“H'kelan dog.”

Joy bit her tongue. Her normal shrouded and stoic demeanor was faltering under the pressure of being close to not one but all three of Olain's children. She looked away from the man in black, blue, and gold, knowing that if not for the Prince's even stranger entourage she would have drawn attention. The colors were those of the Cade family; Joy had the unfortunate experience of dealing with them twice. Once was when she was a child, back when she was Vesta DeBove. Despite being from rival countries, her father had always admired the Cades—albeit only for their wealth—and had offered her hand to Lord Cade's eldest son. The engagement broke like the poor boy's wrist when he erroneously accepted her request for a duel and took it as if it were a lark. She effectively ruined her father's scheme for a heavy bride price and, looking back, perhaps ruined a few other schemes. The second time was when she was Joy. She learned why the Kirun was not targeted by other bandits and that lesson had almost cost the woman her life.

The sight of the castle filled her with pain. She hadn't been there in ages, not since she had  allegedly failed to protect her King. The bitter memory of the inquisition against her still caused her stomach to sour and tighten. How could they say she had failed him? If not for her, he never even would have made it out of the West. Olain knew the truth, he could have said something, but he had done nothing. She had protected him for so long. The one time she needed him to return the favor he had failed, and she never even knew why. Her face burned hot; she tasted copper in her mouth and swallowed the blood that she had accidentally drawn. She wanted to scream. Coming here had been a stupid idea; they hadn't listened to her years ago, just because Kori was now Queen didn't mean they would listen now.

[i]Stupid, stupid idea,[/i] thought Joy, the alcohol from her flask burning against her blistered tongue and numbing her mind. She remembered how she chided herself as being drunk when she had come up with it. Now, dismounting from the horse and following the others into the castle, she wished she had filled her flask with heavier stuff.

Ennis watched with a childlike curiosity as the large, scaled man instructed the stable boy on how not to turn himself into a snack. He had never seen armor such as that before and would have liked to examine it further, but the man had caught himself staring. Not wanting to appear rude, he casually quickened his pace to fall in step behind the Serio family. He always enjoyed walking through the castle. It was like a pleasant reminder of home at the Kirun, made even sweeter after having spent a few years in Gartian's much less welcoming abode. He had managed to calm any of his worries and dispel any of his fears on the way to the castle, telling himself that they would find a peaceful way to settle all of this.

He forced away the frown that was forming. Even someone as optimistic as Ennis knew that was a slim chance.

He felt comfortable in the throne room despite his experiences generally being less than ideal. Kori had always been savvy enough to give him a moment to speak during court, although until now Ennis had always just assumed she was being polite. Ennis stood off to the side of the Sentinels and their posse as Kori and Cyril spoke, his arms patiently clasped behind his back as they confirmed his suspicion. The thought that the Queen would bring him in on this matter filled him with a radiant glow the showed in his eyes, although he managed to keep his smile to himself. A smart move, for smiling after hearing his homeland had begun a war was a quick way to paint himself with a target. Compared to the worn looking woman, however, he was doing quite well in maintaining proper, courtly appearances. Ennis listened patiently as the others spoke, and gave the older woman a moment to gather herself and tell her accounts. The moment, although a short one, stretched to one that was beyond Ennis's comfort. He cleared his throat.

“It is most unfortunate that your abilities were unable to predict this event, Miss Tanaka. I'm sure if you had properly been prepared then perhaps we would not be having this meeting at all,” said Ennis. A small smile slid across his face. He meant for it to look sympathetic and caring; he had dealt with enough of the fantastical to know that fortune telling was not always a gimmick used by grifters to get an easy gold or two. Of course, for all he knew it could very well look as if he, a H'kelan man, was bullying a young Barcean girl. The thought didn't even cross Ennis's mind; he turned to Shadar.

“Sir, while I do respect your right to privacy and even admire a man who knows when he'd be forced to lie but is honorable enough to admit it, I'm afraid that still leaves some of us in the dark,” said Ennis, turning his attention to the silent woman. “Perhaps you'd be able to elaborate, Ma'am?”

It took Joy a second to realize Ennis had been addressing her. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had addressed her in such a way. She shuffled uncomfortably under the attention being turned to her before taking a step and a half forward, her eyes never leaving the floor in front of her. She spoke to the ground, the command and weight in her voice all but squashed. 

“Cy...the Prince already...” she trailed off, and took a step back as if she were done.

Ennis frowned. None of this had been helpful. True, he had the letter from his father, but he wasn't daft enough to reveal that he had prior knowledge of an attack, even if he had plenty of evidence to prove that he only received the letter today. And if Cyril gave the testimony, well, he loved Barcea as much as Ennis loved H'kela. The story would be full of embellishments and inaccuracies tainted by the man's swelling patriotism. Besides, there was a chance the H'kelan army had yet to strike despite what his father had said. Perhaps he could prevent a disaster; he just needed information. He decided to push the woman. The fortune teller had not been at the scene, supposedly, and it seemed unlikely that the large, armored man would break his vow of silence. Plus, she had a strange familiarity surrounding her that drew his attention.

“Now Ma'am, I know it must have been tough, but even the tiniest of details could help us access the situation. Please, the matter at hand is one that is extremely grave. Peace has proven to be quite advantageous for both countries despite what some might say; it would be most dreadful if the olive branch between our two countries was shattered due to some misunderstanding. I'd even dare say it would be ruinous for all of us,” said Ennis, his arms still clasped behind his back. “Do you understand, Ma'am?”

[i]Damn him,[/i] thought Joy. She already disliked the man because he was a Cade, now she dispised him because he kept the focus on her. Her mind was too stirred to form cohesive lies; the others would be able to call her out too. She cursed herself for not being like Shadar and exercising her right to silence. Now, such an act would likely cause this H'kelan bastard to only turn the heat up even more. She relented.

“The H'kelans attacked Hillsborough. They killed everyone and burnt it down,” she said, forcing herself to speak calmly. It sounded as if she was an amateur reading from a script.

“I see,” said the persistent man, his lips turning down slightly. “And how do you know the H'kelans were the ones responsible? I imagine if you were there to witness the attack you would be a little, well, less lively.”

“I arrived after,” she said, and gestured to the helmet. “What more do you need?”

“More than that, I'm afraid,” said the man. “It's not an uncommon tactic for bandits and raiders to use military garb as means to lower the guard of unsuspecting townsfolk. Hillsborough is awfully close to the border, it is not much of a stretch to think that a few costumed thugs decided to dip across for an easy target. The tactic, of course, no longer works, but H'kelan armor is still better than what most marauders can get their hands on.”

“It wasn't bandits,” said Joy, her voice betraying her frustration. “Footprints show that the movements were too uniformed. They burnt crops, killed livestock, and destroyed granaries. Valuables were left either untouched or broken. Bandits don't operate like that. It's bad business. Soldiers attacked the Prince. He can confirm what I saw.” She looked up for the first time, glaring with a look of pure disdain at the intrusive man that forced him to take a step back. “Or are you going to call His Royal Highness a fucking liar, too?”

“Ma'am, I, uh, I apologize,”he said, waving his hands defensively in front of himself. “I never meant to imply that you were lying. I simply wanted to make sure that we examined all angles. Although, I do admit that it distresses me greatly how clear cut things truly are.” His face suddenly lightened and the man gave a slight jolt, as if he had been startled awake. “Oh! Where are my manners? I do beg your pardon, I never introduced myself. My name is Ennis Cade , son of Lord Dedrick Cade, heir to the Kirun and the current Ambassador of H'kela. A pleasure to meet you all; I am sure we can find a reasonable solution to this,” he paused for a moment as he carefully picked his next word, “incident. Ah, and please, don't feel as if you must tread lightly around me. I swear by my family's name that I am here to offer my assistance in whatever way I can.”

Joy quietly sighed with relief. Just like the last Cade she knew, the man made it a habit to turn the focus his way. For once, she was okay with it. She was just about to skulk back into Shadar's shadow when the man turned attention to her once more.

“I'm afraid I must have missed it. What was your name again, Ma'am?”

“Joy,” she said.

“Ah, how fitting,” said Ennis, his eyes twinkling. The luster in them faded as he turned towards Cyril. “So, Your Royal Highness, what would you propose we do about this?”