Holier Than Thou

[Emora Deen]

Tenele nodded with a smile. She hesitated as she opened the door, allowing Stalker out first. Tenele wasn't quite ready to leave Vlad. After nearly losing him last night she wanted nothing more than spend every second with him, afraid i could be their last. That sort of poison was terrifying. What if someone slipped it in her food next? Were they going to need to hire vampire food testers next?

Tenele swallowed the urge to run back to bed, and instead decided that finding the status on his attacker was very important. "I'll be back."

She scratched the hell hound lovingly behind the ears. "I've missed you boy," she told him, closing the door behind her.

It wasn't until she was halfway down the hall that she realized she was still wearing the thin silk robe that was doused in blood, and her skin and hair were caked with it. The maids looked frightened, but not of her. They also left her well enough alone, which she attributed to Atul's debriefing of the staff.

"Have you seen the King?" Tenele asked the first guard she came to. "Is there any word on my husband's attacker?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"Atul is in the great hall. It is a bit chaotic down there, Lady Dracul," one guard informed them in carefully studied Ighten formality.

Vlad sat up slowly in the empty bed. His head throbbed oddly as the cold blood pushed through his veins. Could being rescued by a goddess's power give you a hangover? Or perhaps being poisoned had caused it. Or summoning the force to stop a god.

"I wonder what it was like," he murmured to himself. "Knight, what did we do? How did he die?" He wanted to talk to his alter ego, but that would never be possible. Instead, he swung himself out of bed and looked at himself in the full-length mirror in the corner, from his pale skin to his ruby eyes.

He remembered what he'd seen, as clearly as a recent memory, when Attara asked what he wanted. The image of Tenele smiling gently at him from across their tended garden, while one hand rested on her rounded belly.

Why had he seen that?

He shook the thought away, grabbing a towel and heading to the shower.

[Emora Deen]

"Chaos is nothing new to me today," Tenele told the guard, skirting around him for the steps. Tenele's pace was quick as she stormed barefoot toward the great hall. She could hear the commotion, but couldn't make out what was being said. There were two guards positioned on either side of the door. They looked hesitant as she reached for the door between them and pushed it open.

Tenele pushed the door open to find a line of people and Atul pacing feverishly back and forth in front of them. He paused at the site of her, glancing warily to the group before walking off to greet her.

"Any ideas?" she asked him, taking in the people.

Atul shook his head. "None, it could be any of them, or none of them."

"I don't like this Atul," Tenele muttered. "What if they slip it into your food again, or my food. My mother won't heal him a third time."

"We'll just be more careful about who touches our meals," Atul whispered, placing a hand on her shoulders. "Is he okay?"

"Seems to be." She didn't miss the weariness in Atul's eyes. "Are you?"

"Tired," Atul admitted truthfully, glancing down to Stalker. "But, we did fight a God. Go back to your room and get cleaned up, you're covered in blood. I'll finish up here. We'll talk later."

[Soran Nightblade]

"My King," one of the advisors said from the doorway as he and his guards led in another group of men and women. "This is everyone."

The chef and a team of other kitchen staff filed into the rest of the line of suspects. Among them was a dark-haired boy with sandy-tan eyes. He studied the king with a mix of terror and admiration as he stumbled into line behind the head chef.

"My King, this is beyond thinking. None of us would dare disgrace you by harming your guests," the large woman who was the head chef said earnestly.

"They are ambassadors, not guests," the young man mumbled bitterly.

[Emora Deen]

Atul watched Tenele leave before addressing them. He looked them all over one by one. There really was no way to get the truth out of them or figure out which one it might have been without resorting to measures better suited for his dead father. The King let out a heavy tired sigh. "I cannot take your word for it, unfortunately. The price that could be paid if the culprit is not found is too high." Atul turned to the guards. "Search the kitchen and their quarters just to be sure," he told the guard. "Alert me if anything is found. Keep them here until the search is complete."

Atul watched as the guards rushed off to do his bidding.

* * *

Tenele went back to their room, letting Stalker in first. Talon was missing, probably already left, and Vlad wasn't lying in bed. She did hear the sound of water running in the bathroom. Tenele went to the ornate vanity and dressing table and sat before it, taking in a good look at her bloody reflection.

After all the running and fear and fighting, with Verin being dead everything felt strange. It felt surreal and dreamlike... Still there was a threat of danger for Vlad...

[Soran Nightblade]

"Sire," Atul's advisor said, frowning at the lineup. "If one of these servants are the source of the problem, I see little choice but to advise you release them all from service until the culprit is turned over."

[Emora Deen]

Atul nodded. "I agree," he muttered. "I cannot take any chances." The King looked the kitchen staff over thoughtfully. "You are all relieved of your duties. Hannon, please see to it that a temporary head chef is chosen and a temporary staff." Atul nodded to the advisor.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad turned off the shower and let the warm water cool on his skin as he dripped dry a few minutes in the stall. He stretched his arms behind his back and stepped leisurely out onto the mat, pulling the towel over his head and strolling into the bedroom where the hot summer wind could dry him naturally. He paused when he noticed Tenele back already. "How is he?" he asked, pleased to be back in her company so soon.

"My King, without work, we cannot feed our families," one of the manservants pleaded as the guards began to escort them out.

"You might reflect on that and consider turning over whoever did this," Atul's advisor said firmly, standing by his king's decision.

"My Sovereign, are they so important to you that you would choose them over your own people like this?" the boy, Nadim, called to Atul as they were led out.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele turned on the stool to look at him. "He's okay. Seems very tired. They are still looking for the one who poisoned you," she told him, rising from her chair. Tenele brushed her hand across his face, standing on the tips of her toes to kiss him. "I am so glad you're okay..."

* * *

Atul narrowed his eyes on the young man. "It is not your place to question why I do things," Atul reprimanded sternly. "But, if you must know, these people are to me as your families are to you. They are important. Not because of their status, but because of who they are to me." It was something he should never have admitted, but Atul was not good at hiding things.

[Soran Nightblade]

The boy looked determined to keep his mouth shut, but he just couldn't. "How can they be so important, when they are outsiders we barely know? They are seducing you. You already seem to forget the very people you fought to save. While the country is still struggling to rebuild from war, you send them ships, in return for two serpents who will only compromise your focus further. We do not need Heirot to be strong. We need you."

[Emora Deen]

Atul glowered at him. "You are out of line," he growled. "Those two are the only reason the country was liberated from Verin's control. They saved you. Have you forgotten the role of one of those 'serpents'? She is the embodiment of Attara, our salvation. She purified the demon that is her husband. Speak no more or you will align yourself with the perpetrator of this crime."

[Soran Nightblade]

"It is not a crime to protect your King from the seduction of outsiders!" the boy shouted. The room fell to a hush.

The head chef looked back at him in astonishment. "Nadim, tell me you didn't have a hand in this," she breathed.

"I am not a criminal! I merely did what no one else would!" the boy said, his voice shaking with emotion. He raised his eyes to his king worshipfully.

[Emora Deen]

Atul set into an eerie calm. He glanced to the guard nearest him. "Seize him." The guard grabbed the boy by the arm, another guard took his other. Atul stared quietly at the boy, the gears in his mind turning. "Take him to the dungeons. Tomorrow at first light have him drawn and quartered as punishment for his crimes. Let the staff and people of my kingdom know that such treason is not forgiveable. He is to be given no comfort, no food or water. I will be merciful to those who deserve mercy, and you do not."

[Soran Nightblade]

"I am loyal to my king! I was protecting you! Beware the outsiders! They will ruin us, just as Arken ruined us!" the boy screamed until a guard stifled him and he was dragged from the room. The rest of the servants were left shell-shocked and nervous in a line before Atul. Uncertain what to do for their king, they slowly dropped to their knees and waited.

* * *

Vlad tilted his neck to match her lips with his. His strong arms wrapped around her lower back securely. "A lot has happened," he murmured against her lips. "You've met your mother. I want to hear everything. I want to hear you talk."

[Emora Deen]

Atul glanced over them all. "Go back to your quarters. You have no fear of me," he told them quietly. "Go back to what you were doing." Atul turned slowly from them, the weariness visible in the way he carried himself as he left the room. He returned to his chambers, closing the door behind him.

As he walked to his bed he stripped off layers of clothing before collapsing against the silk sheets, exhaling in a ragged sigh.

* * *

Tenele drew Vlad to their dirty bed, knowing the servants would be by soon to take the blood sheets and coverlet away and replace it with something new. She told him what happened, about how the monster at Verin's shrine drug her into the water, and how she appeared in his realm. Then, she told him of the battle. "He started coming apart, like a porcelain doll breaking in slow motion. Pieces of him ripped away, and then the hell hounds ripped him apart." Tenele glanced out the window. "It was very satisfying..."