A Timely Knight

A Gun Firing

Viola sat in between the Marquise and Lady Livilla and across from Prince Edison. Everywhere she looked she saw royalty and nobility. She was surprised she got a sit in the table in the first place; the Marquise's hand was behind it, no doubt. Still, even though the food was great and the wine even better, she didn't feel comfortable. It wasn't just the fake smiles and the lies that were spoken. Danger lurked in every corner.

At the head of the table, the absent and uneasy Queen constantly shot nervous looks their way. Ever since she had summoned the Marquise to her chambers, that random morning four days ago, she had become more paranoid. Locked in her chambers, she refused to see anyone other than her favourite and the Marquise, who she seemed to trust for some unknown reason.

Viola was now certain the young woman knew exactly what was happening. The Marquise seemed to be the puppet master, pulling the strings to achieve some still mysterious goal. Viola couldn't say for sure what her endgame was, but one thing was clear: nothing that had happened in the last couple of days was coincidence.

The Shark of Heliport, despite his apparent infatuation towards the Marquise, was not blind to this. That much was clear when, just earlier that day, Viola had overheard a conversation between the Viscount and him.

"There's something wrong alright." The Shark's voice had taken her out of her thoughts. She had wanted to take a shortcut back to the Marquise's chambers, when she took a wrong turn and ended up lost on the eastern part of Leverfort. "There's something seriously messed up with that doctor. Physically."

The Viscount's hushed voice followed. "What do you mean?"

"His tongue was blue. Fucking blue. And his breath, God above! It was like smelling a whorehouse after too much fun has been had."

"What does that even mean?"

"Whatever, the point is it was foul. Fucking disgusting, if you ask me."

"He's an old man. Perhaps he had poor hygiene? Wouldn't be the first."

"You're young. You're still a shave tail in these matters. I'm telling you, that old crow ain't normal. And I bet the Marquise knows exactly what's wrong."

"You reckon?"

"Absolutely. I ain't no nickey. I know when someone's knowing more than they're saying. Her pretty face and fancy manners can't fool me."

The Viscount let out a smirk. "You seem pretty fooled every time you're with her."

"Nothing more than a trick, now ain't it? Women like their men stupid. They feel like they're in control. They lower their guard."

The Viscount sounded unconvinced. "She's not lowering anything. As a matter of fact, I still don't know if we can actually trust her. I wouldn't be surprised if she was actually behind everything, even the so-called attempts on her life."

The Shark answered matter-of-factly. "Nah, that ain't it. The Shooter would know by now if that was the case."

"And you think she would tell us? Women stick together."

"The Shooter is a soldier first and a woman second. Trust me, Viscount, if she had something on the Marquise, she'd come to me."

The sound of faraway steps made the men stop their talk. Still, Viola had heard everything she needed. Walking back to where she had come from, she toyed with the men's words. They, like her, weren't all too sure about the Marquise's intentions. That wasn't a surprise. What was shocking was knowing that the Shark had so much faith in her, especially because it was rather misplaced.