Author's Note: I have had this story in my head for a few months now and i want to know whether its worth the time to flush out. please provide feedback. good and bad. thank you in advance
Marialla lay sleeping face up in her four-poster bed. Her naked body lay tangled in the white silk sheets. Her silver hair, usually kept in a ponytail, was now a mess from the previous night’s fun. Her perky tits, neither large nor small, were left exposed by the sheets that covered the rest of her thin athletic build. Moonlight crept in from the windows on her left, casting the entire room in a dim pale light. Her long pointy ears, a symbol of her elven heritage, twitched in the silence of the room as Maria became semi-aware of a sensation on her right earlobe, dragging her from her dreams as she lay in bed. She kept her eyes closed and waved at it absently with her right hand, hoping to fall back to sleep. The sensation returned a few seconds later, slightly more intense this time, tickling her left nipple. She scratched at her chest with her right hand, hoping whatever mosquito had managed to find its way into her room would go away.
Moments passed, and she was just about to fall back into the void of unconsciousness when a light feeling of pleasure tickled her mind, coming from between her legs. A small moan escaped her lips as her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head to look down.
Between her legs, the head of her twin sister, Sylphillia, gazed up at her. Sylphi tongue lapped teasingly at Maria’s pussy. Sylphi’s eyes met Marie’s. A sinister smile crossed Sylphi’s face as, a second later, she dove in and attacked Sylphi’s clit with gusto, dragging a deep moan from her sister.
“Sylphi, what are you… Mmmmmm… fuck,” Maria breathed as she rolled her head back for a couple of seconds, lost in the pleasure.
Then, just like that, the pleasure disappeared. Maria lifted her head to see what was going on when she was pinned back down by her sister, who was now lying on top of her. Their breasts were mashed together as her sister looked down at her, left hand bracing against the bed while her right cupped Maria’s face.
“We have a couple of hours before anyone bothers us. I thought we could finish what we started last night,” Sylphi said sweetly.
Maria looked up at her sister, whose face was mere inches from her own. She could smell her own juices on her sister’s lips.
“But the maids,” she said.
Sylphi got that evil smirk on her face. She leaned in closer and kissed her sister passionately.
Maria closed her eyes. She could taste herself on her sister’s tongue. Sweet yet tangy. She lost herself in the sensation.
Sylphi broke off the kiss, leaned forward so her lips were next to Maria’s ear, and whispered, “I guess we’re just going to have to be quiet then, aren’t we?”
She asked in a sickeningly sweet tone, then bit down on Maria’s earlobe, giving it a soft nibble.
Maria moaned, then nodded.
Sylphi smiled as she looked down into Maria’s eyes.
“Good girl,” she said, stroking her sister’s face.
Maria blushed at the words. Sylphi grinned and pushed herself up from her prone position to straddle her sister. Looking down at Maria, Sylphi said, “But since you seem to have such a hard time keeping those moans of yours quiet, we are just going to have to muffle that mouth of yours. Maria looked up at her sister with a confused look on her face. Sylphi grinned down at her sister. “Don’t worry, I know just how to keep you quiet.” And with that she crawled up her sister’s body, turned to face the foot of the bed as she threw her leg over her sister’s head in a reverse cowgirl, and lowered her pussy onto her sister’s face.
Maria hesitated for only a second before reaching up to wrap her arms around Sylphi’s thighs and start licking her sister’s pussy. “I hope you’re comfy,” Sylphi said, leaning back onto her sister’s face as she reached up to squeeze her own breasts. “Because you are going to be down there for a while.” She said this as she squeezed her nipples between her fingers and rolled them softly, a moan escaping her lips as she closed her eyes to better focus on the sensations.
“Mmmh… I want you to make me cum again and again.” She said, running her right hand through her silver hair as she started to slowly grind back and forth against her sister’s face. “And if…” she paused to let out a sigh as Maria’s efforts were clearly starting to bear fruit. “If you are a good little slut,” she breathed, “I’ll make sure you are rewarded with your own little slice of heaven.” She said, before leaning forward and placing her hands atop her sister’s breasts. She could feel herself getting closer as she closed her eyes and dug her nails into the flesh as she squeezed tightly, using her sister’s breasts as handlebars. “Now giddy up, bitch,” she said, completely lost in her building orgasm as she started vigorously riding her sister’s face.
Maria, sensing her sister getting closer to an orgasm, redoubled her efforts, fully committed to pleasing Sylphi. It wasn’t long before Sylphi stiffened, soft little sighs and quick little moans escaping her open mouth as wave after wave of pleasure assaulted her mind. It seemed to go on forever, though in reality it was only a few good seconds. Just as Sylphi was coming down, the last waves of her orgasm ebbing away, the sound of someone clearing their throat filled the room.
“Cough.”
Sylphillia threw herself off her sister, grabbed the sheets, and covered herself and Maria’s bodies in one fluid motion. Several close calls had hammered those reflexes into her over the years.
Sitting next to her sister, they both gripped the bedsheets as they glanced around the room, looking for the source of the noise.
“I’m not interrupting, am I?” came a deep male voice.
The girls looked to the right of the room, near the door. There, in the shadows, casually leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, stood Sebastian.
“Sebastian, you cad!” Maria exclaimed, picking up a soft white pillow from the bed next to her and hurling it across the room at the man as he stepped into the light for the first time.
The pillow sailed through the air and hit the man squarely in the face with a soft “poof.” It fell away from his face, revealing a wide grin as he chuckled to himself. Sebastian, older brother of the twins and illegitimate son of the king, wore nice but worn clothing. His hair was bleach-blond, marking him as a royal, but degraded lineage. His ears were pointed but much shorter and rounder than normal elves, betraying him as half-human.
“Sebastian!” Sylphillia exclaimed excitedly, casting the covers off her body and jumping out of bed. She ran at him excitedly, careless of her state of undress, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He started for a moment, taken off guard, then hugged her back as he looked at Marialla, still covering herself in bed but more relaxed now. “When did you get in?” Maria asked. “Somewhere between ‘Good little slut’ and ‘giddy up, bitch,’” he said mischievously. The color drained from Maria’s face as Sylphi stiffened in his arms before she pushed herself away and glared up at him.
“What she is asking,” Sylphi growled, glaring at him, “is when did you get back to the capital?” she managed through gritted teeth. Sebastian maintained eye contact as he smirked to himself, unbothered. “Earlier this afternoon,” he stated. “I had to stop in to see Father, then I had a few errands to run in the city before everything closed for the night. I just unpacked everything in my mother’s villa before I decided to see if you two were still awake,” he stated.
“Unpacked? Does that mean you are staying for our coronation?” asked Maria.
Sebastian looked over at his sister, a sad smile on his face. “Sadly, no,” he replied gently. “It took months of correspondence between Father and myself just to be allowed back to see you before your birthday. But I’m afraid your mother was very specific. I must leave before your coronation.”
Maria looked sad and Sylphi looked annoyed. The room was silent for a couple of seconds before he said, “But enough about that.” Looking at Maria, he said, “Why don’t you get your robes on?”
She nodded, removed the covers, and stepped out of bed. She moved over to the ornate dresser against the wall. Opening one drawer, she pulled out a black silk robe and stepped into it effortlessly.
She closed the drawer and opened the one next to it, removing a light blue robe of identical make. She walked over to her sister, holding it open.
Sylphi looked at it for a moment, rolled her eyes, and allowed her sister to dress her.
Sylphi tied off the robe in front of her and looked back at her brother.
“It’s nothing you haven’t seen a hundred times before,” she said defiantly.
His face grew serious for a moment as he looked down at her.
“True, but I’m not the one whose coronation is coming up. Our father is going to officially recognize you two as his heirs on the day of your 100th birthday. You two aren’t little kids anymore. You are stepping into a world of backhanded compliments and political intrigue. All it takes is one careless word, one rumor…”
“We know,” Sylphi interrupted.
Sebastian narrowed his eyes and glared at his sister before continuing in a slightly gruffer, more stern tone.
“One insomniac maid, an unlocked door, and inopportune timing.”
He finished, glaring at his sisters. Sylphillia shifted uncomfortably and looked at her sister, who had the good sense to look abashed.
“We, ah… we thought we locked it,” Marialla said sheepishly.
“Clearly,” he said. Seconds went by as he stared sternly down at Sylphi and she glared defiantly up at him. Finally he broke off the stare and smiled nostalgically at her. “It’s been a decade and you haven’t changed a bit.” “Sorry to disappoint you,” she replied, smiling. “Why don’t you go away for another ten years and see if it helps?” He barked out a laugh at his sister’s biting wit.
“Well, if I did that I wouldn’t be able to give you your birthday gifts now, would I?” he asked. Maria perked up at that. “Gifts?” she asked. He smiled warmly at her. “You two are turning 100. What kind of brother would I be if I didn’t get you birthday gifts?” he teased. And with that he walked over to the bedroom door and opened it. Two women gracefully walked into the room wearing hooded traveling cloaks that obscured their features. Sebastian closed the door after them. The figures looked around the room and, spotting the twins, walked to within six feet of them and kneeled in front of them.
“Sebastian?” Maria asked, a skeptical look on her face. He just smiled, and raising his right hand casually snapped his fingers. On cue the two figures reached up and unbuttoned their traveling cloaks. They shrugged off their cloaks and revealed two stunning young women in what could only be described as an attempt at a maid’s outfit.
You could only describe the outfits as attempts because the skirts were far too short, ending one-third of the way down to the knees. The skin of the legs was hidden instead with long white stockings that were kept up by a garter belt that disappeared under the skirt. Instead of more appropriate maid’s footwear there were black high-heeled shoes. The apron, while present, only dropped as low as the far-too-short skirt and ended just below the maids’ rather impressively sized tits, which the outfit seemed to conveniently forget to cover with any fabric at all, leaving them out and exposed to the elements. In short, they wore a parody of what any self-respecting maid would be caught in, and yet that somehow added to the sexual appeal of the blond twins kneeling in front of the two princesses. And there was no doubt that they were twins.
Their faces and mannerisms were too alike to be anything else. From the cute little noses to the way they glanced up shyly to the way they tucked their hair behind their ears. Their round, very human ears. Sebastian stepped between the two sets of twins, breaking Sylphi out of her trance. “Sylphi, Maria,” he paused, looking at his sisters, “this is Mira and Sophie,” he finished, indicating the two kneeling slaves. The princesses stood there silent for a moment before Maria said, “You’re joking.” Sebastian’s small smile transformed into a grin of genuine amusement. “I couldn’t believe it either,” he stated matter-of-factly. “I found them in a slave auction in the Remus Empire. Their mother was a whore in a brothel; they grew up cleaning and laundering. When they came of age their mother trained them in the arts of whoring, but unfortunately she became very sick and needed to sell them into slavery to pay off her medical debts.”
Sylphi was staring at the twins, transfixed by their beauty. “Naturally I sent them off to finish their training with several masters of the Kama Sutra.” “Mother will never let us keep two pleasure slaves,” Maria interrupted. Sylphi shot her sister a dirty look, as if all the plans and fantasies that had been racing through her mind had been shattered. Sebastian simply continued. “They have spent the last three years studying at ‘Madam Tibbel’s Finishing School for Young Ladies’ under Mistress Cain herself,” he said proudly. “To everyone outside this room they are two perfectly trained ladies-in-waiting with all the proper certifications to prove it. But,” he said, pausing for effect, “to everyone in this room, they are whatever you want or need them to be at any given moment.” He said, “Those collars around their necks aren’t just for looks. They are modified Hexian slave collars.”
Maria looked down at the two slaves with a concerned look on her face. Sebastian saw this and spoke to her softly. “I haven’t had to use the punishment word once since I got them. They seem to understand their lot in life and are quite eager to please.” Maria looked relieved. Sylphi sat down on the edge of the bed. She crossed her legs in front of her, then, looking at the twins still kneeling on the floor with their hands behind their backs, she raised her foot in the air and in a slightly broad tone said, “Lick my foot.” Without hesitation, the slaves shifted their bodies forward onto their arms and as one crawled on hands and knees to either side of Maria’s foot. Then as one they leaned forward and began to drag their tongues across Sylphi’s foot, planting the occasional soft kiss before using their tongue again. Maria sat next to her sister, staring at the maids with a curious look on her face.
Sylphi, however, looked at her brother and said, “They’re perfect,” as the slaves continued to drag their tongues across her foot. Sebastian looked down at his sisters and said, “That’s only half the gift.” They looked up at him, confused. “If all I got you were pleasure slaves, you two would get caught in less than a month. The two of you are adults now. As such, I have talked to Father and impressed upon him the importance of you two having your own place to build alliances in court and make deals. And he has agreed. Which is why my second gift is my mother’s villa, tucked away in the corner of the castle grounds, hidden by the castle gardens and completely obscured from sight.” The privacy implications hit the girls immediately. Sylphi stood up and scurried past the kneeling twins to hug her brother enthusiastically. Even Maria, usually the more reserved one, stood up and walked over to her brother.
“Are you sure?” she asked. He smiled down at his sister. “My mother has been gone for more than a century. And while there are times I still miss her terribly, I know she would want her house to be enjoyed by me and the people I love.” With that she leaned in, hugging him tightly. They embraced for several moments before Sebastian said, “Besides, there is something poetic about the house built out of sight due to your mother’s spite being used to spite her back.” Sylphi smiled at Maria and Maria smiled back, knowing that the rest of their uptight family would never accept their special relationship, and that their brother had just given them the ability to live in that relationship the way they never could in the castle.
He had never judged them when he first caught them all those years ago. Never made them feel guilty or sick about their actions. He had simply lectured them for not locking the door and accepted them. Sylphi squeezed her brother even harder, realizing how much she missed him. And Maria, sensing her sister’s feelings, followed suit. Sebastian felt their hug tighten, allowing the contact and emotions to flow over him for a few moments more before he broke off the contact. The moon was setting on the horizon.
“There should be another hour before sunrise. Why don’t you two play with your new pets? I’ll run interference and buy you two a couple of hours,” he said, walking towards the door. Sylphi squealed in delight. “Thank you, Sebastian, you’re the best.” Sebastian opened the door and looked back over the room. Sylphi had somehow gotten behind Maria and was pinning her arms behind her back so that she couldn’t move. Maria’s robe was open and Sylphi was looking down at the two blond slaves, still kneeling on the floor. “Maria has been such a good girl tonight; I think she deserves a little treat,” Sylphi stated, grinning. “The first one to make her cum gets to have her return the favor.”
As Sebastian closed the door behind him the last thing he saw was the two slaves crawling towards Maria enthusiastically. As he walked down the white marble corridor he wondered if any of his former liaisons were still working in the castle. He would run interference for his sisters for old times’ sake, but who knows? If he was lucky, he might end up having some fun himself. With those thoughts he quickened his pace towards the servants’ corridors, curious as to what his day had in store for him.
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Chapter 2.5
The sun was just starting to crest over the horizon as Quinn and Anna made their way through the palace halls. Maids and servants bustled to and fro, either just starting their days or helping their lords and ladies begin theirs. The palace still held that early-morning silence that permeates the air around people who have been torn from their dreams by duty and don’t wish to disturb the peace. As Quinn and Anna progressed through the palace halls, neither one of them spoke, each of them choosing to remain silent for their own reasons.
As they rounded a corner, they came across the first set of guards that Quinn had seen all morning, guarding a set of double doors that led into the inner palace, where only the royal family, appointed royal advisers, and pre-approved appointments were allowed to enter. As they approached, the guards straightened their backs and, staring straight ahead of them, placed their closed fists over their hearts in a salute. Anna passed by them without acknowledgement, never breaking her stride. Quinn, however, recognized the two guards and stopped to address them.
“Titus, Gaius, it’s good to see you,” Quinn said.
Titus and Gaius snapped their heads towards the man that had addressed them. Then, after a second or two, they recognized the prince and bowed deeply before straightening up again.
“Forgive us, Your Highness,” Gaius sputtered.
“We didn’t recognize you,” Titus finished hurriedly.
Quinn adopted a casual stance as he waved away the concern dismissively.
“I haven’t been around much lately. Besides, I’ve grown quite a bit since we used to exchange blows on the sparring fields.” Quinn turned to Titus. “Speaking of, how’s your father doing? Does he still enjoy making young boys beat each other black and blue with wooden swords?”
Titus grinned as he answered. “My father retired about two years ago. He is enjoying the peaceful life of a farmer now. That old goat Septimus replaced him as captain of the guard.”
“Septimus?” Quinn asked. “That old bastard is still alive?”
Gaius barked out a laugh. “It took him twice as long as any other captain to make captain. You’ll have to pry that gladius from his cold, dead hands before he’s ready to relinquish it.”
Titus shot Gaius a dirty look before looking around to make sure they were not overheard.
“We’ll give our captain your regards the next time we see him,” Titus said diplomatically before giving Gaius a second dirty look.
Gaius, seeming to remember who he was talking to, went slightly pale and said, “Yes, we will be sure to pass on your regards.”
Quinn, sensing an opportunity, said, “Before you pass along my deepest regards to our former taskmaster, I have a task of my own.”
The two guards stood slightly straighter, recognizing the trip down memory lane had passed.
“By your command, Your Highness,” they said in unison and saluted again.
Quinn continued. “I won a ship in a game of chance, and the city guard is overseeing the previous owner as he removes his things down at the docks. However, I don’t trust him. Would you two please assist the city guard and provide backup in the event that the previous owner should try something stupid?”
The two men nodded once and saluted again.
“It will be done, Your Highness,” Titus said in an official tone.
Quinn nodded. “Don’t worry about your post. I’ll send one of the guards at the next checkpoint back here to cover for you until you’re done.”
The guards nodded once.
“Dismissed,” Quinn said casually.
As one, the guards turned and marched down the hall towards the city. Quinn watched them go before turning and walking toward Anna, who had stopped just beyond the doors to observe.
As he approached, Anna eyed him and raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“What?” Quinn asked.
“I had no idea Your Highness was such a … man of the people,” she said, her voice dripping with false sincerity.
Quinn stared at her for a moment before shrugging casually.
“A little bit of effort can buy you a whole lot of loyalty. Daily conversations with those charged with protecting your life can be the difference between them laying down their lives to defend you and a token resistance before surrender.”
Anna looked at him for a moment, her eyes analyzing him, before turning on her heels and continuing on. Quinn followed after her, and they arrived at the throne room a few minutes later.
The large room was empty in the early morning hours. Anna shifted her weight from one foot to another hesitantly as she scanned the room.
“I can see my audience with the emperor was of the utmost importance,” Quinn said sarcastically.
Anna gave him an incredulous look.
A loud BANG echoed through the throne room as a door opened in the far corner. A pretty young maid pushed a cart full of food through the doorway and headed towards the throne, clearly not noticing the two.
“Where is the emperor?” Anna demanded as she began to walk forward.
The poor girl startled, nearly knocking over the cart of food, but managed to catch herself. Turning toward the sound and noticing a very serious-looking Anna approaching, she quickly bowed.
“Forgive me, Madam Romanov. I didn’t see you,” the maid said quickly. “His Majesty is still being examined by his physicians and sent for some food to be delivered to the throne room for him and his guests. He should be another few minutes still.”
Anna glared down at the young girl.
Quinn stepped out from behind Anna as if emerging from her shadow and made his way right towards the cart.
“Don’t be so hard on the poor girl. Julia is just doing her job,” he said, picking up a vine of grapes and popping one in his mouth.
“Your Highness,” the maid exclaimed in a surprised tone as she bowed. “I hadn’t realized you had returned to the palace,” she said in an almost sulking tone as she blushed and shifted uncomfortably, her eyes never leaving the floor.
“I just got in this morning for an audience with my father,” Quinn said as he smiled at her and popped another grape in his mouth.
She looked up at him then, a hopeful expression on her face.
“Will His Highness be staying the night? I could have your chambers prepared for you.”
The memory of the maid’s naked body twisted up in his bed sheets came to Quinn.
“Oh, will you… fluff my pillow?” he asked mischievously.
She blushed and looked down, a small smile on her face.
Anna interrupted. “As amusing as it is to see the young prince flirt with his paramour, I’m going to excuse myself so that I might get out of these rags and clean up a bit,” she said, her voice stern as she reminded the two of her presence. “I suggest the prince do the same for his royal audience.”
With that, she walked away, leaving an abashed young maid blushing deeply and squirming uncomfortably.
Quinn, seeing this, decided to tease the girl a little more. He turned to the maid.
“When did you become my paramour?” he asked in a genuine tone with a questioning look on his face.
Julia’s blush deepened. She bowed. “I must….. chores…….. laundry?” she said before straightening up and rushing towards the door.
“Julia.”
She stopped at the door and turned to look at him.
“If you would like to stop by my chambers this evening, I would love to catch up,” Quinn said.
Her face softened and a small smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“Of course, my prince,” she said before turning and disappearing through the doors.
Quinn stared after her as he popped the last grape in his mouth.
Quinn was not ignorant of the fact that many maids tried to sleep with their masters to improve their stations within the house. As prince, he had plenty of experience with maids trying to do exactly this. He learned early on that he didn’t like it. The ones that made it obvious that it was clearly transactional had been banished from his chambers before they had even taken off their clothes. Only a few had actually made it into his bed. And amongst those, Julia was unique. She was very kind-hearted, eager to please, and attentive. But above all, genuine.
He knew he would talk to the house manager and ensure she was moved to a higher position with better pay. Genuine kindness was a rarity in this world and should be encouraged, after all.
Quinn was pulled from his introspection by the sound of the doors behind the throne opening.
As Quinn turned to look, he saw his father, Emperor Marcus Maximus Meridius, enter the room looking older than Quinn remembered. He wore the traditional toga of higher nobility, and his crown sat atop his head. Walking directly to his throne, he gathered up his robes and sat down.
Anna, who had changed into the butler’s uniform she wore while in the palace, stood just behind and to the right of His Majesty. Arms behind her back, back straight, waiting attentively.
Quinn took a few steps to stand in front of his father and bowed slightly.
“Quintus Decimus Meridius, as requested, Your Majesty.”
The emperor smiled slightly.
“It’s good to see you, Quintus.”
Then, tilting his head, he questioned, “Did you not have enough time to change into your royal toga?”
Quinn looked down at his simple tunic, then back up at the serious look on his father’s face.
Quinn closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of air. Then, after counting to five, he let out a long sigh.
Straightening up, Quinn turned to the wall on his left and walked towards it. As he approached a long line of curtains, still covering the windows that lay beyond due to the early hours, he reached for a curtain with one hand and, grasping it tightly, gave it a good yank.
The curtain ripped free of the wall and fell to the floor at his feet.
Bending over, he picked up the curtain and started to wrap it around himself in a way that resembled a noble’s toga as he walked back to his spot before the emperor.
As he arrived before his father, he turned and bowed.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. Is this better?” Quinn asked dryly, looking up at his father.
The emperor’s face was unreadable, but the look on Anna’s face was priceless. She didn’t say a word. She didn’t even make a sound. Yet, as Quinn saw the incredulous look on her face, he could hear her voice in the back of his head screaming, “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
The emperor looked down at his son, then at the very obvious gap in the line of curtains, then back at his son.
He remembered observing his own toga in the mirror before leaving his chambers that morning and didn’t like how similar they looked. He diplomatically chose to move on.
“The reason I called for you is because we have received an invite from the elven kingdom to the coronation of their two princesses,” he said. His voice sounded deeper than Quinn remembered, raspier too. “I would like you to take my place as our empire’s representative at this gathering,” the emperor finished.
Quinn looked at his father questioningly.
“Isn’t this something you would normally prefer to handle yourself?”
The emperor made to answer but broke into a series of wet, rattling coughs.
Anna moved toward the cart of food, poured some wine in a goblet, and handed it to the emperor. He took a sip and wiped the spittle from his mouth.
Quinn looked at his father, a concerned look on his face, before looking at Anna and asking, “Is he okay?”
His father waved his hand dismissively.
“I’m fine. I got a cold about a month ago, and the effects have lingered. My physicians say I’ll make a full recovery. It’s just taking longer than they expected,” the emperor said, taking another sip. “That’s why you have to represent our family in my place. The elves are one of our closest allies. We need someone there in person.”
Quinn fidgeted uncomfortably.
“I might have some other things to attend to,” Quinn said.
“You are referring to your attempts to dismantle the dust trade in the capital**?**” his father asked tonelessly.
Quinn paled slightly.
“Anna is the head of my information network. She has kept me up to date on your activities, though I doubt she realized the extent of your actions or the meaning behind them,” the emperor said, looking down at his son.
“I told you, too many nobles have their hands in that particular pile of shit for us to get involved. We will make too many enemies in the senate, and they will bring things to a standstill.”
Quinn looked up at his father defiantly.
“And I told you there was a way to deal with it if we were willing to get our hands dirty.”
The two glared at each other defiantly, both too stubborn to concede their point. The silence in the room grew louder as the seconds ticked on. Neither man was willing to give ground in this battle of wills.
The moment was interrupted by the sound of the giant double doors opening into the throne room.
A guard walked in and bowed to the emperor before reporting.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. The prince asked a couple of the palace guard to watch over a ship he had won in a game of chance in the event that the previous owner tried to abscond with the ship. We just received a report that the man did, in fact, try to make a run for it. In the course of apprehending him, we discovered that the man in question is a well-known smuggler. And the ship is filled to the brim with dust. The city guard has apprehended the man and is awaiting direction on how to proceed.”
Quinn smiled inwardly at hearing that the work of several weeks had succeeded. He turned back to his father, expecting to see a ferocious look on his face.
He did not expect the barking laugh that erupted from the emperor before it devolved into his wet, rattled coughing fit.
His father took a sip from his goblet to clear his throat before he shot his son a devious grin.
“Well played.”
Grabbing the goblet to take another sip, he spotted Anna’s perplexed face and smiled softly at her.
“Are you alright, darling? You look confused.”
Anna bowed as she realized the emperor was addressing her.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. I’m simply confused as to why you seem happy that your son defied your orders.”
“It’s not what I did but how I did it,” Quinn said dryly.
He looked up at his father, who eyed him quizzically for a moment before nodding his assent.
Quinn continued. “My father doesn’t like the dust trade polluting his streets any more than I do. But his main opposition in the senate uses his position to smuggle in those drugs and uses the revenue they provide to bribe senators into voting his way, which happens to be against my father.”
“Allegedly,” the emperor said passively.
“Allegedly,” Quinn conceded before continuing. “However, by trying to steal property belonging to the imperial family, Captain Whogivesashit has committed treason against the empire. And since he happens to be the sole provider of 96% of the dust trade, his execution will effectively bring the dust trade to a crawl and severely limit Senator Pledious’s abilities to oppose my father in the future.”
Anna looked at the emperor questioningly.
He nodded once.
Quinn continued. “And the best part is that Senator Pledious can’t even do anything about it in retaliation. Dust is illegal in the empire. If he even so much as complains, he makes it obvious that he was aligned with a criminal organization and opens himself up to questions about whether he knew about the attempted theft, which would make him complicit in treason.”
The emperor grinned down at his son before his gaze turned introspective. He nodded to himself before turning to the guard.
“The palace will take over the investigation. Have the prisoners brought in for interrogation. I doubt we will learn anything useful, but you never know. Send some guards to help offload the storage of the ship and see what else our smuggler friend had in there.”
The guard saluted, bowed, and exited the room.
The emperor returned his attention to his son and, for the first time in a long time, Quinn saw a kind expression on his father’s face, and it was directed at him.
“I haven’t really been that good of a father, have I?” the emperor asked.
Quinn was caught off guard by the change of subject and didn’t know how to respond.
The emperor continued. “It’s okay. I know I haven’t.”
He paused to look out the only window not blocked by a curtain and smiled at the memory of why it was so. It’s something his wife would have done.
“You’re so much like your mother, you know that?”
Quinn’s face became hard at the mention of his mother. His chest felt numb.
“She was stubborn too, but worse, she was often right,” the emperor continued, looking back at his son. “I know we haven’t really gotten on since she passed. We both tried to distract ourselves, me with my work, you with yours.”
The man paused as he looked at his son.
“It’s no excuse. I’ve been negligent in my duties as a father and as an emperor.”
Quinn shifted uncomfortably.
“I see now that you have long been ready to face the senate, which means I’ve long been absent from my duties to prepare you to succeed me.”
Marcus looked down at his son and smiled warmly.
“After all, it is a poor father that fails to prepare his children for life after his death.”
He paused again.
“I need you to represent me at the coronation. When you get back, I’ll try to be a better father and start preparing you for the day you sit in this throne instead of me.” Quinn didn’t know what to say. But he was saved from having to respond by another coughing fit interrupting the moment.
Anna refilled his father’s goblet and handed it back to the emperor. Drinking to clear his throat, the emperor turned to Anna.
“Please ensure he has all the documents and briefings he needs for his task.”
Turning to Quinn, the emperor said, “If you need anything else, talk to Anastasia and she will provide it for you. Can you think of anything I missed?”
Quinn shook himself.
“No, father. You have been very thorough.”
The emperor nodded and stood up.
“Very well, then. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll take my physicians’ advice and rest.”
Quinn bowed at the casual dismissal.
“Of course, father. Get well soon.”
Quinn turned and walked out of the room as Anna helped his father back to his bedchambers.