Will nods softly, accepting the boy's apology before continuing his work straightening Kazimir's wardrobe. The pieces are surprisingly subtle and scarce compared to what William would've assumed for a king. There must be a second closet somewhere, he rationalizes internally. This has to be day-to-day wardrobe. In this massive palace, there's likely an entire room three times the size of his house. Hell, if there's a room for the king's party clothes, who knows what other treasures these doors could hold. "Ivan," Will addresses, still halfway in the wardrobe. "How well do you know the palace?"
Ivan paused, considering the question. "Ah, I…I know it well. Why?" he asked, straightening some of the clothes and clearing his throat faintly. He did not quite look at Will, just kept his gaze fixed on the closet and the clothing, rather than on the man standing near him.
Will turns to the boy, fixing him with a heavy stare. "Could you take me to… Somewhere else?" His hands fall from the group of clothes, brushing against the silken fabric in the process. "Is there a store room nearby?" The bedroom may be beautiful and fascinating, but Will's increasingly getting bored and his itch to adventure is only multiplying.
"A…store room?" he echoed slowly, blinking at Will in confusion. "I…I don't understand." he stammered, shaking his head a little. "Why would you want to see a store room?"
"I want to know what Kazimir does," Will states as if it's nearly obvious. "A store room? Things from old parties, memoirs, old portraits." He waves his hand in a repeated circular motion, relaying the list could go on and on. "Things that aren't used for the palace anymore…" He briefly trails off. "An archive, perhaps?"
His brows gathered together. "Surely you already know? I…I mean no disrespect, but…you are his concubine. Don't you know about him, what he does?" he avoided Will's gaze, eyes moving about the closet that they stood in. He adjusted his sleeves, shaking his head faintly.
Will sighs, quickly carding his fingers through his hair. "I'm fully aware of what Kazimir does." It's a… half-lie. There's the few facts that he's positive of - Kazimir's a king, a cruel one, and likes to maim and kill and take full control of whatever he lays his eyes on. It's been the same in every life. Will doesn't expect fate to switch it up on him anytime soon. "And please don't call me a concubine. The term feels degrading," He adds. "I just would like to see an archive of sorts. Something that holds some history of these lands."
"The library?" Ivan suggested. "They have history books in there." he cleared his throat faintly, hoping he had not misunderstood. If Will was anything like many of the nobles here, and he lost his temper…well. It had happened before, it would happen again. If it was Will, it was Will.
"I've been to the library," Will mutters, but mainly for himself. He made a beeline for the horticulture books as soon as he entered, not really bothering to search around more. "Library. Yes. There." He snaps his fingers.
Ivan gave a quick bow, leading him out of the closet and towards the doors. "Just, ah, follow me, then. I'll take you there." he said, leading Will out into the halls. Unlike Kaz's wandering and weaving through the halls, meant to confuse and disorient Will, Ivan took what was obviously the easier route to the library, meaning the trip was much shorter than Kaz had made it earlier. The halls Ivan used were also larger, and more obviously central and well traveled. They passed a few people, some nobles and some servants. They all ignored both Ivan and Will.
Will blinks at the actual people he sees in the halls. Kaz must have taken him through some sort of backrooms or something because even these halls feel slightly different than the last. Well, that or Kazimir quite literally cleared out any hallway he was about to enter with whatever Snake Magic he has. Will slightly purses his lips, but the library arrives soon enough. The path was quite simple. He hopes to remember it.
Ivan opened the doors, holding them for Will and waiting quietly as the young man came into the library. "Is there anything that I can help you find?" he asked, blinking quietly at Will as he waited to see what Will would respond with. The library was still and quiet; there didn't seem to be anyone else there, or if there were, they were being very quiet and staying secluded.
"Which way to the historical section?" Will inquires, taking in the library for the second time that day. "Preferably recent history. Biographies, memoirs, testimonies…" An idea dawns on him. "Architecture of the castle?" A map would certainly be helpful.
"I don't believe there are any files of the palace's architecture available publicly." he said, looking over at Will. "Too much of a security risk. My apologies. But I can take you to the history section." he started walking, wings staying carefully folded back to keep them out of the way. He knew better than to flare them in public like this; it stirred up too much dust, too much trouble.
Will hums softly, concealing his disappointment. He'll eventually figure his way around this maze. After all, if he's going to die here, he's going to die knowing where the hell everything is. He carefully follows behind the servant, noting how he seems to curl his wings into himself. Will wonders if he's ever shunned for having them. It's been a long while since he's met a winged fellow - if the cloudy memories from past lives are enough to truly go off of. "Thank you," Will says quietly.
Ivan was quiet for a moment. "You're welcome." he finally said, still leading Will through the stacks, weaving through the beautiful library until they arrived at a quiet, out of the way section. It was near one of those big windows, and the view was out to a garden and courtyard area, where a few (though not many) more Fae were visible, talking or sitting with books held in their hands. A few had notebooks and seemed to be writing or sketching. "The history section starts here and extends that way." he gestured with one arm down along the rows, his voice soft and hushed as the atmosphere of a library demanded.
William nods, pausing a moment to take in this new sector of the library. The room's much larger than it had initially let on. He slowly begins to approach the center of the room, turning in a slow circle to take in the titles on the shelves. His gaze hesitates on the window. How many of the Fae outside know of his existence? Zero, probably. Excluding Kazimir and the guards that dragged him here in the first place, but he's really not trying to think about them too much.
"Do you know where I can find more recent anecdotes?" Will asks in a similar hushed tone. The history section is large, and - if Will's being completely honest with himself - he doubts he can even begin to figure out where to start.
Ivan nodded slightly, leading Will to a specific area. "These shelves will probably have more recent publications." he explained, stepping back a bit so that Will had room to look at the various books on the shelves. "Is there, uhm, a specific topic you wanted books about?" he asked slowly, raising his eyebrows at Will.
Slowly, Will approaches the bookshelves Ivan had gestured to. The spines read various different things, some clearly more biased than others. "Anything on Kazimir's life?" He asks eventually, swiping his fingers over the spines as if one would suddenly speak to him. "Or any recent wars? I'm afraid I'm not versed well on the history of the land."
"The, ah, emperor?" Ivan hesitated, clearly a touch anxious about that topic. "He…that is…" he ran a hand through his hair, movements quick and slightly anxious. "There are no biographies on him, save for one, uhm, palace-sponsored one." he touched a few books in order to point them out. "These. Recent wars there are more on, those are…" he searched the shelves for a long moment. "Here."
"Yes, yes, the emperor," Will huffs, indignant towards the title. His annoyance is quickly snapped away, staring at the lone title sitting on the shelf. "Only one?" He hisses, quickly snatching the book off its resting place. "Would've thought the egotistical bastard would've had more on himself," he grumbles, only really half-caring that he said the last bit aloud. Upon Ivan's direction to the recent war memoirs, Will briefly glances towards them. He'll get those at a later date.
Ivan blinked at the way Will referred to Kaz, clearing his throat faintly. "Perhaps you shouldn't speak of him that way." he suggested quietly. As for why there wasn't more…Kaz had made it clear he did not want people digging into his family background. Most in the country didn't know where he had come from, what he had been (a dirt-poor kid who had been abused for much of his life). He preferred for his story to start with power. For his reputation to be one of power, that of someone feared. Never someone weak.
Will sighs, sparing the man a quick glance. "I think this is all I need from the library, thank you, Ivan." With that, Will turns on his heel and slowly begins to make his way out of the history section – however, the vast window catches his attention once more. The Fae mill about outside, books and journals in their hands, smiles on their faces. Ah, intellectuals, Will muses softly. He wonders if he could ever pick their brains for their Fae knowledge. (The real question is if Kazimir would even let William near them.)
Ivan gave him a quick bow. "Yes. Shall we go back to the bedrooom now?" he asked, taking a small step towards the doorway. "Or was there somewhere else that you wished to go first?" his wings twitched faintly, feathers rustling lightly against each other as they did so. It was just a small, nervous movement, nothing more than that.
Will purses his lips. "I'd rather not revisit the bedroom." It feels like a prison, He wants to add, but he holds his tongue. "What's that's area outside?" Will points to the area through the window, to the group of Fae sharing their knowledge with the others. Hell, is that a picnic basket? How long has it been since he's eaten?
Ivan's gaze moved to the Fae outside, and he hesitated. "I, ah…I do not think it would be safe for you out there." among Fae who did not know Will was Kaz's. Among Fae that would look at him and see only human. He tugged at hte sleeves of his shirt, eyes moving around the library.
(sorry about the wait i was unexpectedly swamped this weekend and just barely got around to this!!!)
Will blows a piece of hair from his eyes and turns to face the servant. "I'm not asking if I can go out there." He knows his place. He knows when to interact. "I'm just asking what is out there." He turns back to watch the Fae for a brief moment. "As in, is it annexed to the garden at all?" The flowerbeds are actually quite lovely. Will's fingers itch for his pencil.
(it's fine, no worries!)
Ivan thought for a moment, eyes flickering as he traced a route in his mind. "Sort of. There is a route there from the gardens, but it is mainly a courtyard designed for the library's use." he replied, shrugging a shoulder and looking from Will to the Fae milling around out there.
Will nods, glancing over the garden one last time before moving on. He'll have to find that passageway. The geraniums and hyacinths there were lovely. He would have to find them one night, sketch them in lanturnlight. "Thank you," He says, though monotonous in tone, he really does mean it. The servant has been useful to Will, though he does wish that he would loosen up. The tension riding in the teen's shoulders transfers over to Will just looking at them.
"You're welcome." he replied quietly, exhaling. "Do, ah, do you want to head back to the bedroom now?" he asked, taking a small step towards the way to the exit. He didn't move any further, though, wings shuffling faintly against his back, but not opening. He didn't know what to do here. Will was…different, and he was Kaz's concubine. That alone was enough to make Ivan slightly anxious about all of this.
