The Clan of Outcasts [Season 3]

Part 10: "See Me"

Beren sat at the long table, swirling the last sip of raspberry port in his glass before finally setting it down so the servant could clear his plate.

Jaran had been in rather a good mood today, perhaps an attempt to draw attention away from the fact that Queen Azelie had been getting steadily more distracted as the days wore on. At first, they had all just assumed it was nervousness at actually being able to pull off a surprise party for someone who could actually turn her own telepathic powers against her--but these last few days, she had been almost frantic, completely put off by something that she seemed rather reluctant to talk about.

Speaking of talking about things... His conscience reminded him. Zayra, herself, wasn't handling things well. This influx of struggle didn't strike him as an indication of a Shadow jacking (he shuddered as he recalled the ease with which Troy could turn their Gifts catastrophic at his own whim) but she was definitely not the composed, collected woman she'd finally become, in the last year or so. It was as if all the acceptance and affirmation he gave her, all the practice sessions where she could maintain a controlled environment and learn the boundaries within which she could successfully regulate her Gift, the way she learned to perceive it as a benefit and find opportunities to use it in a supportive role, rather than letting it consume her... all of this was slowly being unraveled somehow. Yesterday, Beren had hoped it had something to do with anxiety over another birthday passing, and that the party would somehow fix things.
Today, he realized he hadn't seen her since breakfast that morning. He stood with a frown on his face, and headed out toward the long corridor that led to the various rooms in the wing, and the Great Hall that connected to other towers in the castle. Zayra didn't strike him as the person to just vanish from his life without saying something. She frequently retreated when in the group settings, a steady discipline grown out of refusing to sink back into the old habits of craving the spotlight all the time, but to go an entire day without seeing her... now that was odd.
He passed by the door of her parlor, but kept moving when he saw it closed. Zayra never closed the door when she went in, one of the servants would do it for her whenever she went out. If it was closed, he could safely assume she hadn't yet been by to open it.

A sudden thought crossed his mind, and Beren turned down the hallway where they'd hid the presents. Azelie had worked closely with Aurelle to craft a most clever ruse specifically geared toward Zayra's perception, convincing her that there was no door at that specific point in the wall. Only Anahita had the key, as well, so that the others wouldn't even have the inclination to slip up in front of her. Now that he'd thought about it, she had been dropping some hints about some event coming up. Part of him could assume that it was the coronation anniversary--but could she suspect something about a celebration all centered around her?

"Your Grace."

Beren flinched and a sudden layer of frost materialized over most of the door. He covered his surprise with irritation as he turned. "Ah, Risyn, just the man I wanted to see."

The dark violet eyes fixed on him. Somehow, Risyn always managed to stand where the most shadows gathered over his features, no matter how bright the electric lanterns were, all along the wall. He bowed low. "I anticipated as much. How might I be of service?"

"Oh, nothing too surreptitious or conspiratorial," Beren kept his tone light to hide the worry suddenly gripping his chest. "I'd just wondered if you've seen my wife recently."

Risyn's expression never changed--he hardly even blinked--as he answered, "I have seen people coming and going all day, but Princess Zayra does not tend to cross my path."

Beren sighed; it was true, ever since Korsan left a year previously, having spent two years training Risyn to succeed him, Zayra had flatly refused to transfer such a level of trust from the master to his apprentice, and many times she had voiced to Beren her complaint of his strange methods for harnessing his Gifted affinity for magic, so different from the way Korsan utilized it. She actively avoided him when she could, and remained withdrawn and unfocused whenever an interaction couldn't be avoided.