Lithium Flower
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2016
- Messages
- 1,832
Lady Katarina's eyebrow rises. "Did you?" she asks sceptically.
You nod. "I did. I rather thought all the pieces fit together quite well," you reply confidently. "I would even cite the fact that you and Caius share a physickal resemblance, were it not for the fact that any such similarity would clearly have been a coincidence."
The dark-haired noblewoman nods. "I must suppose that one also must possess the insight to know why I felt the need to hide what I did?" she asks with a flash of her wicked grin. "Aside from the normal exigencies of my professional circumstances, of course." You nod. Tierran inheritance law, in all of its intolerably complex glory, had been hammered into your head early and often; it was the one thing no aristocratic education could ignore, the one thing that maintained the continuity of the Unified Kingdom's baneblooded lines, supervising the title from father to son, or if no sons were available, father to daughter…
…or rather, to the daughter's husband.
With that in mind, it is no wonder that Lady Katarina had been so anxious to protect her identity; she was the key to the vast riches of Leoniscourt: the monopolies, the hereditary offices, the trade tariffs worth twenty thousand crown a year. Had the army, with its vast supply of impoverished, unmarried banebloods known…
…had you known.
Perhaps Lady Katarina did have valid reason to guard the name of her family so well, yet there cannot help but be some part of you which sees it as something of a vote of non-confidence. If she has not trusted you with her name until now, then you cannot help but wonder how much she trusts you at all.
-
Another thought comes to mind. "If this deception was to protect you whilst among the officers of the King's Army, does that mean…"
Lady Katarina nods. "It does. With my mission here in Antar having culminated in the war's successful conclusion, I shall be returning to Leoniscourt on the same ship. Afterwards, I shall be returning to Aetoria to resume my duties."
You find your curiosity getting the better of you. "Your mission?" Surely with the war over, there would be no point in keeping the great scheme in which you had occasionally been involved a secret for any longer.
"My mission," the Royal Intelligence officer echoes, "was to engineer the destruction of Prince Khorobirit, his house, his political support, and his army. This was done by goading him into rash action through the one avenue of attack he could not ignore."
You do not say a word, but the silence that follows forms the question without ambiguity: how?
"Khorobirit was unassailable behind his army," Lady Katarina begins again, her voice barely above a whisper, "but that did not mean we could not strike at his heart. For two years, we manoeuvred the elements of our plan into motion, drawing Prince Khorobirit further and further south, further away from his initial headquarters, the fortress of Januszkovil."
You are not sure you understand; what was so special about a fortress that Khorobirit used to occupy?
It seems something on your face has made your incomprehension plain, for Lady Katarina continues her accounting without awaiting your inevitable question.
"When Khorobirit left Januszkovil, he left his wife and daughter there," the Royal Intelligence officer explains, her face kept carefully blank. "While the King's division moved south, I sent a combined force of grenadiers and lancers to strike the fortress."
"What happened then?" you ask, the dread already crawling up your spine as you realise you are nearly certain that you already know the answer.
"We stormed the fortress at sunset," Lady Katarina replies, her blue eyes suddenly shallow and dull. "Lady Aleksandra—Khorobirit's daughter—she managed to escape with a handful of bodyguards. Princess Anna—Khorobirit's wife—she was trapped within the keep with the remnants of the garrison, she…" The dark-haired noblewoman pauses for a moment before expelling the next words from her body as if they were a long sigh. "…she fought to the last."
The sounds of the port are drowned out by silence now as the significance of what you have just heard turns about in your mind.
"When Prince Khorobirit learned of his wife's death, they say he became consumed with grief and rage," Lady Katarina continues. "That was when he made the decision to commit to an immediate attack on what he thought was Havenport's isolated division at Kharangia. The rest…"
The rest you know. You saw what had happened when Prince Khorobirit's army was thrown against the King's Army and its carefully prepared trap on the River Kharan. You took part in the victory, what you had thought to be your victory; a victory which had been bought by the murder of a woman who was only guilty of being loved by the wrong man.
1) "Then it was a victory well won, by Royal Intelligence and the King's Army both."
2) "It was necessary to ensure our victory; I have no right to condemn it."
3) "I cannot say I approve of such ruthless measures."
4) "How could there be any justification for such barbarity?"
You nod. "I did. I rather thought all the pieces fit together quite well," you reply confidently. "I would even cite the fact that you and Caius share a physickal resemblance, were it not for the fact that any such similarity would clearly have been a coincidence."
The dark-haired noblewoman nods. "I must suppose that one also must possess the insight to know why I felt the need to hide what I did?" she asks with a flash of her wicked grin. "Aside from the normal exigencies of my professional circumstances, of course." You nod. Tierran inheritance law, in all of its intolerably complex glory, had been hammered into your head early and often; it was the one thing no aristocratic education could ignore, the one thing that maintained the continuity of the Unified Kingdom's baneblooded lines, supervising the title from father to son, or if no sons were available, father to daughter…
…or rather, to the daughter's husband.
With that in mind, it is no wonder that Lady Katarina had been so anxious to protect her identity; she was the key to the vast riches of Leoniscourt: the monopolies, the hereditary offices, the trade tariffs worth twenty thousand crown a year. Had the army, with its vast supply of impoverished, unmarried banebloods known…
…had you known.
Perhaps Lady Katarina did have valid reason to guard the name of her family so well, yet there cannot help but be some part of you which sees it as something of a vote of non-confidence. If she has not trusted you with her name until now, then you cannot help but wonder how much she trusts you at all.
-
Another thought comes to mind. "If this deception was to protect you whilst among the officers of the King's Army, does that mean…"
Lady Katarina nods. "It does. With my mission here in Antar having culminated in the war's successful conclusion, I shall be returning to Leoniscourt on the same ship. Afterwards, I shall be returning to Aetoria to resume my duties."
You find your curiosity getting the better of you. "Your mission?" Surely with the war over, there would be no point in keeping the great scheme in which you had occasionally been involved a secret for any longer.
"My mission," the Royal Intelligence officer echoes, "was to engineer the destruction of Prince Khorobirit, his house, his political support, and his army. This was done by goading him into rash action through the one avenue of attack he could not ignore."
You do not say a word, but the silence that follows forms the question without ambiguity: how?
"Khorobirit was unassailable behind his army," Lady Katarina begins again, her voice barely above a whisper, "but that did not mean we could not strike at his heart. For two years, we manoeuvred the elements of our plan into motion, drawing Prince Khorobirit further and further south, further away from his initial headquarters, the fortress of Januszkovil."
You are not sure you understand; what was so special about a fortress that Khorobirit used to occupy?
It seems something on your face has made your incomprehension plain, for Lady Katarina continues her accounting without awaiting your inevitable question.
"When Khorobirit left Januszkovil, he left his wife and daughter there," the Royal Intelligence officer explains, her face kept carefully blank. "While the King's division moved south, I sent a combined force of grenadiers and lancers to strike the fortress."
"What happened then?" you ask, the dread already crawling up your spine as you realise you are nearly certain that you already know the answer.
"We stormed the fortress at sunset," Lady Katarina replies, her blue eyes suddenly shallow and dull. "Lady Aleksandra—Khorobirit's daughter—she managed to escape with a handful of bodyguards. Princess Anna—Khorobirit's wife—she was trapped within the keep with the remnants of the garrison, she…" The dark-haired noblewoman pauses for a moment before expelling the next words from her body as if they were a long sigh. "…she fought to the last."
The sounds of the port are drowned out by silence now as the significance of what you have just heard turns about in your mind.
"When Prince Khorobirit learned of his wife's death, they say he became consumed with grief and rage," Lady Katarina continues. "That was when he made the decision to commit to an immediate attack on what he thought was Havenport's isolated division at Kharangia. The rest…"
The rest you know. You saw what had happened when Prince Khorobirit's army was thrown against the King's Army and its carefully prepared trap on the River Kharan. You took part in the victory, what you had thought to be your victory; a victory which had been bought by the murder of a woman who was only guilty of being loved by the wrong man.
1) "Then it was a victory well won, by Royal Intelligence and the King's Army both."
2) "It was necessary to ensure our victory; I have no right to condemn it."
3) "I cannot say I approve of such ruthless measures."
4) "How could there be any justification for such barbarity?"
