Under the soft glow of street lanterns, the carriage glided over the paved streets of Bellanue. Romane and Sabrina were seated opposite each other. Though she tried to hide it, Sabrina looked nervous. During the time they had spent together the elf had gotten used being around humans. She and Romane had grown to be close friends, and she was a natural choice for a handmaiden. Wherever Romane went, Sabrina was close by. Her presence reassured Romane, especially now, on the way to the King an hour before midnight.
Romane herself was slightly intrigued, but mostly apprehensive. This was the King they were meeting; he who held dominion over the Semme and its surroundings. Romane could only imagine how Sabrina felt. She smiled reassuringly at her elf, and Sabrina's eyes lit up in the blue streetlight. Throughout the trip they maintained a comfortable silence.
The carriage came to a stop behind the North wall of the Seagate Palace. They both alighted into the warm night. Romane wore a light summer dress trimmed with gold cloth, as befit her station. Sabrina was dressed in leather breeches and a smooth shirt under a coat with the Montrouge crest at the breast. The Lady and her elf servant were ushered by armoured guards through a small gate. Inside the massive courtyard the Palace towered above them. It was the largest building East of the Middle Sea, and it was quite a sight during the day. In the moonlight however, it looked like a vampire's layer, shrouded in darkness.
Romane was led through more back doors further and further into the Palace. They were eventually shown into a huge room with impossibly high ceilings. The walls were painted red and adorned with all sorts of maps and charts. There were no windows, all light came from the magical lights on the walls and the ceiling. In the middle of the room was a large rectangular table lined on all sides with empty seats. On the table was a model of the known world, mountains, rivers, valleys and all. The only two occupants of the room was a squirrelly man with grey hair and glasses standing overlooking the world. Next to him at the head of the table was King Guitart II, steepling his hands as frowned in thought.
Romane heard Sabrina let out a silent gasp. Maybe it was not the best idea to bring her along, but it would have been inappropriate to leave her home unaccompanied. Luckily, they had not been noticed, allowing Sabrina a fleeting moment to catch her breath. Romane strode over to the King, stopping and courtsing as low as she could five strides from him. Sabrina followed her lead. Romane cleared her throat, and announced herself. "Your Majesty! Romane Montrouge de Verry."
The King turned toward them. "A pleasure my lady. Please, dispense with the formalities, this is an informal meeting after all. Have a seat." The small man behind the King pulled out a seat next to his liege. Sabrina followed Romane as she took her seat, but the elf remained standing behind Romane, as a servant should. The King continued: "Romane, do you know how the world works?" He poured her a glass of wine.
"I know the basics, Your Majesty." She took a sip. It tasted sweet in her mouth and it burned her throat and lit up her stomach. "My guardians tutored me before I left for University."
"Well it's time for a refresher." The grey haired man handed the King a long stick. His Majesty rose and so did Romane. Using is stick he waved over an area of the map. "This is the Kingdom of the Semme. Closest to the center of the South of the World. West is the Apelburg Empire, North is the Emirate of Nuru, South is Vindelori, now styling itself a Theocracy, and East is the Middle Sea. Rearen, Quinca and Kriche across the Sea need not concern us; only the Republic of Sebovel. The world exists in balance; the Apelburgians cannot hope to penetrate the Semme with their horses, so they do not attack us, instead opting for Nuru in the North. In turn, Nuru depends on us for trade and raw materials, with which they have kept Apelburg at bay. To protect against the roving armies of the emperor the King of Vindelori swore fealty to my ancestor, King Ander. Apelburg could not attack them lest they start a war with us. And that is how Apelburg was prevented from swallowing up the whole world, and there was a balance, with The Semme at the center."
"A golden age Your Majesty," Romane commented. The King seemed to enjoy the sound of his voice. Romane meant to let him do most of the talking; let him give most of the information while she barely reciprocated. Maybe he might let something slip.
"Hah! Indeed it was. It all changed when Sebovel became a republic after a bloody revolution. A core tenet of the new Republic was that magic belonged to every man without regulation. They meant to take back Conjunction sites, where Vanheim's Seal is thin. They beat Rearen from the Thirteen Peaks and soon set their sights for the Semme. For decades they attacked us. Small skirmishes annually but they could never get past the Tether; the strip of the land at the narrowest point of the Middle Sea that connected the East and West. Eventually someone realized this and soon they turned to treachery." The King was now more animated. This part of History apparently made him angry.
"The vile Republicans have no honour, Your Majesty," Romane added. The King's nostrils flared and his eyes shone.
"They have nary a scrap of it. They bribed the priests of Vindelori, who then systematically assassinated any who might oppose them. This included a lot of mages. When the Republic attacked, resistance in Vindelori was practically non-existent. Vindelori declared independence and aided the Republican invasion. Our earliest battles were all losses. The bastards could have rode all the way to our door had it not been for your mother. She summoned forth a gigantic wave that drowned thousands of men as they crossed over the Tether. The Blue Terror they called her after."
"It must have been a sight to behold Your Majesty."
"Indeed. After that Vindelori settled for independence and dropped ambitions of conquest. Without their allies Sebovel took several losses. We could have beaten them back had your mother not got pregnant."
Romane gulped, suddenly cold. Did the King hold her culpable for the loss of the war?
The King however, did not notice Romane's tension, and he plowed on. "There was a stalemate in the months that followed. There had been years of fighting and everyone was tired. We were forced to compromise. The Semme was safe but we lost the Tether and Vindelori became independent." He sounded extremely bitter. "I understand Vindelori immediately formed an inquisition to hunt and kill any loyalists, especially your parents. I heard that your father defended you to his last breath after your mother's death. Such a shame that."
"Indeed Your Majesty."
King Guitart sighed and sat down. Romane followed suit. "I actually knew your mother. Only in passing however. I also believe I met your father once in court."
"I never met either of them, Your Majesty."
"Sadly tragic. My father still lived during the war, he spoke regularly with your mother. He commanded her directly, you see, and he used her sparingly. But when your mother took to the field her enemies would cry like spanked children as death surely awaited them. Unfortunately, your mother and my father never got along well. The Blue Terror always wanted more freedom, but my father wanted to fight honorably, pah!"
Romane remained silent as the King took a long drag from his glass.
"Which brings me to the reason you are here. The University will have me believe you might someday surpass your mother. Also that you were at the head of an unusually talented group of mages. It is no secret that I have been building an army since I rose to the throne. I mean to take back the land we lost, and beat the Theocracy back into submission. You and your mages will be the shining jewel of my army, the mace that will crush the skulls of my enemies." He had a predatory look in his eye. "This is your chance for revenge, for your parents."
"Revenge?" Romane had never thought of her parents as needing to be avenged. She hardly thought of them at all. She had Uncle and Nan.
"Yes! Think of what they took from you. You never had a mother to guide you as you grew, or a father to protect you from the dangers of the world." Nan had been like a mother to Romane, and she grew up in Bellanue, not particularly known for insecurity. But she took the King's meaning. "A bond with one's parents can never be faked; it is special and they took that from you." Now that she thought of it, Nan always wanted to use her to climb the social ladder. "And your lands, your birthright, taken from you before your birth. You ought to be living like a Highland Lord, yet here you eke out an existence among petty merchants. Simple upstart commoners who got lucky to come into money." Romane felt her blood getting hotter. The King's words had made her angry. She deserved better, and they had taken everything from her.
The King must have noticed. He smiled, leaned back in his chair and continued, "They took your life from you before you were even born. You can reclaim it all and more if you fight in my army." His big arm clasped her shoulder. "But I need a fire to burn inside you, the same that burns inside me, the flame that will engulf our enemies. Can I count on you to be my fiery mace?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I live to serve." Romane pushed her seat back and knelt before her King. She bowed her head low that he might not see her gnashing her teeth. Maybe it was the wine, but Romane felt hot and angry.
"Excellent! Rise." He gestured to the man behind him who took a shallow bow. "This is Amon Rurigen, Minister of War. Tell her of my plans."
"A pleasure to meet you My Lady," he had the voice of a sweet old man. "His Majesty plans to have you and your comrades organized into a unit directly under my command. You are to be made into a captain. There will be grumbles as you command barely over half a viginta but they will be silenced when they see you in action. With Nuru in political turmoil, pirates have formed a federation in the Badlands to the North. You will wipe out their fleet as your first mission. You and your unit will do this alone, with no help." That was a tall order. Romane was not battle tested, so she knew not how this would go. "When you succeed, your actions will warrant a promotion. The King will raise you to Marshal." Romane's eyes went wide. There were an awful lot of rungs between Captain and Marshal. People would be impressed. Others would be upset. That might be a problem.
The King cut in. "So, there you have it. Kill some pirates then we burn the South. Simple."
"I live to serve, Your Majesty."
"Excellent. I believe that is all for the day. It goes without saying that we never met tonight."
"Of course, Your Majesty. My lips are sealed."
"I'm more worried about your elf." Romane heard a sharp breath from behind her.
"I trust her with my life."
The King laughed. "Poor choice of words, considering how her kind left Vanheim to die. But if you trust her then so do I. I want us to become friends, you and I. Soon you will be my right hand."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"You're dismissed Countess Romane."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Romane and Sabrina left as they had come. In the corridor Romane heard Sabrina breath heavily. She had been holding her breath. They were led back to their carriage by cowled servants. Outside, the moon was obscured by clouds. Soon they were headed back home.
"Whew, that was intense," Sabrina said. Romane could see her big eyes in the dim light. "Thank you. I think you literally saved my life."
"Don't mention it."
"No really. I'm worth less than an ant compared to the King so thank you." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Also I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"What happened to your parents."
"It's fine. It wasn't your fault. And besides, I didn't know my parents."
"I can see it on your face. The King struck a nerve. Do you want to talk about it?"
Romane reached over and wrapped her arms around Sabrina. Romane closed her eyes as Sabrina rubbed her back in small circles. "I'm not sure how I feel. I can't describe it."
"Loss, you're feeling loss. I know how it feels." It was a new sensation for Romane. It gnawed at her heart and made it feel heavy.
"I think I'm angry too."
"I think that's what the King wanted. You're not alone though. I go where you go." Sabrina pulled away. "I have never done this before so I hope I do it right." She knelt at Romane's feet. "I swear my life unto you Countess de Verry."
Romane chuckled. "A life is a big thing to swear away, and you have only one…"
"I'm being serious, Romane. I go where you go. I swear to love you and serve you for as long as I live."
"'Love' me? Is this a wedding?"
"Don't tease me, you know what I mean."
"I also know that you have only one life that you've swore away to me. I can't let you do that."
"Well oaths are a one way deal, I'm not letting you say no."
"Can you tell me why at least."
"You've always done right by me, even though I'm an elf, and you're human nobility. And for all your whining about one life you just told the King you trust me with yours. That makes me feel...like… I don't think there are even words to describe that."
"I didn't know you could be this dramatic."
"Don't tease me Romane. I'm being serious."
"Okay, okay. I'll stop. I was enjoying it though."
"No doubt. So tell me my Lady, what now?"
"We follow the King's plan obviously."
"If you don't mind me saying, you're being rather terse. You can tell me anything. What's on your mind?"
"For the longest time, I wanted to be the most powerful. I had it all planned out. Rise through the military, fight wars, get medals, bring glory to my family and all that. It was such an idealistic goal, and simple too. You know, I never stopped to consider that people die in wars, and I have to do the killing. I have to if I want to take back what they took from me. You know the story, they killed my parents, could have killed me too. They took everything that was mine before I was even born. They had no right. I have to kill them to have it back. I'm not sure how I feel about that."
"Do you really want to reclaim your estate in the South?"
"Of course I do. It's my birthright."
"Then you'll have to hurt people to take it. You know that. You've always known. I think you've been denying reality, purposefully blinding yourself to ugliness."
"Don't patronize me."
"I mean no offence, but I won't have you lie to yourself. You're really smart and really, really gifted but all that is useless without willpower. You have to WANT things bad enough to do bad things. The people who took everything from you, wanted it bad enough to kill your parents. Do you want to take back what you lost? Do you want it enough to do whatever it takes?"
"My lucky night. It seems everyone wants to stoke my anger tonight."
"You haven't answered."
"When the time comes, you'll know. And what makes you such an expert on willpower and murder?"
Sabrina's face darkened. "When I was ten, our caravan was ambushed. There are no laws protecting elves so we were free game. They came at night when we slept. I woke up to screams and flames. My mother shoved me forward through the carnage. And I ran and ran. I didn't even realize she was no longer behind me until someone caught me and wrestled me to the ground. He was going to rape and kill me. But I wanted to live. I wanted to live so bad I grabbed his knife from his belt and shoved it as hard as I could up his eye socket. Then I ran and ran to the nearest caravan. I stayed with them for a couple of years until I came to University."
"You never thought to tell me this before?"
"You never asked." She shrugged. "Look, what I'm saying is, it's a cruel world out there. You've lived in its beauty for all your life. I hope you're ready for the ugliness."
Romane stopped for a moment and considered all she had heard. She never knew Sabrina had such a dark past. A bad thing had happened to Sabrina, and she'd done something bad to escape. Bad things had happened to Romane, she was about to do something heinous to correct it. They were not the same by any means, but Romane knew what she had to do.
Romane glanced at her friend. "Thank you." They were pulling up to the villa. The clouds had cleared and the moon was shining coldly once more. "I've made up my mind. I have a new goal in life."