Written October 29th, 2020 7:35 PM

Ace, Talus, and Xiv were waiting for Feyra and Ailith outside the garrison when they arrived a short while later. Together, Ailith and Feyra recount their talk with the King, pointedly leaving out the part where Ailith told the King he could contact her.

Ailith could hardly contain her glee when she mentioned the King’s attraction to Talus. She was met with three confused stares and cocked head from Xiv. She grinned, waiting for one of them to ask-

“How… how do you know that?” Talus rumbled.

“I read his mind,” Ailith shrugged. Xiv started nodding, having pieced it together themself.

“You read his mind?” Feyra questioned.

“Yeah, I took that potion Xiv gave me and I read his mind. The guard’s minds too, they think he’s pretty much a joke.”

“Could-” Feyra broke off, clearing her throat. “Did you read everyone’s mind?” She was avoiding Ailith’s eyes, looking everywhere but at them.

Ailith’s grin slid off her face. “No. No, I didn’t.” The joking was done, Ailith was nothing but sincere. “Just the King and the two guards. I promise, I didn’t read yours.” Ailith didn’t move her gaze from Feyra, waiting for her look up.

When she did, Feyra had an unreadable expression on her face. “Okay. Good, that’s… good.” They stood staring at each other for a beat, ignoring the rest of their companions. Xiv shuffled their feet, breaking the spell and bringing them both back to earth.

Written October 24th, 2020 5:10 PM

Political conflict be damned, she wanted out of here. This king, Andrew Anders, was quite possibly certifiably insane; he wanted them all to travel the country with him, acting out their exploits for the masses. And as much as Ailith liked Talus, the thought of pretending to be his wife was less than pleasurable.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry but our job is done here. We brought your guards back, killed your father – there’s nothing left for us here.” Ailith was exasperated, having explained this point several times over by now.

“Well of course there is! You have to travel with me and act out all your adventures. I’ve already started writing the script, it’s quite good-” the King’s excited rambling was cut short by a bark of laughter from Feyra. The King and Ailith both turned to where Feyra stood by the door, the remains of a grin on her face.

“Oh, oh I’m sorry,” Feyra sobered up quickly. I thought you were joking about that.” Ailith bit her lips together to keep from grinning. The King seemed to find the whole thing decidedly less funny.

“Of course I wasn’t joking,” he huffed. “It’s not like you have anything better or more important to be doing than serving the King of Andersil.” He sat up haughtily in his bed, as if that could make him look any less ridiculous.

“Your Majesty, I can assure you, we do. Feyra is actually the Lady of a… I don’t know what you call it – a principality?- in Exantir, and we have been tasked with numerous missions and we just don’t have time for this!” Ailith was losing her patience, thankful that Feyra cut in at that moment.

“I’m the Lady of Dragontower, to be specific,” Feyra remarked coolly. “We all have responsibilities back home.”

The King actually tilted his head to the side, regarding Feyra quizzically. “Lady? I didn’t know they let people like you into the nobility.”

Ailith could have sworn she saw red. “No,” she spat out, striding towards the bed where the King still sat, propped up on his fancy pillows. “No, you don’t get to speak to her like that.” Ailith could feel the rage sweeping through her body, her hands trembling with it. “We have been nothing but gracious, nothing but helpful to you. We have put up with you and put our lives in danger, and I draw the line at you calling Feyra a half-blood and talking down to her. We are leaving whether you like it or not, and I’d like to see you try and stop us!” Ailith was yelling now, towering over the King, vibrating with righteous anger.

King Andrew blinked up at her a few times, clearly choosing his next words carefully. “Fine,” he sniffed. “I give you permission to leave.

It was Ailith’s turn to blink. “Just… just like that?” Was this a trap?

“Yes. Just like that.”

Ailith turned back to Feyra who just shrugged and gestured at the door. “Okay. Okay, great. We’ll leave.” Ailith was formulating a plan in her head. “But first. let’s drink to our time together.”

The King perked up at that. Ailith poured him a glass of brandy from the cart in the corner, procuring an empty glass for herself. Before turning back, she pored the potion of mind reading into her glass, sending a silent thanks to Xiv for giving it to her the day before.

Ailith handed the King the glass of brandy, watching as he took a big sip. Xiv was right, she thought. It would be so easy to poison this guy. She shot back the potion, closing her eyes at the onslaught on surface thoughts pouring forth from King Andrew’s head. He genuinely wanted them to stay. He thought they were friends, that they really understood each other. And, wait a minute – his thoughts kept drifting to Talus, tinged with attraction. Ailith couldn’t wait to share that bit of information with the group.

Satisfied that the King had no plans to keep them from leaving, Ailith offered a final compromise. “Look, I want to leave on the right foot.” She could her Feyra shifting impatiently behind her. “if you ever have need of our services, you can contact me, and we might – no-” she pointed a finger at his face as it broke into a hopeful smile, “-and we might come help you. I make no promises.”

Nodding, the King accepted her offer. Sighing, Ailith followed Feyra out of the room, making sure to tell the guards that the king was awake and ready for his bird song. Their thoughts were tinged with confusion and annoyance; they both thought the King was a weirdo. For a split second, Ailith considered peeking into Feyra’s mind before she tamped the temptation down. The King and two random guards, sure, but reading Feyra’s mind… that was a huge violation of trust and privacy, and no way was Ailith going down that road.

As they continued down the hallway, Feyra grabbed Ailith’s arm. Startled, Ailith stared at where Feyra’s hand rested on her forearm before meeting Feyra’s gaze. Feyra hesitated for a second, eyes flickering to the floor and back up. “Thank you.”

Ailith’s heart rate had gone down, but it ratcheted back up a notch at Feyra’s words. “No one gets to speak to you that way. No one.” Her words were forceful, almost brusque in their sincerity. Feyra just nodded, squeezing Ailith’s arm before moving way down the hall again. Ailith followed, heart pounding.