oh like gold, let it lead me astray.

[canicide]

[ It's mid-morning, the sun beating down strongly on the white stone of the palace. With the ceremony scheduled for afternoon, preparations are already well underway. In a chamber adjacent to the audience room, Heine is still getting dressed. His underthings are on, shirt and breeches as well, but a glance at all the other layers laid out make him want to break the wall down and leave.

He never should have agreed to this. Honestly, it was a mistake, and Heine can only stare longingly at his sword, which is placed on a side table, sheathed. He'd really rather go out into the training yard and beat something (or someone) up. Instead, he's here. Heine sighs loudly and slouches, despite the tailor poking him in the back and telling him to stand up straight as the door of the room swings open. A guard announces, ] The queen.

Comments

[erythristic]

[the ceremony is later, so for now she can be in simpler clothes. ones she can actually navigate around in, when all eyes were not upon her.

her presence is announced, and with a look, the tailor bows deeply and backs away.]

General.

[her voice is soft - no need to raise it. this is merely her seeing how he is rather than any formality. the ceremony would be an affair, but if he had any doubts...now would be the time to smooth them over. she knew her father did such a thing in his time, and it worked well enough.]

[canicide]

Your Majesty.

[ Heine does straighten up, if only a bit, before he bows stiffly at the waist. It's easier to see, when there aren't any trappings of rank on him, the repressed, violent energy in his spine. His hands always feel weightless without a weapon, and all of his soldiers have seen him covered in blood. ]

Is there a problem?

[ Surely that's the only reason she'd come by before the ceremony. Even if he's her general (or is to be, at least), that's no occasion for them to become so personally acquainted. That's how Heine thinks, anyway. ]

[erythristic]

There may not be a problem. Or, there may be.

[she raises her hand, and in one moment, all save the guard have left the room. and then, they too go outside. she looks at him then, tension in her frame no matter how she tries to hide it - this is a test. it is a test to see how much she can trust him, if she can truly accept him into the position that would place him so near without having to suspect him of trying to remove her from her place.

there are a scarce few that know of her skill in defending herself, of her capacity to kill a man without blinking. he is not one of them, not yet.]

Tell me this, and honestly. Do you still wish to take up this duty?

[canicide]

[ Well, that just makes him uncomfortable. Heine watches everyone file out of the room before returning his gaze to her face. ]

Honestly? [ He'd never wanted it. Heine doesn't think of himself as good, or even responsible. This kind of duty seems too grand for him. And despite his usual blunt honesty, he hesitates a moment before even shrugging. ] ...I don't know. But you already have me here.

[ Heine waves a hand at the various laid out clothing items. ]

[erythristic]

It doesn't matter. With a word, everything can be called off.

[she'd bear up the rumours that would come without a hint of complaint. it could be done, and no one would question her for her order, only comply and be confused.]

What doubts you have, I can try to assuage them, but...if you do not choose this role, then I have no wish to sink you into misery for the next part of your life. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to get rid of you. I'm only wishing to give you what few receive in this life - a choice in the matter.

[canicide]

[ Immediately, Heine can admit he has doubts, not only about the position but also what the queen is saying. Does she genuinely mean that she wants to give him freedom? ]

I don't need a choice. [ He's standing with his shoulders squared now, and tacks on the honorific after almost forgetting it. ] ...your Majesty.

You know what you're doing. I— [ For a moment Heine pauses, trying to think of how to phrase it. ] —understand that. I'll follow your orders.

[ Isn't that what she wants? ]

[erythristic]

If I only wanted someone to carry out my orders, I would appoint someone brainless or myself.

[there's a faint smile on her lips, and she turns to walk a little closer to that table where the sword is. deliberate again, as it leaves her back facing him.

her hand hovers over the sword for a second before she drops it again, keeping her gaze away from him.]

I wanted someone who could also make decisions, who could...let's say, have an opinion on what to do. You're not here to just be a good little soldier. You're here because I can respect what I've seen of you.

[and, it hangs in the air unspoken, if your decision is not this...]

[canicide]

[ He knew it would come up eventually. Even though Einsturzen's organization is gone now, and was in a country more than two sets of borders away, people don't forget an event like that—when children constantly disappeared and reappeared as broken soldiers for years, and the cause of it was a cult allied with the government.

And people don't forget that someone survived the destruction of that cult, even though he tried to run, and the people themselves are now scattered and lost.

Heine doesn't have anything to remind himself of his past, other than a pair of bullets on a chain. He touches them before he leaves his room to go and see the queen, hating himself for the sentimentality.

Once he's announced, Heine enters the room with quick steps, staying a safe distance away with his arms at his sides. Despite the fact that he's definitely not supposed to, Heine speaks first. ]

I don't— [ That didn't start well. He tries again. ]

How much do you know?

[erythristic]

[it had stunned her, when the news came through her net. her general. a past she had not bothered asking after when she recruited him for the fact that she knew he could be loyal. she'd never pressed, never tried to ask about it.

so this information, brought to light...she wasn't sure how to feel. regardless, she had him sent for, and she waited for him alone. even with this knowledge by her side, she didn't see a reason to keep her guards by her side. he'd never threatened her before. hopefully he would not start.]

Some. Though I doubt I have the full scope of it, anything that flows beyond ghastly rumours and hints of facts.

Which of them are true?

[canicide]

[ "The full scope of it", like it was a situation far away that could be understood like that. Though—when Heine thinks about it, he can't fault her for that view. It hadn't made any sense at the time, and even now, years later, he doesn't know fully what happened or why. ]

Depends on what you've heard.

[ He sighs, a soft sound, and his head lowers slightly before he gathers himself back up into not-quite military posture. ]

...there was a temple. Not a lot of followers at first. But when their leader—leaders—started pulling kids in, testing which ones could be a container for the thing they were trying to capture, people started paying attention. Because they were crazy enough to try things that [ should never have been thought of, never happened, never happened to him, let alone anyone else, let alone Lily ] worked. I... let it in.

[ Heine shrugs, but it's a weak attempt at looking dismissive. When he does make eye contact with Grell, his expression is blank and distant. ]

Killed them all when I left. Far as I know, anyway. [ If there are any survivors, it's not by his wish. He would have burned the whole place if he could and salted the earth to keep them from rebuilding, but when Heine ran he'd been young, and he didn't understand the future.

But who's to say he understands it now? Heine's posture relaxes once he's done talking, any attempt at staying poised leaving him all in one tired breath. ]

So. What's the sentence, your Majesty?

[erythristic]

Sentence?

[she says the word distantly, still trying to process what he had said and how it matched to what she had been told. it was all true, then. at least, the main parts of it were. perhaps some were exaggerated in the repetition to become more shocking, more grotesque, but the heart of it was what was important, and his words are matching.

(she can hear the accusations already. abomination, monster, demon. any number of them.)

taking one step closer, and then another, she closes her eyes for a second and exhales.]

Why should I be sentencing you?

[maybe she should be demanding proof, something beyond recollections that were too detailed to deny in their retellings. but she can't find it in herself to be angry that he killed those who hurt children, who hurt him when he was only a child himself.

of course, they both know the murder is not the concerning part.]

i tried to find some ke$ha song about being a criminal but i couldn't dammit

[canicide]

[ The fact that she approaches rather than backs away sets Heine even further on edge. With her proximity he expects reproach and confrontation, and when it doesn't come, the look he offers her is almost confused. ]

Because I killed people. [ While not at war, that is, which would somehow make it acceptable. ]

And I don't die. [ He shrugs slightly. There's a heavy implication of "It's fucked up," without actually saying it out loud. ] You're going to have a hard time getting rid of me.

[erythristic]

[she shakes her head, and opens her mouth to speak, then stops herself and has to start again.]

So, you don't die. That's hardly a crime. And you killed those who death should have taken long ago. Is that such a bad thing?

[it's difficult to articulate her thoughts precisely, but she doesn't feel repulsed by knowing this. it simply was, another piece of who Heine was, something that explained while he offered no excuses. why should his past change this present? when so far he'd given her nothing but stability? she will not do him the insult of pitying him for it, but she can treat it with solemnity.]

I can't say I understand and mean it in full, but there is no reason to bring you punishment for it.

[and because she is herself, she reaches out to touch him, a very light placement of her hand on his arm. see? no fear, even if there was danger.]

just goes for marriage proposal because

[erythristic]

[the queen is in...the way some would describe it would be a state. moody is perhaps a better word for it, given how she's been, but no matter the word, the feeling is the same. and when she goes to see Heine, it isn't because she needs him on official matters, it's because she wants to talk to him. as a friend, hopefully, and ask a friend's thoughts.

(well, she saw them as friends. she didn't know how he would take it if she used such a word before him.)

it's not her sending for him this time, no, she seeks him out, and most are wise enough to stay out of her way when there's a slightly ominous quality to her gaze, trying to not frown too heavily. no one could stop her in the end, because Grell is far too determined, and she wants him to know, by her coming to him, that this is not some matter of where to move the troops.

still, she does have to find him first before anything else.]

WHAT KIND OF WEDDING DO THEY HAVE

[canicide]

[ It's not nearly late enough for Heine to be resting. When Grell reaches him, he's doing paperwork in a secluded corner of the working quarters, out of the way of people but still within earshot of servants when they say the queen is coming and she's looking for the general.

He slightly wonders if he's done something wrong. But he figures it's more likely that that would be urgent and she'd send other people out to find him, so when she arrives he's still working, but expecting her. He's quick to rise and greet her with a bow. ]

I heard you were looking for me.

maybe something smaller...more personal since it's not meant to be an event

[erythristic]

I am.

[she acknowledges the bow with a slight nod of her head, and then all at once the vaguely threatening aura she's been carrying around vanishes. instead, she looks stressed, and crosses her arms just to give her hands something to hold onto.]

...I might as well be upfront. I'd like to ask your advice, if you're free.

[like this, he's perfectly within bounds to refuse her and she'd accept it. but she hopes he won't.]

[canicide]

Sure.

[ He puts his papers down, looking up to indicate his attention. He can't really imagine what Grell would need his advice on, but he's here. ]

[erythristic]

This...please don't treat it like something spoken from Her Highness. I'm asking you this as myself.

[it's a distinction she has to make.]

If someone gave you a situation where the only result is something disagreeable no matter what you do, how would you handle it?

[canicide]

[ This sounds... serious. Heine puts his pen down. As for her actual question, he has to think about it. ]

Depends. [ But that's a pretty cop-out answer. He tries again. ]

Do the best thing you can manage. Or change the situation.

[erythristic]

[betrayal and conspiracy are common enough in ruling, no matter who holds the throne. their rule is no different - and indeed, it is their rule, no matter titles. her husband is her friend as much as he is her general still. he has input more than he knows. and when it comes time that someone must be put to the sword, usually he's the one to do it.

this execution, it's meant to be private. not for the crimes - no, they were shameful, they were disgraceful - but for the fact that it was the last she could do for someone she thought to be her friend. not someone who would aid their foes and use his own daughter as a pawn to marry into their ranks. this is a courtesy, though the fact of the matter is that he will absolutely die.]

The charges against you are absolute. Judgement must rise to meet this. Your sentence is death in the manner we see fit.

[her eyes flick over to Heine - soon.]

[canicide]

[ Heine stands by her—in court, as well as in private. This sentencing covers events he hadn't been around to know about, but of course, he trusts her judgment.

Once the sentence is given, he looks back at her. Is that the we "we" or the We?

...he's doing his best, ok. But given that she hasn't asked him to deliver a sentence yet, he just nods and gives the sentenced subject a long stare. They're brought to a circle of tiled floor a little further away—easier to clean. The guards don't release them yet, but Heine gets to his feet and advances. ]

[erythristic]

[before he can draw a blade, she holds up her hand, eyes still boring into the man before them.]

Wait.

[the word's quiet, but no less forceful in its intent to command.]

Stay there. Drop his arms.

[because he was her friend? because of how personal this cut? because there was that strange morbidity in her that only rose up in times like this? she couldn't, wouldn't say.]

[canicide]

[ The guards pause a moment to process, but release the prisoner immediately after. Heine waits, too, but stands close by with a hand on his blade, waiting for Grell to continue.

He doesn't need to look back at her. She'll decide. ]

[erythristic]

[in the silence, the sound of her unsheathing the blade she's kept at her side for some time now is impossibly loud. one step forward, before she lunges, the cool detached mask of authority broken into pieces to reveal anger, violent passion where she's as likely to rip out his heart with her bare hands than to make the cuts she does - one across the abdomen, the other laying open his throat. blood is hot on her hands, and all she sees is red-

she has to step back. has to get herself back because he's dead and it's all over now. even though she knows how easy it was, how far she might go if she didn't keep herself in check. it's a rare moment when she hesitates to look at Heine, to see what his reaction might be, but she does.]

[canicide]

[ Heine stands by. He expects her to speak to him again, or maybe ask a more personal question.

But blood hits him too, a moment after he recognizes the shift in her stance.

The thick liquid soaks through one sleeve on the arm that's closer, staining the already dark fabric darker. That was... quite a kill. (A voice says fucking good.) Heine says nothing, just raises his eyebrows slightly at her.

Well?

He gestures the guards in to take the body away. ]