The sun was gone and the pitched voices of the notabilitliy were all now semi-shushed murmurs. If they listened carefully and looked, they would witness an ingrate and besmirch on the Imperial family, wielding his glaring eyes on the Emperor.
"Well?", His Majesty.
And Wilhelm spoke. "It is an idea." And nothing more was exchanged for next minute. The scribe interfered with an anxious disposition.
"That means you accept all responsibility for Heiress Krista, then?".
Wilhelm rapped his Index finger on the table.
"I have been thinking about that word. If I am correct, no entity exists today in the empire that has the power to pronounce an Imperial heir, is that true?" He was asking the scribe now, but the answer was known to any and every class of citizen.
"You mean other than His Majesty, yes. That is correct." The scribe answered with low enthusiasm.
"So, that would mean, for a bastard like my sister" - he looked at Krawford - "to suddenly become the 5th Heir...that means, she would have to renounce her bastard status in the first place, wouldn't it?
"I already explained this to the Lieu-",
"The status that was given to her by my mother. Well, that is, Mother and -"
Wilhelm was treading on venomous ground, and he knew it.
"The only way to destroy the the "gift" from mother to Krista, would be to legitimise mother's marriage. So there is an obvious question here. If Krista is the 5th heir, is there a 6th?"
The Emperor produced a low grating sound that could be construed as a chuckle. The scribe followed the cue from His Majesty. "Mr Wilhelm, the Emperor has asked you to serve in a delegated position for your Empire. Any other questions you may have are branded as irrelevant. Now, do you accept?"
"I suppose that's a no", replied Wilhelm with his head hung. His hands were spread over his table and they moved quite like a toddler's and his face was alive for the first time that evening.
"I beg your pardon?", the scribe.
One of those still moments had arrived once more. Krawford coughed and made to take back his seat before...
"Hmm. It doesn't interest me very much. So I think I will have to decline, respectfully, of course."
The council could not believe what they just heard.
The Lieutenent's face flushed white fast, the burly man flashed Will a cold calculating look while the scribe seemed to be participating in the mental gymnastic equivalent of picking up his severed jaw. The Emperor remained still.
"Oh? And why is that?", His Majesty with an increasingly obvious restrained tone.
"What did he call that? " Serving the Empire", Wilhelm replied without skipping a beat. "Personally, I don't quite like the idea of playing lapdog to a makeshift scheme like this on life support, not to mention a very scarcely thought one at best but overall, and you seem not to have noticed this, I don't really fancy myself my sister's keeper."
**********
The Imperial guards saluted the presence of their Vice-Captain. "How long has he been?", she asked.
"Just under 4 hours, Sir."
"At ease, Soldiers. I'll take it from here."
The VC budged the right door open herself. It creaked louder than it ever had that night, the party was over a long time ago. Moonlight from the dome windows dimly illuminated the landing area from the party, save for that, everything was pitch black. She shuffled over to the first stair before shooting the lantern upwards in her right arm. Credit to the Hall workers, this space resonated so little with the light that it could have been dead for ages, not a speck of life.
"Oy!"
A sound of a table grinding against the marble floors, then silence. At the head of the Stairwell, just a few seconds later, the figure of a pompous young gentleman materialised into the light.
"Done here?", he asked.
"Apparently", replied the VC.
He made a slow, vain descent, flinching at the lantern on the landing.
"That was quick"
"I thought so too", the VC. She handed him the lantern before striking a match. The sputtering orange flame illuminated one flaky silvery eye behind her bangs, which whirled back to Wilhelm.
"After you", she started.
The gentlemen maintained his previous pace, the lantern barely rocking at his side. She marched in a cautious manner behind him and didn't speak until they walked through the doors.
"How much have you heard?", he scoffed.
"Besides your itsy bitsy treason four hours ago?"
"I wish it was treason."
"And there we have the problem."
They passed through and the doors creaked for the final time that night. In the hallway with no windows, they huddled together within the circle of artifical light.
"Can I at least assume you learned something this time?", she said.
Wilhelm sighed a little and did not respond for the remainder of the Palace stroll. They were outside soon, at the courtyard overlooking a road exit. A two-person carriage sat at the bottom, the driver was leaning back on the carriage with his helmet tucked over his face and both hands in a knot over the horse reigns.
"How long do you think the captain waited to catch me like this? But he had to let me go again", Wilhelm began.
"So that's definitely a no. And thanks for all those other times by the way. "
"Something's wrong. They're not trying to flake me out, they might actually need me."
"Don't you mean Krista?"
Wilhelm shook his head.
"I can't believe he summoned the council just to talk to me."
The orange light died away naturally as they trotted down to the carriage. Will handed the lantern to the startled driver and sat on the right.
He turned to see the face of the Vice Captain, bathing in ocean blue moonlight. Both her eyes were visible now, a sharp reflective white sitting on rough brown skin. Will thought of the first time they had met while she muttered gibberish with the driver.
"And where to?", she turned to him with that sarcastic 'my-lord' expression.
He paused.
"There's something I want to find out."
After groaning, "Of course" , she replied.
The horses started on a slow canter and the carriage was in motion.
"Is the guard is having Krista followed?"
"I don't know anything about that."
"I see. Thanks. Home is fine."
The VC rolled her eyes at the obvious answer. Soon, they left the realm of darkness into a boulevard lit by garden lamps on both sides. Wilhelm seemed to be looking wistfully out the window. The VC considered him for a moment before asking, in a solemn tone, "What are you going to do?" A third party would have seen a hint of sympathy in her eyes.
"What I always do. Absolutely anything else."