Chapter 104: Will you protect me?

Third person's POV

Jonquil arrived at the palace gates with the same steady, ground-eating stride she used on the training fields. The Flowers on duty recognized her at once. Several of them offered formal greetings in respectful and careful voices but she returned none of them.

"Where is the Alien?" she asked in a tone flat and sharp enough to cut.

One of the Flowers hesitated only a second under that gold-eyed stare.

"In the dungeon, by order of Lady Dove."

Jonquil's expression did not change, but something in the air around her cooled. "Take me to her."

They led her through the inner corridors without further question. Dove was in one of the smaller receiving rooms near the Queen's wing, speaking with two attendants in the clipped tone she used when she wanted things done quickly. When she turned and saw Jonquil, her face settled into open displeasure.

Before any dialogue could be exchanged between Dove and Jonquil, one of the Flowers had informed Dove why Jonquil was in the palace.

"A Flower from Bloomhold," Dove said, her brows furrowing.

"How convenient. Tell me - how does someone stationed outside the palace already know what occurs inside it, and why has she come to interfere?" she demanded.

Jonquil did not bow. She never did unless she chose to.

"I knew," she answered simply. "That is enough. And you need to understand something. The Alien is not like anything this planet has dealt with before."

Dove's brow lifted a little. "Is that so?"

"Release him. Stop torturing him." Jonquil's voice remained even, but there was iron underneath it.

"He was caught trespassing in Her Majesty's private quarters. That alone is enough to keep him where he is." Dove replied.

"He did not do what he is accused of."

"And you are certain of this how?"

"I am certain."

Dove studied her for a long moment, clearly unused to being spoken to with so little deference. "I will not release a trespasser simply because a Flower of ranking declare him innocent."

Jonquil tilted her head slightly, the motion small and precise then she asked; "What was found in his hands when he was taken?"

The question landed cleanly. Dove's mouth tightened. For a brief second she said nothing. Then she answered, reluctantly, "Nothing."

"Then you have no proof of intent," Jonquil said. "Only presence. I will vouch for him. I know him well enough to know he keeps his word. If anything later proves me wrong, hold me responsible in his place."

Silence stretched between them, thick and pointed.

Dove's eyes narrowed further, weighing the offer and the political weight of a ranked Flower from Belladonna's command standing surety for the Alien. At last she gave a short, sharp nod.

"Very well. But the responsibility is yours."

She turned to the waiting Flowers. "Go and set him free."

Jonquil followed them down into the dungeon without another word.

~~~~~~~~~

Stefan heard her voice before he saw her.

It cut through the damp, heavy air of the corridor - calm, exact, and unmistakably hers and something tight that had been sitting in his chest since the chains first closed finally loosened.

When the door opened and the Flowers stepped in to unlock the remaining restraints, he rose slowly. His back still pulled with residual tenderness despite the healing oil. He met Jonquil's eyes over their shoulders and felt a tired, crooked smile tug at his mouth.

She said nothing in front of the others. She simply turned and walked out of the dungeon. He followed her.

Only when they reached a quieter stretch of corridor, away from immediate ears, did he speak. His voice came out lower and rougher than usual.

"You actually came."

Jonquil kept her gaze forward. "I did."

"I owe you for that." He glanced sideways at her, the smirk still present but softer around the edges. "Standing up to Dove like that isn't nothing. Especially for someone like me."

Jonquil was quiet for a few steps. When she finally spoke, her voice had lost some of its usual hardness. Now, it was soft and gentle.

"I have never vouched for anyone the way I just did. Not blindly. Not without orders. I find myself… loyal to you in a way I do not fully understand. I trust you more than the facts should allow."Jonquil divulged.

Stefan's smirk eased into something closer to a real smile.

"Then don't hurt your head trying to understand it. Just keep doing it. I won't give you a reason to regret it." he replied.

Jonquil looked at him then and nodded once.

"I must return to Bloomhold," she said. "There are duties left unfinished."

"Oh, yeah. I'll see you later then, babe." Stefan replied.

She left without further ceremony. He watched her until she turned the corner, then headed for his own rooms with the weight of what he had endured in the dungeon still sitting in his bones at.

~~~~~~~

Kara was still inside Stefan's room.

She paced the center of the room with short, tight steps, her arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to hold something in. The moment the door opened and she saw him, the tension broke all at once.

She walked up to him briskly and threw her arms around him, holding on harder than he expected.

"You came back," she said against his shoulder, her voice was roughly coated with leftover fear. "Did they punish you badly?"

Stefan let out a short huff of laughter and patted her back once, the gesture almost casual.

"I've had worse days," he said. "Better me than you. You wouldn't still be standing straight if they'd gotten their hands on you instead."

Kara pulled back just enough to look at his face, searching for the truth of it. Whatever she saw seemed to ease something tight in her expression. The System chimed quietly at the edge of his awareness.

[KARA — RELATIONSHIP INTERFACE UPDATED]

Desire: 94%

Loyalty: 78%

Affection: 67%

Trust: 74%

Recruitment Progress: 82%

Stefan filed the numbers away and kept his expression easy, the same calm, charismatic front he had used on Dove earlier.

"You need to stop working for the Silent Matriarch," he said.

Kara went still in his arms. For a moment she said nothing. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet and carefully controlled.

"If I stop… will you protect me from her?"