Aligned For You

Chapter 9

Alonne had come back about twenty minutes ago, and he and MacKenzie were on the floor of Caius' room, looking over blueprints and writing down notes as they bickered almost mindlessly about a thousand little points. The arguments were comfortable, familiar. The two had been having discussions like these for over a decade, and they were as comfortable around each other as they were alone.

"No, no, I've already ruled her out. Why did you put her back on the board?" Alonne complained, watching as, once again, MacKenzie took the chess piece that they had salvaged for their purposes, a rook, and put it back on the far corner block that represented the space near the oven in the main kitchen.

"Your reasoning is flawed. According to every statement, she spent the whole time next to the oven. She had full view of the comings and goings of everyone in the kitchen, was in an out of the way place, and had access to the wine glass. To suggest she be disregarded over a simple thing like the timing being 'impossibly fast' is ridiculous."

"What you're suggesting, that she could have dumped the packets into the wine in the literal second that Isabella took her eyes off her to glance at the wine table she's meant to be poisoning is basically suggesting this kitchen staff has superpowers," Alonne said, looking over his notes again. "And I quote Miss Isabella 'Catherine only stopped by to chat for a minute, and I glanced at the wine glasses for a second because I thought I had heard a tinking sound from the other side of the table.' End quote. When is she supposed to have done it in that time?"

"It sounds like she did while the kitchen cook was looking at her. That's probably what the sound even was."

"From the other side of the table? How??"

"We don't know if her memory is infallible, maybe it wasn't from the other side! Ugh." MacKenzie took out her dagger, getting up to stretch and then pace the floor. "She wasn't taking your inquiries seriously enough. We should grab both the cook and the kitchen wench tonight and just force them to tell us everything they remember accurately."

"In my experience, torture doesn't get the right answers," Alonne said, bringing up an age-old argument between them.

MacKenzie glared at him. "Then you weren't trying hard enough."

-

Felix liked to think he had a pretty good mind, but sometimes he was an absolute idiot. "Katsuki-mi, let me enter."

The guard had been blocking his every attempt to knock, had matched him feint for feint in trying to slip into Caius' room, had even picked him up and deposited him a few steps away on a particularly close attempt.

"Negative. Only MacKenzie and Alonne are to enter."

Like a fool, he'd forgotten to include himself in the orders. Editing orders mid-mission was always a risk, but...he needed to see where the escorts had gotten. ...and to, like, make sure Caius hadn't died or anything. "Katsuki-mi, new intel has come in. Due to the changing situation, you are to allow me to enter and exit this room as I please."

For the first time, Katsuki's smile dropped as she narrowed her eyes at the prince. There was always the chance of a fake--changing orders could lead to a failed mission. But... This was Felix. For sure.

Eager grin back in place, she stepped to the side.

"Thank you," he sighed, knocking on the door as a warning before stepping inside, a little amused at what he saw. "Since you're working on a strategy board, I'll assume you've found something?"

"Prince Felix," Alonne said, both he and MacKenzie standing up to bow to the heir, before looking back down at the board. "Mostly we're just at the stage of identifying who it couldn't be. Your staff was confused but willing to answer my questions in regards to the wine glass. While I didn't say as much, I think the conclusion they've drawn is that Prince Caius got some sort of food poisoning from the wine and I'm trying to confirm exactly where the contamination occurred. I hope this does not cause you any inconvenience, Prince Felix."

"Unfortunately, their individual statements are...annoyingly comprehensive." MacKenzie scowled. "Every moment of the glass' existence seems to be accounted for when you put all of their statements together, and, unless multiple people are covering for each other, it's proving tricky to say that the glass was disturbed unusually at all."

"It also had to be the glass that was tampered with, and not the wine bottle itself, that we know for sure, since your glass, Prince Felix, was poured from the same bottle at the same time," Alonne added in. "Was there any trouble from Caius' disappearance tonight?"

Out of one pool of formalities and into another. At least in this one he didn't have to pretend as much. Felix squatted in front of the board, considering it as the others caught him up.

"That...that still works, yeah. What I told the others was from Prince Caius' own testimony, so if someone hears something about food poisoning it won't make any contradictions that would make anyone look closer into it." It could just as easily be assumed that the wine just didn't sit right with Caius--an incident that didn't implicate anyone, and was just something to know for the future. Considering what the head secretary said, likely the only consequence would be Caius drinking less if anything. No biggie.

But that none of the kitchen staff had noticed anything odd, that left the true problem at a standstill. He couldn't even infer anything, since the kitchens were a glaring hole in his knowledge. Dammit.

"Hm?" Felix looked up from his thoughts before shrugging. "Not really; just left room for insincere flattery towards me and him. Accidentally getting too drunk to go to a meeting is never something the boss has ever been too uppity about. It happens. As long as he can show up tomorrow, it'll be fine."

Wrinkling his nose, Felix glanced between the two escorts with a sigh. "If you catch him before anyone else once he wakes up, let him know the wedding's in four days. So, if our saboteur isn't either of you two," he gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes at that, showing just how ridiculous he thought that possibility was, "then that's the time frame we have to figure out what kind of idiot wants this war to continue before they head back to Luminary."

MacKenzie and Alonne both sat down on the other side of the board together, MacKenzie glaring at the board like she was half tempted to stab it, Alonne looking around at the other journals and loose-leaf notes around them before grabbing the one he was looking for.

"While I don't like to think about it, we've already discussed that it was unlikely to be any of the Dicean people anyway. My inquiries were less about determining which one of them could have done it and more about trying to widen our list to our Luminary party. But, as far as any of the staff can recall, no one noticed any Luminary Party members going into the kitchens at all. Which means whoever did it, somehow did it unseen."

Alonne opened up the big, black leather journal, opening it up to some of the later pages. Each page was densely packed, both with Alonne's tight, small writing and with simplistic drawings of individuals and items, clearly done by Alonne's own hand.

"I don't believe further investigating the kitchen itself will lead to any answers, so we have two strategies moving forward: creating a comprehensive timeline of who was in the rooms around the kitchen at the time, a difficult proposition that will likely be full of errors since we would have to account for three different rooms, as well as the back alley the kitchen piles their trash into, or, we do a comprehensive character study of everyone in the party and determine through that who would have the most motive, and then narrow that down to the most opportunity. An...equally difficult proposition, really."

"All in three days, since we damn sure better have this figured out before the wedding day itself," MacKenzie said, stone-faced, her frustration betrayed by her clenching and unclenching the end of one of her long ponytails. "All while keeping it under wraps."

"And also keeping an eye out for further attacks," Alonne said, looking to Felix. "I would recommend having your resident poison-taster consume a little of all your meals from now on. There's no telling how many doses the traitor potentially has, and you're just as worthy of a target as Caius."

"If someone managed to sneak in... fuck, they must be, like, an espionage genius. I've tried every way I could think of to sneak into the kitchens, and they've caught me every time." Felix pouted a bit, kind of put out that someone had managed to slip into the kitchens without anyone's knowledge and it wasn't him. And that, you know, it meant the person they were dealing with was super dangerous to go unnoticed like that.

It...really didn't look good for them, did it?

Felix winced a little at Alonne's suggestion, and not from the concept of him being targeted. "Resident...right..." ...poison-taster? Felix didn’t think there were still jobs like that. ...it wasn't like there were no safeguards in the castle. Aiichi was very aware that there were people who'd wish them harm. But, in the pursuit to create a space welcoming for anyone, things were, well, far less secure than the Luminaries had expected if how they spoke was any indication.

Felix could request for his food to be tested for poison, but...that would surely indicate that something was wrong. It'd alert the boss that he felt unsafe, and it would be something of an insult towards the Luminaries, indicating that he felt they were untrustworthy. And, well, they were, but he couldn't afford to show that.

At least dinner would be served in the usual Dicean style. Their culprit wouldn't chance poisoning everyone there, would they?

"...I'll be careful. I wish I could help more, but at least I can try to derail any theories that get too close. ...oh!" There was one thing he could do, though! Felix searched in a pocket for a moment before bringing out a small key, holding it out to the escorts. "It's not exactly a character witness sheet, but if you need to get into anywhere that's closed, this is a master key. I can already get into wherever I need to be, so take it."

Rolling his eyes again, Felix offered the duo a wry smile. "And before you think something like, 'wow, Felix's a real airhead!', I'm not thrilled to be giving free access to a killer and a detective. But I know you two want this all to end, and, well, you'll be living here, so it'll probably be better to try and make it a nice home, right?"

Alonne and MacKenzie, at the same time, both gave the prince a look, at first, of mild surprise.

...that surprise eventually turned into shock, as they looked at each other for confirmation of what they had just heard...

"Detective?" Alonne asked MacKenzie, sweat forming on his forehead.

"Killer?" MacKenzie said, eye noticeably twitching.

...which led to sudden, ridiculous, sincere panic.

"Killer, w-who's a killer!?" MacKenzie said, suddenly leaping back up to her feet, crossing her hands in front of herself and bowing ferociously over and over again to Prince Felix. "My name is MacKenzie Stone, a simple child caretaker! I was sent on this expedition to watch after the young ones! Pleasure to formally introduce myself to you, Prince Felix! Please let me know if you have any little ones you would need any assistance with!"

Her wording and mannerisms, in a sense, actually managed to sound like something a sweet young caretaker might say... had her eyes not looked like she half-wanted to murder everyone in this room. Also, she was SHOUTING every word, like somehow if she was loud enough it would be believable.

Alonne also sprang up, putting one hand in front of him crossed against his stomach, and bowing over and over again as well, sweat pooling on his forehead as his cap skewed to the side under the frantic movement.

"And I am no d-detective! My name is Alonne Air, a..." he blanked, looking at MacKenzie in desperation.

"Personal Servant!" she reminded him.

"-Personal Servant of Prince Caius!" Alonne corrected himself, bowing even lower in the same furious fervor. "S-sent to h-help with...luggage?" he asked, having not used his official backstory for almost since the beginning of this whole trip to Dicea and almost entirely forgetting everything he had been instructed to say.

"And dressing in the morning!" said MacKenzie, who had had to use her own cover story far more often throughout the journey, "And undressing in the evening! Alonne is also a very capable caretaker! He also is at your disposal if you need anything at all, Prince Felix!"

"Y-yes!" Alonne stammered, both members finally bowing low and holding it.

Then, because the two are both kind of idiots in their own, special ways, they both peeked up from the bow to see how much, if any of that the prince had believed.

Felix simply blinked for a moment at the display before his lips started quivering and--

"Pff...Nmmm nee-HEEEhaaawwwheheHEE!!!!"

The room filled with the sounds of snorting whinnies, the prince falling on his back as he let loose uncontrollable laughs. He even started rolling a little as he clutched his stomach, brays truly living up to his namesake.

It was rare to hear Felix laugh so fully, so genuinely--there simply wasn't too much that warranted laughter. But these two!! That was so stupid!

After quite a while, Felix rolled to his side, trying to catch his breath and wiping tears from his eyes. "O-oh man, fuck, you two are gonna be fun."

"Sure, sure, babysitter and personal attendant. Whatever you say. Just take the damn key so we don't have to say goodbye so soon." Felix pushed himself up, face still flushed in mirth with a matching smile as he offered the key again. It was nice to know there was an upside to the whole marriage thing--besides the major one. The end of the war was kind of the deal. 

"Aw, that laugh was kind of cute," Alonne whispered to MacKenzie.

"I guess if screaming horses are adorable," MacKenzie muttered back.

MacKenzie, smoothing out her dress now that the excitement was over, went to take the key from Prince Felix, bowing as she did so. "Thank you for your trust and assistance, Your Grace. We will not let you down."

"I'm just...frustrated," Alonne said, glancing down at the board again, eyes tracing the various clues, evidence, and hunches that formed at his feet with the type of mindless abandon and lack of organization that could only come from true, actual study. "It's such a simple plan, poison, but without any eyewitnesses, in a busy kitchen where the evidence is being cleaned up or destroyed as quickly as it's being left, it's extremely difficult to trace. Our traitor is either brilliant, lucky, or both."

"Me and Alonne are going to skip the dinner tonight to watch over Caius," MacKenzie told the heir. "Me and him will start creating profiles of everyone in our party, and hopefully by the time you're ready to see us tomorrow, we may have a more refined list of possible suspects."

"A-and MacKenzie's going to check in on the children tonight too!" Alonne suddenly said, his whole body stiff, "Just to check that they're okay after all this."

MacKenzie stared dumbly at Alonne before shouting, "Yes! I will check on..." she frowned, struggling to think of it. There definitely...were children in the Party. She was certain of it. They were underfoot sometimes. How many though?? Shit, she'd have to find out, or Prince Felix would start to suspect the worst. "...on the...many children! That are under my care!"

"Meanwhile, Your Grace," Alonne said to the heir, "A great help from you would be to just watch out during dinner. To put it bluntly, another attack tonight would actually be a best-case scenario, now that someone's actively looking for it. The poisoner may give themselves away by accident. So we're counting on you to keep an eye out for that opportunity. Your Grace...is there anyone else you would like to add to this circle of trust?"

"We know you have that servant girl outside, but..." MacKenzie wasn't sure if saying she seemed like a spaced-out weirdo was the appropriate description, so instead she said, "...but considering your own life is at risk right now, myself and Alonne are willing to work with any security or confidants that you would prefer to rely on."

It was stupid of him, he knew, but Felix felt...optimistic that they'd be able to find the traitor. They were weirdos, but that had never been a bad sign of ability in Felix's experience. Even if they yelled their obvious lies--did they even want anyone to believe them?

"It'd be pretty ballsy to try something tonight," Felix hummed, "But since Prince Caius didn't cause too much of a commotion, maybe they'd feel pressured into trying. I'll keep my eyes open." It might be harder than it otherwise would be since doubtlessly he'd be accosted with insincere congratulations, but he'd try his best despite it.

Having someone else looking out would be helpful, but... Thinking, Felix was quiet for a moment. "...Waku-mi already knows something's up, but she might let something slip. Though...everyone's used to her saying weird stuff, so maybe they wouldn't pay it any mind? Aunty Naomi would probably be the first person to spot anything if the poisoner tried, but...she wouldn't stop them, I think."

The librarian was a pleasant enough person, liked talking about books with Felix, but she could be kinda...unsettling when it came to "inspiration". She enjoyed observing people, writing down her findings in a notebook that never left her side; she particularly liked seeing people's...er, fear responses. "They'll be people to ask, at least. You saw Waku-mi before, and Aunty Naomi is our librarian--tall, freckles, usually wears her hair in a bun with a flower hair tie."

Tapping at his cheek, after a moment Felix added in something that didn't really need to be said. "And, you know, it might be what you're used to, but you guys don't need to talk to me like I'll have you arrested for one wrong word. I don't really care what you call me, so continue on with the "your grace" hoopla if you want, but don't feel obligated."

MacKenzie and Alonne both smiled and thanked Prince Felix for his generosity, and out of all the lies they had tried to tell that night, that was the one that came easiest and most practiced to them.

Nobles...said things like that. They probably even meant it when they said it, and all of them would let you get away with a certain casualness when they talked...to an extent.

But Caius had earned their trust over a course of years. Every line crossed, every button pushed, every genuine, actual fight the group had, had always been handled internally, even though Caius had such easy and immediate access for revenge or control over them. It was to the point where, in the worst possible timeline, if something happened and suddenly they were all enemies, MacKenzie and Alonne could feel confident that, even in the throes of hatred...Caius would still treat them like people. People he hated, maybe. But people.

And that was still leaps and bounds above the other nobles that the two orphans had been trained to obey.

"h...hey..."

The word was so quiet that Alonne almost missed it, but MacKenzie didn't, looking over to Caius, who had one eye half-open, and was blearily looking at them. MacKenzie quickly went over to his bedside but realized upon inspecting him that, despite his open eyes and engaging them, their prince was still basically asleep, merely momentarily roused by their talking. "Everything is fine, Caius," MacKenzie said, putting a hand on his forehead. The fever was cooling. What a relief. "Go back to sleep."

"...c-cut on...head" Caius murmured, staring intently at MacKenzie, weakly pointing at her. "wh...the fuck? ...gonna...fight ‘em..."

MacKenzie touched her forehead and realized he was referring to the cut that his blow throwing her into the back wall had caused. The bleeding had long stopped and been cleaned up, but apparently, Caius was ready to throw down with whoever had attacked her, half asleep and from his sickbed.

MacKenzie smiled. It was soft and sweet.

"Don't worry," she said.

Then the smile turned sinister, a violent energy radiating off of her.

"As soon as he's up and about, I'm definitely going to get back at the person who gave me this cut."

Alonne watched MacKenzie snicker to herself menacingly as Caius just looked at her in stupid, sleepy confusion, laughing nervously as he turned to the prince. "She really is very good with children."

Felix looked over at the soft sound, more alerted by MacKenzie's movement than actually having heard any noise. Presumably, they hadn't wasted time in giving him the antidote, so he didn't have to rear up for a fight or anything, but...still. Caius waking up wasn't a good thing. Right now, anyway.

However, it was just fever talk, and instead, Felix was witness to something very different. Comfortable friendship. A moment normal people could've had. ...something like what he could've had if Kai--

Felix cut the thought off and cast it into the garbage, never to be considered again. Along with the stab of longing in his gut. He didn't need it, he didn't want it. He had a job to do, and that's all he was good for.

Scoffing quietly, Felix crossed his arms. "If your prince is any precedent for how people treat children in Luminary, I just might believe you."

"Anyway, I've suffocated you long enough--I'll let you know if anything happens at dinner as soon as I can." Felix turned to leave, feeling distinctly out of place in that room and wanting to get the hell out as soon as possible. He had to change for dinner anyway.