Dance of the ja-Kha'jay.
By Lakyan.
Authors note: I wanted a bit of fluff in this chapter.
Chapter 8 – Scandal
Mazoga led the Count and Countess of Leyawiin across Lake Rumare. It had taken them four days to travel there on foot, and they were all very exhausted. Mazoga pushed the palace doors open with the last of her strength. She and her two wards collapsed into the Council chambers, where council was in session.
"By the Nine! Are they who I think they are?" The Nord woman asked.
"Mazoga, Mazoga!" Ocato ran to them.
"That's Sir Mazoga." The Orc sighed as she picked herself up from the ground, not having lost her sense of humour at all.
Ocato began to help the other two up, while the rest of the Council stared.
"May I present to you The Count and Countess of Leyawiin." Mazoga said wearily to the Council.
"Council for today is adjourned." Ocato told the Council, while helping the semi-conscious Count out of the room.
"Guards! Give us a hand here!" Mazoga shot at the guards by the door.
They obligingly took the Count and Countess into their arms, and carried them up. Baurus and Caroline raised eyebrows as they went past. The group took them to a spare room in the Imperial suite, and laid them on the bed.
"That will be all." Mazoga told the guards.
The guards looked questioningly at Ocato.
"Thank You. You may return to your post." He told them, and the guards left.
Mazoga sat in a chair, which protested under her heavy armour.
"I will let you rest. You all look like you need it." Ocato said.
"Thank you." Mazoga said gratefully.
"If you need anything, I'll be next door." Ocato jerked his head in that direction, and left.
Mazoga was asleep before he closed the door.
"The Count and Countess have arrived." Ocato told Ri'rassi as he entered the room.
"And Mazoga?" Ri'rassi asked, looking up from her task of diaper changing.
"They are all asleep in the room next door. They are very exhausted after their ordeal, but after a rest and some decent food, they should recover." Ocato explained.
"That's alright." Ri'rassi said, and then continued changing Ja-Kha'jay's diapers.
"That's better isn't it son?" She asked, the baby giggling in response.
"And how is the young Prince today?" Ocato asked, sitting in a comfortable chair.
"He's very good, he's started crawling. As such he's getting good at hiding from mummy. Aren't you dear?" Ri'rassi commented, as Ja-Kha'jay crawled over and started pulling on Ocato's robes.
Ocato leaned down and scooped the infant into his arms. Ja-Kha'jay curled his tail around Ocato's arm.
"And what do you want mister?" Ocato asked the child, who smiled in return, and started cooing in baby talk.
Ocato sang an Altmer lullaby, and soon Ja-Kha'jay was drifting off to sleep. He carefully lifted the baby to his crib, and gently laid him in it. Ri'rassi watched Ocato do this from on the floor, still enraptured by Ocato's lullaby.
"That was beautiful." Ri'rassi told him.
"My mother used to sing that to me when I was a child." Ocato replied, flushing a little at the compliment.
"You have a good memory. I don't know anything my mother used to sing. But then I don't know anything about my parents. Ra'jissan and I were in the orphanage as long as we can remember." Ri'rassi said.
"Surely you know some Khajiiti lullabies." Ocato asked, joining Ri'rassi on the floor.
"There was one that the Matron used to sing to us." Ri'rassi told him, before commencing singing.
"It's strange you know. How different Aldmeris and Ta'agra sound, the melodies are similar." Ocato commented, once Ri'rassi had finished.
"They do." Ri'rassi confirmed.
"You sing beautifully." Ocato told her.
"I've never sung for anyone before." Ri'rassi said, ears laid back a little. Had she been human, her cheeks would be bright red.
"You should sing more often." Ocato said, running his fingers over Ri'rassi's.
"I will." Ri'rassi told him, before her lips met his.
Ocato moved closer, and put his arms around her, holding her close. Ri'rassi curled her tail around Ocato's waist, and kissed him again, which he returned eagerly.
A maid walked in, and seeing the Empress Regent and the High Chancellor smooching in front of the fireplace, she hurried out again.
Ocato and Ri'rassi did not notice her. They were too engrossed in each other to care. Soon the door opened quietly, and three more maids popped their heads in. Again, Ocato and Ri'rassi failed to notice. After a few minutes, the door opened again, and this time, Mazoga came clanking into the room, followed by the Count and Countess of Leyawiin.
Their jaws dropped at the sight.
"Eh-Hem." Mazoga cleared her throat.
Ocato and Ri'rassi froze. They looked around and saw who it was.
"I hope we aren't interrupting anything?" Mazoga asked, mirth evident in her voice.
Ocato and Ri'rassi stood up.
"No. Nothing at all." Ocato said quickly.
"It didn't look like nothing." Mazoga teased.
"Ah…ah…" Ocato gaped like a fish, completely at a loss for words.
Ri'rassi said nothing.
"Well?" Mazoga smirked.
"Shut the door." Ocato said finally.
The Count of Leyawiin shut the door hastily.
"Right. I'm swearing you all to secrecy." Ocato said.
"Why the secrecy?" Mazoga asked.
"Because if this gets out then there will be a scandal the likes of which the palace has never seen." Ocato said solemnly.
"Alright then. I'm in." Mazoga said.
"Us too." The Countess answered for both of them.
"Alright. The Empress Regent and I are…involved." Ocato finally conceded.
"We figured that part out when we came in to see you two tongue wrestling." Mazoga smirked.
"Please Mazoga, no one must know of this." Ri'rassi finally said something.
"Okay, okay." Mazoga said.
"Right that's settled." Ocato said.
"Next time, lock the door." Ri'rassi commented to Ocato.
"Anyway, we would like some food and a place to stay after fleeing from Leyawiin." Mazoga said.
The Count and Countess nodded eagerly behind her.
"Right, Count Marius and Countess Alessia, you can have the room next door. Sir Mazoga you can have the room next to that. After all you've been through you deserve no less. We can get one of the servants to bring you food in the dining hall." Ocato said, and directed them to the room in question.
"Well the Alfiq's out of the bag now." Ri'rassi commented to her sleeping son.
"What is the meaning of this?" The Council roared the next morning.
A copy of the Black Horse Courier landed in front of Ocato. He picked it up and read it with dread growing in his stomach. It detailed the relationship between the Empress Regent and the High Chancellor. The paper did not say who the witness was, but it hinted that there was more than one.
"I-I-I" Ocato stuttered, unusual for him.
"You'd better have a good explanation for this madness!" The Nord woman shouted.
"I-I can explain." Ocato said.
"Yes, we asked you to, so get going!" Word-Weaver scowled.
Ocato looked nervously around the Council, who were all staring at him with expressions of astonishment to anger. He took a deep sigh and sat down.
"Alright. Have any of you ever been in love?" He addressed the Council.
"Of course I have, I have a wife and kids." Word-Weaver answered.
A similar response was given by most other members of the Council.
Ocato nodded. "Then you know how it is, how you want to spend every waking moment with that person."
Several Councillors inclined their heads in affirmation.
"And how you want to be with them so badly, that your heart aches when you are not with them."
More nods.
"And that you want to be with them no matter the consequences."
Again more nods.
"Then you know how I feel about the Empress Regent." Ocato admitted.
The Council remained silent.
"I have loved her since the day I found her in Cloud Ruler Temple, hiding from assassins. She has touched my heart in a way no other has, not even my first wife, who perished in the daedra assault on the Imperial City." Ocato sighed deeply.
"Still, it is inappropriate for the High Chancellor to become involved with the Empress Regent. It's never been done before." A Redguard man said.
"Well what would you have me do?" Ocato stood and raised his voice. "I can't help the way I feel!" He shouted at the Council.
"The way we see it, you have two options." Word-Weaver said carefully.
"What?" Ocato glared.
"One: You give up the Empress Regent. Two: You give up your position as High Chancellor." Word-Weaver stated it very matter-of-factly.
Ocato visibly deflated. He slumped into his chair, pressing his hand to his forehead.
"I-I will need time to think this over." Ocato said, standing up.
"Make it quick, before this blows even more out of proportion." Word-Weaver told him.
Ocato nodded to the Argonian, then left, fuming over the possible reasons for the Black Horse Courier finding out, the offending paper scrunched up in his hand.
Ri'rassi was under the table, playing with Ja-Kha'jay, who'd decided that hiding from his mother was even more fun than it had been the day before. She heard the door open and clse.
"Ri'rassi?" She heard Ocato call.
"Just a minute." She replied, her voice muffled in the confined space.
"Look who's come to see us!" Ri'rassi called to her son, who came crawling out from his hidey hole. She picked him up and squirmed out from underneath the table.
"There we go." Ri'rassi juggled Ja-Kha'jay, making it more comfortable for both of them.
Ocato stood with a worried expression on his face.
"What is it?" Ri'rassi asked, knowing instantly that something was bothering him.
Ocato strode across the room and took her and Ja-Kha'jay into his arms.
"Oh, Ri'rassi they know." He whispered.
Ri'rassi was silent, contemplating his words. "About us?" She asked eventually.
Ocato nodded slowly.
"Who?" Ri'rassi asked, having not yet spied the paper in Ocato's hand.
"Everyone." Ocato showed her the paper.
Ri'rassi put Ja-Kha'jay in his crib, and examined the paper.
"But Mazoga, Alessia and Marius all swore…" Ri'rassi said bewildered.
"I don't think it was them." Ocato said.
"Then who?" Ri'rassi asked.
"The maids." Ocato answered.
Ri'rassi whirled and looked at the door. She was sure someone was on the other side, but she was probably being paranoid.
"The maids are the only others that have been up here, and they know that I've been sleeping on your sofa for months. They could easily put two and two together." Ocato continued.
Ri'rassi sat on the half made bed on the sofa.
"They could easily have walked in on us yesterday, before Mazoga…" Ocato sat down beside her.
"How has the Elder Council taken this?" Ri'rassi asked.
"They were outraged, of course. They've asked for me to give you up, or hand in my resignation." Ocato sighed.
"And?" Ri'rassi asked, dreading Ocato's decision.
"I need to find a replacement. I don't know who to pick." Ocato told her, putting an arm around her shoulders.
"Really? You'd give up the Elder Council? For me?" Ri'rassi asked, her fears relieved.
"Yes." Ocato whispered. "I wouldn't give you up for the world." Ocato kissed her fore head.
"But, I won't live as long as you. I don't know how long Altmer live for, but I've only got another eighty years or so. You'll be alone again…" Ri'rassi told him, trying to spare him that sadness.
"I'd rather spend the next eighty years with you than live the next six hundred without you." Ocato embraced her.
"I'm so happy to hear that." Ri'rassi said, holding him tighter.
"I know. So am I." He whispered back, breathing her scent in deeply.
Ra'jissan marched along the road to Almalexia, where Mournhold awaited. Raminus Polus and Burz gro-Khash strode along beside him. The Khajiit felt his pocket get warm, indicating someone was trying to contact him. He pulled out the speaking stone.
"Yes High Chancellor?" Ra'jissan asked, when he saw Ocato's smoky image.
"How long would it take you to get back to the Imperial City?" Ocato asked.
"Instantly. Why?" Ra'jissan asked, wondering what this could possibly be about.
"Good, get back here as soon as you can. Leave whoever you want in charge. I suggest Arch-Mage Raminus, as he's the highest ranking official." Ocato told him, and broke off contact.
"Something big must have happened in the Imperial City to warrant recalling you. I don't know what it's about, but it sounded urgent." Raminus commented, overhearing the conversation.
"I know. Alright, I'll leave the both of you in charge." Ra'jissan addressed the Orc and the Imperial. "I trust you both to capture Almalexia."
The two nodded.
"Make camp a day's march from the city and reassemble the Siege Crawler. The Argonians are approaching Almalexia from the south, their numbers should help you capture the city. Helseth himself will probably try to hole up in Mournhold, but the Siege Crawler will make short work of those walls." Ra'jissan left them with those last orders, before he made the signal for Recall and vanished.
He reappeared right outside the Imperial Palace, startling the guards on duty. They started to draw their swords, but checked themselves when they recognised who it was. The guards returned to their duty, growing more and more worried about the crowd.
Neither the guards nor Ra'jissan knew why there were people gathering outside the palace, for none of them had yet seen the Black Horse Courier.
"Is it true?", "The Empress Regent and the High Chancellor?", "I can't believe it." Were some of the snatches of conversation heard before Ra'jissan went into the palace.
He climbed up the tower to the Imperial suite, where he found Ocato pacing up and down the entranceway.
"You weren't kidding when you said instantly, I see." Ocato commented when he spotted the armoured Suthay-Raht enter.
"You have to love those Dunmer spells." Ra'jissan quipped. "Why am I here Ocato?"
Ocato stopped his pacing, and looked at the Khajiit.
"Your sister and I have become…involved. The Elder Council gave me a choice of giving up my position on the Council or giving up your sister." Ocato explained.
Ra'jissan stroked his beard in thought. "And which did you choose?" He asked carefully.
"I chose to hand in my resignation. The Elder Council doesn't know this yet, and I want to choose a replacement before I tell them." Ocato answered.
"And you want me?" Ra'jissan queried, already knowing the answer.
"Of course! I can think of no other better suited for the job." Ocato exclaimed.
"Well then, it looks like the Elder Council is going to have a new High Chancellor." Ra'jissan grinned.
"Alright then. Let's go fill out all the paperwork and I can show you the ropes." Ocato told him.
The Elder Council looked as Ocato came back into the Council Chambers, Ra'jissan behind him.
"Well, have you reached a decision?" Word-Weaver asked as the two sat down.
"I have." Ocato told the Council.
"Well?" The Nord woman pressed.
"I have chosen to tender my resignation. The necessary paperwork is all filled out." OCato dropped a pile of parchment on the table.
The Council gasped.
"And my final act as High Chancellor will be to announce my replacement." Ocato said firmly.
Ra'jissan stood up.
"Ra'jissan, Nerevarine of Morrowind will be my replacement." Ocato turned to his bearded friend. "I hearby proclaim you, Ra'jissan, High Chancellor of the Elder Council."
This was met by numerous protests from the Council, but Ocato left, his word final.
The palace doors opened up, and Ocato strode out to greet the gathered crowd. They immediately bombarded him with questions. He held out is hands and waved for them to quiet down.
"Good people of Cyrodiil." He addressed them. "What you have read in the Black Horse Courier is true."
The crowd gasped, obviously stunned.
"As such, I have resigned from the Elder Council."
Another gasp, this one much louder.
"I have left a replacement, Ra'jissan, Nerevarine of Morrowind. He is your new High Chancellor." Ocato told them.
This was met by a stunned silence. Ocato nodded curtly, and went back inside.