Till Death Do Us Part

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((It's fine. Just thought since you were controlling the horse, you could go where you wish. :) ))

"Thank you." Eliza said.

As they walked into the inn, the innkeeper recognized her. "Eliza! You're the one this guy was paying for? In that case, keep your money! She's a good friend! Hey, what are you doing with the captain of the guard? Won't he find out-"

Eliza frantically gestured for him to stop. The innkeeper immediately shut his mouth, unsure of why he had to.
 
(( Well, I do tend to space things like that. c: Just remind me, and I'll get back on track. ))

John's brow furrowed. That immediately raised his suspicions, and he immediately switched into a more professional demeanor. "Find out about what, Eliza?" he asked, still supporting her weight.
 
"That I'm related to the innkeeper." Eliza said. Well, it was the truth. The innkeeper was her distant relative. A second cousin or something like that.
 
"Bullshit. You wouldn't be nervous about me finding that out." John shifted his position so she was still supported-he wouldn't dare drop her, even now-but he could look at her properly. "What are you hiding?"
 
"I'm not hiding anything!" Eliza said. The gem started to glow as Eliza's emotions grew.
 
The glow confirmed a suspicion he'd had for the last few seconds. Longer, if he was honest with himself. "You stole it, didn't you? The amethyst?" John asked, voice flat and completely serious. He didn't dare involve emotions.
 
"You don't understand! I needed to take it!" Eliza said, the amethyst glowing brighter. Strange it was glowing for her when it would only glow for the king and queen...
 
"For what? What kind of reason made you break into the King's vault and take his precious stone?" Somehow, John managed to keep his voice level. Yelling would only draw attention, and that would be bad. He was really just trying to figure out how he hadn't known before, how he hadn't known that she was a thief. This...This was already going against the strict black and white ideals he kept to do his job, and she hadn't even told him her reasoning yet.
 
"Those two don't know what's happening to the land because they took this!" Eliza said. "Plants are dying, monsters are becoming more frequent, animals become sick, people become sick and die. All of this started because they took this gem. They don't realize what this thing really is." The gem was glowing almost blindingly bright.
 
"What are you fu-" John cut himself off, took a deep breath. This was business, not personal. Dammit, he was going to act like it. Can't let the criminal, no matter how beautiful she may be, emotionally compromise him. "What do you mean?" he asked with the same serious, flat tone he'd used before.
 
"You see this?" Eliza asked, pulling the gem out. "See how it glows? It's not just a fucking rock! It's an energy source. It's what keeps our world alive. This is how we haven't spiraled into chaos! Yet those two idiots took it and now everything's going to hell!"
 
"Fuck." He need some ale. He seriously needed some ale. John gently guided her over to a table, pulled out a chair and sat her down. "Look. I'm going to get a glass of really strong liquor, and then we'll sit and," he told her, hesitating on the last word. "talk."
 
Eliza looked like she wanted to run, but she couldn't. He was going to take her to the castle and then they'd all be doomed. The amethyst's glow fluctuated with her emotions. It was strange that a random orphan would be able to make a gem that would only glow around the king and queen would glow around her.
 
Dammit. Dammit! He was actually going to sit down and have a discussion with a convict. She'd admitted her guilt! Dragging her in would be a mercy! John just couldn't bring himself to do it. She was injured, after all, and-dammit, no. He'd have the drink, let her make her speech, then he'd take her back with him anyways. Yeah, that's what he'd do.
Leaning up against the bar, he rubbed the stubble on his head. That was bullshit. Didn't sit right with him to do that, but pretending that that was his plan of action was relaxing. Helped him sort out the complete destruction of his philosophy. "Strongest shit you got," he told the bartender. After paying and receiving the drink, he walked back over to the table, sat down across from her, and stated, "Talk."
 
"About what?" Eliza asked. She looked like a cornered animal. She was afraid and just wanted to get out of there. She held a distrust in her eyes that wasn't there before when she was riding with him.
 
John was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. He was staring at the table, tracing the grain of the wood with his eyes. "Why did you take it? Not 'Oh, the world is dying'. What is your personal reason for taking the damn thing, for doing what no one else has done?" Then he looked up at her. "Dammit, I want to know why you came and completely upturned everything that has kept me doing my job for the five years I've had it." He hadn't expected to say that much. Or even add in the last part. But this was no normal circumstance, and the steely control he had over his emotions was slipping.
 
Eliza looked at the table for a bit. "... I wanted to prove I wasn't like my father. I wanted to do something for the people instead of just wishing that the knights would figure it out and tell the king for me. Not like he wouldn't do anything but just sit on his fat-ass and continue messing up the world."
 
"Your father?" John asked after a second. "Your father is the king?" Crap. This whole thing was crazy. He was going crazy. No, he'd just wake up tomorrow, and this would all have been a dream. Or a hallucination. Something. It couldn't be real. Sighing deeply, he took a long drink.
 
"That's what happens when you have a hundred whores." Eliza said, looking down. "You get illegitimate children."
 
John rubbed his forehead, sighing softly. "So, you stole the gem because you want to save the world, despite what the ki-your father is doing to it? Because he's a selfish bastard?" he asked, opening his fingers so he could look at her and still rub his temples.
 
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