-Kanyou, Capital of Qin-
Chancellor Ryo stood to the side of the court, observing. Observe as opposed to merely watching. Many in the court might attend, but not perceive. Many would see, but not act or consider. Ryo was an observant person in that he saw much, examined all, and moved when necessary.
The king had died two days earlier. In his place on the throne was High Prince Kyou. As he was but a child of eight, he was not old enough to become king. He would be inaugurated at twenty-two if he lasted that long. Ryo predicted he would be easy to control, but only on the surface. Kyou hated Ryo.
Hate, in the definition, that the singular existence of Ryo was an abomination to the heir. Everything Ryo was, everything he stood for, everything he had accomplished, everything he desired, whether good or bad, all of it the heir despised for the single reason that Ryo was not noble-born, but was common-born. A common-born who had ascended to be over Kyou during all of his young life. Hate was something Ryo could use, but not when it was this much.
Beside Kyou stood Chancellor Ketsu. Ketsu was Ryo's only equal in court due to his heritage. Ryo held no trust in the idea the man deserved his place.
Chancellor Ketsu shared many of the same beliefs as Prince Kyou, and through it, they forged a formal relationship. Ketsu gave Kyou his full and open support and received the high prince's favor.
Ryo beat a scroll into his open palm at a rhythmic beat. He hoped Impa would succeed. He had prepared for the contingency that she would fail, but fate would be much more pleasant for Qin if she managed. Troublesome times were ahead if this child, in both age and maturity, became king.
As Ryo pondered it, the heir once again proved his age.
"State your grievance?" Chancellor Ketsu said.
The man to step forward was the governor of Baou, Lord Danshi. Baou was a city to the east near the border of Qin and Zhao.
As soon as he was half-way in the room, Lord Danshi bowed with his nose to the ground. He spoke aloud to be heard with his face against the ground, "My lord, my prince, I come from Baou. Providence flows from your divine hands, and your head is crowned with the holy realms. Your subject merely requests that some of the providence that flows freely from your palm may extend once more to Baou. You see..."
He pulled a currency note from his pocket and extended it across the floor without lifting his face from the stone.
Lord Danish continued to kneel, "Your shining face is most fitting upon this paper. It honors us for each man to have you in our hands, but there is just one... concern that my people have voiced. Your subjects are exchanging the notes of your father's face -Realms bless his soul- for your notes at a rate of fifty-to-one."
Chancellor Ryo's eyebrows shifted up in surprise. Briefly, he eyed Chancellor Ketsu. Ryo was in charge of Qin's economic structure in the late king's reign, but he wouldn't put it past Ketsu and Kyou to subvert him. The currency exchange was more than just a new currency handed out to the people. The transfer was a complete invasion of Ryo's economic territory. Taxes, import, export, banking guilds, and the rate of note printing, coins pressing, and rupee shaping helped make Qin what it was. All this was in Ryo's possession and was where Ketsu and Kyou were going first.
They genuinely didn't like him.
"What concern is this to me?" Prince Kyou wondered.
"Well, my lord. The people of Baou are already deprived. Being near the border of Zhao, we have to contend with raiders and-"
"And by being on the border we give an enormous percentage of our taxes and money to you." Chancellor Ketsu replied. "Tell me, Lord Danshi. Did we not sent wheat when your fields burned?"
"You did, your grace."
"Tell me, Lord Danshi. Did we not move the general closer to your fortunate city as a counter-move to Zhao moving closer, thereby subverting disaster?"
"You did, your grace. But-"
"Then how can you say your city is poor? We give you great funding. We give troops to your borders for protection. We give food and supplies when you need them."
"Be-because the money, food, and supplies go to the troops. Because the troops take what they want from your loyal subjects without pay, and-"
"Should not a man be compensated for his work in equal measure, Lord Danshi?" Chancellor Ketsu pushed.
"They should."
"And for a soldier, who risks his life every day, even taking a bottle of rice wine, of taking a loaf of bread or even a woman for a time... Would you say this is fair compensation or is there still so much more you could be offering to them?"
The man stayed silent for a moment. After he found his voice, he said, "And what of your loyal subjects, my liege? The people who idolize you can barely afford their bread from day-to-day."
"What I hear is not the cries of poor men and women, Lord Danshi, but a complaint of a child. A child cries when there is change, as they can barely comprehend it and they are afraid. A man would embrace the change, the blessings given by their lord and seek after his will. Instead, you have only come saying that his will and word is not enough."
The smirk on the prince's face only grew wider as Chancellor Ketsu spoke. Lord Danshi seemed to sweat.
"It is enough, but-"
"Then leave us." Prince Kyou said. "If my word is enough, then my word is for you to leave and take your grumbling with you."
The man, seeing his plea would fall short, hastily left. He backed up, crawling across the floor until he had exited the room. The guards shut the door behind him.
Prince Kyou snickered.
"Fifty to one?" Chancellor Ryo questioned. "Is this your work, Ketsu?"
"Indeed it is. The prince requires money to get his reign started."
"But buying back all the old script at that rate will leave them unable to buy their bread. The entire economic structure of the city will collapse. Starvation and poverty will follow." Ryo argued.
The prince turned a threatening eye on Ryo, "Are you suggesting that I be left rupeeless, Chancellor?"
"Not at all, my prince. I am stating the simple fact that such a ratio will destroy the city. I leave in your wise judgment whether obtaining the wealth to supplement the army or starting a work project is worth the collapse of this city. I wonder, where else has this change been made?"While Ryo talked, a servant entered the room through the side entrance and hastened to his side. Ryo allowed the man to whisper into his ear.
"A few of the more volatile cities," Ketsu stated.
"You mean expendable." Ryo corrected.
"Sacrifices are necessary. These are violent times. The weak will find themselves toppled by the strong."
Ryo smiled widely, as the official finished whispering in his ear. Oh... oh, what joy! Ryo could barely contain his glee. He had hoped, but for it to occur! Oh, he was bursting at the seam! What look would the prince have, he wondered? He looked forward to it.
Kyou glared down at the Chancellor he hated. "What dark thoughts have filled your head, snake?"
'Wouldn't you like to know?' Ryo whispered to himself. More loudly, he said, "Gentlemen, it seems a guest has arrived who is important to the heir apparent and is a gift to the kingdom. If you will all follow me."
With that, Ryo left his place to walk out. A few of the officials followed, but most looked to the prince in confusion. Kyou glared with hatred and humiliation at the man, and Ryo turned to look back with a smirk smoothly.
"My prince, what I am about to present will be of particular interest to you. And if that isn't enough," Ryo held up the scroll he had beaten into his palm. "This is an order from your father before he passed. The scribes acknowledged the seal four days ago."
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Kyou's eyes widened. He was on the throne, yet still, his father's ghost seemed to persist. Kyou gripped the sides of his seat so hard his knuckles shook, and he snarled. Ketsu gulped, looking between the man with the smug expression, and the child prince whose pride was being damaged by his hubris.
Ketsu coughed into his hand and said, "My prince, perhaps this is a gift to you as well. After all, he did say it was a gift."
Kyou turned his anger on the other Chancellor, at which Ketsu humbled himself to the ground in fear. Ryo alone stood high and proud, while the others were terrified of what the child would do.
Kyou stepped down the steps from the throne. The rest of the council followed. "If this isn't enough to leave me speechless, I will have your head. Where is this gift, merchant?"
Ryo raised an eyebrow. He had not been a simple merchant in many a year. "At the temple. I assure you, your highness, this will be a day you will never forget."
Every member of the council, especially the chancellors and prince, called for their escorts, guards, attendants, servants, and carriage. The gathering captivated the attention of soldiers and attendants and servants until the group grew to be nearly a thousand. Following this group was curious peasants.
It was all quite an affair that had been blown entirely out of proportion by a monarch's natural power. Ryo was tickled pink by it all.
The bustling crowd surrounded the usually vacant temple in chatter, and the flustered priests fled the gates to try to keep the peace. They did not want the gardens trampled, the barriers broken, or the statues toppled.
"We are here, Ryo. I'm not impressed," Prince Kyou said.
Ryo bowed and replied, "The 'gift' is inside."
"Then bring it out!" The prince demanded.
Ryo sighed. He smiled at the flustered high-priest and said, "My good man, you must calm yourself! You look as if you will hurt yourself. Do not worry about the mob. If anything is damaged, I will have it repaired at my expense. Focus on important matters. If you will be so kind as to go inside and bring your guests out?"
The man bowed and rushed inside. Moments later, Impa and a girl walked out.
Ryo immediately saw the resemblance, and his breath hitched in his throat. She had small scars. They took away from her beauty in the sense that a young woman should look perfect and innocent and proper, yet the injuries still gave a mature refinement. She had endured those scars, and if the strength in her eyes was any sign, she had won.
Prince Kyou looked mildly impressed. "This is your gift?" He walked up to the girl. The girl looked back, curiously. The young prince walked around her, examining her with his eyes. If she was bothered by it, it didn't show.
Kyou said to Ryo, "She is decent on the eyes, I will admit."
The girl blinked in surprise. Impa looked as confused and surprised by the statement as she was and glanced towards Ryo. Ryo chuckled. It seems like the young man was misinterpreting.
"My prince... it's not-"
"But if you wanted to trouble me with a peasant winch, did you need to go through so much pomp for it?" Kyou asked. He reached up to cup the girl's face.
The girl smacked his hand away.
Everyone gasped. Kyou stared in shock, his hand stinging. He- he had never been handled this way, least of all by a girl! His surprise took shape into wrath, and he snatched the girl by the mouth. "Listen here-!"
She headbutted him.
She headbutted him hard.
Everyone heard the crack a hundred feet away. The prince fell three steps and collapsed flat on his back. Blood flowed down the girl's face, and a red bruise formed on his face. Her unflinching gaze was cold as ice.
The officials gaped, Ketsu gaped, the peasants gaped, the priests gaped, and even Impa gaped. It wouldn't surprise Ryo if the Goddesses gaped. Ryo couldn't prevent it! He burst out in laughter until tears poured down his cheeks, and he nearly fell to his knees. This occasion had gone far beyond his expectations!
"You..." The prince whispered. He struggled to raise himself, and immediately his utter shock and awe gave rise to wildness, to hatred, to fury, to the base need to outright murder. The woman met his volcanic anger with icy calm. "YOU BITCH! How DARE you look down at me! Kill her!" He pointed at her.
Obediently the guards raised their swords and closed in, but Impa shoved the woman behind her and unsheathed her sword.
"KILL THEM BOTH!" Kyou spat.
"I'm afraid that won't do," Ryo stepped in between the groups.
Ryo's guards fearfully followed him into treason. Poor guards. Ryo figured they deserved a bonus for willingly stepping with him into the jaws of the lion. The soldiers the prince ordered hesitated, unsure what to do about this sudden change.
Ryo used that moment to continue speaking, "You see... this isn't a gift to you, my prince. This is a gift to the kingdom. This scroll was passed to me by your father, and the scroll states..."
Ryo paused for effect as he unraveled it, "If his first-born, Zelda, is found alive and returned home, then she would be made heir to the throne of Qin. As heir apparent she would be bound to follow and uphold the laws, to be respected and protected, to sit upon the throne and to go through the process towards kingship as she comes of age just as much as any other prince in her place."
"You...!" Kyou's fury reached a point that he couldn't put together words. He could barely think, could barely comprehend what was happening.
"With her identity testified to by the church and scribes just this morning. I give to you, the lady Zelda. As of now, she is the Heir Apparent Princess Zelda." Ryo motioned to the young woman and stepped to the side for all to see.
The whole world took a breath. No one moved, and no eye blinked. The magnitude of this event was conceivably beyond any to truly recognize, short of the few to play a role in it. Kyou would have attacked Zelda himself, but he was at once one did not take part in his battles, and his soldiers had lowered their weapons, despite his direct order.
The moment passed, and the people bowed in a rush. Chancellor Ketsu bowed, and even Chancellor Ryo bowed for the sake of the moment. The only two that did not bow were Impa, who kept her vigilance, and Prince Kyou, who glared murderously at them.
Zelda continued to stare into Kyou's eyes. She didn't seem to notice anyone else. The longer she gazed, the more afraid the prince became. He felt a cold chill reach into his chest and wrap its fingers around his heart.
His fear became enough to overcome his fury, and he left. The prince's servants rushed to keep up with him and place him in his carriage. Ketsu rushed to keep up with his carriage.
Ryo smirked. He allowed the moment to pass a bit longer before rising. He opened his mouth to speak, but Zelda beat him to it.
"It was you who sent Impa to rescue me, Chancellor?"
"That is right."
"I am eternally grateful and wish to reward you in some way. I do not know what I have, yet, but ask and I will see it done."
Ryo smiled. The Princess would need to learn a great deal. She had power, but she couldn't possibly comprehend that power. Ryo could ask for something substantial and put her in a dangerous position, but overreaching would be a sign of greed. Ryo was a greedy man, but he was also patient. There was no need to rush.
Deciding quickly, Ryo said, "If you will honor your servant, Princess. I was a good friend of your father. I wish for something to remember him by, and so I humbly ask for some scrolls from his collection."
Impa looked at Ryo warily. Scrolls of all things from the former king's collection? What were his intentions? The former king did not keep financial records. The king's collection was philosophy, history, poetry.
The former king and Chancellor Ryo were as close as friends could be as politicians, but Impa doubted Ryo wanted the scrolls for sentimental reasons. Yet he was also the type to do things on a whim.
Zelda answered. "I have much to learn if I am to be the monarch and believe I will learn much from the collection. I am willing to part with one scroll. Take your pick."
"Your gift is most gracious, your highness." Chancellor Ryo bowed his head. "Now, may I offer one more gift? I ask for no recompense."
"You are being unusually charitable," Impa remarked.
"Today is a joyous day! How can I not be!" Ryo laughed.
"Then let it be the last thing for the day. The Princess must rest. The journey took a tremendous toll on her. Is that agreeable, Princess?"
Zelda nodded, "What is your last gift?"
"An opportunity," Ryo clarified. "As a new monarch, no one knows you exist. No one knows who you are, what you stand for, whose interest you have at heart, and your will to stand against crimes against the state. These are all things you will come to discover in time how to do, such is part of politics and leadership, but today you can win over many hearts, stand against injustice, declare your existence, and say who you are all in one move."
"That's quite an opportunity," Impa remarked.
"I know what you may imagine: it is too good to be true. I embellish but I do not embellish what your half-brother tried to do. His first action as the high prince was to start a tax reform to exchange currency. It is a custom from king to king. What is unusual is for the ratio of exchange to be fifty-to-one."
"What does that mean?" Zelda asked.
"That means for every fifty rupees taken from the people, they are given one back. What kind of impulsive choice is this?!" Impa asked breathlessly.
"A choice to fill his pocket," Ryo said. "This will starve the people in exchange for filling your coffers. This opportunity- this 'choice' is about whether you are here for the people or if the people are here for you."
Zelda said, "Give it back to the people."
Impa felt something drop in her stomach. Something was amiss. Her instincts told her there was more to this than met the eye.
"Wait, we shouldn't just-" Impa started.
Ryo smiled, "Is that your choice, your highness?"
"It is."
"Then I shall see to it that it is executed in your name, your highness!" Ryo bowed and left.
-Zelda-
Zelda watched him go. She huffed. "Well, that was easier than I thought."
"My lady," Impa gulped. "While I respect your resolve, a council exists for discussion. To figure out what the cost is of decisions and what is the best choice to make."
Zelda looked at her out of the corner of her eye as they walked. "Why? It's just reversing what my half-brother was trying to do."
"I know, but there are so many things to consider. How far did this reform go? How much was gained? How much was lost? Where did it impact? These are questions to be answered before-"
"We know what would have been lost. My people's lives. I can see from that palace that my family pleasured themselves in vast riches, but I care little for it. I would have been happy with just bread. That hasn't changed just because you want to put me on a throne."
Impa respected that. Prince Kyou lived in lavish riches. He had herds for himself to pluck meat from daily. He had a wedding engagement since birth with a court girl from one of the country's wealthiest houses, and from what Impa saw, the girl was fiercely beautiful and intelligent. He would have been given a woman from the royal harem and received a small army to protect him. He bathed in milk and flowers till his skin was soft and smelled fruity. He had the kingdom's best teachers.
In contrast, Zelda had to fight for a handful of bread, and the person she should have been able to trust most tried to kill her. Zelda was filthy, had hair full of bugs, and had no proper clothes. It would be among the first things on Impa's list to remedy.
Was Zelda an enigma? The source of strength she had gained also gave her a hidden fragility. Would she become the most insane monarch in their history or use the power she had earned to become among the strongest?
One thing was for sure; Impa would not be bored.
(Grammarly 8/19/2020, scribens 3/15/2020)