Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree

Ky sprang to her feet the instant he did, cringing a bit as her entire body ached -- from both Aleth's beating and Constance's training -- but snapping back to attention. Fuck Tarr. That was all the confirmation she needed to feel more assured that he actually wasn't going to tell Aleth. Whatever Loquitur might be, it seemed he wasn't a monster.

But the very mention of Lyra sent a stab of guilt through her again. She may not be property, but she was becoming as bad as Aleth was -- preying on Lyra's emotions just to gather information.

"I..." Her chest felt tight and she somehow found herself unable to look up to meet Loquitur's gaze. For the briefest moment, she imagined what it would be like if there were someone else in this position, talking to Papa about her. Papa would be so ashamed of knowing what Ky had become.

"I'm very fond of her ladyship," Ky murmured quickly. She tried to take a deep breath, but her chest was still too tight and it felt a bit shallow. She forced herself to look up to his face -- to stop cowering. The least she could do was give him a fair warning if she had to be slimy. "I... cannot keep her confidence. I'm..." Just as bad as Aleth is. "Well, you know what I am... I just... don't want her to get hurt. She doesn't deserve that."

Tomhas smiled sadly. "Too late for that, my dear. I'm afraid it's far too late for that." He patted her shoulder gingerly and wandered away. He knew Lyra wasn't going to be safe around Ky; he knew what Ky's job was. But to have someone, anyone in this hellhole that sympathized with her at least a little meant the world.
Tomhas was sure Gaius would never send one of his children off to marry a near stranger knowing that stranger might hurt them. Gaius had always been better at family, ironically. Incredibly protective.
What kind of a man was Tomhas that such a twisted man as Gaius had the moral high ground in this situation?
What kind of a man did Ky think he was for doing that to his daughter?

Ky stared after him in stunned silence. He'd... she took a breath, mind reeling. It was a simple pat on the shoulder, but for a fraction of a second, it felt like a powerful man actually cared. About what happened to Lyra. Even about what happened to Ky, with how startled he'd seemed when she was afraid he might tell Aleth a story that would earn her a beating.

She felt her throat constrict, tears stinging her eyes. Papa. She would die for even fifteen more minutes with him. For even a chance to say a proper goodbye. But the last memory she had of him was a man hitting him and knocking him out of his wheeled chair, just before another man hit her hard enough she passed out.

She watched Loquitur walk away, blinking rapidly in an attempt to get herself put back together. It'd been so long since she'd actually opened up to anyone -- had even a semblance of empathy shared with her. So long since she'd allowed herself to remember that most girls her age still had their fathers. That some of those fathers actually cared as much as Papa did, and not every powerful man was like Tarr and Aleth.

She took another deep breath and then set her jaw, ready to go in to whatever Aleth might have waiting for her.

Tomhas retreated to his room. He didn't have the energy to interact with anyone else for the moment; there was too much stirred up in his head right now. About his brother, about his parents, about his family. Everything at once swirling around in a turmoil of trauma and mistakes.

Lyra was in the library reading again; Tarr had warned her not to go near the war room and then stormed off for the day, leaving her to her own devices. The apothecary had slipped in not long after she entered, then slipped out again with a small stack of books. Now she was alone. A pile of tomes sat beside her as she pored over nothing in particular, trying to dispel her boredom and anxiety.

Ky worked over her story again and again about what she'd say to Aleth. He wasn't going to believe that Loquitur had kept her all that time just to talk about the escape. Not if that's all she had to give him. She needed to think of a story and then remember it exactly so that she could repeat it to Aleth as many times as he demanded. She'd already said far, far too much. She didn't want to imagine what would happen if she mentioned what their conversation actually had been about.

It was one of the biggest gambles of her life. If he chose to go behind her and tell Aleth the truth, then she'd probably end up bed ridden. Again. But... he didn't seem like Tarr. She wanted to believe he was good. Needed to believe he was a good man.

Aleth had gone back to his room and spent the time pacing, expecting Ky would come straight back once Loquitur was done with her. What could he possibly want that was taking this long? What information was he trying to press out of her? He doubted Ky would share anything about the operations, but she had a bad habit of running her mouth when she got hurt. If he was beating her, she was probably blubbering about how poorly he treated her. And she had better not be embarrassing him in front of Loquitur.

Ky knocked twice and then pushed the door open. She slipped in and shut the door behind her, chest constricting. Aleth started towards her. He didn't even have to ask.

"Loquitur just wanted to tell me what I should do if anything happened to you when we're with Ash," Ky said, eyes locking with Aleth's. She had to sell this story perfectly the first time, or there would be severe consequences. "Nothing bad, he wasn't trying to get me to tell him anything about you. He seems very kind."

"I don't give a fuck what you think about him," Aleth spat, stopping too close to her as his eyes flicked across her face, looking for a hint of deception. "He's smarter than you'll ever be. Tell me exactly what he said and what you said to him. Now."

(Nothing to add; I'm tuckered out. Might type up a proper post tomorrow but nothing that will interfere with your povs so you're welcome to get another post in if ya like. Goodnight!)

(Night! I ended up being busy too. It’ll prolly be Ky just telling the story Loquitur offered her as an alibi, idk properly, but isn’t coming tonight lol)

Even before she had been inclined towards reading, Lyra had always loved libraries. Her father had a fair-sized but not well stocked library with incredibly comfortable chairs strewn about the room as if a blizzard had come through, and she loved to sit in them and listen to her parents tell stories. The real treat, though, was when Tomhas took them to visit Uncle Gaius.

Gaius Ash was not one to brag. He stated simple facts, and the fact he was always proud to remind everyone of was the fact that his library and its collection of books were the largest in the known world.

Lyra remembered the moment she had stepped into the massive room; it looked like it must have taken up the entire castle. Shelves lined the walls and ran down the middle of the room, breaking in neat intervals so people didn't have to travel all the way down the room to get to a book in the middle. Armchairs were placed around a tiny fireplace and at tables set up six by three on either side of the middle shelves before those shelves branched off into a labyrinth. There were no windows, but the entire room seemed to be made of light from the chandeliers hanging above. Lyra had been utterly enchanted with the place, and she saw when she'dooked over at Gaius that he was, too.

Lyra had been sure she'd get lost in the maze of books and hesitated to go in alone at first. She was only seeking a nice chair to sit in, after all, and while the spines were pretty to look at and the covers were charming, she wasn't sure it was worth starving to death in the middle of a bookshelf labyrinth.

She voiced these fears aloud to her parents and uncle. All three of them laughed, and Gaius bent down on his cane to look her in the eyes.

"I was frightened of the very same thing when I was little," he said in his thin, grave voice. "But I found that the best thing in the whole world was to get lost in this place, Lyra. And..." He turned and pointed to the edge of the room. "If you do find yourself wanting to come out of there, go towards the walls. There are no shelves touching them so when you come out you can just follow the edge of the room to get back to the front. See?" He cracked a rare smile. Lyra had watched his finger trace the length of the wall behind the labyrinth, then nodded seriously and scampered off to an armchair.

Lyra had eventually entered that labyrinth and found that both of Gaius's statements had been true. She found herself wishing for the maze now; she was sure only Tomhas could find her there. Then she could simply lose herself in the books and never worry that Tarr might be right around the corner.

"Tell me again." Aleth was pacing from the wall to the desk and back again as Ky sat on the chest by the foot of the bed and relayed her story again and again. Aleth found that sometimes details left out on the first telling would sometimes be remembered by the third or fourth. And, it gave him a chance to check Ky's story, in case she was ever stupid enough to try to lie to him.

"Loquitur said the only reason he asked to speak to me alone is because he wanted to ensure that my focus was entirely on him because what he had to tell me was very, very important to remember. He said that Ash can be paranoid, especially when it comes to new people, and said that if anything happened to you he expected me and Tadaaki to do whatever it takes to make sure that you can escape to come back here. Ash's cells are under the barracks and that is likely where he will keep you if he suspects anything is amiss. If anything happens to me or Tadaaki, he said not to expect help, or to help each other. But if anything happens to you then we should try to help you. And if you end up getting killed, then I must try my hardest to get back to Loquitur's estate to tell him everything that we learned while we were with Ash."

Aleth nodded. Ky's story had been consistent. He still didn't like that Loquitur had pulled her aside to have this conversation -- there was no reason at all that Aleth couldn't have been present for it as well. Was Loquitur trying to see how easily he could get Ky away from Aleth? Was he trying to earn Ky's trust so that she'd share information later on?

"And that's all?" Aleth aksed at last.

Ky nodded. Her chest felt tight, but she was getting more comfortable with the lie now that she'd told it so many times. If Aleth suspected her of a falsehood he'd being much crueler to her, threatening her for information. So this meant he believed her. "Yes, sir."

"Tell me about his demeanor during it. Did he threaten you? Or try to be intimidating?"

"No, sir," Ky answered, glad that they were finally back in a territory where she could be honest. "He seemed like he just wanted to let me know what I should do, should I find myself separated from you once I'm with Ash. He was very polite about it. He seems very kind."

"It's an act," Aleth snapped. "All of it. Don't let your guard down around him."

"Yes, sir," Ky answered quickly.

"He's trying to earn your trust so you'll give away our secrets," Aleth said. Ky was still so naive. Stupid. All it took was a smile and she'd be your dog. "He's not your friend, and he never will be. Don't be foolish."

"Yes, sir," Ky said. Aleth usually wasn't wrong... but she still couldn't help if he was about this. Loquitur actually stopped to give her a modicum of attention and kind words. Cared about whether she was comfortable or not. He didn't seem like someone who would try to hurt Aleth through her.

"Now, go to the library and see if you can find any books about Serpent's Keep. If there's cells under the barracks, there are probably other features we should know about before we go there."

Eventually Tomhas fell into a troubled sleep, slumped in the chair beside his bed. His dreams were closer to memories, and he found himself stirring often.

Lyra knew she might never see that wonderful library again. She still didn't quite understand why her father and uncle had become so set on this war, but she was sure that however it ended they would never have the same closeness they once did. And that meant she and her cousins would be at odds as well.
Lyra hadn't really had much of a chance to interact with her cousins before the war. They were very young--Mattathias and Marcella had only recently turned four, and Regulus was just two years old. Once or twice she and her sister Anneliese had been asked to entertain them, but for the most part the twins and their brother had little involvement in Lyra's life.
What did they think about all this, she wondered? Did they even know they were at war with their family?

She'd done it. She actually got away with it. Her mind was still reeling that Aleth hadn't seen straight through her lie and beat the truth out of her. She'd gladly be sent to fetch books. It got her away from him, gave her an excuse to wander around a library, and saved her from a beating. There were no downsides.

Ky got to the library and pushed the door open. Her eyes wandered around the room, wondering what sections might be about Serpent's Keep, but her eyes locked on Lyra.

Ky froze. She wanted to run. Guilt stabbed through her from Loquitur's words. She didn't want to have to hurt Lyra. Aleth didn't even know she was here. She could just turn around --

She needed the book. She hadn't been gone long enough to claim she couldn't find anything, plus she couldn't risk Aleth asking Tarr and there happening to be one. She flushed a bit, not quite sure what to do with this new kink in the plan.

Lyra looked up as Ky came in, and she blinked.
"Hello," she said tentatively. "How did the training session go? I heard you would be gone doing that for awhile." Her father had been delighted at the prospect of Aleth getting trounced again, and by Constance no less. She was a better fighter than Tarr to begin with and wasn't smug about winning, but Tomhas had suspected Aleth would be more upset about this.

"Hello," Ky answered quickly. It surprised her that Lyra actually started the conversation this time. "It went well, I think. I'm... quite terrible." Ky smiled sheepishly. "Left me a bit sore, but I would like to think that that's common for first lessons."

Ky hesitated. She wasn't sure whether to continue or leave it at that. She hadn't really given Lyra much to respond to, but, was she supposed to? It was so easy to view her as a potential friend. But she was every bit as much Ky's boss as Loquitur or Tarr.

"Do you enjoy sparring, ma'am?" Ky decided to risk it. She could always apologize if it went as poorly as this morning had started.

"I've only done it twice," Lyra replied. "My father insisted we all take a few lessons. From what I hear the soreness doesn't get better with time." She ran her thumb over her book's spine. "Will you be leaving for Lord Ash's Keep soon, then?"

Well, that wasn't reassuring. But, it wasn't like Ky wasn't used to being beaten. And this time she was actually learning something useful from it instead of merely being punished. "I'm... not entirely clear on the timeline, but it will be a little while. We're to lose some weight before we go and there's not really a way to rush that along."