In Pieces

Chapter 12: Death by a thousand cuts.

Kai couldn't believe the nerve of that man! Out of all the places, he randomly insisted on going to this dinky brothel, and it seemed that he didn't care what Kai – the heir to the Empire - thought about it at all. He ordered copious amounts of the nastiest drink the Prince had ever had the misfortune to try and within mere moments he was drunk as a skunk. Yet he kept chugging the stuff down like it was water.

The girls were all over him, of course – offering the handsome General more drinks and shamelessly flirting. Kai couldn't look at this anymore! And the way Minn was talking to them! Suddenly so nice, courteous, and sweet. While all the Prince had ever seen from him before was either barely masked ridicule or complete indifference.

Unable to bear this harmonious scene any longer, Kai asked mockingly:

"So, do you fancy any of them?"

"Who would be able to resist such gorgeous ladies, Your Highness?" Adnan Minn smiled, his cheeks slightly flushed. Even drunk, he exuded calm strength and the kind of charm that made people drown in it.

This answer made Kai almost explode from rage. Gorgeous ladies, he called them! If only he knew...

Maliciously, the Prince leaned closer to the General and whispered into his ear:

"Do you know why all these ladies look so very similar to each other?" he pointed at the women who all had several features in common – long black curly hair, green eyes and even a beauty mark above the upper lip.

Adnan Minn just absentmindedly shook his head. He was obviously more interested in getting another refill than listening to what the Prince had to say. This didn't prevent Kai from speaking, though.

"Long time ago my uncle commissioned a very special portrait of... let's say, a very special lady. It was all done in secret, of course. But, as you know, people talk. And the artist was a chatty fellow. So very soon a rumor started going around that this was Reo Atarian's ideal woman. And then every single brothel began procuring little harlots that had the required looks. They are in high demand – there's not a single man in the Empire who wouldn't want to fuck a woman my uncle deems worthy. He's somewhat of an authority in these kinds of things, if you know what I mean."

"And what did the Regent have to say about all that?" asked General Minn. Surprisingly there was no disgust and no anger in his eyes. He continued smiling warmly at the ladies around him, as if he hadn't heard anything that Kai had just said.

"Obviously he still hasn't found out," Kai said coldly, carefully examining Minn's face. "If he knew, there would have been several instances of bloody slaughter, I assume."

Adnan laughed heartily:

"Yes, your uncle is that kind of man, isn't he?" he was about to take another sip of the drink when his hand suddenly stopped mid-air.

"Wait a minute," Minn furrowed his brow. "What about the original woman? Is she all right? Or did the Regent do something awful to her?"

Alas, Kai himself had no idea. He would have paid a high price to find out who and where that mysterious woman from the portrait was. The Prince had a hunch that she would have been a valuable piece in a play against his uncle. Some time ago he even asked Niki to perform a very powerful search spell which made the poor guy bedridden for weeks, yet yielded no results.

"Nobody knows," the Prince responded to Adnan, feeling frustrated with the absence of expected reaction. But Minn never seemed to take any bait that Kai would so carefully set up for him. He arranged for Adnan to come on this trip for the whole reason of getting closer to him, finding out his weaknesses, his fears, his triggers – anything that he could use to bind him at his side. Kai had even offered Minn his help and the ultimate protection from the Regent – any other person in the Empire would have been at his feet by now, eating out of his hand. But not Adnan Minn. Oh no. He seemed to be unmoved and unimpressed.