"No, no, no. None of this will do. Start over from the beginning." Silfana rolled her eyes as she tossed a stack of papers into the air, Ariel's eye twitching in irritation as she watched her hard work thrown like garbage. "It's a miracle that you've kept this nation together while your Father was incapacitated if this is the extent of your abilities. From what I've seen here you clearly don't have any kingly qualities and are unworthy of such a demanding role." She sighed.

Silfana's forceful methods of power consolidation had been a stunning and unprecedented action that shook the very core of Demonkind's Nobility. While violence and subterfuge were part of Noble power struggles the display of ruthless efficiency the Vampire had performed in the throne room went beyond the pale and flew in the face of centuries of tradition. Those who'd originally rejected a Vampire being elected Demon King mostly changed their tune the moment Silfana started removing heads from shoulders, which only proved to the Vampire that her methods, while distasteful, worked. Due to the sudden elimination of countless members of the Nobility, Ariel had been busy putting out fires from the sudden transfer of power and hastily delivered the now tossed-aside report that contained a list of issues that needed to be addressed and her recommendations.

{Hold your tongue, Ariel. Don't say anything. Don't say anything. Its not worth it...} (Ariel)

“What exactly is the problem? I'd love to hear your reasons for disregarding my hard work.” Ariel replied politely but was visibly agitated.

"The 'problem' is that your proposals lack any imagination, something that I suppose could be excused by your lack of experience, but... How do I put this? I felt like I was reading the absolute most textbook suggestions possible." Silfana said as she picked up one page off her desk and used it as an example. "Like here, your proposed response to the Eastern Noble's threats of secession is... To hold negotiations and attempt to parley with them?" Silfana said while clearly mocking her. "Sure that might work in an academy's mock diplomacy class but in the real world it's absolutely stupid. Not everything can be handled by a nice sit-down chat over a cup of tea, despite what those idiots with flower fields in their heads might say."

{And even if it was, the world would be far too boring for my taste.} (Silfana)

"Despite its limitations I believe that reasoning with people is generally better than using force to bend their will to your own. Ruling through fear has many weaknesses. Surely you understand why I'd rather extend an olive branch rather than immediately go for the whip?" Ariel replied with a bit of snark in her voice that did not go unnoticed by the Vampire

"You're correct in most situations." Silfana said as she spun her chair around to look out at the city below. The residents were mostly dissatisfied by the proclamation of the Demon Kingdom's capitulation and the installation of a new Demon King, and while there were groups of protesters all throughout the city, most were kept at bay easily enough by the local guards. "However, this is not one of them. This Kingdom sits in a precarious position as I'm sure you understand. Two of its most dangerous neighbors harbor a deep hatred for your kind and are more than willing and able to invade and crush you to dust. Not to mention that I've got a tenuous hold on power as what is effectively a foreigner installed on the throne by force of arms. You must be aware that the central government's authority extends no further than the Capital's walls and the similar provincial cities of the Elector-Kings who survived the battle?" She said folding her hands together. "As much as it irritates me to admit it, I am little more than 'King' in name only. My rule has yet to even begin and as such I cannot appear weak, which is what your negotiation suggestion would accomplish. No, what's needed here is the same treatment I gave to the Nobles in the Capital. The provinces must be brought to heel by force of arms if they will not bow of their own free will."

{I've lived long enough and witnessed enough Imperial politicking to understand that we're in a situation where politics in this country is anything but normal. Its army was crushed, the enemy has installed a foreign ruler on the throne and now demands fealty from the rest of the Kingdom. This situation can't be resolved any other way than outright war, and Akagi is banking on exactly that taking place as part of the next phase of her plan. We just have to hope that our fake plays his next part well to set up the proverbial tee for me.} (Silfana)

"And I say your methods amount to little more than tyranny." Ariel scoffed at the Vampire's words. They conflicted with everything her Father taught her and the thought of ruling in such a manner disgusted her. "Though, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Vampire treats us as little more than cattle

."

{I'd point out the racism in that stereotype if it wasn't true.} (Silfana)

"My being a Vampire is irrelevant and holds no bearing on whether or not my ideals are correct." Silfana said as she got out of her chair and walked around her desk, stopping just in front of Ariel and meeting her face to face. "And do you even know why I became a Vampire? What my reasons were? Do you have any idea what I've had to sacrifice to get here?"

"Are you going to try and make yourself out to be some kind of tragic hero?" Ariel laughed at the absurdity of a Vampire trying to paint itself as a good person. "People become Vampires for two reasons. Either they're forced to or they crave power and it sounds like you willingly chose this path for yourself."

{Vampires are little more than monsters at the end of the day. They may walk and talk like a Human or Demon, but that is merely a facade, a guise put on to fool people and get them to let their guard down. I know what your kind are really like at the end of the day, and I won't be deceived by honeyed words or verbal tricks.} (Ariel)

"It is true that I became a Vampire for power, yes. But rather than for the petty reasons that most crave I on the other hand wanted the power to protect my people." Silfana said, poking Ariel in the chest as she glared at her. "Understand that before I was brought here that I was the heir to the throne of an Empire of a size far greater than this continent. It was not a perfect place, Gods only know it was filled with corruption, inequality, strife, and hardship. But I took the lessons my Father and Grandfather taught me from a young child to heart.” She continued. “Rulers are meant to guide and protect their people, to create a place that allows them the opportunity to grow and thrive if they have the drive to do so. I sought out Vampirism not because I wanted more power to wield over my subjects in some sadistic fantasy but because I knew that in that world or any other, the only thing that matters is power. Power enables you to protect, to take, to shape, and to change. Without it, everything you want will be out of reach."

"A sentiment that you share with Bathrumd and the other muscle headed idiots in this Kingdom." Ariel rolled her eyes at a line of reasoning she'd heard many times before. "Power, power, power. It sickens me for you to reduce the world to such a level. There's more to life than power and control!"

"Power is not the only thing that matters, but without it you can't have anything else. That you've heard others say the same thing only reinforces my point." Silfana laughed. "Power enables one to enforce their desires, ideals, and vision on those around them. Those without power are, as such, subject to the whims of others. An unpleasant prospect as you've seen here recently, Ms former Princess-Regent." She smirked.

"So you'd just go around enforcing your will on others?" Ariel asked as she brushed the Vampire's hand away. "You care not for what others think? What they want? That's the definition of a tyrant."

"That word... You keep using it, but I don't think you truly understand what it means. What I aspire to be is not a tyrant but a sovereign." Silfana's gaze bore into the former Princess. "A tyrant cares for nothing more than their own enrichment and will happily denigrate the lives of the people to ensure that they get what they want. A sovereign, a true ruler, uses their power to lead their people and push them forward. If you fail to see the difference then you're a failure of a Royal and had no right to ever call yourself as such."

{My Father was a mixture of both if I'm being honest and I won't deny that one walks a fine line between the two, but there is a difference as gray and blurred as it might seem at times.} (Silfana)

"Perhaps I'd be more inclined to believe your words if you weren't a forcefully installed ruler working under a creature that orchestrated slaughter and destruction on a whim." Ariel bit back with a sharp reply. "So pardon me for thinking your words ring hollow, ohDemon King crowned by a Demon Lord

."

"And your comments once again prove your inexperience, naivety, and unsuitability to rule." Silfana laughed, unable to take offense at her derisive critique. "Akagi is many things, Gods do I know it, but she is nothing less than an embodiment of what it means to be a true ruler. That idiot has power, far greater power than any one being should have, and yet she's content not to use it. Do you even understand what that means?"

{There aren't many who could willingly refrain from using the power to literally reshape the world to do as they desire. Even I wouldn't be able to hold back and stop a fall into hedonism and tyranny.} (Silfana)

"And how does massacring my army and countless other people in this world not count as using it?" Ariel raised an eyebrow in disbelief at what she felt was a stupid remark. "As far as I can see she's little better than the Gods she wars with. The only difference between the two is that one hides their disdain for us and the other is more open with it."

"Disdain? Tell me, when has Akagi ever said she hates your people? Or the people for this world? Can you name a single instance of her uttering such a thing?" Silfana asked as she shook her head. "Has she ever degraded you? Your people? The people of Enoris? Sure she's called them fools and declared the people of this world responsible for their actions against the Spirits, but I can't think of a single time she expressed disdain for mortals." She noted that while Akagi thought herself above mortal life that didn't mean she hated it, just that she believed them below her in the hierarchy.

"..." Ariel was about to retort but found herself unable to point to any specific examples.

"Exactly." Silfana said with a small laugh. "Listen, child. The Gods have hated your kind from the moment you crawled out of the abyss. But her? Akagi merely wants you to take responsibility for your actions and then in a few hundred years, I'm sure she'll force a burying of the hatchet. If she truly hated your existence, then you don't even want to imagine what she'd do to your people."

"I still don't like your way of thinking. Crushing all opposition with force... It flies in the face of everything my Father taught me." Ariel replied as she turned away to look out the window. "Sure, there is a time and place for it, but-"

"And who said we only use violence to achieve our goals?" Akagi's voice sounded from the other side of the room, surprising the former Princess. "In fact, I'd say I'm pretty restrained. After all, this world still exists, doesn't it?" She smirked. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ⓝovelFire.net

{For now.} (Akagi)

"Speak of the Demon, and she shall appear." Silfana commented on Akagi's perfect timing. "Here to inspect things in person? I figured you'd be too busy preparing for your trip to the Dwarves to deal with administrative issues."

"Preparations for my departure are complete, and I'll be heading there soon, but before that, I had one more item on my to-do list that needed tackling before I head out." Akagi said as she stretched. "Now then, Princess, I believe we discussed your Father's condition before you were sent off. How is he?"

"Even weaker than he was before. At this rate, he will likely not make it to the new year." Ariel bit her lip in frustration. "It's been months since he's been fully conscious. He's more or less fallen into a comatose state, one that even my best healers tell me he will never awaken from."

{Father...} (Ariel)

"Well, that won't do. Can't have him croaking on me just yet." Akagi said as she cracked her knuckles. "So how about we wake sleeping not-so-beauty up from his nap?"