A Keith Interlude
It turned out that Lord Hart was an inoffensively pleasant man when you remembered he was there, and almost non-existent when you didn't. Rafael, for his part, clearly made a point of remembering his colleague's existence—from the way Lord Hart seemed to defer to Rafael, it was hard to think of him as the redhead's superior—which was quite useful for reminding Keith and Watson of the man's presence when they were starting to forget.
The three—no, wait, four—of them ambled with drinks in hand as they tried to find the usual pile of fainted bodies that would signal Nicol's location, or failing that, the strangely cleared space caused by people avoiding looking at him directly. "So, how have you been doing?" Keith asked. "I've been seeing you in passing all week, but we haven't really had much of a chance to talk."
"Well, I've had a lot on my mind," Rafael said. "Liaising with the Hallig's Fundamentalists according to our research exchange treaty, Drang's Aldian Scholars, advising Ethenell on how they could set up their own… and of course some small matters that the crown's asked me to assist in. I haven't even had time to see Maria, much less anyone else."
That last managed to get Keith's sympathies. At least he'd been seeing Katarina at meal times, and at night when she'd been reporting what she'd observed during her translations duties. Try as Mother might, she couldn't pry any of the actual details of the meeting out of Katarina. Not because Katarina didn't know them, but because Katarina was taking the usual oaths of confidence far more seriously than literally anyone else. It was usually understood that a participant of such discussions would be telling their immediate family and their direct liege, which was one of the calculated risks in inviting someone who had no stake in such negotiations for their skills, but Katarina just wasn't saying anything, and seemed to be taking mother's increasingly blunt and pointed questions as some kind of test to see if she'd forget and accidentally let something spill.
Katarina had been so proud at managing to stop herself from saying anything every time Mother managed to think of a new way to try and trick her into answering that eventually mother had just given up.
"Well, the Assembly will be done in a few days," Keith reassured him. "Then we can all go back to sleeping in our own homes. In the meantime, would it be all right to ask what you're looking for here?"
"Well, I'm not really looking for anything, but Larna asked if I could source some copper and brass for her that was cheaper than the ones we usually buy at the ministry," Rafael said. "She said to ask the Ethenell delegation."
"Ah. Watson and I are looking for someone who deals in Tasmerian chocolate."
"What, both of you?"
"It's not all for Katarina," Keith said, reflexively protecting his sister from Rafael's no doubt completely accurate idea of how much Katarina could eat. "Watson is looking for my aunts and cousins, and Marie asked me to look for some for her, Olga and Matthew."
"So we all have a shopping list?" Rafael said, looking amused.
"…I'm sure it's all a coincidence," Keith said.
Rafael looked thoughtful for a moment, then turned to the nearest person, a man with a thick, bushy moustache that reminded Keith of portraits of his uncle Mario, wearing the white formal armor that the New Catarina delegation favored. "Hello, good sir," Rafael said, putting on his 'Student Council President' smile.
The man didn't so much as blink, putting on his own smile that wasn't completely concealed by his moustache. "Hello, my good man! What can I do for you? Ah, where are my manners. Sir Siegbadahut, at your service!"
Rafael bowed. "A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Sir Siegbadahut. I am Rafael Walt of the Ministry, and these are my friends, Lord Hart, Lord Claes and Lord Arsene. I was wondering if you could settle something for us?"
"Oh? Well, I'll try, though you'll have to explain to me what you're trying to settle."
"It's a simple question, Sir Siegbadahut," Rafael said. "Are you here with a shopping list?"
"Ethenell figs," Sir Siegbadahut said instantly. "My wife has this lovely recipe for a sweet pastry. And also maple syrup. From Hallig for preference, but La Sablican maple is fine too."
Rafael shot Keith a triumphant look.
"That proves nothing," Keith said. "It's all a coincidence."
After parting was with Sir Siegbadahut, we finally managed to catch sight of the back of Nicol's head through the crowd. Keith knew it was Nicol, because literally no one in Sorcier has hair that perfect, and he had become very familiar with Nicol's hair from years of not looking him directly in the face. Unfortunately, Nicol wasn't alone when they found him.
When Keith saw the distinctive blonde hair, he had an immediate urge to turn around and walk away. There was no need to actually talk to The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance, after all. Katarina wasn't here to keep from his clutches, and since they were turned awaythey could pretend not to see them—
"Nicol, there you are!" Rafael called cheerfully. Curses! Keith had forgotten that Nicol and Rafael were actually close friends, joined together by the unimaginable of being the only two people who'd been doing the Student Council paperwork after the rest of the council had devolved into destructive infighting because of Nicol's good looks. "How are you doing?"
Nicol turned to face them, and unfortunately so did The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance. "Ah, Master Walt," The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance said his smile slightly more genuine than usual. "Lord Keith, Lord Watson. How nice to see you again." He smile became slightly toothy at Keith's name.
Keith matched the expression with his own. "Your highness," he said through his own toothy smile. "How are you?"
"I'm doing quite well, thank you for asking." The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance's tone became subtly smug. "I spoke to a gentlemen earlier about the wonderful chocolate his region of Tasmeria produced. I'm sure that my beloved Katarina will enjoy them."
"Speaking of which," Rafael interrupted before Keith was able to respond, "Nicol, what's on your shopping list?"
Nicol blinked. "Sophia asked me to get her as much iron, steel, and niter as I could from everywhere," he said, his voice as smooth and even as his face.
"That still doesn't prove anything!" Keith retorted as Rafael raised an eyebrow at him.
"Keith, at some point you're going to concede," Watson said, looking amused even as he never took his eyes off The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance.
"I refuse to believe this tea party is all a glorified shopping expedition!"
"So… I heard that you've been spotted in the company of a certain young lady," Rafael said to Nicol. "What's that about? As your friend, I'd rather hear it from you instead of the rumor mill."
"Ah, I've made friends with Lady Carim, as I'm sure you've heard," Nicol said, and Keith could actually here what might have been enthusiasm in her voice. "However, rumor has greatly exaggerated our relationship. I heard that this morning some of the noblewomen tried to bully her." Nicol's face didn't shift at all, nor did his voice alter.
"Oh dear," Rafael said. "Is she all right?"
"Yes. She had been on her way to meet with Sophia and Mary."
Keith looked up at that, distinctly remembering the sort of bullying Sophia had been subjected to when they'd been younger before people realized that such things wouldn't be allowed in the presence of Katarina, himself, Mary, Alan, and even The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance. "Oh dear." From the amusement on The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance's face, he already knew. "What did they do?"
"Ah, Sophia immediately blacklisted them from the Nightflower Workshop and cancelled the contracts of those who already had arrangements," Nicol said. "Then Mary proceeded to destroy them."
Keith winced. "Well… given who they were bullying, it can't be said they didn't deserve it…"
"What exactly did Lady Hunt do?" Cousin Watson asked.
"I'll tell you later," Keith said. Talking about what Mary Hunt could do when she decided to go full evil Marchioness wasn't exactly pleasant conversation.
"Well… I hope our friends and Lady Carim are well?" Rafael said.
"Yes. I believe they took Hyetta to the castle's baths to get her to relax," Nicol said.
Rafael raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "Who's Hyetta?"
Nicol actually blinked. "Ah, pardon me. I meant Lady Carim."
Keith stared at him, and so were Rafael and The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance.
"Wow, you really like this girl, don't you?"
Nicol looked aside, and some men who'd been standing where he looked unfortunately made eye contact and fell over, overcome by the experience. "She reminds me of when Sophia when she was younger," he said quietly. "I didn't really know what I could have done for her then… but thanks to meeting Lady Katarina, I do now."
"I know you're trying to sound completely non-romantic, Nicol, but as your friend, I must advise you that you're failing utterly," The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance said.
"As also your friend, I second this observation," Rafael said, nodding.
Nicol gave the two of them a look, his face not shifting at all.
"If you're trying to give them a dirty look, you're also failing," Keith contributed.
Nicol considered this. "I despise you all," he said, voice completely unchanged. "But I do not include you in that statement, Lord Arsene, Lord Hart."
Keith wondered who he was walking to, then blinked as he remembered the man shacked to Rafael's leg.
"Yes, you're our friend too, Nicol," The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance, patting him on the shoulder. "Now, are we going to fulfill your shopping list or are you going to tell us how you despise us some more?"
Nicol tilted his head as he considered. "Yes, please help me. I don't know where to even start inquiring about iron and steel, never mind niter."
"Well, I don't know about iron and steel, but I might actually be able to help you with the niter," Rafael said. "I shook hands with a Xiarmen knight yesterday, and he was telling me about their cattle farms…"
