Steiner

Back in the now quiet study, Harold sat at his desk and contemplated his next actions. On the one hand the general was a well-loved leader in his military, but on the other hand, he had dared to dictate to the King, and had even called him Harold. There was no other options but to remove the general as an abject lesson to those that think they know better than their Monarch. The sound of footsteps made Harold look up, there was only one man that would dare to enter the King's private study unannounced.

"Steiner, I gather you were listening?" He asked.

"I try to keep abreast of the goings on that could be of interest or affect future actions, Your Majesty." The assassin replied.

"What do you think of what he had to say?"

"It is far from my place to offer opinions on matters of a Kingly nature."

"Don't be so weak, for once I am asking your opinion."

"And if you don't like my opinion will I be set on myself?" The man asked mockingly.

"You mock me? Am I such a joke that you think I am not worthy of respect?" Harold's tone dropped to a dangerous level.

"Far from it, my King. I only seek to serve, and if I had opinions I would be unable to serve you effectively." Steiner responded calmly.

"I asked you a question, now answer it." Harold ordered.

"Very well, the general was correct in a number of areas, the Royal Intelligence service is acting on its own agenda. If you do not rein them in, they will be a far greater threat than your nephew ever could be." Harold was shocked at the revelation. "The poor fellow he spoke of had unspeakable atrocities done to him, for the very weak reasons that General Snape-Newton informed you. He is but one of many examples of the RIS acting in ways that are counter to your orders and desires."

"You are sure of this?" Harold asked quietly.

"You asked me Sire, I am not about to make up a story to support a man I think little of." Steiner confirmed.

"And what should I do about this? I can't have my generals thinking they can come in here and dictate to me what I should be doing." Harold started to feel tight in the chest."

"The decision is yours, but were I in your position I would be removing the danger before it becomes so entrenched that the snake becomes a hydra." The many headed snake beast of Greek Mythology. Steiner was beginning to see the writing on the wall and it was time to beat a hasty retreat before the entire building fell on him.

"I see, thank you Steiner. Please pass on my regrets to the general and explain that his outburst was very ill-conceived." The meeting was over and Steiner retreated to his private door to the tunnels.

He walked slowly back to his small room deep within the secret tunnels of the castle, there he kept that which was most precious to him. As he sat in the overstuffed chair, he looked at the beautifully made wooden book case he stored his prizes on. Two hundred and twenty individual pieces that represented each and every man woman and child he had dispatched on the orders of Harold. The macabre nature of the keepsakes made them so very important to him, as if he was keeping them alive in each piece. Yes that was a very good number, a number he could rest upon, there was no need for him to add to the collection, and he was definitely not going down with the ship.

The latest piece of information that he had overheard had made his mind up for him. Harold had dispatched envoys to the Persian Empire, their intent two fold, firstly to ensure the sovereignty of the British borders, and secondly to ensure that should Uther's son make a play for the crown, Harold could call upon the massive manpower of the Persian Empire to help crush any resistance to the Royal Forces. It was a plan that was wrought with danger and a Royal recipe for failure. Mordred was not a man to be taken lightly or trusted at all, he would gladly sign any treaty Harold placed before him, and once the time was right, his armies would turn on the British and crush them like a small bug.

It was this that had led Steiner to drop a small note at the front door of the Mages Academy detailing the folly that Harold was about to embark upon. Everybody with the slightest knowledge of the goings on in the Palace knew that the Mages had long ago sided with the younger Pendragon, and when the time came, the rebel forces would rain down upon the Loyalists like an avalanche of granite on glass. Steiner was not going to be shattered under the heels of those that saw themselves as the righteous. He gathered his meagre possessions and headed for the door. He knew that there was no way that his little room would be found, but he had small enchantments placed on the door, so when he left, it simply looked like another part of the tunnel wall. He walked slowly along until he came to the exit he wanted, pressed the release that was hidden in the wall to the left and after a slight click, the wall panel swung silently open.

He stepped into the room and stood watching the old soldier writing something in an old and well used diary, completely oblivious to the killer's presence. With sure-footed silent steps of a cat he moved to the man's side and lent in close.

"Do not move, do not call out, just listen." He whispered in the shocked man's ear.

"I'm listening."

"As you have no doubt deduced, I was sent here to kill you. Although I have no qualms about killing a man, or anybody else for that matter, I will not be a party to the wholesale slaughter of a nation. His Royal Highness intends to sign a treaty with that disgusting Persian, and he will cause the fall of the entire British Empire should he succeed in doing that." Steiner spoke clearly and concisely. "I will not stand by and watch the country of my birth be destroyed and made anew in the vision of a heathen. You have one hour to pack up and get yourself out of the palace. Where and who you go with is completely up to you, but if you are still here when Harold realises I have ignored his order, you will be cut down without thought. Do you understand?" Snape-Newton nodded and looked back at Steiner.

"Why? I thought you loyal to the one paying your fees?"

"Normally you would be correct, but I will not allow the Godless bastards to destroy this country. Now, I will leave and you will have five minutes to consider you plans, I suggest you make haste for as safe a haven as you can find." The old man felt the kiss of a sharp blade at his throat and then nothing, he was still breathing, his life's blood still contained in his body, and most frightening, he was alone. The news of the Kings intention to ally with the Persian was shocking and horrifying. The damage and wanton slaughter that they had visited upon the British countryside under the command of Unaxx was so terrifying that he still had vicious nightmares even today seventeen years later.

This was something he would have never had considered possible, not from the man that initially approached him about seizing the throne. He was angered by the forgiveness afforded those that fought on the side of Unaxx. The stories of the Bysithian hordes being under a powerful enchantment never rang true to the professional soldier. So, when Harold had sought him out and informed him that his suspicions were true, he gladly signed on to the coup. But this was taking it too far, way past the point that he could ever reconcile in his own mind. No, he would go to the Mages Academy and seek out the Master Mage, he would need to set things to right. He gathered his few important possessions, his sword and his pistol and headed for the door. He reached the guard house without protest and was out the gate in minutes, he would never darken this place with his shadow again.