Having given up on our search for the package or packages that Farnham had hidden somewhere in the palace grounds, we returned to the dining room that morning for breakfast with a dour mood hanging over our heads. There was a small buffet available for those who wished to finish quickly. I grabbed some grab and jam and sat at one of the tables to eat.
We arrived at a bad time. Nobody else was in the hall with us, and there were two loud voices leaking through the double doors that led into the kitchen. Whatever the argument was supposed to be about before we arrived, it had quickly spilt out of the kitchen and into the dining room where we could all hear it.
“I will not compromise on my food, sir! I take pride in each and every dish I create, and it would be a grave insult to the King to offer him anything less than the best I can manage.”
“It’s not my choice to make, or yours, the guards have made it very clear to me that they want a simpler selection for the next two weeks. They’re worried about someone poisoning the food.”
“Do you mean to imply that me, or one of my staff, would do such a horrible thing?”
“I’m not going to lie and say that they’re not concerned, obviously – but similar suspicion is being levied on every department in the palace as we speak. The postmaster’s office has been cleared out and all of them sent home.”
I sent a glance in Franklin’s direction, who slowly edged closer to the doors where the argument was happening as their volume lowered back down to normal levels.
“Unbelievable. I’ve served the King for seven years, and this is the kind of treatment I get from the guards?”
“As I said, it’s not my position to argue with the protocols they’ve instituted. They do not like servants second-guessing their decisions. Refusing to follow the order is liable to raise further alarm, I hope you realize that.”
“I’ll follow their orders, but I don’t have to be happy about it. I won’t hear any complaints about the food being too dry or plain after this.”
“See to it that you do.”
A senior servant pushed through and marched away while shaking his head and murmuring to himself. Not everyone on the payroll was happy about the tightened security measures, especially when it called their loyalty and service into doubt.
Franklin returned to my side, “Hm. They’re evidently concerned about the threat of poison, but that seems to be the most obvious route to me.”
“Sometimes the obvious methods are obvious because they are effective, although I highly doubt that they’ll let any untested food reach the King’s lips until the perceived threat has passed.”
“I was curious about that. Where did they get information about this attempt on his life? Welt’s cabal has full control over WISA. They’re the ones who conduct intelligence gathering domestically, correct?”
“It may have been a reaction to Welt’s death. I suspect that Thersyn knows more about the situation than he lets on. They must have met and spoken at some point when he abdicated the crown to Ekkehard.”
It wasn’t a deal between the two - more like an uneasy compromise. Thersyn was well-known for striking those after all. Thersyn wanted to take the path of least resistance so as to minimize the damage that Welt caused in pursuit of the throne. He could see the writing on the wall back then, as he could now.
With Welt dead that uneasy truce was torn to shreds. I knew that Sloan had no qualms about launching attacks on protestors using what minions he had left after our arson plot. There were still a lot of them left and they wouldn’t run out of supplies for some time. They could operate in the urban areas without having to worry while the conflict was frozen because there were still civilians to steal from.
Thersyn understood his position. He had no real ability to stop Sloan, or the other prospective leaders of the rudderless conspiracy from breaking into the palace and killing him. Welt was a lunatic and a power-hungry bastard – but he was also a meticulous plotter. Sloan had demonstrated no similar qualities.
He didn’t care about what happened. He wanted to burn it down and lord over the ruins.
“I struggle to see how the assassin can reach him under these circumstances,” he whispered while casting a weary glance towards the doors.
“They have allies in high places. Have you heard of who is permitted to enter the premises where Thersyn and his direct family is staying?”
“I believe they’ve secured it almost completely. I overheard them speaking whilst offering my statement about Farnham yesterday. It will only be direct family members, trusted royal guards, and senior servants like Fleur.”
I tucked that away into my mental library for later. They would need a very high-level rat to get into there, and even the hangers-on that infested the palace like cockroaches weren’t going to get permission to go through those days no matter how offended they felt about it.
I knew a little about the Royal Guard. That would be the easiest way for them to get someone on the inside – but they were fiercely loyal. They were an explicitly partisan force in the military structure of Walser. Extensive screening and a long service history were only two of the many qualities that the recruiters looked for. They were tasked solely with the protection of the royal family, with a discretionary role when interacting with the other branches.
While that sounded like a terrible idea given the nation’s long and bloody history, the guard was also bound by a series of iron-clad rules. They submitted to the authority of the leading officers in the main force, they were bound to possess no more than one-thousand active and off-duty members at all times, and the kinds of equipment and organization they were permitted to utilise paled compared to the core army.
They were by no means a ceremonial joke. Every single one of them was a battle-hardened veteran with extreme discipline and training. One could dismiss them based on their brightly coloured uniforms, which were becoming increasingly anachronistic in the modern military landscape, and their dedication to drills and marches, but that would be a deadly mistake.
I’d seen them guarding some areas of the ground floor. The first thing I noticed was how they always paired the guards together. They never moved alone. I suspected that this partner system was meant to keep everyone in line and working diligently on their assigned duties. It also meant that having a guard go rogue and cause problems was much harder. They would need to compromise two of them and have them paired at the right time.
There were a lot of little mechanisms like that to consider. The officers in charge of the Royal Guard weren’t stupid. They had seen these kinds of plots before and had studied their history carefully to protect against them.
“Keep your ears alert for any more discussions like those. They’re helpful to us.”
“Naturally.”
I finished my plate and returned it to the cart. The next round of the competition wasn’t for an hour yet. I decided to wander around the palace and see if I could find any issues to involve myself in where I wasn’t wanted. It also helped me get some exercise that wasn’t under duress of being shot in the ass and killed. My routine was all kinds of ruined thanks to the chaotic times we were in.
Trouble eventually found me in the form of two of the boys who remained in the running to become my husband. It was Otto and Conrad, and it was a strike against their already non-existent chance of victory that I recalled their names so vividly. They made a terrible first impression – and only proceeded by virtue of being too stubborn to drop out after the first round.
They closed in on me and started bickering before I could even say hello to them.
“I know what you’re trying to do, Otto. You want to speak with Lady Maria outside of the allotted time to get an unfair advantage!”
Conrad scoffed, “Unfair? Let me tell you this, cousin – life is unfair. Chance has just as much to do with success as skill or guile. You could say that being willing to approach Lady Maria demonstrates our motivation to achieve victory.”
I patiently folded my hands into my lap. Most people would recognise this as a sign of irritation or a desire to speak, but they were too devoted to their spat to listen to me. I allowed them to continue unabated.
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“You’ve always been a dirty no-good cheat. I remember when you kicked your ball through the pegs because you didn’t want to lose to Ludwig in Polo...”
“That happened four years ago!”
“I don’t care! Ludwig watched you do it too. What’s the point of winning if everyone thinks less of you afterwards? I’d understand if there was something valuable on the line as a prize, but it was meant to be a friendly game!”
“There is something valuable this time!”
It was a novel sensation being objectified after spending decades as a fairly unpleasant-looking man, although Otto was far from the first to do it, nor would he be the last. I couldn’t get truly angry about it given that I had gleefully exploited my appearance to get what I wanted for years.
Conrad made a slicing motion at his neck using his fingers. Otto swivelled on his heel and put on a smile of polite contrition.
“Not that I’d ever state that you’re some kind of trophy, Lady Maria!”
My, what a feminist!
“I never made such an unflattering accusation. It is obvious to me that all of you greatly desire to become my betrothed. That is to be expected, and I am glad to see that all of you are putting forth your best efforts.”
“Good! That’s wonderful to hear. To be honest, I’m rather surprised that you weren’t already engaged to someone.”
I offered a half-truth in response, “My father has always been the cautious type, and I’m rather picky. He said that there’s plenty of time to find an appropriate partner before that time comes – and coming here was a decision I’d wavered on before.”
“Why is that?” Otto inquired.
“The obvious choice was someone from my Father’s circle of associates, but there were few options available by happenstance, and I felt it presumptuous to try and organize an interview with members of the Van Walser family – even with our reputation as it is.”
“You are... surprisingly humble,” he murmured.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Conrad laughed, “Thersyn is always trying to help our parents. Anyone who sends a letter soliciting a marriage interview will soon find themselves standing in your shoes.”
“Does this happen often?” I continued.
“Oh yes. You need not feel insignificant. We’ve had girls and boys from small families, down-on-their-luck families, wealthy families and more.”
Yet despite the supposed low standing of those candidates, this group of baboons was seemingly incapable of winning them over in a fair contest. These two, in particular, made a bad first impression, with Conrad bragging about his looks and status, and Otto turning into a nervous wreck that oscillated between being accidentally insulting and overly dramatic.
It was no mystery to me why the suitors were walking away empty-handed.
“I know that this is not entirely above board, but is Thersyn still in charge around here?”
Conrad nodded, “Yes. Ekkehard...”
“They don’t like him very much,” Otto blurted out.
“Yes. That’s right. He certainly doesn’t command the respect of our parents and relatives just because he’s holding the throne at the moment. They’d sooner crawl through the dirt and drink bog water than let him have any say on the goings on around here.”
“I think Anton’s father is friends with him,” Otto mused, “He thinks it’s his big break. He can climb up the ladder by sticking close to his side and acting like a suck-up.”
Conrad laughed, “As if. Ekkehard isn’t destined for that position. He’ll be out on his bum before the month is through.”
Now that was the most interesting thing they’d said since I arrived. Ekkehard had a few fast friends in the palace still – although they’d be remiss to admit as much out loud with Thersyn around. I would have thought that all of Ekkehard’s toadies would have run for the hills or their summer homes, lest they become a pariah among the family.
“I don’t know much about Ekkehard at all,” I said.
Conrad couldn’t help but snatch the opportunity to gloat over him.
“For good reason! A decade ago he was in our position, toiling away at marriage interviews and trying to lobby Thersyn for a better position. He was notable in the palace only for his inability to leverage his close relation with the main branch of the family. A worthless rube. He obviously got singled out by that Welt lunatic because he was easy to manipulate.”
Otto didn’t have the same sense of unearned self-esteem, so he shrugged it off with a more diplomatic response.
“I don’t think it’s helpful to insult him. To tell the truth, a lot of the family are merely strangers who share our name. Ekkehard was a rare sight in the palace. He preferred to live in the West at his family home, and he seldom had need to visit and offer his greetings to the King.”
Neither of them was willing to refer to Ekkehard as the present King of Walser though. They were dancing around that point by implying that Thersyn continued to hold all of the authority, that or their parents would spank them black and blue for acknowledging the problem.
“I have to speak with someone before our next meeting. If you’ll both excuse me.”
They stepped aside and allowed me to pass through. I hoped that they wouldn’t be too annoying when we gathered back in the reception room later. I expected to see fewer people involved this time around too. They were dropping like flies. It was a fine line to walk. I needed this process to last however long it took me to foil Sloan’s assassination plot.
But it wasn’t looking good. I was getting nowhere at all.
----------------------------------------
Deep in the heart of the palace was the living area utilised by the King and his close family. In normal times it was one of the most secure places in the world, with features that were taken from other high-security locations like banks and stock brokerages. It was patrolled at all times of day and night by a legion of armed guards, and every person leaving and entering was registered at one of two doorways that led inside.
While the windows looking outside did have excellent views of the gardens, they were also positioned in a way that made it difficult to look into from below. That was combined with landscape and tree placement that obscured many lines of sight when moving further away from the building’s rear.
Crucially, no other windows looked into the King’s quarters, and the architecture was designed to frustrate anyone foolhardy enough to scale the outside to try and break in. It was rather redundant in the grand scheme of things. No burglar or would-be assassin had ever tried to do it.
But these were strange and worrying times. Thersyn had shied away from sitting next to the windows in the past few weeks because of his abdication. His paranoia was heightened further when reports of Verner Welt’s death reached his ears. He was a hardliner – but there were those in his camp who were even worse, and now they may have taken over.
“Theodore, I heard from the guards that you left your quarters and went into the gardens yesterday.”
The third eldest son was the only heir in the private dining room with his father.
“I was becoming irritated, being watched so closely.”
“They are here to protect us.”
“I understand that – but it is not a good environment wherein to enjoy a book.”
Thersyn’s brow creased, revealing the deep-set wrinkles that formed over decades of complicated and stressful rule.
“Is reading a book for your enjoyment more important than your life?”
“You’ve always wanted us to stay out of the way. Would you be happy if I were to lock myself into that bedroom and whittle away the years in isolation, waiting for the sad day where my services as third-in-line could be called upon?”
Thersyn frowned, “I do not wish for any such thing.”
“Is this really all we can do? Hide away in this tiny corner of the palace and hope that it all goes away?”
“When I consented to the compromise – it was made with the understanding that the common people shall direct the nation and state according to their own whims.”
“Yet those same ‘common people’ now intend on restoring the King’s power. Is that not the height of hypocrisy? Should you not tell the people where you stand and put an end to this?”
In truth, there was nothing common about them. They were all wealthy, powerful, or from influential families who could pull strings from behind the scenes.
Thersyn closed his eyes, “The power is vested in the people, and those people have disconnected the authority of the crown from the birth right of my heirs. Ekkehard is a King chosen by the ‘common people.’ My part in this affair was over from the very second that Welt launched his odious scheme. My interference now will change nothing.”
“What if they feel like they need a reason to fight?” Theodore questioned.
“I’ve learned many lessons in my years, Theodore. The first among them was that men and women need no reason to fight. They have their goals and outcomes, and their visions for the future, and all of the justifications are merely an exercise in writing the history books that will follow.”
Weary eyes peered from sunken lids and bore into Theodore’s.
“They need no reason at all. No reason! Their friends and families will have their blood drawn, and that will become all the reason they need to fight until they’re nought but dust and bones. It’s only when the fighting ceases for a halting moment that the guilt truly settles in.”
And beyond that – Thersyn was under no mistaken impressions about who would be facing down Welt’s cabal in such a scenario. They were not monarchists all, but a ragtag collective of Republicans, Socialists, Liberals, Intelligentsia and anti-crown Conservatives. They would not fight back and restore his place on the throne. They were more liable to be rid of the entire arrangement if they were in the position to do so.
Welt decided to make a risky play. He was toying with the entire institution of the crown through his actions and giving them good cause to abolish it completely. He was very assured of his own victory. There was no other explanation for what he was trying to do.
“I’m worried about you,” Thersyn said in an attempt to get back to the point, “At least allow the guards to keep watch if you want to leave.”
“Why don’t you order them to keep me inside?”
“I’d sooner lop off my head than order the Guard to enter an altercation with my son.”
Thersyn trusted them with his life, but his son’s safety was worth even more than that to him. They were incredibly professional and would never willingly put him or his family in harm’s way, but even the risk of an accidental injury kept him from taking drastic action like that.
From where Theodore stood though – it felt as if Thersyn wasn’t being harsh enough. If there was an active threat to their safety, why was he not putting his foot down even harder? Would he have done the same for his older brothers, who were more likely to inherit the throne upon his death?
No. He wouldn’t. Thersyn would have them put under lock and key, with ten guards on every door to keep people out, and all of the food and water they needed would be pushed through a slot in the door after being taste-tested by ten different people.
“Fine. I’ll ask two guards to come with me next time. I don’t want to stay cooped up in here for the next month.”
Theodore stood from the dining table and left without another word. His mind was awash with a million conflicting thoughts. He was upset and glad for his Father’s decision in different ways. It was merely a microcosm of everything that had happened to him since he was old enough to understand his role. The problem was with him.
He knew that one day he would have to choose a course and stick with it. As he was now he could only get angry about his position, while being simultaneously free to wander his own path without the looming threat of being elevated as King. Burying himself in reading was not getting him any closer to a resolution.
For now, he was nothing but a spare - and that wouldn’t change until he acted.