My eyes opened to the opulent light of the streets, the light making its way through the curtains and blinds that separated the window from the street. Even through the covering of the window I could still see all of the lights. It was quite annoying, the way that it reached through and hit at just the right spot to wake me up. At this point I might as well be cursed with how every time I woke up it was to something like the sun or even the lights stinging my eyes. It was almost rare now when I would wake up without any disturbances. It was annoying but I dealt with it, especially when I could wake to the sight of Aoif who seemed to be able to sleep easily through anything. It always took away my bad mood when I woke up, to see Aoif sleeping. The rise and fall of her breath and the slight way that her arms reach to me when I hug her.
This time though it seemed that I couldn't even bask in Aoif's sleeping presence as the noise of the street reached our room. When I had looked over to my side to try and take solace in Aoif's presence all I saw was the annoyed face of Aoif as she glared out to the streets.
It was loud enough that it even reached our room despite the thick walls that separated us. Enough that I had to actually get up and open the blinds to find out what was happening.
With annoyed steps I soon found myself at the blinds, my hands reached out and pulled them apart. What greeted me was a… festival. At least it looked like one but why. From what I had seen, from what I knew there was nothing to celebrate. The only reason that I could even think that they would even start one would be for some holiday that we didn't know of.
knock knock
The door was knocked on, a quiet echo ringing through the room, Delta most likely. I closed the blinds again, the light being blocked as I walked from where I stood and opened the door.
The light from the hallway entered the room and I saw Delta, her eye staring into mine with an intensity that clued me into the importance of the situation. Quickly I opened the door and held it open for Delta to enter.
Soon enough Delta had commandeered the kitchen, a soft hum echoed from her mouth as she drew ingredients from somewhere and started to cook some sort of meal.
"I know that Tama usually makes you breakfast so I found some recipes for you two" Delta hummed out, her head slightly turned toward us.
It was weird how considerate Delta was being right now, usually she would be stoic and unflinching but right now she was showing more emotion than she usually would. Weird enough for me to question her.
"Delta, why are you making us food?" I asked, voicing my thoughts.
The humming stopped and Delta turned toward me, her hands full of food as she stared in silence. Though the silence didn't stay for long as soon after she had turned, Delta started to walk towards me. When she reached me she placed the plates down, the foods scent wafting into my nose and rousing my hunger.
"I thought it would be better to have this conversation on a full stomach rather than an empty one." Delta plainly stated, the emotion gone from her voice. The confusion that came from Delta voicing her emotions faded as more familiar comfort came towards me. The way that Delta talked, that emotionless voice was what I expected of her.
"What is it then?" I again ask. My head tilted in askance.
Delta snorted a bit, her nostrils flaring at some unknown joke. "They've decided on the next king but to ensure that the people don't take notice of the death of the king they are throwing this spectacle where all the nobility's dirty laundry is being flaunted as the kings doing."
I raised my eyebrow at that, it seemed like to ensure a quick and easy succession and to ensure the calm of the kingdom every wrongdoing that they could find was fixed and then blamed on the king so as to make it seem like the new king was some sort of here. Just a big PR stunt.
It was a good idea, this would ensure that anyone that they put to the crown would have a massive dept towards them and allow the nobility to puppet the kingdom from the shadows while also pacifying any dissident thoughts.
"So what's with the parade and celebration then, are they already announcing the new king or something?" I ask.
"No nothing of that yet, the new king hasn't shown his face yet. Instead it is going to be a series of executions, the scapegoats that the nobility had decided on are going to be hanged for their 'crimes'" At the last word Delta put up air quotes. It was obvious to us but to the uneducated masses, they would eat that right up.
"Should we go too, to make ourselves seen or should we head to the next city now before things start to get messy?"
"It's up to you, you are the leader." Delta responds, a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice. However I ignore that in favor of actually thinking over the decision. Out of the two options either one of them worked. There weren't many downsides to either one of them, if we stayed we could sell more and make a reputation as a seller of luxury goods maybe even sink our fangs into this kingdom further than it already was or we could leave and start our journey to the next kingdom and gather more information there.
Out of the two options though, traveling to the next kingdom was where I was leaning more towards.
'Yeah' I thought to myself, 'that sounds good'
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