Envy stood where he was for a long moment, pulling a cigarette from one of his pockets and lighting it on one of the candles. He inhaled the smoke and sighed before moving to take a seat in the chair by the wall, where he'd watch the children spar with one another. Beside the chair, a platter of fruit sat on a tall table. Almost all the fruit had been untouched, save for the grapes. He reached over and picked up one of the few grapes left and popped it into his mouth.

"[b]What is it with you and grapes[/b]?"
"[b]I don't know.[/b]" Envy answered, chewing a bit before taking another drag from his cigarette. "[b]They're just delicious. Would you like one[/b]?" Envy almost immediately regretted his offer, as there were now only two grapes left, and he wanted them.

The other changed the subject. "[b]You didn't tell her I'm here.[/b]"
"[b]So you were listening, then.[/b]" It wasn't a question. The Kartaian turned and looked at the figure standing in the shadows. He wore clothes of the desert folk, loose and layered, with the wrapped hood covering the majority of his head. Envy stared into the blue eyes. "[b]It would have raised the wrong questions[/b]." He took another drag. "[b]Go look around, see what you can read. I want to know about this Taris character. Specifically, if he's here to hurt Treasure[/b]." The elf stared for a long minute, calculating things in his mind. "[b]Oh, and Ruli. Change your clothes. You stand out[/b]."

------------------------------------------------

"My Lady!" Paytin gasped, noticing Aera's dirty dress and fatigued appearance. "What happened?"
The elf smiled. "I needed to see someone, and the way to their estate isn't easy." The maid gaped. "Help me tidy, will you?" She asked. 

Paytin helped her out of her dress and, holding it like she feared it would kill her, put it near the door to be washed later. Aera pulled her hair over her shoulder to brush it as Paytin undid the ties on her gloves. 

"We're in mourning now, my Lady." Paytin informed her. Aera acknowledged the fact with a nod and stepped into the modest black dress Paytin held out to her. "Your jewelry...." Paytin added hesitantly. 
The elf's hands flew to her ears. She was fine with giving up anything for mourning, necklaces, rings, brooches. All meaningless. But her earrings? She pulled them from her lobes and peered at them. Two identical tear drops, one ivory, one ebony. It was hard to imagine not wearing them. She [i]always[/i] wore them. 
"They're beautiful, my Lady." Paytin told her, looking at the elf's hand. 
Aera smiled sadly. "They are. My mother gave them to me." 
The maid noticed the elf's sadness and looked over her shoulder for a moment. "You know, my Lady." Paytin whispered. "I don't think you'd get in trouble if you kept them in your pocket. They'd be close, but you wont get in trouble."

Aera grinned, her violet eyes full of gratitude. "Thank you, Paytin." The maid smiled and, with a promise that she'd keep the secret, went to gather Aera's black gloves. "No." She stopped. "No gloves."
Paytin had worked in Aera's chambers for about three months, now, and had always known the woman to wear gloves. As for why, she didn't know, but the sudden decision to disregard them confused her. "My Lady?" 
[i]I need to be able to protect myself[/i], the elf thought quietly to herself. As quickly as the first rumor had flown through the city, the truth about her pregnancy was bound to be known, and she was still a target. Aera put her hand to her head, feeling the small bump behind her temple from where she'd hit the wall this morning. Paytin noticed. 

"My Lady, if I may... I know the physician lied. About... about your child." When Aera turned her dark eyes to the girl Paytin blushed furiously. But Aera's eyes were on the girls wrists.
"Paytin." The maid froze and looked up, realizing she'd been rubbing her arms. "Are those bruises? What happened?"
The maid blushed again. "I... I made someone angry."
Aera glared. "Paytin, who hurt you?" She gently grabbed the girls hand. The marks were large and dark. 
"N..no one, my Lady."

Suddenly Aera wrapped her arms around the maid, shushing her. She'd seen those marks before. She'd [i]had[/i] those marks before. "I'm sorry." She said. "I have to go and speak to the queen, for a bit. Stay here. Relax. That's an order."

A few minutes later, Aera curtsied before her mother-in-law. "Good evening, my Queen."
Lilith bowed her head. "I see you're feeling better, Daughter. It was terrible to hear about our friend's episode. Felt so guilty about diagnosing you wrong, he took his life." News had gotten out about the physicians suicide. 
Aera knew better than to believe that. "I'm sure your son was devastated to learn the truth. As I was. I had truly hoped to give you a grandchild." Her voice was flat.

The Queen sighed, looking bored. "He was so angry he rode off for the evening, to visit my brother. I am following after dinner. Would you care to travel with us?"

Aera bowed and declined. "No, you Majesty. I fear your son is angry will be angry with me, for proving to be so infertile."
Lilith flinched at the word and excused Aera with a wave of her hand. "Is there something more?" 
A moment of hesitation flashed through Aeras mind. "Yes." She said uncertainly. "My Queen, elves are creatures of honor. At least my people are." She added, knowing the queen only knew of the Kartaians. "I know I'm not welcome here. I only came because I loved your son and he loved me. That seems to not be the case any longer. As much as I love him, I don't make him happy." Aera pressured herself to keep eye contact. "If you speak to him and find a lawful reason why we shouldn't be married, by my honor, I have to leave, and you'll never see me again. There's no reason to fight dirty and bribe people to have me harmed."

With that she turned on her heel and left, as fast as she could go without making it obvious that she was in a rush to leave.