Chapter 16: The letter
It was only upon enjoying a good and long night's rest, that Izaya started to feel the aftermath of the past few days.
Weary and heavy was what described his limbs movements best as he sat up straight. The cut on his chest stung like hundreds of bees upon having found an enemy.
His head throbbed in waves of pain as well - just to match Izaya supposed as he shifted towards the edge of his bed. It was cold and the cover slipping from his frame only worsened his mood.
Setting one foot on the ground he instantly cursed as a violent pattern of violet and blue battled for dominance on his ankle.
The cut had somewhat closed, but moving seemed like a bad idea nonetheless.
A heavy sigh left Izaya's lips, but not even that was an action his body allowed to execute, it seemed, as a couple harsh coughs wrecked his body soon after.
With pain matching an endless amount of needles piercing flesh, his lungs gladly reminded Izaya of their everlasting presence.
A deep breath was taken.
Another.
Letting his palm rest on his chest, Izaya forced himself to breathe through his nose.
Shudders of attempted coughs wrecked his body as he tried to breathe as shallowly as possible.
Great.
Seemed to be another one of those days.
It took a minute, maybe two, until the urge to present his lungs outside of his body subsided.
Heavy clouds hung high in the sky, he could see them from the window.
At least the rain had stopped, leaving everything simply wet and cold.
Izaya felt exhausted.
Extremely so.
The day before had been filled with the aftermath of adrenaline- his spirits had been high, really. Especially when he won against the king without taking any of his pawns.
But right now?
Izaya was tired.
Just so, so tired.
Glancing sideways he looked at the fluffy bed.
God lords what would he give for this whole charade to finally end.
The moment it did he would sleep.
Sleep as if there were no tomorrow.
A soft smile drew upon his lips as Izaya took a soft breath.
It was then that the door to his chamber opened promptly.
"My lady," one of the maids nervously slipped inside the chamber. Her eyes darted around before resting on Izaya as she quickly bowed.
"What are you doing here?" Izaya frowned quickly, mustering a composed expression, "I don't remember calling you in."
More and more maids came forth behind the nervous maid as they bowed as well.
"I heard you cough and-" a glare shut her down immediately as Izaya dared her to continue speaking. The maid was at least somewhat smart it seemed as she quickly changed the course of her words. "It was late when you went to your chamber, so we thought we would prepare a bath for you," she informed quickly, leaving the matter of Izaya's condition aside.
A bath.
"Did anyone tell you to think?" Izaya questioned and his words were received harsher than he thought as the maid flinched.
Izaya was aware he sounded ungrateful. The way the maids shrunk in their presence gave away as much.
But a bath-
He knew what royal baths looked like. His maids would help him undress, wash up- cater to every single one of his needs.
And that's exactly what he had to avoid at all costs.
"Ah-.. no my lady, but…" the maid desperately clung to words as she tried to explain herself.
"Out."
Glancing at each other obvious confusion arose between the maids.
"I said get out!" Anger, dissatisfaction and every possible facette of an angry noble was brought to the surface as Izaya tried to convince them of his disappointment.
He was trying to empathize his utmost annoyance.
Because nothing was easier to play than a mad noble, right?
No one dared to speak up to someone in power, and least of all maids.
Startled upon the obvious fact that they had done something wrong but had no clue why the women hurried as they left the chamber.
The door closed- and Izaya sighed.
This .. was not what he wanted. He had never been a fan of treating servants badly. His father had been and he admitted the act he had decided to play was only so easy because he could choose from dozens of samples.
Expression relaxing Izaya let himself thud back into the bed. Despite only waking, he felt tired.
Weary.
Sluggish.
Guilt should have been the first emotion springing forth from his actions and yet he couldn't even muster the strength for such a feeling.
The maids were better off the least he interacted with them.
No matter if it was his coming death, an escape in the midst of the night or a reveal of his true gender- Kururi would disappear in a couple days and the maids were better left untarnished by his act.
A glance was cast to the side as Izaya looked towards the second door inside his chamber.
In a royal castle such as this it was common for the maids serving the lady to rest right next to her as to always be available no matter the time of day.
Softly Izaya's fingers enclosed around the door handle as he opened it a fraction.
It was a simple room. A table, a few chairs, embroidery had been left on top of it and a bathtub had been left in the midst.
But most importantly: The room was empty.
It seemed the maids had taken his words to heart and left for other duties around the castle.
Longing Izaya found himself staring at the freshly prepared bath.
It smelled of lavender and foam. The surface was warped by the slightest waves of heat stemming from the hot water.
Quickly Izaya slipped inside the small chamber.
Two of the chairs were grabbed and quickly brought to both doors just in case the maids decided to return and enter without awaiting his reply.
Coughing softly Izaya started to pull himself out of the soft nightgown.
Of all the details about womanhood that he had learned to hate, sleeping in a silky dress was the only positive perk.
Taking that bath might not be the wisest idea -but it was just too tempting- and god lord in heavens- it was the best idea of his life.
Feeling the heat rip away the heavy chains of misery and anxiety, Izaya let his body sink into the heavenly liquid.
Soft coughs resounded once more as the heat got to his face and he submerged quickly.
It felt divine.
Sure the soap entering the cut on his chest shot a tremendous amount of pain at first- but gritting his teeth he bore with the sting for a moment, knowing it wouldn't last.
Warmth radiated all around as the silky liquid played on his skin. The smell, the warmth, the soothing peace-
For a second Izaya wished this moment would never end. He could stay right here, take this bath forever.
Stopping time or something preferably.
There would be no wedding, no father, his siblings status unchanged but at least safe.
Submerging yet again Izaya closed his eyes and let his imagination run wild. He could envision himself and his sisters, playing chess in the garden. He could see Mairu, breaking all rules of manners as she discarded her dress.
Sighing softly, Izaya emerged from the water, dispelling the short fantasy.
As wonderful as the moment was, he couldn't make it last. Dreaming was something left for fools.
Quickly reaching for more soap he started washing every inch of his body. He had to make a quick matter of this. Face scrunching up in soft heaps of pain he grit his teeth as he tore slightly as the skin.
The cuts burned worse than fire.
Up and down the foam was dragged, Izaya's head submerged and before long he stepped out of the bath again.
Water decorated the ground with dozens of the smallest drops as Izaya quickly dried himself.
A new gown had been prepared by the window bench. Upon entering the bath Izaya had already spotted it. Again its colors were vibrant jewel tones.
Just from looking at them Izaya could tell they cost a fortune.
Leaning forward he reached for the fabric- a fabric that suddenly blurred.
Izaya blinked, trying to regain his vision only for his shoulder to suddenly meet the wall.
What-
A heap of dizziness overwhelmed him for a second and he let it happen as his body leaned against the window bench.
Fatigue and exhaustion suddenly seemed to take over as Izaya frowned.
He wasn't stupid.
He hadn't eaten anything proper in two days. A classic mistake, but somehow he just couldn't really bring himself to muster any appetite.
Feeling a little unstable still, but his mind clearing he pushed himself up straight again as he grasped the expensive fabrics.
This was no time to sit idly and wait until he felt better.
He had to take action.
Only question was, what exactly was it that he could do?
The mercenary was on his way. Whether or not he was successful in his search was an entirely different matter…
Pulling on the various layers of first class material Izaya adjusted his dress' garments. It was the third he got to wear by now, and he knew there were more left where this one came from. Just looking around he could spot a cupboard, half opened, which revealed a month's worth of clothes. He had seen it often enough, yet he couldn't bring himself to understand.
Why couldn't women wear just two or three different clothes a week?
Why possess so many?
What for?
They were all useless anyway.
Moving the safety measure of chairs aside, Izaya made the room accessible again.
After all, it was not of interest for him to be questioned about why he was locking himself in.
With quick steps he was back in his room.
The night before he had been so tired when he retired for the night that he failed to notice that the maids had left him some fruits.
An apple, a few grapes and something Izaya couldn't quite recognize were sitting on a fancy silver plate right by his mirror. The thought of eating wasn't exactly a pleasant one, but fainting from lack of nutrition seemed fairly stupid.
Unwillingly Izaya moved over and grasped one of the grapes.
Freshness and a hint of sweet and sour mixed on his tongue as the fruit bopped with liquid.
It was sweet but not too sweet.
Actually it felt refreshing. Like balm running down his throat the sweet taste managed to calm down his ever irritated throat as well.
With a soft sigh Izaya grabbed another of the grapes as he looked out of the window.
Mindlessly nibbling away at the soft texture he tried to relax for a moment.
But to no avail.
Too soon was the wedding and too little the time he had left to find his sisters. Feet driven by restlessness, Izaya headed for the door.
He needed to look around more.
Every scrap of information might help-
A soft yelp resounded from the hallways as Izaya had opened the door without warning.
Stepping back just in time to no get hit by the heavy wood head first a maid looked at Izaya with surprised eyes.
"My Lady," she stuttered quickly, her words stumbling worse than a two year old child. Izaya recognized her as the lively maid that had been scolded by her fellow colleagues while cleaning the chandelier. Her freckles gave her away easily.
She seemed extremely nervous as she held out a yellowed envelope. "Someone sent a letter for you, my lady."
Hope and fear suddenly overwhelmed the raven in an addictingly harsh wave of excitement.
The letter looked simple, dirty. It lagged any sort of sigil or embroidery marking it as a noble's.
And who would send the future queen a letter looking like this?
A man with no wealth.
A man that couldn't afford proper paper or ink.
In other words- the poor mercenary that had only started to expand his business.
"You can give that to me." Izaya quickly answered, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
He didn't want anyone to realize the importance the letter held.
Quickly handing it over the maid bowed before curtly leaving the spot.
And then Izaya stood.
Frozen.
The paper in his hand felt heavy as lead.
What had the mercenary written? There were only three options he could have taken.
One- he found his sisters and would bring them to the castle just as assigned.
Two- he had found his siblings and asked for more time to get by.
And three, he had no idea where to look, gave up and sent a letter to apologize before leaving the land.
Izaya's guts dropped as he looked around.
The maid had left and no others were nearby. But still-
Rushing off he hurriedly ran down the stairs.
What was he looking for? A secluded area. A spot that would hide all emotions he might show upon reading the few lines that determined his fate.
It was a spot not far from the entrance to the castle, next to an old Knight's armor, that was chosen as Izaya leaned against the cold wall in a quick spelled prayer.
He had never been a man of the church, but right now he couldn't help but hope that some godly force might be on his side.
Just once, just for now-
Hands trembling he tore the corner of the letter to open.
The paper was ripped from its confinement and for a moment Izaya's sight blurred as he skimmed the paper.
The handwriting looked like it had been done by a four year old. Of course, not everyone enjoyed practise in such a field, Izaya was surprised the mercenary was capable of reading and writing in the first place.
One word after the other was quickly cursed for its grotesque readability until Izaya grasped the word he had been looking for.
Found.
Starting the letter over Izaya's heartbeat accelerated.
My lady, the letter read, I have found the culprit. We will arrive in three days.
Found-
He had-
Feeling the corners of his lips draw into a bright smile, Izaya quickly lifted his hand to cover it.
The mercenary did it!
He did it!
Joy of unknown kind stemmed from his chest and Izaya took a deep shuddering breath.
The mercenary found his sisters!
And what more! He would arrive before the wedding!
Disbelieving Izaya read the letter again and again and again.
He did it- his sisters were going to arrive. Izaya would collect them and then they would flee.
Together this time around as it should have been.
They would settle somewhere else.
And Shizuo-
Relief washed over Izaya. He wouldn't need to force the king into a false wedding. And he certainly would never learn the truth.
Only the slightest hint of guilt nagged at Izaya as he thought about the king.
His initial resentment against the ruler had turned into care. He knew the king well enough by now to conclude that he would leave no stone unturned in the event that Izaya, or rather, Kururi, his bride, disappeared.
Sneaking away in the midst of the commotion while grabbing his sisters was easy for Izaya as no one was looking for a man exiting the lands.
And Kururi, the woman Shizuo thought he had gotten to know, would disappear.
It would probably take days, if not weeks until the king would end the search and call off the engagement.
But Izaya and his sisters would be free.
… Shizuo didn't want to get married in the first place, so Izaya did them all a favor, right?
That's the way he should look at current matters. He was doing the king a favor.
A few coughs interrupted the much welcomed emotion of pure relief and Izaya chose to ignore them- again.
But they grew in number, quicker than Izaya realized what was going on and suddenly pain of a more severe kind raced its way up his throat and Izaya's face shifted to one of discomfort.
His legs suddenly felt numb and his mind somewhat detached from his body as he moved a few unsure steps ahead.
Upon waking he had already realized he wasn't in his best condition, but he didn't think it would be this bad.
Taking a deep shuddering breath Izaya steered towards the gate.
A little bit of fresh air should do the trick. It always had.
So it would help this time as well, right?
to be continued~
C: C: C:
xDD
Well, well~ Let's see~
…. next Saturday hehehehe C: C:
Sorry for posting today only xD I had my sister over and simply forgot to update x'D uuups xD
BUT! As a smol treat, you will be getting the next chapter of Impostor today!
yes
you heard right - another update is coming right from the shizaya bakery~ xD
I ended up writing over 5000 words on this story and thought why not treat everyone with a double update xDDD
Also I kinda slacked off on the other stories sooooo - COUGH
Here you go xDDDD
I will be updating everything else again next saturday :3 big promise haha 3