@Imperfect_Autumn group
“Annabelle,” Blaine lied, reaching a hand out to shake the woman’s. “What happened, if I may ask?”
“Annabelle,” Blaine lied, reaching a hand out to shake the woman’s. “What happened, if I may ask?”
“Kyra,” She replied, shaking Blaine’s hand before running it through her hair, “I…” She looked around before turning back to the two of them, “Best not talk about it here, if you’re really interested.”
Blaine glanced back at Andion before nodding once at Kyra. “Is there somewhere we can go?”
Kyra nodded, "'Course there is," She inclined her head for them to follow as she started to walk away, "This way."
Blaine followed behind Kyra, still having a hold on Andion. She let the other woman lead, wondering where she would take them.
Kyra led them to towards the outskirts of the city, where it was quiet and mostly empty. There were a few people out, dancing and singing and generally having a good time but mostly it was quiet.
Blaine made sure to notice which streets they went down as they walked. It wouldn’t be good for them if they’d come all this way only to get lost in the streets.
Eventually, Kyra walked towards a small, slightly run down building. It looked like it had a few years of ware, but there was still somehow a homely feel to the place. She opened the door, leaving it open for the two of them.
Blaine nodded once toward the woman on thanks. She stepped inside and glanced around, making note of what she deemed important.
The was a small living room to the left, a couple couches and a coffee table. To the right was a small kitchen and down the corridor there were a few bedrooms and a bathroom.
“Is this your place?” Blaine asked as they stepped into the house.
"Yes, it is. My son is out right now so we don't have to worry about anyone listening in." She replied, shutting the door and gesturing to the seats in the living room.
Blaine nodded once in acknowledgement to the statement. She gently tugged Andion’s hand as she walked over to the couch and sat down.
“How old is your son?”
"Fourteen." She replied, taking a seat in front of the two of them, "So he'd rather be out with his friends then here."
Blaine hummed. “I can understand that.” Even if I never actually got to experience it.
“He’s a pain, besides, I’d rather not have him here when discussing these sorts of things, it’s too dangerous for a fourteen old.”
“Of course,” Blaine agreed with a nod. “And now that we’re on the topic… What was going on?”
Kyra sighed, running a hand through her hair, "I used to work at the castle," She started, "Up until a little while ago. There were rumors going around that there was some bad things going on. I decided to look into it," She sighed, "Turns out, I was right. There are rumors that the royals use protection runes, but that wasn't the only type of runes I found. Ones that had been outlawed by the very same people years and years ago."
Blaine raised her eyebrows. Protection runes… That meant they would have had a very hard time assassinating the prince, had they decided to go through with it.
“Which runes?” she asked curiously, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.
Kyra looked around for a moment before she stood, pulling out an old, worn book from a nearby cupboard. She sat down, flicking it up to a certain page and pointing, “Those.” They looked fairly similar to the ones back at the Guild.
Blaine blinked down at the page. She turned to Andion, nodding toward the pictures. “Recognize those?” she asked in a low murmur.
“How could I not?” Andion mumbled, frowning down at the page, “Do you know where these come from? Their origins?”
Kyra shrugged, “Sorry I don’t. It’s what I’m trying to figure out. I want to know why the Royals would even have such runes. Ones that are banned by everyone in Maradova.”
Blaine nodded slowly. Maybe that’s why they were supposed to kill the prince. Maybe he’d stolen them. Or maybe Thranion had stolen them and wanted rn cover his tracks…
“Do you know how long they’ve been in the royals’ possession?”
"A while I'm guessing," Kyra leaned back in her chair, "The books I saw seemed pretty old. And the ones carved into the castle always seem like they've been there for a while now."
Blaine hummed, her eyes skimming the pages again. “Where in the castle were they?”
“The carvings are everywhere. From doors to the roof to the floor,” She sighed, “No one thought anything of it since they thought it was just designs. But, there’s an old library hidden by the Prince’s chambers, that’s where I found the most of them. With all the books and scripts about them.”
That was a lot of runes… What were they up to in that castle?
“Do you have any idea why they’re there?” Blaine asked, glancing over at Andion quickly before facing Kyra again.
Andion picked up the book, flicking through the other pages while Kyra spoke.
"No clue. Everyone thought they were the same as the protection ones, no one thought to question them. There were rumors of magic and spirits but not many people believed that."
Blaine’s fingers twitched at the mention of magic. It had been a while since she’d heard anyone speak of it… And it wasn’t generally something she brought up.
“Well, magic hasn’t really been seen anywhere lately, has it?” she asked, growing more and more curious about these runes.
“Not particularly. It used to be a common sight but there was a total ban on magic here,” Kyra chewed her bottom lip, “It’s why on one believed the rumours. But… there’s a possibility they could be using it in conjunction with the runes.”
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