[hider=Flashback: Night Sola 23, 1739][center][h1][b][color=00F8FE]Callum[/color] & [color=DAF6C7]Riona[/color] Part 1[/b][/h1][/center]
[color=LightGray][hr]
Riona stepped into the gardener’s hut, the familiar comfort draining away the tension from the night’s events. She lit a candle and settled at the rough-hewn table, taking a moment to massage her aching feet once she slipped off her shoes. As she sat there, her mind drifted back to the dented pocket watch she found in the carriage. A frown tugged at her lips. She’d deal with that later.

For now, she had a job to do. Riona reached for a piece of parchment and a quill to scribble down the useful tidbits of gossip and intrigue she’d gathered while it was all still fresh in her mind. Her hand flew across the page, documenting everything from backroom deals to bedroom scandals that Callum could use to secure his place among the Thornbreakers.

The scratching of her quill was briefly interrupted by the scrape of the key at the door. The door creaked open, but Riona didn’t turn to see who it was. [color=DAF6C7]“Hey, Cal, is it okay if you wait a bit? I’ll change out of this dress as soon as I’m done with this.”[/color] She called over her shoulder as she hastily finished writing.

The door shut behind him and a disheveled Cal entered. His shoes still lost, hairline damp with sweat, and pupils expanded enough to nearly erase his irises; he looked worse than he felt. Or that was true until he entered the hut. 

[color=00F8FE]“Whenever you’re ready.”[/color] He answered, being asked to wait meant he was definitely not late. 

[i]Shadowy smoke that rose and swirled from Riona, coalesced into two indistinct forms hovering silently around her as she scribbled at the table. One radiated an intense heat, like a fire untamed and wild, while its counterpart exuded a deathly chill, cold as the ashes that remained after a fire burnt out long ago.[/i]

[i]They remained still and watchful until Callum took another step into the house. With a sudden burst, the fiery entity rushed forward, stopping just inches from his face. It inhaled deeply, taking in his scent, then began to circle him. Hungry. Starving. It wanted to devour him.[/i]

[i]The frigid entity approached more slowly, more deliberately. It circled Callum from the opposite direction, regarding him not as something to be hunted, but as an enemy to be destroyed. Malice. It not just wanted him dead, it wanted him to suffer.[/i]

[i]Voices filled the air—tens, hundreds, maybe thousands of distant, faint screams layered one over the other until they melded into a haunting whisper. They spoke of hatred for all that Callum was, for all that had forged him and allowed Caesonia to become and remain so rotten. They echoed with anger, resonating with the rage that simmered within his own heart.[/i]

[i][color=4E0E04]“We know what you want,”[/color] the voices rasped in unison, [color=4E0E04]“because we want it too.”[/color] To set aflame the very foundations of this kingdom, to raze everything to the ground, leaving not even ashes, so that nothing may ever rise from its ruins again. To purify Caesonia from the evil that is you and yours.[/i]

[i][color=4E0E04]“Do you seek atonement, Danrose?”[/color] the whispers questioned as their smoky forms swirled around the prince.[/i]

[i][color=4E0E04]“Then keep feeding us.”[/color][/i]

The night air, which had felt cool and refreshing, was gone in an instant. No fire was lit inside the hearth, but it felt as if the heat from one was close enough that he could smell it, feel its intense flicker against his skin. Then again, the scent of the bonfire still clung to his clothes. 

He thought about opening a window as the feeling of being watched, as if something that exhaled pure heat breathed down his neck, followed him as he slowly walked to the window. The window's reflection showed only the small flicker of a candle and Riona entirely focused on writing. 

It was all in his head, the lingering effects of the tea he’d drank. He pressed his head against the cool glass of the window. A cold chill found him, too cold even to be a welcomed break from the heat. Callum shivered. The feeling of being watched only heightened, hairs on the back of his neck bristled as if to alert him of a deadly predatory stalking him just out of sight. He only turned and sank to the floor beneath the window, sitting there with his eyes closed waiting for the feeling to pass. 

The unbearable heat, the sudden chills, the unnerving paranoia; these were all familiar side effects of many intoxicants he’d tried before. He kept reminding himself it was the tea. Still, his heart raced from the malevolent feeling of the unseen watchers. 

[color=00F8FE][i]Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t[/i][/color]-[color=4E0E04]Do you seek atonement, Danrose? Then keep feeding us.[/color] A voice that felt different from his own mind’s intruded into his thoughts. A foreign sound inside his head, a word that felt like a far-off light he could never reach. 

Atonement; a goal as unattainable as wishing himself a bird, a concept as alien as freedom. He could only shake his head; he didn’t have the energy for impossible hopes. All the beauty the tea helped him see was now fading. 

[color=DAF6C7]“Cal?”[/color]

Vibrant colors of brilliant orange and shimmering gold cut through the smoke as Riona reached out and touched Callum’s arm. Her eyes, wide with concern, searched his face. [color=DAF6C7]“Are you… okay?”[/color]

[color=00F8FE][i]A fire that lights the way in the darkness.[/i][/color] A guiding lantern, aglow with orange and gold, radiating a softer, more welcomed warmth than the rest of the heat that permeated the home. [color=00F8FE]“Orange makes you glow.”[/color] He said, looking up at Riona, before standing back up. 

[color=00F8FE]“I drank a tea that made everything glow, and move like it was alive, even things that aren’t alive. And it was all so beautiful, have you ever… never mind, important work to do, right? Time to uncover some secrets.”[/color] His speech quickened, he wanted more than anything to get out of the hut right now, it felt unwelcoming. 

Warmth rose to Riona’s cheeks as Callum’s comment took her by surprise. [i][color=00F8FE]“Orange makes you glow.”[/color][/i] And then the blush deepened when she realized that Callum wasn’t complimenting her or her dress, but that the effects of some drug he took was making him see everything with a literal glow. Riona swallowed her embarrassment and reined in the flutter of disappointment. [color=DAF6C7]“Are you sure you’re up for it? You didn’t look too good a second ago…”[/color] She eyed him critically, pressing her palm to measure his temperature while checking his pulse with her other hand. Frankly, he looked terrible. [color=DAF6C7]“If the tea’s messing with you, maybe we should call it off for tonight.”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“Didn’t look too good?”[/color] Cal repeated the words slowly. [color=00F8FE]“I feel…”[/color] He trailed off, the right word for it escaped him. [color=00F8FE]“I don’t think this house likes me. Like something’s watching, something more than just dangerous.”[/color] He knew he wasn’t making sense and he didn’t know how to make it make sense. He looked at Riona, who was now checking him for a fever.

[color=00F8FE]“I’m not sick, Riona. Look, you’re all flushed too. I knew it was too hot in here. Why is it so hot in here? Does the house hate me?”[/color] He continued on his train of thought unraveling the more he rambled.

[color=00F8FE]“If [i]you[/i] want to call it off, I can go alone. But if I keep finding excuses not to do things, I’ll keep not doing anything.”[/color] This was easier to admit because Callum knew it was true. [color=00F8FE]“I’d rather not go alone, I do stupid things alone, but I don’t think anyone will care if I get caught wandering around the palace in the middle of the night.”[/color]

[color=DAF6C7]“Slow down, Cal.”[/color] Her brows knitted together, resting her fists on her hips. [color=DAF6C7]“Feeling unwell is not an excuse—it’s a valid reason. Even from a practical standpoint.”[/color] The lines on her face deepened, etched by the candlelight. [color=DAF6C7]“What kind of person would I be if I let you wander around the castle, feeling overheated and half-delirious, just so you can help me with something I’ve handled alone for years?”[/color] 

[color=DAF6C7]“If you’re putting Prince Callum Danrose behind you, then you have to learn to take better care of yourself. Otherwise, you’ll just slip back to his ways. If you can’t now, then I will until you learn how.” [i]Or until he finds someone who can.[/i][/color] She held his gaze before giving him the once over. [color=DAF6C7]“I’m going to trust you if you say you can handle it, but the second I think you can’t I’m dragging your butt to bed. Got it?”[/color] 

[color=00F8FE]“I’m fiiiine, and I, mostly, only had tea tonight.”[/color] He grinned, wide enough that it showed too many teeth. [color=00F8FE]“I will cause no problems tonight.”[/color] Callum promised, and he meant it, just as much as he meant most of his promises. 

[color=DAF6C7]“... Gods, I’m going to have to drag your butt to bed, aren’t I?”[/color] Exhaling a soft sigh, she turned toward the table, fingers trailing along the wood. [color=DAF6C7]“The tea might be giving you hot flashes and making you a little jumpy.”[/color] Riona lifted a ceramic jug, pouring lukewarm water into a waiting cup. [color=DAF6C7]“It’s a bit chilly in here so I was ready to make a fire if you were going to be late.”[/color]

Riona hesitated, worrying her lip as heat crept into her cheeks once more. [color=DAF6C7]“Me being, uh, flushed has nothing to do with the room… When you said orange made me glow....”[/color] Her words picked up speed as she tried to get it over with and move on. [color=DAF6C7]“I thought you were complimenting me. Then you mentioned the tea, and I realized I was just being vain.”[/color] She gave a small, self-deprecating laugh. [color=DAF6C7]“It’s stupid, really. Forget I said anything.”[/color] Riona waved the awkwardness away with her hand.

Callum thought about that for a moment and decided to make it a bit more awkward as Riona went to grab her notes. [color=00F8FE]“If I started the conversation with ‘Riona orange makes you glow so brightly Zivitas himself burns with envy,’ that wouldn’t help your vanity.”[/color] He teased, but not insincerely. 

[color=DAF6C7]“Ha. Ha. Ha.”[/color] Riona shot Callum a look. [color=DAF6C7]“Now I know you’re pulling my leg.”[/color] She smirked as she added a lighthearted, [color=DAF6C7]“Ass.”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“Orange looks good on you, makes you stand out, and I was worried it would hurt the stealth mission.”[/color] 

[color=DAF6C7]“Good thing I’m changing out of it then, huh? Wouldn’t want to blind you with my brilliance.”[/color][/color][/hider]