forum The Strangers in the Palace (Closed)(Fantasy)

Started October 31, 2021 by @LovelyRose

tune

The bard took a quick step back as Quirisa lunged, his own hands coming up in preparation for a fight that ended up not even happening. He stared at her, hands balled into fists, but didn't pursue. "IF you've always thought he's such a horrible person, Quirisa, then it's certainly rich that you risked so much to sneak him out of the palace when your mother tried to have him killed." Rin retorted, breaking off as Marsiquia screamed, watching the younger girl with a slightly shocked expression. He hadn't expected the screaming from her, hadn't honestly thought that she had it in her.

He met Honey's gaze for a moment, then stared at Quirisa. He didn't speak again, letting Marsi's furious anger linger in the room for a long, long moment. He wondered how much of the shouting Arquis had heard. He took a few deep breaths, slowly forcing his hands to unclench.

Ari spoke again, gaze flicking from Quirisa to Rinlos, words still in Kevran. Mainly to keep Quirisa from understanding, as he didn't trust her to try and sabatoge any attempts to help Arquis. He reached out to take Rin's forearm, gesturing faintly to Honey and Marsiquia, still looking at Rinlos. However, through it all, he kept a heavy, distrustful eye on Quirisa. It was clear that neither Kevran liked, or trusted her, as Rinlos's response was in Kevran, gaze still watching the oldest de Vey sister.

When it became clear that nobody there was on Quirisa's side—not even the guards, who were eyeing her suspiciously—she folded her arms and went back to her original position, leaning against the wall. She didn't bother responding to the last remark Rin had made. Honestly, she wasn't sure she could make them understand why she'd done it. She'd spent the last couple of years pissed at her brother. But when he'd been poisoned, it had been just so hard to stay mad at him. She'd slowly begun to like him again. She'd even thought that maybe they could fix things between them after he returned. That was no longer a possibility. It wasn't even just his crimes that upset her. Sure, that was part of it. An even bigger part, however, was that he hadn't told her sooner. She'd spent years wondering if her aunt would ever be caught and blamed her for what she'd done to Aurisi, but it turned out that Sirisa was the victim all along.

Marsiquia stayed slouched in on herself. She was still crying softly, her shoulders shaking. All she wanted was to see Arquis. This felt like one big nightmare, and he was always the one she went to after nightmares. She knew he wasn't a bad person, but even she didn't know why he would've hurt their family. He had to have had a good reason.

Honey moved over and tapped Rin on the shoulder. Low enough that Quirisa probably wouldn't hear, he muttered, "Hey, sorry. I don't know what you guys are saying. Wanna fill me in?"

RIn looked over at Honey, and leaned over to him to speak quietly in his ear. "We are going to go down to the kitchen. None of us have eaten yet. We are going to get some food, and we are going to get extra, and we are going to bring it back so that Arquis can eat." he kept his voice to a soft whisper, still very much not wanting quirisa to know. If she knew, she might warn the kitchen staff, who would refuse to feed any of them. He glanced over at Quirisa, a sneer curling at his lip, and then his gaze returned back to Honey and Ari, flicking between the two and then over to Marsiquia. She would probably help them, if he communicated the endeavour to her.

Honey nodded and mumbled, "Okay. Yeah. They shouldn't recognize any of us, I don't think." When he saw Rin's gaze go to Marsiquia, he frowned. "They'll recognize her, though. And honestly, I don't know if it's a real good idea for her to be around them, anyways. She's not doing too good."

He wasn't worried that she might fly off the handle and scream at the staff. She really didn't seem like an aggressive person. When she'd yelled at Quirisa just moments earlier, it seemed more like she'd done so only because she'd been pushed to the brink. He didn't think she'd be yelling at anyone else. What he was truly worried about—other than the possibility that the staff would recognize her and suspect that they were up to something, of course—was that they'd say something insensitive and upset her even more. Watching her cry was already hard enough.

"Maybe she could come with one of us to help get some stuff ready for him. What kinda things does he need besides food? You were just in there, Rin. What have the guards already brought him?”

Rin hesitated, thinking for a long moment. "Uh… some fresh clothes and grooming supplies." he replied softly. "Something to write on, maybe?" he couldn't remember quite what else Arquis might need, beyond those items. The nobleman had looked unkempt, and he needed to be able to freshen up before the trial the next day. Something to write on might help him collect his thoughts, or he could try and get his stress out by doodling. He glanced at Marsiquia again. "Maybe we can see if she can be the one to bring stuff in to him. Then at least she could… she could see him."

Ari nodded a little bit. "That would be good. We can't talk to the guards with Quirisa around, though." he frowned, casting another little glance at the older de Vey sister. "I think she'd put a stop to all of it just to be cruel."

Honey spared a quick glance at the guards, one of whom was still standing stoically in front of the door. His frown deepened. As much as he wanted Marsiquia to be able to see her brother, even just for a moment, he didn't think they would let anyone into the room at all. It was one thing to allow Rin, who'd already been in there, to stay for an extra few minutes. It was another to directly deny the Court's orders and allow a new visitor to go on in.

"I don't know that they'll let her in. Marsiquia, I mean. They'd probably just take the stuff in for her." He scratched at his jaw and hummed thoughtfully. "You've been here before, Rin, which means there's probably a higher chance that someone would recognize you than us. Why don't Ari and I go to the kitchens, and you can go with Marsiquia to get that stuff together for Arquis? I don't like the idea of her being alone, not when there are so many people here. If they're not gonna give her a guard of her own, then maybe we should be looking out for her. Especially if Muria is planning something. Earlier you said she tried to have Arquis killed, yeah? If she found out Marsiquia still supports him, then who knows what she might do to her."

He didn't think she'd actually hurt her with so many guests and guards around, but he didn't want her to manipulate or blackmail her, either. That seemed like a possibility, considering how emotionally fragile the girl seemed right now.

Rin hesitated, then nodded. "That's understandable." he replied slowly. "I think that plan will work." he glanced between Ari and Honey, then over to Marsiquia. "Marsiquia, would you be willing to come with me?" he asked her, raising his voice and completely ignoring Quirisa. "I can't tell you why right this second–" now he did glance at her sister, then back over to the youngest de Vey, "–but I can promise you that I have no ill intentions." he gave her a faint smile. "I… know that my behavior in the past few minutes has not been…kind, but I can promise you that I mean you no harm, and that this is important."

Ari sighed faintly. Rin's past made him word things weirdly sometimes, made him want to be so clear about meaning no harm that it ended up sounding odd instead. "Rinlos, you're just making it sound worse." he said with a quiet laugh.

Marsiquia scrubbed at her face with her palms and tried to compose herself. It didn't really work. She was still puffy-eyed, her cheeks were shiny, and her lips wouldn't stop quivering. She took a really deep breath, then another, and recrossed one of her arms over her stomach.

"Okay. Sure. Lead the way," she mumbled. She didn't seem fazed by the oddity of their phrasing or even ask where they were going, just wordlessly offered Rin her free hand. It wasn't even that she trusted him fully. She did trust them somewhat, but truthfully, she just didn't want to be in that hallway anymore. Not while Quirisa was still standing across the way, seething.

Honey turned to Ari and leaned in so that the older de Vey sister wouldn't overhear. "So, what kind of food do you think we should get for him? Should we try and find Doctor Lavin? I mean, he's Arquis's doctor, so he should have an idea, right? Or do you think we're better off just grabbing a bunch of stuff and hoping he goes for something?"

Rin stepped away from Ari and Honey, gently taking Marsiquia's hand. "Alright. Come on." he led her from the room, and down the hallway. Once he was satisfied that they were far enough away that QUirisa wouldn't overhear, he finally spoke. "We're going to grab Arquis some fresh clothes, and some grooming supplies." he told her. "Ari and Honey are going to go get food. THey aren't going to tell the kitchen who it's for, they're going to say it's for themselves, as they have not had breakfast yet." he still kept his voice relatively hushed, but he was doing his best to communicate the plan as best as he could. "We're going to do our best to help Arquis, even if– well. Even if there are certain others in this place that would prefer he wasn't helped."

Ari narrowed his eyes in thought, again keeping an eye on Quirisa. "Perhaps we should speak to Dr Lavin." he agreed softly. "He would know what sort of things might be best."

Marsiquia followed quietly along beside Rin. When they spoke, she finally seemed to notice where they were taking her, and she perked up visibly. She quickly hugged him from the side before breaking off and bounding a few steps ahead. By the time they actually reached her brother's room, she was in a much better mood. Simply stepping away from the tense situation had done wonders, but being able to help cheered her up even more. As much as she loved her brother, even he tended to baby her sometimes. She could be emotional at times—her boyfriend always said she was just soft hearted—but she wasn't a child anymore. She didn't like being treated with kid gloves.

She opened the door and stepped inside, going straight for his wardrobe. As she began to look over the clothes inside, she frowned.

"He has a lot of clothes that he could wear tomorrow." She gestured to the array of suits and nice menswear, then down at the gloveboxes piled high inside. "But it doesn't look like he has much to wear to bed tonight."

She thought back for a moment. Any time they'd gone down to the kitchens at night after she'd had a nightmare, he'd worn neatly-pressed pajamas. They'd always looked uncomfortable, given that they were made out of that scratchy, stiff linen she hated. She found a couple of pairs hanging neatly in the back of his wardrobe and looked at them, displeased.

"Um. Maybe we could bring him his bathrobe instead? These are horrible." She recalled that they'd had to pack some of Quirisa's spare clothes that she kept for suitors for Arquis to take to the inn. Those would probably have worked, except she had a better idea. "Or maybe you could let him borrow some of yours? Do you have any extra sweaters you could give him?"

—

Meanwhile, back in the hall, Honey gave Ari another nod. "Okay. I have no clue where he would be right now, though. I don't even know what room he and Ophia went to." He cringed. "I think Quirisa's the one who gave them their room. This place is huge. It could take a while to find it. We could just go to the kitchens and hope they're already down there?"

Rin followed her into Arquis's bedroom, giving her another faint, soft little smile. "A bathrobe is a good idea." he agreed, going over to the bags that they had brought back from the hotel. He sat down on the floor and started pulling clothes out of it, squinting at it carefully until he found a nice, soft, comfortable pair of pajamas, which thankfully were also clean. He folded them up, and set them on the bed. "There's pajamas. I'm going to grab him some soap, deodorant, shaving supplies, and a bit of cologne. And some hair gel and a comb." he thought for a moment. "Can you find a nice suit for him to wear tomorrow, and some gloves that match? He… he'll feel more confident on the stand if he has his gloves."

He went into the bathroom, searching through the cupboards until he found what he had been looking for, along with a small bag to put everything in. For the shaving suplies, though, he hesitated. The razor could technically be a weapon. WOuld the guards allow it to be given to Arquis? He frowned in thought. Maybe he could talk to them. Arquis needed to shave, he was pretty stubbly. Maybe one of the guards could stand and watch Arquis use the razor, and then take it? MAybe that would work. It remained to be seen.

---

Ari frowned. He didn't want to wander and hope they found the doctors… so he turned his head and coughed into his elbow. It was… surprisingly realistic sounding. He looked over at Quirisa, clearing his throat. "I know you probably don't exactly like any of us right now. But would you mind telling me how to find Dr Lavin and Dr Ophia? I've been feeling a little off for the last few days, and I wanted to speak with them about it." somehow, in the pitch of his voice, he really did sound a little bit off. Like he really was catching ill.

(oh darn if I hadn't made Quirisa intervene then Rin could've helped Arquis shave which would've been kind of a sweet moment, ah darn)

Marsiquia gave the folded clothes on the bed a little pat, then turned to go look in the wardrobe again. Before she got there, however, she stopped. A thought crossed her mind. Arquis typically wore a lot of layers. Should she get him an extra blanket, just in case the pajama weren't enough? Or maybe a coat of some sort? She poked her head into the bathroom and smiled at Rin in the mirror.

"Hi! Sorry, I know you're getting everything together, but I was just thinking—do you maybe have another sweater that you could put in with the pajamas? I think he gets cold rather easily, and they probably won't let him go sit by a fireplace if he does. You don't have to get the sweater right now, of course! You can finish packing. I'll, um, I'll get back to what I was supposed to be doing."

She scurried back into the main room and began to sort through his suits. Most of them were pretty similar. They were almost all some shade of black, gray, or blue. Most were plain, though some had pretty detailing or elegant patterns on them. She picked a black suit that had silver patterns on the shoulders and a dark gray undershirt. It took her a minute to decide what tie would work best. In the end, she chose a simple black tie with a silver clip. For his gloves, she chose a dark pair that matched his tie. She also got him a couple of silver rings. He didn't always wear rings over his gloves, but she'd seen him do it a couple of times in the past, and she thought it was kind of a cool look. For shoes, she went with the first black pair she saw, neatly placing them on the bed beside the rest of his outfit. She then stood back and admired her handiwork.

——

Quirisa snorted and, in a rather crude display, flipped him off. She didn't answer his question. Honey rolled his eyes. She was acting like an angry toddler.

"Y'know, we're not the ones you're mad at," he called to her. She sneered. He sighed. "Believe it or not, we really have nothing to do with all of this. We just got dragged into this whole mess. We, like, barely know Arquis. So, if you could please just help us out, we'd be glad to get outta your way."

She flipped Honey off, too, without even looking at him. "Don't care. Find them yourselves.”

(i knowwww i'm kinda bummed too :( )

"I'll grab a sweater when I'm done!" he called back, finishing putting everything together, packing it neatly into a small bag so that it would all be easy to access and easy to carry. He carried it back out, setting it next to the folded pajamas, and then he went back to his own traveling bag. He searched through it until he found a soft, cozy sweater. It wasn't exactly the prettiest thing to look at; it was older, and had a few small stains on it. It was obviously well-worn though in good condition, but it would serve the purpose that they needed it for. He thought for a moment, then grabbed his small bottle of cologne. He used it just enough that the smell would be familiar for Arquis, and he spritzed it very lightly on the sweater. Maybe it could bring some comfort? He hoped so. He tucked his cologne away again, and gathered a pencil and paper, setting that with everything.

He exhaled, standing back and studying everything that they had grabbed. "Alright. I think we should wait a few minutes before we go back. So that Quirisa is gone. THe less we have to deal with her in all of this, the better. I have a feeling she would do her best to keep as much of this from Arquis as possible." he wouldn't put it past her to interfere and try and take away as much as posisble, just to rob Arquis of any comfort or assistance.

---

Rin's mouth pinched, and very calmly returned her gesture. "Well, I guess we can see which de Vey is the least equipped for polite company." he remarked, taking Honey's arm. "For all that Arquis might be a murderer, at least he was always kind." he led Honey out of the room though, not wanting to hang around and argue with Quirisa. It would just be a pointless fight, again. Once they were a bit away, though, he paused, letting out a frustrated huff. "What a bitch." he glanced around the hallway, wondering if they could find someone who could guide them. Because, honestly, he wasn't sure where Ophia and LAvin's room was, or the kitchens.

Marsiquia watched as Rin picked out a sweater and put their cologne on it, a soft smile forming on her lips. She couldn't help it. Her brother had been kind of a loner for a while. He wasn't really the sort to get involved in flings or romances. He didn't have very many friends at all. But he'd managed to find someone who seemed to really care for him, and it made Marsiquia genuinely happy.

"Sure, we can wait for a bit," she said, still smiling. She sat on the bed and smoothed her skirt out, so that it wouldn't fluff up too much. "I'm sorry that this happened. You seem like a really nice person." Mostly teasing, but also a hint sad, she added, "You would have made for a very good older brother. Don't tell Arquis I said that. He'll never… well. I was going to say that he'd never talk to me again, but… but I guess that's a poor choice of words, isn't it?"

——

Once they were out of Quirisa's line of sight, Honey sighed deeply. Confrontation was always hard for him to handle. He hated when people screamed at each other like that, but he didn't blame Rin for yelling at Quirisa. They had every right to be pissed off, after the stunt that she pulled. He supposed she also might've had a reason to be upset, but that didn't justify the extent of her cruelty.

"Yeah. Huh. I wish she would've just told us where we're going, 'cause this place is giant." He tried to think back to when they'd been guided through the halls to Arquis's room. He didn't think they'd gone by a kitchen, but his best guess was that it'd be somewhere on the bottom floor. That would make it easily accessible for guests. He started looking around for stairs, and when he found some, he tugged Ari towards them.

"I say we keep going downstairs until we hear a crowd. I'm sure there'll be a bunch of people in the dining room. We can just follow their voices."

Rin looked over at her, sitting down as well. He smiled a little bit at her words, looking down at his hands for a moment, then back over at her. "Yeah, I'm sorry too." he replied softly. "And thank you, I… have a younger half sister, but she… her mother does not like me." the king's wife had never liked Rinlos's existence, and had always done her best to keep her darling daughter away from her older half sibling. "And don't… don't act like Arquis doesn't have a chance. I'd rather keep some hope." he gave her another little smile, running a hand through his hair. "When this is all over, you can lecture him, okay?" he'd rather have some little kernel of hope and be wrong, then assume the worst and be wrong.

"And– hey, I have an idea." he reached out to pick up the pencil and notebook that he had set with the stuff for Arquis, and held it out to her. "Write him a note. Even if you can't talk to him before the trial, that way you can at least give him a message?"

---

Ari nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess we'll just have to wander for a bit. MAybe we can find a servant who can show us the way?" he shook his head just a little. As they walked, he was quiet for a few long moments, before he finally spoke again. "I haven't seen Rin that angry in… a long time. Maybe ever." his friend usually was far more controlled then that, usually far better at channeling his anger out in healthy ways.

Marsiquia leaned over so that her cheek was pressed against their shoulder. She couldn't help but feel disappointed. Rin really would've been a good older sibling, and she didn't want to be a downer, but she couldn't imagine a world where Arquis won the trial. She wanted to believe in it so badly, but she knew how persistent their mother could be when she wanted something. Once, when Marsiquia was much younger, Quirisa had tried to convince their mother that she should be allowed to take up fencing. Their mother had scolded her, saying that she needed to focus on her etiquette classes. When Quirisa had snuck into one of their father's lessons, Muria had grounded her for two months. Even after that, she'd refused to let her daughter see her friends until she promised she'd never go back. Now that she was an adult, Quirisa didn't listen to their mother nearly as much, but the whole situation had stuck itself in Marsiquia's mind. Muria had a way of getting what she wanted, and now she wanted Arquis dead.

"Arquis isn't very tough," she said softly. "I love him, but he doesn't have much of a backbone. He lets people walk all over him. I'm a bit like that, too. We have a hard time sticking up for ourselves." She sighed as she took the pencil and paper from him. "I'm really worried that he's going to give up tomorrow, just to make it easier for everyone else."

She stared down at the blank paper, trying to think of what she should write. She had so many things to say to her brother, but she couldn't think of a way to phrase any of them.

——

Honey kept an eye out for any servants as they walked, but besides the occasional passerby, the halls were relatively empty. He wondered if all of the servants were downstairs getting ready for the trial, or if maybe they were tidying up after breakfast. He couldn't imagine how different his life would've turned out if he'd lived in a place like the Palace, with all of its many rooms and grandeur. As cruel as an environment it seemed like it was turning out to be, it was undeniably breathtaking.

He frowned when Ari spoke about Rin. "Yeah. That was a lot. I mean, I get it, I can totally see why he was mad. She pissed me off, too. But that was maybe too far." He looked down at the lush carpeting beneath him. "I just kinda feel bad for that girl, honestly. Marsiquia. She's gotta be, like, what, fifteen or sixteen? And she's already lost her dad and her aunt, and tomorrow she's gonna lose her mom or brother. That's really tough. I can't imagine what I'd do if Lovey was on trial."

Rin let her rest her head on their shoulder, biting his lip faintly as she spoke. "I know." he said softly. "But… I don't konw. I told him he wasn't allowed to give up during the trial, and… he shrugged faintly. "Maybe you can write that to him too. I don't know. I know we can't make him try, but I really hope he does. I… don't want to lose him without a fight." he didn't know what he was going to do if Arquis lost the trial. Certainly they couldn't remain at the palace long; but where would he go? Back to his wandering again, back to being just a bard? Back home, to Kevra? Where would Ari go? The young man wouldn't want to accompany Rinlos on his travels, unless RIn was going home, and Rin had a feeling that Ari wouldn't want to leave Honey anyways.

---

"My siblings are pretty close in age to her." Ari replied, thinking of Marsiquia and then of his twin siblings back home. "It's… i feel sorry for her too. No matter who she loses at the trial tomorrow, it's… it will either leave her orphaned, or without a brother. And based on what she said to Quirisa, I don't think that that relationship is going to be mended anytime soon, no matter what the outcome of the trial is." he shook his head, reaching out to lace his fingers through Honey's. "I don't know. It's just all so much. Rin isn't… he's too tired and stressed for all of this, and Quirisa pushed him to his breaking point. I think maybe doing it in front of Marsiquia was bad, but… honestly, I don't disagree with the things he said. I don't know. It just sucks."

Marsiquia nodded and picked up the pencil. After studying it for a moment, she finally lowered it to the paper, determined to get at least something written down. Anything would be better than leaving it blank.

Her message ended up being shorter than she would've liked. In loopy cursive, she'd written, 'Arquis, while Quirisa may not be on your side, know that I am. Your partner is as well. There are still people who care about you. Please do not give in at the trial tomorrow. Try to win. If not for yourself, then for us.' As an afterthought, she'd hastily scribbled in, 'I hope you like your lollipops,' at the end, followed by, 'Sincerely, Marsiquia.'

She sketched a very rough, cute picture of three lollipops at the bottom of the note. It wasn't her best work, but her handwriting was kind of big, meaning that the drawing had to be squished into the bottom corner. She added a smiling little Sun, hoping that it'd cheer him up, then folded the note in half and wrote his name on top. She doodled a little kitten with a paintbrush beside his name.

"There we go. Maybe this will make him a little less sad." She held it up, her blue eyes bright as she beamed at Rin.

——

Honey lifted Ari's hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles one by one. He seemed a bit distracted as he did it. Not by the lavish interior surrounding them or the elegant woodworking of the hallway walls, but rather by the conversation at hand.

"Yeah. It really does suck. If only Arquis hadn't turned himself in." Of course, that probably wouldn't honestly change that much. The High Court would've found him eventually. But maybe if he'd given himself a bit more time, he would've confessed the story to Rin, and they would've been able to come up with a defensive position to take together. This system of keeping things secret wasn't working for them, and Honey should know, given how many secrets he'd kept over his life that had really hurt him.

"I wonder what the actual trial's gonna be like. It seems scary." A dark thought crossed his mind, and he shuddered. "You don't think Muria's been able to buy off the Court, do you? Skew the decision in her favor? They're supposed to be impartial, but they haven't really been all that fair so far, it seems."

Rin watched her write her note for a moment, then looked away, gaze moving around the room. He looked over at her again when she spoke, returning that little smile with one of his own. "I bet it will. He… seemed sad that he wasn't going to be able to talk to you." he replied in a soft voice. "Even though that was his own choice." he looked at Marsiquia. "i'm sorry that he wouldn't let you in, and I'm sorry that Quirisa made it impossible for him to change his mind. It's not fair of him to do that. There's… a lot of things about this that aren't fair." he went quiet again, thinking about all of this. Everything that had already happened in the last few hours, everything that would happen tomorrow… there was so much.

---

Ari considered the words, biting his lip faintly. "I… really hope she hasn't. Surely she hasn't, that…" he grimaced, shaking his head. "I hope not. That would be no good, and it's going to be hard enough for Arquis to win this as is…" he looked over at Honey for a moment, then back at the hallway around them. They still eneded to find the doctors, or the kitchen. Preferably both. "I don't know, relaly, but I hope that she hasn't tried to bribe the court. Maybe she has enough trust in her case that she doesn't see the need to."

Marsiquia's smile faltered, and she lowered the drawing with a sigh. "It's fine. I mean, it's not fine, because it truly is not fair. I really am very mad at Quirisa and my mom for everything they're doing, even though I know that Quirisa is only doing it out of hurt." She nudged the carpet with one of her shoes, making a mark that she slowly erased when she brought her leg back the other way. "Quirisa can be like that. It doesn't mean she's right, and I still hate her for it, but I have to remember why she's doing it. She and my aunt had a very messy relationship, so it must be hard for her to accept that she's been dead all along, after blaming her for all of these years. That doesn't excuse her behavior, like I said, but, well, I just can't imagine how she must have felt when she found out that…"

She trailed off as she realized she'd accidentally revealed a bit too much. She'd said that she couldn't imagine what it was like to find out after all of these years. That would've been a shock to Quirisa, sure. Quirisa hadn't known that Sirisa was dead.

Quirisa seemed to be the only one that hadn't known that Sirisa was dead.

Marsiquia looked at Rin, wide-eyed, trying to read their expression. What she'd said was neutral enough that he may not have caught it, but if he did, then she had some explaining to do. She waited to see if they'd ask about it.

——

Honey shrugged, still maintaining that steady pace forward. There was a faint humming in the distance that could've been voices, so he started steering them that way.

"Well, who knows. Maybe they can't be bribed. Maybe their salaries are just that good, or they're just really, really into justice." Given the upbringing he'd had, and all of the things he'd seen, he couldn't imagine that anyone in Anvillea was that committed to what was just. But maybe that was because the High Court only dealt with rare cases that presented a threat to all of Anvillean society, and the things he'd suffered through had been localized issues dangerous to a small number of people. Perhaps he just hadn't had the chance yet to see true justice.

"It'd sure look bad if Muria tried to bribe them and then found out they couldn't be bribed. She could be too smart to have even tried it—like you said, maybe she thinks her case is just that good."

The hallway they were in opened up not into the kitchens but into a very large dining hall. There were a ton of people still in there from breakfast, chatting and laughing over freshly baked croissants, poached eggs and thick strips of bacon, mixed fruit, and strong coffee. Servants were going around, offering food off of trays. Honey scanned the room and found Ophia and Doctor Lavin sitting at a small table close to the leftmost wall. They were sitting an awkward distance away from each other, sipping coffee and avoiding eye contact. When Honey started to pull Ari closer, he discovered that what he'd initially read as exhaustion on their faces was actually something else entirely. They were both really hungover. He shot Ari a smirk as they neared the table.

Rin might not have caught on, if Marsiquia had not immediately made that panicked expression, which made him rethink what she had just said. He cocked his head very faintly, lips parting as he considered her words. "What do you mean?" he replied, carefully. "Did you… already know?" if so, how? And more importantly… how much of the rest of this had Marsiquia already had some clue of? Was QUirisa the only one who had been completely in the dark this whole time? The bard had no love in his heart for the older de Vey sister, after what she had done, but it was still odd that she may be the only one that didn't know about the aunt's death.

How much, then, did Marsiquia know? Had Arquis told her some things, in the years that had passed? Or had Muria told her earlier? Either way, it was… odd. To be fair, Rinlos was an outsider here, not even from the country to begin with, but it was strange. THis whole situation was strange. He still felt like he was missing something.

---

"I hope there's been no attempts at bribery. or if there were, i hope it backfired on her." Ari agreed, eyes finding Lavin and Ophia and raising his eyebrows faintly, returning Honey's smirk with a small smile of his own. "Doctors." he greeted, voice not too loud so as not to disturb their hangovers too much. "How are the two of you…feeling?" he glanced between the two of them, suppressing an amused smile. UP close, the two really did look tired, and hungover, and he felt a little bit guilty about bothering them. But, well, they wouldn't be bothering the two for long, to be fair.

Marsiquia began to nervously toy with the skirt of her dress, suddenly unable to meet his gaze. "Oh. It is a bit of a secret. I'm not really supposed to tell anybody. Even Arquis does not know. So, you have to promise not to talk about it."

"The murders happened when I was about eleven. What happened that day, and the days after, is all a blur. I vaguely remember there being investigators coming in to search the property. They all came to the same conclusion, which was that my aunt attacked and killed my father with a knife. Then, they left. We had a funeral." The funeral itself was a long story, but she was determined to stay on topic, so she kept going. "You know, I used to wonder why Arquis was so determined to throw himself into himself into his new duties right after my father died. He even planned the funeral. I thought it was because he was trying to ignore his grief, but now I am beginning to wonder if he was attempting to push aside his guilt instead. Perhaps it was a mix of both."

"He began working such long hours that I rarely saw him. Quirisa began sneaking out more and more. I still had my lectures and lessons to do, so I attended those, but I started to get quite lonely. This was before I had met my boyfriend or most of my other friends, so I really was on my own. I had a hard time sleeping, since I had nightmares about Sirisa coming back. I spent a lot of nights wandering around the halls or reading. One night, I read a book about ghosts. I was still young enough that ghost stories scared me. I started to have nightmares about the ghost of my father haunting the Palace. They were very silly, I know that now, but at the time I was terrified. At this point, Arquis was even working through nights, so I did not want to bother him with my nightmares. As a result, my fear continued to grow. Until one day, I woke up and realized that I actually could see them. I could see ghosts."

She smiled, embarrassed, over at Rin. "It is not as exciting as it sounds. I cannot talk to them, and they do not do much other than, well, wander or stand in place. But that's how I knew that Sirisa was dead. I saw her ghost. I assumed that perhaps she had died after she had run from the Palace, and I went to tell my mother of my theory. But, ah, she said that I was just making things up. She warned me that if I continued to say such crazy things, then she would have to send me away."

——

Even though Ari was talking somewhat softly, Ophia groaned and put her head in her hands. "I'm feeling I never want to have wine again," she mumbled, voice muffled. "Never, ever again."

Ambrose stood and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. She lifted her head and looked up, surprised but not displeased. He smiled kindly. They both blushed, and he pulled his hand away, like she'd shocked him.

"Would you like some more water? I can get some."

"Yes, I would. Thank you," she replied, something shy about her tone. As he walked away, she turned back to Honey. Her eyes narrowed. Honey was wearing a big grin. "What's that look for?"

"You like him," he singsonged. She went an even deeper shade of pink. He leaned over the table to poke her in the shoulder. "You like-like him."

"Look, it's not- it's not like that, we just- um, had some wine to cool off, since we were both so angry, and then one thing led to another- but it's not- it wasn't like that. It just happened."

Honey looked like he was about to explode from holding in his laughter. "You guys hooked up?"

"I wouldn't call it that!"

"Fine. You guys," he put on the most pretentious voice he could manage, "made love?"

Ophia sighed and put her head back in her hands. "Maybe."

Ambrose made his way back with four empty cups and one pitcher of water. He filled the glasses with mildly unsteady hands, then passed them out. When he looked at Honey, who was practically choking from still trying not to laugh, he raised a brow but didn't comment.

“Did you two need something? I think there are still leftovers from breakfast, if you’re hungry.”

RIn listened, taking in the teen's words as she spoke. "Ghosts?" he replied softly, absorbing the news. "That… makes sense." he tipped his head to one side slightly, lips parting for a moment as he tried to think about what to say as he processed what she had told him. It was…intriguing, the way her fear had manifested into seeing ghosts. He knew, sure, that that was how magic worked, but it was always interesting the specific ways that it came about. "Do you see your father, too? Or is his ghost not here?" he didn't want to press too many questions on her, but he was intrigued by this ability of hers, and everything that had happened because of it.

---

Ari grinned at Honey's teasing of Ophia, smiling happily as he listened to the conversation. "Good for you." he told the older woman before Lavin came back, giving Honey a soft, mischevious smile. At Lavin's question, though, he sobered up a little bit, a faint frown tugging at his mouth now. "Well…" he leaned forward, lowering his voice so the staff wouldn't hear. "It turns out the kitchen is refusing to make food for Arquis. So Honey and I are here to get food for, ah, ourselves," he winked, and also put airquotes around "ourselves", to make it abundantly clear who he really meant, "and we were wondering if there's anything specific that ah, "we" need. Y'know. For our health." he hoped that he was being very very clear about who he was really asking about.

(obligatory I am not a medical doctor warning, this is probably not accurate, I did research it a little bit but who knows if that's right—also this is like somewhat violent, I know you said you don’t really need warnings but a while ago someone said that they were reading this? I don’t know if they still are, but just to be safe I’m going to leave a general warning again that from here until the end of the trial it’s definitely going to be more on the mature/serious/tough to read side of things)

"His is here, too," Marsiquia responded. The question seemed to rattle her. She shivered and braced herself by putting her hands on her knees, scrunching the fabric of her dress. "I don't like looking at his ghost. It's really scary. Ghosts keep the injuries they had when they died. He was, um. He was really hurt. His clothes are all bloody."

The memory of his ghost made her feel nauseous. She tried to put it out of her mind, but she couldn't stop remembering the first time she'd seen him aimlessly wandering the halls, his torn clothes dyed a dark red. She'd been so excited to see him that she hadn't realized he was a ghost until after she'd tried to hug him. When she'd gotten armfuls of air, she'd looked up at him to find that his eyes, which had been so authoritative, so commanding, in life, were now absent. They lacked any sort of spark. Whatever he was, whether it was really him or just a leftover image that she could see, he was no longer the father she’d known.

"I don't think Arquis could've done that to him. Just on a physical level, even. Arquis has never been particularly strong. Am I supposed to believe that he won against my father in a fight? That he somehow overpowered him?" Aurisi had been a stocky, strong man, even as he got older. Arquis had been on the slim side for years before Aurisi's death. Not quite as bad as he was now, but still thin. Marsiquia shook her head. "There is something else going on here."

——

Ambrose gritted his teeth as hot anger swelled up inside him. His head ached from his hangover as his jaw grew tight, but he leaned into the pain, letting it add to his ire.

"They haven't fed him? It's been at least three days. And they haven't fed him?" Arquis would've been too knocked out on the tranquilizer to eat along the way, but the doctor had assumed the staff would've started delivering meals early that morning. His condition was evident. It took one careful look at him to know that he was sick. Why did no one in the Palace seem to care about it? Why was no one taking his health seriously? Weren't they supposed to serve the de Vey family? Ambrose found that he was squeezing the handle of his coffee mug so tightly that his whole hand was going white. He relaxed his muscles and let out a sigh.

"I am not his-" He paused. "I mean, I am not your specialist. This isn't really my field. I diagnosed, uh, you, but… let me think."

"Something plain," Ophia piped up, taking a sip of her water.

Ambrose nodded. "Plain, yes. Some fats and oils, but not too many, or else he's- you're not going to eat it. Let's see. How about some oatmeal for breakfast with fruit and almonds? Or an omelette with spinach, cheese, chicken, and a little bit of butter or olive oil? Either would work, and if you can get a smoothie to him, or, uh, to you as well, that would be even better. Get fruit in there, spinach, yogurt if you can. And avocado, for some healthy fats. He- you won't taste it."

"Remind yourselves to eat slowly. Make it last for a bit," Ophia said. "If you go too fast, you're going to accidentally make yourselves sick, and you really can't afford to lose any fluids or nutrients."

(i appreciate the warning either way dkfkjb)

At her description of Aurisi's ghost, he frowned again, brows pulling together and eyes narrowing as he considered that. He knew Arquis's ability. It wouldn't make sense for him to kill Aurisi in a way that left him bloodied. "That…doesn't make sense." he replied slowly. "You're right. Arquis is not super strong. ANd his…ability… lends itself well to killing someone, but not like that. I assumed… I assumed that if Arquis had killed Aurisi and Sirisa, that it would be through suffocation. That's his, uh, ability. SO for Aurisi to be…" he trailed off, clearly in thought about what this was, what it all meant. It took him a few more long moments to speak again, and when they did, it was slow and measured.

"It doesn't make any sense. I hope that Arquis…I hope that that gets brought up tomorrow. Because why in the world would Arquis try to physically overpower Aurisi, when his ability means he could do it from across the room?" he rubbed his hand over his chin, gaze flickering about as he shuffled around what little information that he had, really trying to figure out what had happened.

---

"They haven't fed him." Ari confirmed softly. "Trust me, ah…RInlos and QUirisa already had a screaming match. They called each other some rather choice names. Quirisa and Arquis had a fight, she ran and tattled to the court, and now no one is allowed in to see Arquis. They kicked Rin out before they could finish talking, and… well. I haven't seen him angrier than that in… maybe ever, honestly." he cleared his throat, and nodded as Lavin spoke. "And thank you for the advice on…our diet. I appreciate it, and i'm sure that it will help. For my breakfast." was this charade the most believable? No, but it didn't have to be. Just believable enough that no one passing by would question it too much.