Amber breathed in, letting the fulfilling rush of oxygen calm her nerves. She held the breath for a moment, before exhaling in a great sigh. Her stomach knotted with twists, and her insides were awash with doubt and nausea. She wrung her hands together, trying desperately to clear them of sweat. She was nervous, and rightly so. She had been summoned, for the first time in two years, she had been called upon by Brutus.
She stood before the Ocularum Segmenta, a powerful artifact that had been designed by her master, so as to allow them to communicate over great distances without the insecure use of the Scroll Network.
The Ocularum Segmenta stood unlit, it's half-circle shape looking to be a stone arch inscribed with runes. To the untrained eye, or rather the ignorant one, it would seem to be a piece of outlandish architecture, and only that.
But she knew better.
Placing her hand on a stone dais, she surged her maiden powers, feeding power into the machine. The runes inscribed upon its surface lit up with a bright, amber colored light, their figures blurring as the power being pumped into them burned a hole through the veil.
With a spark, appearing for the briefest second in the center of the machine, it exploded into a shining ripple in reality.
Holding her breath, she stepped through.
(@)
The other side was strange, in a similar way, grey cobblestone met her vision, as windowless walls loomed in on either side of her.
Did she leave the palace at all?
"You did, I chose this place as our meeting point because of its familiarity to you."
That voice, like honey covered stones grating together, she knew it well, and had been on the receiving end of it many times.
She looked towards the far end of the room, quickly bowing her head as she saw who stood at the other end.
"My Lord, forgive me." She said quickly, her eyes not leaving the floor.
"Forgive what exactly? Do not waste my time with your frivolous pleadings."
"Of course my Lord, forgive me."
She flinched as she could practically hear his frown deepening.
"Report upon the city."
"The city's population has boomed quickly, our military now numbers in the thousands after the assimilation of several tribes and homeless from the rest of the kingdoms."
"How have you managed to feed them?"
"We have settled deals with several farmers, food in exchange for protection and money. What this does not provide, we purchase from other kingdoms via liaisons with funds from the state."
Amber rattled off the info quickly, getting to the core matter of the subject with as much speed as possible. Brutus preferred it that way, anything else tried his already thin patience.
"This will not do."
Amber felt a knot form in her chest. Had she failed? Had she neglected her duty?
"My Lord?" She stammered. "Have I failed?"
"No, you have done well, exceedingly well, but the treasury is not infinite, and the people must not depend upon the throne for everything."
"What do you suggest, my Lord?"
Brutus hummed, an armored gauntlet rubbing his exposed head. "Establish several Merchant houses, with two governing over food and two more over weapons and ships, the competition between the two respective houses will push our food production and weapons manufacturing to new heights, and improve upon our current armaments."
Amber bowed, her head swinging low. "At once my Lord, but I must tell you that we have no weapons manufacturing, or any factories of any kind."
Brutus paused, an uncharacteristic unease settling over him.
"Then how was the Army armed?"
"With munitions and weapons purchased from varying companies across Remnant, paid for by the throne, of course."
Brutus resumed his silence, his frown deepening as he thought. Had he not known of the purchases nor the lack of industry? The city had agriculture, and little else.
Had...Brutus mad a mistake?
"An...Oversight in my part, the fault lies with me. After this meeting, I want you to establish merchant houses, as well as new laws geared towards taxing their profits."
"At what rate should they be taxed?"
Amber hoped it was low, the Kingdom's taxes were outrageously high, the middle class getting taxed at a whopping forty percent, and the upper had a high twenty-five. She had seen people broke by the amount they had to pay, hopefully Brutus wouldn't set it too high.
"A flat tax of ten percent of income, I seek to finance the Army and the Throne, not break their backs. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of building industry and getting jobs flowing. A Kingdom lives and dies by its stomach and its wallet, remember that. We'll sell the gold and dust in the treasury, and pay city workers and the army in lien, as it is a universal currency already."
"Very good, my Lord."
"I do not want these taxes any higher Amber, you cannot tax a nation into prosperity."
"Of course."
Silence reigned, Amber listening intently as she waited for Brutus to give her more commands.
Yet she was still nervous, her mind thinking treacherous thoughts as she imagined Brutus becoming an evil, greedy tyrant. She quickly squashed those thoughts, but apparently her unease had betrayed her and it had shown on her face.
"Amber, I need to show you something."
She nodded silently, and went to him. His arm waved and reality distorted in front of her, a shimmering image coming into view.
An old man, his hair and moustache as white as can be. He toiled away at a desk, signing papers left and right. A half full glass of some brown liquid sat haphazardly near the edge, the heavy smudges upon it showing its use.
Amber recognized the man, Jaques Schnee, the owner of the Schnee Dust Company, a major player in business.
She couldn't help but sneer, his reputation with the faunas and his workers was less than savory.
"Look upon him, and tell me what you see."
"I see a man at a desk, but not just any man, a very rich man."
"Yes, but look harder, look at what he is doing."
Amber looked again, this time at the papers upon his desk he was so callously signing. They were moving too fast for her to read, but she was able to make out some of it, just letters and numbers, designations and locations, not much else.
"They're numbers and letters."
"Yes, the official names of what are essentially death camps and gulags, many of these have been raided recently by the Praetorians, every attack bringing in new blood to the city."
Amber cocked an eyebrow. "I didn't authorize any raids."
"I did. Look upon him, Amber. See him for what he is at his core."
She did, she saw him for who he was, she didn't need to gaze upon him for that. "He's rotten, greedy and corrupt. He is a slaver, and he isn't shy about it."
"Yes, but such corruptions rarely manifest themselves in such clarity, the damnation flooding his character is the crescendo of its siren's song. Its immensity and physicality is what makes it so insidious. Far more often, such corruption lurks beneath our sight, it curdles thoughts inside a skull, inks the blood in one's veins. And that is enough, more than enough. It brings us to moments like these, in the company of Ambitious and unfaithful men, too proud to see their own downfall."
Amber straightened, tearing her gaze away from the Schnee and onto her master. "Where is this going, Brutus?"
"A Kingdom is no different, it is as susceptible to corruption as any man. Take Vale for example, it stands as a shining beacon of equality and hope, greeting the huddled masses with open arms. Yet its slums are filled with faunas and humans too downtrodden to raise themselves. It has a mighty wall, but no army to defend it."
Amber glared as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. Vale was corrupt? She didn't think so. It accepted everyone, no matter their race or creed. All were welcome within its walls, safe from the grimm.
But not safe from criminals, or the White Fang.
Was that what Brutus was trying to say? That due to the criminal underground of Vale that the whole Kingdom was corrupt?
That didn't make any sense, one bad grape didn't mean the whole vine was ruined.
"That's not true, sure Vale has a bad criminal presence, but that doesn't mean it's all corrupt. If you could remove the criminal element, then the whole kingdom would be better off for it."
Brutus turned to her, his mouth set in a stern frown. "Then why haven't they?"
"I..." Amber began, but quickly lost her voice. Why hadn't Vale removed its criminal underground? Why had criminals like Roman Torchwick been allowed to carry on for so long? "I..Don't know."
"Because the council does not desire it to be so, they are paid by the criminals to keep it this way, to keep people downtrodden and dumb so that the criminals can prey upon them for muscle, drugs and money. The kingdom has no military because according to the council it would be an act of aggression, when in reality, if the generals in charge found out of their corruption, there would be a coup. Vale has become a sickening beacon for all that is wrong with the world, it is bloated with corruption, seeded with ignorance and flippancy, and infested with an indifference to the enemy right outside their gates."
Amber's eyes went wide, her mouth hanging open. "You...You intend to march upon Vale!"
Brutus waved his hand through the air non-chalantly. "Eventually, yes."
"You can't destroy an entire kingdom because you don't like it!"
Brutus wheeled on her, his hand coming up to poke at her. "I will destroy Vale because it is inevitable it be destroyed, not some personal vendetta. The place is a cancer, and a cancer can only spread."
Amber glared, her arms crossing as she looked away from him. "I don't like the idea of attacking another kingdom."
Brutus said nothing, instead turning away from her as he walked away. Amber did the same, walking through the Ocularum and back into the palace.
(@)
Amber growled as she exited the portal, the hole in reality snapping shut as she stomped her way back into the palace. Her already sour mood turned downright murderous as she spied Shar waiting for her by the door that led back into one of the many twisting halls of the Royal palace.
"What do you want?" Amber spat, her anger making her forget her manners and just who she was talking to.
"You better watch that tongue of yours, little Maiden, talk to my father that way and he might just cut it out." Shar giggled back, idly checking her nails.
"Leave me alone Shar, I'm not in the mood for your stupid games."
Shar giggled again, this time stepping directly into her path. "You know..." She said. "That you don't have to like what my father commands, only that you have to obey him, whether it be to jump, climb, kill..." Her eyes lit up with a teasing mirth. "Or hike up your dress and bend over."
Amber hissed, her fists shaking as she tried to restrain herself. "I don't disobey, merely question."
Shar laughed, her hand landing daintily upon her chest. "Question, disobey? Does it really matter? I would never question any orders he would give me, unlike you."
"I only question orders that I don't agree with!" Amber seethed through gritted teeth.
"Oh please, he could tell you to suck his dick and you'd ask why."
There was a resounding smack as Amber's hand struck Shar's cheek, a nasty mark forming upon her once flawless skin.
Shar gaped as she placed a hand upon her stinging cheek, her eyes wide with shock.
"I am Lord High Regent, not You! This post was entrusted to me because I can think past blind loyalty! I obey, but I do question, because it is good to have a second opinion, your father recognizes this while you obviously don't!"
Amber's cheeks were red with exertion, and she was panting as she ranted. "I don't care if he did ask me to suck his dick, I'd ask if he wanted me to deepthroat it, if he wanted to fuck me up the ass, I'd ask in which position! He hasn't asked me these things because your father is a good man!"
Amber shoved Shar back, continuing her tirade. "Brutus formed this city, this Empire from nothing! He built everything with his own two hands! He saved me from death itself!"
"He is the greatest man I have ever known! He's compassionate, stern, intelligent and...and.."
Amber stormed past Shar, her cheeks burning pink. She opened the door, turning at the last second before she opened the door. "And you are nothing like your father."
With that final word, Amber left the room, intent on resuming her duties.
As Shar massaged her cheek, a vicious grin broke out on her lips. "So, little miss maiden has quite the torch for my dear old father."
"How...Predictable."
A/N:
A Long chapter, providing a bit more insight to the workings of the city, which I still haven't named, and the feelings of Amber, Brutus and Shar.
Dark tidings for Vale my dudes.