The Devil and the Fool
Team: Aschenputtel
Prompt: Schreibaufgabe: schreibe genau 500 Worte (fürs Team)
Wörter: 500
Fandom: Collegia Magica
Charaktere: Dante, Ilario
Plot: Nach der vorherigen Geschichte möchte Illario Portier besuchen. Dazu muss er an Dante vorbei.
Anne trusted the mage. And he'd done worse to her family than just breaking bones. Or had he? I hadn't gotten the full explanation but I couldn't imagine how anybody else could be responsible for her mother's madness and what had been done to her brother. Even less could I imagine Anne forgiving anybody who'd done that.
Portier also trusted him. Enough that he was comfortable staying with the mage while he was in a state where he could be knocked out by a falling leaf. Portier who had cursed Dante's name every time it had been mentioned. He'd been so angry at the deception; so angry at having fallen for it. Only he hadn't been deceived. Or perhaps doubly deceived? I wasn't entirely sure, even though that was a topic I usually knew a lot about.
I took a deep breath, knocked on the door and had a cheery "Divine Grace" on my lips before the door was completely open. The mage just glared at me and didn't step away to let me through.
"I have come see Portier. Want to see how he's doing. Caught the master who's looking after him and he said the poor man is finally able to eat something that isn's soup so I brought him this." I waved a plate with cakes in front of his face, belatedly realizing the futility of that action.
"Unless of course, he is asleep or resting at the moment. In that case, I would leave you alone again and come back later. Though I would also kindly ask you tell me what time would be convenient since I have other important matters to attend to and can't spend all of it waiting."
The mage snarled. "I don't doubt the importance of your appointments." Quieter, but not so quiet that I could miss it, he added: "Like the daily one with your tailor."
The silence stretched, then he stepped aside.
"Portier's awake."
I followed him inside, not with my hand on my dagger - I wasn't a fool after all- but prepared to draw it any moment. Just to be on the safe side. I hadn't survived so long at court without being careful.
"So how is my dear friend?"
Again a snarl. "He's was tortured. His leg broken in more places than some people can count. Then he spent hours under water, kept alive only by magic. How do you think he is?"
I was silent. Not shocked at the contents of what I'd heard. I already knew that. It was the way Dante said it. Furious but he couldn't stop his voice from shaking. Barely and only at the very end. Most wouldn't have noticed. Most weren't playing a role all the time and so couldn't tell when others were as well. Whatever this man was he cared about Portier. It seemed that Dante was as little a devil as I was a fool.