Kaid walked down the stairs to Cadize's medical room, hearing numerous people talking over each other. He had taken his time coming back to the palace, enjoying the chilling Vitross air and just thinking. The one thing about Caladin was that it had been consistent, nearly every day the same. Vitross was a chaotic, unpredictable mess and Kaid was now firmly inside it. When he reached the palace, the first thing he had done was find the nearest washroom, washing all the blood off his hands and knuckles. The party was pretty much over after the poisoning, now turning the ballroom into an investigation and everyone retreating to their beds.

"How else do you think he knew how to reverse the poison?" A dry, croaked voice spoke through, presumably Payne's given what had just happened.

"Botulinum toxin turning into poison is a process that takes several months to make and actual years to perfect as a doctor. That alone diminishes any belief that Kaid is to have even the slightest responsibility in this," Cadize retorted, soon stopping as he noticed Kaid entering the area.

Payne was lying uncomfortably in one of the medical beds, Jessamine and Bridger turning to what caught Cadize's attention. The Empress' eyes lit up upon seeing him, relieved to see he was alright after just taking off without explanation. Jessamine's hand was gently wrapped in cloth, probably from the slight burn she had experienced. Everyone seemed relieved to see him, other than Payne. Kaid couldn't believe he saved his life and was still accused of something.

"Kaid, where did you learn that?" Cadize asked and Kaid walked over to the small bookshelf near the waiting area, pulling out the spine-torn green book. He remembered exactly what page he had turned to, opening it to the paragraph he had read a few months ago.

"Yes, I do believe I remember you reading this," Cadize nodded, grabbing the book from Kaid who remained silent, "says right here Payne, the antidote is essentially citrus peels. If that doesn't clear his name, you paranoid goat, I don't know what will."

Payne was disgruntled but didn't say anything.

More footsteps were heard and everyone turned to find Eden walking down, that same smirk on his lips. He walked much more sober now but it was probable to assume a lot of the palace staff had sobered up immediately when this happened. He was surprised slightly to see Kaid there, as he was not a part of the council down here, but he figured it was just another opportunity to brag.

"Your majesty, Mattias is under arrest. We will hold him until Payne is well enough to begin extracting information. My son was the one who chased him down-"

"I was there, Eden, when Kiev brought him in, looking rather bloodied," Jessamine interrupted, but she for once wasn't upset by the treatment of their suspect. Even she had to admit seeing Mattias beaten up brought some sort of justice to her past. Payne would be even better at enacting some sort of revenge, but that would take time for him to recover. "Do remember to put enchanted cuffs on him."

"My guards already know to do that," Eden replied, a bit irritated he got interrupted.

"Remind them again," Jessamine glared in return, not going to say it a third time. Even though she didn't know if Mattias had Oblivion, it was better to be safe and sorry. The enchanted cuffs would drain most of the magical stamina, keeping it at low levels to prevent a brash escape. Escaping the cell was one thing, escaping the entire Vitross palace and city was another problem entirely.

Eden nodded before leaving, knowing his moment of bragging had been cut short. Maybe the Empress would be in a better mood another time to discuss the extreme moment of valor. Kiev was deserving of an award, or if anything, a guarantee at that Guardian position for what he had done tonight. Kaid had the feeling Kiev had told his father the truth that Kaid assisted, but Eden refused to hear it.

These next few weeks until their fight would prove to be interesting.

"Alright, you all go get some rest. I'll stay here with Payne for a little while," Jessamine spoke softly. Her eyes met Kaid's, almost hinting for him to stay for a bit longer than the others momentarily.

"Goodnight, Empress. Happy Birthday," Bridger nodded, looking exhausted and relieved he could get sleep. Kaid was pretty sure Bridger felt like he didn't have to interject himself being involved in these things, given all he was to them was the Portaler. But he was a part of the Jurors so...he had no choice.

"Goodnight," Jessamine whispered, glancing over to Cadize, "I'll be back in a moment." Kaid followed Jessamine to another room, seeing her shut the door. Her wrapped hand still trembled slightly, Kaid moving to touch just above it to inspect it. It wasn't just the fact Payne was hurt, it was the idea that could have been her. It could have been her and Kaid if she didn't change to that horribly expensive red wine.

"Does it hurt?" Kaid asked, seeing her shake her head.

"Not anymore. Cadize put a salve on it and it should be perfectly fine by morning," Jessamine replied, placing her hand on top of his. It was then that she realized the roughness of his knuckles was more than normal. She had been practically touching his hands all night, and right now something felt different. Her eyes glanced down, seeing the cracked skin and bruises slowly beginning to form. Her eyes immediately shot back up at Kaid's as if immediately understanding what it had meant.

"I'm fine," he assured her, not wanting her to worry.

"Mattias is not. You stopped him?"

"Yes, and Kiev was the one who stopped me," Kaid explained, almost shamefully as he noticed the surprise in Jessamine's eyes.

"All that matters to me is that you are alright," she assured him.

"I am," he lied to her, knowing physically he was fine. Right now, all he knew was that he needed some sleep and some time to think this through.

"I'm afraid this is where we must part for the evening. It's a shame, I was looking forward to your promise," Jessamine smiled, although there was a hint of sadness in the voice, "another time, perhaps?"

"Another time," Kaid nodded, knowing that things now were much more complicated than ever before. It seemed whenever the storms would quell, a bigger storm would arrive and rock their ships even further.

"Take it easy tomorrow, no training. If those hands start to look worse, go see Cadize. And...don't take what Payne said personally. He's upset more than anyone that this happened under his watch," Jess reminded politely, "and that can put him in an accusatory manner. You're extraordinary, Kaid. I hope you know that."

He didn't exactly feel that way at this moment, feeling very lost and unsure of himself. But deep down he knew he had followed what his heart told him and whatever cornerstone he was starting to build. If Jessamine had faith, so should he.

"Goodnight, Jess," Kaid whispered, leaning close to plant his lips on her cheek. He could feel her muscles tense as she tried to prevent a smile, or a horribly heated rush to her cheeks of blushes. Her eyes when he pulled away couldn't hide it though.

Everything after that was a blur, Kaid walking the halls feeling exhaustion lull over him. He couldn't even remember how he got inside his bed, only that he reached his room, kicked his shoes off and just collapsed in the moment. He didn't even realize until then that Jessamine still had his outer layer of his kaftan, not like it mattered. All he wanted to do was sleep and forget about the night, other than how gentle Jessamine's lips had felt, even for just for a second against his.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaid spread a luscious amount of strawberry jam on his toast, focused on getting every inch of that crust entirely covered before he began devouring. The palace was quiet that morning, more quiet than usual. But he did meet up with Kassandra and Christine about having breakfast, who seemed to be in a better mood. According to Kassandra, it wasn't the first dramatic event at a celebration like that and probably wouldn't be the last.

"So, did anything interesting happen last night?" Kassandra asked Kaid, offering an inquisitive look.

"Payne got poisoned-"

"I mean outside of those events, Kaid. I was there you know," she rolled her eyes, Christine beside her smiling widely.

"No, not that I can remember," Kaid shrugged, taking a big bite into his toast. He didn't know exactly what these women were asking about, but they seemed up to no good. Whenever Christine and Kassandra were together, it's like they conspired to dive into other people's drama for entertainment and pluck information.

"So no kissing?" Christine finally asked, no longer beating around the bush.

"Imagine not kissing the Empress on her birthday of all days..." Kassandra added.

"What?! N-no," Kaid refuted with his mouth full.

"Oh so you did kiss?"

"NO," Kaid said firmly, shaking his head at the absurdity, "what is it with you two anyways? There are other things to be worrying about than this. And your dance lessons were incredibly off the mark, by the way. I'm grateful I didn't have to spin her around like that."

"I didn't expect for the Empress to dance with you like she did. She doesn't dance like that with anyone," Christine laughed at the accusation, "to be fair, you were gripping her so tightly I didn't think she'd fall."

"Funny, Jess said the same thing," Kaid shook his head, focusing back on eating his toast. That comment only seemed to make Kassandra and Christine smile even more. Kaid knew exactly what was going on. These two women for years had not seen Jessamine remotely interested in men or romantics, probably because it had been shoved into her life since early childhood. Jessamine had Empress duties to worry about now, not securing a marriage for political gain.

"Alright, we will stop teasing," Kassandra sighed, "anyways, I coordinated with Lilah. We were able to take an old storage house to convert into an area for the orphans. It will take time to condense all those birthday gifts into some sort of currency, but I already have a carpenter working on making beds for them and hope to get them into that space soon."

"Where does most of the money for the Lower Districts go?" Kaid asked, knowing funds were already allotted to that.

"Jurisdictions changed with Jessamine's grandfather, Emperor Haas. There were petitions to add more funds to those districts instead of the upper district. So, he decided to combine the Harbor District with the Lower one. Quantitatively, more money was going to the Lower Districts."

"But money was going mostly to the Harbor instead," Kaid nodded, figuring out that loophole, "I'm not a big fan of this...Emperor Haas. Sounds like he's caused more harm than good. Is there any way to change that back?"

"The Harbor is flourishing and the local delegates see no reason to change it," Kassandra explained, "Jessamine can't change everything with a snap of her fingers. She has to be creative, like the birthday gifts. Although it sounds like she wouldn't have thought of it without you."

It had been her idea in the first place. Kaid was just grateful the children would have room to grow up in. Even if the idea of living in an orphanage didn't seem pleasant, it was better than the streets. Once the kids could read and write, maybe they could start going to school too, to find out what future lay for them there. All they needed was opportunity.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Bells began to ring through the palace at a rapid, shocking pace, echoing through the halls loudly. It was loud enough that everyone at the breakfast table had stopped to look at each other. Whatever it was, it didn't sound good because the two women across from him looked very concerned. Kaid had never heard those go off, but he knew from his training with the Guards that something was up.

A Guard quickly entered the room, closing the door before locking it. He was out of breath, given he was probably in charge of finding palace support and protecting them. He was fortunate enough three of them were all in the same room.

"What's going on, is everything alright? Is the Empress secure?" Kaid asked, standing up, worry laced in his voice.

"The Empress is secure. She sent me to come find you three, make sure everyone is safe," he nodded, catching his breath, "the prisoner Mattias escaped. It was reported to the Empress and she wanted alarms to go off just in case he might be somewhere here."

"You've got to be fucking..." Kassandra spoke before shutting herself up, shaking her head in disbelief.

"In the palace? How would nobody notice him? He's wearing white and covered in blood," Kaid questioned, wondering if they were preparing for a fight.

"He...as far as reports go, he turned into a rat, sir."

"A rat?"

"A rat. They want to clear the palace before lifting the alarms. More than likely given his extensive injuries, he will find a way out of Vitross and into Lungor. But the Empress wants to take necessary precautions because of his unsuccessful attempt last night."

All three didn't know how they could just try and sit back down to enjoy their meals after this news. Kaid would remain on alert but he knew it was the most logical thing for Mattias to do was to get the fuck out of this area. Kaid remembered Jessamine insisting about those enchanted handcuffs last night, despite his foggy memory. It sounded like someone didn't listen to that order. One thing that Christine and Kassandra knew for sure, was that they were glad at this moment they were not in the same room as Jessamine.

Kaid prayed for whatever soul was stuck with her in this moment.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The alarms eventually quelled, but that didn't quell the fury from Empress Jessamine at the lack of integrity and duty. Kaid had overheard from other Guards on his way to the library that there was a gap of time in shift change, mostly due to a few still being hungover from the night before. And the enchanted cuffs were not applied, despite Jessamine's insistence on them. Whether the Guards didn't believe Mattias could escape and ignored it anyways, or Eden didn't demand it of them, none of the 'how' mattered when the assassin had escaped.

Kaid had spent the remainder of most of the day reading, studying on any books that mentioned Guardians. There were of course rules of a Guardian: having to go on any diplomatic trips, sleeping in a room directly beside the Emperor/Empress, meals did not need to be shared but it was encouraged, and attending all Meeting of Juror councils. A Guardian was not allowed to give his political opinion, interject in any palace affairs, unless encouraged or asked upon.

Under no circumstance was a Guardian permitted to enter a romantic, emotional, or sexual relationship with any member of the royal family.

That might have to be a rule Kaid would set aside, for now. He wouldn't worry about any of this until he got there. If he got there, of course. Kaid had hoped the books might ease some of his anxiety, knowing who he was up against. It seemed to have an adverse effect instead, so he opted in grabbing books about transfiguration Oblivion. He wanted to know how the hell Mattias was able to turn into a rat, a creature rather appropriate given the man.

When he finally left the library he was planning on finding a servant to reach out to Jessamine but heard the faintest sound of music, specifically a piano in the background. It reminded him of last night, dancing with Jessamine as he hyper fixated on that piano music to avoid thinking too much of the beautiful woman in his arms that night. It was played beautifully and gently, like a lullaby lulling him over to the noise.

Kaid walked and walked, the noise growing slightly louder with each turn of the wide and empty halls. When he arrived at the small room, which according to Kaid's inner mind map was adjacent to the ballroom, he noticed three Guards standing at the door. It didn't take any more observation to know who was playing that piano due to their heavy presence. Kaid didn't even know Jessamine could play an instrument.

"Evening, Kaid," the lead nodded in acknowledgement of his presence.

"Good evening. She plays beautifully," Kaid observed, seeing all three Guards nod in agreement, "any chance I could listen closer?"

"The Empress doesn't like to be disturbed when she plays. She plays rarely, but when she does..." he tried to explain, lost at the words to put together.

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I go in just to listen," Kaid shrugged, seeing the three Guards almost smile in disbelief.

"Your funeral Kaid," the lead spoke, moving out of the way for him to enter, if he so dared to wish. Kaid opened the door, almost hesitating but walked in anyways. It was then that he realized what the Guard was mentioning.

The beautiful music of the piano spoke to him in a more traumatizing, precise, controlled aspect to Jessamine that he knew she possessed. Her playing the piano was not out of enjoyment, but a forced distraction to block out the noise in her head. It was the same as reading books for Kaid, distracting him from all the Caladin noise and pain. Kaid never liked being interrupted then when he had read, besides Jessamine. He almost thought of turning around, listening to what the Guard had insinuated and come back later when she wasn't playing.

Her playing the piano was a side to her that Kaid wanted to know about, even if he only received glimpses of notes echoing in this chamber. Kaid walked as quietly as he could along the polished tile floors, turning slightly to see Jessamine playing, wearing a simple black dress. Given what she wore last night, Kaid knew she'd spend the next few days being the least elegant as possible. Still, she seemed to blend beautifully in that dress as part of the piano, as if she was an extension of it.

Jessamine stopped abruptly mid-playing as she noticed someone walking in, turning her head to find Kaid. Her features immediately relaxed, a bit of surprise on her face.

"I apologize. I heard the sound in the hallways and...well," Kaid shuffled, now worried he had angered her, "wanted to compliment the pianist, against the Guards' wishes." And her own wishes.

"Consider her complimented by your presence alone," Jessamine bemused, moving slightly in the seat as if inviting him, "I never liked playing in front of people. For you, I'll make an exception."

Kaid smiled, seeing her return one as he walked over, sitting beside her as she sat centralized to the instrument. Kaid saw the numerous keys, all having their own unique note and tone. How someone could even memorize to play fascinated Kaid. She didn't even have sheet music to accompany her.

"Do you play?" she asked, before laughing softly at herself, "Sorry. Sometimes I forget."

"Forget about Caladin," Kaid nodded, knowing what she meant.

"You don't wear it's burden on your shoulders," she explained, Kaid briefly flashing back to the memory of last night angrily bashing that man's skull into the stone ground, "and when you dress like that, it's easy to forget."

"I just wanted to listen. I don't think I could even learn to play a thing like this especially as beautifully as you do," Kaid smiled softly, knowing what she meant. When they were together, alone, in places like this they didn't feel burdened by their titles. Kaid didn't feel like a prisoner and Jessamine didn't feel like an Empress. Kaid often had to remind himself the woman sitting beside him was not just a friend.

"It took years and years of practice," Jessamine nodded, returning her hands to the piano to play a soft melody, "this was my mother's piano, actually."

"Really? I'm sure you play just as wonderfully as she did," Kaid complimented, secretly glad she was opening up to him a bit about her family. From the very beginning he knew it was a rough subject to bring up. Even a single glimpse of it from Jessamine's lips intrigued him.

"Not quite, actually. I don't think anyone could. It was this very piano that my mother had practically seduced my father, along with her voice. My father Kristoff had just turned twenty and requested a musician family from the Southern Isles to come play for his birthday celebration. The two fell in love rather quickly, according to their stories," she explained, her voice just an octave higher than the sound of the piano.

"Consider me seduced."

She flashed her eyes at him, her hands still playing despite looking away. Her eyes quickly darted to his legs, just around his lap before flashing back up to his eyes, clearly amused.

"You're a terrible liar," she remarked, a laugh soon escaping her lips.

"Yes, I know," Kaid laughed with her, "even if you don't believe in having equal talent as a pianist, you sure received every ounce of beauty from your mother."

"Who's seducing who now?"

"Is it working?

"No," Jess lied.

"So, why do you play?" Kaid finally asked, knowing deep down there was a part of her that didn't like playing. It was a mystery why she would force herself to do something half of her despised to even think about.

"To keep my head straight. I was six when my father became Emperor and every dynamic changed after that. The order of things changed. My father was emperor, my brother next in line, and my duties and responsibilities no longer involved merely 'growing up'," she spoke, pausing as she lost her place in the song before picking up again, "a young woman's duty as a Kruzika is to find a rich man who has something the family needs. Seduce him, make him fall in love, and he will give whatever he wants. That is what my responsibility was. I woke up, learned to do my own hair, my own makeup while I watched my brother train, fight, ride horses or sail into the sunrise. Mornings included my studies, which was basic history while my brother read about science, mathematics, or fictions of adventure. Afternoons were all about piano. The slightest mistake and I was forced to start over and play until my fingers bled."

Kaid was beginning to feel that making jokes about being seduced by piano were no longer appropriate.

"Anything going wrong in my life? Piano. Anything I wanted to do? Piano first. It was my father's way of 'creating' my value, instead he was diminishing all the growth opportunities I could have had, had I been born a male. My mother disagreed about it as well, but...you don't question an Emperor. Things changed between them a few years after the coronation. Sitting on that throne changes people. My father saw that the best thing for me was to avoid ever sitting on that throne and maybe to an extent, he was right."

"That's not true," Kaid refuted, realizing his tone had a bit of anger, as he was a bit upset, "Jessamine, he robbed you of your childhood, groomed you into something to make his reign easier. If his idea of solving the kingdom's problems was marrying you off to someone capable of fixing it for him, he is no ruler at all. This piano was not going to teach you any of the things you needed to know."

"I know," Jessamine sighed, pausing her playing, "sometimes I just get lost. I come here to play because it feels like it's the only thing I know how to do, the only thing I can't fuck up. I fucked up with my family, the very few friends I had. I fucked up with Mattias."

"What happened in him escaping was not your fault-"

"I didn't mean last night," Jessamine interrupted gently, "I froze up. I became both the puppeteer and puppet tangled in my own strings, finally feeling what it was like to make someone else stop dead in their tracks. I couldn't get into his mind. I couldn't get him to stop because I knew the consequences of doing so. So I let him do what he wanted. Maybe things would've been different if I could have penetrated his mind. I just couldn't."

It was one of the reasons why she felt so compelled to penetrate any new mind she could, learn their secrets, learn their miseries so they wouldn't hurt her or surprise her. Her Oblivion was a double edged sword disguised as a 'gift'.

"Jess, I...you don't need to tell me this if you don't want to," Kaid whispered, sensing that it was a bit tormenting to tell.

"I want to. You deserve to know," she spoke. She was calm when she spoke, not phased as if she had prepared to eventually have this conversation. While the memories were traumatic, she wasn't going to let herself get too vulnerable with the man sitting beside her. The last thing she wanted to be in front of him was a sobbing mess. But, she knew if their relationship would go the way she wanted, she would have to show glimpses of a side to her that needed to be explained.

"Jessamine, I'm sorry this happened."

"I know. I knew that the moment I found out you fractured Mattias' jaw, nose, and parts of his skull," she explained, "and that was before telling you any details. As Empress, I cannot condone such violent behavior against a member of Lungor royalty. As myself, I thank you for doing that."

"I hated that I enjoyed it," Kaid finally admitted, seeing her nod as if she had sensed it this entire time, as if she knew he was lying last night.

"I used to hate playing any piano notes on the left, those deep, dark notes that I felt weren't beautiful. I thought they were useless and bitter parts for songs not meant for me to play," Jessamine played from that end, a deep thrum exiting the vibrating chords, "I thought the middle and higher notes to be superior for a piano, suiting my role better. But in order for a composition or song to be beautiful, it needs those deep notes too. Focus on the overall harmony, the overall story, not those deep notes."

They were a necessary part of the composition.

Piano was a form of grounding for Jessamine, to relive moments of her past but also create a song for her future. There would be things the both of them would hate to do, hate to feel. There were already things Kaid could tell that Jess regretted, but didn't need to justify. There was nothing neither of them had to justify to each other, as long as they justified it to themselves. That was what Kaid struggled with, justifying his moments in the aftermath. Knowing what he knew now, he almost wished he had done even worse.

"You sure you don't want to play? I can teach you," she offered, "I promise to not make your fingers bleed."

"Pretty sure I would end up making your ears bleed," Kaid smiled, shaking his head, "play as long as you need to. Maybe another time. I'm only here to listen, and maybe clap at the end."

"Don't you dare clap," she demanded, soon smiling softly as well. So she did play. For however long, both of them had lost track of time. Kaid had slowed his own time briefly to watch the way her fingers instinctively moved across the piano, finding the specific key to her song, the occasional vein becoming visible depending on the strenuous symphony. Occasionally she would hum along, as if wanting to sing whatever song played at her fingertips. Given how beautiful her hums were, he thought her singing was probably just as good as her mother's.

When it was all over, the Guards were surprised Kaid exited the room practically unscathed, and even more surprised when Jessamine left with him to join him for dinner. Mattias would be a problem for a different day. Right now, they had more tedious things ahead of them. Kaid had so many worries on his mind: the orphans, the Guardian trial, training, and now an escaped assassin. All of that stemmed back to Jessamine though and if these problems were to bring them closer together, Kaid didn't see that as such a horrible thing.