Chapter 1 Image by Xela-The-Conqueror [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/313aaab4-767f-4cea-91cb-69c8d8fbef2a/dge6lyc-3ee2a43d-6396-4c75-a7aa-7fb5f5dd7720.png/v1/fill/w_1081,h_739/chapter_1_image_by_xela_the_conqueror_dge6lyc-pre.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9ODMyIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMzEzYWFhYjQtNzY3Zi00Y2VhLTkxY2ItNjljOGQ4ZmJlZjJhXC9kZ2U2bHljLTNlZTJhNDNkLTYzOTYtNGM3NS1hN2FhLTdmYjVmNWRkNzcyMC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTIxNiJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.1cwIkKQwkzQA6FxKI1aAk996PgZyS2DHjfJKFFEw4k0]
Armand Richelieu Concord felt a sinking feeling in his gut. The door to Eris' study was open. There was no way she’d leave it open. He rushed through the door and saw Eris’ body on the floor. A dagger stuck out of her chest, and her eyes were closed.
“Armand, when we meet again, I will make you regret ever being my enemy,” Eris promised.
Normally, Armand would feel nothing at a remark like this. Eris said that sort of thing all the time. However…
A memory flashed through Armand’s mind. His arms clutched his younger brother’s body, pulling him back. He pressed his back against his sisters to push them away from the room before them.
Armand’s parents were lying in bed. Buboes the size of eggs covered their necks. There were five layers of blankets over them, yet the two shivered as if they were naked in the middle of a blizzard.
A doctor in black robes stood by their bed. He had a mask that resembled a bird’s beak, and he prodded Armand’s parents with a cane.
“Please! Let me see mommy and daddy again!” tears streamed from Armand’s younger brother’s eyes.
Armand felt his sisters trying to push harder as his brother wriggled around in his arms.
“Keep your siblings away from them! If they get exposed to the bad smells, they could get infected too!” the doctor said.
The boy steeled himself. He pushed harder, driving his sisters back as he tightened his hold on his brother. Armand shut the door with his foot when they left the room. After a few moments, the doctor exited.
“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. The infection has progressed too far,” he said.
“No! You’ve got to do something! Save our parents!” one of Armand’s sisters begged.
“I’m sorry, but they won’t last the night.”
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Back at the present, Armand rushed over to Eris’ body.
“No, no, please don’t be dead,” he thought. “You’re supposed to be my greatest enemy! We couldn’t kill each other, no matter how hard we tried, and…and…and…”
He clutched her head in his hands. Tears welled from his eyes.
“You’re the only one I have left.”
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Another memory came to Armand’s mind. He sat at a feasting table, tears flowing down his face. That was just a few months after his parents’ deaths. He was now faced with his siblings’ bodies slumped over on the table. A tall, gaunt man gazed down upon the boy with cruel eyes.
“And now, you are the last,” the man said.
“Mortimer, call a doctor!” Armand ran over to his elder sister.
He grabbed her and shook her.
“Please, wake up!” he begged.
Mortimer lashed out, slamming his fist into Armand’s cheek. White lights danced in the boy's eyes as pain overcame him. A look of utter betrayal haunted Armand’s face as he looked up at the man.
“Why?” was all he could say.
“There’s no point in getting a doctor. Your siblings were poisoned, and you will too if you defy me,” Mortimer said.
“Did you…” Armand’s eyes widened in terror.
“Consider me your regent for life now. Do not expect to get your family’s lands when you come of age. They’re mine.”
“Why did you kill them?” the boy said.
Armand tried to stand up, but Mortimer kicked him back down.
“Dealing with you will be enough of a handful, and your siblings would have just caused more trouble. Now, be a good boy and go to your room.”
Mortimer would later on be slowly poisoned to death by Armand. It was an assassination he didn’t regret for a second. The slowness wasn’t to be cruel. Unlike Mortimer, Armand didn’t have enough influence at the time to cover up a sudden death. He had to make sure that Mortimer’s assassination looked like he died of a disease.
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This memory faded into a third; this time he was 17. He swayed through a field scattered with corpses of men and monsters alike. Pikes split in half, shattered greatswords, broken halberds, crushed swords, and smashed arquebus littered the ground. Armand’s eyes gazed upon the corpse of an armored man.
“Sir Felix the Red,” his heart sank.
Armand’s teary gaze turned to several other corpses.
“Duke Cumberland, Sir Oliver, Sir Kayne, Count Mirabeau…” The boy clasped his head in his gauntlets.
He saw movement in the corner of his eye. Hope flowed through Armand. Had someone other than him survived? Turning, the boy saw a raven pulling Sir Felix’s eye out of his dead skull.
Armand collapsed to his knees. He let out a grief-stricken cry so loud that it could wake the dead.
By the time he turned 20, all of Armand’s friends and family were dead.
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“And now, I’ve lost my greatest enemy, the only person I had left,” he thought.
“Who am I kidding?” Eris muttered. “With all the terrible things I’ve done, there’s no way I’m going to the same place you are. You might have been ruthless at times, but the only thing I ever cared about was power.”
Armand felt the life fade from her body. However, his grief was gone.
“Dammit all! You might be a villain, but I’m no hero! I’m just a coward!”
He pulled out a slip of paper.
“I should have used this a long time ago, but I was too afraid. I thought I’d make things worse, that I’d just screw up again. But how could things possibly be worse than this?” Armand shouted.
Then, he tore the paper in two.
“Chronos, great God of Time, I call upon you! You gave me this in my hour of greatest despair when I was certain that the gods had all abandoned me! Now I’m using it!”
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There was a flash of light. Armand was at the Ara Ara Ball, many years before he called upon Chronos. He smiled with relief as he gazed at Eris. He made sure the two of them were the only people who remembered the original timeline. Anyone else could complicate things.
“Of course, Eris will complicate things anyway,” Armand thought. “But right now, I’m just happy that I’ll get to fight her again.”
Eris’ thoughts went along a very different path.
“Why the fuck does Armand love me? I always hated him, he was a thorn in my side, and I was a thorn in his side! We were bitter enemies, even our noble houses hated each other! No, wait, calm down. Maybe you’re just seeing something where there’s nothing. Armand might be lying to manipulate me. Remember all the times he insulted you?”
A massive blush crept over her face.
“He never insulted me! He was always respectful! He really does love me!”
“Your face is red. Are you alright?” Armand asked.
“I’m fine. I just have hysteria,” Eris answered.
“Hysteria doesn’t make your face turn red, and you’re too young to have hysteria anyway,” he said.
“Calm down, Eris,” she thought. “Even if Armand loves you, he’s still your enemy. You can use this against him. Just toy with his feelings, lead him on, get him to do stuff with you, and then stab him in the back. It’ll be perfect! Now, I just need to think of something romantic.”
“I think I need some fresh air. Could you accompany me to the balcony?” Eris asked.
She stood up.
“There. That’s a nice, romantic place where I can start manipulating Armand,” she thought.
“What’s Eris up to now? She might want to push me off the balcony. No one would expect someone of her age to deliberately kill someone. No. That scheme’s too obvious. She knows that I won’t fall for something like that. I'll play along for now to find out what she's up to,” Armand thought.
He stood up and smiled.
“Of course, my lady. I will escort you,” Armand said.
He hooked his arm, and Eris grabbed it.
“That confirms it. Armand’s crazy for me,” she thought.
The two of them walked to the balcony. As they moved, Eris plotted.
“Armand’s clever, so it’ll take years for me to convince him that I love him back. But it’ll all be worth it. After all, I’ll get to humiliate my biggest enemy. I can make him pay for every single time he got in my way after I use him for all he’s worth. Then, I can go back to living my life like I used to. No one loved me then, and…”
That realization crashed into Eris like a charging elephant on crack. It took every bit of her self-control to keep walking like nothing was wrong.
“No one loved me. I was never married, and any man who married me would just do it for my lands anyway. There was no one I could really talk to, no one that could hold me tight in their arms, no one I could trust.”
Eris glanced at Armand. She was 8, too young to feel sexual attraction. Instead, Eris felt a tinge of admiration when she looked at his face. The girl made sure to look away fast.
“Don’t even think about it, Eris! No amount of love can get you more power! And this man was the number one reason why you didn’t get more power. He is a cunning manipulator, a brilliant tactician and strategist, a skilled and strong fighter, and someone with charisma worthy of an emperor. Just imagine what you could accomplish together!” Eris’ eyes widened as she thought. “I hate Armand, but would loving him be that bad? Maybe I could try this romance thing for real?”
The two of them made it to the balcony. Eris let go of Armand’s arm and walked over to the railing. A moat was two stories below. Eris recalled that she learned how to swim a few years after this. She was certain she could still swim, but she was the only one who knew that.
“Armand…” she said.
“Armand? Not Lord Concord? What is she scheming?” he thought before speaking. “What is it?”
“Nothing’s changed between us. Our families still hate each other. We’re supposed to be enemies,” Eris stated.
“I know that,” Armand spoke before thinking, “And I’d be enemies with someone as evil as you even if our families didn’t hate each other.”
“I like using people. I especially like using commoners, but they’re not people, so I throw them out as I please,” Eris said.
“You’ve done that for years. I know that,” his voice turned cold.
“Then why don’t I use our families for our sake?” she asked.
“What are you talking about?” Armand said.
Eris smiled.
She turned around and leaned over the railing. Eris leaned so far that she fell over. The girl crashed into the moat below.
“You idiot!” Armand shouted.
“I know this is some scheme of hers, but I just brought her back to life! I should want her dead, but I’m not losing my greatest enemy again!” he thought.
Armand leaped over the railing and dived into the moat. He swam down hard and fast, water rushing up his nose. Every swing of his arm sent an incredible pulse of pain through his body.
“I almost forgot how sickly I was.”
Eris floated in the middle of the water. Her eyes were closed. Armand grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her body. He kicked his legs, desperately pushing up. The added weight of carrying Eris dragged Armand down further into the depths. His lungs burned like a raging wildfire.
“Did you intend to get us both killed?” Armand thought.
Then, Eris kicked her feet, aiding their ascent. Armand felt them rising. A surge of determination pulsed through him. He swam as hard as he could, dragging himself and Eris to the surface. They gasped, letting air flow into their lungs.
Strong hands grasped the two of them. Armand turned to see that Eris’ father was pulling them ashore. Soon, the two children were on solid ground. Countess Hapsburg grabbed her daughter in a tight hug as the count examined Eris to make sure she wasn’t hurt.
“Eris, are you alright?” Count Hapsburg’s voice was frantic.
“I’m okay now. This boy saved me,” Eris said.
“Thank you so much,” the count said. “You have my gratitude. What is your name?”
A man with light brown hair walked over.
“It’s Armand Richelieu Concord,” he said.
Eris’ father’s face went as pale as ice.
“I see, Count Concord, your son saved my daughter.”
“Yes. That will make their scheduled duel very awkward, seeing as your family now ow…” Count Concord started.
“Father!” Eris didn’t let him finish. “I want to thank Armand for saving me! Can he come over to our castle for a party? Oh, maybe we could go to Carnival together?”
“It’s perfect. Now that Armand’s saved my life, my parents won't be able to bring themselves to hate him. This could start to bridge the gap between us. It’s a perfect romance story too. A boy saves a girl, and she starts to fall for him. People will see us as the perfect couple, two lovers who bridged the gap between rival houses. They’ll look to us for romantic advice, and then they’ll fall under our influence,” she thought.
“Oh, fuck. Eris wants to take me to her house so she can poison me. Carnival would be even better for that since it'd be easier to make it look like someone else poisoned me,” Armand thought.
“I’m certain that Armand has different thoughts on the matter,” Eris’ father said.
“He’d be happy to go. I’m certain that you’ll host a gracious feast for him,” Count Concord stated. “I will come too, of course, to discuss certain matters. After all, I think there is much to gain from this incident.”
Armand didn’t like how much his father was milking this.
“Father, I would have saved anyone if this happened to them,” he said.
“I know that,” Count Concord nodded. “But the fact remains that you saved her.”
“I’m getting the feeling that this one action changed so much. Just what is Eris planning?” Armand thought.
“Eris, stay here. I’m getting a doctor,” Countess Hapsburg moved off.
As the adults began to talk among themselves while keeping an eye on the children, Eris smiled.
“It’s all going according to plan,” she thought.
Eris leaned close to Armand and whispered.
“Thank you for saving me.”
“From drowning?” he asked.
“No,” Eris answered. “I know how to swim; though, I didn’t learn how to swim at this age. I was never in any real danger, and no one but me knew that.”
“Why is she telling me this? Eris kept her plans hidden under layer after layer of intrigue.”
“Then what are you thanking me for saving you from?” Armand said.
“My assassination. You reversed time, bringing me back to life. And just in time too. I almost walked into Hell,” Eris stated.
“Now that you know you’re going to Hell, are you going to repent?” he questioned.
“I always knew I was going to Hell. Nothing’s changed. I will get what I want, I will crush anyone who gets in my way, and I will use and throw away anyone I have to,” Eris stated.
“Dammit. I shouldn’t have turned back time. Eris is the same as ever, and she won’t make the same mistakes she did last time. Countless people will suffer, and it’s all my fault,” Armand thought.
“You’re every bit as cunning as ever. What are you planning?” he said, not expecting a straight answer.
“I’m going to fabricate a romance story between us so we can get married,” Eris replied.
Armand sat in stunned silence.
“I see that you’re too happy to speak. Don’t worry. We’ll have our grand wedding when we’re 14.”