* * *
'Sy
* * *
When we leave the cells, I keep her walking. She's somewhat out of it right now, and so guiding her further isn't a problem. I start to lead her to her quarters, but she resists.
"...Let me see Daddy." There's always a twist of her tone that signals just which one she means. I hesitate. She is tired, and I know he's...busy.
But I can't deny her this, right now. "Alright, but let me come with you."
She gives a curt nod, leaning back against my arm harder than I expect. She knows the way there from here, of course, but still I feel like I'm guiding her. She's gone numb. She needs it.
Walking through the halls of the Palace is sobering. Relaxing. I know most areas of the Palace set her on edge a little. Too official, too full of dignitaries. This branch is private, though, more an extension of my brother's home than of the ruling capitol. Leading Lyric down here made him nervous, but then, what doesn't, right now? To Katherine, it soothes just a bit.
We stop before the doors. "Is he still seeing your son?" I nod. She bites her lip, and then knocks.
* * *
Luciprochoros
* * *
Lyric sits on the couch with his hands in his lap, fingers weaving and curling into and across one another. He's drawn his knees up in front of him from time to time, shifted them to the side, propped them up on the couch or just sprawled a little. He can't really settle on a position while he's talking. He's not comfortable here.
I'm wondering if he'll settle in, or if his Father will have to also worry about Lyric having a permanent wanderlust. I'm starting to wonder if maybe that kind of travel is good for the boy. He's certainly...grown up quite a bit, even if he's not gotten any taller. Without considering the issue of Ebrellin-i, I'd say travel has done him a lot of good. When he's not shifting around he sits up straight and tells his stories very directly. When he forgets himself, that is. He'll stumble every now and then and flinch away from my eyes when he gets self-conscious. All in all, I'm surprised he's told me as much as he has.
...And I would be lying if I said I wasn't shocked by some of what he's told me. I don't visit Audiva Rocale often - its monarch doesn't quite welcome me with open arms anymore. Even so, because it borders Radia to the north and has such a great size and military strength, it comes as a given that I recieve constant intelligence on it. Already some of the things Lyric has told me about are far beyond what we expected Ebrellin-i might be up to.
Of course, Audiva Rocale is notorious for being difficult to sneak a spy into. Gerald getting caught was no surprise, even without considering his track record regarding incarcerations. What really shocks me is that Lyric managed to do what he did, and find out all that he did, without getting himself killed, caged, or bound with something much more severe than the snips and wisps of spells that I found on him when he walked in.
He's hiding something else, though. As astounded as I've been thus far at what he's told me, I can tell from his eyes that he's holding back. I've managed to get him to tell me things up to this point without having to force the issue, but if he's going to hold back, I'm going to have to press.
I just don't want to push him too hard, or make him feel like he's being interrogated. His Father's even more worried than I am that whatever happened to Lyric will damage him permanently. Pulling the story out of him might magnify that if it's done by force.
...But we have to get it from him. And just when I've got a few good ideas as to what to do about that, I hear a knock on my door. I raise an eyebrow as both Lyric and I look over at it. ...Katherine. What's she doing here? With 'Sy, no less? Has he told her already? I look over at Lyric and smile in that 'what can ya do' way. "Excuse me for a moment. We might have to put a hold on this." He nods in a relieved way that only further convinces me there's information we need to pry from him. I sigh. "You may come in," I call.
Katherine strides in like she has business here, which startles the hell out of me. I'm not the one who's the most startled, though - Lyric makes a high-pitched little peep when Katherine plants her boots in front of him, leans over, and narrows her eyes.
"Okay, you tell me what happened to Daddy."
* * *
Lyric
* * *
I look over to Unkie with wide, confused eyes. What? I didn't know anything was wrong with him! All this time I was talking about myself... "I...I'm sorry, I just got back, I'm probably not the best person to--"
She narrows her eyes in a way that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention and tremble. I think the only reason I don't pee myself is that I'm afraid it'll provoke her to attack. Someone clears his throat from behind her. Daddy? Please let that be Daddy. He can stop her.
Probably.
"...Katherine. Please stop Aiming at my son. He doesn't even know what you're asking him." I see a hand on her shoulder. That's Father alright. He pulls her back a little. I remind myself to breathe.
"He's panicking." For some reason Uncle Lui saying that soothes my nerves. Maybe it's because his voice is so calm and even. "Katherine, please have a seat. Lyric's travels have not been kind to him, and I think he's had quite enough of being loomed over." At least, I think that's what he says. It's getting a little blurry for me, and I don't realize until my Father tugs on my hand that I've hunched up on the couch. My knees are up close to my chest, my arms crossed over myself. I blink.
I don't even remember where I am until I look up and see Uncle Lui standing by the couch. Katherine's perched on the other end, listening as Uncle Lui murmurs something in her ear. They keep looking back at me, but Daddy distracts me from that when he brushes through my bangs and then lays his hand against my forehead.
He has to move that hand to my shoulder and hold me down from jerking away. I don't know why I'm so afraid but it feels like something big and scary is towering over me. Like the Peacock King is going to hit me again. I feel Daddy touch my cheek.
"Lyric? Did something happen to you?" The voice is all concern and no interrogation. Nothing like what I expected. Someone's behind him, and later I realize it's Katherine, but right now I just notice the vaguest shadow of a person there, and the presence of my Uncle somewhere behind it.
"He hit me. He didn't...he didn't ask." I'm curling up again, my arms up on either side of my head, shielding me from something I can't quite convince myself isn't there. There's the feeling of Daddy pulling me to lean against him, but all of that is outside. What's inside is what's real right now.
I hear Katherine whispering sharply to Unkie, wanting to know what happened to me, and some response from him I can't quite make out. Hearing outside is hard now. Inside is so deafening.
I...I don't remember this. "It's all red in there. No. No, it's not really red. It just feels red. And green, in slashes. Underneath is the marbled black and white, contorted and twisted, and over that is the roseblood wrapped in the stranglevine. That's where Ebrellin-i was. Caught up in the stranglevine, with me on the leash behind him."
I blink. I'm confused myself by what I'm saying. "It wasn't really. It didn't happen, and that's why I remember it like it did. Because Ebrellin-i goes to a place where nothing happens, and a little of that nothing...he keeps feeling it, because the chain strings to him even through the bars, through the wards...he left a mark on me. He..." I start to shake.
"Keep him warm. Let him talk it out of himself. It's muddy now, but it'll run clear if he keeps talking about it." I can recognize the voice as Unkie's. Someone wraps a blanket around me.
"I watched Ebrellin-i leave the room, after he fucked me. He went into a throneroom through his mirror. Something talked to him there that I don't want to name. He had a red throne. There was blood all around him. He told Ebrellin-i to dance, and he did. Cade watched and laughed. Ebrellin-i jerked around like his limbs were hung on strings. There was so much blood. His marks kept warping and curling around his face. His eyes were white. He got up in the middle of the night. Sleepwalking. He got up in the middle of the night and went to another place through the mirror. The next day he acted like nothing happened. I wanted to pretend it didn't." I keep my head ducked down, hands up around my ears.
"Why?" I think it's my Father's voice. It might have been my Uncle's. I just can't remember.
"Because I don't want it to look at me." I feel the question before it's asked, and go ahead and answer. "The thing that made him dance."
"The Jherent Nul." Katherine might have said that part. It's so hard for me to tell.
I just close my eyes and shut my mouth and curl up tighter. I start to feel again, and that's when I notice that Father's rubbing his hand between my shoulders. That's what brings me out of the haze, in fact.
"Lyric? Is there anything else you need to tell us?" It's Unkie's voice, thank goodness, because if it were Father asking that question then my instincts would take over and my voice would petrify.
"Just...after, he...when he put the collar on me, he..." Unkie nods. Good. He understands. I don't want to say it out loud.
"You were very brave. Now you need to rest." I nod. "Tomorrow you'll need to be with your Father in the morning, but I think after that you'll get to shop for some new clothes." ...I'm amazed that I still can perk up, feeling like this, but I do. It feels like ages since I've been able to pick out my own clothing, let alone get new outfits.
Uncle Lui puts an arm around Katherine. She shrugs away a little, but he doesn't let that deter him. Father looks up to the both of them.
"I'll return shortly. He needs to be walked back."
"Aye, I can't imagine he'll be able to walk in the first place. Jhe h'Logos can send someone along to give him more sleep."
Father makes a crooked little smile. "Of course he can. And afterwards, he can ask his questions."
Uncle Lui chuckles. "Like he always does. Katherine? You could probably use a drink."
"No."
"Right, then I'll have something stiff brought in. 'Sy? Take your son home before he makes a bed of my couch, please."
Of course, that's the last thing I hear before I'm out like a snuffed candle.
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