That Sinking Feeling... (Closed)

[Nako]

"... Mikael? Are you listening to me? That note needs to go to the Queen -right- now!" The Kahmden rat, leaned forward with a sense of urgency, trying to rouse the young hybrid out of his stupor.

But Mikael didn't respond; his red eyed gaze remained locked on the sheet of paper he'd just glanced eyes upon. Unsealed, hastily written... it was the proclamation of the new Queen of Hearts. Shinrai was dead.

And Perseus had overthrown him.

"Mikael... you're ruining the documents..." The biped rat said, more gently this time as she raised his paw up off of the paper. The ink from his pen had made a huge blot that ran through the several pages underneath. The pen fell out of his fingers, which had gone slack and let the instrument fall from his hand. The rat was still talking, concern lighting her features as she snapped her fingers before his face.. but he wasn't listening. All he could think of was the sheer terror that was rising up in his stomach. His mother... his siblings... No matter how well equipped they were to take care of themselves, the long fingered hybrid could do nothing to quell the -fear- in his heart. With the Court... -armies- at his disposal.

He had to make sure his family was safe.

He all but fell over his chair as he removed himself from his desk, leaving the ruined papers without care, the note clutched within his fingers as he dashed to the Queen's study. He'd forgotten to knock, half opening the door in his haste before cursing under his breath and giving the door a hasty knock as he rushed in to alert her of his presence. His mind wasn't quite with him; he couldn't think straight enough to follow such simple protocols as knocking on Donnie's door before entering.

"The queen of Hearts has been overthrown." He set the paper up on her desk. If she was angry with him for bursting in, the lad seemed to upset to really care. "Perseus has overthrown him. He's a madman, Your Highness- My family-.. They reside in the courts.."

[The Jenn]

Donnie had gotten much more comfortable with the rhythm of Court life than she had been when she'd first arrived at the palace and promptly fought for her title only a week later. Through the efforts of Mia and Vessatha, along with the help of the remaining staff, things had settled to a tolerable level of chaos. Sure, there were mountains of work that needed doing at all times, but it left her feeling remarkably accomplished after a full day of meetings, paperwork, and everything else.

Finding time to play her music was more of a chore, but she could always steal a few minutes here and there. If she couldn't... oh, then the Court would have something to fear. A Villa deprived of her creative outlet could be a terrifying creature indeed, especially combined with the ferocity of a wolverine.

She was reading a mildly interesting report when the door to her office burst open and she started badly, nearly leaping out of her chair. When Mikael hurried into the office, she gave him an irritated glare for making her jump, but the expression quickly melted into one of blank surprise as she caught up with his message.

The Queen of Hearts was overthrown? She hadn't been aware there was a contender, and the name Perseus didn't ring a bell for her. Wasn't her secretary's mother a Heart noble...? "Mikael. Stop for a minute. A madman controls the Court of Hearts? What's happened to your family? Take a minute to explain." And calm down. She needed this news, and if he was too flustered to deliver it, that wouldn't do her much good.

[Nako]

Mikael very much had to -force- himself to stop talking, clamping his jaw and taking in a few deep breaths as he tried to gather his thoughts. He set the paper down on her desk "Perseus... He's just not right in the head. For a while, I hadn't even known he was still alive. I'd just heard stories, you know? I think he's the son of one of the nobles in the court of hearts... the kid everyone wants to keep a secret? I wasn't really privy to much information about him, but from what I've heard, he's bad news. Really bad news."

He had to stop himself again, for his voice had begun to reach a high, frantic pitch. "I.. I just.. need to make sure my family is okay. My siblings.. My mom.. No.. No, she knows how to take care of herself... I.. I just want to make sure everyone is alright. There.. there is rumor about.. evacuations. Keeping certain families safe."

[The Jenn]

A power struggle in the Court of Hearts. Gods, that made things complicated. From everything she'd heard and read, that palace always managed to make things complicated, and there were enough egos in the building to start a fire. Again, from what she'd heard. They weren't exactly a meek suit by nature. The Queen before Shinrai had been messed up enough to execute people for talking to him funny, or so went the rumors about the late Serafino, and they apparently had a dedicated torture chamber with easy access beneath the castle. Quite chilling to think about. She did not condone torture, though executions were sometimes necessary for the public welfare.

She included her few memories of Lysaras in that thought. Still a sore point.

"Yes. Fine. Go." She pointed to the door and then hesitated. Problems, there were always problems with the direct route. Rawr. Family should take precedence, in her mind. If her mother...

But another part of it insisted she think of other things. "No, wait. You can't just rush off. Family or no, if you show up there as a 'representative' of this Court without something official to tie you down as doing your duty, they may not let you in with all the political upheaval. Especially if they're actually evacuating vulnerable families."

Thinking on her feet, she bent down to rummage in one of her desk drawers for official paper with the Spades letterhead. She quickly wrote a few lines to the current King of Hearts - hopefully still the old man who knew what he was doing, since age had tempered his gender - as an inquiry into the current political makeup of the Court. It wasn't neat or particularly well-worded, but it got the point across. She signed it in a quick scrawl, stamped it with her seal, and then held it out to him. "Say you're on official business when you get there. Give this to the current King and then find out what the hell's going on."