*Thael’s POV

He opened his eyes and the first thing Thael saw were dark blue waves swirling about the ceiling. The moving body of water seemed to be dancing, following a choreography it had practiced many times until it had found comfort in the sense of tranquility. The view displayed was silent but every movement was like the banging of a hammer. Loud and unforgiving, as if wanting someone to not only see the motions, but hear.

As if it was begging for someone to listen to the noiseless cries for help.

A wonderstruck awe filled his core. When the water slowly made its way back to its master, his gaze followed suit.

It met a pair of black pupils, glassy from droplets that were unwilling to fall. But the eyes with mystical azure and silver rings did not respond. Deciding he wanted a better view, Thael propped his elbows on the makeshift bed Gianne had made for him last night, which consisted of two layers of some rugs she had conveniently packed and a folded coat as his pillow.

He marveled at the sight.

Ivelis was sitting on the floor with her left leg extended and right palm resting on the other leg tucked close to her body. A glowing sphere floated on her other palm with colours that resembled a water globe. As it whirled endlessly like an abyss swallowing a storm, various hues of blue emerged in every turn it made. From an ice like crystalline colour to shades as dark as the depth of a river. He was convinced that she had shown every possible shade of blue there was.

But that wasn’t what caught his attention first.

It was her eyes. When his eyes met hers, he expected to see the three colours that had him looking away the first time they met in shyness and fear of his being too boring. Instead, the usual hint of red wine mixed along with her pupil was gone. There was only a black dot encircled by her unique rings that changed along with the colour of the orb.

A frown casted upon his face.

The thick grey mantle that served as his blanket was brushed away as Thael shifted into a more comfortable position. His attempt to observe and comprehend the current situation was a natural reaction. Perhaps he would have been willing to ask the woman questions if it weren’t for a low voice that crept up on him.

“If you don’t keep your questions to yourself this time, I will not hesitate to shove your tongue into these ears so you would know how it feels like for her to listen every time you open your damn mouth.”

Thael was so distracted, he failed to notice that Gianne was behind him, sitting with her legs crossed in the seat he took last night until she leaned forward just now.

“Does this always happen?”

He could almost feel the burn of Gianne’s glare on his neck. Thael sat silently.

A few seconds later, she replied, “I know she does this a lot but even after everything we’ve been through, not once did I ever see her do it myself.”

He twisted to look at her.

Pure malice of threats were found in her face as she added, “This is the first. Ruin it, and I’ll ruin you.”

When they broke their gaze to return it to Ivelis, she was gone.

Gianne abruptly stood up and sprinted for the door, stopping just in time to see her cousin enter the room with another note. As soon as her eyes landed on Thael, he was glad when he saw the colour returned, even as she casted an unimpressed glance at him and told him to clean up quickly.

Even as she threw the opened note on her bed and announced, “The majesties aren’t going to be pleased if we keep their ass warming the seats. We’re going to meet the court.”

“This early ? Fuc-”

“Anne.”

Her cousin stopped her swearing midway. “What?”

“The first thing I need you to clean is your mouth. I don’t think they’ll treat you lightly as they did last time. Something doesn’t feel right and even you know it.” Her words were clipped but grave.

The air turned tense but he pretended to not notice. Thael listened to the words exchanged between them as he went about his daily routine to get ready.

“I thought I was the only one. There’s been this weird feeling messing with me ever since we crossed into their territory. It’s like some Seater decided to play with the land and misplaced something. What do you suspect?”

A sigh. “I don’t know, Anne. Remember that green pendant from the guard last time? I don’t remember seeing that even once before, and we’ve been here more than enough times to call ourselves ‘regular visitors’. It’s odd.”

“No sh- I mean, joke. Hell, this chamber had been ours ever since the first visit. The Grand Court is hiding something. Why else would they summon you? I don’t think they would need help again with the Red River-”

A tsk noise. She had secrets, then. A lot of them and Gianne seemed to be familiar with this one, whatever the Red River was.

He decided to stop eavesdropping and finished his bath in their private bathing chambers shortly after. There was a rise in Gianne’s voice when he walked out but it turned into hushed tones again as soon as they realised that he could probably hear them. He started dressing himself even though they were still present, saw no issue with it knowing that it wasn’t an uncommon thing where he came from.

Maybe it was a normal custom for them too, because neither of them said anything. As he was about to button up his shirt, he heard Ivelis called out his name.

“Wait, Thael.”

He lifted his head, raising a brow at her.

“How… How did you get that scar?” She said softly, pointing at the stitched wound on his chest. Right where the organ that kept him alive was still beating.

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

“What do you mean you don’t know? You have a wound that’s supposed to kill you and you don’t know how you got it? The Man Who Does Not Know, sounds like a good title for you. Are you shi-”

“Gianne,” warned Ivelis. Her cousin shoved her arms into her pockets and leaned against the wall, refusing to meet his stare.

“How did you survive?”

Thael took a good look at her and she seemed… Genuine. For once, something she said to him was earnestly not a mock or threat.

“Looks like someone else is asking the questions now,” Thael joked.

Ivelis shot him a look.

He continued to put his clothes on, “I’m not sure. I just woke up in a Healing Hall one day and had scars that I, myself was not familiar with. There’s a scar on my heart but I don’t know what it feels like to be stabbed there. I have a slash on my thigh but I don’t know what it feels like to get cut open there. I have a stitch mark on my collarbone yet the biggest pain I felt on that spot was a burn from boiling water when I was cooking. Truthfully, I don’t know anything about me more than I know of you. That title would really suit me actually.”

“I see.”

It was a truth he was willing to place on the table, regardless of who the two women were and were not to him. There was a voice somewhere deep inside his broken mind that trusted them. The only sound he recognized amongst others in his head. And as much as he hated trust, the chances of winning a bet were always better if one joined it rather than not. He shrugged on his coat and smiled, “Trust me, you don’t.”

He must have sounded as pitiful as he felt for she closed the door behind her and began talking, actually talking to him like a decent being.

“I know you saw what happened just now. It is important that you know this has never happened around people. It has always taken place in times where I am alone but today... Today was different. And the irregularity is not what I’m mostly concerned about.”

He took a seat, “What is it?”

Ivelis stared at Gianne for he didn’t know what but she had most likely received it because she carried on, “It’s called a Sightly. It was a blessing or talent of some sort from Sister Ultrid back when I was first summoned to this court. The talent allows one to see many things through their elements. It can be about the person themselves or someone else. Whether it be the future, a forgotten past or a present thing that could be happening realms away.”

“And for what was this talent used ?”

She took a deep breath. “Their dark deeds.”

He didn’t even need to ask this time.

The woman against the wall began first, “Have you never wondered where The Grand Court’s bottomless riches came from? A court formed during the War of Dawn where they overthrew the corrupted gods and goddesses at that time. According to history, most of the people who led and fought in the war were royal members who were stripped off of their titles and any inheritance. The kings were so prideful, they hid their gold from the world.”

She finished Gianne’s words, “Exiled princes, rogue princesses, rebellious queens, you know how the list goes. They gathered armies and gold from across all three Layers- the Sky, Land and Sea. That war wrecked everything in our world near to dust. How did the descendants build a palace this great when their ancestors literally had to sell themselves off for the sake of soldiers?”

Although he did not know a lot of things, the history of the realm he existed in was no secret to him. If he was a High Priest, it would be his favourite prayer to chant. Thael nodded, he couldn’t help but feel that their title suited them. “I mean, Princess Yelena did fall in love with Lord Kaschar in the end. But, The Grand Court indeed,” he uttered. They had a point and he could see where it was heading.

Ivelis shrugged, “They did have a good love story. At least, how it was portrayed.”

Gianne hummed, “And so, their descendants wanted to be the filthy rich shitheads they are now. So they lied, cheated, killed… Some even whored their way to riches. Someone had to keep it quiet. I’ll cut it short for you. After the last person who took that job died, they gave the Sightly when they took Ivelis in as soon as news of her artistic gift reached the palace. Years later, she found a way to break the deal off without it costing her life. There.”

For a moment, the air stood still in the room until she sighed, “Tell him what you saw.”

He took a curious glance at the woman now sitting on the floor with the same position as before and decided that she wasn’t lying when she said, “I know how you got that mark on your chest. I asked you before to see-”

“If I would lie,” he finished for her.

Their eyes met once more and he could see things he didn’t understand in them. Things he was too much of a human to ever know. Too mortal to keep knowledge of. He teared his gaze away.

“Yes, if you would lie. But, your reaction was different from what I expected.”

“What did you see?” He felt a pit open in his stomach as his mind ran through different possibilities of what her Sightly might have shown. The pit threatened to swallow him whole and he honestly wished it would, just so that he could avoid this truth.

“You were stabbed in the heart with a dagger. It had this massive ruby and odd sigil on it. Some sort of bird or plant, if I’m not mistaken. Strangely, you were stabbed in a Fire Altar, where Priest and Priestesses of the Fire Seater hold their rituals. And if that wasn’t odd enough, I was there as well. Lying on the ground with an identical hole on my neck.” The last sentence left her mouth slowly, cautiously like an unbelievable but true statement. Her hands went up to rub the side of her neck, she looked as if she felt it on her skin.

Thael’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Fire Altar? I didn’t even know it existed. And, no offense but I don’t recall meeting you at all before you tried to boil me.”

A dead look took over her face, “Neither do I.” He couldn’t tell whether she was referring to him or herself as the subject.

The three of them sat there frustrated. Him, above all for this was a part of his history and there wasn’t a single trace of it in his memory. When it was clear that none of them could figure it out, Ivelis nodded at Gianne.

“I’ll go… Get the thing done. Will send word soon,” her cousin said, opening the door to leave.

“Stay safe. And don’t fuc- I mean sleep with the men or women there, got it?”

Gianne snorted and soon after she left, they heard someone yelling, “And I’m the one who has to clean her mouth?”

Thael chuckled, “What did you tell her to do? Wreck a whorehouse?”

To his surprise, Ivelis smiled and played along, “I should have. Well, let’s not keep their seats warmed. Shall we?”