By My Side | The Arcana: A mystic Romance

7:West Wing

"So, you're the magician.", one of the courties said, excitement evident in her one good eye.

"Volta is so very pleased to eat— I mean, meet you!", she giggled childishly.

Procurator Volta was the first to speak, beating Haya and the other courtiers to it. To be honest, she was relieved that she didn't have to make the fist move, she wasn't the most sociable person.

The countess played a light tune as they spoke, seemingly not paying mind to their conversation from her place in front of her organ.

Next to the procurator sat a tall fellow with skin of a sickly pale greyish colour. He had a sheepish smile on his face, much in spite of his insightly appearance.

"Indeed, pleased to finally meet you, dear magician. I am praetor Vlastomil.", he said in a high pitched voice. He had a scholarly air about him that made him look rather odd in contrast with his appearance.

To the side stood an astute figure adorned with red armory. It wasn't clear weather this one was male or female, so Haya settled on "they".

"I am the pontifex Vulgora.", they declared, right hand clutched into a fist before their chest. They looked liked the prideful kind, muscled forearms giving off the impression of a seasoned fighter.

"Yes, yes, nice to meet you, magician. I am the quaestor, Valdemar. Now, I must be on my way. Those leeches won't pry themselves open.", the quaestor said quickly before rushing out the room.

Silence overtook the room, only the countess' organ could be heard as she played a rather delightful tune.

Behind the couch stood the only human looking one among them. His lond hair, black at the roots and blonde towards the tips. It was plaited at the back into a single, thick braid, and was cast over his shoulder. He looked irritated, probably by his colleagues. Or perhaps by Haya's sudden appearance in the palace. Haya did all that was in her power not to look him directly in eye from her place on the far end of the couch. She took a sip of the tea Portia had brought earlier.

"Consul Valerius.", he greeted Haya with a curt nod. Haya nodded in return

"Dainty little thing, aren't you? I don't suppose you don't have a name.", he said, sounding rather sardonic in his tone of voice. He took a sip of his red wine and eyed Haya expectantly. She couldn't help but think he looked a bit familiar, it was as if she knew him from somewhere.

"Haya, my name is Haya. I'm-", she began, but was brought to an abrupt stop when the consul tipped his glass over, spilling the thick, red, wine onto Haya's white clad shoulder.

Exhausted as she was, in a second she was on her feet, eyes wide with surprise as she stared at him incredulously.

"Oops, it seems that my wine has spilt."

His tone was indifferent as he spoke unhurriedly, giving Haya a glance filled with disdain.

Just as Haya was about to speak the countess came to her side. With a hand on Haya's shoulder, she said, "That is quite enough consul, leave us now. All of you."

She looked at each of the courtiers as she said this in an authoritative tone.

Haya was caught off guard by this, she had forgotten where she was for a moment. In fact, she almost told flew at the man while singing and a long list of insults. Thank goodness for the countess' quick reaction, otherwise she would have greatly offended the man in the most vulgar of ways.

The courtiers were quick to leave, the pocurator berating the consul as they walked through the door.

"How terrbly rude of you, consul Valerius.", she said in that little whisper of a voice.
"Yes, very rude of you indeed.", preator Vlastomil's sharp voice faded as they went further into the corridor.

Now that they were alone, the countess' hand slipped from Haya's shoulder. On her face was an incomprehensible look, she was deep in thought. She looked to the young lady and said, "I am so sorry, Haya. I'm afraid they can get a little out of control. They were the late count's confidants, but I cannot bring myself to truly trust them. If you allow it, then I will take action against the consul."

Haya heaved a sigh of relief, the countess truly was wise. It would be a mistake to trust those people, they had very bad energy about them that made her a bit uneasy.

"It's alright, your grace, there's no need to do anything.", Haya assured the older woman with a strained smile. "I'll go get changed.", Haya said again, quietly. Now wasn't the time to hold grudges and make new enemies. She headed for the door after Nadia nodded at her in affirmation.

"Haya.", the countess called, just as she stepped out the door. Haya looked back over her shoulder. "Meet me at the balcony once you're done."

With a final nod, Haya left the countess to her thoughts.

She changed into something clean and more to her taste, more blue, before heading back out.

Now, the palace had many balconies. Countless, in fact, but the countess had one particular favourite. Haya knew exactly where to meet her, even after only having been there for a few days.
She found the countess waiting for her as she overlooked the the garden from the railing of the balcony. She looked stressed, but was clearly trying to hide it.

Haya decided not to ask about it.

"The time has come for the yearly masquerade. Portia will go to the town square tomorrow to make the announcement. You may go with her if you would like. I trust you would want to check on your shop and get anything that you might need for the duration of your stay here.", the countess said with a charming smile. It seemed she had something in mind for Haya, she couldn't help but wonder what that might be.

Standing beside the the older woman, Haya pondered for a moment. It was a tempting offer, she doubted that she'd get the chance to go into the city with how busy her schedule was going to be. With an affirmative nod, she said, "I do, in fact, have something I'd like to check at the shop."

She turned to face the countess, her gaze contamplative. She was concerned that the doctor might have taken the chance to break in again while she wasn't there. It wouldn't hurt to check.

"Good then. Now, I believe you should be needing of more to work with on the case. I will have Portia bring you to the count's old wing for you to look through."

Although she said this decicively, the countess sounded a bit hesitant in her tone. Haya simply nodded, not wanting to find out what had put the older woman in such low spirits. They continued to converse about the case just for a while before Haya left for the west wing, where the count took his last breath.

At the bottom of the stairs leading to the wing sat two dogs with fur as white as snow. Portia tried to lead them elsewhere, but they wouldn't move away from their spot. She looked at Haya apologetically and offered an explanation.
"I'm sorry about them, Haya. They belonged to the late count. They never left his side when he was alive, and ever since his passing they've never left this place.", she said with a sigh. One of the dogs licked her hand and she sighed in resignation.

"Melchior, you're not helping at all.", she said, before turning to look at Haya. The lady had an awkward smile on her face, looking between the dogs the Portia.
"This way, dear magician!", she announced rather enthusiastically, and almost too excitedly for someone who wasn't a part of the case. Haya simply chuckled and followed the auburn ball of glee.

It took three turns past dark corridors for them to reach the one leading to the count's bedroom. It was there that Portia came to a hesitant stop, where she bid Haya farewell and good luck with her search. The moment she disappeared past the corner a loud voice overtook Haya's mind, wailing in what sounded lika agony and pain.

A faint light falshed at the edge of her vision, and she couldn't help but hold her breath. The wailing only got louder as she walked closer to the bedroom door. Her heart beat so fast that she thought it would stop, but this was no time to let fear overtake her. She opened the door, the voice rising to a screech as she did. Trepidation would be an understatement when describing what Haya was feeling, but she had to cast it aside. For the countess.

The door slowly swung open, squeaking lowly at the hinges. The feeling of apprehensiveness crept up her spine, she felt like something was coming her way. Wide-eyed, she halted mid-step as a gust of dusty wind blew at her from inside the room.