Levi took a bite of his food, nodding along while his mouth was full. “Yes, it was difficult last night,” he agreed. There were some times when the words flew from the pen, and others when he struggled to find the right word. He had fought tears in some places, particularly the beginning.
The passage rehashed what Levi had already told him, but I’m more detail in the beginning: waking up to see his brother at the foot of the bed, coaxing him outside, then forcing a blindfold over his eyes and shoving him into the hands of at least two strange men. He was seized by a collar around his throat when they reached a carriage, and put inside. The written passage of during the carriage ride was less detailed, since that part was fuzzier in his memory. He did recall many demeaning comments, and being frequently pulled by his collar when he spoke out of turn. He described any unique details of the voices he heard, and then that led to being passed over to the captain of the guard, then to the bath, and then to Fiori.
Fiori chewed his cheek as he read, eventually forgetting about his food as he pressed further into the letter. His expression went from a soft frown to a barely concealed snarl, anger flashing in his eyes as he finished up the last few lines.
It took him a moment to compose himself, but once he didn't feel like punching a hole in the nearest wall he crisply folded up the letter and reached around Levi to stow it away in one of the desk drawers. "Thank you for writing this out for me," he said, voice gruff but appreciative. His expression softened as he turned to Levi, a look of concern instead of anger. "I will give Dionn a firm talking to about the treatment of slaves, and I will do my best to persecute those who did this to you."
Levi, who’s face has morphed from contentment to solemness at the memory, leaned into the back of the chair as he watched Fiori finish reading. He reached out to take the paper, murmuring a small you’re welcome in response to the first comment, putting the paper in the desk drawer He nodded slightly, and felt some closure at Fiori’s promise. “…Thank you,” he said a bit louder.
"Of course!" Fiori wasn't really prone to fits of emotion, but the look he gave Levi was full of it. "You are my friend Leviticus, and beyond that, you are a human being. Nobody deserves to be treated the way you were, and it's shameful that you had to come into my country under such circumstances."
Levi’s chest warmed at the emotion, and a smile crept onto his lips. “It just means a lot to me,” he grinned. He wanted to see those slaver’s faces, to match their faces to the voices. To be able to stand in safety while justice was being served. He imagined it would be like a taste of the royalty in his own kingdom, watching from a safe distance behind the protection of the guards.
Fiori's face smoothed out into something more neutral when Levi smiled, lips lifting ever so slightly in return. He wanted to find those slavers and deliver them to justice. He wanted to make sure nothing like this ever happened again, and he was pleased when he remembered that festival season was only a few days away. He could change things, if only he could wait. "Then I am glad I can be of service to you, Leviticus, and I am glad I can protect you from those who would harm you."
“I’m honored,” He hummed contest in an audible sigh, beginning to eat again. “What do you have in mind to do? If you have any idea yet.” He asked once his mouth was free of food. “For those slavers, I mean.”
Fiori hummed, thinking. "We have an outlined code of laws. They have broken two of them. I could do a few different things, but I think I will leave it up to you to decide in the end. It was not me who was wronged, it should not be up to me to assign punishment."
“…Oh,” he perked up a little bit, straightening his posture interestedly. Not that he was excited to make such a difficult decision, but it was a concept that didn’t sound half bad. He was also curious. “I see.” He cocked his head, squinting while he thought. In his perspective, everything they did was inhumane and awful, but which laws was Fiori referring to? “What specific two laws did they break?”
Fiori smiled a little widener at Levi's eagerness, amused, though he was quick to settle back into a frown when they turned towards more serious topics. "Unlawful enslavement and willful mistreatment. The first is fairly simple, and with your testimony, we should be able to prove the second easily.
“That’s good,” Levi rested his chin on the back of the chair. “It’s good we have a written testimony, then.” His expression was heavy again, but his thoughts were interrupted by his stomach reminding him to eat, so he took another bite.
"It is," Fiori agreed, wandering over to the bed again so he could eat the food his rumbling stomach craved. "They'll try to admit it early on if they're smart, and get a lessened punishment for willingness to comply. Did they seem very intelligent to you?"
Levi squinted thoughtfully, “They’re sentences, at least, weren’t unintelligent. I couldn’t tell otherwise.”
Tolly hummed, nodding "From what you wrote, they seemed to be soldiers. They would be more familiar with the code of law than most."
“They expected me to go to them if you wouldn’t have wanted me,” he recalled, looking off to the side while he unburied the memory. “So they would have to be in a higher class such as a soldier… right?”
Fiori frowned when he realized he was digging up painful memories, so he scooted over a little on the bed to open some space for Levi. "Come sit with me," he said, and it was soft enough to be a request instead of an order. "They are not my soldiers, which means they are… most likely my uncle's. His generals would not be doing work considered 'filthy', like trading in slaves, which means they are probably troop leaders."
“I see,” he nodded, setting his empty plate on the desk. He abandoned the chair and went to sit on the bed beside Fiori. “Then they would be ones to take a trip across the continent to my country?”
Fiori set his plate between them, a wordless offer that he didn't acknowledge, and nodded. "Yes. They are… ideal for that sort of work. Trusted enough to do the job, expendable enough to get caught, low enough on the ladder to want to do well."
Levi briefly glanced down at the plate between them. Was it an offer for him to share the food? If it wasn’t, he didn’t want to be rude. Not that he was afraid of angering Fiori, it would just be a rude thing to do in any situation. He looked back up again. “That makes sense,” he agreed, nodding slowly. “I’m glad it was you who I might, or else I might have gone to them…” his expression became heavily again.
Fi nudged the plate a little closer to Levi when he noticed him looking at it. "Eat," he said. "It will make you feel better. I… I am glad you ended up with me too. You are a good person, Leviticus, you deserve to be treated with respect and dignity."
“Thank you, you’re a good person too,” Levi smiled. Relieved that Fiori really was offering him the food. He took another bite, “Mm…” It did make him feel better. Drinking alcohol and eating, the best ways to feel better, right?
Fiori smiled at the compliment, sitting back a little like he was preening. He didn't get many compliments, his uncle was a man of few words and his friends were either too sharp or too practical to hand them out. "Many thanks, Leviticus! You can help yourself, I ate a bit with Cadmus while I was in the kitchens."
Levi smiled warmly and the acceptance of his compliment, and when he finished his bite he replied, “You’re welcome. And thank you again.”
When giving compliments, Levi always loved watching the recipient’s reaction. Even if the emotion was limited to their eyes, the warmth and appreciation in them was gratification enough. He took yet another bite of food.
"You don't need to keep thanking me, Leviticus." Fiori took a bit of fried meat from the plate, munching on it with an appreciative hum. "We're friends. This is what friends do for each other."
“Absolutely, I’m just appreciative and it’s polite to thank friends for their kindness,” he grinned, munching on his own fried meat. “Anyway, is there anything happening today, or is it just a normal day?”
Fiori laughed quietly and nodded, accepting Levi's thankfulness with a bashful ducking of his head. "Today is the last normal day," he said, and there was an almost childish excitement in his voice. "Festival season starts tomorrow, and then the day after that I will challenge my uncle and gain the throne!"
“Oh!” Excitement spread across Levi’s face. “I didn’t realize that was so soon! Do you have anything to prepare?” He raised his eyebrows. If Fiori bested his Uncle, then all of this misfortune could take a quick turnaround for the better. He might even be able to be freed and left to go home.
"No. I have my armor, my weapons." He grinned, shifting around with more excitement than he could really express. "I will win. And then, once I have, we will go to the great temple and the gods will surely decide that you must be freed."
“And then I can go home,” He added excitedly, until he realized that if he went home, Fiori likely wouldn’t be able to go with him. “There might even be a day when you could visit. I would put in a good word for you.”
Fiori snorted. "With what influence? The new prince is firmly set against my country, Leviticus. It will take weeks of peace talks and posturing for us to even officially end the war, let alone allow enemy leaders into our respective cities. I know that you were noble, but even noblemen only have so much sway over a prince."
