New Rome

58. Trouble at the Gates

Arly and the emperor were sat on a bench in the palace gardens, protected by the shade of a silvery tree.

"Is it true that the Kebaun army has invaded Amen?" Arly asked, worried.

"It is," the emperor assented, stretching out his long legs. "But you need not be afraid, the border is many miles away. No harm will reach us here."

Arly shook her head. She wasn't worried about that.

"No, but for them to risk all... they must be truly desperate." Her words were slow – not from fumbling over the Amenian language anymore but out of cautious deliberation. She was walking on sensitive ground.  The Kebaun nation had joined the Amen empire in a treaty that was solidified when the late Emperor married a Kebaun princess. This uprising, a quarter of a century later, was seen by many at court as a gross betrayal.

Something almost serious momentarily flashed across the Emperor's expression.

"Indeed." But then it was gone, and he was back to smiling benignly. Arly narrowed her gaze. She didn't buy his aloof act.

"What is it? What are they fighting for?" She pressed.

"All my noble's bluster at the outrage. They call it treason and call on me to lay waste to Kebaun. Yours is the first voice to have sympathy not for my wounded ego – but for my people."

"Will you lay waste?"

The emperor clicked his tongue.

"The matter is complicated." He replied evasively. Arly frowned. 

"The late Prince Omakian advocated Kebaun independence. He thought it strengthened the empire to have strong nations on its border. Perhaps, if a peaceful reconciliation could be managed-"

"You have studied my late advisor's speeches?" The emperor asked in surprise. Arly pulled a face.

"Studying is not really my thing." She admitted sheepishly.

"I see that." He picked up the work pad that had been resting on her lap, and read through her answers. "These are...interesting."

"Interesting?"

"Very, very wrong." He hit her lightly on the back of the head and Arly blushed with embarrassment.

They heard hurried footsteps and both looked up to see security rushing in their direction.

"There's trouble at the palace gates." The head of security gruffly informed them. "The army is coming. There's no need to panic. But protocol dictates that you retreat indoors, your majesty."

The emperor's face was a mask of perfect indifference.

"What a bother," he murmured casually. "Come, little princess, let's play in the ballroom." But Arly was already on her feet and ducking between the security.

"I'll meet you there." She told the emperor over her shoulder. "I just want to see what's happening first."

Arly broke into a jog and headed toward the front of the palace. The emperor frowned, watching her run away.

"Shall we stop her, your majesty?" One of the guards offered, scandalised by Arly's behaviour. The emperor shook his head.

"Let her be, for now."

Arly came to one of the large windows at the front of the palace. She could see that the courtyard below was full of soldiers. And that beyond the sealed palace gates there was a crowd. Arly ran along the corridor, searching for a window that wasn't sealed shut. Climbing two floors, she finally found one and was able to nudge open the pane of glass. A storm of noise assaulted her.