Zef rubbed her eyes, groaning. She hadn't managed a wink of sleep after the incident that had killed Nefia, and the arrival of Raven Blackthorn to the scene had not eased her nerves. She had been planning to take a short nap that afternoon, but Mendax had called another council meeting. It was optional, of course - she could choose to sleep through it. But at the same time, she didn't trust Mendax, and she didn't want him to say anything she wasn't there to hear and subsequently rebuke.

So, here she was, practically nodding off at her place on the circular desk, the other councillors and Arion around her. They all looked as tired as she did, even Mendax, but obviously the man had something important to say to the others.

"Alright, Mendax," Zef sighed, brushing her hair out of her face and sitting up straight. "What did you want to tell us so badly that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"I don't think you'll agree with what I have to say at first," Mendax started, "But I want you to hear me out."

"Uh huh." Arion exhaled through his nose, rubbing his face. "Just out with it, so we can get this discussion on with."

Mendax pursed his lips and said, "I think we need to go to war with Ailica."

The room burst into an argument.

"Where in the blazes did that come from?" Euris demanded.

"We are a peaceful nation," Frigus backed him up. "We're not in the business of declaring war!"

"Ailica has done nothing to warrant such a violent and dramatic conflict," Zef stated, trying to stay smart about her argument instead of simply arguing for argument's sake.

"Nothing to warrant conflict?" Mendax repeated incredulously. "Did you forget that they killed our queen?"

"One of them did that," Arion pointed out.

"Listen to me, just listen," Mendax said, holding up a hand to silence the others. "Only a few days after the death of our queen, another Ailican comes into our country, and not just any Ailican, but one with a connection to their current queen. Yes, I know he claims to be here on peaceful business, but I mean come on, do none of you see how suspicious it is? This Raven Blackthorn cares enough about a couple of animals who are on death's door anyways to travel across the desert alone? He's obviously a spy. The tigers were an alibi should he get caught, but I assure you, his purpose here was to judge our state and report back to the Ailican seat of power. Ailica is going to attack us soon. We must strike first."

"We don't-" Arion started.

"We must show that we are strong," Mendax kept going, shooting Arion a glare, "And we must get revenge for our queen. If we do nothing, who is to say that our next monarch will not be killed in a similar way? Think about the future. If we allow Ailica to win this one time, even if they're not already plotting war, which they are, we tell the rest of the world that there are no consequences for assassinating our ruler. We cannot let that happen. We must declare war before they get the chance."

"Revenge? That is your motivator?" Arion raised him. "Believe me, out of all of us, I am the most entitled to vengeful feelings. But the guilty parties have paid. The king is dead, killed in a coup by his own people, and you killed Nefia with your own hands. Let the conflict end there. Let us move on."

"Ailica will not let us move on," Mendax argued. "We cannot let them attack first."

"Mendax may have a point," Euris said. Eyes turned to them. "Blackthorn's sudden appearance could be seen as an act of aggression. I will be the first to admit that his excuse for being here is weak."

"It was supported by his tigers!" Arion protested.

"Animals can be trained," Euris replied. "Or perhaps the tigers really do believe that, but they have been deceived. Ailicans are tricky and known to be liars."

"Way to stereotype," Arion falsely applauded.

"Declaring war would also help our people," Frigus added, finally piping up. "Our population is scared. Showing strength and giving them something to fight for might restore some of their faith in their own safety."

"Is that reason enough for an all-out war?" Zef asked.

"Listen, you say that as if it would be a real war," Mendax said, "But the reality is that we would crush Ailica easily. We are guaranteed the win"

"What makes you think that?" Zef asked.

"They are recovering from a years-long drought," Mendax cited, "And their queen is young and new, and very inexperienced. Not only that, but she is reeling from the death of her brother and her husband has been robbed from her side. The Ailican people had only just launched a coup, and many of them died. Their spirit is low, and they are already falling apart at the seams. Just a little bit of pressure from us, and we can crush them."

"That's a reasonable deduction, but still not a guarantee," Zef said. "And besides, what would it cost? Innocent lives? In war, no matter what, people die on both sides. And are we not reeling from a death of our own?"

"We do not need a war," Arion said. "What would our end goal be? We don't need land, least of all desert land, and taking war slaves is entirely out of the question. I don't think any of us in this room, or this entire country, would stand for that. So what would we get once we won? Material gain? It's hardly worth it."

"That is most certainly not the goal," Mendax said, and to his credit, he seemed genuinely disgusted by the idea of slavery. "Were we to go to war, our victory would only be in name. Everything would resume normally once it was over."

"Except for all the blood that would be spilled," Zef challenged.

Mendax shrugged. "Peace comes at a cost."

"We literally have peace right now," Zef said. "You're the one who wants to disturb it."

"I simply want to move before Ailica does. They already killed our queen, we cannot let them do more."

Zef took a deep breath and said, "What if Ailica didn't do it?"

The room fell silent for a moment as the others processed her words.

"What do you mean, 'what if Ailica didn't do it?'" Frigus asked.

"I mean, what if the hit on Queen Arona wasn't ordered by the Ailican king, or any Ailican at all?" Zef explained.

"That makes no sense," Mendax said plainly.

"Zef, I..." Arion said quietly. "I'm actually with Mendax on this one. What makes you think this wasn't Ailica?"

"It's just something about the timing of it all," Zef elaborated. "It doesn't match up in my head. The king died a little over a week ago, and the queen died only a few days ago. I'm not sure if those two events align right. Would he have even been alive to order the hit?"

"We found proof of the hire on Nefia's person after we apprehended her," Arion argued. "It takes days to cross the desert to get here and even longer to breach the security around the central circle. The timing is right."

"Well, another thing," Zef went on. "I'm suspicious about Raven Blackthorn. I believe him. I don't think he knew anything about the assassination, and I don't think he's a spy. That means that if the king did order this hit, he didn't tell anyone about his plan."

"The Ailican king is the only one it could be," Mendax said firmly. "He wanted her dead because his kingdom was in drought and he wanted the riches and resources in Janbu. He had no way of knowing about our council policy, so he would have thought Arion would ascend to the throne. He must have known Arion was a weak prince and would make a weak king."

At these words, Arion's shoulders drooped a little, and he looked down at the floor miserably. Zef wished she was sitting close enough to hold his hand and comfort him, but alas, she was in the middle of arguing her point.

"And because of this, he thought it would be an easy Ailican win. It only makes sense," Mendax finished.

"No, it doesn't," Zef said plainly. "Why wouldn't he tell his people that he was on the verge of declaring war? If they really hated him and he knew it, reassuring them that he had a plan to get their water would have restored their faith in him, and given them motivation to fight for him. It would have given them some warning, since declaring a brutal war out of the blue to his starved and dying subjects would have lowered morale significantly more. An unprepared army wouldn't fight well. If it was truly his intention to take over Janbu for its water, he would have made his intentions clearer. Raven would have known about it."

"Your argument centers around the assumption that not every word coming out of Blackthorn's mouth was a dirty lie," Mendax said. "Is that correct?"

"I wouldn't put it in those terms, but I suppose so."

"Zef, that's crazy," Arion said. "Listen, I don't want to go to war either, but you're suggesting that this was an attempt to frame Ailica for the murder of my mother? You don't know what you're implying, and you're digging up a bigger investigation than I think we're ready for, or is necessary."

"I just want more time," Zef said. "To look into this murder more carefully. I want to make sure we have all the facts. Jumping to conclusions and declaring war too hastily will not benefit either side."

"You want time?" Mendax said. "That's ridiculous. What makes you think you're going to find anything that hasn't already been found."

"That's not your problem to worry about, that's mine," Zef said, hoping she wasn't biting off more than she could chew. "Please, just give me a few weeks to dig deeper before we resort to national violence."

Mendax opened his mouth to argue more, but Frigus said, "Zéphine may have enough of a point to warrant further investigation. I say we give her until the Festival of Summer before officially declaring war."

"I agree with Sarek," Euris seconded. "It's a fair compromise. This way, no one loses."

"But no one wins, either," Mendax growled.

"Council meetings aren't a game of win or lose, Mendax," Arion said. "Let's take a vote. All in favor of waiting to declare war?"

All hands went up but Mendax's.

"Very well," Arion said. "I think that concludes this meeting, don't you? Lovely. Adjourned."

While the other councillors left the room, Mendax grumbling lowly to himself, Arion intercepted Zef before she could leave. "Zef, I don't think you should go digging around in this. The culprit is obviously the Ailican king. I'm glad you bought us more time to talk them out of war, but a whole new murder investigation won't help."

"It will if I'm right," Zef pushed. "Don't you want to know what really happened to your mother?"

"I know what happened to my mother."

"I don't think we have the full picture," Zef argued. "Look, I want to take a quick nap and think coherently again, but we can talk about this after. I think it definitely needs to be discussed, especially if I want your help."

"I can't help you with something I don't think..." Arion started to say, but he trailed off as Zef held up a finger to his lips and shushed him.

"We both need to sleep," Zef reminded him. "We can talk after."

❁

Damien took the last sip of his coffee, willing his brain to focus. He'd been poring over the blueprints given to him for hours, taking notes on everything he found, big details and small ones alike. His wrist hurt, and despite having slept fine the night previous, he was already getting tired. It was exhausting work, despite him not having moved an inch from Felix's living room.

Felix's house was cluttered with puppets and scripts, which might have been creepy if Damien wasn't used to living in disorganization. The puppets were a little disconcerting, though - he urged others to wake up in the middle of the night to lifeless wooden eyes before they made fun of him for screaming and waking nearly the whole neighborhood. Of course, Ash, Felix's toucan, ceaselessly laughed at him for it. Felix kept telling Damien that he was laughing out of sympathy, but Damien knew: that bird had it in for Damien.

Felix himself came into the room holding another cup of coffee to replace the one Damien had just finished. "Still at it?"

"I am," Damien said. "You know, I've actually built houses with a similar design before. I'm familiar with the basics. But this one is way bigger than the ones I've worked on, and older, too."

Felix took a seat on the couch next to Damien, passing the coffee along to him. The living room was Damien's base of operations at that moment, since Felix was still working on clearing out one of his old storage rooms. Damien had insisted that it wasn't necessary, but Felix had argued back that they didn't know how long this assignment would take, and Damien should at least be comfortable while it lasted. The couch would only be okay for him to sleep on until his own room was ready.

"So, what progress have you made?" Felix asked. "Talk me through it, maybe that'll help speed the process along."

"Well, I'm planning on visiting the actual Royal Circle as soon as my visitor's permit is approved, which should be tomorrow, considering I'm on council business," Damien explained. "But before I even step foot in the house, I want to pinpoint where I should start looking. I've already noticed multiple security flaws in the building, none that someone else would have missed, though. They're all glaringly obvious, but, here's the thing. See, here?" He pointed. "The windows have no locks. Sure, they have hinges and a clasp, but it would be ridiculously easy to bypass with a knife. And here, the roof has removable plating to help remove water when it rains, making an easy place to sneak in. There's a hundred other flaws like those. But the problem is that there's nothing the sentries wouldn't have seen. The windows all have views of walkways, which means the walkways all have views of the windows. The roof is easily visible from the level above the Circle. The only place not in view of any sentries is this side of the building-" He pointed to yet a different part of the blueprint, "-But I can't see any flaws over there. The walls are thick and reinforced, there's no openings or glass to be smashed, and there aren't any ledges that would allow one to even grapple up that wall." He leaned back, putting a hand over his forehead. "This was an impossible assassination. And we're not even allowed to talk to the assassin, or so says the council. So whatever light she could have shed is apparently unavailable while she's in prison."

"Wow," Felix breathed. "You have been busy. Do you want to take a break or something?"

"I can't take a break," Damien protested. "I have to keep looking at this until I figure something out."

"Well... maybe you're looking at it wrong," Felix suggested.

"Wrong? What do you mean?"

"I just mean, from what I gather, you're looking at this with an architect's eyes."

"I'm an architect."

"I know that! I just mean, you're looking for structural or logistical flaws or whatever. Shouldn't you be looking at this from an assassin's point of view? Maybe professional killers see something here that you don't."

Damien tapped his chin. "You might be right. No, in fact, you're absolutely right. We need to start looking at this differently."

"Okay, so how would an assassin look at these blueprints?"

"I wouldn't know," Damien said. "I'm not an assassin."

"Well, neither am I."

There was a moment of silence.

"What if we hired an assassin?" Felix offered.

"What?"

"Like, a shadow or something. Not to actually kill someone! I mean, who would we even want to kill? I can't think of anyone I would want dead, and I'm pretty sure you'd have a similar problem should the question have arisen-"

"Felix, you're getting distracted again," Damien reminded him. "I know we don't want to kill anyone. But we should hire a shadow because...?"

"Right! Just because, you know, they do have assassin's eyes. They get paid to do weird jobs with no questions asked, which I guess could theoretically include killing people, but I'm guessing it's usually just break-ins and stealing and blackmail, but they still know how to break into places, so we should just ask how one of them would go about breaking into a house. This house, specifically."

"Felix, you're a genius!" Damien exclaimed, grabbing Felix and pulling him into a hug, slowly so as not to spill his coffee. "You've figured it out! This is the perfect plan!"

"Glad I could help," Felix said, returning the embrace.

❁

Rig placed down two more of his cards, smiling wickedly. "Eris, your turn."

"This is ridiculous," Eris muttered, scanning her cards, which she literally clutched close to her chest. "You're going to win a third time."

"What can I say, I'm just naturally lucky," Rig said smugly, mentally thanking his father for teaching him how to gamble on cards; specifically, how to cut a deck to guarantee his own win.

"Enough about Rig winning, keep going with the story," Aylin prodded.

"Yeah, I think this is classified information or whatever, but this Ailican dude comes marching through the jungle with a couple of tigers, right?" Rig continued. "Evanthe and goes to get the sentries, and they come running, don't even talk to me, just tackle this guy to the ground."

"He definitely saw them coming, too," Evanthe added, patting Eris' shoulder sympathetically as the other woman folded in defeat. "But he didn't try to run. I guess he didn't want to leave behind his cargo?"

"Why did he have tigers?" Aylin asked.

"No idea, we didn't even speak to the guy," Rig shrugged. "Just turned him in and left."

"He could have been another assassin or something," Aylin whined. "And you didn't even try to get more information? We could have been in on the drama right now, but instead the council is keeping it hushed or whatever."

"I don't think I want to get involved in this one," Evanthe said. "Too much politics."

Rig waited for Evanthe's turn to be over before placing down the last of his cards. "And that's my win."

Eris smacked the table in exaggerated frustration. "Three wins in a row. This is ridiculous."

A caw from their open window made the group of shadows turn away from their game to see a large black toucan perched on the sill.

"Hey, buddy," Aylin said, reaching out to pet the bird. "You got something to say to us?"

The bird snapped its beak at her fingers before she could touch it. She withdrew instantly.

"Alright then, I'll listen from a distance," she decided.

"Architect in need of a shadow for a classified job," the bird said, repeating the words of its owner. "Please come to the address on the attached paper."

Rig glanced down at the slip of paper tied to the toucan's leg. "Alright, who's on it?"

"Not me, I've got a meeting tonight with some lady who needs me to trace the source of some imported carpet or something boring," Aylin said.

"I'm thinking about accepting a meeting invite from one of the councillors, so I can't go," Eris added.

"Well, Aza was cheating at cards, so I nominate him," Evanthe said.

"Joke's on you," Rig said, "I've been looking for a new job to take anyways. Yeah, I'll go."

❁

Leo led the mysterious Shadowseeker around random paths for a while, trying to stall for time. Despite his earlier deception, he did not in fact have a house. While he brainstormed what he was going to do about that, he just led her over some of the most obscure pathways the city of Ánes had to offer.

She wasn't dumb, and had asked him why he was leading her in such a roundabout way. He had replied that it was best to keep her hidden, which was true. She was Ailican, and therefore others were bound not to trust her. Leo wasn't too big of a fan of getting arrested, and he didn't wish it on anyone else either, so he'd figured it was best to keep both of them hidden.

"Are we getting anywhere close to this house of yours?" Shadowseeker asked.

"Mmmmaybe," Leo hummed, rapping his fingers on his ukulele, which he still held. "I mean, close is a relative term."

Another turn down the path and, to his surprise, he recognized the surroundings. The vegetation was a little overgrown from lack of proper care, but the lanterns and rails and pathways just... rang a certain bell in his mind.

After a moment of thinking, it clicked. This was the path to his parents' house.

His parents were dead. They had been for a while. Age came for everyone eventually, this he knew. But Leo had left home long before death had come for any of his family. At the ripe old age of seventeen, he'd grabbed his bagpipes and headed out in search of adventure and fun, never really bothering to think if he would ever come back. He hadn't. His parents worked hard to support themselves and thirteen kids, and Leo had been something of a problem child, so when he left he couldn't tell if they would have preferred he stayed longer or if they were glad to be rid of him. After a while, Leo had lost touch with his family, parents and siblings alike, so he had no reason to come back home and visit.

He led Shadowseeker down familiar stretches, finally arriving at the house itself. There was obviously no one living in it anymore. The windows were cloudy with dust. The door was closed, but Leo opened it without any trouble; unlocked, then. The furniture was as he remembered it, though some things were new. He didn't remember that painting on the wall. He was pretty sure that chair had been in a different room. Had his family always owned that vase?

"Home sweet home," Shadowseeker said sarcastically from behind him. "I'm guessing you've been staying with a friend for a while. The amount of dust in here is enough to build a whole other house out of."

"It's... been a while since I've been back," Leo said dazedly, all the song and dance seemingly sucked out of him. "But no one will look for you here. No one will be looking in here, period."

"Well, I appreciate this more than you know," Shadowseeker said. "But I really need to find my friend. It's important that he stays safe, for more reasons than one. If it's alright with you, I'll use this as a base of operations while I search."

"While we search," Leo corrected her. "I still want to meet this mysterious Raven Blackthorn."

Shadowseeker paused, then shrugged. "I suppose you've been trustworthy enough thus far. Want to sneak around the city at night with me while I look for him? If you can keep up, that is."

Leo straightened his old back as much as he could and tried to forget the memories of his short time with his family flooding back. "I'd love to do some crime."

❁

Poppy quietly closed and locked the door to Arion's house behind her, making her way to the living room. Arion and Zef had called her over to discuss something that had happened in a council meeting earlier that day, which she knew meant bad news.

Zef and Arion were already sitting on armchairs across from each other, talking while they waited. They seemed to be having a disagreement over something.

"I just feel like you're overthinking this, alright?" Arion said. "She's dead, so please stop dredging up the past. Can't we just let it be and focus on the future instead?"

"I understand why it's hard for you to talk about, but you have to admit that I have a point," Zef pushed.

"Am I interrupting?" Poppy asked, rapping gently on the doorframe to announce her presence.

"Poppy," Arion said, relief in his voice. "You're here. We really need to talk to you."

"Yeah, I figured it was bad," Poppy said, taking the chair next to her brother. What had he and Zef been talking about? They didn't usually disagree, which made it all the more curious and suspicious. "What's going on?"

"I'll start from the beginning," Zef said. "Mendax called a meeting this morning to try to convince the council to go to war with Ailica."

"What?" Poppy exclaimed. "We can't go to war with them! The conflict is over, we have no need for it!"

"That's what we said," Arion followed, "But the rest of the council doesn't seem to agree. We've been given until the Summer Festival to change their minds before they officially declare war."

"They need a council majority for that," Poppy reminded them.

"They have it. It's three against two," Zef said. "In favor of war. Which is why we need to use the next few days to really do everything we can to prevent it."

"How are we supposed to change their minds?" Poppy asked. Her mind was whirling; even the word 'war' made her blood pump faster. She'd never lived through wartime as Janbu didn't get into many conflicts. However, she knew what war meant: blood and death, and even if one walked away with victory, there were never any winners.

"That's what I wanted to talk with you about," Zef said. "I have a theory. I don't think that your mother was actually killed by the Ailican king. I know that the assassin was definitely Ailican, but assassins can be hired by anyone, right?"

"Wait, why wouldn't it have been the Ailican king?" Poppy wondered. "We found his signature on the assassin-"

"How many assassins just carry their assignment sheet around with them on missions?" Zef raised. "I'm not an assassin, but that doesn't seem too professional. I'm just suspicious."

"No, she's just paranoid," Arion corrected her. "Zef has some crazy theory despite the mountains of evidence against it. Why can't we just move on, alright? I miss Mom too, but trying to spin her death into some murder mystery is unwise on all accounts."

"No, Zef may have a point," Poppy said.

"You're agreeing with her?" Arion cried. "What's come over the two of you? Why can't you just leave it alone?"

Poppy bit her lip, balling her fists to keep her hands from shaking. She didn't want to think about it either. It was easier to leave her mother's death alone, but Zef had a point, not to mention the slightly-to-the-left timing of everything. Arion might be trying to avoid thoughts of their mother entirely, but now Poppy had to know. And if an investigation brought them further from war, Arion had to be wrong about it being unwise, didn't he? This was the right thing to do.

"Because I think Zef is right," Poppy whispered. "And I think we should investigate."

"This is insane," Arion muttered. "We should be putting our energy into avoiding a war, not solving some perceived murder mystery."

"This could prevent the war if we prove that Ailica wasn't behind the assassination," Zef said. "Don't you get that?"

"Listen, if Arion doesn't agree, that's fine," Poppy said, trying to mediate. "He can do what he wants. But what are our first steps?"

"Oh, you're just going to go along without me while I'm sitting right here?" Arion said. "Wow."

"I don't know," Zef said, ignoring Arion. "But we can't take small steps. The Festival of Summer is closer than any of us would like right now."

"What if..." Poppy took a deep breath. This was for her country, right? "What if I went to Ailica in person?"

Arion's eyes widened in shock and fear. "No. No. Absolutely not."

"Think about it!" Poppy insisted. "If I can ask Queen Rosalind about this whole affair in person, won't we get answers? I can ask her about her father, about her policies, about how to best avoid a war. And if Ailica really did order the assassination, won't there be more evidence over there?"

"You're right, but are you sure you want to actually go there?" Zef asked. "It's dangerous."

"Yes, it's dangerous!" Arion exclaimed. "That place is a crime-ridden barrel of sand and treachery. It's already a warzone, and Janbu hasn't even entered the picture yet. The streets are crawling with crooks and criminals, and I'm sure inside the palace walls are much the same. There is no way I'm letting you go there."

"I'm exercising older sibling privileges," Poppy said, shushing him. "You don't get to tell me what to do."

"Poppy, this isn't a game, it's your life," Arion said seriously. "I don't want you to get hurt. That country is unstable and you will be a target if you go."

"We won't send her alone, obviously," Zef said. "But I have the feeling that if the other councillors find out about this, they won't like it. Poppy, we could send you with just a guide to help you get across the desert and a shadow to keep you safe. Does that sound alright?"

Poppy nodded. "I think I can do it."

"No!" Arion said. "This is ridiculous! Poppy, think about what you are saying before you say it, please. We can send someone else. Anyone else."

"We can't trust anyone else," Poppy said. "It has to be someone in our circle, someone who can't be bought or dissuaded. You both need to stay here, because the other councillors will definitely notice if you go missing. They barely notice me even when I'm right in front of them. I have to go."

Arion got a sad look in his eyes. "Poppy, I you're being crazy. Don't describe yourself like that."

"Like what?"

"Expendable. You're not."

She grabbed his hand from where she sat. "I know. But for the sake of this country, I have to do this. And for the sake of Mom."

Arion pursed his lips. "If I really can't stop you or dissuade you, then that's that. But go knowing that I wish you hadn't."

Poppy shook away her guilt. She didn't have time for that. Arion seemed so genuinely and overwhelmingly against her going, and the concern in his voice was real, but she told herself she did not share it and that she would be fine. If this was what it took to avoid a war, then this was what it took. Her country needed her, and so she would step up.

"I'm sorry, Arion," she said sincerely. "But I won't let this country go to war."

Word Count: 5253

Character Appearances:

Zéphine Tenebris by me

Damien Thorne by EstelElfstone

Leomar Zula

Rigmund Azazel Orca by SincerelyLoki

Penelope Vorago by arcanevi

Also Featuring Appearances From:

Felix Brook by ghostofwolves

Eris Mae by TheShortBosmer

Aylin Starlin by New-Identity

Evanthe Black by arcanevi

A/N: Okay so I know this chapter came really quickly after the last one, but I swear I have a reason! I've been on break so I figured I should probably get as much done on this now so that once school resumes I'll feel good about where this story's at.

With that being said, hopefully everyone enjoyed this chapter a whole bunch! I don't really have much else to say besides that, so everyone have a great winter ig

Oh and also a question ummmmmmmmmm what did you eat for breakfast? I had cheerios