The Way We Fall

Chapter 118 (Tigris)

The city was burning and Tigris was content to watch. She stood behind the parapets, watching the knights walk around the courtyard with their torches, lighting every dark stain of inkblood on the cobblestones. It was the only way to remove the corrosive gorgon's blood.

Good, Tigris thought with satisfaction as a tongue of flame scorched the rock, Let that creature die.

Footsteps pattered behind her. Tigris turned, finding Roche standing there placidly.

"You called for me, my lady?" Roche murmured, her eyes drifting past Tigris to the burning courtyard.

"I called for you half an hour ago!" Tigris huffed, waiting for some snappy retort. Roche's face stayed blank and still, focused on the bustling knights below them.

"I was watching Kai."

The name knocked away the playful banter Tigris had waiting on her tongue, washing away her mirth with a wave of concern.

"Is he alright?" she asked, her chest tightening at Roche's unreadable expression.

Roche's eyes sagged shut heavily. "He's fine. Everything's fine." The words were almost hollow. Fear constricted Tigris' chest.

"Then what is it?" she pressed, moving closer, "Were there any complications? Is he awake?"

"Nothing's wrong," Roche assured her, moving past Tigris to press her body against the parapets, turning her face so that Tigris couldn't see it. Her upper body leaned over the edge, gazing at the warm glow of flames below. They washed out the cobblestones in grand, fiery streaks.

"Leinos used the snakehead you got him to make the antivenom. Kai should be recovered in a few days. For now he just needs rest." Roche continued on. Her eyes were faraway. Tigris noticed her leaning a bit too far off the edge.

"Careful!" Tigris snapped, grabbing Roche by the scruff of her neck and throwing the woman back a good few paces. Roche stumbled, falling onto her ass with a loud thud. Tigris rolled her eyes, feeling a surge of annoyance. "Honestly, Roche, what's the matter with you? I think even a child has more spatial awareness than you!"

Tigris grinned down gleefully at the woman, expecting a witty retort. Things were good. Kai was healing. She and Finn would be able to talk to him soon. The gorgon was gone. Bountiful energy filled her as she stared at Roche, eager for some playful banter to shake off the stress of the past few days.

But it never came. Roche heaved herself up unsteadily, remaining stonily silent.

"Sorry, my lady," Roche said, utterly straight faced and somber, "I'll try to be more careful."

My lady? Since when did Roche sincerely use royal titles to address Tigris? Concern welled up within Tigris as she peered closer at the maid. Her eyes were slightly red, her eyes heavily shadowed like she hadn't slept all night. Her hair hung limp and flat against her head, making her look greasy and tired.

"Have you been drinking again?" Tigris asked, beginning to feel unsettled, "I thought I told you to stay away from the tavern!"

Roche tore her gaze away, staring at the ground resolutely. "Sorry, my lady. I'll keep that in mind." she replied flatly.

No arguing. No affronted squawking or excuses or strange stories. Worry fluttered in Tigris' chest.

"Well," Tigris said after a few moments, trying to speak into the awkward pause that had spawned between them, "To sober up, you can begin by polishing my armour and sword. They're filthy from last night's fight."

Tigris dumped the rucksack of armour at Roche's feet unceremoniously. She waited for Roche to protest, to grumble about the added chores, but Roche simply picked up the bag, looking more and more detached by the moment.

"Anything else?" she asked monotonely.

Tigris cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Er... my sword. You forgot it." She unsheathed it easily, holding it out to Roche.

The woman didn't accept it. She stared at the long metal blade blankly, her eyes focused on the sharp edges with interest. Tigris followed her line of sight, noticing bits of crusted inkblood on the hilt.

"Don't tell me you're still scared of blood," she groaned, finally realising why Roche seemed so off kilter. She rolled her eyes, stepping closer to Roche, "Look, this one's easy to clean. Just burn it a little first and then wipe it off."

Tigris demonstrated by holding up the sword to the lit torch hung on the wall, the flames searing the tip of the blade. The blade glowed in the firelight, bits of inkblood sloughing off in large chunks that splattered the ground harmlessly. Tigris yanked the blade out of the flames, wiping the remaining residue off on her shirt before holding out the sword to Roche.

"See?" she told the maid, "It's harmless."

Tigris glanced at Roche's face, waiting to see a bit of embarrassment flashing across her features or some kind of relief at the demonstration of the inkblood's harmlessness. But Roche simply stared at the extended blade with wide eyes, some wild emotion flashing in her brown irises. She looked up after a moment and noticed Tigris watching her. Her expression shifted back into forced neutrality.

"Of course, my lady," Roche said in that strange, hollow voice, "Will that be all?"

No, it wasn't. Something was off with Roche, and Tigris wanted to know what it was. The girl was an open book, but Tigris couldn't understand a single thought behind those eyes at the moment. She opened her mouth to say as much when a figure across the courtyard caught her eye.

A mop of chocolate curls lingered at the edge of the courtyard, overseeing the knights. Finn barked orders, directing the stream of fire and men across the courtyard. After a moment, when the chaos seemed controlled, he discreetly tugged something out of his pocket.

Tigris pressed past Roche, squinting as Finn fiddled with the object he'd pulled out. It was a glass vial of some kind, short and stout. Her brother uncorked the top. With a surreptitious look around, he knelt, dipping the vial towards the ground discreetly.

The whole exchange was over in moments. Tigris couldn't see what was in the vial Finn was pocketing. Perhaps it was something Verita or Leinos had requested, some environmental evidence after the fight or something academic of the sort. But why did Finn look so suspicious, like he was trying to blend into the chaos as he slipped away towards the castle?

"Did you see that?" Tigris asked, turning around, "Finn was-"

Tigris' words cut off abruptly. She was standing all alone, Roche nowhere to be seen on the parapets.

Tigris felt worry bloom in her stomach at the abnormal behaviour and vowed to confront the maid about it after dinner. Until then, she had a cleanup to oversee. Tigris squared her shoulders and returned to work.

A/N: :( Roche isn't doing well and it looks like Tigris noticed. I hope you enjoyed this quick chapter, what did you think of it?

 As always, happy reading!