A Tinge of Hope

"Silence." I told the old blabbering woman as I sensed my father's presence overhead. His arrival was sooner than expected. He appears to have responded to my summons with urgency.

I cut off the supply of my Qi from the recording sphere in my hand and placed it back inside my storage ring.

I've already learned enough.

The old female servant was flopping around on the ground like a fish. The ropes I tied to her limbs held firm. There were no visible wounds on her body despite the misery on her face.

"Grand Elder Yarim is here. You'll tell him the same truths you told me. If you do so, I'll free you from your pain." I told the old woman.

"I wi-will do so." The woman spoke with faltering breaths.

I removed the blood from my clothes and body with Water Qi before leaving the room. The old woman's groans of pain became muffled as I closed the door behind me. It was time to wake up Ari.

When I entered Ari's bedroom, I found her still sleeping peacefully in her bed.

I gently awoke Ari. Her brown eyes snapped open and widened as she caught sight of me. "What?" She asked in confusion.

"I've found the cause of the instability within Talia's Qi." I stated.

Ari sat up. Her brown eyes were fixed intently on me.

"She'll need a Demon Cleansing Pill but will otherwise be fine as the problem was caught early." I stated.

Rage showed on her face. "Who?" Ari asked.

She was quick on the uptake.

"I don't know the traitor's name, but she's been restrained. I've summoned my father, and he has already arrived. Together, you can hear the traitor's confession."

"You should've woken me up sooner." She uttered with ire.

She hurried out of the room. I followed her as she stormed to the wooden household gates where my father was waiting.

"Why the summons?" My father inquired after Ari had opened the gates. Interestingly, my father wasn't alone. Hanno was with him.

"Talia has been steadily poisoned with trace amounts of Demon Qi. Her linage has helped her break down the Demon Qi, but the breakdown is imperfect due to a lack of technique which has caused some instability within her Qi." I stated.

My father frowned.

"Who poisoned her?" He asked.

"A servant as for her motives. You may ask her."

"Hanno, you'll stay here." He ordered Hanno.

"Yes, Grand Elder." Hanno said.

Father signaled for me to lead.

"Where are all the servants?" My father asked as we entered the courtyard.

"They're unconscious. I didn't want them scurrying around while we sorted this out." I stated.

We started to hear muffled cries as we neared the room where I had the old woman imprisoned.

"It seems you did more than just restrain her." Ari remarked in a vexed tone.

"I did also make her amenable to your question." I calmly stated before adding.

"I'll go back to Hanno. You two should enter and get the answers you seek."

If I entered the room with the two of them, my presence would dominate the old woman's attention which could breed distrust in her answers.

My father nodded before opening the door. The groans of pain became more audible. Ari and my father entered the room, and the noise was once again muffled as they shut the door behind them.

I left the courtyard and joined Hanno outside the household's walls. Hanno looked puzzled by my arrival.

"Father and Ari are talking to the servant. I thought it was best to wait here." I informed him.

"I see." He awkwardly said.

"Were you both at the clan treasury?" I asked.

"Yes, father brought me there to watch him work."

"Did he say why?" I asked.

Hanno hesitated then nodded.

"He said it was time for me to become familiar with my responsibilities as heir." He stated. His voice, which is often monotone, included a trace of excitement.

"That's good." I softly stated as I looked up at the darkening night sky.

Talia's poisoning was caught in time, and it also appears that father has followed my advice. Events, both unforeseen and foreseen, are shifting. A day marked by unease and rage ends with a tinge of hope.

It was late into the night when father returned.

"Ari?" I asked father.

"She isn't in the mood for further conversation." He stated.

I nodded. It would take some time for Ari to put down her rage.

"The servant?" I asked.

"Dead."

Then my word has been fulfilled.

"What's the plan for the rest of the servants?" I asked. It's rare to see only one rotten kernel in a sack full.

"They'll be removed. I've sent a messenger scroll. Our house's forces will soon be here." Father stated. His voice sounding resigned.

"Father, I don't know why you're somber. This is an opportunity to remove the rot from House Hesk."

Since becoming regent, my father has always had issues with the personnel of House Hesk. Poor financial management over two generations has left House Hesk vulnerable to corruption.

The obvious solution was mass expulsion of the House's vassals, but how would that look to the Ancestors of House Hesk?

This poisoning was the excuse my father needed.

"Ari has demanded repercussions against House Ust." My father expressed his troubles.

The fury of a mother lioness shouldn't be underestimated, and Ari's words carried weight among her Ancestors.

"You agree with her?" Father asked after noticing my silence.

"I do."

Father stared at me, waiting for me to elaborate on my viewpoint.

"Since you took over as Regent of House Hesk, you've succeeded in limiting the harm to our house, but the attacks committed against us have only grown more heinous.

"Sometimes, one must show a willingness to bleed." I stated.

My father took in my words and silently ended the conversation by turning away from me to stare off into the distance.

Stillness hung around the three of us until a dozen soldiers riding razor-wind horses appeared in the distance. They soon came to a stop before us. They all carried swords and bore the emblem of our house on their right shoulders.

My father commanded the soldiers to seize Ari's household servants. Ten men dismounted and dashed through wooden gates while the remaining two gathered the riderless horses.

My father watched the disappearing backs of his men. Once they were out of sight, he pulled out his flying sword and leapt atop it.

"I'll drop you off." He informed me.

Accepting his offer, Hanno and I joined him on the sword, and it flew off in the direction of my home.

A pocket of warm air surrounded us as we traveled through the cold night sky. Beneath us passed the rolling hills of the Ancestral Lands.

When we arrived on the land of my house, my father's sword drifted down as he directed it to hover before my front door.

I jumped off his sword and turned back to my father and Hanno.

"I have a meeting with the governor of my territory Aynday at noon."

"I know."

"Could you send one of the banner commanders to attend the meeting so he can advise me on military matters?"

Having one of my father's ears at the meeting should prove useful.

"I'll send Atarbas of the third banner."

I slightly bowed my head in my father's direction.

"May your jaws shut on what you seek."

"May your jaws shut on what you seek." My father replied in a gruff voice before flying off with Hanno.