Jackal Among Snakes

Anneliese held a coin in her hand, twisting it through the light passing through the carriage. Though the coin was a metallic pink, its surface shone with a great many colors twisting with the light. It wasn’t so simple as light reflecting off its surface, though. Its projection of light was indeterminable and unending, twisting to create beautiful images indefinitely. It was, after all, a magic coin.

“How does this thing function?” Anneliese asked.

Argrave lifted his head from a book to Anneliese. Galamon, who sat outside to drive the carriage, looked back. Seeing he wasn’t the one addressed, he turned his eyes back to the road. Argrave took a few seconds to discern what Anneliese was speaking of, and then said, “No one knows. They’re not made anymore because the method was lost. That’s why they’re valuable.”

“Who made it?” Anneliese continued.

“The Order of the Rose, an extinct mage order from the north,” Argrave answered easily. “At one time, they were the only gold coins in Vasquer. As the kingdom grew, the Order of the Rose died off, and their value started to skyrocket over the centuries.”

Anneliese nodded, placing the coin back into the lockbox alongside mounds of ancient, enchanted jewelry and precious jewels they had taken from the ruins of the tomb guardians. Argrave intended to bring them to Jast to appraise their worth.

Both people in the carriage picked up their books once again, reading quietly. Galamon, their driver, wore a brown robe to conceal most of his features. The carriage they rode was humble but formidable, with a large compartment for luggage in the back. Two strong horses pulled them along.

Their journey was a very quiet one. At times, either Anneliese or Argrave would raise their head, each trying to form the magic spell they were learning. Argrave looked at the terrain and occasionally directed Galamon to turn down a different road. Anneliese would ask questions as she thought of them—Argrave, too, occasionally sought her out for help with particular druidic spells.

Eventually, Anneliese finally closed the book, staring at Argrave. “Are you ever going to tell us where we’re going?”

Argrave looked up. “I told you. Side-quests. There are two places we must visit before we head to Jast. One is a short stop for a spellbook—that’s the last. The other is the Cavern of the Death of Lilies.” Argrave paused. “Or was it the Cavern of the Lily’s Death? It’s been a while…” Argrave placed his handkerchief to mark his spot, and then shut the book.

“Anyway, the cavern’s our first stop. One of four ingredients for becoming Black Blooded is in that cavern, and likely the hardest to get. It’ll be immeasurably useful for me, less so for you... It’s a crystal, but it’s more than that at the same time. It’s called the Amaranthine Heart.”

Argrave spread his fingers out to emulate roots digging into the ground. “It takes root in whatever it touches, then slowly spreads out, constantly absorbing magic from anything near it and turning it into a black liquid. This liquid is pure magic—dangerous when taken in large doses, but it can be drunk when needed to recover magic. Closest thing to a ‘magic potion’ we’ll find. Best to get now, as I’m sure we’ll have need of it in our journeys in the future.”

Argrave’s gaze grew distant and his tone became monotonous. “There will be fighting. The cavern is filled with large bugs. It will be extremely unpleasant and nasty. I am not looking forward to adding yet more things to my nightmares.

“Above all!” Argrave continued with renewed vigor. “We can’t take the main roads. We have to be very cautious travelling through the south what with the war going on. That’s why druidic magic was a blessing to me, though I will admit it is a bit unsettling feeling these birds flying outside the carriage.”

“I am confused,” Anneliese confessed. “With a war going on, will they attack random passersby? It seems we are being unduly cautious.”

“You really don’t…?” Argrave paused. “Huh. Come to think of it, I never told you. I am one of five sons to King Felipe III of Vasquer, and the only baseborn of those five. In the territory of a rebellion against the king, my presence will not be especially wanted, unless it’s as a captive.”

Anneliese’s eyes widened.

“Did I really never tell you?” Argrave asked. “Well… I am the sole royal bastard of this kingdom. Used to be literal and figurative. Now it’s just literal. Debatably.” Argrave nodded, and then resumed reading his book.

Anneliese looked out the carriage window to Galamon, expression asking silently if this was normally how he was. Galamon nodded, and then turned his head back to the road.

#####

Duke Enrico spasmed in his bed as a light coursed around him. He gasped loudly and his eyes opened wide. His hands rushed towards his chest, clutching the simple nightclothes that covered his body. He slowly calmed, eyes darting around the room. Tower Master Castro stood above him, while his daughter, Nikoletta, watched with her hands covering her mouth.

“Dad?” Nikoletta said slowly.

“What’s happened?” he said quickly. “The… the…” Enrico tried to get up off the bed, but the tower master held a hand to his shoulder.

“Duke Enrico. The battle is over.” He gently pushed the Duke back to the bed. “You are in your bed at the estate."

Nikoletta lunged forward, tackling her father back into the bed. Castro was surprised, but he stepped back amusedly after a second. Duke Enrico blinked, his hand hovering around his daughter’s back as he slowly discerned what was happening. When he realized the danger had passed, he slowly returned the embrace and settled back into his bed.

“We… won?” the Duke said, voice hoarse.

Nikoletta pushed away, coming to sit on the bed beside her father. “That’s right, dad.” She smiled brightly. “How do you feel?”

“I feel…” the Duke tested his body. “Weak. And… dreadfully hungry. How long has it been?”

“It’s been four days,” Nikoletta told him slowly. “I’ve been serving as regent to repair the city and restore order.”

“We should be…” Enrico closed his eyes, thinking. “…preparing for the next assault.”

“No,” Nikoletta said happily. “It’s over, dad. The Veidimen won’t be returning. Argrave came through.” She reached forward and grabbed his arms, shaking him lightly.

The Duke said nothing for a time, processing the information slowly in the wake of his recent awakening. Master Castro stepped forward.

“There should be no issue with his memory, and his physical condition will improve as long as he eats and moves about. He should eat slowly, so as not to overtax his stomach,” he directed Nikoletta. “Treat him as a prisoner who has been imprisoned for some time without food or water. With that, I will let you two have privacy.”

“Master Castro?” the Duke asked. “Why are you here?”

As Castro walked away, Nikoletta explained, “He turned the tide of the battle. He also roused you from your coma.”

Castro nodded, and then exited the room quietly, closing the door behind him. The Duke looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. Nikoletta stood from the bed, retrieving some water. “Here,” she said, handing it to him.

“So Argrave… stopped the invasion?” the duke asked incredulously. When Nikoletta nodded, he took a small sip of the water. “I need to reward him.”

“He’s already gone. He said he had more to do,” Nikoletta answered. “He and I spoke regarding… the betrothal you wanted. He seemed amenable to the idea. And… thinking about it more, so am I,” Nikoletta began, fumbling over her words due to the lie.

“You are?” Enrico asked, setting the cup down on the nightstand.

“Yes,” she nodded, staring at the sheets.

“That’s… that’s good news,” the Duke said. He let out a laugh. “That’s wonderful, Nikoletta.” Nikoletta lifted her head up to see her father beaming brightly, wiping some tears from his eyes. “You have no idea how happy that makes me. Even from a young age, you never took to any of the boys. A father’s dream, most told me, but I was worried. I thought it might be because your mother… and later, Elwind… both died.”

Nikoletta looked to the floor, rubbing her hands together guiltily.

“Argrave… his actions have changed much in so little time,” the Duke said. He reached for his cup and took another drink of water. “He’s the only good thing to come of House Vasquer in the past decades,” the Duke said, anger making his voice hoarser. “I never talked… about how your mother died.”

At those words Nikoletta looked up at her father, confused by the sudden change of subject. “You said she died in childbirth.”

“In childbirth? Yes. But between healing magic and research into the subject, such a thing is impossible for the Duchess of House Monticci,” Enrico said angrily. “I got her the best care. There was foul play involved. Whether poison or magic, someone had her killed.”

Nikoletta listened intensely, seeing as her father was telling her something she had never heard before.

“As you recall, Induen’s mother died the same way. Felipe’s first wife died ‘in childbirth.’” Enrico pointed with his cup. “King Felipe used to be a good man, and he loved both the people and his wife. When the first Queen died during Induen’s birth, he knew just as I do that there was foul play. The people he trusted most—people like me—became his potential enemies overnight. Felipe brought the whole realm under investigation, searching for a poisoner.”

Duke Enrico grit his teeth, his gaze distant as he recalled distant and uncomfortable memories. “Though I helped him as best I could, we came up with no answers. With only two children—his daughter Elenore and Induen—most of his council insisted he move on and remarry.” The Duke drank more water.

“Reluctantly, the king turned his focus back to the realm and his children, and the realm was good.” Enrico took a deep breath and exhaled. “Eventually, King Felipe met Valeria, the present queen and Orion’s mother. She was perfect in every way, it seemed. Beautiful, ingenious, powerful… They fell in love. At the time, it seemed the couple of the century—the magnanimous widower King Felipe and high society’s star, Valeria of Norden.”

“But Queen Valeria… they say she’s mad,” Nikoletta asked in confusion.

Duke Enrico nodded. “She started to lose her mind after Orion was born; visions, hallucinations, rapid mood-swings, temperamental behavior. King Felipe’s paranoia resurfaced and his cruelty redoubled. He thought someone had done something again. He did everything, completely uncaring of right or wrong, to find out what had happened to Valeria.”

The Duke swallowed the last of his water. “Eventually, in anger, I told him that he could not use his sadness as an excuse to trample on the people. He removed me from the council, and I returned to rule at Mateth.” He looked to Nikoletta. “Later that same year, your mother Gabriele died. She died the exact same way the first queen did. Skin pulled tight against her bones, veins bursting out of…”

The Duke took a second, composure lost. He brought some of the sheets up to wipe away the tears from his face. Nikoletta watched. She did feel some emotion, but she had never known her mother as her father did.

“I went to the capital for an audience with the king. I told him what had happened. And he…” the Duke clenched the sheets tight. “He just looked at me, a devil’s grin marking his face, those cold, gray eyes wide in delight like… like some abyssal portal into the underworld. I knew, then, my answer, even without proof. He poisoned his own sister, your mother, to teach me a lesson. To make me endure the same pain he did.”

Nikoletta opened her mouth but felt a choking sadness at her throat. Duke Enrico stared at his hands.

“He said something after that, offered my position on the council back as though I would suddenly support him now that I knew his pain.” Enrico shook his head. “That man isn’t fit to sit on the throne. Once, King Felipe III cared. That version of him died with his first wife,” Enrico said with a grim tone. “If Reinhardt had not acted foolishly, there still would have been war. The people hate what Vasquer has become.”

“Why are you talking about this now, father? What are you driving at?”

Duke Enrico took a deep breath and exhaled. “I don’t know enough about Argrave, but from what little I’ve seen, he’s one with tremendous bravery and a good nature. He’s somewhat unfathomable. I have no idea how he halted this invasion, nor even that he intended to do so.”

“Your point being?”

“Reinhardt is an impulsive man and my friend. I don’t think he has a plan for what comes after this civil war of his,” Enrico disclosed. “I will support him with… what little remains after the disaster with the Veidimen. When the war is over, I will be sure that you sit on the throne, Nikoletta.”

Nikoletta was greatly taken aback. “But father..!”

“I won’t force it on you. You are my pride and joy, and I have full confidence in leaving either the Dukedom or the Kingdom of Vasquer to you.” Enrico’s dark pink eyes stared at her intensely, then looked away. “Should you decline… Argrave’s claim is the best. All of Felipe’s trueborn sons are as debased as him, and I’ll not suffer them on the throne. The marriage with Argrave would solidify both of your claims and should help ensure stability.”

“This is… overwhelming, father,” Nikoletta said quietly.

“I know. My tongue is looser than normal,” the Duke said. “The biggest flaw in this idea is Argrave himself. I know little of his motivations, his character, or even his true allegiance. I must force him to make those things clear,” Enrico nodded. “To begin with, I should spread the news of his halting the Veidimen invasion. News of the sale of Foamspire, too, should reach Dirracha. It will incense Prince Induen if the two are not collaborators.”

“Wait,” Nikoletta stopped him. “Argrave insisted that we should remain neutral in the war.”

“Why?” Enrico asked.

Nikoletta took a deep breath. “This… I have some trouble wrapping my head around it, but this is what he said…”