At the doors of the Dar Yi Home, Nadira hung as close behind the two Sots as she could. Arturri stood looking like a brick, all solid and stiff, almost lifeless. His nerves were palpable to her. She hoped they wouldn’t be so obvious to everyone else.

Nadira couldn’t help but crane her head up at the expansive castle before her. Kro ahead of her showed off the pass to the Dar Yi guards like he had done before, and they directed the four of them inside.

Inside, there was a large entry with staircases leading up. White carpets adorned the stairs, and a carpeted runway ran through the corridor to them. There were some Dar Yi moving to and fro, caught up in their work. Some were lounging along couches by the wall. The floor beyond the carpet was all large white tiles. Each Dar Yi step sounded sharp to the ears, and stepping inside Nadira was hit by the scent of simple perfume and fresh linens.

So many portraits were along the walls of the main corridors. Some frames were bigger than others, but each one had their own amount of dignity. They all looked so proud. A familiar envy stirred in Nadira, but she pushed it down. She had to stay focused.

A woman came forward to greet them. Nadira noticed Arturri the brick become somehow even less animated.

The woman's hair was white and trailed down her shoulders. Her sharp eyes were dark like a tunnel path. She held a thin glass of white wine in her hand and beckoned for a servant to bring some more glasses over. “Welcome. My name is Warren. A pleasure to have you.” she said. Those eyes searched Sadie curiously. The rest of them were worthless to her.

Sadie was quiet but gave a curtsey.

“Thank you,” Kro began. “The Sot Family is proud to present Sadie to the care of the Dar Yi. Please treat her well, and be good to her.” There was a rehearsed formality to it, but it was still straight forward enough. There was no malice in it.

“We Dar Yi will treat her as one of our own,” Warren said, “The Sots have our thanks and our blessings.” There was again that rote rehearsal, but even if they were words said a thousand times at a thousand wedding exchanges, they were still a gesture of good will.

The tray had a glass of wine on it, just for Sadie. She took it graciously, with thanks. Kro stood where he was, and Sadie looked over to him. Nadira wondered what their eyes were saying to each other. A meaningful glance between siblings was not a language she could read.

“Right this way,” said a servant, gesturing broadly at the stairs. Warren watched them go. As Sadie and the two 'servants' stepped forward, Nadira noticed Kro staying where he was. He had given Sadie away. Now they were in the lion’s den alone. Nadira glanced back at him as they walked. He gave her a wink when she did. She dare not do it a second time, or else she would rouse suspicion. She held out, and when the stairs gave a turn, she casually glanced for him again - but he was already gone.

They were guided by Dar Yi servants towards the room where they could prepare for dinner. The custom was to have a night at the Home one was marrying into before the ceremony. Nadira wasn’t sure where that custom came from, but she had thought it surely made the welcome a little more inviting, and less intimidating. Sadie, the bride to be, was treated cordially by the servants, who made way for her. She was watched by nearly everyone they passed.

Nadira and Arturri thankfully were pretty much invisible to the Dar Yi, both the nobles and the servants. Nadira was used to the invisibility, but Arturri seemed like a lost child. He had relaxed a great deal since leaving Warren. He must have known that woman. Thankfully she didn’t even look at the servants. She could feel walking alongside him the ongoing dread.

They went up a large staircase to where their room would be. The staircase had a white carpet going all the way up. Nadira wondered how they kept it so white, but then remembered they had magic. They didn’t have to scrub it with detergent like she would back at the Orphanage.

They entered the halls, narrow spaces without room for three people shoulder to shoulder. But they were tall, enough for two full doors to stack. The halls were lit with blue lights dancing among the rafters.

At the door to the room, a servant was waiting, and opened it for them. Wordlessly, they went in, one at a time, and the door was closed.

They let out a collective sigh of relief. Sadie put her finger up to her lips to indicate it wasn’t safe perhaps to talk just yet. She bent down and looked through the peep-hole. The servant had left them in peace.

The room had a simple double bed. The servants were provided with two small singles in a separate room connected to that one. A washroom was also attached. A corner desk in its place. There was only a square window in this room, not large enough to go through. Through it, the fields of the Dar Yi were visible, glowing and floating amid the abyss. A web of delicate bridges connected them like spiders thread.

“Alright,” Sadie let out a sigh, “We did it… I’m really here.” The fact seemed like it was shock more than anything. “Arturri, you okay?”

“Yeah. Yes, I’m fine," he said, as stiff as ever.

Nadira hadn't forgotten what had occured just before. “Do you think the Bheorse would get us in here?”

“We’re probably safe in the Home,” Arturri said with shaky confidence, “They wouldn’t dare break in. It would cause war, wouldn’t it?”

Uneasily, they agreed with him.

“Who was Warren?” Nadira asked, “Was she the head?”

“No, no, not the head. They wouldn’t have time for such things… she is an official though. Warren is my mother.”

Nadira wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m sorry,” she settled for. She felt like she was in way over her head, and she was struggling with how much she didn’t know. She knew basically nothing about Arturri. As she reflected on that, she started to get worried.

Arturri shook his head, and turned to look around the room. “We’re lucky so far. But we have a lot to do.”

“How are you so collected about this?” Nadira ended up bursting out.

“Nadira,” Sadie began, “Arturri’s been through a lot.”

“Well, I wouldn’t know, would I? I’m here to help him break into offices and I have no idea what even happened. Someone died, that’s all I ever got. We have a few hours before the dinner. And I think if I’m helping you with this, I have a right to know what happened.”

“I let you come with me,” Arturri sternly reminded her, “I didn’t force you to come here and help, you offered. I let you stay with my friends - you're welcome. You have no right! I don’t have to tell you anything. If you want to go back to the Church then you are free to.”

“Yeah, you did, and I am grateful for that," She found herself shrinking. "Maybe I don’t have a right to know, but me being in the dark isn't as useful as me knowing. I might give you perspective. Maybe something is obvious and staring you in the face! I don't want to trip on something and not know what's important. I don't want to mess it up here."

“Fine." Arturri let out a sigh, and brushed back his now-dark hair. "You want to know? It was my teacher, Sir Vonrio. I was an apprentice silversmith here. We would take the silver and craft it with magic. It was truly beautiful. Vonrio taught me everything. I treated him like crap, but he did. He taught me everything... I didn't appreciate him." He shook his head. "Anyways, I was learning to work with chains, and I was becoming good at it. The ancestors and I were really connecting but, about a week and a half ago, when I showed up to practice, he was... He was murdered. His body - just like he had fallen asleep into his books. But... the dripping…” He stopped for a second.

Nadira wondered if she should say something. Sadie just placed her hand on his shoulder.

It took a few moments for him to shake himself and pick up again, “My blade was missing, and it must have been stolen. I didn’t think much of it before, I never was great at remembering - but… I was stupid. I was set up. They held a séance of course, but he didn’t know who killed him. They came from behind him, he never saw. But I had been cruel to him. I was arrogant. And I would have succeeded his business, if he was gone. We didn’t like each other… but I never wanted him dead.”

“There were no other suspects?” Sadie asked casually, having taken a seat on the bed beside him.

“No… No, everyone liked him well enough, he ran a market stall very well. No one had anything to gain, well, except me.”

The story had made an impact on Nadira. “That's something though. I think you just need to find out how unpopular he really was. He wasn’t as liked as you seem to think.”

Arturri scoffed at her suggestion. “I know, Nadira, keep up. That's why we're here."

Sadie played with a ribbon charm in her hair and stretched out her legs, as if this was a game. “Where do you think you’ll find a clue?”

“Well, everything happened in his office," Arturri said, "Obviously."

It had been over a week. Nadira furrowed her eyebrows, “Do you not think it’s been cleaned out?”

“Well the blood has been cleaned alright, but the room itself wouldn’t be cleared out yet," Arturri said.

“Why not?” Nadira asked. She thought they would surely want the space freed up. There was nothing to spare in the underground after all.

“For his spirit to come to terms," Arturri gestured at the air, "It’s better to leave them say goodbye. He is becoming an ancestor, and with violent ends like that, it takes a little longer.”

“I had no idea,” Nadira admitted.

“Why would you, after all,” Arturri mused. “Orphans aren’t concerned with ancestors. That’s the point.”

“That’s not true,” she said, but thought of Daress. It was very much that way for her. “Not for all of us," she corrected. "It wasn’t for you. It's just a punishment, it’s as simple as that. I wouldn't choose to be kept in the dark.”

He shrugged. “Anyways, if we’re going, we better get started. We don’t have all night.”

Sadie hopped up and touched Arturri’s arm and he turned. They shared a kiss that could be a goodbye. Nadira awkwardly looked at a corner of the room.

"You're being very brave," she told him. Its meaning was as good as an 'I love you'.

Arturri placed his hand on her cheek for a moment before he pulled back from her embrace. Nadira opened the door for him. They walked quickly from there.

The hall was not entirely empty. A servant passing in the hall approached.

“Does your lady need anything?” They asked.

“Y-yes - but we’ll get it. It is our duty, after all," Arturri said. He was so bad at acting, Nadira winced internally.

The Dar Yi servant chuckled, “Duty! I didn’t know Sots had a sense of that,” he shook his head, “Well, there’s a supply closet down the hall to your left, but if it’s food she’s looking for you can head down to the kitchens, someone on the first floor will show you, or I can -“

“No, no. Much thanks for your hospitality, but we can manage,” Nadira piped in, “She’s just so nervous, so the supply closet is perfect. Probably a medicine bag in there. We’ll get her something to help her relax, if you know what I mean.” She grinned and went to give him a nudge with her elbow. The man actively avoided the unsolicited contact. “Wouldn’t want to be stiff for her big day,” she concluded.

The Dar Yi looked deeply uncomfortable in their conversation and left them alone without another word.

“Did you just suggest we were going to get drugs for our lady?” Arturri asked once he had gone.

“It’s what they expect from the Sots. We might as well play into it,” Nadira shrugged.

Arturri shook his head and started head down the halls he knew well. Nadira stayed close to him.

They basically walked to the door as if they were going somewhere, and were left alone. It was a labyrinth of halls here. The lights and shadows in the hall shifted as the dancing orbs above them weaved between each other. The walls were covered with the portraits of the ancestors. Nadira hadn’t any idea how they were going to fit more. But she had only seen the guest hallways, so perhaps that impression was intentional. All of them were painted in the same pose, in the same way, staring out into her soul. She tried not to make eye-contact. Then at some hall, Arturri stopped. The door he stopped upon was along another narrow and tall hallway.

“Alright, I’ll go inside to search. You stay out here and keep lookout.”

“Should we use a signal?” she suggested in an excited whisper.

“Sure,” he said flatly, “Dealer’s choice.” He went inside without obstruction. The Dar Yi, it seemed, didn’t bother with locks. She supposed the traditional lock at least wasn’t as useful within the Family which specialized in the material. Anyone with that kind of magic could open a lock, so why bother with them? She was surprised to find that they hadn’t other magical means of ensuring privacy, though. At least, none that could be seen.

The possibility of unseen means was worrying, but since they couldn’t guarantee the truth of that one way or the other - and had come this far - Nadira didn’t bother to bring it up. Hopefully they would be fast enough that it didn’t become an issue.

The door closed behind him, and she stood by the door and leaned against its frame. The walls after all were so covered that there was nowhere she could rest against them without upsetting a portrait. It was as if the hall was designed to be uncomfortable. The longer she stood there the closer the portraits seemed to come, and the narrower the halls seemed to be.

She heard someone walking, the soft rustle of the carpet. They were coming around the corner. She stayed as casual as she could, but gave the room a firm knock to let him know people were coming. A signal. She had to think fast. “Eep eep!” she squeaked through the door, sounding like a sick mouse on a bad day.

As she turned back she saw that the person had watched. “Excuse me,” said the gentleman. He had black hair pulled back into a ponytail and a dark complexion. He didn’t seem to be a servant. He wore a fine white suit with a black shirt. “What are you doing here? Did you get lost?” His tone suggested his suspicions to the contrary.

Her mind raced for an idea, feeling pinned in place by the steel in the eyes of this man. “Well, I…” she remembered Kro’s words about how to act the part of the Sot. Do not mince words. “My lady is getting married tomorrow, and I needed to get something for her from a supply closet. Some Dar Yi sent me this way, but I think they were messing with me.”

“I think so too,” said the man, who seemed to believe the story easily enough. “That door is to a personal office. It’s currently occupied. To go in there wouldn’t be advised.”

The wording threw her. “Occupied?”

“Its resident died in a betrayal. So he’s bound to rampage in there for a while yet,” he told her, with a white smile. “You’d have gotten a walloping.”

Nadira heard something bang inside the room alright. Oh dear.

The man furrowed his brows and tilted his head to look over her shoulder at the door. “What was that?”

“Probably just the rampaging,” she said casually. His eyes fixed to the door.

“You stay right there. You haven't already gone in there, have you?” he asked.

“I’m sure it’s the ghost just throwing books around,” she laughed. The eyes on the portraits stared at her intensely. So did he.

“Move.” It was not a question. Her feet physically parted from the ground. She felt like she was made of wood as she was telekinetically moved about three inches to her left, beyond the frame of the door.

'Oh shit', she thought to herself, 'what is Arturri going to do?'

The gentleman opened the door, and Arturri stood on its other side, reaching for the handle. He held in his hand a bottle of half-drunk bourbon. “Hi there,” Arturri said, putting on a slightly slurred accent, “Hope you don’t mind, they told us this was the supply closet, so I just helped myself for our lady’s sake.”

“You’re not meant to be in here.” The gentleman had grown angry at this blatant disrespect. But it was a happy occasion, and they were just the Sot. “Begone. Out of there, both of you! Head back to your lady and if there is any more messing around, I’ll have you both thrown out. The Dar Yi can clearly tend to Lady Sadie better than you lot can.”

They hurried in a half-run down the hall they had came. She looked at him with curious eyes as they turned the corner. “What the hell was with that accent! Did you get what you needed?”

“I could have had longer, but yes. I believe I have... And I beg you never speak of it again, I’ve degraded myself enough for one day," Arturri said, having visibly turned colour in his mortification.

She giggled and they returned to Lady Sadie’s room. The same Dar Yi from earlier was still along their return route, and they raised the bottle to him to show that they had achieved what they had aimed for. He rolled his eyes.

Once inside the room again, Nadira let out a sigh.

Sadie was sitting on the bed patiently and stood once they’d come in. “Oh you made it!” she exclaimed. “How did it go?” Arturri brought Sadie the bottle after all and she did indeed have a swig.

“I found something, some letters of correspondence, and few empty packages he had hidden in a drawer. I’ll figure out what they are, and then, well. He was hiding them, and then he was killed, so they must be connected, right?”

“Maybe,” Sadie said, “Who knows, they could just be rubbish or a dirty secret, doesn’t mean they necessarily led to his death.”

“You’re right. But the correspondence…” He didn’t have to finish.

“Could be, but don’t assume anything. I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

Arturri scratched his head and took a seat beside her.

“Well then, get reading,” Nadira demanded, pacing the room before the desk. “A Dar Yi's magic could figure out what’s in the packets, right?”

“Probably. Some could even trace where they had been. It was clearly not something he wanted people to know.”

Sadie picked up a packet and sniffed it, then sneezed to one side. Arturri gave out to her for tampering with the evidence. She ignored him and instead asked, "Do you know anyone here who could be your ally?"

Arturri was thoughtful but shook his head.

“I had heard banging," Nadira recalled. "Was he throwing things at you in there?”

“Oh very much yes!" Arturri said, matter-of-fact. "Nearly got a silver letter opener through the neck. He always did have a temper. But, I managed."

They were on something of a timer, Nadira realized. Once the wedding began after all, the Sot servants would be escorted out of the Home. “Now you just have to piece it together before the wedding in the morning.”

“Yes,” Arturri said, less certain, “That’s all…”