Crown of Blood

13.1.|| Love and War

Cage had made a habit of pacing his counsel chamber and he had to admit he was getting on his very own nerves. But it was either that or shoot random magic at stuff, which did not sound like a wise plan since Edmund was there.

"That's bad news," Trixs observed, his eyes on the open letter still on the table with the maps.

It was from General Harkiss and he confirmed that the Border Barons refused to cooperate and put their armies in service of the crown.

"No shit," Cage mumbled.

Edmund shuddered a little, still not used to Cage's true personality in which he just spoke his mind. Trix's presence didn't help either. The prince was wary of the eye patch Trix kept moving from one eye to the other as well as his gloves and tattoos.

"Can't you just make them give up their armies?" Trix asked, crossing his arms over his chest and making his sea serpent tattoos even more visible.

"It doesn't work that way," Edmund said. "Armies have a chain of command, and the soldiers have been entrusted--"

"Why?" Trix turned to him, raising his eyebrows.

Edmund took half a step back. "What do you mean why?"

Cage stopped his pacing, picking up on what his friend meant. It was smart, and it made perfect sense. "He means why do the Border Barons have armies in the first place. Which is a question that can be raised regarding the Port Barons as well."

"Well, it's because they're so far away," Edmund said, though he didn't sound so sure.

"Come to think of it," Cage continued, "there are no Barons in the south."

"We border with Tallia and Annora in the south. We've always had peaceful relations with them, so there was no... point... Oh." The last word was soft as realization finally hit Edmund.

"Exactly. There's no point in sending out armies where you don't expect trouble, is there?" Cage dropped on his chair. "The only reason we have those barons is because they were supposed to guard our borders. The Port Barons from pirates and the Border Barons from Endir."

"Which is why they were given so much power and freedom," Edmund added, sounding defeated.

"Precisely. A lot of favor for a dangerous job. Except none of them have faced any dangers in thirty years." Cage took his crown off and twisted it between his fingers, watching the rubies catch the light. "The navy went after pirates and the borders are so poorly guarded that Endirians are flooding across them."

"I think someone got too used to all of the privilege with none of the work," Trix observed.

There was a long pause after the statement and Cage took advantage of it to analyze all potential ways to proceed.

"How are we supposed to handle something like that?" Edmund whispered into the silence.

Cage appreciated that his little brother now included himself in this mess. He could be a bit more proactive, though.

"It's rather simple, really." Cage moved over to his desk and took a seat. "The king giveth, the king taketh away." A quick glance on the surface of the desk showed no writing instrument. Right, he'd left the fountain pen and paper next to the map.

Without even giving it much of a thought, he reached out his hand and the instruments flew to him. Only after Edmund gasped did he realize that he'd used magic without even thinking.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"That's actually impressive," Trix said. "You're using magic with such ease. I remember when you couldn't move a rock to save your life."