The emperor walked to the side of the high dais where First Prince Hraustrekr waited. The younger elf held out his arm and aided the old man down the nine steps to the floor below. It was slow going, as the emperor was clearly having some mobility difficulty in his old age.
“Congratulations to you both! It must be deeply gratifying to have your freedoms restored and your safety guaranteed.”
Jadis startled slightly at being unexpectedly addressed. She had only taken a moment to watch the emperor’s descent down the dais stairs and hadn’t heard anyone approach her. Looking down, Jay saw that Second Prince Kestil had appeared at her elbow. How the elf had managed to get there without her noticing was… concerning.
“I’m more confused than gratified,” Jay said after a moment. “This whole thing took, what, ten minutes? It would have been a lot easier for everyone if your father had just done this when I first came to the city.”
“Perhaps,” Kestil smiled thinly. “However, you likely would not have been so quickly addressed under more normal circumstances, and I cannot imagine any trial involving Miss Alex here would have been any swifter. My father does not often exercise this level of imperial power. More likely, you would have been put under a proper modern trial involving a jury of nobility and legal advocates and such. What you have just experienced is the old way. Still legal, but rarely practiced.”
Jadis had to admit, it was an oddly expedient way of clearing her name. She supposed the emperor could do whatever he wanted, but on second thought, he was probably under a great deal of constraint. The leader of a great empire had to follow the forms and expectations of those who followed him, otherwise they wouldn’t follow him for very long. Jadis knew from her own decent education of Earth history that kings and emperors who abused their power rarely stayed in power for long. The worse their abuse, the quicker an uprising came along and deposed that despot. Emperor Somerulf had been the emperor for, what, more than a century? Maybe close to two centuries? She didn’t think it likely that he had been in power for so long because he was a bad leader who did what he wanted regardless of what his subjects thought and felt.
“Well, I’m still not sure you got anything out of all this,” Jay shook her head. “Your brother figured out you were using me as a distraction for… whatever it is you’re doing.”
“Of course he did,” Kestil lightly waved a hand. “He is no fool. Both he and I lost and gained from this exchange. Only time will tell who came out on top, I fear. This attack on the city has altered the landscape and forced both of us to change our plans, I think. A great inconvenience, but not an insurmountable one.”
“I think it’s a little more than an ‘inconvenience’ to everyone who died, Kestil,” Jay snapped, though she managed to not raise her voice. “Never mind the damage done to people like Severina. People were maimed and killed. That’s more than an inconvenience.”
“Quite right,” Prince Kestil said after a moment, his expression sober. “When one is constantly focused on the greater mountain, it is easy to overlook the rocks who make up the foundation. I thank you for the reminder. Ah, but I should not hold onto you further. It seems my father has made it down the steps and you would not want to keep the emperor waiting.”
Jadis didn’t need to glance over to see Kestil was right. Dys had been watching the emperor’s progress the whole time.
“Should I go with just one of me, or all three?” Jay asked after a moment of hesitation. “I don’t want to be rude or something.”
“A good question!” Kestil let out a bark of laughter. “I suppose my father’s minders would prefer if it were just one of you, since that would be easier to guard against should you prove to be an assassin playing a very long game. However, I think my father would rather it be all of you, since it would be the same as giving him your full attention that way.”
“Fair enough,” Jay shrugged. “We’ll talk more later.”
“Yes, we certainly will,” Kestil nodded as she left.
After briefly checking on her companions, all three of Jadis’ selves walked over to join the emperor and Prince Hraustrekr as they neared a side door. A guard waiting by the door opened it as they approached, and Jadis ducked inside after the two royals.
The room beyond was a simple antechamber that was clearly of more modern construction, like the rest of the palace. There was a table and some comfortable chairs, as well as a gently glowing fire off to the right side, but it seemed the emperor had no intention of taking a seat. There was an open door on the opposite side of the room from where they had come through and Jadis could see a brightly lit hallway beyond it. From what she could see, the corridor was lined with tall, arched windows on one side and large, detailed portraits on the other. She couldn’t see all the portraits well, but the closest one looked like Emperor Somerulf, only much younger and unwrinkled.
“You may go now, Hraustrekr,” Somerulf said as he continued forward towards the hallway. “I will be fine.”
“Father, I—”
“Mind my words, son,” the old elf said in a paternal, surprisingly loving tone. “I wish for a private word with young Jadis here. Go and see how you can aid the Hero in his search for the cultists.”
“Yes, father,” Hraustrekr said as he gave the emperor a small bow of his head.
Turning away, the prince passed by Jadis’ selves to go back the way they had come, giving them a flat, warning look as he did.
Jadis stared right back at him, giving him the hardest, meanest glare that she could muster.
“Come now,” Somerulf spoke firmly, bringing Jadis’ attention back to the old elf. “My bones do not do well when I sit for too long. Let us walk a ways and talk.”
“Yes, um, your majesty,” all three of Jadis replied in unison.
Catching up to the emperor, she walked with Jay on his left and Dys and Syd behind them. She had to walk particularly slowly because her long stride would have easily overtaken the elf’s slow pace otherwise. They walked down the long hallway together, silent for a few moments as Jadis waited for the elf to speak first.
The hall they were walking through was lined with portraits, just as Jadis had predicted from what she had seen through the open doorway, but the content of the portraits was different from what she had expected. Since the only visible portrait to her had been one of a younger Somerulf, she had figured the hallway would be filled with stuffy paintings of past emperors in all their glorious imperial attire. Instead, the portraits were of… family? One showed Somerulf, old and bearded, sitting in a chair with his two sons standing on either side of him. The next was of just prince Hraustrekr, no more than a teenager, riding an unarmored unicorn through an open field while smiling as brightly as the sun. Another showed Kestil as a young man, standing beneath a willow tree and gazing out over a placid lake somewhere high in the mountains, with fields of flowers visible in the distance. One portrait in particular caught Jadis’ eyes. Somerulf was in it again, young and beardless, and wearing a military uniform. A beautiful elven woman stood close next to him, arm linked with his. She had pale, ice-blue skin and light purple hair, and her eyes were the same green color as Hraustrekr’s. Despite the obvious formality of the painting’s setting, the couple looked endearingly happy.
“What do you think of my sons?”
Jadis blinked, nonplussed by the unexpected question. She briefly considered temporizing or being blandly polite with her answer, but neither option felt right. She was sure the experienced old man would see through any lies, anyway, so what was the point in hiding the truth?
Well, avoiding a charge of treason or some shit like that was probably the point, but whatever.
“I don’t like either of them.”
Somerulf laughed dryly, his voice cracking for a moment as he cleared his throat.
“Yes, yes, I can see that. A blind owl could see that much. Why is it that you dislike my sons so greatly that you glare at them with such intensity?”
“I don’t think I was glaring at Kestil,” all three of Jadis’ selves replied.
“You were,” the emperor corrected her with a raised finger. “At the start of the audience. I would suggest learning to school your face in public settings. It is not wise to give away all of your thoughts with your every smile or frown.”
“Okay, fair,” Jadis grumbled. “I probably was. I’m not a politician, so I don’t really feel the need to turn my face into a statue. That’s the kind of shit nobles do—ah, I mean…”
“Pish posh,” Somerulf waved his left hand dismissively. “I have spent much of my life around soldiers. I am not bothered by a reference to excrement. However, I yet still wait for an answer to my question.”
“Right,” Jadis nodded her heads. “Well, I guess if you want the truth, then I don’t like either of your sons because they both spent the last couple of months using me in some kind of tug-of-war powerplay because they’re fighting over the throne. I don’t like being used, especially when it puts my loved ones in danger. Also, Hraustrekr is a war-hungry stuck-up prick and Kestil is a sneaky and manipulative creep.”
For a moment, Jadis thought that she might have gone a little too far. The frown on Somerulf’s face was deep, the lines of his wrinkles shadowed deeply as he silently strode forward down the long hallway. When he spoke next, however, it was with the aged weariness of a man who had lived more years than he had planned for.
“I am truly sorry that you were caught up in their feud. You are a Nephilim, the last of a holy race thought long extinct. Your arrival in the capital should have been one of celebration, not condemnation. Their conduct has been less that exemplary.”
“You know about all the sh—crap they’re doing? The infighting and manipulations?”
“Of course. I have ears. I do still hear things, from time to time.”
“Then why are you letting them do all this then?” Jadis asked incredulously. “How many people have died because of them!? You’re going to just stand by and watch while they fuck up other people’s lives because they’re caught in some kind of royal pissing contest?”
“Excessive vulgarities are the sign of a stagnant mind,” the emperor scolded with a faintly amused expression. “One should at least be creative with one’s obscenities.”
“Cock snot.”
Somerulf grimaced.
“Perhaps not that creative.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
The emperor turned his head and looked up at her, a wan smile on his lips.
“Young Jadis, I will not insult your observational skills. As I am certain you are aware, I am old. Far, far too old. By all rights, one of my sons should be sitting on the throne of Alfhilderunn, not I. However, as you have so candidly pointed out, my children are at odds with one another. They both have set their sights on inheriting the throne and both are too strongheaded to back down for the other.
“Perhaps you will say that I am biased. Nevertheless, my sons are both more than competent leaders. Either would make for an excellent emperor who would bring glory to the empire and her people. Working together, they could bring Oros to a greater age of prosperity than we have ever known before. However, so long as they are set against one another, the empire will be weakened and unstable.”
“Then why don’t you do something about it?” Jadis asked with a softened tone. “You have the power, don’t you?”
“Do I?” the emperor mused. “I could bring my clenched fist down upon both of their heads. Strike them with all the righteous ferocity I am due as their father. But would that fury fix the problem? My sons need to learn to work together. Slapping them and scolding them like unruly children will not change their attitudes towards one another.
“I have largely let them be because it is what needs to be done in order for them to come to an understanding. I will die one day, and that day is not too far off. We cannot rely on the threat of my force to keep them in line. They must reach that point together, on their own. I have been guiding them towards the correct path with a light touch, as direct word does not work on them as it would on someone as straightforward as you are. I imagine your parents had a far easier time raising you then my Eivor and I did with my boys.”
“That sounds suspiciously like you are calling me simple.”
“I am calling you direct,” Somerulf said with a huff of amusement. “No need for clever tricks or long-planned subtleties. Direct, bold action. In that way, you remind me of Alfarr.”
“Alfarr?”
“The Hero from the last demonic invasion,” Somerulf smiled in fond remembrance. “A good man. Strong and brave. He always spoke his mind and cared not one wit for who he might offend in speaking the truth. He brought chaos with him, in some ways. Sometimes that bit of chaos is needed to stir the pot and keep the broth from growing sour. If he were here today, ah, what a difference it would make…”
As he trailed off, the emperor seemed to catch himself, as though his mind had started to drift in an unwanted direction. Shaking his head, he turned to look up at Jay, his silver eyes piercing as he gazed into her own violet eyes.
“I had hoped that the demonic invasion would have knocked some sense into my sons. I still believe it will. They do not look it, but both are old and set in their ways, locked onto their own ambitions. They will come around, I am certain, once they are shown that they are both needed for the balance of the empire.”
Somerulf stopped and turned full on towards Jay. Reaching out with his free hand, he took her hand in his, squeezing tightly. She could feel the age in his grip, the years wearing down his skin to dusty vellum.
“I ask you to support them. Support my sons, Jadis Ahlstrom, last of the Nephilim. Do not walk blindly into their feud, nor turn away from them. Give them the chance they need to work together. For the sake of the people, if nothing else.”
Jadis wasn’t sure who was speaking to her. The emperor, or the father. The genuine plea in the old man’s tone made it hard for her to even think about refusing. Somerulf seemed to genuinely care about his sons, as well as the future of the empire and its many citizens. She wasn’t sure, though, that he was right in his estimation that the world would be a better place with the two princes working together.
She could understand what the emperor was trying to accomplish with his sons, too. Telling people what to do could only go so far. Sometimes, they needed to work it out themselves or they would never learn. Just that in this case, the cost was a lot higher than it would be for a couple of kids learning to share a candy bar.
Jadis didn’t know how much fault could be laid at the feet of either prince when it came to the surprise attack that had been made against the city. The cultists and the Demon Lord had done an amazingly effective job of hiding their movements and intentions. Their competency wasn’t anyone else’s fault. However, Jadis liked to think that if Hraustrekr and Kestil weren’t so busy scheming against each other, then maybe they would have paid better attention to what was happening in their own backyard.
The emperor was right about one thing, though. The scheming and backstabbing had to stop. The empire was without doubt worse off so long as it continued. How that scheming was going to end, however, was a point that Jadis disagreed on. She did not foresee a peaceful conclusion.
Steeling herself, Jay squeezed Somerulf’s hand.
“And what do you want me to do if one brother uses violence against the other?”
The pained look that crossed the old man’s face tugged at Jadis’ hearts.
“Let the gods guide you,” he said as he slowly turned away. “Should that terrible day ever come. I pray every night that it never does.”
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