Lady Amatia said nothing to either Gavrus or Rix, simply motioning for them to follow her as she left the room. The steps of the trio echoed across the temple as they headed for the exterior courtyard. Well, there was an echo for two of the three; Lady Amatia didn’t seem to make a sound.

Eleazar was too preoccupied to notice. He felt anxiety creeping in. Fate had never been particularly kind to him, so it seemed almost expected, or maybe fitting, that his sudden bright appearing future would be thwarted by that fat fuck Dowde. For once, he’d let himself feel hope, even if briefly, and that caused him to fear. He should have known better. Hope was a poison for those that had to live eternally in the present.

No, wait, to the hells with that! Gavrus thought. He was no longer Eleazar. That boy was gone. He was now Gavrus the 32nd, a lord of the Trovian empire. Even if he only got to have dignity for thirty minutes of his miserable life, he was going to hold on to that shit with everything he had. Gavrus lifted his head high, correcting his posture almost absentmindedly to imitate the manner of Lady Amatia.

Besides, even if he had to die, he knew that Lilion was probably okay. His fear of her being fed to a demon by the Trovians or something equally awful like that had been assuaged. They were a mysterious and strange group, but overall didn’t seem too bad. Definitely not evil. Hopefully they had her doing something awesome like flying around on one of those black sky ships. It was too bad she hadn’t tested for magic like he did though. She couldn’t have, or they wouldn’t have said he was the first to have it in the kingdom. Li would have really loved being able to do magic. Or what did they call it, ether manipulation?

Gavrus smiled at the thought of her wide eyes and dimpled smile upon seeing him doing something amazing like shooting lightning.

His correction in attitude hadn’t gone unnoticed. Rix gave Gavrus a quick smile, then nod. He felt reassured by the small sentiment and the lingering fear dissipated from him.

When the trio exited into the courtyard it was still the early morning. Gavrus had gone into that ominous temple dark a half hour before a scared boy. Nevertheless, in so short a time he was changed. He exited as someone else. His decision to embrace his new name was the final lock that had been holding the door closed.

Gavrus searched for the watch captain, the man who would see him imprisoned or worse, with a steely gaze. Captain Jones was an old War dog; Gavrus recognized him immediately. They’d had more than a few run-ins, and to put it mildly, Gavrus thought he was a dick. Jones only gave him a quick glance in return but could tell the man was miffed upon noticing his Trovian eye inscription.

Cpt. Jones stepped forward from his coterie of fellow watchmen holding a scroll in his hand. In a gravelly voice he addressed Lady Amatia, “I am here for that boy there,” pointing at Gavrus. He continued levelly, “He stabbed a senior member of the watch.”

“Be that as it may,” the Lady responded with her airy voice, “he is now a lord of the Empire.”

The watch captain was unphased by that announcement, “I know what he is. It ain’t no lord. He’s a street urchin and a cretin, and he stabbed one of my gods damned men. My man is laid up in the infirmary with one of the nastiest wounds I’ve ever seen. It would take a miracle for him to survive the week. Now, if you have any sense of decency, you’ll turn the boy over. We been nothin’ but cooperative with you folk, but this won’t stand. Duke Westfield signed the warrant himself.”

Lady Amatia laughed haughtily at his words. The laugh had a visible effect on Jones, who clinched down his jaw in anger. “Your Duke is a vassal and has no authority whatsoever. Now begone. I’ve wasted enough time gossiping with the yokels.”

Jones stepped forward, again with a hiss. “You may have beaten the king with your devil witchery, but good folk’ll only take so much shit. You turn me away and you’ll regret it, no matter what it takes.”

Lady Amatia regarded the man silently for a second. Gavrus couldn’t hold his tongue any longer though. Newfound confidence broke through the stillness of the conversation, guided by a river of hate.

“Lady Amatia,” Gavrus said, “as a Squire, do I have rights over Vassals?”

She turned to look at him curiously, and spoke, “Well, yes. Any final decisions must be approved by the regent of the area-- in this case me.”

“In that case, I’d like to have the man they say I stabbed executed.” Gavrus said.

Lady Amatia quirked an eyebrow so high it popped up over her masquerade mask. “I see. And how would you like this man executed?”

Not expecting this direction in the conversation, Gavrus said, “Uh, what are my options?”

Laughter ripped out of Lady Amatia, less haughty and more carefree this time. “A good lord must be assertive. I approve of you speaking up little lord. However, one mustn't be cruel either.”

“In that case, I’d like him tossed in the sea or burned,” Gavrus said hopefully. “Maybe a bit of both.” he then added.

Still smiling, Lady Amatia said, “Is that all?”

“No. I’d also like Captain Jones here spanked in public for disrespecting you.” Gavrus said savoring the idea.

“You want the watch Captain publicly whipped?” she asked, looking mildly surprised.

“No ma’am. I don’t want him whipped bloody or anything like that. I’d like to see him spanked, like a naughty child. Since, that’s how he talked to you.” Gavrus replied.

Laughter erupted from not only the Lady, but also all the Trovians in the courtyard at Gavrus’s sentencing. Not surprisingly, neither the watch captain nor his men shared their amusement.

“My dear Captain, you should probably leave before our new little lord here becomes more drunk with power.” the Lady said with a smile.

Captain Jones, spit on the courtyard, then turned to leave with his men.

Lady Amatia called out, “Rix be a dear and escort the good Captain out of our district. Oh, and find the man Sir Gavrus is accused of hurting and ‘run him through’ as they say. It won’t do to have an Archon of the Empire potentially failing at such a trivial task. It wouldn’t do at all!”

Captain Jones sputtered at her words, but not Gavrus. Gavrus gave a triumphant smile so big it was almost a snarl. Lady Amatia turned her back on the watch captain as though he no longer existed.

“Lady,” Gavrus started tears beginning to form in his eyes, “thank you so very much for trusting m--”

“Hush, sweet boy. I have two things to tell you. First, you must understand that I have been able to see not only into your mind but also your very soul since the moment we met.” She tactfully pointed at the mask around her eyes. “It is part of my power as a Runist.”

Gavrus was amazed by the admission. It explained so much about her seeming whimsical behavior. She was simply already aware of how every conversation was playing out before he’d even said words. That was probably going to come back to bite Captain Jones in the ass.

“I know what pain you are in. It burdens me so just to see such a boy as young as you carry such agony. The execution of this man is my gift to you, in the hopes that you might gain some peace.” Lady Amatia then reached forward and kissed him on the forehead like a favored aunt.

“But the next thing I must tell you is far more important. I want you listen very closely, yes?” she continued, still bent from the kiss and looking him directly in the eye. Her emerald green eyes were shining brightly.

Gavrus felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck, though he couldn’t ascertain why. He thought maybe it was magic or ether?

“I’d have had the man killed even if you’d stabbed him for money or some other silly such reason. You could have been a complete kook that just enjoyed stabbing knives into groins, and I still would have made the order. Do you know why?” she asked.

Gavrus just shook his head “no” silently.

“Because, and I never want you to forget these words dear,” she stood up radiating power, hair suddenly whipping around by some unseen force, “the EMPIRE. ALWAYS. COMES. FIRST.” she practically shouted, and with such zeal that Gavrus took a step back.

The Trovians in the courtyard all began smashing their spear butts into the pavement and yelling, “RAH-RAH-RAH”. Gavrus, warily looking around at the sudden burst of activity stirred by her words, caught sight of the retreating watch Captain Jones. He looked terrified.

“Now, who wants some milk and cookies?” Lady Amatia asked with a wide smile.