BURN

4: king tedros

Agatha doesn't receive as friendly a reception inside the castle as she had outside.

Whilst Beatrix and Dot had been perfectly enthusiastic, they seem to be the exception, not the rule. The corridors are busy and bustling, and as Agatha hurries after her mother-- Vanessa does not seem to care if Agatha can keep up or not-- almost every person they encounter stops to stare, or whisper to their companion, or point, or do all three. They aren't smiling. Expressions vary from confusion to suspicion to outright hostility, but no one smiles.

Agatha bites her cheek and tries to distract herself by staring at other things.

The guards escorting them are lightly armoured, dressed in red livery with that coiled dragon emblem on the chest. Agatha would guess, from the shimmering gold band embroidered around their necklines, that they're some kind of specially trained and vetted royal guard. They're completely po-faced as they walk, and clearly perfectly trained.  Every one of them stares straight ahead, too, flanking them in a perfect formation. Agatha, who is used to slightly slapdash guards cracking jokes, feels oddly oppressed, and looks quickly away from their blank faces.

The palace itself is, as she'd guessed, far superior to Vanessa's. Richly embroidered tapestries, golden gilding on wood and glass, staircases that swoop and dive out of sight. Stained glass windows of ancient kings on noble quests. Burning torches adorn the walls at frequent intervals, and Agatha, tired and stressed, tries to stop and draw some power from the flames, forgetting the presence of the guards. Vanessa grabs her and yanks her on. 

Huge paintings and elaborate marble statues fill the gaps between them… it goes on. Agatha could have spent all day in just two or three of these corridors, examining every piece of art, but she's marched stoically onwards. Scowling, she stares at her feet, and realises as she does so, that they hadn't given her any new shoes. She's still wearing her boots, exact replica's of Callis and the other servant's. She'd insisted on wearing them when she was younger, to match Callis, and had never seen the point of different shoes. These were far more practical.

They were not, however, approved of by Vanessa.

Hurriedly, Agatha takes smaller steps, letting her gown cover her feet properly. Given she usually strides, this takes some concentration, and as a result, she doesn't notice that Vanessa has stopped until she nearly walks into her. 

Confused, she looks up--

And is greeted with a huge pair of gilded double doors.

They’re here. 

Panic spikes so hard and fast in her gut that she doubles over, but Vanessa turns to her, sweet and smiling in the presence of the guards.

“Stand up straight, sweetheart. Don’t be nervous.” 

Agatha jerks back upright, furious. So. She wanted to take Callis’s favoured pet name for Agatha, did she? Wanted to be an adoring mother when it was convenient?

Glaring under her veil, Agatha mumbles assent and grabs onto Vanessa’s arm. It seems perfectly innocent to anyone watching-- distressed daughter looking for comfort-- but she feels Vanessa flinch.

Agatha knows she won’t burn her. The gloves do their job. But close proximity to her becomes uncomfortable after a while, and Vanessa knows she can’t shake her off without looking callous. 

She can’t scowl, but Agatha knows she wants to. She can see her mouth pinching, slightly--

Which rearranges into an accommodating smile as a tall young man in white gloves steps smartly out of a side door.

“The King will see you now.” he says brisky, and indicates the boys on the doors in front of them, who scurry to push the great oak doors open. Someone shouts from within;