Too Late: In Shock, Not Stupid

Writers: Estelle, Nici
Date Posted: 13th September 2005

Characters: Dabryn, Jeralir, Alalir
Description: Dabryn questions Jeralir about the accident that killed his wife
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 8, day 3 of Turn 3
Notes: Follows 'Too Cruel'

Dabryn couldn't help but recall the last occasion on which he had questioned the Lord Holder's younger son, and the coincidence was too unsettling for him to ignore. This was the second time that Lord Jeralir had been mixed up in the mysterious death of a young woman. The first time it had been a simple drudge, and now - it was his wife.

The death of the drudge girl, of course, had afterwards been attributed to Lady Jerandra and her poisons. But when he glanced up and met a pair of too-familiar blue eyes, Dabryn suppressed a shiver and had to look away.
Just how closely did this young man resemble his murderous mother?

He shook his head, banishing such thoughts. To accuse a Lord of such a crime without evidence would be beyond foolish. And yet - strange things were still happening at the Hold. Jerandra was rumoured to be alive. A second drudge had been poisoned in the Lord Holder's own bedchamber. And now Lord Jeralir's wife had fallen to her death. There was a pattern, and it was not one that Dabryn liked.

"My Lords." He cleared his throat. "Thank you for coming. I'm so very sorry for your loss."

A rather subdued Jeralir only nodded. Alalir sighed inwardly and gave the guard Captain a weak smile. "Thank you, Dabryn. While I want Jeralir to cooperate fully, please understand he's still in a fair amount of shock..."

"Yes, my Lord. There's not much I want to ask - this is only a formality,"
Dabryn said quietly. It felt very wrong to lie to his Lord Holder, but how could he tell Lord Alalir that his own son was...under suspicion? "I just need to know what happened."

Jeralir was genuinely crushed by Calanna's death. She had been family, even if he hadn't exactly been keen on their marriage. Oh, the idea of it had been fun, but the reality? Calanna frankly, had been an absolute _bore_
intellectually. Still, she'd been more than willing to make up for that between the sheets--one of the few things that had made the whole thing palatable. Their final argument rattled around in his brain. If she'd not been so stubborn, this entire incident wouldn't have happened, shard it all!

"I tried to catch her."

"What, son?" Alalir looked at Jeralir quizzically.

"I reached out and I almost had her and then she was gone..." Jeralir shuddered and looked at Dabryn. "I was too late."

His distress seemed genuine, and Dabryn for a moment doubted his own instincts. But then this man's mother had deceived his father completely, feigning love for him for more than twenty Turns.. "You were...talking together, at the top of the stairs?"

A wisp of a smile drifted across Jeralir's face before he focused and looked at the guard captain, nodding. "Talking...loudly. I won't hide the fact that our conversations could get...spirited."

The guardsman hesitated. "If it's personal, I'll understand...but can you tell me what you were talking about?" That was a risk and he thought Lord Alalir looked displeased, but he thought it important to know. Hold gossip could tell him, but there might be little truth left in the story by the time it got to his ears.

Jeralir was in shock, not stupid. All he had to do was admit that they'd been arguing about him not taking the whole part about 'fidelity' seriously and it would utterly ruin the entire facade he'd erected for his father and Lady Enriline's benefit! "Well....we had different opinions on many things..." He rubbed his hand across his face roughly and managed to squeeze out a tear or two. "It's all such a blur now...she and I were arguing about how little time we'd been able to spend together. I mean, with Alajeran as heir, Papa's also wanted me to spend time assisting him...." Half truths were better than complete lies. Or at least to _him_ they were!

"I see. And then she...she must have stepped back, or tripped perhaps?"

Jeralir nodded. "We were arguing and I took her arm and she pulled back.
Neither of us noticed how close she was to the first step. It just happened so _suddenly_." He covered his face with his hands and this time, the action wasn't feigned in the least. "I almost had her...almost..."

"Milord..." Dabryn caught Lord Alalir's look. "I think that's all I needed to know. Thank you, Lord Jeralir."

Alalir nodded and leaned over to squeeze Jeralir's shoulder. "Very well, Dabryn. I take it this will be the only time he'll have to go through this?"
He was Lord and as such, he could not appear to place either himself or his family out of the reach of justice, but in the end, an accident was just that.

"I...intend to be sensitive to the loss your son has suffered, milord."
Dabryn said carefully. He might, after all, be wrong. It could have been an accident. Yet he'd allowed this young man's mother to kill freely because he had not seen - if there was any evidence that someone had decided to emulate her wicked deeds, he would find them out. No matter what their rank.

And that was the closest 'non-answer' he could hope to receive. Dabryn was too smart to give him otherwise. He'd not have been made guard captain had it been otherwise. "So noted, Captain. You will let me know if you need any assistance regarding this matter I hope."

"I will." Jeralir's testimony had given Dabryn some things to think about, at least. Now he just needed to discover what the Lord Holder's son and his wife had _really_ been arguing about...

Last updated on the September 13th 2005

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Too Late: In Shock, Not Stupid