The Way We Fall

Chapter 171 (Roche)

TW: Descriptions of vi0lence and g0re

Roche's best friend was getting married. She couldn't stop grinning at the thought as she rushed about the castle. The castle was in a state of action. It would be many months until the wedding was to be held, but an engagement marked the beginning of several events for the queen. Roche wished she could enjoy them as much as Tigris did, but unfortunately the engagement meant even more work on her part.

It didn't help that Eris' poison had done a number on her. She was still throwing up every few meals she ate, much to Verita and Leinos' concern. Her muscles had also contracted painfully once her adrenaline rush had faded, leaving her shaky and unable to stand for long periods of time. Leinos had told her that while Circe's healing enchantments had saved her from certain death, it would be at least a week or two until the full effects of the poison were flushed from her body.

That left Roche stumbling around like a broken doll as she tried to match the demands brought by the queen's engagement. Even her happiness for her friends couldn't erase just how much she was struggling. So when Tigris announced that she and the knights would be leaving the castle for a celebratory hunting trip, Roche was relieved. She was ready to do anything to be spared from her increased duties, if only for a few hours.

Apparently, it was customary for Faultless monarchs to go on a hunt upon engagement with their most trusted allies to solidify bonds and to celebrate in general. That meant Tigris, Aodh, Ivie, Sir Harold, Brom, and Ruth were all invited on this hunt. Tigris warded off any other well meaning and not so well meaning nobles from joining. Even the queen was getting a bit tired of all the celebrations. That meant that when the morning of the fateful hunt came, three days after Kai's proposal, Tigris, Aodh, and the knights were raring to go.

"Come on, Roche! We'll be hunting, you don't need to bring anything with you!" Tigris whined impatiently as Roche led her stocked horse into the courtyard. She shot the queen a surly glare.

"You can hunt all the game in the forest, my lady, but they'll all taste bland without my spices. And let's not forget, you need bowls to eat them with. And water skins to wash down the food with. And-"

"Alright, alright, we get it," Aodh grumbled, practically bouncing on his horse, "Let's go!"

Roche rolled her eyes, grabbing the saddle to haul herself up. "You royals are all so-" The rest of her sentence was choked off by a rush of inkblood. She wasn't sure where it was from or what it was, but the wave of malevolence crashed into her with the force of a tidal wave. The world blacked out around her as she weathered the darkness. It wrapped around her, choking, squeezing. She couldn't see. Haunting animalistic screeches ripped through her consciousness painfully, leaving a hollow, empty chill behind.

There was an impact against her back, something solid and firm and real. Roche gasped, the air flooding out of her in a rush as her back smacked against the cobblestones. Sometime during the fit, she'd let go of the saddle.

"Roche!" Brom shouted in alarm, moving to swing his legs off the horse.

Roche scrambled to stand, her head spinning.

"I'm fine!" she insisted, her voice hollow and breathless to her own ears, "I just slipped."

Her mind raced. What the hell had that been? Someone using their inkblood, undoubtedly. But what for? She shivered. She'd never felt such darkness, such coldness in her life. It had felt like death itself had swept its skeletal hand across her brow.

"Are you alright?" Tigris asked.

Roche swallowed, nodding. She had to figure this out discreetly. If the enchantment was this powerful, then it had to be the Council's doing. Eris was probably up to something. She needed to figure out what.