Needs of the Empire

by Christopher Mitchell

  ‘One of Noli’s boys,’ she said, pulling her cloak off and handing it to a servant. ‘Thymo.’

  ‘Thymo?’ Sami said. ‘Named after that dickhead she’s married to?’

  ‘Noli’s husband’s dead, Sami.’

  Sami laughed, then stopped and began to weep.

  Shella shook her head.

  ‘That’ll be all, Jodie. Thanks,’ she said, turning to the secretary.

  Jodie bowed. ‘See you in the morning, your Highness.’

  She got down to one knee and gave Thymo a hug. The boy squirmed, and Jodie laughed and gave him a kiss on the top of his head .

  ‘See you later, little prince.’

  Shella caught Daly’s eye as Jodie left her quarters.

  ‘And how have you been, Daly?’

  ‘Very well, your Highness, thank you.’ He gazed down at the boy. ‘We got advance notice of young Thymo. A Holdings mage relayed the information to the palace some time ago, and a courtier let us know.’

  Shella sat on a couch opposite Sami, who had fallen asleep, and poured herself a drink.

  ‘I see the authorities have relaxed the alcohol ban.’

  ‘Not exactly,’ Daly said. ‘I’m not sure how his Highness procured the bottle. He has become rather… resourceful in your absence.’

  ‘You mean sneaky?’

  ‘Quite. Of course, I informed him that church agents would be keeping him under surveillance, but he’s managed to slip out at night sometimes. He always returns by dawn, and refuses to answer any questions as to his whereabouts.’

  She took a sip, then spat it back into the glass.

  Daly raised an eyebrow. ‘It must be bad.’

  Shella glanced over at a servant. ‘Water, please.’

  ‘As I was saying,’ Daly went on, ‘the church authorities are aware of the young gentleman here.’

  Thymo looked up at the old secretary.

  ‘Oh yeah?’ Shella said. ‘What’s their angle?’

  ‘Some are saying that he is a prince, others that such talk is premature. I’m confused, your Highness. Did you not sign a disclaimer, promising not to take an heir?’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘Have you changed your position?’

  She shook her head. ‘I can’t control what goes on in the minds of the church. If they start calling Thymo a prince, then we can deny it, but I’m not sure it’ll make much difference. I suppose it depends what Guilliam does.’

  ‘I’m sure he’s got more on his mind, your Highness.’

  ‘Like what? ’

  ‘I thought you’d met with the Lord Vicar this morning, your Highness,’ Daly said. ‘Didn’t he fill you in on what’s been happening?’

  ‘I may have been a little curt with Lord Arnault.’

  ‘I see.’ Daly pursed his lips. ‘Well, it seems that the empire is fraying a little at the edges. The rebels in Rahain have won a few victories, despite the fact that the chancellor of the republic has been claiming for thirds that he is on the verge of defeating them.’

  Shella nodded. ‘I hope Daphne’s all right down there.’

  ‘There is worse news from the Sanang Realm,’ Daly said. ‘The king has been toppled by the insurgents. Apparently they are being led by a renegade fire mage. The imperial army has been rushed to the frontier, to prevent them from entering the Plateau.’

  ‘That’ll be why they finished the wall.’

  ‘Indeed, your Highness. Work began in haste as soon as the news arrived from Sanang. There have been reports of massacres and atrocities committed by the rebels, and the populace of the city got the new wall put up in no time at all.’

  ‘A fire mage, eh?’ Shella said, sipping her water. ‘Presumably the same one that escaped from Rahain last winter?’

  ‘Presumably, your Highness.’

  Shella smiled. Killop’s sister was leading a rebellion. She wondered if Daphne knew.

  ‘Anything else?’ she said.

  ‘Taxes are up,’ he said. ‘Church wardens are still cracking down on alcohol and other banned substances, though the prince has proved that no law is infallible.’

  ‘What he’s drinking barely counts as alcohol.’

  Thymo yawned.

  ‘Sorry, little man,’ she said. ‘Almost forgot you were there. Are you hungry?’

  He nodded.

  Shella glanced at Daly. ‘Would you, please?’

  ‘Of course, your Highness,’ he bowed. ‘Shall I have dinner sent up to your apartment? ’

  She stood, taking Thymo by the hand. ‘Thanks, Daly.’

  ‘Good to see you back, your Highness,’ he said, a faint smile on his lips.

  She watched as he left the reception room, surprised at the warm glow she felt at the old guy being glad to see her. She shook her head, and put her guard back up.

  She led Thymo to a side door, and they went up the back stairs. On the top floor, she took out her key and unlocked the door.

  They entered a small sitting room. Two lamps were already lit, and the fire glowed in the hearth.

  ‘Is this my new home?’ the boy said.

  ‘Yeah.’

  She began to point out the rooms. ‘That’s my bedroom, then the bathroom, a… spare room, and a study I never use. Let me clear it out, and you can have it as your room.’

  ‘What about the spare room?’

  ‘Out of the question!’ a voice barked.

  Shella looked up to see Kalayne stride across the floor, a stern expression on his face.

  ‘That’s my room,’ he said to the boy, ‘and you can’t have it.’

  ‘Hi Kalayne,’ Shella said. ‘This is Thymo.’

  The old Kellach man turned to her, scowling. ‘What’s he doing here? You know I don’t like children. He can’t stay.’

  ‘He’s staying,’ Shella said. ‘Get used to it.’

  She gazed down at Thymo, who seemed unperturbed by the old man, staring back up at him.

  Kalayne chewed his lip. ‘I’m not sure we’re all going to fit.’

  ‘Don’t pay any attention to this old basta… fool,’ Shella said to the boy.

  ‘To the contrary, madam,’ Kalayne said. ‘The boy should listen to every word I say to him.’

  He leaned over Thymo, his eyes bulging.

  ‘Be honest,’ he whispered. ‘What do you think of Shella?’

  ‘She scares me. ’

  ‘What?’ cried Shella. ‘Kalayne, stop it!’

  ‘Go on,’ the old man said, his face close to Thymo’s.

  ‘But I think she likes me. She says funny things and makes me laugh. I like her.’

  ‘There you go,’ Kalayne said, straightening up, a grin on his lips.

  ‘You fucked-up old weirdo,’ Shella said.

  Thymo laughed.

  Shella flushed.

  ‘I need a drink,’ she said. ‘We got any?’

  ‘Do you think I’m some sort of amateur?’ Kalayne said. ‘I knew you were coming, and stocked up.’

  ‘Not the dreadful shit that Sami’s been drinking?’

  Kalayne snorted. ‘Why are you insulting me?’

  He walked over to a cabinet, and opened it. Inside were racks of brandy and rum.

  ‘And,’ he said, pulling open a drawer and taking out a pouch, ‘plenty to smoke as well.’

  ‘You got this because I was coming back? You got me weed?’

  Kalayne shrugged, and grinned.

  ‘What’s weed?’ Thymo said.

  ‘Eh, it’s just for grown ups,’ she said.

  ‘None for you, my laddie,’ Kalayne said, ‘but if you’re a good boy I’ll let you have a sip of rum later.’

  ‘No you fucking won’t,’ Shella said. ‘He’s five.’

  ‘And?’

  Shella stared at him.

  There was a knock at the door.

  ‘Yeah?’ Shella yelled.

  ‘Dinner, your Highness.’

  ‘Wheel it in.’

  The door opened and servants entered, pushing a trolley fille
d with covered dishes and silver jugs.

  Shella turned, but Kalayne was already gone. She smiled.

  ‘Over by the table, please,’ she said to the servants .

  They nodded, and unloaded the trolley by a small table next to the window at the far end of the room. The shutters were closed, and a servant lit another lamp.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said, following them to the door, and closing it. She turned the key in the lock.

  ‘Excellent!’ cried a voice.

  She looked over. Kalayne was sitting, a napkin around his neck, uncovering the silver dishes on the table. Thymo was sitting next to him, clutching a fork.

  Shella sat down, and poured a glass of scented water for Thymo and herself. She looked at the dishes, her stomach rumbling. Kalayne was helping himself, while Thymo started to narrow his eyes.

  ‘This is all Holdings food,’ she said to him. ‘Wheat bread, pasta, beef, tomatoes, strange vegetables, I think that one’s called a carrot. Or an onion, I can never remember.’ She pointed at a pot, where a wisp of steam was coming from a spout. ‘This is full of tea. Watch, it’s hot.’

  She loaded a plate for him.

  ‘None of it’s spicy,’ she shrugged. ‘The people here don’t have the stomachs for it.’

  ‘Stop jabbering and let the boy eat,’ Kalayne said, looking up from his plate. ‘Anything’s got to be better than insects and disgusting fish.’

  ‘You don’t know anything about Rakanese food.’

  ‘Is that right? Are there not hot-food stalls down by the harbour, where your fellow big-eyed folk do business?’

  ‘That’s not representative of all our food,’ she said, taking a drink. ‘Have you tried any?’

  He nodded. ‘The chilli-infused locust was passable, as was the deep-fried gresyl. But I refuse to eat anything that looks like a slug.’

  Shella glanced at Thymo, who was picking at his food.

  ‘What do you think?’

  He shrugged.

  ‘I should take a look at the study,’ Shella said, ‘though you can’t sleep there tonight. You can have my bed. I’ll take the couch.’

  Thymo nodded .

  ‘A quiet one, eh?’ Kalayne said. His face twitched, and he drummed the top of the table with his fingers. ‘The couch? Hmm.’

  ‘Yeah, the couch. So?’

  He squinted.

  ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘What are you hiding? You’re acting weirder than normal.’

  ‘The couch might be a problem.’

  ‘Did you break it?’

  ‘No, don’t be ridiculous. There may however, be someone already sleeping there.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I may have let someone else stay here.’

  She narrowed her eyes. ‘A woman?’

  Kalayne cackled. ‘Unfortunately not.’ He glanced over towards the door to the study. ‘Come on out.’

  The door opened a crack, and Shella tensed.

  ‘Hi, Shella,’ said a voice she recognised.

  ‘Benel?’ she cried. ‘What the fuck?’

  The Holdings mage walked forwards, his eyes focussed on the food set out on the table. He sat, and began eating.

  ‘He’s hungry,’ Kalayne shrugged. ‘Hard enough getting food for one on the sly. Been tricky keeping him fed as well. Actually, now that wee Thymo’s here, we might do all right. We’ll have to make out he’s a big eater, mind.’

  Benel looked up at the mention of the boy’s name. He glanced at Thymo, then at Shella.

  ‘Yours?’

  ‘He is now.’

  He went back to eating.

  Shella stared at him. ‘Somebody better tell me what the fuck is going on.’

  ‘Let the poor man enjoy his food,’ Kalayne said, pouring himself a brandy. ‘I’d rather hear about how your trip to Frogtown went. Did you get a crown? ’

  She extracted it from a deep pocket in her robes, and placed it on her head, the diamond flashing in the lamplight.

  ‘I did,’ she said. ‘So fuck you.’

  Thymo laughed.

  Kalayne stared. ‘In all my fantasies from now on, you’re wearing it, and nothing else.’

  Benel raised his eyebrows, and shook his head.

  ‘One thing I’ll say about your man here,’ Kalayne said. ‘He refuses to divulge any details of your carnal experience together, despite me asking him several times.’

  She glanced at the Holdings man. He was looking thinner than before.

  Benel shrugged, pushed back his plate and sighed.

  ‘I’ll have one of those,’ he said, picking up the bottle of brandy. ‘It was me that got them, after all.’

  ‘What?’ Shella said. ‘Didn’t Kalayne get them?’

  ‘No,’ Benel replied. ‘All the booze and weed in this house was his price for letting me stay. I had to go into the Kellach quarter for it. Cost me a bloody fortune.’

  She laughed. ‘You bastard, Kalayne.’

  ‘One has to take whatever opportunities present themselves. And I did know you were coming.’

  Benel glanced at the boy next to him.

  ‘So you’re Thymo?’

  He nodded.

  ‘Are you going to be living here?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘I’m Benel,’ he said, extending his hand. ‘Nice to meet you.’

  Thymo glanced over at Shella, then shook Benel’s hand.

  ‘We’ve had a long day,’ Shella said. ‘It’s time for his bed.’

  She stood, and beckoned Thymo. ‘My room.’ She glanced over to the men sitting at the table. ‘Neither of you have been in there, right?’

  Benel shook his head, while Kalayne looked away.

  Shella frowned, then led Thymo to her bedroom. She lit a small lamp, and gazed around. Nothing appeared to have been touched, but she knew how careful the old Kellach mage could be. She wouldn’t be surprised if he had been raking through her things.

  The boy yawned, and she gave him a kiss.

  ‘We’ll get your pyjamas tomorrow when we unpack our stuff,’ she said. ‘Tonight, just sleep in your underpants. There’s a chamber pot next to the bed.’

  He pulled off his clothes, leaving them scattered on the floor, and jumped onto the mattress.

  ‘When’s my mum coming?’

  Shella paused, eyeing the boy as he sat on the bed. She pulled the covers up over his legs.

  ‘Not tonight, but I’m sure you’ll see her soon.’

  He lay down.

  ‘Remember,’ she said as she walked to the door, ‘I’ll be through here if you need me.’

  He nodded.

  ‘Sweet dreams, little man.’

  She went back into the sitting room, and closed the door. Kalayne and Benel were reclining in the armchairs by the fireplace, each with a drink, and a bottle on the small table.

  ‘Boys,’ she said, sitting next to them, ‘are you going to tell me what’s going on? Why is Benel here?’

  ‘Not yet,’ Kalayne said. ‘There’s something I need to ask you first.’

  Shella sighed. ‘What?’

  ‘While you were on your holiday,’ Kalayne said, ‘I came closer to understanding the plan the church is hatching. I realised that they were waiting for something, something important that was missing. They were quite frantic about it. It was only upon your return that I think I grasped what it was.’

  ‘Stop speaking in fucking riddles.’

  Kalayne glared at her, his eyes almost popping out of his head. ‘This is not a joke, young lady. ’

  ‘That’s the first time anyone’s called me young in a while. Oh, and I’m a princess, not a fucking lady.’

  Benel laughed. He took out a smokestick and lit it.

  ‘Me first,’ she said, and he passed it to her.

  ‘When you returned from Frogland,’ Kalayne frowned, ‘whom did you bring?’

  ‘Apart from Thymo, you mean?’

  ‘Obviously.’

  ‘I brought mages.’

  Kalayne’s face reddened
and he gripped the sides of the chair until his knuckles were white.

  ‘Are you having a seizure?’ she asked.

  ‘You… you…’

  She handed him the weedstick.

  He took a long hard draw, then pointed at her.

  ‘You stupid, miserable, wretched, stupid…’

  ‘You already said that.’

  ‘Well it’s because you’re double stupid. How could you, Shella?’

  ‘I was just the delivery girl,’ she said. ‘It was the Rakanese government that decided to hand them over. I told them I thought it was a mistake, but they were worried the Emperor would cut off aid.’ She bowed her head. ‘They reasoned that it was worth sacrificing a few volunteers, rather than let thousands die of starvation.’

  Kalayne shot to his feet, and for a moment she thought he was going to leap at her, but instead he began to pace up and down, scowling and snarling.

  Shella glanced at Benel, who was biting his nails and frowning.

  ‘What’s up with you?’

  ‘The church have everything they need.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘They had mages from all the other nations,’ Benel went on. ‘They only needed Rakanese.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Shella said. ‘I knew that, the Lord Vicar told me.’

  ‘You knew?’ Kalayne spat. ‘And yet you still did it? ’

  ‘What we did was wrong,’ she said. ‘I already admitted that. But I don’t see why the fate of four Rakanese mages is upsetting you so much.’

  ‘For their plan to work,’ Kalayne said, ‘they require mages from every land, all five types: vision, fire, stone, life and flow. And now they have them.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘They must be stopped.’

  ‘Why? What exactly is their plan?’

  ‘I don’t know!’ Kalayne cried, then slumped back into his chair.

  He picked up his drink and gulped it down.

  ‘It involves using the powers of all five mages at the same time,’ he said. ‘But to what end? I have no idea. The funny thing is, I’m not sure the priests know either. I have a feeling the Creator is keeping something from them.’

  ‘It’s all just speculation, then,’ Shella said.

  ‘No,’ said Benel, ‘it’s not.’

  ‘And what would you know?’

  ‘A fair bit, actually. I escaped from the institute.’

  ‘What? Escaped?’

  ‘Yes. Remember I told you that the army sold me out to the church? I turned up for training, and was snatched by wardens and put in a cell under the institute, along with a collection of other mages. I saw every nationality, except for Rakanese. Mostly though, we were chained up and hooded.’