Masquerade - These Masks We Wear

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"This place is massive, Caden, you can't expect me to just find my way around. At the very least I need a bedroom." She paused. "Please say you don't expect us to sleep together. Not that I would get in bed with you anyway, if that was your intent."

Edited June 5, 2021 by Shard of Thought

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"Of course not," Caden continued to march down the hallway, "I have a second bedroom that you will sleep in."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Good. Good." She followed him. And then, an idea came to her. "Where is your room anyway?"
---------
Darrin paced, muttering to himself. The walls were scrawled with words and strange symbols, and the would-have-been assassin was pale and thin; far more emaciated than he should have been after only a few days without food. His whole body was covered in bruises that seemed to have come from nowhere, though the guard had simply passed that off as an effect from the Raven.

He had no idea that Riva hadn't given him any potions at all. 

As Darrin's muttering grew louder, so too grew the annoyance of the guard outside his cell.

"Hey, would you shut it?" he eventually yelled. 

"NO!" Darrin screeched suddenly. He threw himself against the bars, staring the guard down with blood-shot eyes. "No! No, no, no, you don't get it, you don't understand. I failed. Do you understand what's going to happen? DO YOU?" 

"Yes, actually, I do. You're going to be executed and then the dungeon won't have to do with your ruckus."

A mad cackle arose from Darrin's throat. He laughed for a good little while, then started sobbing. "You have no idea."

The guard sighed and looked over at his partner. "Didn't his brother swear the Raven wouldn't break him easy?" When the other guard shrugged, he rolled his eyes. 

"Actually... Topien, I think he's going insane. If the Lady Raven's done her job, don't you think we should try to get rid of him sooner than later? I doubt he's coherrant enough to offer up anymore information. You wanna go tell the king?"

By now, Darrin was sitting in the corner, praying. Topen eyed him and the scrawled markings on the cell. I failed, was written repeatedly. Hundreds of times, perhaps, sometimes in Darrin's own blood.

"I mean... I guess so. It's about time for a shift switch anyway. And I'd do anything to get rid of this guy." 
--------
A few minutes later, Topien had found the king. "Sir," he said, "I have news from the dungeons."

@Channelknight Fadran

Edited June 7, 2021 by Shard of Thought

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Yes? What is it?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"The assassin we caught a few days ago? Darrin Oakenwey? Something is... very wrong with him. He appears to have gone completely insane, sir. Keeps ranting about having failed and of some impending doom, likely his own. I've never seen anyone react so fast to the Raveness. And I'm pretty sure they only met once; she told Daku to starve him so her potions would be easier to administer, so it might not even be the Raven at all. I'll be honest, it's kind of terrifying what he's doing. He's scrawled 'I've failed' on the walls in his own blood several times along with some strange symbols."

Edited June 7, 2021 by Shard of Thought

[Channelknight Fadran]

"You'd like me to get rid of him?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Topien nodded. "I think that's for the best sir. It's unlikely he'll be able to offer up anymore information anyway. He's disturbed, he is. And I believe his brother said he didn't have a reason for trying to kill you anyway. He was probably insane when he got here."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Very well. Have the executioner schedule a... well, an execution."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Will do, sir. Thank you, sir." Topien saluted and left. 

Quote

Would you like to be the executioner or should I? Or should we just skip that part?

 

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

On 6/5/2021 at 8:12 PM, Shard of Thought said:

"Good. Good." She followed him. And then, an idea came to her. "Where is your room anyway?"

Caden gestured off to his right absent-mindedly, "over there. But yours is that way." He pointed in the opposite direction.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

It was obvious. The door was more decorative than any other down the hall and there weren't many doors next to it, which told Riva it was big. Without thinking, she bulleted towards it. "I think you'll come to revise that statement."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Caden turned back to ask Riva what she meant, but was instead met with the sight of the Raveness sprinting down the hallway. He paused, at a loss for words at the sight until she had reached his bedroom door, at which he quickly found the right curses for the situation. "Blazing woman, what do you think you're doing!"
He charged after her, trying to reach the door before she got inside.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Quick as a flash, Riva waltzed into the room and slammed the door on his face, locking it so he couldn’t get in. Only when she pressed her back into the wooden door - eyes closed with serenity - did she finally feel like she could breathe. Well, she thought. I guess I'm home now.

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Caden slammed into the door, trying and failing to force it open before that infernal woman could lock it. He growled and shouted, pounding his fist on the door. "Open this blazing door or I'll crush your bones one at a time, woman!"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

“Oh shut your trap!” Riva yelled back. “It’s my room, go find your own.” While Caden kept banging on the door, the Raveness decided to make herself at home. She didn’t have anything to put away exactly, but she did want to add her own little touch to the place. After, that is, she searched it.

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Caden slammed his fists into the door over and over again trying to get the Raveness to listen to him for what felt like hours, but must have only been minutes. He grit his teeth, determined to deal with her when she eventually came out. He motioned for one of his personal guards to watch over the room before marching to his office, fists still clenched.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

She wandered about the room calmly, hands behind her back (ignoring her husband’s shouts). The room was as spartan as she’d expected; everything in it had a function or didn't exist, which was a real shame since the room was massive. The lack of decor made it feel empty. How did Caden stand it in here? But no matter. She'd be changing things up very soon. 

The small inventory done, Riva began searching. No corner of the room was exempt; she threw open every drawer, looked under the desk and the nightstand, opened every cabinet and searched for false backs in case of secret compartments. What are you hiding, Caden Praetorium? Clothes were tossed out of the closet, the sheets of the bed thoroughly patted down for anything out of the ordinary. She'd be throwing most of these things out anyway. As she searched she made a list of things to buy or bring over from her old room. Paintings, a bigger mirror, a better bed-spread, some flowers, more inviting curtains. Yes, that should brighten the place up quite a bit. 

Yet an hour later, Riva had nothing to show for her efforts; not one piece of odd or incriminating evidence to hold over his head. The Raveness slumped beside the bookshelf, arms folded sourly, thoroughly annoyed. If she was going to continue being Caden’s superior, she’d have to have something over him. Eventually she’d use a tongue-loosening serum on him to try and find out what she could from his own lips, but the unique opportunity to search a subject’s living place had been too good to resist. Too good to resist, perhaps, but apparently not worth it. He didn’t even have anything worth reading! Just old but untouched tomes on strategy and war-making. Stars, this was going to be a long marriage. The moment Ivian was assassinated and replaced - for every Mendaharian monarch eventually found their end, that much she was fully certain of - she’d waste no time in slipping something deadly in the man’s tea. 

She rolled her eyes, resisting a shudder at the day’s earlier events. It was Ivian whose death should be at the top of her list. She hated him, she hated him more than anything. What was he playing at? So willing to throw her life away, yet insistent upon using her as a pawn in his political games by marrying her off. He didn’t respect her and that was dangerous for both of them. Revenge would come eventually and when it did, oh it would be sweet. Every time she recalled being dragged out of her seat and forced down, she wanted to scream, to strap Ivian to her table in the dungeons and watch him beg for mercy. A growl built in her throat and she only realized she was clenching her fists when her nails drew blood. 

But being so angry was tiring. Her eyelids were already growing heavy, although the hour was not yet very late, particularly not for her and her nocturnal habits. Well, whatever. There was no time like the present to try out Caden’s massive bed. But, figuring she may as well look for notations in his books, she selected a tome on the end of the shelf to look through before dressing down to her chemise and sitting herself down on the surprisingly-soft mattress. It didn’t take very long for her to get comfortable. The whole room was miles better than Riva’s old surroundings and she found she quite liked it. If Caden wanted his room back, he’d have a devil of a time trying to get her out of here. She settled into the fluffy pillows, a thick blanket wrapped around her, and began reading the title-less text. 

The first sentence was particularly eye-catching: My name is Acalia Praetorium. 

Riva shut the book, grinning at her luck. So, our good General had a previous wife. Utterly fascinating. The Raveness flipped through the pages with her thumb eagerly. Just as she’d worried, the end of the book - or rather, it appeared, journal - was splattered with blood. Killed her, didn’t you, Praetorium? Riva sighed. She’d make sure she didn’t meet the same fate; one couldn’t stay in her position and live as long as she had without facing a handful of skilled assassins. But perhaps she could learn a thing or two from reading her predecessor’s words…. 

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

With the slamming fo the door resonating throughout the chamber, Caden felt his arms getting sore from remaining clenched for so long. He regretted not having more servants on his staff, but given that the reason he wanted more was the reason that many chose not to take the job, that would have been difficult even if he tried. He settled for overturning an end table that stood close to him, but that wasn't nearly enough. That infernal woman just had to take his personal chambers as her own. He wanted to storm into the room and toss her out like the child that she was acting like, but uncertainty over the King's intent with this marriage held the General back, for now. He stood in the room for what felt like an eternity, simply breathing in and out in order to calm himself so he could do this next task. 

As he felt his pulse slow down to a more manageable pace, he took the time to take in the room's features. He didn't blink an eye at the spartan like furnishing, as it was a constant throughout the entire fortress. In all truth, he was more comfortable here than he would ever be at the King's palace, what with all of its needless decorations and troublesome furniture that required near constant care. The thought of what it all must cost only annoyed Caden at how extravagant the King's palace decorators were. But he pushed aside those feelings, trying to focus on what he had come to this room to do. Near the center of the room stood a large and sturdy desk piled high with an assortment of different papers of varying sizes and color. Caden almost groaned at how large the pile had grown since he had left to deal out the King's wrath just a few nights before.

Caden approached the desk and sat down in the chair that stood next to it, feeling the distinct urge to sweep aside all of the papers and simply sitting in silence, but he only only sighed in resignation. The General's job isn't all blood and adrenaline. He repeated that phrase in his head again a few times over as he opened the first report, noting that at the moment, none of the reports were identified to be urgent. He readied a stack of letter papers and pen at his side, one hand ready to write as the other held the report close enough to his face that he could read it. He skimmed over the page, only reading in detail after he identified there was no sense of urgency. As soon as he was certain that all was clear, he quickly jotted down a small note to be delivered to man, telling him to continue with his previous orders with little to no change. The general sighed as he closed the note, placing it in a new stack for outgoing letters. He knew he would be at this for hours, and he knew that this was going to be insufferably dull. The King's advice on Caden hiring out more secretaries to filter through the reports came to him, but he almost immediately turned that thought down with the taste of distrust towards anyone he could hire entering his mind. 

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Riva set the journal down about a half an hour later and yawned, rubbing her eyes. Doing so made her realize three things: she hadn't taken off her make-up, she was quite tired, and she hadn't eaten any dinner. Luckily for her, those were all quite solvable. She got out of bed and walked over to the washbasin. Most of her make up came off quite easily with a towel, water, and a little bit of scrubbing, but after that was done - leaving her face far less youthful, her features far less sharp, and her glare far more corpse-like - she had her hair and eyelashes to deal with.

After removing the feather in her hair and a few carefully placed pins, Riva's hair cascaded down her back, like water spilling down a cliff-face. Since Caden didn't have a brush anywhere in the room, she had to settle for running her long fingernails through her thin black locks. The color was artificial, of course. Once upon a time, she'd had a full head of raven hair, but a couple decades ago, she'd started seeing strands of grey. And so, she'd gotten to dying it. To Riva's credit, it actually looked quite natural. The only person who knew she dyed her hair was Daku, since he'd seen her doing it, and it was highly unlikely that anyone else would know. What would change, she thought, if they did? It's no secret that you've grown old... She hissed at the memory, though the sight of her own face in the mirror quieted her.

She was an ugly old wretch, Riva was fully aware of that. Why else would she obsess so much over make-up and overly-gaudy dresses? She was reminded of the fact every time people parted for her in the hall or started at her oddly when they thought she couldn't see them from the corner of their eye. It hadn't always been like that; once upon of time, people had stared at her for her intense beauty. Decades ago, in fact, she'd assassinated a king who'd had a rather terrifying obsession with her. Now, the thought of her being any man's object of desire was laughable. Stars, she didn't want to admit it, but the way Caden tried to sit away from her in the carriage made her stomach twist... But none that meant she was any less effective at her job. Surely Ivian was aware of that.

She sighed and moved on to plucking out her false lashes. Something ominous was coming up around the corner, she could feel it. 

---------
Nicolae moved to open the door for the maid. "Oi," he said while walking over. "D'ja here 'bout the Lady Raven? She's gettin' married tuh'day, she is."

@Condensation

[Condensation she/her]

4 minutes ago, Shard of Thought said:

Nicolae moved to open the door for the maid. "Oi," he said while walking over. "D'ja here 'bout the Lady Raven? She's gettin' married tuh'day, she is."

"The Ravenness? Married?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Yes'm, that's a-what I heard!" Nico opened the door for Wendy "Gettin' wed to the General. You remembers him, don't 'cha?"

@Channelknight Fadran

[Condensation she/her]

"I think so, yes. They don't seem like the most likely pair... and I can't imagine it would be their parents. Why are they getting married?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Parents?" NIco chuckled. "Miss, the Raven and the General are old enough to be yer grandparents. They's gettin' married at the king's orders."

[Channelknight Fadran]

Wendy blinked a few times, confused. "Uhm... should I be hearing all this? And Ara, what the stars are you doing here?"

@Vapor

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Oh, you can hear it, miss. Why shouldn't 'cha? We'd find out sooner or later, we castle staff. Say, I dunno if I've met you, miss." He offered a hand to shake. "I's Nicolae. Who might you be?"