Chapter 65: Brittle paper
It was colder, damp too and the tips of grass held the tiniest pearls as the knights sped up. Gold and orange mixed in the droplets of trees they passed and Izaya smiled when he spotted a batch of familiar flowers. Pigenion Omaneta.
The flower that was only native to this specific region.
The horses neighed and some of the knights yawned- the night had been a long one for them. After the attack at their camp they had stayed up longer than healthy and afterwards decided on a rotation of guards. Always two in total and as far as Izaya knew, Shizuo hadn't slept at all.
Just to be safe.
Or rather, so Izaya stayed safe.
Heads focusing ahead the group looked towards the goal of their destination- the castle. They had long entered Shizuo's lands and now they were finally done with their long, long trip.
"My lady!"
Izaya heard the servants yell from afar before he spotted them.
James, Mika, Clarence- they came streaming from the front like a batch of ants ready to defend their nest.
Absolute horror stood in their faces and for a brief second Izaya wondered why- but a soft gush of wind, blowing his dress, which was still soaked in blood on the sides, quickly enlightened what kind of impression he was making.
They thought Shizuo was carrying a corpse-
"Don't worry it's not my blood," Izaya called from afar, before any greetings or formalities even had a chance to be made.
Relief upon hearing their lady's voice cleansed the terrified faces of their demise. Especially James seemed to have been particularly disturbed and for a second Izaya regretted that he hadn't attempted to change the dress after all.
Hooves clapped against the well paved ground as the horses finally came to a standstill in front of their gates.
"So you are okay?" Mika was the first to speak, before Shizuo nor any of the knights were able to utter a word. It caused Craigh and the rest to snicker on the side, but neither Izaya nor Shizuo paid that mind.
"More than okay," Izaya quickly assured the young woman and a beaming smile took its place on her expression. "Thank god!"
"Everyone, you are dismissed! There will be no training tomorrow. Go home, rest, drink-" Shizuo started aloud, addressing all of the knights behind him until his eyes lingered on Craigh for a second and he ended with a snort. "And maybe wash yourself properly."
Light chuckles circled in the knight's rows and Craigh huffed shortly, but no shred of offense was to be found in his eyes. "As you order, my king," he laughed, "Let's go, you heard our commander!" the ginger announced loudly and Alaric cheered.
Faster than expected the knights turned their horses and Izaya was mildly distracted by their departure.
"Lady Kururi?" Surprised to hear his cover name from Shizuo's lips, he turned to face his king. He had already gotten off the horse and was holding out his hand to help Izaya do the same.
It was an awkward feeling, to see the knights leave after having spent so much time so close together. He knew they weren't gone or anything, but somehow he already missed the way they talked and acted on their ride.
"I will draw you a bath in a moment, my lady," Clarence announced as soon as Izaya's feet touched the ground and he remembered that he had a role to fulfill and properly play.
"I'm glad to see you too, Clarence," he smiled, and the maid lips might have shown something close to a smile as well.
It was only James who was refusing to speak, but one glance towards his expression spoke volumes as to why. He was barely keeping his relief together and if asked to speak Izaya wouldn't have been surprised to see him cry.
That expression only changed when another voice joined the gathering from the gate.
"You look better."
Eyes trailing up Izaya looked at the castle's medic. Late in appearance, but not any less relieved.
"That's what I feel like," Izaya agreed as he watched Shinra descend the stairs.
It might have been the angle of their heads, maybe the way they all turned to look at the medic, but now that Izaya had, he noticed something else had changed.
The castle.
From afar it had seemed to have stayed just as he remembered, but now that he was looking closely, the walls seemed… off?
"What did you do to the castle?" Izaya found himself asking aloud and as if on cue the maids turned to face not Shinra, but James instead.
Expression souring he seemed anything but pleased by the change, while Shinra held nothing but the purest confidence in his eyes.
"All for you, my lady," he sneered, emphasizing the last word on purpose and Izaya snorted.
"He messed up the entire exterior, my king," James suddenly complained with the force and aggravation that was meant to fuel his relief over everyone coming home. "It's beyond atrocious if you ask me!"
"It keeps the warmth inside and wards the cold off, what could be better for her queen's health?" Shinra merely shrugged, "Besides, appearance is something only common people really care about."
Words that he shouldn't have said.
"You-!" James huffed, but Shizuo was quick to interrupt the threatening fight between this old man and weak medic.
"What's the idea?" he asked with more calmth than Izaya would have expected and Shinra grinned.
"Keeping the cold out and the warmth in. I had the servants pluck every corner and hole with a mixture of wool and clay, and applied the same to the outer walls, then we added some wood and now the only thing missing is another layer of clay."
Clay?
Looking towards the oddly colored walls, Izaya spotted a few lumps and random pieces of wood. Judging from their distribution they had been scattered across the surface with no care for patterns or looks in order to maximize efficiency.
"It looks grotesque!" James groaned and for once Izaya had to agree, it really did look hideous.
"It was the cheapest option we had, except you wanted to spend all your king's money?" Shinra complained and it seemed James was running out of arguments as he merely clicked his tongue in reply.
Ah.
Made sense though.
Because Shinra couldn't have done this alone, he had had the servants help, probably even James'. The old servant had probably thought the end result would appear a lot more different to what was presented now.
A short snort drew both's attention back to their king as he seemed overly amused over the matter and Izaya smiled.
Of course.
Shizuo probably couldn't care less about the castle's appearance, but he cared for James and his opinions.
"Is it possible to decorate your idea?" he asked his medic and Shinra crossed his arms for a moment as he hummed.
"That should be no issue," he agreed and Shizuo smiled at his oldest friend.
"Feel free to act as you please, James."
Delight and gratitude reflected in the butler's eyes as he quickly bowed.
"I thank you, my king."
And with that he left. Just like that. Wasting not a single second to save his king's castle's appearance.
It caused Izaya to snort quietly and he quickly cleared his throat to hide any unladylike impression.
"I don't know why he is this upset. He should have seen it coming, after all, he helped," Shinra sighed as soon as he was gone, and Shizuo shook his head.
"I don't think he is as upset as he acts."
Ah, Izaya could get behind that.
James wanted to work and do something to move this burst of energy that the relief of seeing them return healthy had brought.
"Shinra, could you?"
Looking towards his king and medic, Izaya faced an expression he had seen way too often by now. Worry.
It was clearly written across Shizuo's face, and the unspoken order was easy to guess as the medic approached Izaya with a smile.
"If you were so kind as to follow me, my lady," he grinned, and Izaya snorted.
A check up.
Shizuo wanted Shinra to examine his body and state.
Not the worst idea after having been attacked by those wolves and used his new spell more often than he should.
But honestly?
He was fine.
Following Shinra down to his chamber Izaya couldn't quite ignore the fact that his body felt lighter. Not in the way he usually did before he passed out, but just… free.
There were no stones weighing his chest down, no heat grazing his cheeks, not cold seeping through his limbs.
Talking about the cold, Izaya noticed that Shinra's changes to the castle had not only stayed on the exterior.
Cracks in the walls and large batches of stone had been covered up by a variety of materials and it actually made a difference.
Izaya remembered the last time he woke up in Shinra's chamber and the way the wind reached down inside the room and to his very bed.
That had changed.
Warmth swallowed the three of them as soon as they entered Shinra's chamber.
A fire was happily licking up a pot that was dangling above and the medic quickly rushed over as he had obviously forgotten to set it aside before heading out to greet his returning king and queen.
"If you were so kind," Shinra asked, and gestured towards the bed Izaya had been staying in for so long.
Sitting down on top of it the upper layer of his dress was undone by the medic quicker than he expected him to make sense of all these laces and fabrics. The weird device he had shown last time was grasped from one of his shelves and Izaya flinched lightly at the cool object when it touched his skin.
Silence ruled the room for a few minutes in which neither Izaya nor Shinra dared to interrupt the medic in his work.
Izaya's wrists were grabbed, eyes closed as Shinra counted something and afterwards turned to write it down.
The whole examination took not longer than a few minutes until he finally smiled.
"Considering the way you left- a miracle," he announced what Shizuo had longed so badly to hear but also shook his head in mild disbelief.
"Was that really just the weather change?" he asked aloud and Izaya realized the medic had no idea about what it was that had helped his body recover.
"Apparently it was holy magic," Izaya quickly spoke, and turned his palm to show Shinra the rune. He had already spotted the drawing earlier of course, but didn't really pay it any mind.
Curiosity, as well as a healthy dose of doubt lingered in his eyes as he frowned towards the so-called rune. He was obviously having a hard time believing what Izaya was saying, but the results were too obvious to ignore the facts.
"How does it work?" he asked, hoping for answers that would explain these changes in a way he could comprehend or attribute to the medicine he knew. But sadly Izaya could do none of that.
"I have no idea," Izaya admitted truthfully, and the disappointment in Shinra's eyes was unmissable.
"You better exchange me for a saint, king," he announced with a deep sigh and looked towards Shizuo.
A snort was all he received as an answer, however, as he quickly shook his head.
"Never. You know my opinion of priests."
"But this one seems to actually prove useful," Shinra argued with the slightest frown settled upon his forehead.
"Are you mad?" Izaya asked, thinking he might be, after all, nothing he had done had really managed to defeat his illness. Coming back now saying someone else easily managed to do what he could seemed a bit harsh even to him.
But the medic shook his head and quickly drew his usual smile back to his lips.
"Less mad, more frustrated. But that's everytime I see something that's rivaling my view on medicine and skills I lack," pushing himself up from his chair he moved towards his desk and the book he put his notes into. "It just means there is more I have to learn."
A genuine smile spread across his lips as he flipped the book shut, however, and he turned. "But I can definitely tell that your illness has improved immensely. I might not understand it, but it's helping you, so keep at it."
Warmth of a specific kind clutched Izaya at the response.
A warmth that didn't stem from the fireplace, but from the people surrounding him instead.
The knights, the servants at their castle, Shizuo, Shinra, they all were looking out for him in ways that he could never have expected or attempt to pay back.
It was a soothing sensation, albeit a bittersweet one considering he was lying to more than half of those very same people that were showering him with their trust.
Looking towards the hard ground Izaya's eyes narrowed a little as he thought about his sisters.
They were still out there.
And their surroundings probably nowhere close as favorable as Izaya's were.
Not to mention the disappearance of those women-
He wanted to ask Shizuo to start looking for them right now, but- How even? How could he be this selfish?
The king had already done everything in his power to keep him from his certain death, the knights too, they had spent all their time guarding them with everything in their might. A day's rest was the least they deserved for their actions, and yet Izaya felt this dreading urge to move.
To do something.
Soon.
Quick.
"You know, when you look like that it's easy to tell what you are thinking about," Shinra suddenly announced, and mildly startled Izaya in his train of thoughts. An envelope, yellowed and made of poor quality was extended towards him in an unceremonious fashion and the medic smiled.
"This arrived yesterday. I snatched it from James, just in case he was going to read it."
Confusion made up most of Izaya's expression as he grasped the paper- but when he turned it, his breath stilled.
He had taught his sisters a variety of things. To dance, to read, to act like nobles, but also to write.
And the handwriting presented to him on the sheet of paper that was pulled from its confines quicker than a sparrow piercing water for a fish, was no one else's but Kururi's.
to be continued~
There we goooo~ A letter and mysterious contents~ C: Now let's see whether this will bring demise, or joy C: xD
See you next Saturday C: