Loa III

15th night of the Month of Ice, 16:05, after Midnight

It could be worse, it's all Loa can think about as she feels the weight of the tension that has enveloped the room, they could have invited the more people. But it seems consort Pherenike had decided to keep it mostly…familiar. The tea party included the consort herself, Loa, the Infans, Yva Gernot and Hilde. It's strange and Loa wonders if the party invitations had been given out by the prince himself, since the consort looked as comfortable as Loa herself felt.

The only person that seems to be enjoying herself is the Infans, that hums to herself as she slowly picks apart a pastry, ignoring everyone around her as she systematically destroys the sweet.

Loa worries, a tea party it's a normal thing to have, it should be filled with a flowing conversation and delicious sweets and tea, of course, but of those three things, only one is missing.

The conversation.

They have been sipping tea in silence for a very long time, it's terrible, she can't even enjoy the delicious tea!

"A pity" speaks the consort queen, clearing her throat "that Vyshe Ulrik could not attend"

"Indeed" says Yva Gernot taking a sip of her own tea "Mother is preparing for the Arsgang and this month is always very busy for her"

"How wonderful must it be to have a soon to be Vyshe in your home, Yva" smiles the consort, clapping her hands in delight "It's almost like a family tradition!"

"It has its benefits" says Yva side eyeing her daughter Hilde, that looks at her lap almost ashamed "But it will be sad not to be able to see my daughter's face outside the home"

That brings the mood down again just as it was getting up. Loa swallows and looks at Hilde that is still staring at her lap, mouth upturned into a pronounced pout that makes her look a second away from crying.

"No love in sight?" Asks Loa conspiratorially to Hilde that, thankfully is sitting on the same sofa as Loa, so she is not forced to raise her voice in any way.

Hilde's head snaps up, eyes shiny and mouth open. Then, she clears her throat and smiles a wavering smile.

"Not yet" she whispers and Loa smiles back, she can also see from her periphery the queen leaning forward in interest, nodding along and Loa knows it was the right choice. Romance and gossip is always a good topic in tea parties.

"I'm surprised Lord Anax has not started to court to you yet" teases Loa "He was always following you around, I think it was the only reason he ever played with us when we were children"

Loa laughs and the queen joins, Apollodora stopping her pastry destruction to look up at whatever is so funny.

"I-I" starts Hilde, voice too loud for a moment, and Loa smiles gently, she knows it takes her a while, but Hilde wants to participate "I never noticed"

"Of course not!" Chuckles Loa and then smirks "You were too busy yourself, following Ni-Vyshe Ardashir around"

Hilde's pale face explodes into a bright red color and Apollodora looks at all of them individually before wrinkling her nose in pure teenage disgust.

"Oh That I never knew about!" Says the queen interestedly, smiling widely.

Yva herself also looks interested, raising an eyebrow at her daughter.

"Doesn't he walk you home when you leave the Ogdra late? " she comments with a small smile "Is there something I must know, Hilde?"

Hilde shakes head, still red, and scratches at the side of her mouth, dodging everything eye in the room.

"I told him…a long while ago" she mumbles and Loa's eyes widen. That, she didn't know about!

"And?" Asks Loa when Hilde doesn't continue speaking.

"He rejected me…but he was very sweet about it!" Says Hilde, waving her hands to calm the situation before it sours. She blushes again "We are still friends…and I like him better like that"

"Why did you like him anyway? He is so rude" Asks Apollodora still looking disgusted, but then tilts her head like she is considering something and then shivers visibly "I suppose he is handsome, but that scar…"

The queen stares at her daughter with narrowed eyes. And Loa laughs, Hilde shakes her head.

"Still very handsome and kind" she says "But not my type anymore, just a silly crush"

"Well, you're young still" smiles the queen "You still have time to choose someone that's more than a silly crush"

Before Hilde can sputter an excuse or even an answer, the door to the drawing room opens, and prince Artemy leans inside to room, looking at each of them before stopping on Hilde.

"Hey cousin" he greets with a smirk, but he doesn't sound as smug as usual, the tone much more neutral than normal.

Hilde's timid smile freezes and she stands up, reaching the door in record time, even as Yva's calls her name in angry mumbles.

"I'm going to steal her for a second, mother" says Artemy, grabbing Hilde's arm and pulling her towards himself "You won't even miss her"

The door closes the minute he finishes, taking Hilde with him, leaving the room quiet in confusion.

"What about you, Dora?" Asks the queen, trying to keep the conversation going "Any love in your near future?"

"Of course not! I'm busy" says Apollodora haughtily "No time for love!"

Loa giggles, they may say they're not similar, but Loa can see Artemy in her every time Apollodora talks with that kind of confidence.

But Loa's mind wanders. Maybe this is her chance, she never finished her talk with Artemy, and afterwards he had been busy with his uncle's Baru, and Loa had not wanted to bother him about her own problems. But now…now they can continue where they kept it the other night.

She stands up and then her mind blanks when the queen and Yva stare at her with bewilderment.

"I…I need to go to the bathroom!" She exclaims and hurries to the door as fast as her dress allows.

The black marble halls of the palace are empty, not a soul in sight, Loa looks both ways, trying to find where Artemy and Hilde wandered off to, and instead finds the crouching figure of the caith, scratching at the floor in front of a door and yowling like it's world is ending.

Bingo.

Artemy and that beast have always been attached to the hip, if it's there waiting, then Artemy is probably in that room.

Loa approaches slowly, and the caith notices her the moment she starts to move towards it, but it doesn't seem to care much as it goes back to yowling at the door, tails swishing in displeasure.

"Hey there…pretty" mumbles Loa, it was a female, right? She was almost completely sure Artemy had said at some point it was a female.

The caith moves then, but not to attack, it—she? She— she sits and stares at the door. Maybe the beast is smarter than it looks. Loa comes up to the door and knock timidly.

"Art-your majesty? Hilde?" She whispers to the door.

No one answers and Loa looks around, should she speak louder? She knocks again, louder this time and the caith yowls again, raising an enormous furry paw to the door's handle and actually opening it.

What? No! Bad animal!

Loa stares at the caith as it prances inside the room purring, and, since, everything has been going wrong in Loa's life already, she follows the beast. It's not like it can get worse.

The room is a bedroom, an empty one, and the caith has jumped on the bed and has curled up in a massive ball of black fur and content purrs. It's almost adorable, one can forget it could tear anyone apart at any moment.

Loa looks around curiously and walks towards one of the windows in the room, she should get out, go back to the drawing room, but there, on the windowsill, something is glimmering against the moonlight.

And Loa, like a mindless beast, goes towards it.

It's a knife.

A small one and not shaped like a dagger or a cutlery knife. It's silver, with a smooth and flat blade that makes up half of the knife's body, and sharp, very sharp but not particularly pointy-looking. It's clean, not even a stain visible. Loa doesn't touch it, just frowns at it.

Why is there a knife here?