Louise was looking decidedly pale by Eleonore's words, but Henrietta just takes it in good stride, knowing that she was in the wrong here, even if she took Louise away for good reason. She nods to Eleonore, "I do realise my faults in all of this, but I hope to illuminate some of my actions for you. Though, I will say that I had nothing to do with Teiter Gramont's death. I suspect it was a foreign element wishing to cause strive amongst ourselves, make us easier pickings for them, you might say."
Karin squints at Henrietta for a moment, looking to see if there were any hints of deception, eventually nodding at not finding any. "Let us first prepare for dinner, we can discuss our future actions thereafter. Louise, Princess, please follow our servants to see to it that you are suitably dressed." she turns to Agnes, "Chevalier Agnes, I will send for you to assist in the defence of the estate, will that be a problem?"
Agnes shakes her head, inwardly cheering at not having to accommodate annoying Nobles at a dinner or some other formal event. "That will suit me just fine, Duchess."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Half an hour passes with Louise and the Princess walking down a hallway in new clothes towards the dinner hall. The former was pretty shocked that Cattleya hadn't visited yet, but suspected her mother and father were keeping her away so that they'd be in a better position to negotiate... After all, for all intents and purposes, the Princess was here to request assistance in taking back the country. And while oaths might suggest that'd be all that was required, the Duke and Duchess would be fools to not take advantage of the opportunity, much to Louise' chagrin.
The subsequent dinner was... Fine, is somewhat tense. Louise tried to make small talk with her family, but everyone was all too aware of the discussion that'd happen after they'd eaten, which prevented anyone from getting too comfortable.
Henrietta delicately leaves her knife and fork on her plate, signalling that she was finished eating, allowing the servants to take away the empty plates. "I believe you have some questions." the princess politely remarks, waiting for the Valliere family to begin.
The duke nods, "I will first ask why you thought it was necessary to take my daughter into your service? There were many others who, despite my not wishing to say so, were more qualified and suitable for such a position. Indeed, most wouldn't bring the political turmoil that my daughter did, after the demise of Guiche de Gramont under her. Familair's-" his face wrinkled slightly as he speaks of Michael, "-Hand."
Henrietta smiles, "I believe you are unaware of your daughter's true talents, Duke Valliere-"
Eleonore slams her hands down onto the table as she stands, glaring at the Princess, "Don't lie to us princess, we are all well aware of Louise' 'abilities', even with you 'tutoring' her I do not believe that such a thing gives you any allowance for taking her." she states, ignoring the indignant expression and moisture collecting in Louise' eyes at her comments. Eleonore had always been the most blunt about Louise' situation, but that didn't make it hurt any less.
Louise wipes her eyes with her sleeve and frowns, "I've finally discovered my element! And I've been learning with Henri! I'm not that useless little girl you remember!" she proclaims but is disappointed to find her family, even Cattleya dismissing her statement as just another outburst.
The duke shakes his head, "What little improvements Louise has seen with her magic does nothing to alleviate the troubles you've caused my family. You may be the rightful ruler of Tristain, but that does not excuse your incredibly childish actions since late... Your letter to Prince Wales? Foolish. Sending troops to interfere in Albion's Civil War? Indisputably incorrect. The assassination of Teiter Gramont? Idiotic to the Nth degree!"
Henrietta shakes her head, "I did not have Teiter Gramont murdered. I would stake my life and soul on it. Believe me, while I hated that disgusting man as much as it is possible, I was willing to sacrifice for Tristain's stability. Ask Louise if you must, as my attendant, she would have known if I were to send an assassin." she states as a matter of fact.
...
Everyone turns to Louise as she nods, "Henri didn't kill him, even if I thought she should have at many moments." she admits, causing the duke to rub his face at his daughter's inelegance.
Cattleya nods despite her families continued distrust of Henrietta's words. "I believe her, if Louise says so then that's that. If we can't trust our own, then who can we trust?"
Karin nods, "I agree. But I still wish for recompense for going against our families wishes and taken Louise." she states.
Louise stands with her hands trembling in both fear and anger, "Henrietta did nothing wrong! M-mother! Father!... I-... I'm a Void Mage!" she suddenly announces, causing everyone to go silent. Even Karin's fixed neutral expression breaks momentarily as she gapes at her daughter. "You... What?" she manages to get out despite her shock.
"I can use void magic like Brimir could! That's the reason why I couldn't use any other magic! I'm Void! Not fire! Not Wind, Not Water, Not Air!"
Eleonor shakes her head in disbelief, "Louise, you can't be seri-"
Henrietta nods, "It's true. I gifted her Brimir's prayer book so that should could learn real Void Spells from it. Please believe us, your daughter has come quite the way. A low powered spell of hers even collapsed one side of the royal palace."
Karin's eyes widen further, "The palace? Was it not protected with Brimir's enchantments?"
"Indeed it was, but Louise is of the Void, and has the capabilities to break such enchantments. If you need further proof, how about we have Louise demonstrate her abilities in the training yard?" Henrietta offers.
...
The duke shakes his head, "Perhaps another time... For now, I will trust in what you say... I did hear of the state of the palace, so that explains that-" he starts but is interrupted by a knock at the door, drawing everyone's attention.
*Knock, Knock, Knock!*
"Enter!" the duke commands, somewhat annoyed at having his train of thought interrupted.
"My lord! We've just received news! The false King Gramont has started marching towards the Magic Academy!"
...
Henrietta palms her face at the news, knowing that this could be the beginning of the end for Tristain... The one thing they could say for sure was that their Magic Academy was the best in the world... But after this? Who would dare send their children there!?
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With General Gramont and his army now marching towards the Tristain Academy, the trio all leave to attend to their respective duties. First and foremost, was Michael, who activates his invisibility and using his Shadow Dance bonus movement speed, races towards the Royal Palace like a bat out of hell.
There were no magical defences placed in the regular streets of Tristania, but once he reaches the palace the real issues begin. With one side of the palace being collapsed due to Louise explosion spell, there were many more guards allocated to that area, making it a difficult place to enter. This wouldn't usually be a problem for Michael, but as soon as he got close to the palace, his invisibility started flickering, as if something or someone was trying to reveal him.
Michael figured this to be the Palace's defensive enchantments, and was pretty annoyed once he confirmed this by testing the proximity of the defence's effectiveness. This essentially meant that he wouldn't have as much time, or be as free to look for the Prayer Book as he thought... Regardless, Riki's teachings should keep him hidden well enough for now, unless someone was explicitly looking for him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While Michael was creeping through the palace hallways, Ralf and Tiffania were wandering around the capital in search of things that'd help them in future, after acquiring the location of Nicolas Grimpt of course, which wasn't hard considering everyone knew to steer well clear of the man and his properties. Ralf was looking for some replacements for his armour, as he'd had to discard most of his own due to the many Albion embellishments that'd been inscribed into it. Tiffania on the other hand, wanted to look for any bookstores, and a gift for Michael, to replace the Faery Fire she had 'misused' on her cousin, Prince Wales.
While she didn't think it was a mistake despite how he'd treated her in the end, she knew that Michael wasn't nearly as forgiving. So while he wouldn't be upset at her, his annoyance at the use of his gift was surely very real.
As for looking at bookstores? Well, she was obviously not looking for spellbooks as such things would be kept under strict lock and key, and in Tristain were all most likely held in the academy for safekeeping. No, she just wanted to buy some books for leisure reading, most of her favourite ones had been destroyed when her cabin had been burnt down, so she was taking this opportunity to explore what Tristain's authors had to offer.
Unfortunately, despite the duo searching most of the smithies in the city, Ralf was not able to find any replacements for his armour. It'd gotten to the point that Tiffania had even taken him to the diseased 'rat-faced' merchants store to see if he had anything of use, which ended up as a fruitless effort anyway.
It seems that most of the armour and a large majority of weapons in the city had been 'requisitioned' for use in General Gramont's army, leaving nothing for anyone else. As a bonus, this also had the effect of almost bankrupting most smithies, as they were unable to pay for the ores and metal to use in their craft, nor for the coal or charcoal to fuel their forges.
With that avenue disappointingly null, the duo went ahead towards their final destination, a jewel shop that supposedly sold enchanted goods to any that had enough gold for it. This was a welcome change compared to the other countries Tiffania had been to, where enchanted items were heavily restricted so that only nobles could purchase them.
Unfortunately, it was here that they hit another problem... All of the offered items were far too expensive for them to afford. Even the cheapest item, a wooden stick with a large flattened top that'd continuously blow air into one's face cost five times more gold than they had in total.
There was one artifact she'd spotted that'd caught her attention, a golden broach that'd protect the wearer until the enchantment gave out. Having him wear something like that would certainly put her more at ease, even if him getting seriously hurt was very unlikely.
Downtrodden and slightly morose at failing at her own objective while Michael was risking himself inside the Royal Palace, Tiffania and Ralf leave and begin heading back to their inn room... Only to be stopped by a young teenage boy, who was presenting to Tiffania an eerily familiar broach...
"Miss, you forgot this!" he says with a smile, almost forcefully pushing the artifact into Tiffania's palm. Ralf hovers over her shoulder to make sure nothing untoward was going on, but was satisfied enough that the boy meant no ill will.
Tiffania can't help but break into a smile of her own, quickly realising that this boy had stolen the broach for her, "Thank you very much for this... What's your name?"
"Jojin." he offers, bowing his head respectfully as if addressing a noble.
Tiffania nods, "Jojin?... I'm Tif-" she starts but is interrupted as the boy can't help but speak up.
"Batuman's friend!" he squeaks, barely hiding his excitement.
...
"Batuman?" Tiffania asks incredulously, only for Ralf to speak up.
"I believe that was the name... The False Familiar was using in Antomiers." he states causing Tiffania to nod in understanding.
Jojin smiles, "He is! Me and my master have been keeping track of his ever since he saved us. We also know who he travels with..." he says, giving a pointed look to the two of them.
Ralf stifles his frown and crooks a brow at the young man, "And what would be your objective if you were to locate these 'travel companions', boy?"
Jojin smiles, "Why, help them of course!"
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