The Duchess' Enchantment

Chapter 16

Cassius

The Torquillen capital's harbour was bustling. Lots of ships had docked here, with all sorts of people relying on this harbour for their livelihoods. Despite Cassius' resentment towards his brother's plan to have him shipped off to foreign shores for diplomatic reasons, he could not deny that he was getting weary of the palace and the frequent mingling with moronic aristocrats. Really, he ought to be thanking his brother for giving him an excuse to leave. Yet, he was furious that his brother and the rest of his council were simultaneously plotting his betrothal to foreign yet equally imbecilic nobles.

Nearly everything of value had been loaded onto ships in the last few days. Precious goods for trading such as delicacy spices native only to this country, opals, copper, cloth fabrics, and so much more. Most of all, he spied several intricate pieces of jewellery - Torquillen was renowned for its beautiful, otherworldly jewellery pieces. Though, personally Cassius thought of jewellery as impractical and a waste of good money, he was pragmatic enough to understand that good jewellery would bring lots of money to Torquillen's ports. And the royal family's coffers.

The past few days had been a bore. Cassius, although the second son of a royal family, never had much interest in politics or trade or whatever else royals needed to learn to manoeuvre. He despised learning it. He despised the intricacies and subtleties involving politics, trade negotiations, court etiquette or anything involved in running a country. There were too many unwritten rules, too many egotistical, pig-headed lords that needed their pride to be inflated with careful manoeuvring. He drowned in such topics.

On the other hand, Cassius thrived in matters involving military pursuits. From a young age, he'd been happiest with a sword in his hand. His father had noticed and employed several weapons masters and high ranking military men to educate him on military matters. Whilst he mastered weapons, he had unexpectedly found out that he took a liking to the administration and tactical military strategies than he would admit. He hated the monotony of a classroom, but debating military strategies, finding techniques to strengthen their army administration were almost as enjoyable as dueling. Almost. But not quite.

His real passion was the sword, his best weapon. He had, of course, mastered the art of using many weapons over the years, but none had quite the balance and power of a sword. Nonetheless, Cassius made sure that he was proficient with every weapon, if not the best in the region. Whilst he thrived in military matters and armed intelligence, his brother truly despised it. Emperor Magnus flourished in matters of state and diplomacy, something Cassius could not stand doing. Cassius had no patience to trade polite words with witless fools, unlike his brother. He'd rather get to the point and get it done quickly. It was why they made such a good team; They each made up for what they lacked.

As the sun was setting, Cassius looked forward to heading back toward the castle. He supposed he could use a good hearty meal rather than the bland food served for the soldiers. And because Marceline would never forgive him if he 'forgot' his manners by leaving without informing her. He sighed. Marceline was the annoying older sister he never had.

He entered his brother's rooms. That was where they usually sat together, when they had no need to entertain others. A nice private dinner, because all three of them could share freely without having to worry whether it was overheard. Here they could be a proper family, and titles would be irrelevant. After all, they were family.

Cassius saw no sign of his brother or Marceline anywhere. That was odd. He searched for any signs that could clue him into where they were. None. The clock indicated that they were late. His brother was never late. Magnus prided himself for his punctuality, and he did think that was about to change anytime soon. He decided to head to Marceline's compartments, via the secret chamber that lay between the doors to the Emperor's and the Empress' rooms. Going there from the outside took too long.