Ten of Swords (Draft Only)

Chapter 31

Days passed by suffocatingly slow, with no one really going anywhere. From the tall stone walls of the castle, the strife of the lower class and the scheming of Corden and the others almost seemed to be non-existent. Elise came to understand a little more why these people couldn't comprehend the suffering that lingered in the streets below. Every meal was hearty and balanced, consisting of both hunted and farmed meats, fresh vegetables, artisanal and rare delicacies, exotic spices, and rich deserts. On principal, Elise always refused the desert. She could argue well enough that she needed the three main meals of the day to keep her mind sharp, but she couldn't excuse indulging in sweets from far off lands and the excess of afternoon tea. Not when she knew that they ate these meals at the expense of those she lived her entire life trying to help. It took a lot of self-control. Every day she teetered on the edge of breaking. After all, it was right there, and it wasn't as though she was directly hurting anybody. It wasn't right.

The crown's agents were hard at work collecting favours and hoarding secrets. Rumours could be weaponised or used to keep the nobility in check. There was also time for Elise to dig into various recorded topics, such as the royal family tree and the laws of succession. As it were, aside from Samson, who has still yet to be publicly presented, the next in line for the throne was unclear. Hereskel's younger siblings were dead, and he had no nieces or nephews. If he were to die without an heir, there would be succession wars. While there was evidence of war between foreign powers, the nobility wouldn't dare try to have Hereskel assassinated. It was all too likely that a neighbouring kingdom might take the opportunity to swoop in and take over while everyone's attention was elsewhere, and the kingdom's forces were at war with themselves.

It felt strange to have such insight into what was going on. Previously, she had no earthly clue as to why Hereskel enacted the laws that he had, but it was starting to make a little more sense. He was a crafty and sly man after all. The wars could very well be threatening to their kingdom, but perhaps not to the extent that Hereskel wanted everyone to believe. It gave him the opportunity to take over without the nobles putting up too much of a fuss, by convincing them that they needed him to protect them. Putting in place laws that acted to prepare them for invasion was a way of showing that they were under threat, even if they might not have been. So long as the nobles were afraid, he would be uncontested. In that case, why name a direct heir at all? Well, he seemed to be a man who thought ahead. Perhaps he was trying to make his position more secure in preparation for when the wars cooled down and he could no longer use them to keep himself in power.

Though she had been betrayed by the rebellion, she still wanted to put an end to Hereskel's tyranny. Even just getting rid of the laws against charity and bringing in labour laws that protected workers would make life so much better for so many people. It wasn't ideal, but nothing was built in a day. Change was slow. They just needed a plan.

Progress had been made in undermining the rebel's plans. Many of the safe routes they used to have had been closed off, and several safehouses had been raided. They tracked a small force from town to their new deployment, and they had been for the most part, apprehended. By keeping them out of the public legal system under the guise of keeping the common people calm, they had them placed in labour camps instead of executed. Again, not ideal, but at least they were being fed three fair meals per day and they weren't dead. It was the most she could get away with, even with the help of the agent assigned to oversee her efforts.

The underage assassin hadn't come around completely, but he was more cooperative than before. Understandably, he didn't want to work with the crown, but he was still just as eager to get revenge. He was moved from the dungeon to an above-ground cell, meaning he was no longer on death row.

Just as Hereskel had promised, Samson had been studying politics and courtly manor. After some arguing, archery and natural studies were added to his list of classes. Cadogan didn't object to the request for Legom to help teach the boy the final class, being able to recognise that a druid probably knew a lot more about plants and animals than he did.