Tedros wakes up before Agatha.
For a minute, he stares up at the richly decorated ceiling. A painted cherub stares back at him. There's a new weight on his left hand, even though he usually takes his jewellery and rings off before he goes to bed…
Rings. It's his wedding ring.
He rolls over.
Even in her sleep, Agatha covers her face. Her forearm is slung across her eyes, obscuring most of her features, and he suspects she deliberately lets her fringe grow too long. She doesn't look particularly relaxed- a tiny frown plays around her mouth, and her forehead is creased. Whether it's in thought, worry, tension, or a combination, Tedros isn't sure. The scar by her mouth tends to make her look more displeased than she actually is, he thinks.
But it's better than not being able to tell what she's thinking at all, though.
He slowly sits up, trying his best not to disturb her, and freezes when she shifts-
But all she does is roll onto her side, her arm falling onto the mattress between them. Tedros stays stock-still.
He has to admit, less than 24 hours ago, he'd had some very optimistic fantasies about this morning. He'd been entertaining various mildly embarrassing romantic notions as he'd gotten ready for the wedding. Dramatic confessions of love and passionate embraces, that sort of thing.
(Embarrassing, yes, but he can't help himself.)
But the second he'd lifted that veil and seen her white face staring back at him, he'd crushed them all.
Agatha could barely stand to make eye contact with him. Tedros had never seen anyone look so terrified before, let alone a bride. For a second, he'd been truly concerned she was going to collapse, or make a run for it, so the way she'd clawed back her composure and kept it, even if it had wobbled a few times, was impressive. He'd have just cried on the spot, he thinks.
He hadn't realised everything right away. All Tedros had thought at the time was that a) she had pretty eyes and he definitely loved her and b) she looked terrified and c) he needed to kiss her and he really didn't think she was going to be impressed.
He'd tried to be less enthusiastic than he felt, so she wouldn't be uncomfortable. Still, he didn't think she'd been mad- she'd grabbed his doublet and he'd pretended like he couldn't feel her shaking. He'd tried to look as reassuring as possible.
Then he'd looked at the crowd.
Everyone was looking at Agatha. Everyone except Callis, that was, who was looking at him. More glaring, really. Why was she looking at-
It had hit him hard.
The cradle in flames.
"They said I was really lucky to not have been cut by any of the collapsed cradle."
"Yeah. You were really lucky."
His eyes had swung to Vanessa, sat primly in the front row, hands folded in the lap of her repulsive blue gown, eyes fixed firmly on her daughter.
And if the temperature in the cathedral had dropped, no one had really noticed.
Tedros sits and stares at Agatha for a minute longer. After so long of not being able to see her face, being able to just stare at her like this feels like he's doing something wrong. He still feels as if he's not allowed. He knows he is, but at the same time… he's still not completely convinced Agatha wouldn't still prefer to be going around with the veil on.
But it's hard not to look.
She's not much like Sophie and Vanessa, Tedros decides. He's spent enough time glaring at Vanessa to be able to make the comparison. Agatha has much sharper, longer, more striking features. Her eyes are bigger, as well. They all have the same face shape and set of the mouth, but the left side of Agatha's is dragged down from where it was cut.
Still, the scarring really isn't so bad. Tedros knows she didn't believe him when he tried to tell her that yesterday, but it's true. It just makes him sad; he hopes it doesn't hurt. She'd said it didn't, but he doesn't know whether she's telling the truth.
Agatha mutters something and rolls onto her front. Tedros snaps guiltily out of his stupor, thinking she probably wouldn't take kindly to finding him gawking at her, and goes to preoccupy himself until she wakes up.
"I thought Beatrix and Dot did your makeup." she says from behind him, around half an hour later. To his surprise, she'd not said anything when she'd woken up- he'd noticed her eyes were open in the mirror, but she'd remained silent for a while, watching him draw in his eyebrows.
"Usually, they do," says Tedros, smudging colour into his cheeks. "But when we left last night, they were both rather drunk, so I thought I'd save them a job when they finally arrive with hangovers."
Agatha snorts, sitting up and pushing her fringe back, exposing another few scars on her forehead as she does so.
"Right."
For someone who supposedly draws power from the sun, she doesn't seem to be a morning person. She sits and blinks for a minute, scratching her neck and yawning. Tedros goes back to covering his blue lips. It's oddly domestic.
Agatha seems to come to life after a moment.
"What are we meant to be doing today?" she asks. "Receiving elaborate gifts from hungover nobility who passed out in the Orangery?"
"I'm sure we'll get to that at some point." sighs Tedros. "But I think today we're mostly at our leisure, except-"
"Deciding what story we'll spin to the press about me." realises Agatha, the mirth sliding from her face very abruptly. "I remember now."
Tedros frowns.
"Why don't we just tell them the truth?"
"Mother will never hear of it." scoffs Agatha, flopping back onto her pillows. "Makes her look bad. Besides, the whole truth requires admitting we're both scary magic freaks to the whole world."
Tedros looks uncomfortably at his blue hands on the vanity.
"Yeah. Well, we'll see what the courtiers say, but you could always pretend that it was too close to the fireplace-"
"Which then raises the question as to how I wasn't burnt into a crispy baby ember." says Agatha, examining her nails, which Tedros had painted orange the previous night. Tedros winces. She ignores him. "No, best to leave the fire aspect out entirely."
"Right." says Tedros. "But you said to the Empress of Putsi-"
"What I said to the Empress of Putsi will already have been dismissed as addled trauma-induced memories by my loving mother." says Agatha, staring at the ceiling. "No, they'll just release something vague about a freak childhood accident, and then claim I'm horribly insecure about it, hence the veil, no matter what else gets suggested."
"By they you mean Vanessa." says Tedros, standing from the vanity.
"I suppose," says Agatha, "But she's got your best buddy Weatherford wrapped around her finger, so it is multiple people."
Sensing he's irritated her somewhat, Tedros turns worriedly to look at her-
The door slams open.
"You two better be decent, because I'm already hungover and I don't want another headache- oh, good, you are."
Beatrix totters inside, Dot trailing behind her.
"Had a fight already?" Dot yawns, clearly noticing the tension.
"We were discussing Vanessa." says Tedros.
"Ah. Invokes a rage response in everyone." nods Beatrix wisely. "Where's your shirt, snowdrift?"
Tedros looks down at his bare chest. Suddenly Agatha's awkwardness makes more sense.
"I took it off so I wouldn't get foundation on it," he says. "Whilst I did my own makeup."
"If you're looking for gratitude, you won't get it." says Beatrix, swaying over to Agatha. "Your lovely new bride is thirty million times more effort to prep than you ever are. Do something useful, like pick yourself an outfit, won't you?"
"I can't believe I let you talk to me like this." sighs Tedros.
"Yeah, you are a pushover," agrees Beatrix, shoving Agatha out of bed. "Pick something for Agatha, too, or we'll be here until dinnertime."
The meeting about the press release is hellish, obviously.
Agatha has veiled herself again, much to Tedros's uneasiness- he'd bothered her about it on the way down, but she'd brushed him off- and she's had very little to say, so far. In all honesty, this is mostly just a fight between Callis and Vanessa, with Weatherford, a few nobles who've been clued in about the situation, Beatrix and Dot, and the Gavaldon delegation sitting awkwardly around them. Hort is staring out of the window. Sophie isn't even here. Hester is glaring at the back of Vanessa's head, Anadil is doing the same from the left, and Chaddick looks nervous.
"After what Agatha said to the Empress of Putsi, that version of events has spread through the nobles staying in the palace." says Vanessa. "Of course, it's not true, so we need to stop it before it gets out by presenting a more truthful version that won't cause trouble."
"Suggesting I lied to her?" says Agatha in her first contribution thus far, crunching something from the basket of snacks they'd been brought.
"It wasn't the complete truth, dear." says Vanessa.
Tedros is very sure that Agatha teeters on the edge of saying something very rude, but just about stops herself.
"What I said to her," she says loudly, rummaging through the snack basket. "Is that a cradle collapsed on me when you were with me. Is that not true?"
"The way you worded it implies I was neglectful, dear."
"Implies." mutters Callis.
"Lady Netherwood, you are still under my employ, I bid you to hold your tongue." snaps Vanessa.
Tedros's courtier's heads swivel like they're at a tennis match. Agatha starts offering food to Hort. Tedros suspects her obnoxious snacking and subtle digs are irritating Vanessa much more than she's letting on.
"What would you have me do?" asks Vanessa, clearly trying her best to appear reasonable. "The people of both kingdoms will want to know why you chose to wear the veil for all these years."
Agatha is silent.
Chose.
Tedros's hands curl on the table.
"You're still wearing it, dear, even though there's no real point to it." continues Vanessa. "We need a sensible solution to this."
Agatha still remains silent. Vanessa sighs, turns to Weatherford-
"I thought you would prefer it." says Agatha. "You know, since you made me wear it."
Vanessa's head snaps back to her.
"I did no such thing."
Agatha doesn't respond. Everyone looks at one another. This is the bit that most people weren't sure about, and it appears they have an answer. Not Agatha's choice at all.
"You chose to wear it today." says Vanessa emphatically.
"Today, yes." says Agatha. "I've found that I prefer it when my mother doesn't spend hours staring at me with disdain."
Hort's eyebrows shoot up, and Weatherford looks uncomfortable. Callis is smirking. Tedros thinks they might be getting closer to the truth.
"Don't be ridiculous." says Vanessa sharply. "This is just your own insecurity manifesting. It's alright, dear, I'll tell them that I suggested it after you were worried about going out in public with a wounded face-"
"I'm going to tell them what I told the Empress of Putsi." says Agatha
"You are not!" barks Vanessa.
"Why, because you're worried everyone won't love you once they find out you stood in the corner and wailed like a wounded cat whilst Callis pulled me out?" sneers Agatha. "You're worried people won't fall on their faces for you? You're worried people might start getting suspicious about what happened to Prince Stefan? Well, don't worry. I'll say I misremembered, and you weren't there when it happened, and you were very upset. I'm sure you can manage to pretend that's true, can't you? I'll pass off the veil on the court, saying they were worried about people knowing I could be frail. Unlike you, I'm not completely without sympathy."
There's a horrible, too-long, silence.
Vanessa draws herself up.
"I was going to-"
"Who cares what you were going to do?" snaps Tedros, suddenly. "This meeting is over."
Everyone turns to stare at him.
"...what?" says Vanessa.
"My Queen has made her decision, therefore this meeting is over." says Tedros.
"Tedros-" begins Weatherford.
"I said this meeting is over, Joseph! I wish to speak to Queen Vanessa alone."
Vanessa looks at him.
"I don't see what we have to discuss, your majesty."
"Clearly." says Tedros. "Everyone else, out."
He glances over at Agatha, and although he can't see her face, he doesn't think she's adverse to his decision. She stands and makes for the door without a word, Callis following her. Vanessa remains seated, staring at him with a very unreadable expression.
Tedros waits for the door to be shut behind Weatherford, before he stands and goes to the window, needing to look somewhere other than Vanessa.
"Whilst you are a guest in my court, I would have you behave properly to the Queen." he says, not bothering to look over at her.
"I said nothing improper."
"I mean generally, and not only in how you speak to her."
Vanessa sits silently for a minute.
Then;
"She may be your wife, but you forget she is my daughter."
"So you're allowed to treat her terribly?" asks Tedros dryly. Vanessa doesn't respond. Instead, she says;
"No one will believe this ridiculous account."
"Why?" says Tedros. "Because you plan to present her as a bewildered victim of a childhood accident to everyone who will listen to you, until you can discredit her? To save face?"
It's a gamble, based on what Agatha had said earlier and the look on Vanessa's face when Agatha had made her decision, but he appears to have struck something.
Vanessa pauses. Then she starts to speak, and Tedros is struck by her intensity.
"You are very young, boy-King. You think this is easy. You think if you tell the people the truth, everyone will feel sorry for Agatha, and everyone will hate me, and everything will be just as you want it. But it's not the truth, is it? The truth would require telling people about the magic, something that you and your court have been struggling to conceal for years. You think you're so much better than me, but is that true? You're still lying to them. The truth would require admitting that Agatha did it to herself."
"You could have saved her." Tedros says, chilled by the self-assertion in her voice, as if she truly believes it's Agatha's fault.
Vanessa barely seems to hear him. Her voice is rising.
"I have been playing this game for much longer than you, boy. I know what it's like to strive to keep your people on your side. You rely on good looks, charisma, and your people not knowing you've the potential to be a monster. You can't keep it a secret forever. You need your people to love you, and the longer you hide this, the worse the trust they have in you will shatter. No one will cheer for you at tournaments, people will back away from you at events, mothers will hide their children-"
"You're crazy." says Tedros, bewildered. "You're obsessed with your image. No matter what my people think of me, I'll still work to protect them. Can you say the same?"
Vanessa smiles vaguely at him.
"How can you be sure you can do that? One accident at the coronation, more here and there, temperatures dropping when they shouldn't be, little accidents with ice that you can laugh off… for now."
"I'm not on the ivy anymore." says Tedros. "Agatha can teach me to control it."
"Ah yes, Agatha this, Agatha that." sniffs Vanessa. "You love her, don't you?"
Tedros clenches his jaw.
"Yes."
"Hmm. I think she-"
"I don't want to hear anything you've got to say." snaps Tedros. "I want your word you'll leave her alone and stop trying to control her."
Vanessa shrugs.
"I can do nothing, now she's your Queen. You can override anything I tell her. So can she, though she doesn't seem to have realised that yet. Still, as her mother, I suppose I have a modicum of influence…"
"Some mother you are." Tedros sneers. "Any influence you have is convention, not respect. She doesn't love you."
"Don't you think I don't know that?" snaps Vanessa, suddenly. "I don't care! I never wanted her anyway!"
Tedros looks at her.
"You'll have nothing more to do with her, not if I have anything to say about it. Do you understand?"
She doesn't answer.
"Do you understand?"
"I understand." says Vanessa coldly, staring hard at him.
"You will have no influence in my court while I am King."
"I understand."
"Once the ceremonies are over, you will return to Gavaldon."
"Once I am no longer needed for ceremonies or processions, I will return." agrees Vanessa, face blotchy with suppressed anger.
"I'm glad we understand one another." says Tedros.
Vanessa just gazes at him. Tedros glares back at her, fury welling in his chest-
"It was me who spread those rumours about you, by the way. I thought you should know."
Vanessa's face goes slack with shock.
Tedros turns away and makes for the door, marching down the long assembly hall as fast as he can, desperately trying to control himself, knowing if she says one more thing, he'll explode-
He's nearly at the east door before Vanessa speaks again.
"I left her in that cradle on purpose."
Tedros whirls back to her. Vanessa stands right where he'd left her, chest heaving and fists clenched.
For a second, they stare at one another.
"Get out." says Tedros.
Vanessa opens her mouth-
Tedros doesn't give her the opportunity to say another word.
"GET OUT, GET OUT! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU EVER AGAIN, AND IF I DO, I'LL HURL YOU FROM THE KINGDOM MYSELF YOU HATEFUL COW, GET OUT! OUT, OUT, OUT-"
The temperature in the assembly room plunges as Vanessa flees, and Tedros, shaking with fury, follows her-
He reaches the door and finds the original group, plus Sophie and Yara, clustered against the opposite wall, all clearly having been eavesdropping.
Breath steaming, Tedros watches Vanessa disappear down the corridor.
He will be rid of her if it's the last thing he does.
"Nice to hear her finally admit it." says Agatha from the doorway of the practice room.
"I'm glad you're taking this seriously." mutters Tedros, lowering his sword.
Agatha has never been in this part of the castle before, and she wanders in with feigned interest. Really, she doesn't care what the knight's practice room looks like, but she needs some buffer before she can admit she followed Tedros to thank him.
"Well," she says. "I'm not surprised."
Tedros's arm drops to his side, and he turns helplessly to her.
"How?"
Agatha ignores him.
"Why do you bother with all this sweaty training stuff?" she asks, watching a patch of sweat freeze on his neck. "You don't need it."
"Until I know how to use my magic properly, I'd prefer to have another method of defending myself." says Tedros. "Besides, I didn't hear you complaining at the tournament."
Agatha rolls her eyes, even though her veil is still on, and settles herself on one of the benches near the wall. She suspects he really just came here to blow off steam, since trying to kill Vanessa was out of the question, if very tempting.
She watches him carefully return the sword to its scabbard and set it back in the rack by the wall. She'd been startled by the absolute rage Vanessa had invoked in him, she has to admit. Everyone had jumped when he'd started shouting. He was easily irritated, but it was always superficial. The way he'd shouted at Vanessa had been a genuine, guttural, fury.
And it was all because of what Vanessa had said about her.
It had stung. Everyone around her had gasped. Except Callis. Callis hadn't done anything except tighten her hold around Agatha's shoulders.
Grimacing, Agatha looks out of the window, trying to think of something else-
And then remembers.
You love her, don't you?
Yes.
"Did you hear everything?"
Agatha looks up at Tedros, standing in front of her, gloveless and shirtless. His nails are still painted the messy, blotchy blue she'd done last night. She'd thought he'd take them off, since they were so badly done.
"Yes, I heard all of it." says Agatha.
Tedros looks pained.
"I'm sorry she said all of that about you."
"That wasn't what I was thinking of." says Agatha, standing so she's on the same level as him.
Tedros looks at her.
"What were you thinking of?"
That you said you loved me.
"That you're sending my mother home."
Damn it.
Tedros smirks slightly.
"I said I'd do it."
"I was impressed that she agreed. I thought she'd put up more of a fight." admits Agatha, fiddling with her skirts.
"She was odd." says Tedros. "She seemed almost... unhinged."
"What's new?" snorts Agatha. "We all realised that once she agreed to that ugly blue gown at the wedding."
Tedros laughs. Agatha looks at him, watching the crooked set of his grin and the creases at the edge of his eyes.
She sighs and pulls her veil off, headpiece and all.
Tedros doesn't do a good job of concealing the little flash of enthusiasm that dances across his face.
"I hate that thing." he says, flattening her hair for her.
"I know." says Agatha.
They stand for a minute. Then Agatha says;
"I lied."
Tedros's face falls slightly.
"About what?"
"I wasn't thinking about sending my mother away, though I do appreciate that."
"Oh." Tedros frowns worriedly. "What was it? Was it about her making you wear the veil? Because I'd already guessed that, I think most people had, so it's okay, we know it wasn't your choice-"
Agatha opens her mouth to interrupt him, but she can tell it's not going to work. Instead, she presses her fingers against his lips to get him to shut up.
It works- immediately, Tedros goes quiet.
"Not that, either. Stop talking."
Tedros nods earnestly.
"I said I heard everything. That included the bit where you said you loved me."
Tedros's eyes go wide, and immediately he starts talking again.
"I didn't- I mean, I thought you'd probably guessed, but I didn't say anything because I didn't want to pressure you, I promise I haven't just been going around telling people, I didn't know you were all still listening, I just wanted to… to… I don't know, I didn't want to say no because it's not true, and I think I wanted to make her feel bad, I- what?"
"Oh, Tedros." says Agatha, endeared and exasperated in equal measure, knowing this is exactly how he's going to be forever, and finding that she doesn't care in the slightest.
She kisses him.
She can tell Tedros has been waiting for this, because, immediately, he flings an arm around her waist and pulls her into his arms, putting his other hand in her hair to keep her close to him. Agatha kisses him harder, slinging her arms around his neck, fully aware that his bare chest is flush against the embroidered bodice of her gown. This is better than the wedding, more genuine- her mind is no longer dulled with panic and misery, and she is sure now, sure that the boy she is kissing is as kind and good and earnest as she'd hoped he was.
She focuses on his cold lips on hers and how he smiles into the kiss, hand roaming her back as she brushes her hands through his curls-
Tedros breaks it.
"Last night," he mumbles, still so close to her they might as well have still been kissing. "I heard you say-"
"I know what you heard." says Agatha, "And it was true."
She kisses him again, and again, and again, until she's breathless and his hands are burning cold, almost stinging through the fabric of her dress. There's just them, and the smell of scorched fabric from the shoulders of Agatha's gown, and the frost on Tedros's chest and the way Tedros laughs when she steps on her gown as they stumble back to the wall-
"For god's sake, no wonder no one could find you."
Agatha jumps so hard she hits her head on the wall. Swearing, she looks over Tedros's shoulder to find-
"Oh, Callis, you could have announced yourself-"
"No no, I'm leaving!" declares her nursemaid, already half out of the door. "You can miss dinner for all I care, you're a married woman and you can do what you want, as long as I don't have to deal with it-"
Cackling, Agatha stumbles after her, wiping Tedros's makeup off her face.
She doesn't turn around, but she doesn't need to, because she knows Tedros is following her.
"I want to tell the people about my magic," says Tedros, that night.
Agatha, on the very edge of a very comfortable dream, is jolted immediately awake.
"What?" she squirms in Tedros's grip until he lets her sit up. "Is this because of what Vanessa said? You're just letting her get to you."
"She has a point." says Tedros, gazing at his blotchy hands. "I can't keep it a secret forever. Maybe you can, but I don't have good enough control."
"You can get good enough control."
"Maybe eventually." says Tedros. "But I still feel dishonest. Surely they deserve to know."
Agatha grimaces.
"Well. Maybe, but…"
She trails off. Maybe her mother did have a point. Besides anything else, it was impractical to try and hide it forever, and almost certainly impossible.
"But she wants it to ruin your reputation." she says. "You realise that, surely?"
"If I do it properly, it won't." says Tedros. "If I gather a group of representatives from across the kingdom, and some of the nobles who are still here for the wedding, and explain we kept it a secret until they were sure I wouldn't be killed or kidnapped to use as a weapon…"
"Someone tried to kill you very recently." points out Agatha. Tedros brushes her off.
"They'd understand. I could prove I can control it, all of the old generals would be all over it, since they'd think me undefeatable in battle. I've spent eighteen years without incident."
"Without public incident." reminds Agatha carefully.
"You don't agree?"
"I…" Agatha looks away, for a minute. This is a very naive move, and a very dangerous gamble on Tedros's part. Vanessa does value her reputation too much, but she's not wrong to worry about it in general. Tedros could end up making himself look like a threat, and it would raise so many questions, including ones about her. Lots about her, in fact, too much to just brush off…
Oh, Vanessa was going to kill her.
She looks down at him.
"Fine." she says. "But I'm doing it with you. And we'll put the explanation for the veil with it."
It doesn't go down well.
Weatherford said it was a suicide mission and tried to forbid it, Vanessa looked furious, Callis grimaced (but agreed), Sophie was horrified, and Hester cackled and said it was a terrible idea, they should do it.
Beatrix and Dot are the only ones who think it might work.
"We were both terrified when it was explained to us." says Beatrix as she laces Agatha into her gown for the day, "But we came around to it pretty fast, especially because Tedros was like, ten, and cried when we said we were scared of him."
Tedros shoots her an unimpressed look from where Dot is doing his eyebrows. Dot, though, has yet to announce an opinion.
"Dot?" prompts Beatrix. "What do you think?"
Dot purses her lips, hands flying over Tedros's face.
"Well," she says, in a determinedly fixed voice. "I think it's a good idea, to be honest with the people..."
"What's the but?" says Beatrix.
"Will Teddy need us anymore?" asks Dot in a small voice.
Beatrix's hands freeze on the laces of Agatha's dress.
There's a pause.
"What do you mean?" frowns Tedros.
"We were hired to hide your appearance." mumbles Dot. "If it stops being a secret, there'll be no point."
Beatrix bites her lip. Tedros stares at them both.
"Don't be ridiculous." says Agatha. "He's too vain to go around with white hair."
Beatrix smiles, but Tedros hasn't said anything yet-
"Did you not think," he says, very deliberately. "That the reason I promoted you both was because I wanted to make sure you'd be able to keep your positions? Because you're my friends?"
A beat.
Then Dot burst into tears, grabbed his head, and planted a kiss on his cheek that effectively ruined most of her work over the past few minutes.
"God, don't do that!" barks Beatrix, but she's grinning, and Agatha finds herself relieved, as well.
They settle into a routine as they build up to the meeting- Weatherford has grudgingly issued summons to the people they need from the town, and the nobles they want there have been held back- Reena, the Emperor of Avalon Tower's niece, the Empress of Putsi, the King of Foxwood, and various other key allies. Tedros and Agatha train in the gardens or in the Eastern Gallery, and Agatha confesses herself pleased by how Tedros is doing.
They also scour the library for any book that could be useful, and eventually chance upon one, in the very back of the section on magic history, that explains more about them. They sneak it upstairs and huddle under the covers to read it, the only place they're sure they won't be overheard and their weaknesses exposed.
"Less of a magician and more of a vessel for magic, the humans who become spirits must work incredibly hard to maintain control of the magic. If wounded, frightened, or overwhelmed, the human vessel may become unable to control the magic as it becomes insistent on protecting the human host it inhabits, especially if it has been suppressed or unused for a long while. As such, some human spirits, especially untrained and young ones, have been killed when they lost control of their magic, as the magic used is too much for their body." reads out Agatha.
"Grim." says Tedros. "Poor kids."
"It does seem like we've been quite lucky." says Agatha. "Listen to this: some vessels have been killed by their magic clashing with parts of their human body- water users drowning themselves by accident or manipulating their own blood, air users choking themselves, earth users trapping themselves and suffocating, hearts giving out under the effort of using immense amounts of magic... looks like being human gives us limits, especially lungs."
Almost unconsciously, she touches her throat. She's not had any coughing fits for a few weeks, now, but the threat is always there.
"Does it say anything about that, anywhere?" asks Tedros, following the motion. Agatha shakes her head.
"I've never seen another fire spirit documented. Callis and I got all of our information from records about a storm spirit, since lightning was the closest we could get to fire. Either I'm the first, or I'm the first to live long enough- or prominently enough- to be documented."
"Huh." Tedros marks their page and tosses the book onto his bedside table. "Well, food for thought. We don't go nuts and lose control."
But it's clearly gotten to her, because Agatha has that dream again.
She is drowning.
Just like last time, the water doesn't hurt as it usually does, but it is uncomfortable against her skin all the same, tight and almost compressing.
Again, she writhes, struggling against the clothes weighing her down; the fur-lined cloak, the heavy boots. Again, she is close to fainting, when she will be forced to open her mouth. Again, she flails harder, struggling to reach the surface. There is someone standing there, looking down at her. She doesn't expect them to help. They are the reason she is drowning-
Except this time, she can see them.
Her mother stands on the bank, gazing dispassionately down at her. Agatha stares at her, shocked. Did she push her? Dragged her here? What is happening-
Again, there's movement on the surface of the water, but this time, her brain registers what it is.
It's ice.
When she opens her mouth to scream, and the water rushes down her throat.
She wakes up coughing, and Tedros is shaking her, hands so cold against her abdomen that they're almost hissing.
"God, Agatha, please wake up, you're going to be sick if you keep this up-"
Agatha scrabbles upright, and Tedros pulls her against his chest, trying to keep her as cold as possible, until it finally abates and she's left heaving and sobbing over his shoulder. Tedros cradles her against his chest until she can breathe properly, but she's definitely scared him, because she can feel him trembling just as hard as she is.
"What the hell was that?" asks Tedros finally, rubbing her back as carefully as he can. "Can you talk?"
Agatha just about manages to wheeze out an explanation, by the end of which, Tedros is even colder.
"You know I would never do that."
"I know." croaks Agatha. "But…"
She can't manage an explanation, but Tedros seems to follow her train of thought.
"You think she'd trick me into it, or force me to lose control, or something?"
Agatha nods vaguely. Tedros frowns, smoothing her hair absently.
"Well, I wouldn't let her. I'd sooner stick an icicle in her, in fact. Maybe it's just one of those weird symbolism dreams. Like you think Vanessa is weaponizing me with this magic reveal thing, so your dream reflects that."
"I don't think that." sighs Agatha, wiping her running nose. "But sure, maybe it's symbolism."
"Sure." Tedros kisses her temple. "Try and get some sleep, we've got a tax meeting tomorrow."
Agatha plays along, but she doesn't sleep, not for the rest of the night.
She's not sure she believes him.
Despite his assurances to Agatha that it's just symbolism, when Vanessa approaches them the day of the meeting, and proposes a walk by the lake before they go in, Tedros's blood runs cold.
There's no way she could know, of course, because she doesn't care about Agatha enough. And yet…
"Consider it a peace offering." she says. "Also, I'd like to speak to you before the meeting begins."
Tedros, fiddling nervously with the fur on his cloak, looks at Agatha. He sees her stiffen, and knows she's thinking down the same route as he is…
"I'll go, if it's brief." he says. "Agatha, go on ahead."
Agatha looks at him, but she doesn't argue. She squeezes his hand and brushes past Vanessa, heading for where Callis is waiting. Vanessa just politely indicates for him to go ahead.
Suspicious, Tedros leads the way down to the lake, eyeing the two guards following them. They're young, he doesn't know them well, but he could easily take them in a fight, if it came to that.
Vanessa trails across the grass in her pink gown, until they're on the highest part of the bank, next to the deepest part of the lake. Tedros stops, reluctant to go further until she's explained what she wants. Vanessa turns to him, and smiles.
"I wanted to discuss the things we left unsaid, in our previous argument. So I can make things right."
Even more wary, Tedros just looks at her.
"I didn't leave anything unsaid."
"Oh, I know." says Vanessa. "I was glad to get confirmation of a few things."
"...like what?"
"Well, you admitted that you loved my daughter, for one. And, another, you think I have too much influence in your court."
Tedros stares at her.
"I don't understand."
"No, you don't." says Vanessa. "When you asked if we understood one another… well, you didn't understand my meaning."
Tedros stares at her, combing desperately back through his memory, trying to work out what was said…
"I'll remind you, dear." says Vanessa. "You'll have nothing more to do with her, not if I have anything to say about it. You will have no influence in my court while I am King. Once the necessary ceremonies are over, you will return to Gavaldon. You set yourself up, really."
"What, you've got another assassin-" begins Tedros.
Then he realises.
He'd meant to mock her, but...
Vanessa's obsession with public image. How determined she was to look like Agatha's perfect mother. The confirmation that she and Tedros loved each other. Her letting the meeting go ahead. Her influence over Weatherford.
It all makes sense too late.
He has a moment of complete calm.
"You're going to kill me." he says softly. "And use Agatha to control Camelot."
Of course she is.
Vanessa smiles at him, empty eyes. She's completely mad, he realises. Why couldn't he see it before?
"Well, it'll be passed off as a tragic accident I couldn't save you from." she says. "And my daughter will be crippled with grief, of course, so she'll need… support from me. And since you have no children, she will have to remain on the throne, unless she chooses to abdicate, which I can assure you, she won't."
The guards by her don't react. Of course they don't. Chaddick has been warning him of this for months, now. They're not all loyal. He'd been too preoccupied to think about it. How many other courtiers and guards has she recruited? How many frustrated or irritated old nobles who see an opportunity for more favour?
Tedros stands and stares, frozen with shock. All this time, he'd thought Vanessa was a stupid, vapid woman who only cared about herself. But she isn't stupid or vapid in the slightest.
"How long have you been planning this?" he asks, starting to subtly work at his gloves.
"I admit, I thought Agatha would kill you by accident." sniffs Vanessa. "I thought she'd be far more powerful than you. After the wedding, I hoped. But once I realised you cancelled one another out, I had to make… other arrangements. Let's make this quick, then."
She raises her hand, and the guards around her step forwards, drawing their swords. Tedros raises his hands, and they hesitate slightly.
"She'll kill you." says Tedros softly to Vanessa. "See if she doesn't."
Vanessa smiles.
"She'll have a hard time, given I'm going to start spiking her drinks from today. And I think you might find it difficult, too."
Tedros's hands dip, slightly.
"I stopped taking the…"
It occurs to him how often his drinks have been served to him, recently.
"Weatherford's in on this." he says. "He's been spiking my drinks."
For some reason, this is the biggest blow.
"Joseph." snorts Vanessa. "No, he's not, the stupid boy. He genuinely cares, bless him. I merely told him to make sure you kept taking the ivy, and I would convince you it was a bad idea, and show you how you were a threat to the country, to the people, and…"
She turns back to him. The guards advance closer, and Tedros shakes his hands, trying to get his magic to work, furious at himself for not noticing how it was becoming harder, for becoming cocky about his control, for not practicing as much-
"To yourself." says Vanessa.
Tedros realises too late.
The dream.
Not Agatha.
Not Agatha at all.
Vanessa shoves him off the bank and into the lake.
Tedros flings his hands up, and spikes of ice erupts from the surface as he slams into the water, but it's too little, too late.
Tedros crashes into the lake, feeling the temperate plummet the second he hits it, and he struggles for the surface, thinking if he can just get above it, he could-
But he's forgotten the guards.
There they are, leaning over the bank, and their hands close around his shoulders, legs and hair, and force him under the water. They're not going to stab him, or beat him up, or strangle him.
They're going to drown him.
He's going to drown.
"Looks like being human gives us limits."
He's going to die.
Genuine, primal fear explodes in Tedros's chest, and the water responds. He can hear the crack and rush of the water as it starts to freeze from the sides inwards, see the ice forming on the surface, and he struggles to hold his breath, lungs burning, thrashing desperately. But they just push him further down into the water, only letting go once he's too far down, and the ice rushes further in, and, and, and-
He's going to freeze himself under the surface.
Tedros struggles harder, and the ice crawls towards him, he can feel it on his legs and arms, tight as it freezes to him, and he's sinking further, pulled down by his boots and his cloak, and he's trying to break it with his fists but he can't because his magic is too powerful, it's too thick, he can't control it because he's panicking and he's on the ivy and he needs to calm down so he can get rid of it but he can't because he can't breathe and now he's under the ice and there's black spots in his vision and he has to open his mouth but he can't but he has to he has to-
Tedros opens his mouth and the water rushes in.