Chapter Three: Rebirth
The next time Flynn woke up, he felt no pain at all. In fact, he felt great. His eyes flashed open and he immediately sat upright. Where was he? A quick look around the room informed him that he was in the castle's infirmary. When had that happened? He racked his brain, trying to remember the events of the last few days. There had been something about Alexei…
Hazy memories swam back into focus. He knew he should probably be devastated about what had happened, but his mood was dragged up by fuzzy bubbles floating around in his brain. The only clear thought able to cut through the haze was that he needed to do something about Alexei. If Alexei wasn't stopped, the whole empire was in danger and… the orangey sky outside cast a strange tint across the room. It made the room look weird, but at least the bed was nice. He'd been camping out on a military cot for weeks, so a soft mattress was a pleasant – dammit!
He groaned and leaned forward, pressing his face into his hands. Alexei. He needed to concentrate on Alexei, but his thoughts slid around on ice. As soon as he steered himself back in the direction of Alexei, he got nothing but a brief glimpse of clear thought before slipping away again.
"I need to get out of here." Saying it out loud helped him concentrate. He pushed the sheets aside and stood up. The abrupt movement awakened aches throughout his body, but they seemed to be happening to someone else and didn't bother him at all.
His next task was to figure out what to do next. He had finally cemented 'getting out of here' as an anchor in his mind, but he kept running in circles between 'walk out the front door', 'wait, Alexei has guards, they won't let me', 'but I need to get out of here', and looping back to 'I should walk out the front door.' Dammit, this wasn't working. He briefly wondered if Alexei had also taken out his brain and filled his head with cotton along with the blastia in his chest.
It might be easier to think if the damn walls would stop moving. They kept shifting away from him, and he experimentally shifted his head back and forth to watch the effect. He stood and stared for possibly over a minute, staring at the shifting walls in rapture. Only a twinge of distant pain in his neck reminded him that he was supposed to be doing something.
Flynn's face contorted with concentration and he groaned in frustration, and then he announced to the empty room, "I think they drugged me."
That was the only explanation he could think of to explain the bubbles in his brain, although he wasn't able to think too deeply about it right now. This was irritating; he needed to concentrate. He needed to get out of here. The lack of pain was nice, but he couldn't take advantage of that when he had the strategic capabilities of a bowl of pudding.
Talking things out was easier than trying to hold on to his slippery thoughts. "I need to get out of here. I can't get out of here because of Alexei. I need to get rid of Alexei…. I need to kill Alexei." It was a simple chain of reasoning, but given the mush that was his brain he felt proud of himself for completing it.
Kill Alexei. Yes, that was another anchor his brain could latch onto. He strode out of the infirmary and into the hall, dimly aware in the back of his brain that he wore nothing but a loose pair of pants and had no weapon. He didn't know how he was going to kill Alexei like this, but worrying about that slipped away.
As he marched down the hallway, he let his mind wander. It was too difficult to try and stay focused, so his thoughts glided between wondering where Yuri was to marvelling at the shininess of the floor. This in turned was pushed out of the way when bright red flowers sitting in a vase caught his eye and distracted him. Calling the flowers red didn't do them justice. They were the reddest red Flynn had seen in his entire life, but he couldn't think of a word to describe them. He settled on 'really red'.
"Argh…" Flynn rubbed his forehead with his palm, trying to clear his head. Had he actually gotten distracted by flowers? It took him a few seconds of struggling thought before he remembered what he was trying to do: kill Alexei. Come on, Flynn, focus!
He found his way to the commandant's office without consciously thinking about it, since his legs remembered better than his head did. Before walking in, doubt pulled him back. Was it really alright to simply walk in and murder Alexei in cold blood? Wasn't that what he'd argued with Yuri about? Then the doubt slid away as his mind drifted to thoughts of Yuri, and then thoughts of Estelle, and then wondering why he was standing in front of Alexei's office.
You need to kill Alexei. Right, thank you, tiny voice of clarity.
Without further hesitation, he barged into the room. Alexei sat at his desk, and snapped his head up at the sudden intrusion. He stared at Flynn with a mixture of confusion and annoyance. "Captain? What do you think you're doing here?"
Flynn didn't answer. He'd latched onto the one solid thought in his brain and he wasn't going to let anything distract him. Alexei needed to be stopped and he was going to do it. He walked right around the desk, and just as Alexei started speaking again, Flynn lunged at him. He clenched his hands around Alexei's throat, gritting his teeth and glaring at him in fury. See how he liked slowly strangling to death.
Flynn had maybe two seconds of success before Alexei grabbed his arms and threw him away like a rag doll. He couldn't move for a few seconds upon hitting the ground. He stared at the ceiling in a daze until Alexei's face appeared above him.
"That was a very foolish thing to do. What exactly did you think you were going to accomplish?"
Flynn stared at him, trying to gather his thoughts. Getting thrown to the floor had scrambled his already fuzzy brain. His body hurt and he knew he would care about that once the drugs left his system. Alexei was to blame for this pain, and Alexei was the reason he was stuck in Zaphias and not with his brigade. He needed to get out of here, but Alexei wouldn't let him. With great effort he pieced together all these fuzzy thoughts and arrived at a coherent conclusion, and triumphantly declared, "You are an asshole."
Alexei stared at him for a few seconds, and then said, "…I see. Are you, perhaps, still under the influence of painkillers?"
Flynn took a few seconds to process the question. He wished Alexei would just speak clearly and simply, because complex thought wasn't his forte at the moment. "I… think so?"
"I suppose it would be useless to punish you for your foolish actions in this state."
Another few seconds to process this sentence, and then even more to try and work out if he should say 'yes' to agree that he shouldn't be punished or 'no' to say 'no, don't punish me.' Thinking about this caused his mind to drift into thoughts about how strange and confusing language could be. Dammit, Flynn, concentrate!
Alexei gave up waiting for Flynn to find something to say. "Get up. You're embarrassing yourself."
Flynn pushed himself to his feet and then immediately turned and started leaving the office.
"Captain," Alexei said firmly. "I do not believe I dismissed you."
"Uh… right." Flynn paused and turned around again. Stupid, stupid head, why couldn't he remember simple protocol? Another thought crossed his mind and he blurted it out before it was even complete. "Wait, I don't care. I'm not taking orders from you."
Alexei raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? I'm afraid you don't have much choice in the matter. Your life is under my control now."
Right, the blastia in his heart. Every time he thought about it, he was reminded of the throbbing pain in his chest. Perhaps he should be grateful for being so drugged, because the still-healing hole in his chest would probably be cripplingly painful otherwise. Of course, this wouldn't even be an issue if Alexei hadn't done this to him. "Why me?"
"Because you are a useful knight. You will be even more useful to me once I crush that self-righteousness out of you."
Alexei looked so smug and so sure of himself, but Flynn couldn't help but laugh. Alexei's smugness didn't drop as he asked, "And what exactly is so funny?"
"When Yuri gets here, he's going to kill you."
"Ah, yes, that rouge friend of yours," Alexei said, smirk widening. "I'm afraid I shot his ship down only yesterday. I would be impressed if he survived that crash."
Flynn shook his head. Very few thoughts were able to take hold in his mind right now, and the idea that Yuri might die in something as mundane as a ship crash didn't have a chance. With a confident smile he said, "No. Yuri is alive. Yuri will come."
"So certain are you? Even if he is alive, I doubt he would be so foolish as to attempt a direct attack on the castle."
"Yes he will," Flynn said, mindlessly putting his thoughts into words. "I know exactly what Yuri will do. He's my best friend."
"Hm…" Alexei's smirk turned thoughtful. "So you would say you can predict exactly what actions he will take?"
Flynn nodded. "He's my best friend." In the fuzz of his brain, the fact that Yuri was his best friend was something he could state without any hesitation or confusion.
"Interesting," Alexei said slowly. "Perhaps you might be even more useful than I thought."
Flynn had the sinking feeling that he'd said something he shouldn't have, but figuring out the implications right now was impossible.
"And now, Captain, I believe it is time for you to go back to bed."
Flynn shook his head. He didn't want to sleep right now; there was still so much he needed to do. He needed to escape, for one. That was the only one he could put his finger on at the moment, but it was pretty important. "I don't want to." He started leaving the office again, hurrying toward the door. Screw Alexei, screw the Royal Guard – he was leaving. He'd walk right out of Zaphias if he had to.
"Stop right there, Captain."
Flynn ignored him and left the office. He started down the hall, but when he heard the door open and Alexei follow him, he started running. He was going to get out of this damn castle if it was the last thing he did. Maybe by the time he got out the drugs would have left his system and he'd be able to think clearly. He ran as fast as he could, but he didn't get far. As his pace quickened, the walls started moving again and then the floor swooped upward up at him and suddenly he was flat on his chest and couldn't quite remember how he got there.
Alexei strolled over and stood next to him, not offering him any assistance. "Get up."
Dammit, that had been stupid again. The rational part of his brain, buried beneath layers of cotton and bubbles, screamed in frustration at how much of a fool he was making of himself. Flynn slowly got to his feet, numbly registering that the hard fall onto the marble floor had not done great things to his chest. He was probably going to regret this once the drugs wore off, but for now everything felt light and fluffy. His thoughts drifted again, careening away from the situation at hand to contemplate the floor. Gee, had the floor always been this shiny? It was so smooth and reflective, like a quiet pond. Standing on it was like walking on water.
"Are you listening to me, Captain?"
Oh, crap, Alexei was saying something. He'd been too busy being mesmerized by the floor to even notice. He quickly tried to explain what he'd been so distracted by, but somewhere around his excited description of the floor being a pond, Alexei smacked him across the face and said, "Stop talking."
"But-"
"That is an order, Captain."
The slap had sent his head spinning, and it was still trying to come to a stop. "Yeah. Ok."
"What do you say to your commanding officer when given an order?"
Flynn stared at him, wondering why Alexei was so cruel as to give him a pop quiz like this. He racked his brain, trying to figure out what Alexei wanted. It was frustrating because he knew this one, he knew he knew it, but he couldn't find it. At long last, he stared at Alexei and said, "Um… yes… sir?"
Alexei was not amused by Flynn's confusion, but said, "Close enough. Follow me, Captain, and don't try to speak."
"Ok."
Alexei glanced at him disapprovingly, and he corrected himself. "Yes, sir." Clearly leaving was not an option right now. Killing Alexei was also not an option. With the only two things he was sure he wanted to do out of his reach, he couldn't think of anything else to do so he followed Alexei.
He did so silently at first, his mind fluttering around between various topics without any real concentration. They passed a window and all thoughts were figuratively pushed out of it. "The sky is orange," he announced.
Alexei glanced out the window, but didn't say anything.
Flynn stopped walking to stare out the window in wonder. A pinkish-orange haze hung over Zaphias, giving the sky a unique colour.
"Move along," Alexei said. "We do not have time to look at the sky."
When Flynn didn't immediately move, Alexei grabbed his arm and roughly pulled him away. Flynn started following again, letting his mind drift. He ran through several topics, none of them lasting more than a few seconds. It was frustrating not being able to concentrate on anything. He had a lot of things to think about but no mental capacity to do it.
After a long silence, he asked, "Are you going to kill me like you killed Schwann?" He still didn't know exactly what the deal with Schwann was, but he'd suddenly remembered Alexei mentioning killing him and replacing him with Flynn. Oddly, the idea of Alexei killing and discarding him didn't worry him too much, but he couldn't really worry about anything right now.
"Eventually, perhaps," Alexei said. "I will keep you around for as long as you are useful. I used to have a much firmer hold over Schwann's blastia, but over time it became integrated into his body and became resistant to outside control. I've improved the formula since then, though. It should be at least fifteen to twenty years until I lose use of you."
Flynn understood very little of what Alexei had said. He'd heard 'eventually, perhaps' and then the effort of following such a long and technical explanation became too much for him. In the end, all he got out of it was that Alexei planned to use him as a slave for twenty years and then murder him when he couldn't any more. Even in his mentally-altered state, he could work out so many things wrong with that and so many reasons he didn't want that to happen. Alexei had hurt so many people already and was going to keep hurting them, and the idea of helping him do that made Flynn's heart hurt even though he didn't have one anymore.
He couldn't figure out how to vocalize all his angry feelings, so he summed it up with a declaration of, "You are not very nice." He nodded to himself in satisfaction, certain he had really told Alexei's what was what.
They reached the infirmary again and Alexei led him inside. "Lie down," Alexei commanded.
"I don't want to," Flynn said. He couldn't remember why, but he knew he didn't want to lie down again.
"That was an order."
"I don't care. I'm going home." I need to get out of here. Maybe he should try again. He started walking away, but then Alexei grabbed his arm and jerked him back. He slapped Flynn across the face, which might have been more effective if it didn't leave Flynn more confused than in pain. He'd registered the pain, but it felt like it was happening to someone else. "That hurt."
Alexei pushed Flynn down on the bed and then grabbed the syringe again. He held Flynn's wrist in a bruising grip and inserted the needle into the crook of Flynn's arm. "The next time I speak to you, you had better be coherent."
"I don't want to sleep," Flynn protested as Alexei pulled the syringe out and set it aside.
"You had better get used to following my orders."
Flynn wanted to argue, but his eyes flickered and he said, "Wow, I'm really tired." He didn't want to sleep now, but his eyes felt so heavy. Why didn't he want to sleep? He couldn't remember. If thinking clearly had been difficult before, it increased tenfold as the sedative started kicking in. He fought against the coming darkness for as long as he could, before eventually surrounding to sleep once more.
Flynn woke up a few times after that, but never for very long. Once his eyes flickered open and he blurrily saw Alexei leaning over him and messing with the control panel hovering over his blastia. He tried to move his arms, but they were heavier than concrete and when he tried to tell Alexei to get away from him, all that came out was a groan. He tried to wake himself up and stay conscious, because the idea that Alexei could do anything to him in his sleep was frightening. He'd already ripped out his heart; there was no telling what else he might be planning. Try as he might, a heavy black fog closed over his mind and dragged him back into sleep.
When he finally woke up completely, he blinked at the ceiling and took a few moments to remember where he was. This didn't take too long, because at long last his head was clear. It was like finally surfacing after holding his head underwater. Ever since his death, whenever he'd been awake he'd either been panicky and in pain, fuzzy-headed, or groggily sedated. It was a relief to have control of his mind, even if it came at the expense of a constant dull ache from his neck and chest.
He shifted his position and heard something rattle. He carefully sat up and pulled at his leg, and saw a metal cuff shackling him to the end of the bed. He fell back against the pillow with a sigh. After the first two times he'd woken up and went running around the castle in confusion and panic, he supposed Alexei wasn't taking any chances. With nothing else to do, he lay still and thought about his options.
His heart had been replaced with a blastia. He hadn't even known that was possible. What exactly was this going to entail? Were there health effects he should know about? What kind of maintenance did this require? With a scowl, he realized that there probably wasn't any point worrying about this. Alexei would take complete control over it, if his memory of the bastard artificially lowering his heart rate the other day was accurate. One of the few things he remembered from his drug-addled adventure was the fact that Alexei planned to kill him off as soon as he couldn't use him like a pawn. The other day, Yuri had accused him of being Alexei's puppet, but he really was now, wasn't he? How could he fight back against the man who could turn his heart off with the flick of a button?
But he would fight back. He'd find a way. Alexei thought he had Flynn under control, but all he'd done was bring Flynn right into his inner circle and then lowered his guard. All Flynn had to do was find an opening and assassinate Alexei. He was pretty sure he'd tried that the other day, but he counted on being more successful now that he wasn't on a drug high. Saving Estelle and the empire would fall into place once that was accomplished. He was separated from his men, injured, and trapped behind enemy lines, but he wasn't going down without a fight.
The door opened, and Alexei walked in. Flynn sharply turned his head to him, regretting it immediately as he was reminded that his neck was still badly bruised. He glared at Alexei, and then said, "Good morning."
"I believe you'll find it's afternoon."
Flynn forced himself to sit upright. He didn't like talking to Alexei while lying down. "What day is it?"
"It has been three days since your execution, and two days since you were last conscious, for a given definition of conscious considering you were out of your mind on painkillers."
Three days. His brigade would have noticed that he was missing by now. He'd left Sodia in command, and he trusted her to lead them well, but he hated thinking that they were probably worried about him. What had ever happened with the Heracles? He could think about these things later. "I slept for two days?" That would probably explain why he was ravenous.
"After your episode, you were kept sedated."
And that would explain his headache and why his mouth tasted like foot. This fact irritated him. He felt vulnerable enough in his injured and captive state without being sedated against his will.
"Now I believe you have rested enough, and it is time to put you to use." He leaned over and unlocked the cuff around Flynn's ankle. "Get up. Your uniform is in the closet. Meet me in the hallway in under ten minutes."
Flynn lay still for almost a minute after Alexei left. He wasn't keen on doing anything for Alexei, but he didn't have anywhere else to go. The only other exit from the room was through the window, but that led to a three story drop into the hellish streets below. With a sigh, he got up from bed.
He was sore in about a dozen places, but he hadn't noticed the minor aches since they were overshadowed from the major pain in his chest and neck. As he walked to the small closet door across from the bed, he briefly wondered what these injuries were from, and then remembered that he'd taken a nasty fall off his horse before getting arrested. That seemed like a lifetime ago. Oh, wait, it actually was, considering he'd started a second lifetime after Alexei executed him.
He opened the closet, and his heart dropped when he saw what was inside. He'd been expecting to find his familiar blue shirt and cape, but what met him was the dark red fabric of the Royal Guard. Was Alexei serious? He couldn't wear this. This was the uniform of his enemies. Flynn's uniform was blue, dammit!
But, it was the only clothing in the room and he doubted Alexei would be tolerant of him walking out to meet him still wearing nothing but a pair of pants. With great displeasure, he pulled the uniform on, trying not to feel like a traitor to his brigade. Where was his actual uniform? This probably wasn't a very important topic, but he had been through a lot with that uniform and didn't like to think it had just been thrown away.
At least this uniform also had a black turtleneck as the bottom layer. A small mirror on the inside of the door gave Flynn a good look at the state of this neck, and it wasn't pretty. All along the bottom of his jaw was a mess of purple and red as bruising and rope burn fought for prominence. He could still make out the shape of the rope from the indentations scarred onto his skin. He quickly pulled the collar of the turtleneck up to cover it. He didn't want to remember what it had felt like.
"Better not keep the commandant waiting," Flynn said quietly to himself, his voice filled with resentment. He was still a bit hoarse, but it was getting better. The only good thing about this uniform was that it came with a sword. It was amazing how much more confident he could feel with a sword at his hip. He couldn't use it just now – he had to wait for the opportune moment – but Flynn felt like he could accomplish anything with a sword, and already he felt like less of a prisoner.
He stepped outside, and Alexei smiled in satisfaction when he saw him. "Good. Come with me."
They walked down the hall. They passed a window and Flynn got another look at Zaphias. The idea that this was his beloved home town turned into a horrific nest of monsters and poison air filled him with grief. "What have you done to Zaphias?"
"An unfortunate side effect of the princess' power," Alexei said. "I have been using her to open the Sword Stair and it is causing the aer in the surrounding area to go out of control. It is regrettable, but it will be worth it once the empire is reborn."
"How can you say that it's worth it?" Flynn asked. "Countless people have been made to suffer due to your actions. What happened to your ideals? You used to strive for an empire where all people are treated equally with respect and justice."
"My ideals have not changed," Alexei said. "Only my methods. I was a fool to think that such a thing could be accomplished without bloodshed. A sword must pass through the fire in order to become strong."
"You cannot hope to attain justice through murder, kidnapping, and deceit." In a way, he supposed he should thank Yuri for giving him a practice run at this argument. "A just empire can only be attained through just actions. You're trying to find a quick fix for a problem that will take years of hard work in order to create fundamental social change."
They stopped at a window and Alexei gazed out at the city as if it hadn't turned into a hellish wasteland. Perhaps he could see the ideal empire he hoped to create out of this, but all Flynn saw was devastation. "You are naïve, Captain," Alexei said. "You are still young, and you are foolish. I used to think hard work and moral actions could change the empire from within, but it turns out that once the core of something has rotted, all you can do is try and cover the stench. The old order needs to be completely torn down so a new one can be instated in its place, with me at its head to guide the empire into a new tomorrow."
Flynn stood a few feet behind Alexei, not sure if Alexei was even talking to him or just vocalizing his rationalizations to himself. His eyes were glued on horizon, while Flynn slowly, silently drew his sword. This might be his only chance. The two of them were alone in this corridor, and Alexei was so caught up in his ranting of a new golden age that he wasn't even paying attention to Flynn. Alexei was wearing armour, but his neck was still exposed. One quick strike to the back of his neck, and the commandant would be dead.
Was this right? Executing a man without a trial was illegal and unethical. Flynn could kill in the thick of a fight, but stabbing someone in the back seemed… different. Without question, Alexei had done horrific things, but if Flynn killed him in cold blood, was he really any different from Yuri? How was this different from what Yuri had done to Cumore?
He didn't have a choice, though. If Alexei wasn't stopped, he would continue to hurt Estelle, and the empire as a whole. Flynn didn't have his troops to back him up and take Alexei alive to stand trial. He didn't have the luxury of saving lives and following the path of justice. If assassinating him in cold blood was the only way to protect others…
He suddenly felt a pang of understanding for Yuri. Perhaps his friend's decision to murder Ragou and Cumore had not been as simple for him as Flynn had thought. Flynn steeled himself, gripping the sword tightly in hand. He had a newfound respect for the courage Yuri must possess to follow through on the decision to murder a man.
Alexei was still staring out the window and rambling about his ideals and the perfect world he was creating and how Flynn should feel honoured to have been chosen to be a part of it. Flynn hoped he kept going, because if he kept talking out of his ass like that, he might feel less guilty about stabbing him to shut him the hell up. He raised his sword, took a step forward, and then Alexei looked down at his wrist and punched something into the blastia control panel.
Blinding pain took hold of him and Flynn gasped in surprise. His sword fell from his fingers and hit the floor with a clatter. A metal claw squeezed his chest, with pain radiating through his entire torso and shooting down his arms. He gasped for breath and fell to his knees. "W-what…?"
"You're having a heart attack," Alexei said, looking down at him calmly. "Don't worry, I won't let you die."
Flynn took deep, heaving breaths, trying to get air. Alexei waited about a minute, although it felt like much longer from Flynn's perspective, and then punched in a few more commands and Flynn's raging heart finally subsided. His muscles slumped and he panted for breath while kneeling on the floor at Alexei's feet. His heart rate hadn't returned to normal yet – it seemed to be barely beating at all now. Sweat ran down his face and he struggled to get more air to compensate for the lack of blood circulation. A residual ache still throbbed deep in his chest and even kneeling upright made him dizzy and lightheaded.
"As you can see," Alexei said, "defying me is a useless endeavour."
Flynn would respond when he was able to get enough air. He stared at the floor, the shiny surface reflecting his exhausted and pained eyes. Now he was going to have to add 'had a heart attack' to the list that already included 'got thrown from a horse', 'was hanged' and 'had heart ripped out of chest'. It would almost be comical if he didn't feel like shit.
"I shall explain to you how this is going to work. You are going to take Schwann's place as my top captain. You will follow any and all orders that I give you. As you can see, causing severe pain for you is very easy for me and can be expected if you ever disobey my orders, or act in any way that goes against my wishes. I learned my lesson with Schwann, and you can be assured that you will be kept on a very short leash. Do you understand?"
Flynn slowly nodded, already trying to work out a way to get around this. What was the distance limit on Alexei's blastia control? If Flynn could sneak away, could he remote trigger a heart attack from across the world?
"That is not how you were trained to address your commander." He pressed a button and Flynn clutched his chest again as another wave of pain washed over him and then vanished.
Flynn took a few deep breaths and croaked, "I – I understand… sir."
"Good. Should you disobey me with a serious enough infraction, I will be forced to dispose of you prematurely. If you run away, I will remotely shut down your heart."
Well, that answered that question. Even still, Flynn considered this option. As much as he wanted to live, if he had a choice between dying or helping Alexei take over the world, dying sounded like a better option.
"You should be aware that if you force me to kill you, I will need to find a replacement. Perhaps one of the members of the noble Flynn Brigade can step in and take the place of their captain. That Lieutenant Sodia seems like a good knight."
Flynn finally found the strength to raise his head and he looked to Alexei with alarm. Threatening his own life was one thing, but Flynn would not stand for Alexei threatening his knights. "Stay away from my brigade," he said as firmly as he could. Another wave of pain hit him, and Flynn gritted his teeth and rode it out.
"Do not speak back to me, or attempt to give me orders."
Flynn let out a small groan and then said, "Y-yes, sir." Damn. What were his options now? He could accept his own death – to die upholding his ideals was noble, actually. But if dying meant subjecting one of his subordinates, possibly one of his closest friends, to all the pain and misery he'd been through so far, then dying was just cowardly. He couldn't let himself die and force another to take his place, but he also couldn't let Alexei destroy the empire. No matter what he did, he would be failing someone. The best he could do was keep on living and do whatever he could to lessen the blow of Alexei's plans.
"If you lie to me, or are in any way dishonest about your intentions, I will know. Lying causes one's heart rate to spike."
He really wished Alexei hadn't told him that. He always got nervous and fidgety while lying as it was, but now he would be so self-conscious about his heart rate there was no way he'd be able to hide something from Alexei.
"You are in command of the Royal Guard in the castle while I am busy with the princess. Needless to say, they are intelligent enough to not follow any orders to evacuate the castle or interfere with me. Your number one priority is to prevent any intruders from infiltrating the castle. If anyone does get in, I will hold you personally accountable. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." He supposed that if it was between himself and Yuri, it was better that he was the one in this position. Yuri wouldn't even consider submitting to Alexei's commands even as an act of self-preservation. Flynn briefly wondered if he was a coward for 'yes-sir-ing' a bastard like Alexei, and if Yuri would be ashamed of him for allowing Alexei to walk all over him. But what choice did he have? There was a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and what good was powerless defiance? Telling Alexei how much he hated him wasn't going to get him out of here, and giving Alexei an excuse to hurt him again wouldn't help him rescue Estelle. Flynn had his pride, and it was strong enough not to be broken so easily. He could kiss Alexei's boots all day if it got him closer to getting himself and Estelle out of here and the empire back to normal.
"I have no need for you for the rest of the afternoon. Find Lieutenant Gayle in the first floor conference room to receive food and water. You may rest in your own bedroom if you wish, but if I see you out of uniform you will be punished. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Very well. I will be with the princess. Do not disturb me."
Alexei walked away, and Flynn finally got to his feet. For now, his stomach was growling so he might as well see about finding some food. He could figure out a better plan later.
