Nero followed Sara and Sarah up the stairs and through the hallways past all sorts of people on the walls. "This is my family home?" He exclaimed in awe.
Sara showed Nero into a room and her sister Sarah followed him in."This will be your room for as long as you'd like." Sara and Sarah said in unison.
"Thanks, no wait. How do you know exactly what she's going to say and when she's going to say it? Do you practice?" Sara and Sarah ignored him walking past him, back out of the room."Wait I'm not done. Is it some kind of freaky twin super power? Are you guys mentally linked?"
"Welcome" starts Sara.
"Home." Sarah finished, unfazed by his line of questions.
"Now your just messing with me. That was disappointing. Before I leave I'll figure it out!" He challenged them and as he uttered the last words they shut the door. "I'll figure them out, they just need to wait for it. Hmph maybe that girl knows, what was my 'sisters' name again? Whatever. I just need to play along long enough to find Urs, then I'm out of here."
Nero had spent most of the night looking through the room. The drapes and blankets and rugs were muddy green and in a few places there was a paw with a web connecting the paws like a frogs in gold. It was the same crest that was at the castles entrance. He had decided that it was an odd choice for decoration or their family crest. At least they didn't choose a mosquito or an actual frog. Most family crests in Oanid assumed a type of cat on their crests, and some shade of grey for the field. Small houses barely had enough money to produce enough banners so it was common to see the colors of another house with the crest sewn over. After battle the winning side would collect the banners and use them in their middle ranks. Their banners with their colors would be at the front and the rear of an army. Not many battles had taken place since the founding of the Peace Corps where the Corps wasn't involved.
This house had to be pretty wealthy considering they embroidered their linens and pillows with the crest. Nero had seen the flag outside the castle and along the walls outside the city gates but they were faded and the crests were painted on in a more simplified design.. The house was loaded but didn't share its wealth with it's people. Pretty typical of the older Houses in Oanid. Their houses were usually connected to the house of the Commissioner by a marriage or they funneled a lot of wealth or trade to the Peace Corps. Other houses that contributed to the towns and lands they ruled over suffered because they didn't cooperate with the Peace Corps as closely usually due to lack of wealth and power.
There was a great solid desk with a notepad on it and the Peace Corps idea of a news paper. He read the front and it said the "Southies in Opryke Refuse To Work in the City". It was most likely partly true. The paper was always filled with one truth mixed with an imbalance of lies. He flipped the paper over where they added updates on most wanted. On the back there were increases on people already known and new Lottery Poster Cards that could be ripped out and placed throughout the cities. They were mostly Retainers or people who had been accused of assisting a Retainer. Most were dead or alive, rarely there was one that required them to be taken alive. Those were usually the most complicated ones. He pulled apart one of the Lottery Poster Card for "The Smasher". He was apart of a group of Retainers called Smash and the Bashers. They were known for being incredibly brutal and having overwhelming strength. His bounty was set at 50,000 Cardis which wasn't very high. He must have killed someone but obviously not someone important, if so it would be a few hundred thousand. Based on the drawing, some were more accurate than others depending on who saw him and how quickly they could get a sketch pad to them, he was a grotesque type of human bat.
Sketch pads were used more commonly than cameras. Cameras were new and expensive, so the Peace Corps couldn't get many out to all of the cities, only the major ones. Sketch paper was more common and had been used for hundreds of years, maybe thousands, Nero didn't know. The paper was made from a tree that was very good at absorbing glow. The act of creating weapons from Glow was based on memory and so the same trick was used except the person would imagine the persons face and it would appear on the paper. It wasn't always reliable but it was usually close enough for the Peace Corps to justify sending men and women to kill a stranger for money. Smash was aptly named. His ears were pointed and his nose snarled on the page. More beast than man. He had a pretty full beard and his hair was parted in the middle. They had given him beady eyes whether a mans eyes could get that small was up for debate.
Nero had snooped enough, and decided whoever they thought he was, didn't really matter that much to him and escaped into the halls to explore the castle and try to find Urs. When he was brought to his room in the castle he passed by more rooms than he cared to keep track of. He figured wherever they kept her would have to have some kind of cage or a chain somewhere. Luckily enough for him, the halls were filled with servants that thought he was some long lost son of House Addidel. He found a tall woman with wisps of grey in her hair and a slow gate. She was carrying a shiny steel pot that was most likely going to be used to make some stew or something for the feast. He was sure they intended to pull out all of the stops and she was obviously on board with trying their best to impress him as commanded.
"Excuse me miss." He intended to do his best little rich asshole impression but she was so flustered she barely noticed his sarcasm.
"My lord." She bowed, "We have been instructed to do our best to make your stay as comfortable as possible. If there is something you need you can ring the bell in your room and Tod will come and attend to your immediate needs."
"There was a bell in there?" He thought to himself. This woman was too prepared to send him back without even trying to help him first. Whoever they thought he was, he wasn't the big cheese in here. Noting they didn't trust him enough to allow him to wander.
"Nothing so demanding. Sarah and Sara hadn't made me aware of where I might be able to relieve myself." He would get those psychic twins in trouble and test if they could sense that.
"My apologies, my lord." She dropped down to one knee and sat the spotless pot on the floor. Maybe he was a big deal.
"Please just call me Nero." He touched her shoulder and she shuddered under his touch. He quickly pulled his hand away. Had he crossed some kind of boundary between a lord and a servant?
"Yes my lo.." She stopped herself. "Nero the castle is an older castle and was not able to implement a sewage system. There are pots under the bed. There is a closet next to the door where it can be placed to avoid any unpleasantness in your room. If that is all this pot is direly needed in the kitchens."
He stepped back and smiled awkwardly. As she hurried to the kitchen he remembered the repulsion he sensed when he touched her shoulder. He knew that feeling well.
"What are you doing wondering the halls?" He looked over his shoulder and Daisy strode up the stairs. She had bathed and changed into a long silver dress with thin glittering straps. Her hair was blond with streaks of pale white and it was drawn back neatly into a ponytail. She looked more regal than she did when they met on the road just earlier that day. Her hair was covered by a veil falling over a small knitted scarf. She certanly wasn't wearing any makeup then but she was now. If he hadn't seen how selfish and entitled she was, he would have been attracted to her but that ship had sailed. Also it didn't help that he was pretending to be her long lost brother.
"The servants are heating water for your bath and will be at your room any moment now." She fainted a polite tone but he wasn't fooled. Underneath it all she was quick to lose her temper.
"Yeah I was looking for someplace to relieve myself." Her just talking to him was annoying him.
"There is one underneath.."
"Yeah, my bed. I just learned." He cut her off abruptly and a hint of offense touched her eyes. Was he being rude? When she was dressed in common clothes it was easier to be mean to her yet when she looked so nice she seemed more innocent and deserving of his kind words. "I mean thank you. If you don't mind." He headed toward his room. This had all ended so terribly. He was no closer to finding Urs and had no clue where Frides was.
"If you don't mind, can you use a pot in another room and meet me in your room?" She had asked nicely and it seemed genuine. She was looking more appealing to him by the second.
"It can wait." He had no choice, he didn't have to go and it seemed weird for her to be so close while he did his business. He never cared around Criselda but this was different. Daisy was a girl, a lady of the Addidel House.
She entered his room and he followed. She floated across the room and sat in one of the lounging chairs that were located by the window. She sat down but it was soundless and breathless. He had made up his mind that she was floating above the cushion, a ghost, she had been possessed by a friendly ghost. Either that or she was made up of feathers. Who was this person. She didn't remind him of the clumsy, brash girl that knocked him in a puddle and then wanted a hero.
"I'm sorry." Her eyes were intense and full of conviction.
"For what?" He looked out of the window to avoid her eye contact. He walked over and leaned against the chair across from hers.
"I was frightened in the woods and I was rude to you. I'm not usually like that but you were right." He glanced over to her fierce glare and quickly back at the window. "I didn't have a right to cling to the first people I found and get mad at them when they didn't jump to be my shield. I was acting entitled." Even though he wasn't looking directly at her he could tell her gaze hadn't let up.
"Why does that even matter, now." He turned to her and smiled a pied piper like grin, deceptive. "Dear sister, it isn't necessary to apologize to a brother. Bickering isn't that uncommon. Had I known, I would have happily been your shield and rushed into danger. Isn't that what siblings do?" Her eyes dropped into her lap and she clasped her fingers.
"Is it?" She squeezed her knuckle between two fingers. She was anxious. He could tell, she had returned to the girl that was on the road.
"Huh?" The words were whispered and resembled an exhale of breath.
"Are you really my brother? If you are then why are you being so nice. I grew up with Dylan my entire life and he has never looked at me without a frown. Never, even when we were children. They are so afraid of you, they won't even ask for any proof." The last of what she said reminded him of the servant. Was she afraid of him.
"Because I'm a Katako?" It was his turn this time to find her eyes and search for the truth. She didn't flinch but couldn't say the word. Just hearing it made her visibly uncomfortable. How did they know? No, they didn't think he was, it was him. The person they were expecting was. They knew he was and despite being afraid of him they welcomed him anyway. Who was this person that could get an Old House to invite a Spriggans' mixed child into their Castle.
Knock. Knock. Daisy stood and stepped back from Nero and knodded for him to do the honors.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Thanks for reading!