Celeste didn't really eat at normal meal-times, but she nodded anyway, making note to grab a few things for a snack or something when she got the chance. "Are there any rules? About anything?" She asked, arching a dark eyebrow just slightly. Truth be told, she was nervous about breaking any rules without knowing them, about doing anything that could get her punished, despite the knowledge that this wasn't her father's place.
Soren sighed. "Uhm…none that would apply to you. As a visitor from another kingdom, you are granted partial diplomatic immunity. Just don't kill anyone, don't steal anything important, and…" He shrugged. "Some tips about this palace…steer clear of closed doors, especially in the West wing." His eyes looked haunted and hollow for a moment, then he blinked, and the strange look was gone.
Celeste furrowed her brows, studying his face for a moment. She hadn't missed the strange look, and it took a reminder that it wasn't her place to keep her from asking. She was a fixer at heart, and people with demons called to that urge. In all honesty, that probably stemmed from her own problems when it came to dealing with her demons. "Stay far away from closed doors in that area." She repeated, nodding. "Will do. Anything else I should know?"
"Stay away from a lot of the nobles. They won't be happy about where you're being housed." He hesitated. "Especially stay away from Lord Lovien, Lord Cerin, Lord Gojo, and Lord Jarness. They have a certain…reputation about women." He glanced at her. "Those four are the ones most likely to be violent, and to try to force you into anything." He sighed. "Really, it's best if you avoid most of my court. There is a reason that it is known as the court of knives and fangs, and it is not a good reason." He thought bitterly of the many, many arguments over the throne. So many had tried to dethrone him because of his youth, or his inexperience, or his…history.
A dark shadow flickered over Celeste's face as she took in his words, and there was no way he wouldn't be able to feel the way she tensed. "Thank you for the warning." She said quietly, her free hand finding Pluto's fur for comfort. It was a good thing she had ways to protect herself. The only problem was, if the time came, would she be able to push past the fear to use them? "I'll do my best to avoid nobles, in that case. Especially if they're already unhappy with me."
Soren nodded. "Yes. And it's my fault they're unhappy, not yours." He said with a sigh. He didn't comment on the way her arm had tightened against his, knowing it wasn't his business to pry. "But I doubt you would have wanted to share with anyone, and there weren't enough rooms left in the East wing." He shook his head slightly. "This palace has needed an expansion for years." He muttered to himself. They exited the palace, and he turned left towards the gardens.
"My King should have sent a messenger ahead, at the very least." Celeste said, shaking her head as she forced herself to relax somewhat. "Instead of showing up un-announced. I'm not quite sure why we couldn't make use of an inn, either. I can't help feeling very much like we're imposing." Her eyes lit up as she spotted the gardens in the distance, some of the darkness that still clung to her fading.
"Yes, he should have. It is a blatant disregard of my authority." He said, eyes flashing slightly. He chuckled quietly. "No. It would not do for visiting royalty to stay elsewhere than the palace." He shook his head. "It would be a show of weakness, on both sides." He sighed, raking his free hand through his hair. "And yes, you are imposing a bit, but once the Dragon Festival is over, you and King Lin can be moved to the East wing."
"It really wouldn't matter on my part, the whole staying at the palace thing. There's nothing royal about me." She wrinkled her nose just a bit, before shrugging a shoulder. "I'm sorry he didn't send any word ahead. It would have been much more polite, and yet, I'm fairly certain he didn't on purpose." A manipulation tactic, to keep Soren from being able to reschedule with the upcoming Festival and everything. The man knew how to manipulate people, for sure. That was how she'd ended up here.
He shrugged. "Still. It would be unseemly of me to have either you or him stay elsewhere. And yes, it was most certainly on purpose. A way to put me in my place, I'd imagine." Everyone loved reminding him how young he was. Tell him that his youth negated the fact that he was the rightful ruler, that he had been born and raised to this. Everyone was trying to get him off that throne. They saw the fact that he was young, and refused to choose a bride, as weakness.
Though she wouldn't speak ill of her King out loud, her somewhat negative feelings for the man weren't all that hidden. Especially after his comments in the throne room. "Mind games are a favorite of the upper classes." She said, shaking her head once more. "No simple way to get what they want." It was something she had never liked, especially considering her father loved using the same tactics with her.
Soren sighed. "That's because we can't afford to be quite as confrontational. If I were to, say, attack members of my court openly, they would quickly revolt against me. Likewise, if the members of my court were to blatantly scorn and disregard me, I could strip them of their titles and lands, turn them into no ones." He shook his head slightly.
"Everything's so much more complicated here than it is in the middle of the woods. There's a reason I chose to disappear out there." Celeste looked up at him, face twisted into a soft and apologetic sort-of-smile. He really didn't seem at all like the man she'd assumed he would be, that was for sure. Her father's allies had all been manipulative and malicious, but the worst Sorren seemed to be was…cold. And that made sense, as a King.
He nodded, and led her into the gardens. Many of the flowers were in bloom, sending fragrant perfume through the air. Each garden area seemed to be organized and arranged just so, to create beautiful arrangements. Soren smiled slightly as he looked around, taking a deep breath in. "And these are the gardens. You may come here anytime you wish, they are open to all in the palace. Save for a few private ones, which are locked up." He himself had a private garden, only a small one. The key for it was tucked in a pocket.
Celeste's entire face lit up as they entered the gardens, and she released Soren's arm to flit over to a flower that caught her eyes, one among a group of chrysanthemums. "There are so many flowers!" She said happily, brushing her hair over one shoulder to keep it out of the way, revealing the marking on her neck. "How many different varieties of plants do you think there are in here? There has to be at least fifty, just from what I can see."
He smiled slightly. "Well, you aren't wrong." He said with a soft laugh. "I actually have no idea, I don't have much to do with the gardens upkeep." He said, looking around the gardens. "But yeah, there are definitely a lot." He agreed with a small smile. The signet ring on his hand flashed in the sunlight, the light catching on a golden dragon on it. He sighed softly, looking around.
She continued to mutter excitedly, the names, scientific and casual, of each plant spilling off her lips. She flitted back and forth across the cobblestone path through the gardens, slowly moving along it. "Half of these are plants I haven't even seen in person." She commented, more to herself than anything. Her behavior was so different from the guarded demeanor from before, now much resembling that of someone carefree.
He followed her slowly, watching her carefully. After about ten minutes, a guard came in. It was the same one from earlier, Captain Mikhail.
"Sir." He said.
Soren turned. "Captain Mikhail." He greeted.
"Sir, the descendants have been apprehended and taken into custody. Would you like to speak to them?" Captain Mikhail asked.
Soren shook his head. "Not now. Thank you, Captain. Outstanding work."
Celeste's happy buzzing about came to a sudden stop at the sight of the man from earlier, the Captain of the Guard, she assumed. She tilted her head curiously, brows furrowing with slight worry as she watched the interaction between the two. There was the urge, again, to ask if everything was alright, but Lin's comment in the throne room about her butting in, and her upbringing having no boundaries(more true than anyone other than her realized.) caused her to bite her tongue.
Captain Mikhail bowed. "Of course, sir."
Soren smiled, inclining his head in a gesture of honor to the captain. "Was there any trouble?" He asked.
Captain Mikhail frowned slightly. "Yes, a bit. We believe at least one had witch blood. Two had elementary magic. Another had an unknown type, similar to…" He trailed off, glancing at Celeste. Not in a suspicious way, but in a I'm not sure she should hear this way.
Soren followed the Captain's gaze, and understood. "I see. I'll talk to you about it later, shall I? For now get some rest, plan our next move." He gave a small smile.
"If it's important, and you need privacy to discuss it, I can always leave." Celeste finally spoke up, as Pluto took his usual place between her and the newcomer. She didn't seem at all affected by the glance, knowing that she had no place in this discussion, or whatever was going on. "Though, if you're having trouble with a witch, I suggest using lavender to null the effects of their abilities." Of course she knew that lavender nulled a witches abilities. It had been used on her countless times. Though, what others didn't know, was that it had been used so often that she'd built up a resistance to the qualities of the plant.
The captain looked at her carefully. "Not a full witch, miss." He replied respectfully. "A witch blood."
Soren sighed. "She's not from here; she doesn't know the difference." He told Captain Mikhail. He turned to Celeste. "Witch Bloods are different from normal witches. They're descended from the survivors of the witch massacres, and they have…strange magic." He explained. The witch massacres was a point in history when one of his ancestors had banned witches, and so all the witches had been hunted down and killed. Few had survived. The ban had been lifted two generations ago, but many of the witches and witch bloods were still bitter against the monarchy because of it.
Celeste tilted her head in thought, before nodding. "Iron's your best bet then. Usually encompasses anything with magic in it's blood, if I'm understanding that right." It felt odd, to be giving these tips to strangers, who had the power to use them against the object of their issue. But she hoped they wouldn't, and she had been careful not to slip up and share anything that could kill a creature. Shaking her head, she shot both of them that same friendly smile, this one reaching her eyes. "Did you need me to leave? I was planning on seeing how many plants in this garden I've never encountered, to record them, anyway."
Captain Mikhail bowed his head to her. "No, I was only here to deliver the message. The king may come and interrogate any time he wishes." He left.
Soren smiled slightly. "We don't need to discuss it now, anyway." He told Celeste. "Eliha and-er, Captain Mikhail and I can always discuss it later." He sighed softly. "I told you I'd give you a tour. And what kind of guide am I if I left you here, in a strange palace?" He shook his head.
"I've been left on my own in strange places before, you know." Celeste pointed out with a small laugh, the sound light and musical. "And I'd rather not distract you from important business." At some point, a few honeybees had begun buzzing around her head, occasionally landing in her hair for a moment or so, though she didn't seem very concerned.
"Strange places are different than palaces." He replied. "And you aren't distracting me, I promise." He smiled slightly. "If I dropped everything for every descendant captured, for every terrorist apprehended, I would never get anything done." He continued, walking over to a corner of the garden. "Which is why I'm going to finish this tour. I keep my word as much as possible, which means not leaving just because something happened." He paid no mind to the bees around her head, figuring it was just part of the whole witch thing.
"I'm not exactly all that important, you know. It would make sense to leave if there was something more important to be done." She said, lifting a hand as she and Pluto followed him, allowing a couple of the bees to alight on her palm. She dug around the pouch at her waist with her free hand, eventually pulling out a small vial of clear liquid. She uncapped it and let a couple drops fall onto her palm, the bees happily taking advantage of the free sugar water.
He gave her a small smile. "I know. But hey, I'm allowed to shirk my duties if I want to." He said with a grin that didn't quite touch his eyes. He turned away, continuing down one of the winding paths to a small, secluded area. There was a stone bench beside a weeping willow, with smaller wildflowers coating the ground. He sat down, fingers finding the inscription on the bench: For Alana, dearest sister.
She fell quiet as she fed the bees, her head tilted slightly and her eyes on Soren. He was more complicated than he seemed, for sure, and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. She had been set to be terrified of any man closely aligned with her father, especially if he were to find out she'd been the one to kill him, but Soren…didn't scare her. Sure, she didn't trust him, but he didn't scare her. She watched as he sat down on the bench, staying standing as more bees joined the others to take turns with the sugar water.
He closed his eyes for a long moment, before standing again, brushing his hands off on his pants. He went to the other side of the bench, pulling up a few weeds from the ground. The groundskeeper didn't touch this little corner of the garden; no one did but himself. He sighed softly, throwing the weeds off to the side, then stood. There was now dirt under his fingernails, and he wiped his hands on his pants again, frowning slightly.