Defender of the Soul

Chapter 17: Laying Worries to Rest

Goth absently sorted through the stack of books at his side, his mind occupied by yesterday's encounter and whimsical what-ifs. His mentor was absent once again and Palette had yet to arrive for their daily rendezvous, affording him the luxury of letting his mind wander in the meantime. The sound of the door opening was music to his non-existent ears as he shelved the book in his hand, smiling subconsciously as he made his way to the banister to greet them.

Clearing the shelves, his sockets furrowed in confusion, "... Sir Xander?" They were standing in the doorway of the archives carrying a tray holding a teapot and a pair of cups. Descending the stairs, Goth offered them a smile, "Greetings, what brings you here this evening?"

"Palette asked me to keep you company since he couldn't make it tonight," Xander explained, pushing the door closed with his shoulder.

Worry seeped into Goth's voice, "Couldn't make it? Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's good; that fopdoodle sprained his ankle messing around in a sparring match earlier," Xander snickered, moving towards the nearest table to set down the tray, "it's nothing big, but he was told to stay off it and rest in the barracks. If you want, I can escort you to go see him after you're done here."

"I'd like to go now if you don't mind," Goth requested. It would be difficult to concentrate on his work until he confirmed Palette's condition for himself.

"He said you'd say something like that," Xander chuckled, "He told me to make sure you finish your duties first; he doesn't want you getting in trouble for leaving things a mess because of him."

"That does sound like something he would say," Goth sighed, accepting that work came before leisure, "Very well; I'll finish my tasks, then we shall go see Palette."

"Actually, I wanted to talk with you for a bit. With what's been going on lately, I thought we could talk over tea," Xander said, gesturing to the tray's contents.

It took Goth a moment to remember Palette had mentioned he knew two or three people he deemed trustworthy yesterday, "... Palette told you what has transpired over the past few months?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to talk more in-depth with you about what he said," Xander confirmed, pouring the tea carefully into each cup. Setting down the pot, the knight explained, "It was... a lot; I wanted to confirm some things so I know what all we're dealing with."

Goth took a seat, accepting the cup that was given to him, "There is much to go over... perhaps you could tell me what you know so I may fill in the blanks?"

Xander nodded, taking a seat across from the prince as he laid out what he knew. Goth listened carefully in between sips of tea; the taste was a bit sweet for his liking, but the knight across from him seemed to have no aversion toward drinking it. Since he considered it poor taste to criticize a kind gesture, the tea went uncommented upon.

Once they finished, Goth let their words sink in and replied, "His recollection of events was quite thorough; I'm afraid there's not much I may add to it. The only revision I can think of is that my sister and I weren't fighting prior to the carriage attack, contrary to Palette's worries; rather, I was asked to retrieve her fan from the carriage and teased her in return for some prior ribbing." It took him a moment to realize his unintentional pun, drawing a quiet snort from him; the following silence caused him to look up, and he noticed there was some tension in the knight's expression, "Is something wrong?"

Xander heaved a sigh, "I'm sorry if this comes off as rude, but I never thought Pal being around you was a good idea." He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms and scowling at the table as he continued, "People like us getting overly involved with people like you never ends well, and I don't think he really understands what he's getting himself into."