"Barbarians are standing at the gatehouse,
And here come they to squash the kingdom's light,
Make ready, both thou weapons and thou hearts now
Be at my side through this opress'ed night."
-The Great Warrior-Poet, Horace, 'Letter to the Men who Stand Guard', stanza 2
The journey to Perceé, according to the memories the young rabbit had of visiting there as a child, was one full day, with a good chance of arriving by nightfall assuming a departure in the earliest hours of the morning. It was a journey the bunny always hated making.
It wasn't the people or the food that put her mind to fury when she set eyes on the place. The area enjoyed a rather consistent yield of grain, and this meant that the place wasn't in abject poverty either. Neither were the inhabitants of the modestly sized town particularly rude. But the place, the bunny thought, had such a complete lack of refinement or culture that it was sickeningly boring for her cultured mind to have even an ounce of respect for. The town was, by all measures, just another simple town, full of simple farmers and simple tradesmen performing the same simple routine every day, not one of them aspiring to be anything more than a local priest at best. It maddened her to her core to visit this place.
But if anything could make her overcome her objective hatred of the town, it was the fact that her best shot at unveiling her plans for a more refined city was to visit the Archduke Lafayette who lived in the square of the infuriatingly simple village. After all, if she wanted to bring refinement and a higher standard of living to the people of Armello, what better place to start than with a culture of simple farmers who didn't think twice about using chamber pots?
At least, that's what she told herself as she threw her belongings into her leather bag, frowning and furrowing her brow in a determined anger as her father watched from his bedside.
"Elyssia! Elyssia, come now, there's no need to be so angry about it all!"
"Father.." the young doe said, glancing at the ceiling and clenching her paw shut to contain her anger. "...I am not angry"
"You're always angry about going to Percee. I remember you as a child, Elyssia!"
"I'm not a child anymore, now, am I?" She spat back, hastily throwing a pair of leather gloves into her bag as if it was rubbish to be discarded.
The elder had decided to set down his bubble tea and look to his daughter. "Perhaps not, but you still get frustrated very easily. I can see it in you. It's really quite clear, anyone can tell-"
"I know, father" she stated with agitation, rolling her eyes. "I-"
"Even the most socially inept-"
"That's it, I'm going" the girl said, throwing the fully packed bag over her shoulders and moving to her father's bedside, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "I hope your back gets better, father."
"You know me, Elyssia, I'll be fine. Most tasks around the home should be no worry for me, and I'll take a look over your plans for the statue while you're gone. I just can't leave on a day's journey with this back" the old rabbit said, wrapping his arms around his daughter in return. "You go off and build great things now, young one…"
"Oh, father, I'll only be gone for two days" she said. "You know the Archduke will be too drunk to sign papers for a contract, never mind even talking about an architectural project of this scale."
"Don't go losing your hope before the journey has even started" he said, kissing her on the forehead and resting himself back on the bed. "Luck may yet be on your side."
The bunny forced herself to smile, if only to make her father feel better about the whole situation. "Thanks… Goodbye, father" she said, turning about to head for the door fully dressed and with her leather bag in tow.
"Don't forget your measuring staff in case the archduke wants you to start construction immediately!" the father mused. "I love you, Elyssia!"
Elyssia grabbed the brass and wooden tool that stood almost to her height and set for the door, opening it with an agitated sigh. "I love you too, father!" she said on her way out the door, preferring to get this tedious chore over sooner rather than later.
And it was, in fact, a tedious chore for the bunny. Despite the beautiful walk along the countryside, and a normally enjoyable solitude (save for the one or two convoys of King's Guards that roamed through the narrow country roads), the bunny spent the whole time focusing on how fruitless the whole exercise would most likely turn out to be in the end.
It was well known by then that the Archduke Lafayette was a drunkard. Tales of servants finding him nursing bottles of ale and wine, too drunk to speak, throughout the alehouses of the town had spread like wildfire through the entire rabbit clan lands. At this point, some were starting to send word of even more nefarious rumors. Tales of him romancing prostitutes, abusing arsenic for a quick high, and challenging others into frequent sword duels out of misplaced anger were starting to become less and less uncommon. But more than this, the young rabbit was sure the Archduke wouldn't accept her project due to one key factor.
The city he lived in.
The thoughts always drifted back to that plain and traditionalist city. Simple limestone one-room houses, rotting thatch rooftops and open gutters where sewage flowed freely… At least Chateau du Lapins had tried to appear clean, this place was just outright archaic. If this is where the Archduke lived, she figured he wasn't much of a public works supporter.
By the time the young rabbit had made her way to Perceé, dusk was starting to set in. She figured it was useless stopping for dinner along the way. In and out was the way she always did things, and this useless chore would be no exception.
The town was as it had always been. Nothing to look at, see, or really do for a visitor. With this in mind, she made directly for the hall where the Archduke ruled over the rabbit clan. Her fingers gripped her papers a little tighter as the wind whipped around her, begging her to release her papers to the world. As she made her way to the top of the steps, the two Royal guards standing on either side of the large wooden door crossed their Halberds, denying her entry.
The more senior of the two then spoke. "Halt, rabbit! What business have you with the Archduke?"
"Important business" Elyssia stated, an edge in her voice directed at the two armored retrievers.
"That's nowhere near specific enough" the dog replied in return.
"If you must know, I'm here to plead a public works project" she spat back, standing up on her toes as she puffed her chest out, trying rather whimsically to match their height. "So unless you'd like to keep guarding an ungodly hellhole where you're safer drinking wine instead of water and throw your waste on the street, I'd suggest you let me through!"
The guard huffed, displeased with her tone, but retracting his Halberd anyway. "I'd suppose that's reason enough. But don't expect too much out of the Archduke."
"Trust me, I wasn't" she explained, pushing past the guards and opening the door.
"I'd suggest changing your tone, too, rabbit. Other knights won't take kindly to such disrespect" he huffed out before slamming the door to the hall behind her.
Elyssia couldn't help but jump a bit at the sudden slam, something Archduke Lafayette, who was sitting on his throne at the end of the hall, took note of.
"Don't mind Sir Encifer. Come in, state your business" he boredly stated, gesturing to the spot in front of him.
Elyssia had noticed something about this gentleman that was rather off, or rather, something she didn't expect.
Archduke Lafayette was entirely sober, even regal appearing. His dress was fashionable and high class, a well maintained coat of his arms of achievement, two opposing spears on a field of purple and gold. The fur on the old hare was a brilliant shade of greyed brown, brushed through thoroughly and shining even in the dull light of the torches. And through it all, a faded scar on the right forearm told the tale of a judicial duel won very narrowly, with the utmost skill.
He was by no means the debaucherous drunkard she'd expected, and it read on her face. "Uh… Sir, are you the Archduke Lafayette-"
"Yes, that is I. Take your time, things are slow at the moment."
Slow seemed to describe the room. Not much commotion, no mistress that she could see. Surprisingly calm, perhaps even a little somber. She had to take a moment to admit to herself that her father was right. She seemed to have gotten lucky.
"You come bearing parchments. Are you a messenger?"
"No, no, your highness" she said, snapping out of it. "I am an architect. Elyssia from the Chateau. I've come to propose a project."
"Very well, architect. Do you have drafts?"
"Rough ones, your majesty."
"Bring them here."
Elyssia complied, gently handing the papers off to the noble hare. The Archduke, donning a pair of reading glasses, took a moment to glance the paper over. "What is it I'm looking at, Madam Elyssia?" he inquired as he continued to study the paper over.
"It's a sewer and aqueduct system, your highness. For Chateau du Lapins."
The hare looked over the papers for a few more seconds, an impressed look crossing his face. "Madam Elyssia, I must first say that I am thoroughly impressed with your work-"
"Thank you, my lord!" She said with a flash of excitement.
"-But… I'm afraid I cannot accept this offer"
"...Sir?"
"There are reasons beyond my control. I simply cannot give you the funds to construct a sewer system" he explained calmly and with sadness.
"But, sir, this would change the face of the rabbit clan, of all of Armello, forever!"
"I understand-"
"You don't seem to understa-"
"ELYSSIA!" The king yelled, as two Guards bursted out into the room, lending a sigh of restraint from the archduke. "Return to your posts, guards."
The guards obeyed, returning to their posts soon enough with only a slight hint of worry.
"Elyssia… I have some other work I would like to commission you for. However, it is a military project, so the business should be conducted in secret" Lafayette explained with a pained restraint.
Elyssia, taking it as an insult to herself, rolled her eyes and sighed. "...I'll consider it, I suppose"
"Very smart" the archduke responded, finally content. "I'll see to this business in my office. Right this way, Madam"
"As you wish, my lord" she begrudgingly said, fully expecting him to either roll out some vanity statue or, even worse, try to fill her with wine and have his way. The stories she had heard of his drunkenness and carousing had still filled the back of her mind. When the archduke opened the doorway to reveal a bedchamber with a desk, she couldn't help, of course, but to grab her hidden dagger a little bit tighter.
Lafayette was no stranger to this, and as Elyssia shot him a suspicious look, he lead her in and shut the door behind her. "Elyssia, hand off the dagger."
"If you're going to try and conquer me like one of your mistresses, I-"
Archduke Lafayette was nothing short of shocked and offended, as he took a step back and tried to catch his breath. "M-mistresses? Elyssia, does this room looked dressed for mistresses?"
As Elyssia looked around, she could see that it wasn't dressed for mistresses at all. The red velvet tapestries normally surrounding the chambers of royalty had been replaced with black silk. The windows were shut to the light of the stars, giving the room a closed and dark look. Perhaps most somber of all, a framed portrait of a woman hung on the wall opposite the bed.
Based on her dress, it appeared to be a portrait of a woman on her wedding day, veiled in a thin black cloth.
It almost explained away the empty bottles of liquor and wine that occupied the desk. Just enough to make the situation of the Archduke's alcoholism clear to her. It was almost enough to make her feel a pang of pain for the older man, if she hadn't been too focused on her own pursuits.
After a quick sigh, the noble hare moved to start clearing the ragged desk of its alcohol and tattered parchments filled with notes of some somber thought or another. "Now, I tried to be subtle about it, but since you can't seem to see much past your own nose, allow me to spell it out for you, young architect"
Elyssia gasped in offense. "Can't see past my-"
"I want your construction project to get through! So, maybe, if you stop talking, I can explain my need to keep this behind closed doors and you can get your name set in stone, like you want. Does this sound fair?"
"... I'm listening."
The face on the old hare finally relaxed. "Good. Now, the reason I had to deny your project publicly was because there are prying ears in the great hall. Ears connected to the king."
"The king? What business has he with the inner workings of the rabbit clan?"
"I cannot state any reason with certainty. But every day, his orders get more and more irrational, and honestly, I am done listening to them. He gave an order, three months ago, to stop all funding to public works and instead put it into the military. Irrigation, wells, houses for the dying, all are only allowed the funds necessary to keep them maintained. But nothing for new construction."
"That… that makes no sense" Elyssia reasoned.
"Precisely. So, if I accepted your public works project in the great hall, the guards would have- pardon my language- ratted on me. And that would be no good. For either of us" he explained, taking the parchment out of her hands and unrolling it on the newly clear table.
"So you are building it! I'll make haste for-"
"Hold on. Not so fast. These plans are for the Chateau."
"...Yes?"
"I want to be sure that this is something I can do without the king noticing."
"W.. what are you trying to imply, exactly?"
"I'm saying that I want to run a small scale test, to make sure this can be done without getting caught before I run a major crime scheme. Is that too much to ask?"
Elyssia had to think on it for a moment. It made sense, sure. And it was more leeway now than she was ever going to get. "I suppose I can do this trial run. What does it require of me?"
"There are plans in the works for palisade walls around Percee, things I can build because they can be classified as 'military spending' and not public works. The original architect of these plans, unfortunately died of rot shortly after handing them over to me, but these plans and the amendments you make to them can soon bear your name. Provided, of course, you can weave a sewer system plan for Percee into them."
"Please, that's child's play!"
"I'm glad to hear it. Because you have one week to draft the plans. Full access to the measurements of my streets by the royal surveyors is granted to you in this letter" he explained, handing a signed letter to her hastily.
One week was a prospect that, no doubt, scared the bunny. Drafting the sewer system for Chateau took her three weeks, with generous help. However, she thought, Percee was much smaller, and she didn't have to do the surveying by paw… "One week is nothing for a master architect like me."
The archduke looked up to her from his bent position with worry. "I hope your tongue is supported with your action, Elyssia, because if you're right, you'll create history, but if you're wrong… let's just say, I can't spare you from the executioner's blade. If the plans don't get to me within a week, the king will have to investigate the project."
"I understand" Elyssia stated defiantly.
"Very well. From here on out, let it be agreed that you are the master builder of the palisade walls in Percee, and you have decided to add… 'Anti-infection" measures to the plans free from my knowledge, should a siege ever prevent waste disposal" he said. "I'll have the guards escort you to a tavern. Take this coin purse to pay for the room."
As the archduke handed her the room fare and opened the door, Elyssia couldn't help but grin slyly. She'd done it. She got her lucky foot in the door, and it was time to pry. "Very well, your majesty. Thank you for your hospitality. I hope to see you again soon to talk on what additional palisade defenses you'd like" she flowed out with a wink.
"Don't mention it. And if you could ask the guards to have a gin ready for me on the way out, I'd be very appreciative."
"Of course" she said, walking out the door before rushing immediately to the tavern and getting herself a room.
The young bunny spent all night making plans, not wasting a moment on sleep.