zhaoyinvo

[zhaoyinvo]

"the lost siblings. i know by now you've heard the rumors." he took a breath. "the younger siblings to king yixin. not all gossip holds merit, but this one...runs a bit closer to home than you'd think." his voice was ever-so-slightly bitter—on one hand, he had hoped the secret would never get out. perhaps he had liked his life in frigoria, far away from the courts and the...politics of royalty. even so, it seemed to worm its way back into his life without him trying. so if he was going to deal with it at all, he would much rather it be on his own terms.

how did he know? it was a question yinuo had been asking himself his whole life. "i don't know," he admitted softly, staring at his hands gently trembling in his lap. "i don't know why i remember, and you do not. i don't know how i knew of frigoria, and you did not. i don't know why yixin doesn't seem to remember, either." yinuo forced himself to meet his sister's seething gaze. "i have too many questions, yanyan, and not nearly enough answers."

for years, he had kept it quiet because they were in foreign lands; never knowing who he could trust, who they couldn't—it was simply safer to go undercover. but now, here in asteria? he had no idea what to think. it may have been the land of his birth, but it had not been his home, and he had no precedent to go off of. he was flying by the seat of his robes.

"i would have told you, yes." he kept his voice firm, decisive. there was no need for yan to know the war that still waged within him. "i was—just trying to keep us safe." yinuo shot another nervous glance at the door. "i was five, yan, in a completely different country—i didn't know who i could trust. at the time, it was easier to say nothing at all."

"i thought that by coming ho—to asteria," was it really home? could either of them say that with their full being? "—i would be able to find information on what had happened, who or what had taken us. but so far...nothing."

ZHOU YAN - no, it should be Lin Yan - is going to pass out on the spot. She was one more bouts of anger away from actually seeing red. The blotches of darkness in the corners of the room solidified, some of them grinning to her, some of them looking sad, the others encouraging - two faces stood out, but she blinked & they were gone. As gone as their living counterparts. She could let it go. She could - & would - let it all go & just take a very deep breath. closing her eyes Yan slowly exhaled through her nose as her brother kept speaking of Asteria & Frigoria & --

the... what?

Yanyan blinked at her brother, once, slowly. "He - " what? "What?" she frowned, fixing a dark stare to Yinuo. "He's our what now? Yixinge, our brother?" that was impossible. It was simply impossible, but... but a more gnawing thought furrowed her brows together.

"How do you know? How do you even know? How could you possibly know? We've been in Frigoria all our lives. Why would you say that?" though... hearing it spoken out loud now - it does explain her sisterly affection for the king. Oh, heavens, did he know? He didn't. For some reason, Yinuo had been the only know to know all the secrets - & sharing none with her, his sister. Though, given the rumors, given what he'd just said... had he even shared it with Yixin? Or was he going to never say it?

"Does he know?" she asked, her temper seething in her veins, one thought darker than the other passing through her mind.

"Had these... hollows had not appeared..." she quietly spoke, eyes fixed upon the one person she had trusted with her own life, trusted more than anyone - except, apparently her other brother, the bloody king!

"Were you ever going to tell me - us - about this, or were you just going to keep it a secret forever?"

[zhaoyinvo]

"i daresay you are correct about that." yinuo lets out a sigh of his own, eyes fixed to the small garden path in front of them. between the sudden, dubiously-triumphant return of frigoria to the mind's eye, his own intertwined fate fully entrenched within asteria and his siblings, and the threat of a "hollow eater" hanging above their heads, there was much to think about. and very little comfort to be found in any of it.

the hollows. somehow, a nicer topic of discussion than the one that currently invades his thoughts. "you and i both, lady aria," he smiles slightly. "if only they had been a mere party trick, perhaps life wouldn't seem so complex." he mulls over her words for a moment before responding. "they occupy a large portion of my thoughts. nothing about the term 'hollow eater' brings to mind kind figures. i worry that they may pose a threat to the kingdom...s at large." a minor hesitation, quickly smoothed over.

lips pull to smile , violet gaze slides across the secondborn of asteria. the rumors reach their ears , damnation of secrets , spilled. aria lingers in the back , content to spend the rest of day wrapped up in their own thoughts , but the young prince calls over and she moves closer , sits down on a seat beside. violet gaze slips to the surroundings , garden a quiet thing at this time of day.

" we should all think about getting comfortable. it seems the mess we had found ourselves in will not wane in the coming days. " a sighs parts her lips , the voice of asteria displeased by the happenings that haunted their steps now. " what do you say of the hollows ? i had wished we would not be seeing more of them after the sotera's masquerade , but i stand corrected. "

[zhaoyinvo]

he nodded. "five centuries, i believe. if the books are to be accepted as fact, at least—and i can see no reason they shouldn't be." he sighed, shaking his head. magic was most certainly involved, but there was no need to get into all of that right at that moment. that one wasn't his secret to reveal.

yinuo cocked his head, as if mulling over her words. "you make a fair point, lady," he admitted finally, shrugging. "perhaps i am incorrect. but if you ask my personal thoughts on the matter..." he hesitated, leaning in as if to share a secret. "i cannot believe it to be true unless i lay my own eyes on these siblings." a cleverly crafted non-answer. "it cannot be true. the king would have said something by now." (hence why he had not yet told him.)

THAT'S what had bugged her. If the rumors were untrue, why start them? To drive their king mad? To spark a war between them, for this third kingdom to then pick up the pieces? It could've been done in a million different ways. This had seemed... honest in a very strange, very chilling way.

she couldn't put her finger on it.

"There's undoubtedly magic, & a very strong one. Unholy, perhaps. It takes... a monstrosity to make a spell so perfectly durable, so... solid for gods know how long. Centuries? It's more than ancestors. It's almost ancient history by now." having more than one hidden kingdom was horrifying enough, but two?

she shivered, the headache blooming at the edge of her vision.

"It seems preposterous, just like the one of the hidden kingdom. If one is true, the other could be, as well." Renyi sighed & blinked, the headache subsiding for a bit.

"So, what do you make of it all? Just a lie or more to it?"

[zhaoyinvo]

perhaps he needed to get better at tail-shaking. that seemed to have the opposite intended effect. yinuo forced a small grin, nodding up to her. "...a fair point. fire isn't the only danger; smoke can kill just as easily."

he let out a sigh. "deal. agree to share our findings?" he glanced up at the woman, trying to gauge her reaction. if you scratch my back, i'll scratch yours. either they helped each other, or threw each other further off-course. something about the lady roan felt as though she knew things she didn't let on quite so easily.

INDEED, if not the big bad wolf Frigoria, then who. the fuck. was it? Not knowing annoyed her. Not being the loop of things had terrified her. She was the ruler of rot, she had known when things existed in her vicinity... & this? This fucking thing has not trace!

how can it not have a trace?

"Well, we've all been focusing on these eaters, but I'd reckon someone should be looking into the whole sibling thing. As far as we know, it could just be smoke & mirrors, but where's there's smoke, there's usually fire as well." Vivian sighed, "Divide & conquer, shall we? I can tackle the whole... eating thing, you can look into the siblings?"

[zhaoyinvo]

yan's anger was like a knife to the chest, and he had to resist the instinct to flinch as she let loose at him. her anger was warranted, to be certain—but that didn't mean it didn't sting. it was a massive secret, and he wouldn't be surprised if his sister chose to never forgive him. even so, it would hurt. it wasn't like there was a handbook that came with being kidnapped. he had tried his best.

shoving his feelings down, yinuo took a breath, responding. "yes, i did know. and it stung not to tell you." he hesitated, about to elaborate further when yan halted with a realization. he swallowed hard. you have to tell her. now. if you don't, she'll find out on her own—and things will only get worse from there.

"…about that," he sighed, perching on the corner of a table discarded in the room. yinuo glanced up, making sure his sister met his eyes before he continued. "we are asterian, meimei. we grew up in frigoria, yes—but the blood that runs through our veins is still asterian." nearly as pure as you could get. he risked another glance at the door, hesitating. "we…you and i are related, yes. but we aren't the only ones."

yinuo sucked in a breath. "i don't know what yixin will think; i am not the king. but i feel with reasonable clarity that we won't be banished, because we—"

"…he's our brother, yan."

SHE HAD wondered if anyone would have blamed her if she had decked the living daylights out of her elder brother, right there on the spot. Naturally, Zhao Yan had not been much of a fighter per se - she couldn't even bring herself to slap someone, but oh boy was she being tested right now. She couldn't understand why Yinuo had never found it important enough to tell her that the blasted village they lived in had been a fucking empire!

she was so pissed she had started to internally swear. she never swore!

The Shadows in the room condensed, letting out chuckle-like hisses. Like a piece of meat being thrown into a searing hot pan. She had cast a glance their way, doubling back when she had realised they were actually visible to her, but her brother's words had quickly averted her attention from them.

"For twenty four years??" Yanyan hissed out. "You've know for practically all my life & not at one point in these twenty four years did it occur to you to tell me? Walk me through your thinking process, gege, please, because I struggle to see the reason as to why I was kept a fool thinking I was raised in a tiny little village in the outskirts of Asteria - " she paused when her gaze widened & a realisation had hit her.

"We're - we're not even Asterian, are we? Are we Frigorian? By the Gods my entire life is a lie! What will Yixinge think when he finds out? We won't be banished, will me?" she panicked.

[zhaoyinvo]

yinuo gave a small shrug. "then it's worth going through them again." he sighed, pulling the top one from the stack and letting it thud gently to the tabletop below.

he nodded along to vivian's words as he opened the book, scanning the index and the first couple of pages. "i know," he sighed again. "i truly don't think this was Ffigoria's doing." maybe he felt more allegiance to his home country than he should have, but it honestly didn't feel like something they would do. the council had spent years arguing over whether or not to bring the empire into the spotlight—now they suddenly do, without any prior warning? no, something else was afoot. "that begs the question, however—if not frigoria, then who?"

at vivian's latter words, his eyes flicked up to her for a moment before returning to the pages of the tome. he hesitated for a moment, before offering a small shrug. "truthfully? i have no idea. i've been so focused on these...eaters that i haven't really had time to look into it." a subtle lie, a half-truth. just something to shake her from his tail.

SHE HAD skimmed through at least three of those tomes, but clicked her tongue in reply. "Those three." she pointed with her chin, but added, "I'll admit I only skimmed though them, so maybe it'll be worth it giving them another look. I haven't found anything of relevance in any of these books." Vivian sighed.

she had come to the point where she was looking through the books.

"They can make whatever fucking connection they want, it's not like we can verify it, right? We can't find a single thing about them! Frigoria? Yea, sure. I mean, it's not like we need help in finding info about it. I've seen plenty a books about it hidden in the library. After it broke, so did the odd smudges & wayward tomes." she doubted this was Frig's doing.

"Even if it read like Frig at first, it no longer feels like it's one of us. & what's with these siblings? The king has siblings? Seriously? Are these Hollows pulling things out of their asses to mess with us or what? Do you think it's true?"

[zhaoyinvo]

he nods slowly. "at least that." still, the concept ate at him. why bother dropping the spell now? something about it reeked of outside interference. who truly were these hollows?

"me?" yinuo sighed softly. "i don't believe it was her. if she was going to do this, there would've been more warning, or a plan mentioned, or something." he shook his head. "but I've heard nothing. i'm afraid she may have been just as caught off-guard as the rest of us."

"do you know anything of this hollow eater, by any chance?" it was worth a shot. "it has me...somewhat concerned." for the safety of the kingdom, he nearly finished, before withholding the statement. too ambiguous. not a safe phrase to use any longer.

"I fear it might." she responds, honestly. She loves her sister, she does, and truly. But, Eris' chaos is unpredictable, she is good one day then utterly insane the next. It had happened so many times in a loop she doesn't know whether to trust a word she utters. "It sounds like something she would do. What we would be inclined to do. But, the thing keeping us safe had now broken and we are left bare for the kingdoms to see. It's only good that our identities are unknown and our origins remain intact." She feared that with breaking of damnatio so will their aliases and covers. But they didn't.

"What do you make of it? Do you think it could be her or someone else?"

[zhaoyinvo]

yinuo furrowed his brow, shaking his head slowly. "when it comes to this...new kingdom," he started, "it's hard to say. clearly, they've been in hiding for centuries, so...perhaps this is not on us, but on our ancestors. it is hard to know what to do—or what should've been done, rather—when we weren't there to witness it." he shrugged. "perhaps there was magic involved, or perhaps it was pointed when it happened—like an intentional erasure. who's to say?"

at the woman's latter words, he let out a small laugh. "i really don't know about that one, my lady. it seems preposterous, really. children of the royal line, hidden from the kingdom?" his smile, tinged ever-so-slightly with sadness, one that would go undetected unless you knew him well. "i can't believe that rumor—with all due respect."

WELL, naturally she would have agreed, but that idea flew out the window once the Hollow eater had appeared - if only by name drop. She wasn't entirely sure if the Hollows were intending to just scare them, but by the gods... it's been a month. This is just getting tedious & repetitive.

what was next, the Hollow drinker? please.

"Well, what about the whole Frigoria thing, then? Have we just collectively hallucinated it? Or maybe thought we've forgotten it? I mean, there's more to it than just being a joke. & what about our king having younger siblings? Where did that come from?"

[zhaoyinvo]

yinuo offers her a careful shrug. "likely not." a movement out of the corner of his eye catches his attention, and he turns towards it, gratefully taking the excuse. "ah—please do excuse me, lady; I believe I am being sought after. lovely to see you again." he had never meant the words less in his life.

Whom? The question leaves her short of answers, but a thought rises. The empress could very well hide her tracks well. A secret is best kept among two people, counting that one of the two is dead. Like her late cousin. He would have killed her if she had not been so irreplaceable to him.

"Caution is the only thing we can do. Until the culprits are discovered and disposed of. However, something tells me it will not be an easy feat." she has no idea who they are. She tries to find them, but she fails and it angers her -- deeply.

[zhaoyinvo]

"you're correct about that." yinuo smiles; that was a thing he knew all too well. if people didn't believe in an illusion, then they truly had too much to live for. "who knows? perhaps it is simply a prank." he would want nothing more than to believe that himself. but something kept him from that fact. something out of place, something not...quite right. illusions were his domain—he prided himself on being able to see through them. this? this didn't feel like an illusion.

"personally?" he was surprised at the woman's question; for what weight did his word hold here, truly? after a moment, he gives her a small shrug. "i agree with you. this is a time of unity, yes, but also a time of great unrest. it's a...period of shaky faith. anything could happen—and that goes for anyone. people want things to hold on to. no matter how...intangible it is."

"so, yes, i do believe it to be unrest. although no more than usual. if dealt with quickly and properly, it should be no more an issue than any attempted uprising." there were still reservations eating at him, but he didn't voice them. there was no reason for it.

[zhaoyinvo]

location: the palace gardens, asteria. time: unspecified dusk. open starter

the rumors seemed to follow him from one inch of the palace to the other. dirty looks shot from servants and nobility alike; everyone had been called into question. no one knew who to trust: anyone could have been a frigorian in disguise.

yinuo found himself able to navigate the situation better than most. he already didn't trust most people, so how much of a difference could this truly make? no, the damnatio memoriae did not affect him as much as it would affect others. this could make frigoria's plot truly difficult, and yet—he found that he did not care. he had much more pressing matters.

keeping his distance from the king was fairly simple. he didn't know if yixin had heard the rumors or not, but he wanted no reason to give others a chance to find out the truth. the time would come to tell him eventually. glancing out at the fountain in the center of the gardens, he saw the figure move out of the corner of his eye.

"...well, if you're going to stand there all night, you might as well come get comfortable." he patted the empty seat on the bench next to him.

[zhaoyinvo]

he needed to leave. until people calmed down, the feast hall was not a safe place for him to be. two secrets were hidden deep within his very existence, and he found himself incapable of keeping either at this moment in time. one was already out of the bag ahead of schedule; he didn't need the other becoming confirmed as well.

near the door stood a woman, one that yinuo had seen around the palace before, but had never had the opportunity to stop and talk to. he nodded to her as he moved closer, planning to slip past her and be gone. yet her words caught his ear, and he paused.

"inconvenient?" he echoed, with a small chuckle of disbelief. "...which part, my lady?" there were many words that could be used to describe the feast that night. inconvenient did not feel nearly potent enough.

𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 🗝

𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: feast hall, Asteria royal palace

𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 & 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: March 01, 1276; vespers ( 4PM to 6PM )

 

   Motionless, spine taut. Kohl-lined eyes to boast the Shih's financial might – their investment: her. All of which were segments of her routine. Her identity. Jiao Bi sipped from her cup. Earthy and sweet.

   The shriek still rang within her, coiled in its bequeathal, despite its obvious swan song. It left something. Not fear. For it required ignorance. Hmm, recognition?

   Yes.

   Recognition.

   Frigoria. They returned, but they had never truly left. She had known. Not this exactly, but the jesters had alluded to forgotten bloodlines and misplaced histories. The magic: enchantment, illusions, fire. The siren’s song, as A'yi put it, and Lady Vivian's mindgames.

   She sniffed.

   “How… predictable,” she murmured. “And yet, how inconvenient.”

   Jiao Bi had tactically positioned herself near the side doors, eyes scanning for nobles who desired space or an artful exit. Each and every Soteran and Frigorian had entered her arena. Who would rise and who would fall? How long would it take before the king turned his scrutiny on her? On the Shihs?

   She would be ready.

[zhaoyinvo]

there was absolutely more in store. the incident at the celebration had merely been a warning, yinuo was sure of it. hence why he was so eager to get to the bottom of what they were—if they could figure that out, they could figure out how to counter them.

"well, if all they wanted was to scare people, then they have certainly outdone themselves," he replied dryly, shaking his head. "i do not think there was even one person getting a good night's sleep that night." certainly not himself. "so let us hope that was all it was. for all our sakes."

THEY won't know even once they do return home. She had been spending quite some time in Asterian library, & she doesn't recall seeing anything bearing this mark, this trail. It had gone as dead & as cold as if it had not even existed.

it was weird & not a good weird.

"I don't think they had a point." Renyi said with a hum. "It's too random & volatile. I think their purpose was to just scare us. It was tastelessly done, but they have not entirely failed, if that was their goal. For it to be anything else but a malicious ploy to terrify us... I don't wish to find out if there's something more they have in store for us."

[zhaoyinvo]

"oh, good. you're looking too." yinuo let out a sigh as he dropped a stack of books on the table across from her. thunk. like a stone in an empty well. kind of like his spirits right now. "hollow's eve–? surely that can't be it. though it may be a date to remember—if they want to make it related, they very well could."

his thoughts had been everywhere since the night the damnatio memoriae had fallen. skittering and fluttering from here to there as frantic as a hunted mouse; he was looking forward to focusing on something again. research, he could do. (and anything he could find to help cefin was worth it in the end.)

"i haven't found much either, but i take it you've been looking much longer than i." he sighed again, turning the stack of books so she could read the spines. "any chance you checked any of these already? no reason to double back on stuff that's already been scoured."

location: the court of asteria. library. time: unspecified night time. availability: open to everyone !

VIVIAN had been on a hunt - for the Hollow eater. Whatever it was. After consulting with Eris & the court of Frigoria's council, she had hit the Asterian library, in search for any bit & piece of information she could find.

surprise, surprise, she had found none.

She did find a few things on Frigoria, their royal bloodline & some vague texts on their generic power ( a passage that had interested her, for she had been looking for anyone connected to her own rotting power - but, so far, no luck ). Sitting close to the very back of the library, under one of the torches, she had been idly flipping through parchments, trying to find even a vague mention of Hollows. When a person slid into the seat opposite of her, Vivian let out a frustrated sigh.

"I only found a mention of Hollow's eve, but isn't that a joint holiday the kingdoms share? I doubt it has any connection with these... things. Unless the Hollow eater is eating the feast of Hollow's."

[zhaoyinvo]

he cracked a faint smile at the lady's wise remark. "perhaps so. perhaps it is easier to blame the bugs, which cannot argue back." perhaps it was also just an excellent way of avoiding the question. cursed creatures, eating their precious knowledge.

"they may." yinuo let out a sigh. "it all depends on which answers you're looking for. historical questions? yes, most likely you'll find an answer there. magic? potentially. probably no better than sotera's, though." he gave a small shrug. "won't know until we make it home, anyway."

"now, there, i agree with you." he shifted his book across the table, out of the way. "this was way too over the top if they just wanted a simple scare. the fear in that ballroom that night was nearly unparalleled." yinuo shook his head. "i just can't figure out what the point of it was."

NOT GOOD, or purposefully vague. History had been written by the victors, who was to say their two little kingdoms were benevolent? Was that not the reason that... spare little thing was getting thrown to Asteria's king? & by proxy, her king? Now, that was just sloppy. Sloppy solutions for dangerous reasons.

but, she wouldn't say that to the lord Zhao in front of her.

Yes, she had seen him around Asteria, but they've never spoken more than a passing hello in the corridors of the palace. "That, or they were eaten by time. I have seen quite a few of their scrolls falling prey to moths, making some of the pages rather... illegible." she commented with a light hum.

illusions.

Mn. Could very well be. It had a ting of magic behind it, leaving a residue but not a trail, which had made her pissed. Had there been a trail, she could have tracked it - but now... nothing. Still, she nodded at his words, leaning her head against her palm.

"You ask all the right questions, but none of them seem to have an answer around here. Perhaps our archives back home in Asteria could have some kind of an answer." Renyi offered, lips pursed in thought.

"But, I do wonder, as well... about the purpose of it all. If it was just to frighten us, they overdid it."

[zhaoyinvo]

he chuckled at enzo's response, shaking his head. "mock-ups of games? like, battles? or just...betting for pleasure?" he grinned slightly. "but either way, staying out of it seems like the safest bet." he watched the table as a shout went up from the men before dying back a minute later.

yinuo glanced between the fruit and the man for a moment. after a second, he leaned forward, plucking a banana from the bunch. "thanks," he replied honestly, half-raising the banana in a sort of recognition. carefully, he peeled the skin, taking a bite and nodding. "one's good for me."

he swallowed, glancing between the group and enzo for a moment. "so—not one to bet of lives. is there anything you bet on? or not a gambler in general?" there was very little yinuo would bet on, himself. he wouldn't blame the captain for having that outlook.

   Enzo huffed a quiet laugh, finishing off the last of the banana. A joke? That was rare.

   “Even if ya hadn't, still wouldn't let ya.” He leaned back, side-eyeing the gamblers. “Nothin’ good about betting on lives. But if ya want the technicalities – simple. They're mockups of real games — known to possess men, drives ‘em desperate.”

   He smirked. That was the real reason he stayed out of it, but it was a stark contrast to gambling with The Coin of Terror and Starvation. He was a hypocrite, but he'd do anything for the empress.

   Then he nudged the banana bunch towards Yinuo. "Heard ‘em talkin’ about how I manage my coffers. But food?" He tilted his head. "They're meant to be shared."

   He gestured lazily at the fruit.

   "Go on. Have one, two — I don’t know, three."

   A quiet offering. Wasn’t the type to waste words, but actions spoke louder.

[zhaoyinvo]

he remains silent, letting her boil over. she is right, it's a lot to take in. especially when you realize that the person you're supposedly trusting your life with has been keeping the secret from you for...well, basically your entire life.

at her realization, yinuo swallows hard, glancing up to meet her gaze. rather than answering the accusation outright, he hesitates for a moment, nodding. "...frigoria is not a village," he repeats, confirming the fact. "it—it was a kingdom, long ago; damned to be forgotten by a curse." he pauses. "still is a kingdom, really. more of an empire now, i guess."

a minute passes before he forces himself to continue. "...it's where we grew up. and—yeah. i knew." yinuo glances back at the door—so far, so undetected. good. he hopes it stays that way. "i've known—we ended up there about..." doing some quick calculations in his head, he mumbles numbers under his breath "...twenty-four years ago?" saying the amount aloud, he cringes. it sounds worse when spoken. "...just you and me." a family split and torn, now reunited. somewhat. another thing to tell.

ALRIGHT? No! No, she was not alright - she had never been less alright in her entire existence! In fact, once the great annals of this day are scribbled down for future generations, her face will be painted right beside the definition of not alright. First the Frigoria in the scrolls in Sotera, then this yell! & then what were the images that flooded her mind? Frigoria! A bloody empire! Not even a kingdom - an empire. As if that wasn't enough, now this -

the three siblings of Asteria.

She had only briefly locked gaze with her brother across the room to notice it - she had managed to lightly frown, her feet already moving toward Yinuo when her brother reached her & started pulling her away from all the panic & chaos.

she felt a bit like panicking, too.

When they were finally alone, secluded enough for the shrieking of people to become a dull echo, cut off by the heavy door, did Yan turn to her brother with a wide-eyed, confused expression. "No! No, I'm bloody not alright. Frigoria isn't a village?" it was an effort not to start hyperventilating at the barrage of questions that had threatened to boil over, when she forced herself to pause & truly look at her brother -

& the expression on his face.

"You... knew, didn't you?"