Wulfric, Callum & Alibeth
9:30 am
Location: Danrose Entrance Hall
People began leaving the hall one by one, and after their parents had their say, Wulfric was approached by Callum. That, in and of itself, was surprising. Even more so was the…proposition. He cocked his head to the side, listening to his youngest brother.
“Reasonable, hm?” he pondered neutrally. To the side, he saw that Alibeth had chosen to remain behind, waiting for her two sons.
Stepping closer to his younger brother, he spoke quietly.
“If you are to be making an agreement with me,” his words were measured, methodical,
“you should know what, precisely, matters to me.” A brief pause as he regarded Callum.
“Naturally, I wouldn’t want you to cause further incidents, and would appreciate the kind of cooperation you are offering.” Yet, one did not simply accept any one deal as it was without further clarification, nor without attempts at altering or adding terms.
“However, the most critical issue at this moment – and for the foreseeable future – is resolving this whole,” he gestured with a hand at the now near-empty hall,
“situation.”His cold blue eyes bore into Callum, but his expression was neutral, bordering on pleasantly polite.
“So, before I agree, there is something I wish to confirm with you. Please, tell me frankly, can you not give a name because you do not know it? Or is there another reason?”Callum paused only to listen as Edin spoke, followed by his mother, as the pair stopped pretending to human long enough for him to see them both, clearly, for the monsters they were. Casually agreeing to put a man to death before, ultimately, leaving the final say in Wulfric’s hands. An agreement with Wulfric was his only option if he wanted to see Darryn leave this situation alive and Ana had already freely admitted to being friends with the party’s host. There was no reason to hide that Callum knew him as well and lying to Wulfric was always a gamble, no reason to risk it.
“I cannot and will not give you a name because I won’t condemn someone to suffer or die for a party. Ana was not lying when she said we’ve been to these before, everything has always been fine, the host is not a threat.” Callum answered honestly being careful to give nothing away about the host’s identity and then waited for Wulfric to list his terms.
It took an effort of will for Wulfric to hold back the frustration that sought to arise in him. How could his brother still–?! By his side, his palm clenched into a fist, and he briefly closed his eyes, breathing through the urge to try and shake some sense into Callum.
Because his brother
was being both honest and reasonable, and had requested for an alliance, Wulfric supposed he should at the very least gain a better understanding of his perspective. If nothing else, that should aid in persuading him…Callum had made it more than plain that he valued the life and wellbeing of those he considered innocent. So, the key issue here was that of trust; he still thought of this host as someone who’d done no wrong.
Wulfric nodded to himself more so than to his younger brother, his features now tight with a tension that hadn’t been apparent before.
“Then, as part of our cooperation, I ask that after I secure Darryn’s safety, we discuss the claims you’ve presented me. I will listen and consider your reasoning, and would like you to do the same for mine. If after that, you persist in maintaining your silence…” his frown deepened,
“I will instead require that you do not impede the investigative efforts. Essentially, if you decide not to work with us, then keep your confidence, but do not work against us. Is this an acceptable addition?”Callum listened, doing his best to keep his expression as neutral as he could, and once Wulfric had laid out his terms, he stayed quiet for a moment as if thinking it over. He didn’t need to give away how easily he was going to agree with this but he was hardly worried about them investigating the party's host. Marek was not helpless, he had the means and plenty of precautions to protect himself but Cal didn’t want to make it too easy for Wulfric to infer that.
“Keep your investigation fair and just and I see no reason why it would need my interference. Your terms are fair.” He offered but even that still felt too easy. Shouldn’t making a deal with Wulfric feel more like entering a pact with the devil? His brother was being surprisingly reasonable. Edin or even his mother would’ve likely come up with a list of egregious terms to make such a bargain even seem worth their time. He looked back at Darryn, thankful that Ana was able to show him someone here cared before she was dragged off. Did Wulfric really see his life as disposable or was he looking for an excuse to show mercy?
“It really should not have your interference either way,” Wulfric drawled,
“and I see you are resistant to the idea of allowing attempts at convincing you to give up the name. But I suppose we must begin somewhere…” he trailed off, thinking that perhaps, with an easy beginning, Callum might be lured into gradually permitting for more influence to be exerted upon him on a long-term basis. If only they did not clash too soon.
“Would you really have been okay with condemning Darryn to die? For following his orders, as directed by a princess, and simply driving a carriage. Is that who you are now?” He asked, before turning his eyes back to his brother, hoping that no matter what Wulfric said next he didn’t see the same kind of monster he saw in his parents.
His older brother quirked an eyebrow up at him, but otherwise, there wasn’t much to discern.
“Since answering that will require some elaboration on my part, let’s add it to the list of things for us to discuss. For now…we must convince mother; I expect she may have a demand or two of her own to add.” “Fine, I’ll listen to everything you and mother have to say, I’ll stay out of your investigation and nothing more happens to Darryn.” Callum said before looking away from Wulfric. His brother remained as unreadable as always. Cal couldn’t help but wonder if there was any humanity left to see. He certainly didn’t expect to find any in his mother, not after what he’d seen today. He sighed, he’d been hoping this deal was going to be just between him and Wulfric.
With a firm nod, Wulfric turned on his heel, and approached Alibeth, expecting Callum to follow.
“Mother,” he greeted her quietly, but intently.
“Callum expressed that in exchange for Fletcher’s safety, he is willing to put forward the effort into making this summer go as smoothly as possible. So, he will act with the forethought and poise expected of his position,” he summarized briefly.
“I find this a worthwhile bargain.”Alibeth had given her sons their space to converse and patiently waited until Wulfric rejoined her. His proposal was a temptation, but not without issue.
“I see…” She mused quietly as she took a moment to think things through.
“Do understand, it is not my goal to kill Darryn Fletcher or anyone for that matter without good reason… I simply have no means to prove he has no tie to what happened and I am not one to risk matters.” She adjusted her gaze to Callum. Speaking to him and Anastasia was always much more difficult for her than the other two. It required her to choose her words much more carefully.
“You and Anastasia returned in a dire state last night. She vomited blood. Neither of you could barely move nor remain conscious for long…Yet here you are in good health and though I am relieved for it…” She gave him a small smile as she said the last statement. Alibeth had not been able to enjoy, until now, the fact her children were alright this morning. The stark contrast did, however, concern her.
“Darryn knows very well not to drive a carriage filled with the Alidasht royals to a warehouse late at night. His actions have directly led to endangerment of your lives and the lives of others. There has to be a consequence…” Her expression softened only a little as she recalled Anastasia’s words as well.
“...I can see how much this upsets you and Anastasia, so maybe we can decide on a less grim punishment.” Her gaze drifted up over to where Darryn was being held. The guards were still gripping his arms and holding him in place until she gave them orders.
Callum followed behind Wulfric, letting his brother do the talking, and purposefully not even looking towards his mother as she spoke. He focused on staring at a spot in the wall, his jaw clenched tight, every bit of will focused on not rolling his eyes and keeping his mouth shut. When she brought up Ana coughing up blood, he could’ve laughed in her face, instead, he snorted slightly, keeping his teeth ground together.
And when was the last time you gave a shit about Ana? he thought, but now was not the time to pick a fight with his mother, he had to keep his focus on Darryn. He took a breath, a moment to bury down all the venom he held towards her before he spoke up. A less grim punishment was not good enough, that still left them free to toss Darryn in a dungeon cell to rot.
“You’ve already had Darryn beaten, is that not a punishment?” he asked.
“My offer was for not just his life, but his safety, let him go and I will cooperate with all your plans for this summer. No more incidents and all I’m asking is that you stop using this man as a whipping boy for your own children.” He still kept his eyes away from his mother, he might be able to hide the hate from his tone but he doubted he could keep his expression as unreadable as his brother could.
Peripherally, Wulfric could see the stubborn set to Callum’s jaw, and the sketch of a resentful scowl on his face. While his brother was preoccupied with himself, he sent a ‘what can you do’ look to his mother. That he was somewhat exasperated on account of their overly idealistic relation was apparent only from the subtle pull of his lips, and the minute shifting of his cheek muscles. However, he did have to support Callum here, because it was clear his brother would not yield on this one thing.
“...My line of thinking was that Fletcher was likely led astray due to being charmed by Anastasia. You know how she is,” he said a bit dismissively as he glanced at the stableboy. Turning back to the queen, he continued,
“I imagine he’ll be relieved enough to be spared that he’ll refrain from any further, how did you put it, irregular behavior. He can be placed on probation, and if there’s reason for concern afterwards, we might as well fire him.” Alibeth’s expression was unreadable as she weighed out her options mentally.
“…I suppose this all does come back to the same issue.” She emitted a sigh as her gaze moved to the guards who held Darryn.
“Let him go…Don’t screw up again, Darryn.” In a swift movement, the young man was dropped to the floor where he leaned on his palms and groaned. Alibeth waved her hand as if to shop him off.
Darryn did indeed catch sight of it and wasted no time with the opportunity to get out of there. Alibeth was silent until he had left. She turned back to her boys and whirled on Wulfric with a slight fire in her gaze,
“As future king, know each action tends to come with its regrets no matter which decision you make. I hope yours are surmountable.” This warning, which had the sting of an accusation, prodded at an old pain, because Wulfric
did know what it was like to have regrets of that nature. Lips thinning, he let the flare of unexpected hurt go through and past him, but did not otherwise acknowledge her comment.
Alibeth then began to make her way up the stairs but gave a final word before her departure,
“Do recall, boys, you will be meeting with the kingdom’s noble women later this morning. Prepare accordingly.”Callum tried, and failed, to hide his surprise at Wulfric’s response but his wide eyes had quickly moved from their fixed spot at the wall and towards his brother as he spoke. There was an imminent sense of relief as Darryn’s fate was finally settled on, and he breathed his first relaxed breath since the stable boy had been dragged into the entrance hall. For the first time in a long time, Wulfric had supported him when it really mattered to Callum. He still didn’t know if his brother cared at all about Darryn’s fate or if he just wanted Callum kept in line but the uncertainty almost didn’t even matter. Wulfric had kept his word, he’d backed Callum even against their mother, and that, Callum hadn’t expected. He didn’t say anything else to his mother, not even a single glance towards her, only a nod to show he heard and understood her words before she finally left the hall. He then relaxed further and gave a respectful nod at Wulfric.
“Thank you, for having my back,” Cal said.
“I guess I’ll go make myself presentable and ready to entertain the kingdom’s bored noblewomen. Here’s hoping that it’s less awkward than the perfectly random ball dances the old man’s so fond of,” he added, extending a faint, playful smile towards his brother.
Having regained his bearings from mother imparting that little nugget of wisdom (that had no right feeling as personally relevant as it had), Wulfric faced his brother.
“As agreed upon,” he confirmed, implicitly accepting the gratitude. Callum’s amiability was a pleasant surprise, though he couldn’t help but wonder how long it would last.
Nonetheless, he took the small victory for what it was. Reciprocating his brother’s smile with a tiny smirk, he retorted,
“It is a ploy for publicity like any other.” Moving past Callum to depart, he offered his brother one last glance as he spoke,
“Try to find whatever joy you can in it,” he laid a palm on Callum’s shoulder before continuing to head out, voice still ringing clearly behind him,
“else you risk terminal boredom yourself - or worse, misery.”
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