Chapter 110: [Dual-Speak]

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Cayden bounced his leg nervously as he waited next to the fountain for Tiana to arrive with the princess. As the weeks had passed, Valeria had given Cayden and his sister slightly more freedom in their interactions. Instead of being confined to the market square around the fountain, they’d been allowed to wander the market and other parts of the city. And while Cayden doubted they were ever completely unobserved, the princess and her bodyguards were giving them more room to talk, to the point that Cayden rarely ever saw them as they explored until they met back up at the fountain after their hour was up.

Cayden appreciated the extra freedom, small though it was. Despite being in the capital for months, he hadn’t spent much time exploring the city aside from the first few days he’d arrived with Elise, and it was enjoyable doing so with his sister now.

And as he contemplated what to tell his sister, he was even more appreciative of the tiny extra freedom.

He had no idea how he was going to tell his sister about their parents, but he knew he had to tell her something. He’d at first considered simply not telling her anything, but had discarded the notion as soon as it entered his head. Even after their year apart, he doubted his acting abilities were good enough to hide that something was troubling him. His friends and classmates at the academy were one thing – for the most part, he kept to himself, and even his closest friends like Jeremy and Delphia had only known him for a few months – but Tiana had known him her entire life. She knew him better than anyone, perhaps save Elise, and Tiana didn’t have the disadvantage of Elise’s occasional social obliviousness.

She would almost certainly notice his agitation. He could always lie about the source, and even if she didn’t believe him, he didn’t think she would pressure him too heavily on it. But that was a slippery slope he didn’t want to start down. She deserved to know.

But then Cayden also had to consider it pragmatically. He’d had a breakdown after coming to the realization, and it was only luck – and Delphia’s timely intervention – that kept him from doing something drastic to permanently ruin his relationship with the princess. He wasn’t entirely sure the level of scrutiny that Tiana was under in the fateweaver compound, but what if learning that someone in the compound was potentially responsible for their parents’ deaths put her in danger?

Cayden had been agonizing about what he was going to say for days. And he kept agonizing as he waited, right up until Princess Valeria showed up with Tiana, trailed by her two bodyguards.

“Cayden!” Tiana called as she saw him, greeting him with her usual hug. “Arm’s almost back, I see.”

“Yep – just the fingers and claws left now. Hopefully, I’ll be back to normal by the end of this week.” It had been less than two months since he’d lost his arm, but it had felt like so much longer. It perhaps wasn’t the worst experience, learning how to fight with one less limb, and the injury was certainly better for him than almost anyone else due to his [Resilience] skill. But still, he was extremely ready to be back to full health and combat capability.

“Cayden,” the princess, staying a few steps away as Tiana rushed forward to greet him, nodded shallowly.

“Valeria,” Cayden replied with a shallow nod of his own. He still hadn’t figured out what the correct mode of address was for her, especially considering the nature of their relationship, but while in the square she was ‘undercover’, so he didn’t feel bad just using her name.

“We’ll see you here in an hour,” she said, straight to business as always, and Cayden nodded his acknowledgment before strolling from the square with Tiana.

“Where do you want to go today? I’ve heard the south district is boring, just a bunch of industrial buildings and businesses, but we’ll have to explore it sometime. And there’s supposedly a decent amount of crime there, too!” she exclaimed with a dramatic gasp, and Cayden chuckled.

“Sounds good to me. But if we get mugged, don’t expect me to protect you,” he responded, and Tiana looked affronted.

“Of course not! I’m the one who’ll protect you if it happens. Though I’m not sure if I want to, after that attitude…”

Tiana continued to joke as they walked, commenting on the expected personalities of different people they passed on the road, uncaring that they were walking into a ‘dangerous’ part of town. That was one thing Cayden noticed after their year apart – Tiana had never been an especially dour girl, aside from the month or so after the death of their parents and village, but after a few weeks of meeting up, she was much more bubbly than Cayden remembered. Though he supposed it wasn’t too surprising. If their weekly meetings were one of her few times of legitimate freedom, it made sense for her to savor every minute.

And it wasn’t like it was an issue. Sure, the industrial district was known for its increased crime compared to the rest of the city, and the two of them stood out with her chatter and their casual walk compared to everyone else either loitering at corners or moving with purpose through the streets. But it was mid-morning on Dyneday – they would have to be extremely unlucky to actually be accosted, especially with Cayden’s claws on display.

Eventually, though, Cayden heard a voice in his head, though Tiana’s outward expression and enthusiasm didn’t change. You seem down. Is something wrong?

Eagerly, Cayden accepted the skill [Dual-Speak] with [Borrowed Power], [Saving Progress] on [Alchemical Assistance] to do so. It sucked to lose [Claw Mastery] again, but he had yet to see any levels on skills he’d gained with [Borrowed Power], despite the typical early leveling speed at level one. He wanted to figure out exactly how he leveled his [Borrowed Power] skills, and he didn’t want to lose whatever progress he might have made towards level two in [Alchemical Assistance].

Despite still being unsure as to how to answer it, he was thankful for Tiana’s question. He wanted to borrow [Dual-Speak] for this conversation, but he wasn’t sure how he could have subtly prompted her to use it. [Borrowed Power] could only ‘borrow’ skills that had been used on him recently, roughly the same duration that normal skills offered by the system remained available before disappearing – three days or so. But this was the first time his sister had used [Dual-Speak] on him since he’d upgraded his class, and so was the first chance he’d gotten to use the skill.

[Dual-Speak] was strange. Cayden had assumed it would be a simple skill, allowing for the subtle method of communication and that was it – but there was more to it. He’d been impressed with the way Tiana had managed to carry on two conversations simultaneously when she’d first displayed the skill, and now he knew how. In addition to enabling secret communication, [Dual-Speak] allowed Cayden to ‘zone out’ of his audible conversation, letting the skill manage his conscious normal reactions to Tiana’s antics. He could still understand and control what he said and did out loud if he thought about it, but the skill made it so that he didn’t have to think about it – allowing him to give his full focus on his secret conversation with Tiana.

He took a deep breath in preparation – outwardly, he yawned under the control of [Dual-Speak] – before coming to a decision.

I have something to tell you about our parents.

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In the end, Cayden kept nothing back, telling Tiana everything he’d deduced about their parents’ deaths. Outwardly, Tiana had no reaction, going about her normal happy day of exploring the industrial district of the capital with her brother. But inwardly…she also had no reaction. She stayed completely silent for the duration of Cayden’s explanation. Until finally, he finished, and he waited with bated breath for her response.

For thirty seconds they were inwardly silent, simply letting the skill take control of their outwardly happy expressions and actions. Until suddenly, without warning, Tiana turned and grabbed Cayden in a bone-crushing hug.

[Dual-Speak] wanted him to return a slight hug before cracking a joke and bonking her on the head with his nub, but Cayden forcefully took control of his actions and hugged her back. He didn’t care what they looked like, suddenly hugging each other in the middle of the industrial district after joking only seconds earlier. But – in that moment – neither did he care.

They hugged desperately, clinging to each other as if they were stranded at sea, the other their only hope for salvation. Cayden had thought that over the last few days he’d come to terms with his emotions on the revelations, but he realized he was clinging to Tiana just as hard as she was clinging to him.

She understood him, in a way that no one else – not even Elise – could relate. They’d gone through the initial tragedy together; it was only right that they reacted, now, to the realization together. And, Cayden decided, they would get justice for their parents together as well.

When they released the hug a minute later, Cayden’s shirt was noticeably more damp than it had been before, but he didn’t comment on it. Tiana’s hair was a bit wet in places as well. But despite their tears, none of their emotions were reflected any longer on their faces as [Dual-Speak] once more took control.

What are we going to do? Tiana asked as they resumed their walk, all outward smiles and jokes.

I’m trying to get closer to the princess – after we get back to the square, I’ll find out if she’ll let me work as one of her guards. I don’t think she’s personally responsible, given her age, but she might know who is. And with her access to the fateweaver compound, hopefully she’ll let something slip if I’m close enough to her for long enough. Other than that…Elise is researching to find out who runs the fateweaver compound. It’s a safe assumption that whoever runs the compound is also responsible for ‘recruiting’ new fateweavers, at least tangentially. She hasn’t made much progress yet, though, not in the few days she’s been looking. He paused. Is there anything you might know that could help her? Names or other information about the compound that could point her in the right direction?

Tiana didn’t immediately respond, her internal voice silent as externally they chatted as they slowly made their way back to the square where they’d started. Even more so than usual, their time together had flown by, and it was time for Tiana to return to the compound.

They don’t teach us much about the compound’s history, or anything like that, she eventually said. All of our training and lessons are for the future. I might be able to snoop around to find out more, though.

You don’t need to do that… Cayden began, but Tiana cut him off.

If it’ll help, yes, I do. I’m not going to just stand around uselessly while you and Elise do all the work, she said, an edge to her internal voice that mirrored the anger Cayden felt smoldering in his own chest. But then her it softened. I’ll be careful though, of course. I don’t intend to throw my life away uselessly.

Cayden didn’t miss the implication that Tiana would be willing to throw her life away should the purpose be great enough, and his eyes widened even through the influence of [Dual-Speak]. But before he could say anything, Tiana continued.

In the meantime, though, I have something that might help Elise. A name: Betsy Merridan. She’s not at the compound much, and I’ve only met her a few times. I’m not sure what her role is, but she’s the oldest fateweaver I’ve ever met. If there’s anyone who might have been around during or before the compound’s founding, she’d be the one.

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