Masquerade - These Masks We Wear

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

1 hour ago, Condensation said:

"You mean... no, it wasn't like that! I thought - he said - you weren't here, so we thought he had to, so he was helping me."

The maid sighed. "With all due respect, honey, you're new here. Nicolae's got his own issues; I'd stay away from him if you can."

1 hour ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I got the day off too 'cause the Raveness gave me a job to do."

"Oh, well, now. You pro'ly have it worse 'an me, I'd say. I'm sorry ya had to deal with the old Raven. She's terrifying, she is." He put his hands on his hips. "You wanna come with me to get some'in' tuh eat?"

Edited May 14, 2021 by Shard of Thought

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Sure! I'm hungry." Katie ran over and bounced on her toes beside Nicolae.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Nicolae's smile deepened and he scooped the girl up, holding her on his hip while they walked down to the kitchens. He tickled her.

[Channelknight Fadran]

"N-n-nope! I'm n-not--" she let out a laugh, "--ticklish!"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Nicolae laughed with her.

When they came to the kitchens, Nicolae was not met with the warmest welcome. "You again...." said the cook. "Don't you have other things to be doing?"

"Well, no. I has the day off."

[Channelknight Fadran]

Quote

I'm thinking I'll post the occasional update as to what the various waitresses are doing just for the fun of it.

• Katie is hanging out with Nicolae and definitely not being ticklish.
• Gerymonne and Ingrid have each seduced one of the squires. They can be found in the back of the sparring hall making out like there's no tomorrow.
• Nelly has just barely escaped a drunk nobleman and is currently warning the nearby waitresses (Cal and Debbie) about his hallway.
• Sarah and Reyna are engaged in a thrilling conversation about their favorite kinds of boats as they wait on a hallway that's completely devoid of guests.

"Me too!" Katie wiggled out of Nicolae's arms and plopped down onto the floor face-first. Being employed the way she was, though, she was completely immune to the pain. "And I'm starving."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

The cook softened slightly at Katie. "Right, what'll it be?"

Nicolae smiled.'Whaddya have?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

"D'you got apple juice?" Katie asked this with such conviction that it sounded as though her life might depend on it.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Indeed, we do..."  The cook wandered in the back, pulling out some dishes. "You want some too, Kimby?"

NIco shrugged. " Why not? Oh, oh, and I'll just take some soup," Nicolae decided. "You's always got that."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"YES!" Katie pumped her fist. 

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Nico patted her head and sat down at a table. "So, miss Katie, what'cha plannin' on doin' the rest of yer day, hmm?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

Katie guzzled down her apple juice in four seconds flat, asked for a refill, then answered, "I dunno. What're you gonna do?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Oh, I was thinkin' of goin' down to the lake an' takin' a swim. Maybe goin' down to the lower town to do some shopping, I guessin'."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"D'you think I can come with you?" She was on her third cup now.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Mm, iffin' you want to." He certainly wasn't his usual cheery self, but he was content at least. The cook brought him some soup and he dug into it immediately.

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Yay!" Katie worked at her soup with the same ferocity at which she'd gone through all her apple juice.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Aww, now, slow down, lass, it's not yet nine in the morning."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"I'm hungry!"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

“I can see that right well, miss, but if you keep that up you’ll get a tummy ache, you will.” 

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Tummyaches are fine."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Well, you'll be back to workin' tomorrow, won't'cha? You don't wanna be on the job with your stomach hurting, kid. I gots a headache today, better to have it now than tomorrow when I can't a-do anythin' 'bout it."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Caden stormed into the meeting chamber that he had set aside beforehand, whipping out his blade and striking the nearest chair, shouting as the blade whistled through the air, only to get it lodged in the wood. What he would give for a servant to be nearby for him to pummel. He settled for the chair, moving to rip the sword back out so he could swing it once again. As he moved his offhand to get a solid grip on the sword's hilt, he realized that his hands were trembling. He felt a looming sense of dread rising in his chest, causing his gut to twist in ways that caused him to nearly retch. He growled, quickly shoving away that feeling to have it be replaced by his anger. He grounded his teeth as he yanked the sword out of the chair, only to swing again and again at it, each strike becoming more and more powerful than the last as he shouted with all of his fury. Every time that the anger seemed to drain away, he could fan the flame by simply considering being married to that . . . that witch of a woman. He hated how his body seemed to freeze up on its own in her presence, how his breathing quickened, and his blood turned cold. He hated that he couldn't control himself, how she had power over him, and now he would be married to that creature. Caden's face itched, and as he moved to scratch it, he could feel tears coating his cheeks. He balled his hands into fists and screamed at he shoved aside the chair with all of his might, forcing it to shatter into pieces. He was left panting as he stood above the fragments of the chair.

"Remind me," a voice, light and smooth, spoke from the darkness that formed in the far corner of the room, "to never let you near any furniture I remotely like."

Caden spun around, cursing himself for allowing someone to enter the room without him noticing. Just as he had turned to face the voice, he noticed that his personal guard were as surprised as he was. In the blink of an eye, they were in front of him with their weapons drawn. Caden considered the situation for a moment, allowing it to distract him from the outrage that had happened merely seconds ago. The gravelly quality of his voice returned in earnest when he spoke to the man. "Might you be the hunter I requested?"

A figure leaned forward in its chair towards the light, his face still mostly covered by his hat's brim that had to be of foreign make, as Caden didn't recognize it to be one that the noble-folk typically wore. The brim was short and flat, and the hat itself looked to be short and round, with a pinch near the forehead, as if someone regularly grabbed the hat at that spot. What little Caden could see of the man's face revealed him to be a young adult, somewhere in his early thirties. He wore a rough brown overcoat on his shoulders with a mismatched shirt and pants that looked to be from two different outfits one would see a nobleman wear. The man smiled pleasantly as he seemed to fiddle with some small metal device with one hand, making a clicking noise. "At your service, what do you need 'hunted.'"

Caden watched the man carefully, "there are traitors to the king wandering the woods. I need them found so I can kill them."

The man chuckled, "is that all?"

Caden nodded, "they have proven to be elusive."

The man sat back into his chair, making a louder clicking noise with the device, before placing something in his mouth that seemed to come from it. "Easier done than said. The question is, can you meet my fee?"

"Whatever it is from the king's treasury, I can negotiate with you, hunter."

"There's nothing in that room that I could want, general." The man took a moment to think about it, "what I want is simply ten minutes in the Ravenness's rooms, that's all, just ten minutes."

Caden felt the outbreak of emotions that he had just experience threaten a return at the simple mentioning of her name. He spoke quickly to keep himself from dwelling on that. "If that's all, then I can give it to you."

"Quite brave of you, general. I look forward to seeing how you manage that." The man stood up, revealing that he was in fact, at least two heads shorter than Caden. He then  stretched in a casual manner as if he had been sitting for too long. "If that's all, then I will be on my way."

Caden stepped forward, standing up straight to show his height and power. As he did so, he felt his confidence soar at the sight of the man's stature. "Remember hunter Exegesis, I will know if you fail, and I always deal with failures personally."

The short man chuckled, "really general? Did you not hear my reputation? In all, I'm surprised that you're willing to risk the Ravenness's wrath for this, you people are so terrified of her, after all."

"Why I'm willing to risk it is not your business, hunter. Just get your job done, and I'll handle your payment."

The man smiled, "if that's the case, have a 'zu-bop of a day!'" The man let out a belt of laughter at his own words before leaving the general alone with his guards in the meeting chamber. Caden then turned towards the men at his side, "what by the Stars does that mean?"

Edited May 15, 2021 by The Ward's Guard

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Quote

Uh... spoilered for a little gore. Probably ain't that bad, but just for the squeamish.  

Spoiler

The corpse was utterly unrecognizable. Blood covered at least half of the floor, the sickly metallic smell clogging up the small room. To the perpetrator, the scent was so familiar it had become comforting, but even that was incapable of calming her nerves now. 

Marriage. To Caden Praetorium. Who does that fool of a king think he is?

The Raveness laid on her back on the same table poor Brissa had been mutilated upon. She couldn't care less that her hair would be sticky and red when she got up or that the poor janitor would have a devil of a time cleaning all this up. She couldn't care about anything, actually. 

I'll kill him, Riva thought. I swear I'll do it. Go to his rooms under the guise of delivering a sleeping draught. The guards wouldn't dare question me. But that was too obvious and if she actually went through with it, the kingdom would be launched into chaos and she'd be stressed beyond belief... She growled. If she couldn't kill Ivian, she'd kill her husband-to-be. That would send a message.

Riva giggled with glee and found herself cackling madly upon the table. But when the fit of laughter had ended and her head was cleared, she knew that was no option. There was no way out of this cursed marriage. There was, however, a way to make things a bit... easier. 

The Raveness got to sharpening her nails. She had a date this afternoon. 

*small time skip*

After doing some small bit of interrogation research, the blood-covered Lady Raven arrived at the room Caden was supposed to be in with a bouquet of flowers and a devious smile. She rapped her bony knuckles on the door.

@The Ward's Guard

[Condensation she/her]

11 hours ago, Shard of Thought said:

The maid sighed. "With all due respect, honey, you're new here. Nicolae's got his own issues; I'd stay away from him if you can."

"Thank you for the advice. What may I call you?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"I'm Charis, miss," she said.