The Sky Is Falling! / What The Rebellion?!; Part 1
"MMM-MMM! This fig-tart is divine!" Dennis consumed the last morsel of the light snack he was provided during the rehearsal. The light from the Buriti sun was already baking deep into the Mauve Palace's chipping paint. "I would die to have another bite of those! What do you think of them?" He turned to face his fiance, Aiko.
She did not respond, instead, Aiko fitted a loaded magazine into the back of her black combat boots. The rehearsal for the meeting of the Old Gaurd and the Crimson Lineage would go as it always did, in her mind; Uneventful and a showy display of the riches raked in from the countryside.
"What is the matter? Do you not want to dine on the fine fruits of the Fall Harvest?" Dennis tried to speak in a concerned tone but the questions were too flat even to his liking. He watched as she eyed the small area of assembly that was built over the old Buritian capitol.
The stadium itself was exquisite, a marvel of both Tahul and Buritian craftsmanship with its small tiles and arching roof that kissed the sky. The ability to wick away the heat with its cone shape was one of the many things not provided to those outside its shield, Aiko looked past the balcony overlooking the orange-stone building to the densely packed slums her people mulled in. "Nothing, Dennis...I was just wondering when the Old Guard would arrive--The troops have been anxious since losing the main airport last month."
Dennis thought little of her military jargon, cocking his head to the side before speaking. "Bah--You worry of things that your father and my uncle have cared far too long over! With Huck gone, it will be only a few short hours before I am crowned the Crimson Monarch," He flared his hands to the sky.
The light from the balcony was momentarily blocked by the passing of 2 large planes above, silver of their chassis glinted against the burning mid-day sky. "See, they are arriving now. You can only worry so much Y'know. Gustav says that--" Dennis caught himself. He already had received a fresh slapping the last time he had mentioned the driver of their vehicle to Aiko.
"Oh, What does Gustav say? I am...DYING to find out the revelation that Svet-born machine jockey has blessed you with now--Did you hear that he may be in line to be the Red Bride as well!" Aiko's sarcasm was not amusing to the Regent Dennis. He quickly checked their surroundings for anyone who may have heard what she had said.
Dennis thought of something to say, then thought better of it. He picked up a spyglass from the left belt loop of his pants with slight annoyance. "It would seem that they have arrived, no airport needed. Go and handle their coming--Or would you like to insult the future king of Vasca-Minor some more?" Dennis thought he did well responding to his future wife openly refuting his relationship with his driver as being just friendly, to say the least.
As Aiko made her way down to meet with the Old Gaurd, She thought of the last time they had visited Buriti-Vasca; 7 long years had passed with much changing in the palace but many things cruelly staying the same. With the exile of Prince HuckleBerry and the confinement of Princess Kasiha, there was no room for her to make any changes herself.
The descent down the long stairs was slow, her footfalls finding precision instead of speed. Dennis was only showing out for the moment. It was a pleasant thought for her, but she knew it was untrue. There was no possibility that his upgrade from spoiled Regent to vapid Crimson Monarch would bring nothing but complacency or death to the nation she held so dear.
The entrance to the lush hanging gardens passed her quickly. Memories of her time there with her friends passed for seconds without any hook to her core. Aiko had no time to care for them anymore, she needed to find a way to bring the kingdom back from its brink. "Fucking Vascan's" Aiko muttered to herself, pushing the brown dense curls from her face.
The exact beings she was referring to were already shuffling their way up the stairs to her, unsurprisingly. The chief among them was the surviving brother-in-law to the king, Tariq'Vascaria. "Ah, Miss Ewabatta. I have wondered when you would return from the field of battle...You are stunning!" His comment was agreed upon by the other 9 members of the Old Guard, their red eyes gazing over every inch of her.
Aiko did not conceal her disgust for them, aiming a scowl directly down over them as she stood near the lobby of the large estate. "It is wonderful to see you as well...I didn't know Vascan's could age so harshly." As she insulted him Tariq tried to make his way quickly up the stairs to face down on her, instead he found that she was now taller than he was in her adult age. "I-I--Where is Regent Dennis? I no longer find you alluring--Queen Marna would be ashamed of how loose-lipped the women of the court have become."
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Tariq was referring to the lengthy argument he had faced with a random commoner he had mistaken for nobility, the customs of the far-off land starkly different to the Old-World marshes of Vascaria. "I do not wish to miss this rehearsal. I have heard that the king really will be giving up his throne to my favorite little boy." His wrinkled face scrunched like that of a pug, the lines creating their own tiny countenances.
"He is practicing his acceptance speech and prepping for your and Kyler's arrival. I mean to speak with the Popa before this commences, the entire western front has seen no priest of Dhira in months...The men grow weary." Aiko frowned, remembering the mind-shattered stares of her fellow soldiers.
With a flourish of his hand, he walked away from her up the tiled stairs with no more words. Aiko would have pinned him down and cracked his teeth if she had been among her battalions, the slight of her gender and place was a familiar aggravation when dealing with the elite of the nation.
She watched in silence as each passed.
The hanging lilac silk of their garments had already become covered in clay. Each of them had intricately meshed beards into their crimson dreadlocks that cascaded just above the floor, the most elaborate of them being Tariq's; His was woven to be in the ridiculous shape of a large V that framed his entire wrinkled front. It was a sight that was hard for Aiko not to release a mild chuckle at their passing.
Everything had been going to plan. The arrival of the Old Guard, the king making his way from the Summer Mansion, and Prince Huckleberry was far away in some drunken stupor. Aiko had spent weeks in truth setting up the entire event to go off without a hitch. If the Vascans had paid attention it would have been strange even to them how perfectly they were placed for the perfect concentrated strike on their entire elite caste.
Aiko pushed the scheduled bombings from her mind, not wanting to spoil the last memories of the Muave Palace with the anxiety of the day's politics. She made her way to the mid-levels of the palace where the servants were working most heavily on the meals for Dennis' coronation. The entire wind smelled of salted meat and wonderfully spiced wines from all corners of Buriti.
A small cask of wine found its way into her hand, quelling the shake from anxiety. She watched many of the servants she once knew by name and grew up with simply walking past her for fear of her status. It was disheartening for Aiko to imagine that they saw her as foreign as their Vascan oppressors at this point. The only ones who accepted her were the troops--They had firsthand seen her use an above-intelligent mind for battle during the last border wars with the western front.
To her shock, her long-time friend, Yana, came sulking from around the corner. She barely raised her green eyes to meet Aiko's as she attempted to cover her cheek from view. "Oh...Aiko--I did not know you would have returned, how is the north?" Yana still did not bring her face into full view. A few servants bustled between them as Aiko eyes Yana's slender face.
"What--What are you doing here!?" The loud question had little effect on the servants strictly pinned to their tasks, only truly pricking Yana with its volume. A concerned look began to etch on Aiko's face as she had not marked Yana as 'acceptable collateral'.
Yana frowned for a moment then sent her eyes back to the tiled floor of the palace. "My father sent me back from the Summer Mansion to accompany the king...He has been--Friendly." Aiko knew what that meant; Having been in King Vasca's decrepit favor many times before her being engaged to the man's nephew. Aiko grabbed Yana's wrist with an unbreaking grip.
"Did he also send you with that bruise--Or was that from the king and his 'affection'?" The words compelled Yana to shudder, not wanting to think of her future as a member of the court any longer. If she had known about the bombings, Aiko doubted she really would care, in light of her current situation. It still was not right for Aiko though.
Yana had been a friend to both Kasiha and her, even if not nearly as close to Aiko as the Prince and Princess Yana did not deserve to be taken in the coming conflagration, not if Aiko still had a say in the impending scheme. Yana held back tears as she moved to escape the conversation. "It is not my place to question why I was brought here, but no, this was from my father." Her raised face displayed a clear welt from the Svet-born noble that sired her, his open palm leaving multiple purple blemishes on the tawny skin of his half-Buritian daughter
Aiko yanked her to the covered abandoned tunnels used in the past by the many servants of the Crimson Monarch to not be seen. "You need to get out of here, there will be a car waiting for you in 40 minutes with Kasiha." The words came out breathless. The time for subtly was quickly vanishing as the impending strike came closer and closer to burning fulfillment.
Yana wanted to not understand, to try and play ignorant like she had when the men of the court acted like wild animals. It was impossible to ignore the creeping dread on the titanium-like casing of the soldier before her. She nodded her head without a word. She had many questions but knew that there was no way to glean them from Aiko.
Yana made her way through the connected passages in the tunnel that Aiko had shown her in some of the last days of their childhood. Aiko stared on, after a few moments she looked again at her watch; 4 minutes had passed, it was not time for her to make certain that the Old Guard Senate and King would be exactly where they needed to be.
She popped her head from the covered entrance to see the staring face of the King himself, his one eye bulging as she entered the small hallway awkwardly. "Tunnels are for rats...Why are you skulking around the palace?" The aged monarch had cut his pacing in order to address her, ebony suit of armor covering everything but his head.
Aiko froze. The king's presence was planned for, yet she felt a rip of dread at the fabric of her finely tuned facade. "Do you find it entertaining to gawk at me? Your father will be with us shortly--Don't let him catch wind that you were rummaging in the slave dens." He snorted a half chuckle and half threat that hung in the air.
Aiko motioned to the large mural above the throne with her large brown eyes, mimicking the same way Prince Huck had always pushed the man's attention away. "You look magnificent. I would dare to say, that Queen Mara is smiling up from the fires of Dhira!" Aiko saluted the king of Vasca. Her smile only faded for milli-seconds at a time.
The immense Empire the man ruled before her was in shambles. Vasca-Minor was lost in the Western Salt War to Atlantia and their protector, Svetlan. Buriti was being passed down to his non-blood-related Vascarian nephew as his son was deemed unfit. It was almost as if that ancient armor that protected his centurion body was all that was left to truly signify the vast nation that once was in his family's greedy palm.
Yet, she still felt potent wrath bubbling beneath the creased charcoal wrinkles in his permanently scowling countenance. "You...Why are you acting as if you have poisoned my cup?"
Aiko stopped in her tracks, her salute falling with the hopes of surviving the evening. How did he know?
End Part One.