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The Fool plinks her confiscated stiletto point down into the table, leaving it stuck.
"Lifted it off 'em a couple minutes before. Didn't like how they watched the crowd."
The Knight picks it up to inspect.
"Doesn't look magic." She says. "Poisoned?"
"Probably?" Says the Fool, shrugging. "Seemed pretty certain they could just stick her and walk away."
The Knight sighs shakily.
"Thank you, truly. I don't know what I would have done, if not for you."
"Don't mention-"
The Fool is cut off by a quick punch to her shoulder.
"Wh- ow!"
"Idiot clown! Did you not think perhaps to accost them!?"
"Hey!" Whines the Fool. "We aren't all armored brutes! You would have me tackle an assassin?"
"Not tackle." Hisses the Knight, and the Fool blinks.
"Oh!" She says. "Well, you should have said before. I assumed you would want them jailed, all proper like."
The Knight grumbles, and the Fool gently places a hand over hers.
"She's safe, fair knight. They failed."
"They failed this time." The Knight counters.
"And every failure makes it harder for them to try again. We'll get her through this, just-"
The Fool pauses.
"Hang on."
She quickly strides to the door to the Queen's chambers and pulls it open, and the Queen stumbles into her arms.
"You are meant to be in bed, my sickly sweet." The Fool says softly, wiping sweat from her brow.
Her Majesty doesn't do well in the damp cold of autumn. Illness abounds, and hits her harder than most. In the wake of the ball she is wracked with fever and an awful, wet, cough.
"I can hear you, talking out here." She says. "But I can't make out the words from my bed. 's infuriating."
"I'm sorry, Majesty. We'll be quieter; please, try to rest." The Knight says, and she tries to guide the Queen back into bed only to be shooed away by a weakly flailing arm.
"Nooo!" Mumbles the Queen. "'m fine, let me listen." She insists, as she escapes both of their grips and slumps against the doorframe. "Have you gotten anything out of my would-be killer?"
The Knight grimaces, watching the Queen slide slowly downward.
"Here, we can move the conversation into your room-" She starts, and the Queen shoos her away again.
"No! I like it here. I want to be on the floor." She says, and the Fool shrugs, and the Knight begrudgingly lets her be as she finishes her slow descent. "Mm. Floor time."
She fetches a thin sheet from the Queen's bed and drapes it over her before continuing.
"They won't talk. Say they'll just wait for the new king to let them go."
"New king, eh?"
"Tell 'em I'll let them go if they tell us. No hard feelings." Murmurs the Queen.
"King, yeah. Which narrows things down, but not a lot. We can rule out any unmarried women, for this assassination plot anyway."
"And if they don't tell us, then we have 'em executed right now. See their king save 'em from that." She continues, half listening.
"Well if we solve this assassination plot hopefully anyone else thinking about it will think twice." Says the Fool.
The Knight grunts. "'Hopefully' is doing a lot of work, there."
"Could I have some water please?" Asks the Queen, after a short coughing fit; and her knight is up before she's finished asking.
"Of course, I'll be right back Highness."
She leaves, and the Fool joins the Queen on the floor.
"Hello, Your Majesty."
"Hello, my charming fool." The Queen says, smiling weakly. "I didn't tell you. The banana thing, where you stole their knife and replaced it with a banana? That was funny."
"Thank you, Highness."
"Tried to kill me with a banana, how absurd."
"I know, Highness." Says the Fool, straight-faced. "That shit was bananas."
