Chapter 29:
Heels clicked on the marble floor of the meeting hall, breaking up the monotonous silence. The chancellor of Ayuthay barely looked up at the newcomer from his maps on the table of which he was standing before, and it was quite obvious from his rigid demeanor that he was displeased.
"I thought you were through here," the chancellor said crossly, as though they'd been through this before. "I lived up to my end of the bargain, now it's time that you live up to yours - and leave my kingdom."
The newcomer clicked his tongue as he made his way over to the chancellor's table, his long black hair held in an intricate coil that revealed hair falling mid-way down his back.
"Such impatience; surely I would've thought you would be interested in my appearance, if nothing more," the man said, returning the cold greeting.
He paused at the head of the table, as he studied the map before him with an observant eye. His eyebrows creased into a frown as he noticed the white pinheads that the chancellor had strategically placed around the borders of Morgal.
"Hmm, and what is this?" he asked as he tilted his head in the chancellor's direction, making eye contact with the elder man at last.
"I'm stationing some men there," he replied gruffly. "In case everything doesn't go as smoothly as planned."
"Ah, so you mean in case our negotiations fail," the newcomer said, running a gloved hand along the map. "These positions are terrible, and would do you no good anyway."
"What are you doing here anyway, Kakashi? I thought you were through here. You have what you want, so why bother coming back? To bother me more?" the chancellor asked, impatience biting the edge of his tone.
The Kaocho general, Kakashi, looked up calmly into the wrinkled face of the chancellor, without showing irritation in the slightest degree.
"You did not live up to your end of the bargain," he said shortly, as he began to walk along the opposite side of the table.
The chancellor only continued to stare at the man with great distaste, as he continued to make his way slowly around the table, his hand running along the length of it as he did so.
"What does that portend to?" the chancellor asked.
Kakashi paused midway and grinned, turning back to face the table once more.
"You told me that if we brought you to the head of the Ayuthayan government that you would give us the king – and an allegiance –"
"I gave you the king!" the chancellor said impatiently, slamming a fist against the table. "I sent him to Morgal for you! Isn't that what you wanted?"
Kakashi tilted his head slightly, while removing one of the white pinheads from the map and repositioning it.
"Yes, and no," he said softly. "You see, you sent him to Morgal, but he apparently paid no heed to your advice, as we've had many troops scouting the area and there's no prince – correction: king to be had within the region."
The chancellor bit down on his lower lip, as he ran a hand through his short, gray beard.
"That is none of my concern, for I had ordered the boy to go there – I am no longer held responsible for his actions –"
"That may be true, but I would've thought you'd send search parties out for him by now."
The chancellor gaped at the general, who remained calm and serene, despite the heated state that the elder man was entering.
"What? And lure him back? He's gone, and he's better off that way. For all I know, Amiti could be dead, or dying – perhaps he's even been plagued by this disease by now."
The sly smile returned to the general's lips as he turned his head to face the chancellor once more, his gloved hand pausing mid-air above one of the pinheads.
"I think King Wo and I would like it very much if you sent search parties off to find your "dear king", or else something terrible might happen to him," he said, sarcasm filling his tone. "And then, we need to work on that alliance part of our agreement; or trust me, my dear friend, you might not remain Prime Minister of Ayuthay for long."
He removed the pinhead from its location and repositioned it, as the chancellor responded, "What sort of action are you wishing for me to take? I can't provide you with more men, as ours are scarce enough as it is, what with the Grave Eclipse and Amiti's constant troops positioned around the borders of Kaocho."
"Oh, but you see, we need more military power. Or, at least more of a…persuasion."
The chancellor's thick eyebrows furrowed into a frown. "I don't follow you."
Kakashi's lips turned upward into a grin, as he then began to remove all of the white pinheads. He then moved onto the red ones, which presumably symbolized the opposing side.
"Kaocho is left weak, ever since we lost many of our troops to the devastation of the Grave Eclipse. Much like your pathetic Ayuthay, Kaocho is falling. No one takes us seriously, Chancellor. No one will consider anything without a little extra persuasion from a fellow ally. A strong, influential one that would perhaps impose a threat whereas we didn't have the power to do so."
The chancellor eyed Kakashi critically as he began to reposition all of the pinheads, starting with the red ones.
"So you see, when we declare war on Passaj," Kakashi continued, as his hands moved swiftly along the mountainside while placing the red pinheads along the map. "Ayuthay is going to be right there to back us up. If the idiotic nation has any brains, at all, they will surrender immediately before having to deal with a devastating blow. Once we have Passaj under our wing, the other countries within the Ei-Jei region will be obliged to follow suit. So you see, it won't be long before this dominion of Angara will be ours; yours and mine, my dear, old friend."
The red pinheads were at last in place, along with white ones storming across the borders - the white ones greatly dominating over the red. The chancellor slowly moved his dark eyes from the map and onto the general, whom grinned madly at him.
"What will it be, Chancellor?" he asked slowly, as he reached out a gloved hand to grasp his. "Do we have an accord?"
The chancellor let out a slight groan, as his eyes began to trace the map tentatively. While the man was eager to obtain power, he was also resentful about declaring war against their long-lived allegiance of Passaj – through thick and thin, the country had always been there to back them up, and it pained the chancellor slightly that soon he would have to betray even their greatest of allies. It wasn't difficult for him to rat out Amiti to Kaocho; the boy was, after all, the bastard-born son of the princess, and in his opinion wasn't worthy of the throne in any respect anyway. Ridding the country of him didn't seem a crime, or incorrect in any way. Destroying alliances with fellow leaders and countries was an entirely different matter; it seemed wrong, and the chancellor was having a hard time ingesting it, even if it did mean sovereign power over Ayuthay. He had made the agreement with King Wo that he'd offer him Amiti along with his services if he granted him power, only he hadn't initially realized at what cost he would he be required to do it in.
"I think," the chancellor said slowly, not removing his eyes from the map, "that we should give this a bit more thought - before declaring war on Passaj, that is. Passaj has always been a very reliable ally up to this point, and there's no saying that they won't cooperate if we ask them to –"
"The Elders of Passaj hold their loyalty with the royal family blood-line," Kakashi interrupted. "They will never side with you, so long as there's any ounce of a possibility that the king is still alive. Unless you wave his dead body in their faces, or declare war with them, there is no possible way that they would cooperate, and even then they still may refuse. We might have to take their country down by force in the end, though I do know that Passaj isn't notorious for their warriors."
The chancellor remained thoughtful for a moment, as he began to remove the red pinheads from the mountainside and moved them further up the map, towards the boundaries of Morgal.
"If we can break through their forces, that is," the chancellor said slowly. "Did it ever occur to you that perhaps they could seek military help elsewhere aside from the Ei-Jei region?"
Kakashi snorted, as he laid a hand down against the smooth, cedar table.
"And where do you suppose they would seek this epic help? Surely not from Bilibin, or any of the other countries along the opposite side of Angara."
"No, I was thinking more on the terms of Morgal –" replied the chancellor. "They have strong military forces, ones that I'm not certain that we could hold our ground with the troops of Kaocho and Ayuthay combined. This needs to be something that King Wo takes into consideration."
Kakashi scowled, as he turned to face the chancellor, tucking back a tiny lock of black hair that managed to escape his coil.
"I can assure you that won't be a concern," he sneered. "Morgal is too busy with their own affairs, what with the outbreak of the pandemic within their hands. They have far too many Adepts that they must worry about contracting this fatal illness; surely they won't have the energy or means to worry about creating an alliance built up of solely humans. You know how they feel about those outside of their race."
"That was with Morgal's former king," the chancellor interrupted. "With their new ruler, things might be different."
Kakashi sighed and shook his head, taking long strides alongside the remainder of the table towards the chancellor.
"If these issues arise, then I will take your advice into consideration," he said impatiently. "But, until that time comes, Kaocho is declaring war against Passaj, and you are going to back us up."
Kakashi then turned to leave, his heels once more clicking along the floor.
"And if I should not?" the chancellor asked, causing the general to pause dead in his steps. "What then?"
Kakashi barely glanced over his shoulder at the chancellor whom stood at the opposite end of the room from him.
"Let's just say that only a fool would decline," he said shortly, as he then continued on towards the doors and out of meeting hall.
The chancellor clenched his fists and brought them both upon the cedar table, his eyes fixated on the door in which the Kaocho general had exited.
"Curse them," the chancellor muttered under his breath to no one but himself and any soldier nearby that could've been listening. "The whole entire lot of them."
~(*)~
Darkness had already fallen by the time Alex and his two female accomplices had arrived in the large capital of Morgal. Though despite the city's splendor and festive lights, it was to be considered anything but welcoming.
The streets, normally packed with residents and tourists alike, were now barren, creating an abandoned, ghost town-like atmosphere. The shops, that were normally open at this hour, had already closed, and even some had been boarded up. The sight was enough to make any passerby a tad bit queasy, and it had at least made Alex's heart sink, if nothing more.
"This isn't right," Alex muttered under his breath, taking in the scene in bewilderment. "Belinsk is always busy; day or night."
The young Venus Adept said nothing, though it could be read through her eyes and expression that she was fearful. She glanced over from one side of the shopping strip to the other, searching for any trace of leftover life left within the city, but found none. This was certainly not how she had remembered leaving it. No, most certainly not.
"Perhaps because it is cold outside?" Marishka suggested, as if this explanation was sound, and something that the Water Adept hadn't already thought of.
"No," he replied, shaking his head. "Something's wrong here – my senses tell me that something bad has happened here."
Himi let out a sharp gasp, and abruptly turned her orb-like eyes onto the elder Adept.
"Do you think the Tuaparang's already been here?" she asked frantically. "What if they already found Matthew? What if –"
"Pipe down," Alex muttered in a low growl, bringing a hand up to Himi's shoulder and grasping it. "No, I somewhat doubt that the Tuaparang's been here, but I'm wondering about the pandemic."
Confusion spread across the young girl's visage, as she slowly began to process what Alex was saying.
"If that's true –" Marishka broke in, protruding into Himi's thoughts, "then it isn't safe for the two of you to be here, is it?"
All eyes turned upon the Water Adept momentarily, his expression passive as he responded in a very calm tone. "If we linger here for too long, perhaps. We'd best move quickly."
It was unanimous amongst the three that they should go on about their business and depart as soon as they could. Though the pandemic had been reported as to only have affected Adepts so far, Marishka wasn't exactly inclined to take any chances.
As though a gentle breeze brushing across a water's surface, the three made their way through Central Belinsk just as silently, without even disrupting the snow of which lay so elegantly upon the city, decorating every step, bench, pathway and rooftop with thick blankets of pure white.
Many thoughts ran through the young Venus Adept's mind as she continued to follow Alex and Marishka towards the Northern entrance to Belinsk castle, one of which was the current safety of Sveta. While still in Yamata City, Morgal was believed to be free of this terrible disease, but from the looks of things, and Alex's confirmation, she began to think that rumor was no longer true
Due to the lack of traffic upon the streets, it took very little time for them to travel through the entire city and reach the palace gates, which astoundingly, were still being guarded by a couple of Beastman. Both men looked as though they'd recently taken a beating, and one of them even had tufts of fur sticking up in many places.
Alex, without bothering to lower the hood of his cloak, stepped forth.
"Good evening," he said in his usual, exceedingly calm drawl. "I have come to bid the queen my well wishes during these dark, terrible times –"
"Name?" one of the Beastman asked stiffly, as if he couldn't have cared less for Alex's grandiose intro.
"Alex, from the snowy mountains of Imil, and Princess Himi of Yamata," he replied smiling, though it was probably nearing impossible for the Beastman to be able to make out his expression from under his hood. "We also come with a warning for her –"
"I'll inform her majesty that you are here," the Beastman interjected, as he lowered his massive spear and began to turn away. "Wait here, and I shall inform you as to whether her majesty is feeing up for an audience or not."
Alex barely nodded. "That would be lovely; I thank you."
Without a further word, the Beastman turned and slowly climbed up the palace steps. Their welcome was no warmer than that provided from the city, though Alex expected no more from them, to be entirely truthful. He had gotten their former king killed, and he expected anything but a warm welcome. Though granted, the Beastmen were paying very little heed to the three newcomers anyway, and it was highly unlikely that they managed to tie the connection between Alex and the former general of the Tuaparang, Arcanus.
Marishka's body shivered alongside the Water Adept, as she drew her cloak tighter around her and let out a sigh.
"They could have at least had the hospitality to invite us inside the doors to wait," she grumbled under her breath, "Making us stand out here is appalling."
"Let me remind you, my dear," Alex muttered, bending over to whisper in her ear, "that this isn't Kibombo, but instead, the land of the Beastman."
Even from where Himi stood, she could tell that Alex put quite an emphasis on the word 'beast', as though being derogatory.
Marishka found his statement anything but humorous, as she harrumphed and crossed her arms.
"Well, unlike the Beastman, we don't have fur coats and canines –"
Upon this, the remaining guard growled lowly, causing poor Himi to leap in surprise.
"Sorry," Alex muttered, offering the Beastman an apologetic smile and waving his hand carelessly. "My servant here doesn't speak very good English –"
"Servant?"
Alex turned and smiled serenely upon Marishka, a smile that Himi knew all too well to take as a warning rather than an act of kindness. Marishka shook her head irritably, but said no more as she continued to wait silently in the chilly evening.
After what seemed to be countless moments, the guard finally returned, shifting his dark, beady eyes towards Alex.
"I'm afraid that the queen already has an audience that she is entertaining," the Beastman informed him cordially. "Please try coming again tomorrow."
Alex blinked, fixing the Beastman with a cool stare.
"And did you…inform her majesty of my presence?" he inquired, his voice still smooth and serene, despite the fact that he repeatedly curled and uncurled his hands into fists.
"She doesn't wish to be disturbed at this time," the Beastman replied, a bit more firmly than he had previously. "Perhaps she will have the time to see you tomorrow."
"Perhaps I will not have the time to see her tomorrow," Alex retorted, his patience growing finer as he spoke. "I have come to warn her of a great calamity that is to befall Morgal. If her Majesty doesn't take action soon – she might lose much more than her crown."
It seemed as if Alex had pulled a trigger, for the Beastman stepped forth, a snarl engraved upon his face as he inched closer towards the Mercury Adept. Though Alex wasn't a short man under any circumstances, the brawny Beastman seemed to tower over him, his eyes boring into those of the blue-haired man.
"I will only ask you of this once:," the Beastman said in a low, dangerous growl. "Leave."
Despite his confidence, Alex found no further ground to argue with the Beastman, and bowed his head low.
"Of course, as you wish, Sir. I meant to impose no harm or offense to you or her majesty, the queen."
In response, the Beastman only growled and straightened his spear to be standing upright, its post firmly rooted into the snow. Alex then turned to leave, shooting a glance over his shoulder as he began to descend down the steps and away from the palace gates. Marishka and Himi were close behind him; no way did they wish to be left behind with a couple of Beastman that Alex so considerately angered.
"Well, that went well," Marishka muttered sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest. "Did that go as you were expecting, Arcanus? Or should I say, Master?"
Alex frowned as he paused mid-step, forcing Himi to backtrack so that she would be in earshot when he spoke.
"I'll be frank, I' didn't think that it would be easy to get in," he admitted. "It never was, not even back when Volechek was king."
Himi tilted her head slightly, her silky black hair parting as it fell gracefully over her shoulders.
"How did you manage to get in before?" she asked.
"Back then it was different," Alex replied gruffly, taking a second glance back towards the castle. "I was an honored guest to Volechek, so naturally, he granted me entry. It was only a matter of getting to him the first time. That had proved to be difficult –"
At this, Alex froze, realization lighting his eyes as they remained fixated upon the white, plush snow.
Marishka and Himi remained standing there, shivering, as they watched Alex skeptically, until Marishka broke the prolonged silence at long last.
"Well, what is it?" she asked. "Is something the matter?"
Alex, snapping out of his moment's daze, turned his gaze upon the Gondowan dancer and took a step backward.
"I have an idea," he informed them, a sly grin forming around the edges of his mouth. "Wait here; I'll see to it that we get to see Sveta tonight."
Before neither of the two could speak, Alex gave an abrupt start and vanished from sight, leaving the two standing out in the bitter cold with naught but a few words.
"And once again we are left to wait," Marishka said with a sigh, as she turned towards her younger companion. "That now makes two that Arcanus owes me."
Author's Note: Hello out there to any readers that I have left! I apologize profusely for my long hiatus from writing this story. Aside from many family events taking place over the past few months and not to mention, my loss of inspiration for this story, I've been set back immensely on writing this. I am going to once again set this story as one of my top priorities, and hopefully will have a new chapter each week for everyone to enjoy (or hate, whichever appeals to you more :D). Once again, I apologize for the long delay, and I hope that I have at least a few of my old readers out there still!
The first portion of this chapter was actually written several months ago, whereas the second half of this was in fact written over the past couple of days. So yes, there was a bit of stretch between writing this, and I hope this chapter overall doesn't have too random of a feel. Hopefully my following chapters will be written during a shorter span of time, and won't have that awkward gap to it ;)
As always, I'd love to hear your what you think. Constructive criticism is an author's best friend, as well as any advice that you may provide that could make this story better. They're definitely encouraging, at the very least :D
A big thank you for reading! Enjoy!
