CHAPTER 129: THE BALL AND THE BANQUET

We quickly made our way to the throne room, passing by a few maids and servants who all fell to their knees as soon as they saw us, with both fear and admiration coexisting harmoniously in their lowered eyes and respectful tones.

Yet I cared little for this, as I gave them all a simple nod, one they probably didn’t even see, before I guiltily glanced behind me, where my mother and brothers now walked as well. I knew full well that after months apart, they would be dying to make up for their lost time together, especially Nizam and Cyrus, who were undoubtedly itching to regale our mother and younger siblings with tales of their adventure, while giving them the small hill of gifts and souvenirs they bought along the way.

I was contemplating ordering Kira or one of the guards to escort my family to rest for a while, when my mother’s omnipotent maternal instincts suddenly made her turn her attention from the animated Cyrus, who was rambling on about all he saw during the campaign, and look at me, before she gave me a reassuring smile.

Seeing this I helplessly smile in return, still wondering how it is that my mother is always able to effortlessly read my mind like an open book at a glance, while I was routinely capable of obfuscating my true thoughts, and enter into mental duels of intrigue and conspiracies against legends such as Marius and Maximillian.

We quickly reached the hall’s doors afterward, and the guards at the gate solemnly saluted, before they pushed open the entrance, as they loudly proclaimed, their aura powered voices booming across the hall, cutting down the loud chattering of the nobles instantly "All hail the master of the Scorching Desert; Lord of the Southern Realms; Holder of the Black Throne of the south; and Emperor of the Eclipse Empire, Alexander the third!"

"HAIL!" The nobles all echoed out as they half respectfully, half fearfully bowed, quickly opening a path to the throne for us, as I and those behind me walked through this narrow corridor, exuding an air of forceful oppression and ruthless regality, that made their sudden downpour of cold sweat begin racing the shivers crawling up their backs.

Once I had climbed the stairs to the Black Throne, I calmly sat back down with a contented sigh, as Horus and Abraham retook their usual positions, standing behind me like guardian statues, while Isaac and Kira each stood to the side of me, and finally still on the stairs in descending order, on the right, stood Darius, then my uncle, followed by my mother and siblings, after which came a few of my high commanders and generals. While on the left, stood Valdour, then Leonid, and then the rest of my important officers.

"You may rise." I commanded, releasing a wisp of power as the others quickly followed suit, creating a truly terrifying scene, as so many mighty auras converged upon them, chilling the very blood in their veins.

Kira then approached me with a tray in hand, upon stood a lone silver chalice. Taking it, I raise my hand in toast, proclaiming with a hint of warning in my voice "For the empire, and it’s restored accords, who shall never be broken again."

"For the empire! And it’s restored accords! Who shall never be broken again!" The nobles loudly parroted, most with jubilant and excited smiles, while a few, those who still clung onto aspirations beyond their station in life, also whom Isaac had already identified and marked, had uneasy looks on their faces.

I then brought the ornate chalice in my hand back down to my lips to drink, while I was still scanning the audience before me for any more would be traitors hiding in our midst, when half way through I noticed the unpleasant smell of alcohol in my hand.

Realizing that it was wine, I simply pretended to drink, before placing it back on the tray, as my madness needed no help in escaping the confines of my sanity, with me dulling my senses. But it did also remind me of my promise to Valdour to give him some of the Dionysian Ambrosia, that still sat collecting dust in the White Vault, but then a benign voice pulled me away from my thoughts.

"Apologies, sire. It was customary for the ceremony. Would you like something else?" Kira asked, her gentle tone bringing a slight smile to my lips.

"Just some lavender." I answered, already missing that intoxicating scent, that worked as a tonic for my more malevolent side. Something I had trouble keeping on hand during the long campaign.

Smiling, she said "I knew you would say that." As she reached into her pocket and pulled out a twig with a few freshly bloomed purple flowers upon it. "I picked it from the garden just this morning, so it should be still quiet redolent."

"Thank you." I gratefully said, truly appreciative of her thoughtfulness, as I inhaled a large lungful of that scent, that flooded my scenes with images of her, clearing my mind, as the rumbling monster within me, finally quieted down.

’Three years. Just three more years and I can see you again.’ I impatiently thought, already regretting the fact that I hadn’t pushed Eve to tell me where she spent her days earlier on in her life, even if it discomforted her a little, at least then I could’ve helped her from the beginning, and I wouldn’t be suffering this unceasing burn.

But when I thought this, another, more unpleasant thought crossed my mind ’Nicholas!’

I also only had three more years before that annoying fraud starts seeing visions of the future again, and every battle from then on would be fought uphill, with every advantage and ploy possibly already seen and prepared for by him.

I frowned remembering him, with each day bringing more and more pressure along with it. ’I need more power, more men, more gold, more lands, more castles, MORE EVERYTHING!’ I thought in blatant insanity, as the being in my mind roared in glee.

"Sire? Is something wrong?" Kira again broke me away from my thoughts, as she looked at me with concern, fearing that something was amiss with the flower, as in her eyes I had suddenly frowned after smelling it.

"No, no. The flower is wonderful, I just recalled something annoying." I quickly reassured her.

"Alright then, I’m glad." She said with a cute smile that showed her small dimples, as she slowly retreated back to her position, but not before I caught her casting a subtle worried glance at Horus, the same type of look that I’d noticed the haggard looking Anastasia, throwing her brother from time to time as well, no matter how many times Leonid answered with reassuring looks and smiles.

’Sigh.’ I lamented in my mind, as I felt slightly bad for Anastasia and Kira, who were clearly concerned over the health of the two they each saw as their sole family left in the world and dearest brothers, regardless of the fact that neither of them shared a blood relation with the other. This was especially so for Anastasia, who finally reunited with Leonid after decades of mourning his death and her loneliness, only to then hear that he was heavily injured on far away soil, where she could do nothing but pray day and night, until she nearly collapsed, for the gods to have mercy upon her brother, and not subject her to the cruel sensation of losing all her family yet again.

I sighed again, waiting for a few more minutes until the ball was in full swing, and the nobles were too preoccupied with their flamboyant dances, annoying schemes and petty competitions to easily notice, and thus pester the two, as I called "Horus, Leonid."

"Yes, sire?" They both respectfully answered, bowing as they did.

"The two of you are dismissed for the evening. Kira, take them through the side door, so you don’t get spotted by these slobbering dogs. And take lady Anastasia with you." My words stunned their owners for a moment, before they each bowed in gratitude once again and then quickly leaving.

My mother, who had seen all of this, then walked to my side and said with smile "That was very kind of you."

I merely snorted in reply, eliciting another laugh from her and a few from those around us, such as my uncle and Isaac, but in actuality I didn’t do it simply for pure and righteous reasons. I merely did it because doing it would evoke further loyalty and feelings of indebtedness to me from them, at the cost of only a few simple words, as my power can no longer be challenged, even with the absence of two of my pillars on such a day.

It also served as bait, as the cunning would definitely notice, sooner or later, the nonattendance of the two, especially Leonid, who has not joined us for long, and was a former general of the Luminous Empire, which would give them some hope that all is not well within my inner circle, and that they might be able to capitalize on this possible turbulence to enact their hidden agendas.

Since to truly cleanse the empire of all it’s seeds of rebellion, you would also have to purge all the blindingly envious, the sickeningly greedy and the overly ambitious; and to do that you would have to purge the empire of humans; for that is their nature; always dreaming of what they can’t possess. Which is both their greatest virtue and their most heinous vice.

The ball lasted late into the night, but that didn’t stop my mother from immediately dragging all of us, along with Valdour and his family, to the dining hall, where she had prepared all our favourite dishes and then some.

Though tired, the banquet was a welcome site for weary eyes, as none of us had any food today except breakfast, and though most of us, with the exception of the children, could survive weeks without food and water, the smell was an irresistible siren’s call to our grumbling stomachs.

The night was filled with laughter and tall tales, with the main orators surprisingly being Valdour and Cyrus, while the usual storyteller of the family, my uncle, sat silently for most of the night, with all of us tacitly agreeing to leave him be for a while.

And it was in this cornucopia of splendour and laughter, that I remembered something from earlier today, so I calmly called "Isaac."

"Yes, sire?" He said, appearing next to me in a silent instant, causing many at the table to be surprised by his phantom like speed and presence.

"You mentioned something about a new trend being set in the three other empires this morning. What did you mean by that?" I curiously asked.