The game – part two

Adriane, of the Holly Kingdom and daughter of King Leonard the third, walked slowly over the palace grounds.

Eight bells tolled in the distance and sun was slowly settling down behind the western peaks of the mountain as she took one careful step a time, with her eyes closed she moved precisely in the middle of narrow walkway that circled around the lush garden filled with violets and black roses.

She knew this path well and she walked it whenever she needed to think.

With her hands behind her back, she took each stride with practiced ease, without fear of falling or stumbling. This was her garden, her sanctuary.

Deep in thought she stopped only when sounds of rustling cloth crossed her path and she slowly opened her eyes.

It was night already, there were times when she lost track of time before, but it happened more often these days. Bright, silvery moonlight shone on the star filled sky above her.

And reason for her current state of mind stood before her.

"Brother."

He looked better than ever before, healthier, taller.

In only a few months off different lifestyle he managed to change so much, and when he looked at her with piercing, calculated clarity in his eyes she knew right away what it was all about.

Gods, he looked so much like his mother.

Neither she, Dorian or Edward shared the same mother, and it could clearly be seen from their appearance. Dorian was golden and hot-blooded where she was black haired and cold, and Edward here, he was different, somehow wicked, almost viciously so, he always was that way.

It was a shame so few people were able to see that.

Because on the outside of his villainous behavior he was cheery, approachable and a likable person with a natural charisma that had so many people fooled.

He was, she decided, far more dangerous that his mother was, that evil, mean woman, how she hated her.

His silver hair glitter in the moonlight and there was almost a kind of a glow in his eyes. Was it because of a moonlight or aftereffect of Lyrium? She couldn't say.

She didn't hate him, in fact she felt sorry when she looked upon him. Vicious and cruel as he was sometimes, he was more of a victim than anyone else; he just didn't know it yet.

He said.

"Adriane."

Moving to the side she gestured for him to follow and started to walk down the narrow pathway.

"I see you are better Edward, I'm glad to see you."

"Yes, I suppose you are, aren't you. To be frank I think it's safer to say that I'm glad to see you, since you've been avoiding me these last few weeks. Though I'm sure you had your reasons. "

Not bothering to look at him she continued to walk and calmly replied.

"Oh, and what makes you say that?"

He knew of course, he wasn't stupid. And she wasn't sure if she was glad or saddened to see him start to use his brain only now, when it was already too late.

It would be a good thing, she decided. In the end he might even figure out why it turned out this way. Maybe, just maybe he might even forgive her.

He didn't bother hiding his anger, and when he looked at her, she could see that ugly beast rear its head.

His mother's fault that.

She saw that face many times before, even when Edward was just a child, she was already grooming him into something twisted, a tool to be used for her own goals.

Spoiled, violent monster was what his mother made of him. A rapist, murderer even.

In Adriane's eyes he was dead way before she started supplying him with Lyrium, it was his mother that killed him. A small comfort that, but it did take away some of the guilt from all that she still needed to do.

"I'm not going to play this game with you Adriane." He growled. "I don't care how many times you dance around my questions but I know, do you understand? I KNOW!"

She only raised an eyebrow. A calculated move, one that would make him furious and hopefully make him loose control. Maximizing the irritation and capitalizing on the outcome was the best solution here.

Her gambit paid off.

Outraged he stopped and pulled her by her elbow, making her turn to face him.

Seething he spit the words through his mouth.

"I don't know why but I know it was you. Why? Do you hear me, I'll have you answer me."

Violence, it was his natural response whenever things didn't go his way. She knew that, counted on it.

When she didn't reply he hissed and started to squeeze her arm with all his strength.

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That was when guards appeared.

Twenty men, dressed in blue, black and violet. Uniformed helmets covered their faces completely and dark capes hid the pommels of steel blades that hung on their hips.

Quiet as shadows they appeared all around them and Edward let her go, backing away in distress.

They were her men and women. Out of all emperors’ children she was the only one that didn't have a Guardian. She made sure of that, made sure to kill or steer away any that tried to approach her. Just like her father did. Better for them do die than to be a liability, slaves without knowing it.

But she had her people. Truly loyal, not because of the physical or magical need but because they choose to be so.

She trained them herself.

Edward looked around, still angry but hesitant.

Turning to face her he quietly glared at her for a few seconds and when he finally decided there was nothing else to do, he turned away and stomped in an opposite direction.

Her agents looked at him until he got out of sight. When he was far enough, they sheathed their daggers and took their positions around her. Invisible hands surrounded her, from dusk to dawn she always had at least ten of them nearby.

Without a word she too turned and left for her quarters.

…break….

Edward was sitting on a big fluffy bed. It was so cozy that he practically sank into its warm covers when he tried to ease himself next to Chains.

She was doing well; there was big cup of cocoa on the cupboard next to her side of bed and she was holding a big old book in her hands.

It was one of Edwards's favorites when he was a child and his former mentor Arkhull-Tham read him stories from it every night before he went to sleep.

It was a first book he ever read, and one from which he learned to read.

On the thick leather binding there was writing in golden thread and it read: "Adventures of William the hero and his magical pig."

The book in question was filled with more pictures than letters, and was about a friendly hero of old, William and his magical pig.

Children loved it.

Edward found it funny that out of all dark tomes and scrolls he ever read he found his greatest power here, in this children's book.

Power to read, to write and to learn.

And now he was trying to pass that power to his servant.

Chains seemed to love it, or at least it looked that way when she stared wide eyed at the picture of William flying on his pig with a broom held like a lance in his hand, charging an enormous fire breathing dragon that was covered in black steely scales.

"D…Daa…Drag.." She tried. "Drago…dragon roa…roared."

Edward patted her on the hand approvingly, saying.

"Good, very good."

Fire cracked in the fireplace and Samuel stood up from his table to throw a few more logs into it.

Following Edwards orders, he too was reading books, only of somewhat higher caliber.

It felt nice; it was warm, cozy and calm.

Edward was somewhat tired from all that acting he did in front of Adriane, but he had to gouge her somehow. It was obvious that she was playing at something but for now he had no way of finding out what. But there would be time for that later, he thought as he turned to Chains. For now he would have his long deserved rest.

…..break…

Deep under the palace Adriane was sitting in complete darkness in one of the hidden chambers that not even the king was aware off.

It was a cold room, barren except for one wooden chair on which Adriane was seated, and one granite stand in front of her.

This secret room was heavily warded; there were no air currents, no sound and no dust swirling inside it.

It was so quiet that Adriane could even hear blood pumping through her veins.

She felt sorry for Edward and grief shook her when she tried to think of her father and her other siblings.

Dorian, who was so noble and good and yet so simple, so shortsighted.

Arthur, who was smart and wise, but so far away.

Fredrick, dear Fredrick…too good to do what needed to be done.

It had to be her.

Old Kingdom was falling apart.

The corrupting influences, the leches. For centuries they plagued the Kingdom, always taking, burrowing deeper, making new horrors to control and spread their influence.

This Kingdom, the rotten, corrupted playground, the promised reward to all who dared to take their share of power.

And the royal family, the last weary protection against lesser men, already forced to compromise, both their morals and their power. All in order to protect the kingdom.

And her father.

For almost hundred years her father shouldered the burden of the first crown, a broken seal. It weighted heavily on him, far too heavily.

And that was way before the second artifact was corrupted some twenty years ago. Now he barely had the strength to sit in his throne, wasting away his power in a futile attempt to mend the seal.

Both the sword and the scepter were found by forces of darkness, and now only the crown stayed in the light, safe in her father's arms.

She exhaled.

Poor Edward.

She hated herself for doing this to him, for poisoning him with Lyrium, but it was the only way.

She calculated everything, with royal blood running through his veins he had better chances then most to wrench himself free of Lyrium addiction.

And in case he failed?

She made plans if that happened too. A way to profit from his death or mental breakdown. To use his body as a magical catalyst for slowing the degradation of a remaining seal.

As luck would have it, it didn't come to that.

Not that his fate would be much better this way but at least he still had some time to live freely before he was used and discarded.

She hated herself, for thinking that way, for allowing it to happen. But world needed to be saved and sacrifices would be made.

She rose and approached the stand in front of her. From it she took the iron scepter and returned to her seat.

It was the first artifact to get corrupted, first seal to be broken. If she was right, it happened back when her grandfather still held the throne some three hundred years ago, when kingdom of Hashmarill fell to the necromantic plague.

She got hold of the scepter some five years ago but it cost her dearly.

She lost dozens of men on that expedition, some of the best mages she had succumbed to the dark powers that still plagued that forsaken kingdom.

She still had nightmares of that place.

But they succeeded in the end, barely but still, somehow, they managed to fight their way to the old palace, into the throne room. What they found there she would never forget. Centuries later and flesh was still rotting, king or what was left of him was still screaming.

They fought the Lych that took the throne, the monster that tortured the king for all those centuries. They didn't win.

Or they did, in a way. But that monster was still there, waiting.

In the battle against the abomination, they managed to kill the tortured king and put him out of his misery. She personally pried the scepter from his cold dead hands.

After that they fled to the edges of the desert, where hordes of undead finally stopped following them.

Even today she wondered was it the king that broke the seal in hopes of overpowering the lych, or was it the undead that corrupted the scepter when it cursed the king.

She supposed that in the end it didn't really matter.

The scepter was tainted and the first seal was broken.

Almost two hundred years later someone found the second seal. The sword.

Adriane didn't know where exactly was the sword sent, back when First King gave it away for safekeeping, but if she were to judge by the news she received these last few years, it was somewhere up north. Somewhere in Nazar.

How and why was the second seal broken she couldn't know. What she did know was that it was slowly making its way south, to the Capital, to Kingstown.

She gave it two to three years before whoever took the sword came here.

Three years for all three artifacts to meet in the same place, or five years before third and last remaining seal broke on its own.

There was no much difference either way.

Without a King to truly lead it the Old kingdom was dying anyway and things were slowly falling apart.

She knew her father had no choice, knew that he had to focus on mending the crown. But without his guidance everything was falling in darkness.

Last of the Heroes were long gone, corruption slowly ate its way into ranks of nobles, wars ravaged the fringes of outer kingdoms.

Drugs, slavery, murder for sport and sex for gold, in the very heart of White Capital.

In times past this would have never happened. But dark times were coming, and influence of the bound goddess was stronger every year, corrupting, breaking.

If this were to continue there would be nothing worth saving even if the goddess broke free.

Action had to be taken, and without her consent she was chosen to be the one to start it all.

Someone pulled at her sleeve and she turned to her right to look at the adorable little girl who demanded her attention.

About eight years old, with golden hair and blue eyes she was draped in a warm cloak which hid most of her body. She squirmed in the place and covered her left foot with her right one, wriggling her toes in an attempt to get away from the cold floor.

She hated her most of all.

Adriane said.

"Fate."

Fate giggled and bounced up and down in delight.

"We are playing a game."

She wanted to cry.

"It's not a game."

Fate frowned and stomped her foot on the floor, with puckered lips she huffed.

"No! We are playing a game and it's your turn."

Before she could respond she felt another tug on her left. When she turned, she was looking at the boy with golden hair, blue eyes and robes identical to what his sister wore.

She was surrounded by darkness, no air and no sound touched this room but it didn't stop her from seeing every line on their faces, hearing every breath they took.

When she first saw them, she harbored some hopes that she had lost her mind, that she died and went to hell.

But deep inside she knew it wasn't so, they were real, just like the gods were, demons too, except these two were far worse.

She addressed the boy.

"Destiny."

How she wanted to cry.

Boy smiled, one of his teeth was missing but he still looked adorable.

"It's going to be so fun."

Adriane shook her head sadly and croaked.

"It's not a game."

Fate laughed and produced a piece of a thread from under her cloak; she waved it energetically under her face. It was Adriane's string.

"It is silly, and your brother is the goal now."

Adriane asked in desperation.

"Dorian?"

Fate giggled bashfully.

"Nuh uhh, it's the other one, one with silver hair. You need to send him away; it's going to be so much fun."

"Yea." Destiny chipped in and waved his hands around in exhilaration. They were covered with blood, dripping red liquid everywhere. His hands were always covered with blood.

"So much fun you could die."

Fate grinned.

"There is going to be magic, and golems and corpses, it's going to be so interesting."

"Ohh ohh.." Her twin jumped a few times. "And don't forget the dragon, there is going to be a dragon too."

They both started giggling and Adriane could feel tears well up in her eyes.