Chapter Sixty-Two: Dun Dun Dunnnn

Tim and Meg continued to bicker for a while longer after he returned from his dance with the unknown woman, until eventually they calmed down. After a while, the dances ended, and the guests were led into an adjacent room which had tables prepared for dinner. There was a long rectangular table in the centre of the room, with smaller circular tables around it to accommodate those that couldn't fit on the main table.

The seats were apparently pre-determined, as a waiter lead Tim, Meg and Abraea over towards the top of the main table. The king, his wife and the prince approached the head of the table as well, with Rose and the head priest joining the group shortly after.

The king took the seat at the head of the table, as expected. To his right sat the prince, followed by Abraea and then Rose.  To his left sat his wife, the head priest, Tim, and Meg. Next to Meg was the man Tim had pointed out Abraea earlier, with his wife next to him.

The guests went about seating themselves. It appeared that the centre table was reserved for the royal family, their special guests, and the main ruling families; the surrounding tables were for the lesser nobles.

Odd looks were being cast constantly at Tim, Meg and Abraea as the guests moved around them, and the two divinely inclined could make out some of the whispers targeted at them. Abraea carried herself without flaw, her utter indifference mistaken for an inability to hear the gossiping. Tim on the other hand, would tilt his head and point his gaze at whoever spoke of him, smirking as he drew some small amount of amusement from the reactions he was given.

Once the guests were all seated, the king rose, and the room went quiet. No tables were placed behind the king's seat, so he had a full view of the whole room, and all the people within it.

"My friends and allies..." He said as he surveyed the room. "Thank you all for once again attending this yearly tradition of ours. May our bonds grow stronger, that our prosperity may continue on."

With the exception of Abraea, who continued to appear unaffected by the happenings around her, the guests all politely clapped. Once quiet returned, the king continued.

"As I'm sure you've noticed, my daughter has not been present for today's festivities. Unfortunately, she has fallen ill, and although it is only mild, she did not wish to be seen in such a state, and tarnish our memories of the event."

A murmur of sympathy and goodwill filled the room, and once it died down, the king continued further.

"But, whilst one of my children may be absent today, another has finally joined us. My son, Edgar, will for the first time today be preparing for when he leads this gathering, and as such, I shall allow him to round us off."

The king sat down with some light applause, and the crown prince stood.

"At the risk of parroting my father, I'd like to thank you all for coming." He said, his young voice projected across the room without wavering. "Today, I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you personally for the first time. I brings joy to my heart to see that the country my family has watched over for generations, is being upheld by such generous and well-meaning people."

Light applause once again filled the room, while Meg, Tim and Rose all did their best not to let their cynicism show too blatantly on their faces.

"Now, it wouldn't do to carry on too long, and allow the meal to grow cold." The prince said, seemingly happy with the response. "So, a toast." He reached forward and lifted a drink in his left hand, and after a short moment, the rest of the guests followed suit.

"To our future work together, my sister's health, and our continued prosperity." The boy raised his glass, to a chorus of agreement, and took a sip before seating.

Fairly quickly, the hubbub of conversation rose, and the guests began to partake in the feast. The prince, now able to converse freely, asked his father to be introduced to the guests around him. As the king began to introduce people, starting with the head priest, two of the guests unknown to the boy had their attention pulled away.

Rose's attention was drawn by sudden sounds and movement coming from next to her, and Tim was closely eyeing the source. The woman sat next to Rose was having a seizure.

"Rose, move!" Tim shouted as he leapt over the table, halting the conversations across the room as he landed in the space Rose had been occupying a moment before. The king and all the guests stared in shock at the unfolding scene as Tim grabbed a hold of the woman.

Except for Abraea, who kept quietly eating without pause.

Tim poured energy through his hands into the woman, repeatedly healing her.

"What's wrong?" The king asked, having regained his composure almost immediately.

"She's dying." Tim replied. "I can keep her alive, but she probably won't thank me for it. Abby?"

Abraea calmly placed her cutlery down and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin in her left hand. She casually held out her right without looking, and Tim pulled the woman over to her, placing her hand in Abraea's.

Almost instantly, the woman stopped moving, and appeared to lose consciousness.

"Is she alright?" The man who was sat next to the woman, presumably her husband, asked worriedly.

"She'll be fine." Tim said, gently passing the woman over to him. "She'll just be asleep for a bit."

Tim glanced back at Abraea, who had already resumed eating. "Thanks." He said quietly, before heading to the woman's seat. The room was full of hushed whispers and worried voices, and the king addressed them.

"Everyone, please, be calm. The issue has been resolved, there is no need to panic."

Tim reached out for the glass the woman had drunk from and took a sip, before immediately spitting it back out.

"I assure you we will have out best find out precisely what the cause of this-"

"Poison." Tim interrupted the king as he was calming down the guests, causing the worried atmosphere to rise up again.

"Poison?" The king asked, taken aback. "But who would-"

"Hush." Tim cut him off again, before addressing the room. "Everyone shut up and sit down! Don't touch anything!" The guests were all taken aback by his harsh tone, but complied nonetheless out of shock.

"You!" Tim continued, pointing at one of the waiters who was stood near the head of the table. "Round up all the staff who worked on this and bring them here."

"Y-Yes sir!" The waiter replied, before quickly heading off through a door at the side of the room.

"Tim, you said the drink was poisoned?" Rose asked, her face having gone completely pale.

"'Fraid so." Tim replied, and Rose sank into her seat a little.

"Tim..." The king said solemnly. "Do you have a grasp on what's happened here?"

"I've got a pretty good idea, I think."

"I see. Then I'll leave this to you."

"Thanks."

Out of concern for the blank look of fear that had appeared on Rose's face, Meg had moved around the table to comfort her while Tim was talking, and Abraea was eating.

"Right!" Tim shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Let's see if we can't get to the bottom of this."

"And how do you propose we do that?" A guest from one of the side tables responded with disbelief in his voice.

"Well Mr Annoying, if you shut the fuck up maybe you'll find out." Tim responded, clearly very annoyed.

The man immediately became blustered. "Why, you... I will not be spoken to in this manner. Who the hell are you anyway?"

"He is my guest." The king responded, glaring in stone-faced anger at the man. "Would you like to say anything further?"

The man immediately backed down. "N-No. Your majesty."

"Good." The king turned his head to Tim, who was looking at him with eyebrows raised. "Continue."

Tim turned back towards everyone else and spoke up again. "Let's get the obvious out of the way shall we? The intended victim of this was tonight's performer, Rose. As opposed to the actual victim."

Small nods came from the guests and the royal family, while Meg looked up at Tim in confusion.

"How do you know that?" She asked.

Tim looked down at her in mild exasperation, before looking to the king. "May I?" He asked, to which the king responded with a reserved nod of the head.

"Prince Edgar." Tim said, drawing the attention of the boy.

"Y-Yes?" The boy responded, clearly shaken by the situation and unsure of how to respond.

"Would I be correct in assuming that you are in fact left-handed?" Tim asked.

"Well, yes." The boy responded with confusion. "But I don't see how-"

"And that occasionally..." Tim interrupted. "This will cause you to reach with your left hand, for things that you are supposed to reach for with you right?"

The boy looked at him with a blank face for a second, before coming to a realisation, and turning to his father with a look of fear. The king responded by holding his palm towards his son, motioning him to calm down.

For Meg the revelation came a moment later. "The drink is taken from the right." She said as her eyes widened.

"Hey, she can be taught." Tim said softly to himself, quickly receiving a jab in the side for his remark.

At that moment, the waiter he had sent off came back, cold sweat dripping down their face, and shock in their eyes.

"U-Um, sir, I..."

"What is it?"

"It's one of the staff sir. We found him in one of the storage rooms... He's dead sir."

"Well, guess we know who did it then." Tim said, looking over at the king.

"You're saying one of my staff plotted against Miss Cultiva?"

"No." Time replied curtly. "He most likely committed the act, but I doubt he was the one who wanted it."

Tim turned back to the waiter. "Can you bring me anyone who knew him personally? Or I suppose the head of staff-"

"That would be me sir." A primly dressed older servant who appeared to be unfazed by the situation gave a bow to Tim from next to the king.

"...When did you get there?" Tim asked, having not noticed the man's approach.

"Whilst you were speaking to Adams, sir."

Tim looked back at the first waiter, before shrugging, and turning his attention to the head of staff.

"Is there anything of note you can tell me about the servant who just died?" Tim asked.

"Yes sir." The man bowed, before continuing. "He had been in the service of his majesty for a few years. Recently, however, he asked that a portion of his pay be sent to the region of Sanbo, to his brother. It would seem that his brother had encountered some rather substantial problems regarding his ability to pay... Certain people, and required assistance."

"Thank you, that should be enough." Tim said, and the man bowed again.

"Alright then." Tim turned to address everyone once more. "It seems the man who committed the act is dead, and in the time preceding his death, was sending money to his brother in the Sanbo region in order to pay his brother's debts. It is most likely that the true culprit used this to manipulate the servant into doing their bidding, and in exchange, they would save the man's brother from his debt. So, we're looking for someone who would have access to this information, the wealth and power to make the offer convincingly, and the motive to drive them."

A flinch came from the man who had avoided watching Rose's performance before, as the king asked Tim the question,

"Do you have someone in mind?"