The crackle of the flames burst to life as Lady Marceline stirred the hearth with a fire poker. The fire lit the seating area of her office nicely, and chased away the chill from the outside air. It was among the top reasons that she had chosen that particular room to serve as her office. That, and it also served as a central location, just off to the side of the main hall and connected with the war room through another door. It was convenient for everyone, from the diplomats she entertained to the Inquisition personnel themselves. She had taken great pains to ensure that the office was both comfortable, and functional, as well as putting her own personal tastes into it. She glanced up above the mantle to take in the family portrait she had commissioned.
She returned to her place on the couch that faced the fireplace and took the glass of wine that waited for her on an nearby end table. Estella was present as well, as she had news she wished to discuss. However, Marceline was also waiting on a few others, so that left both of them patiently waiting. Honestly, it was just like the man to keep her waiting-- she'd been more surprised if he'd beaten anyone to her office. "I apologize Estella, but Michaël tends to do things at his own pace," she said, taking a sip of her wine. Of course, if he did things at her pace, then he would not be the man that she fell in love with.
“Hm?" Estella glanced up. She was sitting in one of the office's armchairs, apparently lost in thought about something or other. She blinked, however, clearing her eyes and giving no indication of what had her preoccupied. “Oh, it's no problem." She didn't seem to mind much either way, though she did appear to be a little puzzled by the summons, and why Michäel's presence was necessary in the first place. If so, she was much too polite to mention it.
A knock soon came at her door, drawing her attention. It soon opened and revealed Larissa, with Michaël trailing not far behind. Surprisingly, he had brought someone as well, as Khari filed in soon after. "Larissa caught you two during training then?" Marceline asked. She didn't mind that Michaël had brought Khari along; he was fond of the woman and enjoyed training her. She was happy that he had something to put his mind to, Michaël did not do well with idle moments. Honestly, if it hadn't been Khari, then it would have been Pierre. Michaël smiled brightly and took a chair adjacent to her and scooted it over to be closer to her. She tried to ignore the obnoxious scraping noise.
If Estella might have been confused as to why she was present, Khari was definitely so. She wore it openly scrawled across her face, dropping gracelessly into the chair next to the Inquisitor's. “Are we getting more manners lessons? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I can do as well as Mick when it comes to that." She shrugged, glancing back and forth between them.
"I doubt it, mon ours, Michaël answered with that grin of his.
Marceline chuckled lightly and shifted in her place in order to slide closer to Michaël, "You must remember, Khari, we are Orlesian. It is in our blood. Despite Micky's... unique mannerisms, he can be quite civilized when the time comes. But no, no lessons today," she added, causing him to shoot Khari a smug look of satisfaction. It lasted all the way until the moment that Larissa could no longer contain her giggle.
Once she managed to get a hold on it again, Larissa raised a hand shook her head. "I'm sorry, it will not happen again milord," she said, hiding her smile. She had taken a seat at Marceline's desk, but did not work on anything. Marceline had a sneaking suspicion that everyone but her enjoyed sitting at her desk. Instead Larissa's attention was on them, patiently waiting for Marceline to explain why she had gathered Michaël and Estella. She knew what this was about, of course, Larissa had been there when she first read the letter.
"Sure, whatever. You say that now," Michaël answered Larissa with a wave of his hand.
Khari stuck her tongue out at Michäel, but seemed to gather herself back into some semblance of presentability quickly enough, arching an eyebrow at Marceline. “Okay..." She drew the word out on the 'a'. “So what, then?"
"I received a letter from Lord Mathis. You remember him, yes?" Marceline asked, her attention alighting Estella for a moment. "He is the Marquis of Collines Verts, a portion of which neighbors our own estate. He visited for a time some months ago--I do not know if you saw him," she said for Khari's sake. She was not present when she introduced him and his niece to the Inquisitors. "Regardless, he sends his best wishes," she said, focusing on Estella again, "And expresses his appreciation to the Inquisition for hosting him and his niece."
Michaël raised an eyebrow. He knew that that wasn't all the letter entailed, he'd played the Game himself long enough to the letter obviously had something else in it. "I am sensing there is a 'but' coming."
Marceline nodded, "I will save you all the rest of the pleasantries--of which there were no few. He speaks glowingly of the work that the Inquisition does, and the effort he personally believes I pour into it."
"To butter you up, undoubtedly," Michaël added with a shrug.
Marceline chuckled again, and nodded in agreement. She was glad Michaël was present, he brought a... refreshing breath of fresh air to her office. He certainly helped to keep her sane. "Yes, undoubtedly, but the 'but' you spoke of Micky. He wishes that I take his niece, Lady Félicité as an apprentice and protégée."
Larissa cooed from her desk, "The request obviously was not as forward milady made it sound. There was much flowery language and praise involved. The butter milord so eloquently put it," she said with a light smile.
Estella frowned slightly, resting her hands carefully in her lap. “Isn't that... isn't that a bit dangerous? I mean, Skyhold is well-defended, from the outside, but if someone could make it in and hurt Cyrus the way Leta did, shouldn't he be worried about leaving his niece under the protection of people in such a publicly-contentious position?" Her concern seemed to be for the young lady more than anything; her brow furrowed over her eyes, and the frown did not ease.
"Yes, it is certainly a dangerous position, but I believe Mathis understands this," Marceline sighed. Of course Félicité would be in danger as her apprentice, the Inquisition as a whole was not a completely safe haven--as recent events surely demonstrated. Marceline frowned, she had brought the idea of tightening Inquisition security up with the other advisors, so at least they would all be safe in Skyhold. It was enough to worry for them when they left the keep's walls, she did not also want to have to worry about them while they remained within them.
Larissa was the next to speak. "In fact, he may count on it as a sort of... preparatory method. If she is able to handle the dangers of the Inquisition, then she will be well prepared to handle the dangers that will come when she finally assumes the title of Marquise of Collines Verts."
Marceline nodded in agreement. As dangerous as it was, she would no doubt earn the necessary experience to smoothly run her estate when the time comes. "As I understand it, she does not hold any reservations against the proposal herself," she allowed herself a tight smile for a moment. "If she is anything like her mother, then I am not surprised to hear that. The Ambroises were--are, I suppose I should say... bravely ambitious," Marceline noted.
"Sound familiar?" Michaël added, reaching over to place a comforting hand on her knee. "There can be no reward without risk."
“Uh..." Khari still seemed to not be sure she should even be in the room in the first place, but she was bold enough to interject anyway. “Sure, maybe she needs to be prepared for the possibility of assassination or whatever—sorry Stel—but there's gotta be better way to do that than risking being someplace where a fucking lyrium dragon might fly over the walls some morning." She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. “He's got an angle, right? Something he wants out of this that's not in the fine print or footnotes or whatever you call it?"
Estella looked thoughtful for a moment, not perturbed by the nature of Khari's comment. She seemed to alight on something; her face shifted until she was wearing an expression of mild disgust, actually, followed swiftly by something almost describable as pity. “Oh, he's not..." She trailed off and sighed. “You think he's trying to arrange something more permanent than an apprenticeship, right? With Félicité and Pierre or something?" Her lips thinned.
“That's not... it's hardly worth the risk. I mean... it's her life. You aren't going to accept, are you, Lady Marceline? Did you need me to tell him that the Inquisition officially disallows that kind of apprenticeship so it's not a personal rejection?" It seemed to be her guess as to the reason for her presence in the discussion.
"It is not that easy, Estella," Marceline shook her head. She had much of the same worries that Estella had--maybe even more. "Mathis made... declining rather difficult, I am afraid," she said, with a sigh. Michaël tightened his grip on her knee and nodded, unsurprised. If they wanted it enough, the nobility were difficult to fend off until they got their desires.
"As I said, Mathis is Marquis of Collines Verts, what is essentially a portion of Orlais's breadbasket. In return for apprenticing Félicité, and undoubtedly the renown that would come with that, he offered trade deal that would see the Inquisition able to buy the crops produced by his estate at just above cost, as well as any other support that he could offer, which would help us greatly, as well as win us an important ally in Orlais," Marceline explained, her frown deepening.
The resources that Mathis could offer could help the Inquisition a great deal, and they were... enticing. "And I fear that if we were to decline, then he may see it as a insult--or at least play it as such. We would lose an ally, and not only that, but the goods we already purchase from his estate may also see an increase in price because of it. That would prove to be... unfortunate."
Michaël was quiet while she spoke, and appeared thoughtful throughout, and it wasn't until Marceline finished that he began. "And Pierre? Yes, I can see Mathis planning something like," he said with a shake of his head. "He courted Marceline, you know?" he explained for Khari, "But obviously, he did not win that one," he said with a smile while he rubbed Marceline's knee. Marceline looked at him and returned his smile warmly. "Had they married instead, then they would have united their lands and both of their houses would have benefited from the union. His loss, honestly," He added. Marceline gave him a frown, but shook her head. He was correct, after all.
"He may be planning on attempting to arrange something similar with Pierre, yes. And that is what truly worries me," she added. "He has not expressed it directly, perhaps he hopes it would... happen naturally during her tenure here," she said with a deep frown.
Estella took a deep breath. “We should not be bargaining with the lives of children, no matter what it will get us." She said it surprisingly firmly, insistently. “I understand that your personal history is complicated, and that the political implications are many. But the Marquis does not control the only fertile lands in Orlais. There are other possible alliances to work towards. Other things we can try that do not involve putting innocents at considerable risk by bringing them here." She sat straight in her chair, meeting Marceline's eyes directly.
“Your personal family affairs, what you think of the attempt to match or any of that—I won't trouble you with my thoughts on those things, because they're none of mine or the Inquisition's business in the slightest. But this is a move that the Inquisition will be making, and a decision that the Inquisition will be responsible for. Perhaps the others might disagree, but I am not comfortable with what this would say about us. What we're willing to do to achieve our aims. If Lady Félicité were of age and consented, perhaps that would be different. But she's a child, Lady Marceline. No child should be in peril for the schemes of adults." The cadence of her voice never wavered from its firm softness, but it was clear that she felt quite strongly about the matter, and it would take more than the promise of resources to sway her.
Marceline couldn't help but smile warmly at the woman's fire. She was... proud to hear the certainty in her voice, and wished that she could hear it more often. It was clear to her that there was to be no debating on the matter, and at that Marceline frowned. She wished it could be otherwise. "I respectfully disagree," she stated evenly. "This proposal gains us much, and we need all of the aid that we can afford. I understand your grievances Lady Estella," she continued. She did agree with Estella on a few of her points. It was dangerous, and she was uncomfortable to be bartering with lives as well, but she also believed that they needed all the help they can get, no matter the circumstances. She would do what she must to see that the Inquisition succeeded.
"But, I am afraid I have already made my decision," Marceline revealed, her voice never leaving its even cadence. Underneath however, she did not like having to decide like this or having to argue with Estella. "Lord Mathis asked that I specifically, be the one to apprentice Lady Félicité, not the Inquisition, and this will be my decision, and one that I will be responsible for," she stated equally as firm. "I truly wish that it was so simple, Estella, I truly do, but it is not. Corypheus threatens more than just the Inquisition, and we are still in desperate need of allies, resources, and support."
The Inquisition was growing by the day, and not only that, but they now had presences in both Orlais and Ferelden that would also require resources. They could not wait while they tried to win allies elsewhere. "If these resources will give us an edge, then I will take it." It was difficult choice, but she did not join the Inquisition expecting them all to be simple.
She intended to do everything in her power to keep Lady Félicité safe as she possibly could while she remained with the Inquisition, and would take all necessary precautions to ensure that she remained out of harm's way, but Marceline did not think that it would change Estella's mind. "I truly do apologize, Lady Estella," she added, sincerely.
“I see." There was a certain strain in Estella's voice, as if she were exerting conscious effort to remain as neutral as possible. Her face was impressively-neutral, almost as hard to read as Ser Rilien's. “If you have already decided, I suppose there is not much I or anyone else can do." She stood, bowing a fraction stiffly.
When she straightened, she met Marceline's eyes again. “But I would think that someone as politically astute as you are, Lady Marceline, would realize that even if you were the one he asked, your acceptance says something about us all. His resources do not go to you, after all. They go to us. I... hope that this turns out as well as you anticipate. Because it will not be only you that takes the blame if it does not." She said the last with a trace of sadness, then turned and left without a dismissal.
“Uh." Khari broke the uncomfortable silence that descended. “I don't really know shit about this, but... might wanna have another think about this kinda stuff, Marcy. The Inquisitors are supposed to be the ones in charge, right?" She shrugged, then glanced quickly at Michäel. “Sorry, skipping the rest of practice. Gotta go... you know." She jabbed a thumb back over her shoulder and about-faced without waiting for responses from either of them.
“Stel—" The door closed, cutting off anything further.
Larissa shuffled at her desk, and she too stood and made for the door, though not before she paused for a moment. "Milady. I will go check on the young Lord, make sure he is keeping out of trouble," she explained, and once Marceline nodded her acknowledgment, Larissa filed out of the door as well.
She exhaled sharply and her face fell into her hands. She felt... a lot more tired than she had moments ago, and it was starting to become a usual feeling of late, she had found. She shook her head and reached for the wineglass that waited for her on the nearby end table and downed it instantly. It gave Michaël time to stand from his own chair and go to the couch next to her. He drew her close, and let her lay her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and said nothing, letting her mind fall away to the rhythm of his breathing and the crackle of the flames in front of her.
She returned to her place on the couch that faced the fireplace and took the glass of wine that waited for her on an nearby end table. Estella was present as well, as she had news she wished to discuss. However, Marceline was also waiting on a few others, so that left both of them patiently waiting. Honestly, it was just like the man to keep her waiting-- she'd been more surprised if he'd beaten anyone to her office. "I apologize Estella, but Michaël tends to do things at his own pace," she said, taking a sip of her wine. Of course, if he did things at her pace, then he would not be the man that she fell in love with.
“Hm?" Estella glanced up. She was sitting in one of the office's armchairs, apparently lost in thought about something or other. She blinked, however, clearing her eyes and giving no indication of what had her preoccupied. “Oh, it's no problem." She didn't seem to mind much either way, though she did appear to be a little puzzled by the summons, and why Michäel's presence was necessary in the first place. If so, she was much too polite to mention it.
A knock soon came at her door, drawing her attention. It soon opened and revealed Larissa, with Michaël trailing not far behind. Surprisingly, he had brought someone as well, as Khari filed in soon after. "Larissa caught you two during training then?" Marceline asked. She didn't mind that Michaël had brought Khari along; he was fond of the woman and enjoyed training her. She was happy that he had something to put his mind to, Michaël did not do well with idle moments. Honestly, if it hadn't been Khari, then it would have been Pierre. Michaël smiled brightly and took a chair adjacent to her and scooted it over to be closer to her. She tried to ignore the obnoxious scraping noise.
If Estella might have been confused as to why she was present, Khari was definitely so. She wore it openly scrawled across her face, dropping gracelessly into the chair next to the Inquisitor's. “Are we getting more manners lessons? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I can do as well as Mick when it comes to that." She shrugged, glancing back and forth between them.
"I doubt it, mon ours, Michaël answered with that grin of his.
Marceline chuckled lightly and shifted in her place in order to slide closer to Michaël, "You must remember, Khari, we are Orlesian. It is in our blood. Despite Micky's... unique mannerisms, he can be quite civilized when the time comes. But no, no lessons today," she added, causing him to shoot Khari a smug look of satisfaction. It lasted all the way until the moment that Larissa could no longer contain her giggle.
Once she managed to get a hold on it again, Larissa raised a hand shook her head. "I'm sorry, it will not happen again milord," she said, hiding her smile. She had taken a seat at Marceline's desk, but did not work on anything. Marceline had a sneaking suspicion that everyone but her enjoyed sitting at her desk. Instead Larissa's attention was on them, patiently waiting for Marceline to explain why she had gathered Michaël and Estella. She knew what this was about, of course, Larissa had been there when she first read the letter.
"Sure, whatever. You say that now," Michaël answered Larissa with a wave of his hand.
Khari stuck her tongue out at Michäel, but seemed to gather herself back into some semblance of presentability quickly enough, arching an eyebrow at Marceline. “Okay..." She drew the word out on the 'a'. “So what, then?"
"I received a letter from Lord Mathis. You remember him, yes?" Marceline asked, her attention alighting Estella for a moment. "He is the Marquis of Collines Verts, a portion of which neighbors our own estate. He visited for a time some months ago--I do not know if you saw him," she said for Khari's sake. She was not present when she introduced him and his niece to the Inquisitors. "Regardless, he sends his best wishes," she said, focusing on Estella again, "And expresses his appreciation to the Inquisition for hosting him and his niece."
Michaël raised an eyebrow. He knew that that wasn't all the letter entailed, he'd played the Game himself long enough to the letter obviously had something else in it. "I am sensing there is a 'but' coming."
Marceline nodded, "I will save you all the rest of the pleasantries--of which there were no few. He speaks glowingly of the work that the Inquisition does, and the effort he personally believes I pour into it."
"To butter you up, undoubtedly," Michaël added with a shrug.
Marceline chuckled again, and nodded in agreement. She was glad Michaël was present, he brought a... refreshing breath of fresh air to her office. He certainly helped to keep her sane. "Yes, undoubtedly, but the 'but' you spoke of Micky. He wishes that I take his niece, Lady Félicité as an apprentice and protégée."
Larissa cooed from her desk, "The request obviously was not as forward milady made it sound. There was much flowery language and praise involved. The butter milord so eloquently put it," she said with a light smile.
Estella frowned slightly, resting her hands carefully in her lap. “Isn't that... isn't that a bit dangerous? I mean, Skyhold is well-defended, from the outside, but if someone could make it in and hurt Cyrus the way Leta did, shouldn't he be worried about leaving his niece under the protection of people in such a publicly-contentious position?" Her concern seemed to be for the young lady more than anything; her brow furrowed over her eyes, and the frown did not ease.
"Yes, it is certainly a dangerous position, but I believe Mathis understands this," Marceline sighed. Of course Félicité would be in danger as her apprentice, the Inquisition as a whole was not a completely safe haven--as recent events surely demonstrated. Marceline frowned, she had brought the idea of tightening Inquisition security up with the other advisors, so at least they would all be safe in Skyhold. It was enough to worry for them when they left the keep's walls, she did not also want to have to worry about them while they remained within them.
Larissa was the next to speak. "In fact, he may count on it as a sort of... preparatory method. If she is able to handle the dangers of the Inquisition, then she will be well prepared to handle the dangers that will come when she finally assumes the title of Marquise of Collines Verts."
Marceline nodded in agreement. As dangerous as it was, she would no doubt earn the necessary experience to smoothly run her estate when the time comes. "As I understand it, she does not hold any reservations against the proposal herself," she allowed herself a tight smile for a moment. "If she is anything like her mother, then I am not surprised to hear that. The Ambroises were--are, I suppose I should say... bravely ambitious," Marceline noted.
"Sound familiar?" Michaël added, reaching over to place a comforting hand on her knee. "There can be no reward without risk."
“Uh..." Khari still seemed to not be sure she should even be in the room in the first place, but she was bold enough to interject anyway. “Sure, maybe she needs to be prepared for the possibility of assassination or whatever—sorry Stel—but there's gotta be better way to do that than risking being someplace where a fucking lyrium dragon might fly over the walls some morning." She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. “He's got an angle, right? Something he wants out of this that's not in the fine print or footnotes or whatever you call it?"
Estella looked thoughtful for a moment, not perturbed by the nature of Khari's comment. She seemed to alight on something; her face shifted until she was wearing an expression of mild disgust, actually, followed swiftly by something almost describable as pity. “Oh, he's not..." She trailed off and sighed. “You think he's trying to arrange something more permanent than an apprenticeship, right? With Félicité and Pierre or something?" Her lips thinned.
“That's not... it's hardly worth the risk. I mean... it's her life. You aren't going to accept, are you, Lady Marceline? Did you need me to tell him that the Inquisition officially disallows that kind of apprenticeship so it's not a personal rejection?" It seemed to be her guess as to the reason for her presence in the discussion.
"It is not that easy, Estella," Marceline shook her head. She had much of the same worries that Estella had--maybe even more. "Mathis made... declining rather difficult, I am afraid," she said, with a sigh. Michaël tightened his grip on her knee and nodded, unsurprised. If they wanted it enough, the nobility were difficult to fend off until they got their desires.
"As I said, Mathis is Marquis of Collines Verts, what is essentially a portion of Orlais's breadbasket. In return for apprenticing Félicité, and undoubtedly the renown that would come with that, he offered trade deal that would see the Inquisition able to buy the crops produced by his estate at just above cost, as well as any other support that he could offer, which would help us greatly, as well as win us an important ally in Orlais," Marceline explained, her frown deepening.
The resources that Mathis could offer could help the Inquisition a great deal, and they were... enticing. "And I fear that if we were to decline, then he may see it as a insult--or at least play it as such. We would lose an ally, and not only that, but the goods we already purchase from his estate may also see an increase in price because of it. That would prove to be... unfortunate."
Michaël was quiet while she spoke, and appeared thoughtful throughout, and it wasn't until Marceline finished that he began. "And Pierre? Yes, I can see Mathis planning something like," he said with a shake of his head. "He courted Marceline, you know?" he explained for Khari, "But obviously, he did not win that one," he said with a smile while he rubbed Marceline's knee. Marceline looked at him and returned his smile warmly. "Had they married instead, then they would have united their lands and both of their houses would have benefited from the union. His loss, honestly," He added. Marceline gave him a frown, but shook her head. He was correct, after all.
"He may be planning on attempting to arrange something similar with Pierre, yes. And that is what truly worries me," she added. "He has not expressed it directly, perhaps he hopes it would... happen naturally during her tenure here," she said with a deep frown.
Estella took a deep breath. “We should not be bargaining with the lives of children, no matter what it will get us." She said it surprisingly firmly, insistently. “I understand that your personal history is complicated, and that the political implications are many. But the Marquis does not control the only fertile lands in Orlais. There are other possible alliances to work towards. Other things we can try that do not involve putting innocents at considerable risk by bringing them here." She sat straight in her chair, meeting Marceline's eyes directly.
“Your personal family affairs, what you think of the attempt to match or any of that—I won't trouble you with my thoughts on those things, because they're none of mine or the Inquisition's business in the slightest. But this is a move that the Inquisition will be making, and a decision that the Inquisition will be responsible for. Perhaps the others might disagree, but I am not comfortable with what this would say about us. What we're willing to do to achieve our aims. If Lady Félicité were of age and consented, perhaps that would be different. But she's a child, Lady Marceline. No child should be in peril for the schemes of adults." The cadence of her voice never wavered from its firm softness, but it was clear that she felt quite strongly about the matter, and it would take more than the promise of resources to sway her.
Marceline couldn't help but smile warmly at the woman's fire. She was... proud to hear the certainty in her voice, and wished that she could hear it more often. It was clear to her that there was to be no debating on the matter, and at that Marceline frowned. She wished it could be otherwise. "I respectfully disagree," she stated evenly. "This proposal gains us much, and we need all of the aid that we can afford. I understand your grievances Lady Estella," she continued. She did agree with Estella on a few of her points. It was dangerous, and she was uncomfortable to be bartering with lives as well, but she also believed that they needed all the help they can get, no matter the circumstances. She would do what she must to see that the Inquisition succeeded.
"But, I am afraid I have already made my decision," Marceline revealed, her voice never leaving its even cadence. Underneath however, she did not like having to decide like this or having to argue with Estella. "Lord Mathis asked that I specifically, be the one to apprentice Lady Félicité, not the Inquisition, and this will be my decision, and one that I will be responsible for," she stated equally as firm. "I truly wish that it was so simple, Estella, I truly do, but it is not. Corypheus threatens more than just the Inquisition, and we are still in desperate need of allies, resources, and support."
The Inquisition was growing by the day, and not only that, but they now had presences in both Orlais and Ferelden that would also require resources. They could not wait while they tried to win allies elsewhere. "If these resources will give us an edge, then I will take it." It was difficult choice, but she did not join the Inquisition expecting them all to be simple.
She intended to do everything in her power to keep Lady Félicité safe as she possibly could while she remained with the Inquisition, and would take all necessary precautions to ensure that she remained out of harm's way, but Marceline did not think that it would change Estella's mind. "I truly do apologize, Lady Estella," she added, sincerely.
“I see." There was a certain strain in Estella's voice, as if she were exerting conscious effort to remain as neutral as possible. Her face was impressively-neutral, almost as hard to read as Ser Rilien's. “If you have already decided, I suppose there is not much I or anyone else can do." She stood, bowing a fraction stiffly.
When she straightened, she met Marceline's eyes again. “But I would think that someone as politically astute as you are, Lady Marceline, would realize that even if you were the one he asked, your acceptance says something about us all. His resources do not go to you, after all. They go to us. I... hope that this turns out as well as you anticipate. Because it will not be only you that takes the blame if it does not." She said the last with a trace of sadness, then turned and left without a dismissal.
“Uh." Khari broke the uncomfortable silence that descended. “I don't really know shit about this, but... might wanna have another think about this kinda stuff, Marcy. The Inquisitors are supposed to be the ones in charge, right?" She shrugged, then glanced quickly at Michäel. “Sorry, skipping the rest of practice. Gotta go... you know." She jabbed a thumb back over her shoulder and about-faced without waiting for responses from either of them.
“Stel—" The door closed, cutting off anything further.
Larissa shuffled at her desk, and she too stood and made for the door, though not before she paused for a moment. "Milady. I will go check on the young Lord, make sure he is keeping out of trouble," she explained, and once Marceline nodded her acknowledgment, Larissa filed out of the door as well.
She exhaled sharply and her face fell into her hands. She felt... a lot more tired than she had moments ago, and it was starting to become a usual feeling of late, she had found. She shook her head and reached for the wineglass that waited for her on the nearby end table and downed it instantly. It gave Michaël time to stand from his own chair and go to the couch next to her. He drew her close, and let her lay her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and said nothing, letting her mind fall away to the rhythm of his breathing and the crackle of the flames in front of her.