OVERLOOKED ㅤkotlc

021. Get A Heckity Hecking Room

"That's—no." I shake my head. That doesn't make sense, because how does the Black Swan not know? "Wasn't Fintan a Councillor before?" 

"Oh, yeah. He stayed to gather intel for the Neverseen, but when he discovered Everblaze, they forced him to resign. I'm sure you know this story, though, Dex."

I nod. I do, but—

I didn't hear the human part. Ever.

Maybe they're just making it up, but...

It does kind of make sense. I don't think they should imprison humans, but... it does make sense. It makes sense why they're doing this.

And they're right about the Matchmaking, the Talentless, and twins and triplets. They're really, really right.

But...

Sophie was made to fix this, too.

Maybe the Black Swan and the Neverseen are more alike than they realize.

"What about all those other plans?" I say. "Nightfall, or Lodestar?"

Alvar laughs, catching me off-guard. "That's Vespera and Gisela's plans. They do those kind of crazy stuff sometimes, but I promise it all leads up to Fintan's plan."

"Fintan's plan?" I ask.

"Probably the whole Council overthrowing thing," Rosaleen answers for them.

Ruy nods. "Exactly."

Even if Ruy's telling the truth, they still did a lot of bad things. They did so much bad stuff.

But...

Just because the organization is bad doesn't mean everyone in it is bad.

Alvar claps his hands, and Rosaleen and I startle from our thoughts. "Didn't know you two were a bunch of lame thinkers," he says, a crooked grin on his lips.

This guy's remarkably like Keefe.

"Let's not keep Ruy waiting now—"

"Oh my god, Alvar, stop saying it like that."

"—It's time to see Melia."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

This lady's wearing a crown.

A crown of dandelions, to be exact, and a wispy silvery blue dress. A satchel is slung on her shoulder, resting on her hip, and she's smiling.

Her smile's sweet and bright, and her tawny brown skin seems to glow. Pale spots adorn her skin, a heart shape underneath her collarbones.

She doesn't notice us at first, since she's talking to someone, but then Ruy goes to her from behind, wrapping her in a hug and whispering something in her ear.

I watch, curious, as she laughs, leaning into him for a brief moment, before pushing him away. Ruy's alight with sudden life, just from her presence.

She sends the other person off with a smile and wave, handing them an elixir. They walk out the archway we stand in, and the three of us walk inside.

This room's one of the four glowing dome towers in the castle, the reward of a spiralling crystal staircase.

It's a pretty place; the transparent walls have a soft amber glow, revealing acres of trees and cumulus clouds, and shelves of herbs and vials line the circular walls.

Ruy says something, and she mock-glares at him, poking his chest and scolding him. He just laughs, and she bites back a smile, too.

Hm. This lady reminds me of sunshine.

"And there They are," Alvar says, spreading his hands out. "Lo-and-behold, Melia and Ruy, the very definition of Get a Heckity Hecking Room."

Melia laughs again, hearing him, rolling her eyes as she comes over. "Hello to you, too, Alvar." She looks at Rosaleen and me. "And hi... what are your names?"

"I'm Dex."

"Rosaleen."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Melia, the Neverseen's physician."

"Without her, we'd all be dead," Ruy adds.

Melia raises her eyebrows. "Well, I wouldn't go that far, lover boy."

Ruy just smiles, as if he knows he's right. "Anywho, Melia, Rosaleen and Dex are new recruits. Dex was previously from the Black Swan, and Rosaleen's completely new."

She looks back towards us, her gaze warm. "And you want me to check on them, right?"

"Right," Alvar says. "Do your fancy magic, Melia."

"Ah, yes, my fancy magic. Would you like a bibbity-bobbity-boo as well?"

"Of course," Ruy says.

Melia fights back a grin, pretending not to have heard him as she reaches into her satchel. "Hm..." She glances over us, then back into her satchel. "You both have some cuts and blisters. But other than that, you're untouched." And then she looks up to smile at us. "You're in good hands now."

With an expertly tender touch, she cleans our cuts and puts a drop of something white on them. I watch as it stitches itself back together and fades away.

"All done!" she says, leaning back.

"Where's the bibbity-bobbity-boo?" Ruy teases.

She rolls her eyes, her lips tilting into yet another smile. This lady smiles quite a bit. "Bibbity-bobbity-boo. Happy now, Ruy?"

"Very."

Another elf walks up from behind us, and Melia greets her. "Glim hurt herself," this elf says. "Again."

"Ah. Bet it's hard to keep her in check," Melia says, with a laugh, as she moves towards one of the shelves.

"Yep. Glim's not as easy as Ruy."

Melia laughs again, before shooing Ruy out. "C'mon, show them their rooms," she says. "I need to help Jae with Glimmer's... is it a burn, by any chance?"

Jae nods. "Another point for you, huh?" she says. "How the heck do you keep guessing it?"

"She mentioned wanting to try cooking last night," Melia says, with a grin. "I thought I'd get the salves ready."

She turns back towards Ruy. "I'll see you later?"

He smiles, a soft one that I've never seen on him. "For sure."

And then we go down the stairs, following Ruy and Alvar to our new rooms.

˚ ༘ 🌷  ──  author's note!

melia's back!! hbsdhb it's been a while :') i'm glad that i get to write rulia again

and also ,, i've been (re)writing this kotlc fanfic to get better at writing, since i'm not super into the books anymore, and sjdhskfs how. how do people have such pretty meaningful sweet short writing styles i doNt understand -

hnn anywho - feel free to vote or comment, i rlly appreciate it! <3 see u on thurs >:)