Ve's Ultimatum

When Nathaniel's warmth seeped into Katherine, the trembling of her body stopped.

"You're back," she rasped, and buried her face in the fabric on his chest, deeply inhaling the aroma.

"Sorry I'm late." His lips brushed her temple in a butterfly kiss and her heart skiped a beat in response. For a second, the fight behind her was forgotten as she relished in the presence of her beloved.

"I missed you. What took you so long?", she muttered like the spoilt woman she was. When he didn't answer directly, she lifted her head while maintaining the closeness of their bodies. They were all but flushed against each other. Violett eyes met red ones, and her hand wandered up to smoothen the knit between his brows. "Something happened, did it not?"

He caught her fingers and pressed another kiss onto her palm. "A minor disturbance. It was difficult to contain the... children. Their prowess is exceptional, but it will take a while before their mentality is restored. Some do not believe that their capturer did them wrong."

"Oh." Sadness settled in her eyes. "How about Frey, the boy Aston caught before? Was he with them?"

Nathaniel nodded. "It is thanks to him that we did not have any causalities on either side. If not for him stepping forward, I assume a battle with the children would have been unavoidable. After seeing their capacity, I doubt we could have overpowered them without bringing them harm - and that would have made a sour beginning of our relationship."

Katherine breathed out a sigh and wanted to ask about Nathaniel's wellbeing next, but a loud scream suddenly reminded her that they were in the middle of a battle as well.

Instantly, she slipped out of Nathaniel's hold to see the chaos on the road. Ethan's group was on the losing end, surrounded by people that seemed almost randomly mixed from their exterior, but worked together seamlessly. Despite being on the winning side, uneasiness dug deep into Katherine's heart. The laugher from the carriage had ceased, and there was no sign of her insane cousin on the road.

"Nathaniel," she said, her shoulders stiff with tension, "I need to find Ethan. I... he... He is really insane! If he runs around freely, then..."

With a frustrated huff, Katherine broke off her stuttering attempt to explain and stalked off in the direction of the carriage. Nathaniel's brows were knit again as he followed her.

On the side, he saw Lady Brandon pursuing a deserter of the Duke's forces with the sword of a fallen foe in hand. The fat man was running for his life, but Lady Brandon could not be shaken off so easily. A slight smile curled Nathaniel's lips at the thought that he was right. The Pirate Princess was more than just a decoy and a good choice for a friend. If she was not so hell-bent on returning to her country, she would make an excellent bodyguard for his wife.

Katherine shoved open the door to the carriage, half expecting Ethan to start laughing in her face again. However, the carriage was empty. A round hole in the ground sizzled with flames and had set fire to the upholstery already. It was clear that this was a path of escape.

A waft of wind blew smoke into Katherine's direction, but Nathaniel was fast to shield her with his cape and pull her to retreat. Soon after, flames licked around the door of the carriage.

"Pather, Dellinger," Nathaniel called two of his men. The fight was almost over, the few lingering guards of the Duke on their last breaths, but none choose to surrender. "Trail the Duke for me. Bring him..." Nathaniel's eyes flickered to Katherine, who nodded with a determined gaze. "Bring him to my wife. Dead or alive."

.

On the other side of the wall, in a palace where dead Princes rested in a chamber of ice, Princess Helmina held a secret meeting with her patron.

"The nobles are getting angry, Ve. I know you want me to crown Emilian and set out with the army as soon as possible, but they are restricting me. It is all because I am a woman, I'm sure of it. If only Emilan were here... but the summer is hard on his body, so I can't..."

"You should think of the future, Princess," the scientist broke her off and set down the delicate cup in his grasp. The tea was not to his liking. The entire situation was not to his liking at all. He didn't want to be bothered by politics again and again. "I helped you to take control of the palace, now it is your turn to convince the nobles that you or your dead brother or whoever else is worth reigning it."

Helmina flinched at the mention of death, nearly spoiling her pink frilly dress. Ve, however, didn't care at all. If anything, he was annoyed by her weakness. "I trusted that you will do anything within your power - and with that, I mean anything - to secure the position you are at so we can continue with our attack on Falumor. If the dead body of your brother" this time he formulated the offense with intent and relished in her souring expression, "yes, even if the dead body of your brother decays a bit, isn't that better than not waking up at all? You do not expect me to succeed in reviving the mind of your brother with the measly few Falumorean magicians you have sent me, do you?"

"Of - of course not." Helmina averted her gaze, her long claw-like nails secretly digging through the dress into her thighs. This was indeed what she had hoped, yet she dared not voice it. It would be a betrayal of her benefactor to say that she hoped for her brother to revive without going to war.

Ve lifted his brows and arrogantly stared down at her. "Let me remind you, little Princess, that the magic of death is the hardest to research. I need many more subjects if you want me to succeed. Thanks to this Prince who you proclaim is not your brother even though he obviously is by blood, I have lost many of my research results. This was a big step back. I expect you to compensate me. If you are too dumb to reign this country without your brother, this is not my fault. This is an ultimatum: if you do not rectify this and move out against Falumor within this week, I will not help you any longer. The 'How' is not for me to figure out. But if you fail, I'm afraid there will be no salvation for your poor, very dead brother."

Ve's irritation still did not dissolve when he set foot on the empty streets of the Capital City. He could not fathom how this woman was too dumb to reign the country even with all the help he had given her. His subordinate that overlooked his affairs in Dragsa was much more capable. Of course, there had also been some disagreements with him sometimes, but never did he doubt that his goal would be fulfilled.

His goal. At the thought of it, excitement washed through Ve and finally cleared the irritation away. The Dragsean Army was bound to set out in two weeks, one week later than he wished to depart here. Of course, this was only so that the two armies would reach the Falumorean borders simultaneously. And if Falumor was under his control as well, he was sure to succeed in his research. He would finally breach the border of dimensions, enter the realm of magic and ascend to be a real god walking the earth.

With this might, he would awaken everyone to the feeling of magic. Finally, discrimination would be a thing of the past. As long as this goal was reached, the kingdoms could break apart for all he cared. Because then, magic would not be a privilege of the nobles anymore and the system would have to change. As would the mindset of the people.

His heart felt warm when he thought of all the people that would be freed from their bonds, from humiliation, service, and slavery. How they would sing his praise decades, centuries after his success. Yes, the number of people dying now could not hold a candle to the masses that would benefit from his research in the future.