Krispos the Emperor k-3

by Harry Turtledove

  He'd missed a few sentences. Krispos was saying "—shall rebuild the city so that no one may know it has come to harm. We shall rebuild the fabric of our lives in the same fashion. It will not be quick, not all of it, but Videssos is no child, to need everything on the instant. What we do, we do for generations."

  Phostis still had trouble thinking in those terms. Next year felt a long way away to him; worrying about what would happen when his grandchildren were old felt as strange as worrying about what was on the other side of the moon.

  He'd fallen behind again. "—but so long as you live at peace with one another, you need not fear spies will seek you out to do you harm," Krispos declared.

  "What about tax collectors?" a safely anonymous wit roared from the crowd.

  Krispos took no notice of him. "People of the city," he said earnestly, "if you so choose, you can be at one another's throats for longer than you care to imagine. If you start feuds now, they may last for generations after you are gone. I pray to Phos this does not happen." He let iron show in his voice: "I do not intend to let it happen. If you try to fight among yourselves, first you must overcome the soldiers of the Empire.

  I say this as warning, not as threat. My view is that we have had enough of strife. May we be free of it for years to come."

  He did not say "forever," Phostis noted, and wondered why. He decided Krispos didn't believe such things endured forever. By everything the Avtokrator had shown, he worked to build a framework for what would come after him. but did not necessarily expect that framework to become a solid wall: he knew too well that history gave no assurance of success.

  "We shall rebuild, as I said, and we shall go on," Krispos said. "Together, we shall do as well as we can for as long as we can. The good god knows we can do no more." He stepped back on the platform, his speech done.

  Applause filled the plaza of Palamas, more than polite, less than ecstatic. Along with Olyvria and Evripos, Phostis joined it. As well as we can for as long as we can, he thought. If Krispos had picked a phrase to summarize himself, he couldn't have found a better one.

  Though Krispos waved for him not to bother, Barsymes performed a full proskynesis. "I welcome you back to the imperial residence, your Majesty," he said from the pavement. Then, still spry, he rose as gracefully as he had prostrated himself and added, "The truth is, life is on the boring side here when you take the field."

  Krispos snorted. "I'm glad to be back, then, if only to give you something interesting to do."

  "The cooks are also glad you've returned," the vestiarios said.

  "They're looking for a chance to spread themselves, you mean," Krispos said. "Too bad. They can wait until the next time I dine with Iakovitzes; he'll appreciate it properly. As for me, I've got used to eating like a soldier. A bowl of stew, a heel of bread, and a mug of wine will suit me nicely."

  Barsymes' shoulders moved slightly in what would have been a sigh in someone less exquisitely polite than the eunuch. "I shall inform the kitchens of your desires," he said. "The cooks will be disappointed, but perhaps not surprised. You have a habit of acting thus whenever you return from campaign."

  "Do I?" Krispos said, irked at being so predictable. He was tempted to demand a fancy feast just to keep people guessing about him. The only trouble was, he really did want stew.

  Barsymes said, "Perhaps your Majesty will not take it too much amiss if the stew be of lobster and mullet, though I know that diverges from what the army cooks ladled into your bowl."

  "Perhaps I won't," Krispos admitted. "I did miss seafood." Barsymes nodded in satisfaction; Krispos might rule the Empire, but the vestiarios held sway here. Unlike some vestiarioi, he had the sense not to flaunt his power or push it beyond its limits—or perhaps he had simply decided Krispos would not let him get away with the liberties some vestiarioi had taken.

  "The hour remains young," Barsymes said after a glance at the shadows. "Would your Majesty care for an early supper?"

  "Thank you, no," Krispos said. "I could plunge into the pile of parchments that no doubt reaches tall as the apex of the High Temple's dome. I will do that ... tomorrow, or perhaps the day after. The pile won't be much taller by then. For now, though, I am going to march to the imperial bedchamber and do the one thing I couldn't in the field: relax." He paused. "No. I'm not."

  "Your Majesty?" Barsymes said. "What, then?"

  "I am going to the bedchamber." Krispos said. "I may even rest... presently. But first, please tell Drina I want to see her."

  "Ah," Barsymes said; Krispos read approval in the nondescript noise. The vestiarios added, "It shall be just as you say, of course."

  In the privacy of the bedchamber. Krispos took off his own boots. When his feet were free, he happily wiggled his toes. In the palaces, his doing something for himself rather than summoning a servant was as much an act of rebellion as a Thanasiot's taking a torch to a rich man's house. Barsymes had needed quite a while before he accepted that the Avtokrator was sometimes stubborn enough to insist on having his own way in such matters.

  A tapping at the door sounded so tentative that Krispos wondered if he'd really heard it. He walked over and opened the door anyhow. Drina stood in the hall, looking nervous. "I'm not going to bite you," Krispos said. "It would spoil my appetite for the supper the esteemed Barsymes wants to stuff down me." She didn't laugh; he concluded she didn't get the joke. Swallowing a sigh, he waved her into the bedchamber.

  She walked slowly. She was still a couple of months from giving birth, but her belly bulged quite noticeably even though she wore a loose-fitting linen smock. Krispos leaned forward over that belly to give her a light kiss, hoping to put her more at ease.

  He succeeded, if not quite the way he thought he would. She smiled and said, "You didn't bump into my middle there. You know how to kiss a woman who's big with child."

  "I should," Krispos said. "I've had practice, even if it was years ago. Sit if you care to; I know your feet won't be happy now. How are you feeling?"

  "Well enough, thank you, your Majesty," Drina answered, sinking with a grateful sigh into a chair. "I only lost my breakfast once or twice, and but for needing the chamber pot all the time, I'm pretty well."

  Krispos paced back and forth, wondering what to say next. He hadn't been in this situation for a long time, and had never expected to find himself in it again. It wasn't as if he loved Drina, or even as if he knew her well. He wished it were that way, but it wasn't. He'd just found her convenient for relieving the lust he still sometimes felt. Now he was discovering that convenience for the moment could turn into something else over the long haul. He used that principle every day in the way he ruled; he realized he should have applied it to his own life, too.

  Well, he hadn't. Now he had to make the best of it. After a couple of more back and forths, he settled on, "Is everyone treating you well?"

  "Oh, yes, your Majesty." Drina nodded eagerly. "Better than I've ever been treated before. Plenty of nice food—not that I haven't always eaten well, but more and better—and I haven't had to work too hard, especially since I started getting big." Her hands cupped her belly. She gave Krispos a very serious look. "And you warned me about putting on airs, so I haven't. I've been careful about that."

  "Good. I wish everyone paid as much attention to what I say," Krispos said. Drina nodded, serious still. Even with thai intent expression, even pregnant as she was, she looked very young. Suddenly he asked, "How many years do you have, Drina?"

  She counted on her fingers before she answered: "Twenty-two, I think, your Majesty, but I may be out one or two either way."

  Krispos started pacing again. It wasn't that she didn't know her exact age; he wasn't precisely sure of his own. Peasants such as he and his family had been didn't worry over such things: you were as old as the work you could do. But twenty-two, more or less? She'd been born right around the time he took the throne.

  "What am I to do with you?" he asked, aiming the question as much at himself, or possibly at Phos, as at
her.

  "Your Majesty?" Her eyes got large and frightened. "You said I'd not lack for anything . .." Her voice trailed away, as if reminding him of his own promise took all the courage she had, and as if she'd not be surprised if he broke it.

  "You won't—by the good god I swear it. " He sketched the sun-circle over his heart to reinforce his words. "But that's not what I meant."

  "What then?" Drina's horizons, like his when he'd been a peasant, reached no farther than plenty of food and not too much work. "All I want to do is take care of the baby."

  "You'll do that, and with as much help as you need," he said. He scratched his head. "Do you read?"

  "No, your Majesty."

  "Do you want to learn how?"

  "Not especially, your Majesty," Drina said. "Can't see that I'd ever have much call to use it."

  Krispos clucked disapprovingly. A veteran resettled to his village had taught him his letters before his beard sprouted, and his world was never the same again. Written words bound time and space together in a way mere talk could never match. But if Drina did not care to acquire the skill, forcing it on her would not bring her pleasure. He scratched his head again.

  "Your Majesty?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to go on. She did, nervously: "Your Majesty, after the baby's born, will you—will you want me again?"

  It was a good question, Krispos admitted to himself. From Drina's point of view, it probably looked like the most important question in the world. She wanted to know whether she'd stay close to the source of power and influence in the Empire. The trouble was, Krispos had no idea what reply to give her. He couldn't pretend, to himself or to her, that he'd fallen wildly in love, not when he was more than old enough to be her father. And even if he had fallen wildly in love with her, the result would only have been grotesque. Older men who fell in love with girls got laughed at behind their backs.

  She waited for his answer. "We'll have to see," he said at last. He wished he could do better than that, but he didn't want to lie to her, either.

  "Yes, your Majesty," she said. The pained resignation in her voice cut like a knife. He wished he hadn't bedded her at all. But he hadn't the nature or temperament to make a monk. What was he supposed to do?

  I should have remarried after Dara died, he thought. But he hadn't wanted to do that then, and a second wife might have created more problems—dynastic ones—than she solved. So he'd taken serving maids to bed every now and then ... and so he had his present problem.

  "I told you before that I'd settle a fine dowry on you when you find yourself someone who can give you all the love and caring you deserve," he said. "I don't think you'll find an Emperor's bastard any obstacle to that."

  "No, I don't think so, either," she agreed; she was ignorant, but not stupid. "The trouble is, I don't have anyone like that in mind right now."

  Not right now. She was twenty-two; not right now didn't look that different from forever to her. Nor, in fairness, could she look past her confinement. Her whole world would turn upside down once she held her baby in her arms. She'd need time to see how things had changed.

  "We'll see," Krispos said again.

  "All right," She accepted that; she had no choice.

  Krispos knew it wasn't fair for her. Most Avtokrators would not have given that a first thought, let alone a second, but he knew about unfairness from having been on the receiving end. If he hadn't been unjustly taxed off his farm, he never would have come to Videssos the city and started on the road that led to a crown.

  But what was he to do? Say he loved her when he didn't? That wouldn't be right—or fair—either. He was uneasily aware that providing for Drina and her child wasn't enough, but he didn't see what else he could do.

  She wasn't a helpless maiden, not by a long shot. Her eyes twinkled as she asked, "What do the young Majesties think of all this? Evripos has known for a long time, of course; he just laughs whenever he sees me."

  "Does he?" Krispos didn't know whether to be miffed or to laugh himself. "If you must know, Phostis and Katakolon seem to be of a mind that I'm a disgusting old lecher who should keep his drawers on when he goes to bed."

  Drina dismissed that with one word: "Pooh."

  Krispos couldn't even glow with pride, as another man might have. He'd spent too many years on the throne weighing everything he heard for flattery, doing his best not to believe all the praise that poured over him like honey, thick and sweet. He thought some of the man he had been still remained behind the imperial facade he'd built up—but how could you be sure?

  He started pacing again. Sometimes you think too much, he told himself. He knew it was true, but it was so ingrained in him that he couldn't change. At last, too late, he told Drina, "Thank you."

  "I should thank you, your Majesty, for not ignoring me or casting me out of the palaces or putting me in a sack and throwing me into the Cattle-Crossing because my belly made me a nuisance to you," Drina said.

  "You shame me," Krispos said. He saw she didn't understand, and felt bound to explain: "When I'm thanked for not being a monster, it tells me I've not been all the man I might be."

  "Who is?" she said. "And you're the Avtokrator. All the things you keep in your head, your Majesty—I'd go mad if I tried it for a day. I was just glad you saw fit to remember me at all, and do what you can for me."

  Krispos pondered that. An Avtokrator could do what he chose—he needed to look no further than Anthimos" antics to be reminded of that. The power made responsibility hard to remember. Seen from that viewpoint, maybe he wasn't doing so badly after all.

  "Thank you," he said to Drina again, this time with no hesitation at all.

  A boys' choir sang hymns of thanksgiving. The sweet, almost unearthly notes came echoing back from the dome of the High Temple, filing the worship area below with joyous sound.

  Phostis, however, listened without joy. He knew he was no Thanasiot. All the same, the countless wealth lavished on the High Temple still struck him as excessive. And when Oxeites lifted up his hands to beseech Phos' favor, all Phostis could think of was the ecumenical patriarch's cloth-of-gold sleeves and the pearls and precious gems mounted on them.

  Only because of the peace he'd made with Krispos had he come here. He recognized that celebrating his safe return to Videssos the city at the most holy shrine of the Empire's faith was politically and theologically valuable, so he endured it. That did not mean he liked it.

  Beside him, though, awe turned Olyvria's face almost into that of a stranger. Her eyes flew like butterflies, landing now here, now there, marveling at the patriarch's regalia, at the moss-agate and marble columns, at the altar, at the rich woods of the pews, and most of all, inevitably, at the mosaic image of Phos, stern in judgment, that looked down on his worshipers from the dome.

  "It's so marvelous," she whispered to Phostis for the third time since the -service began. "Every city in the provinces says its main temple is modeled after this one. What none of them says is that all their models are toys."

  Phostis grunted softly, back in his throat. What she found wondrous was cloying to him. Then, of themselves, his eyes too went up to the dome. No man could be easy meeting the gaze of that Phos: the image seemed to see inside his head, to know and note every stain on his soul. Even Thanasios would have quailed under that inspection. For the sake of the image in the dome, Phostis forgave the rest of the temple.

  The choirmaster brought down his hands. The boys fell silent. Their blue silk robes shimmered in the lamplight as the echoes of their music slowly faded. Oxeites recited Phos' creed. The notables who filled the temple joined him at prayer. Those echoes also reverberated from the dome.

  The patriarch said, "Not only do we seek thy blessing, Phos, we also humbly send up to thee our thanks for returning to us Phostis son of Krispos, heir to the throne of Videssos, and granting him thine aid through all the troubles he has so bravely endured."

  "He's never been humble in his life, surely not since he donned the blue boots
," Phostis murmured to Olyvria.

  "Hush," she murmured back; the Temple had her in its spell.

  Oxeites went on, "Surely, lord with the great and good mind, thou also viewest with favor the ending of the Empire's trial of heresy, and the way in which its passing was symbolized by the recent union of the young Majesty and his lovely bride."

  A spattering of applause rose from the assembled worshipers, vigorously led by Krispos. Phostis was convinced Oxeites would not know a symbol if it reached up and yanked him by the beard; he suspected the Avtokrator of putting words in his patriarch's mouth.

  "We thank thee. Phos, for thy blessings of peace and prosperity, and once more for the restoration of the young Majesty to the bosom of his family and to Videssos the city," Oxeites said in ringing tones.

  The choir burst into song again. When the hymn was finished, the patriarch dismissed the congregation: the thanksgiving service was not a full and formal liturgy. Phostis blinked against the late summer sun as he walked down the broad, wide stairs outside the High Temple. Katakolon poked him in the ribs and said, "The only bosom you care about in your family is Olyvria's."

  "By the good god, you're shameless," Phostis said. He couldn't help laughing, even so. Because Katakolon had no malice in him, he could get away with outrages that would have landed either of his brothers in trouble.

  In the courtyard outside the High Temple, people of rank insufficient to get them into the thanksgiving service cheered as Phostis came down from the steps and walked over to his horse. He waved to them, all the while wondering how many had shouted for the gleaming path not long before.

  The Haloga guard who held the horse's head said, "You talk to your god only a little while today." He sounded approving, or at least relieved.

  Phostis handed Olyvria up onto her mount, then swung into the saddle himself. The Halogai formed up around the imperial party for the return to the palaces. Olyvria rode at Phostis' left.