Sun sat quietly at the dining table – the large one for more formal meals. Kalys had introduced her to Lord Vorris – who had practically slobbered all over her hand when he'd kissed it in greeting. Kalys had discreetly slipped her a handkerchief to wipe her hand on. The cousin he was travelling with had better manners at least, or more control over his spit glands. They were travelling with a few attendants who had already been seen to.
When they had been seated, Kalys had also made sure he was between her and the Vorris's, for which she was grateful. Both of them reeked of tobacco and ash, a smell she didn't get a lot of since leaving the slums.
Vorris had thanked them for having him and his people and said that they wouldn't put them out too long. The entire time Kalys had been much colder than usual since Vorris had arrived, not towards her, but in general. He wasn't outright rude, but his displeasure at their presence was obvious, at least to her. Either they didn't realise it, or they were completely unfazed by it. Sun was sure the room temperature was cooler than usual as well, perhaps on purpose in an attempt to make the place even more unwelcoming for them. He must have really disliked this man.
He was boring; he spent most of the conversation droning on and on about the success of his family's businesses and how he's in negotiations with members of the royal family to expand... something. His land, or territory – she wasn't sure since she was only half listening. Every now and then Kalys would catch her eye, a questioning look in his own, silently asking if she was all right. She'd give a discreet nod and a small smile before trying to plaster on an attentive face.
When they had finished the food, Kalys suggested he and Lord Vorris continue their conversation in the study.
"Sun, I believe you had an appointment to get to," Kalys said.
Not exactly, but if that was him trying to give her an escape, she wasn't going to say no, so she nodded.
"A shame," Lord Vorris said. "I'd hoped we could continue to get to know one another."
Was that what they had been doing?
"Perhaps later," Sun offered a polite smile. "I really should be going, or I'll be late."
She mouthed a 'thank you' to Kalys for his sacrifice as she passed by him, giving him a grateful smile. Once out that door, she practically fled the manor, going as fast as she could to Perdition gates to meet Zen. He was already standing there when she arrived, skidding to a stop in front of him. He was leaning against the pillar, a pack slung over his shoulder.
"You're getting bloody fast, almost impossible to see," he noted.
She grinned at the compliment. "So what was the plan for today?"
"Come on," he said, still offering no real explanation.
She followed him away from Perdition, the pair of them passing the time with idle chatter, mostly gossip about his division members. A half hour saw them out in the woods at the jetty they'd found months ago. It had been some time since they were last here; there hadn't been much point in the winter, and they'd been busy since it warmed.
"What are we doing here?" She asked.
He dropped his pack on the ground. "We're going to learn how to swim."
She raised a brow, searching for any sign that might have been a joke. Learning to swim was a good idea, but could they really teach themselves? Neither of them had any experience swimming. The closest she'd come to it was with Kalys in the lake, but there had been no real swimming involved. And then in the container on her mission in which she had almost drowned.
"What prompted this?" She asked him.
"Well, you almost drowned on your mission. And... everyone else in my division knows how. Plus, if we do it while Nick is away, we'll be able to do something he can't. We'll have one up on him."
"Compelling arguments..." She murmured, eyeing the water.
"And if we do drown, you can just suck the water out of our lungs, right?"
She shot him an incredulous look, again wondering if he was serious. While she was getting better with her control over water, her precision still wasn't great. She was likely to do more damage if she had to pull water from his lungs, not to mention that would save him. Who would save her if she drowned?
"All right, all right, I can see where your mind's gone. Let's just promise each other not to drown."
"Sounds like a plan," she agreed.
She was starting to think Nick might have been their brain.
-
Kalys had already declined Lord Vorris's invitation to ally on his current expansion, so he was unsure why the man was still talking. Kalys stared hard into the other man's eyes, dropping the temperature of the room just a little further. Not enough that it would be obvious, but just enough to increase the tension Vorris should be feeling.
He wondered what plans Sun had with her fool friend. While he never would have thought anything that might involve Zen could be interesting, it had to be better than this.
"Lord Vorris," Kalys interrupted. "Perhaps we should lay this subject to rest. I will not be accepting your offer."
The man heaved a heavy sigh, tapping his ringed fingers against the wooden arm of the chair and emitting a sound that grated on Kalys's nerves.
"Very well," Vorris agreed. "There is one other proposal I'd like to make. For your sister's hand."
This time there was a noticeable drop in temperature, a warning. "You wish to marry my sister?"
All other proposals had been done via letter; none were so foolish as to do it face-to-face.
"I do. I think the union of our families would greatly benefit both."
As Kalys didn't even want to enter any kind of business arrangement with the man, he couldn't understand why Vorris would think he'd give him his sister.
"No," he replied. "Sun is not available for marriage."
"If you're waiting for a better offer, Lord Illusen, you'll not find one. While you have formally acknowledged your sister and added her to the line of succession, that doesn't erase her bastardy or her blood. Do you even know who the girl's mother is?"
Kalys's eyes narrowed slightly, almost in disbelief of what he was hearing.
"Not to mention you've let her run about the academy unchaperoned and play at being a Revenant. She'll need a firm hand to temper that wilful nature of hers."
Kalys had heard the Vorris's practised disciplining and punishing their wives in ways that had fallen from favour generations ago.
"She'll also need someone willing to overlook that she's likely been compromised. As she'd be my second wife, I have no issue with it."
Compromised... He was aware she was intact but felt no need to defend that to this fool. But this time he purposely chilled the room, Vorris pulling his coat tighter about him.
"I don't know what possessed you to think I would tolerate your insults against my sister," he said.
Vorris's eyes widened, as by now he would be feeling a painfully cold sensation in his mouth as his tongue froze. Kalys was done with listening to the insults and slights against her. She had been subjected to it for years before he had found her, and drawing her into the spotlight as he had had only made things worse.
"Were Sun here, she would likely stop me, having a greater capacity for mercy and forgiveness than I. Maybe it's that impure blood of hers." Kalys leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other as he stared the man down. "You should be grateful I'm going to let you walk out of here with your life. But that is for the express purpose of spreading your story; I'm leaving you the use of your hands so you can at least write it down. My sister is not available for marriage, and I will not tolerate slander against her. Gather your people, leave my house, and never darken my doorstep again. Understood?"
Vorris nodded, his eyes wet as the pain set in. Kalys would give him credit for not panicking and screaming and carrying on, even when he spat his tongue out into his hand.
"You'll need to seek medical treatment for what's left of your tongue."
He lightened the pressure in the room, and Vorris was on his feet in an instant, scurrying from the study, slamming the door behind him. He did hope this story would spread. He wasn't so naive as to think it would stop people from saying what they were saying, but he did hope to at least keep it out of Sun's hearing and avoid a repeat of the night at the Palace.
While he wasn't usually one to doubt his decisions, he did wonder if he'd made the right one in formally acknowledging Sun. Perhaps he should have just taken her in without making any formal announcements. Doing nothing and leaving her as she was was not an option, but perhaps discretion would have been a smoother path for Sun. Back then, though, he wasn't taking her feelings into consideration at all; she should have just been grateful. Another mistake on his part.
Vorris was right about one thing, though; it was unlikely anyone would see Sun beyond a connection to the Illusen family, a sacrifice they had to make to reap the benefits of Illusen wealth and influence. It was a good thing she had no interest in marriage; Kalys was happy to keep her home and where he could keep her safe. Any husband she might marry in the nobility could not be trusted with her.
While most marriages were arranged for some mutual benefit to the families, he couldn't trust Suns husband would treat her as she deserved and that he wouldn't force her out of the Revenants and away from Kolver. But Kalys found the thought of her getting married and leaving Kolver to be... It was something else he didn't want to allow.
Dismissing the thoughts, he got up from his seat to let the guards know to ensure Vorris and his people left swiftly.
With so much left of the day, he headed to his room to don his uniform and get to work. He didn't have to lose the entire day after all. A definite waste of a morning, though.