Part 2 Chapter 11 - Facets and Fractures

* * *
Katherine
* * *

It's very green here, in this tiny piece of my father that Gedulah has found. This is all of him, all that is left of Ebrellin-i. Nothing else remains.

I suppose I should clarify: I mean literally Nothing. Which I guess means there's something in here besides him. That something is lots and lots of Nul. The Jherent Nul's taken ownership of Father, however that was made possible, and so while there might technically be many pieces and broken shards of my father inside this body of his, they're claimed and enfolded by pieces of Nul. It's worse than the Void. At least the Void can be Aimed at, in a manner of speaking.

Nul, though...however it is that it can be possible, Nul doesn't exist in our world. It shouldn't be there at all, and thus, it isn't. Why it can still interfere with Existence and harm the inhabitants of our world is something that every Poet and Armed would give their heart and soul to discover. Sometimes we wonder if that's why Elete is ailing so.

Those broken and abused pieces of my father aren't in here, you see, because the Nul is inside him, claiming almost every part of him. Except...this. This tiny green glowing shard which Gedulah has found for me. She purrs her satisfaction, then slices away at a wave of Nul that tries to wash over me. I'm so proud of my blade.

This cursed filth can't even touch her.

I can almost feel Ebrellin-i quake at the sight of her. That false Ebrellin-i that keeps speaking for my father is terrified. I can see now, though, why it wasn't possible to simply draw out all of the filth in my father and quickly clean it from him. It must be done from the inside.

...But not by me. It must be done from inside of those Nul pieces. Only Father is capable of cleaning them out of himself. I...I don't know if he's capable.

Gedulah chastises me for doubting him. 'He called out to me from deep inside this muck. He led me to the one piece of himself that was still beautiful. Surely you can have more faith that that.'

Arms are so mouthy. What's worse, she's right.

'Why this piece, Gedulah? What makes this one special? Why is it the only one to survive?'

She tilts in my hand, light rippling along her blade, a quick little grin. 'Let us see.'

I turn the shard in my hand, then, and look into it to see through my father's eyes.

* * *
Ebrelle
* * *

I've missed Faun. That's in the forefront of my mind as I stand amongst the leaves scattered on the ground underneath the canopy of trees outside of the Lyiannethe estate. The sun cascades down through motes of dust and pollen, dappling everything in gold spots.

It makes Faun's hair look even more like a pelt. I grin. "Welcome back." I execute an odd little bow that barely has even the trappings of decorum in it. Mother would smack me across the face with a hot iron. He returns the bow with a snort, then folds to the ground in a flop that I thought only quadrupeds could manage.

I grin wider and flop to the ground myself, taking care to lean so that my hair doesn't get in the dust. It's the longest it's ever been, now. Almost at the small of my back. I've dared my brother to grow his longer, but Mother keeps cutting his, as if she's trying to prevent another Me happening by simple grooming.

"It's harder to get here now, you know."

I nod. Mother's cut back many of the trees. We're pretty far off from the complex now. They keep an eye out for Faun as well, and try to chase him off as best as can be done. "I...I'm sorry."

"What did you want to talk about, Ebrelle?" His expression doesn't change, just remains at that flat calm. It relaxes me. Just enough to get me to answer his question instead of let it go. Who knows when I'll see him next? I'll never be able to talk about this with anyone in the estate, not even my brother. I don't like to get him in trouble.

"I...my mother." I see him tense just a little, the hair on his neck standing on end, his posture straightening ever so slightly. Otherwise, he suppresses the recoil. I don't blame him for his feelings. "She...still wants pets. I don't understand. Why?"

Faun almost spits, then looks off the the side. "Why do you think? Why do you think it makes people happy to stuff little animals behind bars? If I knew, I don't think I would be what I am."

I bite my lip. He sighs.

"No, Ebrelle. I really do mean it." His hair smooths back down, and for the hundredth time I suppress the urge to reach out and pet him. "Answer the question. For me."

"Why? It won't be my mother's answer."

His yellow eyes simultaneously freeze and heat my soul, just as they always have. Is that the appeal? The draw? "If I wanted your mother's opinion I would ask her for it. I want to hear the answer you give."

I smile. It's an odd bit of praise to take to heart, isn't it? "They say that animals are healthier when taken out of the wild and cared for."

He raises an exacting eyebrow. "Oh, really? Is that your answer?" I look away. He snorts. "Or is it just one of the excuses your mother gives you when she's not smacking you around?"

I clench my jaw, eyes staring hard at the ground. He doesn't apologize. He isn't the type to give people things that are useless. "...Yes."

"Then what is your answer?"

* * *
Katherine
* * *

I want to hear his answer very badly, but it ends there. I don't understand. Why?

'It's fresh. He must have been thinking about it very recently. Perhaps before the Trial.'

I nod. 'During, even.' I look at the little shard. It's so close to being dust in my fingers. 'Can it be healed?'

'It can heal itself, even blossom into something more complete, if given proper soil to grow in.'

...That's not something that can be found in here, not yet. I scrunch my eyebrows. We have to clear this place somehow of all this Nul. We have to try to free his other memories. What I just saw isn't enough yet. Neither 'Sy nor I can get anywhere with it.

'Your father can't get anywhere with it either, and he's the one that will have to fight his way back out.'

I clench my jaw.

'I've got an idea.'

Gedulah listens to me. Gevurah perks up as well, while I recite my plan. Funny, she usually stays out of this part of my duties.

'No, this is way too much fun to miss. The Judge is going to absolutely slay you for doing it.' She cackles, the sound nothing but steel and serrated edges.

I grin. 'He can't see me in here, remember? That's why this part makes him the most nervous. It's something only I can do, and he won't follow me in. So....' I bounce on my toes just once. 'Nobody needs to know, once I leave this place, just what I did in here. Do they, girls?'

Even Gevurah agrees with that. If I die, there'll be no one to stab Gerald with her.

* * *

I draw Gedulah from his chest, forever remembering the squick sound as it comes out. With the same motion, I swing Gedulah back. I arc her, white fire gliding through the air and then through Ebrellin-i's side before slicing clean through him.

Ebrellin-i falls sideways to the floor, not a wound to be found on his body. He twitches, then curls, as something that isn't even fear runs through him. He tries to let out a cry, but his words don't make it out of his throat.

"Memories," 'Sy mumbles.

I nod. "His real punishment. He was shielding himself from it with the fear. But now he has no way to hide."

"That's rather cruel of you."

"No one ever calls me fair except you." I stare down at the man that is my father. I frown, trying to think of how best to do this. "It may be a while until he is retried. This will take time. He will have to do it himself, and I don't know if he's capable of that."

"Capable of coping with memories that he's likely buried since before his children were born?"

"Yes."

He raises an eyebrow, inspecting me for a moment. He could say it, and it goes unsaid, really: I'm hiding something. He turns away, though, and lets it drop. He lets me have my way in this place, of all places.

'...Yes.' I keep it very quiet and discreet.

'Sy has a particularly ugly expression on his face as he looks down at my father. I pay it no heed. I understand his ire. Truly, Ebrellin-i has committed many crimes because of his cowardice. How could 'Sy forgive him that? It's not within the Law, but then...that's why I'm here.

"Of course he'll be successful. He will be aided with all the assistance Radia can offer. Then, I can Judge his wretched soul."

Ebrellin-i whimpers, his body uncurling like a slow exhale. To my surprise he moves again. He looks up at me with eyes that might as well be blind. I take a step towards him. 'Sy's hand squeezes my shoulder again.

"What now?"

I clench my jaw. I peer at Ebrellin-i for a few moments. "...'Sy? Stay by him."

My partner raises an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" Even with the question asked, he goes to Ebrellin-i's side. Instinct makes him hold the regent down.

I walk closer to Ebrellin-i, looking down at him from a pace away. I expect the strike he attempts then. 'Sy intervenes. It wouldn't even have harmed me. It was a weak flail more than it was an attack.

"Begging for help." 'Sy looks back up at me.

I nod. "He's not allowed to ask for it. He's only allowed to lash out." I hunker down, knees bent, and look Father in the eyes again. He really is almost blind. I think he's guiding his eyes by instinct alone.

"Are you suggesting that everything he's done...."

"Not everything. But what other way would there be for him to try to get help?"

"It's a theory." 'Sy gives me that much. "...What do you plan, now? He can't function on his own. The memories are all but attacking him."

"He'll have a lot of trouble defending himself from them. He's all broken up, and he has to draw himself back together before we can do anything for him. It's especially difficult for him because he's tried so hard to forg--" I catch myself. That was a lie. I frown, trying to probe Ebrellin-i's mind and heart. It's like trying to search a battlefield for a body. "Something's crippling him. Or it crippled him at the time of the memories."

"...Purposefully rendered us ineffective? Thought ahead for a Trial?" That's not accusatory. He's rolling the idea around with interest. The Jherent Nul has tried very interesting tactics against both of us before. Every shift in his moves is another thing for us to consider in our own.

"Of course. It would explain why it's taken this long for the Law to reach him. I don't know what's been done, but whatever it is, it's as good at hiding itself as Cade." 'Sy grimaces at the mention of the name, like there's an acid taste in his mouth. "...We shouldn't destroy him."

"You've already made your case for that."

I shake my head, staring beyond the walls. "If we destroy him before he's healed, we'll have even worse things to deal with than Nul and a broken treaty with Audiva Rocale. I can sense it. Whatever's been done...." I sigh, looking down at my father. "This would have to be complicated, Daddy... How can we help him at all if we can't poke at the memories? He'll take forever to face them. In the meantime we'll have no clue of whatever else might be hurting him."

"They're memories. Someone must remember them."

My fist clenches. "Camden still has Cade in Audiva Rocale?"

'Sy's face splits into a wide grin. "I would love nothing more than to interrogate that wretch. He'll be brought here soon. Do you have anything else you'd like to do in here? If he can't deal with his own memories then he sh--"

"Yes, I know, he shouldn't be in here, but I don't know how much better his own cell will be for him." I sigh. "At least he'll have rest, though, right? That'll help him recover. If he's put to that rest, that is. 'Sy, could you...."

"Of course." A smirk accompanies the thud that the trident's shaft makes against the back of Ebrellin-i's skull. My father's whimpers and moans cut off abruptly. If he were any further into sleep my Court would have a sheep infestation.

"You didn't have to look so happy about it." 'Sy only grins and scoops up my Father's body. We leave the chamber. I can't say I'm distressed about that. It's my job, even a part of me, but not everybody has to be completely happy with themselves.

Even 'Sy.

* * *
Gerald
* * *

"What are you doing here?"

Katherine has given me better greetings. Even Father gives her a look for that one.

"Helping. I have a message from Jhe o'Radia after you're finished with your prisoner." I swallow my pride and step away so that Father can enter the cell. Katherine stays outside while her father is secured. I find that more than a little strange.

"What? You're giving me one of your looks. Stop it." She folds her arms, hunching her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Katherine. I know it hurts you."

She looks at me like I've grown a second head, one that apparently brings back memories of childhood nightmares, judging by the tinge of fear in her eyes. Then she looks away, exasperated. "Yeah. Thanks for that brilliant observation."

I give up.

Father finishes in the cell. "Look over him before I lock it." He winces when he looks at her eyes. "It shouldn't take long. It's just--"

"Everything has to be done correctly. Especially now." She has that odd, calm, faraway voice as she walks in. She leans down over her father, who is now chained by his neck to the couch in the cell. She brushes his hair to the side so that she can look at his face and lean down to his temple. A moment's concentration while she closes her eyes, and whatever she needed to do is done. "He'll rest well. Thank you." She joins us outside the cell. Father locks it.

"What's going to happen to him?" I can't suppress the question, and regret it as soon as I ask it.

"Why are you here?" My father smoothly wipes away the inquiry with one of his own. It's delivered in a tone so calm that I don't even feel a rebuke in it.

I bow my head. I don't want to look anyone in the eye. "Jhe h'Logos took ill after the Trial, and is convalescing in Jhe o'Radia's quarters near the Court. He's pushing himself too hard."

Father snorts, then starts walking briskly towards the Palace. "Nothing new there. Thank you for notifying us."

"He seems a lot worse than usual. I can't be sure...I haven't been here recently. I didn't know his illness had progressed that much. Stevane and Lyric are with him. And Lute is, you know...wherever."

"...Elete. That damn twit can't go a day without us managing him." Father sighs. "Gerald? Could you get the papers from off of my desk while we see to the Jhe h'Logos? Bring them to your uncle's quarters." He pauses. "Bring something to write with as well."

I nod. It'll be a relief to get away from Katherine. She looks like she's about to gut me and make a violin out of what's inside. "Of course."

He gives me an odd look, and I feel the brush of a query against my mind, as if he was about to look for himself to see just what might be on it. It goes away, though, and he and Katherine head to my uncle's rooms. I start to make my way to the front of the Armed Hall.

I sigh. There's nothing quite as exasperating as a father who can make my own guns threaten me into fessing up.