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"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
“Ah, apologies,” Shez couldn’t help the wince. He should have listened to Arval – he is definitely lost and in a part of the palace that he’s not supposed to be. Doubly so from the wide-eyed stares of two kids and the narrowed one of a very regal woman.
The woman’s hair is dark green, nearly black – and done in one of the fancy styles that the older Imperial ladies wear. It’s…familiar, almost familiar enough that he nearly doesn’t freeze as her hand subtly twitches from her tea set to a battered black book. Mage .
“It’s quite alright, Mother,” Hubert’s voice is low with his anger, but he wraps a hand on Shez’s wrist tightly, the one that he would need to manifest his spectral blade. “He means no harm, he’s simply an idiot born lacking any sense of which to speak.”
“Is that so?” the woman narrows her gaze at him. Pale grey eyes studying Shez in detail. “Ah. The mercenary you’ve spoken of.”
“Unfortunately,” Hubert sighs, “I will take care of this matter.”
“You’ll both join me for tea, Hubert,” she disagrees as she settles down, a picture of implacable grace.
“Mother –“
“Brother,” the little girl cuts him off before he can finish that thought. “You’re being rude.”
“Oh, very well then,” Hubert loosens his grip – a little – as he leads Shez past the playing children and doesn’t actually release him until they reach the table. “Please excuse his table manners, Mother.”
The woman – who is apparently Hubert’s mother, and that does explain the familiarity in the hair color all four of them have – laughs softly. “Hubert. Be kind to your friend. What will Lady Edelgard say, hmm?”
“I suspect she would not be surprised in the least,” Hubert’s lips quirk into one of his signature smirks (the amused one) as he takes over pouring the tea for all three of them and gently slid the sugar closer to Shez once he was done.
Shez can’t help his own grin at that as he tries to remember the tea-time manners that Ferdinand had started teaching him before the war when they were both in the capital. They hadn’t had time for those lessons since the war started but Monica always gave death-glares when he messed up when he had tea with her and Edelgard too.
“You can relax, Shez,” Lady von Vestra smiles at him – it’s not warm , but it’s sort of comforting in a steadier way - soothing. An expression almost like the ones Hubert got when he was proud of one of them. “You’ve had some lessons in etiquette?”
“Ferdinand teaches me when he’s free,” he admits, a blush rising to his cheeks. “Constance and Monica too, sometimes, but they’re, uh less helpful.”
“The von Aegir boy,” she hummed. “He’s a warm one, has always been quite kind. The other two?”
“The last of the Nuvelle children and Baron von Ochs’ daughter,” Hubert supplied dutifully. “Most colorful characters, to be sure, but they’ve served Lady Edelgard well.”
“And you haven’t been helping your friend?”
Hubert pauses to narrow his eyes thoughtfully at his mother.
“Shez and I do not usually have tea,” he says at last.
The smile takes a knowing glint - far less malicious on her face than when her son makes the same expression: "And just what is it you do together that has my beloved son speaking so well of you, Shez?"
"I - uh," he winces at his verbal stumble before deciding on an answer, "Mostly it's coffee when we look over our reports. I'm in charge of one of the new companies Lady Edelgard established that's just for commoners. It's a lot more paperwork than I've had to do before. And we spar sometimes - Hubert's helped me get way better with dealing with magic users."
That earlier hint of steady calmness gains a little warmth - something reflected in Hubert's amused smirk at his reply.
"Sometimes I cook, too, when meetings go too late to eat with the army," Shez's adds - his nervous rambling only seeming to make the pair of von Vestra mages more amused, like cats. "Petra's taught me some recipes that he seems to really enjoy - oh, and Hubert and I play chess."
"He's not the worst opponent available," Hubert concedes. "For all his methods can be quite...unorthadox."
"You called them 'inventive' before," Shez finds himself smiling.
Hubert huffs a soft laugh, "The way your mind works - your so-called 'strategy' is among the many reasons I find it difficult to take my eye off you, Shez."
"I...uh, thanks? I think ?" He's not entirely sure whether that was flirtation, compliment, threat, or warning or some combination thereof. It still makes the color rise to his cheeks like no one's business.
Lady von Vestra hums, "Good. You must bring Shez to see us more often, Hubert."
After tea is done Hubert guides Shez back towards the more familiar parts of the palace in a contemplative silence.
Shez is fairly certain that he made a decent impression - probably, or he needs to talk to someone about how to tell if his tea's been poisoned. (Hubert seems the most logical person to ask but he's also the most likely to poison him so...hm...)
They draw to a halt in one of the secluded halls. One branch will lead towards Edelgard's offices and those of various ministers. The other leads towards the ones of the military command, and can be followed to the annex building where the mercenary commanders - Shez included - have been given their own offices.
"Try not to lose your way again - it would be most unfortunate if I had to find a replacement for you so close to the fruition of Lady Edelgard's plans. Don't poke your nose where it does not belong."
"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Sorry for worrying you, Hubert."
"I shall arrange for some of those tarts you like next time you join us. My little sister is quite fond of them as well."
"Next time, huh? Not going to get rid of me to make sure I can't say anything?"
Hubert hums, lifting his hand up to rest under Shez's chin and tip his gaze up to meet his own.
"I should think not - you remain quite the valuable asset to -"
Hubert straightens abruptly and lets his hand fall away at the sound of footsteps and voices on the approach. As Caspar and Dorothea round the corner he nods his head to Shez and takes his leave.
Shez blinks rapidly, feeling the burn in his cheeks and the way his heartbeat is still rabbiting from meeting Hubert's gaze. Shit - what was he going to say? 'To me'? No - that...that can't be it. Probably just going to reiterate how useful he is to Edelgard again, that's all.
"Oh my," Dorothea smiles faintly. "You've got it bad don't you, poor thing?"
Shez jolts at the pat to the arm she offers and laughs, trying to reassemble some sort of functional thought.
"You missed the whole demonstration Ferdinand was doing about flowers - but he never really got to the part about how to fight people with them. I still think they're still fragile to do any good," Caspar adds.
Shez laughs, "I think it just is meant as insults, Caspar. Sorry I missed it though, I got turned around again."
"We really should start giving you a ball of yarn when you're wandering by yourself, shouldn't we?"