Bitter-Sweet Chocolate
Out of prison one day, honored guests the next, or visa versa. It was something that Wisteria had experienced with surprising frequency in her life; astonishing reversals of fortune. She felt freed for the first time to be herself at court. She didn't need to tip-toe around Anora, whatever was going to happen there was completely out of her hands.
She and Zevran would be who they were, the Dark Wolf. Their secret still, of course. They dressed in their gear. Both in black leather, both armed with daggers. Her gear was, of course, the armor Zevran had made for her in Antiva. He convinced her to put her hair up, it made her look more deadly he said. This time when they came to dinner they were clearly a couple. Her hand on his arm.
When they walked into the room the volume of noise dropped low for a few moments. Wisteria looked around the room and saw all manner of expressions; disapproval, admiration, scandal, even fear. Then the table where they usually sat rose and began to applaud. Other tables followed suit. They stood for a moment on the stairs and soaked it in. Even Queen Anora applauded as well, although Wisteria thought it was unlikely to be heart-felt.
Wisteria made a slight nod to acknowledge the approbation, then made her way to her table, shaking hands with those nobles who wished to stop her on the way. It was a rewarding moment but Wisteria could never forget the wise words Wynne had once told her, "They will tear you apart just as eagerly". She was becoming familiar with the cycle.
They seated themselves with their friends. Fergus shook his head at Wisteria. "I should have burned that armor when I had the chance." Wisteria wished Fergus was closer so she could punch him in the arm.
For once Wisteria stopped thinking about poison hidden in the food or drink and she truly enjoyed herself. Dulan is gone and the Queen... Wisteria didn't know whether she should trust her. I will because, Maker damn it all, I'm starving.
Late that evening, Anora bit into the deeply bitter chocolate and let the chunk melt slowly in her mouth. She would not chew it, oh no, even though everything in her wanted to crush it with her molars. Then she took a sip of the strong, sweet spice tea and let the chocolate melt slowly. She was disciplined, even in this. This one evening ritual she loved. A whole day of tension melted away like the chocolate in her mouth, even the stress of her missing adviser.
As she popped the last remaining bite into her mouth she heard a low chuckle. She swiveled her head around and saw Wisteria's lover. That assassin! He had come out of the secret passage in her wall that Dulan often used. "You!" She hissed.
"Don't bother calling for your guards, they're taking a nap." Zevran folded his arms across his chest, his face alight with a small enigmatic smile.
"That chocolate was delightful, no? You know, chocolate was briefly fashionable in Antiva amongst the nobility. However, its flavor is so strong and bitter that assassins could hide a variety of poisons in it and the person enjoying it would never know they were eating their last treat." He shrugged, watching the Queen's face turn pale. The fear he knew she was feeling was vastly better than chocolate to him.
"Why?" The Queen's eyes filled with fear and rage. "Why are you doing this?"
Zevran tipped back his head and laughed. "Oh yes, our dear innocent Anora asks me why someone would wish to kill someone else. That is ironic, isn't it?"
He narrowed his eyes. "But there are so many reasons and you're certainly familiar with them, no? Revenge, I think, is your reason. The reason you had Dulan try to kill Wisteria." He paused and paced around the room. "There are other reasons to kill, though. To defend yourself or the people you love. Some kill to protect their country. Some kill to protect the world from evil."
Anora held her throat and turned red.
"Oh stop with the theatrics, Anora." Zevran laughed, greatly amused by her histrionics.
He went up close behind her and bent to speak directly into her ear. It was intimate, his Antivan accent silky smooth, caressing her with his voice. His nearness disturbing. "That isn't how you'll die. It won't be so easy as choking to death. It will be a long, miserable illness which doctors and even mages can't cure. A terrible wasting disease. I regret to say it will totally destroy your looks. Before you die you will look like a moldering corpse freshly dug up from the cemetery." Zevran shuddered to emphasize the point.
Then he came around in front of her. She was crying, tears were rolling down her face.
"Dry your eyes, Queen." He handed her one of her own handkerchiefs. "You do not yet have this illness." He looked highly amused.
She stared at him, wondering if perhaps he was insane.
"No, you have ingested something I like to call Element Zero, it is fairly harmless, quickly absorbed into the blood stream and then stored in the fatty tissues of the body for many years. It has a bitter taste that is difficult to disguise in food, but chocolate is the perfect disguise for it. Even if you were to try to purge yourself of the chocolate it would be too late. It was absorbed by the capillaries in your mouth as you savored it a few moments ago."
He chuckled and smiled merrily. Binary Poisons are such fun. She shifted nervously in her chair.
"If it's harmless then why bother?" She asked.
"Oh yes, Element Zero is harmless on it's own, but when it combines with Element One it results in the terrible wasting death I mentioned earlier. The brilliant part of this is Element One is harmless too, unless someone has previously ingested Element Zero. So one could poison all your dinner guests with Element One and they would all be fine. Only you would become sickened and eventually die."
"You are a sick bastard!" Queen Anora hissed at him. Her mind raced, trying to think of something. Perhaps he was lying. But how could she know?
"So I've been told, but I prefer to think of myself as merciful in this case. I could have easily killed you tonight, dear Queen. But I suspect Wisteria's influence has rubbed off on me to some extent. You see, she wants to trust you and wants to believe you knew nothing of what Dulan was up to. I however, do not trust you and I know you had a part to play in Dulan's crimes."
The Queen looked confused, "Then why not just kill me if you don't trust me?"
Zevran looked at her, "Because Wisteria gives people second chances, as I have experienced myself. I find that trait endearing, yet dangerous."
"What do you want then?" The Queen asked.
"I want you to marry Fergus. Be the Queen and wife you should be. Forget about the past. Find forgiveness for past wrongs done to you and I will forgive you for more recent wrongs."
He crouched low and looked up into her eyes. "Can you do that? Or should I just give you Element One now?"
Anora shut her eyes and muttered, "I will do it."
Zevran shook his head. "That wasn't very convincing, my Queen."
She opened her eyes and looked into his, tears were welling up in them again. "I promise, I will do it."
Zevran smiled. "That was better. But I'm still not certain..."
She looked up at him nearly crazed with fear. "What must I do, beg?"
Zevran's eyes lit up like she had just had a genius idea. "Why yes, I believe that might work!"
She sobbed loudly and dropped to her knees on the floor in front of him. "Please, I beg you. Let me live. I won't harm anyone again."
Zevran smiled with satisfaction. He hadn't realized how much he would enjoy this.
"Very well then. You have a reprieve for now. But let me warn you about Element One. It is remarkably easy to administer. You could inhale it, perhaps from a candle. Or you could touch it on a door knob. It might be in a cream you smooth upon your skin. It is tasteless, and odorless and holds up well in almost anything one could ingest. It is a little hard to get so it is very unlikely you'll be exposed to it accidentally. However, I have plenty of it and a trusted associate does as well."
"Please rise, Anora." He enjoyed the role reversal. "Oh, one more thing. Should you take another adviser, get Fergus's approval first." He smiled arrogantly. "You should get some rest, dear Queen, you have to convince Fergus to marry you again. You'll want to look nice for that." He bowed with a courtly flourish and left by the secret entrance.
Note: It's my own habit to eat a square or two of extremely bitter chocolate either with a cup of Bengal Spice tea or a cup of black coffee. I was just imagining what a wonderful device chocolate would be for hiding a bitter poison. Bwahahaha!