Bargaining (2)

“What?!” Raquel sprung out of her seat, the chair falling back and hitting the floor.

“Your highness!” Nicole cried out but Raquel ignored her.

Instead she walked over to Ryker and leaned against his chair, their faces inches apart. Ryker had a blank look on his face as he stared back at Raquel.

“You better explain yourself, Duke.” Raquel growled. “Because we both know hiding a dark witch is illegal. I would have every right to attack Westerwyn right now.”

“But you won’t Princess.” Ryker retorted. “If you do, you’ll lose your only chance of getting rid of that curse. Besides, do you think I would have told you about this fact without taking into account you could reveal it.”

Raquel sighed in frustration and pulled away from the duke. She was angry, her blood boiling and her curse twitching across her face, wanting her to act on her anger. But she couldn’t deny the logic, it being the only thing keeping her from letting the madness take over.

Taking a deep breath, Raquel sat back down and muttered, “So, your mother is a dark witch. The most powerful one that is… Care to explain what made you want to gamble everything?”

“After parting ways with you this afternoon, I spoke with my mother about your curse. It soon became clear to her that someone was controlling your curse to keep you at bay. Meaning someone in the palace was a dark witch.”

Ryker paused for a second before continuing, “Putting two and two together, we soon realized whoever cursed you had to be close to the emperor…maybe even working under his orders. If so, removing your curse would mean you could challenge the emperor-”

“For harboring a dark witch. I could then take over as empress. Once in power, I would be able to help you with your revenge plan.” Raquel finished.

“Correct.”

“That’s quite the scheme, Duke. However, there’s one thing I don’t understand. How exactly will we cover up the removal of my curse?”

“That’s where the duchy’s mages come in.” Ryker said. “For several decades now, the duchy has been a safe haven for witches, most joining my mother’s coven. There they work as mages, getting rid of curses under the guise of being a powerful mage spell.”

“And seeing as you basically run everything in the mage world, none would be the wiser.” Raquel exclaimed in understanding. “It’s why you could gamble. If I accused your mother of being a witch, people would think I’m crazy for confusing mage magic with witch magic.”

“Yes.” Ryker nodded. “That's why I had to explain everything to you.”

“I see…” Raquel murmured. “I take it you have planned the official reason for the empire to attack the Pellan Kingdom?”

“In a sense. Right now I have a plan in the works so that the king will break the treaty first. You’ll be able to use it as an excuse to invade the kingdom.”

“Alright. It’s getting late so I think we should retire for the night.” Raquel said. “We can continue having this discussion in my office tomorrow morning. I’ll send Nicole when you can come.”

While Raquel was ready to jump at the chance of getting rid of her curse, she needed to first weigh the whole situation. She wasn’t really keen on starting a war just to get a cure for her curse. Enough people had been harmed because of her.

Ryker, seeming to understand this, said, “Of course, your highness. Have a good night.”

He got up from his seat and bowed before leaving. Once the door closed behind the duke, Raquel turned to look at Nicole who was clearing the table.

“Your thoughts?”

“This is a dangerous scheme, your highness. If the emperor were ever to find out…”

Nicole didn’t finish her sentence but Raquel knew exactly what Nicole was trying to say. This was treason. And if the emperor were to ever find out, it would finally give him the perfect reason to get rid of her.

***

“Care to explain yourself, Crown Princess?” The emperor asked, anger dripping from every word.

Raquel stood in front of her father and Lady Diana in the empty throne room. Well, almost empty throne room. In a hidden corner stood one of the emperor’s personal guards, ready to take action if needed.

“If you’re talking about my announcement yesterday, then I did so because I had come to a decision and didn’t want to waste anyone’s time.” Raquel explained quickly. “We all know the princes of Tignor and Adoron were here for diplomatic reasons. As for the others, they don’t have enough power to be worth the empire’s time.

“As for the duke, he basically controls the mage industry and would greatly help the empire. His influence is weak, making him easier to control.”

The emperor sighed. “I understand that princess but to announce that the wedding will be held in two weeks and that your mother is-”

“She is not my mother and will never be!” Raquel cried out in sudden rage.

“Crown Princess, how could you say that?” Lady Diana winced fakely. “I see you as one of my own-”

“Don’t lie, Lady Diana. We both know you’re just a-” Raquel started.

“Enough!” The emperor yelled, silencing the room. “Princess, apologies to Lady Diana now.”

Raquel stared into her father’s eyes, telling him she would not. After a few moments, he sighed, giving up with her.

“Fine…What’s done is done.” The emperor muttered. “The wedding will be held in two weeks, thus the engagement party will have to be tomorrow night. I’m sure that will be enough time for you, Lady Diana?”

“Yes, your majesty.” Lady Diana said, gritting her teeth in anger.

Raquel smirked, knowing that between the wedding and engagement party, Lady Diana would have no time to scheme. And the fact Raquel was getting married before Lady Diana’s daughters was an extra perk.

“That’s settled then.” The emperor declared before turning to look sternly at Raquel. “I expect your best behavior and to be at this afternoon’s meeting. Are we clear?”

“Crystal.” Raquel said before turning her heel and walking out the throne room.

Her father yelled at her but she didn’t care. Because Ryker’s offer was sounding better every second she stayed there.