Summary: When a suspected assassin threatens to ruin a party dedicated to a visiting King, it is up to Alfeegi, Ruwalk, Tetheus and Kai-stern to figure out who is involved before things start to really fall apart. Too bad that the four of them don't intend to work together on the case. Tiny hint of yaoi.
Author's notes: This was inspired by the thought of how, while Alfeegi and Ruwalk seem to work fairly close together and are almost always Draqueen bound, the exact opposite is true for Tetheus and Kai-stern, who are probably generally off fighting/scouting etc elsewhere most of the time. As a result, Alfeegi and Ruwalk would tend to have a more intimate relationship with the city than the other two, and be far more involved with the daily going ons.
Brains and Brawn.
Everyone knew that, as a team, few worked better together than Alfeegi and Ruwalk. Both were held in esteem for their unparalleled intellect, and the abrupt nature of one was balanced perfectly by the easygoing personality of the other. With Alfeegi's innate ability to be able to see through any deception, coupled with Ruwalk's seamless ability to make anyone feel at ease, the two of them served a far greater service to Draqueen than people sometimes realised. Playing off each other's strengths, it wasn't rare to find them attending the many formal dinners and balls within the castle, conversing and playing their separate roles perfectly to an audience that knew them at least by reputation, while secretly figuring out together which of their allies was secretly considering breaking away, or determining exactly who it was that had attempted to slip a deadly poison into Lord Anuba's drink.
When it came to the riddles and inner workings of Draqueen, no one knew more than Alfeegi and Ruwalk. Kai-stern liked to point out that this possibly had more to do with the fact the pair spent most of their time gossiping and lounging around the castle as opposed to having to leave the city and actually do any work, unlike say himself or Tetheus, but Alfeegi preferred to dismiss that as sour grapes. After all, as he had once told Kai-stern, an understanding (if not vaguely smirkish) smile on his face, it had to be difficult for both Kai-stern and Tetheus, being merely the brawn to Alfeegi and Ruwalk's brain.
Tetheus had merely snorted at that, before preparing to take his troops out to one of the western provinces. If Kai-stern found Alfeegi's comment even the slightest bit offensive it was never known, as the fair haired Dragon Officer seemed to not be able to get over the highly amusing concept that he could be in any shape or form considered brawny, in the first place.
Ruwalk was not as loud in his boastfulness of his talents as his partner in crime was, often having at least some decency to look occasionally embarrassed when Alfeegi really got on a roll. But he never denied their supposed ability, either, and it brought about rare moments when Tetheus would have very much liked to use his much sullied brawn to wipe some of the smugness off of either of their faces. Kai-stern – or, as Alfeegi liked to sometimes put it – Tetheus' partner by default, usually had the ability to wave it all off, rarely being in the castle as it was.
It was, however, one of those rare occurrences where all four Dragon Officers happened to be in the city at the same time, and fate had chanced upon the group a possible assassination attempt on a visiting monarch. Intelligence had suggested that the attempt would take place at the evening's ball, where delegates from across the lands would be gathered to celebrate the coronation. Alfeegi and Ruwalk were in their element.
Tetheus and Kai-stern, not so much. Stock and unemotional by nature, Tetheus managed to show less outwards dislike for the formalwear and pleasantries than Kai-stern, whose natural and constant smile had begun to look battered and forced early on. Ruwalk had almost assigned the pair to door duty, just to keep them out of the way, before Tetheus had tersely reminded the other man that unless something had suddenly changed, Tetheus was still the one in charge of security. And so, if he chose to spend the entire evening standing next the drinks bar (alcoholic, thankfully), then there was quite possibly a reason for that. Other than to get drunk as quickly as possible. Kai-stern had argued that as Tetheus' partner, it made sense for him to remain there as well. He had really seen no need to point out that he possibly saw the Youkai even less than he did Alfeegi and Ruwalk, making the term 'partner' a somewhat incorrect one at best.
It was at that drinks bar that Ruwalk and Alfeegi returned to several hours later, a slight pout adorning the former's lips, a disgruntled scowl on the latter's. According to Alfeegi, it was possible that the small group of Mananians in the left hand corner were plotting something, but it was hard to get a clean read on them. Ruwalk had fared no better conversing warmly with other scattered members of the mountain clan, either.
"I highly doubt they're behind it, anyway," Kai-stern responded calmly as he sipped from his wine, eying the group in question. Alfeegi snorted in response, obviously annoyed that the other man would so easily belittle his line of thought. "Seeing as the Mananian King has a secret treaty with the new King of Lolona, I doubt he'd want to have said new King assassinated."
"I know of no treaty!" Alfeegi hissed quietly, turning quickly to Ruwalk, who looked mildly surprised as well.
"Which is possibly due to the whole 'secret' aspect of it," Kai-stern responded wryly, smiling slightly despite himself. "Besides, only a fool of a King would send assassins as part of an official delegation, the backlash would be too great. You're more likely to find them scattered around the room in various costumes, none of which reflect their actual kingdom of origin. Or something like that," he amended, smiling innocently as Alfeegi gazed at him suspiciously.
"But even if we could identify the potential assassins, we can't act without any sort of evidence, otherwise we'll be the ones who'll have to worry about a potential political backlash," Ruwalk added thoughtfully, turning back to study the crowd.
"And even if you managed to negate that and neutralise the assassins, that doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to find out who was behind it all in the first place," Kai-stern agreed.
"That doesn't matter at the moment. We've only got an hour or so before the new King makes his speech, and the supposed assassination is supposed to take place. We have to somehow figure out who are involved with the plot, and now." Alfeegi always managed to sound authoritive, even when he was basically ordering others to do something that he didn't quite know how to pull off himself.
"Period costume, black hair. Over by the stairwell." Tetheus' cold, calm words broke easily into the conversation. "He's their lookout." Ruwalk blinked once before turning to the stairwell Tetheus was referring to, while Alfeegi simply gazed up at Tetheus, stunned and a tad disbelieving. "Lantios style dress, green hair. Currently dancing towards the left wing. Her partner isn't involved. Definitely the one in charge of the assassination." Tetheus sipped his own drink before continuing on, almost in a monotone. "Short, podgy man sulking on the couches in front of the bay window. Back-up assassin in case something goes wrong."
"And who has had, oh, about six drinks by now," Kai-stern added helpfully, raising his own glass just slightly. "Nice guy, he even brought me one."
"Or three, even." Tetheus responded, in what would have almost have been a wry tone if the words had been spoken by anyone but Tetheus. "Blue haired male, official Slovia military uniform. The actual assassin. His current dancing partner isn't involved in the plot. If he continues along the path he is currently dancing with his partner, he should pass by the back-up assassin in roughly 3.2 minutes."
"Which is my cue," concluded Kai-stern, straightening his glasses before reaching for a glass of wine placed inconspicuously to his left that had gone unnoticed by both Alfeegi and Ruwalk up until now. With a brief nod to his fellow officers, he wandered off towards the dance floor, manoeuvring around the various couples as he made his way across the room, a wine glass in each hand.
With Kai-stern gone, Tetheus fell silent, although his eyes remained quietly trained on the other man, even as he seemed to disappear into the crowd. Ruwalk and Alfeegi exchanged slightly confused glances before Ruwalk shrugged, ordered his own drink and, leaning against the bar, chose to do the same.
Alfeegi was not quite so willing to go gracefully into defeat.
"Since you two seem to have all this figured out, exactly who is behind the assassins being here, then?" It wasn't said in quite a demanding tone, but it was a thin line Alfeegi was walking. Yet, even though there was annoyance in his voice, Alfeegi was nevertheless genuinely interested in how the pair, who never worked together and rarely had anything to do with any internal business, had managed to possibly discover more than he and Ruwalk had.
"There were always three groups that were more likely than the others. The Atari, the Lantios, and the Samarians." Even as Tetheus answered, his gaze never shifted from Kai-stern's retreating figure. "It's doubtful now that they are Atari assassins, as the Atari are very arrogant when it comes to bloodlines, and look down harshly on those from other races."
"But how does that discount them, surely that in itself is a good enough reason to want to get rid of the new King of Lolona – their kingdom's neighbour each other, and King Maya is a half breed." Ruwalk questioned, frowning slightly.
"Podgy back-up assassin didn't buy Kai-stern those drinks simply because he was feeling generous." And this time, the wryness could not be denied. Alfeegi's eyes widened slightly in surprise, while Ruwalk merely tilted his head, his gaze turning contemplative.
"Which means that the assassins are either from Lantios or Samaria." A slight wave of concern crept into Alfeegi's voice. "Lantios are not known for their assassins, but the Samarians are almost legendary. Are you sure it was wise to send Kai-stern alone to meet with one, in case they do turn out to be Samarian?"
"I didn't send him." It was said with what sounded suspiciously sounded like a snort. "Kai-stern has his own plan. I have mine."
"And between the pair of you, you're totally contradicting the meaning of teamwork," Ruwalk said with a smile, before turning serious. Whatever he was going to say next, however, was cut off by Alfeegi.
"He's spent the entire evening drinking, no doubt Kai-stern's not thinking clearly. You should have stepped in." It was, Tetheus allowed, almost sweet that Alfeegi seemed genuinely concerned about Kai-stern, given that it was usually Alfeegi that berated the Blue Dragon Officer the most. But that concern was unnecessary, at least on the level Alfeegi was emoting.
"I take it you've never seen Kai-stern in action."
"I didn't know that you had," It was Ruwalk who replied, his expression turning almost sly. "In fact, I can't remember you two ever being paired for a mission, before. At least, not any official one ..."
Tetheus' eyes narrowed, but not because of Ruwalk's blatant innuendo. On the other side of the room, Kai-stern had just 'accidentally' stumbled into the suspected main assassin, spilling one the drinks down the front of the Militia uniform. Even from a distance, it was easy to see that Kai-stern was apologising profusely. His victim seemed to be less than willing to forgive, and it appeared as though Kai-stern was getting quite an earful, until another guest came to his rescue, taking Kai-stern by the arm and leading him away from the ranting assassin.
A guest, who just happened to be the backup assassin.
"Bravo," Ruwalk murmured with a chuckle as Kai-stern turned to thank his newfound saviour, offering the remaining drink to him as apparent thanks. "And I do believe he managed to keep from spilling a single drop from that second glass. Poisoned?"
"They've all been. It's Kai-stern's style." Blunt and to the point. "Not strongly, because that would risk setting off alarm bells. But that and the wine should help loosen his tongue slightly. That should be all Kai-stern needs."
Alfeegi still looked less than convinced, but kept quiet, his eyes burning with a muted anger.
The scene played out before them as though Kai-stern himself had crafted the script, and they were all actors who had no choice but to follow the lines he had transcribed. Although, Ruwalk wasn't all that sure that Kai-stern had meant to plot in the dangerous spark that had flashed briefly in Tetheus' eyes when the backup assassin started to get slightly too friendly. Alfeegi's temper was mostly abated when he noticed that one of Tetheus' security guards just so happened to be posted close to where Kai-stern and the suspected assassin were sitting, but it was still with a sense of relief that he watched Kai-stern return, almost half an hour later, a carefree smile in place but seriousness darkening his eyes.
"Samarian," Kai-stern said quietly as he handed his glass back to the bartender, causing Ruwalk and Alfeegi to visually stiffen. Tetheus simply took another sip of his drink. "Definitely. He covers it well, but I picked up the accent coming through a couple of times. The wine made him sloppier than he'd usually be."
"Anything else?" Alfeegi asked sharply, his previous concern hidden away as impatience took over. "You were gone a long time to have gotten only that out of him." Kai-stern shot him a look of disbelief.
"Hmm. What else? He hates his mother, he's attempting to lose weight – apparently he used to be quite a jock, back in the day," that brought a smile back to Kai-stern's face, and he shook his head gently in humour. "Oh, and he seems to have a 'date' with the King of Lolona sometime after 2am, and he's looking for someone to help fill in the time between then and now, if you're interested in a quickie. Although I'm not sure if he's exactly your type." An angry blush flashed briefly across Alfeegi's cheeks at Kai-stern's last comment.
"2am? Are you sure? The intelligence reports indicated that the attempt was most likely to take place during the King's speech, which is in 20 minutes, at 11pm. Why would they change the time?" Ruwalk paused, eyes lighting up moments later in realisation. "Unless the 11pm time was simply a ruse, and they never planned to assassinate him then at all. Lull us in, think we've either misread the situation or prevented it, then attack ..."
"... when the King is being secretly escorted from the castle," Tetheus finished.
"At 2am? I thought he wasn't leaving until tomorrow afternoon?" Kai-stern wasn't all that happy to have been left out of the loop, and he frowned slightly at the Head of Security.
"I suppose that is what the 'secret' part of 'secretly escorting' refers to," Alfeegi said with slight airs, and Kai-stern had the grace to appear slightly abashed, if not actually rather humoured. "I suppose someone should go inform Lord Lykouleon."
Everyone knew that, out of all the Dragon Officers, it was Kai-stern who was most likely to take you out for a drink. It wasn't merely because he was the most friendly and approachable of the Officers – although that certainly rang true as well – and instead had more to do with the fact that Kai-stern was seen frequenting the bars in Draqueen far more often than his counter parts.
Ruwalk knew this. As did Alfeegi. Neither had really given it all that much thought other than at budget time, when Alfeegi was known to work himself into a frenzy over how much money was spent on various 'business trips' to bars and taverns.
Neither of them had ever thought about the fact that, for every night on the town, there was surely a morning after.
"Is he alive?" Ruwalk questioned curiously, poking the mass of silvery blond hair with the edge of his teaspoon, before returning it to his coffee cup. "I didn't think he drank that much."
"You'd be surprised," Tetheus replied coldly as he sat down beside Ruwalk, completely ignoring the way Kai-stern groaned pitifully.
"It's easier to convince people that you are a harmless, sloshed human if you are, in fact, sloshed. And human." Kai-stern's words came out surprisingly coherent, considering that he'd dropped his head onto the table the moment he'd sat down, and had yet to raise it again. It naturally did not help that they'd had all of three hours sleep after they'd eventually talked to Lord Lykouleon, plotted out how to catch the assassins in the act, caught the assassins in the act, and finally seen the far too troublesome King home safely.
"What I don't understand is how you two, of all people, managed to figure out who the assassins were in the first place." Of the four of them, Alfeegi was easily the closest to being a morning person, and he was already full into 'disgruntled' mood. "Kai-stern is never here for the formal events, whenever Tetheus can't escape them, he usually posts himself outside. And like Ruwalk said earlier, it's not like you two ever work together."
"That we know of," Ruwalk reminded with a grin, only to get a swift kick in the shins from Kai-stern for his efforts.
"I'm Head of Security. It makes sense that I can spot potential security threats with some level of efficiency. Kai-stern deals heavily in foreign affairs. It makes sense that he knows the various cultures and kingdoms on a superior level to the rest of us." It was said so matter-of-factly that Alfeegi found he really didn't have much room to argue.
"In other words, sometimes you two are the brawn to our brains." Kai-stern mumbled in agreement, humour tainting his voice. And while Alfeegi could have possibly argued against THAT, he could also acknowledge that the comment was somewhat deserved. "And you did such a good job of holding my wine glass, Alfeegi, those are some mighty muscles you have there."
That was pushing Alfeegi's good will a tad too far, however. Kai-stern was going to discover that he suddenly had a whole stack of paperwork to do before the day's end.
"So, no conspiracy." Ruwalk sounded almost disappointed. Alas, potential gossip shot down. "You two just simply compared notes, and figured it all out?" Tetheus didn't bother with a reply, just glancing coolly at Ruwalk before pouring himself some more coffee.
And, hidden beneath his mop of hair, Kai-stern smiled.