Chp.6: How the fate of nations is decided

Haku was forced out of the cage and personally carried it up the stairs of the building. Basically, he was a prisoner carrying his sentence on his shoulders. He couldn't feel more humiliated than that. At least, Hara and the other guards offered to help him; even if it didn't seem like it, the woman's small body possessed a not indifferent strength. She was still a legendary level after all.

After several flights of stairs, Haku had arrived at a very large terrace in which there was a garden. It was a huge space full of flowerbeds filled with the most dazzling flowers and hedges sculpted into bizarre shapes, and there were also very refined fountains and even some play of colors created with a strange combination of spells that Haku didn't know identify. There were also several cages containing exotic animals of all kinds, probably very rare creatures and worth exhibiting at such a gathering. There were pedestals and cases defended by magic and by numerous guards that contained various objects, from swords to strange magical trinkets, which were almost certainly the best war prizes taken by the Baudonia City Alliance. And there were even some chained beastmen, perhaps some minor rebel leaders who had been sentenced to prison and who were brought as a sign of the beastmen's submission to the Jurao Kingdom.

Haku expected to have to put his cage there, among the other beasts, but Hara motioned him instead to continue. Apparently, the king was aiming to display him in a much better place.

At the end of the garden, where the terrace began, there was a huge gate so tall and wide that Haku could easily pass through despite his enormous bulk. The door was wide open and several servants continually crossed it carrying the most disparate things; when they saw him, practically all of them froze in place and some even screamed and ran away, throwing the things they were carrying. A maid even destroyed some dishes. A middle-aged lady with a hair color between gray and black, who was probably their leader, came furious and tried to scold them, but she too turned pale and fell silent as she noticed the dragon's presence. Haku ignored them and entered dragging his cage behind him with his tail.

The room he entered surprised him for a moment: it was huge, much more than he would have expected. The ceiling, a magnificent dome that appeared to be covered in crystal and silver, was at least twenty meters high and glowed continuously due to the light that came from magnificent golden chandeliers that emitted colored fires probably fueled by some magic. In length and breadth, the room formed a perfect rectangle seventy meters long and about forty wide; every corner was perfectly designed to harmonize with the rest of the room. The walls were made of very fine materials and were covered with frescoes, mosaics, paintings, sculptures and any other form of decorative art. The floor was tiled with fine white marble, all lined up with each other. Along the walls every ten meters there was a door, positioned in the right place so as not to clash with the environment. Whoever designed that place surely had to be an architect who knew how to do his job.

As for the furnishings, the room was mostly bare, the decorations alone already making it grand, but it still had some furniture. About five meters away from either wall, there was a long row of tables set side by side; the chairs were arranged only on the side facing the wall, while on the other hand there were none. This was probably due to the fact that the space between the two tables was meant for dancing or something. At the back of the hall, on the opposite side of the door, there was a small, finely decorated wooden stage which, judging by the large number of instruments arranged above it, would probably have hosted an orchestra. Otherwise there wasn't much else, except for one detail: in the middle of the room, about ten meters away from each other, there were some cages that contained even rarer creatures than those shown in the garden, or even more valuable items and weapons. They were probably the king's 'most valuable collectibles', which Marcus wanted to make sure everyone saw to confirm his extraordinary prestige. And in the exact center of the room there was still a place left empty, where there was still no cage. It was pretty obvious who this place was meant for.

Haku was furious. His cage would have been the largest and would have been placed in the exact center of the room, in full view of all. The king aimed to use it as his greatest trophy. This, for his dignity as a dragon, was unacceptable. But he knew he had no choice, so he carried the cage over there, put it in the right spot and then went back inside and let the muzzle and chains be put back on. Strangely, he noticed that although the cage weighed not a little it left no marks on the floor: evidently, those tiles must have been enchanted or something similar.

"Thank you for being so helpful" Hara told him as soon as they were finished.

Haku knew that the woman's words were genuine and that there was no mockery in them, but he still couldn't help telling her: "Hara, I've already given up my pride. Don't also make me give up my education by making me say words not so kind"

Hara wanted to answer him: 'What education? And what would be the threshold of kind for you?', but knowing that the dragon was undergoing a real humiliation at that moment she decided to let it go.

Haku looked around. His eyes darted across the room looking for a weak spot, an escape route, or even just something that might give him an advantage, but he quickly realized there were none. Packed along the walls were tens, if not hundreds, of heavily armed guards. If Haku tried to leave, he would be surrounded in seconds. He could have tried to climb to the ceiling, but even if he did he doubted he would be able to break through it, or at least do it fast enough not to be hit by the archers' arrows. As he'd already guessed, the king had taken every possible precaution against his escape.

"If you are looking for a way to run away, know that you won't succeed. Both during the preparations and during the party this place will be too well protected"

Precisely. Speaking of that bastard...

Haku turned his head slightly and saw Marcus approaching with a mocking smile on his face. As usual, the massive figure of Thornag and a dozen other guardsmen accompanied him. "I wasn't thinking of running away" he lied shamelessly.

"I'm sure of it" the king said lying in turn: it was clear that he had noticed his plans, or at least that he had imagined them. "Anyway, I'm glad you were so helpful"

"I didn't exactly have a choice" Haku grumbled.

"That's for sure, but you could have put up a lot more resistance. Who knows, maybe subconsciously you don't mind being here?"

"I can't wait for this party to end"

"Really? Aren't you even a little happy to get out of the arena?"

"I would be more so if I wasn't subjected to this humiliation!"

"If only you would swear allegiance to me, you could attend this party as a guest of honor, certainly not as a prisoner"

"You are smart enough to know what my response to this statement of yours will be"

"Heh heh! Yeah, but I wanted to tease you anyway"

"Fuck you"

Haku normally would have tried to avoid such bad language towards the ruler, since he knew it would only cause him trouble, but at the moment he didn't care anymore. Were it not for his precarious situation, he would no doubt have taken the opportunity to punch Marcus in the nose and wipe that victorious grin from his face. Luckily, the king didn't seem to mind his insults. The same could not be said of Thornag and Hara and all the others, who were wide-eyed and glaring at the dragon; in all of the Jurao Kingdom, Haku was the only one who dared to address the king in such ways while among other people. Even the queen maintained a certain education in public, but Haku, on the other hand, didn't give a damn about it.

After a brief moment of anger, Marcus changed attitude: his expression became more sympathetic and his voice also became firmer. "If this is a consolation for you, you must know that I didn't mean to humiliate you like this. I didn't even mean to take you to this party and display you as my trophy, since technically you're not. You weren't captured by my soldiers, you were just picked up by them while you were passed out after a fight to the death with a hydra. I had no reason to show you. But unfortunately, many of the people who will come here have expressed the desire to see you, and I had to live up to their expectations. After all, this party will be deciding new alliances, bonds, resource distributions and much more. It is essential that all the guests are accommodated in any way possible. Don't blame me, it's the politics. These are the rules, I'm not the one who made them"

Haku believed that the king's was just an excuse, but still he couldn't help but be interested in what he was saying. "It's just a party. Is it really that important?"

"Ah, Haku... you're too naive. Forget about battles and wars: it's around tables like these that the fate of nations is decided" Marcus replied. "The highest echelons of society from the Jurao Kingdom and allied kingdoms will be meeting in here tonight. Dozens of different ideologies, ideas, economic doctrines, even different religions, who will continually try to bite each other while disguising themselves behind smiles and best regards. To make a comparison, imagine a pack of wolves, each of them intending to devour the others, but all of them in sheep's clothing. The one who manages to deceive the others best wins. You will see: if you are attentive enough tonight, you will notice how the guests they will split into various factions that will battle each other with words and arguments, but never openly show their claws and never stop smiling. That's the politics"

Marcus began pacing around the cage, as if that would ease his gab. "The Jurao Kingdom is in a very difficult position at the moment, Haku. We won the war and increased our territories, but we also had to spend a lot of money and resources for this. The other nations won't hesitate to try to take advantage of this to get concessions, benefits, lower trade taxes, and so on. We may be allies, but that doesn't stop us from trying to get each one more than the others. If I want the Jurao Kingdom to remain the hegemon of this small part of the continent, then I have to make sure we maintain a position of absolute prestige and strength over all others. To do so, I must reflect their expectations. Refusing to show you like a trophy, Haku, would be no different than declaring that I'm afraid my security measures won't work with you. This would show to the other nations my weakness, and they wouldn't hesitate to try to take advantage of it, not to mention that my political opponents will also be present here, and they too would notice my weakness if I showed it. Therefore, I apologize for this humiliation, Haku, but between the safety of my kingdom and your dignity, I will surely choose to sacrifice the latter"

Haku didn't answer. Now that the king had explained himself better, he couldn't completely blame him. To use language familiar to him, it was no different than being in a forest full of predators: it didn't matter if you were the apex predator, the instant you showed signs that you were injured, or that you were getting old, or that you were sick, all the others didn't hesitate for a moment to attack with all their might to kill you. That party would have been much the same, just much more subtle.

Marcus took his silence as a sign that he understood. "Tonight there will be many people who will want to see you, and who won't treat you differently than a beast. Get ready for this, because even I won't be able to help you" he said before walking away, going to take care of other matters, leaving him alone with his thoughts.