Six of the seven members of Sha Orion's council awaited my knights and I as we stepped into his great chamber. It was as grand as it had been just days ago, only this time it wasn't so empty. The sky was sunny above us, and the chamber was brightly lit. Ser Fred and Ser Robert entered just behind me, wearing the same blue, white, and gold garb as I, just less grand. The elves took Supremacy before we entered. I would've protested against it if Ser Robert hadn't advised me not to.
Sha Orion had his witch advisors seated closest to him. The young one was on the left, the ageless one on the right. General's Ford and Flora were also seated to the left, while an imposing elf I could only assume to be Lord Commander Steel sat on the right, an empty chair next to him. Their seats were all raised above us, all in a row. It was as if we were meant to kneel.
"Knights of Sacreon," Amarantha the ageless witch spoke first. "Kneel in the presence of the great and powerful Sha Orion."
"I will kneel to an ally," I said. "But that pact has not yet been made."
"You will-"
"We will get nothing done by arguing over who kneels," Sha Orion interrupted. His voice echoed across the chamber. "Prince Angus is right, we are not yet allies." He turned to me. "Let us fix that. Tell me why. Why should I ally my forces with yours."
"Because you must," I told him. "Viri is far larger than either of us. Only together can we beat them."
"As you say."
"Viri is your threat, not ours," Lord Commander Steel argued.
"Do you think they would simply stop at Sacreon's southern border?" Ser Robert asked.
"They would not," I agreed.
"No," the young witch called Krystal agreed. "But they would be weaker when they reached it." She smiled to figure that out. The elf girl had a beautiful smile.
Sha Orion smiled back at her. "As always, there are two sides to this issue. Both have their benefits, and both have their flaws. As a leader, I must choose the better path for Elsinct," he frowned in concentration. "If I choose the path of war now. We will be dragged into a conflict of immeasurable scale. Good elves will die for your cause. Mine own people will be slaughtered by the thousands. And when it's over, and Viri is defeated, we shall be forced to take up arms against our allies. More death, more destruction.
"But if we let you fight Viri alone, the victor of that war will be an even greater enemy to us. The enemy will end up right at our doorstep. Innocents will die. I cannot have that, I will not have that. The path in which my citizens survive is the path I must lead Elsinct along. Even if this is that path, I am not such a fool as to believe we will survive the first stage of it unscathed."
"You would not," I agreed. "War knows no boundaries or borders."
"War does not begin without reason," General Flora pointed out. "An alliance between Elsinct and Sacreon would surely provoke the vir. Why should we deliberately bring the Thousand-Year War back to Ert?"
"Right, of course," the sha nodded. "Do you plan to attack Viri, Angus Kingson?"
"Not at the moment," I admitted.
"Then tell me, Prince of Sacreon," Sha Orion leaned forward on his chair. "What have we to fear from the vir? What bloody war is there that we should make allies with you?"
"You've heard the prophecies, have you not?" I said. "For the first time since King Richard the Conqueror's coronation, the two moons will be full on Ascenday. The end of the Thousand-Year War will begin. It is written. There is no avoiding this now."
"We can try," Krystal said. "Right?"
"We can," Amarantha agreed. "But we will fail." Her voice echoed across the chamber, powerful and regal. "This prophecy is true. I have seen and heard much of it myself. Come Ascenday the war shall return, worse than it ever has. The beginning of the end, it will be." She looked at me. "This is why you come now, is it not?"
"It is," I said. "War is imminent. My father thought it smart to gather what allies we can before it comes."
"King William the Third of Sacreon is a smart man," Sha Orion said. "I admit, I would much love to be his ally. But a sha must put his people before anything else. To bring about war would be to end thousands of innocent lives, and to provoke Viri is to bring about war. Our alliance would do just that."
"War cannot be avoided."
"Even so, I will not be the one to cause it."
"Prince Angus Kingson is correct," Amarantha spoke up. "It will make no difference who causes the beginning of the end of the Thousand-Year War. There is no avoiding it."
"I believe an alliance would give your people the best shield when the time comes," Ser Robert said quietly.
"Possibly," the sha agreed. "Still, it will not save them."
"Nothing can," Ser Fred said. "War leaves none unscathed."
"What if there wasn't a war?"
"That is not how prophecies work," Amarantha's voice was void of emotion.
"No," Sha Orion sounded lost. "Of course not," his voice was hollow, shaky. "Perhaps... I must take some time for myself and commune with Elsinct himself. Leave me. Please. We will reconvene... when I am ready."
Generals Ford and Flora stood, as did Lord Commander Steel. The sha remained seated, as did his two witch advisors. Ser Fred, Ser Robert, and I all turned to leave too.
"Amarantha, you too," Sha Orion said behind us. "You cannot help this time."
"As you say, great and powerful sha." Only from years of hearing my father pretend to love his daughter, could I recognize the disdain in her voice. The witch was not happy that the sha sent her away. That her younger counterpart stayed seemed only to worsen the blow. Good, I thought, she is a witch. She deserves it.
My two knights and I were sent on to another part of the sha's temple. It was not so grandiose as the council chamber, but that wasn't to say it was not impressive. Walls of gold and stone and living trees, and a fountain in the middle. The elves permitted us our weapons, but they would tell us nothing of how long Sha Orion would be.
"You are better at this than I expected, my prince," Ser Robert said. "To be king during war is to know the complexities of alliances. You are doing well."
"I expect this is an easy alliance, though," I told him. "Comparatively, at least."
"That is true," the old knight agreed. "But you are doing well nonetheless."
"Can we train here?" I wondered, standing and drawing Supremacy from its sheath.
"Best not to," Ser Fred said. "That's not what this room is meant for, we should be deciding how to further convince the sha if he decides against an alliance. And besides," he glanced over at the door opposite to the one we came through, "we're not alone."
"Hello again, knights," Cypress's voice echoed across the chamber. She entered, and three others entered behind her. I recognized Daisy and Amber, but the third elf was unknown to me, with hair too red to be real.
"Why are you here?" Ser Fred asked.
"We're to serve your needs while our great and powerful sha is heroically thinking," Cypress said.
"Refreshments?" the red haired elf asked. She had a deeper voice than expected, and suddenly I wasn't quite sure if she was a girl at all.
"I don't know..." I started.
"Of course," Ser Robert broke in. "Sha Orion would not poison us so blatantly." The last part he said only to me.
"We can hear you," Cypress gestured to her ears and brushed back a lock of wild brown hair.
"You don't care," I pointed out. She was not the type to report rule breakers, I'd learned.
"Don't I?" she said.
"Clover might," Daisy tried. "Better watch what you say."
"I don't care," the elf with unnaturally red hair said. "It's not like anyone would trust what I say anyway, they still don't believe me about... never mind."
"They're idiots, Clover," Amber said. "You know how it is."
"I thought you were here to get us refreshments or something," I butted in.
"We are," Cypress sounded like she was repressing a smile. "You want something?"
"Water is good," Ser Robert said before I could speak.
"Yes... water," I agreed begrudgingly, knowing he was right. My throat was dry, but it yearned for something sweeter. I'd best keep my wits about me until this alliance is procured, I reminded myself.
"So..." Ser Fred began awkwardly when the repenting sinners had returned. "Why are all of you girls? I mean... sorry if that's too forward, I just... Do men die for crimes here? Is there something else...? I don't know." The way he spoke reminded me of Aurora for some strange reason.
Cypress smiled thinly at Ser Fred. "Repenting is far easier when you've got the right appendage between your legs, if you get my meaning."
"I think I do," he said.
"Good," she said. "Hey prince, you practiced your swordplay since earlier?"
"I was meeting with the sha." is she stupid? "They took my sword."
"I thought your type was supposed to be good at lying and sneaking," Cypress shrugged.
"You could practice now," Daisy suggested.
"No," Ser Robert said. "Not now. Not here."
"Later," I promised. "After-"
"Prince Angus Kingson of Sacreon," a voice called from behind me. I turned to see Amarntha standing in the doorway. "Sha Orion has called us back to council."
The ageless witch brought us back to the great chamber of the sha and his council. They were all waiting for us in the same seats they'd been in before. Sha Orion looked refreshed from his break. Krystal studied us from her seat at his left hand. The three generals stopped any conversations they may have been having as we entered through the oversized golden doors, and Amarantha took her seat at the right hand of the sha. The master of funds' seat was still empty.
"Knights of Sacreon," Sha Orion addressed us as we stood weaponless before him. "Prince Angus Kingson. Thank you for allowing me this time to consider my choices and think it all over. It has been enough, I believe. I now know what is best for my people."
"Thank you, I know you-" I started.
Sha Orion held a hand up. "I was not finished," there was a reverence to his words. They echoed around the chamber, jutting through the silence. "I know what is best for my people, and... it is still not enough. As you said, war is unavoidable, and so suffering is as well. I realize that, though I do not like it.
"But this is not my war. This is not your war. This war belongs to none of us. The Thousand-Year War is a war of our long dead ancestors. I will not have my people die for the beliefs of some dead men. This is not their fight. This fight, this war, has no meaning anymore," the sha lied. "But if it must return, then so be it.
"I will not sit idly by and let my people be slaughtered. It is no secret that Elsinct is not so well defended as it should be. I must fix that, for if war comes, thousands will die. Even if we do have this alliance, I do not expect Viri will leave us be.
"And so it is in the best interest of this nation and its people that we have this alliance. For the good of Ert, and the prosperity of Espar, I will make old enemies into new friends. We shall stand together as war grows brighter on the horizon, and..." Sha Orion trailed off suddenly, his attention fixed on the door outside.
Then I heard it too. There was a commotion, like a squabble. The ring of steel echoed faintly through the chamber's grand golden doors. No, I thought. We're so close. Hold off for just one moment more.
"Sha Orion," I tried to draw his attention back to what was important. "The alliance..."
"One moment, Prince Angus," the sha stood and took a step towards the doors behind us.
And then they burst open.
Ser Arthur stood in the doorway, blood on his blade. There were two elves lying on the floor behind him, and at least one was clearly dead. Ser Arthur's white and blue cloak was stained with blood too.
The knight's eyes landed on me. "My prince," he knelt. "We must leave here. Now. Quickly."
"What is the meaning of this?" Sha Orion demanded. A squad of elves armed with spears poured through the door behind Ser Arthur.
"They came for us..." Ser Arthur glanced at the elves behind him. "I'm sorry, my prince... I tried..."
"What...?" I started to ask, shocked.
"Take him away," the sha commanded. "Alive. I will know the meaning of this."
The fight that followed was short. Ser Arthur tried as hard as he could, but there were too many of them. He stabbed one elf, and another stabbed him in turn. They dragged my wounded, bleeding knight away before I even grasped what had happened.
"Care to explain, Prince Angus?" Lord Commander Steel asked once they had gone.
"I..."
"We should have them arrested too," General Flora suggested. "For bringing such a man to our city under the guise of peace."
"We knew nothing of Ser Arthur's intentions," Ser Robert protested. "I apologize on his behalf." He knelt before the sha.
The doors opened behind us. I glanced back to see the repenting sinner Sage pass into the room. "Sha Orion, perhaps we can-" I started.
He held up his hand and kept his gaze trained on Sage. The repenting sinner moved silently to the sha and leaned next to him. "What news?" Sha Orion asked. I watched Sage's lips closely, trying to read them, as he whispered in the ear of the leader of Elsinct.
What news? I wondered as Sha Orion's face hardened slowly. He glanced at me quickly, his face unreadable, and nodded slowly to the rhythm of Sage's words. Lies, I thought. Lies and deceit. We've done no wrongs. I was ready to proclaim it true.
When the repenting sinner stepped away, it seemed as if the entire room let out a breath. The anticipation only built upon itself, though, as Sha Orion nodded his last not. "I see," his voice pierced the silence of the chamber. Every member of the council was on the edge of their seat as their leader finally stood.
The sha's eyes were on me and my knights. In their green, I could see the faint reflection of elven soldiers in the doorway behind me. No, I thought, but Sha Orion spoke before I could.
"Take them away," he commanded. "Put this prince and his knights in the dungeons. They have violated the terms of their presence here."
Footsteps behind me indicated the proximity of the elves. "Wait-" I stepped towards the sha. But his guards were already behind me. They bound my hands and drove me to my knees before I could react. It wasn't supposed to go this way. "Sha Orion," I called.
"You know where to take them," the sha's voice echoed across the room. He did not acknowledge my words. The only answer I got was the sharp pull of the guards as they dragged me off to whatever hellhole a man who lives among witches might have dreamed up.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So... that happened. Poor Angus. Too bad he couldn't get that alliance. I wonder what it was that Sage was telling the sha about, hmm, will we ever know? This chapter was definitley very important. If this book were to be cut in half, I think this is where it would be. Story only gets better from here, so don't forget to vote (click the star) on whichever parts of the story you liked. It helps. Thanks for reading.