14 14: The letter of fate

The council pondered their conundrum for a moment. If they did not have a full council to support Ivailo, then there would not be any war soon, and time was precious. I feel like I know the answer, but what is it? Amaris questioned herself. It felt like it was right on the tip of her tongue, but she could not verbalise what she was trying to say.

"The only logical thing to do is to ask for help. But who do we ask?" Kafei said. It felt like lighting, the realisation that Amaris experienced.

"There is still one last Bodaldi left." This stunned the rest of the council out of their trains of thought. "He is being accommodated by the King of Asharia, as they are good friends since childhood."

"What makes you so confident that he would support a war, let alone agree to it?" Ivailo asked. "I mean, he grew up in Asharia, why would he want to leave?"

"From what I heard from the gentlemen that I was serving, he is the nephew of a usurper, all because the Oblivion Kappa chased them out of Thoasia. He hated his aunt, had made his best friend an orphan, and helped said friend regain his rightful throne. If we word the proposal right, then not only will you three get your revenge for your mother, but we can return the throne of Thoasia to its rightful owner." Amaris argued, hoping to convince the rest of the council that this seemingly hairbrained idea might just work.

"What do we have to lose?" Lady Lyra asked. "The worst they can say is no." Ivailo nodded in response.

"Okay then, who do I address the letter to?" Ivailo asked.

"From memory, his name is Rinomve Bodaldi. He is being hosted by King Falael Wynfir and his wife Queen Grace Melarin." Amaris responded.

"Alright, Ladies. If there is nothing else, I believe that this meeting is done."

"But Your Majesty, we have three open spots on the council. The sooner those are filled, the better." Lady Kafei pointed out.

"You are quite right, sister. I trust that you three can fill these seats with decent people, so I want you to choose the next Lords or Ladies of Infrastructure, Finances and Spies." Ivailo said, getting up from his seat at the head of the table. "You are dismissed." He said as he left the room.

It relieved Ivailo that Lord Arhein, Lord Brass and Lord Wolfram were no longer on the council. Now, they could not pester him on everything from Killing Amaris to marrying one of their daughters for their own political gain, and he could choose who he wanted to surround himself. He felt himself getting lighter and lighter as he walked to his official study, intent on writing to this Falael Wynfir and seeing whether any of the story that Amaris had told the council. Not that he thought she would be capable of lying, but what people said in a bar often only had a shade of truth that was drastically embellished, to where the truth was unrecognisable.

Feeling the safety of being in his state office left somewhat to his on devices, he sat down on the oversized armchair behind the desk, which looked as if the makers had made it out of two carved griffins carrying a slab of wood, heavier than stone. He did not love the desk, but it had been there since the builders of Craester Castle had built the office, and it felt wrong to take the desk out and replace it.

Getting comfortable, he pulled out a piece of parchment, a pot of squid ink, and a goose feather quill, and wrote.

30th of June, 18th Year of His Majesty, Emperor Ivailo Garr's reign.

Dear King Falael. Please let me introduce myself and forgive me for not doing so earlier. My name is Ivailo Garr, and I am the current emperor of Acad, your neighbour to the east.

I heard from one of my subjects that you are currently hosting Prince Rinomve Bodaldi, rightful heir to the throne of Thoasia. Do not worry, he is not in any trouble, but I have an issue with the Oblivion Kappa that stole and are currently abusing his country.

I would like to go to war with the Oblivion Kappa, and desperately need support to fulfill this wish. What would be in it for Asharia? Two extremely powerful alliances, one with Thoasia and the other with Acad. What would be in it for Rinomve? A kingdom and a throne of his own, and no need to rely on your goodwill to survive.

And what benefit does war with the Oblivion Kappa have for the rest of Acad? Very little save for better trade agreements. No, the benefit that I will gain from a war with the Oblivion Kappa is personal for myself and my two older sisters, just like me ascending the throne of Acad was personal for all werewolves. Before I took the throne, they sold my mother as a slave to the Oblivion Kappa, who then used her as a sacrificial offering in their Day of Illumination festival in Valeledo. Which, if I am not mistaken, is the city that your friend was born in.

If either you or your friend Rinomve are interested in going to war with the Oblivion Kappa, please write as soon as possible.

Signed, His Majesty Ivailo Garr

Emperor of Acad.

Ivailo folded the letter and sealed it with crimson and gold wax, letting the liquid drip onto the page. Then, pressing his royal signet ring into the small puddle of wax, he imprinted his crest onto the seal, ensuring that the letter would not get opened once between here and its eventual destination. He printed the name of the recipient, whomever this King Falael Wynfir was.

He summoned a messenger. When the messenger came, he noticed it was the same vampire that had delivered the message about Amaris's whereabouts.

"I have a message that I want you to deliver, to the King of Asharia. I want you to deliver it to his hand yourself, understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." The sun-coloured vampire responded as he sunk down on his knees.

"What is your name?"

"Nicholas, Your Majesty."

"Well, Nicholas, do this job well and I will reward you beyond your wildest dreams."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You are welcome." Ivailo handed the messenger the envelope filled with the letter that might just decide the fate of another country. "Remember, deliver this right into the King's hands. You would also do well to remember your manners. You are representing all of Acad and me. Understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Good. You can go now." The messenger carefully got up and left, tucking the envelope into his leather doublet as if it was more precious than Ablundite could ever be. Then again, that letter could very well be the very beginning of a war that would shape the rest of the world.

"Hey Amaris, how about the three of us go for a walk around the garden? There is very little we can do now, so let's go out and enjoy the sunset while we can!" Lady Lyra said, pretty much bouncing with an energy that Amaris had not noticed earlier.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. What do you think, Lady Kafei?" The idea filled Amaris with so much joy, even she was surprised.

"Please, when it is just the three of us, you can drop the titles and just call us by our names. And I think that going for a walk is a great idea!" Kenia said, getting out of her chair and stretching out her muscles.

"Let's go then." Amaris got up out of the chair that she had been seated in for the last half an hour. Her muscles were much more tense than she imagined they could ever be. I guess that's what comes with not having to scrub floors from dawn till dusk, and serve drunk patrons from dusk till dawn.

She followed Kafei and Lyra out of the high council room and into the hallway, eventually ending up out on the patio that she and Ivailo had lunch on earlier. It was even more beautiful now, at sunset, than it had been in the middle of the day.

"So." Lyra broke the silence. "Do you think that your idea to ask the King of Asharia for support will work?"

"I do not know what will and will not work. All we can do now is just hope, and honestly, I am more concerned with filling the three open posts on the high council." Amaris responded, leading the twins down the stairs and into the garden. "What do you think we should look for in new members of the high council?" she asked, settling herself on a concrete bench surrounded by roses.

"Well, obviously they would need to be okay with working with a vampire." Lyra said, sitting down next to Amaris as Kafei sat on the other side. Amaris was grateful that Lyra would say such a thing. It felt good to have someone support her, especially since no one had ever done so before, and even more so since Lord Arheim, Lord Wolfram, and Lord Brass had tried to insult her and make her feel small. Amaris smiled.

"Thank you, for standing up for me."

"That is all right. Thank you for not being an asshole, unlike the what ever nonsense the former lords of the high council are trying to spout."

"Why are they so angry with having a vampire on the council?" Amaris asked.

"They were servants for your father. They served him directly, and they endured the worst of his brutality." Kafei said. "It is a shame, really. Your siblings were never even half as bad as your father was."

"You knew my siblings?"

"Oh yes. They assigned us to take care of your sisters, Emerande and Xaverie. They were lovely." Lyra said. "Not to mention your handsome brothers, Tearle and Octavian."

"So, I had a mother, two sisters and two brothers and none of them survived because my father, if I can even have the strength to give him such a respectful name, was an evil man who did not value life one once." Amaris said, tears of anger and fury rolling down her cheeks. "And because of it, not only did I lose any chance of having the family that I should have had, but his actions meant Montego could subject me to a very similar torment to what the last emperor enforced on the very people he should have been protecting." Kafei laid her head on one of Amaris's shoulders as Lyra placed her hand on the other shoulder, trying to comfort her. "But you know what." Amaris continued her rant. "I am glad he is dead. I am glad that Ivailo killed him, and being biologically related to him does not change a thing. I just wish that the social change that was needed did not have to come at such a high cost."

"To be honest," Lyra responded. "I don't think that our little brother wanted it to have such a high cost, either. Tearle and Octavian were his best friends, and they never tried to distance themselves from him just because he was a werewolf."

"Really? They were friends?"

"All of us were friends with your siblings." Kafei lifted her head off Amaris's shoulder. "And most people were okay with the seven of us being friends, even siblings, not even your mother. The only one who had any whiff of any issues with werewolves, at least within the castle walls, was your father."

"Is that why you two like me so much? Because most of my family were good to you?"

"It is the reason we gave you a chance, and knocked on your door when you first arrived. The rest, that was simply because we liked you." Lyra said, finishing the conversation. By now, the sun had completely set, and all that lit the sky were the billions of stars that could be seen on a clear night such as tonight. It was perfect. Amaris was sitting here in Craester Castle's garden with her two new best friends, talking about how the current emperor deserved all of his power that he had earned. She was the daughter of a woman who liked to teach her servants how to read, and the last of her mother's line. Her father was nothing to her. And they had given her a second chance to fix the mistakes of the past, whether or not she caused them.