For a scant few moments, the chamber was completely still.

The first thing to break this stillness was Tili, who immediately ran to her sister's side before the girl could even begin to speak and threw her arms around her, burying her face in her shoulder and sobbing. In short order, her twin sister returned the embrace, and in all honesty speaking more to them at the moment was unlikely to receive much of a response.

Fanilly took a step back, casting her eyes around the room.

"... Ah, yes, Dame Maritza, good thinking," she said, between deep breaths to try and calm her own mind. The conspirators above were dead. The mercenaries slaughtered. Had the Necromancer had even a little more room to act, he could have bolstered his forces with the slain or released his other liquid undead. But they had pressured him, and the surprise betrayal of the lightning mage had opened the path for Tili's crossbow to deliver the final blow.

They had successfully rescued the hostage and put and end to the plot to kill Princess Eliabelle.

The blonde knight-girl's shoulders sagged as she took another deep breath.

"We shall be transporting the prisoners-" she hesitated for a moment. While Tili had been coerced into her attempt on the Princess's life, that did not mean she was not still a prisoner in the end. Certainly, her sentence would be greatly lessened due to the circumstances and the fact her involvement was quite cut and dry with little room for questioning, but that fact remained undeniable.

"-so that they may be questioned. We should inform the local guard as well, so this place may be cleaned of the dead and searched for any foul sorcery or other irregularities."

Her eyes fell on the lightning mage, who had quite willingly put her hands behind her back in order to allow herself to be bound. Was the fact that the Necromancer had casually threatened to end the lives of everyone in the room, including herself, the reason she had changed her mind about fighting alongside him? Or was there more to it?

"My loyalties?" the mage cocked her head lightly, an empty-seeming smile on her face as she regarded Sir Gerard, "My loyalties were to the man who carried that axe and to myself. Most certainly not to a man whose plotting lead to his death."

The conspiracy was dismantled, and the hostage was saved.

But many questions still remained.

There would be much business to handle in the coming days.

[hr]

And so, the next morning, Fanilly awoke. Her blonde hair pooling around her head, she blinked her eyes blearily before slowly sitting up and yawning. Ah... She hadn't slept in late, had she? Glancing upwards, and seeing the morning light filtering through the curtains, she decided it was unlikely that she had. With another yawn, she slid out of her bed. Her morning routine was carried out with little incident. Her maids came in while she was in the middle of trying to change herself, undressed her, brought her to the bath, cleaned her, and dressed her.

The outfit was one commonly worn by the Knight-Captains of the Iron Roses. A frilled skirt, a fine jacket, and golden epaulets. All of it was blue and white, reflective of the Order's Mayonite origins.

Fanilly proceeded downstairs.

Today, it seemed, would go without incident. They would have to sort out what to do with the Nem, but... certainly it wouldn't be like anything yesterday. As she understood, the Princess was now under heavy watch, but there had been no further attempts on her life.

Thank Mayon.

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