Jin
Dinner was, for the first portion, almost painfully silent. The tension was palpable, and for the peacemaker of the family, this sort of atmosphere was reprehensible at best. Of course, he could not deny that he was presently contributing to it. It could hardly be helped, considering what he knew that only Shizuo shared in the knowledge of. The truth was burning inside him somewhere, as though he simply could not hope to contain it for long before it would rush past his lips in a torrent. Admittedly, to allow it would be an unacceptable breach of self-control to allow it to be so, and so he was forced into silence.
This was troubling for more than just the one reason, though. Because of the enforced silence, he was unable to communicate with his guardian as he had intended to do prior to learning of the plans for this meal. He felt rather ashamed that he had retreated to his library almost as soon as possible, and he thought that perhaps this had seemed frightfully standoffish or cruel of him, which had not been his intention in the slightest. There was no mistaking that of all the people in the room, Zahra was the least comfortable, and it would have been better if he could say something to ease the feeling even a little.
He noticed she was having some difficulty with the etiquette of the situation, and subtly adjusted his hands so that the way in which he was handling his cutlery and implements was a bit more obvious. He gave a small smile, but he was not sure that she noticed, as she appeared to be looking across the table to what Sora was doing. Ah, well, that was not such a bad thing. Though he disliked all of it, Sora was just as drilled in the manners of such things as he and Adio were, though none was a better exemplar of the knowledge than the heir.
They were into the third course before either the King or the High Priest spoke again, and Jin had taken to leveling mildly-accusatory (but still within the bounds of politeness) looks at both of them. If they didn't bring it up, he was going to. If not now, then later, in front of at least his brothers and the three young women here. As it was, this was not necessary, as the King cleared his throat halfway through the roast, which immediately resulted in the cessation of all other activity as the attention in the room diverted solely to the figure at the head of the table.
"I'm sure you're all wondering what brought this situation about," he began, in a tone that suggested he didn't much care just how much they had been put out by it. "And for that reason, the High Priest has so courteously agreed to join us this evening." Jin, who never missed much, did not fail to note the just-concealed disdain with which his father referred to the head of the church. The two men were publicly allies and privately despised each other. His father's left eye tended to twitch when he was suppressing his anger, and it was now, just barely.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," the second man intoned with all the smoothness of oil. The High Priest was a man in his fifties, with what seemed to be a permanent sneer etched onto his face. "I'm sure your day has been long, but I thought it... prudent to deliver this explanation as quickly as possible."
Lenore
It was obvious to Lenore that none of the princes was particularly fond of his father, and the priest just reminded her of every crooked merchant who'd ever tried to swindle her out of something. Still, those who wielded their authority too heavily and those who sought to beguile and deceive were both within her realm of experience, unlike much of what she had encountered thus far, and so she endured what followed in solemn silence. She could feel the physical tension in Adio beside her, though the smoothness of his movements and the impassivity of his face hid it well.
It was the least she could do to match that. She was not certain exactly what the purpose of all this ceremony was, but if quiet compliance was what was necessary for the moment, she would endeavor to be the very picture of it. She did not need words to defy someone's intent; the weapon at her waist was enough a statement of her thoughts on the situation.
When the holy man claimed to be offering an explanation, she glanced quickly to the blond prince, who she had noted seemed to have some inkling of what was going on. His acknowledgement of it was almost imperceptible, but it was there, and she turned back to what was being said.
"...A number of years ago, His Majesty made the... unfortunate decision to say something somewhat... untoward to a priestess of the church." Lenore resisted the urge to roll her eyes. If you're going to say something, just say it outright and be done with it. The man's words were coated in so many layers of sugar she had no idea whether the king had thought ill of her wardrobe selection or threatened to kill her. Not that it made a difference, apparently.
"She responded by laying a magick on his house." She heard a quiet exhalation from Prince Jin's quarter, and supposed that he had known this much. "The provisions of this... spell... require that his eldest three descendants, accompanied by the three of you guardians, execute a number of tasks." Oh, this man was hiding something, and she well knew it. The only question was what. "It has been decided between his highness and myself that these labors will be given to the six of you one by one, so as not to overwhelm you."
"Why us?" Lenore countered, and the man had the grace to look slightly taken aback at the blunt question. He recovered quickly enough though, and returned fire with a nonanswer.
"That is not necessary to the completion of the tasks, Miss."
Lenore's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, and she gently set down her knife and fork, lest she find herself tempted to use them. Such a thing would be dishonorable, and she had no desire to make a disgrace of herself. The implications to her family would be deplorable. "On the contrary, Your Holiness, an understanding of why we were chosen for this task may give us a clue as to which qualities and actions would suit best those things which you ask us to do for you."
Her logic was sound, and the both of them knew it. The High Priest's snake-oil pleasantness receded into a scowl that fit his face better. To her surprise, though, it was the king who answered. "He won't tell you because we don't know," Edolas replied, apparently desirous of a chance to get one over on the man beside him. "Much of the text of the curse was vague, and the only thing it described in detail was how to find you."
"I see. My sincerest thanks, Your majesty." Though she addressed the king, her eyes never left the High Priest, at least not until she turned back to her food.
"Your first task is to retrieve a holy relic," the churchman continued, attempting to regain control of the situation. "It's to the east, somewhere in the mountains. We don't have anything more specific than that, but rumor has it that the villagers who live at the base of the mountain have some idea as to it's exact location."