Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen
The light of the day saw a breakfast routine that involved a mostly skittish Josette, a terrifyingly peeved Isabella and a wondering Anne who had spent the night before sleeping like a log and woke up this morning to the sights of a blue haired small girl.
"Is she your lover?" she mouthed in my direction only for me to shake my head. Isabella, bless her keen hearing, heard and glared with the strength of a rising thunderstorm in Anne's direction, her right hand gripping the knife with which to cut the ham clenched around the silver to the point where I was wondering if she had left her imprints on it.
"Holy familiar or not, if there is anything you want to say to my husband, you can say it aloud for us all to hear," Isabella said sharply, glaring daggers at Anne, who in turn huffed and shook her head.
"Being jealous was cute the first time you did that, but now it's just annoying, so can't you cut that down?" Anne replied airily. Differently from before, she now did have access to a teleportation device of sorts, so she was no longer scared of whatever Isabella could do to her. Any order the princess gave could, after all, be countermanded by the king. Anne understood she was in an iron barrel of safeties now, and there was nothing Isabella could do if not hope that through convincing arguments, she'd get through Anne.
Convincing a teenager through words alone, uh, good luck Isabella.
Meanwhile, Josette was fidgeting with her breakfast, not really hungry, but still taking small bites out of a toast with jam on it. She looked downcast, her expression sour. "Good things come to those who wait," I hazarded in her direction, making her lift her gaze to stare at me. I smiled awkwardly at her. "I'm sure everything will be fine, Josette."
"Brother...I don't know," Josette mumbled, "what if I made things worse?"
"I'll take care of it-" I said, only for a sharp rebuttal to outright fly in the air in the form of a snappish tone.
"Absolutely not!" Isabella huffed, her words like a slap. "The last time you took care of it, why, I lost years of my life in worry! No, I will take care of it and you will wait in the library, or by the lake's shores, or wherever it is you wish to wait that isn't in the same room as the Duke!" she glared at Anne next, "And while you're at it, you can keep an eye on this arrogant familiar of my father."
"Did she eat something that yapped this morning or what?" Anne replied dryly, "You didn't even worry about me yesterday, so why do you think today is going to be any different?"
"Whether it is or not, I will not have you risk ruining the chance of mending the relationship between the house d'Orleans and that of Gallia, so...either stay locked in your rooms or where Henry can supervise you. My husband's patience and understanding is legendary, but rest assured that mine is not-"
"He'd need that to stick around a self-entitled brat like you," Anne said offhandedly, flicking her hair behind her back in a sort of come and get me, bitch attitude. My shoulders slumped. One year. One year of a crash course in etiquette, one year of teaching someone how to be respectable to others, and it all went down the drain the moment she learned she was the Holy Mind of God and as a familiar of the King no matter what Isabella said, she couldn't punish or sentence her to death.
Isabella's frustration on the matter was the source of pretty much a near constant headache to anyone in her nearby proximity whenever such a thing popped up again, because as Isabella began to grit her teeth and grind them, I tried my best to ignore the rising bonfire in favor of the potentially easier to solve problem.
"Now, Josette," I said with a small smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure Isabella will do her best, and if all else fails, then you can count on-"
"No," Isabella said flatly, making me clench my own cutlery as I inwardly groaned. What? What is it? "Whatever happens, you are not to intervene. Have I been clear? No matter what, Henry, you will stay right where you'll be safe from reprisals of any kind." She narrowed her eyes. "The Duke might just decide to think this was all planned to further ridicule him, and if he sees you, he might just up and challenge you for the sake of restoring his honor and, knowing you, you'd accept. You will stay right here."
"Control freak much?" Anne said dryly, only for Isabella to outright slam both of her hands on the table and snarl back at the girl with enough anger to make Anne herself jump slightly back.
"I've had it with your annoying remarks you pathetic excuse of a commoner!" Isabella's eyes were ablaze, even as she tightened her fists. "I've had it." She shook her head with a bitter smile. "Look at this, a commoner getting under my skin-I should have her flayed alive and burned, perhaps doused in cold water to have her skin crack as she still lives-"
"Isabella," I began, only to be abruptly silenced.
"Stop defending her, Henry!" Isabella snarled, "Stop it! You are my husband, and the fact you have to bring her alongside you like some pathetic puppy does not change the fact that you swore to look only at me, to protect only me, to be only mine! That's what you swore in the name of the gods and you will do so!"
"S...Sister Isabella," Josette said awkwardly, "I'm really, really glad you are willing to help me, and I am sorry I caused you so much trouble," she mumbled, "Please...don't scream?"
Isabella sighed loudly, closing her eyes and breathing in and out deeply. "Very well," she said in the end with a voice that promised painful retributions to be had. "Because it's little Josette, then I'll mercifully forgive these two foolish persons. Oh, I know my hair will turn white before I turn twenty-" she sighed, massaging the right side of her temple.
"White or blue hair, you'd still be beautiful either way," I piped in from the side, making Isabella snap her eyes on me and then chuckle softly.
"Smooth talker," Isabella said as she sat back down. "Now...let us hopefully finish this breakfast without any further troubles, shall we?"
"Aye, aye, queen bitch," Anne mumbled, but at a low enough volume that thankfully, this time, Isabella did not hear it.
I did elbow Anne in a sort of shush it way. In reply, I received a stomping answer on my right foot for my act, but I merely ground my teeth and did nothing more. Put two self-entitled teenagers in the same room and watch the sparks fly. Thankfully, Josette was a good kid. I smiled at her warmly, and Josette returned my smile. Ah...the moe character was always the one that rekindled my hope for mankind in this sad world of ours.
Don't worry, I'll ensure your brains won't end up splattered anywhere anytime soon. Though I did wonder if there was anyone sane in the Gallian royal line, or if I was the one that brought sanity back into it.
I did head to the library as per instructions though, if nothing else because I didn't want to upset Isabella any further. Anne followed, perhaps because she wasn't honestly in the mood for a shouting match.
"Do you want to know what is the better part of valor, Anne?" I remarked as I glanced at her.
"What? Eating crumpets while others fight for you?" she replied. I snorted, and quietly opened the window of the library, the attendants nearby tensing slightly, even as the guards already understood what I was just about ready to do, and didn't know whether stopping me would be wise, or if it would lead to their untimely execution. Anne didn't understand why I had opened the window, but then again, she hadn't buried her nose in the magical chants available to mages.
"Knowing when to fold to come back and fight another day," I replied most dutifully, my arms crossed over the windowsill, the guards relaxing slightly since I didn't make a move for my wand. "Also, it's not like you have to follow me. You can...teleport, can you not?"
"Bah, even so-what would I be good for?" she grumbled back, her arms crossed and her back against the wall near the window. "You heard her royal headacheness," she made air quotes, "She'll deal with it. Poor kid, she couldn't even speak with you-whatever the hell is her business anyway? She doesn't look like your sister."
"In Gallia, there is a rule that should twins be born to the royal family, one of them must be killed to ensure no internal strife in the country," as I said that, I saw Anne's face morph into a scowl and a grimace of disgust.
"That's-that's horrible!" she exclaimed, "I can't believe they're allowed to get away with it!"
"They are royalty, they make the laws," I pointed out. "Though I do agree it's barbaric, it is in their culture, and it is what it is. Josette's mother, Duchess Marie D'Orleans, couldn't go through with it, and so decided to leave her in the care of a monastery. I, however, found her and decided to bring her somewhere she could be happier," I shrugged.
"Why?" Anne asked.
"Why not?" I replied hotly. "Just because I can't save everyone, does it mean I shouldn't at least save someone? If I can't save a hundred, let me at least save one person, even one is enough," I nodded most wisely.
Anne sighed, and pushed with both of her hands her hazel hair behind her back. "So...they left her, you rescued her, and then they decided they wanted her back?" her lips thinned from displeasure. "If they abandoned her-then they shouldn't keep their rights on her. Poor kid's gonna grow up all wrong being moved right and left like that-" she stretched lightly, pushing herself off the wall. "So, we gonna go kick ass and take names?"
I stared at her and smiled, a hand resting gently on my sword. "For sleep comes to those who are blessed," in a split second, the guards moved. It was too late. The thick vapors of sleeping water sprayed themselves in all directions, even as Raven flapped his wings once, appearing as an angel of vengeance from beyond the window to bring his talons down and grab hold of me. At the same time, Anne disappeared in the shadows to reappear outside in the gardens, where Raven brought me soon after.
"Isabella is going to kill me," I said with a lighthearted chuckle, staring up at the sky as Raven landed by my side, "But..." I extended a hand, "comrades?"
Anne looked at the stretched hand, and then extended her own in turn. As I moved to shake her, she lifted her up and let it pass by the side of her face, before making a mock-gun with her fingers and winking at me, "Got ya!"
I stared, puzzled. I wanted to honestly throttle her, but-but I didn't.
I simply smiled. "That you did," I said with a smile. "Now, seriously please..."
And this time, as she came in to actually shake my hand, I mimicked her flawlessly.
"Got ya," I said in answer, much to her widening eyes. "It was like...that, right?"
They would probably meet somewhere in the middle between the royal holiday villa and the Duke's mansion, and thus we had no time to lose.
My heart was beating like crazy, but-but I wasn't going to let this go unchallenged.
I had the perfect plan after all...
...absolutely nothing could go wrong!
R Josette is family to Henry and thus he cares, any other are unknowns and ultimately statistics.
