Good things never lasted. We arrived home in the early hours of the morning. The sun was not even up yet, but my father was. He had started his morning exercises early today. A sheen of sweat covered him as he swung his sword in a well-practiced routine.
We tried to sneak past him, dashing from bush to bush, but it was useless. He noticed us immediately.
“And where have you been?” he asked. He glanced at me, then stared long and hard at Donte.
“We… um… were… gathering information.” Donte stuttered as he tried to find the right words under my father glare.
“Would this information gathering have anything to do with the pillar of smoke rising out of the center of the city?” My father asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That part was just for fun.” I replied, failing to suppress a smile.
My father sighed, messaging his temple. “Donte, go inside. I will have a talk with you later.”
Donte breathed out in relief as he scampered inside. I was left alone as my father looked down at me with a frown. “I know you have a lifetime of experiences beyond your time as my daughter. It must be hard sometimes reconciling those two lives, but I want you to be able to trust us. Your mother and I are worried about you. The reason you were punished for going into the lower city, and your mother was so mad, was not because of what you did, but because you did not tell us you were doing it. The same with tonight. I am not upset that you went off to do whatever it is you did. I am upset you did not trust me enough to tell me what you had planned.”
I looked down at my feet. “I did not think you would approve.”
“Maybe not, but at least we would know. We could have helped you even if we did not approve of the methods. You are not alone. All of us are in this together. We support each other and give each other strength to do things we could never do alone. That is what a family is.”
I nodded, still looking at the ground. “I am sorry. I am just… not used to all of this. As Wren, my memories are almost all of me being sick. I was always the one being taken care of. As Aurielle, I never worried about anyone. I just did whatever I wanted. I don’t know what to do… I never had to worry about my family before.”
My father stepped over, wrapping his arms around me in a big hug. He smelled of sweat that would normally make me wrinkle my nose, but somehow today it was a comforting scent. “I will not tell your mother about this, but you have to promise me one thing. In the future you will trust us enough to tell us the truth.”
“I promise.” I whispered, returning the hug.
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“Speaking of telling the truth, what are you doing out here this early?” I asked my father after my emotions calmed down. “You did not know I was missing so don’t say you were waiting for me.”
“Truth is, I have had trouble sleeping the past few nights.” Dad scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “The coming invasion is bad enough, but now this drug. I can’t stop thinking about it. The people slowly deformed into monsters. It is horrifying.”
I paused, not knowing what to say. I had forgotten that it was my families first time being exposed to something like that. It the Endless War the sight was common. I had grown numb to it, but for them...
“I have killed hundreds of Demonkin while serving the king. Maybe even thousands…” My father continued. “Grotesque creatures that killed people without remorse. Were all of them humans that became those things?”
“Some maybe.” I replied hesitantly. “Very few Demonkin can reproduce, so almost all of them were something else once. It does not have to be human. Usually, it is an animal, insect, or even a plant. If it lives, it can be corrupted and turned.”
“Then even you or I could become like that?”
“It happens all the time.” I said with a shrug. “King Sebastion’s wife is a perfect example. Before my death, she was a great warrior, even stronger than her husband. To this day, I believe the two of them together could have truly become great rulers, but it was not to be. To save her husband during a battle, she exposed herself to an enormous amount of chaotic energy. She was a wise and intelligent woman, but once she began to transform, she became a monster no different than all the others.”
“I have heard this story.” My father replied. “It is said that you killed her.”
I nodded. “That is right. Once a person becomes a Demonkin there is no turning back. I cut her down, and in doing so started a war with Sebastion that led to my death.”
“Is that the fate of the people in this city? To be turned into monsters and slain. how many will die?” my father whispered.
“It is better not to count them… we will do all we can. So long as I do that, I will have no regrets. That is how I have dealt with it over the years.”
My father paused for a moment before nodding. “You are right. I will do everything I can so that I will have no regrets. Now, come join me for my morning training. I am curious to see what kind of techniques the great Immortal Empress uses when she fights.”
“Are you sure you want to be trounced by your own daughter.” I replied with a mischievous grin. “I think you forget, I fought alongside the Blade Calamity for four hundred years, publicly declared to be among the top three swordsmen in the Thirteen Divisions. I will not go easy on you.”
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“What are you two doing?” My mother asked the two panting figures lying in the grass.
“Our daughter is truly terrifying.” My father replied, gasping for breath. “If not for the fact that I have a hundred pounds and nearly twice the reach on her, I would have never stood a chance.”
“Wait a few more months.” I said with a grin. “Once I get stronger, I will make sure you never get a single hit, even if I am little.”
“I take it this means you both forgot we were meeting Chancellor Otto this morning.” My mother replied placing both hands on her hips. “I am not having you two show up at one of the most influential buildings in the city looking and smelling like you just came out of a barn. To the baths, both of you!”
“Yes ma’am!” We shouted simultaneously, before hurrying into the house.
Preparing baths in the free cities was actually a difficult ordeal. Water could be piped from nearby aqueducts, but the baths had to be heated manually with wood furnaces. The large, carved stone tubs took a long time to heat up. Needless to say, if we waited for that, we would be late for our meeting with Otto. The only choice was a cold bath.
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While preparing for my bath, I paused. I spotted a pair of spying eyes were peeking through the slits that let smoke from the furnace out of the room.
That little lecher! I seethed angrily. With my mind, I reached out to Sylvie. She had snuck out of one of the open doors in the Bydle mansion earlier this morning and was now perched on a tree nearby. I gave her only a single command, not caring for the consequences. Attack!
I heard Sylvie give a loud whistle followed by screams of pain. Donte was lucky I did not allow Sylvie to use her flames or ask Nox to help. As it was, these injuries would be a lesson he would not soon forget.
After finishing my bath in peace, I let my father have his much-needed turn. While waiting, I read through the information we stole this morning. It was a fascinating read, but I only had time to skim through most of it before we hurried to meet with Otto.
For this trip, the entire family was present. I even allowed Donte to join us, but I made a pointed effort to ignore him for the entire journey. The scratches covering his arms and face were glaringly obvious.
My grandmother was the most excited. For her, meeting Chancellor Otto was a great honor, and kept repeating that to each of us. We had not yet told her that I was once the Immortal Empress, or she might have been falling all over herself every time I entered the room.
Donte and Charly were extremely nervous, as they had never met the man before, but hear many stories about him.
“We are really meeting Chancellor Otto! The Chancellor Otto!” Charly bounced excitedly. I never thought I would ever actually meet him. My books detailing the king Sebastion’s rise to power always talked about him. They say he is incredibly powerful. His eyes are supposed to be able to see through anything, and even attack your soul directly!”
“That’s nothing.” Donte replied, puffing his chest out as if he was the one being praised. “I hear, during the separation of the free cities, Otto fought against King Sebastion and single handedly destroyed and entire battalion of troops by himself. He alone is why the Free Cities exist at all!”
We arrived at the small palace with little fanfare. While Otto’s home was massive, it was tucked away in a far corner of the city where foot traffic was scarce. Unless you were specifically going to meet with Chancellor Otto, there was little reason for most people to visit this part of the city.
We passed through massive stone gates that separated his home from the rest of the city. Surprisingly, only a single guard was on duty at the gate, and I did not see any others nearby. It was a stark contrast to the dozens of guards I had seen at the senator house last night.
An elderly servant met us at the door and guided us through his mansion. Very few decorations or furniture could be seen as we were guided towards Otto’s office. Everything seemed to only have the bare minimum of necessities.
When we arrived, Otto was sitting at the same desk I saw him at when I was controlling Sylvie. The only difference was the scattered papers had been organized slightly, allowing us to actually enter the room.
“Is it already that time?” Otto asked, rubbing his blood shot eyes as he looked up from his work.
My grandmother was the first to speak, giving a deep bow. “It is a pleasure to meet you again Chancellor Otto.”
“It has been a long time Lady Selene. If only your husband were still here. He was always good at convincing the council to get off the rears and act.” Otto replied with a polite smile as everyone else also gave the polite bow. Donte hesitated for a moment unsure what to do, but copied those around him best he could.
“We do not have a lot of time, so I will get straight to business.” Otto continued. “This drug epidemic has spread further than I had ever dreamed. Reports are coming in from almost every city and town in the Free Cities. This drug is everywhere. My informants have even told me that parts of the Novus Empire and the barbarians to the north are infected with this drug. I was too late realizing the danger something like this could pose. If I had acted months ago, all of this could have been prevented.”
“Months ago, you had no idea what the side effect of the drug were.” I replied. “There is no way you could have known something like this would happen.”
“But now I do. I cannot sit idly by any longer. Today I will stand in front of the council of the Free Cities. I will be initiating my authority to act autonomously during times of crisis. Many will protest that it is an abuse of power, but I do not care anymore.” Otto paused as he looked at me. “I will be acting as supreme authority of the Free Cities till this crisis passes. I want your family to lead one of the emergency response teams. You will have a full brigade of soldiers under your command. Can I trust you to accept this duty and help the people of my city?”
“Yes! We will not fail you.” My grandmother replied excitedly.
I nodded. “I will do everything in my power to put an end to this epidemic.”
“That is good. I am confident all of you will put your full support behind this cause.” Otto continued. “While finding the culprits behind the distribution is important, I want you to also focus on finding a way to treat the infected. People are falling sick all over the city. I am afraid we only have a couple weeks at most before they start to mutate and their conditions become permanent.”
“A few have already reached that point. Just a few days ago, Donte here lost his mother when she fell completely. What do you want to do about them?” I asked.
“Quarantine them under full guard watch. I know the process is not reversible at that point, but if we start executing every person showing signs of mutation, we will have riots on the streets. People will never except the idea that their loved ones are beyond saving. We have to give them hope.”
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An hour of discussion followed as the details of our new responsibility were explained. Otto was being extremely careful with how much power he gave me. My father was in actual command of the soldiers with his word superseding anyone else in the family. It made logical sense. He had led soldiers before and with my mother’s help had no shortage of achievements to his name.
It annoyed me slightly that I did not have direct control of the soldiers, but I knew a group of battle-hardened men would not listen to a child. Even the great Chancellor Otto could not change how they would see me. I would have to prove myself as a reliable and rational leader if I wanted them to follow anything I said.
After all the details and limitations of what we could and could not do were ironed out, Otto asked me to stay behind while my family was escorted out of the office.
“Aurielle, I need to know what your intentions are. What I have seen from the past few days has left me confused at best.” Otto said with a stern gaze. I could see his eyes shine as his innate talent activated.
I smiled. Otto had always been the cautious type. Even with his innate talent, he did not always trust what he saw. I had no doubt I had been under full watch these past few days. Even the smallest action was probably reported to him with the highest priority.
“I have no interest in ruling again if that is what you are worried about. Who commands your Free Cities is of no concern to me. All I care about is the coming invasion.” I pulled out a small black book and a stack of papers I had been carrying with me since this morning and handed them to Otto. “A sign of good faith.”
“What is this?”
“A bit of information I… borrowed from the Bydle family. I had some time to skim through it while we were getting ready this morning. It makes for an interesting read.”
“I should have known the attack on Senator Bydle this morning was you.” Otto replied with a heavy sigh. “You know he has half the city guard up in arms because of what you did?”
I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, but could not suppress my grin. “Honestly, I wish I could have done more, but I was worried about revealing my identity as Aurielle before I have my Chronicle back.”
“And? What did you learn?” he said, flipping open the book.
“The book is extremely illuminating. He has been running tests on the effects of the drug for months. The start of the book is dated long before anything was on the open market.”
“Which means he had access to the drug and knew about what it does to people for months!” Otto slammed his fist on the table. The cracking of wood echoing in the small room. “If he had come forward about the horrible side effects of this drug sooner, countless lives would have been saved.”
“The only downside based on what I read; Senator Bydle is not the true supplier of the drug. The book mentions a woman, but never describes her. She is the one creating the drug. He is just one of many financial supporters. There is also mention of the group working out of a place underground, but no details.”
“Looks like I need to have a little chat with the senator this afternoon. Once I declare my emergency powers before the council, the first thing I will do is write an arrest warrant for the senator.” Otto looked up from the book. “This helps more than you know. Would you like to come along when we arrest him?”
“No.” I replied shaking my head. “I trust you to act in the best interest of the people. Just keep me informed after you question him.”
“I will.”
“Just remember our deal.” I spoke. “I want my Chronicle from King Sebastion. The longer we delay, the less time I will have to prepare for Envy’s invasion.”
“Of course. Once we get through this crisis, I will draft a letter to Sebastion. If I make up some lie about finding a way to destroy the book, he should hand it over willingly.”
My eyes narrowed as I looked at Otto. Something about his smile when he said that rubbed me the wrong way. It reminded me of the many fake smiles I saw during my recent political gatherings.