[hider=Evening Sola 22, 1739: Callum & Riona Part 3][center][h1][b][color=00F8FE]Callum[/color] & [color=DAF6C7]Riona[/color][/b][/h1][/center]
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Riona strode back to the main room, a bag of tea clutched in her hand, when her feet stopped at the door to the Gardener’s room. A rush of memories flooded her mind, resurrecting the ghostly echoes of her early months with Gardner—those endless days stained with the scent of alcohol and the tang of whatever concoction of drugs he chose to indulge in that day wafted from his being. On most days, the smell was something sweet and pungent, on other days it was just acrid. Her being ten, Gardner had the decency to conceal his vices from her. Still, even as a child, she understood that these substances were an attempt to numb the ache in his heart.

At first, Riona empathized with him: she lost her home and he lost the love of his life, Lord Dantès. Had it not been for the spell, she might’ve shared the same vices he had. Because unlike Callum, she didn’t desire to be hurt in the sense that he did, she had to be.

But when she discovered that Gardner had been the catalyst for their deaths, the disgust she felt bordered on loathing. How dare he run from his guilt? He deserved to suffer. She made sure that happened and he allowed it to happen. Because like Callum, he wanted to be hurt. After all, what better penance than to be punished by the only survivor of a tragedy he caused? As he withered away on his deathbed, he thanked her, and in return, she promised him that the crowns would burn in the same fiery inferno they burned her home with.

From a distance, Riona watched Callum. Hesitation gnawed at her. She wasn’t sure if she could tell him everything, but if he no longer feared losing his family, then maybe she could at least tell him the other reason why she worked as a maid for so long.

As she began tea preparations, Riona asked, [color=DAF6C7]“Do you remember asking me why I stay here?”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“I do. And unless this is some closely guarded secret tea recipe, I would like to help.”[/color]

[color=DAF6C7]“I wouldn’t call it a closely guarded secret, but making a good cup of tea actually takes skill, believe it or not.”[/color] She angled her chin at the cauldron. Despite being on castle grounds, the Gardener’s house didn’t have access to clean water so they always had to go through the painstaking process of removing impurities. [color=DAF6C7]“I got water boiling with crushed seeds in there. Can you pour it through cheesecloths then pour the filtered water into the teapot?”[/color] She pinched some of the herbs and spices from the table and tossed them into a mortar and pestle.

He nodded, it sounded like a simple task. Cal still managed to mess it up, but not horribly. Pouring a cauldron of water through cheesecloth with clumsy hands resulted in a lot of splashing and a small puddle on a table. [color=00F8FE]“Wait, did you say pour it onto the table or into the teapot?”[/color] He joked as he fumbled around looking for something to wipe up the spilled water. Once he’d cleaned up the spill, pouring the water into the teapot was easier.  

[color=DAF6C7]“What? The table, obviously. We slurp our tea directly from tables in this household.”[/color]

After crushing the plants with the pestle and mixing the loose tea leaves into the blend, Riona suddenly confessed, [color=DAF6C7]“I came here to destroy the Danroses.”[/color] She watched for signs of fear, anger, anything to suggest that Callum’s resolve to “go as far as he can” wavered; curious as to how he’d interpret “destroy.”

Callum glanced in her direction, waiting for her to say something else, and found her studying him like he was supposed to be shocked, or maybe upset, at hearing something he had figured out a long time ago. Cal tried not to laugh, he really did, but a wheezy chuckle escaped anyway. It made his ribs hurt. [color=00F8FE]“Sorry, it’s just, I mean I’m not brain dead, Riona. Obviously, you’re not here because you’ve dreamed of severing the crown, you’re vastly talented and smarter than most doctors and scholars in this city. Tons of other things you could be doing, if you wanted to.”[/color] He brought the teapot over to her. She thanked him and put the blend into the teapot, flipping a small hourglass once she covered the lid.

Considering their first interaction was her attempting to choke him, Riona guessed the declaration didn’t come as a surprise, but she had a feeling that Callum didn’t think she had it in her to do the extreme. How far did he think she’d be willing to go?

[color=00F8FE]“I’m not going to stand in your way, I am rooting for my friend. Do what you need to do, let me know if I can help.”[/color] He remembered their conversation the other night at the ball. He’d asked her why she didn’t want to be happy either and her answer had been her family It was obvious enough that whatever the rest of that explanation was, it was deeply painful. Not a wound he wanted to pry open, but Callum knew his family well enough to know; whatever it was they’d done, they deserved to suffer the consequences. 

[color=DAF6C7]“Even if it means murdering them?”[/color] She tested him. [color=DAF6C7]“[i]All[/i] of the Danroses?”[/color] 

[color=00F8FE]“You’re a good person, Riona, the best person I know. I trust your judgment more than my own and I don’t think you would kill anyone. Without a reason. I can see all the reasons why Edin and Alibeth deserve it, but I don’t see those things in my siblings. Not yet, not in a way that’s beyond hope. If you see reasons I can’t, I’m not going to stop you, but if it’s my siblings, I just don’t know if I can do anything more than stay out of the way.”[/color] [i]All of them.[/i] That was the part that gave pause. Cal couldn’t hate his siblings like that, he didn’t know if he ever could, but if they stood in the way of something better, he wouldn’t fight for them either. 

When he said she was a good person, Riona shook her head in reflex. She, more than anyone, knew how far she was from the person Callum believed her to be.

[color=00F8FE]“But if, well I guess it’s really more of a when, it comes down to you or them, I know where my loyalties lie. Not with the shitty family I got dealt, but the friend who’s been there for me every time I needed her even if I didn’t deserve it. And when it’s me, that’s okay too. And I’ll swear to that on anything you want me to.”[/color] There wasn’t doubt in his words, but speaking them drained the light from his eyes. He tried to smile and found only a heavy sigh. 

A less heavier version of his sigh escaped Riona. She was about to apologize for dimming the light in him, then stopped herself. [i]The fire gorged on his misery. She can’t stop it without putting out the fire. She can’t do that or all would be for nothing.[/i] [color=DAF6C7]“Thank you, Cal. That means so much to me.”[/color] The last grain of sand dropped into the hill in the hourglass, prompting Riona to strain the tea as she poured it into two cups.

[color=00F8FE]“So if what you want is to destroy all of the Danroses, why didn’t you kill me?”[/color]

[color=DAF6C7]“When your parents killed everyone in my hometown, I swore I’d make them suffer. Take everything away from them, before ending their lives. That night… when it was just you and me… I thought my chance finally came. If you woke up a second later, I would’ve choked you to death.”[/color] She picked up Callum’s cup and placed it on the surface closest to him. [color=DAF6C7]“But you opened your eyes… I chickened out and…”[/color] Riona smiled weakly. [color=DAF6C7]“And I’ve been wondering why ever since. I could’ve still done it, but I couldn’t. Maybe my resolve was weak. Maybe it suddenly hit me that poisoning a suicidal man and strangling a sick boy were entirely different.”[/color]

She met his eyes. [color=DAF6C7]“Maybe your father’s blue eyes terrified me. Maybe it’s because I saw nothing but loneliness in them. Maybe… I saw a piece of me in you and I just didn’t want to lose what little was left of the girl my family loved. Maybe it’s all of that or maybe it’s none of it. I don’t know why I couldn’t kill you that day.”[/color] Riona looked at Callum apologetically. This probably wasn’t the clearcut answer he was hoping for.

[color=DAF6C7]“I do know why I don’t want to kill you now, though. It’s actually pretty simple: you’re my friend. I want my friends to find happiness, even if some don’t think they deserve to find it, I still want them to be happy. Because without them, my life would’ve been unbearable.”[/color] Riona clasped his hands and kept her gaze locked on him so that he knew without a doubt that the feeling was mutual. [color=DAF6C7]“Thank you for being there for me, Cal.”[/color]

[color=DAF6C7]“I’ll never ask you to murder your siblings.”[/color] As infuriating as they could be, and as much as they reminded her of their parents and Lady Morrigan on occasion, the royal children haven’t stooped to the same level as their parents, grandparents, or great grandparents. [i][color=4E0E04]Yet.[/color][/i]

[color=DAF6C7]“But I want—no, need—your help stripping the royal title from the Danrose family.”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“You’re welcome, and I’m glad you did try and strangle me, I got a really great friend out of it.”[/color] Cal gave her hands a soft squeeze. [color=00F8FE]“One with great hands, always trying to pull me back up, way more times than they ever tried to put me in the ground.”[/color] He added before letting go, he didn’t want Riona to think he’d asked because he felt any animosity over that. 

The answer Riona had given him was just as mixed up and confusing as most of his own explanations and that was strangely comforting. Not enough to balance out how unsettling it was to hear his parents not only had an entire town killed but had also managed to keep something like that a secret.

[color=00F8FE]“But strip royal titles away from [i]just Danroses?[/i]”[/color] Callum paused, shook his head, and grinned. [color=00F8FE]“If we’re already talking treason, might as well aim higher, can’t just leave it open for someone else to become the new Danroses.”[/color] He picked up the cup of tea and sniffed at it, which killed any desire to actually drink it. [color=00F8FE]“No titles, no nobility, no royals. I’d like to ruin their whole system.”[/color] He downed the tea like a shot, it burned his tongue but even that did nothing to mask the taste. The brief flash of disgust on his face didn’t match his words. 

[color=00F8FE]“Did you poison someone?”[/color] He wondered out loud, thinking over everything she’d said. She stared at her cup as an answer. [color=00F8FE]“Nevermind, hardly matters. If you need justice, vengeance, payback, whatever you want to call it, I’m in for that too, whatever you need, whoever needs to suffer.”[/color] As long as his siblings were off the table, he had no issues promising that either. [color=00F8FE]“You’re a mongoose, Riona, and nothing would make me happier than helping clear out snakes.”[/color]

Quack and his group of anarchists flashed across her mind. [i][color=00F8FE]“No titles, no nobility, no royals. I’d like to ruin their whole system.”[/color][/i] Riona nodded slowly at the idea. Without anyone else left to take the mantle, maybe it was better for Caesonia to get rid of the peerage system entirely. She won’t be able to see that future once King Edin and Queen Alibeth are dead, but she could still contribute. [color=DAF6C7]“That sounds like a terrible idea. Let’s do it.”[/color]

The only worry she had revolved around the void that would be created. While Callum and Quack dreamed of a kingdom without a king, Riona knew that without some form of order, things would quickly spiral out of control, putting the most vulnerable—the very individuals they aimed to safeguard—at the mercy of wolves. Without titles, inevitably opportunistic individuals, who, with their wealth or brute force, would take control. People didn’t need noble titles to be entitled selfish a**holes. If Callum and Quack were going to take down this system in its entirety, they needed another system that wouldn’t just exchange a noble pile of sh*t with an ignoble pile of sh*t.

[color=DAF6C7]“One step at a time, though. How do you plan to achieve that?”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“First step’s an easy one, right now we’ve got all sorts of powerful people here, at least a few of them already don’t like Edin. I’m going to make his every enemy, my new friend. And I’m gonna make sure the rest see Edin for what he really is. No one wants an unhinged king for a neighbor.”[/color] His goal was too much for one or even two people, So whatever allies he could gather, he was going to need that. It only made sense to weaken Edin’s standing in return. He didn’t stop there either, Callum paced around the table letting thoughts escape with every breath. His chewed-up fingernails scrapped against the flaking, peeling skin around his nails. 

[color=00F8FE]“Bigger step, drag out every dark secret they’re hiding into the light. All of it, and I don’t even know all of it, yet. Shit Riona, you’re whole town? Murdered? There’s a difference between knowing they could, and knowing that they have. Whatever they’ve done that they want kept hidden, we need to find out. The people need to know every action their crown has taken that does not serve its people. And we’ll keep showing them they deserve better until they’re ready to fight for it too.”[/color] Cal stopped pacing and looked down at the cut across his left hand and smiled. He lifted his hand to show the cut across his palm again. Pride worked its way onto his next words, he’d already found a powerful ally. 

[color=00F8FE]“I wasn’t alone last night, I asked for Claero’s help and He answered. I have worshipped many gods in my life but I have never felt one with me, He likes me. I get it now; where change comes from, it’s chaos. The force that clears out the old so that what comes next has a chance.”[/color] He saw it in a dream, it was a truth that lit up a god's eyes, Claero’s eyes. [color=00F8FE]“So that’s what’ve got right now.”[/color] The fervor waned from his voice, if there was anyone he could trust to point out the flaws in his plans it was her.

[i]The sound tore through her throat, raw and unrestrained. Ríoghnach’s throat burned as hot as the sea of flames her home had become. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with the sweat and blood that coated her. Even though each breath she took brought her closer to her last, she kept screaming. Her wails pierced the air, fueled by pain, fear, rage, and despair. She prayed to the Gods, any entity, whatever force that would listen, to save them. She screamed until the very end… and was met with deafening silence.[/i]

No legendary hero emerged at the eleventh hour to vanquish the forces of evil as the storybooks promised, and no benevolent or malevolent deity intervened. No one came to their aid in their time of need. Her cries for help or justice went unanswered. They were slaughtered in cold blood, the streets flooded red… but one cut from a knife and a God answered Callum’s prayers? 

Riona drew in a shuddering breath, bit the inside of her cheek, and swallowed hard. Her voice cracked at her first word, so she had to clear her throat before trying again. [color=DAF6C7]“The Danroses did anything and everything to hide their secrets, you’re going to have a hard time uncovering them. And I’d be careful with friends who are only your friend because you have a common enemy….”[/color] She placed a hand onto her hip. [color=DAF6C7]“But I can get behind that plan. I can even help you with both.”[/color]

[color=DAF6C7]“What if I told you, what you’ve been looking for is hiding in the castle?”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“That would be impressive because I barely know what I am looking for.”[/color] Cal smiled as he spoke and he kept smiling because Riona was in on his plans too. It was a good feeling to know he had found someone whose goals aligned with his, neither one of them had to struggle alone, and best of all that person was a friend. He leaned into the warmth of that feeling. He didn’t worry about how difficult it would be to dig up the right kind of dirt to ruin his family or her warning about making friends with Edin’s enemies. He could handle difficult, and he was used to people he couldn’t trust, now he had something that felt worth doing and possible. 

The tea swirled around in her cup. [color=DAF6C7]“Do you know how many hidden rooms the castle has?”[/color] Mapping out these secret chambers was one of the main reasons she remained working as a maid, despite the terrible working conditions. [color=DAF6C7]“I haven’t found them all yet and there’s rooms that I have no idea how to get into… but it’s there, their dirty secrets… It has to be.”[/color] She instantly grimaced and shivered involuntarily as she forced down the nasty tea. [color=DAF6C7]“[i]Gods[/i]… that’s… mmm.”[/color] She didn’t need to drink it when the tea was meant for Callum’s unstable hands, but she did out of comradery. Misery loving company and all.

Of course, if there was a secret room in the library, of course, there were more. Callum wondered if that had just never occurred to him, or did he just know better than to go looking for things he didn’t want to find? 

[color=DAF6C7]“As for ‘friends,’ remember Quack?”[/color] Riona paused, realizing she wasn’t sure which name Callum might’ve known the man by. [color=DAF6C7]“Uh, Sexton Cryer? The guy working in the servant’s infirmary? You might want to talk to him.”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“Explore secret rooms and meet up with Sexton Cryer, codename Quack. And now it all feels very real.”[/color] He smiled, to make sure Riona knew he meant that in a good way, and because real felt like having a purpose. He grabbed the page of notes, the last one he’d looked at, and brought it over to Riona. [color=00F8FE]“Since we’re feeling ambitious, I was thinking we could tweak this, try and clean up the water for people who don’t have that, and make at least one of my selfish plans into something better.”[/color] 

[color=DAF6C7]“Just so you know, he’s an actual quack. He was working as the city’s undertaker until a couple years ago. So don’t think you’ll get top notch treatment from him.”[/color] Riona searched Callum’s hand for trembles, before accepting the page. She quickly skimmed through the note and nodded, rolling up her sleeves. [color=DAF6C7]“Well then, what are we waiting for?”[/color]
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