Honorable Lilac and the Duchess

The sound of the explosion could be heard through a good part of the manor, and several servants and guards were already there by the time Rosamund arrived.

He took the situation in, taking a moment to process. Adanita and doctor Soxhlet were each on one side of Lilac, who was on the floor, leaning against the wall. His face was pale under some red spots, and a bit green, he seemed sick and as if he was entering shock. The guards were eyeing Adanita with hands on their weapons, and servants started to explain to him what they were doing and how they got there. The workshop door was closed, and nobody dared to either open it or enter inside. According to everyone, it was Adanita who got Lilac out of there.

And then there was the matter of the strong, putrid smell of sulfuric compounds in the air. Acids, no doubt. It seemed like it was coming from inside the laboratory, and he could see a few of servants already looking ill. He waved at the guards to put them at ease.

"I will need a full report from the two of you," he told Adanita.
"I didn't do-"
"I didn't think you did anything," he cut her off. Not for even a moment. "Take Lily somewhere else, the air is dangerous here." She seemed fine. What a constitution. Meanwhile, he could feel the chemicals burning his nose and throat. His eyes were tearing up, he took out a handkerchief and put it over his mouth and nose. It didn't help much. Lilac let out quiet protests, weakly recoiling from Adanita's touch. What did she- no, he will find out later. "Let the guards carry him," he ordered.
"W-wait! Rose!" Lilac called out.
"Yes?"
"Is it going to blow?"
"Is it supposed to?"
"N-no."
"Aha." He waved the servants to move to safety and opened the door.

He had quite a sight to see. The entire room was shrouded in some dark dust, a strange shimmering darkness that was dimming the lights both in the room and the lights coming from the hallway. Magic, probably? It was hurting his eyes to look at it, but it honestly could be the sulfur.
A large portion of a wall was charred and black, as if the bare stone was somehow burned. The table right next to it was also charred, but it didn't look as if it was seriously damaged by the fire. Instead, it seemed as if the blast threw most items off of it. He stepped inside, into... more glassware right at the door? There was no way this came from the explosion. He will find out later, he will. It was becoming a new mantra for him as he approached the cabinet. The glass was cracked on it - Lilac blew himself up and flew at the cabinet. There, a reasonable conclusion for the current situation. What came before was what they needed to discuss, but for now, he eyed the damaged vials inside, as well as the other items that were on the floor of the workshop. The magic seemed to be draining from them quickly. If the ingredients were dangerous on their own, that was another matter, but for now he could be sure that the fading glimmer of magic was not about to explode the second time. He also noted a distinct lack of blood anywhere in the room. Hopefully that meant nobody was seriously injured.

By this point, he was feeling seriously ill. He considered having a servant open the windows by removing the planks his paranoid brother put up with the power of a crowbar, but he didn't want to challenge his authority. Lilac forbid everyone from entering without his direct permission and supervision. Best not to argue with the heir of an Earl. No, Lilac would never barricade himself in without a way to air out the room. Prideful, but not stupid. He squinted his eyes and looked around the walls. He started coughing, there was no way he could stay here for long. Ventilation, ventilation- aha! He approached the wall and activated the magic circle. Finally. It began throwing the poisonous air out, slower than he expected. Once the air began to clear a bit, though, it seemed to work better. Strange. The darkness was dispersing, too, like a morning fog in the sunlight. He really needed to find out what the hells Lilac was up to, the end result was unusual even for him. Later, though.

He had a coughing fit as he left the room, but he managed to remain standing and close the door behind him.

"This hallway is sealed off from this moment until Honorable Lilac declares it safe to return to. I want guards on both ends, barring entrance, as well as guards in the garden by the windows of the workshop," he said. His voice was hoarse, but reasonably clear. Lilac and Adanita were gone already, so there was nothing keeping him here anymore. The hallway was evacuated, and he got directions for Doctor Soxhlet. He needed treatment. He couldn't stop tears in his eyes, and his nose and throat were making breathing quite painful. The exposed skin on his hands and face was reddish in color, but it didn't seem he was bleeding yet. Damaged, but nothing serious. What the bloody hell was Lilac up to?


The doctor treated him along with Adanita, and only after she was done with Lilac. She put some cream on his damaged skin. It was cool and soothing. He felt better. She also had him wash out his eyes and mouth with water, before giving him some medicine to drink. The sulfur in the air didn't damage Adanita as much, it seemed she and Lilac barely spent any time in there. She was fine, and he was only bruised on his back, and in shock from the accident. His hands and face were red from the burns, and the fire burned his eyebrows and a bit of his short hair, but it seemed his reaction to whatever he was doing was quick enough to not look like his wall.

Doctor Soxhlet finished their treatments and rushed off to help the servants and the guards, leaving the three of them alone in Lilac's bedroom. Rosamund sat next to the head of Lilac's bed, holding his hand, and Adanita sat on the armchair next to the window. He listened to their description of the events that led to this. From what he could figure out, it seemed Lilac was in one of his more unstable moods. He gently squeezed his hand while listening to the explanation of the glass next to the door. Lilac looked away.

"So it was her hair on the testing circle that caused that reaction?" Rosamund asked when their story was done.
"Yes," Lilac said. He was down to one-word answers by this point. This wasn't going to be enough, unfortunately for Lilac.
"Was it an accident? A mistake on the circle?"
"I don't know."
If the paper hadn't burned down too, perhaps he could see it for himself. But it was unlikely Lilac would make a mistake on such a basic circle. "This isn't the normal reaction to the test, is it?"
"No."
Rosamund took a deep breath. "If the testing magic worked as intended, does this implicate infernal magic?"
"I don't know."
"I don't know any magic! And I'd never deal with devils!" Adanita said.
"Then how do you explain the reaction?" he asked.
"I- I don't know! I'm not a mage," she said. There was a note of despair in her voice. That couldn't be faked... not by her. She was an open book for him. Or perhaps he was fooled all along - can he dare have enough hubris to think he could read either a divine or infernal being? Or someone under influence of either of those?

"Oh for gods' sakes, Rose. Look at her," Lilac said. His voice was annoyed and impatient, he could probably recognize Rosamund's overthinking. "Do you see any magic on her?"

A defensive position, with her arms and legs crossed. A small frown, a clear fear and distrust on her freckled face. She had put her swords out of her reach, and she seemed to be regretting it now. Not because she wanted to attack him, he presumed. It was just something she needed for reassurance. Her curly hair was slightly messier than usual, not that anyone but Rosamund would notice. Her eyes were darting around the room, to the exits, to the windows, and to her cutlasses, but she didn't make any moves. She looked trapped and frightened.

And there was no magic on her.

None at all.

"Captain Vervain, I apologize for my suspicions. It would appear this has put us all a bit on edge," he said. If he got to the point where Lily felt the need to defend her, he could imagine what his face looked like. He had completely lost control. "My brother was in serious danger. My emotions got the better of me." Gods, he planned to not look like he had turned on her, honest. He didn't think she would attack his brother, and she didn't, and he was right. But if there was an infernal influence involved - no. No, he didn't see it. He could see magic, and he didn't see anything on her. He could even see it when the priests were doing something particularly divine, so he should be able to see if there was anything going on with her and devils. But there was not. Or he missed it, just like he never noticed whatever Teodolit saw on his arm.

No, he was running in circles for the third time.

"I- I apologize," he said again. "I am sorry. I believe you. I'm sorry."

Next to him, Lilac relaxed. So did she, he could see her blinking away a tear as she looked away from him. He caused her pain after she came to his help this morning. And after she had helped his brother out of the workshop. For a moment, she surely feared he would turn on her the same way other nobles had before. Accused of a crime she didn't do, once again. I am sorry...

"Lily," he said finally. "What are your theories?"
"I don't have any for you. It could be anything."
"Please."
"I don't know, Rose. I don't! It could be my mistake. It could be a poorly done circle. Hells, who knows what magic circles she touched in her life. Lives. Whatever. It could be a residue from that. Or perhaps she didn't know what she was doing and accidentally activated something that I detected. Or it's a false positive. I don't know. And I won't be guessing, not even for you. I'll tell you when I find it out."
"The only circle I touched in the past several months - or, I suppose, years - was the one in the lighthouse. And Lord Governor has activated it too," she said.
"Then I will test his samples, too," he said. "If he doesn't start a black fire, it's not that."
"Captain, I believe it's time to employ the assistance of your mage," Rosamund said.
"You have a-"
"I will speak to them," Adanita cut him off.
"Thank you. A fresh perspective is something both of them need, I would say."
"I will let them know. In those exact words."
He gave her another thankful nod.

Gods, what a mess. Every day the situation they were in was getting either stranger or more complicated. A black fire... a black glowing fog in the workshop... He felt as if he was forgetting something important. He wasn't sure what it was, but something was bothering him in the back of his mind. But he couldn't place it, he couldn't remember what it was. Meanwhile, Adanita was looking unwell. Uncertainty, fear, and the explosion of magic she had witnessed. And Rosamund's reaction. He was beating himself up about it, but what was done was done. He will first give her time, and then find a proper way to apologize. With the way she was right now, it felt wrong to pester her with his presence further.

"I apologize once again for my suspicions. I was out of line and jumped to conclusions," he said. "You may go, Captain. I need to speak to my brother, and you seem to need some well-earned rest. I hope you will recover well." Ah, and there was the issue of her being stopped by Lilac this morning, too. "You may come see me at any time you'd like," he added. A coward's way out, or giving her necessary space? He wasn't sure which it was, or how she would see it. She just gave him a nod, took her things, and left the room without a word.

"Think that went great," Lilac said.
"Spare me, please."
"Pirate Queen on the verge of tears. Hells, Rose, you scared me too."
He tightly held his hand, lightly trembling. "I am sorry."
"And I am fine. You can let go... or, perhaps not. I never really - This was new. Unexpected. I hated it. I felt as if I would die if I didn't let go as soon as I put the magic into the circle. It was terrifying. By the way, did you know she didn't notice me talking to her and following her for at least an hour?"
"Lilac," he said, stopping his ramblings. He could hear his quivering in his voice. Erratic mood, erratic speech. Somebody was close to a panic attack, it seemed. He wasn't planning to allow him to use his gaffe to wiggle out of this. "The glassware."
Lilac violently turned his head away from him. Rosamund decided to give his tears some privacy, simply holding his hand and waiting instead.

Lilac's silence was interrupted by occasional sobbing. His voice cracked several times when he tried to say something, but no words came out. He was clearly in deep pain, he curled into a ball, turning his back to him and letting go of his hand. Rosamund put his hand on his shoulder.

Waiting.

When Lilac finally managed to speak, his voice was shaking even worse than his body. He was crying and stuttering at the same time, so he needed to repeat his words several times until Rosamund managed to make out what he was saying.

"Th-they m-m-married me off."

Ah. "Yes. According to Captain Vervain, they did."
"You believe her!" he accused him.
"I do believe she had experienced another life and another death. She lived through it with limited knowledge, as we all do. The only interactions she had with our family was killing the two of us. You cannot take her word as certain fact about matters we know more. For example, she originally thought you'd make a better political ally than I would."

Lilac had no response to that. He continued shaking, but his breathing seemed to be slowing down. He had patience, he wasn't in a rush. Lilac could take his time.

"But- I was married. To D-Dorja. D-do you b-believe that?"

Rosamund hesitated. Either Adanita was telling the truth and correctly read the situation, or Duchess Almukantarat that she had met in the prison cell was too deranged to think clearly. Grief was a fertile soil for delusion, was it not?

No. If Duchess saw fit to arrange to frame and/or kill him in a storm, all to get to Lilac, she wouldn't have stopped at a delusion. Besides, if he believed Adanita's words that Dorja told her she arranged Rosamund's accident on the sea with Khamil, why would he think that she was only delusional about Lilac? It was either both or neither.

"It is possible. Likely, even."
"So they sold me."
"You know better than I do that they would never. I spoke with them - they don't even care if your heir is an adopted child. Or my child, if I ever change my mind. They are willing to break all conventions for your happiness. Mine, too. They are willing to let their bloodline die out with us, Lily. You are not for sale, or trade, or any sort of political or power arrangement. Once we had them understand our positions, neither of us was. If it wasn't something we would agree to, it was off the table."
"So how did I end up like that?!" His voice cracked. He curled up even more, his knees almost reaching his chin. If he tried to make himself any smaller than that, he would disappear. He repeated his question, quieter and calmer.
"You were tricked. Or they were. If our family had fallen from grace so thoroughly, it would be entirely possible they'd look for a way to keep you safe and hold at least some status. Dorotea could've used it and manipulated all of you."
"But her. I'd know b-better than to t-trust her."
"Oh?" Aside from Lilac's lack of romantic attraction to people and distaste for physical touch, was there something more to his immediate and total denial of Duchess' marriage proposal? "Was she bullying you when you were children? Or something?"
"N-no! I'd never let her. It was- No. No, it doesn't matter. I don't know how to describe it, anyway. I don't want anything to do with her!"
"Are you afraid of her?"
"Yes!"
"Were you afraid of her when you were a child?"


Silence.


"Lily... Why didn't you tell me?" he quietly asked.
"There isn't anything to tell! I can't put it to words! I don't know why, and she didn't do anything to me. She never even touched me. I just can't stand her presence!"
As if a child could understand words and concepts that weren't yet taught. Bullying, manipulation, numerous fear tactics. He didn't know what Lilac had experienced in his time with her, but it left a deep impression on him even now. He was supposed to be there for him. He completely missed it, blindsided by... what? A sweet little girl his brother was playing with. Other adults fell for the act, too. No, that was no excuse. He needed to do better. Words leave cuts deeper than any knife, and he didn't notice his brother was bleeding out for years. "I will keep you safe. I am a Governor, and you are in my land. You are my brother, and you are the future Earl. Nobody can touch you."
"You died!"
"I died before. Death doesn't scare me, Lily." Dying did, though. Very, very much. "I have seen it. It's... nothing. I have something to live for. I will keep you safe no matter what. I will never let her come anywhere near you." A promise. Didn't he tell Adanita recently he doesn't give those out?

Ah... but if you can't promise your little brother your love and protection... what was the point of anything? If he died previously while unknowingly being in the way of Duchess Almukantarat, now that he was knowing and alive, death won't be enough to stop him. Not this time. Not when his brother was on the line.

This was something he wanted to do.

"I am here for you, Lily. And I will be, always."