Hall

"Do you think I overreacted?" Nikolai was jotting notes onto the plans the craftsmen had submitted to him. The hall was his greatest investment in these new lands, a gathering place for the townspeople and a place of justice and succour if it became necessary. His mother may have griped at the cost, but she'd pawned some of her jewellery to raise extra capital to commission grand paintings of the Emperor and Empress to hang in the lobby. The gesture had not gone unnoticed in the capital, the Baron made sure of that, using his connections in court to spread rumours to the Empress's ears.

It was said that the Empress had shed a tear at the news and gifted Eva Morales a spectacular ruby from her own collection to show her appreciation. Far exceeding the value of his mother's loss. A noble sentiment if Nikolai wasn't aware of the undercurrents in the palace. He was currently in favour at court, a respected advisor to the Son of Heaven himself and now he was in debt to the Empress and her children.

A minor debt, but one did not refuse the Children of Heaven easily. A simple yet effective ploy.

"They only want what's best for you Niki. Throwing a tantrum and storming out like a child won't help in any way." The hoarse voice belonged to his closest friend Chen Andreivich, a solid man who'd taken an arrow in the throat during the war. Nikolai had managed to save his life with healing spells, but his larynx hadn't recovered properly for some reason and he sounded perpetually ill.

"Maybe, but I thought I would at least have some say in who I would marry." He frowned at the sketch of his personal chambers. It was annoying that they expected him to treat this place as his own home. This was supposed to be a public building and he had a perfectly serviceable house for living in already. He crossed the room out and scribbled a stern note instructing the architect to put the extra space to use in expanding the storage rooms and official's quarters. It was better to have a dozen functionaries living in peace and capable of taking the load off him than an oversized room that no one would use. "We're from a small family. Barely even nobles as far as the aristocracy of the plains are concerned, let alone the Grand Nobles in the capital." He threw his charcoal stick onto the table, annoyed at the marks it left. Their supply of ink was too valuable to use for something like this. Merchants were only now developing the borderlands after the Alliance.

"Counts don't count as small nobles." Chen grinned at the wordplay.

"Two out of ten, that was terrible by any standards Andrei." Nikolai flicked some charcoal dust in his direction, disgusted by the attempt. "Counts are still not enough to cause waves in the capital."

"Those that led the Army to great victories do." Chen silenced Nikolai with a wave before he could interrupt and pointed to the corner of the room. "Counts who have a Hand of the Emperor certainly cause waves."

The shadows moved and resolved into a black-cloaked figure, deep blue eyes gazing at them.

"Just ignore number seven, he doesn't have much of a sense of humour." Nikolai said, grumpy at the reminder.

Seven cocked his head at the words and signed with his hands.

"No, it's not funny. What do you mean he stabbed himself in the leg, anyway?" Nikolai screwed his face in distaste. Seven signed vigorously, emphasising his point.

"How is it a joke if he spent a month in the infirmary? I've told you that humour doesn't need blood to flow, now shoo, I'm busy." Seven's black cloak flowed, and he raised an eyebrow, amused at the dismissal, but bowed lightly and merged back into the shadows.

"I still don't understand how you can be so casual around him. He could destroy us with a flick of his finger." Shaken, Chen took a deep drink from his goblet, coughing a little at the sharpness of the borderland vintage.

"Seven's like a tiger kitten, sure he's dangerous, but that's to the Emperor's enemies, and they know I can't be a traitor." Nikolai stretched, casting one more look over the plans.

"You shouldn't say traitor so easily in his presence." Chen murmured.

"Did you say something?"

"No…."

"What do you think she's like?" Nikolai asked, a little nervous at the thought of the woman he might marry.

"Can't you stay focused on one topic?" Chen shot back. "What happened to finding a girl of your own?"

"Weeeeeeellllll, you're right about the problems in the capital." Nikolai blushed a little. "And considering the whole situation, my parents did go to all that effort and things would be simpler. I don't think they'd cause me harm." Thoughts of the princes jockeying for power would cool anyone's ardour.

"You mean, you've realised how difficult meeting someone could be, and you can't be bothered." Chen knew his friend far too well. He'd get worked up and act out in the heat of the moment but if it meant less work, he would be the first to jump on the bandwagon. Unless it was to do with magic or cooking.

"So?" Nikolai ignored the comments on his character.

"So, what?"

"So, what do you think she's like?"

"How would I know? If you didn't know that you even had a fiancée why would I care?"

"Aren't you my friend?"

Their voices trailed off, bickering, a shadow flowing after them, its eyes searching for threats and dangers.