Mistborn: Birthright

[rissa]

Gabriela Elariel growled twice. Once at the Obligator's comment of the Lord Ruler and then again when he mentioned the Hasting woman. Her head swiveled and looked at the guard's retreating form. It wouldn't be difficult to follow him, to tear the beating heart from the woman's body… But her Obligator spoke the truth, as skewed as it currently seemed to her.

Slowly, the Elariel heir calmed down, her breathing growing ragged and wild as the adrenaline fled from her system. She released all her metals, all of them expect tin and pewter; it was as if her body knew instinctively that she needed it. Not until the last of her rage ebbed that Gaby reached down to her side, surprised to see her own blood. It seemed she hadn't escaped those coins as she suspected, though they were mere grazes than entry wounds. With enough pewter and a few, undisturbed hours of sleep she'd be healed. But her brother wasn't so lucky… the hole in his chest wouldn't heal. Not even if he was a mistborn.

Gaby jumped out of her skin as heavy footfalls sounded through the ballroom. She glanced around wildly, instincts insisting it was another attack. Reaching for a vial and finding herself without any, she was relieved, turning around, to find that it was her father, not another mistborn. The first thing she felt was a powerful Soothing and she wavered on the spot, body rejecting the powerful push of emotion.

"Father," Gabriela moaned, her eyes rimmed with red and face still stained crimson. "Zander… I couldn't… He's dead."

Lord Elariel continued to pad forward, though his daughter's words halted him for a moment. He took alternating glances between the Obligator, Gaby, and the room as a whole. It wasn't until his gaze was drawn to the crimson stained silk did his face show any emotion at all. There was shock, anger, sadness…

He wrapped Gabriela in a hug and she clung to him, allowing herself to be weak, to cry, to release all that was inside her. Falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around herself, Gaby stayed there as her father walked forward, as if fighting the realization with every step that his heir, his first born was no longer. The greying Lord Elariel closed his son's eyes, tears pricking into his own, and then staggered backwards, the pain in his chest too much to bear.

The Lord made his way to the Obligator on unsteady feet, eyes rimmed red like his daughter's. "What has happened here, my dear man? Where is my wife? The twins?"

 

[Red Thunder]

"I fear I cannot say."

His hands had drifted automatically to clasp one another behind his back, the formal pose comfortable and indeed comforting in this time. Draulin had watched Elariel with quiet concern as he found and tended his children, knowing there was nothing he could do for him but wishing that there was all the same. His breathing had steadied, little though it'd become agitated in the first place, and he felt somehow not sore from his hard fall. The warmth in his belly still blazed on, though it had begun to fade. So odd. He'd need to investigate what was in the vial Gabriela had given him.

Elariel nodded solemnly, answered but dissatisfied. The captain of the guard, having accompanied his Lord back into the ballroom, stepped away from him, snapping at his soldiers to begin searching for the family members in question. For his part, Draulin approached Elariel purposefully, gesturing to the side for a private conversation.

"But as to the attack, my Lord. One of the men who attacked me stated that he and one other were hired by Lord Hasting to do the deed. He failed to give reason; indeed, I assume he didn't know. The third attacker is unknown to me, though perhaps Gabriela found out." He shot the young woman a concerned look. "It seems as though information was conveyed elsewhere by members not present."

Lord Elariel nodded, hearing but not quite comprehending. The shock of events was still registering in his mind. He beckoned his daughter to join their conversation.

"Dear one," he said, forcing his voice past the grating in his throat. His hands rested on either shoulder as he went to one knee to better address her. "What happened?"

 

[rissa]

For a moment she knelt there, lost in her mind. Numb even to senses that were enhanced with tin. She had to claw her way out of the haze, tooth and nail. Somehow, even through the fog she had heard what Drau said to her father, listened to not-so-soothing voice of her father. His own voice hitched in his throat and she grew angry, once more. How dare he be weak! How dare he!

She shrugged off his touch and rose to her feet. The little control she had left keeping the anger from spilling into her limbs. Yet Gaby ached and only then did she realize her reserves were running low.

"Father I don't think this is the place to be speaking of such matters. The twins are safe... If you and the Obligator would follow me."

She started forward, already eyeing the last of the nobles who thought it safe to reveal themselves. Gaby didn't stop walking but she set her pace slow, undulating, a lethal grace. Hopefully the twins has listened to her and locked themselves in one of the Elariel safe rooms, hopefully they were still alive.

 

[Red Thunder]

The Obligator.

Even Gabriela would know the proper manner of address. The fact that she didn't use it, even at such a time, was indicative of her mood. It was understandable, Draulin supposed, his legs taking over as he followed behind Lord Elariel behind his daughter. She had lost a brother. Yet this seemed more than merely loss; an anger, focused and directed, was present under her sorrow, supporting it and keeping its fragile heart beating. But what could have made her so angry? Frinet? The Hasting girl surely had little do to with this all, save that she had lost her intended.

Perhaps not all the loss was for the worse. Now there will be no merger of Elariel and Hasting.

The thought surprised him, and he chided himself mentally. House Elariel had lost their eldest, their heir, and while the latter could be renamed, the former could not be replaced. Zander was gone, and even the trouble that invariably would have sprung from his and Frinet's announcement of their intention that evening was preferable to the cloud that now hung over the family.

The news still had to be delivered to the rest of them. The Twins, it seemed, would be the first. Ahead of him some steps, Lord Elariel was speaking in low tones to an attending soldier, who quickly rushed ahead. He'd likely gone to seek the lady of the house to ensure her own safety.

Suddenly the warmth in his belly, present for what seemed like hours since Gaby had given him the vial, was gone, and with it went much of his strength. Draulin's felt exhausted, the weariness falling upon him like a cloak, smothering him and making it somewhat difficult to progress. But he grit his teeth.

"You are leading us to the twins, yes? About how much farther, do you think?"

 

[rissa]

"You'll be fine after another vial," Gabriela snapped. "After we make sure the twins are alright there are other matters to attend to. Matters that need to be handled immediately."

In truth it wasn't long until they reached the hidden room. And she too needed another vial of metals. With each step exhaustion of muscle and limb bore its weight. By the end of their trek, down two stories of hidden passages that only the loyal skaa were aware of it, the location of the innermost room was revealed to be directly beneath the ballroom. They had just travelled in a spiral of stone and marble.

"I apologize." Gaby said after a moment. Yet her voice still sounded clipped and agitated.

When the trio arrived at the chamber, her mother was already there, desperately clinging to the twins. Her makeup was smudged and her dress hung limply from one end, but otherwise she looked uninjured. Gabriela stepped into the chamber quickly, obscured slightly as she rummaged through a few drawers on the opposite side of the room. She withdrew two vials and stepped back outside quickly, kneeling to embrace her younger brother and sister. She clung tight, prayed that their hearts were strong…

Biting her lip, she broke the embrace and refused to look at her mother. Gabriela downed the contents of one vial and then walked slowly, straight towards Draulin. When she was less than a few feet away she extended an open palm. On top of it laid a vial of metals.

"Drink it. We both have further duties that require our attention."

 

[Red Thunder]

The exhaustion was like a tide, present unexpectedly with little to be done against its inevitability. Each step was harder than the last, despite the aid given by descent, and Draulin found himself leaned against the wall more and more for support. Where had that divine strength gone so suddenly? More to the point, how could he be so frail without it? The impending period of mourning and rebuilding the family would go through it the next weeks would be busy and involved indeed, and even their Obligatory would stay busy, yet he resolved to find time to exercise the body alongside the mind. This was quite frankly embarrassing.

His attention was focused entirely inward, seeking some foundation upon which to cling, and every interaction of the family went unnoticed. It was perhaps for the best; Gabriela's pointed avoidance of her mother's gaze hadn't gone unnoticed by the matron, and a look from daughter to husband was enough to verify any suspicion she had regarding the missing Elariel heir. Hands went to eyes even as Lord knelt beside Lady, and the four wept together, wrapped in their father's embrace.

But Gaby's command to Draulin broke his focus on his tiredness, and he looked up. His brow was knit in confusion even as he took the proffered vial, and he examined it.

"Is this what you gave me before?" he sighed, the logica conclusion slow to come. "This is a vial of Mistborn's metal shavings. What need have I of it?"