Fatefall - 31

Chapter 31 - Poppy 

Fear is not just an emotion; it’s a tangible thing that twists your stomach into knots and steals the breath from your lungs. As I watched my loyal men die around me, fear consumed me like I was a seven course meal.

The streets were empty, but Poppy was still paranoid.

Maybe Nakoa’s nervous energy was rubbing off on her, but she could’ve sworn she felt someone watching her. Twice she thought she saw Griff and Jaspar, a ridiculous notion since Griff never left the Midnight Palace and Jaspar was too good of a thief to allow himself to be seen.

Poppy pushed her agitation aside and focused on finding the next dress shop. She’d lived in Xegalla for nearly five years now and yet she still didn’t know where anything was. Nakoa wasn’t any help either.

The first two shops had been closed indefinitely, and the third had been sold out of all of the ballgowns. 

“Why are they sold out?” Poppy had grumbled. “Is the public even allowed to attend the Fete?”

“You can’t have a party with ten people,” Nakoa had pointed out. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole city is invited. Besides, isn’t that where the Unmasking Ceremony generally takes place?”

To which Poppy stopped dead in her tracks. “There’s an Unmasking Ceremony?”

Nakoa calmly explained that---from what she’d heard---there was always a party before the final Trial and the remaining teams would reveal their identities. It allowed the king and the sponsors to have a small say in the victorious team, as nobles were now allowed to donate to the teams (and receive earnings if their team won). It was a messy process, but Poppy didn’t care about the specifics. 

Unmasking Ceremony. 

By now, Poppy was confident Griff knew about her participation in the Trial. And while she wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t been punished yet (Griff would take his time and he would make her wish she was dead), she knew that this Fete---if open to the public---would be the perfect time for him to begin dishing out his punishment.

Once again, Poppy shoved the thought away and plastered on a fake smile.

She couldn’t trust herself to speak until they reached the last shop. It sat a little too close to the Midnight Palace for Poppy’s liking, but it was the store she’d used to build up a winter wardrobe.

The bells jingled as Poppy pushed open the door and a tiny ball of fur rushed at her legs.

“Don’t let Hector get out!” a female voice called. 

Nakoa slammed the door shut and Poppy lunged, somehow managing to grab the creature by the scruff of its neck.

The little devil hissed and Poppy realized it was a cat as it glared at her through large, amber eyes.

A moment later, a woman appeared from behind a rack of clothing and scooped the orange tabby out of Poppy’s arms. The cat twisted and writhed but the woman held it tightly. “You naughty boy!” she chastised, bopping the cat on the nose with every word before turning attention to Poppy and Nakoa. “I’m sorry ladies. Hector’s been a bit restless lately. I blame the curfew and---”

“You named your cat after the king?” Nakoa interjected. Poppy shot her a glare, but Nakoa ignored her.

The woman glanced back at Hector. “Well, both the king and my cat are selfish, lazy, arrogant--” She proceeded to list a dozen names that she wanted to call the king and Poppy had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Nakoa, on the other hand, seemed scandalized. “So,” the woman finished, “it seems only fitting that they share a name.”

“But…isn’t that kind of…seditious?” Poppy asked. Not that she minded or anything. She would be glad to see the day when King Hector no longer sat on the throne, but she was surprised to find anyone else would share her thinking. 

The woman shrugged. “I don’t see the Golden Guard here to arrest me. The name of my cat aside, however, I’m Viola, and you must be customers.”

Poppy and Nakoa shared a look. Nakoa seemed to be pleading with Poppy to leave. She probably wanted to see Ansel still, but Poppy wasn’t ready to give up hope. So what if this shopkeeper was a little…eccentric? She still sold dresses, and that was what they needed.

“We’re looking for dresses for the Fete,” Poppy explained. 

Viola nodded to herself. “Are you two ladies hoping to meet up with one of the handsome competitors?”

“We are competitors,” Nakoa said, though it was practically a growl. Poppy elbowed her in the side.

“We’re competitors,” Poppy repeated, smiling sweetly.

Viola’s own grin didn’t waver. “Of course. I should’ve seen it with the way you two hold yourselves. Warriors, both of you.” She tapped a finger on her lip, deep in thought. “I think I have some dresses in mind.”

Taking her cat with her, Viola disappeared around a rack of clothing and left Nakoa and Poppy in awkward silence. 

“She is definitely insane,” Nakoa said under her breath. “Did you see the tattoo on her arm?”

“No, I was busy trying to keep that cat from stealing my soul,” Poppy said, shuddering.

Nakoa rolled her eyes. “She had scales tattooed on her arm.”

“And? We’ve already determined that she’s eccentric, Nakoa. Normal people don’t name their cats after the royal family,” Poppy countered. Okay, so maybe the woman had been…odd. Most old women were. 

“That’s the symbol of Dusan,” Nakoa said. “Which is illegal to display in public.”

“I’m pretty sure Sage has a scale tattooed on his wrist right now,” Poppy said. “Wait…the tattoos!”

She glanced down at the maroon flower on the inside of her wrist. It hadn’t faded in the slightest. “The missing competitors from the last Trial should’ve been marked. They should be able to be tracked, so why haven’t we found them yet?”

“Maybe they removed their tattoos,” Nakoa suggested.

Poppy shook her head. “Koda specifically warned me against that. Said there were safeguards in place so the tattoos were permanent.”

“Could anything block them from a Grace of Life?” Nakoa asked.

“I doubt it,” Poppy said, trying to think of any way anyone could have escaped the trackers. “Unless they’re so far away that they’re out of range, so to speak. But that just brings up another point---if there were Graced of Time watching the Tournament, someone should have seen something. Competitors can’t just disappear.”

Nakoa thought for a moment. “What about the Grace of Void?”

Poppy frowned. “I suppose that’s an option…”

“But you don’t believe it?”

“It just doesn’t seem probable to. For one, the Grace would have to be extremely strong to mask so many competitors for so long. And secondly, why would someone with the Grace of Void want to steal competitors?”

“And the other option?” Nakoa asked.

Poppy shrugged. “There’s a million other possibilities, but there’s something we’re missing. Some greater force is involved.”

“You make it sound like the king himself is responsible or something,” Nakoa joked.

Poppy froze. A powerful Grace of Void, not to mention the ability to “call off” a search if need be. But why would… 

What if King Hector did know Adrian was part of the Tournament? He would probably do everything in his power to stop the Tournament, even if it meant sabotaging the other teams. And Sage had mentioned a possibility of his own father being involved in the conspiracy, so what if Franklin and Hector were collaborating? Both of their sons were competing in the Tournament against orders. And with Franklin’s Grace of Soul, he could force anyone to do his bidding---including a dozen reluctant competitors.

“Nakoa--”

Poppy was cut off as Viola appeared again, a dozen dresses draped over her arms. 

She began to ramble on about the dresses she’d chosen and why they were perfect. Poppy tried to focus on her thoughts, but Viola’s incessant chatter caused her to lose her train of thought several times. 

“Thank you,” Nakoa muttered through gritted teeth as Viola offered the changing rooms in the back for Nakoa and Poppy’s use. 

“Let me know when you’re ready to buy, or if you need any help,” Viola chimed in.

“We will,” Nakoa assured her in a voice that said otherwise. She gave Poppy an exasperated look. “That woman doesn’t know when to shut up. She interrupted you, too. What were you saying?”

Poppy quickly explained her theory as they wove through the dozens of rows of clothing racks. It seemed more insane saying it out loud, but Nakoa was a good audience.

“We should mention this to Sage,” Nakoa said. “And probably Adrian too. They would be able to tell us if this sounds like something their parents would do.”

“I guess so,” Poppy said. “I’m just afraid…what if they freak out?”

“Well, if we’re right then I guess the reaction is well-deserved,” Nakoa replied with a shrug. “Sage already has suspicions, so I doubt he’d be too fazed---and if he is, I’m sure Jett will handle it. If anything, it’s Adrian we have to worry about.”

“And that’s only if we’re correct,” Poppy said with a sigh. She could already picture how Adrian would take the theory. Not well. There’d probably be some shouting and maybe more threats. Poppy didn’t want to be in the room when it happened. She reminded herself that this was only a theory---and a far-fetched one at that. 

“We can worry about that later,” she decided. “For now, we have some dresses to try on.”

It was a poor subject, but Nakoa didn’t seem to mind. 

They spent about thirty minutes sampling the different dresses Viola had picked out. Some of them were absolutely horrendous, like the ruffled orange one that Viola had given Poppy. It made her look a bit like a wheel of cheese. 

The laughter helped ease the tension from their previous conversation and Poppy found herself relaxing for what felt like the first time in weeks. 

Eventually, Nakoa settled on a long, emerald dress. It was sleeveless, so Nakoa had been hesitant to try it on in the first place but Poppy had convinced her that it was worth the scandal. Though the dress was plain, Poppy promised Nakoa that they’d find some golden jewelry to spice it up.

As for Poppy, she chose a deep navy dress that stopped at her knees. The design was simple and functional and she figured she could slide at least one dagger under the skirt.

Viola seemed to know exactly when they were finished shopping, and she even offered an extremely discounted price as a reward for their “polite patronage” and status as competitors. Hector sat on the counter as they paid, his boring a hole straight through Poppy’s soul. 

She was glad when they finally left the shop, dresses tucked away in bags. Nakoa had decided she wanted to save her dress for the Fete---and she apparently planned on asking Ansel to go with her.

Poppy was excited to finally meet this mysterious Ansel. Well, technically she’d met him before when she’d first met the rest of her team and agreed to join them. But it felt like so long ago and they hadn’t had a conversation or anything, so it didn’t really count. Besides, she wanted to see what Nakoa saw in him. Speaking of Nakoa…

“You look like you’re going to throw up,” Poppy commented, noting Nakoa’s pale complexion. “Fates, Nakoa. I can wait outside if you want…”

Nakoa shook her head and stopped in front of a tiny townhouse with a red door. A dog barked from inside.

“He’ll be excited to see you,” Poppy said, trying to sound comforting.

“Who? Ansel, or my dog?” Nakoa asked with a nervous smile. She knocked on the door before Poppy could respond.

No answer. 

Nakoa knocked again. Poppy’s Grace didn’t miss the way Nakoa’s pulse leapt and her breathing quickened. 

Still no response. 

Poppy’s Grace stretched outward, searching for any sign of life in the apartment. She could sense Moose, but no one else was there.

“I told him to be careful,” Nakoa whispered under her breath, her voice high and reedy with panic.

“Nakoa, let’s think this through,” Poppy said. “Ansel probably has a job or the university or somewhere to be. Maybe he’s out with friends or something. There has to be a reasonable explanation for this--”

Nakoa turned the knob and the door opened. She glanced over her shoulder at Poppy. “Ansel doesn’t leave the door unlocked.”

Poppy sighed and followed Nakoa inside. 

It seemed like a normal apartment with nothing out of the ordinary to Poppy. A kitchen, a small living room, and a hallway leading off to the side with what had to be a bedroom and a bathroom. Nothing was broken and there was no blood painted across the walls. There didn’t seem to be any signs of trouble.

Moose bounded up to Nakoa, an empty bowl in his mouth.

“He’s hungry,” Nakoa muttered under her breath. She patted Moose on the head and retrieved a bag of food from the pantry in the kitchen, frowning as Moose wolfed it down in a matter of seconds. “You act like you haven’t been fed since this morning…”

She trailed off, expression morphing into one of horror.

“Nakoa--” Poppy began, but Nakoa cut her off.

“Ansel wouldn’t just forget to feed Moose,” Nakoa insisted. “Fates, Poppy, Moose’s water is still full. Ansel would’ve had to have refilled it this morning.”

“Okay, maybe he’s out and about--”

Nakoa darted out of the kitchen and into the living room, snatching up a book from the center table. “Ansel’s super organized and he always has every hour of every day planned out. Look, Poppy. He had nowhere to be tonight. He’s missing.”

“Maybe he made last minute plans--”

“You don’t know him like I do,” Nakoa said forcefully, tears welling in her eyes. “Fates, he’s such an idiot! I told him to be careful!”

Poppy frowned. “Nakoa, what’s this all about?”

“I…I had a vision,” Nakoa explained, and the story came pouring out of her. Poppy listened, her doubt growing stronger as she realized Nakoa was probably right. If she’d truly seen Ansel being kidnapped, it was only a matter of time before it happened. No wonder she’d been so freaked out for the whole desert Trial.

“He’s really gone,” she sobbed as she finished. “Fates, Poppy, I didn’t stop it.”

“You couldn’t have stopped it,” Poppy reassured her, joining her on the couch. “If you saw it happen, Nakoa, it was bound to occur.”

“But…But I told him not to wear green.”
“And you thought that would stop the vision from coming true? Fate finds a way, Nakoa. It always does.”

Nakoa only sobbed harder. Poppy wrapped her arms around her friend, wishing there was anything she could do to ease the pain and the guilt. She stayed that way until Nakoa finally cried herself to sleep, and even then she found herself unwilling to move.

Maybe Nakoa and Ansel had just been friends, or maybe there’d been love there.

Regardless, Poppy found herself wondering if Adrian would cry the same way if she died. She was pretty sure she already knew the answer.