Private Tales Fraternal Diplomacy

[Orissa]

Dragon Fire.

Mahsa had in fact mentioned such a thing to Orissa years ago, when she had been younger and eager to learn how to create healing herbs and tinctures. Orissa had not been all too interested in something destructive, and so her sister-in-law kept her explanation brief.

But now, the liquid seemed to glimmer up at her, alluring in it's promise of what it could do.

"I would much prefer a small dagger, Kaveh." Something that could just cut the man, perhaps not deep enough to kill, but long enough to buy her time to run.

Orissa looked close to tears, her hands too shaken to take up her cup of tea. She closed her eyes, let out a deep and shuddering breath to calm herself, but the daunting aspects of what needed to be done outweighed her wish to flee and be done with this place. She missed Jensen, and the comfort he offered as her intended husband. She even missed the chaotic planning of her royal wedding.

But as she opened her eyes, she met Kaveh's gaze with something new and foreign in her dark eyes. "Casimir deserves something worse than burning." If anyone of their family were present, they would falter at the embers within her gaze. They would liken it to the embers that kept warm, that if one day they grew hotter and came to life, it would sing with the fiery rage of Kaveh's.

 

[Kaveh]

Kaveh took a long breath as the stared at the reflection of himself he saw in Orissa's eyes.

Not his figure, but the anger. The rage and what she harbored for the man. He could understand it, he knew it better than most. Except she had a right to it that he'd never had. Fingers balled into a fist as he tried to keep his own simmering rage down. Focusing not on his own anger, but Orissa's.

"He does." The Prince said slowly, calmly.

"But I need to know you're safe." He told her. "A dagger might not be enough."

That was simple reality. Casimir was no pomp noble. He knew how to fight well enough, and if he caught Orissa in the right moment or way...there was simply nothing that a knife could do. Not if the man was fast enough. "It's just in case."

He would not be there in the gardens, but at least he could give her this.

 

[Orissa]

A dagger might not be enough.

Just as her pleading and sobbing had not been enough to stop Casimir.

Orissa tucked the dragon fire into the hidden pocket in her skirts. With a deep, shuddering breath, she gave her brother another brave smile. "Do not go anywhere without Cadoc at your side. I will need you both should anything happen."

Friendly faces, no matter the outcome of this.

---

Just as Mitra had directed, Orissa found herself at the gardens that would be seen by Casimir.

There was a leather belt wrapped around her hips, a pouch hanging from one side that contained the small book she would pretend to read in order to lure him, but she took a moment to marvel at the quiet oasis around her. Where most gardens looked fresh and prim, this one was muggy and tropical. It felt more sacred in it's tranquility, and Orissa felt as if she could truly become lost under the stooping palms.

She scouted a spot to sit on the white sandstone paved flooring, where she could be seen along the mezzanine above. It was a path Casimir took when exiting or entering from his rooms.

Orissa had left Cadoc to shadow Kaveh, where another Gilded Guard would alert them both that Orissa slipped from his surveillance. It was to be a loud conversation, it was meant to have others looking for her, perhaps baiting someone to do something to the assumed defenseless Princess of Thanasis.

 

[Kaveh]

Kaveh played his part as best he could, though in truth he was no kind of actor. "She knows better!"

He bit off, his words echoing down the hallway and making one of the nearby servants half jump. The girl's face flickered towards the Prince of Thanasis and the Guilded Guard in front of him, but did not linger as she quickly swept away. Kaveh's eyes followed her for a moment, and then he snapped his teeth as though out of anger.

"Find her!" The Prince bellowed, his voice holding the lashing strength of his reputation. Though the rumors were a lie, and many of Thanasis' servant's loved the Prince dearly, the stories of his rage still very much purveyed.

Kaveh knew it, and right now it would benefit them. "Bit much, no?"

Cadoc said, giving Kaveh a flat stare as the Guard who had alerted them quickly fled away.

"I thought it best to overact, than under." The Prince said, sheepishness flickering through his tone. The Gilded Guard Commander shaking his head and smiling briefly before he quickly motioned towards the Prince.

"Maybe she's in her rooms." He said, a little bit too loudly, so that anyone overhearing would think they were headed in the opposite direction of the Gardens.

 

[Orissa]

"Still quite the reader?"

His voice made her jump, for Orissa had not noticed anyone approach. Perhaps she did become entranced with the words on the pages, lost in the world the tale was about.

Her eyes lifted, gazing upon the smirk that made her stomach curl with anxiety as Casimir dared another step towards her. "The Dawndrinker? Mythical dragons, your favourite thing to read." He smugged, still standing before her that the sun was not shaded by his taller stature.

She closed her book, setting it aside, but made no move to stand. Hysteria welled up inside her, but for all it was worth, she thought of her brother. How this was his moment to exact the revenge he wish he had taken on that dreadful day.

"The Dawndrinker was the largest and oldest black dragon. A feat that is not impossible. Besides, in the Palace's Hall of Honour, the scales of Dawn—"

"You are afraid of me." He interrupted.

Orissa stilled.

He saw it and chuckled. "Forgive me, Your Highness, for the foolish acts of a man so in love... but I hear congratulations are in order."

In her books, they always said a face darkened when the worst thoughts crossed their minds. Orissa could not picture it, but watching Casimir now had painted the picture into her mind forever. His head tilted, casting a shadow that hid his scowl, but his eyes narrowed, the colour devoured in the glow of shadows.

"T-thank... thank you." She wanted to cry, to run away and get as far away from him. She could not do this, Orissa was instantly uncomfortable from the moment he snuck up on her. But she needed to make him into a villain. Her hands grabbed her book, hugging it to her as she looked up at Casimir and showed her fear. He drank it in, seemingly growing taller with delight. "A reasonable match I—"

But he interrupted her again. "A commoner is no match for a Princess." He neared to a snarl. "Princess Orissa... why did you not ask for my hand? You knew of my affections, and my family has been friends to the Crown for many generations. You can keep your commoner, but I will have you as my wi—"

"— I was not done speaking." Orissa lifted her chin.

But regretted it instantly.

---

Go to her now.

The whisper was quiet, but clear enough that it reached both Cadoc and the Prince. He stilled, whipping his head back in time to see the telltale sign of Sirine walking the opposite way.

"My Prince, did you not mention that your sister loved quiet gardens?" He asked loudly, and to his relief, a Yurelian noble stepped towards them and spoke of the very gardens Orissa would be found.

Once they arrived, now with a crowd amassed behind them, and a number of the Yurelian Royal Guard present, Orissa was nowhere to be found. All except for a book found in one of the reflection ponds, pages torn from it... and scrunched balls of damp paper dropped at the corners of the halls leading to the rooms belonging to Casimir.

Cadoc looked to his Prince, a cold fury igniting in him. He stalked behind Kaveh, keeping two paces behind as they both thundered towards his suite. Glad he was for their entourage, yelling and angered words left in his wake as they began to piece together what may have happened.

"Was it not just a rumour?"

"He refused every perfect match for a wife here in Yurelia! Does this not make sense there it truth to the stories?"

"The poor Princess. May the gods be with her and keep her strong."

Cadoc knew Casimir was not well liked here in his new home he had been exiled to, and he opened his mouth to speak to Kaveh before Orissa's screams pierced through, just a hallway away from where they were.

"No! No! NO!"

 

[Kaveh]

Their brisk walk broke into a pair of sprints.

Both Kaveh and Cadoc broke out into a burst of speed. Neither of them cared much for decorum once they heard the Princesses' cries. Steps turning to launching strides as they sprinted passed noble and servants alike, most of them carrying looks of curiosity that were only slightly tinged with concern.

Gossip would already be flowing by the time the pair reached the gardens, though neither of them would care. Kaveh's mind was plagued with only one thing; making sure that his sister was safe. Heavy boots thundered against the marbled floor, crashing in resounding thunder and they turned left and right through the winding halls.

Stairs were left behind as they bounded upwards, both the Thanasian's coming crashing through the entryway of the gardens.

"Casimir!" The voice that left Kaveh's throat was not his own.

A twist of pure rage clung to his tone. Anger already wreathed within fire. Lines of red burst through the Princes' eyes, drawing from the blue of his iris' to the outer edges. Shaping and framing the Dragon's rage which already held him. "Do not touch my sister."

He demanded as he stepped into the garden proper. His hand gripping for a small blade tucked into the edges of his sleeve.

 

[Orissa]

Orissa had dropped to the floor as a last resort to fighting off Casimir. He had gripped her by both wrists, straining to keep her from wrenching free from him, and he spoke to her so gently, so loving, it almost hid the entire message of his words. "Why can you not see how this will make you happy? I would be a loving husband to you, I would —"

"No! No! NO!"

Anger consumed him. Orissa thought her wrists would snap under his grip, that her tears streaming down her face would be enough to plead with him.

She felt a fool for not being able to reach for the Dragon's Fire vial, felt so small and weak that she thought herself capable of handling him. No, Orissa had been a scared rabbit the moment the wolf gave chase. She cowered with fear as he neared her.

And she was useless now, scared and terrified for what would happen. Why did no one hear her scream?

But then a roar thundered down the hall, a name said with rage and a fury that promised violence. Orissa turned to see if it truly was Kaveh's presence she felt, and sobbed at the sight of him. Her eyes flicked to Cadoc, pleading with him.

Casimir did not let her go. He crushed her wrists, eliciting a pained whine from the Princess.

"You cannot touch me! Your brother will hunt you down! She is mine. Nasri promised her to me once he is King. Do you hear me? She is to be my wife and you cannot stop me!"