Rose nodded faintly, turning away and getting herself some food. Her hair was still pulled back into a bun, though a few strands had, by now, escaped from it to cascade down around her face. She looked tired and worried, and the cause of both could be traced back to the man in the bedroom.
"What do you like to eat?" Damen asked, after composing himself. He worked to chop up spices, making the familiar recipe that his mother used to make. He could sense her stress and worry, and he didn't want her spiraling down.
"I…" she trailed off, shaking her head very faintly. "I'm not picky." she replied after a moment. "I'm alright with pretty much anything."
"Do you care about spicy foods? I know that a lot of people from this area of the country don't enjoy spice as much." He hoped he didn't sound judgemental - to be honest, he hadn't gotten any sleep for almost two days now, and he was dead on his feet.
"I don't." She replied. "As long as it isn't too spicy, then I don't really have a preference." She smiled faintly at Dae, running a hand through her hair.
"Not too spicy? Alright, then." He carefully measured the seasoning into the soup, and soon, a fragrant aroma filled the air.
After a few long moments, he spoke. "I apologize if it's a little spicy. My brother and I- we're not originally from this country, and so we're used to spicier things. I'll try to make sure my cooking fits the culture that you're used to." He sent her a small smile.
Rose shook her head slightly. "No, it's fine. When I was…gone, the people who hid me used to cook spicier things. I got used to it a bit more." she replied, tucking back a loose strand of hair. She still looked tired and tense, glancing back at the bedroom for a long moment.
Damen saw her look and smiled slightly, sadness in his eyes. "You can go to him if you'd like. Jav is watching him right now, but I'm sure he'd leave if you wanted."
She shrugged. "I don't know. i've…I've got to figure out a way to unravel the spellwork. I don't know if I can do it completely, our uncle…well. It's a good spell." she bit her lip faintly, trying to decide what to do.
"Do you think he did the spell all on his own?" Damen asked, an idea striking him. "Or was there someone who helped him? As far as I know, the King was never the best at magic."
"I don't know." she replied, looking at him for a moment. "Depending on the tools he used, you don't need a high level of proficiency with magic in order to cast the spells." she shook her head faintly, thinking. "But I don't know exactly what he did, which is what makes it harder to unravel." people were always harder than inanimate objects; inanimate objects you could just rip the spellwork away, but if you did that to a human, you risked ripping away their sanity or their mind.
"Indeed." Dae rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Six years working for the King, and he didn't know what had happened, how it could have happened, or who had helped. He felt useless. "When I return to the castle, I can look for this information. Being his advisor has its benefits, after all. I get to see all the important papers." He smiled wearily at Rose.
She drummed her fingertips. "No, that…that would be far too dangerous for you. He would not want anyone to know that he was the one that did this to my brother. He's used it as an excuse and a reason not to make Kor his heir. Without that excuse, I…" she trailed off, shaking her head.
"With that as an excuse, you would be queen," Damen said, realizing the gravity of her situation. "Which means that he'll be searching for you even harder now that Prince Korain is gone."
Thoughts filled his head, swimming quickly through his brain. How had she escaped and Korain didn't? Was it her power? Did her uncle know about her powers? If so, was that why the search for Rose hadn't worked very well? And most of all, How did the King, who has little magic, manage to cast magic on the prince to this magnitude?
"I am already supposed to be queen." she pointed out. "Korain is younger than I am by about 20 minutes. He was only the…heir presumptive because I was not there." she shrugged a shoulder, looking over at Damen.
"Why…" Damen hesitated, wishing for Javaid's blunt way of saying things. He didn't feel comfortable asking her these things, as they would probably make her mad, and they were personal as well. "Why weren't you there?" He finally managed to get out.
"There as in…?" she trailed off, looking at him uncertainly. She was not quite sure what he was asking about, and didn't want to answer based on an incorrect assumption about something.
"There to protect your brother? There to save the throne when your uncle took it for himself? There to protect your people when they needed it most?" There was no judgement in his expression, just sadness.
She looked down at her hands. "I…I wasn't home. When our parents died, I mean. They had sent me to visit my great-aunt, and I was there when they died. And…I thought that I'd be summoned home, to…take the throne, but then we received news that my uncle was taking over. My great-aunt was…smarter than I am, and she figured out what that meant. That if I came back, some sort of accident would happen. So she sent me somewhere else. To hide. And grow stronger. I just…I just wish we could have gotten Kor, somehow."
Something flashed in his blue-gray eyes, an unreadable expression. He ran a hand through his hair - it was getting too long, he should cut it soon - and bit his lip. His mind raced. Could it work? Would it? What had started out as a simple question that might have been a little too personal gave him an idea. But he couldn't get his hopes up. Not yet. Maybe not ever. "The place where you got stronger… were you taught magic there? By people? Or did you teach yourself?"
"I was, yes." she replied, looking over at him and raising her eyebrows. "Why?" she reached up to tuck a few strands of her hair behind her ears again, to keep it out of her face.
"What?" Damen blinked. She hadn't answered his question. "You were taught by someone else, or you taught yourself?" His brain was working quickly now as he finishedd stirring the soup, tasting it to make sure it was all right. They needed to find a cure before Korain hurt someone.
She sighed faintly. "Sorry, that didn't…I'm tired." she rubbed her face tiredly. "I cannot say much about it. Yes, there were others, and yes they taught me, but…I cannot say anything beyond that." the secrecy of the place she had been was something that had been heavily impressed upon her.
The way that she said it made the man frown. His idea was already fading. If this didn't work, he didn't really have any other ideas than to wait and see if anything were to happen. "So we wouldn't be able to bring Korain there? See if they could heal him?" And would they be able to teach Jav and I how to… He didn't finish that thought, just got out three bowls and dished up some soup into each, setting on in front of Rose and sitting down across from her.
"I…" she trailed off, thinking about it. "We probably could, but it might be a long trip, and once we got there, each of the three of you would have to swear secrecy. It's…they are trying to protect themselves from my uncle and others." she looked over at him, taking blowing gently on her soup.