THE FORTUNIST

20. Wuxhia

“Xri's Blade is the cryfix of House Xri.”

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There are instances when silence speaks louder than words and this is one such instance. Everyone too stunned to speak but voices roaring loudly in their heads. Wuxhia sinks fully into the seat, soft plush leather cushioning his back. This chair was made by one of the greatest carpenters in Albenian history and Wuxhia can feel now instead of just see and tell that it was worth every Alb invested in it.

"Most comfy chair in the room," Wuxhia purrs suddenly filled with courage he had never thought he would experience. He glances at the faces of the council members one after the other. At least two delegates from each major house. "Why are you all so coy?" He sniggers, "I'm the queen's regent and I act in her capacity. I sit here in her name. Disrespect me if you dare and I'd gladly relegate you to the dungeons until she returns."

"This is absurd," Idris sputters, "you are Lord General before anything else. Sitting in the queen's chair sends the wrong message."

"Be sensible Lord Beckefort. I know the veto rings fiasco was your doing and you clearly wouldn't have used it if you considered me as just Lord General. My duty to the queen is greater than my duty to her army. The only wrong message being passed, Hand is you thinking you can question me. I'd send for a dog and have it sit on the general's chair, and bare its teeth and flail its tail and wag its tongue— but you will do nothing. Do you know why, Hand? Because the dog is your general for the day and for as long as I want. Anything else?" Wuxhia shoots a venomous look.

"None at all." Bough's response turns heads to his direction. They all look away from the abashed captain eventually, figuring to themselves that it is better to let him acquiesce on their behalf so that if anything goes wrong, he would bear all the blame.

Wuxhia grins, seeing right through them. They don't know yet that Queen Eim would never return but once they do, they would acquiesce, because the option of death is not always as appealing as it sounds. "Very well. Hand, if you would have the honour."

Idris hesitates. He lifts himself up and clears his throat. "In the name of her regent Lord Gen…"

"Royal Highness," Wuxhia cuts in. Idris glares at him.

"In the name of her regent, his Royal Highness Xihan Dropp. And in the name of the nine cryfixes. And in the name of the Fortunist. And in the name of all the members present here today. And in Albeny's name. And the name of the seven major houses, I declare this council meeting begun."

"Begun!" comes the chorus as Idris retakes his seat while releasing a huff.

Wuxhia gives him a demure smile. 'Was that so hard?' he wants to ask but he holds his impulses. He does not want to go too far on Idris' bad side because his influence is still needed to win Lemohn House and all the houses pledged to it. There is Lord Jaise Lemohn of course, present custodian of Lemohn's Mirror and First Lord of Lemohn. Wuxhia knows from his father that Jaise rarely ever interferes. While Idris can command tides, Jaise prefers to roll wherever such tides took him.

"I told the captain how much I wanted this meeting postponed but he advised that it would be beneficial to show my face in the essence of my new yet temporary position in the council which is what I have done. The advisory role is your job Lord Beckefort but you still whine over the portals…"

"I'm allergic to…"

"Let's not inconvenience the state of Albeny for the allergies of one man. The queen trusts us to keep the country safe and that is what we will do. In light of that Lord Beckefort, you will be granted residence in the palace until my regency ends."

"But…"

"It is either that or you lose your position until my regency ends. I am only a regent. That means I'll demand more from you than our queen ever did. You won't be able to fulfil your role as Hand if you cannot be by my side at a moment's notice since you whine about the fastest means of transportation Albeny has to offer. Are we clear?"

Idris' face is eggplant purple which suggests he has words he wants to tell Wuxhia in private, not necessarily kind words. It would not matter because Idris would be exactly where Wuxhia wants him, far from his house and leaving the bulk of the power to Jaise. Wuxhia glances at Jaise who seems to be ready to drop into a sleep at any moment. "Yes, your Highness."

Wuxhia smiles tightly. "We shall have our audience very soon. Just the two of us," he promises the aggrieved Hand. "Is there anything on the agenda?"

"Albenarum keeps demanding for an increased budget," Lord Simine Xri from the Xri House speaks. He is the Keeper of the Country's purse, First Lord of Xri and Custodian of Xri's Blade, the Xri House's Cryfix.

"Is this a sudden demand?" Lady Fevren Xri, his stepsister asks. She is Keeper of the City's Watch and mainly in charge of the determining of public opinions. If there is anything happening, whether or not it is newsworthy, she is usually among the first to know. By the purse of her lips however, she does not know about this. Simine, in his pointed look makes it obvious that it is an intentional act on his part.

The council soon bursts into argument on if the introduction of lead admission tokens few years ago by Queen Eim was a good idea. Some of the members like Jaise and Bough stay out of it.

"Enough!" Wuxhia had seen this kind of argument coming because prior to the meeting he had extensively studied all issues that would have remotely involved Xihan's expressed opinion. As one who was homeschooled and consequently did not need an Albenarum certificate to practise cryfix magic or be General and ruler for that matter, Wuxhia does not care about the academy's affairs. "If you want to question the queen's decisions, do so in the presence of the queen. I'm sure Albenarum can do with what is allocated to them until she returns. Her reasons for introducing lead admission tokens are so far justifiable. Wouldn't you say so Lady Xri?"

The ball is back in Fevren's court and she does not hide the fact that she is pleased that Wuxhia wants her opinion. Wuxhia muses it would not be hard to get the Xri House to back his cause after all.

"As Keeper of the City's Watch, I can boldly assure everyone that love for the Crown has increased. The queen truly cares for her subjects."

"At the expense of her institutions," Simine snorts.

"Albenarum is an independent territory. I'm sure they'll find independent ways to earn more coin," Fevren shoots back.

"You both represent Xri House Lord and Lady Xri. It's not a good look when the both of you fight," Jaise chastises. The step siblings glower at each other but say nothing more.

"I'm only regent for a short period," Wuxhia chooses his words carefully, "Let's leave life altering decisions alone for now. Next."

"When will the queen return?" Idris wastes no breath to ask the question at the forefront of  everyone's minds.