* * *
Alestere
* * *
I exit the room with no further dramatic pronouncements. I wonder if Jhe Emily shall be with Jhe Aaren in his room, or if she's elsewhere? They don't need to be physically near each other to be as connected as they are, which is the beauty of such a connection. But for the purposes of our meeting, I need Jhe Emily with us.
My brother's door opens behind me. I turn around to see who has emerged. Jhe Katherine glares down the hall at me, then closes the door behind her. "You," she says with a glare.
I nod, clasping my hands behind my back. "Me."
She takes the opportunity to catch up with me, then hooks her hand around my elbow. She promptly swings me sideways on that pivot point, using some sort of applied force that I don't quite understand but am sure is something she learned in combat. I end up with my back against the wall, but it doesn't quite thump hard enough to concern anyone on the other side of said wall. It doesn't hurt, especially with the padding my robes give me, but it certainly grabs my attention. That seems to have been her aim.
She glares up at me, fists clutching the lapels of my robes. "We need to talk."
I raise both eyebrows. "In the hall?"
She frowns, looking to the side. Then her eyes flick up to mine again. "Your office."
I nod, place my arm around her shoulders, and bring us there.
* * *
Katherine
* * *
"Sit," I issue it like a command, as if he's a subordinate officer. Jhe h'Logos looks at me, his face all patience, but he doesn't budge. I am trying to order him around in his own quarters, in his own Hall no less. I take in a deep breath, hold it, and apologize on the exhale. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way."
He nods. "It's understandable, considering how high-strung you are right now." He steps away, then gestures at one of the plush armchairs. "Would you like a seat yourself? It might relax us both."
I nod, and take a seat as he does the same. "It's not your fault, but damnit Alestere, you've got a bad habit of bumping into my sore spots. And not just for massage purposes." I scowl, trying not to let mild anger turn into rage. It's not his fault. "Just tell me: are you doing all of this stuff with Aaren right now because of your future knowledge, or because you think it's actually a good idea?"
That gives Jhe h'Logos pause. As well it should, the pompous know-it-all. Though, to his credit, he looks as if he's actually giving the question some thought as opposed to shrugging it off like Elete loved to do. "I am not sure what you want me to tell you." He phrases that hesitantly.
"The truth."
He shrugs. "I... honestly just thought Jhe o'Radia's suggestion was the sound one. It's better to get everyone together to talk and communicate properly, and I don't think it'll be that awkward. If it were going to, then possibly my future self would have intervened with advice, but..." He tilts his head to emphasize the shrug. "He hasn't." He sees my expression, then looks taken aback. "I'm sorry, Jhe Katherine. I actually don't know for a fact whether it will work out with Aaren. If you want me to ask--"
"No!" I bark it before I can catch myself. "Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude. I just..." I bury my face against my palms and shake my head. "I don't like how it went in the old days, with Elete making us ride on the hopes of whatever spooky premonition drifted through his head, insisting that everything had to be the way he saw it, but never giving us a reason for anything. I'm just tired of all that dancing." I sigh, shuddering. My palms are wet. I didn't even know I had a good cry coming. "It's better to make decisions because you think they're right."
"And what of Poetry?" Alestere poses the question calmly, but there is the slightest edge to his voice.
"Poetry happens regardless of whether I pay attention to it. But just doing something ridiculous or stupid because it's fated or whatever... that isn't good Poetry, Alestere. It's just... bad plotting!" I glare up at him. Through the mist of my tears, I swear I see Elete for a moment. In the next blink, he's Alestere again.
He looks sheepish. "Have I really been writing that badly?" Sheepish may not be the right word. I can't tell, but those might have cut him a little deeper than he's letting show.
"No. Elete did." I sigh and wipe the tears off of my cheeks. "I shouldn't be blaming you for that. I suppose I've always been a little mad about it, but getting mad at him never helped anything. He'd just turn it against us, somehow. So when I see you making decisions that seem a little questionable, and you're so confident about them, I start worrying that you're just barreling down your own path like Elete would, insisting you're right. It's not fair to you, but..." I hiss through my teeth, balling my fists against my face again. Then I feel an arm around me, and a shoulder to lean against. I sigh against Alestere's robes as he pets my hair.
"You're not just talking about Elete, are you?" he whispers.
I bite my lip. "I suppose I'm not. It's just easier to condemn the dead."
He makes a light chuckle. "The dead can't make more of the same mistakes, true. But they also can't make up for them."
I snort. "'Sy never makes up for his own mistakes. He just finds another war to fight and leaves me picking up the corpses on his old battlefield."
"Do you want to hear about his future?"
"No. Have you been supporting me because you know something about it?"
He tsks. "No." He rises. "And that is quite unfortunate, because I should love to help him. But..." Alestere's breath catches in his chest as he picks his words. I look up, and see his face very pinched. "I see less and less of it lately. The future." He grimaces more deeply. I trace his gaze to the Crown, locked away in a glass cabinet of antique writing implements and gilded old books.
"Would it help?"
Alestere shakes his head. "No one should wear it right now. Not until later. But I don't know why, and as the future grows ever murky... I wonder if the two are connected." He scowls a little deeper. "I'm the Blue Lord. Shouldn't I know?"
I shrug. "You know enough not to do something foolish."
"Oh?" He turns away from me, ostensibly to adjust his hair in a mirror hanging on a wall. "Then why did you bring me in here?"
I do feel a bit chastised by that. "I had to be sure that you were making decisions for the right reasons. I'm sorry. No one should have to pay for Elete's mistakes besides Elete."
"Maybe he does," murmurs Alestere.
"What?"
He shakes his head. "Nothing that matters to anyone who isn't in the Void." He gives one last toss to his hair, then sighs. "You have every right to question my decisions, Katherine. Thank you for reminding me that it's no crime to think with my present's mind instead of my future's advice." He straightens his shoulders, taking a more assertive posture. "Is there anything you want to tell me before we visit Jhe Aaren?"
I rise from the armchair. "I have a bad memory of him." I rub the back of my neck. "It's something I patched together after the fact. I remember him standing over me as I last died. It was really Xen's face. They have a family resemblance. That's something important to remember. You're going to be around several people who actually knew Xen." She laughs. "I guess dying is a good excuse, but I should have still remembered that Aaren's much taller than his father."
Alestere laughs. "That he is." He bows, gesturing for me to precede him. "I think we have given Jhe Emily enough time to join Jhe Aaren in his room. Thank you for your words of advice."
I squeeze his arm. "Let's talk more later." Then, we go.
* * *
Alestere
* * *
"This is the other reason I came with you," Katherine says to me as we stand at the door to Jhe Aaren's quarters. "I need to talk to Aaren."
"Oh?" I ask, my hand on the doorknob.
"Yeah. Armed business. Sorry for imposing on you. I realize it's a bit rude, butting in the middle of your Poet business."
I smile, the suggestion genuinely amusing me. "Not at all. I think one goes well in hand with the other." I open the door and gestures for Jhe Katherine to precede me.
She strides forward, fire and justified wrath in her gait. I follow quietly, nodding to the two Poets within, and close the door behind us.
Jhe Aaren is in his bed, sitting up, looking a bit pale. His Xaillyndesse heritage and prolonged lack of exposure to the outdoors would explain that paleness beautifully, but there's an ill tinge to it that I can attribute to neither. Jhe Aaren is a bright boy in many ways so I can only assume that he has a premonition of what's coming. Jhe Katherine stands in front of him, fists on her hips, eyes blazing.
Jhe Emily almost rises from her seat at the table, then glances at me and settles. Is this okay? She doesn't seem too alarmed, but there's definitely an edge to her tone.
I raise my hand, then sit in the other chair. Some official business. She's more angry at someone else than she is at him. I expect nothing of dire consequence, but you might want to help calm Jhe Voitre if it seems necessary.
For the life of me, I think I see a smirk on Jhe Emily's face. She quickly composes herself. Of course, Jhe h'Logos.
Katherine's fire dies down just a tad, as she seems to compose herself as well before speaking. Her mouth twists to the side. "Jhedeinous Voitre, you do realize that while in the chain of command you report directly to Jhe Wysthaven, you are also subordinate to my command as well, especially in the absence of Jhe h'Akribastes?"
The boy nods. I note that he gets just a tinge paler, but otherwise stays calm.
"Then tell me just what in ordinary mission protocols inspired you to draft Jhe Emily Muiredach into Black Ops without asking the permission of anyone?" She narrows her eyes. "All the paperwork crosses my desk, Aaren. I of all people would know."
Jhe Aaren doesn't look away, and he doesn't panic, either. He just closes his eyes and sighs. "I'm at liberty to explain all of that in front of our current audience?"
Katherine nods. "Whatever you need to say is in complete confidence here."
"Alright," he says. "On the question of protocols, you do have me there. Nothing in my Armed training suggested that such an action was a good idea. I have been taught, however, to deal with weird situations in the best way that I can. I'm sure that when Jhe h'Akribastes asked me to recruit a double-agent within our forces as a way to restart my previous work, he wasn't taking into account that Emily pretty much hears everything I think." He shrugs. "He seemed to think I could selectively hide things from her. But I don't expect him to know how Poets work. He's the Judge, not the Poet King." Katherine pressures him with a look that isn't a glare, but is definitely an interrogation. "Okay, okay. I didn't ask him to clarify. I... I was still pretty hazy at the time, and I wanted to make him happy. I wanted to be able to do something for the Armed, even without... without being well enough for it."
Katherine's expression softens a little. She must know as well as I what Aaren really meant to say he was 'without'. It would be clear to anyone familiar with his situation that Schiphael's absence has scarred Aaren in more ways than the physical. "I understand you were eager to take on a mission, and that Jhe Emily would of course be privy to those details. Why choose her as a spy?"
"I honestly thought she would be good at it." Jhe Aaren's expression is a little hurt. "She's a part of everything already, and she's in danger already, being associated with me. I'd have put her in more danger by bringing in another Black ops agent who wasn't familiar with her. We'd have a Poet constantly listening in on our conversations. I don't think it would have gone over very well."
"I'm not accusing Jhe Emily of being a poor spy." Katherine sighs, putting her hand to her brow. "It's just a terrible situation, and I suppose we can't ask for it to have happened differently. Jhe Voitre, Jhe Muiredach, you've both been sniffed out as double-agents. Somehow the Kommissar knew something was up. He's called Radia's bluff by exposing you both as his spies, and is waiting to see if we kill you for it."
Jhe Emily grasps my hand. Her face is calm. Aaren's is strained. I can feel her sending him support, and I send my own to her. It's not a pretty situation to be in, and they both need what help can be given.
"Well." The shake in Jhe Aaren's voice becomes a nervous chuckle. "I suppose that's the good news, Jhe Katherine?"
She stiffens her expression. "The good news is that we're going to try to ensure you both live. Now come with us - Jhe o'Radia himself is discussing your future longevity with Jhe o'Audiva Rocale. You are permitted to be part of the think tank. We figure it's only fair, since it's your own lives we're trying to save." She steps away, considerably less anger in her frame. The Judge isn't in the room, after all, so there's nothing here that she can take her anger out on in a way that would be justified by her standards.
Jhe Aaren's fingers clutch his bedsheets for a moment. "I think I can do that," he says, the statement half a lie.
I rise. "I can assist you in getting there. I'd prefer to stay out of the hallway now anyway, considering your current predicament. Jhe Katherine, can you see to it that Jhe Emily makes it in? I'll poke ahead at the wards to ensure a smooth leap."
"Sure," she says, then steps over to Jhe Emily.
As my Poet rises from her seat, Jhe Aaren makes a game attempt to stand. I end up pulling him up. I'd thought him rather more recovered than this, but I imagine the news he's received in here has shaken him a great deal. "Alright. Follow me."
I move space around Aaren and myself. Katherine follows.
