Indigo was forced to put her thoughts aside when they heard someone enter. Their eyes flickered to Arabelle as she ran her fingers through her hair. “Oh, Arabelle.” They let out a breath. “‘M fine. Just a nightmare. ‘S nothing.”
Arabelle watched her for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. I'm here to take you to the safehouse, if you're ready." she responded, her gaze resting on Indigo still. "You have your papres, yes?"
She straightened. “Oh, the safehouse, right. Yes,” Indigo stood up, gathering the papers with her binder and shawl. They then moved over to Arabelle, waiting patiently for her.
Arabelle flashed them a quick smile, then led the way out into those shadowy halls again. "We're going to head straight out of the palace. It's…hectic." she said slowly. "The prince's death is…well."
“Mm…” Indigo nodded. They tried not to think about their nightmare. Following Arabelle out into the halls, she wrapped her shawl around themself and kept her head down.
(Lil bump)
(sorry again!!)
Arabelle led them through the passageways, this time taking a different route than before. "You'll need to avoid suspicioun. Don't say anything about the prince, his death hasn't…it hasn't been spread yet. The only people who know are a very small group within the castle, since…well, it obviously isn't a case of just drinking too much." her words took on a slightly sardonic twist. Riven was young, and Fae. He wouldn't die like this without foul play.
(It’s alright! I was getting worried tho ^^;)
“Right,” Indigo murmured. Their eyes wandered about the corridors as they walked, and she decided to pull her shawl over their head to cover their face.
Arabelle continued to lead them, her gaze focused as she wove through the corridors. "Just…try to be as uninteresting as possible. Be invisible. Not actually, of course, but…be just bland enough most people won't notice you. Don't be so unnoticable as to be strange, but don't be noticeable. If that makes sense."
Indigo just blinked in confusion. “Um, is this good?” She held out their hands, showing off their drab chiton and the gray shawl that covered her head. “I’ve been the most uninteresting person my entire life. I think I’ll be fine.”
Arabelle blinked at them. "Your clothes are fine. It is only your behavior I meant. If you stand out too much, they will notice. If there is nothing interesting about you whatsoever, they will also notice." she replied, still leading Indigo through the corridors.
Indigo laughed a little and lowered their hands. “I see. Well then. Interesting, but not too interesting.”
Really, being uninteresting is all she knew how to be. It was kind of the point of being a slave. Then again, she had been given more freedom while the prince had owned them, so maybe they wouldn’t be so bad at being a normal person.
"Precisely." she said, leading Indigo through a door and out into a small, shaded courtyard that clearly was seldom used. The flagstones were cracking, with plants and moss growing up between them, the age of the place evident and obvious to the eye. "We're nearly out." she said, leading through the courtyard and out another door.
She nodded, blinking to adjust to the light when the door was opened. Luckily the area was shaded. Indigo looked around, trying to keep their breath slow and steady. Certainly they were in a much older area of the palace, an area she wasn’t acquainted with. Indigo instinctively kept their footsteps light and soft.
The second door led out into a hallway, which was small and slightly cramped, but not badly so. Just the small-ness of a hallway that was not often used, and that was fine. It was only a few more minutes before they came to another door, and Arabelle opened it. "And here we are. Out of the palace at last." she led them out, smiling faintly as she stepped into the sunlight.
Indigo followed, and soon had to blink to adjust their eyes to the light again. She found herself chuckling a little. Never in their entire life had they imagined working in the palace for such a short time, and then leaving under these circumstances. “Wow. Alright. Goodbye palace, you have a nice library.” She looked at the palace for a small moment, then turned to see what was ahead.
Arabelle smiled a little bit. The edge of the palace was surrounded by…well, nothing. Just empty space for a while, then a final outer wall, and then the rest of the city. That extra space was specifically for if the city was ever under attack. The palace was it's own separate, fortified area. She led Indigo across that empty space, and out through a door onto a deserted street. "I'll take you to where you'll be staying."
Indigo was quiet from then on, diligently following her guide. She looked around, just trying to occupy their mind for the most part. When they came to the street, they nodded. “Thank you.”
She nodded, and continued to lead Indigo along the streets, winding through them at a relatively quick pace. "You're welcome." she replied. "You did an important task." she did not say what it was. They both knew, and she didn't want to say it aloud on the streets, where anyone could hear.
Indigo made a small, indiscernible sound and followed, trying to keep up. As when she was with the rebels, she kept their head low and did not look at anyone except the half-Fae in front of them.
It took a bit longer before they reached the outskirts of town, where freed humans lived. It was a poorer area, but also somehow…nicer? Most fae didn't venture here, and the ones that did were usually kinder. Arabelle led her to a small house, pulling a key from her pocket and opening it up. "Here we are."
Indigo’s legs had started to ache, but they also found themself looking around more as they approached the outskirts of town. It felt almost familiar. She almost forgot to look at the house they came to because she was still looking around at the neighborhood.
When she did, they blinked. “Oh, this is perfect.” They had always liked the idea of living in a humble cottage, just her and her father.
Arabelle smiled a little. "Good, because this is where you'll be living for…the foreseeable future." she replied. "It might need a little dusting, but it should serve you perfectly well."
"That's alright. Not like I haven't dusted before." Indigo chuckled a little and ventured inside. Small and quaint; indeed, it was perfect.