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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1445703" data-attributes="member: 15043">Crown Prince Alexander - Note... Siabrey and the Crown Prince both get angry.  There is swearing in this section... it fits their characters.  You've been forewarned.With some reluctance, Tess was pulled from the concert-hall and the party finished their journey towards the looming palace.  Outside the gleaming golden trimmed fence and gates, they reined up, as Tess cried out that Lord Lucius Caladron and his retinue demanded entrance.And nothing happened... save a runner dashed into the palace to confirm that these visitors were, “invited.”  The party was instructed to wait... and wait they did... for nearly a quarter hour.“She’s snubbing us,” Luke muttered quietly.  “Petty.”Finally, an elaborately whiskered majordomo came out from the gate, and with a crisp, clipped Iskeldrun accent, asked the party to follow him inside.  Before they could ask where in the palace they were headed, he had already turned and begun to walk.  The party had little choice but to follow.The winding path he led them through coursed them through small, lush gardens, massive colonnaded halls, and luxurious, carpeted arrangements.  Finally, they realized the small room they were headed towards... the primary throne room, where a few weeks earlier they had first met the doppleganger of a governor.The party drew up outside the massive bronzed doors to the throne room, a large, angry dragon’s head seeming to reach out from the metallic mass.  Two doormen, clad in the brilliant white and gold of the Imperial family, heaved, and the doors came open.Inside the party saw the same golden dragon throne, its gilded mass looming over the figure seated in its depths.  It was not the she they dreaded, however.It was a he.The man had the same dark complexion as Zoe... indeed, it was slightly darker, his skin a deep brown, almost as deep as the Eastlanders from by the coast.  His dark skin was sharply contrasted by the resplindent tunic and uniform he wore, which gleamed white and starched, a dragon woven into its front with golden thread.  The white was matched by the bright white of his head, which seemed far older than his face or his other features; he had clearly gone prematurely gray long before the party had seen him.As the party stepped inside tenatively, the man stood, and to their surprise, strode down from the throne with speed... straight towards Lucius, grabbing the young man and placing him in a bearhug.“Lucius!” he gave him a rock before pulling back to arms length and clapping him on his shoulders, “It has been so long!  You’ve grown so tall and strong.... How have you been doing, son?”“As good as I can be, Your Majesty,” Lucius said gracefully, his voice hinting a great deal of relief.  So he does remember me... and remember me warmly...”Please!” Crown Prince Alexander interrupted, “Luke!  Remember what you used to call me?  Uncle Alex?  You still have the priviledge!”  Lucius gave a slight blush, as the clang of the massive bronze doors closing echoed through the hall.“Well, don’t stand there looking like a beet... introduce me to your comrades,” Alexander said with a smile, and started by looking directly at Siabrey.  “Hmm... red eyes.  My informants,” Alexander turned to Luke, “tell me that you’ve hooked up with this one?  True?”  Lucius nodded with a nervous grin,,, and Siabrey gave him her best courtesy.  Alexander laughed, and extended her a formal bow.“Very well... you pick your bedmates well, Luke,” Alexander grinned, giving Siabrey a wink...  The fighter gives a blush, and a shy smile back at the Prince, who was already moving on towards Shaun.“Uncle Alex,” Lucius said slowly, still getting used to the old term, “this is Shaun Dice... he is a master of all trades as they say;  he is skilled in music, appraisal, knowledge...”  Shaun’s chest puffed out at the glowing review, and he interrupted.“Yes... I’m well versed in many things, from philosophy, to the fine arts, to fencing...” He was so busy in his role that he did not notice Elenya’s eyes rolling.  Alexander did, and as Shaun reached, “oh... and I’m a wonderful chef...”“...and you’re excellent a buggery I wager, as well as dramatics and bluffing,” Alexander interrupted, his voice devoid of mirth.  Shaun immediately panicked, and began to shrink away... prompting Alexander to break out into laughter.  “Do no worry, Mr. Dice,” he chuckled, “I know your past history... and that you’ve reformed from what you were.  Reformed thieves are always welcome in my palaces!”  Shaun gave a grateful and hurried bow, before Alexander’s eyes set on Tess.“My my,” he gave a bow, and took her hand and gracefully brought it to his lips, “it is rare for a soldier such as myself to see such beauty.”  Tess also blushed deeply, as Alexander looked into her eyes... and then at her harp.“How many have you killed with that harp?” Alexander asked suddenly, and Tess froze.How does he know?!  What should I say?! Her face was wide eyed in panic, before she stammered out, “Um... many... Your Majesty.”  She was relieved when he smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze.“My informants say you are quite accomplished at using your music to defeat foes.  Perhaps one day you could teach and old swordsman like myself the wonders of musical power.”  Tess nodded, still blushing from his shower of compliments.“Luke,” Siabrey leaned over to her beau, whispering, “I like this guy!”“Ah,” Alexander turned to her with a mischevious grin, “If you like little old me so much, come up to my bedroom and see why the ladies really like me!”  He threw in a wink, prompting Siabrey to start laughing.  Her laughter became worse when she saw the scowl Lucius was giving the Prince.  Alexander saw it as well, before chuckling, “’Tis only a jest, Lucius!”Luke gave a sigh, and began to explain, “My godfather has been a general in the Imperial armies for over 20 years... impressive considering he is... what?”“Thirty-eight,” Alexander said, “though I look damn near fifty.  Sadly,” he added, “I was born five years after my sister... so Madame Incompe... excuse me.”  He gave a disarming smile, “Pardon.  The Empress was successor when my grandfather passed away.”“Alexander is known as one of the best field generals alive today,” Lucius added quickly, a remark that Alexander waved off with disdain.  “As Zoe has no husband or heirs of her own, he is the next in line for the Imperial throne,” Lucius ignored his godfather’s humility.Let’s hope Zoe’s reign is short, so Alexander may rule long, Siabrey thought, but didn’t say.“It is a pleasure to meet Your Majesty,” Tess said with another bow, “Perhaps, though, you could satisfy our curiosity as to why we are meeting you here when Zoe scheduled the summons?”“Ah,” Alexander placed his hands behind his back, and started to pace some, “Well, I received the dispatch from the desert... about how large the opposition is.  I shared the most relevant stuff with my dear sister, but the rest I’ve kept to my self.”  His last comment brought looks of confusion to the party’s faces, before he continued.“I was, and I still am, afraid that Miss Stupid will muddle things if I let her get too involved.”“God, I love this guy!” Siabrey immediately said in approval.“Yes, I’ve heard what she’s put you through,” he pointed at Siabrey, “and it may get worse.    She’s taken overall command of the forces marshalling here to put down the rebellion... leaving me as merely a second in command.”She wanted the glory for herself.. Siabrey remembered their conversation before leaving for the desert... But why?“”Tis most unfortunate,” Shaun observed, and the Prince nodded.“Yes... most unfortunate.  She does not have a lick of command experience,” his voice began to run hotter, “and she doesn’t know a column from her own ass!”  He breathed in deep, and exhaled... and looked only slightly better.“She has created three armies, to deal with the three routes of attack the Countess might take.”  Alexander held up his right hand, and with it pointing down, splayed out his ring, middle, and index fingers.  With his left, he pointed, starting with the index.“There’s the first army... which will cover the desert and areas around Obash, to keep the Countess from trying to flank,” he pointed to the middle finger, “the main army, near Kulloden, which she will be commanding.  Further to the West,” he pointed to his ring finger, “will be the army to watch the mongrels from Ak Konylu, and make sure they don’t invaded us while our backs are turned.  The three forces are 40,000, 100,000 and 40,000 respectively.”Tess let out a slight gasp, while Shaun let out a low whistle.  Lucius merely stared off into space, realizing that this represented the largest callup of manpower by the Empire in nearly 200 years.“Ten thousand will remain to guard the city walls.  Lucius,” Alexander pointed, “she’s assigned you to take command of the troops watching the mongrels.  I am supposed to take command of the troops near Obash... which unfortunately leaves her alone with no one to look over her shoulder in between us.”    Siabrey groaned, and Lucius’ face darkened.“What kind of odds will be there?” he asked slowly, not verbalizing the second part of the comment, considering I won’t be getting any backup from Zoe’s army, and yours is far away...”Right now, all our estimates say there are three mongrel columns crossing the Western Balaracs into the Westfold of the Valley.  If they follow their normal tactics... that’s 60,000 of them at least...”“Dammit!” Lucius swore under his breath.  Siabrey rubbed her love’s arm comfortingly, even as her own face grew dark with fury, remembering Zoe’s candid comment a few weeks before:  ”My plan was for Lucius to fail... then I swoop in with a victory, and seize the glory...”.“Luke... don’t worry.  At least we’ll be there to help you out with advice... right guys?”  Nods went around, until they saw Alexander’s face grow even more dour.“I’m afraid not,” he sighed.  “Zoe has specifically commanded the rest of you stay in Irulas to command the garrison.”“What!?” Siabrey roared, instinctively stepping forward, her eyes dangerous.  You want me to sit by idly while Lucius marches off to WAR with no one to guide or advise him!?  “No!  No no no no no!  That’s not happening.  Uh uh!” Siabrey shook with fury.  “What the?” Tess was also angry, “No offense, Your Majesty, but your sister is a vengeful little wench!” she spat, as Shaun just shook his head. She’s jealous, and she wants to cause us pain!“Her official reason,” Alexander said quietly, “is that after the three nobles, you three are the most experienced in combat versus these creatures, and thus are needed in the fourth command slot.”  It went unsaid that Alexander was saying this only because of protocol... that he knew darn well she was being a jealous waif just as much as they did...“Bull****!” Siabrey thundered, her finger in Alexander’s face, “She damn jealous, and wants me and Lucius seperated!  That conniving... GAH!”  Siabrey sputtered, her anger so great that she couldn't form a coherent string of curse words.  Alexander seemed to pull back slightly under the withering assault of curses that continued to pour from Siabrey, who finally spits out, “No!  I will not leave him!  Even if that means violating her orders!  Screw the Empress, and screw her fricking orders!”  The fighter crossed her arms, her eyes daring anyone to cross her.  No one, not even her, will get me to willingly put Lucius in danger like that!  What if there are assassins?  Battle?  No... no....Alexander looked at her sadly.  “I understand how you feel, Siabrey, but she is the Empress... and for my high rank and station, even I must obey her edicts..”“But she’s trying to send him to his death!” Siabrey pleaded, her voice wavering in anger, and starting to crack from fear.  Alexander raised his hand to try and calm her.“Not quite.  She has authorized a wizard named Xanadu and a priest named Hidalas to accompany him as battlefield advisors.”  His face showed he clearly hoped the mentioning of those two names might ease Siabrey some... it did not.“Lord Alexander,” she began, her voice a mixture of pleading and demanding, “our strength is together!  Don’t let us be seperated!  We fought these demons as a unit, not as individuals!”  Her hands grabbed his arm, her voice begging.“She has a point, Highness,” Shaun offered.  “And also, if the Countess breaks through, there’s no way 10,000 will stop her quarter million.  We should be at the front where we can help the most!”  Sound logic... lets see if he can turn that!“I know,” Alexander said, his sympathy slowly turning to exasperation, “I tried to tell her that before... and she wouldn’t listen.  She is the Empress unfortunately, and I cannot veto stupidity.  Now... if you care about the battlefield, being stationed in the rear here gives you the opportunity to march...”“I don’t fricking care about the battlefield!” Siabrey swore, “I care about Lucius!  That’s it!  screw the damn battlefield!”  No one is going to snatch me away from him, or him away from me!  I don’t care if its battlefield protocol, or some other horse crap! No!  Thats it!“M’lord, as you are aware,” Tess began, hoping to persuade Alexander before Siabrey suffered a mental breakdown or went insane and started threatening people, “the Countess has a great red wyrm, at least two other dragons, in addition to numerous powerful demons.  Would it not be more wise to unite all the armies, to concentrate our power against hers?”  Thank you Mom, for letting me listen in on your tactical discussions at dinner with clients...Alexander now looked very annoyed.  “Yes, I told my damn sister that yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that!” His last exclamation was punctured him him slamming his fist into his hand.  “But she didn’t fricking listen!  Her edicts are higher than mine!”  The party backed away slightly as his swearing, before he calmed down some.  “As for you,” he pointed at Siabrey, and slowly drew his sword from its scabbard.Tess initially froze with fear as he did this, until she saw him gently rest the blade across his hands, a dull, golden glow coming from its steel depths.“You see this blade?” Alexander asked, and the party nodded.  “Do you know what it has been inside?  Its been inside the gullet of a wyrm... a white dragon I slew, nearly fifteen years ago.”The party’s rants, angry comments, and complaints stopped immediately when they heard this... the same thought running through their collective heads... He SLEW a wyrm?!  A real wyrm!?”During that fight, I lost two of my best friends.  During the fight, I was faced with a choice... save my dying friends, or strike the killing blow to destroy the dragon.  I chose the killing blow.”  He took the blade and slid it back into the scabbard.  “Had I not, the wyrm would have escaped, healed itself, and terrorized villages in the Northern Tundras once more, doubtlessly killing hundreds more.”   The party was silent, and Alexander looked Siabrey deep in the eyes.“Sometimes on the battlefield, one must make sacrifices to ensure evil does not win,” he said directly to her, “be it evil from without... or evil from within,” he said ominously.    The party nodded in understanding, before pressing again that nonetheless it would be wiser to combine their strength.Alexander held his hands up, finally saying, “I’ll go speak with Zoe on this matter again.  I can’t guarantee anything, however, but I will try.”  Siabrey and the others reluctantly accepted this.  ”I do have one thing that might serve as a way for you to vent your frustrations, however,” he said slowly. “Are you familiar with Baron Tor?”“Yes!” Siabrey said, her voice still dark and angry.  Stuck up bastard!“Zoe has decided that the ‘Tor Affair,’ as the reports of his treachery have been come to be known, is beneath her station.”“Oh god,” Tess groaned, “how the hell is treason against the Crown below the station of the fricking EMPRESS to deal with?!”  Tess’ own skills with the profane in language were slowly coming to the fore as her annoyance with the Empress increased.Alexander shook his head.  “I don’t know.  But her lack of caring means that I’m going to send you out to lead a detachment of Imperial Guards to handle this mess... tommorrow morning.”“Excellent,” Siabrey said darkly, and by her eyes it was apparent she was mentally sharpening her katana already.  “Also, should he get out of hand, no one will cry if he has an untimely end,” Alexander said ominously, fishing in his pocket for the arrest warrant he’d drawn up, then handing it to the party.    “You are to claim as much evidence as possible... he’s been stuck in his villa in Irulas for the past couple days, so he won’t be hard to find.”Alexander then gave another sigh.  “Well... I suppose my sister is chomping at the bit to tell you all off,” he said, his voice filled with dark humor, “so I should send you off.  The majordomo will show you the way.”“Alexander,” Siabrey said quietly, touching his arm.  “Thank you... for trying.”  She then looked long at Lucius, her heart steeling up for the upcoming battle of wills she knew was bound to erupt..</blockquote>

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