Looking beyond the bleeding, swinging obvious, I took a mont to silently read between the lines. The Queen and King had arrived early—markedly early by father's standards, as he tended to delay his arrival to civil engagents as long as possible. Judging from the sour deanor between them, he'd been rewarded for his efforts with an argunt. I was almost certain the argunt had occurred before the inciting incident rather than after, as from a quick outward look they appeared unhard, and the recipient of most of the violence was now impaled on the chandelier, slowly swinging back and forth, casting odd shadows on the ceiling above, where the hardworking chain oscillated precariously.
The mood was dire. I felt a pang of sympathy when I noticed the gold and violet that adorned his chest and realized the King was wearing his regalia. He only fished it out of the depths of his wardrobe for his most stringent and official responsibilities, or when he wished to convey respect during a negotiation with soone he considered to hold a similar degree of power.
Suffice it to say he did not wear it often.
By contrast, the Queen appeared to have just rolled out of bed. A dark, modest nightgown wrinkled over slumped shoulders, and her unpowdered visage bloodless and pallid. The singular ring she’d donned thudded against the arm of the chair as the Queen idly drumd her fingers in a steady rhythm.
Almost imdiately, I was concerned for her health. "Mother, are you well?"
"Of course!" She smiled thinly. "My dear husband is prioritizing his role as head of the family. Despite never showing the slightest degree of interest in such matters before, it is such a joy to see him finally making an effort."
"Good gods, woman. You act as if I'm the one who charged in here with a blade, threatening disembowelnt." My father's eyes rolled up towards the ceiling.
"We don't know if he was threatening disembowelnt. It cannot be said with any accuracy that he was threatening anything at all. He barely raised his weapon before you went to work."
"The castle was infiltrated." Father recited slowly, cheek planted on his palm, listing off the facts one at a ti. "And the intruder approached us in a hostile manner and was dealt with accordingly. The most uncommon thing about this occurrence is that he made it this far, and that it happened within your sight. Had this one's end escaped your vision, you would not have cared."
"Isn't it wonderful?" Mother directed a faraway look towards . "The gods have given your father the sa gift of foresight you yourself hold? He cannot only see the possible future, but divine our reactions to it. We are truly blessed."
"Silence." The King rumbled.
The thickening quiet pervaded. When it beca obvious that no one else was going to speak, I cleared my throat. "It's... probably for the best if we reschedule."
"Nonsense." The King shook his head.
Mother covered her face with her hand. "The evening is already spoiled, Gil."
All three of us jumped as King Gil's mighty fist slamd down onto the table, glassware and plates along its length shuddering from the impact. "And let them win? Let these cowardly knife-eared fucks ruin our evening?"
"Apologies, Queen Elaria." Maya stepped forward and curtsied deeply, keeping a close asure of the Queen even as she did so. "But given that your health is my greatest priority, and stress can aggravate your condition, I'd like to examine you."
"She's fine. For all her quivering and hand-wringing, he ca nowhere near her." Gil rumbled.
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"Still. It is my duty." Maya held eye-contact with the King, head low but gaze unyielding. They'd established sothing of an understanding when they'd t shortly after the clash near the enclave, and it was a relief when the King relented, waving her forward.
Maya approached the Queen and took her arm, the diagnostic magic glowing light green at her fingertips. I watched at first, eventually realizing that it would take a while, and comported myself near the King.
"Have... all the necessary precautions been taken?"
The King leaned back into the wooden chair, more weary than angry. "The guards were alerted, and the castle grounds are being searched as we speak. It's a waste of ti."
I took a mont to interpret that. "You're sure he was acting alone?"
"Yes." The King gave a tired look, barbed with sothing else.
"And you're certain you don't wish to reschedule?"
"Yes."
"Fine, fine." I retreated backwards, palms out, knowing better than to pester when the King's hackles were up.
The first course was a number of small plates filled with pre-dinner fare. I spotted thrush, quail, even a few songbirds. So—the songbirds and an unfortunate platter of venison coffyns—were beyond hope and spattered with viscera, but several arranged at either side of the center seed intact and untainted. I salvaged so fritters and the remaining coffyns.
Seemingly satisfied, Maya released my mother's arm. "Mana levels are slightly elevated, but within an acceptable range and dormant. No change from before."
"What a relief." The Queen replied.
There was a sharp knock at the door, quieting the room. When no one imdiately answered, the door opened, and Sera walked in. She looked around at us, sensing the mood without imdiately divining the source. "Did you all start without... ..." her eyes bugged out of her head as she looked upward. "Why's there a dead elf stuck on the chandelier?"
To her credit it was a surreal, almost nonsensical sight. Despite the elevated height of the fixture, the elf appeared to have sohow fallen directly on top of it with enough force that the sharpened tines had pierced through its back and ribcage. The intruder was splayed out across them, head hanging upside down, mouth open in a now permanent expression of shock. Sera's surprise narrowed to suspicion as she noticed the sa things I had, eyes resting on the red flowing markings across the elf's forehead, lingering on his light skin and dark veins. He was a drephin, a rare variant of elves thought to be extinct. The sa group had sent the Elven woman that attempted to assassinate in my rooms and had tried to ambush our caravan on our way back from the Enclave.
At the ti I'd kept that information to myself. However, it seed obvious now that the situation had changed. The Drephin threat wasn't going to simply vanish. Secrecy would only hurt us. When I considered doing so, the rage that simred beneath the King's placid deanor gave pause. Because it wasn't the assassination attempt that angered him so. It was the fact that it had happened in the presence of the Queen. That was what had truly stoked his rage. If I shared my experience now, he would inevitably stomp down to Lord Erebus's estate, and before the night was over, Whitefall would have two dead Drephin and no possibility of answers.
Better to bring the prisoner to him in a few days once he'd had the chance to cool down.
I cleared my throat loudly, directing a question to father before Sera could speak. "You've noticed the similarity, yes? Between this attacker and the ones that accosted us on the road?"
"Yes." Was the clipped answer. At first I thought that was all he was going to say until he sighed and relented. "More Elven cultists. How trite. Persistent, ungrateful fucks. I spread the doors of the capital wide open to all who wish to enter, and this is how they thank . We'll be tightening security across the castle, then the city at large. This will not happen again."
The Queen chuckled. "As if a single self-serving effort is enough to undo a lifeti worth of hostility."
"Woman."
I 'accidentally' slid a plate into place too hard, clashing against others in an audible crack that drew attention. "Apologies." I hastened, before they could return to their argunt. "The good news is, there's plenty left to eat even before the chefs and servants make their second round. The songbirds are soiled, but there's plenty untouched."
The door cracked open, and Annette stuck her head through the opening, the corners of her mouth turned downward in a scowl. "Pardon, but there are two black-shields with a ladder who insist that it's needed here and refuse to elaborate."
I glanced upwards. "Well... it is."
"It... is?" Annette's head cocked in confusion. She entered the room and turned back to hold the door open for the guards that followed behind her, before she finally looked upward. "Ah."
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