Rise and Fall- Fight of Faith

Power to the Emperor

"You can't do that," Malice insisted, fear freezing her heart. "I'm the Empress, we're of equal power. You can't take mine away."
"Yes I can," Grainger said calmly. "Being Emperor, and of equal power to the Empress, I and only I have the ability to declare you innocent or guilty of your crimes. And you, dear mother, I declare guilty. You are Empress Turner no longer, only the beast called Malice we all despise." He turned sharply and made his way to the ship. Quickly he flipped on the communications. "Emergency," he stated. "I am on Genosis with a badly wounded woman, Queen Valarina, and a intergalactic fugitive. The women, Queen Sofia, needs medical attention. The fugitive scum is to be put under arrest the moment we land. She will be released when I declare it, and not a second before."
Malice shivered from fear.
Meanwhile, inside the castle, Valarina knelt next to Sofia, brushing hair out of the troubled and bloodied face. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. She knew Sofia couldn't hear her, but fear for Grainger had paralyzed her, and talking kept her sane. "We got here as fast as we could. I'd have taken your place if I could've, but I didn't know. I should have stopped you from leaving. I'm sorry."
"You should be," spoke a cold voice behind her. Valarina turned quickly to see an Accord standing there. She was around Valarina's age, tall and fair. A look of hard anger was on her face. "You and your companion killed a lot of people today."
"I'm sorry," Valarina repeated, and suprised herself when she meant it.
"You killed my brother. Burned him to the ground in a split second," the girl continued, staring into Valarina's eyes. "We couldn't even say goodbye."
Valarina bowed her head. "His name was Anton Loretta. Remember that." And then she was gone, as suddenly as she'd come, leaving Valarina's thoughts in a mess.
It wasn't a second too soon, either, as the doors flew open and Grainger crossed the room, kneeling to scoop Sofia into his arms. "We have to go," he spoke quickly. "I've alerted the doctors and the royal guard. They will be waiting for us when we land."
"Wha... why the guard?" Valarina questioned, following him. Grainger shot her an annoyed look.
"Malice has been charged with high treason," he stated, as though it should have been obvious. "They'll be taking her into custody."
"Who charged her?"
"The emperor," Grainger snapped. "Now shut your mouth." Valarina shivered under the force of his glare and shut her mouth.
When they stepped out of the base, she screamed.
"Be quiet! How cowardly are you?" Shaking his head, Grainger swept his hand in a downward motion, causing the large cylinder of fire in front them to collapse. Inside of the charred circle it left, Malice lay curled up, coughing from the smoke she'd been enduring. "Get up," Grainger snapped. Malice struggled to her feet, and on Grainger's orders, Valarina restrained her as they boarded the ship.
The trip back was tense - Valarina was piloting, with Grainger in the back holding Sofia and Malice tied up in the storage hold. (Valarina wasn't too sure about the oxygen down there, but Grainger insisted.)
When they finally landed back on Albea Point, they were immediately swarmed by medics, who scooped Sofia away, and the royal guard, who dragged away Malice.
Valarina was left standing with Grainger. She swallowed hard when she felt his eyes on her.
"Y-you're scared, aren't you?" His voice is timid and shaky. Her head turned so quickly it was a wonder her neck didn't snap. Grainger was staring at her with wide eyes.
Blue eyes.
And he's crying.
"Grainger? What... are you...?" She wants to ask if he's normal again, but she's unsure what his reaction would be, so she bites the words back.
"She's hurt..." Grainger swallows. "Valarina, she's not going to die, right?"
Sofia again. Valarina absent mindlessly wonders if any of the tears  he sheds are for the soldiers he slaughtered.
She wonders if maybe any are for himself.
"She'll be fine," she says. Grainger nods, and for a second she catches a glimpse of the cocky arrogance that had flooded him earlier. Just a split second has her heart pounding double time again, and she swallows hard, backing away. "I'm... I'm going now," she says shakily. "T-things I have to take care of. Bye! Tell me how Sofia's doing!"
Then she ran. When she glances back she sees Grainger toss a flame into the air, looking contemplative. A old saying jumped into her mind.
Power to the emperor, she thinks sardonically.
But what power, she wondered, did it mean?