"That's…better, then at least." Celeste said, looking back at Sue. "Though, still, all that responsibility, that young." It was kind of hypocritical of her, if she was being honest. She had, after all, killed one of the most evil figures in history, at seventeen. And then proceeded to almost become a sort of therapist, while ignoring her own issues. At the very least, Soren had chosen the path he'd taken, and had been old enough to be considered a man.
Sue nodded. "Yes." She looked around for a moment. "Have you seen the white in his hair? No one knows what exactly it's from. Whether it's from stress, or because of his father, or the responsibility." She shrugged.
"A mix of all is likely." Celeste said, fiddling with the sleeves of her cloak, then the sheath of her dagger, then her own fingers. Her eyes never stayed on one place or thing for too long, hinting at her slight uncomfort in an unfamiliar place like this, despite her insistences that she would do just fine. Taking in her surroundings, mapping them out.
"Mm. Probably." Sue agreed softly. "There's rumors that different people have offered to use magic or dyes to take the white away, and that he's refused each time, saying he don't want to be fake."
Celeste raised a hand to fiddle with a strand of her hair, nodding as she listened. "Makes sense. To want to keep something like that, even if it's seen as 'unseemely' or something." Unnatural hair, or at least, what was considered unnatural by the people, tended to garner unsavory attention. That, she knew all too well.
Sue shrugged slightly. "You probably don't want to be hearin' all the rumors floatin' around about him, though. I know I'd get bored of it, if'n I had to listen to gossip an' rumors about a king what isn't even in charge of me." She finally left the palace.
"Considering I've already heard enough about my own, hearing about a different King really isn't all that unpleasant." Celeste said, moving to walk at Sue's side instead of behind her, now that they'd left the palace. "Besides. I'm fairly curious about King Soren, anyway. Though, you could always tell me about you, instead."
Sue shrugged. "Oh. Well, there isn't much about me to tell, Miss Celeste." She said, looking at her for a moment. "Really." She was quiet for a moment. "Where be you wantin' to go first?"
"I'm sure there's plenty to tell." Celeste said, smiling sweetly at Sue. "Even if it's nothing big. But as far as shopping goes, I really should be finding herbs. Which way?"
Sue smiled slightly. "Well, that'd be this way." She said, gesturing. She led the way through the streets, and was quiet for a few minutes. "Where be you from? If you don't mind me asking. You don't have to answer if you don't want to." She said.
"Kingdom-wise? Roviern. Anything more specific…you'd have to specify. I've been all over." Celeste said, lighting up at the mention of her travels. Her eyes continued to flicker about, taking in the streets and people they passed. Though her cloak covered her hair and most of her features, the wolf at her side still drew murmurs from the citizens, who even stopped to watch Pluto warily.
Sue nodded. "Oh. So…excuse me bein' nosy, you don't have to answer. But…why are you here?" She asked, glancing at Celeste.
"It's totally fine, don't worry." Celeste promised, her hand finding the top of Pluto's head and scratching behind his ears as they walked. "The…conversation you heard earlier, between my King and I, is the reason I'm here. He says that I'm the best bet for finding and transporting the Eye." There was a because at the end of that sentence, trailing off, even though it wasn't verbal.
Sue nodded. "Oh, right. Uhm…why?" She asked slowly. "Why are you the best bet?" She glanced down at her feet for a moment, then guided Celeste around a corner, taking a shortcut through a side alley.
"A few reasons. I'm one of the few people who would recognize it, for starters." Celeste said, threading her fingers through Pluto's fur for a moment. She was pointedly looking away from Sue now, a flurry of emotions, barely any of them good, crossing her face. "And King Lin told me that the Eye itself is highly volatile. Apparently, because I've been around it before, I'm more likely to be able to handle any negative magic."
Sue nodded. "Oh, I see. I think. And you think it's in the palace?" She asked curiously. "Er…you don't have to tell me if'n you don't want. I understand." She took another turn, casting a glance at Pluto as she walked.
Celeste nodded, lifting her hand from Pluto's head and tucking it into her pocket, doing the same with her other hand. "This is the most likely place for it to be. King Soren was a….close ally of my father, the last holder of the Eye. Or, at least, they had some mutual business sort of relationship." She was a bit surprised Sue hadn't made the connection yet, to who her father was, considering how many people loved to point it out and comment on it.
Sue nodded, and shrugged slightly. She knew who Celeste's father was, she just refrained from commenting upon it. It was, however, part of why she had been so surprised to hear that Soren had been willing to put her in the fiance rooms. "T' be fair, miss Celeste, king Soren's father was the one what started the alliance. He kept it up 'cause he had bigger things to worry about." She said softly. For someone so quiet, she knew a lot of the politics of the court. This was mostly because she could listen in to conversations among the nobles, and none of them cared.
Celeste furrowed her brows, staring forward for a minute as she took in that information. It made a lot more sense than Soren starting it. She hadn't talked to him long, but she was a good judge of character, and Soren definitely didn't seem like the type of man to agree to any arrangement with someone like her father. "That…I'm kind of glad to hear that. I'm guessing he's glad my father is dead, then?"
Sue hesitated, then shrugged. "I wouldn't know, miss. I only know as much as I do from listenin' to conversations happening while I'm in the room, and from talking to Captain Mikhail, though he don't tell me much." She pointed to a shop, making her way towards it. "Here's the best place for herbs an' stuff that I know of."
Celeste's eyes raised to look at the shop, her face losing it's more haunted look and starting to go back to normal. "Wonderful! I think I've got…a list…." She rummaged around in the pouch at her waist, nose scrunching up as she did. After a moment, she pulled out a small scrap of paper, raising an eyebrow at it. "With exactly two things on it. Oh well, I'll just have to figure it out myself then. So! What all do you want to learn about herbs?"
Sue shrugged shyly. "Anythin' you can teach me?" She said with a small smile. "Couldn't hurt to learn as much as I can." She led the way into the shop, and closed the door behind Celeste.
"First up on my mental list is both Adam and Eve root, and I can teach you things along the way!" Celeste said, the rest of the shadows on her face finally falling away as she took in the small and cluttered shop. Navigating it seemed easy enough for her, and she seemed plenty willing to talk the whole time, describing key differences and little differences between plants, names and identifying features, and any and all uses and symbolisms of plants they came across.
Sue listened carefully, following Celeste through the shop and helping with things as needed. She asked questions about things she needed clarification on, storing away the information. She would write it down later, she decided. Other than asking questions, she remained quiet, letting Celeste talk.
"-oh, Alkanet is a good one too. Helps with fear of snakes, which is pretty amazing. Sadly, I'm allergic to the herb. But I did love Hannah Kersef's mentions of it in her book of herbs and their properties!" Celeste rambled, failing to mention the fact that her allergy to Alkanet was, in fact, a deathly allergy.
Sue raised an eyebrow slightly, and nodded. "So…how common is it to be allergic to it?" She asked curiously. "I mean…is it common, or are you the only one?" She looked at the herb, trying to memorize it so she could draw it later. She was doing that with each herb, wanting to be able to at least describe them later.
"It's not a hugely common allergy, but I like to at least hope I'm not the only person allergic to it out there." Celeste said, making a face as she picked up a different bit of dried plant. Her hood had fallen off at some point, revealing her purple hair, which didn't stand out too much in a shop like this. "Calamus root. For money, healing, and protection. Initially, it tastes sweet, but leaves a bitter aftertaste."
Sue nodded. "Oh okay." She said in response to the allergy thing. "So…by money, do you mean it's…what? Do you eat it and it somehow produces money? Or is that one magic?" She asked curiously, looking at the root. "And what sort of protection? And what's the limit on it's healing abilities?" She blushed slightly. "Sorry if I'm asking too many questions."
"Questions are good! They mean you're paying attention!" Celeste said happily, studying the root in her hands for a moment. "It's not a for sure, when it comes to protection and money. For the latter, it's more supposed to attract money or money making opportunities, the same way people believe carrying it or consuming it in small amounts might offer protection." She explained, looking off to the side for a moment. "As for healing, that depends on who's using it and for what. Just carrying it affects quite a bit. It's in the beliefs, you know. Whether psychosomatic or actual magic, believing is a big part."
Sue nodded. "Ohh, I see." She said with a small smile. "So it's sort of…like if you don't actually believe it'll work, it might not?" She asked, looking at the root for a moment.