King of Spades

Growth and Decay

 Delune had grown up quite a lot in the past few days. It felt as if mere hours ago she was sliding through the kitchen on her socks, sneaking donuts that weren't meant for her. Now she was talking to spirits in the woods and holding onto terrible yet important secrets only she could truly know. What a time to be alive, she thought, as she rushed down the hall towards her parent's room. She had found a perfect place to tell them her secret, a small room with a single high window and no furniture. It was made completely of stone, and it was perfect.

"Mum? Dad?" Delune called, knocking gently on the door to their room. A few seconds later, when there was no reply, she knocked again. It wasn't until the fourth knock that the door creaked open, and she saw her mother standing in a white nightgown, rubbing her eyes.

"What is it?" She droned. Delune felt as if she had interrupted her mother and father's sleep, as when she peered further into the room she could see bags under the King's eyes. A bit awkwardly, Delune inhaled sharply and stepped into the lavish room.

"I need to talk to you guys." She admitted, moving her fingers up and down the seams of her dress. Her mother tilted her head incredulously, sitting down on the side of the bed.

"Can it wait until we're up and dressed, Delune?" The Queen asked, smoothing out the bedcovers. Delune solemnly nodded and left the room, closing the door gently behind her. She sat on the bench in the hall until both the King and Queen emerged, at least 30 minutes later, in full royal attire, complete with their golden crowns. Delune was surprised at this, as they only wore their royal attire on important occasions, and as far as she knew there was nothing going on today. Perhaps she knew less than she thought.

"Mum, why are you in your royal dress?" Delune inquired, feeling awkward in her daywear (pants and a simple blouse with puffy sleeves).

"The generals and ambassadors are arriving today, Delune. We've asked them to come on short notice, after what happened at the banquet 2 days ago." The Queen said softly, smoothing out her royal blue dress. It had a cut down the middle to show a golden petticoat with beautiful embroidered flowers on it.

Delune pauses. She knows what happened at the banquet. The refugees appeared and told their story, and it terrified the Queen so much she refused to speak about it until now, "I see... should I wear my royal attire as well?" Delune's voice was less urgent than it should have been, in her opinion.

"You can put it on later, if you would like," The king gave Delune a kind smile, one that she knew was meant to calm her ever-increasing nerves that showed on her paleing face.

"I just might," Delune's tone was surprisingly aggressive, "But I would really like to discuss something with both of you. Follow me, it's probably almost too late anyway." The king and queen exchanged worried glances that Delune didn't catch, because she was already walking with purpose down the hall. A moment later, all three were in the room she found earlier.

"So why exactly did you take us here, Delune?" Both parents had a confused look on their faces, which is why Delune started to cry as she told them everything. She told them of the wolf attack, then riding into the wolves to meet the spirit, then getting her leg healed. She told them of Savern's panicked face as he explained that they were attacked by a golem, and the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was wrong. She told them of Scaed Nackt's plans and of the trip back through the woods that somehow gave her more questions than answers. She told them of standing on the roof of the castle, just a few days ago, where she felt younger than she had ever been. Now she felt like she had run a million miles and had a billion more to go, but she just couldn't keep running without someone to help. And she cried, and they held her, and the room was silent.

***

Soldiers weren't meant to question things. They were meant to protect, prepare for battle, and fight occasionally. Ella, however, was done being a soldier. They still had two years left if they wanted their education to be paid for, but they were already finished sucking up to the pompous king and queen. Still, they wanted to learn how to be a scholar, and that meant being the best damn soldier they could be. So she got to stand outside the castle as the rain beat down. Ever since the wolf incident a week and a half ago, the castle was on high alert. Noone was to enter or leave without proper certification and identification. So here Ella was, in the rain, checking people's papers as thick sheets cascaded onto them. Even if they had the correct identification, it would be destroyed in the rain if read too slowly.

"Sir, you are not authorized to leave. Please get this signed by the king, queen, or one of their advisors." Ella drawled, the mundanity setting in at this point. This guy, Savern Lochart, had asked to go out 6 times, and each time Ella denied him because his papers were always incorrect. Each time, he had his horse (named Cripe? Ella couldn't remember, but he repeated it every time she saw him) and claimed she needed to get outside the castle grounds.

"How am I going to do that?" Savern demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Ella. She rolled her eyes silently, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Not my problem. Now please leave, I don't want to have to ask again," She said in a vaguely threatening tone, her eyes narrowing. To her delight, he clopped away on Crips and she was able to go back to standing with much annoyance in the rain.

***

 Sol would rather die than spend another moment in the health offices. They wanted to be something, go somewhere, do something. It was so mundane, sitting and waiting for their stupid leg to heal and the stupid sun to set so they could go to bed. It had been a week and a half since they were attacked by the golem, why couldn't they go out and fight? A week ago, a bunch of ambassadors and other important people came to the castle, and though Sol must admit it was nice to not have to exchange pleasantries with people they didn't know or care about, it was angering to be left out. Just a few days ago, Argan and Delune had visited them in full royal attire, complete with their fancy coats and tiaras.

"Sol?" A sweet, quiet voice asks from the doorway. Sol's nurse, Feina, stands there, holding a cane. "If you're feeling alright you may leave with this cane."

Sol shot up in bed, sending a shock of pain down their midsection. They tried not to show it, swinging their legs over the side of the bed and throwing the covers off. To their delight, they felt no dizziness, their vision didn't even cloud.

"I'm great!" They exclaimed, a smile spreading across their face. They wanted to get on horseback as soon as possible and return to the site of the golem attack. They couldn't help but feel like there was something that they had missed.

Feina quietly stepped closer and handed them the cane before leaving. Sol stood up and changed into their day clothes, the fanciest kind the room had stocked.

A moment later, they hobbled out of the room with the cane and down the hall.

***

Infiltrating the palace was stunningly easy. All it took was a mediocre disguise and some relatively convincing fakes to get in and get a room. That was how Guerre found herself sitting on the bed in a castle, wearing the clothes of a dead ambassador and waiting for an audience with the king and queen.