sic semper tyrannis

flectere si nequeo superos, acheronta movebo

Miraculously, Kaveh seemed to get better after that conversation.

More weeks slipped by and his eyes were still dull and his expressions still forced, but he managed through regardless. After all, there were no more tutoring sessions, no more spars, and certainly no more expectations placed upon his head.

Kaveh was free to do as he chose, so he often did.

The library grew used to their constant presence, the kitchen to their slipping quietly inside for a quick bite (Kaveh didn't bother to show up to dinner with his parents anymore, after all), and the pile of drawings he produced seemed to grow endlessly. Alhaitham hoped it was liberating for him. Though, as relieved as he was to see his prince seemingly become less depressed, there was no hiding the truth in his research.

Kaveh would sit in the library for hours on end, seemingly consuming the contents of every niche history book he'd never been allowed to indulge in before. He'd light up at different things and it brought a smile to Alhaitham's face when he recounted them to him, voice high as he rambled on about things that interested him.

It didn't disguise the other things he was reading when he thought Alhaitham wasn't looking. He could easily see him slide in books on poisons, natural toxins, and medicinal herbs between the stacks of history. It wouldn't have been alarming if it weren't for how obviously he tried to disguise it.

The more concerning thing, however, was the transition that occurred after. With less of the library sufficiently read than Alhaitham thought they would get through, Kaveh seemed to be done with it, and he moved on to paying visits regularly to the city below.

It seemed simple at first. He'd indulge in foods he'd never been able to taste before with a smile on his face and it was hard for Alhaitham not to offer one in return. They paid visits to quite a few museums, parks, and intricate buildings. Kaveh seemed to light up at each one, more often sitting to the side and doodling away in a notebook than not.

Then came the visit to a few greenhouses. It produced doodles of plants, sketches of beautiful flowers, and, on occasion, they'd come home with a few flowers in hand. They'd sit pretty on Kaveh's desk for a few days within a vase until eventually, they withered, petals falling to the floor below.

Kaveh would stare at them from his chair, one hand held against his cheek while dark circles sat heavy under his eyes. The look he gave them was blank, half-lidded, and unfocused. He'd sigh after a while, cast a glance back at Alhaitham, and offer him a weak smile.

"It pains me to see them wilt," he'd murmur.

Alhaitham would pick up the petals, discard the plant, and the desk would be empty again. "Is it better when they're here?"

And his prince would hum in response, tilt his head from side to side as if considering, and nod. "Yes, I think so."

More trips would follow due to the comment. The greenhouse attendants were becoming wont to see them and, after everything that transpired, no one was ready to lift a hand to defy Kaveh's requests, so they did as they pleased.

Perhaps Alhaitham should have paid more attention to it. He'd already drawn the connection—toxins and poisonous plants to visiting a place where they were accessible wasn't exactly difficult, though he didn't bring it up. He never saw Kaveh stray too far away from what were simply pleasant flowers and herbal plants, and besides, the prince would always demand he never go far.

He could only think back on a few times that Kaveh strayed from him. He'd learned the name of the Akademiya graduate who tended the greenhouse was named Tighnari, a botanist.