Queen Amabie’s endorsement of Aazuria as both a political leader and a person gave all the Adluvians even deeper faith in the woman they already loved. When the elaborate crown was placed on Aazuria’s head, she could feel the substantial weight of the giant emerald, but it was also strangely comfortable. She could shoulder this gem; she could endure its encumbrance.
“It is not blood alone which makes nobility,” Queen Amabie said. “It is the way one fights their battles and the way one handles a crisis that shows true merit. It is actions which reveal discipline of character, and I think you will all agree that Aazuria has performed the noblest deeds of all. Today marks the end of tyranny in Adlivun! Today we celebrate the new reign of a leader devoted to justice! Hail Queen Aazuria! ”
“Hail Queen Aazuria!”
When the great cheer arose from the amphitheater, it brought tears to Aazuria’s eyes. Even Queen Amabie made a deep bow from the waist, and it was not necessary for Queen Amabie to bow to anyone. Although Aazuria knew that many people had opposed King Kyrosed’s regime, when she had performed the act of killing him, she had felt completely alone. She had endured the guilt, the regret, and the sadness of loss without truly facing her actions or speaking to her people about the event. Now that Queen Amabie was bringing up the issue before the gathered audience, and Aazuria could hear their thundering support, she felt completely vindicated.
Accepting a scepter which had been offered to her by Geira, she lifted her head, and stood proudly before her people and her allies, allowing their gratitude and support to wash over her like an invigorating downpour. It did not rain under the sea, and there was no changing weather to interpret, adapt to, or feel anything about, so Aazuria found her blazing storm in the emotions of her people. Being gathered into the coliseum-like space caused all of their sentiments to amplify and reach her with an unspeakable force. These were good acoustics for a sense of renewed kinship and community.
Needless to say, she felt strengthened.
She reached to her side to grasp Trevain’s hand, and looked at him lovingly. He smiled at her.
“I thought that this would be silly… but it’s actually rather moving,” Trevain whispered to her.
“I would like to formally introduce Admiral Trevain Murphy. As many of you know, Queen Aazuria has recently married the grandson of General Visola Ramaris. He has lived his entire life on land, with a successful career as a mariner,” Amabie explained to the auditorium, as she gestured to Trevain. “He brings with him a new perspective, new knowledge, and new technology. He vows to help to render this nation and its allies cutting-edge and keep us ahead of our enemies. In addition to his intelligence, he is of impeccable integrity—much unlike Adlivun’s previous king. I would like you all to trust in Queen Aazuria’s judgment, and welcome King Trevain. Together, they will lead the campaign to defend this kingdom! Together we will vanquish our adversaries!”
The audience cheered for the new king and queen, but the cheer quickly dissipated into a hushed silence. Murmurs rose from the crowd, and people began pointing and whispering. Aazuria and Trevain frowned, and turned around to see what they were looking at.
A solitary woman holding a gigantic sword was casually walking into the center of the arena.
“Y’all didn’t invite me?” she said with a playful pout.
“Viso?” Aazuria asked with a gasp. She ran to the edge of the stage, feeling silly when her new crown started to slip off with her swift motion. She reached up to straighten the crown as she called out to her friend. “Viso!”
A roar began to sound from the amphitheater, as everyone witnessed their beloved general returning from the supposed grave. A chant arose among the spectators. Everyone took up the chant and contributed their voices in rumbling unison.
“Gen-er-ral! Ra-ma-ris!”
Everyone in the stadium was stomping their feet in time with the syllables, sounding a massive, reverberating echo against the cave walls. The woman seemed to enjoy the chanting, as she headed for the stage and raised her sword in the air, brandishing it in the air proudly. The cheer became louder.
“Gen-er-ral! Ra-ma-ris!”
It was a heartening display. Aazuria ran to her friend and threw her arms around her. The hug that was returned was not as strong as she expected, and she frowned. She pulled away slightly to look at the woman’s face. It was Visola’s face, but it was not Visola inside of it. “Sio?” she whispered.
“Shhh,” Sionna said, tilting her head downward and speaking close to Aazuria’s ear so that the audience could not read her lips. “Look at how energized they are. We don’t have to tell them that it’s me. We don’t have to disappoint them.”
“Gen-er-ral! Ra-ma-ris!”
“No one would be disappointed to know that you are alive,” Aazuria said quietly. “You have done so much for everyone in this room—you have helped them for centuries with your knowledge of healing.”
“Come on, Zuri. Let’s give them a little faith. No one would cheer for little old me—besides, ‘Doctor’ has only two syllables.”
Aazuria smiled. “Now that’s the type of thing she would have said. How is she?”
“She will be fine,” Sionna said softly. She could not tell Aazuria that she had given a suicide pill to her sister. She did not want to be the first to face the wrath of the newly-crowned queen. “She managed to say one word to me in Aleut. She told me to prepare ayxaasix before Vachlan cut her off.”
“Ships?” Aazuria asked. “She wants us to do battle by armada?”
“Then we will prepare the ships,” Trevain said, approaching both of the women and putting an arm around each of them. “Good to have you back, Aunt Sio.”
“It’s good to see you, kid,” Sionna said, hitting him on the back with excessive force. “Sorry, I am trying to act like my sister. Ideally, I should grab your ass, but that’s a bit too much for me. I think we should prepare the navy, but I want to hold out and wait for some kind of signal from her before we attack. I know it sounds crazy and whimsical, but I really believe she will find a way to give us one.”
“That’s not crazy,” Aazuria said. “We will wait.”
“Until then—if it makes them happy, I will become her.” Sionna winked and walked to the edge of the stage, smiling and thrusting her sword in the air. “For Adlivun!” she yelled.
While she worked the crowd, in a surprising performance that even made those closest to her wonder whether she really was Sionna, Trevain spoke to Aazuria privately.
“I’m glad this is going to be a boat battle, because I can definitely contribute a little something.”
“I will not allow you to come along with us, Trevain,” Aazuria told him. “This is going to be war. You forbade me from accompanying you on your little fishing trip when I knew there was danger. This is the same thing, except I know that there will be trouble you have never faced before.”
“I’m going to claim a sexist double standard and say that you can’t forbid me from coming along because I’m a man.” Trevain pointed to the crown on his head. “Also, I’ve got this shiny new trinket which I believe gives me the authority to insist ‘I wanna come’ and then, while we travel, to repeatedly ask ‘Are we there yet?’”
“You are not coming with me and this is final. Please stop using humor to soften me up so you can get your way.”
“Damn, you caught on to that, huh?” Trevain sighed. “Listen, Zuri—grandma gave me responsibilities too. Consider this on-the-job-training. You are my wife now, and I will not let any harm come to you. Besides, not only am I a skilled seafarer, but I know how to fence.”
“Trevain, you have great experience governing ships, but what if you end up in the water? Fighting submerged is entirely more difficult, and you need more training. You have the potential, but we need to condition your body over years of exercise, swimming for great lengths and at high speeds. There needs to be a slow transition of moving you from land to sea; we cannot do it all at once.”
“
I know, Zuri, but you have to let me try. I will rise to the occasion, I promise.”
Both of them were startled out of their argument when the crowd began making collectively amused sounds. Aazuria cringed as she watched Sionna grab the nearest unrelated man (who happened to be an older Japanese general) and plant an enthusiastic smooch on his lips. The Ningyo warriors burst into good-natured cheering and laughter, as the Adluvians giggled at the antics of the woman they believed to be Visola.
“Oh, dear,” Aazuria remarked. “She is enjoying this.”
“I didn’t know she was such a stellar actress,” Trevain said, obviously impressed.
“It is a tad bit overstated and vulgar, don’t you think?”
Queen Amabie approached the couple to add her opinion. “How authentic!”
Chapter 24: Kill the Girl
Vachlan could not sleep. He had pretended for several hours, while listening closely to his wife’s tranquil breathing. At some point, he had turned to face her, and he was surprised at the content expression on her face. Her shackled hands were folded close to her chest, and there was even something of a smile on her face. He frowned. She had won. She had taken everything that he had thrown at her, and she had not broken. He could not throw anything more, because somehow, torturing her was torturing him much more. He had never experienced this psychological rebound before—she was a perfect mirror. Every injury he caused her was reflected into his own mind and magnified. He was not strong enough to continue doing this.
Three words echoed in Vachlan’s consciousness like an annoying tune he could not shake away. Kill the Girl. It would not be a difficult task, and he knew that it was necessary; it was time. It was the prudent thing to do. His employer had requested it. Kill the Girl. He had dozens of compelling personal and professional reasons to carry out the order.
Just why did she have to look exactly the same? No one had hair as red and wild as fire. It was impossible. Even while she was sleeping, quietly dormant due to her body’s need to heal the damage he had inflicted upon her, her hair still announced her indomitable life-force. It was completely unviable for Visola to ever look peaceful, or shy, or anything resembling demure. She had probably been born fierce, maybe wailing out a battle cry and pounding her newborn chest. Even then, covered in placenta and gore, he imagined that she had been gosh-darn pretty. Being covered in blood had never taken away from her beauty. It was a look that not many women could pull off—and not many women ever tried, especially in Elizabethan England. Vachlan found that he had risen to rest on his elbow to better examine her. He also found that he was lifting himself off the ground and moving closer to her.
Just why did she have to smell exactly the same? Her natural scent blanketed him like a familiar place—like a garden he had walked in as a child. He had very much enjoyed strolling through gardens. He observed the gentle curve of her lips, wondering if she could possibly be comfortable when her body was broken in a dozen different ways. Was she really relaxed, and possibly amused?
Yes, she was. It was part of what had made life with her so easy and enjoyable. Nothing fazed her—not really. Even if it did, she quickly overcame it, pushing it down to a place where she could watch her woes from a distance, and deal with them on a higher, unaffected level. People considered her carefree due to the seemingly frivolous way she responded to even the worst of situations, but he knew this was not true. He knew that she felt things as deeply as those who were overwhelmed, but unlike them, she was able to function perfectly under duress.
Just why did her lips have to tempt him so? She was deeply asleep, and perhaps she would hardly notice if he… no. His instructions had been clear. Kill the girl. He did possess a tiny slice of respect for his employer. He had zero respect for Visola, the woman who had betrayed him! Zero. His head nodded to emphasize the thought. This, of course, was what he had been trying to convince himself for centuries. The truth was that he had more respect for Visola than anyone else who breathed. The utmost respect; he held her above anyone who walked the earth or swam the waves. No one lived each day with more honor, and no one held their head with more pride. In protest for her sister’s life, he had watched her rip her guts out, and he had loved her a little more.
Her bold defiance only rendered her more endearing. How could it be that she had betrayed him? His Visola—his beloved wife who he knew to possess the most undying, unconditional loyalty possible—how had she stooped to do what she had done? There must be some reasonable explanation. All he needed was that explanation, so he could finally forgive her. Had she been threatened? Had she been forced? Had King Kyrosed leveraged her sister’s safety over her head, just as Vachlan himself had done? It was no great secret that Sionna was the general’s weakness. Anyone with a twin could be easily controlled by virtue of that umbilical attachment.
Why did she refuse to tell him the truth? What horrible secret was she keeping? Did she not know that if the situation had been beyond her control, he would pardon her? He just needed to know. His eyes had not left her lips. They were slightly parted in sleep, and he watched them thirstily, begging for a stray word to escape. He could have stared at her lips forever, just waiting for an accidental crumb. There would eventually be some leak in her resolve, right? She could not maintain complete control of her body at all times, and surely she would make a mistake and utter a word in her sleep. Had she ever spoken in her sleep? He strained the channels of his thought, trying to remember. It had been so long. Usually, they had fallen asleep together once they had exhausted each other. They had always been competitive in every aspect of their lives—who could stay awake the longest? Who could love the longest? Now, apparently, she was being competitive again. She had made the rules of the game inside her head, and as long as she did not speak, she was winning.
It drove him crazy not to hear the sound of her voice. How did she know precisely what would disturb him the most? For he was disturbed. He was angry. The bitch had cheated on him. She had been his whole world. Visola Ramaris had been the one good thing in his entire existence. She was his Firebird; the choice that he had been proudest of making. She was the one woman alive who was not terrified of him, and of the things he had done. Instead, she admired him, and she was intrigued by him. She respected him as much as he respected her. She should have known that her actions would destroy him, and send him back into the dark madness in which he had always existed. She should not have disgraced him! She had made him into his personal laughingstock—had inspired myriad monologues of relentless self-loathing. She had done the unthinkable; she had allowed their enemy to lie with her. She should be groveling. She should have spent every minute of these past few weeks groveling. Was she not ashamed or remorseful? She had ruined him, and now she lay there sleeping blissfully with a smile on her face! How dare she not grovel?
He had to end her. She was still unhealthy for him. If he forced himself to remember all the horrible events he had squirreled away to the back of his mind, he would gain the gall to do it. He used to brag about having the testicles of dragons, and he was sure he could find them again. Vachlan closed his eyes in meditation.
The outline of the man that caused all this began to etch itself into his mental canvas. The majestic long white hair and beard, typical of the monarchs of the undersea, began to materialize. The brilliant azure eyes were framed by an abundance of wrinkles from undeserved laughter. Kyrosed Vellamo had been an imposing fellow to look upon, and Vachlan often wished that he had never done so. Even greater was the mistake of listening to the king’s honeyed lies, so perfected to a mathematical precision, like the arts he had encouraged his daughters to learn. Those lies had coaxed him halfway across the world.
“When was the last time you were with her?” King Kyrosed asked.
Vachlan frowned. “Why do you ask that?”
“I’m sorry. I guess that was too personal. I was just wondering.”
The king toyed with the royal ring on his finger in a gesture of mock nervousness. Vachlan glare
d at the king’s hands, and fantasized about chopping those fingers off. Visola had hated Kyrosed Vellamo more than anyone. Yet she had chosen to be with him? How had this happened? Why had this happened?
“You were just wondering about the last time that I slept with my wife?” Vachlan asked.
“Yes… well, it’s just…” Kyrosed paused, and seemed to be thinking of how to phrase things most eloquently. His royal shoulders raised in a delicate shrug. “She only recently discovered her pregnancy, and you were away in India for several months, so naturally I wondered…”
“You wondered what?” Vachlan asked, approaching the king. He stared into the man’s sickeningly blue eyes. “You wondered what!”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
She had been carrying another man’s child. There was no doubt about it. Everyone had been insinuating it. The whispers and looks of pity were too much to bear. With Visola away, leading her own campaign, she was not there to speak with personally. There was only a message she had left with Naclana saying that she wished to meet him in Zimovia. What did she need to tell him?
“Well, you know they’ve been fighting recently,” Naclana said, sipping on his drink.
“Fighting?” Vachlan exclaimed. “Viso and Zuri have been fighting? What on earth would get between those two?”
“King Kyrosed, of course,” Naclana said. “I don’t really know the details, but I heard his name coming up a lot. Princess Aazuria kept mentioning a matter of honor, and Visola kept saying that she couldn’t face the truth…”
His mind had filled in the blanks, twisting everything into the shape he least wanted to see. Every night he had seen it in his nightmares, over and over: Visola betraying him, Visola laughing at him, Visola taunting him. Now, King Kyrosed stood before him as clear as day. The older man arched his white eyebrows and fixed Vachlan with a smug smile. “Sorry, lad,” the king said. “When you have true power, you get used to taking what you want. You don’t think about the consequences. You know what I mean, don’t you?”
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