#brizel

A bored Briar was never a good thing. She was the kind of person who never set free time off for herself, she was always working on some project or out doing something, be it in the woods or off in the city. Even at night she would for-go sleep in favor of something that stimulates her mind, though that situation was something entirely different.

So when she had her plate clean, schedule empty and, unfortunately, no friends; Briar would become a nuisance. And she was well aware of it. The hovering nature over other people's projects at the research division, the pestering of people in the library under the guise of offering help, stopping by Julius office to hand off a new little tool he would probably run off with. And then she could watch an estranged Marx go on a scavenger hunt for him.

Yes, she was well aware of this childish-like behavior, in its most subtle ways. Perhaps it was the remnants of who she used to be still finding its way up into her more hardened surface. And she would let it, because the bottom line was: she was still bored.

So today's unfortunate target would be the King Eagle himself. A man famously known for that royal stick up his butt in any situation. She wondered what kind of reaction he would have to her sudden arrival, or to whatever annoyance she would victimize him with.

Should she talk about his braid again? The Silva's odd choice of clothing? Bringing up that odd rumor about him and Fuegoleon was always good ammunition.

The knights in the Silver eagles base had no idea such thoughts were running through her mind as she strolled right in. Rather they were more taken aback by her clothing.

"Briar, what are you wearing?" Curtis had frozen in a doorway she was attempting to enter, it was a hallway that led down towards the more superficial part of the base. The personal library, storage, offices and such.

"Hm?" The woman glanced down. "Oh."

She had completely forgotten about it.

Her original plan for that day had been to attend an auction of magical items -A particular mirror had caught her attention- so she was somewhat dolled up. It wasn't anything fancy, but she did suppose… compared to her usual attire it was nice.

An off the shoulder cream dress with floral embroidery around the bottom. She had a bit of makeup on and her usual green clunky looking headpiece was swapped out for the fluffier white earmuffs she usually slept in. She had a shawl tightly wrapped around her torso to hide her scar and stones on her back.

Sadly the Auction had fallen through when one of the items intending to be sold reacted to something and took out almost half the building. Hence her now free schedule. She remembered thinking at the time this is exactly why her division existed, to regulate and prevent situations like that from occurring. But the world would be perfect if they managed to catch every magical tool in the city. The black market did exist after all. And witches were always making something new.

Her fingers played a little with the lace of her shawl. "I just dressed up a little. I'm actually looking for Nozel right now."

Many of the other eagles were suddenly very interested in the conversation. Curtis' eyes went surprisingly wide as the smallest of blushes appeared on his face.

"Oh… I see."

'Eh?' Briar blinked at his reaction, finding it out of place.

He coughed into his fist as if he was trying to compose himself. "Th-the captain isn't here right now."

"Oh he's been at home all day." Nil's was suddenly standing with them- when did he get there? "He said he had something important happening today and wouldn't be coming in."

Many heads suddenly turned to Briar; dressed up, looking for Nozel and the time of day was conveniently dinner time, now that she thought about it.

Oh wait…

"Ah-" her eyes widened slightly. "No, I don't have plans with him." She tried to wave her hands and deter anymore thoughts they might be having but…

"Sure sure." Another eagle said, rubbing his nose. "Nozel's always been a private guy."

"And you too. You like to keep things to yourself."

"This isn't-"

"You better get going, Clover Castle isn't very far!"

Briar couldn't get a word in until she was suddenly standing outside the base, her back to the door after she had hurriedly been shooed away. Unfortunately though, now she was alone.

"Huh…" she slowly looked up at the darkening sky. A flicker of constellations starting to make themselves known between the cloud cover. "This is a big misunderstanding…"

…

……

That was a problem for another day. She still had a bird to catch and was losing daylight.

Clover Castle was something else to her. It wasn't the biggest castle she had ever seen in her long life, but she still could be impressed with it, mostly because it was a rather nice blend of 3 completely different architectures.

If she remembered correctly, each part of the castle actually represented, and belonged to, each of the noble houses. The Vermillions stood out the most with their intense marble and squared off designs. Most likely due to their magical affinity, one would not be living in a wood house with fire magic.

"I wonder if Solara is there." She wondered curiously as she watched shadows move across warmly lit windows.

She turned instead to the section of castle off to the right. With elegant spire-like towers pointing up into the sky and pointed roofing, this was definitely Silva Manor. If it wasn't that then it was the metal Silva emblem hammered into their front doors. It was really hard to miss.

She knocked on the door, and as she expected, a maid swiftly answered it.

"Hello-" She looked taken aback to find Briar there. The maids' blue eyes flicked up and down to look her over. The first pause was at her earmuffs, the second was on her eyes before she jolted. "Uh- are you… Miss Rose?"

The brunette looked a little concerned. Why did the maids of the house know who she was?

"P-please come in!" She moved aside swiftly and ushered the woman inside. It was so sudden that Briar's old training just kind of kicked in and she quickly strode right into the building. A few other maids, who had been cleaning up nearby, all now stood in a line, bent at the waist to greet her.

"Welcome, Miss Rose."

'This is unnerving…' Briar thought as she stood there, suddenly very stiff. It had been a very long time since she had been treated in such a way. 'Why is this happening?'

"Please, stand up straight… I'm just looking for Nozel." She held a hand up to raise the Maids from their bent position. She almost felt bad now, being treated like this but having come to bother their Master…

"He's in his private office." The original maid stood beside her. "Right this way." She gave a small bow and ushered for Briar to follow, and what else could she do but? She followed the woman upstairs and down the halls. Only briefly pausing to look at paintings of previous patriarchys. The one of a young woman in a ponytail appeared to be the largest. She looked almost exactly like Noelle, the youngest Silva.

"He has her eyes…" Briar muttered out loud to herself.

"Here you are, ma'am." The maid bowed as she pointed towards double doors. "His private study."

"Thanks…" Briar gave a small nod to the woman who then quickly went on her way. The brunette took a deep breath and pretended not to notice the group of women peeking around the corner at the far end of the hall. She knocked once on the door.

It took a moment but there was a muffled, "Who's there?"

"It's Briar."

She definitely heard the sound of him dropping something in confusion then quickly picking it up. "Why?"

A valid question since she was certain this was unplanned, despite everything happening around her. Before she could respond though he spoke again.

"Are you alone?"

Briar blinked once then glanced down the hallways (Watching the maids vanish un-stealthily) to really make sure. "I am." Her tone made her sound confused, which was different from her curt nature.

"You may enter."

She was surprised by that reaction. She was certain her showing up here unannounced would have created some sort of kink in his day. Any other time she suddenly entered a room he looked like he needed to prepare himself for a headache.

But as she opened the door it seemed that the headache was already there without her intervention. She also noticed why he wanted her alone.

As usual his outfit didn't make any kind of sense to her. It appeared to be a short sleeved version of his normal attire, but it nearly hung off his shoulders. The thing about this outfit though is that it was lacking the high collar and gold choker he usually wore, which left his curse out in the open.

Briar was… surprised to say the least. Was he that comfortable with her..?

She almost didn't notice the sheer amount of paperwork covering both a desk and his coffee table. Which is where he currently sat, with more papers in one hand and his other hand against his forehead as he read through them slowly.

"What do you need?" He asked without looking up from his work.

"Uh…" Now she really felt bad. She couldn't just tell him she was here for her own entertainment. Especially after now seeing him in an obviously stressed out state. "The maids let me in."

Somehow that was enough for him, because he didn't argue with it. He just let out a frustrated sigh, as if this situation had happened before.

"How do they know who I am?"

His shoulders jolted a little, and the glance he gave between his fingers indicated he was not ready to relinquish the answer. Which was fine.

Just another reason for her to swing by in the future.

"What are you doing?"

"Work."

"Well, obviously." She narrowed her eyes slightly even if he wasn't looking at her anymore. But her tone demanded a better explanation.

Nozel let out a frustrated and guttural sound, something she really hadn't heard before. Was this a rare moment of actually catching him at a low point? "My work got backed up because another squad was interfering, so now I have all these reports to read and sign off on and double check property damage we might have to pay for. Or not, if I can find a decent reason to tell the parliament 'NO'. Now if you don't need anything, PLEASE LEAVE."

Ah…

Briars' hands balled up into her shawl for a moment. Her first thought was maybe another spar between their loving rivals, the lions, had gotten a bit out of hand. Then her mind quickly shifted gears into thinking… he has probably been sitting here all day going over word after word of paperwork, trying to get it all done within a reasonable time so it didn't affect the rest of his schedule.

When did this start?

Did he eat at all?

Was money that big an issue somehow?

All questions she could have asked the maids, but that opportunity had passed. Is this why everyone seemed so eager for her to be visiting him? To make sure he was okay?

She felt her cheeks heat up just a little. For a moment. She wouldn't give herself anything else.

Rather she pulled her shawl off and draped it over one of the chairs. She then slipped off her shoes so her heels didn't clack around loudly and finally walked around the couch so she stood behind him. The poor man was still so deep in his paperwork he didn't suspect the claws coming down upon him.

Nozel's whole body seized when he felt Briar suddenly grab hold of his head. The placement of her hands, one under his chin and the other on the top of his head, made him think she was going to snap his neck. But her grip was strong only to hold him in place should he try and run.

"What are you doing." It was not a question, it was a demand wondering why she had the audacity to be interfering with his work so suddenly.

"Put the papers down." She said.

"What-"

"Put them down."

He wasn't sure what compelled him to do as she said. Maybe it was the threatening position of her hands. But slowly he placed the papers in his hand down into his lap. Not really relinquishing them, out of spite.

And then she tilted his head back. Wide purple eyes looking up at her in confusion and surprise. And she stared back at him, her expression softer than usual, but nothing more.

"How long have you been here?" She asked.

He didn't answer her at first, but she didn't move to leave no matter how long they just stared at one another, so he let out a defeated huff and finally, "Since this morning."

"How early is this morning?" Her hands moved so that both palan were against the top of his head, fingers gently pressing down. It didn't hurt, quite the opposite actually.

"Six am."

The woman let out a sigh. "And have you eaten today?" Her fingers slowly began to move in soft, gentle, circular motions. The sensation immediately sent a reaction through Nozel's body to relax. Even his eyes fluttered closed.

"No."

Another noise escaped her as her fingers moved to his face. He was nervous, body tensing for a moment, till he realized she was undoing the clasp at the end of his braid. She put it to the side and then began to undo his hair, his scalp cried out in relief after having to hold the tight braid all day long. Normally he didn't feel it, but the headache overtaking his entire skull seemed to have made a difference.

He let her comb her fingers through his bangs several times to make sure all of it was undone and no tangle was left behind. She then pulled all of it back so it was out of his face, and once again began to dig her fingers in gently to massage his scalp.

Nozel didn't consider himself pampered. Sure he was a noble, but many times he forsook his own interests for family affairs and work. Hell his interests were those exact things most of the time. So he wasn't like some nobles where a maid would come in and give a massage, or a nice soak of hands and feet to relax.

He wasn't used to the heavenly feeling of fingers gently rubbing against his scalp in circular motions to alleviate the pain. Rubbing back and forth, against the backs of his ears and even down his jaw. He wasn't sure what compelled this woman to do this but dear god he was not going to question it now.

She even managed to pull a soft groan from him as she gently pulled her fingers back through his hair like a comb. And with his eyes closed he didn't see the flushed look of surprise on her face.

"Feeling better?" Briar asked after ten minutes of nice rubbing. Her fingers still played with his hair though as she spoke.

"Yes, it felt good." He would give praise where it was due.

"Good… will you eat something now?"

His eyes peeled open to stare at her. "Are you inviting me to dinner." She noticed the flick of his eyes to her dress.

"If it will get you to eat." Her tone was actually playful…

"I suppose… though I will have to change." He pulled his head away from her, albeit reluctantly, and cupped a hand around his neck to hide his curse mark.

"Tell me what you want, I'll have the maids bring it here." Briar offered.

"That does sound more appealing…" he wouldn't have to leave his office at least. "By the way… what are you wearing?" He turned his body to look over the back of the couch to really get a full view of her outfit.

"Ah… its a story. Which reminds me…" she glanced away looking a little sheepish, which made his eyes narrow at her. "The eagles… may have gotten the wrong impression of something…."

The Silver Eagles had a barracks. It was a basic requirement of any Squad base honestly, in case anyone lived too far from work. However, due to most of the squad being made up nobles, many of the rooms went unoccupied and would have been left to build up dust, their wooden floors to rot and elegant sheets left to be eaten by moths. If it wasn't for the diligent maids of house Silva this place would surely be lost on them.

But Nozel found himself grateful this evening that everything was kept in pristine condition.

Like all of his other squad mates he did not have to live within the squad base. Infact, out of all of them, his home was probably the closest. But there were some nights, like tonight, where his work dragged out longer than he would have thought.

Rubbing a sore shoulder Nozel put his pen down, the ache had built up quite a while ago but he hadn't expected to be sitting for quite so long. He groaned as he dug his fingers a little deeper while glancing at the magical clock, its glow soft in the low light of his office.

2 am.

"Tch…" He clicked his tongue softly. It was like looking at the time suddenly triggered all of his exhaustion to hit him at once. The ache in his shoulder now spread down the rest of his back and he could not stand it anymore.

He stood up, with audible snapping noises and groans, before he cleaned up his desk, organized his papers and headed out of the office with light in hand.

The night was cloudy, making it hard for any stars or the moon to provide light into the currently bleak looking hallways. Nozel had to pause within the hall for a moment, staring down both directions, as if to make sure nothing was really here…

Surely he was all alone, he had seen the last of his eagles leave from his office window. Yet there was a creeping feeling up his back… making his hair stand on end. He shook his head slightly before turning away from the darkness.

Being alone meant he had free reign of picking a room. Normally he would simply go home and enjoy the privacy and luxury of his own space. But he was too tired and too sore to make that trip all the way home, besides, he had to come back earlier that day. So if he was to get any sleep tonight, he should probably just stay where he was.

Every room was almost the same. Same layout, furniture, sheets and decor. All but one, that he made sure was empty for these exact moments. It was located in one of the farthest corners of the building for more privacy and resembled more of a nobleman's room rather than a guests room; with its king sized bed, plush carpets, wide windows and fancy furnishings of Silva designs. It also wasn't very far from the baths.

Unlike some people the silver eagles baths were sectioned off, rather than one big hotsprings like tub, each individual could have their own privacy in glass rooms with showers, rather than baths.

Right outside the room to the baths was a small room where one could hold their things, undress or change. He removed his cloak, setting it aside to make sure it got washed, grabbed some spare clothing from a cupboard full of fresh linen and reached for the glass door separating him from the showers.

But his hand froze. His eyebrows scrunched up as he realized fog was clouding the glass and heat was wafting from a crack in the door. Swinging it open, loudly, he waited to see if someone reacted or came out of hiding.

While the room was pleasantly warm… it was dead silent. Only the occasional sound of a dripping water would reach his ears.

"Hmm…." He did his best to relax. If anyone used it, it must have been one of the Eagles before leaving. He hadn't seen anyone else here while walking around…

He was quick to shower, making the water extra hot to ease his aching muscles, before drying off and returning to the room with his clothing. He grabbed his cloak and clothing, a towel firmly around his waist then headed off to his room.

It was large, with double doors to match its grandeur. It had enough furniture to hold whatever he would need, a balcony that you could see the training building from and a smaller separate room, with a couch and fireplace, where someone could lounge if they so desired. Nozel made his way to the other side of the bed, tossing his shirt down before he pulled on the pants. He then grabbed his towel to throw over his head.

As silly as it was, he hated sleeping with cold, wet hair. He remembered being little and his mother going out of her way to make sure he was dry, making a fuss by saying if he wasn't dry then he'd get a cold in the middle of the night.

His hands paused, having been massaging the towel into his hair, at the thought of his mother. Slowly he stood up straight, pulling the towel down as he slowly looked towards a long floor length mirror on one side of the room. He was like Fuegoleon or Yami, people who went out of their way to put on muscle. He was lean, with broad shoulders and paler skin. But what he was checking wasn't his physique.

He moved, and his reflection mimicked him. His hand crept up, passed his collarbone and touched his throat, where black letters of a foreign language felt branded onto his skin.

It didn't hurt to touch, but it constantly felt like he was wearing a collar. One that had been slapped on him suddenly the moment his mother had been cursed on that fateful day. A collar that would sap him of his life, just like it had hers, should he ever speak of what happened that day. If he ever told anyone of why Acier Silver had actually died, then that listener would also be given the collar.

His nails dug into his skin slightly as he was filled with disgust. Not only at the fact he had such an ugly mark upon his body, left by an equally ugly creature, but also because of the horrible reminder it brought him. Of his mother. Of Noelle…

Something white caught the corner of his eye, it looked like a ghost, and for a split second he wondered if someone had come to haunt him.

He spun around, eyes wide and in momentary panic.

"Ah…" 

It was Briar. She looked surprised, with her eyebrows knit together over wide eyes. Her hair was down, like always, and she was dressed in a long white nightgown, with puffy sleeves. It flowed around her, silently, like a ghost. Her usual green headpiece was replaced with a fluffier looking white one, did she sleep in earmuffs too?

"What are you doing here?" Nozel spat it out more aggressively than he had intended. And before she could answer he looked panicked again, his hand flying to his throat to hide the markings.

She stared at him, processing the scene in front of her and what she had witnessed. Her eyes, with their flesh color and white pupils, looked ominous in the dimly lit room.

"Your braid…"

"...What?" Nozel looked caught off guard and slowly she pointed at him, specifically his face.

"You don't have your braid."

Forgetting the towel, his other hand came up to touch at his hair, his normally braided bangs now covered almost all of his forehead and eyes in semi wet waves.

"Oh, do you not sleep in it?" Her hand moved to touch her chin as she thought. "Hm… I assumed it never came undone, as if it was some great Silva treasure… So then does someone braid it for you? Do you do it yourself? Oh, if you do it yourself then you're really skilled…."

He was stunned into silence as she listened to his rambling. Briar wasn't even looking at him but was looking down at the ground as she continued to talk, mostly to herself. It was enough for him to slowly calm down and grab hold of his shirt and dress while she was distracted-

"Better?"

He had just buttoned up the last button when she had spoken. When he turned to face her she was watching him again, her eyes locked onto his. Wait…. Had she rambled like an idiot on purpose… so he could get dressed?

"What are you doing here?" He asked his previous question again. 

"I was planning to spend the night." She pointed to the side room where she had been relaxing till she had heard someone enter the room. "No one stays the night in the barracks most nights. So I tend to come here, it's the nicest room."

At first Nozel was confused. Then he was frustrated. He must have been dead tired this evening to forget that this irritating woman was actually living with them now per Julius orders. The only person who actually used the Silver Eagles bedrooms…

"Did you stay up late working?"

He glanced at her. "...I did. I lost track of time, and rather than go home I thought it would be easier to spend the night." Something he now realizes was a mistake.

"Hmm." Was the only response she gave as they stood in the dark across from one another, the bed being the only thing between them.

He wanted to demand she leave but… technically she was here first. It would only be for one night… maybe he could relinquish it to her just this once-

"Does it hurt?"

His thoughts ground to halt. He knew what she was asking about it, and he wasn't sure if he even wanted to respond. Based on the question, and her occupation as a magical scholar… she must have recognized it… his pride made him ball up his fists… then again…

When would he be able to talk about  it again?

"....it does not…" he said it quietly. But it felt like a roar in his ears with how silent the room actually was.

"...a curse of silence… right?"

She did know what it was.

All he did was look away, one hand came up to grip at the collar of his shirt, as if to try and hide it.

Briar didn't need to pry anymore. She knew exactly what it was, curse magic was no stranger to her. She wondered what he had been forced to keep secret though? As a curse of silence was usually only placed upon someone when they had seen something they shouldn't have, and Nozel didn't strike her as the kind of person to dig into someone else's business. 

He looked disgusted and ashamed. Probably with himself but more so the fact that someone had seen. She or especially Owen, would have known if someone was cursed like this. It was a pretty deadly one after all. So he had been hiding well for who knows how long. He was quite careful or maybe diligent was a better word.

It was… odd to see Nozel in such a fragile state. She caught the slight tremor of his hands as he wasn't sure what to do with them, the tightness of his muscles, twitching mouth and over all the look in his eyes.

Like he wanted to die on the spot.

He didn't want anyone to see his curse mark.

Briar's expression softened. Slowly her nimble fingers crept up to the collar of her shirt and she undid the top two buttons.

"Nozel." she spoke softly.

He looked up and jolted, taking a step back. "What are you doing?!"

She had sat down on the bed, her back facing him, but he could very easily see the pool of her dress caught around her waist.

She was completely topless.

"Put your clothes back-" his voice died in his throat.

He watched her pull the long curtain of her chestnut hair aside to reveal her bare back.

No bra blocked what he saw, and it made his throat tighten.

Two, smooth, green stones were attached to her back. About the size of his palm and they were kind of heart shaped. One was in her right shoulder blade. The other right below her neck, along her spine. They reminded him of the stones they would often see in the Diamond Kingdoms soldiers. But unlike those these stones felt soft. Clean. And glittered with life, like stars were trapped inside them.

It was like comparing water to mud.

Seeing someone with magic stones embedded in their body was not a shock to him. Nozel had seen them plenty in his enemies, which raised many alarming questions in his mind about her. But where his eyes were locked on was, surprisingly, not the stones. But the massive ugly scar that took up almost her whole left shoulder blade. Just looking at it he could imagine it was still painful despite having healed.

"What are you doing?" He finally asked after an eternity of silence.

"I saw yours…" she peaked over one shoulder. "So I'm showing you mine."

Nozel was stunned.

Since when was she this considerate… She had been nothing but a thorn in his side, challenging him and being the main cause of his high blood pressure. An irritating commoner (maybe even a foreigner now with what he was looking at) woman who didn't know her place.

But here she was baring her insecurities to him because she had accidentally seen his.

He couldn't bring himself to ask her about it, as curious as he was.

"Please…" Nozel said as he turned away. "Dress yourself."

Briar let her hair fall and then stood up from the bed, she pulled her top back on and buttoned it up.

"You can have the room." She said.

"What?" 

She was already walking towards the door. "I don't sleep well anyway. So it's fine, really." She opened it and looked back at him. "Sweet dreams, Nozel."

"You… too…" he stood, awkwardly as she turned away and closed the door with a soft click.

It was the strangest encounter he had with her yet, and they had been through some odd things together. But this one didn't leave him feeling as upset as he thought it should.

His fingers once again grazed the black letters across his throat. In a weird way… he felt better. That someone knew, even if it wasn't the whole story, was a weight off his shoulders.