What happened in the following two hours was surprisingly lacking in violence. The rest of the Royal Mages alive, though there were so few of them left, were all herded up and separated into two groups. Those who still supported the crown and those who had been under Rubeus’ banner.
The latter group was restrained with the ropes that they had brought, the former was made to watch over them, and every other person still trapped inside the Academy district was made to wait around while the Tarrasque silently stood above them.
It had attacked nobody, as Phillip had ordered for no such thing.
“But I can order it to do so any moment I wish to,” he warned as he sat down on the couch. “And if the bond is cut, or I am killed or incapacitated in some way, it’ll break free of its chains and go on a rampage.”
“You’ll allow the country to fall if you don’t get your way?” Vera questioned from the opposite couch, wiping away blood stains from her skin while Alin put a hand on her shoulder.
“Of course not!” Phillip assured her. “I have my full trust in you not trying anything while we discuss an agreement that both of us can benefit from.”
And… that was their reality. Those in their group who still lived had been moved to the top floors of the castle by Alin, sitting in an open meeting room while trying to figure out how to finish this relatively peacefully.
“Anything mutually beneficial isn’t really on the table anymore, Phillip,” Vera countered.
“I can settle for something only benefiting me then,” he replied with a shrug. “If that doesn’t work for you, I’m afraid we’re at an impasse.”
Elijah supposed that much was true. The original goal of the crown prince had been to have a force that would so heavily outmatch Alin that the potential destruction of the city in a fight wasn’t a problem, but with the death of most of his loyal forces, things had gotten more complicated.
If they killed Phillip at this moment, the Tarrasque would be freed and it would kill everybody. If Phillip gave up on getting a favorable deal, he had the ability to try his luck with killing Alin and potentially have a city standing by the end.
With those on the other side not settling for anything that would involve the death of more of the people, it was becoming a very complicated issue. Allowing Phillip to step into power was something they wouldn't allow either, which only made the matter even more of a headache.
“It would be hard to spin in the public’s eye, but we could share the role between the two of us,” Philip told Vera, the crown prince ignoring the third sibling standing on the side while having his hand tended to by Elijah. “You would be able to challenge my decisions through official acts, the duties would be split between us evenly, and neither of our abilities would need to be wasted.”
“You wouldn’t mind if I take over the political game while you manage commerce and warfare?” she questioned, getting a grimace in reply. “Thought so.”
Discussion continued onward, and Elijah was able to finish getting the third royal’s finger bones back into their intended places. A bit of accelerated healing allowed him to move the digits relatively well after a few minutes, but it would take some weeks before the youngest regained his previous strength.
Harper’s completely broken hand wasn’t as easy to fix, which forced Elijah to do what he could before using a splint to stabilize the area around the fracture. With some hours in the laboratory, he could probably put together something to mend the bones, but, again, there wasn’t time for such a thing right now.
“You should’ve told me about this gift of yours, sister,” Philip commented as some of their initial terms were drafted in a contract. “Having a Leximancer in our repertoire would’ve made so many paths open up for us.”
“It’s a forbidden Affinity for a reason,” Vera replied, finishing the paragraph and allowing the blood-red Mana to enter through the letters. “Neither of us will be able to directly or indirectly harm the other physically, magically, spiritually, or mentally, and ordering any servant under our control to do it on our behalf is likewise not allowed upon signing. Any contracts I’ve written in the past can’t be used to circumvent this protection, meaning you can’t order my death and I can’t order yours. To make matters more obvious, we're both obligated to answer if asked whether we are planning to circumvent these rules through those under our control.”
“Not bad,” came the reply. “Now to split the duties properly…”
Elijah didn’t care to listen as he began to wonder about one point above all others. In some minutes, Phillip wouldn’t be able to harm Vera, and vice versa, but wasn’t there a rather glaring loophole to exploit here?
Something to consider.
“How are you feeling?” he asked Aleksi, who rested on a sofa in the corner of the room. The giant had already been given the strongest heart medicine he had been able to mash together in the past two days, but the elixir was taking a toll on the body regardless.
The sound of flesh torn apart before being forced together in an endless cycle could be heard when he got close. Though Aleksi hid it well, it was obvious that the pain reduction from the elixir wasn’t effective enough at hiding the sensation.
“I could be better, I admit,” Aleksi finally confessed, sweat rolling off him as he stared at the ceiling above. “I can’t promise I will leave this room on my own feet.”
Aleksi Grey wasn’t sure he would live. Elijah wasn’t sure he would either. Both had known what would likely happen the second the elixir was consumed, but it had been seen as a necessity. The giant had been the one to suggest it, seeing it as a worthy sacrifice if it meant they would save the two from their damned fates.
And they had.
Now both of the old men had to accept what they might've just traded away.
“Get back to the others,” Aleksi ordered after a while, pushing Elijah out of the couch and out of the spot next to the giant. “Finish the job. I’ll watch over these two in the meantime.”
The two in question were none other than Jack and Sasha, of course. Both were still unconscious, the effects of a magically-induced coma still affecting them. It would pass in some hours, but until then they were just sprawled out wherever they were placed.
Best of luck, old friend.
“And as for the Tarrasque?” he heard Vera say. “I refuse to accept it being under your control without any contingencies.”
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“If you’re hoping to restrict what orders I can give the beast, sister, I refuse,” Philip replied. “I have already agreed to the terms surrounding the peace between me and the rest of this country. I don’t see a reason for anything more than that.”
“Neither do I,” Vera… agreed? That didn’t sound right. “What I am worried about, brother, is your mortality.”
“You’re afraid to lose your dear older sibling?”
“And the grip around the Tarrasque’s leash, yes,” she confirmed. “You might be able to hold it tight now, but it takes one successful hit before your life is cut short and that grip is removed.”
“I can promise that I am durable, but… I see your point,” Phillip admitted, frowning as he looked out the window and they all found the Tarrasque looking back at them. That reptilian eye did not blink as it inspected its so-called ‘owners.’ “It would be a sad day if the other countries discovered they could end ours by killing one man.”
“Does the transfer of that mark require direct contact?” Vera asked, pointing at the figure of the beast that covered Phillip’s right forearm.
“Yes, sadly,” the crown prince replied. “But, regardless, I can see the benefits of having it in the contract. When my death comes close, it needs to be moved to you or somebody else we can trust. That should take priority over everything else.”
She wrote as much into the contract, the paper lengthening to allow for more lines to be added on.
It was a relatively quick process after that. Their duties were added into the contract in greater detail, with the clause of them being able to discuss and alter those duties in the future if needed. After that… the only thing they needed to do was to sign.
“Elijah, would you mind bringing us some tea?” Vera requested as she brought out her pen. “I wouldn’t mind your blend instead of whatever the castle is offering.”
“I wouldn’t say no to it either,” Phillip added, agreeing to a cup.
…
Elijah understood. As he went to bring the prepared batch that he had previously put in the king’s chamber, he brought out a purple flower from his Plant Storage. He took a few petals, crushing them in with his hands before putting a few pieces into two of the bags. There was no trace of the tampering by the time he had put it back together, and he walked back to the meeting room at an even pace.
Hot water had already been delivered along with a few cups, which he distributed alongside tea bags for each person who wanted it. Fade, Louis, and Aleksi declined the offer, but he, Vera, Alin, and Phillip had been craving something to settle their nerves for a while.
“Take care,” he warned the crown prince as he delivered the steaming cup. “It’s hot.”
The prince took the scalding tea without comment, touching the cup like it was room temperature. The perks of magical reinforcement.
“Oh, Elijah, would you mind if we swapped cups?” Phillip requested after the rest were given their share. “I just realized I wouldn’t mind going without sugar, and I’d rather not waste a bag on such a simple mistake.”
He had noticed how Elijah had given him the first cup, how careful he had been.
Smart.
“I… suppose,” Elijah replied, trading cups with the crown prince. He held the tea for a moment, staring at the liquid.
“For the betterment of the kingdom,” Vera said, raising the tea just a little before taking the first sip. Elijah did the same, though the prince waited a moment more. “So… this is nice.”
“It is,” Phillip agreed. “Now tell me, sister, do you have any plans to circumvent the contract and have me killed?”
“None of the sort, as I would be forced to reveal as much to you,” the princess assured him. That got a pleased face to leave the prince, making him finally sip the tea while Elijah looked on with a calm look.
Twenty seconds were allowed to pass peacefully, as they enjoyed the beverage. If the prince forced himself to vomit now, it would make no difference.
“But… I can see that look on your face, Elijah,” Vera finally continued, her smile growing a little wider. “Did you do something without my permission?”
“I did,” Elijah confessed, moving to sit directly opposite the crown prince who looked on skeptically. “Phillip.”
“Elijah?” came the confused reply. “To be sure, did you poison every cup or was it just yours and my own?”
“Only ours,” he admitted. “But… I am not the one who will suffer from it.”
“You think you will live while I die? From the same poison?” Phillip questioned, to which Elijah nodded. “That’s a rather far-fetched idea. I didn’t take you for a fool. Poisons work as well on me as a knife would.”
“Most poisons work as well on you as most blades,” he corrected. The crown prince frowned when he tried to talk but found his tongue weirdly heavy. Immediately there was an attempt to grab at his sword, but the hand was sluggish in its movements.
Fear started to settle in.
Then anger.
“What have you—” Phillip demanded before a hand came up to clutch at his chest. Fear was coming back in full force. “What?”
Elijah took another sip of his tea, feeling the calming effect it had on his mind. In the corner, he could hear Aleksi chuckling weakly. The giant knew what was about to come.
“I am going to tell you a little story, one that nobody has been granted the privilege to know until today,” Elijah said, leaning forward to put his cup on the table. On the other side, Phillip was in pain, tears leaving his eyes as he sat paralyzed. A side-effect of the poison. “I have traveled in my many years of life. Not over the entire world, not outside this continent, but enough that I have come in contact with many interesting things. Death, destruction, entire villages burnt to a crisp, but also the geniuses behind creating the destruction. I worked under such people for many years, one of which grew a certain flower to help create an elixir of incredible strength.
That elixir doesn’t matter, but this flower does. It’s called the Luna Nightshade, and… I can see you know of it. You must also know that it is meant to be impossible to grow outside of the northern mountains, which I admit it nearly is. It took so much work to move one across this recently-founded country and keep them healthy without my abilities.
But in those years, those many years, I grew to have a resistance to the Silent Killer. Incredible, don’t you think? The poison that has killed dragons, demigods, kings, and many more, just to be unable to take down one old man.”
“I’ll… I’ll kill you!” Phillip gasped out, trying and failing to grasp his sword. Elijah could see the Core of the man working at its fullest in an attempt to make the heart work as it should’ve, yet there was nothing it could do.
“I’m close to 72, young man,” Elijah replied calmly, watching as Phillip tried to call upon the mark on his forearm as a final act of defiance. It, like everything else, failed. The contract didn't allow it. “A mild wind can kill me these days. Your threats would’ve meant nothing at your full strength, and they most certainly mean nothing now.”
“But… why? Why help her and not me?”
“I will repeat that I feel no loyalty to either of you, and Vera knows that,” he assured the dying prince, giving them a shock that might’ve extended their life by a few extra seconds. “She’s just on the side that didn’t try to sacrifice two people I found on the street a week ago. Simple as that.”
…
Something that might’ve been meant as a chuckle left the crown prince. It didn’t last long, as the lungs started to give out.
“As promised, Phillip,” Vera reminded the dying man, as she grabbed his right arm with her own. The Core of the prince automatically moved away from trying to save the doomed flesh and began the process of transferring the mark from one person to the other. “And… Thank you. I’ll try my best to rule this country in your absence.”
A mouthed word none of them could recognize left Philip before he grew still. Another member of the royalty had fallen.
Elijah could only sip his tea at the sight, wondering how they were going to move the body without causing too large a scare.