The Iron Dragon

Capter 25. Of doors and keys

"Is there anyone from the Empire you personally favor? ". I thought about Freya's question for a moment and then shook my head.

"I do know a few details about the Empire and the nobles living in it, and also some things that could lead to some of the nobles suddenly being in a damned bad light if these things came out in public. But still I would like to know more in order to be able to really judge. All in all, Celene does her job quite well, she has her difficulties here and there but she keeps the big picture in mind. Gaspard is cunning, intelligent and as far as his fighting experience and his art of warfare are concerned he is more than qualified to lead an army, but I don't know if he would be qualified to lead an empire. Soldiers follow him, but I can't say if the ordinary citizens of Orlai would do the same. He is a man of the head and not of the heart and I think to lead an empire as big as Orlai, it needs both understanding and kindness and Gaspard only knows one thing about it. However, you would have to find out more about him, and I think you should get to know him a little better so that you can really form an opinion about him. And then there are the many different parties that work under the hand of these people. Celene has secured the favor of many elves over the years and many rumors that she has some elven spies and on Gaspart you can hear that he "gets along way too well with his sister lately, with whom he usually doesn't have much contact".

"Gaspard has a sister? ". I nodded and turned to the Inquisitor. I simply had to grin when I thought about this woman, simply because most people didn't know what kind of woman she was.

"Oh, yes, and how he did. No one would forget the noble Florianne de Chalons at her beloved brother's side". You could tell from my tone that I meant it all completely ironically.

"You don't seem to like her very much." Playfully shocked, I put a hand on my heart only to shake my head smiling.

"Florianne is a bit hard to describe and she is so very different from her brother, much more dangerous and much more cunning, which all in all is probably not such a good combination. If you have even a hint of sanity you know that you are better off in front of a woman like her. I saw the questioning look of the Inquisitor and sighed.

"She is Celene's cousin and just like her brother, she's dying for the throne. Like the Empress herself, she is extremely eloquent and manages to convince many with words alone. Speaking of another talent of hers, her power of persuasion is really strong. If she can't harm others with her words, then she can do it with her more than distinctive abilities in combat. Not only Gaspard trained the fight when he was little, but also Florianne. Only she didn't specialize in the same kind of fighting as him. She is herself, a lot older than Celene already over fifty years but age has not made her give in in any way - on the contrary, she is more energetic than ever before. She has been playing the game of the nobility much longer than the empress and she is at least as good at manipulating people as Celene herself, if not better. From the outside, one would say that Celene's biggest public competitor is of course Gaspard, but behind all this ranks of nobility, it's really Florianne who pulls all the strings. She has good contacts both publicly and secretly, and that is more than worrying. Gaspard himself is not exactly the man who uses his heart a lot, but Florianne's heart is cold as ice. If Gaspard and Lady Florianne were both in trouble then it would be the lady who would throw her brother to the wolves and not the other way round. She may look and sound like a cultured and thoroughly respectful lady, but deep inside she is anything but that". I sighed.

"And unfortunately she is always close to the empress because of her status and her ability to convince others so quickly".