The first year of Casimiro and Alianne's reign was peaceful. Alianne worked as hard as she could to abolish slavery and cut taxes for the lower classes. She was nicknamed "The People's Queen," though she knew enough about human nature and politics not to alienate the nobles. Instead, she nullified the law that stated every noble had to be present at Court for six months of the year. Casimiro had been one of the few exceptions to this rule under his grandfather's reign. Now, the nobles were only required to attend the Midwinter and Beltane festivals. For this, the aristocracy also glorified her.
The high point of the year, however, was the birth of Princess Elena. Pale-skinned, with raven-black hair and her mother's large violet eyes, the princess captured the hearts of the Court and the common people alike. No one even mentioned that the child was not a boy…instead, Casimiro named Elena his heir in the case that a male child was not born. Alianne was relieved to see that unlike the Tortallans, the Copper Islanders had no reservations about a female monarch.
While his wife was busy winning the hearts of her subjects, Casimiro was building a vast army, one to rival even Carthak's. This army would be the launch of his great empire. He and Alianne spent countless hours debating over which nation to conquer first. They eventually reached the conclusion that there was one country that offered a prime starting-off point: Tortall.
Alianne had contacts who sent to her maps leading in and out of the Tortallan palace. Every night, the war council conferred on the best time of year to take the capital. For two years, they debated this, until they were approaching Beltane…the two-year anniversary of Casimiro and Alianne's ascension to the throne. By this time, Alianne's newfound ambition had grown to such a level that she herself was the one motivated to take Corus. Casimiro sat back and governed his lands while his wife planned their attack.
All the while, Tortall knew something was wrong. Normally, Copper Isles pirates attacked up and down the coasts during spring. Having heard the rumors about the young queen's desire to rule an empire as great as Rome, Jonathan dispatched several of his top agents, sending with them several trained knights, including Keladry of Mindelan and Neal of Queenscove. They were to be acting as bodyguards to the top agent…Alan of Pirate's Swoop. All three of them were unhappy about this arrangement.
"I did not spend eight years training as a knight to act as someone's bodyguard," Neal hissed at Alan.
"Yeah, well, you think I actually want an armed escort? Fine, you don't want to be bodyguards? Then you act as spies, and you obey my orders! Got it?" Neal was strongly reminded of Alanna. He and Kel nodded.
"This should be fun," Kel said cheerfully on the ship.
Neal scowled at her. "Not only are we missing Beltane in Corus, but we have to spend it creeping around the Copper Isles. Not my ideal vacation. Not to mention we have to spend it with the most arrogant person known to man!"
"I like Alan…he's funny."
"Women," Neal retorted. "You only like him because he's handsome. Yeah, well, you and every other girl at Court. Get in line, Kel."
"Sounds to me like someone's a little jealous!" She elbowed him. "Besides, you don't have to worry…he's three years younger than me. I don't do that."
"Well, there's a first time for everything," he shot back, enjoying the sour look on her face. After Kel stormed off, Neal looked out over the ocean, where the Copper Isles were now visible on the horizon.
"Neal! Hey, Nealan!"
"Hay is for horses," Neal snapped as he walked over to where Alan stood. "What?"
"Gods, what's gotten into you? We're almost there, so we have to go under."
Neal scowled. "Why? I wanted to actually see Cayetano when we pulled in."
"Because we're undercover, that's why," Alan replied blandly. "They don't know we're coming…this isn't a visit of State."
Neal grumbled as he followed Alan down into the cargo room. "Wait, we have to hide?"
"Sweet Judas, Neal," Alan yelled, "just shut up and do what I say!"
Neal shut up and sat behind a crate of what looked to be apples. About five minutes later, a thought occurred to him.
"Hey, Alan…who's Judas?"
Alianne read over the various proposals, signing the ones she liked, burning the ones she despised. She had signed about two, and burned fifty or so. Placing the remainder of the papers on the desk, she stood up from her chair, stretched, and walked out the door. It had been so long since she'd seen her daughter for more than five minutes…the proposals could wait.
She found Elena sound asleep in her bed. Alianne laughed quietly, wishing she could do the same. She gently stroked her daughter's long black hair, when suddenly her eyes narrowed. The memory came back to her all at once…she was fourteen again, in the convent…
"Things have been getting worse and worse between them," one of the girls whispered. "I heard that the king and queen won't speak to each other anymore!"
"Ooooh, why?" the other girls had gasped.
"Well, you know that Princess Kalasin wanted to be the first female page, right? When her father talked her out of it, he cut a deal with her, saying she'd be able to choose her husband. Well, apparently, she met Emperor Kaddar, and she can't stand him!"
"No!"
"So, she tells her father that she doesn't want to marry him, and that he said she would have a choice. Well, Thayet goes ballistic, shouting about a princess's duty and all that. But Jonathan listened to Kalasin, saying that since it was her life concerned, he'd try to break the marriage contract. Thayet said he'd do it over her dead body and stormed out."
"Don't you have any real gossip, Catherine?" The other girls were growing impatient.
"Yeah, I'm getting to it! So, apparently, the king and queen can't even be in the same room together…but d'you know who the king's having an affair with? Alanna the Lioness!"
All the girls gasped. Alianne bit her lip, trying not to lose her temper. Catherine turned to her. "Well, Ali? Is it true?"
"Absolutely not!" Alianne's eyes snapped with fury. "And it's preposterous that you would even suggest such a thing!"
Even though Alianne had always known that the rumors were mostly false, she had always wondered about her mother and the king. They were very close, and they spent a lot of time together…not to mention they'd once been lovers. Alianne had conned her into confessing that one day. Her daughter looked like it should be their child…Jonathan's pale skin and black hair, Alanna's violet eyes. Alianne, with her tan skin and golden hair hardly looked like Elena's mother, though the eyes were a dead giveaway. Casimiro was also tanned, though their hair was the same silky shade of black. Elena, however, looked like a Conté…she even had the tall, lanky build. Alianne scowled. No, it was impossible…
She put the awful thought from her mind. To even think for one second that her father was, well, Jonathan was too much for her to take. Running swiftly to her chambers, she poured herself a glass of the strongest brandy she could find. Who cares if I get drunk, she thought defiantly. It's better than thinking like this…
Alianne looked up, five hours later, and remembered that Beltane was that night. Oh, damn, I have to get ready!
"Catalina! Catalina!" The lady-in-waiting was nowhere to be found. Rolling her eyes, Alianne ran to her dressing room and began to look through her gowns. "Dammit," she cursed out loud, "what in the Goddess's name am I going to wear tonight?"
After about a half hour of deliberation, she settled on the white and silver gown, the one that had been a gift from the king and queen of France. "Thank the gods Eleanor of Aquitaine has taste," Alianne muttered as she pulled the gown over her head, "or else I'd be stuck wearing the latest fashions from places like Tortall." She shuddered as she thought of the gowns that the ladies of the Court wore.
Casimiro burst through the doors. "You know, Alianne, it doesn't take that long to get ready! Hurry up!"
"Oh, damn you," she shot back as she put her shoes on. "You're always so rushed! Relax! It's not like they're going to do anything without us. It's Beltane, Cas…tonight is supposed to be fun, not stressful."
Grumbling as he followed her, Casimiro obviously disagreed. "We have a strategic planning meeting tomorrow," he reminded her as the walked towards the ballroom. "Every year Jonathan grows only stronger and stronger. His dynasty is secured, now that Roald has a son."
Alianne stopped dead in her tracks. "What? How…oh, the Yamani princess…I see. How old is this child?"
"About six months older than our Elena," he answered nonchalantly. "I have been thinking about contracting a marriage alliance between the two."
"Let me get this straight…you want our Elena to marry Jonathan's grandson, while at the same time you attempt to overthrow him? It doesn't make sense!"
Casimiro sighed and made her face him. "You think I want any daughter of mine marrying his descendant? No, Alianne, it is a farce. We shall make Jonathan believe that he is our ally by pulling up this contract between us…that way, he will be taken totally by surprise by our attack." He nodded at the look of dawning on her face. "The emperor of the Yamani Islands was a fool…he could have easily taken Tortall at any time. Meanwhile, we must ally ourselves with the Bazhir."
"They will never follow us," she whispered. "Jonathan is the Voice of the Tribes, and the Bazhir are not permitted to war against the Voice. It is a sacred law that not a single one of them would break…not even for all the money in the world."
"D'you think I have not thought of that, mi flor pequeña? Though in the beginning of his reign, Jonathan was kind to the tribesmen, lately, he has been falling under the influence of the conservative members of his Court. They despise the Bazhir…and lately, a law has been passed to restrict their movements. Do you see? Jonathan is repressing the very people he was chosen to liberate! To lead! In the Bazhir code, if the Voice breaks one of their laws, then they are permitted to elect a new leader. Before we attack Tortall we must weaken it…civil war is the only way."
Alianne frowned slightly, taking in his words. She knew Casimiro was right…if they had the support of the Bazhir, they would easily take Tortall. Only, if she went along with her husband's plan, she would undo everything her own mother had worked for. But, her ambitious mind realized, even that could be turned to her advantage. The Bedouin-like tribesmen would listen to the daughter of the Woman Who Rides Like a Man…they would accept her leadership. Casimiro's plans immediately made sense. A smile devoid of any warmth or kindness played across her lips. Her violet eyes glittered triumphantly, an expression which slightly frightened Casimiro.
"It is a most excellent idea," Alianne said coldly. "Cut the nation in half…and then we shall see how long Jonathan can hold onto his throne."
A/N: Ok, I'm posting two chapters today…originally, the next chapter was the other half of Part Four, but I really felt that it was a good place to end the chapter…you know, the line above. God, Alianne is turning out kinda evil…but again, that's what ambition does to you!