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greeenchrysanthemums · 3 months ago

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Thus Always to Tyrants

Chapter 6: Suprise Meeting + A Day Out

Gem is the commander of the Wintertide royal army, Grian is the leader of a resistance hell bent on taking the crown down no matter the cost. It was only natural that they would become enemies.

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Read on ao3 ❀ here ❀

CW: violence, threats of murder, mild blood, brief panic attacks, mentioned war/death

Words: 7,361

Pov: Grian + Gem

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The tinkle of a bell reached his ears as Grian pushed the door to the blacksmith’s shop open with his shoulder, grunting at the weight of the solid oak. He looked around the shop front, tugging at his collar as the heat of the dying hearth in the back of the room made its overwhelming presence known.

On either side of the room stood displays of carefully crafted tools and weapons for sale. Racks of armor in all shapes and sizes were also available, all of them gorgeous pieces of art in their own right. Behind the counter were the tools of the smithy herself: mallets, plyers, raw materials, everything she would need to do her job. Aside from the aforementioned hearth crackling in the background with its dying embers, and the light wind knocking against the curtain covered windows, the shop was devoid of life. A small sign sat atop the cobble and oak counter, it’s woodgrain surface old and worn. The “Out to Lunch” stained onto its surface with red ink was faded and barely visible.

Grian paid this little mind as he hoped the counter and landed on the other side on feather light feet, careful not to wind up in the bucket of water used for cooling the tools. He wasted not a moment before making his way over to the side of the hearth and reaching up to carefully press in one of the stones near the top, almost out of his reach. The cobble was warm to the touch.

A click was heard from the rack of tools beside him, and he dug his fingers into the crack between it and the wall, pulling open the hidden door and revealing a set of winding stairs. He stepped inside and the door slid shut behind him with a dull click of the lock, engulfing him in the darkness.

The heat of the hearth slowly faded into a frosty chill, his breath coming out in small clouds as he descended the stone stairs, his talons clicking lightly with each step he took. He allowed muscle memory to guide him where his eyes could not, and soon enough the faint light of a lantern could be seen and the low murmur of voices tickled his ears.

The small room at the bottom contained only a moderately sized, round table in the center and a lantern hanging from the ceiling. There was a purposeful and distinct lack of anything else within the space, leaving it to provide little to no information should it ever be found. Chairs and stools all around the mahogany table were occupied, but there were more bodies than there were places to sit, leaving some to stand against the walls or lean up against the edge of the tabletop.

In the back of the room, sat Joel with two unfamiliar faces standing behind him on either side, presumably Crestian soldiers. Their posture was stiff, their expressions blank. To his right was the owner of this fine establishment and the supplier of the majority of the resistance’s weaponry, Cleo the Blacksmith. Her strong arms were crossed, strands of her thick, firey hair falling out of her bun and into her scarred face as she raised an eyebrow in his direction, the first to take notice of his arrival.

On her right side sat Tango. The blonde man was scowling and drumming his fingers against the wooden surface of the table, light smoke rising to the ceiling as his weak fire magic reacted to his anger. Standing with his hip against the table beside him was his partner, Jimmy. The taller blonde was also peeved, his own annoyance taking the form of crossed arms and pursed lips. To anyone else in Wintertide, they were nothing but humble farmers. In reality, they were resistance informants. Idle chatter and gossip had the tendency to let slip important information, and the two of them heard plenty of both while running their booth in the Capital and making deliveries far and wide across the lands.

Just next to them, closest to the door, sat Mumbo and Etho, their backs to Grian

Occupying the last seats were Pearl and Tilly, who was standing at attention on one of the little stools as if she was a participant in the meeting. Bigb stood directly behind Tilly, his hand’s idly playing with her ears. It was clear that he had given up his seat to Pearl’s loyal companion.

Learning against the wall near the back corner, just outside of the light of the lantern, was Scar. Jelly sat upon his shoulder, her unnatural glow casting light on her master’s face and giving Grian a perfect view of those sharp eyes as they tracked his movement down the last few steps. The cold, crystal blue met his own black and Scar grinned. Grian averted his eyes.

He stepped off of the final stair with one last click of his talons and all eyes were immediately on him.

“About bloody time you showed up!” Joel’s voice bellowed from the table. Grian frowned at the volume, unimpressed. He was lucky that this room was too far underground for their words to be heard from above. "Do you make it a habit to keep your people waiting?”

“I’m hardly even late. Besides, I ran into something rather… interesting on the way here, to say the least.” Grian said. He leaped forward and landed himself on the back of the nearest chair. Etho jerked forward, momentarily shocked by the sudden weight and jostling. He threw Grian and an amused smile over his shoulder.

“Yeah? What would that be?” Cleo asked. Most world assume her tone was harsh, but Grian had known her long enough to know that there was nothing but genuine curiosity in her voice.

He reached past his cloak and into the breast of his tunic, pulling out a rolled-up piece of parchment. He shook it out to unravel it and then reached past Etho to throw it towards the center of the table. It spun once, twice in the air before it fluttered down, written side face up.

“What in the hells is this?” Joel asked. He made a reach for the poster, but Jimmy beat him to the punch. The farmer snatched it off of the table with the speed only a man who spent his evenings wrangling chickens had. Jimmy expertly ignored the nasty glare thrown his way, but Tango did him the honour of returning it.

“A party?” He asked, squinting at the poster, puzzled.

“A party?” Cleo asked, her eyebrows drawing together as she reached over Tango’s head to yank the poster out of his partner’s hands, being rewarded with an indignant sound from Jimmy and a snort from Tango.

“A winter ball?” Cleo said in disbelief, turning the page to allow Joel to read it over her shoulder. She handed the paper over to Pearl, who had reached out a hand in request.

“What a foolish man, that king.” Pearl said, her voice a mixture of bored and something that could either be annoyance or anger; perhaps both. She handed the page over to Mumbo so that he and Etho could have a look as well. Etho smoothed the colourful poster out on the table after he was done with it. Bold font and delicate pictures promised a night of winter fun at the castle.

“What on earth could he be thinking with this? Is he stupid?” Tango asked in disgust.

“So the man wants to throw a party, how is this any different than the festival?” Joel asked.

“Did you happen to read all of the information on the poster, my dear Crestian friend?” Grian asked, tilting his head to the side to an unnatural degree.

“...I didn’t, no.” Joel admitted.

“It’s open to the public,” Pearl interjected, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. Tilly whined and let out one, nervous bark by her side.

“So was the festival, was it not?”

Out of the corner of Grian’s eyes, he watched Scar’s smiled turn even more devious from where he stood, clearly catching on to what Grian was suggesting. He strode forward, standing directly behind Joel with his hand lightly holding the back of his chair. Joel tensed up and straightened his posture. His companions both put their hands on thier weapons and eyed Scar wearily, but they made no move to attack, so Grian let them be. Not that they would be able to harm Scar in the first place; he was more than capable of handling himself.

“Indeed, it was,” Scar said, “But the difference with that is that this ball takes place inside of the castle.”

Realization dawned on Joel’s face. “We can use that to our advantage.”

“The hardest part of planning the coup so far has been choosing a time and place to do it. Their defenses have always been so strong, even when they’re spread thin like they are now. It has been nearly impossible finding an opportunity to carry out our plan.” Grian said simply.

“Would they not prepare for the possibility that we’ll use the ball to get inside? They’re daft, but not this daft.” Cleo said, leaning one arm on the table, her other hand planted on her knee.

“I’m with Cleo on this, that sounds like a really risky plan.” Tango said.

“Not to mention the innocents that could get in the way of the fighting.” Bigb piped up.

“Ah, but you see, my plan isn’t to start a fight at the ball, it’s to use it as a distraction. Mass hysteria causes a great deal of confusion, you know.” Grian said.

“What exactly are you suggesting?” Pearl asked, her words sharp. Tilly growled beside her.

“We blow one of the outer walls during the party, causing an uproar and leaving the king vulnerable.” Grian stated.

Instantly the room was full of noise. Everyone began talking over one another, their voices rising higher and higher in an attempt to be heard first, the sound of Tilly’s barks only barely louder than all else. The screech of a stool across the ground and the clatter of wood on cobble followed Joel leaping to his feet to shout and point a finger in Grian’s direction. The only thing stopping him from jumping across the table to wring the Avian’s neck were the hands on his elbows.

Grian met Scar’s eyes from the other side of the table and gave him a look, which he responded to with a barely noticeable nod of his head. The man brought his fingers to his lips and blew through them, a piercing whistle immediately silencing the room’s occupants as they all slapped their hands over their ears to protect against the sudden and overwhelming sound.

Dead silence filled the room and Scar took the opportunity to say ‘Why don’t we hear our feathery leader out, hm?”

The silence continued as several angry looks were directed at Grian before everyone seemed to resign themselves to listen. Joel ripped his arms out of his companion’s hold, picking his stool up and sitting down with his arms crossed. Tilly was emitting a low growl that buzzed around the room, and Grian was sure that if Pearl was able to do the same, she would be. He would most certainly be dead if looks could kill.

“Whatever comes from your mouth next had better be good.” Joel said.

“Yeah, man, I didn’t join up with this cause just so you could suggest we bring unneeded harm to civilians.” Tango said, his fists steaming from barely contained fire as he clenched his jaw shut tight.

“I would never suggest we put the party-goers at unnecessary risk.” Grian stated first and foremost. No one looked convinced; how hurtful.

“The only ones in our ranks who run the risk of being recognized are Scar and me, so it would be easy to sneak several of our members inside to act as crowd control to ensure no one gets hurt during or after the initial panic. Our goal would not be to infiltrate the party and carry out a real full frontal assault, however. The explosion will only be a distraction, a ruse. Our real goal will be to draw the king out, and by the time they realize our real plan we will already have him within our grasp. And when we do, we will demand his surrender, or his death.” Grian explained.

The room’s occupants still looked unsure, and Grian couldn't truly blame them for their hesitance. This was nothing like the initial plan. It was far riskier, with more room for error, but he believed it was their best bet, their perfect opportunity handed to them on a silver platter. And despite what they may believe, this was also the plan with the lowest amount of casualties that Grian could think of. If executed perfectly, there would not be any deaths.

"If we were going to do something like this, what did we need Coral Crest's support for?" Bigb wondered out loud.

"The original plan was to use their numbers to overwhelm the castles forces, but now we might not even need to do that. Instead, we'll use them to circle the castle and block off any and all exit points to prevent the king from making an escape." Grian said.

“I’m still not convinced about this plan," Joel said after a moment passed

Grian opened his mouth to continue arguing his case, but he was cut off by a voice from behind. An unfamiliar voice.

“No, it might just work.”

Grian’s head snapped around at breakneck speed, his eyes sharpening as they landed on an unfamiliar man of short stature standing on the second to last step of the staircase with his hand on the wall for support. His determined eyes widened, and fear bled into their depths as Grian made a move for him.

Grian sprung off of Etho’s chair with one quick and deadly movement. Before the man could even react past a loud scream, Grian was on him, the sharp talons of his feet digging into his shoulders and sending him crashing to the ground, just barely avoiding cracking his head open on the cobble steps. Grian put the palm of his hand against the man’s forehead and shoved his head back against the stone, leaving his throat open and vulnerable to the pointed talons he pressed against the delicate skin.

“You have 10 seconds to explain who you are and how you found this place before I slit you ear to ear.” He hissed. The man opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, his chest heaving and his eyes darting back and forth from Grian’s merciless face and the talon’s pressed to his throat. Grian felt him gulp.

“Bdubs?!” Cleo’s voice asked incredulously behind him.

Grian threw her a look over his shoulder and found she was already standing, a shocked look on her face. Everyone else looked just as, if not more, shocked.

"You know this man?” He asked.

“Yes, I know the idiot!” She said.

“What is he doing here? This meeting was invite only, you had no right to allow him to listen in on it.” Grian hissed.

“I didn’t know he was here!” She defended, her face soured by the accusation. “I even told him specifically not to come here today!”

Grian turned back to the man and tilted his head. “You had better start talking.”

“I’m on your side, I promise!” He exclaimed, his hands going up in surrender.

“Are you? I’m not inclined to believe you, considering you broke into our private meeting. How did you even know how to get in here?” Grian asked.

“I am, I really am!” The mad said, erring on the side of hysterical, “I wasn’t even planning on coming here today, honest! I just happened to see you enter the shop while I was running errands, and I recognized you, so I followed you inside. An-and I always thought the stone in the hearth looked out of place, so I figured it had to be some kind of secret room, and it turns out I was right!”

“And what business did you have with me? Are you working for the crown?” Grian demanded.

“No! I already said I was on your side! I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but when I realized this was a top secret meeting I walked in on, my curiosity got the better of me and I couldn’t help listening in.”

“What business did you have here in the first place?” Grian repeated, harsher this time. He pressed down on his neck hard enough that a bead of blood rolled down the brown expanse of his skin and the man let out a short shout of terror.

“I had information that I thought you might want to hear!” He shouted, squeezing his eyes shut. That caught Grian’s attention.

He retracted his hands and leaped back off of the man, knowing his dismount wouldn’t tear any skin due to the thick fabric of his dirty cloak, which had prevented Grian from getting a tight hold on the man in the first place. The man slowly peaked one big, brown eye open, his rapid breathing slowly tapering down as he swallowed thickly. Grian held out a hand to him, and he flinched before hesitantly taking the offered hand. Grian carefully held the hand in a way that his talons wouldn’t cause any damage and then yanked him to his feet.

“Bdubs, they said your name was?” Grian asked. The man, Bdubs, nodded, his eyes still wary. “Great. Well then, Bdubs, why don’t you go ahead and take a seat, tells us this information you thought was important for us to hear.”

Bdubs gave him a scared look before booking it over to stand beside a pissed off Cleo near the back of the room. “Judas Priest that was scary!” He whisper-hissed once he was close to her, clearly not understanding that his voice would carry in the small room. She glared at him, and he had the decency to look sheepish.

“We’re waiting.” Grian stated, moving to once again occupy the back of Etho’s chair, now with his arms crossed.

“Right,” Bdubs cleared his throat. "Well, I was working in the garden like usual when I overheard Commander Gem and Chancellor Martyn talking-”

“Wait a minute, who are you that you’re able to overhear such important people talking?!” Jimmy asked, verbalizing what Grian was also wondering.

“Ah, right, I guess I should have led with that. I’m the, uh, royal gardener.” Bdubs said, rubbing the back of his neck. Cleo pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh, and Etho put his head in his hands.

Grian raised an eyebrow but motioned for him to keep going.

“Anyway, like I said, I could hear them talking but I wasn’t really listening until it became obvious to me that the Commander was upset, so I started paying more attention and I heard them discussing this plan.” Bdubs explained.

“What kind of plan.” Grian asked, narrowing his eyes.

“A plan to use the party to capture all of you regardless of the casualties it would cause.” Bdubs said, suddenly deadly serious, a little bit of anger even leaking into his words. The silence that fell over the room was a different kind of silence this time, a more mournful and disturbed one.

“Those bastards!” Tango shouted, slapping his palm down onto the table. The smell of burning wood instantly filled the small space as the surface began sizzle under his hand.

“Gem agreed to this plan?” Pearl asked uncertaintly. Tilly whined beside her.

“She wasn’t exactly turning it down.” Bdubs said.

“You’re focusing on the wrong thing here,” Joel said, bringing the attention to himself, “This interferes with Grian’s plan, doesn’t it?”

He didn't think it did, to be honest. He had already suspected that the party might be a trap and had worked that into the equation. It would have been stupid for them not to expect something like this. If anything, it played right into his plan.

“Quite the opposite” He said, “If they’re expecting us, it may be easier to convince them that the attack outside is real. That's why you said it might work, right Bdubs?”

Bdubs nodded.

"But what if the second they find out the attack was fake they rush back inside and catch us in the act?" Mumbo asked.

"The knights are also trained incredibly well, despite what you might think." Etho said, putting in his two cents as a former knight. "The chances that a fake attack would be enough to get him alone are slim to none. They'll have someone at his side at all times."

“If that's the case, we will have no choice but to stage a real attack.” Scar said nonchalantly.

“I told you; I am not willing to put civilians at risk, and I won’t let you either!” Tango protested. “The Winterian people have suffered enough. I’m here to stop that suffering, not add to it.”

“I never said anything about putting the civilians in danger, simply that we’ll have to make our threat a little more…real.” Scar hummed.

“Scar is right,” Grian said. “We’ll have to actually attack the castle instead of simply threatening it.”

“But where does that leave the civilians?” Pearl barked, her hands holding onto the table in a white knuckled grip as she glared up at Grian. “You’re going to throw their lives away to get what you want?”

“I never said that.” Grian snapped, and then he turned his attention to Bdubs, whose eyes widened as he caught the avian’s gaze. “That’s where you come in.”

“Me?!” He exclaimed, pointing to himself.

“You have personal connections to the people inside the castle, do you not?” Grian questioned.

“Uh, yeah, I guess I do.” Bdubs said.

“So then, they would trust you with their lives?” Grian asked further.

“I- that’s a really scary thought, but maybe?!” He said, alarmed. Grian turned his attention to the rest of the room.

“We’ll use the tunnels inside of the castle.” He proposed. Eyes all around the table widened with realization and even Pearl’s expression changed from rage to one of contemplation. “We plant several of our members inside of the party, and when the time comes for the attack, we draw the king out and section off the ball room, allowing for mass evacuations through the tunnels that connect to the ballroom.”

“...I can see this working.” Tango conceded; Jimmy nodded beside him.

“Where do I come into this?” Bdubs asked nervously.

“You’re going to lead the evacuations efforts. If they hear it from someone they trust, castle staff and party goers alike will be much more likely to not panic and listen.” Grian explained. He was originally going to use his inside man for a similar role, but with Bdubs' introduction to the mix that freed him up to carry out a much more important role. Maybe this little eavesdropper was just the blessing Grian needed.

“What?! I can’t help you with your crazy plan, I’m not even a member of your group!” Bdubs exclaimed

“That may be true, but you said you were on our side, did you not?” Grian asked. “It would make sense for you to help us with this.”

“I did say that…But I don’t know. I’m just a gardener, I can’t possibly be trusted with something as important as this!” He argued.

“I actually agree with him on that note,” Joel said, “This is a really important task to entrust to a simple civilian. How can we even be sure that he’s on our side anyway?”

“A lot of us are simple civilians,” Cleo pointed out with an indignant sniffle, “Bdubs is more than capable of doing this.”

“Fine, but there's still the question of his loyalty.” Joel pushed.

“I’ve known Bdubs for nearly my entire life, I trust him more than I trust anyone in this room.” Cleo said with confidence.

“I can also personally vouch for him,” Etho said, “He’s got a good heart.”

“How do you know Bdubs?” Grian asked, actually caught off guard by the revelation. It was honestly a wonder Bdubs hadn't shown up before this if so many of his resistance members knew the man.

“He comes into the shop sometimes for tool repairs.” Etho said with a shrug.

“Um, hi, hello, isn't there someone you guys forgot to consult about this? I still don't know if I'm cut out for the job!” Bdubs said, his nerves getting the better of him as he wrung his hands together.

“You’re the only one who can do it,” Grian said, “Please, will you do this for us? Will you help us?”

Bdubs bit his lip, looking around the room but never leaving his gaze in one place for long. Grian half expected the man to say no, to run screaming from this secret cellar and never look back. Maybe even change his mind about "being on their side" and turn them in to the crown. He would be well within his rights to do so. The thin, still lightly bleeding scratch on his throat said as much. Grian hadn’t exactly made the best first impression.

Against all odds, however, Bdubs deflated with a sigh and then nodded with a determined expression on his face.

“I’ll do it!” He said, his hands in fists by his side. Cleo smiled beside him.

“All in favour of carrying out the attack-evacuation plan?” Grian asked, letting his voice grow loud enough to echo in the small room. Everyone chimed in with some form of agreement, including Pearl, much to his surprised. Tilly herself even joined in with a loud bark.

“All in favour of Bdubs working with the resistance for the foreseeable future?” Another round of agreements.

Grian smiled, something wide and all sharp angles, his pitch-black eyes scrunching and dangerously reflecting the lantern's light.

“Well then, meeting adjourned. Welcome to the resistance, Bdubs, the show is on.”

❀ ❀ ❀

Gem brought the knife down hard and fast, the descent of the blade experienced and skillful as it cut through flesh. The tip of the carrot was severed from the body. It rolled across the countertop for a short distance before spinning and falling still. The rest of the body followed suite as she deftly chopped it into pieces with likely more force than was strictly necessary.

“Careful there, tiger. What did that carrot ever do to you?” Pearl asked with a snort.

Gem looked up from where she had been hyper focused on her task and chuckled, though there was no heart behind it. “Sorry, there’s been a lot on my mind lately.” She said before resuming her cutting, the strokes of the knife much gentler this time.

“Copper coin for your thoughts?” Pearl asked, moving past her with a tray full of savoury pies that were ready to be loaded into the brick oven.

Gem wasn’t sure how she got roped into helping Pearl out in the bakery. One minute she was in her office stewing over a pile of reports with a cup of cold coffee held in a death grip, and the next Impulse, along with his best friend Skizz, were busting in and dragging her out of the castle regardless of how much of a fuss she put up. They had dragged her all the way to Big Bakeries, going on and on the whole way about how she needed a break before she worked herself to death. A hand holding onto her wrist and the promise that Scott was handling things at the castle in her absence were the only things preventing her from making an escape attempt. Pearl had happily offered herself up as a distraction upon their arrival and had even helped braid her hair to keep it out of her eyes, and by extension, out of the food.

Skizz and Impulse were, of course, dragged into helping out as well. While Gem was stuck chopping veggies, the two of them were on the other side of the room rolling and shaping dough to be used for the crusts. Bigb himself was out running the front of the shop, but he would occasionally pop his head in to ask how things were going and to take finished product to the displays.

“I don’t know if it’s something I should talk about freely…” Gem trailed off, unsure, as she reached over for a new carrot.

Pearl loaded the pies into the oven, dusted off her hands, and then came to stand at Gem’s side, her arms folded and resting on the countertop. She laid her head on her arms and looked up at Gem. Her messy hair was up in a tight bun, her bangs pushed back by a red bandana, leaving the moon-shaped birthmark on her face fully visible.

“You can leave details out. You just seem so down lately, really stressed. I want to help.” Pearl said sincerely. Gem sighed as she pushed the carrot bits aside to join the rest in the larger pile she had amassed.

“I’m really worried about this party coming up.” She admitted. The damned thing was no secret at this point. Ren had posters made almost immediately and distributed them across the Capital just as quickly

“Does this have something to do with what you told me about Grian a few weeks ago?” Pearl asked, turning her head so that her chin was resting in the crook of her elbow. Gem’s eyes flickered over to Impulse and Skizz and then back to Pearl.

“It does. This stupid ball is basically an open invitation for him to do whatever he wants inside of the castle, and I’m scared that he’s going to take it and run with it, and I won’t be enough to put a stop to whatever it is that he does. I’m scared of people getting hurt while I'm powerless to help them.” Gem said, her fears falling from her mouth faster than she could think about what she was going to say. Her hand tightened on the knife, her jaw clenching hard enough for her teeth to squeak in her ears.

“And that plan he mentioned, what if this party benefits it in some way? What if we’re handing him the advantage over us on a silver platter? There's so much that could go wrong and so much I still don’t know! The only plan I have right now could get so many people hurt. If I don’t figure out something better to do, he’ll be right, this really will be the end and-”

“Hey,” Pearl interrupted, causing Gem to snap her mouth shut with an audible clank of her teeth. Pearl unfolded her arms so that she could grab the hand Gem was gripping the knife with, her warm, calloused fingers wrapping around her own. At the gentle touch, she loosened her grip, some of the tension leaving her body as she took a deep breath she hadn’t realized she needed. "You’ll figure it out, everything is going to be okay. After all, what was it that you said? That you’ll put an end to this? You’ve never been one to not keep your word, so I have full faith in you.”

Gem took a deep breath and then another until the foggy feeling in her head dissipated and she was able to return Pearl’s soft smile. She released the knife to hold Pearl’s hand properly, giving it a quick squeeze as her heartbeat calmed down. Others had shared similar sentiments with her over the weeks with little to no effect. It was not as though their words meant any less to her, it was just that they were different somehow when they were coming from the mouth of her best friend.

“You’re right… I’m letting myself get too into my head.” She said, “Thank you for getting me out of there.”

“Of course,” Pearl said, standing straight and pulling their hands apart to bring Gem into a warm embrace, “What are friends for?”

Gem returned the embrace, resting her chin on her taller friend’s shoulder as she leaned her head against the side of the other girls. She smelled predominately of baked goods and a little bit like wet dog; she smelt familiar, comforting. She could feel her heart beating against her own, further bringing her calm as she caught Impulse’s eyes from across the room. The jerk was wearing that knowing smile of his. He had planned this, the schemer. She couldn’t be mad at him; this was what she needed to clear her head.

She didn’t notice the way Pearl held onto her as though her life depended on it, her long fingers lightly trembling as they dug into the fabric of Gem’s dress and apron, nor did she notice the way the other woman clenched her jaw tightly.

“Ah!” Pearl exclaimed suddenly, pulling away from the hug and rushing over to the oven. “The pies!”

Gem couldn’t help but laugh as Pearl pulled the tray of horribly burned pies from the oven, turning to show them off with a big pout. Impulse and Skizz saw the pies, and both joined in on the laughing, and soon enough so did Pearl herself, the noise getting to a high enough volume that Bigb peeked his head in to see what the commotion was.

“Aw come on, you guys, we can't sell those…” He said sadly, only causing more laughter to erupt throughout the room.

Hours later Pearl and Bigb saw the three of them out, but not before shoving a bundle of burnt pies into each of their hands under the guise of "thank you gifts". Gem gave Pearl another big hug and whispered a quiet thank you into her ear before following after the older men as they made their way back to the castle, the setting sun on their backs the only warmth as a winter chill officially settled itself over Wintertide. Gem was glad she had worn one of her more padded dresses as a shiver made its way down her spine. The tips of her ears where already going numb.

“You planned all of that, didn’t you.” Gem said, punching Impulse in the arm as she fell into step beside him.

“Ow!” He laughed as he rubbed the tender spot on his upper arm. “And for the record, so what if I did? You needed to get out of the castle. Your stress was basically stinking up the whole place.”

“I resent that.” She said, rolling her eyes.

“No one blames ya for being stressed out over all of this, Gemstone.” Skizz said, throwing his bare, scarred arm around her shoulder. How he did not have a cloak, or even a long-sleeved tunic, on in this weather was a damn mystery to her. “Anyone would be.”

Despite having been a part of the first war against Coral Crest, Skizz wasn’t a knight like her and Impulse so she never really got to see him as much as she would like. The half-avian had been a medic, the best in the entire kingdom some would say. His field career had been cut short long before Gem had even made the move to the capital to join the army, though. A stray explosion, something that was still experimental and extra volatile back then, had gone off and nearly taken him with it. He was lucky to have survived, even if the blast had left his body a patchwork of scars and made it to where he would never be able to fly again.

He mostly worked inside of the castle now, treating training injuries and the stray illness.

“Regardless, I shouldn’t have let my anxiety get the better of me and affect the rest of you like that.” Gem said, feeling more than a little guilty.

“Ah nonsense.” Skizz said, releasing her and locking his hands together behind his head, eyes turned up to the peaking stars. “Tensions are high regardless. I’m sure a lot of people are scared that the situation with the resistance is going to turn out similar to the Evalore incident. You’re doom and gloom just added to the already dreary atmosphere.”

“The Evalore incident?” She asked, tilting her head as she turned to look at him.

“You’ve never heard of it?” Skizz asked, letting his arms drop to his sides.

“Maybe that’s for the best.” Impulse interrupted with an air of unease. Skizz looked between the two of them with wide eyes before rubbing the back of his neck with a chuckle.

“I guess I shouldn’ta brought it up, huh?” He asked slowly.

“You have to tell me now.” Gem insisted, her curiosity, as well as her dread, both too strong to leave it at that. Skizz looked to Impulse for guidance and the other sighed.

“Well, we can’t exactly keep it from you.” Impulse said.

“I’m really surprised you haven’t heard about it before.” Skizz stated again. “It wasn’t all too long ago, and word of it spread really fast and didn’t die down for a while back in the day.”

“The village I grew up in was fairly secluded. We didn’t hear a lot about what happened outside of our borders unless it had to do with the Winterian and Crestian war, since it directly affected us.” Gem admitted.

“I sometimes forget you didn’t grow up here in the capital, feels like you’ve always been around.” Skizz muttered before continuing. “Well, since you don’t know anything, I’ll start from the beginning. Evalore was a kingdom on the edge of the map’s borders, I’m talking way out there and deep inside of the red wood forests; they were also pretty cut off from the rest of the world. Barely anyone went in, and next to no one came out. They were also pretty much the last kingdom in the lands that still had prominent amounts of magic present, even if it was also growing weaker and dying out like it was everywhere else.”

Gem remained silent as she absorbed the information.

“They were a prosperous kingdom, one of the richest across the whole of the land. Despite their secluded nature, they were really friendly as well. The details get muddy towards this point, but it is said that a civil war broke out inside. No one knows what it was fought over, but there are a ton of theories. Some say it was a simple disagreement the royal family had with the common people; others say it was a dispute between magic users vs. non-magic users that reached a tipping point. There are even some people who suggest it wasn't a civil war at all, but an attack from another kingdom that won't claim responsibility. Whatever it was, though, it doesn’t matter anymore, because in the end…”

Skizz trailed off, but Impulse jumped in to finish for him, “Everything was destroyed.”

“Everything?” Gem asked, horrified.

“Everything.” Impulse confirmed. “Whatever transpired, it was so intense that there was nothing left of the once glorious kingdom but a pile of ashes and bones. There were no survivors left to tell the tale, either.”

“That’s…that’s awful…’ Gem trailed off, fighting off tears in her eyes. Her grip on the pie she had been "gifted" tightening enough that she felt the pastry crumble under the cloth covering it. She was sure the two men expected the story to scare her, and it did, but for some reason it only strengthened her resolve. "That won’t be what happens to us, though. I’ll make sure of that; I’ll protect our people from suffering such a horrible fate.”

Impulse and Skizz shared a smile, and Impulse said. “I trust you on that.”

They lapsed into silence as at that moment they reached the castle gates. Gem handed her pie off to Impulse and the three of them parted ways, Gem heading for her office while the two older men headed for the barracks to turn in for the night. She pushed the door to her study open and found Scott sitting at her desk, just as Impulse had promised he would be. He looked troubled and barely gave her a small glance as she shut the door behind her and made her way over to where he sat.

“What is the matter?” She asked, putting a hand on the back of the chair and leaning in.

“You received a report from the librarian while you were out this evening.” He said, rubbing at his lower face as he squinted at the paper, worried.

“The librarian?” She questioned with a perplexed expression. She didn’t typically get reports from the woman who ran the royal library unless she had to go break up a fight in there, or she had to grant permission to purchase new books. "Did something happen?"

“No…nothing like that. However, she believes she knows what the intruder wanted when they broke in during the festival.” He explained. Gem’s eyebrows shot up as she ripped the paper from his hands.

“What?! What was it? What did they want?” She demanded.

“Well, that’s just it…” Scott trailed off.

Commander Gem,

While taking inventory this morning I noticed that there was something missing from my collection.

I have reason to believe that the intruder you have been searching for has stolen a-

“A grimoire?” She asked incredulously, reading and rereading the report in disbelief. There was no mistaking what it said, though. The words were clear as day.

“Yes, one of the decorative ones that are kept locked in the king’s personal section of the library.” Scott elaborated.

“What on earth could they possibly need a decorative grimoire for?” She asked, turning to Scott with her eyebrows so close together that she could feel them touching.

“I’m not entirely sure…But I don’t doubt that it could go for a lot of money in places like The Monopoly, where underground sales are increasingly common these days. Maybe they figured that since it was in the king’s personal area, and one of the only ones in a display case, it was among the most valuable.” Scott suggested with a shrug.

“So, what you’re saying is that it’s possible the intruder was just…what? A simple thief looking to steal something of value to sell on the black market?” Gem questioned, her face dropping in shock.

If this were true, then she had wasted so much time chasing after…nothing. She could have been using her time in much more valuable ways, but instead she was trying to catch a lowly thief!

“I’m not saying for certain that is the case, but it looks like that is a very real possibility.” Scott replied.

Her grip on the chair tightened and she hung her head, a mixture of shame and anger boiling in her stomach. She shook her head and ran a hand through her wild curls, which were beginning to fall free from the braid. There was no use dwelling on it now. At least the conclusion to the mystery gave her a considerable amount of free time she hadn't previously possessed.

“Thank you, Scott, you can turn in for the night.” She said, her voice devoid of emotion.

“Don’t hesitate to get me if you need anything.” He said as he stood from the chair and departed, the door closing softly behind him.

She dropped down into the chair with a huff, turning over the day's events in her head. One word in particular played over and over again in her head, the horrible images her mind conjured of the tragedy she knew little about playing behind her eyelids like a vision of what was to come.

Maybe she should use this newfound free time between strengthening security for the ball to read up on the kingdom of Evalore. She got the feeling that it was more relevant than either Skizz or Impulse believed.

#GG rivals au #GG main fic #geminitay #grian #life series #Danny's fics #fic: Thus Always to Tyrants #Point of View: Grian #Point of View: Gem #impulsesv #skizzleman #pearlescentmoon #etho #zombiecleo #goodtimeswithscar #this one was a long time coming #and it was very fun #let me know how you liked it!

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