A Katarina Interlude
To Katarina's surprise, Zorayas didn't know about Trina, which was really concerning! How did you just lose a little girl?-! That was really irresponsible! Did that mean there was a little girl lost somewhere in the castle, needing to go potty in hidden corners and sleeping under random pieces of furniture as she wandered over the roofs and outside edging and basements as she tried to find her way back and kept getting blocked by doors that didn't open from her side?
Zorayas did know Millicent, who was apparently one of the Golden Order's knights who protected King Miquella, so it made sense that they'd also be the sort of people who would be protecting a little girl. However, she said she couldn't show Katarina because she had to stay with Hyetta.
Fortunately, there was a fix for that!
"Hyetta, wanna come with me to check on Trina? I can introduce you," Katarina asked cheerfully. There, problem solved!
The other girl hesitated. "It should be fine, shouldn't it Zorayas? I'll be staying among the delegation's quarters."
The chaperone had a look on her face that reminded Katarina of Anne for some reason. "I suppose it will be safe enough, my Lady," Zorayas eventually said. "As long as we stay within sight of the delegation's knights."
"Don't worry!" Katarina said cheerfully. "If anyone tries to hurt Hyetta, I'll give them a heigh-ho, than a heave-ho!" She chopped at the air to emphasize her point.
Huh, now Zorayas had a look that was reminding her of Keith!
"Hi, Dame Millicent!" Katarina greeted, waving in one of the gestures that Maria had taught her for greeting another knight. "Nice to see you again."
"… Lady Claes?" the woman said. The knight had been standing outside of a particular door, wearing the full armor that Katarina had seen the Hallig knights wearing. "I'm afraid I must ask you to step back. This is the chamber we've designated our bonfire room. Only authorized physicians are allowed you to enter this room."
"Ah, that's all right," Katarina said cheerfully. "I actually wanted to talk to you, if you had a little time. Ah, Dame Millicent, this is Lady Hyetta. Lady Hyetta, this is Dame Millicent."
Hyetta curtsied. "Greetings, Dame Millicent," she said… while facing three feet to the right of Dame Millicent's head. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
The Dame Millicent's golden helmet nodded slightly, then she seemed to realize that Hyetta was, in fact, blind. "The pleasure is mine, Lady Hyetta, though I am afraid it is a pleasure I cannot fully indulge in at the moment, as I am on duty. As such, I apologize for my curtness, Lady Claes, but I cannot tarry long."
Yay for being friends with Maria! Katarina understood what all of that meant, even 'tarry'. It didn't always mean 'covered in tar'! "Yeah, I just had a question for you," Katarina said. "Can you tell me which room is Trina's?"
There was a brief silence. "Why do you want to know?" Dame Millicent said.
"Well, I was worried that she'd gotten hurt during all the commotion, so I came to check on her," Katarina said. "Do you know if she's all right? Zorayas said she didn't know which room was hers, so I thought we'd ask you."
Dame Millicent slumped slightly. Ah, she must have been really tired! She was even letting out a really long sigh. "Ah, you need not worry about young Trina. She was not in attendance during the attack, and was safely in her rooms. However, for her safety the king has her confined to quarters to pursue her studies so she won't wander off. I'm afraid Trina isn't accepting visitors at the moment."
"Aw, that's too bad…" Katarina sighed. "Well, can you tell her I came to visit? Maybe she can ask if I can visit some other time?"
"I… will pass the message along," Dame Millicent said. "However, I would not expect a speedy reply. The king has many matters to attend to."
"Huh?" Katarina titled her head, confused. "What does he have to do with anything?"
Another sigh. How long has Dame Millicent been working? She must be really tired if she wasn't… uh, maintaining her dignity as a knight (Yes! Remembered it on the first try!).
"Do you want me to ask someone to bring you a snack? Uh, for after your shift is over?" Katarina offered, remembering that knights weren't supposed to snack on guard duty because the might be poisoned . "You seem really tired."
"I'll… be fine…" Dame Millicent said. "I'm afraid I must refuse the snacks at the moment. My shift will be some time yet."
"Oh… all right. Thank you for your help, Dame Millicent! Please tell Trina 'hi' from me!"
"… you're welcome. May the good sun guide your way."
As they walked away, Katarina heard Dame Millicent let out one more sigh. The poor woman… she must be so tired.
Katarina paused and turned back. "Uh, Dame Millicent?"
The knight looked up. "Is there anything else you need, Lady Claes?"
"When you're shift is done, do you want to join us for dinner?" Katarina asked. "It doesn't need to be for long if you're really tired, but we can keep you company while you eat."
Dame Millicent was quiet for a bit. "I'll think about it," she said.
"All right!" Katarina said cheerfully. "See you later." She turned went back to Hyetta and Zorayas, who had stopped to wait for her. "Ah, Zorayas, Hyetta, do you two want to have dinner with me? I'm sure everyone will be done with what they're doing by then, so we can eat with Sophia and Nicol and everyone!"
Hyetta perked up a small smile on her lips. "I'd like that, Lady Katarina. Though what shall we do until dinner? I do not feel like it is time to eat yet."
"Hmm… well, I have to go see some other people here," Katarina said. "Do you want to come with me? They're all very nice, and I'm sure you'll all be great friends once I introduce you." And if they weren't nice people, then Keith was too good for them! No mean bitches for her cute little brother! Only horny, nice girl bitches! Little bros before bitches, after all!
…
Maybe she could still hook them up with her good friend the black-hearted sadist prince. He might be into that.
A Nicol Interlude
It had been a long day, and would be a long night yet for Nicol. All of Sorcier's government were in an uproar from the attack that had occurred, and by now the story of what had happened was beginning to get out to the city. Already, they had reports of some people leaving the city out of fear there were be another attack, messages were being sent to their border fortifications on Sorcier's marches—many of which had probably not seen a Marquis or Marchioness centuries—to prepare for further attach from La Sable, mercenaries, 'independent bandits' and slavers, more dragons were being summoned from Archdragon Island which required that temporary nests be established for them lest they start roosting on bridges or any bridge-like structures and setting it on fire…
And all of it needed to pass through the office of the Prime Ministers, except the Prime Minister was also busy, so the Prime Minister's staff had to go through it, and that included Nicol. The amount of staff that had always seemed barely enough for day-to-day work when evverythign was going as it should was overwhelmed.
Blessedly, that was not his problem at the moment, as father had ordered half the stuff to disperse for dinner, and Nicol had been part of that lucky few. He couldn't linger, because he would need to return so that father could have dinner… or more realistically, he'd need to bring his father something to eat and made sure it was eaten. And mother too, for that matter. She had come straight from the gather that Duchess Claes had organized, along with some of the other staff's wives, to see to it that the Prime Minister's office didn't descend into chaos, bringing in greenblossom tea, keeping the ink bottle topped up, and general helping keep everyone sane. The king was still meeting with the other monarchs, no doubt formulating the response of the inevitable war, so they needed to keep things stable until then.
Guilt made Nicol want to quicken his steps, but tiredness and self-preservation kept him moving at a leisurely pace. He was so tired… and after the short rest that dinner afforded, they would be working as late into the night as they could…
Treacherously, a part of his mind wondered if perhaps Sophia would take him as an assistant in the business venture that she conducted with Lady Maria and Lady Berg. Sorry father, but your son is weak…
"Nicol?"
So tired was he that it took two more hails before Nicol realized someone was trying to get his attention. Pausing blearily, he turned to see Rafael, who… well, looked just as tired as he felt. His friend didn't have bags under his eyes, but his hair was disheveled and his arms hung loose at his sides like deadweights. Nicol was too tired to speak, managing a bare nod of acknowledgement.
"Hello to you too," Rafael said, and he did managed a tired smile, instantly making Nicol envious that he had the energy to do so. "Oh, don't be like that. I've been heal people and repair bodies to make it easier for people to decide to revive. You want to trade having to see chests that had been slashed open and backs that had been stabbed, be my guess."
Ah, that did sound distasteful. Nicol gave him an apologetic look, which Rafael waved off, gesturing behind him. "You've met Sora, Brad and Nathan," he said, and Nicol guiltily realized he hadn't noticed the others with Rafael. On a second glance, they all seemed equally disheveled, and he suspected they'd been drafted to help with the many things that needed doing that they suddenly didn't have enough hands for because a guard presence needed to be maintained. "May I introduce Lady Sienna Nelson and Lady Lisa Norman, also of the Magic Tool Laboratory. We were just on the way to dinner."
Nicol felt strangely self-conscious as he faced the two women. Normally meeting people wasn't really something he cared about, but at the moment his clothes were in disarray, his face felt oily, his hair felt oily and disheveled, and he was sure exhaustion must show in every line of his body. Nonetheless, he mustered what dignity he could and gave the two a nod of acknowledgement. "Ladies," he said, and ugh, his voice sounded so hoarse.
"Greetings, Lord Ascart," Sienna Nelson, who felt vaguely familiar, said as she nodded in return. "You might not remember me, but we attended the Academy together, though I think we share little beyond that. I hope you are well?"
"He's so hot…!" For some reason, the words came not from Lisa Norman but from… a raccoon puppet in her hand? The woman, who looked absolutely mortified, slapped a hand over the puppet's mouth as if trying to stop the thing from speaking further.
Rafael merely smiled brightly at the antics, a 'let's just ignore that' smile. "We were just heading down to dinner. Want to walk with us?"
Nicol thought about it, then nodded. He fell into step with the group as they headed down towards the dining hall, walking in companionable silence. Everyone seemed too tired to try and pursue conversation, and Nicol suspected the dining hall would be the same way again.
When they reached the dining hall, laughter wafted out through the open doors.
It was very familiar laughter.
Nicol and Rafael exchanged knowing looks and stepped inside.
The dining hall was filled with several tables, plentiful enough to serve large numbers of people, but spaced widely enough to offer a degree of privacy. On more than one occasion, one or two tables would be pushed together to accommodate larger parties, though those were rare.
Katarina was sitting at what looked like six tables pushed close together, and all six tables were full of people. There were silken robes from Xiarmah, dresses from Tasmeria, Hallig and Drang, robes from Ethenell, black long-sleeved tunics and tight leggings that Nicol would later learned where what knights from New Catarina wore beneath their armor…
And in the middle of it all was Katarina wearing her blue formal armor that was still stained with blood in places, talking animatedly with people around her and sitting next to Hyetta, who had a wide if confused smile on her face…