//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Subtle Signs // Story: Marked // by Eisen //------------------------------// Twilight tiredly followed the servant down the hallway, curiously peering at the paintings hung on the walls on the way to their destination. They were mostly portraits of famous ponies, or of the Crystal Empire itself, nothing suspicious, nothing like the Marks from her dream. She briefly lost herself in her observations, trying to peer beyond the large door at the end of the hall... She almost thought that she saw something there-- "Uh... princess?" the servant boy asked from behind her. "Huh?" she muttered, wheeling around to see him staring at her with his head cocked to the side in curiosity. "The dining hall is through this door, your highness," he directed plainly. He'd seen royalty act strange before, so his curiosity over Twilight's behavior was short-lived, fortunately for her. "Uh, right! Silly me!" the princess played off with an embarrassed chuckle, falling back behind him as they entered the hall. Cadence and Shining Armor sat beside each other with their morning tea cups already set out, and directly across from Cadence was an additional untouched tea cup, which is where Twilight was guided. "Glad to see you're up Twily!" Shining said with a sincere smile, which prompted her to smile in response. "How'd you sleep last night, Twi?" Cadence inquired simply, a small smile on her face as well, but a harder to read smile. Twilight, not wanting to give anything away in case that dream was something significant decided to play it off. "Oh, I slept like a log! Guess I spent a lot of energy last night in the fight." Cadence's expression took on a look of mild suspicion, although Twilight couldn't be sure if it was due to some subtlety that she had given off, or if she knew more than she wished to say. Cadence always had been a master at reading emotion and intent, which in most normal circumstances was perfectly fine, almost comforting, but in her current state of paranoia, she couldn't help but recognize that these were the perfect qualities of a master manipulator. Her thought was interrupted by the sound of papers being dropped onto the table, eliciting an "Ah, thank you lieutenant!" from Shining Armor. He levitated the bound report in front of him and squinted in concentration as he read it's contents. After a moment or two, his face shifted from one of concentration to one of sternness, a blend of disappointment and concern marring his expression. "What is it, Shining?" Twilight asked, a bad feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. "You did say that there were five assailants, right Twily?" he questioned, re-reading the report thoroughly. "Yes. I can describe each one if necessary. Why? Did they get them yet?" the princess asked, furrowing her brow. "According to this report, they picked up four thugs... but no fifth. However, investigators did notice a gray feather lodged in a crack found in a wall in the alley," he reported, his eyes not leaving the paper, reading over every detail as he spoke. Twilight's stomach twisted slightly. Where could he have gone...? Cadence looked over them both with a face that seemed to radiate something like motherly concern, but she also seemed to be sweating lightly, which was odd given the fairly cool temperature of the room. "Let's not discuss such serious things on empty stomachs now... see, here come the servers now!" Cadence noted, drawing their attention to the ponies levitating their meals over in front of them, who then bowed and immediately exited from whence they came. Twilight slowly nibbled on some of the breakfast, but kept mulling over the information in her mind. The fifth thug, the one who seemed the most out of place, was missing. She needed to find out where he went, who he was, or at the very least, who he was working for. She suddenly and abruptly spoke. "Shining, I need to speak to the thugs that were captured." He looked like he agreed, and was about to say something, but stopped as Cadence coughed slightly. "No!" She spat out quickly, then calmly collected herself and cleared her throat. "The last thing you need right now is to get dragged deeper into... into... street thug issues!" She was faltering, clearly she didn't have a valid reason to object yet, at least not one that she could say aloud. Her face however, did impeccably well at hiding her insecure speech. In fact, if Twilight hadn't known her personally, she could have easily believed that excuse. Shining sat back and said nothing. Twilight took advantage of the weak argument presented and took on a serious look. "I have the right to interview my attackers. After all, they did attack royalty, and given my position, I have not only the authority, but also the obligation to learn why any Equestrian citizens would attempt to harm a princess, or any pony for that matter. If left alone, they or an organization may attempt to harm others, perhaps you two, or even Celestia herself! It is my duty to know," she concluded solidly, her expression locked and serious, making very evident that she would not be moved. Cadence hesitated, she clearly had something she wanted to say, but couldn't counter the argument presented, so she sat back quietly. "I'll square away the permissions," Shining said, taking a form from the back of the booklet and a quill, writing immediately. After a brief moment of silence, Cadence attempted to re-ignite conversation. "So, Twi, how was the library? Find anything interesting?" she asked politely, showing no sign of anything other than legitimate curiosity. "Well, I learned plenty on King Sombra, much more than I've found in any works outside of the Empire! I also looked a bit into the ancient pony history as told from the Empire's perspective, it really does give a much more well-rounded view of the past," she explained, careful not to mention Marks. Everything she had just said was true, so even with Cadence's incredible person reading skills, there would be no room for suspicion. Cadence looked satisfied, and Shining Armor passed over a signed paper, detailing Twilight's business with the inmates. "Present this to the guard on duty, he'll let you in," he told her. The servants came in and cleared out the plates, still fairly full. One of the servants, evidently a secretary, walked up to Cadence personally with a checklist. "On the schedule today your highness: at 12:00, a meeting with the architects for the downtown district... At 2:30 the meeting with Mr. Reach on a trade deal... At 4:00 the education summit..." and so on. While she was focused, Shining Armor looked over at her briefly before leaning in and quietly saying "I hope you find what you're looking for." Strange that he would want to be quiet, it made Twilight uneasy. "Thanks, I hope so too," she said, giving him a hug before getting up and trotting to the exit. Before she left, Twilight was stopped by Cadence, who, upon turning around, was holding a hoof to her secretary. "Twilight..." She started calmly, with a very odd expression, something of a genuine concern and an almost familiar look. Empathy, perhaps? She was getting a strange sense of deja vu. "Yes Cadence?" Twilight asked calmly. What she said next concerned her deeply, not because of any undertones, but rather for the lack of them. "Twilight... Be careful what you ask... I wouldn't want to see you hurt again." She said it with real, genuine concern, but that only led Twilight to believe that she had more reason to be concerned than just the thugs. Twilight calmly nodded, eliciting a faint smile from Cadence, who turned back to her secretary and lowered her hoof. And so, with new questions swirling around in her mind along with the determination to get answers, princess Twilight walked out of the hall and on to the Crystal Imperial jail.