"We can stay here a little longer though Mari. It's been a while since I've seen you. Almost three years to be exact."
Maybe it's better to say 'to be estimated' because I used 'almost' in this case.
"What did you eat to become an even stronger 'Iron Maiden' though? You've had to have been chewing on ores or something. Are you made of orichalcum now? Maybe cold iron? Cold Iron Maiden, that's good and it's a pun. I'm gonna have to save that last one for mom, she'll probably enjoy it."
There was another small quirk of her lips this time. She's become even more difficult to get to but I'm certain I have the tenacity to pry her back open.
Despite the nearly invisible changes to her expressions her actions were a little less cryptic. When I had gone back to simply teasing her she squeezed a little closer to me and entwined our fingers together. I could feel the warmth of her body and of her gentle breaths tickling my nostrils each time she exhaled. She smelled of the forest, soothing and gentle.
I sometimes find myself wondering if how easily I began to like Mari was related to how closely she's tied to Telperion. I don't doubt that I like her for who she is but I can't help but question how quickly I grew attached to her.
For now I'll just enjoy this moment for what it is, a chance at seeing her again and the joy of being physically close.
Before too long however there's a knock at the door, interrupting my time with Mari.
"M'lady, the Young Master is here to see you."
Young Master? Is that Mari's little brother? I think he's four years old now but she never mentioned anything in her letters about him.
"Do you mind if Noah comes in Venna? He's grown fairly attached to me."
"I don't mind." So long as he's not a brat and doesn't interrupt my time with you too much.
I'll keep that last bit to myself.
Without moving from the bed Mari calls out to her.
"You can let him in Rebecca."
Not even a second after I hear the door click open it's followed by the thumping feet of a young child. I can't see him because my back is to the door but he was on us before I even had a chance to turn around.
"Sister! Sister! Mom told me you had a friend over! I've never seen you with anyone so I thought you didn't have friends. I'm your friend, but mom says I don't count cause we're family and we're supposed to be closer than friends."
Now that's an ironic phrase coming from her mother. This little boy is a ball of energy and a sink hole of tact. Make a note for mom, that's a great one.
As he crawled on the bed to us his movements suddenly stopped and he started staring at me. I could see the curiosity of a child as he took in all my features. Then his head whipped around to Mari only to exclaim loudly.
"Wow! Sister isn't just pretty but her friends are pretty too! Do pretty people tend to play together? And her ears are really long and pointy. Is she an Elf? My friend Marcus told me that Elves have long ears so that they can hear the sounds of the forest better but I thought their ears were probably just the same as ours. But hers are big! Pretty friend of sister can I touch your ears?"
"Noah, slow down, you're overwhelming Venna. You can't touch her ears as that's very rude to do."
"I'm sorry Noah but you can't touch my ears. It's a very personal thing when an Elf allows someone to touch them there. Your friend Marcus is very smart though as we do have better hearing and we often use it to hear the sounds of the forest."
He looked a little sad when I told him he couldn't touch my ears but he recovered quickly, bouncing back with that boundless energy.
"I'll have to tell Marcus he's right and apologize to him. We fought a little bit about it when I said he was wrong. But he'll be excited to know that I got to meet an Elf! Mari said your name is Venna so can I call you Venna?"
"You certainly may call me Venna."
He's really polite even if he has zero tact. And it seems like Venna and him have a good relationship. This is incredibly surprising.
He looked down at Mari's and my hands that were still clasped together and then at the small gap that was between us.
"Are you guys gonna go to sleep now? Mom likes to hold Mari's hand when they sleep together sometimes and they let me sleep between them sometimes too. It's really early to be going to sleep though. Can I lay down between you?"
There was a slight hint of red around the edges of Mari's ears at the mention of her mother holding her hand when she sleeps. Is she embarrassed? That's so cute! It didn't take her long to see my smile and turn that deadpan expression on me. I think she's mad that I'm finding amusement in her suffering here.
Noah ended up crawling between us before Mari ever responded, wiggling his way under our held hands and turning to face me.
"I'm glad sister has a friend. Her face doesn't move much and she doesn't like to talk but she says that she likes to be with me. She needs more friends like me. Will you be nice to my sister like me and not be mean?"
"Mari is my favorite person in the whole world and I like her more than my parents. I'll do my best to be nicer to her than you."
Mari moved her hand around just enough to pinch the back of mine and gave me another look to show her displeasure with my words about liking her more than my parents. And maybe for me being antagonistic with her little brother.
"You can't be nicer than me, I'm her brother. But I'll let you be her best friend which is important too."
Well, I guess I can't argue with that.
"I still need to go and do what I said I would. Will you be joining me Mari?"
"Are you going to talk to Lizabeth too?"
"I'll probably have to but if you're joining me and don't want to go then I won't go."
"No, I'll stay and keep Noah company. I don't think he has any lessons today so he'll probably want to play."
"I don't have lessons! My tutor said I'm learning the big words more quickly now and I said it's because I want to talk to you more. He said that's very admissible."
"You mean admirable Noah."
"Yeah! That's the word he said!"
The way Mari corrects him seems like a practiced response, enough to show that she probably does this frequently. Their interactions are adorable and I'm glad she has someone to comfort her in this house.
Sadly it's time I did something that will be uncomfortable for me. It's time to dig out the truth of everything on my own.
"Who should I speak to first Mari?"
There was a momentary pause. These pauses are becoming the most frequent and tell-tale signs of any emotions from her. I'm not happy with their implied meaning though.
"You should probably speak to Rebecca and then go to see my father. Rebecca was directly involved in everything that happened after you left."
I shot up, staring down at Mari with what I'm sure is a distressed expression. Rebecca was involved in everything and she was still assigned as Mari's new Lady's Maid? Is her father trying to put her through even more torture?
"I chose her as my maid Venna. There are… circumstances that I can't say to you because they're Rebecca's to tell. Just know that I trust her now and she belongs to me, not my father."
"Sister why would it matter if your maid belonged to dad?"
"It's complicated Noah."
"Mom says that any time she doesn't want to talk to me about something."
His dejected expression is cute but this isn't something he needs to know about. At least not yet. When he's older and if he still cares about his sister I hope Mari tells him. He deserves to know if he loves her.
"I'll see you in a bit Mari. I have to leave the day after tomorrow as there's still material that's being covered for the end of year exams and I couldn't get a longer leave of absence. I swear that after this I'll spend every waking moment with you though."
"You'll spend time with me too right Venna? I wanna ask you more about Elves!"
"I will if you're not in lessons Noah."
With that I called Rebecca for an escort and left the room.
_________________________
"So Mari has told me that you were involved in everything that happened with her after I left."
Rebecca's face paled, which was followed up by an expression of guilt. Hopefully that's not all she's feeling since she's now Mari's Lady's Maid.
"My actions played a large part in helping the people hurt m'lady and in concealing it from anyone that could help her. I won't try to apologize to you for it or explain my own circumstances because what I did is unforgiveable but I'll do my best to answer any questions you have about what happened."
"Why would your circumstances matter? It's Mari who suffered."
"Because they might change your opinion on my actions and that's not something that I deserve. All that matters is that I aided in Mari's suffering."
That's an astute way to view everything that happened. I won't disagree with her for now.
"Mari trusts you a bit so I'll do my best to respect your wishes. Some day I'll probably ask you about your circumstances if I feel I can trust you as much as Mari does."
"I don't even think I'm worthy of her trust yet but if someday you feel you trust me enough then I'll answer any questions you have."
Rebecca then explained to me her part in Mari's punishments and how it was discovered. I asked that she not tell me exactly what Mari's punishments were because I wanted to wait for Mari to tell me. She quickly agreed to that. The story matched what Mari had explained to me but Rebecca's perspective on Lizabeth's actions and how she controlled everything was enlightening.
I couldn't help but be angry at her though.
"You let things go on that long and never once stepped in to stop it? You could have given Mari just one word of sympathy or said anything to someone else and it might have changed things for her sooner!"
Rebecca's head was down and she simply listened to what I had to say. I could see a tear going down one of her cheeks so I knew I needed to try to calm down a bit. We were also still in the hallway so being overheard would be an issue and that encouraged me to try to rein in my anger and lower my voice more. Luckily we're far enough away from Mari's room.
"I won't ask why you were so afraid to take action that you let it continue that long. It seems like you're punishing yourself enough that any of those questions would be irrelevant."
"Nothing I do will erase what's already been done but I promised myself that I'd move forward while respecting Lady Marisilea's wishes."
"Good enough. I'll need to speak to her father the Duke about things, do you think you could get me an opportunity to do so today?"
"Of course Lady Rhyvenna. The Duke has said that he would accommodate anything you might request during your visit. We should go to see Sir Trevor."
I followed her down the halls and upstairs to an office on the third floor. Standing at attention in front of the largest door was the old butler that I had seen a few times when I was first here. He looked like he'd gotten some more wrinkles since last time. Maybe things had been harder on him lately but I can't say he didn't deserve it.
"Sir Trevor, Young Lady Rhyvenna Ardaine would like to speak to the Duke now if he has time."
"Of course Miss Rebecca, just a moment."
He knocked and then disappeared into the Duke's office after getting permission to enter. It didn't take him long to return.
"The Duke says he has a bit of time right now and will allow the Young Lady to enter."
"Thank you Sir Trevor."
I'm not in the mood to be polite but I still waited until Sir Trevor left and closed the door before taking a seat without the Duke's permission. If he at least acknowledges that what happened to Mari was partially his fault and feels even a little guilty about it I should be allowed this much.
He didn't so much as bat an eye at my behavior, so that's a good sign. Hopefully.
"Young Lady Rhyvenna Ardaine, I'm judging by your presence here and your attitude that you want to know the details of what happened to Marisilea before you came and after you left."
"Observant as always Duke Arkesh. Mari is anxious with Lizabeth's upcoming execution and I want to ease her guilt regarding Lizabeth's punishment. I'm also a little suspicious about things but I trust Mari's judgement. She's incredibly smart and I don't think she'd overlook any details on something this important to her."
"You're right about her abilities. She went over every document thoroughly and even pointed out some discrepancies between maids who lied about their involvement. I've got all the documents together because we're preparing for the final sentencing tomorrow so that makes this easier. You are free to look through everything and ask me any questions you might have. I'll work here while you go through them."
With that he directed my attention toward a stack of papers on the small table situated away from his desk. It looks like he prepared them specifically for me and not just because he had to review them.
As I went through each document, reviewing the confession of the maids, servants, and cooks I found that most of them pointed toward Lizabeth being the perpetrator of the worst of it. There was a small amount that initially had statements saying that Mari was starving herself or that she was never punished. Those statements were later retracted or there were contradictory confessions from other people showing that the servants saying those things were involved with Lizabeth's embezzlement.
I asked the Duke a few questions here and there about the maids who were closest to her and how the head chef managed the kitchens to get a better idea about the scope of Lizabeth's operation.
It was truly terrifying the amount of control over Mari's life Lizabeth had. The details and amount of confessions, the differing handwriting and signatures for each person involved, and finally the sheer number of people that had even a little bit of knowledge would be a herculean task to fake just to frame three people. They would be losing a monumental amount of staff and suffering too many losses from arranging this. I knew the Duke wasn't the type of person to be this wasteful. If he was anything it was a good ruler and manager of his lands.
Eventually I had to come to terms with the fact that I wouldn't learn the more important information without going down to the dungeons and speaking to the people I didn't want to see. Before that though I had something to say to the Duke.
"Duke Arkesh may I speak freely?"
"… I knew this would be coming when I received your letter requesting a visit and I've come to terms with the fact that you'd want to express your disapproval of my actions and choices. I would not deny you the chance to rebuke me. Go ahead Young Lady Rhyvenna Ardaine."
"I'd like to do more than rebuke you but I lack the power or position for that. I will say that everything you did, and didn't do, led to where Mari is now. We're lucky that your ignorance and neglect hasn't led to Mari's death. I don't want to think about how she suffered here with no one to turn to except the person who was responsible for the majority of her pain. But here I am, her sixteen-year-old friend, trying to prove to her that her fears are unfounded because there's not a single Gods Damned adult in this house that she can trust or believe in!
"You may think that because you weren't directly responsible for her situation that you can eventually gain back the relationship you threw away but you'd be wrong! Mari will more than likely never accept or trust you, and she certainly won't seek your approval anymore. And I will stand by her side. I think you know that's the least that you deserve."
My emotions are getting the better of me at this point and I'm yelling at him. He's remained silent and his expression hasn't shifted much. But I've learned to read Mari well enough now that I can easily tell he's uncomfortable with my assertions. He needs to feel more than discomfort Gods Damn him.
"Why didn't you try to find out anything when she collapsed, or starved, or Lizabeth told you she wanted to see you!? Were you so afraid of a curse that you threw away your own daughter and couldn't once take the time to personally see the conditions she was living with!? There were so many signs that something was wrong and you IGNORED THEM because you were uncomfortable with her existence! She's a person too, she deserves to live! You didn't have to love her and shower her with affection but you could have done something… anything."
I finally started to realize that anything I said he probably already knew and my words began to trail off. I felt a cold wetness on my cheek. Reaching up to touch it I realized that I was crying. I wiped away my tears as quickly as I could because I didn't want to give this man the privilege of seeing them, especially when they were over Mari.
I took a deep breath because I needed to gather my courage for what was to follow.
"I'll need permission to enter the dungeons to question some of the people involved and an escort, if you please Duke Arkesh."
He remained still for just a moment and then called for Sir Trevor.
"Please escort Young Lady Ardaine to the dungeons and allow her to question anyone she wishes regarding Mari."
I then followed him out and towards the people I truly hated.
_________________________
The dungeons were clean like the rest of the Duchy. The conditions were well maintained and the prisoners were treated humanely. I sneered at the hypocrisy.
That didn't mean that the prisoners were living like kings. The deeper we went the more obvious it became that not all prisoners were treated equally either.
I went through and questioned some of the maids and servants whose names I had written down and who had a larger part in things. Some of them were in the upper dungeon, so I had Sir Trevor organize them by location to make things more efficient.
Most of their stories were the same as was noted, with only a few trying to avoid responsibility regarding their roles. I'm sure I wore my derision and hatred on my sleeve judging by some of the defiance I saw when I questioned their actions.
The lower dungeon was just past an iron door and then a gate and under the third floor. The first person I spoke to was Henry. He was a laughable mess and the only thing he wanted to do was blame his situation on the curse of firstborn daughters. I ended up taking my anger out on him and kicking him to the floor when he wouldn't stop repeating that trash.
Why had the Duke allowed so many disgusting people around Mari?
The last person I spoke to was obviously Lizabeth. Of all the people I had to talk to, she was the one I dreaded the most. And my fears proved true.
Everything Lizabeth said either had a bit of truth mixed in or was outright terrifying with regards to her relationship with Mari. I think maybe she did love her in some sick and twisted way. She used her to approach the Duke but also wanted her love when she didn't think she could earn his. She was all too eager to explain how much she missed Mari and that she should be with her in the prisons.
There was one sentence that truly stuck with me.
"Being here with me is best for her because no one else in this manor will love her like I do."
There was probably some truth to that before everything was revealed. And not just because Lizabeth's love was a twisted obsession.
I walked away with a deeper understanding of everything but that didn't make me happy.
I could at least make this easier on Mari by assuaging her own fears.