An watched the hooded woman leave with a curious gaze. Sol could see his gaze clearly, however she chose to ignore it as he chose to hold his questions back. She finished her drink and nibbled on a few snacks before leaving the table.
“Let’s go. After they take action, events will move fast. We should be prepared.”
“You sure didn’t seem too rushed a moment ago.”
Sol only smiled at his assertion before responding. “Sir Leory and Sir Dirk have started moving behind the scenes. Sir Dirk should be on his way with reinforcements after spreading word. Sir Leory will have spread my presence in the Capital by tomorrow morning.”
The two continued walking while Sol chatted without worry. Her trust in her own spiritual awareness had some part in it, however most of the reason fell on the boy next to her. The two turned into an alleyway before Sol picked up from where she left off.
“That woman and her group are part of an independence movement Iridescent started funding a few years ago. Our investments in propaganda, misinformation, and strategic leaks spread through enough of the population where the commoners are even able to see the corruption now. It only took a few years for them to start banding together on their own. Iridescent allowed them to take it a step further.”
Despite having the answer, An felt something was wrong. Since when can a commoner gain access to the palace or prisons that held political prisoners? Sol seemed to read his mind and continued after turning another corner in the alley way. A small shack with a wooden door appeared at the end of their route.
“Commoners make up the bulk of their organization, however mother was quite active in her social circles. Between providing bribes and prodding the dissatisfaction with the noble family, she hinted at the existence of the resistance. It’s common knowledge now that the Princes are at war with me and my Iridescent. Any intelligent noble interested who wants a piece of the pie should a revolution happen would start making ties with the resistance. In short, there are also nobles supporting their cause, even if behind the scenes.”
Sol’s hand reached for the door while leaving behind her final words. “It’s dangerous to ignore the build up of displeasure. The Royals have done just that and created an opposing force without realizing it… No, perhaps they knew, but just never cared.”
The two entered the small shack and closed the door behind them.
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Prince Elric just received a report about Sol’s arrival, sadly the follow on reports were useless as Sol lost the guard tracking her with An’s assistance. Even so, a wide smile stretched across Prince Elric’s face.
It took him quite a bit of resources and effort to finally trap Duke Reviarra. His move was made with some assistance and his father was already seeking a mechanism to diminish the Duke’s political clout. Luckily, the move that cost him so much paid off.
Dusk approached and passed outside Prince Elric’s window before he gave up on locating Sol for the day. The Prince decided to report the final day’s progress to his mother before retiring for the night and so put away the reports and paperwork littering his desk.
The moment the Prince’s foot stepped from his office, his vision blacked out and any guard that glanced at the doorway would find it empty with a shut door, just like it was moments before. Only the faint sound of receding steps were left behind.
Duke Reviarra had spent 4 days inside prison. His treatment wasn’t terrible as one would expect, yet it couldn’t be described as good either. While he wasn’t starving or dehydrated, his body was showing early signs of weight loss.
His position was rather special and awkward at the same time. The evidence against him was nearly nonexistent and so the Royals were unable to take explicit action against him yet. On that same note the fact that a move was made on him suggested King Blonsall had a plan to disrupt his political stance.
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If he remained inside the prison, there was a good chance that Duke Reviarra would lose much of his political clout by the time he returned to his position. There were many things the Duke could do to revoke his imprisonment and even prevent the whole fisco from happening, however he was reminded of his conversation with An.
That young boy of mystical origins provided him a clear reminder during their last meeting. Sol was no longer on the path Humans could walk. Her attachment to the Human world needed to be watered down a bit and undoing the cultural brainwashing was the first step.
The prison time allowed Duke Reviarra a strange peace of mind to consider the boy’s opinion. Aristocratic families raised their children with heavy emphasis on gender and position. The first son would inherit everything while other sons are nothing more than a backup in case the heir dies.
Daughters were political pawns used to tie relations or deals profitable to the family. The use cases and standards associated with each gender was reflected in the very society Sol interacted with. Had his daughter not become ill, it was likely Duke Reviarra would have aligned with those standards.
His head leaned against the brick wall of the prison while in thought. Sharp glints of intelligence raced across his eyes as he reflected on his behavior and position. Questions he had never asked himself suddenly cropped up in bulk. The what ifs alone inundated any real progress he attempted.
4 days were enough for Duke Reviarra to slowly filter and answer each question to himself. He not only reflected on his position, but also Sol’s. From the day she collapsed, the Duke was aware that his daughter changed. He felt as if another existence consumed her, however that fear was always washed away whenever the girl gazed at him.
The concern and worry in those eyes allayed his fears, however he also understood that his daughter no longer belonged in their world. Although Sol was unaware, he and An had spoken frequently about Sol’s progress and future. The boy never allowed the Duke’s opinion to alter his plan for Sol, however the boy also never denied his opinion.
Duke Reviarra was aware that An respected his position as Sol’s father. That alone was enough for a clever politician like him to imagine Sol’s worth in An’s eyes. The protection and actions An has taken ever since arrival only added to Sol’s worth.
Such things cycled in the Duke’s thoughts during his imprisonment. A sort of determination started budding inside him. He started to understand how impressive his daughter was and with that understanding, how weak she was. Sol Reviarra was surrounded by weakness.
That revelation built an ambitious plan in the back of the Duke’s mind. Since day 1 of Sol’s collapse, his daughter struggled to survive and improve the family’s position before her death. Even with An’s training and her body recovering, Sol continued to push her family to greater heights.
Part of Duke Reviarra wanted to ask the girl what her plan was, while the other part of him was afraid to hear the answer. When he considered Sol’s progress and actions up to now, he constantly derived the same conclusion. Sol was preparing to leave. Be it by death, in travels, or kidnapping, there was no future in Sol’s mind where she remained with the Reviarra household.
That conclusion stunned Duke Reviarra. There was nothing to prove it, and he was basing that summation on his interpretation of Sol’s actions, yet he somehow felt confident in it. His determination flared once more and that budding plan suddenly became his goal.
Duke Reviarra took the next few hours to start outlining that goal into an actionable plan. He spent nearly 4 hours on it until footsteps broke the suffocating silence of the prison. The Duke’s eyes darted towards the source and found three women walking towards him.
Dangling from one of the women was a familiar figure dawning a recognizable cape. The Duke’s eyes widened after realizing the figure’s identity. Despite that, he remained calm and questioning eyes interlocked with the leader of the group.
“Who are you?”
“Duke Reviarra? Sol Reviarra’s father?”
The Duke nodded his head before continuing. “Are you here to kill me?”
The woman only looked surprised for a moment at the calm Duke. That moment of silence lasted only for a split second before she recovered and replied. “No. Your daughter hired me to get you out of here. She wanted me to pass a word along. She’s moving up the schedule.”
“She can’t!” Duke Reviarra immediately refuted. There was a subtle panic in his tone. Despite that, the woman ignored his outburst and destroyed the lock of the prison. The door cracked open and the woman gestured to him.
“Tell her that yourself. I’m only here to pass word and get you out. I don’t plan on passing any words back to her… That being said…” Her gaze drifted to the unconscious Prince before continuing. “I’m rather certain Lady Reviarra already has a plan. This foolish Prince was also part of her request.”
The Duke’s eyes grew larger. He feared Sol’s next move. The jail door swung wide open and Duke Reviarra rushed out, his tone followed immediately after. “We need to hurry. Bring this Duke to his daughter.” The woman only smiled back. “That was what we were paid for, after all. Let’s go.”