While everyone seemed to be in varying degrees of depression, Leomar Zula was determined not to let it get him down. After all, what would be the point if everyone was depressed, too? There had to be someone to bring the mood back up. And that someone was him.

The pavilion he stood on, made from slabs of wood nailed together and built around tree trunks above the ground, was the largest in Ánes, the size of a small lake at least, and it still wasn't enough to hold even half the population of the city. That was why celebrations like this one usually carried into other public spaces or even into people's homes. However, the festivities of today's fete were certainly... less than festive. People glumly walked in circles with glasses of wine or pineapple juice, talking to each other half-heartedly about the weather or something. No one wanted to mourn or mention the queen, yet no one wanted to really celebrate, either.

Leo stood by the food table, close to the stage. His turn to perform would come soon, but until then, his lute and bagpipes would stay strapped to his back. He grabbed a bunch of grapes and started plucking them, one by one, off the stem. He tossed one up in the air to catch it in his mouth.

One of the people in the crowd close by saw him do this, and Leo smiled at him.

"Think fast," he said as he tossed one of the grapes at the man. It bounced harmlessly off his face as he refused to open his mouth and catch it. "Tough break, try again," Leo urged. He tossed another one. This one the man also refused to catch, and, looking a bit awkward, the man retreated further into the crowd to escape Leo.

"Oh, come on," Leo teased after him, faux-frowning. "Everyone knows catching grapes in your mouth prevents cancer. This is good for you."

He popped another grape in his mouth and turned around to get another handful when he noticed that a sentry had arrived at the scene late, with one of his buttons missing and his hair a mess. He straightened up once he reached his post, trying to look like he'd been there the whole time.

"Pax," Leo cheered, smiling, "Glad to see you've finally arrived."

"Shut up, old man Zula," Pax said breathlessly. His Ushuan accent was always heavier when he was out of breath. "I've been here the whole time. Obviously. I don't know what you're talking about."

Leo pointed to his shirt, which Pax felt over, searching for the missing button. "Slept in late?"

"No," Pax said defensively. "I just forgot today was the fete. I thought I had the day off."

"No rest for the weary, buddy." Leo held a grape up like a throwing dart. "Think fast."

Pax opened his mouth and caught the grape, hands still fiddling with where his button should have been. "Look Leo, I appreciate that you're trying to lighten the mood a little and usually I'd be with you on that, but are you sure now is the most appropriate time for it?"

"When people are the saddest is when they need grapes the most," Leo advised. "Hold up, let me help you." He grabbed a nut from the bowl on the table and tied it to Pax's coat with the strings from the lost button. The nut was vaguely golden in color, just like the other buttons, though a little misshapen. One might later question why Pax had a nut stuck to his uniform where the button was supposed to be, but on the one hand, the one-word response "Leo" would be enough of an explanation for most people to accept, and on the other hand, this was Pax. No one would be surprised.

"Thanks," Pax said, looking at the nut. "But seriously. Leo, this is kind of a serious situation. No one is here to celebrate. They're here to listen to the prince's speech."

"AND to my music!" Leo declared. "What do you think, Pax? Should I play our special song?"

Pax rolled his eyes, his expression a mixture of fondness and annoyance. "Please don't."

"The city of Corinna, next to the seaaaaaa," Leo started singing. The random burst of song was attracting stares. "I there met a lady as fine as can beeeeee-"

Pax put his hands on his ears and closed his eyes. "I am desensitized to it at this point. You underestimate my ability to ignore that song."

"She sat by the ocean-" Leo continued, until he saw Felix Brooks signal him from beside the stage. Leo pulled his lute in front of him by the straps and took a deep breath. "My time has come. You get out of it this time."

"La la la la la, not listening," Pax said as Leo walked up to the stage.

Leo strode up to the center of the stage, unworried about his voice or music not carrying far enough for everyone to hear. It was a known fact that the stage itself was enchanted by the royal sorcerer to project sound, so Leo knew that no matter what, people would have to listen.

"Hey, hey, hey," he greeted them. "So, I've got some great songs in store for all you lovely folks, but, uh, before we start," he pursed his lips for a moment, trying to decide if he should actually go through with it, before deciding screw it and asking "I realize the chances are slim, but none of you in the audience would happen to be named Jai, would you?"

There was a pause as everyone in the crowd looked at each other like 'Is he talking to you? Is your name Jai?'. The consensus seemed to be a hard no.

"Oh well," Leo said, trying to hide his disappointment. Well, it wasn't disappointment per say - He hadn't actually thought that would work. But he was willing to try it, just in case. "Never mind, then. Here we go."

He plucked out a few chords on his lute and began his song.

❁

While everyone seemed to be in varying degrees of depression, Paxton Hæthwar was trying not to think about it. There was obviously a cloud of sluggishness and mournful silence hanging over the entire pavilion, even with Leo's enthusiastic singing echoing off the trees. Everyone knew why. No one wanted to talk about it, though. Understandably so.

Queen Arona's death had definitely hit Janbu's population with negative feelings of all kinds. As for Pax? There was grief, definitely, but a hint of guilt to go with it. Had he been stationed in the royal circle that night? No. But he had still been on active duty. What if the assassin had walked right past him and he hadn't even seen her? What if this was partially his fault?

He knew there was plenty of blame to go around. But still.

As Leo was wrapping up his song, Pax noticed that on the other side of the stage for him, there were new arrivals to the fete. Not just any new arrivals. It seemed that the Prince and Princess, along with all four of the councillors, had finally shown up. Arion didn't look nervous on the surface, but clenched fists gave him away. Poppy, meanwhile, was distracted from her half-brother with the rest of the crowd. Her eyes scanned it for no particular reason that Pax could place. Maybe she was trying to gauge their mood. It wasn't hard, honestly. Everyone was anxious in one way or another.

As the royal family (or what was left of it) waited for Leo to finish his song, Pax signaled and made eye contact with the sentry posted on that side of the stage. A woman named Sofia, if he remembered correctly. She gave him a bothered look and he flipped his hands around each other, silently asking 'Can we switch spots?' Sofia rolled her eyes but waved Pax over.

He gave her a quick thumbs-up and hurried to change posts before their superiors noticed them. As they passed each other behind the stage, Sofia whispered "You owe me one," and slapped his shoulder playfully. He grinned at her before focusing on Poppy again.

Once he was in his new position right next to the princess, he smiled softly at her.

"Pax," she noted, returning his smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. She sounded muted, like she was only half awake. "I didn't notice you there a second ago."

"Sentry rotation," he said, not entirely a lie. "I wanted to check on you. How are you doing?"

She pursed her lips. "How is anyone doing?"

"That's not what I asked," he said. "I asked about you."

She sighed. "I'm as well as I can be. At least, I like to think so. I still feel a bit like I've been trampled by a herd of elephants on the inside."

"Well, you still look as beautiful as ever, elephant-trampled or not."

She chuckled a bit, and looked down at her feet. "Thanks, Pax. I can count on you for a quick laugh."

"Hey, I'm your guy. Just... if you need anything. You know? Anything at all I can do for you - or your brother - you can count on me, I promise."

She nodded. "Thank you."

Leo finished singing and gave his lute one more dramatic over-the-top strum before posing as the note faded. Arion stepped around Poppy from behind, taking deep breaths.

"Wish me luck," he breathed. "Oh, hi, Pax."

Pax gave him a thumbs-up, too. "You've got this, Your Majesty."

Arion hopped up onto the stage as Leo departed, already heading towards Sofia to most likely give her some gibberish advice on teleportation and its dangers.

As soon as Arion was seen, a hush fell over the crowd quicker than any performance or speech before this. All eyes were turned immediately. This was the moment everyone had come for, of course. To learn what was the truth. To see what Arion had in store, and what promises he would make them. Generally, to know what came next in such an uncertain time.

"People of Ánes," he said, "And of Janbu in general... I know you all expect me to confirm or deny the rumors flying around right now, so... I'll just jump right into that."

The scribes had all caught on by then and were rapidly jotting down his every word in a transcript to be distributed across the country. Arion seemed to be pointedly ignoring the fact that everything he said from this point on could very well be held against him. Pax couldn't imagine that; with everything that thoughtlessly came out of his mouth, he would make a horrible king. He would gladly take the life of a sentry, thank you very much.

"First and foremost," Arion said, "It is for certain that my mother... that Queen Arona... is dead. She is not travelling, she is not in hiding. She is well and truly gone." He swallowed to hide the shake in his voice. "Second, it is also certain that the assassin who killed her - yes, she was assassinated - is Ailican. She was found with a kill contract signed by the king of Ailica. Third, the news has just arrived. The Ailican king is also dead, killed in a riot by his own people."

Arion paused as gasps drifted from the crowd, everyone taking in the various pieces of news. Pax turned to Poppy, his brows furrowed.

"So Ailica finally did itself in, huh?" he mused. "I can't believe this. Everything's happening so fast."

"I know this is a scary time," Arion continued. "Assassins and riots and the very concept of death by unnatural causes is not one we are familiar with. Things like this aren't supposed to happen in Janbu, but I can assure you, things will get better. As king, I intend to right these wrongs. I will strive to make Janbu safe again. Put your faith in me, and you will not regret it. On my life, Janbu will be peaceful once again. You have my word. Thank you for coming. That's all I have to say."

The audience clapped as Arion exited the stage, making way for whatever performance would come next. Poppy left Pax's side to attach herself to his arm, whispering to him that he had done a wonderful job and he had spoken perfectly.

Pax, meanwhile, was a bit lost in thought. It had been a short speech, but it was weighty nonetheless. Perhaps most intriguing was the Ailican riots, which he would definitely want to learn about more. It was an unstable country, it had been for the past seven years, what with the famous drought and everything. Perhaps he would ask his family about it in the next letter he sent them. After all, news travelled much quicker by word of mouth in the vast Ushuan markets, and Sam in all his connections would have some information on the subject.

Pax pushed thoughts of death and instability from his mind as a group of dancers shuffled onto the stage. He could think about those sad things later. For now, there were people dancing and there was juice to be drunk, and he could let himself be happy, even if it wasn't one hundred percent.

❁

While everyone seemed to be in varying degrees of depression, Rigmund Azazel Orca was too busy being watchful. Mourning was something of a waste of time, he figured. He hadn't known the queen and sure, she'd been a good ruler, but all good things came to an end. Apprehension wasn't the same thing as grief.

The prince's speech had been satisfying on the whole. He hadn't said anything that Rig didn't already know or figure ahead of time, and the promises at the end had been predictable, but he was glad he had come to hear it anyway.

A familiar shuffling at his side made him look away from the stage. Aylin Starlin, one of his fellow shadows, had made her way through the crowd to him, a glass of wine in her hand. He noted she had bothered to dress up for the day in a long black shawl over her shirt sewn with small jewels. She had certainly bothered with more than he, in his airy gray shirt and boots. "Well well, Aza," she mused once he looked over at her. "I didn't expect to see you here. What, are you turning into a party person?"

"No more than you are, as I notice you are also here," Rig replied. Aylin wasn't very outgoing or social despite her warm attitude. Rig wasn't often found at gatherings either, due to his dislike of large crowds.

"I thought it would be wise to listen to the prince's speech," Aylin explained.

"Well then, we have similar thought processes."

The idea was not to learn more about the assassination; nothing that he didn't already know would be disclosed at a public speech. However, it was probably the best time any of them would have to judge what kind of king Arion would make. He had put on a good show, but Rig wasn't fooled. The prince was perfectly confident and controlled up on stage, but as soon as he'd stepped off he'd practically collapsed into his sister's arms. He would be riding coattails for a while until he was ready to walk on his own. Of course, it was hard to blame him. The man's mother had just died.

"I don't suppose Eris and Evanthe are also around here somewhere?" Rig asked.

Aylin scoffed. "Last I saw, they had been cornered by Mendax, one of the councillors."

"Ah." Given their recent acquisition of power, the councillors would most likely be dashing to get shadows into their pockets. They were good spies and messengers, and could definitely keep a secret. It would be prudent to have a trustworthy, or at least a reliable, shadow at your beck and call should the need arise for less-than-legal activity. Rig and most of his associates were too smart to be bought like that, but it wouldn't stop councillors from trying.

"Well, now that the speech is over, I'm heading home," Aylin said. "You would be wise to do that too, before one of the councillors comes after you."

"Actually, I thought I might turn the tables on them," Rig said. "Talk to them before they have the opportunity to talk to me."

Aylin shrugged. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you. But tell me what you find later, I want to know which ones are actually worth listening to."

As she turned to go, Rig reached over and snatched her wine glass, holding it casually in his hand as if it had been his the whole time. It was a clever illusion he'd learned from many different social events. If people saw a drink in your hand, much less an alcoholic one, they were less likely to perceive you as a threat. After all, if you were drinking, could you really be there for anything but a good time? It was a trick he had shared with Aylin once, no doubt why she was holding a glass that clearly hadn't been drunk out of at all.

"I'll see you around," she said as she left.

Rig scanned the crowd for the councillors, knowing that they would likely still be close to the stage. There were only four, so thankfully he wouldn't have to hunt down a whole herd. He located two of them fairly quickly, since they were talking to each other in a relatively quiet corner of the pavilion.

He stepped up to them, blatantly ignoring that they were already engaged in conversation and curtly lowered his head in a cheap mockery of a bow that he hoped came across as genuinely respectful. "Councillors."

Vyn Euris, the oldest of the councillors, looked him up and down lazily. "Hello there. Who might you be?"

"I know you," commented the other councillor, Sarek Frigus. "Rigmund Orca. You were recommended to me by a friend."

Rig smiled, putting the pieces together quickly. He ran through his mental appendix of clients, reasoning that Frigus likely spoke of the wealthy bridge-builder who had asked him to look into the dubious activities of one of his suppliers to avoid a public scandal. "It's always nice to be recognized. I, of course, know the two of you already."

"Is there something we can help you with?" Euris asked.

"I just wanted to exchange a quick word with you," Rig said, watching their movements very carefully. Euris had their head turned to Rig, but their body was still facing their companion. They were willing to listen, but also expected that Rig wanted something from them. Smart man. Frigus, meanwhile, seemed pleased to meet a friend of a friend, if that was what they were calling Rig. He smiled warmly and trustingly. He was a good man, but perhaps naive. "I look forward to seeing what this council has in store following these most unfortunate events. I am confident that the country is in good hands. Of course, if any of you ever need a trustworthy shadow, I hope you'll think of me first." He smiled tersely.

"Well, naturally-" Frigus began to say.

"What's this?" A third voice joined the conversation as another man emerged from the crowd. Rig recognized him as Dray Mendax, the tall and reticent councillor who had acquired his seat after the sudden and unforeseen retirement of his predecessor. Rig scanned him briskly, judging very quickly that Mendax was already tired of the party. Perhaps his talk with Eris and Evanthe had not gone terribly well. He looked at Rig hostilely, as if he were intruding. Mendax wasn't fooled by a full wine glass or Rig's unassuming appearance. He knew that he was here to make judgements and assessments; he was likely here for the same reason. That meant it was time to leave.

"A shadow," Mendax said slowly. "How nice to meet you."

"Alas," Rig said, bowing shortly again. "I was just leaving. Good to meet you, councillors. I anticipate great things." He quickly ducked around a nearby tree and disappeared into the crowd before they could reply.

❁

While everyone seemed to be in varying degrees of depression, Kaiden Esterius was still in something of a haze.

He hadn't known the queen personally, of course. He'd only ever seen or spoken to her when there was business he had to attend to that involved her. But he had appreciated how good of a queen she had been, how down to earth and generous she was, and he recognized that this was a loss for the whole kingdom. And though he felt no personal loss, he still felt heavy with the combined grief of the kingdom.

Kai was walking around the quickly-emptying pavilion with his friend Mythil, the fete being over by everyone's standards now that the speech was over. Perhaps things would go back to normal soon, but no one seemed to be in a partying mood at that moment.

"That ventriloquist was really good," Kai commented, thinking back on the performances. "Do you think they'd allow amateurs at the next event?"

"Are you asking for Freila?" Myth questioned, raising an eyebrow without opening her eyes. After an incident in her childhood, she preferred to keep them closed most of the time. How she saw regardless of this was beyond Kai, but he supposed her magic had something to do with it. His own magic was a bit more fabricated as opposed to hers which had been thrust upon her, but they both had a natural inclination to it, which is what had introduced them in the first place.

"Come on, Freila loves performing," Kai said, "And she'd definitely get the publicity she deserves."

"No, you're right," Myth agreed. "Anyways, I'm going to head home now that everything seems to be wrapping up. No point in staying any longer."

Kai nodded. Myth usually kept to herself at social gatherings or stuck around the people she knew (i.e. him), and although she could be quite outgoing when she had to, she never stayed for longer than necessary.

"Do you need me to walk you home?" He asked.

Myth smiled to herself. "No. I imagine you're going to be otherwise occupied in about... well, right now."

"What-"

"Hey, Kai," said another friendly voice to his left.

Kai turned around while Myth took the opportunity to slink away. He was met with the familiar sight of Pax's curly blonde hair and dimpled smile. The friendly sentry was probably released from duty now that everyone was leaving, so he'd spotted Kai in the crowd and come to say hello.

"Oh, hey, Pax," Kai said after a second, blinking away his surprise. "How are you doing?"

"You know, the usual," Pax said offhandedly. "My legs are a little tired from standing still for so long, but what else is new. How about you?"

"Well, I haven't been up to much either, I just-" Kai paused, looking down at Pax's coat. "You have... a nut for a button."

"Huh?" Pax looked down as well. "Oh. Yeah. Leo."

"Of course," Kai sighed.

"You look nice, though," Pax said, gesturing to Kai's ensemble of dark red and silver. "Dressed up? What am I saying, you always look nice."

Kai cleared his throat. Even though he liked to dress nice, it was rare for people to comment on it since it was just how he looked day to day. Pax always found a way to bring it up, though. "Thank you. You do too, I mean... you're just wearing your uniform, but it, you know, it looks nice on you."

Pax smiled wider, fidgeting with his collar. "Thanks! What are you doing for the rest of the day?"

"Just whatever," Kai shrugged. "I don't know if the court needs anything today so I'll probably keep working on my tracking spell."

"Tracking spell?"

"Yeah, it's a spell I've been working on to, well, track people. You've heard about the disappearances, haven't you? Well, Zef, one of the councillors, asked me a while back to see if there was anything magic could do to find the missing people, so I've been working on a reliable tracking spell for her. It's not making great progress yet, though. Mostly it just makes fireworks."

"Fireworks?" Pax's eyes widened. "You know, we used to have huge firework celebrations in Ushua, you could see them from miles away." He got a wistful look in his eye, most likely recalling the spectacular show. "Sometimes I miss the open sky, you know? The jungle canopy is a great anti-sunburn contraption, but fireworks become pretty hard to use without setting the whole place on fire."

"Well, here," Kai said quietly, rubbing his hands together. "I can help." He summoned a quick purple spark in his palms and pulled it out until the air between his hands was sparking in rainbow colors. He tossed it up into the air, and as soon as he was no longer keeping it contained the sparks flew in every direction like a swarm of multicolored fireflies. They flitted about, some of them even getting caught in Pax's hair, before fading and disappearing.

What remained of the crowd around them turned to stare, whispers and gasps floating around in response to the show of color. Kai's face went a little paler at the attention his magic had attracted. He had meant for it to be a quick and quiet display, but magic never failed to baffle the nonmagical. Kai almost waited for criticism, even though he knew it would not come. In Janbu, magic was a gift, not a curse. But he still worried at times.

"Incredible," Pax said breathlessly. "I don't know how you do it so easily. It looks so complicated - all the fancy hand movements and stuff."

"I guess it just comes naturally to me," Kai explained. "I don't know how else to say it. Some spells are definitely more complicated than others, but using magic itself is kind of like using a limb or a muscle. I don't really think about it."

Pax opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a word out he became distracted by something on the ground. Pax followed his eyes to find Oscar, his messenger bird, weaving his way around the legs of the surrounding people to make his way to Kai. His impressively feathered tail was outlandish enough that it could usually clear him a path through the crowd. Oscar couldn't fly, which made his methods of delivery a bit slower, but he was reliable and Kai loved him nonetheless.

"Hey Oscar," Kai said, bending down. "What's up?"

Oscar didn't say anything, oddly enough, which meant he didn't have a specific message to send. However, he opened his beak and something fell out. Kai recognized it as the red pouch that Mythil wore around her wrist, filled to the seams with lemon leaves.

"That's odd," Kai noted. "Myth never takes this off."

"Maybe it fell," Pax suggested. "I mean, it definitely looks a little worn. The strings probably snapped or something."

"Well, I should probably get it back to her then," Kai said, putting the pouch in one of his pockets. "It was nice seeing you. We'll have to get together more often."

"I'm on board," Pax said. "See you later!"

Kai quickly rushed away, not sure how else to say goodbye and knowing if he stayed any longer he'd probably be sucked into another conversation that he simply couldn't say no to.

Myth didn't live far from the pavilion, preferring to be close to where her magical work needed her. Kai reached her house very quickly. However, he was surprised to find the door hanging open on its hinges.

"Myth?" he called as he stepped inside. "You dropped your pouch. I came to return it? Are you in here?"

There was no reply from anywhere in the treehouse. All her books and papers were in place, and nothing was knocked over or anything. There were no signs of struggle, which made him especially suspicious of her odd absence.

Unless.

He'd heard countless stories of people mysteriously going missing without leaving a trace as to why. Nothing would be out of place save the person themself, and they would never be seen again. He hadn't just heard stories. By the stars, he'd been assigned to the task of figuring out what to do about it. But, like so many others, he hadn't expected it to ever happen to someone he cared about...

But between the pouch, the empty house, and the uncharacteristic disappearance, there could be no mistaking.

Mythil Ivor had become one of the missing.

Word Count: 4824

Character Appearances:

Leomar Zula by eli-z-le

Paxton Hæthwar by Avengers14

Penelope Vorago by inej-ghafas

Rigmund Azazel Orca by SincerelyLoki

Kaiden Esterius by TheShortBosmer

Also Featuring Appearances From:

Aylin Starlin by New-Identity

Mythil Ivor by DragonDancer55

Eris Mae by TheShortBosmer (mentioned) 

Evanthe Black by inej-ghafas (mentioned)

A/N: Hello! Like, a month later, I present you with chapter 2! I refuse to apologize for slow updates because i mean. You're all this bad or worse don't even lie

Hope you enjoyed, leave comments and kudos and spiel, and please by god point out any errors or pirate-ness in the chapter, because I'm sure it's in there somewhere. The first person to spot a 'me' somewhere in this book where there shouldn't be one gets this cookie: 🍪

Also, a note on something real quick; I thought this would be a good time to say it since Pax's Ushuan accent is brought up in this chapter. The different countries and lands in this world all speak the same language, but they don't all speak it the same way. It's kind of like English in that way, I guess. English is spoken in England, America, Australia, and many other places, but all of them have different accents and slang and ways of speaking that vary from place to place. It's like that with this land. I should really come up with a name for the collective land, since I have one for all the different countries but not for the whole thing. Any suggestions?