Changing Numbers
Author's Note: This story is meant to explore a possible reason of why Alexander of Tirragen joined Duke Roger when Alexander was originally such an excellent friend of Prince Jon, Gary, Raoul, and Alanna. I, personally, believe in blood and friendship both deserves loyalty. Alexander had no blood shared with Duke Roger (to my knowledge), and Alexander was friends with his yearmates first. So… there must have been something… this is my version of a possibility.
Chapter One: History Speaks
Alexander of Tirragen enjoyed mathematics. That was why he had such skill in it, as most people try to become proficient in what they enjoy. Mathematics was a study of relationships through numbers. It used symbols, signs, and proofs. It was wonderfully precise, so he knew just what he would want to do. The mathematics of a situation were never beyond him. Therefore, when Duke Roger had proposed that Alex betray his dear friend, Prince Jon, Alex had balked at the idea and attempted to avoid the duke.
Closing his eyes at the memory, Alex could feel his irritation grow within. He tried to suppress it, because one who measures situations with numbers could not afford to be overly emotional. Duke Roger's knowing smile was disgusting. Alex shuddered slightly and continued down the hallway. The duke had suggested kindly, as though giving friendly advice, that Alex reconsider the matter over the next few weeks. Alex would rather have told someone. Unfortunately, if Alex told anyone that the king's adoring nephew coveted the throne… well, who would believe a young page over the word of the king's kinsman?
The young page grimaced and shook his head. It would be of no use to dwell on such things, for the time being. First, he would go to his room and begin his homework. It would be peaceful and provide a distraction from the duke.
Regrettably, the distraction was very short. Jon knocked on the door before opening it and informing Alex that Duke Roger wished to see the "talented young swordsman".
"I see," said Alex unhappily, though Jon attributed it to the fact that Alex had been interrupted while working on the math homework. After all, math was Alex's favorite subject.
"Do not keep my cousin waiting," chuckled Jon before leaving.
Why did Duke Roger want to see a relatively normal page? The question was quickly answered with a few theories, but theories were theories: unconfirmed. Alex's ideas mostly revolved around the idea that Duke Roger was going to restate his offer and see whether Alex had chosen to take up the offer. Or, mayhap, Duke Roger would reconsider his offer of letting Alex reconsider working for Duke Roger, and Duke Roger would attempt to accidentally murder Alex. Someone who wanted to kill his own uncle was not a person who would shy from spilling the blood of an ordinary person. Ah, well… Alex would soon know. He stepped lively to find the duke.
"Come in," ordered a voice after Alex had rapped at the old wooden door. When Duke Roger caught sight of Alex's face, the expression on the duke's face became craftily cheerful and altogether unpleasant. "Ah, welcome Alexander. You have answered my summons, I see. Close the door."
Alex closed the door behind him, but did not step forward.
"Come sit."
Although the two words were stated in a friendly manner, Alex knew that it was a command. He hesitated for a moment, and then complied. Defying this powerful man was a dangerous task.
"Good. I knew that you were smart enough not to resist. Some boys your age are foolish, always resisting everything." The duke paused. "You can speak frankly with me, young Tirragen."
"It shows independent thought," offered Alex.
"Stubbornness," snorted Duke Roger derisively. "You possess it, too."
"I am not foolish," pointed out Alex quickly. He kept his eyes focused on Duke Roger's face, though Alex was also careful to keep his mental wall up. He could not afford to be distracted and have his mind overwhelmed.
The duke waved his hand dismissively. "Cautiousness, then."
"What do you want?" asked Alex, though he thought he knew.
"Logic," commented the duke approvingly. "A good head and no deviations from the main topic permitted."
Alex felt oddly like a specimen being observed.
"I want you."
"Me?"
"Yes. I want you. I want you and your friendship with my cousin. I want you and your excellent swordsman skills. I want you and your quick mind." There was a pause, during which the only thing that could be heard was a dripping of water somewhere in the room. In a whisper, Duke Roger ended, "I want you to kneel before me and join me."
Alex longed to violently indicate his thoughts, but that would not solve anything. "Why me?"
"It is for all of the reasons before."
Alex reconsidered the matter briefly, calculating possibilities, before delivering his answer. "Never."
"Never is a long time."
The page wondered if there might be a hidden threat in the short statement the duke had given. "I am certain."
"Why, Alexander?"
"The current king is good."
"And how do you know this? Is it because you are told this? Do you believe all that you are told?"
Alex was repulsed at the idea of such idiocy. "No, I do not. However, I know enough to confirm what was said."
"It was your current king who began the Three-Year War between fiefs Jognam and Longwatch, and it was he who condemned both families to death when they hid amongst the gentle people of Wynward to use Wynward's peaceful history as a shield."
"It was his decision to make," answered Alex quietly, though he was considering this new knowledge. There had been rumors, of course, that King Roald had favored Longwatch and displaced a high-positioned Jognam for a Longwatch, and that this was all with the intention of beginning a grudge between the two families. Then, after the bloody battles between them over a period of three years, they had hidden in the fief of Wynward. Unfortunately, the king had been tired of the battles, by then renamed the "Three-Year War", and ordered all members of the Jognam and Longwatch families dragged back to Corus. Somewhere along the line, it had been misunderstood as "kill". When Wynward did not give him the refuge Jognam and Longwatch members, Wynward was burned, and three fiefs were destroyed in three days.
A knowing smile on Duke Roger's face told Alex that the duke knew just what Alex had thought of. It was disconcerting.
"Anyways, you have explained some of the changes you wish to make, and some of them are unnecessarily bloody," remarked Alex. "You will be sanctioning the deaths of many people with the instant death penalty for any crime. I believe that petty theft does not require instant death."
The duke looked pityingly at Alex. "You have personally killed a few people yourself."
Alex twitched as he lost control of himself for a moment, but he could not stop his face from paling. He breathed inward slowly. "That is different," he stated calmly.
"How so?" Duke Roger knew that he had found a weak point, and he intended to capitalize on it. "There are still stories circulating about the time when you killed two bandits with one stroke."
"That was in defense."
"To kill criminals, I would be defending our society from those with fewer morals," said the duke. Then, he glanced at Alex's drawn expression and asked, "But still, if you believe that to slay a man in defense justifies a death, why are you affected?"
Alex was silent.
Knowing that the page's guilt had flared up, fueled by Duke Roger's remarks, the duke continued, "Whoever the bandits you have slain were, they, too, had families, loyalties, and lives before you helped them out of this existence." He reveled in the boy's discomfort.
There were many situations Alex had been in before, but this was something new. Regardless, he was determined not to allow the smiling duke to manipulate him. The guilt buried itself under feigned indifference.
"No matter. Let us continue our negotiations."
"There are no negotiations. I already denied the offer."
"You will find that I do not give up easily. Even death will never thwart my goals. I will always return to achieve."
Chilled by the implications, Alex quickly replied, "You waste your time."
"And only time may tell." There was an oddly curious look in the duke's eyes. "After you understand, you will reconsider your answer. I can eliminate your life, if you feel it necessary."
"What must I understand?"
"I will do things the current king only dreams of doing. I will unite the countries, including those on the outskirts of the world, so that all countries will be under one leader. Under the current minor monarchies, there are minor areas on the outskirts of the world as we know it which are controlled by wicked men or weak leaders."
"Such a system could easily become a dictatorship," observed Alex.
The duke flashed the page a beaming smile. "You have an excellent mind. Yes, it could, which is why only a person with control, and a person with good minds behind him, can achieve such a thing." Duke Roger stared at Alex. "You are very similar to Taledar the Tactician."
Alex could not help it. He gaped at the comparison. "He was an evil tyrant!"
The exclamation amused Duke Roger. "No, he was a complex human, just as you are."
Alex tried to recall the legends of Taledar the Tactician from Sir Myles' classes. Taledar had been a king from before Tortall had been established. Taledar had been the son of Gerald the Magnificent, who had conquered most of the known world. Taledar ruled over that conquered area until his death. His realm had been affluent and his rule great, but, despite his famed intellect and strategies, Taledar had a reputation for unnecessary cruelty. After Taledar the Tactician's death, the countries had broken off to rule themselves once again. "I have nothing similar to that cruel creature's characteristics."
Duke Roger raised an eyebrow. "Really? Both of you are intelligent. Both of you have a capability to understand. Both of you are excellent swordsmen. There are many similarities. Most importantly, both of you will aid another man conquer the world." He laughed slightly and added, "Taledar the Tactician was only listed in the books as being a cruel tyrant because after the countries broke off to govern themselves, they wanted to prove that it was morally justified. Taledar assisted his father when he was no older than you are now because Taledar abhorred the corruption, disorder, and misery in the world. It was because of his attempts to eliminate those things that he is now misrepresented as cruel."
"Parts of his ruling area were notorious for those very problems," pointed out Alexander.
"No, it was those who rebelled against him. They began a small rebellion, an armed resistance, which caused money which might otherwise have been used for education or improvements to be used for the military."
Caught up in the conversation, Alex abandoned his indifferent façade and frowned. "A portion also goes towards the pleasures of the nobility. Or, rather, I assume it did."
"Most likely," agreed the duke, "though a very small percentage goes towards the pleasures of the court. Back then, it was most certainly less than that which was used towards the military as a direct effect of the rebellions which began in Taledar the Tactician's later years of rule… and those little rebellions claimed that they fought for peace."
Alex corrected, "They thought that they were fighting for freedom and that peace would follow."
"So they were fighting because they wanted peace? Is it not a contradiction?"
Alex realized that they had swerved far from the original topic. "I will not change my mind."
"You are young and make your decisions quickly," said the duke with an indulgent smile. "Reconsider, and we may continue tomorrow."
The page quickly left, relieved to be away from the dangerous man and his precarious topics.
"Alex," called Page Alan as he looked for assistance with his math homework.
Alex stood up and opened the door. When he saw the paper the priests had handed out in the red-haired page's hands, Alex knew just what Alan wanted. "I will help," he sighed, "but you need to help me when I end up getting in trouble and have to clean the stables again."
Alan nodded eagerly and invited himself into the room.
Alex thought that Alan's bobbing head looked suspiciously like a carrot in boiling water, but Alex was tired. At least, that was his explanation to himself, because one was not supposed to compare one's friends to vegetables. Even if he was not thinking properly, he would have to find his mind again, because he had agreed to help his young friend. Alex smiled in a way that did not quite reach his eyes--- he was so fatigued--- and sat down to explain a problem to Alan.
Finally, the evening concluded. It had been a tiring day. Alex lay down on his bed, wondering what the next day would bring.
