Private Tales There's Daggers In Smiles

[Takama]

Elise was agitated, she was quick to express frustration with her father. His actions might have had the right sentiment at heart but they didn't jibe with her own intentions and plans. She imagined how it would look to the other houses, House Virak raising forces and pushing out aggressive patrols with soldiers in their livery.

Not many would be pleased to have companies of Virak soldiery riding through their fiefs no matter what their proclaimed purpose was. "Won't the other houses do similar then? Especially House Hothra's liege lords?". Tensions would be high.

 

[Elise Virak]

"Weiroon will indeed join my father." They were tentatively allies of course, something that she was sure would only spurn her father on even further.

Make a good show for his 'friends'.

"The four Ruling Houses however won't." She was confident of that. "They do not want war. They want trade, relations with those around us."

Military force would push that away. "They'll try to dissuade my father in other ways."

If she didn't get to him first.

 

[Takama]

"They may not want war but I can't see another Great House standing by while their rivals rearm and muster troops" Takama warned. Not many would be happy to see House Virak's troops ranging across Vel Anir. "And our neighbours might not be pleased to see what looks like Vel Anir on the march again. Even if they are dealing with bandits"

Destroying the manse had stirred up an ant hive of activity. "Will the king give his blessing to your father's actions?"

 

[Elise Virak]

She waved a hand dismissively. "The King hasn't mattered in five generations."

Longer than that really, but he had sent the messenger...or someone in the family had. It didn't really make any sense. Anireth had been all but silent for as long as Elise could remember. It had to be someone else, someone inside of the family that was trying to do something.

"House Virak has long since kept it's army trained...the mobilization will be the issue." She ran a finger across her chin, considering for a moment and letting out a deep sigh.

"Father will have to be convinced to take a more subtle route. The other Houses will pressure him to send only a small Guard force to the north." She glanced at the Dreadlord. "He's not even the largest concern."

Elise looked away from the Dreadlord. "Someone else in the Royal Family must be doing this...the King wouldn't have sent a messenger, he was long ago cowed."

 

[Takama]

"The royals still represent a potent force" Takama warned. "They're the perfect figurehead or excuse for the other houses to use if they feel the crown is threatened". A nice front for someone else to use. They were to be treated with respect even if they owed their status to the real powers.

She let out a breath. "Well whoever is planning it, they won't make their move yet. It's the first move, well the first overt one in this game. We might be able to find out more in Vel Anir".

 

[Elise Virak]

"Tomorrow." When she arrived was almost as important as if she arrived at all.

Politics in Vel Anir was a game of subtleties and micro-movements. Everything had to be done slowly and carefully, everything had to be maneuvered in just the right way.

One misstep and someone could take your actions for an act of war. It was tiresome for some, but Elise excelled in it. The Game of Houses had always been her favorite, and she'd played it well since she'd reached the age of thirteen.

"It will take a week to gather the army anyway." She commented quietly. "By then Father will understand."

She hoped.

 

[Takama]

Takamah shuffled a little uncomfortable. It wasn't wise to be too privy to the family politics but then again it wasn't wise to be blind to them either. Like father like daughter in some ways. The game in Vel Anir was similar in some ways to the one back home but the more she learnt about it, the less she understood.

"The girl and apprentice will remain here. Well guarded and hidden" she promised, "Your household in Vel Anir will be secure but our escort of dreadlords will be a welcome addition lest one of the others choose to...stage something".

 

[Elise Virak]

She doubted they would, especially now.

Things in the city would be tense enough, an ambush on the heir of a Great House? That would be suicidal for anyone. Politics was one thing, but appearances had to be kept. Even Elise wouldn't have been daring enough to go after one of the other Houses directly.

Not yet anyway. "Just make sure everything is ready."

She was being forced to delay, but that didn't mean she had to like it. The Baroness knew that in moments like this time was of the essence.

Arrive a second too late or too early and there would be dire consequences. She couldn't allow for that.

 

[Takama]

The carriages for House Virak steered a tight line between form and function. Elegantly decadent, they concealed steel panels in the frame that would take a crossbow bolt. Wards were periodically cast to add extra protection, lost amidst the swirling designs and house sigil.

A column of riders flanked the carriage. The vast majority of the small escort were Dreadlords, each worth two or three normal soldiers in hand to hand but devastating when unleashing their magic. Their drab garb belied their power.

"All preparations are ready milady" Takama said respectfully. It was a ride along the king's highway to Vel Anir but the heir of a great house never went anywhere alone.

 

[Elise Virak]

"Good." Elise said as she stalked out of the manor besides Takama, her expression sour.

She had spent the last day or so furiously writing letters to some of her cousins. They were all, without exception, morons. Most of them would blindly follow her father into all out war without much of a thought to anything beyond. Her letters were an attempt to curb that, to at least have them wait.

Some would comply, others would scoff and call her a foolish little girl.

Neither would matter of course, not when she got done speaking with her father. He would see the error of trying to muster an army, especially when the true threat was coming from somewhere behind the crown.

"Let's make haste." She told the Dreadlord. "There can't be any more delays."

 

[Takama]

Elise was not in the best of moods. Takama tactfully kept her words brief and to the point. "As you wish mistress" she said, bowing before closing the carriage door. She hopped up onto the front seat with the driver. A pair of outriders with a herald spurred on ahead. They'd clear the way for them. Woe betide any carter or wagoner who didn't clear the way when the passage of a noble was announced.

The horses strained and the carriage began to roll forward. Guards saluted, coming to attention as it passed. The other riders fell into a protective formation around the carriages, fanning out to the sides and behind.

 

[Elise Virak]

Elise made herself comfortable in the carriage, leaning back in the padded seats and almost immediately frowning to herself in distaste.

Things had not gone to plan.

She had expected House Weiroon to react, she had expected her father to react, but the crown? The Crown was useless. They were supposed to sit quietly and do as they were told. That of course begged the question if the Ruling Houses had told them to do this.

A Royal Investigation? What sort of rubbish was that?

Her lips turned to a scowl as the minutes turned by, her mind running wild with a dozen different scenarios of what could happen or how she could take care of this.

She still had the Elves, and that meant she could at the very least draw peoples attention. She would have to do it carefully though.

 

[Takama]

The time went by but after a while Elise felt the speed of the carriage slow and then come to a halt. Takama appeared at the window, nimbly climbing along the side and dropping down to the carriage level. "There's a roadblock ahead mistress" she explained, her gaze flickering between Elise and the obstacle.

"There's a dozen soldiers in royal livery. They say they're authorised to inspect all traffic headed for the capital".

 

[Elise Virak]

Elise clicked a tongue in annoyance. "Is there?"

This must have been the Ruling Houses. There was absolutely no way that the King would take such an initiative on his own, particularly not against her. This was Urahil or one of the others trying to boast his way to the top. Likely claiming this was for 'safety' reasons.

For a second her lips thinned. She considered telling Takama to slaughter them all. That would of course spark a Civil War...but the idea was so very tempting.

"Let them look." She said with a sigh. "We serve at the pleasure of the King."

Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

 

[Takama]

"As you wish" Takama sounded dubious but she obeyed. The carriage was brought slowly forward. Three guards watched with casually held crossbows. Another three faced back the other direction. Armoured halberdiers came to inspect under the carriage. Wary eyes were kept on the riders but the House Virak soldiery returned it with stony silence.

The delay was interminable. A pointless frustration and one that made Takama's hackles rise. She kept silent until they were past the roadblock, shaking her head with visible annoyance. "What was the point of all that? Common soldiers halting a noble? Especially one from a great house?"

 

[Elise Virak]

"It was a flexing of authority." Elise said as she slowly slid a finger over the line of her jaw, her thoughts dwindling for a moment before she explained. "The Royal House has been weak for the last three centuries...longer actually."

Most knew that. "The Ruling Houses...or one of them, is using them as a puppet. Trying to prop them up as an authority to the new threat we created."

It was clever in it's own way really, though dangerous.

If the members of the Royal Family somehow grew in confidence they very well might grow beyond their roles as mere puppets. A prospect which would leave the Great Houses in quite a bit of danger.

"We'll address it in the city." She assured the Dreadlord.

 

[Takama]

Takama's face showed what she thought of that. The royal house were being played like a pawn. They owed their power to the sufferance of the great houses. "Which one is the question. Do you think all of the houses are having to deal with this insulting behaviour?"

"It doesn't bode well for the city. I have not seen soldiers in royal livery this far out in a long time".

 

[Elise Virak]

"Doubtful." She said, leaning against her palm slightly and letting out a huff.

This was humiliating.

She didn't like being questioned at the best of times, and by Royal Soldiers? Oh that was even worse. There was a certain humiliation knowing that men with little to no authority in reality could stop you just for the sake of appearances. It bothered her more than it should have.

"We'll put down this notion." Elise grumbled. "Swiftly."

Even if she had to cause a scene.

 

[Takama]

The keep was the first sighting on the horizon for any traveller to Vel Anir. It was a towering edifice that loomed over the surrounding city and farmlands. Home to the royal family, its garrison was larger than some towns. Takama relaxed a little. There was more traffic on the road now. No one would be foolish enough to try anything here with so many witnesses.

"If there's soldiers in royal livery on the road, there must be more inside" she mused, "Maybe even the keep garrison. Since when have royal troops been more than for show?"

 

[Elise Virak]

"It's still a show." Elise said quietly, her finger tapping against the armrest inside of the coach. "Just a different sort."

Takama was right though.

There were too many of them. The Royal Family simply didn't have this many troops to their name. Though the Anirian Guard was all nominally in the service of the King the reality was much different. Individual Battalions all served different Great Houses, with House Virak holding the most out of them all.

It was one of the reasons that even not as a part of the Ruling Alliance her House still had a massive amount of relevance and weight. Without Virak, the Anirian Guard would lose nearly half it's number.

The Royal House, in comparison, had only a single Battalion to it's name, less than even one or two of the minor Houses. "I cannot say for sure...but someone is adding their troops to those of the King's. Perhaps all of the Ruling Houses."

Though she doubted that.

 

[Takama]

It made sense. The king's livery did not necessarily mean the king's men. False colours was an accepted part of warfare but the sight of troops with royal markings had been disconcerting. She reminded herself that despite her years there, she was still a stranger in this land.

"Have household troops been seconded to the royal family before?" she asked. It was a disturbing way to keep anonymity. She knew who their officers would remain loyal to.

The city walls were coming into sight, a queue of traffic already visible. Backed up wagons as well as petitioners and travellers on foot. More troops, more activity than she was used to seeing on the main gate.

 

[Elise Virak]

"A long time ago, when the King had real power." Back then it had been required of the houses. The Army had yet been in control of the Royal Family, and the Houses just kept personal guard units.

The situation was not quite the same, and thus it set a disturbing precedent.

Someone was playing an extremely dangerous game. If even one person inside of the Royal Family overstepped, if even one of them realized the boon they now held in their hand...the entire system that Vel Anir was so precariously balanced upon could collapse and fall into war.

Her fingers tightened.

"It's...disconcerting." Elise said quietly. "Someone has a plan for it though."

She just wasn't sure who.

 

[Takama]

A long time ago meant before Elise was born. Before her grandfather's grandfather had been. There'd not been a strong royal in Vel Anir for generations. There wasn't a human alive who remembered how it had been before. Elves maybe but their kind were rarely seen in the city's vicinity.

"Keep moving forward" she ordered the driver. They had the seal of a noble house. They weren't going to wait in line like commoners. "This harassment better not continue all the way throughout the city". At least the Virak banner still flew and those of the other houses.

 

[Elise Virak]

"Cut them down if they do." It was difficult to tell whether or not she was joking this time, the anger in her voice more than clear.

Her eyes wandered out of the carriage now, glancing around her and spotting some of the banners that still flew over the houses and even the walls.

She was glad to see those of Virak, especially near the inner walls.

It was a sign of the influence of her family, the fact that they were still respected as a military bastion. In it's own way it put Elise more at ease. Relaxing her shoulders the Baroness pulled herself up in her seat, glancing out the window at the crowds as they made their way through the streets.

 

[Takama]

They weren't stopped but the increased presence of soldiers on the street was noticeable. Takama kept her hand on her hilt, the escort likewise. It was strange to feel at risk in one's own city. "Towards your family's residence mistress?" Takama asked. Their pace had slowed but they were making progress. She kept an easy stance on the side of the carriage, one arm hooked through a handle for support.

Ahead of them the outriders and herald called for people to make way. All did, you had to have a deathwish to impede a noble from one of the great houses. Takama fell silent as another patrol of royal liveried soldiers passed by. Her hostile gaze met their unfriendly stares, their grips tightening on their halberds. She didn't relax until they were around the corner.

Something moved in the corner of her eye and she moved on instinct. The serpent like speed wasn't enough but the ward was. The crossbow bolt shattered on the energy field but the force was enough to knock her from the carriage. The driver crumbled, another bolt sprouting in his chest.