"That's what I want to do," Alexander said nodding. "Can you help me with this? It'd be a lot easier with you and I want to see what I can learn from them. Maybe not magic just maybe how it works." He explained as he fidgeted with his sleeves. Alexander usually didn't have plans this big and kept to himself so this was new for him.
Cinthia reached out and grabbed Alexander's wrists, stopping his fidgeting. She gave him a kind smile as she leaned in and looked up at him. "I'll be right by your side every step of the way, Alex, whether you want me there or not. There's no way I'm letting this slide without sticking my nose into it. I'm always there for you."
Alexander looked down at his wrists and the back up at Cinthia. "Thank you," He said softly as he pulled her into a hug. "I love you," He wispered. His parents death had hit him hard and felt the only person he could trust was Cinthia, which is what also caused this witch hunt.
Cicada had spent the last few minutes flipping through her book to the different runes that worked. She found the ones she was looking for. The first one was for silence, which she drew on all of the walls and doors of her room to keep what was said in the room, in the room. The second rune was for protection, that was placed on the door and again all the walls, to protect everyone else from the beast that she had inside her body. The last rune was for strength, and this was drawn on her arm. She would need it for the days to come.
Cinthia paused at the hug, then wrapped her arms around Alexander and returned the embrace. "I love you too," she said softly, rubbing his back in what she hoped was a comforting manner. She had noticed how hard he had taken the king and queen's death, and she was sorry she couldn't offer more than a shoulder to cry and lean on or just a presence. Sure, she was good with words, but not ones concerning grief such as what he was going through. She had long evicted grief from her library of emotions.
Alexander nodded and pulled away. "Alright. Tonight when we have dinner we'll invite the witches to discuss things. I'll notify the cooks." He said as he straightened his coat. "Do you want to look over all the letters we got?" He asked.
"It'll give me something to do, and you know how much I tend to bury myself into words and seemingly meaningless papers," she said with a chuckle, stepping back from him and adjusting her hair to cover part of her face again, as it had moved out of place when she hugged him.
Feeling exhausted Lychan stood from the chair, his legs numb, and stumbled to the bed then curled under the blanket
Cicada let out a huff of air as she laid back on her new bed. How long had it been since she had slept on an actual bed? With a blanket? And people? It had been a while hadn't it? That also meant proper food, that meant proper food! She hadn't had full-on meals in a long time. Another thing she needed to add to her list was getting acquaintanced with the ghosts of the palace. Later, she was tired and hungry at the moment.
Lychan had remembered a spirit that he had met when he was younger near the palace walls and wandered if he could find them after he finished his nap
(poke at y'all @ShadeStar @Dances_with_Shadows-misses-archery @Shadow_Knight!!!!!)