"Okay, I need to have a one on one with the King about ruining my moment. I can't believe he did that, and Berry didn't even want to finish… damn it, fuck," Straw muttered to herself as she walked through the hallway to meet her brother, whom she had abandoned in the hands of Vinegario.
Her boots echoed softly against the stone floor, the sound swallowed almost immediately by the towering walls of the palace. The place always felt too large, too polished, like it was designed to make people feel smaller than they were. Straw rolled her shoulders as she walked, trying to shake off the lingering frustration twisting in her gut. Her jaw tightened every time Berryanna's face flashed in her mind, the way the moment had been cut short, ruined before it could even settle into something real.
She scrubbed a hand down her face, exhaling sharply through her nose. The King had a talent for appearing exactly when he was least wanted. And Apple. Of course Apple had been involved. It made her teeth itch just thinking about it.
She turned a corner, already rehearsing what she would say when she finally found Pine, when a familiar voice slid into the space like a blade.
"What are you mumbling about, you two-faced creature?" Vinegario said as he happened to be in the hallway, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Straw stopped short.
Her spine straightened instinctively, her irritation snapping into something sharper. Vinegario stood casually against the wall, dark hair loose, eyes half-lidded in that permanently amused way that never quite reached warmth. The bottle dangled from his fingers like it weighed nothing.
"Nothing," Straw said quickly, composing herself the moment she saw him.
She forced her shoulders to relax, schooling her face into something neutral. Around Vinegario, neutrality was survival.
"Whatever," Vinegario replied as he took a drink from the bottle and walked past her.
Straw's eyes followed the movement without meaning to. He tilted the bottle back with ease, throat moving as he swallowed. No wince. No pause. He drank like it was water, like the burn meant nothing at all. Something about it bothered her.
"Isn't that alcohol? Aren't you going to drink yourself out? It's the middle of the day," Straw said.
Her voice echoed faintly in the corridor. Vinegario stopped. He turned slowly, eyes dragging over her face like he was measuring something unseen.
"If this bottle can do what the other three couldn't, I'll welcome you as family," he said jokingly. The words were light, but Straw felt the weight beneath them. She frowned slightly, her gaze flicking to the bottle again. Three bottles. The thought settled uncomfortably in her chest.
She wondered how it was possible that he could not get drunk. Or maybe he was not actually drinking whiskey at all. The idea felt ridiculous, but it clung to her anyway. He smelled like it, strong and sharp, the scent curling into her lungs.
Her stomach tightened. Then she remembered last night's mission.
"Oh, that reminds me, Prince Vinegario. The information about the question you asked me to ask Lady Diane last night…"
"Forget about it," Vinegario said immediately.
The shift was instant. Too instant.
"What?"
"Are you deaf? I said forget about it. The mission was stupid anyway," he said.
Straw blinked, the words hitting harder than she expected. Stupid. The whole thing had cost her time, energy, and most importantly breaking Berryanna's rules. She felt heat rush up her neck. She was not having it.
After what happened yesterday, after the interruption, after Apple ruining her time with Berryanna, something inside her snapped.
"Excuse me, don't call me deaf. I have ears. You can see that. I just didn't want to believe what came out of your mouth. After all the charades you made me do, even though I had the best time with the food service, you can't just call it stupid. At least you should have said, Don't worry, I already have the information, or maybe, Thank you for complying."
Her words came fast, sharp, tumbling over one another. She barely stopped to breathe. Her hands clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms as she stared him down.
For a moment, Vinegario just looked at her. Then he smiled, slow and mean.
"Okay, thank you, my lady," Vinegario said sarcastically, "for emptying the tables of the Grey Keep." Her temper flared white hot.
"You scumbag, dickhead. You really did deserve that slap the princess gave you last night. Maybe you deserve another...."
She never finished the sentence. Vinegario moved.
One second he was standing a step away, the next his hand was at her throat, fingers closing hard as he slammed her back against the wall. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs in a sharp gasp.
Stone pressed cold into her spine.
"You fucking bitch. I knew you were here to spy. I'm sure your mama sent you. What are you twins planning?" he said.
His grip tightened. The joking tone was gone. Completely stripped away. What remained was something dark and coiled, his voice low and deadly serious.
Straw clawed at his hands, fingers scrabbling uselessly against his wrist. Panic surged through her, loud and blinding. She tried to inhale, but her throat burned, air coming in thin, painful pulls.
He was too strong. Much too strong.
"Any foul play from any of you two, especially you, I swear I won't wait for Berryanna to rip your heart out. I'll do it myself. No one is going to harm my family," he said.
The words vibrated against her skin. Then, just as suddenly, he let go.
Straw stumbled forward, barely catching herself as Vinegario stepped away and continued down the hallway like nothing had happened.
She slid down the wall, one hand flying to her throat as she coughed violently, lungs screaming for air. Her vision blurred at the edges, spots dancing as she sucked in breath after breath. Her chest burned. Her neck throbbed.
She stayed there for a moment longer than she wanted to admit, shaking, replaying the pressure of his fingers, the ease with which he had pinned her. The memory clung to her like a bruise forming beneath the skin.
When she finally pushed herself upright, her legs felt unsteady.
After a while, Straw made her way to the living room. Each step felt heavier than the last. She kept her head down, one hand still hovering near her neck, as if touching it too hard might bring the pain rushing back.
Pine was seated on one of the cushions, papers and an ink pen spread out before him. He looked focused, brow furrowed in concentration. When he glanced up and saw her, his expression softened instantly.
He stood and crossed the room in a few quick steps, pulling her into a hug.
"Oh, dear sister, how I have missed you," he said warmly.
The familiar scent of him grounded her. Straw exhaled, her shoulders relaxing despite herself.
"Hello, Duke," Straw replied, returning the hug.
Her arms wrapped around him a little tighter than usual. She wondered if he was going to rant about how she had abandoned him earlier, about being left alone with Vinegario of all people. She pulled back slightly.
"Are you not angry at me?" she asked.
"Oh yes, sister, I am very mad at you. I will surely get my payback. But right now, let me hug my twin sister," he said.
He pulled her into another brief embrace before stepping back. That was when his eyes dropped to her neck. His smile vanished.
"Oh gracious. It hasn't even been a month, and look how cruel the royals are to you."
Straw stiffened.
"They're treating me well. My wife has been lovely," Straw said quickly.
The words tumbled out too fast, too rehearsed.
"Lovely? Your neck looks worse than the time you gave me a purple eye during our academy days," Pine said.
Her heart skipped.
"Oh my god, is it visible? My poor skin," Straw cried out, touching her neck in panic.