It would be easier to stab her.

Six and a half steps. Turn. There could be a sword in his hand, and if it is not drawn it makes no sound. Then forward, and through a goddess. And that would be that.

No breath may hitch. No muscle may twitch. No thought may be spoken, but must be cast down to boil in his belly with the rest of them. Wait. Observe. Listen. As he has done, all his life. Unheeded and undetected. Stand ready for the moment to act, and then do what needs to be done. Whatever it is. However long it takes. From now, until it is time, whenever it is time. Wait. Observe. Listen.

It would be easier to stab her.

No, he doesn’t know what would come after. No, he doesn’t know what he’d decide if Demeter deemed him able to choose. Those are just two things he doesn’t know. It’s a long list. Long enough that no one could argue that he [i]deserves[/i] a say in the matter. And Dyssia! Dyssia is a good knight and a dear friend. She will follow her heart, and it is unthinkable that she will choose poorly. But Dolce of Beri has journeyed a long way. He’s seen the worlds above and below. He’s done a fair bit of seeing, and a lot more thinking, and here at the crossroads of Biomancy, Dolce of Beri wants his say. 

But though other ideas might be easier, he waits.

He waits.

He waits.

He. Waits?

He does an awful lot of waiting. Doesn’t he.

Hrm. Hrmmm. 

Hrm?

[i]Oh.[/i]

Of all the times - of all the places! To almost forget! [i]Observe![/i] Bless you, Dyssia the Distracting, and may you never question your knighthood again! You

You’ve given him a say. 

His say. [i]The[/i] say, even.

Perhaps he ought to have thought a little more carefully about that list of things he didn’t know. Preferably before the path of the universe was laid on his shoulders. That would have been helpful, wouldn’t it? No, it probably wouldn’t. But it is something to think about that won’t crush him flat. He’s just one sheep, after all. How is he to decide what’s best for the universe? That is, in a more concrete way than. Well. Other ideas.

So. Yes. Deciding. After worlds above and worlds below, decide what becomes of that which made him and everyone he’s ever met. Better to let it burn, or is there something - anything - that deserves to be saved? That the world would be worse off for losing? Quickly now; the fire waits for no one. The irony of proving Demeter right at the last might be worse than choosing wrong. Come, listen to the tale of Dolce, who could be trusted with an assassin but not a decision.

…well. Hrm.

Demeter didn’t trust him with Authority. (Capital A, just like and not at all like Princess.) This decision, to her, required Authority. What one god does, no other god may undo, so she needed someone with Authority to decide to do it for her. To make a real Decision. 

Dolce was not trusted with real Decisions.

Dolce was trusted with an assassin.

Assassins did not require real Decisions. According to her.

Another roar shakes the ground. He doesn’t know who it is from. But he knows what they are, straight away. And he sees another way out. For all of them.

Demeter wouldn’t trust him with Decisions. Why should he trust her Choice?

With a discrete sign for Vasilia to stay, Dolce silently walks through the door. Not [i]the[/i] door, mind you. The door to the servant’s entrance. There’s always one, some way for everyone needed to keep the place running to get about without getting underfoot. Demeter might’ve used it herself, if she’d thought to look for it.