Disclaimer: Alas, I have failed and have no claims of ownership over these books.
Wow, this update has taken forever. I've been sick and then had school to catch up on and then the holidays, and then I just plain forgot about it, and then I got sick again… oh well, if you're still interested, it's here now.
"Have at thee, vile creature, scourge of this fair kingdom!" Jalovich proclaimed loudly, and lunged with his sword, but was met with an equally powerful parry.
"Thy strength is mortal, young Jalovich. I have power in one hand sufficient to destroy thee." In a moment the battle shifted and soon Jalovich lay helplessly on the ground. The creature stood above the boy, and in one, lazy movement, Jalovich's chest had been slashed in six directions. The cold, cruel laughter filled Jalovich's ears as he slipped away from consciousness…
William turned the page. He had been through the book three times, but still read in earnest, searching for a missed detail or the suchlike. It was a simple story, concerning a young wizard's apprentice living in a land haunted by a great evil called Morlwin. When Morlwin's dark army attacks his hometown, Jalovich the apprentice is defeated in a duel and forced into hiding in the mountains. The novel recounts his impressive return and rise to power.
In essence, it had all the qualities of a fairytale. And the ending was rather cliché, with all the peoples in the land rallying behind Jalovich. But, it reiterated a timeless message: a man is only as strong as the support he can gain.
Reading this book, William felt his heart begin to pound and his breathing grow heavier. The more he read, the more he realized his stupidity, and the more he could see a new idea formulate.
Every time Jalovich challenged Morlwin to duel, he would lose. After all, even an imbecile will notice if you attack him head on, William thought. Even Mr. Arthurs can see my intent if I show it to him. And Mr. Arthurs is the only obstacle between myself and means to research these demons. Yet as long as Mr. Arthurs is the more powerful, I'll never get past him. The only way to beat him is through the throngs of loyal (or perhaps, not so loyal) men following the order of Parliament.
Of course, where to start was the most important piece of this new plan. Recruiting common men would be useless, and low-ranking officials held no more sway or favor than William himself. Ideally, William would convert a high ranking member of Parliament. But the majority of these people either had a close bond and intense loyalty to Arthurs, had a strong moral code, or were well known for their loose mouth. Of course, there was the odd exception, but William had hardly spoken to any of them, excluding Nicolais.
William knew that he must attract Nicolais in the end, somehow. After all, Nicolais alone had proven himself with the demons. But William had never been able to trust Nicolais. After all, Nicolais had risen to his position through brilliant maneuvering, but all the same showed himself to be relatively unintelligent and naïve. Or perhaps he was simply a very good actor.
William's course of action was still unclear as he entered Parliament the next morning. The room was almost in session when William arrived, but as per tradition, the men were busy occupying themselves in an extremely active denial of the Czech situation and England's increasing poverty by engaging themselves in such thrilling activities as paper shuffling, water pouring, and ordering pages to fetch unnecessary documents. William felt an increased sense of disdain for these men. It was very apparent that the Parliament's comfort, perhaps even their sanity, relied on the fragile belief that their time-wasting and bureaucratic methods would one day fix everything, and in the mean time they ought to violently ignore any real, impending threats, and focus on the more mundane aspects of government work. In this case, today would be spent debating standard paper shipping taxes.
Still William hid his emotions. Best not to draw attention to himself, he supposed. No, he would have to observe quietly.
Though he purposely set his face in a blank, languid stare, internally he was on fire. His senses were raring, rapidly observing everyone around him. He scanned the faces of many men, searching for his next break. The back row was all men of too low standing- they'd always flock to the most powerful party. There wasn't an original thinker or risk-taker among them. The next row was of a higher rank, but violently opposed to war with the Czech. And the next five men were just incompetent.
Finally, William arrived at a few men to consider. The first of which was Jackson Oliver. He ranked just slightly below William, but showed great promise and charisma, but above all, ambition. Ambition was usually the cause of most stupid political decisions, and often caused men to make alliances with the strangest people. Promising, William thought, very promising. Plus, he had a family history of nobility, before the system was destroyed. Of course, he still had appeal to a particular faction of commoners, and some favor from Arthurs himself. In short, he was the perfect puppet, William thought, although there were probably many men campaigning for Oliver's help.
The second man, Alain DuMarl, held no favor. If anything, he was mistrusted in his post. Naturally, of course, since he was the first member of his family ever born on English soil. Admittedly, England was on good terms with France, for the moment, but these were turbulent times, and it would be so very easy for DuMarl to be forced from his position.
But DuMarl was intelligent, very much so since he had been able to enter the world of politics with almost no outside assistance.
Then again, William debated; it can be risky to befriend possible enemies of the state. No, he would go to Oliver first, and use DuMarl as a last resort.
The meeting came and passed as an exercise in monotony. When at last it concluded, William resisted the urge to yawn loudly, trying to maintain his professionalism. Quickly he gathered his things and scanned the parting crowd for Oliver. To his dismay, the man was engaged in a deep conversation with Arthurs.
William had no way of subtly approaching to eavesdrop so he could only guess what they were discussing. None the less, Oliver was nodding vigorously, his brown hair bobbing in his youthful enthusiasm. He was clearly eager to get in Arthurs' favor. And Arthurs was clearly ready to exploit him.
It was time to regroup and plan again, but William's impatience dominated his sense. The burning sensation of plans bouncing in his head threatened to consume him if he didn't act soon. It was folly, he knew, and it was exactly why he was mistrusted. But all the same, he couldn't stop himself. It was his passion and his obsession. He swung his head about searching for DuMarl's black hair and dark eyes, to little avail.
Finally, his gaze reached the space under the entrance and another pair of eyes met his. Grey, squinting eyes. Arthurs watched him back. Then slowly, mockingly, the minister shook hands with Oliver and said something that was inaudible. Looking back to William, Arthurs calmly smiled.
The meaning was apparent. Arthurs knew. He knew William was planning. And he was warning William. This could not be a secretive rebellion. Arthurs did not want to silently struggle William. He wanted all out war.
William cursed and abandoned his search. During the walk home, William once again felt the urge to break something. How could he have been stupid enough to believe that Arthur's couldn't guess? Yes, Arthurs was a weak leader, but he had earned his position. He may avoid decisions but he knew exactly what was happening.
Woo…. That was a looong wait. Sorry guys…. And sorry that this chapter is wicked short… and no action. I swear action coming up in the next chapter. And the introduction of the first important female character. And it's a little scandal. That update will come soon !!!!! Don't give up on me yet!
