Balle, Day 11 (5)

Verinia played and gossiped for some more time, only once losing with a spade of ten hand. The sum of twenty always seemed to evade her, but she continued ranking evenly with knighted hands.

Passed some time, Sur Ka'iser appeared by the table to collect her with a silent glower that spoke more than his words ever could. The princess set down her last hand, a knight of sixteen, and took her protector's arm once again.

"It was a pleasure playing with you."

"Perhaps if we meet next time we may cast stakes, Ro'ni?" The earthen-haired woman had an expression to her face that could only be named serpentine, and Verinia desired no parts in casting lots with her, for games or otherwise.

"Perhaps." She smiled charmingly. "Pasme's goodwill."

"Pasme's goodwill," the three women replied in unison, a confusing slurry of drunken words and melting tongues.

The pair left the tent and continued to peruse the night market for some time. Verinia purchased sweets for Halen and the younger princes, and creamed rolls for Syvia and her other sisters, as well as some intriguing spices for aletha Crem, the palace cook.

Fahn, the greater sun, had fully set and the first moon was high in the sky, with the second moon casting its distant glow to rise when they arrived to Light Tower once more.

The palace servants bustled with vigour to complete the remainder of the day's tasks, and as she made her way to the kitchens to present the cook with his gifts, she caught sight of Kaelbi creeping through the gaping entryway of the kitchen's wagon port.

She followed the sneaking man with the hood of her cape still covering her head, and hid behind the colonnade of the cloister as she went.

The guards guarding the Sovereign's unmarried lovers in the Hall of Wonders were nowhere to be seen for their watch rotation, meanwhile Kaelbi entered through the doorway as though there were all the rights of the world for him to be there.

Verinia frowned, making a dash for the doors before they would return and heaving the heavy wood open enough for her lithe frame to enter through the gap.

The flutter of a cape drew her to it with silent steps. Her slippers made no sound against the polished sandstone of the floors, neither when she walked, or when she stumbled against a pillar to hide from Kaelbi's nervous eyes.

None of the residents were outside of their rooms, given the time. Kaelbi walked undisturbed, meanwhile Verinia tried not to feel attempted upon by the inquisitive eyes of the statues set along the Hall for visual enticement.

She turned her head away from the chisels of lovers in compromising positions with her cheeks burning in shame.

Kaelbi carried on until arriving before a set of ornate doors carved from the same sweet-smelling wood as the supoort beams of the Hall. Ornate carvings bathed in gold glimmered as the door opened, and Verinia restrained a gasp of scandal with all her might until the depths of her chest hurt.

"What are you doing here?" The woman within asked, looking at him with surprise. "I thought—"

"Don't worry. I'm here." He kissed her and pushed into the room to close the door behind them.

It was no question as to what would take place inside. Whether it went far or not, it was indecent!

Verinia crept back out of the Hall of Wonders, nearly in time for the second watch of guards to take their places.

Her mind began to fly with conjecture, the nature of which grew darker and darker, prompting scheme upon scheme until she found herself within the confines of the palace apothecary, and as yet another thought struck her, she stopped to think once again.

The Su'Adrit quickly began to search for the cabinet of tinctures and potions confectioned by Su'ni Anthipeia until she came upon a box with many slots for placing small bottles within.

Her deft fingers delicately opened the lid and began to search through the bottles, all of which were meticulously ordered by name in the subsequent order of their sirenames' first letters.

Su'ni Anthipeia preferred to order the bottles in such a fashion as their contents were prepared according to personal needs. When she finally found the bottle made for Elina Baddenkur, she removed its cork and tipped the potion into the neglected hearth, the likes of which would remain untouched until the time of frost came.

Dust scattered from the bare stone as the liquid fell and she covered it with coal and ashes.

Verinia made a mixture of water and the bitter syrup of re'zhi leaves to mimic the taste and texture of the potion.

The re'zhi plant was a broad bush bearing wide, dark leaves that released a violet coloured sap. That sap would be refined into a clear syrup through boiling with lotus root and was widely regarded amongst physicians for its various medicinal qualities.

One of the qualities of the re'zhi syrup was increased fertility.

Droughts were drafted and sold to women who had troubles with falling pregnant, but the medicine was incredibly expensive, because getting re'zhi leaves was akin to a suicide mission.

Their bushes only grew in the thick of places that had once upon a time been thick with magic. Now, those very places that had once been paradise for the people of the old world were the most dangerous to venture into.

The misfortunes that awaited those who dared to enter those places were innumerable.

Verinia returned the bottle to its rightful place and began to clean the utensils she had used thoroughly to ensure everything in the room became as it was before her intrusion.

It wasn't rare for her to visit the palace apothecary, but who could fault her for being cautious? She had everything to lose if her misdeeds ever came to see the light of day.

Her father would certainly punish her severely, perhaps even with death.

As she erased all trace of her presence from the apothecary, a voice she seldom heard within her mind wondered about the price she was paying for the sake of the continent.

'Why harm an innocent?' It asked.

But was Elina Baddenkur an innocent?

A concubine who dared to be unfaithful to her master was a dead concubine. A concubine who dared to be unfaithful to the Sovereign wouldn't even make it to any of the Seven Hells.

The First Princess annihilated the question from her mind with a sneer and swept out of the room.

Anything that happened after this night would have nothing to do with her.