Silver Lining

One moment there had been a Medici on the throne. The next, he was gone and all kinds of horror stories had started to pop up. At first, the elf hadn't believed them. He knew that Thriumph was capable of a lot of things, but murdering the whole council? Those people were there because of him, they wer loyal to him, he had no reason to murder him. The more Rhysand thought about it, the more confused he got. Maybe it was best to concentrate on his goddamn work for once. But even that was confusing. Because suddenly he was in that council as well. Somehow, he had made it this far. And yet, the trust in his new king was very little. There was something that wasn't told in those stories, a page was missing or ripped out. And it felt like it was gone with the wind.

The Kingsguard turned a corner, quick and steady steps as he walked through the castle grounds. Now with summer full in bloom, the heat was getting to him. Maybe it was best to stop for today. The sun was getting low anyway. But what if something was going to happen? What if he dropped his guard now and they would strike? Rhysand didn't know who they were, but it could be anyone at this point. No one was to be trusted. He should visit his sister, she always knew what to do. She always had. Or maybe Tamlin. No, he was avoiding him after what had hhapened last time. Better to leave it that way. Lost in thought, the elf just let his legs move on auto-pilot, unbeknownst to him leading him into the castle again, to his quarters. That was, if he hadn't turned a corner and straight up walked into someone. His first reaction was to unsheathe his sword slightly, immediately getting into a fighting stance. Danger. But he then relaxed when he noticed the colors the other one was wearing. Rhysand cleared his throat, looking down for a moment before he spoke up. ''Apologies. You can't be too careful nowadays.''

Okay, he may have overreacted a little bit. But you really could not be sure these days. Besides the guards and other people working at the castle not much folk came around. Especially not near the gardens which always had been considered a place the king wandered around. But that king was gone now and what was left.. was he even fit to be a king? Or was Rhysand now just being very pessimistic and should he look on the bright side of life? Probably a combination of both. Because in his heart, he was still loyal to Thriumph. He owed him his life, because of the former king he had gotten this far. Discarding that fact and bowing his head to Aristide felt.. wrong.

The other didn't see him as a threat, which either meant he knew him already or it was very obvious Rhysand belonged here. Again, probably a combination of both. After all, Rhys was fully dressed in his guard armor, sporting the symbol of the now gone Medici-family. Maybe he should get that changed.. But that was too late now. The man in front of him introduced himself as Percival. Somewhere, that name sounded familiar, but Rhysand discarded it as he nodded and shook his hand. ''Rhysand. A pleasure.'' He spoke a tad direct, but he ended his words with a smile, hopefully sending the message across that he didn't mean any harm.

Of course the topic came up why he hadn't looked out and was on his guard. After all, it was his job. Could he be honest with this man, even though he had just met him, and tell him what was on his mind? No. It was best to keep his worries to himself. So, the elf shook his head and pulled his shoulders backwards to get into a more active stance. If he was Kingsguard, he ought to look the part. ''You can't blame me with everything happening these past weeks.'' The elf spoke with a faint smile and a shrug. ''Can't say I have seen you around here a lot.'' He then noted, raising his brow. Percival had probably come with the shift of power, but that didn't mean he could be trusted.

The past weeks things had been a mess. After all, with the recent powershift no one really knew what to do. Rhysand had taken the opportunity to take his distance from Tamlin, still feeling very uncomfortable around the man. It had been a one time thing but the problem was that Rhysand had no memory of what had actually happened. Which made things only ten times worse. He had assured himself that nothing really had happened, but.. was it the truth? After that day they had only spoken a few words to each other and every time Rhysand had been alone with his friend, he had made sure to quickly leave as he didn’t want the subject to be brought up. Feelings were weird man. But he didn’t feel anything for Tamlin, right? Those were just friendly feelings, of course.

Alright, back to serious topics. He really needed to stop thinking about Tamlin. Where were they? Ah yes, introductions and small talk. A much better way to spend the day than overthinking. The man before him was a general, that much he knew. Which meant that he either was very close with the new King, or he had profited from the powershift and took the highest position he could take just for the thrill of it. Either way, Rhysand had to be careful of his words. The elf nodded, a slight frown on his forehead. ‘’It’s been busy these days. The new king must have a lot on his plate.’’ He had yet to meet the king in person and eye to eye so the elf wasn’t sure what to think of him yet. Just as he had no idea what to think in general at the moment because everything seemed to be a mess.