Nolan kept his hands around Nolan, glaring at Alice. “She is the one…” he muttered, meaning the one who would kill the duchess.
He leaned on Neo, but titled his head toward Alice. “Listen, I don’t want to marry Saraphina. I want nothing to do with Saraphina. Understand?”
Alice grins. "Don't worry, Neo. Nolan. I won't tell."
"And I'll keep that in mind." she adds.
She turns and strides away, laughing to herself. Who knew?
Neo watched as she turned and walked away. "Can we trust her?" he asked Nolan whilst giving him a small shoulder massage.
Nolan leaned on Neo, watching Alice leave as his glare only deepened. She was highly respectable, but also highly dangerous.
“I don’t know, love…” he muttered, sighing as he rubbed Neo’s back. “I don’t know who we can trust anymore.”
Neo hugged Nolan's head to his chest. "You can trust me Cara Mia." He said, kissing the top of Nolan's head.
Alice wanders the halls before hearing screams from the ballroom. So, the Duchess finally kicked the bucket. she grins, racing towards the ballroom. Sure enough, the Duchess was dead.
(Now we wait for Icefire.)
11:56
Saraphina made her way to the front of the room, leaving the young noble behind her. Her heels tapped out a pattern, clicking a rhythm that danced along with her heart. Her breath caught in her chest as her eyes scanned the room. Saraphina had intended to search for Nolan, had intended to look for the dull, whitewash of man that she was to marry.
But instead, Sara combed through the room, her eyes skipping from face to face until she found the one she was searching for.
There he was.
William.
Saraphina twisted away.
Where was Nolan??
Suddenly, her eyes caught something. The duchess.
Marie had collapsed into her partner's arms, and Lady Gwenevere had caught her and lowered her to the ground. She was crying, kneeling at Marie's side and begging her love not to leave her. It was, though, rather too late for that. Marie, if not dead already, was well on her way to it, and no doctor was going to be able to save her.
Vale merely raised their eyebrows at the commotion, taking a few steps closer in order to better see the spectacle.
Nolan looked up at the clock, the commotion from downstairs alerting him.
"God dammit Neo, god dammit!! It's almost midnight!!" He cried, sinking into his shoulders and hugging Neo every so tightly, attempting to make all of this nonsense go away. "Neo… I don't want to marry her."
Alice sprints up to Nolan and Neo. "I know you don't want to go, Nolan, but if I have to I will pick you up and drag you down there, even with the Duchess dead."
She waits.
Neo looked to Alice then to Nolan and he grinned. "If you don't want to Mary her, then don't. There is a loop hole to everything, just give me a minuet to find it."
Nolan gasped a bit, then adjusted his postion, tapping his fingers as he thought. He was used to thinking, it was what took up most of his day. Suddenly, he sat up, a devilish grin spread across his face. "The Duchess is dead. They will postpone the marriage to search for the killer…" He winked at Alice. "You're good at keeping secrets, yes? you seem like you'd be an excellent innocent bystander. I mean, if you had enough courage to kill the duchess…"
He looked to Neo, his grin only getting wider. "We can help Alice, keep this all a little secret between us, and then have more time to escape. How does that sound, Cara Mia?"
Alice laughs. "You two are crazy for each other, huh?"
She waves a farewell. "Let me see if I can delay them for a little longer."
She pauses at the door, then throws back a careless "Be quick about it, too." and leaves.
"Thank you." Neo told Alice as she left. Then turning to Nolan smiled, "Escape? the one we have been talking about Il mio amore?" Neo kissed him again then stood up. "Are you feeling better?" He asked holding out his hand to Nolan.
Alice raced back down to the ballroom, just in time to see the guests leaving as the guards investigate. She laughs. No traces of the poison left for them to find!
She walks in. "What happened?"
Sara couldn't think. Her heart was pounding. A soft cry tore itself from her lips as she raced to get to Aunt Marie's side. Aunt Marie was the only one in the court who had allowed her to be simply Sara and not Saraphina. The only one in the court who had ever believed in her, in the real her. The. Only. One.
She ran, abandoning her lady-like posture. Her feet were wild as she tore across the room.
She was nearly there. She was so close. Everything was going to be okay.
And then it wasn't.
Because as Aunt Marie fought death, a strong arm stretched across Saraphina's middle and caught her around the middle. As Aunt Marie clawed at life, Sara ragdolled against a firm and familiar chest.
Alice catches hold of Sara, wrapping her tightly in her arms.
"It's too late, Sara… she can't be saved…" she murmurs; her acting had never before been so important as it now was. One wrong move, and she'd be dead.
"It's too late…" she says, her voice catching.
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William watched the duchesses death from the side of the ballroom.
"Oh no" he whispered to himself and gravitated closer to the duchesses body.
What was he to do now? He served the duchess and now she was what she seemed, dead.
Where would he go now.
He made his way to Alice and Sara, leaning down and whispering into Sara's ear.
"Come lady Sara" he said, removing Sara from Alice's arms and holding her close, he looked up at Alice "I shall show lady Sara her sleeping quarters" he said, leading Sara out of the ballroom and into the empty corridor, where he lead her to the room the duchess told him earlier he was to show her to when she needed.
He closed the door gently behind them and let her go.
"Im very sorry, im sure justice will be upheld" he said to her, lifting his mask up and resting it against his forehead.
Alice nods, letting Sara go without complaint; after all, how they felt towards each other was obvious in the way they said each other's names.
She has a list of further names, all either corrupt, wealthy or influencial nobles; usually, the marks were all three. She turns back to the guards. "Double protections around the important nobles. Make sure this doesn't happen again."
Sara allowed herself to be passed between Will and… Alice? What was Alice doing here?
Saraphina could have sworn she hadn't been invited.
Her mind pushed away the thought, too weak to consider it. Alice and she had known each other for years. Of course she'd want to be here on Saraphina's big day.
She numbly followed Will to her room, too shocked to even grieve. Sara hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.
As Will closed the door, removing his mask and whispering soft reassurances, Sara crumpled. For someone who prided herself on her emotional and mental strength, she felt so weak tonight. She felt Will's tender protection as he sat and held her and she looked up at his green eyes, which were a shade lighter than her own.
"Will…I… My family…" She heaved a heavy sob. "My mother… She's not family… She hates me…" She paused. It was no secret among the staff and court how terrible Sara's mother could be. "Aunt Marie was the only… She was my only family." She swiped at the onslaught of tears coursing across her face. "Oh, Will… What am I going to do?"
Nolan laughed, then graciously took Neo's hand. "Much better, mi amor. Now, we have a murder to conceal." He muttered, starting back downstairs before gasping at the sight of the duchess. He always hated the sight of death. Death, for him, was eminently coming. A shadow of the disease that plagued him. He turned away from her limp corpse, hurrying to find Alice. God, I hope she knows what she's doing.
Alice sees Nolan walk into the room and nearly manages to teleport in front of him.
"You shouldn't be in here. Not now, after the Duchess was just poisoned." she says, only a slight gleam in her eyes giving her away.
William tightens his grip around Alice, resting a warm hand on the back of her head.
He gently kisses her forehead and looks down into her eye's.
"You can stay here, the duchess must have left everything to you and her lover, you were people were all she ever talked about" he said with a small smile.
"She used to joke when I was younger about how I was part of her family too, but nonetheless you must stay here until her will comes into sight, then you may do as you wish" he said lightly, frowning.
"I can't go back Sara, once I left my family to be a butler when I was merely a child they said they never wanted to see me again, my father will be furious upon my arrival back, therefore I cannot bring myself to go back to people who have cut me out of their life" he explained, his eyes glassy and dazed.
"We must make a plan" he said quietly "neither of us have nowhere to go, maybe we could both continue to stay here?" He suggested quietly "im sure the duchess left you most of her possesions, she considered you a heir" he added softly.
Sara closed her eyes and leaned into him. Her tears stained his shirt as she rested her head against him. "You don't need to go, Will." The words tumbled softly. "I'll be your home, and you'll be my family. We'll be okay. as long as we're together."
She shuddered at the thought of being alone. Her mother would try to make sure of that fate for her, through marriage to a man she didn't love.
She opened her eyes and tilted her chin upwards, stealing a kiss. "Stay here with me," she mumbled. His eyes questioned her, and she blushed. "Not… not like that. Just… just until I fall asleep." She tucked herself closer to him. "You make me feel safe, and I'm scared of my dreams tonight."
Saftey. What she craved the most.
With Aunt Marie gone, would she ever feel safe again?
William nodded, lowering his fingers to the back of her dress, where the lace kept her gown tight against her skin. He fumbled with it and loosened the back of it, to where it would be loose enough for Sara to step out of it.
He then grabbed Sara's waist and listed her gently, clasping the bottom of her gown and tugging, until her gown came off.
William then gently wiped her cheeks free of her tears and kissed on the forehead as he lead her by the hand to the large bed, where he tucked her under the sheets and laid next to her, snuggling next to her. The sheet the only barrier keeping their skin apart.