Follow: Book 1 The Rose Tree Chronicles

Chapter Twenty-Two: Bravery, Love, and Regard

Everyone in the room remained silent, awaiting to hear a reaction from Emperor Plake. The emperor gently tossed the letter onto the table in front of him.

"Well it is a good thing this is no hoax," he said. He called to his scribe. "Cal! Address a message to Emperor Mandingo and include everything we have discussed. There is no need for code or such. I trust this pixie can avoid capture. Be sure to write every detail."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Cal replied.

"Should we begin preparation then, Sire?" asked a general.

"No," replied the emperor. "Mandingo seemed skeptical in his letter. You know as well as I that we cannot execute this plan without his assistance. In the meantime, I would like to make Jorge a general of his own division. He seems to know what he is doing, which is more than I can say for some. General Jorge, your troops are stationed in Baskerville. I had promised them a new general about a month ago, so I am certain they will be pleased to finally see you. You will leave after I receive notice back from Mandingo. Go and claim your horse."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Jorge bowed and left the room.

"Travis and Jole, you two will be captains in his division. He can assign you your troops. You are both leaving in a couple of days to give them the news. Go and prepare yourselves."

"Yes, Your Majesty," they replied.

"Lady Shae, this pixie will be sleeping in your chamber tonight. She may deliver the message at daybreak."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Shae replied. Shae and Rein bowed and left immediately to turn in for the night.

~~

Rein brought the message from Mandingo back to Plake by twilight about a week and a half later. She found the emperor in the same map room planning a back-up battle in case Mandingo refused the first plan. Emperor Plake read the letter and smiled, then turned to his circle of generals which now included Jorge.

"Good news, gentlemen," he said. "Emperor Mandingo approves of the strategy and wishes to participate."

The room erupted into applause and praise. Plake's smile grew as he held up the last page of Mandingo's response.

"He suggests we offer Mentir the opportunity of surrender."

The room broke into laughter and Plake signed his part of the suggestion for Mentir to read. Rein felt uneasy about the idea of seeing Emperor Mentir again, but she took comfort in the knowledge that it would be the last time, and she would be giving him a suggestion of surrender: a prime insult for one to use on a ruler. She left for the People's Empire the next morning and made it to Mentir's palace less than a week later. She found the emperor alone in his chamber, sipping a drink from a silver goblet while staring blankly into his fire like the disturbed man that he was.

Rein took a deep breath and cleared her throat to get the emperor's attention. He looked up from his goblet and saw her standing on his window sill.

"Hey, Butterfly," the emperor said with an evil smirk. He set his goblet down on his cedar side table and stood up to greet her. "Back for more are we?"

Rein said nothing and held out the letter to the emperor, whose smile quickly disappeared at the sight of it. Then he noticed her source of transportation and grinned again. He decided not to address it since he knew that his grin said everything for him. He opened the envelope to read the letter and frowned once more at its offensive contents. Then he spat on the letter, folded it up, and handed it back to Rein.

"Don't come back," were Mentir's final words to her. Useless words, of course. Rein couldn't have been any happier to oblige.

~~