Aligned For You

Chapter 7

CW: Blood, light violence

Elsewhere in the castle, MacKenzie and Alonne were, in fact, looking for His Highness. It was unusual for Caius to not come find them first once big events like these were done, if just because he wanted to talk to them and get their insight on whatever he had seen. According to one of the servants who had waited on the table, Caius and Prince Felix had left the table a little before everyone else had started buckling down and discussing wedding dates, and, so far anyway, no one else they had asked had seen either of them since then.

"Honestly, their security system is a joke," MacKenzie scoffed as one more guard confessed ignorance to the location of either prince. "If the king had any sense he'd flog the whole batch and replace anyone who couldn't stand after. How do you lose a prince IN his palace!?"

"We've lost our prince, apparently," Alonne pointed out, laughing nervously as MacKenzie turned her murder eyes on him.

"We wouldn't in OUR palace, where we had actual assistance and access to all chambers. It's ridiculous we couldn't accompany him to lunch. Anything could have happened without us watching. His safety is our responsibility."

"Not officially," Alonne said, shrugging, "But I understand. It's frustrating. But maybe you shouldn't worry so much. The princes disappearing together could be a good thing. Maybe they're bonding?"

-

The only idea Felix had as to where Caius' escorts would be was his room, but he'd be surprised if they stuck around. They were probably exploring, getting a feel for the castle, as Felix had been instructed to do for the prince. He could probably ask one of the staff if they'd seen them, but...that might lead to too many questions. The last thing they needed was for the advisors to know that something was amiss. There was too much riding on this.

Thankfully, Felix found a duo walking together through a hall, recognizing them from the procession. Maybe they were the ones he was looking for?

"Hey! You two!" he called out, quickly jogging towards them to, you know, not shout across a hall. "I'm looking for Prince Caius' escorts--is that you?"

If they weren't, it was still safer to ask Luminous staff than Dicean. The two of them seemed different, anyway. The girl had her long hair tied in pigtails, but the scowl and sharpness of her expression counterbalanced any notion of cuteness. Unlike the boy, who was very cute, but seemed to hide under a hat. And... Felix's eyes flicked over his clothes, something about the style...

If Caius had been undercover in town, he obviously wouldn't be able to wear his own clothes, if they were as ostentatious as what he was wearing today. (Though in fairness Felix’s regular clothes were much more casual and he was all dolled up like a silver-laced chicken today.) The boy wasn't that much shorter than the prince, too...

"Ah, you are," he decided without confirmation. "Look, he's acting super weird and drank, like, an entire pitcher of water? If that's normal for him, tell me to fuck off, but if it's not, it'd be just dandy to try and fix this without telling anyone?"

Motor-mouth revved up again, he made a grab for both of their sleeves. "C'mon, he's in one of the meeting rooms this way."

MacKenzie dodged the grab, but it didn't matter, because as soon as Alonne was grabbed he, in turn, grabbed her, creating a train of three people barely holding onto each other as Alonne and MacKenzie did their best to keep up with Felix's effortless speed. "Y-your Highness, wait!" Alonne stammered out, "Please calm down, we're happy to-"

"What do you mean he's acting weird?" MacKenzie interrupted, shaking off Alonne and running to keep pace beside Felix, staying just ever so slightly behind him to allow him to lead. "What's happened? I swear, I'll kill him if he's managed to get himself hurt already."

Oh, she was the killer girl. Gross.

"I was showing him around the castle, and he just sort of...smacked himself? Then he asked if we could go somewhere dark and cool, and I was like, shit, idiot's drunk. Except he's not really acting like he's drunk, and when I got him some water he downed the glass then just took the pitcher." Felix sped through his account as he sped through the castle, leading the duo to the meeting room.

"Obviously, I don't know what he's like, so..." he trailed off, mind whirring through possibilities. "...Prince Caius doesn't have any allergies, does he? Thought we'd be notified if so..."

With one free hand, since the killer girl decided to forgo a direct guide, Felix tapped his lips, trying to figure this out, but he wouldn't get anywhere without more information. Stopping abruptly in front of the meeting room, Felix strode back into the room, expecting the others to follow.

As Alonne went to step inside, MacKenzie put a hand on his chest, sending him back a few steps. "Watch the door," she said, before flexing her hand in such a way that, unless you watched it very carefully, it was difficult to tell where she had suddenly gotten the dagger. "Anything happens to me, run for Ezar."

Stepping inside, MacKenzie allowed her eyes to adjust quickly to the dark, taking in everything in the room. There was the pitcher and the glass, as Felix had described. Beyond that... nothing. No one was here.

"Your Highness...if Caius has put you up to some sort of prank, I would advise you against it. I handle surprises poorly," MacKenzie said, still looking around suspiciously before calling back to Alonne, "He's not here!"

"I suspected as much," Alonne said from outside the door. "Though I think I have a clue where he's gone then. If you guys look at the ground, there's drops of water leading out the door and down the hallway. I don't know why he would be wet, but odds are good that's Caius, right?"

Empty. This was bad. This was particularly horrible, actually. If Caius had just been pretending to get away from Felix, go back to his room, whatever. Jerk could do what he wanted as long as it didn't put the treaty at risk. But something in Felix's gut told him that wasn't the case.

He looked around the room in surprise, almost figuring that this was a prank on him. Felix glanced to the killer girl for a moment before walking over to the glass and pitcher. "Fuck, I wish. He might actually be tolerable if he wanted to collude with me."

But, no. Caius thought he was as useless as everyone else did.

Following the man's advice, Felix looked down to see the trail. "...the pitcher is empty--it hadn't been when I left. If...he... If he asked to go someplace cooler, then he would be overheated. Might've poured the rest of the water over himself."

Great deduction, dumbass. You solved a mystery that didn't need solving in the midst of a disaster.

Shaking his head at himself, Felix started on the trail, only slightly slower than before since he had to make sure he could still see the droplets. "Come on, then. The X on the map is moving too."

"Your Highness, you said he was feeling hot?" Alonne asked, his brain humming with what he was raised to do as he also kept his eyes on the ground, following the droplets. "And drinking a great deal of water. Sounds like a fever."

MacKenzie, in turn, wasn't watching the ground, trusting the boys to keep the trail as she watched the corners, the doors, the shadows. Remaining vigilant, dagger cupped against her fingers and wrist. "If it was just a fever, he wouldn't have gone anywhere. He's annoyingly lethargic when he's sick. He'd still be in that room, whining and waiting for us."

"Your Highness, I know you aren't entirely familiar with your betrothed, and I don't want to put any evidence in your head that doesn't actually exist, but did our prince seem...aggressive at all?" Alonne asked.

MacKenzie tsked to herself, clenching her fists as she practically growled. "Alonne, you know that if it's that, then that means it had to be one of-"

"Yes. We will deal with that. First, I just want to be certain before we consider any of that though. Plus, if it is, we need to be very careful. Caius is strong when he's not holding back," Alonne said, growing concerned over the memory of their time in the Dead Woods.

It occurred to Alonne that this sort of conversation would be maddening if he were on the outside of it, so he said, "I apologize, Your Highness. We don't mean to be vague. We're simply trying to not come to conclusions too quickly."

So this was definitely weird for him. Felix figured, but it was good to know for sure. Though, a fever was bad news. Not as bad to ruin everything they'd been working for, though--no one could blame him for being sick. They could still...do the official stuff for the wedding, quietly, privately, sign the treaty, then worry about the spectacle of the wedding later on.

However, how the two escorts described things dashed that plan in its infancy. Fever. Aggression. Something that they may have an idea about. Felix didn't know how much Caius had lied about to him, but...if it could give them an idea, if it really was as dangerous as they all were thinking, then...he'd have to believe it.

"He seemed, I guess, bothered, but not aggressive, no." He didn't want to, but Felix's voice lowered slightly in suspicion, hating that he had to consider this. "However, Cow Poppies don't grow in Dicea."

So, it had to come from their side. Figures, from a country with an actual military, the battle-hungry war-mongers... He could admit that his own people weren't exempt from the temptations of revenge, but he would hope any such individuals would be surrounded by those who would remind them that prolonging the war would only bring more pain. A wane hope, but it was there.

"You had to tie him down before, yes? And your party already knows the antidote, so at least there's that." Felix spoke in a mix of questions and thoughts said aloud, fingers tap-tap-tapping away. "We don't have an armory, but he brought his own sword. Not to mention that practically anything can be a weapon with enough determination. If any of the guards see him, they should hold their own, but...they'd tell the boss..."

Felix closed his eyes for a moment with a grimace before speeding up. He couldn't let that happen. There were already suspicions that Caius was a spy or a puppet. If they caught him raging around...that would be an even worse basis for a war.

"You don't have an armory!?" MacKenzie said, actual shock causing her to raise her voice as she looked in open aghast at the prince, before she turned to Alonne, a genuine look of distress on her face as she demanded, "Where have you all brought me to live!??"

Alonne put both hands on her shoulders, attempting to give her a calming smile. "It's okay, MacKenzie, everything's fine. We have your suitcases, and we can order more things to be sent here. And you can make a weapon out of anything! Remember those wooden chopsticks in Ursa Falls? That was...so efficient!"

MacKenzie, who had been tugging at her pigtails in distress, calmed down, embarrassed at the compliment. "...I mean, the way they're shaped, they may as well have been designed to do that...ugh! Alright, I'm focused," MacKenzie said, shaking her head. These kinds of jobs were harder on her than others. As in, the kind of jobs she wasn't ordered to do. Every part of her wanted to go to some authority, debrief them, and receive a specific command. To take the power out of her own hands.

But, that would be bad for Caius, not to mention her and Alonne. It might even affect Prince Felix. The advisors were on top alert. Any mistakes, and who knew what they would decide became 'appropriate' measures.

Seeing she was back under control, Alonne turned to the prince. "So, you're already caught up on the Checker Pollen Incident? Well, at least we don't have to stop and explain everything then. Yes, Your Highness, while I can't confirm that's what's happening without seeing Caius for myself, it does sound like the incident in the Dead Woods. And...yes, you're right. If it's checker pollen, the odds are heavily stacked in favor of it being one of the Luminary Party. I...I humbly ask you to please keep that to yourself until the Luminary Party has accessed the situation ourselves. We value the work we are doing here, and do not want one naysayer to undo everything we've accomplished."

"Why have we stopped?" MacKenzie asked, as the boys slowed down, the droplets seemingly done as Alonne looked around in concern.

Oh, but, the Dicean Prince had a point. The sword. "Your Highness, I'm turned around. Is this the direction of Caius' guest room? If he's going for his sword, we can maybe cut him off before he gets any farther."

Despite the situation, Felix couldn't help snorting. Oh, the killer girl, MacKenzie, apparently, would have an absolute blast living in Dicea. They had no armory, they had no formal military. Aiichi found it unimportant to safe-stock such things meant for violence. Ironic, since he landed them in a war. One that would only escalate if they couldn't find Caius.

"Obviously," Felix sighed in slight exasperation. "That's why I was looking for you two in the first place. The fuddy-duddy politicians would talk and debate the days away if they get the chance, so they likely won't be a problem, but most of the staff is loyal to the boss over me--not to mention that some of them already don't have the highest opinion of Luminaries. Like hell I'd tell anyone--I will not allow this stupid war to continue."

There was a finality in his voice, the kind of thing that reminded people who Felix actually was, the kind of thing that relieved any citizens that had their concerns overseen by him.

"This way." Turning sharply to head down a different hall, heading for the stairs, Felix broke out into a full run, practically seeing their timer ticking down.

MacKenzie had kept pace with everyone while they were searching, but as they turned the corner into one of the halls for guest rooms, two things became apparent: one, that Caius' door was wide open, apparently held there by some fallen furniture.

Two, someone was crying out.

MacKenzie's head went quiet as she let long-ingrained instincts and muscle memory guide her, practically flying past the boys as she got to the door, daggers in both hands as she caught her own momentum by bracing her foot against the door’s side paneling, ricocheting herself into the room.

There was Caius, sword in one hand held high above his head, and in the other, he was holding the arm of a terrified servant, freshly laundered sheets and towels in a pile at their feet. "Tell me who sent you!" Caius barked at the servant, his grip relentless as they tried to pull away, shaking and blubbering in the wake of his madness, "What were you doing in here!?"

MacKenzie didn't bother trying to reason with him or even waited for him to notice her presence. Instead she leapt forward, entwining her thighs around his head and using the full weight of her body to hurl him in a twist to the other side of the room. Caius crashed into the back wall with a gasp, but his grip on his sword didn't so much as waver.

In that brief moment of skin-to-skin contact, MacKenzie could confirm the fever in his body. His neck had felt like an inferno, and the hazy, manic look in his eyes suggested his brain wasn't doing much better. She would have to be careful. Caius usually wasn't that dangerous of a fighter, but what she had discovered in the forest was that was because he didn't set out to be a danger. It turns out, most of his poor decisions in the fights she'd seen him in came from this idiotic notion of trying to 'wear them down' or 'disarm them' or, Tua give her strength, 'knock them out'. Notions that were a waste of time and took more nuance than he had.

And now look at her. Staring her prince in the face, having to...sigh. 'Wear him down' or 'disarm him' or, blegh, 'knock him out'. Ridiculous. This was going to get her killed.

"I found him! Stay outside, Alonne!" she called back.

Alonne, who had just gotten to the door, immediately stopped, though he looked in with concern. "Don't hurt him, MacKenzie!" he called in, before glancing to Felix. "One of your people is in there."

Shitshitshitshitshit!!! At least it was contained to his room, but that wasn't much of an upside. Anyone walking by could see, and...

Felix peeked under Alonne's arm, recognizing pink braids haphazardly strewn on the floor from where she'd been yanked. It looked like MacKenzie had broken Caius' grip on the small woman, but...if not frozen in fear, she might be stuck for a different reason.

"Waku! Get out here, he's being scrambled! It's not a real message!"

That seemed to get the housekeeper's attention and she looked back at the doorway with a panicked, manic expression before scrambling back. "He's going to kill us all! He really thinks it!"

As soon as she crossed the threshold, Felix knelt down at Waku's side and took her hands in his, placing a few of her fingers on his wrist. "There were no other messages?" The girl's expression faltered into something disturbed and Felix nodded with a confident hum. "He's corrupted right now, Prince Caius doesn't really think that. He needs help, and you know what we do in that case, right?"

Still obviously shaken, the housekeeper took a breath and nodded. "...pain for one is pain for all."

"Exactly." With a proud smile, he helped her up and let her hands go. "I've gotten the help we need, so there's no need to worry. If it would make you feel better, though, please go get Katsuki. And...maybe tell her to get some rope. Please, keep this to yourself; everything will be a-okay!"

It was...an odd conversation, but something good must've happened as Waku gave her prince a shaky smile and headed off to do as asked.

Alonne...couldn't even begin to unpack what had just happened. Code, maybe? It certainly said something about the prince if he had developed a casual code system with his staff. It was impressivl-

MacKenzie flew past them, crashing into the wall on the other side of the wall with a gasp and a sickening ‘thud’ sound. MacKenzie bounced off the wall after making contact, falling forward onto the ground. However, she didn't rest for a moment, immediately kicking off from her spot on the floor to head back into the room, blood starting to trickle from somewhere on her skull down the side of her face.

"That was bad," Alonne muttered, fiddling with his cap for a moment before bowing to Felix suddenly. "Pardon, Your Highness! I...I have to go help her!"

Then Alonne ran in.

Caius looked insane, though to MacKenzie's credit he seemed exhausted already, now holding onto his sword with both hands, his legs parted to give himself balance in a pose that was eerily familiar. In his thigh was a dagger, MacKenzie having managed to throw the dagger before giving herself some space between her and the swing of his blade. When she noticed Alonne come in on the other side of her, she shouted, "No! Get back outside! He'll cut you in two!"

"I can't just leave you, MacKenzie," Alonne said, any heroism in the statement muted by his own murmuring uncertainty. To Caius, he said, "Please, Caius! Calm down! We're...we're here to help you! Me and MacKenzie are assigned to protect you from spies, remember? We're your allies!"

"Betrayers..." Caius gasped, looking rapidly between the both of them, "Schemers. This was the plan all along. Pretend to be my friends, and then stab me in the back!"

"What, since we were ten!?" MacKenzie asked, rolling her eyes. "Don't bother, Alonne. He's out of his mind. We need to just get him down and get the antidote."

Felix jumped as MacKenzie flew past them, wincing as his stomach churned uncomfortably from the thud. And blood. And...everything about this. If Caius was too far gone and too strong to be held back by his escorts...

He'd sent for Katsuki already, but until she arrived...there was nothing he could do. He certainly wasn't strong enough to hold the rampaging prince back, and if his escorts...no, his friends couldn't get through to him, what chance did Felix have? He barely knew the man! He had to be knocked out and tied up the last time!

At the very least, Felix stood up from the ground, worriedly watching the increasingly horrible situation inside the room. It wasn't looking good for Alonne and MacKenzie, and Caius didn't look great himself. Red and sweaty and heaving and just...crazy.

Gritting his teeth, Felix just hoped his shouting wouldn't alert anyone else.

"KAI! SHUT THE FUCK UP! Picking on people weaker than you is disgusting, and if you're going to lash out at everything that moves then why don't you hide out in the woods like a coward! Because that's who you are right now! A disgusting coward!"

Caius, MacKenzie, and Alonne all paused what they were doing, looking back at the doorway to see the furious prince, face red from shouting, fists clenched. Alonne looked surprised. MacKenzie looked exasperated. Caius...

Caius looked hurt.

"Coward?" he said, quietly to himself. He put a hand up to his sweating forehead, trying to push away some of the soaked bangs covering it, and something inside of Caius tried to push through the madness of his fever. "I'm...a coward?"

There was a moment as Caius seemed to try to rationalize this...and then he started to laugh.

"That's so funny coming from you," Caius said, grinning like a wolf.

"Oh, look you guys! Now he wants to step up!" Caius chuckled, dragging his sword behind him as he took a step forward, then another, then another. Eyes only for the prince. "Come on, Phe, what are you doing? You know you're going to end this running off and crying to Daddy. You couldn't handle a scare, you think you can handle this?" Caius snarled. Another step forward. "You don't have a fighting bone in your body, and everyone knows it. Your kingdom is lucky the war is ending before you ever had a chance to lead it. Shame. If only Father had known that all it would have taken to win the war was waiting for its only prince to finally take the reins." Caius snarled, bracing into an attacking position. "Could have saved me the trip!"

Caius started to lunge forward, murder in his heart, when suddenly-

"The prince isn't a coward?"

Caius froze, startled. Not because someone had said something, but because of where the statement had come from. He glanced over at MacKenzie, who was just raising an eyebrow at him.

"Cowards don't chase and scream after people with swords, Caius," MacKenzie said, in a way that suggested this was obvious and she was annoyed she had to explain it to him. "They go and they make other people chase after people with swords."

"No, that's wrong," Alonne pointed out, Caius now giving his other best friend his best 'what the fuck!?' look. "His Highness did come to get us! Based on the evidence we've just established from your statement, MacKenzie, that would make Prince Felix a coward."

"Sure, but then he came with us to see it through. That makes him resourceful, not a coward," MacKenzie argued. "A real coward would have sent us on and just hoped it worked out alright while he got himself to safety. So Caius' testimony is flawed. He's not a coward."

From the outside, this was the weirdest thing that could have possibly occurred next. It was the four of them, all roughly in a circle...

...fucking debating?

"Guys, what...what are you?" Caius asked, his confusion overtaking his rage as MacKenzie and Alonne, completely serious-faced, continued on.

"I propose that we need further evidence to really establish this character witness one way or another," Alonne proposed, fiddling with his cap. "What do you think? A fight between the two would give little room for error. See how he reacts?"

"Against Caius with a sword? No way, that's a rigged game. But-" MacKenzie looked over at Caius, who was staring at her in open confusion. Almost...hypnotized by the strangeness of it all. "If he throws away his sword, I could see it being a good test of courage. The armor too. Man-to-man combat. No sword. No armor. Don't you agree, Felix?"

And then the two both gave Felix very, VERY pointed looks, as Caius just looked on. Endlessly confused.

Felix shook with fury as Caius shot back at him, but...he was talking, not fighting. It was an opening, no matter how much the words hurt. At least all the attacks were ones he'd seen before. And, thankfully, MacKenzie and Alonne took advantage of it. A clever duo weren't they.

Huffing, Felix crossed his arms and gave Caius' armor a critical look. "Nothing courageous about running to your death--or breaking your hand trying to punch through armor. Don't even fucking think about taking a step towards me without stripping, loser."

"Unless you're too scared to try and win something with your own merits, not hiding behind strips of metal and leather," he taunted, laying on his best shit-eating grin. If it took that long, he could take a punch or two to leave the escorts the time to take Caius down. Buy time for Katsuki to show up.

He was a coward, for the record, but in the park that day, it hadn't been the shove or the blades in his face that had broken everything. Pain was recoverable and he'd gone through worse than being shoved around a little. It was being told, again, that he wasn't enough, and would never be, so why even try. That someone he hoped would actually be someone who could see him would turn away from his attempts.

But, now knowing the monster Caius was, there was no reason to be afraid.

Caius looked between the three, his brow furrowed in obvious confusion. The checker pollen’s effect made him vengeful, paranoid, and murderous, twisting and mirroring his whole concept of what a hero even was. But, apparently, there was one concept of heroism that worked for both the kind of hero that was as likely to make friends of his enemies as fight them and the version of heroism that didn't see the battle as finished until everyone was dead or under heel.

Both of those kinds of heroes didn't say no to a challenge.

"Okay!" Caius cackled. "Fine! You think I can't take this pipsqueak by myself? I'm gonna cave his chest in with the heel of my boots, and then I'm coming for you two traitorous pieces of shit," Caius snarled.

But, for all his bolster and hissing, he did start taking off his armor. Unclasping strand after strand, tearing off the metal and hurling it aside, until it was just him in his boxers and an undershirt, and then, for reasons that surely made sense in his head, he tore the shirt off as well, throwing it in the corner. His leg was still bleeding heavily from where MacKenzie had gotten it, and there was a series of nasty bruises forming on his collarbone, chest, and his right arm from where her blows had landed. An estimate that, had Caius not been fueled by Cow Fury, he would have absolutely lost to MacKenzie by this point, who had managed to hit hard enough that the armor couldn't protect him from such blows.

Finally, he threw the sword aside, letting it fall onto the pile of armor with a clang, before getting into fisticuff positions.

"Alright, Felix. I hope you've made good with whatever weird-ass god your kingd-GAH!"

Neither Alonne nor MacKenzie gave any more time for this charade, MacKenzie grabbing his arms and swinging her legs around his neck and squeezing while Alonne went for the legs, holding on as tightly as he could, barely grasping them as he shouted, "MacKenzie, hurry!"

"Go to sleep, Caius! You'll feel better in the morning!" MacKenzie growled, holding the position as Caius struggled and gasped, face going red, then blue, then-

He collapsed, taking the pile of people with him. MacKenzie loosened her grip, and Alonne hit Caius in the chest, and Caius started taking in deep breaths again, completely passed out. Alonne and MacKenzie watched him nervously for a moment before sighing in relief.

"Well, that's done, I guess," MacKenzie muttered, putting her head in her hand. "He's gonna be so insufferable when he wakes up with a migraine tomorrow."

"Well, at least he's out." Alonne sighed, looking over at Prince Felix with a grateful smile. "Good job, Your Highness. That was an impressive bluff."

Still an idiot. Felix supposed he should be thankful that Cow Poppies didn't change every attribute of a person if that's indeed what the poison somehow managed to do. Having Caius turn into a murderous tactical genius? No way they'd be able to keep that hidden.

Felix didn't move until Caius was on the ground, taking note of his injuries with a frown. The bruises could probably use ice, but his leg definitely needed attention. At least it wasn't a main artery--probably a conscious decision to change the trajectory on MacKenzie's part. Then there was the whole 'knocked out' business.

Looking over to Alonne, Felix waved him off, though a flush bloomed across his no-longer fury-reddened cheeks. "I still want an excuse to punch him, but that can wait until it won't cause an international disaster."

...fuck. Felix sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair until it snagged on a pin. "...I'll handle the circus. Tell 'em Prince Caius misjudged the wine and had to retire--'s true enough anyway. You two..."

It was a horrible job to have, but necessary. "Please get some of that antidote--I'll make sure no one goes into his room. Then...if you have any idea who could've done this, get more of an idea. Once people start showing up, I won't be able to help--not 'til everyone goes to sleep, anyway."

Almost on cue as he stopped speaking, Katsuki approached the group, a rope coiled around her shoulder, and one of the other doors in the hall quietly clicked closed. She barely gave a glance to MacKenzie or Alonne, zeroing in on the prince. "Orders?"

Unfazed, Felix turned to her, his demeanor doing a 180 into cheer. "Top-secret mission time! You're on defense; acquire a first aid kit, then return to this location. No one is to enter this room except for these two." He gestured to the escorts, looking a little frustrated for a moment before smoothing the expression out. "Alonne and MacKenzie. And if anyone but them leaves the room, you are to non-lethally subdue them and return them to the room."

The blonde guard nodded curtly, only pausing to chirp a quick, "Understood--mission activated!" before turning to, presumably, gather a first aid kit.

Looking back to the escorts, Felix tilted his head a little. "Katsuki Okuniji, one of the guardforce. She won't tell anyone, so please consider her an ally. As long as it doesn't go against anything I just said, she'll probably be able to help you with anything you need."

Deflating a little, Felix sighed again. "Of course things would go ass-up...fucking hell..."

More code? Alonne tried to make note of the context in which everything was said, deciding to try to write down everything he could remember later. It wasn't exactly complicated stuff, but then, the prince presumably wasn't actively trying to hide anything from them right now either. It could be useful to know for certain what certain phrases and words meant later. He'd share it with MacKenzie and Caius as well.

Helping MacKenzie move Caius to the, now somewhat busted-up, bed, the two moved quickly to start cleaning up the room as best they could, picking up the furniture and throwing items too busted to salvage into the closet. If one of the advisors came by for a visit, after all, it'd be easier to keep things under wraps if the room didn't look from a glance like a war zone.

Caius had started softly snoring, and when MacKenzie went to check on him, she saw that his nose had started bleeding in his sleep. A touch to his forehead showed the fever racing on.

"Keep cleaning, but we can't delay the antidote any longer than we already have. What a mess." MacKenzie scowled, moving some of the matted hair off his forehead. "We need to burn that whole forest to the ground. This was even worse than last time."

"Maybe it gets more potent with each use?" Alonne mused, righting an upturned desk with a grunt. "I would say try not to let the secretary know you're grabbing one of her medicines, but..."

"She'll figure it out eventually. Doesn't mean she has to know now. Hopefully she has enough for a few more doses."

"Why a few? Caius will only need one," Alonne pointed out.

"Whoever poisoned him is still out there, and somehow I think investigating in secret will slow down us catching them," MacKenzie said, fiddling with her dagger on instinct. "We have no way of knowing how much of the pollen the traitor could have left, and if I were the betrayer, I wouldn't stop at the prince trying to start the war back up again. There are countless people right now who could up-end the war outfit from digesting it."

"True. While that is the most likely outcome, let's not cross out that this was personal just yet though," Alonne insisted, his mind whirring again. "The traitor might have been willing to sacrifice or target Caius for whatever their goal is, but they might hold back otherwise."

"That's naive."

"It's just speculation."

"Well, speculate to yourself all you want. I'm gonna go grab the antidote. I won't be long," she said, leaving the room so quietly that had Alonne not been watching her leave, he wouldn't have known she was gone.

Cleaning the blood from Caius' face, Alonne started the long process of repairing him with what he had available.

As per Felix's instructions, it didn't take long for Katsuki to return, knocking twice on the door and setting the first aid kit on the ground before taking her post in front of the door. It was a mission that didn't have much room for creativity, but that was fine. Felix never gave her meaningless scenarios. It was all for the big picture.

The big picture this time being, you know, not destroying the attempt at peace currently going on.

Secretary Ragna was away from her quarters, so getting the medicine was as easy as just breaking into her room, which was unguarded, and then breaking into her medicine bag. Finding the antidote, MacKenzie quickly got back to Caius' room, giving the servant a tense nod before heading in.

"Here," she said, handing the needle to Alonne, who frowned. "I went and got it. You give it to him. He doing any better?"

"As good as can be expected," Alonne said, wincing in distaste as he injected the needle, pushing in the fluid that would save his prince's life. Alonne didn't know how long it took for checker poisoning to kill a person, but the way the fever seemed to just be getting hotter the more Alonne handled him made him think that without the medicine, it'd be a matter of days. Thankfully, if last time was any indication, Caius should wake up the next morning, good as anything.

Even just moments after the medicine was given, Caius' features seemed to smooth out, his rest more comfortable as whatever was in his body started to get fought off. Using the first aid, Caius' body was now covered in bindings and bandages. Nothing that well-picked clothes tomorrow wouldn't hide, but still. Fuck.

"Prince Felix seems capable," Alonne said, once their tasks were done as well as they could be. "The stories that I'd managed to gather about him before this didn't paint him as very...reliable. But honestly, I think he handled this about as well as anyone could be expected to."

"He's quick, sharp, and can keep a straight face through an obvious bluff," MacKenzie admitted, grasping Caius' wrist and squeezing, feeling the reassuring beat of his pulse before letting him go. "He could be a danger to Caius."

"I feel like that's a hypocritical view to take. We just had to stop Caius from killing him."

"Extreme circumstances. Caius in his right mind would have never done or said those things."

"Yeah, that speech...that was...harsh." Alonne uncomfortably looked at Caius, putting a comforting hand on his friend's arm. "Do you think Felix is going to...hold that against him?"

MacKenzie didn't answer for such a long time that Alonne didn't think she was going to. Then she said, "It doesn't matter. The prince doesn't have to like him. Caius has us. The prince is just a convenience of war."

Alonne sighed. "Yeah...I guess. Do you think we should investigate the poisoning now?"

"I think you should. I'll wait here. Come back when you've found anything. Don't take any unnecessary risks," MacKenzie instructed, staring down at Caius with a fiery determination in her eyes. "We can not fail."

Feeling thoroughly dismissed, Alonne just sighed, lowered his cap, and headed out.