Part 48

Greza couldn’t sleep that night.  The next morning would start her first day as Duke Verin’s body guard.  She’d be spending every day near him and she wondered if she could handle it.  Would she allow herself to be distracted and fail him?  Would she let him down? 

But what worried her the most was this Princess.  No matter what she did she was destined to not be in love with the Duke.  He had a different destiny planned out.  It hurt to know that she had lost the game long before she had ever started playing.  She was ignored by the prophecy and was doomed to be within arms reach of what she wanted but to never get it. 

The prophecy was turning out to be more of a curse.

Where was her happy ending in all of this?  Was she not mentioned because she’d die soon?  With her part over was her time on stage finished?  Would she be forced off or would she simply vanish from sight and mind?  Either way there was no happy ending for her. 

She had to remind herself that she didn’t do this for a happy ending, but because it was the right thing to do.

Once the Princess was revealed there would be no way she could watch the two of them fall in love.   At that time she would make her bow and exit the stage.  The Divine Lights could ask a great deal from anyone but that would be beyond her ability to bear.  She had limits and that was a limit she knew she couldn’t cross. 

The next morning Onata and she reported to the Duke’s quarters.  The guard knocked and Verin called out for them to enter. 

He was sitting at his desk in a simple black night robe and writing letters. 

“Preparations, my Duke?”  Greza asked. 

“Indeed they are.  Are you two ready for a war like none of us had ever seen?”  He asked.

She had no idea if she was ready or not.  She had seen an Imperial army column marching past the manor once.  It stretched on forever and she grew bored of it before she ever saw the end. 

“Duke Verin, may I ask a question?” Onata said.

“Of course.”

“Why?”

He put his pen down and turned in his chair to face them. 

“How long has the Empire been around?”  He asked.

“One thousand five hundred and seventy two years,” Greza said.

“And that’s one thousand five hundred and seventy two years of slavery, domination, tyranny and degradation.  Onata, you know first hand what it means to be a slave in the Empire.” Onata cleared her throat and scratched her ear.  “Even if a master treats a slave ‘well’ they still don’t have their dignity or freedom.  Then there are the beatings, privations and much worse things.

“This system can’t be left to stand.  We have to do something to stop this or our ancestors will condemn us for being cowards.”

“Then its not revenge,” Onata said. 

He shook his head. 

“It was never about revenge.  It’s about hope for our future generations.  I’m not going to let our children live in a world like that.”

He turned back to his papers. 

“You’re not going to let your children go through what we did, are you?”  He asked.

“My children?  I don’t plan to have…well…No.  I don’t want anyone to live through what I did.”

“Exactly.  That’s why I’m gambling all we have on this war.”

After writing the letters he went into his bedroom and eventually came out fully dressed.  They followed him to a meeting with his officers where they began to plan out the war. 

Greza paid careful attention.  She wanted to see how he thought.  She saw that he anticipated several reactions by the enemy and made contingency plans for each one.  He put himself in the place of the enemy general. 

He continued throughout the day to reference one of his officers, a thin man with glasses.  He was the officer in charge of logistics and could run numbers without pausing.  He knew exactly how many pounds of supplies would move their armies how many miles. 

“Richkurk, I want you to hand pick one platoon of your scouts and send them out to harass enemy supply lines.  That will be their job for the duration of the war.  I need them to keep the pressure continuous.  Recruit locals, freed slaves.  Don’t let them breath,” Verin said.

“Well, two of my top picks would be Onata and Greza, but I suppose they’re occupied,” Richkurk said, sending them a quick wink. 

“That they are but you have plenty of good soldiers to choose from.”

“And how long will that last?”

Verin looked him in the eye and neither of them said a word. 

“When do we march?” Tempest asked. 

“Before spring.  I want to be in position before they realize it.”

That soon?  That was only a month away.  Was that enough to prepare for war against the largest Empire the land had ever seen? 

The image of countless Imperial soldiers swarming their position like a flooded river remained in her mind as she went through the day.  Her eyes remained on alert looking for any danger to Verin, but her mind was also engaged. 

During dinner Alethia waved her over to her couch where she picked at a plate of thinly cut meats and cheeses. 

“I see you’ve brought Onata over to our side,” Alethia said. 

“Have you had a chance to talk to the Duke?”

“Not lately.  He’s understandably preoccupied with this war and since I know nothing of military strategy I’ve been waiting it out on the sides.”

“He’s not in a mood to listen, then.”

“For him the anticipation is always the worst.  Once the war starts he’ll sweeten up.”

“Enough to believe us?”

“Probably not.”

She didn’t like waiting until the largest war the world had seen in over a thousand years began to approach the subject of the Lost Victor. 

“We need more proof,” Greza said. 

“Find the Witness and the Princess.  Then you’ll have your proof.”

“But without that book I don’t know how to find them.”

She lowered her wind glass from her lips and looked at her with a puzzled expression. 

“You don’t have to find them.  If they’re part of the prophecy, they will find him.  Everything will fall into place.  All you must do is keep your eyes open.”

“And watch the Duke’s back at the same time.”

“It’s one and the same.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“It won’t be.  Nothing worth doing ever is.”