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| Mission 14 | ||
All is calm in Aether - though, if they knew what had only just transpired in the castle, perhaps they would think otherwise.
Nicholas waves goodbye to Madhavi as he leaves her shop. Adjusting the sack slung over his shoulder, he heads towards the main gate out of the city, passing by The Bumpy Turnip Inn (and keeping his head down to avoid anyone recognizing him). Gawain had left for Veethrfölnir not long ago with whatever willing Aetherians he could gather. If he hurried, he could easily catch up with them and-
: PRINCEEEEEEEE!
Well, so much for that plan. A Chatot nearly crashes into the ground in front of the Umbreon, halting his stride. Nicholas watches idly as his tutor dusts himself off, already rehearsing his lines in his head, and Charles faces the lad with a few bird-hops in his direction.
: I have come to inform you that your presence is required in the castle.
: Sorry, but I have to be somewhere else. We’ll need to reschedule your lectures.
: You misunderstand, though that too is of the essence, of course…
: But no, the order comes directly from the queen. She wants you to watch the king, your father, since he is feeling ill.
: (under his breath) “Ill,” huh. I suppose that’s the story they’ll be running…
: Wasn’t she keeping watch over my father?
: Now prince, while she no doubt would wish to, she has her responsibilities. Now that the king is unwell, she must attend to official matters in his stead; Gaius requires her aid with such matters.
: I see. I still can’t do it… I have an appointment.
The bird frowns at this news, then pulls out a scroll from… somewhere… quickly scanning its contents.
: That’s odd, I don’t see anything on your schedule in this area of the town, and I would know, I am in charge of making your schedule.
At this, Nicholas changes tactics - he’s a pro at this by now - and mock-bashfully rubs the back of his head.
: Well, you caught me - but you know it’s really hard for me seeing my father like this, I don’t know what to do…
He waits a beat, then smiles slyly.
: But you do. You always know everything and are dependable in every situation.
: So Charles, can I ask you a huge favour? It would mean so much to me if you would take over my watch. Please, I can’t do it without your help.
: (rolling up the scroll and putting it away) Well, I suppose I could plan some more lectures while the king sleeps. It shouldn’t interfere with my work much, and you could listen to my lectures tonight!
: And of course, I do know a thing or two about these kinds of things, yes, don’t worry, young prince, I shall see to it! Right away!
: Thanks, Charles, I’ll be sure to remember it.
Charles bows low and flaps his wings, taking him into the sky. He circles above the area briefly as Nicholas continues his journey to the gate… and spots a figure tailing the prince. He’s about to intercept the figure, but recognizes them as Cecil; the prince was in no danger after all!
Thus satisfied with his charge’s safety, he makes his way to the castle, soon sailing through an open castle window. Moments later, he finds himself just outside the king’s bedchambers, opening the door by landing on the handle, pushing it down with his weight, then landing on the floor and waddling inside. Cold stone beneath his feet is soon replaced by warm carpet as he approaches the bed on whose sheets the ailing monarch rested. He flaps his wings again and rests on the king’s nightstand, observing him and trying to recall any medical know-how he had in his brain; he should probably ask Guinevere for some refreshers so he can include them in the prince’s lessons-
Abruptly, the bird freezes, his thoughts catching up to him.
: Oh, Charles, you fool! You forgot to ask where the lad was headed!
: (pacing back and forth on the nightstand) Dressed as he was, and with a sack, no doubt filled with provisions, a whisper away from the front gate! Oh, PRAY, that Cecil stopped him - how could I be so foolish?!
: I need to find him, but - (He casts a nervous glance towards Alaric.) - I can hardly leave you alone, my king, despite the fact you wouldn’t know, I would know! I need a replacement, quickly!
As if his prayers were answered, there came a knock on the open door - and a replacement appears, possibly unwilling, rather likely, actually, considering it’s the castle chef, Boris, with a plate of refreshments in his claws, a rich smell emanating from the foods and drink.
: Hello, are these for-?
: The queen tasked me to make these for the prince and king, should he wake. Neither seems able to use these, as the prince isn’t here and the king isn’t awake, so I guess I’ll be-
: ACTUALLY, while I find it a shame, as it no doubt is delicious as usual, I need to attend to something, so if you can just watch the king for a while? Thank you kindly, sir!
Charles flies out of the room with great haste, before Boris even has a chance to say no - which, as a matter of fact, he would have. The Heatmor stands there for a moment, staring straight ahead, his expression speaking volumes: he is as much used to it, as he is done with it.
Putting down the plate on the nightstand, he turns around and walks out of the room: he’s not going to let his other meals burn over this. On his way out, he almost trips over someone trying to peek into the room he just left.
: ‘Eey, is Nico ‘ere? Tara ask’d meh ta check up on ‘im.
: You, tiny panda - get in there. There’s food, the one I made it for isn’t here, but no need to waste it, so go ahead and help yourself - oh, and watch the king or something.
Much like Charles, he brushes pass her before she has time to reply. Maeve watches him leave for a bit before shrugging and entering the room; the food smells delicious, and it was Tara’s husband they were talking about, so she could sit with him for a bit (at least as long as the food lasts).
: He bett’r not snore…
Anna really isn’t paid enough to deal with this kind of mess. Though, even if she was, she’d deny it; this particular royal family and its assets, be it in Adonai or Aether, always had ways of pushing her buttons.
Such was the case when, upon entering the king’s chambers to clean up some plates from the meals brought to the prince and lord himself, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with the Pancham waving at her excitedly from the doorway, beckoning her to enter the room like she wasn’t already there planning to do just that. Can’t say these kinds of things are unexpected though, again, not under THIS lordship.
: ‘NNA! Wha’ timin’, I’ve been bor’d outta my mind ‘ere alone, not ta ment’on, teh food’s all gone!
: Wasn’t the prince supposed to be watching the king? (casting a quick glance inside the room) Where is he?
: (shrugging) Heck if I know, bu’ teh king is ‘ere, an’ you‘re ‘ere, an’ tha’ means I am gone. Tag out, bye~
: Hold up just one minute-
A loud, pitter-patter of tiny feet can be heard as Anna catches sight of the black-and-white bear skidding around the hall corner, obviously pretending she can’t hear her. The Cinccino lets out a sigh - and to onlookers, it might appear that she is trying to calm herself. Maeve, knowing better, has made herself scarce… but cannot get far enough to avoid hearing the yell that comes from the twin-tailed ‘mon.
Someone else hears the cry as well, and Anna furiously whirls around, feeling his eyes on her, stomping her feet irately.
: JACKSON! I know you are out there eavesdropping, because that’s what you do! If you are done having a laugh, show yourself!
: (peeling out from a nearby shadow) Geez, Anna, you might wake the king, you know.
: (in a deadpan voice) With what Gwen gave him? I would think not, and I would know: I use something similar to get to sleep with the headache that is my job, if I’m ever even allowed to, and sometimes I wonder if I am.
: Therefore, you are going to sit there and watch the king-
: But you just said you didn’t expect him to wake!
: Oh, I don’t, not for some time - which is why you are going to sit there because you have nothing better to do than hide in walls and shadows and spy on people. I, on the other hand, do have things to do. I can’t watch a man sleep for hours, and I frankly don’t want to.
: (crossing his stubby arms) He’s the king, you know. In my time, you couldn’t just talk about someone of his stature like that. Are you not afraid he’ll find out?
: What, are you going to tell him?
: Nah, I don’t care, never liked stuffy customs anyway~
: (rolling her eyes) You are free to tell him if it amuses you, I don’t fear for my position - which I need to get back to, so, please, do enjoy yourself, but keep an eye on the king.
: A-Actually, I don’t think it’s a great idea for me to do…I’m sorry, but I’m not- it’s-
: No, I’m sorry, you are right. (She sighs and makes a vague hand motion.) Can’t you do some of your ghostly stuff, fly through some walls and find someone who can?
: Of course! I will pluck someone from their room and bring them right here!
: Good, then I can continue with my shift.
Anna watches as the ghost disappears, taking a hold of the door handle with her tail. She waits for a moment - then hears a loud scream.
: GOT SOMEONE!
Swallowing the small amount of pity she feels upon recognizing the scream and hearing a thud from within the king’s chambers, she slams the door shut and promptly leaves, not wanting to be around to deal with the victim Jackson picked. She’ll deal with it later; tonight, she would definitely be asking Gwen for whatever she gave the king, she needed it, and for everyone’s sake, someone needed to remain sane around here… though, after all these years, Anna wasn’t so sure it was going to be her.
It certainly wasn’t going to be Dac either.
Dac was dumped into a dark room - quite literally deposited onto its floor and then abandoned by the ghost who put him there. He receives no instructions on what he is to do, and he doesn’t know what’s going on; it’s only when he hears the soft, hiss-like snoring that he realises where he must be. Shuffling across the floor, he chooses to sit in a corner of the room and start mumbling to himself a mantra.
: The rey is here, I must have been put here for a reason...
Dac doesn’t know how long he has been sitting in his corner, as the room is quite dark and the curtains drawn. He isn’t particularly bothered by the dark - not that he liked it, per se, but he did find it a benefit to think that others could not see him well in such conditions, least of all a possibly angry king if he had been mistaken and had NOT been put here for a reason. Overall, Dac was doing much better than he was hours ago when he first “arrived” in the room.
And then the screaming starts.
: AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
: AAAAAAAH!
: AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
: A-Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh-?
: AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH-
Being smaller and thus having smaller lungs, Dac stops his screaming competition with the king and throws himself at the door handle, scurrying out the door (and leaving a trail of confetti-like flakes in his wake). In his nyooming, he isn’t sure how far he’s going, or where he ends up - he isn’t even sure WHY he’s running, exactly, or hopping and rolling, rather - which he continues in ferver until he collides with a solid object.
: What in- DAC!
: AHHHHHH
: Why are you screaming, why are you not watching the king?!
: I WAS!
: Pero - the rey was screaming, a-and I got startled and screamed back, but he continued his screaming, and I d- I-
: I didn’t know what to do! I thought- I, d-, I thought he might be angry about me being in his room!
: I didn’t even WANT to be there! I was left there by rey muerto, b-but he didn’t tell me what to do, so I jus- I just watched him sleep, a-
: Didacus, go get Gaius! I’ll check out the situation with the king. I apologize for not relieving you earlier, I lost track of time, now hurry!
Fortunately, she does not have to tell Dac twice. Still reeling with plenty of fear and adrenaline, Dac bursts forth, covering Anna and the hallway with his confetti-like spores - he could have sworn he heard her anguished cry about cleaning everything up, but he can’t be sure, he’s freaking out too much to worry about OTHERS freaking out!
Arriving at the large doors leading into the throne room, he propels himself into them with as much strength as he can muster. They unfortunately don’t open, but the thud alerts a guard who mistakes it as knocking and opens the door - allowing the Spewpa to flop onto the entryway. The guard leans over Dac to see if the boy is even still alive, only to be knocked over as the ball rockets himself over the guard by using his head as a platform.
: GAIUS! GAIUS! GAIUS!
: (glaring up from his paperwork) For pity’s sake, Dac, what do you think you are doing?!
: El rey está gritan-! Aah- I mean, the rey - king - is awake, and screaming!
: What? Isn’t Nicholas supposed to be watching him?
: I don’t know, Anna is with him now, and before that, I was just thrown into the dark room and sat in my, ah, um, rincón, but then he woke up and started screaming!
: R-Right. Right, I will-
: Go get Gwen, she should be at the orphanage - you know where that is, right?
: I-i it’s in the b-bad part of the ciudad…I-I know where it is, b-bu-
: Yes, but I was talking to the gua-
: N-no, I will go get Gwen!
: No, WAIT!
Off goes Dac, unable to be stopped, like a ricocheting confetti-filled wrecking ball… and Gaius sighs heavily.
: We’ll need a clean up crew for the town after this is over… You better go after him.
The guard nods and leaves, and Gaius waits until he is gone before sighing again.
: What a mess…
Gaius wastes no time worrying about Dac much longer; the guard would have to take care of it. He swiftly makes his way to the king’s chambers - and the screaming and sobbing soon becomes more clear as he approaches Anna who is waiting outside the room.
: What in blazes is going on - where is Nicholas, he was supposed to be here!
: I don’t know. But you better go in there. I can’t do anything, he doesn’t even respond to my presence, he just screams.
: Understood. Leave us then, wait for Gwen at the entrance hall, fill her in when she arrives.
Anna hustles off without another word as Gaius enters the room, closing the door behind him. Something subtle shifts in the room - Gaius’ eyes adjust - and he edges closer to the huddled mass of green scales on the bed.
: Alaric? Alaric, are you alright?
: G-Gaius? Is that really you? That wasn’t a illusion? Or are you one still? You h-have to be, you were dead...They were ALL dead, Tara, Nicholas, Gawain-
: I am very much still alive, sire? As are the Queen, prince, and captain, all in good health.
: No, NO! The fire that burned all, everything scorched black and that bird, evil emanates from it, it kills ALL! Smell of burnt flesh, boiling blood, heat and smoke, it chokes, ch-oke- I can’t-
Gaius rushes forward, placing his claw on Alaric as he basically vibrates on the spot gasping for air.
: What bird, Alaric? Is this related to why you wanted to see Bál? Gawain and Cecil are bringing him back to Aether as we speak-
: Bál! He isn’t dead? He CAN’T die, I need to make sure he doesn’t die-
: We are! As I said, Gawain will drag Bál back-
: Sure, those two might get into a shuffle, you know Gawain, there is no doubt-
: -but they’ll be back soon, not too worse for wear. Gawain will get it done. You know he will.
: But-
: Don’t tell me you suddenly doubt your captain’s worth? He’d do anything for you, even if that means dealing with Bál when you so desire to speak with him.
: He- He would, no I don’t doubt him, he’s always been loyal to me, he-
Alaric suddenly goes silent, his breathing slowing down considerably as his eyes widen in realization - though Gaius takes this as progress, forcing a slight smile on his face for the benefit of his liege.
: That’s right! So you see, there is nothing to worry about. They’ll be back in no time... So why don’t you tell me more about what has brought this all forth? A vision of a bird and fire, can you elaborate?
No answer comes from the snake.
: Alaric?
: Gawain has always been loyal to me. If you are here now, then this really is-
: My king?
Alaric turns to Gaius, and Gaius’s blood runs colder than the ice that is inside of Alaric’s eyes He speaks, and his words are drenched with venom, a calm to it, like a stalking predator whose fangs Gaius could feel around his neck.
: Where is it, Gaius?
: Sir?
: Where. Is. IT?
: Where is what, Alaric, I don’t know wha-
: I KNOW you have it, you TOOK it, you took it before! You BETRAYED me! You TOOK it! You TOOK it! How could you take it! You betrayed me! AGAIN! Just like when you-!
: (backing off towards the door) Sir, I don’t know what you are talking about-
Lightning fast, Alaric shoots off the bed and wraps himself around Gaius, squeezing him tight, true to his serpentine nature.
: YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I AM REFERRING TO! Don’t. Lie. Gaius! I can see it in your eyes! Your secret, you thought I wouldn’t find out, but I did! And then I-
: Alari-!
His gasped word is cut off as Alaric tightens his grip, strangling, crushing him in his coil.
: Perhaps that is why it happened, that thing brought it forth, all because you-
: Alaric, p- ack- lease-!
: GIVE IT TO ME! It needs to be destroyed! Gaius! RETURN IT! Destroy it, or I’ll-!
: (bursting through the door) I found Gwen! She was on her way back when-!
: S-señor, w-what are you doing t-t Gai-
: A-ALGUIEN, AYUDÁIS!!!!
Gwen suddenly storms into the room - and in one swift motion, her vines rip Gaius from Alaric’s grip and throws the bug out of the room, using her other vines to restrain the snake that thrashes in her hold. Using her weight to keep him down, she whistles a short tune - the Grass Whistle takes hold, halting his struggles, allowing her to free up one of her vines to reach back into her pouch. She removes a vial, quickly pouring the contents onto Alaric’s face while using her now other free vine to pull up the cloth on her neck to cover her mouth. Soon, Alaric slumps to the floor, managing to repeat his command in one broken whisper.
: You have to destroy it… pleaseeee…
: …
Everyone holds their breath, waiting… but the king is asleep once more, and as Gwen lifts him back into bed with her vines, Gaius stumbles out of the room, holding an arm to his chest, wondering if it was possible for his own heart to burst from it.
: ¿Ya estás bien, señor? D-did the rey hurt you?
: Yes, I- I’m fine. He wasn’t trying to eat me, Dac- (He clears his throat to be rid of the tremble.) That’d be preposterous, naturally.
: Aaah, bueno...
: … Right, back in-
: (standing in the doorway, blocking his path) Stay out of the room, Gaius.
: Excuse me?
: I don’t know for sure what set him off with you, but if it’s for the benefit of my patient, I will forbid you from entering this room.
: (with an agitated huff) Gwen, the king isn’t in his right state of mind, he’s probably just confused, I-
: It doesn’t matter, Gaius. Right now, you are detrimental to his health, therefore I advise you to not go near him again until he asks for you and you have my permission as the doctor.
: Go get Tara to take the next watch.
: Vale!
: (peering down at the smaller ‘mon) I was talking to Gaius. Dac, you should probably go help Anna clean up all the sprinkles you left.
: V-vale…
: (in a softer, more concerned tone) And be sure to rest well tonight, you have had quite a day.
: Sí, señora. I’ll go find Anna...
The small bug shuffles off down the hall, and the larger bug turns to do the same.
: Oh, and Gaius?
: Yes?
: It better not be what I’m thinking it is.
: … You should be focusing on getting Alaric better, Gwen, not going along with his delusions. You are his doctor, after all.
: And you are supposed to be his friend.
He doesn’t give her the dignity of a response, instead leaving without another word. What a mess, indeed.
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| Mission 14 | ||