“Sit, Aiva, join me,” I cajoled her when she returned. “Don’t make your Empress eat alone.”
“So, tell me,” I pried. “You said you went on a date the other night, has there been a second one?”
“Um… Well… Actually, yes, there has,” Aiva flushed with embarrassment. “We went out together last night after my shift.”
“And…?” I prompted her.
“It… it went well,” she replied, clearly both reluctant and flustered by my inquiries.
“Do you think anything will come of it?”
“I hope so,” she replied quickly.
“Who is it? Do I know this person?” I asked curiously.
“Um... Yes, you do know him, but he asked me not to tell you,” Aiva replied, earning my most intense stare.
“You know I can’t let that go,” I glared at her.
“Please?”
“No,” I held her gaze. “You messed up by telling me that he doesn’t want me to know.”
“Georl,” she whispered. “I’ve been seeing Georl.”
Whoa! That was interesting.
“Are you upset?” Aiva asked as she misread my reaction.
“No, not at all,” I replied. “I’m happy for both of you. I just didn’t expect that.”
“Yeah,” Aiva chuckled. “We get a lot of that.”
I imagined that was true—while I demanded tolerance, that didn’t mean that certain pairings weren’t surprising. And burly Georl the half-orc with Aiva, the fair, blond elf, was definitely one of those.
“Well, if things develop further between you,” I teased her. “I’ll have to have the two of you over for dinner.”
“I’d like that,” Aiva replied, surprising me.
I let the conversation drop after that and focused on the food. After skipping breakfast, I was absolutely starving, and I enjoyed the simple meal of cold meats and cheese that she had brought up for me from the barracks kitchen immensely. When we finished, Aiva and the guards escorted me to my briefing with Broda and Venna, who would update me on the progress drafting the Imperial Charter.
“Well, Empress,” Venna began as I sat down in her office. “I’m pleased to inform you that the Charter of The First Sintári Empire is coming along well. As you know, the basic outline has already been agreed to, and the details are slowly being worked out.”
“Remarkably, the main obstacle to our progress has been strangely silent,” Broda added. “It was the representative from Íforn that resisted almost every proposal yesterday, but he uttered nary a peep today.”
“Did you tell her?” I asked as I looked at Venna.
“Of course, I did,” Venna replied bluntly. “She’s our Ambassador and she needed to know.”
“What’s your opinion then, Broda?”
“She’s pledged her oath to you, and her representative has signed the preliminary accords,” Broda noted. “Líann can’t back out now, but she’ll only be bound to the terms of the Charter, nothing more. I wouldn’t expect any favors from Íforn if I were you.”
Favors like the scribes I so desperately needed.
“I’ve asked Nadiel for Curates who can cast resurrection spells. I intended to get scribes from Líann to supply us with scrolls, but it seems that I’m going to need a different plan.”
“Yes,” Venna replied. “We’ve been made aware of this issue and we’re working on it for you, but Íforn really was our best option.”
“That’s just super encouraging, Venna. Thanks,” I grumbled.
“I promise that we’re doing all we can,” Broda jumped in.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I know that you are. I’m just a bit frustrated.”
After discussing the difficult problem with Íforn, we went over a few of the more critical provisions of the Charter, and with everything in order, we called it a night.
Once I’d climbed up the stairs to my chambers, I was looking forward to relaxing and having another restful night’s sleep, but Karina stopped us before we entered the foyer and delivered some very unwanted news.
“You have a visitor, Empress,” she announced. “Thelmé, aide to Queen Líann, is waiting for you in your office.”
“Why did you let her in there?” I asked somewhat angrily. “We made no appointment for her, and I didn’t agree to see her.”
“Forgive me,” Karina replied. “That was my decision. She came here begging to see you and refused to leave when we told her you weren’t here. She sat on the steps for an hour before I finally let her wait inside, and she’s been sitting there waiting for another hour since.”
Thelmé’s apparent desperation intrigued me and overcame my sense of irritation at the woman’s presumption, so I decided to hear what she had to say. When I strode through the entry and into my office, Thelmé was wringing her hands nervously, but rose immediately from her chair and took a knee before me, a gesture of recognition that she had not offered the night before.
“What is so important that you felt compelled to intrude on my privacy, Thelmé?” I asked her harshly.
“Please, Empress, if we might discuss the matter alone?” She replied shakily.
“I’m not inclined to offer you any courtesies at the moment.”
“Empress,” she begged. “I have failed my Queen. Please do not make me disclose the details of that failure in front of others.”
The utter sense of regret and remorse in her voice moved me to give in to her request, and I dismissed the guards so that we could continue the discussion in private.
“Thank you, Empress,” Thelmé exhaled as the guards left.
“I have honored your request, but my patience is thin, get to the point.”
Thelmé nodded and began to hurriedly explain why she had come.
“I’ve been with her since the day she was born,” Thelmé began wistfully. “With her mother gone, and her father so close to death himself, the whole Kingdom was in a panic over what might happen if she took the throne unprepared. So, as soon as we could, we filled her head with every scrap of knowledge that we thought might be useful to her. We did everything in our power to mold her into a good Queen, and in most ways, we succeeded.”
“Unfortunately, what we overlooked was imparting her with any of the skills that would help her become a good person. She’s cold and distant and has little sense of tact in personal matters. I have no idea what she did to offend you, Empress, because she refused to tell me what she intended to discuss with you, but I beg you to consider her transgressions as mine. Whatever faults she has, they are there because we failed her, and I take full responsibility for the trouble she has caused. I only ask that you see her and tell her she’s forgiven.”
“You want me to just forgive her? After what she did?” I asked her angrily as I rose from my chair and towered over her. “After what she said to me?”
“I don’t know what happened, Empress, she won’t tell me! But you must forgive her, or she’ll die,” Thelmé pleaded.
“I’m not prone to histrionics or manipulation, Thelmé,” I cautioned her.
“Please believe me! It’s true, I swear!” Thelmé implored desperately. “She hasn’t moved from her bed since you left, and all she asks for is more wine. Then she just mutters about how she ruined everything and that there’s no point in going on.”
“I’m going down there with a full escort,” I glared at her in warning. “If I see any sign of treachery or if you’re lying to me, Thelmé, I’ll slit your throat myself.”
“Thank you, Empress!” She cried.
“Don’t thank me yet,” I cautioned her as we left. “All I’m doing is taking a look.”
I took a double detail of guards with me, but there were no signs of any deception as we made our way down to the guest suites. Karina and Aiva led the way as we entered Líann’s rooms, but nothing seemed amiss. However, when they went to open the door to Líann’s room for me, Thelmé begged me to stop them.
“Please don’t let them see her like t
his,” she pleaded.
“Hold off,” I ordered them.
“Empress, we should check first, before you enter,” Karina objected.
Instead of answering, I drew the Essence Blade and extended it to full length. With it, I was not only armed, but in Melía’s Armor and with my orbs at my disposal, I felt that I had little to fear.
“Wait outside. If it’s a trick, I’ll kill her first,” I said as I pushed Thelmé forward.
Once I entered the room, it became all too obvious that this was no elaborate ruse. Líann lay in her bed, passed out and still wrapped in her forest green robe. Her head drooped off to the side, and her long blond hair hung in ragged, uncombed clumps. When I approached her closely, I could tell that she had been crying, and the slew of empty bottles that were strewn about the side table and on the floor attested to the volume of alcohol she had consumed. She looked pitiful, and as I pulled up a chair to sit next to where she lay on the bed, I gave Thelmé a single command.
“Bring me a glass of water, then leave us.”
Thelmé quickly dashed out and retrieved the water for me, and I pushed aside some of the empty wine bottles to make room on the cluttered table before setting the glass aside for the moment. As I watched Líann sleeping restlessly, I pondered just how I was going to deal with her.
She was an arrogant bitch, of that I was certain, but did that mean that I couldn’t forgive her? And what about her claim of fate? With all that I’d seen and been through, was that really something I could ignore? And then, there were the scribes. I needed them, and the fucking bitch had them. There was a lot to consider, but ultimately, I needed Líann to answer a few questions before I could decide what to do. So, I woke her up. With the glass of water. In the face.
“How dare you!” She screeched. “I’ll rip your—”
“What exactly will you be ripping, Líann?” I asked when she saw me and fell silent.
“I didn’t know it was you,” she replied self-consciously as she drew the covers about herself and ran her fingers through the tangled mass of her hair.
“It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think?” I said flatly.
“It’s a bit late for a number of things,” she whispered as she avoided my gaze.
“How about instead of treating me like a whore, you explain yourself,” I offered sharply.
“Would you even listen?” She replied as she finally looked at me.
Her pale blue irises stared at me hopefully and stood out starkly against the background of her red-rimmed and bloodshot eyes.
“I’ll listen, Líann,” I told her. “But that’s all I can promise you.”
“I… I don’t know how to do this,” she confessed awkwardly after a moment. “I’ve never had a real conversation.”
“Never?” I asked skeptically. “You never talked about regular things with someone before?”
“No,” she whispered. “It was always just budgets, diplomacy, negotiations, and the like. No one ever tried to talk to me about anything else, and if I’m going to be honest, I never tried either.”
“Why not?” I prompted her, as I realized I’d already won this round.
“I suppose I was too young at first,” she began. “Then, when I was older, I’d already gotten a reputation as somewhat… distant, so they didn’t bother. There were suitors, of course, but I’ve already told you why I never entertained them.”
“Líann?”
“Yes, Empress?”
“You just had a conversation.”
“Did I?” She questioned.
“I’m pretty sure that you did.”
“That wasn’t so hard,” she mused.
“I don’t think you’ll feel the same way about what comes next,” I reminded her.
“No, I suppose not,” she said as she slumped back against the bed.
“Tell me everything, Líann,” I instructed her as I discreetly cast See Truth. “If you want to have any hope of salvaging things, you can’t lie or hold back on me.”
The little twinge of hopefulness returned to her eyes as she looked at me and began to tell her tale.
“I was young when I first realized what I told you,” she began slowly. “It came to me first in a dream. I saw myself with someone—someone very powerful. I never knew who it was, but I could sense them standing beside me. Even now, I can still feel the energy that came to me in those dreams. The raw power that flowed into me was exhilarating; beyond anything I could imagine.”
“Of course, I didn’t believe that they were anything more than nighttime fantasies at first, but they remained with me for years, and only grew stronger with time. It was only two days after my coronation when I experienced the dream for the first time while I was awake. That was when I knew that it was something more.”
“I was sitting alone in my study when I felt the power emanating beside me. It was so familiar to me by then that I recognized it immediately. I panicked when I realized that I was awake and not dreaming it that time, but the feeling faded almost as suddenly as it had come, and I thought that I’d only imagined it.”
“But that wasn’t the case. The energy returned several more times, growing stronger on each occasion, until finally, it spoke to me. Not in words, but in images that it sent into my mind. I saw—no—I felt what my future held. The destiny that I told you of. I knew that my fate would be tied to the most powerful person this world has ever known. I saw myself as destined to be Queen, not just of Íforn, but of all Arrika. The vision never came to me again after that. It didn’t need to; its purpose was complete. I had finally understood its message.”
“When I first heard the King of Dhel-Ar call you Empress, I wondered if it was you that I’d been promised. And then, when you placed your hand over mine as I took my oath, I felt your touch and recognized the energy inside you. It is the same powerful energy that I felt in my dreams and in my mind. I confess, I was overwhelmed at first, but then I became intoxicated by the thought of the power I would have and the glory of the Empire I would build with your might. As you can tell, my thoughts were quite selfish, and as you already know, my arrogance was my downfall.”
“I have no excuses to offer you, Empress,” she confessed. “I’m a rather dreadful person, but you asked me to tell you everything; to leave nothing out, and so I have.”
Everything she’d said was true, and the story was beginning to sound quite familiar to me. Somehow, some way, this world kept sending me broken people, people who not only needed me, but people I would need as well, even if I didn’t realize it at the time. And as Líann finished speaking, I heard Venna’s voice echoing in my head, “I don’t think any of what happens is about providing you with what you want. It’s about providing you with what you need.”
“You’re right, Líann,” I sighed in resignation as I stood to leave. “You are a truly dreadful person, and the most dreadful thing about you right now is how bad you smell. If you can tend to that before we share lunch tomorrow in my office, I’d be willing to see what we can do to address the rest of your shortcomings.”
Líann flushed with embarrassment at my comment and pulled the blankets around herself even more tightly as she nodded in acknowledgement. I left her without saying anything else. She had told me a great deal already, and it was probably too soon to push her for much more.
Dealing with Líann’s issues was going to be a delicate matter. She was a grown woman, a Queen, but lacked any real social skills. Her power and position had allowed her to ignore those failings, but now, when she was confronted by someone with an even higher status, she could no longer rely on those things to shield her from the consequences of her awful behavior. And then there was the other issue. My real dilemma.
Líann had a virtually life-long vision of being by my side, a position that Tási occupied, and one that I was not going to relinquish to her. What that meant and where that would lead, I had no idea, but it was definitely not going to go where Líann had originally intended. But no matter what t
he eventual outcome was, I was certain that my future would include adding Líann into the delicate balance of my life. The only real question was, in what capacity would that be? Friend, lover, or something else entirely? Only time would tell.
“Please tell me my Queen is better, Empress,” Thelmé begged as I exited the room.
“We have begun to mend our fences,” I told her flatly.
“Thank you, Empress! Thank you!” The woman gushed.
“Thelmé,” I looked at the woman who was nearly in tears. “I’m going to give you an order, and as your Empress, I expect you to follow it. To. The. Letter.”
“What is it?” She asked, barely managing to conceal her concern.
“You are going stop treating her like a fucking princess,” I commanded her. “When she acts like a bitch, you will call her out on it. If she treats someone poorly, you will correct her; discreetly, of course. You will do all this and more. You will begin addressing your mistakes from this day forward, and if she gives you any trouble about it, you will let me know immediately and I will set her straight myself. Do you understand?”
“I don’t know if I can do that, Empress,” Thelmé hesitated.
“If you are unwilling to help fix what you have broken, you need to let me know right now,” I replied as I glared at her, “and I will see that you are replaced by someone who is able to serve her better.”
“I… I serve the Queen, you cannot replace me,” Thelmé objected.
“You serve Líann, and Líann serves me,” I corrected her harshly. “Now, you either follow my command or I’ll have you washing dishes!”
“I… I’ll try, Empress. I swear I will,” she promised.
“Thelmé,” I offered her, “She won’t like it much, especially at first, but it’s what she needs, and I think you know that.”
Then I decided to add a little something else for her to consider.
“I’m sure she’s made your life miserable more than once over the years,” I whispered to her conspiratorially. “Now’s your chance to pay the bitch back.”
Thelmé’s eyes lit up when she recognized the opportunity that had been presented to her, and the corners of her mouth curled into a slight grin as she nodded back at me slowly.
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