Fiori would be happy to wait. Even now people were looking at him, curiosity underscored with a certain angry intensity. "I see." His eyes snapped back to Levi, focused on his friend's face. Levi didn't think he was an animal or a barbarian. Levi just thought he was a friend, a good person. "So it is. I will support you, Leviticus. Through thick and thin. This ceremony will be over before you know it, and everything will be like it was before you came to Usige. You can see your friends, your Mordecai."
Levi took in another breath of mental preparation. He was confident everything was ready for the ceremony to happen, but it would start just as fast as it would end. He wasn’t positive he was really ready for either. “I can never thank you enough, Fiori,” he smiled. Almost everything would be back to normal, at least. “I’ve never cut Widonian hair before. At least not as short as this.”
Fi patted him on the shoulder, sensing his uncertainty. "You are a good man, Leviticus. You will make a good regent and, one day, a good king. This is just one more step towards that goal, and a necessary one at that." He let go, taking a step back to let Levi step forward. He laughed a little too, at his last statement. "Cut it off above the braid, and then trim until he looks decent. I can fix his hair in private."
Levi closed his eyes to let Fiori’s words sink in. He nodded, felt his cheeks lift into a smile, and stepped forward to address the room. Careful not to spill the contents, he lifted the golden cup from the table and tapped it with a teaspoon, metal against metal, to cut through the quiet roar of conversation. “Good evening everyone,” he began, “I’m sure you are all confused about this impromptu gathering, especially because the one who is hosting it, is supposed to be buried. And yet, I am alive.” He paused for the audience’s reactions, and his gaze fell on Marya, whose eyes widened at the sight of her friend.
Levi stood off to the left, mirroring Mordecai who stood behind him to the right. A gesture of support, maybe. Or a way to show that Leviticus still held the same power he once had. Guards fanned out behind them to give the entire ceremony an official backing. People seemed surprised, but nobody questioned Levi. Not here, not now, when gasps of recognition were ringing softly through the room.
The priest stood off to the side while he waited for the actual ceremony to begin. He would strip Johan of his regency, and offer it to Leviticus in a matter of moments.
With the feeling of support backing him up, Levi continued when the room seemed to quiet down again. “Despite what you were told by Johannan, I was not assassinated by Usigens, rather two Usigen slavers abducted me from the castle and brought me to Usige.” Earlier had considered telling the public about being presented to Fiori as a ‘gift’, but he ultimately decided against it. “All of this was orchestrated by none other than Johannan, my brother.” He paused again for reactions. “Fortunately, however, I met a good man by the name of Fiori,” conveniently omitting his last name for fear that his audience might immediately dislike the prince of Usige residing in their home, “delivered me from my fate and escorted me safely back home to you. My friends and family.”
Fiori ducked into a simple bow. He would have to run through the specifics of the story with Levi, but it seemed like a good cover. He could present himself as a soldier, maybe. Something high ranking to justify his lace by Levi's side, but not enough to get him gutted for being high up in Usigen society.
The crowd, which had begun murmuring from the first few words of the story, grew louder and louder until they were silenced again. They seemed sympathetic to his plight, many were giving Johan dirty looks. A few were glancing at Fori, sizing him up, but he ignored them. This was good. The people liked Levi, trusted him over his brother. He didn't doubt there would be opposition but for now everything was running as smoothly as they could hope.
Johan hardened his expression into stoicism, yet meeting each of the glares with one of his own.
“I am unhurt, and I’ve returned to take my place as the Prince Regent. Johannan will not go unpunished,” Levi added, “I’ve decided to strip him of his current rank, and all of his titles. This evening I will cut his hair to that of a peasant’s, and he won’t have any agency of his own. I am giving him over to a master to be a slave, as he did to me not even a full month ago.” He guessed that this decision would be the most controversial. Nord Widona prided themselves in the fact that even the royals refrained from owning slaves.
He was right. While the nobles tittered happily at the mention of punishment—even the ones close to Johan had decided long ago that it would be nice to see him knocked down a peg—the voices soured when they heard exactly what the punishment would be. A few seemed delighted. Most were unhappy, ranging from carrying small frowns to outright yelling up at him. There was a second or two of chaos, and then the guards stepped forward in an imposing wall and the people were, if not comforted, quieted, eager to see Leviticus continue. Eager to hear who his master would be.
Levi remained quiet as the guards regained the peace. He glanced to the side to see Johan, who was sitting coolly with a small smile on his lips, seeming quite content with the adverse reaction most of the audience displayed.
Once the crowd was quieted Levi resumed speaking. “His master will be my friend, Fiori.” He expected the next response to be even worse than the previous. Not only would Johan be a slave in Nord Widona, he would be a slave to a foreigner.
It was a rather elegant solution, at least in Fi's eyes. People already disliked him, so while they railed and protested against Johan's treatment most of them didn't expect any better of a lowly Usgen. Their anger was redirected into scorn for him, cutting much of the disappointment and outrage aimed towards Levi or at least distracting it for a while.
It took even less time than the first to get the audience quiet, and then the priest stepped forward with enough stoic regality to keep everyone from yelling again and the world moved on.
Levi swallowed, cleared just throat, before speaking again. “Now that the truth is out, and I’ve explained the details of Johannan’s retribution, we shall move forward with the ceremony.” He dipped his head in the priest’s direction. A prince or prince regent had no power to officially install or revoke royal titles such as this one. Only a priest or a king had the authority to carry out the ceremony.
To strip the rank of a regent, and of a prince, the process was essential the reverse of an installation. Speak over the recipient with a lit candle in hand, in the name of Ialdir, revoking each of his titles, extinguish the candle. Only then could Leviticus begin to cut his hair.
Leviticus shifted to Fiori’s side and murmured, “Do you still have the shears?”
Fiori bumped their shoulders together gently, a silent good job, and nodded. "Right here." He pressed the shears into Levi's hands, watching as the priest walked over to Johan and began the rights. It took a long time, longer than he'd have thought. People had too many titles here, but the crowd started murmuring louder and louder until they reached the last rank and, with a subtle spike of excitement, it as gone, leaving Johan as low as any peasant. Lower, maybe. The right to own anything had been stripped with the rest, the last to go.
The priest nodded to Levi, gesturing for him to come closer.
With each title stripped of him, Johan seemed to shrink into himself. He kept his eyes closed tightly as if the words caused physical pain. By the time the priest was finished, his head was hanging forward between his shoulders.
Thank you,” Levi whispered back with a small smile at Fiori’s wordless praise. His gaze fell to Johan as his rights were stripped. A part of him felt bad for Johan, but it only lasted a moment when he remembered what Johan had done. When the priest nodded to him, he straightened his shoulders and approached Johan’s chair.
Fi's lips pressed into a thin line as he watched Johan curl in further and further, but he still managed to smile when Levi looked at him, reassuring his friend. He was glad Levi could get his justice, glad he was trusted enough to help carry it out, but his heart still sank when he looked at Johan. He'd have to take care of him when they got back to his rooms, run him a bath maybe. Give him some space to be comfortable. He reached over to pat Levi's shoulder before he crossed to Johan, encouraging.
Levi positioned himself behind Johan, taking his brother’s hair in his hands. He opened the shears around the top of the braid, and after a moment of gathering himself, he began cutting. It took much more work, and a lot more time than he had anticipated. He caught his lip between his teeth. Shreds of Johan’s hair fell to the ground as Levi went on.
Johan opened his eyes when he felt the braid detach from his head. He looked as if he were on the verge of tears, eyes glossy and face bright red. Clutching the fabric of his shirt, he looked over to his braid, set aside on the table to his left. His head felt lighter, and his neck suddenly cold. Bare.
Fi had been confused before. He hadn't expected it to be such a big deal, but looking at Johan he could understand. It would be like someone cutting off his sword hand. Taking away everything he had worked so hard to build up to and create. His own breath hitched watching Johan grab at the back of his shirt. His own eyes warmed. He wondered when he'd gotten so emotional, when he'd started caring so much about how other people felt. He guessed it was around the time he lost his anchor. He had no place in the world anymore. No rock. He missed feeling okay.
Johan shut his eyes tight again when his gaze began to blur, and he couldn’t stand the audience looking back at him. Not when he was now below them. His whole life has been spent tending to his hair. It was one of the basic things he learned as a child so he could show his prestige, his esteem, his very sense of self. And now it was lying like waste beside him.
By the time Levi was done attempting to make Johan’s hair look as decent as possible, it barely reached to the nape of his neck, and small bits of piled around Levi’s feet. Levi finally lowered the shears, eyeing over his work one last time. It didn’t look the best, but Fiori had said he would fix it up later.
The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. Levi was named regent, and he made another speech, and then it seemed like the floor was open to the other nobles because they came flooding up to the stage, swarming around Levi and Johan and even him, apparently curious about why he had been named the former prince's master. He went stony-faced under all the attention. Even so, he must've met hundreds of people before he could find some excuse to get up and cross over to Johan. "Prince," he murmured, and maybe it was pity but he couldn't stand not to show him respect right now. "Would you like to leave?"
Johan nodded absently, glazed eyes traveling over to Fiori. He looked nothing like a prince. Short strands of hair sticking up everywhere, bruises seemed even more colorful than before.
Levi was thoroughly distracted with talking to the nobles, putting on a friendly face and maneuvering around their many questions. He looked over their shoulders in search for his friends. Even Mordecai seemed to have disappeared in the crowd.
Fiori wanted to hug him, hold him close, make him feel better, just for a little while. He'd always had a thing for picking up strays. Cadmus had teased him for it, back when Cadmus was still alive. He missed Cadmus a lot, but there were other things to focus on right now, like Johan and the swarm of nobles and telling Levi that he needed to go for just a few seconds. "What do you need from me right now, Johannan?"
“I just need to get out of here,” Johan answered flatly. He wasn’t completely certain he could stand up from his chair. As much as he didn’t like the idea of being carried, he knew he would have to be in order to get back to his rooms. Well, Fiori’s rooms.
“Leviticus.” Mordecai grabbed Levi’s shoulder, “How are you doing?” He raised eyebrows with concern. Levi looked okay, but he always had a talent for putting on a face among these Widonian nobles.
Fi's lips pressed into a line and then he nodded. It was surprisingly easy to cross through the crowd with one of the former princes of Widonia clasped in his arms, but people parted in front of his like a flock of birds parting in front of a child. He pushed Johan's face into the crook of his neck while he spoke to Levi, grip gentle but firm. "Leviticus." He didn't exactly interrupt the conversation, but it was close. "I am afraid I must go. Can you meet me in my rooms at the earliest convenience?"
Levi was about to answer his beloved when he swiveled his head around at the sound of his name. “Hm? Oh, of course, you need to rest,” he quickly agreed. “And yes, I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.” He uncurled his hand from Mordecai’s palm, and re-intertwined their fingers. “It looks like Johan is quite exhausted,” he noted the strange sight of his brother relying on someone to carry him.
Fi smiled and bumped their shoulders together. "Thank you, my friend. You did an excellent job today." He couldn't help but notice their entwined hands. "You should take some time here before you meet with me. Catch up with the people who have missed you." He could bring up Johan's health problems, but it wasn't like there was anything they could do about them tonight, and Levi had just gotten something major off his plate. He deserved a respite, even if it was a short one. "I will tend to your brother. He is… worn, I think, and needs time to lick his wounds."
