[OTA] Musical Thrones

[cipherspeak]

He'd stolen Hadyn's cigarettes the morning before, when the messenger had run in breathlessly with the news of Carmella's disappearance, but Elisha hadn't had the time to light up. Not between organizing the futile search and then taking the slow walk over to Heart Castle to tell Jonathan Montenegro that his wife was gone. And then, of course, he'd spent far too long fielding panicked questions from Clubs - and anyone else who made their way to his office.

But finally he'd slipped off, going down back stairs and cutting through the kitchens before stepping into the cold, crisp February air. There was a bit of blue in the sky, breaking through the cloud cover, but it was still fucking cold and he hadn't bothered to grab his coat or his gloves, leaving him standing in the gardens in jeans, boots and a sweater. Elisha exhaled as he leaned against a stone wall, and he closed his eyes for a moment before he fished the cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one with the old zippo he hadn't used for anything but candles in months.

He was going to get a migraine from this. He was going to get a migraine anyway, though, so there wasn't any point in abstaining. He was going to have to find another new Queen, he thought. Maybe he should just go without.

Comments

[cipherspeak]

"One of the Jokers. Carmella was looking for him. A few other people. Some of them might have just gone off-Deck, but there's a young mother in the Hearts whose missing." And left her five year behind, so he'd heard.

"People should be staying clear of the new buildings. It seems they're disappearing again." He started to drag on his cigarette and then paused as the ground shook under their feet. "And then there's that, of course."

[expluribus]

"Best spread the word fast." Given the recent... irregularities, there was no guarantee that staying in their own castles and homes was any safer but for now it was the best they could do, dealing with one issue at a time.

However, if the trembling ground decided to open up and swallowed everything, well. Then it wouldn't matter where one was staying, would it?

"I have something to take care of but I'll have the tapes dropped off at your office." The Eight suddenly stepped closer and a few heartbeats later, his scarf was wrapped around his King's neck. "And do go back inside before you catch pneumonia, please?"

[cipherspeak]

"My guess is it's already spread and embroidered upon." Damage control, Elisha thought. He'd need to talk to PR and HR, see what could be done to calm people down.

Elisha glanced down at the scarf and his lips quirked up. "I'll be fine, and inside in a few minutes."