After the feast with the Lord of War's family, it was already past midnight. The halls that had once been loud with music and laughter were now quieter, emptied of most guests, the lingering scent of wine and roasted meat clinging stubbornly to the air. Greyhouse Jr had suggested that Berryanna and Straw should sleep over, his voice polite, his smile practiced, but Berryanna had refused without hesitation. Her answer had been short, final, and left no room for argument.
Now both of them stood outside the grand estate, waiting for the carriage. The night air was cool, brushing against Straw's skin, carrying the faint sounds of insects and distant guards shifting at their posts. Torches burned along the stone walls, their flames flickering, casting long shadows that stretched and twisted across the ground.
Berryanna stood a short distance away, her posture straight, hands folded behind her back. She had been unusually quiet since they left the hall. No sharp remarks. No commands. No teasing. Just silence.
Straw shifted her weight from one foot to the other, glancing sideways at her wife, trying to read her face in the dim light.
"Okay then, I will admit this feast was fantastic and legendary. If we go to a lot of feasts like this, I will be a fattovary," Straw said, deliberately casual, deliberately loud enough to break the silence. She gave Berryanna a side glance, watching closely to see if she was even listening. Berryanna did not look at her.
"You should stop eating every meal given to you," Berryanna replied.
The words landed flat, stripped of humor.
"Why, my lady?" Straw asked, half joking, half cautious now.
Berryanna finally turned her head. Her expression was calm, her eyes steady and sharp.
"Lady Fayrouza, I really did put a rule in place. You are to obey my every command. When I say do this, you do it. When I say don't, you don't," Berryanna said calmly, but the weight behind her voice made it clear she was serious.
Straw blinked. The playful mood she had been clinging to faltered.
"Okay," Straw said slowly. "I did tell you that it wasn't my idea to be here. And plus, you should be open with me. Tell me the dos and don'ts. I was just trying to help them, plus—"
"Shut up."
The word cut through the night like a blade.
"What?" Straw asked, genuinely stunned.
"I don't want to hear your voice anymore," Berryanna said. "Just be quiet."
For a moment, Straw just stared at her. The meaning sank in slowly, heavy and uncomfortable. This was not irritation. This was not jealousy. This was anger, tightly controlled, barely restrained.
Straw finally understood. Berryanna was angry. Truly angry.
She closed her mouth. No retort. No joke. No defiance. She said nothing else.
The carriage arrived soon after, the sound of wheels against stone breaking the silence. Straw climbed in without a word. Berryanna followed, sitting opposite her, gaze fixed forward. Straw watched the passing streets through the window, her reflection faintly visible in the glass. Silent all the way home.
When they returned to the mansion, the doors opened to warm light and familiar surroundings. Apple and Vinegario were waiting in the sitting room, Apple half sprawled on the couch, eyes drooping, Vinegario standing nearby.
"Welcome home, Berry," Vinegario said warmly. Straw walked past them without acknowledging either of them, her steps quick, her head lowered. She did not slow until she reached her room. The door closed softly behind her.
The moment Straw disappeared into her room, Berryanna turned. Her hand came out of nowhere. The slap echoed through the room.
"Ouch," Vinegario said, touching his cheek, more startled than hurt.
"Never again," Berryanna said coldly, "will you include my brother or my wife in any of your stupid plays."
"All of this wouldn't have happened if you had agreed in the first place," Vinegario replied, recovering quickly. "Apple was the one who insisted on going, and he suggested including Strawlita. I didn't even have her in mind."
He gestured toward Apple, who was half asleep on the couch, his head tilted awkwardly.
"And your wife was the one who exposed you in the first place. It wasn't me or him."
Vinegario paused, then sighed, rubbing his face.
"Look, I didn't know that old man was going to be there at the feast. I thought you sent him on a pilgrimage or something."
"He has been back for months now," Berryanna said.
Vinegario's expression darkened.
"You should have said that. Then I wouldn't have gone there in the first place," Vinegario snapped. "That man creeps me out. Looking at his stupid face makes me want to kill him. I would have killed him tonight if I had the chance."
"Well, I'd love to see you try," Berryanna said flatly.
She turned away from him and moved toward Apple, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Apple, you should go to bed."
Apple mumbled something incoherent, blinked a few times, then stood up. He rubbed his eyes and guided himself upstairs without question.
Berryanna turned back to Vinegario, her face shadowed.
"I investigated on my own," she said. "It turns out he is the one involved with the missing ladies. Not the Lord of Finance. He was just a pawn. Many of the lords are under his rule, not mine. He is planning something, and he is going to use us again."
She exhaled slowly, the weight of it visible in her shoulders. "You should leave."
"Leave?" Vinegario said sharply. "I am not going to leave you, Berry. You are right. I am back, not for a vacation, but to take you away from this place."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"If it's Apple, take him too. Let's go far away. Let them have this throne. Let's have peace. Let's have freedom."
"I can't leave," Berryanna replied. "This place belongs to my father, and his father, and his father before him."
"Berryanna," Vinegario said quietly, "those people never cared about us. They never did. Even if we kill every lord, every noble, every duke, there will always be another problem. Killing Greyhouse will not even end this."
Berryanna turned away, staring toward the darkened windows.
"You should go home," she said. "And be sure to bring the Duke tomorrow. I need him to approve my marriage with his sister."
Vinegario let out a bitter laugh.
"Really? You're just going to change the topic like that?" he said. "Just so you know, whatever is coming next, it's on you. But I will stay. I will protect you. And I will kill that old man, and this time I will make him suffer."
With that, he turned and left Berryanna alone in the living room.
Unseen by either of them, Straw had been listening the entire time, crouched just beyond the doorway, her breath shallow, her heart pounding.
She waited until the room fell silent.
Then she slowly crawled back into her room, careful not to make a sound.