20 Royal Decrees
ROYAL DECREES
“WERE IT UP to me, you would never be suffered to bring a monster before my Emperor.”
In the face of Ankhelina’s towering rage, I remained cool, holding my arms out as the scanner took my measurements. “Monstrosity is in the eye of the beholder. To many of my countrymen, you are monstrous.”
“Your countrymen are fools,” Ankhelina shot back, “clearly illustrated by their unwillingness to expunge artificial life forms from the galaxy.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I stepped back from the scanner. The replicator glowed blue as it began synthesizing my new outfit. “Expunge. A good word. Your command of the Commonwealth tongue is better than I expected.”
“I study the languages of all my Emperor’s enemies,” Ankhelina growled.
“Then you’ll understand perfectly when I say I will ride Tilly in today’s hunt.”
The replicator dinged. I opened the synthetics chamber, removed the neatly folded clothing, and walked towards the changing screen. Ankhelina followed, fuming.
“Your hoversteed already attacked the Emperor once. It should be executed for treason.”
I tore off the roughly tied toga I’d made from medical sheets and began dressing myself.
“One, Tilly is a Commonwealth citizen and not subject to your laws. Two, that was a simple misunderstanding. The Emperor already knows, and I’ll explain to Tilly she shouldn’t attack anyone I am having sex with, unless I specify otherwise. ”
Ankhelina ignored my verbal jab. “If you loved the Emperor, you would not bring that thing into her presence. It is dangerous.”
“Thank you. I’m certain Tilly will be glad to hear you say that. She takes great pride in her combat abilities,” I said, with mock cheerfulness in my voice. It felt nice to have somebody else be inconvenienced by me for once, instead of the other way around.
Ankhelina opened her mouth to say more, but my chamber door opened and Astrid swept in.
She was wearing a low-cut, high-waisted leather riding jacket, skintight suede riding breeches, and knee-length high-heeled riding boots, all in black.
Her hair was tied into a tight bun at the base of her neck, and a pair of flying goggles dangled at her throat.
Silver-capped riding gloves completed her ensemble.
“Levar, why aren’t you ready? And Ankhelina, you’re not even dressed for the hunt.”
Ankhelina dropped to one knee, palms flat on the floor, and spoke before I could open my mouth. “My Liege, I must protest against allowing the Consort to ride his infected hoversteed for the hunt. Let him use an Imperial steed.”
Confusion quirked Astrid’s eyebrows. “Champion, the entire point of the hunt is to acclimate myself to the Consort’s steed and gain confidence in its ability to behave. Will it behave?”
The last question was to me. “On my honor as a gentleman and a soldier,” I promised.
Astrid nodded. “Ankhelina, you will take my Consort to retrieve his hoversteed from the visitors’ stables.”
“But, my Emperor, there are hundreds of suitable steeds in the Imperial stables, none of which are infected with a—”
“I know what afflicts the Consort’s steed,” Astrid replied icily. “I have decided to allow it. Do not make me repeat myself, Champion.”
“Yes, my Emperor,” Ankhelina said, her head drooping towards the floor.
Astrid looked me over, a mischievous grin spreading over her face. “You look lovely in your new clothes.”
“Thank you,” I replied, doing up my tunic over the well-folded cravat.
With lightning speed, Astrid leaned over and kissed me, crushing me to her breast with such force that my feet left the floor.
“Of course, I can’t wait to get you out of them again.
” She left me breathless, trying to regain my senses, as she swept from the room.
“Until tonight,” she called, then was gone.
I straightened myself and calmed my breathing, my hand fluttering to my chest. Astrid had mussed up my cravat. I turned to the mirror to straighten it. Ankhelina glared at me in the reflection. With a sigh, I motioned to the door. “Shall we?”
We portaled to the Crystal Palace in silence.
The hallways were empty but for a few hordlings and several low-ranking delegates who were not joining the day’s hunt.
The latter stared at me, eyes wide. Some rushed off the moment they saw me, undoubtedly to report to their missing superiors.
Others waited until I was past them, then excitedly whispered to their companions.
It was a relief when Ankhelina and I stepped into the lift to the stables. “Let’s get Tilly and get out of here without causing trouble,” I said.
“Putting a spike through your abomination’s CPU would be the least trouble of all.”
I could not let that comment slide. I whirled, drawing my dirk and sliding it between Ankhelina’s legs high enough to spark against her shield. She remained as she was, hands behind her back at ease, but her eyes narrowed as she tried to decide if I would do it.
“Let me be clear,” I said, my voice low and steady, even as my adrenal glands dumped their contents into my bloodstream as I realized I had just picked a fight with one of the most dangerous demons in the quadrant.
“Tilly shall not be harmed, not by you, not by your demon allies, not by anybody in the Alliance. If any harm comes to her, I will hold you personally responsible.” Oddly, my heart rate remained steady, pumping hard, but smoothly, not the frantic pounding I’d expected.
Ankhelina sneered. “You only make the monster’s extermination a challenge.”
In response, I slid the zeroblade across her thigh. I barely nicked her flesh, but deep red blood began pouring in sheets down her bare leg. “I do not think the Emperor would mind if I left you bleeding here,” I said.
“You’re too small to be worth killing,” she said, her voice a snarl, but her lips curved into a grin. She was enjoying this power game.
“My blade cuts as sharp as any demon’s claws. Ask Prince Kerensky. But I cannot fight you and find Astrid’s assassins at the same time. Run back to the Emperor. I don’t need the protection you provide,” I said.
The guardsman chuckled. “Your dagger may be sharp, but your head is soft if you think you will be safe without me defending you.”
“I’ve survived ten years of war against your kind, I’ll survive a few days more without your help. I doubt I’ll do so well with a surly guard who would rather see me dead than at her Emperor’s side.”
The guardsman’s smile darkened into a scowl.
“Who the Emperor chooses as her Consort is her choice alone. No matter how foolish it is for her to dilute her bloodline further with the weak genetics of an unaugmented human, how infantile it is for her to seek romance in the arms of an enemy officer, my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. She has chosen to bed you, and ordered me to protect you, so I shall.”
I twisted the dagger’s point against her leg. “And just how much do the Emperor’s orders matter to you? How do I know your loyalty is true?”
The scowl became a glare. “I am the Emperor’s Champion. I stood at her side when she took the throne. My loyalty to her is sacrosanct, and far stronger than my distaste for you.”
“Then protect me if you must, but do it silently and obediently. Do I make myself clear?” I hissed, giving her another shallow gash on the other thigh. Her first wound had already closed, knitted up by the symbiotes swimming in her blood.
Ankhelina’s lips curled back over her pointed teeth in a defiant grin, but before she could answer, the lift doors opened with a chime.
I quickly sheathed my dagger. If anyone saw this, it would be another diplomatic incident.
With a final warning glare at my surly shadow, I strode across the stable floor to Tilly’s stall.
The stable was a scene of pandemonium. Allied notables and servants ran about, shouting to ready steeds or fetch riding gear. One League duchess complained, “If I’d known we’d be hunting, I would have brought hunting clothes.”
Her servant’s placating, “No one knew there would be a hunt…” fell on deaf ears.
It did seem to be true, though. Many of the riders preparing themselves wore their racing or riding gear, the outfits quite incorrect for country hunting.
They were too clean, too prim for the dirty day which lay ahead.
My outfit was little better – I’d chosen to replicate a pre-war semi-dress dragoon uniform.
It felt comfortable and familiar, reminding me of those pleasant days, but it was no more correct than the court dressage attire the others wore.
I made it less than a dozen steps before somebody coughed politely at my shoulder.
Instinctively, through reflexes born from years of living with servants, I turned to see what the person wanted.
To my great surprise, Wiktor stood beside me, his face pleasantly neutral, as though I’d just walked out of my bedchamber this morning instead of portaling down in a new uniform with a new heart and a twelve-foot demon warrior at my back.
“Wiktor, good to see you,” I said, stepping between the manservant and the bodyguard. Ankhelina had drawn a dagger at Wiktor’s sudden appearance. “What the Fall brings you down here?”
“I was informed you would attend today’s hunt, despite last night’s unexpected disappearance, so I waited outside your hoversteed’s stall to ensure you looked presentable.” He presented a folded pile of clothes. “Your boots are with Tilly in the stable.”
I took the outfit. “I take it my current attire is entirely unsuitable?”
Wiktor ran a critical eye up and down my replicated uniform. Instead of speaking, he pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows.
“I’ll go change.”