"My goodness!," she said, her gaze mesmerized, "It's as big as an eagle."
She turned to Chenek, asking, "Do all your animals grow so huge?"
The Benutian governor laughed, replying, "No, just a few, such as this magnificent creature. We use these moths as messengers, much like some people use pigeons. See, it's carrying a message in its beak. Now, stand back at a good distance. Those wings stir up quite a breeze."
The moth, its great grey blue-spotted wings gently fluttering, hovered at the window long enough for Chenek to remove the note from its beak.
"Thank you, my friend," said a smiling Chenek, "There will be no reply. Now, run along home. I'm sure you're in need of much sleep, and the sunlight is not suitable for nocturnal creatures as you."
The insect made a gesture of reverence to the Benutian governor then fluttered into the bright sunlight towards its home high in the trees of Amarah's Forest.
Opening the note, Chenek asked, "Where is Prince Asen? It is not safe for him to wander too far. Vlaric's spies could be under our very noses as we speak, thus forcing Asen to return home. It is the utmost importance we get you and Asen safely to Nemir before midday..."
He stopped long enough to scan the note, then he shuddered upon reading those dreaded words.
Dani, at first not fully aware of Chenek's reaction, and not looking away from the view of the ruins of Amarah's garden, replied, "He's down on the lower level. He said he needed some time to himself, but he should be back by now–"
Turning away from the window, she finally noticed Chenek then asked, "Anything wrong? You look as if someone punched you."
Re-folding the note, Chenek quickly composed himself, replying, "No, no. Nothing out the ordinary. It's just my contact from the rebel cell in Tyq. Look out for spies and the like. That's all. Now, I must find Asen and speak to him. If we're to get you off to Nemir, then he must be here. Remain here until I return."
Saying nothing more, Chenek exited the tower room for the lower levels. Did Danielle detect a worried sigh escaping his lips?
++++++
Just as Asen ascended the stone steps to the upper room, Chenek was on his way down. The two men met each other halfway. The prince, a very observant sort, detected the worried look on the Benutian governor's face. He asked:
"What is wrong, Chenek? Is it spies? Have my father's forces found this hideout?"
Chenek, endeavoring to maintain his composure – He was more angry and worried than saddened – ushered Asen downstairs to a more private room within the tower. Here he could talk with the prince and not draw unwanted attention from Danielle or the other rebels. Besides, what news that note contained, if such was made common knowledge among the alliance, could short-circuit all the painstaking planning. The Benutians waited for this moment for years, meticulously plotting how to pull off their rebellion without the king's nor His Majesty's henchmen's knowledge. Everything, every minute detail, had to be planned just so. No one would be the wiser. Of course, given that an outright, violent rebellion could result in massive casualties, not to mention mass executions of Benutians for treason, this move for independence must take the Eldonians by surprise. Give them, according to Lan and Evore, what they've been dishing out to all those peoples they've oppressed, terrorized, and murdered over the centuries. That baby purge, mandated by Vlaric himself, only proved that the Eldonians do not value sensible negotiations or bargaining. They accomplish their goals by sword and fire, wholesale death and destruction, brutal suppression of any dissent.
"Asen," said Chenek, at last in a quiet moment, "I've just received some disturbing news, and I don't know how you'll take it."
Removing the note from his cloak pocket, Chenek scanned the message again, saying in a voice slightly couched in anger and frustration, "Your father, King Vlaric, is dead. Asen, he was murdered, that is a certainty. Aughir himself witnessed what happened, but decided–"
Prince Asen, his gray eyes bright but without a tear, clenched his jaw. There was grief, to be sure, as Chenek could detect, but there was a glimmer of forehand knowledge of Vlaric's fate.
"Banes had it done," Asen said, his voice faintly quivering. "My father and I were never close, Chenek, and I scarcely weep for him now. While I do acknowledge him giving me life, his cruelty and barbarism continuously drove a wedge between us. He was weak, you know, and Banes was the real power behind the throne. What does Aughir know? What did he witness? Banes, I'm sure, masterminded the assassination, but he had to have help. From who? What was to be gained?"
To this Chenek replied, "Aughir's private chambers is directly opposite of Vlaric's. Sometime, during the evening, Jolende's attendants tried to gain access to his bedchamber, but they were instantly arrested by the guards posted outside. Aughir believed those women were sent to keep him...occupied, and he immediately put it together: Banes has, indeed, been plotting to destroy your father, and you. He wants to make himself ruler over Eldonia, and he's had help in the forms of Sadius and Jolende. Aughir suspects Banes had Sadius killed as well; Banes obviously doesn't want to share the power. As for Jolende, she returned to Koror last night, just after bringing Vlaric's special headache tonic."
It was a paradox for Asen who didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he felt something for his father's demise; on the other hand, he had known deep down Father's inherent weakness and naivete would be the man's undoing. Also, as he voiced to Chenek, Banes was the real power, the one who could easily persuade Vlaric into doing the unthinkable. No doubt it was Banes' idea to slaughter all those Benutian newborns; in fact, Asen suspected Banes had heard of the ancient prophecy then relayed all to Vlaric. Of course, knowing Vlaric was a nervous sort, not comfortable with his own abilities (or inabilities as were the case), Banes took advantage at every turn. Asen also suspected Banes suggested Princess Jolende as the future queen-consort, thus the so-called merger of Chalou and Koror Provinces would be nothing more than a ruse to disguise Banes' true objectives.
Well, now Asen knew, thanks to Aughir, who the prince learned was the "leak" inside Vlaric's court. It was the royal steward who headed the rebel cell in Tyq, passed on state secrets to the resistance fighters, and kept Chenek abreast of all matters of the court. Then, in the final sentences of that message, Aughir reiterated that now was the time to strike, while Banes had the people where he wanted. Obviously Banes would stress that Vlaric was assassinated by the Benutians, thus gaining more support for wiping out the entire province. Banes would plead with the loyal Eldonians, reveal the Ultimate Weapon, then call for its immediate deployment as retaliation for the murder of their king.
"However," said Chenek, "what Banes doesn't know is the weapon is not it."
Asen raised an eyebrow, asking, "What do you mean it is not?"
Chenek smiled thinly, showing a row of smallish teeth yellowed from years of smoking burberweed. He replied, "I really shouldn't reveal so much to you, but I can trust you to keep secrets. The weapon, still on the docks at Glasswell Station, is a fake. See, two of our best Benutian scientists were forced to work in the Lemrac laboratories, processing phérium for the Kororians' medallions. You remember those worn by Sadius and Jolende, as well as her attendants."
"At any rate, Thais and Odessa were the only scientists allowed to build the Ultimate Weapon, a missile loaded with enough phérium to wipe an entire province off the map. Only, unbeknownst to Vlaric or Banes, the missile to be deployed against Benut Province is loaded with niuvite; it completely harmless and will protect our people from further assault."
With the mention of the Ultimate Weapon, Asen now recalled, just after his tour of Benut Province, seeing plans for a highly destructive weapon. Asen, looking for his father, stepped into the king's office, but no one was there. On the desk, amid official papers and correspondence, was a drawing of a prototype missile. He distinctly remembered scanning the weapon's design and reading the words, "Much phérium in the warhead," scribbled in Banes' own handwriting. So, phérium, a mineral native to Benut but outlawed centuries ago due its highly unstable nature, is exploited for its destructiveness. He already knew about the mineral's mystical qualities, and Chenek recounted the many Benutians who lost their lives slaving away in the phérium mines, ever since Thomas I made that pact with the Kororian queen Ziwan.
Asen also recalled seeing another plan for a test weapon, one that would be deployed to Koror. This missile, obviously, would not be armed with the deadly phérium; rather, it would, once reaching its target, explode with nothing more than a harmless cloud of smoke. He wondered why his father and Banes would choose Koror since it was the 'favored' province. This he asked Chenek who explained further:
"Asen, that test weapon is armed with niuvite, and neither your father nor Banes learned of it. Thank Aughir who personally saw those plans, and was privy to Vlaric's plot to destroy Benut Province. It was he who alerted our rebel forces here who, in turn, passed on the information to Thais. She and Odessa loaded the test missile's warhead with niuvite. Now, niuvite may be, to the unenlightened, inert; but, it has the power to neutralize phérium's destructive effects. When that test weapon goes off, a shower of purple crystals falls, protecting all within its range. That test weapon, Asen, is, in actuality, is what will head for Benut."
Now Asen had concerns, but what did it matter? Isn't it obvious? The real weapon will destroy Koror, not Benut, as Vlaric and Banes had planned. Koror will be levelled into oblivion; no one or nothing would survive the phérium-laced explosive's destructive power. That included Princess Jolende who now relished her good deed in ridding Eldonia of Vlaric.
"Chenek," said Asen, "I understand now. Your people have suffered for so long, too long. The rebel alliance's actions over the months will certainly result in extreme outcomes for tens of thousands. But what does it matter? I never felt at home in Tyq, not in the presence of my father and his shallow, scheming friends. If Banes wants to rule Eldonia for himself, then let him do so with whatever's left of his subjects."
Then he added with deadly finality, "I want to go to Nemir, with Danielle – Now!"
Copyright©2006 by P.R. Parker. All rights reserved.
