Laughter

The entire suite was echoed with maniacal laughter. It was deep, unhinged, and utterly terrifying.

When it finally finished, Noble clapped slowly. "Welcome back."

From one of the many hidden entrances, Nickel entered with a smirk. "Come on, admit that it scared you at least a little."

"It would have if I had not sensed you coming." Noble winked.

"I was…concerned," Sarai said sheepishly. "Wait, does that mean you were the one who spoke in my place at the coronation?"

"Who else?" Nickel answered, sending the woman's own voice boomeranging back to her ears. He coughed lightly and resumed his normal rich timber. "Lamest ability, I know. Basically a ventriloquist."

"You can mimic anyone's voice?" Noble had no idea that Nic had that capability. She was only aware of his Aspect and that he was hyper-perceptive.

"Nightmare creatures too," Nickel copied her tone flawlessly. "Maybe as a Master, I'll finally get a combat ability."

"I like you just the way you are," Sarai shot back quickly. "Combat Aspects are nice, but they aren't everything. I should know." 

It was interesting that out of the three of them, only Sarai's sorcery aspect was designed for combat. 

Like Noble, Nickel relied purely on his natural talent while battling in the Dreamscape. His skills were well suited for the work of an assassin, which is why he had been recruited by less-than-savory people to do their bidding.

Perhaps after this Nightmare was over, Nic would be able to fully break from everyone–including the government if he chose–and begin to forge his own path. 

"I hope you get exactly what you need," Noble said at last. 

A moment later, a knock a the door announced the arrival of more food. Nickel hid for the table to be cleared and refilled, then joined the ladies on the couches. 

The mysterious man glanced at the Symncus now happily munching on something raw and he shivered. "You know, Noble. I would say to make sure that creature is always hungry in case you need him to attack someone, but I also think him having a full belly is better for my health." 

"Kosi won't attack unless provoked. Don't worry. I know he looks like a Nightmare creature, but he is quite intelligent. He must not think you are too much of a threat or he would have at least growled at you from outside the treasury yesterday." Noble quirked an eyebrow. 

"Hey! I am very threatening! That creature just had no idea I was there." Nick puffed out his chest. 

Kosi lifted his head from his meal and glared at the black-clad man. The Symncus released a low growl.

Noble did not need a translator to know that Nic was on shaky ground. The man seemed to know it too. 

"Fine fine." Nickel held up his hands in surrender. "Kosi knew I was there and let me pass. But that Counsel of yours was worse than clueless."

"First of all, I don't like the way you said he was my Counsel. If anything, he belonged to Brenna. And secondly, it's a miracle that he didn't find you. You were making more noise than the palace orchestra. Then you went and threw a coin right at his head! It was like you were trying to get him to find you!" 

"I was. Or at least I wanted him to be suspicious." Nickel casually passed Sarai the pastry she desired. 

Noble froze with a bite of food halfway to her mouth. "You were trying to be found? Why?" 

"Short answer? I don't like Counsel and he deserved it." Nic shrugged. 

Blinking a few times, the floating woman took a deep breath. "I am afraid I am going to need the long answer, please." 

The secretive man rolled his eyes. "Counsel is both smart and paranoid. He planned a full rebellion without Brenna's knowledge and under the Queen's nose. I am curious how deep his resources go. If he thinks I am after him and wants to track me without the use of palace resources, can he? As your ally, it is worth knowing how much power he has in the kingdom." 

"So you are baiting him? That explains the noise you were making, but not why you don't like him." Sarai pointed out as she wiped her mouth. 

"Oh, I thought I made that quite clear. He's a jerk. He even tried to pay me off to never come back to visit Noble again. Offered to give me extra if I found a way to cut off communications between her and the 'one who has her heart.'" Nickel smirked. 

"Awww...is that what you call Fort?" Sarai's eyes went dewy. 

"Counsel was going to propose and I panicked. I had wanted to sound poetic and proper after all his 'my lady' stuff and got carried away." Noble blushed. 

"I think it's adorable." The redhead cooed. 

Noble could feel Nickel did not share the sentiment. Her blush deepened. 

"Yes, well...enough about me. We were talking about Nic, remember? About how he tried to assault Counsel in the treasury where he wasn't even supposed to be. Wait! Why were you in the treasury? You know you cannot take any of that gold with you." 

Unless there was some unclaimed Memory hiding in the vault, everything would disappear as soon as the Nightmare concluded. The only other way something might be able to exit was inside the Memory which Sarai had used to transport [The Other's Voice] with her, but it was too small to carry more than a few coins. 

"I wasn't taking anything for myself," the man in black sighed wearily. "I would have thought it was obvious. Just like the waking world, the best way to open doors in a hurry is to grease some palms with cold hard cash." 

"What kind of doors?" Both ladies seemed confused. 

"Well, while you two were here playing royals, I have been all around the city making connections. With the amount of money I borrowed, I can have years worth of information in a week or two. Maybe sooner." Nickel hooked a smile and waited for the round of applause.

Noble was inclined to give it to him. She had nearly given up on trying to gather too much information from outside the palace. Emira had cut herself off from the rest of the world long ago and Brenna's friends had been flighty at best.

None of the gossips that she had encountered before and after the ceremony were knowledgeable about things that mattered. That left the Old Guard, but she was hesitant to sound foolish in front of the elders who were supporting her reign. 

This way solved all those problems and kept her above suspicion. 

"An elegant solution," Noble muttered. 

Nickel folded his hands with a satisfied grin. "What would you do without me?" 

"I am glad Fort recruited you," the floating queen agreed easily. "I only wish we didn't have to wait so long before we knew something concrete." 

"Who said anything about waiting?" The calm librarian looked at her curiously. "I said I could get years of information from others in a couple of weeks. But my own observations? I can give those now."