The Way We Fall

Chapter 30 (Roche)

"I made something I think you might like. One of the Irulian servants gave me a recipe for a soup dish! Your mother made it for me once." Verita called over her shoulder as Roche shut the door. She grinned at Verita's kindness, helping to ladle some servings into the bowl.

"Thank you, Verita. It looks lovely" Roche replied. Verita offered her a smirk.

"I thought you might like something as consolation for becoming a handmaiden for the rest of your life."

Roche groaned, sliding into the bench. Verita chuckled at her misfortune.

"In any case, what did the prince want from you?" Verita asked, spooning the soup into her mouth. Roche smirked.

"He wanted to thank me." she said. Verita hummed, taking a sip.

"And he wanted to tell me that he knew I had inkblood."

Verita choked on the thick soup. Roche shoved a glass of water at the sputtering librarian. Verita leapt to her feet once she could speak again.

"We need to get you out of this city!" Verita croaked, placing a hand on her forehead in distress as she paced, "Your mother is going to kill me!"

"It's alright," Roche laughed, loosely grabbing Verita's hand before she could start packing Roche's things, "He's agreed to keep it quiet."

Verita looked dubious. "The Prince?" she asked incredulously. Roche nodded, trying not to grimace as the soup's flavours hit her tongue.

"He seemed genuine enough."

"Prince Finn probably is," Verita sighed, sliding back onto her seat, "I've cared for that boy since he was a baby. He's never been one to break his word."

Roche said nothing. It all wouldn't matter if she left tonight. But she couldn't make herself say the words. Her mind repeated what Finn had said.

"If you enjoy living here, then you can stay."

The worst part was that Roche did enjoy it in the Faultless City. Aside from her ordeals with the royals, she'd learned more about her inkblood, and she'd gotten to use it for something good. She'd met kind people like Kai, Verita, and Leinos. Not to mention that there was a huge library she had access to.

The Faultless City wasn't safe. But it was everything that she'd dreamed of and more.

"Roche?"

Roche looked up, realising that Verita had been calling her name for a while. The librarian's eyes were lit with concern. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Verita pursed her lips, but didn't press. "Are you excited to be the princess' handmaiden?"

Roche snorted. "Ah yes. Such an honour to clean up her highness' messes. I feel very rewarded."

Verita's lips twitched. "Well, regardless-" Verita said something else, but it was drowned out by a stirring in her inkblood.

"Ala."

Roche bit back a groan. Damn that insufferable bird. She stirred her soup, engaging in light conversation with Verita until both of their bowls were empty. Eventually, the librarian went to bed, citing that Roche needed to rest before her first day as a maid. Roche figured she'd tell Verita in the morning about her decision to leave. After she dealt with a large, feathery problem.

Once Verita's breathing had evened out, Roche crept out of her quarters, clad in a thin tawny robe that trailed behind her as she walked. This time, she brought a small candle with her, lit with a silent incantation.

It wasn't hard to find the secret passageway again. It opened with less of a rumble than usual, as if it was finally getting used to opening. Roche didn't have to walk too far in before she heard a muted rustling of feathers behind her. How the bird seemed to walk through walls, she'd never know.