Yue

 

14:38 GMT

"Wedding?"

King Myand'r nods, then looks up at the statue of his father. King Korithus is depicted as a proud warrior in his middle years, not the broken old man he died as when the Tamaranian home defence fleet was overwhelmed and shot to pieces. I can understand why he considered himself honour bound to resist, but I can't help but thinking that kowtowing could have prevented… So much death.

"Yes. I had intended to wait until Koriand'r's education on Okaara was complete, but… She is of age, and clearly it isn't practical for her to return there." He turns back to me. "I had it in mind to pass oversight of most of the modernisation program to her and to Prince Karras. The new Tamaran will be their world more than mine, and it will be better for it. Certainly, the pre-existing bad blood between myself and his parents would make cooperation between us… Fraught."

BABUM

Orange… Flames… Flicker and flare from my hands. I fold them behind my back.

"Easing her into governing seems perfectly sensible to me. And Prince Karras seemed like a thoroughly decent man fully enthused for the project. But I'm not clear why the situation requires her to marry him."

King Myand'r sighs. "Authority. Tell me, what system of government do your people use?"

"Earth isn't unified. My country has a small democratically elected body who rule in concert with a hereditary monarch. The nearest thing Earth has to a planetary government requires the largest and most powerful nations on the planet to agree before anything much gets done."

Myand'r nods. "That's actually not a bad model. My wife and I may rule Tamaran in theory, but in practice our ability to exert our will outside those lands we directly control depends on our personal authority. I have been a tributary king of the Citadel Empire for my entire reign." He looks down the hall and out into the city. "The day of my first daughter's birth…"

"I know."

"My personal authority is near-nonexistent. And I think that at this point in my life it is too late for me to gain that authority. But, by marrying Karras, his parents will give her the opportunity to build that authority for the pair of them. And the other principalities will follow them as well, for fear of being left out and left behind. It isn't what I wanted for her."

BABUM

He turns back to me. "But that's rather been the story of my l-." He blinks. "Are you well?"

BABUM

Orange flames are dripping off me, maintaining coherence for several seconds even as they part from the main mass.

BABUM

This is wrong.

"Does she want to marry him?"

"She.. sees the value in the match. They get on well enough."

"So, no. Does he want to marry her?"

"I-."

I hold up my right hand. "No, don't answer that. I know he doesn't. He'd much rather marry that bodyguard of his."

Myand'r's face stills. "Oh."

I turn away and start pacing, fists clenched and arms swinging.

"They love each other and have for some time. I can see the threads of violet light which bind them together. And if I was a Zamaron that would be my problem. And that's bad, I feel that's bad, but it's not the bad thing. The bad thing is that the marriage is entirely unnecessary. If it were the only way in which the rebuilding project could happen then I'd be fine with it but it isn't. From what I could tell just about everyone at the conference was all for it. They're just…" I gesture violently upwards with both arms. "Expecting this, like… They need confirmation that individuals' desires are being ritually subordinated to the collective idea of appropriateness!"

"And… You feel that a ruler should not subordinate their desires?"

"Not when they don't have to." I stop and stare at him. "If the wedding was called off tomorrow, what do you think Karras would do next?"

"I.. doubt that he would change at all, though his parents-."

BABUM

"His parents aren't the ones getting married to someone they barely know."

His face grows more sombre. "Are you telling me that I must cancel the wedding? Annul the betrothal?"

"No! You're the king, I don't.. give you orders. I'm.. simply.. making you aware of my displeasure with the situation. Is there really no.. acceptable alternative?"

"You could marry her. Or Komand'r, if you preferred."

"What?"

"For rescuing so many of our people and liberating Tamaran from the Gordanians and their Citadel masters you have earned considerable personal authority. If Karras were willing to step aside for you, that would be a functional alternative."

"But… You've been my point of contact. Don't.. you get credit for-" He smiles sadly, shaking his head. "-that?"

"Why should I get credit for your work?"

"And I can't endorse you in some way?"

"You already have, but I'm afraid that it isn't enough. Even if you ritually presented me the Citadel Emperor's head-."

"I can do that."

"I am aware of your ambition, but the wedding is set to take place in five days."

"No, I mean, the head of the First Citadelian-." I cut myself off and glance at the statue of X'Hal. Then I lower my voice slightly. "I killed the First Citadelian two days ago. His head.. sort of.. shattered a bit, but I could recover it and stick it back together."

"The First.. lives?"

"No, I just said-."

"He.. lived until just now?"

"Yes. Commodore Amalak told me that Citadel forces are in a bit of a mess. He wasn't fighting, but he was the one keeping them unified and focused."

"That's.. astonishing, but as I said; that increases your authority. Not mine." He pauses for a moment. "He's really dead?"

"Assuming that he can't survive his own physical death, yes."

But what to do? I open my empathic vision all the way up and look at him. Oh, not good. With his people and his daughters safe, he's just not.. spiking high enough into the orange. He could probably use an orange ring safely… But if his assessment of the political situation is accurate -and it seems reasonable to assume that it is- then if he died… That sounds like something that would result in chaos, with no one in a position to arbitrate…

Except for me, and I intend to be busy.

Hmm.

"What.. would happen… If the authority of the princesses increased?"