Finished with our tale, I unclenched my fists, allowing blood to flow back through.
Sera looked toward the witnesses on the other side of the table. “Can you verify this?” she asked, her voice professionally impassive.
Closest to Sera, Aurora answered first with a polite “Yes.” The other witnesses answered in order.
“Of course.”
“Sounds right.”
“Yup.”
Her lips turned up for a second before she schooled them back down. “Good.” She turned to the additional chimera, the entire table following suit. He swallowed, sweat on his face visible. “And you have news from our ally, Aquila?”
When he answered, his voice was high, strangled with nerves. “Yes, your highness.” He coughed, clearing his throat. His eyes jumped from person to person, unsure of whom to look at. He decided on Sera, “First, she wishes to express her sorrow at the passing of Vermillion. She stated that ‘all is not lost, however’ and wished to inform you that the missing chimeras were reclaimed from the camp last night.” Across the table, August slumped in relief, and I recalled that it was suspected his brother had been at the camp. And yet, he’d volunteered to assist me anyway.
“Unfortunately, however, it is not all good news. A small group of chimeras refused to join, and the rumor is they are planning an attack on the palace. The remaining chimeras are being moved to wait outside the city, but we will not interfere without insurance that our help will be welcomed by the ruler and the guard.”
“Wait, what?!” Aeolus exclaimed. “But Sera’s the one who–” Sera raised a hand and gave him a sharp look, stopping him from continuing.
“Her concern is not unwarranted.”
Aeolus deflated at her words, and he ruffled his hair, frustrated. Next to him, Azure calmly said: “Do ya think the King will be convinced?”
“Perhaps.” She turned her attention back to the chimera. “Thank you, Vitus.”
“You’re welcome.”
Sera untied the scroll, sending the edges rolling open. “Hayden, is there any section that may help us convince my father of their personhood?”
I nodded. “If you look at the first few experiments, they go into great depth about cognitive tests conducted before and after chimera transformation.”
Her eyes scanned rapidly across the scroll as she looked for the experiments mentioned. Finding it, she propped the scroll open with a couple of paperweights and began notating on a separate scroll with a quick “thank you.”
As she wrote, Sera stated, “Our next course of action should be to release a public announcement regarding chimeras,” she paused her writing for a second to face us. “Hayden, as you’ve read the scroll, and Augustus, as a chimera yourself, I’ll leave the details of speech writing to you. I want it done by dinnertime this evening.”
A glance at the golden water clock behind her informed me we’d only have a few hours to complete this. Wonderful.
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“Vitus, I need you to return to Aquila at once. Inform her that I wish to schedule a public meeting between us as soon as possible. Inform her that most of our military and guards answer to me and have been ordered not to attack chimeras without provocation. Unfortunately, I cannot speak of those loyal to my father.”
“Most of us are loyal to the princess,” Faust confirmed earnestly. “There are few outliers.”
Vitus nodded his agreement.
“In the meantime, Helia and I will work at convincing my father, while Faust, Aeolus, Azure, and Sky will work on our defenses so we’re prepared if it indeed comes to a fight.”
Everyone mentioned mumbled their agreement.
Conspicuously absent from the instructions, Octavia gestured to herself and Aurora. “What about us, princess?”
Sera’s eyes softened. “You are welcome to help where you are able.”
Aurora piped up, her quiet and high-pitched voice carrying surprisingly far. “We’ll help with the defensive plans.”
Octavia cast an uncertain glance at Sky, Azure, and Aeolus, but nodded her agreement.
Sera gave her first genuine smile of the evening. “They’ll be happy to have you.” Her attention returned to the table. “You each have your tasks. I’ll see you at dinner tonight.”
Silence lingered. I raised my hand, feeling like I was back in college.
Sera’s eyes crinkled with amusement. “Yes, Hayden?”
“Who, exactly, will be reading the speech?” It was kind of essential to know.
She pondered the question, hand on her chin. “Hopefully, Aquila and I. Don’t worry about writing everything down word for word. I only need a few key points and relevant details. The actual phrasing I can do for myself.” She gently rolled the scroll I’d stolen back up, tying it shut and sliding it back across the table to me.
I grabbed the scroll, fiddling with its tie .“Right.”
August and I were the first to leave, our steps buoyed by a chorus of ‘See you later.’ At August’s request, a couple of servants led us to a much smaller, but no less beautiful, office. Blank scrolls, books, parchment, as well as pencils and tablets, were shelved on one wall, free for the taking. I grabbed a couple of handfuls of supplies as August sat at the comparatively small table in the center of the room and leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table.
Sitting down across from him, I shoved some supplies his way. He stared at me, unimpressed. When I motioned for him to take them, he raised a hand, his long claws glinting wickedly in the sunlight. It clicked.
He pushed the supplies back towards me, and I accepted them, organizing them on the table to cover my embarrassment.
Slightly amused, he added, “I wasn’t great at writing in the first place. The claws just made it worse.”
I tossed the stolen scroll at him, accidentally sending it flying a few feet too far to the right. August leaned over and caught it anyway, his wings balancing him out. Confused, he looked between me and the scroll.
“Read through the first six or seven entries,” I said, “Let me know what you think.”
By dinner time, we’d compiled a somewhat satisfactory speech, which we reluctantly handed to Sera as we walked in, the last to arrive. She glanced at the text I’d written, then gave us a tight but sincere smile. “Perfect.”
Dinner was less oppressive than the meeting, with light-hearted small talk breaking out across the table as everyone got to know each other. Understandably, Sera sat in silence, the hairs of her bob sliding down to brush her cheeks as she read through scroll after scroll.
Leaving her be, Aeolus asked us, “So, how did you guys meet?”
Octavia burst into the tale, encapsulating the whole table with her unwanted commentary and elaborate gestures. She included an exaggerated, or, as she called it, “more exciting” version of how I stole the gem and the scroll. As I listened to her tell our stories, I thought she’d make a decent writer. The tale ended with a dramatic reenactment of August scattering the fragments of the gem into the ocean, using seasonings and August himself as Octavia narrated.
Aeolus, in particular, had been enraptured by the tale, his face betraying his morbid fascination with our deplorable temporary living conditions. I felt a little empathy for him, though the reality was that this world wasn’t much cleaner. If I hadn’t been a neat freak before this, I was becoming so now.
Eager to hear more, Aeolus leaned across the table, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you want to become a chimera in the first place? It doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong with you,” he caught sight of Aurora’s face and quickly backtracked, cringing, “--not that–I mean, no offense.”
Aurora took an impassive sip from her drink.
Octavia rubbed the back of her neck, embarrassed. “It seems stupid now. My siblings started to argue over the inheritance, and I didn’t want any part of it.” She shrugged. “I couldn’t find any work opportunities in my hometown. I’d given up when this guy promised to give me the power to do anything I wanted. It sounded sketchy, but he told me he could prove it. He showed me his enhanced strength and scales; I had no reason to doubt it. With no other way to live on my own power, I accepted. It all seemed fairly reasonable for the time.”
Once again, Aeolus was enraptured by Octavia’s storytelling. He leaned back in his chair and exclaimed, “It’s good that Faust recommended you for Sera’s personal guard, then!”
Faust, next to me, bitterly mumbled, “Maybe she’ll actually keep another female guard around,” and took a sip of his drink. Sky and Azure, also close enough to hear him, snorted, nearly choking on their drinks.
I patted his shoulder sympathetically—the poor guy.