“Indeed we are,” he echoed in reply. “I’m not sure who will be here, if any of the people I know closely. Surely my brother. Hopefully Mordecai. Mordecai and Marya are the two who will believe my story no matter what my brother has put into their heads.”
"Your youngest brother," he supplied, anxiously watching the castle draw closer. Nerves had never sat well with him. He gripped the handle of his sword, one of the few familiar things he still had. "I'm sure you will be reinstalled. You are the same person who was forced out. He will not be able to challenge you so soon after you've forced your way back in."
“That’s true,” Levi considered this, looking off to the side. His youngest brother was so young, but hopefully not so manipulatable. If all went well, he would hope the whole kingdom was on his side. If the rest of the kingdom found out, of course. “When I take the throne again he’ll certainly be punished. Even more so for murder or an accomplice of it. He would have had someone killed to look like I was assassinated. He cannot just…continue as it was before.”
Fi nodded his head. "Yes, but you had considered this before. You knew someone had been killed to cover the death of the prince. You knew they found a body. You knew your brother had you ousted." He shrugged. "None of this information is new, only the context in which you face it. You must have had some punishment in mind."
“The information is the same, yes, at least for now. Surely I’ll learn some more of his antics when I get comfortable inside,” Levi replied, straightening his back. “And yes, I do have some sort of punishment in mind, and I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” He reluctantly slowed his pace to ride better alongside Fiori so that it was easier to have a conversation. “I want him to have some sort of idea of what he put me through. So I’m going to put him into servitude. Obviously it won’t be exact, but unless I send him away it won’t be perfect.” He looked to the side now, towards Fiori. “I’m thinking of putting him into servitude under your management.”
Fi listened carefully and gave Levi the hum he always used when he was thinking. He didn't like owning slaves. He didn't want to. The thought of owning another person, even if it was a just punishment, had never really sat right with him. "I would not be… enthusiastic, my friend. For you… I would do it, and I would be willing, but it's… it's not something I have ever truly wanted. I doubt it ever will be."
Levi watched Fiori while he thought, returning the hum with a nod. He knew his family, the court and the nobles wouldn't like the idea of anyone being owned by someone else either. There were labor camps for the prisoners, yes, but it wasn't like those prisoners were owned by anyone in the physical world. "I would appreciate it," Levi replied softer. "But I would never force it upon you. Did you have personal servants at Usige? Not slaves, but servants?" The word slave would throw off the people in his kingdom, and it certainly had thrown off Levi. Labels held weight.
Fiori let out a sigh. "I did, Leviticus, but it is… it is not going to be like that with your brother." His hands tightened in the reigns. "There is a difference in labeling, yes, but… if he is forced to be my servant, if he has no choice and no wages and the threat of punishment hanging over his head… is he not a slave? Forced servitude… it sounds prettier, yes, but it is the same burden, and one I have never wished to thrust upon someone."
Levi stared down at the ground, his lips pursed tautly while he thought about FIori's words. "This is true, I suppose. Maybe I am just resentful for what he did. He betrayed me, his family, and for that he is no brother of mine. He deserves to be punished severely. I just can't imagine him simply sitting in a jail cell. I don't think he would ever learn from that."
Fi nodded. "I… I would like to add that… I think it is a fitting punishment for the crime. It is reciprocal, it is smart, and it will do its job putting him in his place." He adjusted and readjusted his grip on the reigns. "And… for you, I would act as his master. I would not be enthusiastic, but… I would, and you would hear no complaints from me so long as I do not hold that position for life."
"Thank you, Fiori," Levi uttered sincerely, looking over at him with a grateful smile. "It certainly won't be for life. Perhaps a year at the most. If he still seems like a threat maybe I will have to lock him in prison for a longer amount of time." He lifted his gaze as they approached the palace. Two guards were posted at the entrance, and they straightened their backs once they noticed the riders.
It warmed his heart to get such a sincere thanks from his friend and he nodded. "Then I will do it for you gladly, if not happily." The rest of the ride up to the palace was quiet. Fiori was dreading what might happen with every passing step, and he nearly winced when the guards straightened up. He was not supposed to be here, no Usigen was supposed to be here.
One guard in particular noticed the Usigen and the clothing sooner than he recognized Leviticus. HIs expression hardened, and he braced himself to attack. He exhanged a few words with his partner, who seemed more defensive. He eyed Levi more than he did Fiori. The more offensive one unsheathed his sword, "Stop right there, Usigen!" He snarled
Levi halted his horse a few feet away and held up his weaponless hands. "I'm no Usigen!"
It took every bit of strength in his body for Fiori to stay on his horse and keep from drawing his sword. He wanted to fight, to lose himself in blood and battle and pure adrenaline until he could feel clean of all this worry, but he couldn't. Levi needed him to stay still. Levi needed him to keep quiet so he could do the talking. "I am the only foreigner here, Sir."
The second guard leaned to murmur the the first one, his eyes still glued to Leviticus.
The one guard lowered his sword only slightly as his eyes widened with recognition. “Holy shit,” he exhaled. “Are you Prince Leviticus?” He turned his gaze to Levi, though still flickering back to Fiori nervously. When Levi nodded, he lifted his hand to his jaw unsurely. It certainly looked like the prince, but they had found his body. They should tread carefully until this information was officially confirmed. “Ah—we will escort you inside and inform Prince Johannan of your arrival right away.”
“Although we would respectfully request you to dismount you’re horse,” The more defensive guard added. Just in case.
Fiori sighed and dismounted quietly, eyes flicking from LEvi to the two guards and back again. After everything that had happened, he was hesitant to call any turn of events good, but this certainly seemed… unbad. Very unbad, because if the guards recognized Levi that meant the people more familiar with him would recognize him too. "Any other requests?"
Levi shortly followed slipping off of his horse, and he bid Ozymandius a brief, thankful pet to his muzzle.
“That you stay put, Usigen,” the first guard spat out the words. Clearly he hadn’t expected an Usigen to be in exactly friendly cohorts with the Widonian prince.
“No—no, he’s fine,” Levi held up his hand as if to quell any possible physical fight. “He’s with me, perfectly peaceful.”
The guard relented, but still eyes Fiori warily. “Fine. But I still request he give his weapons to us.”
Fi narrowed his eyes at the guard and then at Levi, sizing up his chances of getting a sword into the palace without a fight. "No. But I will give my weapons to him." He nodded to Levi. It was better than nothing. Plus he was pretty sure he could grab a weapon off Levi if he asked nicely. "I'm sure you can trust your prince to keep me in check."
The guard chewed on his lip unsurely. It would certainly be fine if this was in fact the prince and wasn’t some Usigen trick. But what other choice did they have? “Alright. He may hold them for you.” He sheathed his own sword.
Levi nodded back to Fiori, “I’ll keep them safe,” he murmured back, offering out his hand for the weapons.
Fi nodded and then he was passing over all the weapons he'd hidden in places the guards could guess. Off came his sword belt, out came the daggers in each of his boots, and then he was patting himself own for any extra knives because he tended to forget where he kept all of them. "Thank you, Leviticus. Please… be careful with them."
“You’re welcome, and of course,” he held the sword belt with a little bit of difficulty, but managed to tie it around his waist to carry it, and cradle the daggers, easier.
The guards watched over the scene, studying each and every movement of the two men. Once they were satisfied, they turned to lead them beyond the gates and into the palace. One of them walked in front, and the other trailed behind. The one in front ordered a very confused servant to inform the Prince Regent of their arrival.
Fi tutted softly, helping him tuck the daggers away so he wouldn't stab himself just walking into the palace. And what a magnificent walk it was, even if he was too antsy without his sword to really admire it. Where most of his home had been made for function, this place was gorgeous, with swooping architecture and gorgeous decorations. "You have a beautiful home," he murmured, peeking at one of the tapestries.
The stony outside continued on inside, with carvings of celestial characters in the walls, and the painted ceilings, and the embroidered tapestries to add color against a seemingly monochrome gray. The floors were marble with a long line of carpet leading into the throne room on one side, and the ballroom with the staircase on the other. Just like the nobles and royals decorated themselves with jewels, so were the walls in the ballroom.
Levi took in a deep breath of the air, looking around at his familiar home. He had always especially been fond of the velvet benches and the matching curtains on the windows. “I know,” he chuckled, “Thank you…”
Fiori was both stunned and a bit surprised to see so much wealth in one place. Wealth was never displayed like this in Usige. Wealth like this was never even gathered in Usige, not when labor was the basis of most currency anyways. "You are… very welcome. Tell me, why do you have such magnificent decorations? Is this a public area??"
“This part is, yes. The ballroom and throne room mostly when we host parties for the nobles. The rest of the castle is much more private, and where I spend most of my time,” Levi explained, taking a closer look around the room. It was subtle, but there were more decorations than when he’d left. “My brother is much more interested in showing off wealth than I am.”
Two large dogs with long coats came barreling down the steps to greet the newcomers. Levi’s expression lit up, “Ah!! Hello, there!” Levi stopped to pet his furry companions, who repeatedly let tried to jump up and lick his face. Levi laughed heartily, “Fiori, this is Boris and Alexei.” Boris sniffed Fiori’s hands curiously as his tail furiously wagged back and forth.