Two Weeks Ago


After Kain's declaration, they smoothed over the details of their plan for the next day. Once finished, Melitta stood and brushed the wrinkles from her skirt.

"I should get going if I'm going to talk to Rhode tonight."

Kain yawned and pushed himself to his feet. "I'll show you out, then."

"I'm only a door away, Kain," Melitta replied with a laugh.

She didn't protest further, however, and Kain walked her to the hall. As he closed the bedroom door behind him, Melitta lingered nearby, something unidentifiable in her eyes. Her right hand curled into her middle, as if steading whatever thoughts were crossing her mind.

"Earlier," she began, then hesitated. "That--that was alright, wasn't it? During dinner?"

It took him a moment to follow her thoughts, but when he did his face caught aflame. The memory of being called darling was nearly more embarrassing than the event itself. "Oh, the--yes, that. It, um, it was...fine."

Melitta laughed, her hesitance seeming to fade. "Good. I thought, well, if we're going to be--using names like those is normal. Couples in Cieon tend to be affectionate, right? At least, that's what I've always heard."

"I...think so," Kain replied, scratching his chin. "They are in the stories, at least."

"I see. In that case..."

Melitta pursed her lips thoughtfully, before moving closer to her room. Something seemed to flick behind her gaze, an impulse carefully weighed, before she gave a little beckoning gesture to him and paused in front of her door. Kain's gut twisted with a different sort of anxiety as he stepped closer. She tucked her right hand behind her back, her other catching his collar before Kain had the chance to react.

With a light tug, Melitta pulled him towards her. The world froze as she pressed her lips to his cheek in the lightest, ghost of a touch.

"Good night, Kain."

Her bedroom door jerked open and before time resumed, Melitta had escaped into the space beyond. It wasn't until the lock clicked in front of him that Kain's mind revived, his hand raising to his cheek as if it could smoother the sudden heat burning beneath his skin.

It's an act, he reminded himself. A show for whomever might be watching from the shadows.

No amount of logic could still his rapid heart as he fled back to his room.

Inside, Kain leaned his back against the door. His hand returned to his cheek, fingers playing the exact skin her lips had touched.

"Is something wrong?"

Kain nearly swore. His eyes skipped over his room, locating where Callias had lingered near the coffee table. Somehow, he'd missed the fact the merman had stayed behind when Melitta left. One of Callias' hands laid backwards, palm down, over the chair's arm as his hip slightly leaned against the side.

"Oh, I--" Kain coughed, taking the second to wrangle his thoughts into line. "No. Nothing's wrong. Did you--was there something else you needed?"

Callias hesitated. If he noticed Kain's lie, he made no show of it as he dropped his free hand at his side, fingers drumming against his thigh.

"It's likely nothing."

"But, that means it could also be something."

And whatever it was, it was better than Callias questioning him further. Whether it was an act or not, Kain wasn't sure how someone as overprotective as Callias was would react to what amounted to an extremely innocent, yet intimate gesture.

"Yes," Callias replied quietly, before falling silent.

Kain crossed his arms over his chest while Callias seemed to gather his thoughts. Eventually, Callias raised his hand to tug at his hair, his frown deepening.

"I hadn't seen the king before tonight."

That was what was bothering him? Kain knitted his brow, confused. "That's not unusual. You aren't from Eol afterall."

"That's not the issue," Callias muttered. He dropped his hand again. "It's...the matter before. With his name. What is the significance of Ale? You seemed to know it."

Something uneasy began to unfurl in Kain's mind at the direction of Callias' questions. Still, he curled his fingers into his forearms in thought, drawing up what little he knew of the tradition.

"It's because Artemios, my captain, made sure I knew. In Eol, royals are born with a simple name. They tend to follow a pattern, like Cieon, hence the current king sharing the same name as his father. Once they're old enough that it's likely they will survive infancy, they're given a suffix, 'kos.' Alekos asking me to call him Ale is an extremely familiar gesture, only their close aides or family are allowed to use their shortened name."

Callias' expression grew even more impossible to read than usual as Kain spoke. His head tilted forward causing loose hair to drape his face. Curiosity burned in Kain's mind, but he forced himself to wait as the merfolk thought.

"Would it be unusual for a commoner to add 'kos' to their name?" Callias asked eventually.

Kain's mind finally caught onto Callias' concerns. That unease balled in his throat, causing him to clear it before he spoke. "It would likely be presumptuous. But, not odd given...you said Lykos was a chosen name, right? Not given? With his position, it wouldn't be odd to think he picked it for that purpose. Selecting a name only given to royalty would give his position an air of legitimacy."

Callias seemed to mull the matter over, before sighing again. "I hear more than people expect. His name, the only reason I know it was fake is because I overheard the real one when he was arguing with someone. I didn't bring it up before, because it didn't feel significant."

The air turned heavy as silence took it.

"What was it?" Kain prompted when it seemed the man wouldn't continue.

"Ales."

Kain's heart skipped a beat. His mind stuttered, thoughts attempting to find a reason to discard the idea that Callias had just tossed into existence.

"That's..."

Callias raised his head, eyes meeting Kain's. "The king--Lykos, I described him to you before. He is big, as is typical of an Eolisan man. Deep tan. Gray-blue eyes. Dirty-blond."

The image that Callias' description unfurled in Kain's mind was nearly identical to the king they had just met. Kain let the wall take his weight as his mind spun.

"What you're suggesting..." Kain began, before trailing off.

It was impossible. How would some mercenary out of Reotak have ties to the Eolisan throne? Wasn't it more likely that he just had similarities to the king, and that's why the birth name lined up? But then, how did he explain the explicit choice of moniker? Was it really just coincidence that the man, or someone around him, picked a name ending with royal tradition?

What was the truth, and what was just speculation?

"We can look for him when we search the archives," Kain suggested after a moment. "If he's a member of the distant bloodline, a nephew or the like, it would be recorded even if his family doesn't reside in Sol."

If they could find him, it would be a significant clue. They would finally know their enemy.

Callias fell silent again, his expression saying he was still considering the issue, before he gave a shallow nod and pushed off the chair. "Tomorrow, then."

┈♔◦𓇣◦☽◦❤◦☾◦𓇣◦♔┈

Sneaking into the archive was surprisingly easy.

After Kain had dressed for the day, he met up with Melitta and Callias as planned.

"Rhode is going to grab the others and join us in an hour," she explained. "It would be odd if we all left our rooms in a large group."

Following Kain's agreement, Melitta led the way to the library. Thankfully, the path was easy to find given the queen mother's explanations the day before. Once there, Kain was ready to provide an excuse, but they found the library startlingly empty.

"Someone has to be watching," Kain pointed out.

"One of her people," Melitta agreed.

Which was likely how the library ended up empty in the first place. Knowing there was no time to waste, they slipped to the back of the room. There, they found the locked door the queen mother had told Melitta about. Before Kain could suggest they check the front office for a key, Melitta pulled a pin from her hair and began working on the lock.

"It could have been magicked," Kain protested.

Melitta shrugged. "The queen mother would have warned us if it was."

She had a point. Kain let his apprehension fall away as Melitta carefully maneuvered the lock. Curiosity captured his thoughts. "How did you learn to...?"

"Pick locks?" Melitta asked. "Trial and error. There were many places I wasn't supposed to go growing up--and I wasn't always willing to agree."

Callias frowned. "You always said they gave you a key."

"They did, in a way," Melitta retorted as the lock clicked. She waved her hair pin, before tucking it back in place. "They did my hair."

Callias' discomfort only seemed to grow with her words, but he didn't push the matter further. Instead, he stepped past Melitta to push the archive door open. Kain started to follow him, then faltered as he got his first clear look at the space.

Dim crystal-light illuminated the windowless room, revealing row after row of towering shelves. Kain's heart fell as he realized exactly how much searching they had signed up for.

"She...she said we have a week?" he asked Melitta.

She peered past him with a frown. "Yes. Gods."

Callias glanced over his shoulder, a disapproving frown on his lips. "Melitta."

His sister rolled her eyes and edged past Kain. She strolled to a shelf, pulling the first leather-bound book she touched into her hands. Despite its age--apparent in the binding and the faintest, yellow-tinge to the curled pages--it was clear of dust. Whatever the queen mother thought of Alekos' disregard for the library, it seemed the caretaker, at least, took his job seriously.

"If the gods were going to strike me down for cursing them, Calli, they would have done so long before now," she muttered, before untwining the string binding the book.

Kain stepped further in, letting the door fall shut behind him. After a moment of hesitation, he turned the lock, assuming the others would guess to knock when they arrived. "Can you read anything?"

Melitta pursed her lips as her eyes skimmed the page. After a moment, she gave an annoyed sigh. "I can, with effort. It's old Loen. Hopefully, only the old records are inscribed that way. Otherwise we'll find it difficult to uncover whatever it was she wanted us to read."

Her gaze flicked from the book and to Callias as she spoke. Something about her attention seemed to disturb him, because he pursed his lips and walked deeper into the archive.

"What's--" Kain began.

Melitta shook her head, and after a moment's hesitation he decided to drop it. If the matter was important, they would surely bring it up when the time came.

"I'll start to the far right," Kain said instead. "Did she give you any clues as to what we're looking for? Or for how the place is organized?"

Melitta shook her head. "Our best bet is to search for the records from Akaikos' reign. Whatever it is has something to do with Rhode. The answers will probably lie there."

So, newer records, then.

Kain walked to the furthest wall, bypassing old journals in favor of more modernly bound books. A quick glance over the first pages of several tomes revealed little of interest. Most appeared to be order-by-order accounts of work accomplished on each building connected to the palace. Useless information to them in the moment, but Kain could easily guess why they were sealed behind an--admittedly poorly secured--locked door.

Knowledge was power--which always made it dangerous in the wrong hands. In this particular matter, knowledge of the intricacies of the palace could allow someone with ill intentions to slip around undetected. As it was, Kain was tempted to linger the moment his hands fell onto coiled parchment detailing the palace layout, but only allowed himself to stare a minute before moving on.

It was unlikely the secret of Akaikos' assassination would be found among building plans.

Their search continued in silence for the most part, with the only occasional break being when one of them found something interesting.

Or more accurately, when Melitta or Kain found something interesting. Callias, for whatever reason, kept his discoveries to himself. If it wasn't for the occasional glance over revealing that the merfolk was indeed picking through volumes, Kain might have thought he left. About a half-hour after they had begun, a soft knock came at the door.

Rhode, tired-looking, but also apparently determined, was the first to step through after Callias cautiously opened it. Isidor followed her, grumbling about the early hour, with Natia at his heels. The wolf curled up in front of the door after it fell shut and settled her muzzle on her tail.

"I asked her to listen for movement on the other side," Rhode explained at Kain's glance. "Her previous...circumstances didn't teach her to read. So, there is little reason in her searching."

Kain's fingers tightened around the binding of the journal in his hands as her words sunk in, revealing his blindness to what should have been an obvious matter. Of course Natia wouldn't know how to read. Slaves were rarely given any sort of education.

So, what did that mean for Callias? What had Melitta said before, when they were traveling?

'I taught him to read on botanical books for children.'

Learning to read at an older age couldn't be easy, let alone learning multiple languages. How likely was it that Melitta had taught Callias Empor or Nua, instead of Loen? Focusing on the language of trade, or the language of their home country would make sense. And, even if she had taught him Loen, it wasn't to the level required to read such heavy documents? After all, what need did one of the merfolk need for an academic level of understanding in a language that wasn't theirs? It was odd enough that Melitta herself could read it, let alone Callias.

Her expression before made sense. If she found it hard to read the documents, how could Callias? It was only speculation, but when combined with the fact that Callias hadn't spoken once since they began, it caused sympathy to stir in his mind. He stalled it there, however, and redoubled his efforts in searching for any bit of relevant information.

Melitta had implied the subject was better left alone--so leave it alone he would.

┈♔◦𓇣◦☽◦❤◦☾◦𓇣◦♔┈

As one might expect, the first day of their search revealed little. The most interesting piece of information they managed to find was that prior to Akaikos' death, Alekos had been removed as the captain of the guard, and reappointed as the head of diplomatic relations. From Akaikos' personal notes at the time, it appeared the original post had come from nepotism, and he'd hoped to increase the strength of the military by replacing Alekos with someone more appropriate.

The second day opened with them diving into the records surrounding that event, as it was the first solid bit of information they'd found from Akaikos' era. Only part of the group snuck away to do the search, as all of them disappearing for several hours multiple days in a row would have drawn the wrong type of attention.

"Looks like he took over around the time things started heating up in Cieon," Isidor observed as he flipped through a journal. "The records of his official meetings show several appointments with officials from Cieon and Reotak. No doubt there were more off the book."

"It's likely," Melitta agreed from her seat on the floor. Her back laid lightly against the shelf she had elected to pick through. "The arrival and departure records show their stays lasting far longer than the meetings."

Unfortunately for them, if there was anything of interest to be found in Alekos' work, it was absent. Memos were only kept for the official meetings--and seemed to solely consist of the original treaties that placed Eol as neutral to the growing tension. It took the entire day to pick through those.

The third day Kain reluctantly stayed away from the library. Being a focal point of the public's attention on their party, he couldn't afford to hide himself away for so long. It was already odd he'd disappeared for the first two. Thankfully, the number of invitations that had fallen his way was still at a manageable level. With Lyre's assistance--as only a few of the family names were familiar to him--he weeded out the invitations that could be declined without an incident, and focused on those that required his attention.

"Lady Laela is engaged to Duchess Ana," Lyre explained. "And Lady Laela's partner, Sir Keahi, is a talented swordsman. His invitation may not look like much, given he's a common knight, but his political connections would make turning down his request for a friendly match look poor."

Kain groaned, laying the invitation in question over his face. "He's the third knight of some power to request a fight. I can't fight everyone, Lyre, and then run off to their tea and dinners. I'd collapse from exhaustion."

"Of course not, Lord Okeanos," the manservant replied evenly. He paused for a moment, seeming to consider the matter. "Lord Callias hasn't received as many invitations, and none of them for a spar. He's considered a retainer of yours by the court. Perhaps he would be willing to accept a few in your place?"

"Why does everyone want to fight us in the first place?" Kain asked, lowering the letter.

"You traveled with the famed hero, Artemios! Of course they want to fight you. It would be an honor to defeat his student."

The letter slipped from his hands.

Gods, the courts worked fast. Perhaps it was the servants choice of address, or the countless number of eyes in the shadows, but Lyre's explanation made the issue obvious--Kain's identity was out. If they had somehow connected his name to Artemios, a questionable feat within itself, there was no way they hadn't figured out the rest.

Stress piled on his shoulders as he realized he wouldn't be attending events as Lord Okeanos, the noble with questionable ties to the Cieonian throne, but Kain Okeanos, potential crown prince.

With his stomach twisting into knots, Kain reclaimed the invitation and dropped into the acceptance pile.

"None of these take place before the banquet, correct?" It would be too soon. Surely looking too eager to meet him would risk losing face in front of others.

"Only two are dated this week," Lyre corrected. "And three others occur during the banquet."

Kain grimaced. "Then, I guess I'll need a sword."

At least he wouldn't grow rusty while stuck in Sol. 

A/N: Yay for long chapters! 

A lot happened here, huh? Think Callias' worries have any merit? What about their search in the archive? Is there a reason to look when they don't actually know what they're looking for? 

Will Kain collapse from exhaustion while dealing with the nobility? :)

See you next week! Or whenever I post the chapter if earlier. I'm sorta getting ahead of myself again, and impulse is so hard to fight.