOPE. Too tired.

Inventor has fainted! Use next House member?

[Shinko]

((Alain reaction provided by Celestial))

Morgaine turned at the sound of the cough, expecting a healer come to direct her to another patient. She was very much surprised to find herself looking up at Alain Stallion.

"Hello, Mrs. Braham. I am saddened to see you in such a...state, shall we say?" He said, and the old woman stared up at him in surprise. "It is good to see you up and about, however. I am curious as to the nature of your injuries, if this is not such a personal question. They do not look like they were sustained at the coronation. So...who did this to you?"

Morgaine bowed her head, a wry smile creasing her mouth. She wasn't entirely sure why the Grand Duke seemed to care, but she was touched all the same. "Hello to you too, your Grace. It's not exactly a secret- even if I didn't want to tell you, you could hear it from Master Mao easily enough."

The old woman pointed at her ruined eye. "One of the Courdonians wanted to steal some magical artifacts from my store yesterday. When I politely informed him that I don't take kindly to thieves, he took exception to my face. And then rearranged it for me."

She lifted her arm, which was even now twitching and throbbing from the residual damage. "Was a close thing too. Carved my arm wide open. I'm told that if Master Mao hadn't sacrificed his jacket to hold the wound closed I'd have probably bled to death before others were able to subdue the thief. Fortunately Master Leif arrived not long after the man was arrested, and he healed the worst of it."

Morgaine let her arm fall again and shrugged. "I believe the Jades still have the perpetrator in their custody, though they haven't exactly confided in me. Regardless, it's rather a moot point now. My hurts are hardly worth writing home about, compared to some of the others here today. But I appreciate your concern, your Grace."

As she spoke the Grand Duke's eyes darkened, though the rest of his face remained largely impassive. When she was finished, he nodded curtly.

"I'm glad that no more Kythians were hurt by the Courdonians," he said. "And I shall be sure to thank Master Leif and Master Kirin for their help. I hope your recovery is swift, Mrs. Braham."

He turned to go, leaving a very baffled locksmith behind him.

"Give them my thanks too, if you would," Morgaine called after Alain, before shaking her head and turning her attention back to the wounded.

* * * * *

It was some hours later before things finally quieted down enough that there were more volunteers then there were people to help. Morgaine was swooning on her feet by that point, and the healers gently by firmly ordered her to lay down before she fell down.

She found her way back to where Sieg was lying- alone by that point, Orrin having left him so that he could get some rest. The old woman thought he was asleep at first, but to her surprise as she leaned against the wall beside the tangle of blankets he was sprawled on his eyes opened.

"Mama?" he murmured softly in Elvish.

"Mm-hm," she assented. In the same language she went on, "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Nah," he replied, his voice sounding very much like his tongue had swollen three times it's normal size. "Too headachey to sleep."

"Ah- concussion then?"

"Yeh," he closed his eyes again. Then a small smile played at his lips. "You always said I had a hard head."

The old woman chuckled. "Who'd have guessed it would save your life one day. Though I suppose it's only fair you have a headache, as many as that hard head of yours gave me."

The half-elf's grin widened. "Rosalie said I was stupid too, did you know that?"

"I overheard. You know you're pretty thick when Rosalie of all people calls you out on it. She's not exactly the brightest flame in the chandelier herself."

More softly, the old woman added, "But you're my idiot, and I'd not have you any other way. You should come visit me more often, Sieg- I've missed you."

His smile faltered, and he opened his eyes again. "I... I couldn't. You were always so far away. Not far away like distance, but like... your heart, you know? My head is all fuzzy and I don't know how to say it right, but..."

"I think I know what you mean," the old woman said softly. "Ophelia said something similar, didn't she? The day I left Nid'aigle for good. I didn't understand what she meant then, but I do now. Sieg... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I let what happened to your father blind me to the family I still had. I'm sorry that I didn't even see how much pain you were carrying all these years. When I heard what you were saying to Rosalie last night I... I thought my heart would break."

The knight looked away, clenching his eyes shut. "You don't have to apologize. It was my fault."

"No, Sieg, it wasn't," Morgaine said. "Your father made his own choice, in the end. Don't devalue that choice by taking the blame for it upon yourself. He loved you, and wherever he is now, I'm sure he's proud of how strong and kind a man you've become."

In spite of his desire to hold them back, tears began to fall down Sieg's face. It made his head ache even worse, but he felt Morgaine's hand run gently through his hair and he didn't mind it so much.

"I think we both need to rest," she said. Softly, so that only the two Brahams could hear, Morgaine began to sing the same lullaby that Fredrick had overheard at the feast.

Fly, fly, precious child
The sky is clear
The wind is mild
Little Raven boy of mine
Though off you go I shall not pine
Can't stop the tears
That fall this night
But have no fears
This is your flight
On wings of love
From dad and me
Off you shall go forever free
But should you need to land, don't fret
Please don't forget

I love you
And this I'll always do

Fly, fly
Belial's son
Let your mourning days be done
You've Rosalie, Phee and me
Let go your guilt

At last

Be free

SPOILER: Click to show

Morgaine answers Celestial (Alain) about what happened to her. Then she and Sieg have a moment.