It was a very hot day. They were a very strange group.

Viola was sitting between the Shark of Heliport and the Marquise, and across from the Viscount of Aronport. The four of them watched as Electa, Princess of Makina, and Lady Livilla tried to play a game of tennis.

"This," Viola declared, as she drank from the gatter in her jar, "is the worst tennis playing I've ever seen."

The Shark smirked in agreement. "Now ain't that the truth."

"They're having fun, that's what matters," the Viscount said, clapping as his future wife scored a point.

The Shark sneered again. "If you say so."

"I asked you here today," the Marquise, who clearly agreed with the Viscount, spoke, trying to turn the attention away from the two women, "because I believe I have discovered something of great importance."

"So soon?" The Shark raised his eyebrows, a mix of admiration and mistrust plaguing his dark eyes. "Bully for you!"

"I get to spend a lot of time surrounded by the Princes. And I am a very perceptive person. I pay attention to the little details."

"What is it?" the Viscount asked, lowering his voice.

"I overheard the Queen speaking with the Royal Physician," the Marquise whispered, and all three had to come closer to understand her. "Apparently, it is the Queen's suspicion that her husband was poisoned. His tongue is said to have been purple."

"Night's Kiss," Viola muttered and the rest seemed to agree.

Viola had some experience when it came to that poison. During the War of the Copper, when she was stationed in Silverport, an infiltrate used it to infect the camp's food. They sustained heavy losses before finally catching and executing the cook. Viola could still remember the men's faces covered in purple spots, with yellow and sunken eyes and a purple, swollen tongue, so big it barely fit in their mouths. Most of them had actually died of asphyxiation, rather than from the poisoning.

"Did the King suffocate?" Viola asked, frowning at the thought. "Most victims of the Night's Kiss die of asphyxiation, rather than from the poison itself."

The Marquise shrugged. "Could be. The Physician was not clear. Actually, he dismissed the Queen's concerns altogether. He is still claiming the King's heart suddenly stopped, but I think she might be on to something."

"Poisoning would make sense." The Shark stroke his chin as he toyed with the Marquise's words. "Night's Kiss is very loud, though. It leaves heaps of traces. Not exactly convenient, is it?"

"Which wouldn't matter if the Royal Physician was working with him," the Viscount reckoned. "You have that man by your side and you can literally get away with murder."

"What news in your front?" Viola turned to the Shark, her gaze meeting his. "Has the Queen expressed any of these concerns to you?"

The Captain shook his head. "She hasn't. Matter of fact, she and her son are presenting a united front. She supports Raynard's claim that the King was offed by a heart attack. Personally don't buy it. She's a consummate actress, but I can see the fear in her eyes anytime she's with Raynard. I reckon she doesn't want to risk her position, especially with no proof. It's high time we bring her to our side, it's what I say."

"Can it be done?" the Viscount asked, addressing the Marquise directly.

"It is hard to say. I do not have the best relationship with the Queen and I am afraid she does not trust me either." She stopped talking, turning her gaze towards the two laughing women, still playing their embarrassing excuse of a game. "It would be hard to convince her to go against her children, especially if she knows you are working with us, Viscount."

"The Withered Flower's hatred for Princess Electa is well-known," the Shark agreed.

"We'll use Buford, then," Viola suggested, as the brutish younger Prince appeared in the distance. "He might be the most disappointing of her sons, but he's her son, nonetheless. If we make it clear that it will be Buford, not Electa, who inherits the throne after his three brothers are apprehended, we might be able to convince her."

Viola immediately turned to the Viscount, wanting to see his reaction to that statement. Both she and the Marquise were under the impression that he wanted the Princes out of the way so that Electa would become Queen.

The young man, however, nodded at her suggestion. "Sounds good to me. This will, of course, require that you go forward with the engagement, Marquise, at least for the time being."

"You up for it?" The Captain asked, flashing that dashing smile again, the same one that, Viola now understood, came naturally to him.

"Certainly. I am a bit of a leading lady myself."

"By all means, lead the way."

The Shark was giving her his best bite, but the Marquise kept her cool. She raised an eyebrow and drew a simple smile that let him know she was unamused. Viola had to admit, the Marquise's ability to maintain her aloof façade was quite impressive.

"I am meeting the Queen for..."

"Tea," Viola guessed and the Marquise smiled in agreement.

"Raynard will be present. So will his brothers, which means all of their chambers will be alone for an hour, at least. I suggest you either bribe a servant or search them yourselves. Something is bound to appear."

"Electa wasn't summoned for the tea meeting, so she and I can take care of the Princes chambers," the Viscount suggested. "I think it's better if we don't involve low-born in this affair. It could be dangerous for them, not to mention servants can be traitorous."

The Shark spoke in a louder, more confident voice. "Then I'll go and pay a visit to the Physician. I've been meaning to have my old leg wound checked. This gives me the perfect excuse to go and see that old high case."

"It is settled," the Marquise said as she stood up. "Now, gentlemen, if you excuse me, I must take my leave. I have a tea meeting to prepare for."

The Shark adopted a friskier tone. "And it takes a lot of preparing to drink tea?"

"I like to be on point," the Marquise replied.

"Are you ever not?"

"Yes. When I drink water."

"Then I'll be sure to have wine ready the next time we see each other."

The Marquise bowed her head before turning around and marching away from the table, leaving the Shark with a pretty picture in his head.

Viola silently followed her. Once they were inside the castle, and away from prying ears, she dared speak.

"You don't strike me as the type of woman who doesn't recognize an outright pass."

The Marquise smirked. "Every intelligent woman has her own way to handle them. If I want to get rid of whoever wants to kill me, I need the Captain on my side."

"Just promise me you'll be careful. They don't call him the Shark for nothing."

"Believe me, my dear Shooter, romance is the last thing in my head. But it is funny, is it not? How they call us the weaker sex, when it is them who we have to treat with kid gloves. There is nothing more fragile than a man's self-worth."

"Amen to that. You have to admit, though, you like the attention he gives you."

The Marquise shook her head. "I am used to the attention he gives me. I have been getting it all my life. The Captain has not said or done anything that I find remotely interesting." She stopped talking as they entered her chambers. "Besides, I am a soon-to-be-married woman. I have no use for his attention."

"It's precisely because you're a soon-to-be-married woman that you need to be particularly careful. The walls have ears in here. You taught me that."

"I have seen the Captain flirting with at least three different women," the Marquise spoke as she removed her dress. Despite having handmaidens, she refuse their help, insisting on doing everything by herself. "I am hardly the only object of his attentions. As long as I remain distant, I should be safe."

"Would you consider him? Were you not engaged?"

"Marquises do not marry SteelCorp Captains."

"No, they instead marry murderous Princes."

The Marquise gave her a reproachful look, but said nothing more.

Viola hesitated before continuing. "Do you really think he did it? The Prince, I mean."

"I do. Another reason why I am choosing to keep the Captain close."

As the Marquise walked over to her cupboard to choose a dress for the occasion, Viola felt the question forming in her mouth. It was true that she had developed a closer relationship with the Marquise, so asking her something so personal might not be as farfetched as it once was. Still, she chose to remain cautious. All it took was one wrong word.

"Is there something you're not telling us?" She spoke in careful and paused words as she sat on the chair next to the sleeping fireplace.

The Marquise didn't even turn to see her. Instead, she buried herself on the insides of the cupboard. "My dear Shooter, there is a disgusting amount of things I am not telling you. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. Call me crazy but I get the feeling you know more about your murderous Prince than you're letting us know."

This time, the Marquise spoke from beneath mountains of velvet and lace. "I would not expect anything less from a woman of your talents. Another reason why I keep you close."

"But trustworthiness isn't one of these many talents?"

"Trust is a dangerous thing, especially if you put it in the wrong hands." The Marquise finally emerged, holding a bright golden dress with metallic embellishments in the corset. "You have been a loyal companion, Shooter Viola, but there are certain things I cannot tell anyone, not even you." She turned once more, this time walking towards the mirror. "If, however, we fail in our little mission, the time will come when you will learn those things. When you do, I wonder if you will like knowing them. Sometimes ignorance is bliss."

Viola simpered at the thought. "Very well. I will play your game, for now. But if you want my help, you will have to tell me eventually. I won't move against the Prince, any of them, on your word alone."

"Fair enough," the Marquise replied as she walked to her. "Lace my corset?"

Viola sighed in defeat and complied. "If you're going to play this game," she said as she began playing with the lace, "you might want to exploit the naiveté angle a bit more. Both the Shark and the Viscount seem like suckers for a damsel in distress."

"Aren't all men?" The Marquise let out a whimper as Viola tightened the corset.

"Tell me, will the Viscount and the Princess find something in the Princes chambers, or did you sent them there to win some time?"

"Oh, they are bound to find something. You go into a whorehouse, you find a whore, whether you are searching for one or not."

"Why else would you go into a whorehouse if not to find a whore?"

The Marquise smiled through her pain. "Precisely."

Viola finished with the corset and stepped back, allowing the Marquise to admire herself in the mirror.

"You seem to have taken a great deal of effort for this meeting," Viola said, realizing just how elaborate the dress was. "It is a tad extravagant, even for you."

"I will let you in on a little secret, my dear Shooter," the Marquise said as she walked towards the door. "Something quite important is to happen tonight. Keep your eyes open and I guarantee, some of your questions might be answered. I do not guarantee, however, that you will not have new ones afterwards."

********

The Queen's parlor was packed. Never before had Viola seen so many people in it. It was normally just the Queen, her favourite and her guests, give or take a couple of servants. Tonight, however, all of court seemed to be present and the room wasn't designed for such a task.

Viola followed the Marquise as she made her way through the assembled crowd, smiling and working it like only she knew. The young woman's ease for hypocrisy was another reason why Viola couldn't bring herself to fully trust her. Unlike the transparent and unassuming Lady Livilla, the Marquise always seemed to be hiding something.

The Withered Flower awaited them on the other side of the room. Wearing a black and rather dull dress, she stood beside her son, Ryanard, who was hidden behind the goggles and mouth-cover that had become a fixture in his face.

"Marquise, how wonderful of you to finally join us," the Queen said in the worst fake nice tone Viola had ever heard. "We've been here for some time."

"My apologies, Your Grace. I must have lost track of time." The Marquise bowed before the Queen and her son, then turned to face Viola. She reduced her voice to a whisper when she spoke. "Stand in front of me tonight. You will have a better view from there."

Curious, Viola obeyed and stood not behind the Marquise as she usually did, but in front of her. She walked and stood beside the Queen, who gave her a suspicious look before turning her attention back to her future daughter-in-law.

"My dear Lady," Raynard spoke in a dry, barely audible voice. "The time has come for us to take a step forward. For the good of the realm, we must do our duty."

He knelt and the room broke into loud and incomprehensible whispers. The Marquise, leading lady that she was, remained composed as the Prince took out a grossly large diamond ring, which he then offered to her.

"Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

"Your Grace, the honor will be all mine."

She extended her hand and after the Prince had put the ring on her finger, he stood up as the entire room cheered. A round of applause fell upon them like a summer rain and the Marquise raised her finger for everyone to see. Viola remained one of the few who did not clap or celebrate in any way. Next to her, the Queen adopted a similar attitude, and in front of her, the Crown Prince seemed eager to get out of there.

"Will you not kiss me on this special occasion, Your Grace?" The Marquise's words seemingly took the Prince by surprise, because his body went livid and he stepped back as she came in closer.

"I'd rather not," he answered, but the Marquise insisted.

"I think our audience would love to see it." She turned and addressed the crowd, beaming as she did. "Would you not like a royal kiss?"

A new wave of cheers filled the space, uniting under a cry of Kiss, kiss that soon became quite unbearable. The Prince turned to his mother, who remained quiet, arms crossed and face tight as she observed the situation. Viola's attention, however, was fixed upon the Marquise, whose face was as confident as ever. Their eyes briefly met and Viola knew that, whatever was about to happen, was what she was supposed to see.

The Prince, seeing the screams would not end until he complied, grabbed his betrothed and the two did a spin. Turning his back on the still cheering crowd and facing Viola, he finally removed his mouth-cover. She had seen a lot of crazy shit during her days in the war. But nothing like this.

The Prince's lips were purple and swollen, and they seemed to beat at their own rhythm, as if they had life of its own. His tongue, however, was the truly disgusting sight. Purple and unnaturally enlarged, it was so wide that it seemed incapable of being contained inside the man's mouth and it instead hung on the side like a dead creature.

As the man approached the Marquise, Viola had to control herself so as not to jump and try to prevent the kiss. She stood and watched as the Prince's lips met the Marquise's for a short and cringeworthy second, after which the man covered himself again.

The crowd joined in a Long live the King chant that seemed to resonate in every corner of the room. As the two future rulers of Makina joined hands and walked towards their subjects, Viola was left to wonder exactly what she had just seen.

Turns out the Marquise was right. Ignorance was bliss