Resolution:

“What do you mean Neem?” Mehak asked in a grave voice. Ernnal’s back was drenched in cold sweat. The cat however laughed and said, “The forces of Mogul are chasing His Highness Calvert, and I only delivered this message because His Highness promised me something in return. He was worried that you might hear rumors of his death or that he was the one who’d ordered the assassination of the son of Belor.

He has asked me to, however, assure you that both these rumors are false and have no credibility, they are being circulated to all the nations by the Moguls to hide their faults. Crown Prince will be back in a couple of days and asked you to take care of your health.” The cat concluded.

Watching the ugly expression on Mehak's face, it smiled and after a moment of thought, it mischievously continued, “Neem has been in your care for many years, Your Majesty. How about this? I will share a piece of intelligence with you if you promise me a gift of my choice in future.”

“Speak,” Mehak answered coldly. By now, he didn’t have any patience to play a game.

The cat smiled contently. “The imperial camp near the Ashfield is burning, and so are the three thousand or so soldiers. Another batch of troops are leading their way towards Ashfield and should arrive by tonight. What I’m stressing is the fact that there is only a single enemy," the cat said in a calm voice.

Not waiting for another second, it jumped down and declared, "Take care, Your Majesty.” The shadowy figure deformed and then disappeared like thin mist leaving an ashen-faced Eunuch and an emperor whose face radiated a killing intent which soared to heavens.

“Your Majesty!” Ernnal called in a trembling voice. A single enemy killed more than three thousand soldiers and even more are marching to their deaths. Ernnal had been by Mehak’s side for many decades and needless to say, he was very clear about the situation. Thousands of lives were lost just like that and a crazy arcane user was most probably rampaging near the border killing more as they speak.

Mehak gritted his teeth, and his aura emanated his anger, but he closed his eyes and remained silent for a long moment before opening them. The fierceness was still there, and so was his resolution but he now had control over them. No matter how angry he was, he couldn’t act as he wished.

“This issue shall remain a secret. Pass on my orders, find the root of all the current rumors connected to the Crown Prince and behead the person responsible. And, call for an assembly, this emperor will judge the situation in front of all officials.” Mehak ordered in a calm voice, but it carried the weight of thousands of souls.

Seeing that the emperor had no further orders, Ernnal bowed deeply and silently left the study leaving the emperor to his thoughts.

“Lilin,” Mehak called in a soft voice after a long moment of silence. A figure appeared from the shadows and kneeled respectively. Mehak thought of Neem’s words; the witch known as Neem was a seductress whom none had seen before. She will seduce men with mere words and would always appear in the form of cats. She was greedy, and won’t swear loyalty to any man.

Mehak didn’t believe in these rumors, but he felt that no man could control Neem. Since she informed him regarding Ashfield, then it must be true. War was a painful process. Winning or losing didn't matter, either way, the land would suffer, and people will die. Several thousand lives were already lost but what Mehak feared was the capability of this enemy. If he starts attacking civilian settlements or worse border cities, then hundreds of thousands of lives can be extinguished within no time.

“Go to Ashfield,” Mehak said in a calm voice. Only now did the figure raise its head. Covered by black clothes from top to bottom, and a black scarf which only left her eyes uncovered, one could still see the beauty of her soul from those eyes. Her elegant figure glanced at Mehak for a short moment before disappearing into shadows once again.

Mehak frowned at the slight discomfort he felt when he thought that Lilin was no longer beside him. A smile lit his face, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I guess I’m getting old, he thought. Relying on a female, he sighed. Age works wonders, he remembered.

When Mehak was worried about the events which might as well change the fate of the empire, within the royal palace, a commotion was going on. The prince’s public reply to his uncles was like a huge slap to their pride. Some officials even felt that Neji was too straightforward but they still unconsciously remembered what he wanted them to remember.

Siding with any imperial faction came with a risk. Most chose to remain as spectators while some opted to support the prince. Jean Vedan was a man of few words; as the third son, he was already out of favor. He couldn’t compete with his eldest brother Calvert, and sighed as he thought of his second brother Dresden.

When he finally got ahold of the news, he could only sigh at his second brother’s foolishness. While it’s true that they were waiting for an opportunity; the same could be said about his eldest brother. Fortunately, because of their father, none of the brothers tried to draw blood, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t do it in the future. When Dresden sought to defame Prince Neji, he should have thought about the latter’s counter attack.

It was true that what Neji did might anger some old-fashioned members of the court but everyone tactically understood that he was a prince and the woman in question was just a maid. What right did they have to interfere? Now, however, Neji had simply used this fact to slap them publicly. Who was the one who lost more with this encounter? Jean sighed and returned to his studies.

As for Dresden, he was boiling with anger, but as Jean thought, he could do nothing. What Neji said was true, and he wasn’t his father to scold him. He tried to drag his father, the emperor into this matter by reporting it to the head Eunuch but all he got in reply was silence. His Majesty apparently was too busy to deal with such a minor issue. What did this imply? Wasn’t the emperor clearly siding with his grandson and indirectly telling everyone that this matter wasn’t worth anyone’s time?

If he still tried to elevate it, wouldn’t it be seen as going against the orders of his father, the emperor? So Dresden could only grit his teeth and drown the wine in anger. As Jean expected, no one raised the matter again in the imperial palace. Those with intelligence feigned ignorance and those with survival instincts kept their mouth shut.

Between all this, one person was genuinely confused. Vaani, she had been in the imperial palace for only a month. Before this, she served in the harem and the palace in the suburbs. Although she was a maid, there were many stations among the royal servants. Vaani was only eighteen and started serving the nobles less than a year ago. Before this, she was doing chores in the back halls; it would be at least a decade before she should even dream of serving the imperial family.

But, she was confused. Didn’t they say that the imperial family cannot love? She thought. When she woke up for the day, everything was fine. Then she heard the rumor concerning the royal prince who’d been seduced by a palace maid. Shock and a little bit of envy were among everyone’s heart. Then they heard the prince’s reply; every girl felt more shock and a bit more bitterness. Which girl wouldn’t like a prince charming?

As she thought of a prince charming, Vaani unconsciously thought of the handsome man who’d invited her out on a date. No, no, what am I thinking? I’m not going, Vaani repeatedly told herself, but as the day dragged on, and the sun slowly began to creep to the western hemisphere, she found herself questioning her decision.

By the time, it was four; she found herself done with her daily quota of work. She’d unconsciously worked extra hard to make sure she was done by four. Freed of her duties, she found herself rushing to bath. Then she found herself picking up her best dress, and then she found herself walking towards the back exit. Only when she stepped out of the palace did she notice that she still had a few more minutes to spare before the appointed time.

Glancing at her figure, Vaani couldn’t help but frown in disbelief at her fragile resistance. She as a woman was so weak, just a few words and she’d come to put herself in his arms. A part of her wanted to go back and hide in a pit, but another part of her wanted to wait and see if Neji would show up. A lot of males make pretty promises in the heat of the moment, and she wanted to see perhaps if he would really keep them.

Vaani of all was very clear of her position. She was just a little maid, and he might be a son of an official or worse, an official himself. Vaani still remembered that Neji told her that he worked for the emperor. The higher his position was, the tougher it would be for her. She never believed in dreams and fairy tales. A prince charming on a white horse saving a poor young girl and then they fall in love and live happily ever after, this was a bullshit story.

Men were fickle with love. One day they would be deeply in love with one woman, the next day they might find their ‘new’ soul mate. And, the higher their status was, the more fickle they were. Vaani was clear about this matter. Neji might be interested in her but no matter what, he was still just a sixteen-year-old boy. After playing around for a couple of days, he might not even glance at her again.

She knew this and yet she came. It might probably because she wanted Neji to prove it to her again that she was just a toy in his hands. She wanted him to break her heart so that she would never dream of love ever again. But, a quiet sleeping part of her heart held a tiny bit of faith in his words and Vaani let it dream. That way, when she is tossed aside, she would forever lose her faith in men like her father who killed her mother only to marry a slut.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a woman who looks beautiful even with such a scary expression,” a voice whispered her back to reality. Vaani glanced at the man who was impeccably dressed and hardened her heart. I won’t fall for you, she thought. As if sensing her thoughts, Neji held her hand and said, “I’ve got time. Plenty of it so tell me, who or what is worrying you?”

******

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Kanna.

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[url=https://kannablogs.wordpress.com/toc-the-arcane-archives/]Chapter 14 - The Secret of the Lords