Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney belongs to Level 5 and Capcom.
Eve's Magical Adventure
Chapter 7: The Case of the Suspect Substitute, Act III
Its cobbles baked under the warm afternoon sun, the market was a bustling place, with citizens hurrying to and fro, buying, selling and bartering. Housewives searched through fresh produce, little boys chased each other with twig-like swords, farmers and peddlers pitched their goods. The street was dusty but only puffs of it flew up when someone swept by in a great hurry. The scent of something delicious wafted through the air, mixing with the smells of ripe fruit, sweat and dust. Voices clamored all around as two young women made their queries.
"Excuse me…" Espella said, trying to catch the attention of a vendor of vegetables. "Have you seen Kira?"
"Sorry, haven't seen her. Please don't stand in the way."
Down the other side of the street, Eve stood before the stall of a man who sold shoddy knock-off weapons to knights who could not afford the better kind. "Has Kira passed by today?"
"Kira? That flower wench? Naw, ain't seen her."
Most of the people in the marketplace were too concerned with their own business to have noticed the girl in question, and both young women encountered some frustration with the unhelpful responses. However, they meandered amongst the varied stalls; Espella was of half a mind to return to the bakery for a break, but Eve pursued their mission with the kind of tenacity that could be accredited to Barnham's dog.
The former high inquisitor knew and recognized most of the people they spoke to. Espella, however manifested a deeper knowledge of the townspeople, their names, their families, what they were like and what was happening in their lives. Eve glanced at her friend as familiar thoughts drifted to the front of her mind.
Espella is of the friendly sort that people like to talk to. They know they can trust and rely upon her and they don't have to be afraid anymore of having bad stories written about them. She's kind and unassuming and has a smile for everyone. She smiled a bit to herself as she watched her friend. Though a small part of her wished she could do what Espella did, most of all she was very glad for the blonde girl's happiness, which Eve never wanted her to be without again.
For all their inquiries, the two self-appointed investigators hadn't yet located their quarry. Instead, they found themselves once again facing all manner of questions from concerned, curious, suspicious or just downright meddlesome citizens. From some of these same tongues also came rumors which had been flying quite a bit that day, and which were getting slowly twisted with each retelling. The two young women had had the displeasure of hearing these before; Eve felt more and more like clawing the next person who mentioned a rumor, and Espella was somewhere between wanting to cry and to shout angrily. They did their best to imprint only truthful facts on those to whom they spoke.
Stopping for a minute in the shadow cast by one of the buildings, they discussed what to do next. The dark-haired young woman pressed her lips together, becoming more and more dissatisfied at how slowly she felt their investigation was progressing. She thought again, darkly, of all the trouble that Barnham was putting them through, inconsiderate man that he was!
"We've embroiled ourselves in a great mess," the former inquisitor said. "We've talked to many people and yet we know so little. 'Tis frustrating!"
"I know what you mean. But I think if we ask enough questions and get the right information, it should all start falling into place and we'll know what really happened."
Eve cut back a sarcastic little chuckle, despite her darkening mood. "Hm. How do you know so much about it?"
The blonde young woman shrugged. "Well, that's how it always seemed to work out for Mr. Layton and Mr. Wright."
"Is that how it was? It seems to me they relied on blind luck more than anything else, especially Wright."
Espella giggled. "It seemed to work for them. Without them we would never have seen that new day as we did."
"I can't argue with you there." She sighed and paused. "Anyway, none of this is helping us find Kira. If you want to go back to the bakery, Espella, I won't mind. I'm going to keep at it."
"Oh wait, Eve…" the younger girl said, breaking through her thoughts. "I wonder…"
"What?"
"I just had an idea! Come on!"
"Where are you off to now?"
But that young lady did not reply as she continued on her path, the end of which Eve knew naught. Espella turned for a moment and beckoned to her friend; the former high inquisitor sighed and opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it again, instead saving her breath and catching up to her companion. Some minutes later, they were at the entrance to the pawnshop, where a young woman with mousy brown hair had her back mostly to them as she closed the door. A second later she turned and all but jumped as her eyes lit upon the two newcomers.
"Hello, Kira," said Espella.
The flower seller opened her mouth and her tongue flopped like a landed fish. Her eyes evinced surprise and a hint of embarrassment, which she quickly tried to shove behind her irritation.
"What do you want?" she asked, none too graciously. "I'm busy working!"
Eve's eyebrow quirked. "I suppose Mr. Price bought some flowers from you, hm?" She steeled herself to be just as difficult and give not the merest fraction of an inch.
Kira folded her arms over her basket handle and curled her lip. "It's none of your business," she retorted petulantly, all the while trying to bury something small and reflective in her basket full of flowers.
"Let's just say we're curious," Espella returned, in an attempt to lighten the mood. "We really did come to talk to you. You can help us figure out the case we're working on. And we'll also buy some flowers so your boss shouldn't have reason to be mad with you."
"He won't, eh?" Kira muttered. "Great lot you know about him."
Having concealed the unknown item in her basket, she deigned to give them some uncertain eye contact. She tried to move past them, but the former inquisitor stepped in her way. Eve didn't even bat an eyelash as the flower seller scowled at her.
"We can talk here or elsewhere," said the dark-haired young woman resolutely. "Or we can go to my office. The choice is yours."
The girl exhaled in an exaggerated, aggravated sigh. "All right, all right!"
"There's a quiet place near the square," Espella suggested, in an attempt to lessen the tension in the atmosphere. "We can talk in the shade."
Kira twisted her mouth to one side. "Fine."
With Espella leading the way and Eve bringing up the rear, the three of them walked past some shops and stalls and ended up at a little bench at the edge of the trees, not too far from Jean's house.
"You don't trust me at all, do you?" Kira asked, her lip curled defiantly. She had a look of uncertainty in her eyes.
"Only about as far as I can throw that aggravating knight with one hand," Eve muttered in return.
Espella sat down on the bench first and indicated that the flower girl should join her there. Kira flipped her braid back over her shoulder and lifted her nose to the sky just a bit more, glancing up at the former inquisitor who remained standing.
"My flowers are wilting in this heat," she complained.
"Did Espella not say we would buy them? Now, cease your attempts to evade the issue. Tell us exactly what you were doing near Mrs. Gewler's shop yesterday."
"Why, so you can pin the blame on me?" Kira sniffed. Her mouth was curled derisively, but her eyes held a hint of fear, fear of what Eve knew not. "You need a scapegoat, don't you?! You can't believe your precious knight would do anything wrong so you just want to find the most convenient person to blame it on!"
Eve's eyes, already glinting with a dangerous blue-green flame, seemed to tear into the flower seller as she clenched her right hand, her fingers digging into her tender old scar. "W-why, you—!" she spluttered.
No sooner had she said it than she wished she been silent. But before she could finish whatever hastily concocted words she had on the tip of her tongue, the other young woman, having been quiet until that moment, lifted her blonde head and fixed Kira with her keen gaze.
"Do you think Sir Barnham committed the theft?"
Kira looked at her for and then averted her eyes as she pressed her lips together firmly and again fiddled with the handle of her basket. Eve stared right back at her, the ire still burning a hole in her chest, but she was grateful that Espella had intervened before she could say something over which she would really kick herself later. The silence stretched between them like a chasm.
Finally, the flower girl parted her pouting lips and mumbled, "That big-hearted clod? Hah! I don't suppose he'd steal anything, any more than he could understand what it was like to be accused of being a witch."
Espella's eyes widened. "Did you say that to him?"
"What if I did?" Kira locked gazes with her, fiercely hanging onto her sense of self-righteousness. "He came to me with some half-baked attempt at an apology. I told him he'd never know what it was like to be accused."
"What do you think he is now, then?!" Eve snapped, her voice slowly rising. She pierced the brown-haired girl with a look that made even Kira wince a bit. "I suppose I had to confine him under house arrest for the fun of it, hm? The accusation of theft is just a figment of our imaginations, do you think?!"
Both young women had their eyes on her. Eve knew her face was red, both from warmth of the day and the emotions that came broiling up within her, but she didn't care. Espella's eyebrows were crinkling and she parted her lips as if she wanted to say something but was unsure of the right words.
"I knew he was trying to protect someone," the former high inquisitor continued, hardly pausing for breath. "It's obvious to me now that he's trying to prove himself to you in perhaps the only manner you'd understand. Though I certainly can't understand why. You were responsible for using your power as a witch to effectively murder those two thugs, and you cannot blame anyone else because you were punished. Are you trying to frame Zacharias the same way you did Espella?!"
Her friend placed a hand on her arm, a concerned look in her blue eyes. "Eve…"
"Tell us the truth, Kira, flower seller! Just what is it you are hiding?"
"I-I…" Kira mumbled, unable to keep her sharp gaze. Her lips trembled and she lowered her face to keep them from seeing the look of vulnerability which betrayed her. "I didn't steal anything…!"
A few moments of ominous silence followed, in which the flower girl didn't look up from her lap and Eve continued to glare at her. Espella, meanwhile, gnawed at her lip a bit and wondered fretfully what she could do to keep the peace between them.
"…That's all you have to say?" Eve questioned through tight lips, when she was quite sure the other young woman wasn't saying more.
Kira pressed a hand to her forehead. "Yes."
"You haven't even begun to account for yourself! What were you doing at Mrs. Gewler's shop yesterday? And the pawnshop just now? Tell me!"
"Stop it!" the girl cried, pressing both palms to her ears. "Stop it! Leave me alone! Stop hounding me!"
Still clutching her wicker, she leaped from the seat and fled past the square, leaving the other two young women to stare after her with consternation and perhaps some concern. Eve also jumped to her feet, ready to pursue, but her friend again put a hand to her arm.
"Oh, Eve, you shouldn't have been so hard on her!" Espella chided gently.
The gaze of the former inquisitor eased slightly, the pained look of remembrance coming to her eyes. "You defend her, Espella? After what she did to you?"
"Of course. I know what she did was wrong, but she knows it too. Every time we meet and she looks at me, I can see the guilt in her eyes and she tries to hide it. I'm sure there's not a day that goes by that she doesn't wish she'd acted differently."
"Why am I not surprised?" sighed Eve. She clasped the hand which the blonde girl forced into hers. "You forgave me, who was supposed to be your friend, for worse."
"Let's go see if we can find her, shall we?" her companion said, squeezing her fingers.
As Espella pulled at her hand, Eve sighed again. "I'm sorry I'm such an old crosspatch today. All this unnecessary investigation into this ridiculous matter has me all tied up in knots and I'm so angry with Zacharias!"
"I know, Eve. But we'll figure it out. Of that I am sure!"
They walked past the square and toward the outer wall of the town, the same direction in which Kira had run. They were able to follow her without too much trouble, as she had not taken care to keep a few flowers from tumbling from her basket. Espella stopped each time to pick up the fallen blooms.
As the young women approached the west gate, two knights who were standing there conversing immediately and awkwardly came to attention as they saw the former high inquisitor. Cantabella had thought, and Eve had agreed with him, that despite the changes to the town they should still have a guard at their gateways. As the head of the knights, Barnham was of course in charge of assigning which men would hold which posts; because it was such a dull assignment he had a habit of using the job as punishment for those who had been shirking their duties in one way or another.
Eve fixed one knight with a piercing stare. "Why are there two of you here?" she queried.
"M-Miss Belduke… y'see, I was just passing this way and stopped to ask my friend here how things fared."
"You have finished now?" the dark-haired young woman asked, knowing he didn't dare give her any answer but one.
"Y-yes, of course, M-Milady!" he exclaimed, and scuttled away with surprisingly agility for all the armor he wore.
Espella gave her friend an eye-rolling sort of look but Eve didn't even notice as she glared after the knight. The blonde girl then turned to the remaining knight, whose mouth was scrunched into an uncertain sort of frown.
"Excuse me, Sir Walton, have you seen Kira pass by?"
He hardly looked at her, so nervous was he from Eve's disapproving stare. "Y-yeah, I think she went out the gate a couple of minutes ago…"
Eve was tempted to censure him further for not giving them a straight answer, but Espella pulled at her arm, drawing her through the gateway and to the road which led into the forest.
"Thank you!" the blonde girl called back to him.
They were quiet as they walked, keeping an eye out for Kira. Finally, they heard some disgruntled mutterings off to the side, some yards away. Following the sound, they again encountered the flower vendor as she sat on a branch, almost at ground level of an immense tree. She had discarded her basket on the ground just below her dangling feet and with her hands she picked at the bark.
"Ugh, I had a feeling you'd follow me," she said without looking at them.
Eve parted her lips and then closed them, twisting them slightly sideways. She was still in a mood fierce enough to bite the girl, but she remembered her friend's words and held her tongue for the moment. She gave Espella a brief look, silently urging her to take the initiative.
"Yes, we did," she replied, pulling her blonde braids forward as she seated herself on a fallen log in front of Kira's perch. "I'm sorry, but we need to ask you some questions to clear up what happened."
The flower seller turned her head further away and whispered, "But I didn't want anyone to know…"
"Please tell us, Kira," Espella entreated gently.
"If it is our silence you wish, then please be assured we will not unnecessarily divulge what you tell us," Eve added as she stood behind and a bit to the side of her friend.
With uncertainty filling her eyes, the girl shot the former inquisitor with a doubtful look. "You just won't rest until I spill my life story to you, will you?!"
"I doubt that will be necessary. Rather, begin with what brought you to the pawn shop. What were you doing? Were you selling something?"
Kira bit her lip as she hesitated. Finally she took a long breath and began, "I was trying to get my things back. My glasses and my ring. That drunk found them and sold them, so if anyone is a thief, he is! You should be going after him, not me!"
Eve's eyebrows rose in spite of her unspoken promise to Espella to be less austere in her questioning. "Your ring?"
"Yes, mine," she replied, gritting her teeth. "I know you think I took the ring from that jeweler lady, but I didn't. Why in the world would I steal one when I had one of my own?!"
"Perhaps, perhaps not. Explain," Eve said.
"I did not steal it. That drunken oaf took it when I wasn't looking! It is my ring—my parents gave it to me!"
Espella raised a half-closed fist to her chin, her eyes fixed upon the flower girl's face "Are your parents here in Labyrinthia?"
"No, of course not," Kira all but snapped. An imperfection in the weave of her skirt seemed to have a magnetic-like draw for her. She hadn't wanted to divulge all that she had; she'd already said too much. She shrugged. "My parents live in London, in a huge house, with more money than they know what to do with."
"So why did you come here?" the blonde young woman questioned.
The flower seller sighed. "I left home. I was so tired of their constant interfering in my life and treating me like a child! They didn't approve of the places I liked or the friends I made. So I left home and joined the Project. There! Are you happy now?"
"I'm sorry, Kira," Espella murmured, twining her hands together over her lap.
Eve's eyes searched out the flower girl's face as she asked, "And your parents found you here after Project Labyrinthia was over?"
"Yeah. Barnham knew about that too." Kira snorted and rolled her eyes. "He heard a couple of men asking about me one tourist day and he told me about it."
"Ohh… Is that why you usually keep away from the tourists?" Espella inquired, glancing into the girl's brown eyes.
"Yes," replied she, curtly. "I was satisfied enough with my life here and I didn't want anyone to foul it up for me. I… I realized I liked being a simple flower girl and I don't want to go back to my old life. But my parents found me anyway."
Kira recalled the day in which she'd been lying low in one of the side streets from the market. She had been not-so-quietly fuming to herself because her boss had insisted that she go out and peddle her flowers to the tourists, and she'd hardly paid attention to the approaching footsteps. Only when one of the people to whom the feet belonged spoke a name did she jerk her eyes upward. She had not seen them in over three years but she had no difficulty in recognizing her parents. Her father had more gray hairs and her mother a couple new wrinkles on her forehead, but at one glance she could tell they were the same.
The tension between them was like a sour taste, but she was secretly a bit glad to see a couple of familiar faces. She had, however, lost her temper when her mother scolded her for leaving home without a word. Her rising anger and increased volume had brought the unwanted attention of a passing do-gooder knight and his stupid pup. When he asked if the older couple were causing her trouble she coldly informed him that they were nothing of the sort. Then her father stepped up and explained everything, like the windbag he was. Kira had rolled her eyes, gritted her teeth and wished she were once more a shade without memories, or even a witch with the ability to disappear.
The tycoon's explanation that he and his wife had hired private investigators to find their daughter was enough to adequately allay the redheaded knight's apprehension as to the situation. The latter had apologized and swiftly departed, for which Kira had been grudgingly grateful. She had to chuckle a bit to herself when Constantine stared at her parents for a moment with bared lip before he turned to follow his master.
On their next visit, her parents gave her those extravagant glasses and an expensive ring, which she had grudgingly accepted, but only after making them wait for her decision. She considered her parents' gift to be a rather a pitiful peace offering, as if they could buy her affection back with their expensive baubles, but there was no denying that she always had liked pretty things. She was of half a mind to make peace with them herself. Then, when she found her ring and glasses missing, she flew into a flurry trying to get them back. The only problem was that the old skinflint Price wouldn't let the items go without getting his money back, and Emeer had made himself scarce.
The former high inquisitor questioned her further, and Kira answered, still a bit on edge and antagonistic. Even so, she felt relieved that she didn't have to keep it all to herself anymore. Espella, who had earlier been rather curious as to why a flower seller would buy herself the glasses that she and their visiting friends learned about more than a week previous, now knew the truth. She decided against pressing the matter any further with Kira, however.
"Do you have your ring?" Eve asked.
The flower girl shook her head and scowled. "I could only get my glasses back. Oh, just wait until I get my hands on that thieving drunk!"
"We'll just have to get the ring from Mr. Price and show it to Mrs. Gewler. You don't have anything to worry about now, Kira" Espella said, trying to bring her some comfort.
"Nothing? Hah!" The flower vendor nudged her basket with her foot. "I still have to sell all these before nightfall, which is no simple task." She arched her brow, too proud or too stubborn to remind the young women of their promise.
Espella reached into her pouch for some money, but Eve stayed her hand and relinquished a few coins of her own. The blonde girl stooped and pulled individual blooms from the basket until she had a fine bouquet. She lifted them to her face and inhaled deeply of their fragrance.
"Thank you, Kira, for the flowers and for answering our questions."
"You mean I can go now?" the brown-haired girl asked, the sarcasm unmistakable in her tone as she looked at the former inquisitor.
"Of course," replied Eve, her composure quite even once more. "Be at my office in the morning. I'm going to see to it that this case is settled and I want you to be there."
The flower vendor frowned as she eyed the other young woman for a moment. Then, without giving her assent, she picked up her wicker and sauntered off.
Espella immediately turned to her friend. "Have you figured it out, Eve? Do you know who took the ring?" Her eyes were wide, incredulous because they'd been together the whole time and she had no idea who to suspect.
"Not yet. But I think I will."
"Oh, you have an idea, don't you?! You have to tell me, Eve, please!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands and fixing her friend with a most earnest look.
"Hmm. Maybe." The corner of the former high inquisitor's lip twitched with the beginning of a smile. "Come, we'll talk on the way to the pawnshop."
~O~
As the sun in its descent seemed to be impaled on the spire of the bell tower, the two young ladies reached Price's place of business. They spent but a couple of minutes inside while the pawnbroker located a certain jewelry piece which he'd bought from Emeer Punchenbaug. Espella admired the diamond-encrusted ring, noting that Kira's parents had rather extravagant taste in their selection, and her friend gave Price a fair sum of coin. The pair thanked him and departed, with Eve tucking the ring safely into her pocket.
"You don't think it's the ring, do you, Eve?"
"I don't know."
"I think Kira was telling us the truth."
"Maybe. But we have to make sure." The former inquisitor placed her hand over the small lump in her pocket. "It has blue and green stones, like the one Mrs. Gewler described. But I know so little about these things; we'll need her to identify it…or not."
"The ring must be Kira's. She wouldn't have any reason to take it. She could get a hundred rings from her parents if she really wanted to."
"You don't have to convince me, Espella. She's likely just what she says she is: a spoiled heiress prone to temper tantrums when things don't go her way. I doubt she has anything more to do with this case, other than being there at the time of the so-called crime."
"Oh Eve, you have such a way of putting things," the blonde girl said as she captured her friend's arm. Then, as deftly as she swung her braid around, she changed the subject. "We should go back to the bakery pretty soon. Aunt Patty will be expecting us."
"I suppose so…but first there is someone else I want to see."
"Oh? Who, Eve? Is it someone connected to the case?"
"'Tis Rouge. She seems to know Zacharias. Perhaps she has some insight which has eluded me."
"I'll go with you. I'd like to see her again."
A short time later, the two young women were picking their way through an alleyway littered with crates, barrels, some rotting potatoes and other cast-away items. The road was narrow and the buildings rose up to two stories on either side, which didn't allow for much illumination at that time of day. Before them was the tavern, with both light and unchecked laughter spilling easily from its doorway.
Espella thought of Rouge as a friend and had seen her from time to time after their first meeting, but those surroundings were wont to make her a little nervous, so she was grateful that Eve was with her. As the two of them entered the establishment, the blonde girl started to feel a bit better when she recognized Cutter, who was throwing knives at the dartboard with some other fellows, and Bardly, who was seated at a table with a glass before him while he plucked at his instrument and sang pieces of songs.
"Well now, you're certainly the last two I expected to walk through my doors," said the proprietress as she sauntered toward them.
"Hello, Rouge!" Espella said cheerily.
The redhead returned her smile and her greeting before turning to the other visitor. "And you're Miss Eve of course." She grinned and put out her hand. "Zack mentions you a lot."
The former high inquisitor spluttered before she could quite voice her own hello. She could feel her face heat in the burst of embarrassment that overcame her. She knew of Rouge, knew that she had a good, sometimes explosive sort of relationship with Barnham, but she hadn't before had occasion to meet the tavern owner. After all, it was the knight who had handled the repairs on the roof the summer previous because Eve was preoccupied with the launching of the tourist project. She groaned to herself, wishing she hadn't let herself to be caught off guard so.
With some difficulty, Espella swallowed a giggle that rose in her throat. She gave her friend's arm a tug.
"Um…yes…hello," Eve finally managed to say. Her cheeks were like a deeply colored sunset cloud as she shook the proffered hand.
Rouge lifted her face, her easy laugh seeming to swell up to the rafters. "Come on over here and we can talk," she said, gesturing to the corner of the room near the counter.
She led them to a small, empty table which had a few small crates stacked up next to it. With a firm shove, she pushed the boxes away and then pulled a couple of chairs over for her guests. Eve took those few moments to squash her embarrassment and try to get her thoughts in order. The proprietress poured them each a tall draught of juice and then perched herself on a stool, her elbow on the table as she leaned slightly forward.
"So…what brings you here?"
"Have you heard about the trouble and Sir Barnham?" Espella queried. She set her bouquet on the table and slipped her hand around her glass.
"Sure. It's been the topic of the day. I've heard more rumors than there are candles in my chandelier, with no more sense to them than a blind drunk. But I have it on good authority that you two have been going around asking questions and trying to figure out what really happened."
"Indeed," the dark-haired young woman replied, her hands folded at the edge of the tabletop. "The sooner we can put an end to the hearsay the better off we'll all be. But that's not why we came. Rather, I want to ask you about some of those rumors…about you."
Rouge frowned, her eyes taking on a hard look. "You think I had something to do with the theft, perhaps? There's always some reason to blame the scraggly lot that hang about this area, eh?! I wouldn't have thought that of you, Miss Belduke."
"No, of course not!" Espella declared with a little gasp. "We don't suspect you or anyone else here."
Eve, however, remained calm, unabashedly gazing straight into the redhead's searching blue eyes. "These rumors are nothing more than filth to be thrown out like the garbage they are. Only a fool would believe them outright."
The tavern mistress' eyes lessened in their intensity, one corner of her mouth curving up again. "And you're no fool, that I can see. Well, go ahead and ask."
The former inquisitor relaxed her hands a bit but did not reach for her drink; she couldn't bring herself to swallow any of the bright red liquid. "There may be a tiny germ of truth in connecting you with Zacharias. You know him pretty well, do you not?"
"That I do," Rouge replied. She leaned back a bit on her perch and put one knee on top of the other. "Tell me… What are the old rumormongers saying?"
"'Tisn't worth repeating, truly. 'Tis all rubbish," Eve said.
"Psh! I've heard it all before, y'know. Go on, tell me. I could use another laugh!"
And so the two visitors related a few details of the rumors they'd heard that day. "They seemed to imply there's some dark relationship between you, and that you both can't be trusted because you are redheaded," the blonde girl related quietly. "But we certainly don't believe one word of that. It's ridiculous!"
Hardly had she finished than Rouge's hearty chortle again echoed through the room. The other patrons turned to see what the fuss was about and glimpsed the proprietress half doubled with laughter and slapping the table with one black-gloved hand. The other two young women glanced at each other, failing to see the punch line as she did.
Her eyes wet, Rouge gasped between chuckles, "Ahahaha! I've heard people say a lot of things about me…but that… that's the best yet!" She roared all the more with laughter.
Eve folded her arms. "I fail to see how carelessly spoken rumors are so humorous."
"You…don't? Hahaha…" the tavern mistress said as soon as she could breathe again. "Well…haha…I'll tell you…hahaha." She wiped at her eyes and still chortling, she explained, "So people think there's something between us? Well, they're right in a way, but it's not what anyone thinks. You see… Zack happens to be my brother."
"Your…brother?" Espella repeated almost dumbly.
Rouge nodded as her mirth got the better of her again. "If anyone had bothered to ask…we could have told them… Simple as that… Ha!"
Eve's own lips curved as she grasped the fullness of the joke, relieved further as she now knew all the better how ridiculous the townspeople's talk was. "Well, that makes a lot of sense now," she mused. "You two do have the very same red hair."
"I had no idea Sir Barnham had a sister. Why, I think that's just wonderful!" the blonde young lady exclaimed, her grin widening as she bounced a bit in her seat. "Oh, I know! You should come by the bakery sometime. We'd love to have you!"
"Thank you, Espella, but I keep busy here most of the time. And I'm not sure if I'd be welcomed in that part of town."
"Of course you can come. No one would stop you," the girl insisted. "Isn't that right, Eve?"
"Yes, I'm sure it is," the former inquisitor said dryly. She, however, had something much more curious tickling at her brain. "If I may ask, Rouge, why is it that you two have roles so far apart? As siblings, wouldn't you have been given similar roles when you joined the Project?"
Having mostly recovered from her fit of incessant laughter, the tavern owner sobered still more at the question. She put both feet firmly on the floor as she replied, "That might have been so…if we had entered the project together. Zack was here for a while before me."
Espella took a small sip of her tomato juice and licked its redness from her lips. "But couldn't my dad have put you together then?"
"I suppose he could have, but at the time 'twas probably better than way. Zack and I fought like cats and dogs. We'd been in a particularly bitter argument before he…left. And I have a dim recollection of overhearing my father say something to that effect when he made the arrangements. Perhaps he thought we would find each other when we were ready…and we were old enough get along better. It worked anyway, as we started off with a clean slate, just being friends."
"Your dad… Did he join the project too?" the blonde girl asked, her curiosity heightened. She was trying to imagine who amongst the citizens of Labyrinthia could be the father of the two indominable redheads.
"…No," Rouge replied after a moment of silence. Her gaze, having been on the table, rose to meet the glances of both her guests. Her eyes bespoke some deep sorrow, but she remained firm and resolute. "Look, I…I don't want to talk about that."
Eve and Espella were quite intrigued about this new information but they respected her word and did not press any further. Awkward silence mushroomed between the three of them. For lack of knowing what to say, Espella sipped again at her juice. Rouge fiddled absently with the handle of her knife, the ring on the smallest finger of her right hand catching the light and gleaming with each movement.
The former high inquisitor cleared her throat. "Well then, if we may return to the earlier topic… Knowing Zacharias as you do, what do you make of this…?"
She proceeded to recount the details of the case, the knight's refusal to cooperate, and all the insights she and Espella had gleaned that day. The other young lady also interjected with a few more bits that her friend hadn't mentioned, and together they gave Rouge a veritable oil painting of the whole thing.
The proprietress shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I'm not at all surprised. That is just like him, the silly fool. He always was driven to what he thought was his duty, to protect the less fortunate, to right whatever wrong he imagined was there."
"The only part that has us baffled is why he won't say anything," Espella said.
Her dark-haired friend also nodded. "That's right. He's supposed to be a knight, a guardian of the town's peace and justice. Those who break the law receive no sympathy from him. The question I've been asking myself all this time has been 'Why?'"
"Y'know what I think?" Rouge said, leaning forward again with her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. "I bet he knows less than you do. You said he rushed off to stop the bolting horse, right?"
"Yes…" Eve replied slowly as she tried to grasp the redhead's meaning. "Oh!" she exclaimed quietly, her eyes going wide for a moment. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?!"
"What?" questioned the blonde young lady, a puzzled little frown on her face as she too leaned slightly forward.
The former inquisitor turned to her friend. "He couldn't know who took the ring because he wasn't there! Oh, it all makes sense now!"
Rouge nodded. "I think he may suspect the flower girl, but has no proof against her. She must have hurt his pride, and maybe also he thinks the honor of the knights is at risk because of her distrust. Since he came under the accusation and he cannot rightfully direct the blame elsewhere, so to me it seems he's decided to keep silent so he can prove her wrong."
Eve listened attentively to every word, many of the thoughts therein things that she had learned or realized that day, but she hadn't put all the pieces together in quite that way. Her lips remained firmly together, almost frowning, and she nodded at each of the tavern mistress' points, already forming in her head.
"Ooh! I think that makes sense!" Espella exclaimed.
Almost at the same time, her friend also spoke. "It's just the sort of ego-driven nonsense he'd think of," she seethed. "Why didn't he just tell me what was going on? I'll certainly have some words with him over this!"
"I hope you do. He needs a good scolding," the owner of the tavern replied, a little sardonic twist to her lips. "He sure is going to hear it from me."
"You really do know him, don't you Rouge?" the blonde girl said, keeping her own composure.
"Of course I do," the redhead replied, placing one elbow on the table and grinned with a roguish quirk to her lips. "He may be stupid but he'll always be my brother."
Espella was much less miffed with Barnham than her friend; she couldn't help but see that as foolish as his actions were, he was also brave for being willing to risk his honor before everyone. She knew Eve would realize that as well, as soon as she got over being so thoroughly annoyed.
Seeing as how her friend was still seethingly tongue-tied, the youngest of the three spoke up again. "Thank you anyway, Rouge."
The tavern's proprietress grinned and waved her other hand, on which she wore another ring over her glove. "It's nothing. I know him too well, y'see. He's always been a real stickler for the rules, but he'd get all riled up if he saw what he considered injustice. Back in elementary school, he would sail in and try to bring solace to those who'd been hurt. He sometimes got into fights with the bullies who had broken a classmate's toy, hit a little girl or anything else. On the other hand, I picked my own fights. Some days we both came home with bloody noses and a black eye."
"He hasn't changed much then," remarked the former high inquisitor. She could imagine a more youthful Barnham going forward to help a classmate, calling the bullies all sorts of absurd, ridiculous names, and getting into a tussle as a result.
Espella tilted her head, a wisp of a smile on her lips. "You two must have been a handful."
"Yup, I suppose we were," replied Rouge. She cleared her throat and tipped her stool back dangerously. "So, after all your investigating, did you find out who really took the missing thingamabob?"
"Eve has a good idea about it," said the youngest girl, jumping in. "And you know…you did help us… More than you might think."
The dark-haired young woman nodded. "Indeed. You're welcome to come to the old courthouse in the morning if you want to see how it turns out."
"I'll be there." Her blue eyes sparked with a hint of mischievousness. "By the way, I heard the play last night turned out better than anyone expected."
"Ugh! The less said about that the better," the substitute actress said, her face flushing.
Her chair scraping on the floor as she slid back, she rose from her seat. Her friend also followed her example after one more draught of juice. Rouge slipped her dagger, with which she'd been playing, back into its sheath and then she too rose.
"Don't you two be strangers now," she told them with a smile. "Come back whenever you feel like it. You'll always be welcome here."
The pair thanked her, said farewell and then relinquished themselves once again to the street. A couple of loudly laughing men, on their way to a good, rowdy old time, bumped into the young women; upon seeing who they were and noting the irked look on Eve's face, the carousers offered profuse apologies and one of them grabbed up the flowers that Espella had dropped as a result of the collision. They then skirted around the two females and swiftly entered the tavern.
"I didn't realize it was so late," the blonde girl said, glancing up at the sky. The light was rapidly fading with the departure of the sun. "We'd better hurry back to the bakery for dinner. We told Aunt Patty we would, you remember."
"You go, Espella. I must stop at my office and make arrangements for tomorrow."
She grasped at her friend's arm. "Then I'll go with you, Eve."
"There's no sense in Mrs. Eclaire being upset with both of us. You go back so she won't worry. I will join you there as soon as I am able. It shouldn't take me long."
"Hmm…" the younger of the two murmured as she considered both options. "Well, I suppose so. But do you promise you'll come the very moment you're finished?"
Eve was tempted to roll her eyes. "I promise, but only if you save one of Mrs. Eclaire's cinnamon rolls for me."
"I will!" her companion assured her.
They parted on the forest path; Espella waved and continued on toward town, while Eve paused for several moments and watched until her friend was out of sight and close to town. Then she turned and marched toward the converted courthouse. A handful of off-duty knights were on the premises, doing work on or behind the stage, except for two of them who had given up on their tasks for something more entertaining.
One of these two slackers puffed out his chest and held his broom handle like a sword. "Milady, I will fight to the death for you!"
The other knight batted his eyes in a ridiculous manner and attempted to imitate a feminine tone. "My brave knight, do your duty! …Oh, and you'll have to wear this." He held out a poor excuse for a hat, through which he'd thrust a few broom bristles and further adorned with a sad, half dried flower left over from the night before.
"Wear a furbelowed thing such as that?! That I'll never do!" the first man bellowed, and seizing the item in question, he swung it in a mad arc and let it fly.
The second slacker glared and pointed at the other knight. "Ah! We have a traitor in our midst, one who refuses to wear the hat of the order. Into the dungeon with you!"
Eve's eyes narrowed as she witnessed the farce. Was that what they thought of her? She marched forward and picked up the hat as all the embarrassment she'd felt during the previous night's play came back to laugh in her face and turn her spine to jelly. Glancing to the hat, which was hardly more than a bit of canvas sloppily sewn to a stiff brim, she clenched it in her hand.
She cleared her throat loudly and eight heads jerked, the eyes belonging to same alighting upon her. One man dropped the paintbrush he was holding, thereby creating a green spatter upon the floor; another knight was doing a bit of carpentry and in his distraction he hammered the hand of the fellow who was holding the wood for him. A third man dropped the large push broom he'd been using, clattering noisily to the stage floor amid sudden silence. They all stared at her like a band of children caught playing with matches.
"You lot seem to have nothing better to do than make fools of yourselves," she said, using the same withering glare that had always so discommoded them when she was High Inquisitor Darklaw.
She tossed the so-called hat to the ground before them, needing no words to tell them just how deep a hole they'd dug for themselves. The men hemmed and hawed and shook in their boots, each seeming to shrink under her glowering gaze.
After letting them squirm for a prolonged moment, she charged them with new tasks. They were to summon each of the people involved in the case to the theater in the morning; that included locating the usually drunk Emeer, even if it took them all night, and ensuring his presence as well. She did not want him popping up and interrupting the proceedings.
"And get that absurd excuse for a hat out of my sight!" she ordered the knight who had thrown it, fixing him with another baleful glare as he hurried away to dispose of it.
She had realized a short time before that the other citizens would likely be eager to witness the resolution of the matter and that her office was not large enough to accommodate many more people than she planned to have there. Thus, she had concluded that the converted courtroom would once again serve in like manner to its old capacity, though for nothing nearly as serious as the witch trials. She had the eight men cleaning and rearranging, and all the while she instructed them on their duties in keeping the peace and seeing to it that the citizens were properly seated and caused no uproar.
Something Rouge had mentioned sprang again to Eve's mind and began growing like mighty vines, intertwined with her other idea and all the information she and her friend had unearthed that day. The thoughts blossomed in her head even as she scolded one of the knights for knocking over a row of chairs. She would have to do some checking and ask more questions…but that would have to wait until the morrow.
All the preparation took longer than she had anticipated, so that by the time she left the building the sky was dark and shimmering with a galaxy of stars. She bit her lip, wondering how long Espella had been waiting for her to keep her end of the bargain. Taking the time only to light the lantern she'd brought out with her, she hastened across the forest path as swiftly as she dared.
With a day that had been both long and full of difficult, annoying situations and people, her energy was ebbing. She had thought of returning to her own house, as it wasn't much further from the old court than the bakery was, but she would sooner act in dozens of ridiculous plays and be laughed off the stage than disappoint her dear friend. She nearly tripped on a tree root, a mere shadow on the path surrounded by darkness.
Her mind drifted again to the solution she was working toward. Rouge's words had given her another spark of inspiration, but the visit had also stuck her with a thorn of uncertainty. The tavern mistress hadn't made any effort to hide the two rings on her fingers. One was a gold band, likely little else than a sentimental trinket, and the other had a small setting with a stone the color of rust. Neither of them looked anything like the missing ring, but what if Rouge had others? She hadn't been at the shop at the right time, but if someone had passed the stolen item to her…
Eve shook her head in an effort to dispel the unwelcome thoughts and almost tripped again. The lantern light wavered as she fought to regain her balance. What was she doing, suspecting the redheaded young woman without cause? From everything she knew about Rouge, and after finally meeting her, she didn't believe the tavern's proprietress had anything more to do with the disappearance than Barnham did. Rouge was more like her brother than she gave herself credit for; the two were cut from the same cloth, having much more in common than their flaming hair.
Eve glanced up at the sky and scoffed at herself for even entertaining the notion. She gripped the handle of the lantern tighter and raised her arm so as to better see the path before her. To distract herself, she instead tried to imagine what she'd say to Barnham when she finally had a chance, but fatigue seemed to cloud her thoughts like silt kicked up in a creek. Grumbling to herself, she pressed onward through the forest.
The first time I saw Rouge, I took one look at her hair and immediately thought that she must be related to Barnham, likely his sister. Alas, nothing ever came of that, for which I was rather disappointed. We actually got to see Barnham and Rouge interact with each other in Episode 7: Tavern Tale, which was nice, and we saw Constantine's backstory, which I just loved! ...But still there was no real background for the two redheads. That certainly hasn't stopped me from forming my own ideas about it and figuring a backstory for them, heh hehe.
To Be Continued...
02-29-2020 ~ Published