Second Prince Kestil was not the man that Jadis had expected.
“How do you take your tea?” the gold-skinned elf asked as he personally poured the hot liquid into fine porcelain cups from an unusually large teapot. “With milk? Honey? I have a berry mix that goes quite nicely with this blend if you’d like.”
“Anything’s fine,” Jay replied quietly as she carefully watched the man. “I’m not picky.”
“Then, perhaps a different option for each of you,” Kestil said after a slight pause. “Variety is a spice unto itself.”
Jadis observed the man warily as he prepared three cups of tea, one with milk and honey, one with a mix of sweet berries, and one without any additions at all. He passed the three large but delicately made cups to Jadis’ three selves before making his own smaller cup of tea which he took with only a splash of milk.
When Jadis had received the invitation to have tea with the prince, Jadis had been immediately wary of the man’s intentions. Prince Kestil was the man who had sent Noll to spy on her. He was also the one who had mostly left Jadis alone during her time in Weigrun, despite ostensibly being the one in charge of the whole region. Jadis knew Magistrate Vraekae reported directly to Kestil, which meant he was no doubt double informed on everything Jadis had done since showing up in Far Felsen. He'd shown a keen interest in tracking her movements by sending Noll after her as well as having Vraekae keep constant tabs on her, but he also hadn’t ever made any direct approach towards her before, either. He had seemed like the kind of person who wouldn’t want to get his hands dirty and let his subordinates act for him, so far as Jadis could tell.
But with the invitation to meet, Kestil had changed the status quo and initiated direct contact. Was this going to be his attempt at officially inviting her to be on “his side” as it were? Jadis knew there were party lines being drawn between the two princes. She’d been angling to remain neutral, even with the asshole behavior of the first prince, but now that she was being approached directly by Kestil she wasn’t entirely sure how she should respond.
One thing she did know how to do, though, was to act. Sitting around and letting others move for her had grown old fast. Jadis had been going along with the Paladin Orders and the High Priests for a while now, but she didn’t plan on continuing down that path for much longer. She wanted her freedom, sooner rather than later. As beautiful as Lyssandria’s temple was, it was still just a gilded cage so long as Jadis had no choice about being there.
Jadis was willing to try the legal methods of clearing up her issues, but passively waiting for Vraekae and others to do all the work while she twiddled her thumbs was not how she wanted to spend her time. Meeting with Kestil could make a difference in her situation, so Jadis acted straight away. Borrowing a pen and paper from Aurea, Jadis wrote out her reply to the prince letting him know that she was willing to meet with him that morning. Less than an hour later she had been escorted to the palace and into a wing of the massively extravagant structure that belonged to the second prince.
No one else had come with Jadis. Her companions had not been included in the invitation. Lady Severina had been the one to escort her, having arrived with the prince’s welcome to come to the palace straight away. Once inside the palace, Jadis had half-expected to be mobbed by nobles and courtiers, but the way Severina had taken Jadis had been quick and discreet and they barely saw anyone other than guards and servants.
The room Severina had taken Jadis to was an airy solar with many windows and an excess of greenhouse-grown flowers. A table had been set up that had clearly been purposefully made for someone of Jadis’ size, along with three chairs that actually allowed Jadis to sit properly. Unlike the ones from back in Far Felsen, these chairs and the table did not look like they had been quickly put together by a fast-working carpenter, but instead had the appearance of intricately carved and well-maintained antiques. Considering how long it had been since any Nephilim had walked on Oros, that implied that the furniture was at least a couple of thousand years old.
Jadis had sat in the chairs with some apprehension. Fortunately, despite their apparent age, they held her weight without a single creak.
Prince Kestil had been waiting for Jadis when Lady Severina had brought her into the solar. He was an elf, as Jadis had known he would be, and had gold skin and light blue hair that was pulled back in a short, low ponytail. His eyes were a bright silver color and he was decidedly handsome in a foppish kind of way. He also seemed to have a perpetual smile on his face that made him seem like he was thinking of a private joke that others weren’t privy to.
“Ah, that’s quite nice,” Kestil sighed after taking a sip from his cup. “The flavor turned out much better this year.”
Jadis sipped at her own tea and was surprised by just how good the taste was. Even the plain, unaltered cup was deliciously sweet without being overly saccharine.
“This is… very nice,” Jay said after taking a second sip. “What kind of tea is this?”
“My own private blend,” Kestil said with a satisfied grin. “I grow the flowers myself. A mix of local and exotic flora that I have been cultivating over the years.”
“It’s really good,” Jay replied, genuinely meaning the compliment. “I don’t think I’ve ever had any better.”
“Thank you,” the prince replied. “I’ll have a box of the blend made for you so you can take it with you when you go. A small gift, and perhaps, a token of apology. Though not the only one I offer you, rest assured.”
“Apology?” Dys asked with one eyebrow raised as she set her cup down. “What are you apologizing for?”
Jadis did not assume that Kestil had no reason to say he was sorry. He had sent someone to spy on her. But she didn’t get the feeling that was what the prince meant.
“Yes, an apology,” Kestil nodded once as he set his own cup down. “One made on behalf of my intemperate brother, though he has not asked me to. More than that, though, I apologize for my part in the way you have been mistreated these past few weeks.”
“Your part?” Dys asked, her expression having darkened.
Kestil smiled, his poise exuding an easy confidence. They were alone in the room, yet he didn’t seem to have even the slightest concern that Jadis might pose a threat to him. She wasn’t sure if that was because he had an extremely high level and felt he could handle her in a fight, or if he had other protections in place that she couldn’t see. He also could have just been an overconfident idiot, she supposed, but Jadis didn’t get that impression from the elf. Kestil might have been a lot of things, but she didn’t presume he was an idiot.
“From what both Vraekae and Noll have told me,” the prince said as he laced his fingers together, “you are a woman who appreciates direct words. So then, if you will forgive my bluntness, I will simply confess that I have used you.”
“…What?”
“Not with any intent to bring you harm,” Kestil said with a placating gesture. “Though I admit that what I have done was without your knowledge or your permission. For that, I sincerely apologize to you.”
Jadis’s lips drew into thin lines as she regarded the prince. For someone who was delivering an apology, he didn’t look particularly sorry. Further, as Jadis thought about the man’s words, he hadn’t actually said he was sorry that he had used her, just that he had done so without her knowledge. Regret didn’t seem to have any part in the equation.
Her first impulse was to punch the elf in his perfectly shaped nose. She still fully planned on doing so to his jerkwad of a brother, so why not assault two members of royalty? However, the many lessons Jadis had received from Aila and Eir to think first before acting, at least in a social setting, had found some purchase in her core. While she was a woman of action, she wasn’t going to make the mistake of acting rashly and without thought.
She still might punch Kestil in the end, though.
“What exactly did you do to ‘use me?’ I’d like a clear explanation,” Dys said in a flat, mostly calm voice.
“Of course,” Kestil said as his smile widened for a brief flash. “Now that you are here, I do want to explain things to you. It’s only fair.”
Leaning forward as he spoke, Kestil picked up a small cookie shaped like a flower and took a delicate bite of the pastry. He let out a small hum of happiness as he chewed the treat before motioning for Jadis to have her choice from the silver platter.
“Please, have some. These cookies are made by one of the best bakers in all the world.”
Jadis wasn’t sure if Kestil was trying to stall or just butter her up, but each of her selves wordlessly took a different cookie. Popping the tiny biscuits into her mouths, she chewed them thoughtfully before rendering a verdict that was announced from all of her selves at once.
“I’ve had better.”
“Truly?” Kestil asked, one eyebrow raised. “You must name the individual. If they can do better than these, then I may need to find them a place of employment here in the capital.”
“Destarious,” Syd told the prince, her own gaze flat and serious.
Kestil paused for only a split second before his manner relaxed and he took another sip of his tea.
“How can one hope to compete with a god?” He said with a chuckle. “Still, putting the divine aside, I wager you’ve not had better made by mortal hands.”
“No, I suppose not,” Jay said, some impatience starting to show in her voice. “But we weren’t discussing cookies. You were going to tell me about what your involvement has been in all this shit with your brother coming after me like some kind of psycho.”
As a silence lingered between them for a brief moment, Jadis wondered if maybe she shouldn’t have used curse language with the Second Prince. If the royal elf wanted to talk about cookies, Aila would probably tell her to just let the fucker talk about cookies until he got to his point. But Jadis didn’t want to let this smug princeling have complete control of the conversation. He couldn’t just dangle information in front of her like a carrot on a stick.
“Quite,” Kestil sighed, though his smile stayed in place. “My role was and has been, to put it simply, that of an instigator.”
Kestil paused, perhaps waiting for some reaction. When Jadis didn’t respond to the confession and just continued to blankly look at the prince, he continued.
“I needed my brother’s attention to focus away from a particular direction. To that end, I facilitated the creation of several reports as well as aided in the movement of certain priests, all of which led my brother to believe that I was making a major move of some kind that involved you. Of course, as you know, I did not make any move towards you, but he thought differently. I admit, I had expected him to have shown more restraint than he did, though perhaps some of the blame lies on Runar’s shoulders. That man is a zealous one when it comes to his duties and is not known for subtleness. Regardless, my brother is now convinced that he has caused some kind of disruption to my plans by having you arrested and confined to the temple district. And, so long as you remain under confinement, he will continue to believe that he has dealt me a blow.”
“You mean you had me arrested and nearly got me killed in the process, by the way, just as some kind of distraction?” Jay asked, her tone rising towards the end of her words.
Kestil nodded, his expression momentarily turning serious.
“Again, I do apologize. What Runar did was unconscionable and were it in my power to do so, I would have him removed from his position. That is not up to me, sadly, though perhaps that will change once I have supplanted my brother and inherited my father’s throne. However, I freely admit that your summary is accurate. You have served and continue to serve as a distraction. Certainly, no harm was ever meant to befall you via my actions, and yet here we are. As such, I do feel I owe you rather more than just an apology. What would you say to receiving a dukedom?”
Jadis stared at the golden elf, her emotions fluctuating wildly inside her head as she went over the absurd string of sentences the second prince had just let loose from his smiling mouth. From the casual way Kestil had slid from outright admitting he planned on taking the position of crown prince from his elder brother to the bizarre offer of a landed title, Jadis wasn’t entirely sure how to respond.
Shaking her heads, Jadis initiated a factory reset of her brain and just let all the extraneous matters go. When she didn’t have to think about all the consequences of everything the Second Prince had just said, the way forward was much, much clearer.
With a lightning-fast flick of her arm, Jay reached across the table and punched Kestil in the face before he could even blink.
“Ah! Gods—what in all the abyss are you doing!?” Kestil shouted as he clutched his bleeding nose between two fingers. “That hurt!”
“Good,” Jadis said with her Dys and Syd selves.
“Apology accepted for the moment,” Jay said as she sat back in her chair feeling a little more comfortable. “But now you’re going to tell me what’s actually going on with all this fuckery and how exactly you plan on getting me out of it.”
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