Crimson and Gold

Another week passed without any incidents involving the Husks, and Aervelis was slowly forgetting about the monsters running in the streets.

Saria and Lysandra were also able to enjoy each other’s company more often, and since Loukios wasn’t planning to return to the Royal Palace for the time being, they were left unbothered for most of the time.

The Princess had hoped it meant the worst was finally over, but after her father summoned her to his office again, she finally understood that it was simply the quiet before the storm.

***

Lysandra picked up the stack of papers Octavius pointed towards. A dozen or so pages were filled with names. Some she recognized or, at least, had a vague idea to whom they belonged, others didn’t ring any bell at all.

“What’s this?” she asked, utterly confused.

“The list of guests for the wedding,” Octavius said, his quill didn’t stop even for a moment. “If there’s nobody else you want to add or remove, I’ll tell the servants to start delivering the invitations.”

Lysandra raised an eyebrow. “Are you getting married, father? You should have told me sooner. I would have prepared a gift for you and your new spouse.”

The Emperor pretended not to notice the ridicule in her words. “I’m not getting married. You are,” he simply corrected.

Lysandra rolled her eyes, annoyed.

Not this again…

“Then there is one name I would like to remove,” she said, folding her arms on her chest. “My own.”

The Princess had hoped that after their last confrontation, her father would finally give up, but she was clearly mistaken.

Unexpectedly, Octavius remained suspiciously calm.

He stopped writing. Put away his quill and leaned back in his chair, sighing. “No, Lysandra. I believe you don’t understand that you don’t have a choice.”

Lysandra watched him pour a cup of wine, unhurriedly, then take a sip.

“I was patient with you,” he continued after quenching his thirst. “You are my child, after all. But you took my goodwill for weakness, so now I have no choice but to teach you a lesson.”

His calmness made Lysandra uneasy. Her father was prone to losing his temper whenever he was losing grasp of the situation. Him being so collected could only mean that he felt in control.

“And what kind of lesson is that going to be?” she asked, feeling an ominous premonition in her gut.

Octavius finished the wine and mulled over his next words.

Finally, he scoffed, raising his tired, but burning with anger, eyes. “Do you really think I would allow you to keep that mutt around you forever?” he asked.

“I gave her to you because she was meant to be a toy. Which father doesn’t want to give toys to their children? But you went and got into some sick relationship with her.”

The more he spoke, the more agitated his voice became. Taking a short pause to steady himself, Octavius gritted his teeth.

“My child, the Princess of the Empire. The descendant of the divine, the one with veins filled with golden blood, associated herself with some worthless nobody from the streets,” he muttered to himself, then raised his furious eyes and glared at his daughter.

“Do you have any idea how much respect it cost the family and the crown? The things people were saying behind our backs? Did you even care?”

When his question was met with nothing but silence, the Emperor finally snapped. “You turned me into a laughing stock!” He slammed his fist on the desk. The impact caused the skin on his palm to tear.

A few drops of blood fell on the desk, staining the papers on it.

Having his frustration vented, Octavius took a deep breath and fixed the strand of gray hair that fell to his eyes. Then he reached into the drawer in his desk and pulled out a fresh handkerchief to stop the bleeding on his hand.

Lysandra felt a fog creeping over her mind. She could barely hear her father’s words, as the bad feeling took over her heart. “What did you do?” she managed to utter.

Octavius laughed and got up from the chair. Circling the desk, he stood face to face with the Princess. His golden eyes burned with unhidden hatred.

“From now on, remember—everything I gave you, I can take away at any moment,” he said.

Lysandra’s eyes went wide in panic. Not willing to waste another second, she rushed out of the office.

“Stop her.” The command resonated through the hallway as Octavius stepped outside to follow her.

The guards standing in the hallway crossed the spears they were holding, blocking her off.

“It is time to remind you where your place is, my dear daughter,” Octavius said mockingly. “Take the Princess to her chambers and make sure she doesn’t leave until I say so.”

The guards blocking her way glanced at each other, then at Lysandra.

As their eyes met, the expression on the Princess’ face relaxed. The corner of her lips curved ever so slightly.

Octavius looked around at the guards filling the hallway. None of them moved despite his command. “What are you waiting for? Do as I said.”

A few confused guards looked around at their companions, then brandished their weapons and moved coyly to apprehend the Princess.

“Your Highness, please come with us,” one of them pleaded, sweat rolling down his forehead under the helmet.

Lysandra turned around, wearing a smug smile on her lips.

Her golden eyes swept around the guards in the hallway until they fell on Heron.

One nod from her and the situation was overturned in the blink of an eye. The remaining guards, who never moved, unsheathed their weapons, readying for a battle.

The group of men that tried to apprehend the Princess got surrounded, sharp spears aimed at them.

“What—” Octavius opened his mouth to yell, but the words got stuck as a blade pressed against his throat.

Glancing to the side, he saw Heron smirking as his black eyes slowly turned pale blue. The temperature around him dropped, replacing the unbearable Aelian heat with bone-chilling cold.

Even the blade pressing at his neck was covered in a thick layer of ice.

Octavius’ eyes moved from Heron to Alkaios standing by Lysandra’s side, currently holding a spear in one hand and summoning a water orb in the other.

“Glaciomancer and a hydromancer?” he said with an unexpected hint of admiration in his voice.

“It wasn’t easy to find the right people, but I think it’s safe to say now that it was worth the trouble,” Lysandra said, raising her chin. “You wouldn’t think I’d pick just anyone for my personal guards, would you?”

The Princess walked over to her apprehended father and looked him deeply in the eye. There was not even a hint of fear in her gaze. Instead, it was full of determination and resilience that Octavius had never expected from his daughter.

“When did you replace my people with yours?” he asked, trying to understand how he could end up in this situation.

Lysandra looked at him, puzzled, then let out a beautiful laugh. “No, no. You’re misunderstanding, father. These are all your men,” she said, pointing at the guards who were now at her beck and call.

“Then how?”

“You see, father… Your mistake was to believe that loyalty can be gained through fear,” Lysandra said and took a step closer. “True loyalty comes from gratitude and respect, but fear breeds only hatred and disdain.”

Unbeknownst to the Emperor, for the past year, the Princess had been slowly disarming the leverage he had over his people.

Octavius liked to rule with a heavy hand, and his favorite type of subordinate was one that could be blackmailed easily. He went out of his way to hire people burdened by difficult circumstances, because it allowed him to control them.

Due to his hubris, he never thought that someone could use this opportunity to take a good look at the problems weighing on his people and slowly solve them one by one.

It was a delicate operation that couldn’t be rushed. It took a long time for Lysandra to work through it, while simultaneously avoiding being found out.

Today proved that it was worth the effort.

Octavius stared at the Princess with disbelief. He never thought she would be capable of doing something like this.

It made him see her, the real her, for the first time.

The way she stood before him, full of pride and determination, having everyone present in her grasp, Lysandra looked just like her mother.

She had the same unshaken will, the same drive, and the same natural authority. Her eyes burned with the same strength he saw many times in his wife.

This realization made him shudder in fear.

He underestimated her, and he walked right into a trap she set up for him. Even though she had no magic, no connection to the Gods, she still emerged victorious.

Despite his heart trembling, Octavius gritted his teeth and raised his head proudly. “You may kill me, but it won’t save that woman.”

“I’m not going to kill you, father.” Lysandra sighed. “Unfortunately, between you and my brother, you are still the lesser evil. But mark my words…” she said, glaring at him for the last time. “Dare to interfere with my life again, and I will kill both you and Loukios.”

Saying everything there was to say, the Princess rounded up her guards and rushed out from the Palace towards the place Saria was being taken to.