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greeenchrysanthemums · 5 months

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Thus Always to Tyrants

Chapter 3: An Unwelcomed Guest?

Gem is the commander of the Wintertide royal army, Grian is the leader of a resistance hell bent on taking the crown down no matter the cost. It was only natural that they would become enemies.

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CW: N/A

Words: 6,046

Pov: Gem

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“Gem!” A voice called out to her from behind. She turned just in time to step back and avoid being barreled into by a short man holding a shovel.

“Bdubs? What’s wrong?” She asked, alarmed. Her hand instantly went to the sword secured around her waist, ready to fight and protect everyone nearby.

After a quick hour-long nap at the table, her morning had been completely occupied with overseeing the safety of those carrying out clean-up efforts in wake of the previous night's activities, so she had only just returned to the castle. It was nearing noon at that point, and she was in the process of making her way back to her office to plan out several new security measures, including an increase in knights patrolling everywhere possible without alarming the civilians and a thorough check of all possible entry points around the castle walls to ensure that they were one hundred percent impenetrable by outside forces.

Had something slipped past her in that time? Was there an immediate threat inside of the castle?

Bdubs, the royal gardener, was hunched over at the waist in front of her, one hand clutching the handle of the shovel he dug into the ground to steady himself and the other planted firmly on his knee. His wide brimmed hat partially hid his red face, but it did nothing to conceal the sweat drenched tunic clinging to his torso. His hands and forearms, revealed by rolled up sleeves, were covered in a layer of muck and grime that similarly coated the ends of his trouser legs. He was missing his iconic, green cloak, so he must have come here in a hurry. Gem reached her hand out and settled it on his shoulder, politely ignoring the way it made her hand damp.

“I forgot to tell you somethin’ important!” Bdub’s said, standing up straight so suddenly that Gem startled back, retracting her hand.

“What is it?” She prompted impatiently and nervously.

“I saw someone sneak into the castle last night,” He said, eyes wide.

“What!?” She squealed, voice going high pitched. Her hands shot out and she grabbed him by both shoulders, her fingers digging into his muscles hard enough to dimple the fabric in the surrounding area. “When!?”

“It had to have been around midnight or so. I was in bed when I heard something outside of my window. I thought ‘hey that’s weird, we don’t even get very many animals out here, what could that be?’ so I peeked outside and there it was! A person walking by my window!” He exclaimed. She gripped him harder.

“Why did you not say something immediately?” She asked through gritted teeth. “What did you do after seeing them?”

Bdub’s leveled her with a deadly serious look, “I went back to sleep.”

Gem stared at him. He stared at her. The knights behind Gem stared at both of them. There was silence.

“You did what?” She asked slowly, unsure if she had heard him right.

“I went back to sleep,” Bdubs reiterated, “I’m not a fighter! I knew if I went out there in the dark all defenseless with nothing to fight with, whoever that was would kill me immediately! I’m not a fool!”

Gem wanted to argue otherwise, but he carried on.

“I tried waiting it out until someone came by to rescue me, but I’m not used to staying up that long. The ol' body just isn't used to it. I fell right back to sleep without even trying to. I thought the encounter was just a really bad dream I had brought on by all the drinkin' I did last night at dinner when I woke up this morning, but then I saw the footprints in the soil when I was doing the weeding, and I knew it was real!”

“Why did you not alert one of the guards stationed on the wall nearby? Logan was only a mere 20 feet away from your quarters!” She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Then, her eyes snapped open as she fully registered his words. She cut off his loud, long-winded rant about how he couldn’t endanger himself to go alert someone, “Wait, Bdubs. Bdubs, hush up for a moment, would you? You said you found footprints?”

Bdubs paused to nod his head enthusiastically. “Yes!”

“Show me immediately.” She said, expression firm. Bdubs nodded again and then motioned for her to follow after him as he took off towards the garden. She motioned for two soldiers to accompany them and then said to the rest, "I want you guys to remain here and keep an eye on the area. Report to me immediately if you see anything suspicious... Unlike a certain somebody."

She followed Bdubs through the expansive outside area, holding in her laughter whenever he would stumble on the loose rocks or trip over a well-groomed shrub with a colourful curse. You would be led to believe that someone who has dedicated their entire life to tending to a garden would know the area a little better, or at least well enough to avoid tripping as often as he did. They passed under the vine covered stone arch that served as the entrance to the grand royal garden, and she took a moment to admire the area, as well as scan it for anything that might be out of place.

Meticulously cared for shrubs made the area into somewhat of a maze, forcing one to weave their way through the area and barring them from stepping on the beautiful grass. Flowering bushes with buds of a million colours mixed in with these shrubs, their vibrant colours somehow blending in perfectly despite the contrast. A few scattered fruit trees, whose spoils had already been harvested this year, stood tall and proud where they were placed in spots most convenient for providing shade throughout the garden. The same trees also lined the back wall, blocking the mossy stone from view almost entirely.

A fountain carved in the shape of a mostly bare woman with a flowing cloth covering both her eyes and breasts stood in the center of it all, the water flowing from her outstretched, cupped palms, her face twisted into one of sorrow. Fake jewels and sparkling rocks glimmered at the bottom of the crystal clear pool, giving the water's surface the appearance of a sparkling jewel itself.

Under her feet was a well cared for stone path free of the dirt and leaves one would expect to see but was sprouting with little flowers that crawled through the fine cracks in a way she couldn't help but find beautiful. In the very back of the garden, nestled between two of the tall fruit trees and barely noticeable among the gorgeous scenery, was a similarly well cared for shack that acted as both Bdubs’ sleeping quarters and storage for all of his gardening tools.

Suddenly Bdubs stopped and she had to stumble to the side to avoid ramming right into his back. He pointed emphatically down at the dirt beneath a shrub he had presumably been weeding before he came to fetch her. The soft soil was slightly dug up off to the side, a few weeds laying on their sides around the shallow holes. There were a few small tools scattered about the area, as well as a pair of gloves and his mossy cloak laying abandoned on the stone path a little ways away.

And then she saw it, a footstep in the soil just as he said there would be. It was long and slender with no discernable patterns within its print that would be easily identifiable. It could have belonged to anyone within the castle staff, anyone from town, that is how generic it was. However, it was not the only thing of intrigue that she spotted. Her eyes flickered up towards it as it caught her attention. A single red thread, right there on one of the branches of the bush, tangled around it and fluttered in the light breeze that flowed through the garden. She reached out to it and pulled it free with a firm tug. A loose cloak thread in the same shade as the garment that Grian wore. It appeared to have been ripped free when the wearer got caught on the sharp, recently trimmed branch.

She looked around the shrubbery, and just as she suspected, further inside of the foliage were branches that looked out of place, bent and unnatural in a way that indicated the bushes had been climbed through. Bdubs kept the garden immaculate, so it was very easy to spot even a single leaf out of place if you knew what to look for. And she really did have to look, her eyes intently focused on the bushes in a way that must have made her look a bit mad, because whoever had been here had done well to hide their tracks. Not well enough to hide from her though. They had left a trail that she could track, right through the garden.

“Cobble, I want you to stay here with Bdubs, Marabelle I need you to go find Kaya and tell her and her battalion on the wall to keep an eye on things outside just in case whoever was here last night tries to get back in, and that they should not rule out the idea that the intruder may still be on the premise. After that, I need you to find Scott and Impulse and inform them of the intruder. If you can, send them my way.” Gem instructed her knights. Marabelle saluted and then ran off to do as directed. Cobble shifted nervously, looking around the garden with a suspicious eye. Bdubs’ face slowly morphed into one of horror.

“Still on the premise?!” He exclaimed loudly, prompting Gem to flinch away from him with a sigh. He reached down and grabbed ahold of one of his sharper, more dangerous tools. He held it tightly to his chest as he glanced around his garden with paranoia shinning in his eyes.

“I highly doubt that whoever this was would be so stupid as to stick around, but it is not an option I can safely rule out, not after…” She trailed off, realizing Grian’s threat was not public knowledge, and it would do her well to not make it such. “Do not worry about it, just stay here with Cobble and you will be fine. I’ll handle this.”

With that she began her trek into the shrubbery, following the barely noticeable path the trespasser had unwittingly left behind for her. Bdubs momentarily broke out of his paranoid stupor to yell at her for going through them so carelessly, but one dirty look over her shoulder was enough to shut him up.

She cursed her foolishness as she followed the out of place branches. She had assumed that if Grian was planning something that night he would focus his attention on the festival, which was vulnerable and hard to protect due to the high density of people around. But the more she thought about it, it only made sense that he would advance on the castle when security was more lax and divided by the festivities. It was a fairly smart tactic, she had to admit. Keeping her on edge and busy while he snuck someone in? She would never deign herself to admit it out loud that she had been played well, but she had been.

She shuddered at the thought of what he and his people might have done inside while no one was looking.

She looked around as she trudged through the garden, making an effort to not step on any of the flowers or ruin things too much, but not being overly careful either. Consider the work she was giving Bdubs punishment for being a fool. But as she walked, she noticed something. The trail she was walking was in one big a blind spot. None of the on duty knights would have been able to see the intruder even if they had looked down into the garden from the wall or peered in from any of the entrances. Nearly the whole path was blocked in some way, be it by tree or the fountain or something else, none of it was visible unless you knew where to look. That, coupled with the fact that there would have been little to no light, meant that it would have been alarmingly easy for them to get in entirely undetected.

It was scary to think about.

The trail led her all the way to the garden's East entrance, far right of the fountain and near the apple trees. In the mud at the base of said trees she found a second footprint similar to the last, but this one was smudged, imperfect, as if the intruder had slipped. It only made sense that she found the vines on the entrance's archway to be messed with. They had used the pillar to catch their fall.

If they had stepped in the mud then surely they had to have left more evidence behind, right?

The East Garden entrance led to stables and the couch house, which gave entrance to the ground floor of the castle. There was also the kitchen entrance further East, as well as a smaller, less noticeable entrance to the servant bathrooms, but she knew that both of them were out of the question for possible break-in points. The bathroom had no other entry points other than the one outside, and the kitchen was never not occupied so it would have been impossible for someone to sneak in through the busy area. At least one person would have noticed a face that did not fit in among them.

She made her way over to the coach house and inspected the door. There were no signs that it had been tampered with or forced open, but that didn’t mean anything. They may have simply been skilled enough, or smart enough, to not leave behind such traces. Then again, they had left her an entire trail here. She huffed and looked around. She titled her head up and caught sight of an open window on the second floor and wondered briefly if that was how they got inside, but she shook her head and scolded herself for the silly thought. Not only was that a nearly impossible climb to make, but the window also led to the servants' quarters. Someone, again, would have noticed. It was a bit hard to miss a person climbing in through their window.

She opened the door and made her way inside, giving the area a sharp once over. Nothing seemed out of place. All of the horse gear was in place and a survey of both the carriage and the trading carts told her they were not tampered with. Nothing was stolen, everything was accounted for. She looked over the room a second time and a third before she was satisfied. Well, she would not say satisfied. She was actually quite frustrated. There was nothing here.

She walked up the few stone steps that led to the inside of the castle and nothing in the halls looked out of place. There was no mud on the polished marble like she expected, no, hoped to find to tell her that this was the way they went. Everything looked as clean and pristine as she expected it to.

Her trail had gone cold.

“What are you looking for, Commander?” A voice asked to her side, startling her. She did her best to school her reaction to not appear a fool as she turned to the person.

One of the young maids was looking at with a curious expression on their face and a bundle of linen in their arms. She raked her brain for their name but shamefully could not remember it. It started with a C, perhaps? They blinked at her, and their face turned a little worried before Gem realized she should probably give them an answer.

“Oh! Do not worry about it.” She said, giving them a reassuring smile.

“Alright, then…” They said hesitantly. They turned to walk away but a thought occurred to Gem and she called out to them.

“Actually, you might be able to help me,” She said, taking a step forward. They turned back to look at her, shock and a bit of excitement on their face.

“Me? Really? You need my help?” They asked in awe.

“Yes, I do.” She said, “You clean around this area, correct?”

“Oh, no I don’t ma’am,” They said, deflating a little. Gem did as well. “I’m stationed up on the second floor. I was simply running these down to the laundry room since the chute has been damaged and it cannot be delivered that way.”

“The chute has been damaged?” Gem asked, perking up.

“Yes! We think something too large and heavy was thrown down it sometime last night and now it won’t open or close properly. We didn’t find whatever it was that caused the damages, but it left behind a massive mess in the laundry room! It took hours this morning to clean up all of the sheets and cloth spilled about the area.” They said as they shook their head.

“This was on the second floor, yes?” Gem asked eagerly.

“I can show you where, if you need.” They said nervously, obviously wanting to be of more help.

“No, that’s alright,” She said. They seemed disappointed, but they nodded anyway, “Thank you very much, you don’t know how helpful this has been.”

They smiled at her and stuttered out, “O-of course! It was my pleasure.”

Gem nodded her head to them respectfully before taking off down the halls, heading for the main stairs to take her to the second story of the castle. She turned out of the smaller hallway and into the expansive main hall, where the ceiling was broad, curved, and painted in shades of white and gold. Sunlight filtered in from the windows in the front. The stairs, covered in plush red carpet, were tall and would quickly wind anyone who was not used to their great climb. Gem, however, was on the second floor in no time, having long gotten used to them.

She was greeted by many of the servants as she passed, and she did her best to politely return their greetings even though she was in a hurry. She knew this castle like the back of her hand, so she easily weaved her way through the halls until she came to the end of the servant's portion of the upstairs area, where the laundry chute was located. She grimaced as it came into view.

Usually, it blended in with the decor fairly well, and one could easily mistake it for an ornate design on the wall it they did not know what to look for. The only thing that really gave it away was the weathered handle used to pull it open. It was designed specifically with discretion in mind, was what she was told when she had first moved into the castle as a teenager. The only people meant to know where or what it was were the staff.

Now, though, the hatch was crooked and not sitting in the wall quite right, the paper around it peeling and showing the damaged walling behind. If she had to guess, there had previously been debris on the ground, which had to have been cleaned up in the aftermath, because it looked as though some of the paper and the wall were chipped away and missing entirely. A cold breeze came in from the dark hole that peaked out from the mangled remains of the poor chute.

It looked as though someone had either pulled it open with the power of twenty men all at once, or like they had attempted to kick it open from the side. Or.... like someone had forced it to take the weight of a human body.

She pulled on the handle and cringed when it came open far too easily, sending little bits of stone dust swirling down towards the carpet. She pondered it for a moment before concluding that if the person was slight enough, they just might be able to crawl inside of the small space, even if it was with a lot of difficulty and maneuvering. She suspected that someone had done just that, and the belief was only reinforced when she noticed a bit of what looked like dried mud on the back of the hatch.

But what in the nine hells was their little intruder doing going down the laundry chute? Not to mention that both the laundry chute and the laundry room itself were located in the southwest part of the castle, which was a long ways away from the garden. The laundry room wasn’t even accessible from the outside either. Just what had been their route? And what of their intentions? This was a very peculiar situation.

Even after venturing down into the laundry room, she couldn’t wrap her head around it. The only thing that had been amiss in the room (which smelt so strongly of soap and perfumes that it made her head spin) was the broken basket that was used to catch clothing sent down the chute. None of the servants in the laundry room even had any answers for her. No one had been in the room when whatever, or whoever, it was dropped down from above.

There were no witnesses, no other clues, nothing for her to go off of. She had no idea how they got in, nor what they had done while inside. She knew even less about the way they took to get out.

It occurred to her then that perhaps she was overreacting. It could have been someone within the staff that caused the damages to the chute, and they were too embarrassed to come clean. It could have been anyone walking around in the garden last night. Bdubs couldn’t have been sure who it was that he saw, it was late and he had just woken up. Who was to say he hadn’t dreamt of it and those prints were from the knights she had patrolling early in the morning to quell the same paranoia that was consuming her right now?

She paused her walk back to the garden with a sigh. She groaned in frustration as she ran her hands down her face, fingers gripping the stray curls of ginger hair that hung down in front of it. She was falling right into Grian’s hands, she realized in defeat. She was letting her worry get to her after she said she wouldn’t do just that, and she was losing her straight head in the process.

What was she doing chasing around ghosts and playing detective at a time like this? She had patrol routes to be signing off on and training to be overseeing. She should have asked Impulse or Scott to look into it the second she saw the footprint. No, right when she heard of the potential intruder's existence. She had let herself get too prideful, too eager to catch Grian and his people in the act all on her own that she’d rushed in headfirst with no plan and without even properly informing her right hands. She was better than this.

“Curse you, bird.” She muttered bitterly under her breath.

She sighed again, this one longer and more drawn out than those previous. She better get back to her knights, find Scott and Impulse, and explain the situation to them in order to get a second opinion on the matter at hand before informing the king himself of the issue. Loath as she was to admit it, she couldn’t do this alone, especially if she wasn’t overthinking and someone truly had managed to bypass the castles security while her sights were focused elsewhere.

It hadn't even been a full 24 hours and this whole ordeal was already so stressful.

Several long hours later Gem trudged her way to the training yard. The sun was setting in the sky, and she was unbearably exhausted. After locating Scott and Impulse, they discussed what to do and decided that Scott, ever the social butterfly, would be the one to interview the staff and ask them what they had seen, if anything at all. Impulse was to oversee the implementation of the rest of the new security measures under her orders and guidance. He also took over her evening training sessions with the newbies despite her protests. Bless her longtime friends for making sure she stayed sane.

She should be in her office writing up those routes and assigning people to them, but she needed a moment to clear her head. She needed to beat up some training dummies.

Thankfully the expansive area was empty by the time she made it there, training having ended an hour or so ago. Everyone should be preparing for dinner right around now. She stepped into the marked ring, the soft dirt shifting under her boots. She pulled one of the practice swords out of the barrel and then rounded on the dummy, her movements slow and precise.

Before coming here, she had also spoken to the king and informed him of the intruder. It had gone just as well as her warning about Grian’s initial threat had; badly. He dismissed her once again. Her! His own royal commander, who he had personally selected and appointed! You would think that he would have more faith in her after all she’s done and continues to do for this kingdom! Frustration built up inside of her as his words echoed in her head.

I’ll let you do as you please for now, but I believe you are making something out of nothing, Gem. This so called intruder is nothing but your mind and the gardener's wild imagination playing tricks on you after a stressful night. There is no use getting worked up over nothing. But how could he be so sure that this was 'nothing'? There were lives at stake, a whole kingdom on the line, and he does not believe they should be just a little bit more cautious?

Channeling her emotions into energy, she lunged at last, the sword slashing across the dummies chest and leaving behind deep grooves in the already scarred surface. It teetered to the side but was steadied by a second slash to the opposite side. She rolled to the right and around to the dummies back before launching herself up with a graceful spinning motion, cutting in a large, broad motion across the wood.

She jumped back, imagining that there was a counterattack that she must dodge away from. She sidestepped around back to the front of the dummy, holding her sword close to her body. Anger bubbled up in her chest as the dummy's wooden face seemed to morph into that of Grian’s. She pictured his cheeky grin, his void-like, black eyes, his taunting words.

Something big is coming, Gem. The end might be closer than you think. He snickered inside her mind.

She sneered as she jabbed the tip of her sword into the dummies face with as much force as she could muster, chipping the wood and sending it toppling to the ground as the weapon was ripped free from her grip, now deeply imbedded in the things head. She stood there, breathing heavily through clenched teeth as she glared down at the fallen dummy. His hands were balled into painful fists, trembling at her side.

“That was pretty violent, no?” A familiar, bubbly voice asked to her left.

She whipped her head around to the source of the voice and there she found a woman sitting on one of the nearby barrels, one leg crossed over the other with her elbows planted on her knee while she rested her chin in her cupped palms. Long, lanky limbs, messy brown curls partially covered by a red hood, crystal blue eyes, a bright smile with a crooked fang showing proudly, a crescent moon shaped birthmark covering the left side of her face; all of these were the features that made up her very dearest friend.

“Pearl!” She exclaimed, her anger dissipating immediately to be replaced with a giddy joy. She bounded up to the woman, stopping right in front of her, their knees practically touching with the proximity. She put her hands on her hips and looked down at her with a tilted head.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite menace.” She said, a painfully wide grin tugging at her cheeks. Pearl feigned offense, putting her hands up to her mouth with a dainty gasp.

“A menace? Me?” She asked, “Nonsense, you know me, I’m an angel.”

Gem belted out a hearty laugh at that, leaning back with her hands on her belly. Pearl giggled, a light blush on the tips of her ears as she unfolded her legs to kick Gem in the shin hard. Gem yelped and jumped away, wiping a tear away from her eye before straightening up.

“What brings you here this fine night?” Gem finally asked.

She had known Pearl for nearly nine whole years now. They met in this very training yard on a warm summer day with the sun beating down on their skin. Pearl, who worked at the most popular bakery in the capital, had been delivering pastries to the kitchen when she decided to wander around the castle as her boss handled the exchange. She had gotten hopelessly lost and somehow made her way outside and to the training yard, where she found Gem doing her drills.

She was a bit embarrassed to admit that her first instinct had been to attack the other woman and restrain her when she caught her watching from behind a barrel a little ways away from the training circle. Lucky for her, Pearl had laughed it all off before introducing herself and praising Gem's form; their relationship naturally bloomed from there. They had been through a lot over the years, and she could safely say that the older woman was her very best friend.

“Bigb and I are here making a bread and pastry delivery. The festival pretty much cleared out the royal kitchen, so I’ve heard. B and the cook got to talking and it was real boring, so I decided to come and see how you are doing. But~ by the looks of that poor dummy and the sudden increase in knights pretty much everywhere, something tells me not too good, then?” Pearl asked, raising an eyebrow. Gem grimaced and scratched the back of her head.

“It’s nothing you should worry about; I’ll make sure you’re safe.” She promised.

“You’ll personally make sure I’m safe?” Pearl asked with a laugh. This time it was Gem’s turn for her ears and the tip of her nose to darken to a shade of pink.

“If I have to, yes,” She said seriously, if a little flustered, “You’re my best friend.”

“....” Pearl turned away from her with an unreadable expression. “You’re too good to me, Gem. I’ll make sure you’re safe too.”

Gem furrowed her brow. Pearl sounded almost…sad? No…that wasn’t quite it. She couldn’t tell what emotion the other woman was expressing. It didn’t matter though, because it was gone in an instant, replaced by her typical chipper self in the blink of an eye.

“Anywho, I'm too curious for my own good so you have no choice but to answer my questions. What is with the increase in security? Something happen that I don’t know about? As far as I remember the festival went just fine.” Pearl questioned once more. Gem contemplated for a moment before deciding that she could share this with her closest friend. It would not be the first time she had heard all about Grian, after all. Gem had long ago gotten into the habit of complaining about him to her, though it was never anything as serious as this.

“Grian found me at the festival yesterday and made some vague threats about ‘the end being near’. Most, including the king, don’t think it is anything to worry about, but I know his games. It is better to be safe rather than sorry should his threats come to pass, so I've been upping security.” Gem said. Pearl’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

“He said that?” She asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

“Yeah. It was really weird.” She sighed and dropped herself onto her butt next to the barrel that Pearl was sitting on, making sure to avoid touching her dirty boots. “He went on about how he wanted me to live and that I better prepare myself because he has something big planned.”

“How odd…” Pearl said absently. Gem glanced up at her. She was staring off into the distance, her brow furrowed as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Gem said.. “Whatever it is that he has planned, I’m doing what I can to make sure that warning doesn’t go to waste. I’ll put a stop to it.”

Pearl’s eyes flickered down to her, that unreadable expression back on her face. It was quickly replaced by a shaky smile that looked like it might slip any moment.

“You shouldn’t underestimate him. You have no idea what he’s capable of. I-I mean, none of us really do, do we?” Pearl said nervously.

“I’m not underestimating him, Pearl. I am taking his threat very seriously. Everything will be just fine, I promise.” Gem said reassuringly. Maybe it had been a bad idea to bring this up to her best friend, it seemed to have put the poor thing on edge. Of course it would, anyone would be at least a little disturbed by such ominous threats.

“Y-yeah…I’m sure everything will work out just fine.” Pearl said. There was a moment of silence between them before Pearl abruptly stood up, her knee knocking against Gem’s shoulder and her frayed cloak brushing against her face in the sudden movement. “I should be getting back, it is pretty late now, isn’t it? I wouldn't want to keep Bigb waiting too long.”

“Oh…Yes, it is quite late now,” Gem said as she stood as well, internally mourning the fact that she would now have to go do paperwork and work out those blasted patrol routes, paying extra attention to those blind spots in the garden. She should have liked to have shared a beer with Pearl, but a glance at the setting sun told her it was for the best they part ways now. “Let me see you in the kitchen then."

“No!” Pearl exclaimed, causing Gem to flinch away with her hand part way reaching out for Pearl’s shoulder. She immediately looked sheepish. “I mean, um, you don’t have to. I’d like a moment to think, if that’s alright.”

“Ah, I see… That’s perfectly alright. I’m terribly sorry if I’ve frightened you with the news I’ve shared.” She said sincerely. Pearl shook her head and gave her a softer, less shaky smile.

“You’re alright. I think that was just a little…jarring to hear. I’ll be alright.” She said.

“Of course… I will be seeing you again soon?” Gem questioned. Pearl nodded her head.

“Without a doubt. You’ll be seeing more of me very soon.” Pearl said, something twinkling in her eyes.

They hugged, quick and light, before Pearl took her leave, strolling back in the direction of the kitchen she’d presumably gained access to the castle grounds through. Gem watched her go, unease and guilt eating away at her stomach. Gods, this day was really a train wreck right from the beginning to the very end. She hoped that fate would not make a fool of her, and that her promise to her friend would not turn out to be a lie.

Somewhere not too far away, a woman in red confronts an avian, her face twisted with rage as her hand grabs a fistful of his shirt.

"We need to talk"

#GG rivals au #GG main fic #geminitay #bdoubleo100 #pearlescentmoon #hermitcraft #life series #Danny's fics #fic: Thus Always to Tyrants #Point of View: Gem #my followers and mutual have a cameo in this one! ;)#i was originally also going to name the servant after one of you as well #but i thought it made sense that Gem would not be as invested in the many servants as she is with her own knights #she does still try her best to know everyone and at the very least be kind to them #but she is one person with a limited memory and even more limited time

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