The Storm King

Chapter 1038: Insecurity

For most of the first day flying northward, Leon, Cassandra, and Andromache spent their time handling their own business. Cassandra was stuck to a comm lotus with her mother, grandmother, and a number of different druids in Evergold, while Andromache was doing much the same only with a comm stone.

Leon, meanwhile, was handling his business on his own comm lotus, having meetings with many of his ministers to ensure that his Kingdom was operating smoothly and justly, as well as sitting down with Gaius to go over their goals and strategy for handling Keeper once they were in Evergold.

Once they were done with that, Cassandra went to have a long relaxing bath, but Leon decided to try something else and requested a meeting with Andromache alone. Thankfully, as arrogant as she was, she didn’t refuse him a meeting.

“So, how was your day?” Leon asked as he took a seat in a small sitting room. The room had actually been an observation chamber, but since they weren’t expecting any violence, Leon had had the room repurposed into a small, intimate place to meet with people where they could sit next to a floor-to-ceiling projected window showing all the lands they were passing by.

Andromache seemed not at all impressed, however, despite the beauty of the Ancestral Hart’s forest they were flying over, and replied in a neutral tone, “Productive. The heir of an Empress’ work is never finished.”

“You bring that up a lot,” Leon pointed out, deciding to just jump right into the point of the meeting. “You must be proud of your Empire, and your place within it.”

“I only point out the truth as I see it,” Andromache responded. Her face might as well have been carved of stone for all the emotion she displayed. “Pride has nothing to do with it.”

Leon gave her a shallow, thin-lipped smile. “And yet you’ve reminded me and my wife of that fact more times than simply ‘pointing out the truth’ would demand. Seems to me that you like pointing it out.”

“You would be mistaken. My position is one of great duty and sacrifice. My life is not my own; it belongs to my people.”

Andromache’s expression hardened, her ruby eyes narrowing into a deep glare that locked onto Leon. “Be careful, boy; I will not allow such slander to be spoken in my presence.”

“I was only asking a question,” Leon replied as he made a show of how relaxed he was, leaning back in his seat, crossing his legs, and propping his head and arm up on the armrest. With a casual flex of his aura, he pressed down on Andromache’s shoulders for only a moment, but he felt it was enough to make his point. “Is the heiress unable to respond to even a simple question?”

Silence fell for a long, painfully drawn-out moment. Andromache seemed like she was trying to set Leon on fire with her eyes, but Leon only smugly smiled back at her.

Finally, she said, “This is why we never should’ve signed a peace deal with you Sky Devils. You are all uncivilized barbarians who lack understanding of even the basest forms of polite discourse.”

“Not a fan of my people, then,” Leon flippantly stated, his smile remaining unshaken.

“I argued that we ought to have fulfilled our obligations to the Sunlit Empire,” Andromache boldly stated. “I was overruled by my Imperial mother and my Divine grandmother.”

“And a good thing you were, too. That decision has built a strong peace between the Sacred Golden Empire and the Thunder Kingdom. No more of either of our peoples have to die fighting each other. Is that not a good thing?”

“One should not allow a weed to grow in their garden. It should be ripped from the earth, root and stem.”

“And I suppose you’re the one to decide what is and isn’t a weed, then? You believe my Kingdom to be a weed in your garden?”

“Peace between us will never last. You will be unable to contain your beastly nature. Your treatment of the Sunlit Empire is proof enough of that.”

Leon darkly chuckled. “I was content to leave the Sunlit Empire alone. It was the Sunlit Emperor who decided that he needed to attack my people. And he paid dearly for that mistake. And now that he’s dead, my people are at peace with the Sunlit Empire.”

“You killed their Emperor and installed a puppet; such a peace is nothing more than domination of a different sort.”

Leon took a moment to breathe deeply, his anger rising. He was starting to see exactly why Cassandra didn’t like her sister and was starting to regret arranging this meeting to try and mediate between them.

“All of this doesn’t explain why you have such animosity for Cassandra,” Leon stated, deciding that his time would be better spent simply moving on. He didn’t have to argue with Andromache; his actions would speak louder than his words ever could, and he believed that decades and centuries of peace between her Empire and his Kingdom would prove that their peace was real.

“My younger sister is an arrogant brat,” Andromache spat. “She needs to be reminded of her place, for I cannot trust that she’ll choose to remember on her own.”

“That’s an interesting perspective,” Leon said with a touch of sarcasm. “Even when we’d just met, I found her to be less of an arrogant brat than you are right now. Isn’t that remarkable?”

“You’re a man; of course you think like that,” Andromache said with a dismissive huff. “One look at a beautiful woman and any reason you may have possessed flees, like a leaf on the wind.”

“And the reason you’re such a bitch to Cassie is because you think she’s arrogant?” Leon asked, despite thinking many much less kind things he could’ve said to his sister-in-law instead.

“I am what I am,” Andromache replied. “If my younger sister has a problem with that, then she can take it up with me, instead of sending a barbarian to act on her behalf.”

“I asked to meet you of my own accord, do not try and dismiss me just because you think ill of me.”

Andromache scoffed and didn’t reply.

Leon took another deep breath and stated, “I only want to mend this relationship between you two. You are family. Your children and hers will be cousins. Here we are making peace and planning for a bright future, while you’re burning bridges and doing all you can to ensure that nothing but conflict lies in our future. If you have a duty to your people, is it not to ensure that they can live a happy and peaceful life? Not fighting and dying far from home?”

Andromache’s glare sharpened, but she continued to hold her tongue.

“It seems to me that in fostering such resentment,” Leon continued, “you’re shirking your duty as the Imperial Crown Princess. It also seems to me that in being so dismissive and reductive towards your sister, you’re failing in your duty as an older sister.”

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“That girl abandoned her duty first,” Andromache growled, but after the words passed her lips, she looked almost surprised for a split second before immediately looking away.

“What duty does she have that she failed to fulfill?” Leon pressed, sensing his best opening. “She’s younger than you by, what is it? At least a century? And while she was growing up, you were off acting as a druid in some distant city? What do you even know about her? What duty did she forsake that has you so insecure?”

Andromache looked like she would’ve rathered either leave the room or strangle Leon instead of answering his question, but after a long, tense moment, during which several expressions passed over her face while her thoughts seemed to war with each other in her mind, she said, “She wants my position. She wants to be Mother’s heir instead of me. She seeks to supplant me! The elder child of our mother!”

Leon gave a look of extreme skepticism and replied almost disbelievingly, “No she doesn’t!”

“The woodpecker knows nothing about the tree no matter how far it drills,” Andromache venomously replied. “Cassandra covets my position and must be reminded that it is not hers to take! Why else would she train so hard? And Mother, too! She allowed that little bitch to marry a foreign King! If she wants to press her claim, then I’ll have to deal with barbarians in—”

She cut herself off mid-rant before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Leon remained silent to give her time to think, but when she opened her eyes again, she spared him nothing more than a brief harsh look before standing up and walking out of the room, leaving Leon alone with his thoughts.

Or, rather less alone than he thought, as the Thunderbird made clear.

[Ahh, sibling rivalry,] his Ancestor stated. [Nostalgic, and for all the wrong reasons.]

Leon bit back a pithy retort and asked instead, [Have you any advice for dealing with this?]

[That girl is insecure because her younger sister is stronger than she is. If I’m not mistaken, she’s not married either? And her sister has you, my last descendant, as her husband. No more prestigious match can there be. How could she not feel insecure? Especially with such an age gap between herself and her sister?]

[Long years between siblings lead to conflict,] Xaphan agreed. [Keep that in mind for your own children, boy. In the Elemental Planes, such disputes get bloody. The fight over the position of heir is never as clean as anyone would like it to be.]

[Cassie doesn’t want her Empire,] Leon said. [Andromache has nothing at all to fear.]

[She has everything to fear,] the Thunderbird disagreed. [Law and precedent only matter so much when power is involved. It’s no coincidence, little Leon, that so many heads of state are the most powerful people in that society.]

[You’re sure it’s not just because they’re in those positions that they’re strong?] Leon asked, though he didn’t disagree with his Ancestor.

[Power flows to the strong, making them stronger,] Xaphan explained while the Thunderbird chuckled as if Leon’s question was childish. [The strong have more opportunities to increase their strength, to be sure.]

[It’s a pattern that plays out in more places than just hereditary monarchies,] the Thunderbird said. [When you reach the Nexus, you’ll see it in those places that observe Khosrow’s Law. The most powerful person in the region becomes the Strategos, Despot, Basileus, Anax, and Elemental King. Positions are only inherited when the chosen heir is strong enough to shoulder that burden. If they aren’t… then someone else will take their place, and often by force. Your wife is stronger than her older sister, and is only growing stronger now that she has your Hesperidic Apples to fuel her growth. That older sister would never be able to be secure in her position if her younger sister were to stay, her power always there, even if she doesn’t want the throne.]

Leon nodded in understanding. [Even if Cassie doesn’t want the throne right now, that might change in the future, or someone else might try and increase their standing by advancing her claim, regardless of her desires.]

[Exactly,] the Thunderbird agreed. [It’s better for them all to separate. Give the elder time to have her own children and see the problems her mother faces for herself. Then she’ll understand.]

[Maybe. But that hardly helps their relationship in the here and now.]

[Who cares about their relationship?] Xaphan dismissively crackled. [You’ll leave her behind; what matter is her opinion?]

[I want my wife to have a good relationship with her family,] Leon insisted. [Is that so hard to understand, demon?]

[Such relationships are two-way,] Xaphan pointed out. [If the sister doesn’t want anything to do with your Cassandra, then there’s nothing you can do about it.]

Leon sighed, though it came out as more of a groan. He slouched deeply into his seat and said to both of his soul realm’s passengers, [I’ll do what I can. If nothing comes of it… then fine, it wasn’t meant to be. But that doesn’t mean I’ll give up when I’ve barely even started.]

He got to his feet and left the room, desire to get to Evergold increasing in his heart.

---

The flight to Evergold was quick enough. Leon was slightly on edge as they passed over the Argonaut Sea and then Sunlit lands, but once they reached the edge of Aeterna’s inner sea and began arcing along the coast, he relaxed.

During the flight, he didn’t try and force any reconciliation between Cassandra and Andromache—and, in fact, didn’t meet with the Imperial Princess again. The two sisters ignored each other’s presence for the most part, and Leon counted himself lucky that their flight was as peaceful as it was given the animosity Andromache had displayed.

So, he filled his time by sparing with Cassandra, calling home to the rest of his family, and handling his Royal duties remotely. Marcus had already left for the Common Lands with fifty Tempest Knights serving as his retinue until a more permanent force of civil protectors could be established for his Exarchs, and Leon was a bit upset that he couldn’t be there in person to see the man off. Still, he had full confidence in Marcus to get the job done.

Frode also got in contact with him to inform him that the Ravens were largely at their manufacturing capacity when it came to large magical platforms. That meant that their rate of ark and MALL production had peaked. If the rate of construction were to increase at all, then they would have to get the other Tribes to pitch in.

Leon was almost happy to hear this news, as he’d gotten no shortage of calls from elders, including Nikolaos from the Jaguars, Tillan from the Bison, and Solomon from the Tigers, all complaining about his treatment of the Common Lands. All Tribes had their hands in ark manufacturing, of course, but Leon had largely reserved the advancements he’d brought for the Ravens, as they had shown themselves most competent in putting them to use. It would impact efficiency, to be sure, but he felt he was more than secure enough to be more open with what he could offer the Tribes.

Besides, even if they were allowed to build those weapons, he wasn’t planning on relinquishing the monopoly he had on critical strategic resources, like thunder wood, amber, and now, Titanstone. The Tribes could build the better weapons and platforms that he’d enabled, but they’d only become more dependent on him to do so if they accepted.

Organizing all of this he left for Iron-Striker, who remained skeptical of Leon’s meeting with the Keeper. It had taken no small amount of arguing for Leon to get his way, and his ministers had only agreed when Leon proposed using the Sacred Golden Empire as a strong third-party mediator. They weren’t happy about any of it, but they were at least more trusting of Evergold than they were of Memoria, due in no small part to Leon’s marriage with Cassandra, and Cassandra’s willingness to engage with them outside of official duties—she’d even fought a friendly duel with the Jaguar that Leon knew won over many who doubted her. He only wished he could’ve seen it as it had taken place while he was on Arkhnavi.

Still, Leon was determined to see that palace complex, and if negotiating with Keeper was the price needed, it was one he was happy to pay. Thankfully, Keeper had agreed to his request for a meeting, and as Silver Spear approached Evergold, Leon was informed that the leader of the Sentinels had arrived only a day before he had.

When Silver Spear landed amongst the branches of the city’s main palace-tree, it was in front of a truly massive crowd, led not only by the Empress herself but by the Grand Druid and what appeared to be the entire upper crust of Evergolden society, all celebrating the return of their Princesses. When the ramp lowered, Leon, despite technically outranking her as a King, allowed Andromache to leave first, though, from the way she glared at him, he didn’t think it won him any points with her.

The cheer when she appeared almost felt like it shook the palace-tree, but it was noticeably quieter than when Leon and Cassandra appeared a minute or so after her—Andromache’s attendants had exited with her, leading to a delay between her and Leon and Cassandra’s exit.

‘That’s not going to do any favors to her insecurity,’ Leon thought, though he kept the notion from affecting his pleasant expression as he waved to the people alongside Cassandra.

What followed was a long and exhausting ceremony, during which Leon, Cassandra, and Andromache were all embraced by the Empress, Grand Druid, and other high-ranking druids of the Sacred Golden Empire. It took almost half an hour for Leon to actually be welcomed inside the palace-tree after stepping off of Silver Spear.

And, upon entering, he felt the Grand Druid’s power brush up against his mental defenses in a clear request. He allowed her in, letting her whisper directly into his mind, [Keeper’s already waiting for you. I can escort you to him whenever you wish, my boy.]

Leon subtly nodded to her, and responded, [Give me an hour or so to rest. Then we’ll get started. Besides, I’d like to have a quick chat with you about Andromache before we begin…]

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