Ervinos Mukuru felt a chill creep down his spine. He kept his face as constant as possible, and turned to face Symeon with a smile.
“Symo. Do you remember that time in the middle swamp area when we had fun in that tavern?” he regaled.
One of the guards following behind them raised their eyebrows. “Is this how the young men spent their time? He had heard that the Umpetha child was an accomplished Hatha, it seems the stories were overblown due to their families prestige.”
“I’d never forget it.” replied Symeon, with a quizzical look on his face.
“I remember that I kept trying to move forward, but the silly dog that you are could only keep stumbling backwards into the people behind you! We should do that again sometime!” laughed Ervinos.
The guard was growing more annoyed. Every day he was forced to march and obey the commands of the Queen, but these rascals were out getting drunk and stumbling around taverns? They deserved what was coming to them.
“What are you boys talking about now?” complained Aikaterine, completely out of the loop.
The following guard had a soft corner for Aikaterine, perhaps due to her beautiful emerald eyes or her kind temperament, but he had seen how disrespectful she was to her elders and other nobles. As far as he was concerned, all the young ones in front of him were rotten.
“How many months will we have to wait before we can go back there, Ervinos.” asked Symeon.
“Exactly 5, if I remember correctly.” muttered the young Mukuru.
Luckily for the guard, the boys stopped their chattering for a few seconds. He was getting quite tired of this pointlessly long walk and just wanted it to end. He let out a large yawn with his eyes closed and arms stretched, and opened his eyes to find a dagger in his chest.
Aikaterine was in shock, before she knew it the four guards around her had been stabbed through the chest. She opened her mouth to scream, but felt her brother's hand covering her mouth. “Stay calm” he said, as he slowly removed his hand.
“What are you doing??” seethed Aikaterine, without raising her voice. Ervinos was busy restraining the butler and placing a gag in his mouth, while Symeon was as clueless as her despite just killing two guards in a flash.
“My Lord. Please, what are you doing.” mumbled the butler through his gag, he seemed to be no more in the know than the rest of them.
“Niko. Are you sure about this? We’ve just killed four members of the royal guard. If you’re wrong, we’ve just become criminals in our own country.”
“Every single guard and maid that I spoke to has been rotated out since this morning.” answered Nikolaos, while reeling from the sight of the blood. He took a minute to calm himself, and then explained. “I recognize most of them as former servants of nobles from the conservative factions, these guards you just killed are the same.”
“Ah, I remember now!” muttered Aikaterine, whose exceptional memory could recall the faces with ease if, but only if she tried. The princess then turned to face the butler, “But that butler isn’t from the conservative faction, he works directly under Uncle Prodos!”
“He says he doesn’t know anything. I think he’s telling the truth.” opined Ervinos, who had dragged the Butler to a small closet room on the way.
“Let’s see about that.” insisted the prince, as he leaned in to whisper at his sister. She paused for a second and then replied with whispers of her own.
“Symeon. Leave the palace.” ordered Nikolaos, “Go down the road, turn right past the market and then enter the house with the blue painted roof.”
Ervinos saw the butler open his eyes wide as Niko spelt out his instructions.
“Go into the house, and kill everyone inside.”
The moment Niko completed the order, Ervinos felt the butler squirm like never before. Struggling to say something through his gag. The Mukuru let the old man speak.
“Your Highness. Please! Leave her alone!” begged the butler, “I’ll admit, it was all Master Prodos. He told me to make sure you didn’t escape and that you were delivered to the Empire without issue.”
“What is my Uncle planning.” spat the Prince, “Don’t even bother trying to hide something from me, or your daughter won’t be the last to suffer for your crimes.”
“I promise you, he didn’t tell me the details.” yelped the old man, “But from the way he was talking, he’s known that the Imperial delegation was coming for at least a year. You have to believe me, that’s all I know!”
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“I believe you. Your daughter will go unharmed. I can’t say the same for you.” rasped the boy who would be king. “Ervinos, I’m done with him.”
The Mukuru brought his elbow down on the old man's head, knocking him out immediately and leaving him tied in the closest room.
“We have to warn our parents.” agonized Ervinos. “But if we enter the throne room through the main entrance we’ll be walking right into their hands.”
“Whatever we do, we have to move quick.” added Symeon. “The Diaf will be waiting for us in the hall, we’ve wasted enough time as it is, so they’ll come looking for us soon.”
“There's a service entrance that takes us over the top of the throne room. We can shout out a warning, but we won’t be able to speak without exposing ourselves to everyone.” contributed Aikaterine.
“It’s not ideal, but we have to hope that it’ll give the Hatha enough time to act.” resolved Ervinos.
------
“For the last time. We have a signed treaty with the Empire allowing us to keep the taxes to ourselves as long as we maintain the blockade with Verdelle!” shouted Prodos.
Tensions were high in the throne room, made worse by the fact that all of Thalassanqaba’s nobles were lined up to witness the altercation.
“That treaty states that the blockade should be removed once the rebellion was quelled.” argued the sly diplomat from Noirfort. “It has been two years, and you have yet to allow our ships in to trade.”
Whispers of discontent filled the room, the unreasonableness of the Empire was clear to see, but the nobles could do little but watch. Nobleman Cedisi glared at the Imperial delegation with frustration, he sized up the band of 10 men, with the white cloaked knight standing in the middle. Despite being in a room surrounded by Ikonan Royal Guards, they stood firm and strong, as if they owned the nation itself. Cedisi had praised the Queen for her steering of the Ikonan ship amidst the chaos of the Southern Continent, but they were once again reminded of their powerlessness.
“But the Emperor is a gracious man.” smiled the twisted politician, “He will be willing to forgive this treasonous offence if you agree to pay twice the normal amount of tax for the next two years.”
The declaration brought an uproar to the room, uniting the factions of Ikonan nobility for a rare moment. The Queen raised her hand and brought the room to silence.
“We agree to the terms of your deal.” sighed the monarch, leading to a fresh round of uproar in the room.
Nobleman Cedisi felt his colleague's frustration, but he knew the Queen was left with little room to bargain against a power so disproportionate. What surprised him more was how vocal the conservative faction was being, they usually kept quiet through most meetings to show their discontent with the Queen's recent reforms.
“However,” continued the Queen, “We would like to sign the document with someone from the Imperial family in attendance.”
The Imperial politician smiled widely, hiding his annoyance. By agreeing to the terms, the Queen had removed the excuse for his aggression, but by demanding a more official figure to be present for the signing she was buying her nation time. He had heard the Ikonan monarch was not particularly politically savvy, but it seemed she wasn’t completely useless. If only she knew how futile this charade was.
“Now on to the matter of succession. It is the Emperor's will that before we leave, we confirm a successor and officially recognize them as the next in line for the Ikonan throne. Who does Ikona nominate as the official successor.”
The nobles began another round of whispering, would the Queen choose her brilliant daughter, or her social son?
“The next King of Ikona shall be Nikolaos Ikona, my son. Henceforth, he will be the Crown Prince of Ikona.” declared the Queen, followed by resounding applause from the nobles in the room.
“Oh, Queen Theodora of Ikona.” began the Imperial politician with a grin, “If that is your will then-”
The man paused as another member from the Imperial delegation walked up to him and whispered something in his ear.
“Your Highness. It appears that Prince Nikolaos has been practising magic in secret.” The nobles began whispering to each other desperately. “Princess Aikaterine has also been identified as a mage”
“Impossible!!” shouted Theodora, “Where are my children? I demand to see them now!”
“Please remain calm, your highness.” pacified Prodos. “Surely the Empire would not make such an accusation without merit.”
Theodora glared at Prodos with rage in her eyes. The nobleman backed off and walked away from the throne. Meanwhile, the chatter from the nobles starting becoming audible, they were questioning how the royal twins were able to learn magic without the Queen knowing.
“Your children have been taken for further inspection, they will be cared for and treated well in Noirfort. Her Majesty can rest assured, His Imperial Highness is a merciful man.”
“Guards. Seize this man!” ordered Theodora, no longer thinking calmly now that her children's freedom was at stake. The Mukurus and their accompanying Hatha drew their swords, ready to give their lives for their Queen.
Alcides drew his sword as well, he alone had been posted at the far end of the throne room, by the door. The Umpetha could see that even with a mage on their side, the Imperial contingent was surrounded by the Royal Guard from all sides and stood no chance at all.
A moment passed, but no one else drew their swords. Nobleman Cedisi flailed around in his confusion, seeing that none of the Royal Guard had responded to the Queen's command.
“Mother. Father. It’s a trap!” rang a shrill voice from above. “Get Her Majesty to safety. Get her away from Prodos!”
Anna could feel the fear in her son’s voice, confirming that the room had turned against them. Theodora looked up at the upper sections, and breathed a sigh of relief to see both of her children free and well.
“Ikonan Royal Guard! The Queen has been accused of teaching her children magic, and violating the sacred treaty between the Diafthoreat Empire and the Kingdom of Ikona. This is treason.” declared Prodos loudly, as he put some distance between himself and the Hatha. “Theodora is hereby relieved of her position as Queen. As the only other noble with royal blood, I shall accept the throne.”
“Prodos, I trusted you!” screamed Theodora, but the nobleman ignored her and continued with his declaration.
“Oh, nobles gathered here. If any of you have an objection to this, please raise your hands now.”
Right as he finished his sentence, the Royal Guard unsheathed their weapons and surrounded the noble elite. Not one person raised their hand.
Anna raised her weapons, and Alexander commanded his Hatha to form a wall between the Royal Guard and the Queen. They took one look at the room and knew instantly, they had no hope of making it out of the room alive. Alexander saw Alcides at the far end of the room, readying up his spear to charge at the enemy from behind.
“My friend!” Alex shouted. “I leave our children with you. From this day on, your King is Nikolaos Ikona. Treat him as such.”
Alcides felt anger surging through his veins, he hated betrayers more than anything in the world. He considered disobeying his friend's orders to go join him in battle, but the commander's orders were absolute.
“Niko, Katerine.” shouted Theodora, “Flee from Thalassanqaba. Ikona must find the Axos once more. Collect the debt we are owed.”
The Queen’s children were in no mood to listen, with tears running down their cheeks. It took the combined efforts of Ervinos and Symeon to pry them away from the railing and push them towards the exit of the upper level. Ervinos turned one last time to see his parents being surrounded by the Royal Guard, hoping that he would see them again soon.
On seeing the children move out of the room, Alcides quickly sprang to action. He efficiently dispatched the two guards around him, and then bolted through the door to regroup with the children.
He saw the children outside the throne room, and immediately went to meet them. Once they had all regrouped, Alcides turned to see that, surprisingly, not one member of the Royal Guard was pursuing them. In the distance, he saw a single figure walking out of the throne room - a knight with a white cape.