The Sixth

Annie and Lilin made it to the kitchen, where they saw the absolute chaos usual around this time. Servants mixed in with chefs and merchants as everybody worked to prepare food. Annie recognized the overstaffing immediately, and realized that there must be another Knight's Feast happening. She quickly scanned the crowd and found Six in moments, recognizing her appearance almost immediately. Six looked up as she heard footsteps approaching.

"Ah, Ten, Lilin," she said.

"Nah, she's Annie now," Lilin replied. "Anyways, we wanted to help. Also, could you do that thing Deuce does where you make everything quiet? It's fucking loud in here."

Six raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Without any warning, verbal or somatic, a small wave of Mana emanated from Six. Despite the wave itself feeling far less intense, the effects still disoriented Annie for a second. She quickly adjusted, though, not needing much time, and it was actually quite pleasant to not hear the loud ambience of so many people in one large kitchen.

"You're hiding something," Six observed as she continued working. She gestured to the small stack of dishes she had instructions for, prompting Annie and Lilin to grab from the pile and start working. Lilin walked towards the pantry and started to grab ingredients. 

It took Annie a moment to realize she could still hear Lilin's small grunts of exertion as she grabbed what she needed, but once she did, she started to talk while walking. "We are. Are we free to speak of it here?" 

Six nodded, which told Annie that distance wasn't a limiting factor for this conversation- at least not within the area they needed to operate in. She grabbed the ingredients she needed for her first recipe, hauling them over to the counter as she began to work with them. She took a few seconds to make sure she was in a good rhythm before she spoke again.

"Euwelyn, the Earth General, was in the village we were sent to. We were told about the condition of the Lifebelt, and we are now preparing for the Four Generals to arrive and lay siege to this castle."

Six's stoicism nearly faltered, but she stayed focused. She couldn't make any judgements yet, she needed more information. "And why do you wish to talk to me about this? And what is the need for secrecy?"

Lilin responded this time. "Because we're in on the plan. We need to make sure nobody is protecting the throne room when the King leaves it."

Six's eyes widened, a real emotion crossing her face. Annie flinched a bit as Six suddenly turned her gaze towards her instead of Lilin. Lilin was too absorbed in her work to notice, continuing.
"Six, since you're one of the people who would normally be asked to guard the throne while the King is away, we need you to stay clear unless directly ordered. If you're ordered there, then just... Let us in when we get there."

Six put down her knife and removed her gloves. She turned fully now, facing Annie. "Annie, I thought better of you."

Annie quickly turned towards Six, Lilin not putting down the knife as she turned to face Six as well. She wasn't in a battle stance, but she knew she could take on an unarmed Six so long as she was armed- especially if Six's back was turned. For a moment, it looked and felt like a fight might break out, but nobody did so much as look up. After all, there were no sounds to draw their attention.

"What, so you're loyal to the King?" Annie asked, trying to mask her nervousness.

"No," Six replied, "but I've seen many of Aramasa's 'heroes' to their near-demise. Were it not for me, the Generals would not be alive."

Lilin spoke gravely, still on edge. "Who the hell is Aramasa? Euwelyn said that name, too."

"I could not explain it in full here," Six replied, "but rest assured. Annie is like Nine, and Nine is like the Four Generals. Annie is the weakest I have seen, so I had hoped she would not march to her own death, but she is doing so as quickly as she can."

Lilin shouted now, her voice ear-splitting in this otherwise silent space. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Annie flinched, covering her ears, but Six stood tall and unchanged. She turned her head, glaring at Lilin with an intensity the demon had never seen from Six before. "You are not the one who needs to know, Lilin."

Lilin slowly backed off, but stayed ready to intercept in case Six attacked.
Annie nodded slowly, recognizing what Six was saying. "I... See. Well, Six, I can assure you, I'm not simply marching to my death, I-"

Six stamped her foot, interrupting Annie. "Yes, you are. I will not tolerate it."

Annie shook her head. "Six, you have to. You seem to understand better than anybody what's happening here, and... You can see the symptoms of my Core's problem, right?"

Six flinched, then a grimace slowly crossed her face. Her pained expression gave way to grief, the shadows looking almost alien on her face compared to her usually measured expressions. She clearly didn't want to accept this, but Annie had no way to tell how she truly felt.

"Yes, I do," she finally admitted. "Very well. However, I refuse to clear the throne room. I will stand by your sides. My life will be devoted to your protection, Annie."

Lilin looked over, completely flabbergasted. "What the hell?! How long have you been ready to throw that much devotion at somebody?"

"Since I saw Annie meeting with Deuce," Six said as she returned to work. "I became a servant to dedicate myself to a cause I saw fixing the world. The King's cause is no longer to fix the world, but to hold it captive."

Lilin slowly nodded. So many things were coming together now. Six had risen the ranks so much by proposing the ideas of the Four Generals, and she had carefully dictated who would be put into power. She didn't understand it fully, but it had always stricken her as strange that so many people rising against the King would be made into Generals instead of being executed.

Annie awkwardly resumed her work as well. She wasn't entirely sure if this was fully resolved, but with Six's promise to assist being secured as well, there weren't too many others they needed to handle before the attack. Still, she wasn't looking forward to whatever they would have to do about Tristan.