"It's all very dangly, and lots of it's glass." He leaned a little closer, voice dropping to a conspirational whisper. "I've got this really nice set I cold loan you for the festivities tomorrow. Tharis bought it for me, it's this gorgeous blue glass necklace and earring pair, and they're just beautiful."
His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open, “Oh, damn, are you sure?” He leaned closer with interest. “I’m not even sure if I have some like that at home.” From how Cadmus described them, they seemed high end. Did Cadmus really trust him that much to loan them to him? “I’m flattered.”
It wasn't so much a trust thing as an insurance thing. Glassware jewelry left an impression, he'd be able to find Cadmus wherever he went by asking for the boy with the glass necklace. "Yeah, they're kind of… specialty?" He shrugged, face breaking into an even wider smile. "I'm sure you'll look great in them."
“Wonderful. Thank you so much. You might have to might me to give them back when we say goodbye before I leave,” he laughed in hopes that Cadmus would take it as it was meant to be: a joke. He couldn’t wait to see them. They didn’t have much glass jewelry in his home country, let alone blue glass.
Cadmus' answering laugh was uneasy, but he shrugged off the discomfort like an ill-fitting jacket until his smile was as sunny as ever. "Bold words from a guy who knows my boyfriend," he teased back. "I'm sure I could convince Fi to snatch them back for me if I begged long enough."
That comment erupted another laugh from him, the corner of his eyes crinkling with a genuine smile. “That would mean he would have to follow me back to my home country. Maybe I’ll do that just to make sure he visits,” he chuckled. “But no…no, I wouldn’t do that.” He lowered and shook his head.
Cadmus laughed, nudging Levi with his shoulder. "I know, dumbass." He didn't know if he was lying or not. "This is banter, I'm not really gonna send Fi after you." Hopefully. "You're too nice to steal my shit, and anyways I trust you to give it back when the time comes."
“Ha! Of course, of course,” he lightly nudged Cadmus back. “But do I have to give the collar back?” He snickered—as if he wanted a reminder of being a slave. In reality, if they didn’t ask for it back, he would turn it over to one of the silversmiths in his hometown to melt it into another piece of jewelry, perhaps a necklace pendant, and offer it to Johan.
Cadmus laughed softly as he was nudged back and shook his head. "Nope, that's the only thing in the world that belongs to you forever. At least… until you get freed." He gave Levi a crooked smile. "You're lucky your is so nice, it means you can sell it for big bucks on your way home."
Levi nodded, “Hah, yes, this is true. I could do that, I suppose.” It wasn’t like he needed the money; he could get along just fine with his wealth at home. But the money might also be helpful if he had to stop somewhere along the way back home too. Inwardly, he decided to make the decision later. At this point, he wasn’t freed yet to even take action on his choice.
"Silver gets good money, and anyway, it's not like the damn thing's got any sentimental value." He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I say sell it and be done with it, you can take a better keepsake at the festival tonight."
“That makes sense,” he nodded, “But I don’t know, though.” He lifted his hand to touch the collar around his throat once again. “I don’t need the money, and I think it would be emotional payback to give it to my brother in the form of a necklace,” he softly snickered. “A nice thought.”
Cadmus laughed at Levi's indecisiveness and then laughed even harder when he said what he wanted to do with it. "I changed my mind, you have to give it to your brother! He's the fucker who got you into this mess, right?" Or… maybe not. Levi was a Widonian prince, an enemy. Who knew what had brought him here?
Levi’s snicker strengthened into hearty laughter at Cadmus’ positive reaction. A smile spread across his face in return. “Yes! Yes, that’s the one,” he bobbed his head, his laughter dwindling into a mere smile. “Even if I can’t do the same thing to him that he did to me, at least I’d still have that satisfaction.”
"I'd say dramatic irony is a solid revenge tactic." Cadmus grinned at him. "Besides, you'll be able to put the little fucker in his place once you get back. I dunno what the penalty for selling your brother into slavery is, but its gotta be pretty hefty."
Levi eagerly agreed, “Yes. Dramatic irony is also much more civilized than anything he could come up with.” Johan’s plan did seem to be well thought out, but it was damn bloody too. “And Widona doesn’t have a law that specific— we might after this. He would most likely be sent to the prisons.”
Cadmus laughed, swept up in Levi's eager enthusiasm despite his reservations. "Use whatever punishments you have for kidnapping times 10. Oh! And if you have dungeons under your castle you should lock him up there, that way he's below you the same way he tried to put you below him."
Levi kept smiling and chuckling through Cadmus’ ideas, making note to remember that when he returned back home. Johan would regret his actions, there was no way around it. His smile waned a little bit at the end. “Wait, wait…” the corner of his eyes crinkled in a confused squint, but not quite suspicious yet. There could be a reasonable explanation, right? Maybe he was just thinking generally, how Johan would be underground and Levi above. At least that’s what he hoped. “Why would you think I’d be above him if he’s in the castle dungeons?”
Fuck. Cadmus swallowed, barely catching his smile before it slipped right off his face. "Oh, y'know, nobles send their kiddies up towards the castle, right? Trying to catch favor by living near the royals and all that shit?" He was reaching. "I mean, we do it over here! Oodles of nobles have their own chambers in the castle, that's why I've got so much work all the time, I've gotta feed hundreds of people every day."
“Oh, I see,” he blinked. That made sense, and it put his mind more at ease. He lightly shook his head, “But no, that’s not as common in my country. The royal family lives in the castle, including more distant family like nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles. The only nobles that live in the castle are the royal advisors or the nobles that happen to be family.”
"Really?" Cadmus could feel every muscle in his body relax as Levi accepted his explanation and he smiled. "It's such a good networking opportunity! Really good for nobles looking for favor and upward mobility, I thought for sure it'd be a hit in your country full of power-hungry snakes."
Levi’s lip twitched, “Hah… I’d like to think most of us aren’t power-hungry snakes, but I know there are few and far between.” He shifted in his seat, “But our parties and festivals are a great way to make connections rather than everyone living in the castle.”
Cadmus laughed. "Yeah, but it's just not the same. When you live in the castle, the opportunities are… endless. The only reason you haven't run into anyone yet is 'cause nobody knows where Fi's rooms are. A s soon a he gets back to his regular quarters, he's gonna be swarmed."
Levi’s eyes widened a bit. Inwardly, he was very glad that Nord Widona did things differently than here. He would hate being swarmed with people in his own rooms and quarters, even if he had a secret room. “Damn, that sounds wild,” he laughed, “The royal family doesn’t strike me as being quite that social. We all like our privacy.”
Cadmus nodded enthusiastically. "Oh it's awful. I've gotta be Fi's bodyguard half the time because he's too nice to ever tell them to fuck off. Kid's a real sweetie when he's allowed to be, and I've never got the heart to make him go all hardass on them."