The Poisoned Crown (SyndiSparklez)

8.1: The Night That No One Knows What Happened

                       

Trigger Warnings:

& = Almost Rape && = End of Almost Rape

# = Dark Character Portrayal/Offensive ## = End of Dark Character Portrayal/Offensive

* = Confusion/Anger at the Author ** = The Explanation is in the Second Part

9:00 pm

A guard shined a light on an approaching carriage, confused. They weren't expecting any traffic or visitors. The driver was familiar, someone he had let through many times before. He was about to just let it pass, when he heard something strange coming from inside. A sort of odd growling noise. He walked along the carriage until he got to the door and then knocked. No one answered. The guard's eyes fell to the outside lock and his brows furrowed. This was used for prisoners, not normal carriages. Unless they were smuggling in a wild animal. With enough reason to check the inside, the guard opened the door.

It leaped out. He couldn't even draw his sword before it was on top of him, its saliva dripping from its gnarled mouth. He only had a second to scream before it was devouring him. The carriage driver momentarily slackened and the wild creature suddenly twisted away from killing the guard, lifted the body into the carriage with jerky motions and then closed the carriage door behind the body and himself. The lock closed on the outside again with a gust of magic and the carriage driver suddenly sat up with a twisted motion and began moving the carriage forward again.

9:30 pm

Guard Tom whistled a happy tune, having been told to stay guarding, even during the night. Sleep could wait, he guessed. Maybe he'd be given a break later into the night. What did it matter anyway, he was paid overtime and this wasn't forever. He stood posted outside the door to the bedroom of Mr. Exorcist and the Troublemaker without batting an eye. He switched tunes, occasionally, his eyes occasionally drifting down the halls to make sure no one was coming along.

10:45 pm

Sonja was sorting potions when her hand fell on the love potion and the light magic potion. The ones Jordan refused. She glanced to Tucker who had drifted into her room at one point, claiming the water pressure in his shower sucked. He was scratching his foot against the frame of the bed. Charming. 

"Hey, babe," she quipped, causing him to look up. His hair was a haggard mess and he looked on the verge of going to sleep. Likely, because she had made him walk around the whole day and go through shops with her. Somehow that drained him more than patrols used to.  

"Yeah?" he asked, continuing the annoying skritch, skritch, skritch of rubbing his foot against the bed frame. She just sighed, mentally noting to get him new shoes since he wasn't smart enough to figure out it was his shoes that were causing him the blisters. Men.

"Do you think it's a bad idea if I were to absently tip this," she said gesturing to the love potion, "in Jordan's coffee tomorrow?" she asked. Tucker snorted and went back to adamantly scratching his foot.

"If it makes him less pissy, I'd do it," Tucker said, his skritch, skritch noise getting louder. It was getting on Sonja's nerves.

"For god's sake Tucker, use an anti-itch potion," Sonja groaned, grabbing the correct vile and flinging it at Tucker. He caught it and looked at it with surprise. 

"Those exist?" Tucker asked, examining the vile before dumping it on his foot. She nearly wanted to strangle him. "It's not working," he remarked.

"Babe, honey, you're supposed to drink it," Sonja said through gritted teeth. He glanced up at her and then guiltily at the vile. Sheepishly, he stopped scratching his foot and drifted into the bathroom saying he needed a shower. Shaking her head, Sonja started looking for another itching potion.