Arthur and Ilse smiled at Amir, she had stopped crying and in their short moments of privacy, he felt that they had come to a conclusion.
Arthur placed his hands on the table and looked into Amir's eyes, "We will treat you as our adopted son." He lovingly looked at Ilse, "We had planned on adopting children from war torn areas after we had successfully had an heir, but what does one more hurt, eh?"
Arthur chuckled and handed his wife a glass of blue wine in a larger cup, clearly prepared for her stature.
"Uncle, we are done. Thank you for shielding this moment from the rest of the Emperors." He toasted to an empty spot at the table and the man unveiled himself instantly.
"You are very welcome. And Amir, we will speak, but first you must live your life in this new world. I will come for you in a few years but first I must see to a woman about...love." He winked and they all returned to the room, their glasses and plate of melted cheese was gone. It was like they had never even left.
Amir was stunned and was about to speak when he was cut off by Ilse who spoke in a stern manner, "We will treat you with respect as a foreign soul, but you will not inherit any titles." She looked at Arthur, "You are to be a disgrace for the Royal Family." She nodded slightly at him.
Amir was slightly confused but he soon realized the reason behind the shift in tone, 'Other Emperors could be watching, just like Uncle was.'
He nodded, "I understand, I thank you for your hospitality."
Ilse waved her hand, "We will continue as a normal family, obviously. Nobody must know about this secret. Do you understand? If other Kingdoms recieved wind of this, it could mean war..." She left the word hanging in the air, 'She is an amazing actor, wow.'
Amir nodded, "Nobody will know, I won't tell a soul!" He laughed and they all cracked smiles.
----------------------------------------------
They spoke for a few moments about what to expect in the short term, Amir was going to have a difficult time if he couldn't adapt, but Arthur said he believed in him....'I guess I will have to wait and find out what is going on.' He had a sneaking suspicion that it would be the black orb that Ilse had spoken about.
Amir stood up quickly as the previous people began to walk back into the room.
The Giant walked slowly as he seemed to eye Amir up and down.
The lady who had previously been interrupted, walked in next, she had a small folder open as she began to read, "My Queen, it seems the Elders have released the results of the Rites. Your vassals are unsatisfied with the results. Duke Frostforge is demanding council immediately, as many of his faction are." The plain looking human bowed and walked to take her seat.
The rest of the High Command took their places and the weird looks to Amir continued. He could almost taste the confusion in their stares.
Ilse and her aides were speaking and coordinating when the first Giant finally asked, "Queen. What is wrong with your boy?" He glared and seemed disappointed when Amir looked at him blankly.
She waved her people away, "It is not of your concern. He was rated low for a reason. The Elders are snakes." She smiled, "It will come out what happened one day. Then you will understand."
The man nodded and cocked his head side to side, "Good enough for me. But do you mind if I test him?"
He was cracking his neck when he got the wave from Ilse. Dione stood and stomped over to Amir, barely drawing an eye from Ilse.
'Ah...I see the issue.' He nodded, violence is key to Giants. He looked around the room and noticed plenty of powerful looking people, but he would wager that she could take them all on and sip her wine in the process.
As he was lost in his thoughts, the last step was resounding through the room.
"Stand. Boy." Dione grabbed the chair and slid it backwards.
Amir felt awkward as he stood, then asked, "Am I supposed to do something now?"
Dione frowned and eyed him from above, "What kind of 'thing' are you? Not a Giant. Not a human." He looked back at Ilse, "What sort of thing did you spawn from your cold cunt?"
Arthur smiled.
Amir felt the heat, 'Is it getting toasty in here?' he wanted to take his shirt off but he didn't have one.
He felt the itching. 'Stop. Stop.' It was crawling back up.
'Cold cunt. Cold cunt. Cold cunt.' He frowned.
"Cold cunt." He muttered, the heat was intense but it was mixing.
He blinked, red?
"What is happening?" He nearly stumbled as Dione laughed, "What a pussy! He will never be King." He laughed and the room was eerily quiet.
Dione noticed it wasn't working, "So, Arthur, how long does it take you to heat up that cold cu-" he was half way through the word as a flaming fist smashed into his armor, it barely moved him.
He smiled wickedly, "There he is. There is my King."
Dione grabbed Amir and squeezed his hand, "Feel it. Boy." the pressure continued increasing until he could barely stand it, then his world went blue. Frost flowed up his body from his hand, layering him in a coat of Ice.
He blinked and broke his eyes free, the rage was fleeting. Then Amir said, "That was kind of you, thanks for cooling me off." He shook his body for a moment and then sat back down with a blank face, hoping he passed whatever test just took place.
'Always with the testing...' He wanted to sigh but remained silent.
Amir could see on Dione's face that he was reevaluating and planning everything from scratch. The shifting in the Giant's seat was a dead giveaway.
The meeting continued for a few minutes before Dione finally spoke up again, "My Queen, I believe we can undo the Duke's alliances with the strength of your son."
He was eyeing Prince Ymir and hoping he wouldn't hold a grudge. He figured with the prince's score on his Rite of Knowledge, he should understand what a power move was....hopefully.
With a blink he refocused, "I believe we can bait the Duke into a civil war if your son participates in the Biannual Tournament."
Ilse turned her head to her husband, "It could work." then he nodded towards Amir, "What do you think, do you want to fight for your honor as a Royal?"
Amir blinked, "Uh, not particularly." he felt like scratching his head and walking out, but he noticed the stares intensify as Arthur's smile grew wide.
Ilse sprouted one as well, "No matter. We can reevaluate the plan, we have much time to spend together." She waved her hand as if she was done.
The people shuffled back out, humans and Giants mixing and mingling as coworkers. Many threw terrible glances towards Amir on their way out.
Dione was happy with the display of weakness the prince showed. The boy was his mother's son alright, he figured out that the rumors would spread of a coward prince and ignite the war, all in a few moments.
'This will be a glorious era. Brain and brawn. Plus a mythological, uncounterable typing? It will be perfect.'
He was about to step out when the door slammed shut and Ice flowed like water around his ankles.
He heard her voice screech across the room, "What was that about a 'cold cunt'?"
Dione cursed, "Ah, sheit. Not again."