Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter LXVIII - Loopholes

"Great start," Bishop growled as he threw the guard an impatient look. "What?"

"Her majesty gave us orders to apprehend you right at the gates," the guard proclaimed with a frown.

"What?!" Aeyrin gasped in shock. 'Apprehend'? Why? They didn't do anything!

"Not like that, you tit!" the other guard quickly interjected before he turned towards Bishop and Aeyrin, making a soothing gesture with his hands. "Her majesty requests your presence at the Palace right away. Sorry, you are not being 'apprehended'. If we were to see you, we have orders to tell you to go straight to the Palace without any delay."

"How's that different from what I said?" the first guard scoffed at him, earning a deadpan glare from both Aeyrin and Bishop. It was good at least that they weren't being arrested, but it was still concerning to be ushered into the Palace like this.

"Just shut up," the second guard growled. "I'm sorry about him, her Majesty just asked us to give you that message. That you should go straight to the Palace without delay."

"What is this about?" Aeyrin gave the man a concerned look. It was rather strange, if it was something urgent, why would Elisif not outright send for them, wherever they were? Why wait until they have reached the city?

"I don't know, my lady. We were only told to pass along the message," the man shrugged noncommittally.

Well... that was probably to be expected. Aeyrin couldn't help but wonder briefly if it had anything to do with the mystery note. It would just not leave her mind. She hated the uncertainty.

But right now, there was not much else to do but to go and see.

...

Bishop and Aeyrin stepped in front of the throne with some trepidation.

Despite their previous dealings, and no matter how much Queen Elisif had helped them in the past, it was always unnerving to be summoned by her like this. Perhaps it was simply the process of walking through a throne room, while the present guards only stared menacingly, that was so concerning.

Fortunately, the second that Elisif noticed them, she smiled. That seemed like a good sign.

"Welcome. It is good to see you back in Solitude. It has been too long," she nodded demurely with a smile still etched on her face. 'Too long' was probably not the right word for it, considering everything that had transpired during their last visit.

"Your majesty," Aeyrin greeted her with palpable uncertainty in her voice while Bishop only nodded wordlessly. There was a brief moment of silence after that, but Bishop ended up interrupting it rather quickly. This was making him too impatient.

"So, what's with the ominous summons?"

Elisif seemed to get caught a bit off guard by that question, but her smile never wavered. She let out a little chuckle and shook her head. "Nothing ominous. I merely wanted to welcome you two back and to... catch up. Come, we can talk in my quarters." She stood up gracefully from her throne and gestured towards the hallways leading to her chambers.

This did nothing to alleviate their wariness, but after only sharing a concerned look, the two of them followed Elisif to her room.

The Queen quickly ushered them inside her quarters and motioned towards a set of large armchairs by the fireplace. The room was almost eerily quiet, as opposed to the constant mutterings and footsteps echoing through the rest of the Palace.

Elisif promptly shut the door behind them before she joined them by the chairs. She still wore her polite smile, but there was definitely something unnerving about it. It was painfully obvious that there was more to this invitation than 'catching up'.