Chapter 61: Inside out
Izaya had never really strayed far from their mansion. Due to his illness mostly of course, but also because his father hadn't wished for him to appear before anyone's eyes.
Mairu and Kururi hadn't left their grounds either as it was unwise and unfitting for two girls their age to travel on their own and their father was the last to offer his company.
But Izaya had always paid attention when the duke invited his personal handful of high standing individuals. While his father had been busy bragging, Izaya had been learning.
About the land, the regions, the transactions. Who met who, why and how guided by numerous pretenses and games to be played among aristocracy only.
Lord Hebaron's lands were the simplest to grasp as they lacked what most other lords and dukes held.
Tension. Games. Be it on a grand scale involving the common folk, or just manners of speech between the fronts, none of this was to be found here as his land served as the boundary of two kingdoms.
Lord Hebaron could simply not afford any games to be played except minor attempts to enrich himself, like the one he tried to pull on Shizuo as soon as he descended the throne.
But Izaya suspected even that was going to remain a one time attempt only.
The lord was no fool and very much capable to lead his land- and that showed.
The gentlest of breezes combed across the clean cobble streets leading to the center of the village. Sturdy materials, by no means affordable by farmers and merchants alone made most of the buildings enforcing the idea of an enriched society.
The people running around were wearing fabrics of low quality for the most part, and still Izaya could spot some linen on a few men and women alike.
Neighing in protest the horses were restricted to a much slower pace as soon as the plaza came into sight and Izaya's gaze lingered on a few kids playing by the side of the road.
Astonished eyes looked at the knights with innocent excitement that couldn't be faked and Izaya felt his own lips curl into a smile.
This was what people bound to their lord's reign were supposed to look and live like.
The sound of bells, rung to sign that the day had reached its peak, filled the air with pleasant vibrance as the knights arrived at the plaza.
It was beautiful.
Only the best quality of stone and fabrics had been used to construct what appeared to be the main church of this land.
Because not only was lord Hebaron the connection of two kingdoms, but he also held the center of the church's attention. No other place held more believers than his and it showed.
Approaching a fontaine placed in the middle of the plaza, the knights finally slipped off their horses. Izaya had wondered before why they hadn't used the carriage to move on, but apart from now needing it anymore he realized that there wouldn't have been enough space.
People, more than he could count, were collected before the church.
Women, men, children, old, young - it appeared Lord Hebaron and the priests had called for every single living being to attend this prayer and it was only then that Izaya realized they were there for him.
A smile grazed his lips and for a second he wished he were a believer as well, because to someone who truly believed in god this sight must evoke a sense of surefire salvation.
Eyes of concern laid on Izaya, the second Shizuo led him forth towards the front of the church. Concern for their queen's health, but also concern for her gruesome husband.
Izaya could tell by the way they glanced at Shizuo.
Most people in the kingdom were still heavily influenced by the late king's cruel rumors and expected nothing less of the son. It was astonishing how far people's opinions were rifting apart when it came to Shizuo. There was only pure hate or love of his personality, no in between and it served quite the bode for rumors.
It was then that a familiar figure of old age approached Izaya from the side.
"My lady-" astonishment carried in his voice and Izaya recognized the old man as the healer that had visited his chamber.
Delight and gratitude quickly swayed his expression onto a radiant smile that didn't need to be faked as he quickly approached the healer.
"Your spell- It's amazing, I thank you from the bottom of my heart," Izaya spoke quickly, and the healer's attitude only seemed to grow in puzzlement.
"Only my spell couldn't do this much, I'm sure," he uttered in slow words as he stroked part of his beard in an effort to assist his wits in reaching an explanation.
Surprise reflected in Izaya's face as he registered the healer's words.
Of course he was supposed to feel better, the healer had said so, but this much- he had already suspected it, but his quick recovery was more than just a little help from a spell, wasn't it?
"I used your rune a few times before sleeping, and at night, and-" Izaya hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether it was wise to give away his actions as easily as this, but then again he wanted to make sure he wasn't straining his body in a way he wan unaware of and so he stuck to the truth. "Basically I used it any second I got the chance to."
The astonishment shown on the healer's face only grew, but so did the joy that glittered in his eyes. "And you felt no drain?" he asked, and Izaya quickly shook his head. "A bit warm at most and dizzy, but nothing worse."
Izaya was ready to receive a scolding or some kind of prophecy telling him that this was only a temporary recovery. Because he still thought his current state was too good to be true and so his body tensed, as if to ready himself for the bad news this man was about to give to him.
But he didn't.
Instead a gentle smile spread from one old ear to the other as the healer appeared to be very impressed instead.
"Your compatibility with holy spells seems even greater than expected," he laughed, and Izaya felt his shoulders relax with unbelievable relief, "I'm very glad you received so many benefits from it. It's a gift to be chosen by god in this way."
As if on cue the warm breeze from the ride picked back up and gently brushed across the plaza. Izaya's hair moved in the wind blocking most of his face from the common folk, and yet, the radiating smile that showed on his expression was barely hidden.
He was free.
Free.
The idea was so unreal he had trouble grasping it whole.
"Kururi," Shizuo suddenly spoke, and Izaya quickly regained his professional stance.
The communal prayer- it was starting.
Flags depicting a star up high above a crowd of people was hissed before the gates of the church. Izaya could smell the myhrr even before approaching as a few of lord Hebaron's servants guided them to the front row.
A few chairs had actually been carried over to allow for the king and queen to sit down as in comparison to the common folk that was either standing, or kneeling before their priest.
Quickly, as if having received an untold instruction the rest of the knights spread out left and right.
Far off, but not too far to lose sight of them, they took their places around the plaza respectively and retained a stance as straight and refined as Izaya had never seen them act.
He had forgotten just for a second, that the way he got acquainted with the knights was way more intimate than anything they usually showed. They were knights. Ready to fight, but also aware of etiquette and standing, maybe even more than Izaya was.
Shizuo knew that. If anything it was the number one reason he hated being a king.
Looking towards his men Shizuo let his eyes trail across the plaza. Their ride had been blissfully eventless. Nothing of the unexpected had intervened and he felt his body relax a little under the eyes of his dedicated knights.
Serious expressions decorated their faces and he was extremely glad they were allowed to partake in this stupid prayer.
Eyes trailing to the front where what must have been the head priest circled around in ridiculous manners he scoffed.
Gold and silver, joined by many more materials and fabrics of high quality were dressing his body and altar that had been moved outside.
A golden cup representing something holy that Shizuo couldn't give less of a shit about was raised and he thanked everyone for being part of god's will.
Made him want to retch.
All these boisterous words, these stupid colors and schemes used everywhere- just looking around he barely spotted anyone void of a dumb believing expression and quickly took a deep breath in order to not show his judgment.
Of course he wasn't blind. He had seen Izaya get better with his own eyes.
He had seen the scratch disappear from his cheek from the magic he had used.
But at the end of the day he couldn't believe in anything he couldn't see.
The magic Izaya had wielded might have been real, but was god really a part of it? He heavily doubted that.
More words flowed from the priest's lips and Shizuo couldn't really muster an effort to actually listen. He had already heard enough stories about bread being split infinitely or blind people regaining their sight by god's favor to feel it was a waste of time to listen.
That was the reason he didn't really like lord Hebaron's domain. Not only due to his odd personality, but due to the high rate of believers. That was also the reason he hated the neighboring kingdom. Their king was way too enthusiastic about religion.
It wasn't only once that Shizuo had heard about the great cleansings of villages.
Or in other words.
The glorification of burning young women and men alike the second they were accused of hailing Satan by either sleeping with their same kind or daring to show more than common sense in a conversation.
Eyes narrowing Shizuo felt his disdain only increase by the second as he duly noted that Shinra and his experimental sight on medics and healing would have long set him on fire if he dared to voice them to anyone but him.
And that despite their accuracy.
Glancing towards the result of those approaches, Shizuo looked at Izaya.
Eyes directed at the head priest, he was giving the perfect impression of a dedicated and believing queen.
Of course he wasn't but, even Shizuo was aware that acting uninterested in the priest's words as the subject of this communal prayer could very well get them into quite the trouble.
And yet Shizuo couldn't help but notice that Izaya also seemed a bit tired. Exhausted probably, from moving around too much.
Which was perfectly reasonable. After all, no matter how much he healed, the fact was that he had barely been moving at all for the longest time, and even before he had handled each step he took with caution and steady slowness.
Leaning over almost imperceptibly, the king whispered.
"Tired?"
Izaya blinked, quite surprised to be addressed in the middle of the priest's story about some lamb that got lost in a forest and cast a quick glance towards Shizuo.
He was worried about him. He could tell from the tone of his voice and the concern in his eyes.
A lie laid on the tip of his tongue, but speaking it somehow seemed like an insult.
"Just a little," Izaya whispered instead, and quickly looked around.
He was worried that someone might catch them talking in the midst of this communal prayer, but it appeared his worries were meaningless.
No one paid attention to the king and queen as the folks' eyes were glued to their religious leader. Or rather, most of the people present.
Glancing towards the knights, Izaya quickly realized that they were looking pretty much anywhere but the priest.
Craigh and Alaric had taken their stance next to each other, and Izaya half expected them to pass time with a few quiet jokes and old stories.
Instead their eyes spoke of direness.
Stern and avid they looked not towards Izaya, but towards the crowd behind them.
Almost as if they had been given an entirely different task.
Turning around the priest finally finished his holy story and moved towards the altar in a short bow to his invisible god.
Leaning over just slightly, Izaya whispered, "What did you find out about the disappearances?"
The quick glance was returned and the volume of his voice mimicked as Shizuo met his gaze.
"It's only women that went missing."
Surprised, Izaya blinked.
Only women?
"I thought there were men too?" he questioned, pretty sure he remembered the maid telling them that both disappeared indiscriminately.
Waiting for a fitting moment lacking the priest's attention, Shizuo whispered.
"Only in the form of casualties. They searched for their mothers and sisters and their corpses were found."
The weather was warm, the breeze too, and there was really no reason to freeze, and yet the second Shizuo said those words Izaya felt a shudder travel down his back.
It wasn't even the words spoken, but the way Shizuo looked while telling them. He was holding something back. Something that he didn't want to unsettle Izaya with, and that idea only increased the tension Izaya felt.
"In what way?" Izaya whispered, and Shizuo tensed. Caught. Seen right through by his queen, and his eyes met Izaya's.
Shizuo seemed unnaturally concerned and disturbed as his voice turned even lower than before as he leaned over and whispered into Izaya's ear.
"Their corpses were turned inside out."
Awful silence grazed the plaza at that exact moment as the priests had stopped talking and a moment was taken to silently pray to their god.
Silence that only seemed so much more threatening in the face of the gruesome fate that had met these men.
Turning someone inside out-
Izaya swallowed at the idea and the grotesque horror it brought to his skin.
It sounded horrifying and definitely not like a mere animal's work.
People?
No, not even humans would dare to even touch a corpse in fear it might invite death to knock at their own door sooner than expected.
So who?
A maniac?
But somehow the way Shizuo talked seemed like it was something even worse than that. Suddenly it made way more sense why the knights were as stiff as they were.
The lack of playfulness upon arriving at the plaza should have already told Izaya more than enough.
It was after the quiet silence of unspoken prayers that the head priest suddenly moved.
Approaching the subject of their will he smiled at Izaya with a gentle expression upon wrinkles and folds.
"My queen, I hope the lord will hear our prayer," he spoke in a gentle tune, and yet, maybe because of Shizuo's words or the knight's tension, Izaya suddenly couldn't see anything but danger surrounding them.
He had liked the healer, but this head priest somehow left a very uncanny sensation in his smiles.
A kind that made his skin crawl upon seeing the priest up close.
But acting upon such feelings was not what a queen was supposed to do and even lest in a situation as this, created for her well being only. And so he stayed professional.
Getting up from the chair Izaya quickly smiled at the head priest and bowed, "I thank you for this opportunity," because as far as status went, he might be the queen of the land, but this guy was god's servant. No matter their standing he was always going to be above him.
A courteous smile was given by the head priest and he bowed in politeness before retreating towards the church.
With that the prayer was over.
It hadn't taken nearly as long as Izaya had expected to be honest.
But to Shizuo that fact remained nothing but convenient as he quickly rose from his seat.
As if on cue the knights stanced at the sides moved in unison as they joined back at their horses bound to the fontaine.
Izaya was surprised by the quick actions, wanted to ask why Shizuo appeared to be in such a hurry, but he missed his chance to ask as Alaric was faster to speak.
"Commander, we should set out before sunset," he announced in a quick hiss, loud enough for Izaya to hear, but low enough to not reach any ears nearby.
A quick glance was cast towards Izaya, as if his words had entailed his presence and as if a layer of fog had suddenly cleared his sight, Izaya realized what he had failed to notice and Izaya's blood ran cold.
Izaya was a woman in the knight's eyes.
And the same applied to whoever killed these women in the woods.
Craigh and the knights weren't watching the people to protect them, they were watching for a potential killer.
Because as far as these disappearances of women went- there was for sure no goal greater and no achievement more boisterous than to get the queen's head.
Suddenly it made a lot of sense why Shizuo waited in hallway and why Craigh was spared to guard his chamber-
Rendered speechless for just a moment, Izaya couldn't do much but meet Shizuo's tense gaze.
It was then that the hurried breath of a maid emerged from the rows of people present as she quickly made her way forward. "My king-" she breathed between quick heaps of breath barely hiding that she wasn't about to bring delightful news.
Body tense and eyes hard Shizuo turned towards her with impending dread.
"What is it?"
And the maid spoke the words he wanted to hear the least.
"I'm sorry to inform you, but the road has been blocked-"
to be continued~
C: Ohhh we are slowly getting into the more action filled parts of this story xDDDDD
Sorry for being absent for so long xD I was suffering from a heavy case of pneumonia and was pretty out of it tbh x'D
Anyway, I hope you love the direction this is heading into as much as I am hahahah because soon we will be getting quite the adrenaline filled events xDDDD
Blood, horror and death, ah, yes, the holy trinity.
C: C: C: C: C:
See you next Saturday~! xDDDD