Relaxing in his private chambers, Fornulus was, for once, having the time of his life. Nobody was bothering him with work, and he was charming the delightful young lady Cordelian had introduced to him. His flirting had met with a willing audience for once – he'd told Cordelian he still had it! Any woman would be lucky to have him.

Fornulus hadn't laughed this hard in a long time. The woman, Munas, squealed and escaped from his clutches once again. He jumped up to follow her but just then a servant barged in, interrupting them. The woman tried to announce a visitor, but wasn't able to get more than two words out before Vicca shoved her aside.

"I don't need to be announced into my own chambers." She snapped as the woman ran off back outside. Fornulus had told the servants to warn him when Vicca returned and to keep her outside for a while: fat lot of good they were.

"My love." Fornulus smiled weakly at her, knowing what was coming. He straightened his purple robe, to remind her of his status.

Munas stood in the corner, looking down at the floor.

"I see this girl is here again." Vicca glared at the younger woman.

"Now, now Vicca. Am I not allowed to spend time with my friends?"

“Is that what she is?”

Munas bowed deeply and mumbled something about leaving.

"Yes, get out." Vicca snarled. The girl hurried out of the chamber, only stopping briefly to bow to them both.

"That wasn't very nice. She's my guest."

His wife swiveled back to him with a sour expression. "You were having a good time I see. Trying to replace me?"

"Of course not." He didn't want to replace her. Why should he? After all, his father had married five women. Was it so wrong of him to want two? Or three?

"Then stop inviting her to see you!" She was getting worked up, almost shouting at him. His own anger began to stir. “You’re playing right into Cordelian’s hands.”

“Cord has nothing to do with any of this. I told you I met Munas at-“

“Oh please. I know he was behind it, unlike you, you big damn idiot!”

"Now look here, I am the Doukar-"

"And my husband. For how long, I wonder?"

"Don't shout at me! I am the Doukar! You must respect me."

Vicca looked disgusted. "You lowlife. How dare you! You can't treat me like a servant."

Everything went quickly downhill from there, and there was a lot of screaming and then finally blows. At which point she started throwing things at him and screaming at him to get out.

Fornulus decided to be the bigger man and leave, even though it was his chamber and his palace and damn it his empire. Let the stupid woman have her tantrum. He trudged through the palace moodily, his guards and attendants trailing silently behind him. Servants and minor patros scurried around, nervous at seeing him out and about for once.

Why was Vicca so unreasonable? He had needs, didn't he? She spent all her time with the children and forgot about him. She was always "tired". So he'd take care of it himself. He was just being a gentleman.

He stopped and turned to one of the servants trailing after him. "Where's my brother?"

"Which brother, Your Exaltedness?"

"Cordelian, Cordelian!" He didn't give a fig about any of the others.

After a quick bit of conferring, they led him off to where Cordelian was. Complaining to Cordelian would make him feel better, as his brother, at least, knew about all the hard work he did.

Fornulus had been pacing the Eukrates' chamber and whining for the last hour or so, and Cordelian was long past tired of it. His plan to undermine Vicca was obviously going well, but that didn't mean he wanted to listen to Fornulus sulking. He made sympathetic comments here and there but had stopped listening quite some time ago. He made an attempt to interest his brother in a clay tablet that had come in from a group of merchants in the city, who were asking the Doukar to relax the prohibitions on fishing during festival times. Fornulus paid no attention, waving Cordelian off. Oh well. The less Fornulus dealt with, the more would come to Cordelian. He thought the matter over while Fornulus continued to complain that his wife didn’t want him to sleep with other women. His elder brother had no idea what a selfish ass he sounded.

"She had the nerve to tell me off. Me! Everything she has is from me."

Cordelian decided to partially grant the merchants' request, assigning them a few days of leeway to keep fishing during festivals. He didn't want them to think they could get whatever they wanted just by asking, and besides, they were probably asking for more than they expected to get, so would be pleased with a compromise. Fornulus was like their father, and didn't take merchants seriously, but Cordelian understood the importance of economic might. Merchants might not fight battles for them, but they brought wealth, which was necessary for battles, and it made life more comfortable. That didn't mean he wanted to mingle with the noumens as Nikolonium did, but certain mutually beneficial, and clearly demarcated, relationships could be useful.

Still, while he was no snob, it wouldn't be appropriate for the Eukrates to receive or communicate with merchants directly. They just weren't high ranking enough. The same went for Meronion. Euphastolon wasn't reliable enough for this sort of work, and obviously Nikolonium was out of the question. Theodorian could do it… He would ask Pelagius to meet with them, he decided. As the youngest son of the former Doukar, Pelagius' rank was significantly below his, so he would make a good middleman. Pelagius was more capable than Theodorian when it came to official business.

Eventually, Fornulus wrapped up his pathetic bleating, and flung himself down into the chair opposite Cordelian's desk (the Doukar in the supplicant's chair, how delightful). Cordelian decided to contribute something at last.

"Perhaps Your Exaltedness should consider sending the Empress on a trip to visit her home for a time. I know her father is quite keen to meet his first royal granddaughter," Cordelian said.

With any luck the little brat wouldn't survive the trip and rid him of at least one heir. He still hadn't decided what he would do with the children once Fornulus was gone. Once he had the crowns he could exile them to somewhere or other, but that would make him nervous. Having other heirs hanging around, there for any malcontent to make use of, was historically destabilizing. It would be safer if they were dead, but they were his blood, after all. He couldn’t just kill them.

Fornulus snapped his fingers. "Yes, send her away, that's an idea. She misses her family. And while she's gone, I can have some fun."

"Indeed."

If he’d known how easy it was to undermine the Empress he would have started months ago. How embarrassing that Euphastolon had thought of this move instead of him. He couldn't wait to have the awful woman out of his hair for at least a month or two, not only for the chance to work on Fornulus in peace, but just for his own peace of mind. By the time she came back Cordelian’s position would be untouchable. He offered to start the arrangements for the Empress' trip but pointed out Fornulus would need to bring it up to her.

"I wonder if she'll go." Fornulus said.

"You are the Doukar. You can order her to go."

"She won't like that."

Cordelian resisted rolling his eyes. "You are the Doukar."

"Well," Fornulus continued, "I suppose I won't know until I try. I'll go talk to her right now."

The man practically bounded out of the room. Cordelian considered stopping him, as to suggest the trip to Vicca so soon after their fight would be completely transparent to her. He decided it didn't matter, as either she would go and thus lose influence over Fornulus, or she would get angry at the scheme, have another fight with Fornulus, and lose influence. All roads led to crowns for him.

Moments later Fornulus came back, doubting himself, but Cordelian managed to shoo him out again. He waited to see if the increasingly rotund oaf would lumber in for a third time before finally turning back to his work. After he was done with a couple more reports, he handed them off to Agathio. It was getting late, the last of the sunlight fading.

"One more thing Agathio."

"Your Highness?" The younger man bowed.

"Find Pelagius for me, will you? Bring him here, I have a task for him. Make sure the Empress doesn't hear about it. I'm tired of her sticking her meddling fingers into my business." If she found out she'd probably steal credit for another one of his ideas. Fishermen weren't especially important, but it was the principle of the thing.

"I believe the Decim is in the gardens with the youngest Princess." Helastus did enjoy gardening, and sunset was a good time to be out there, much cooler. Agathio always seemed to be aware of where everyone was whenever Cordelian needed them.

"Excellent, ask him to come over. He doesn't need to drop what he's doing, but I would prefer to settle the matter today if possible."

Agathio took his leave. Cordelian turned to the next scroll on his desk, eager to finish working for the day. He'd had an idea for a poem, a hobby of sorts, and wanted to get it down before he forgot. The scroll was yet another patros dispute. How unfortunate that the Doukar was occupied with other vital business and not able to give an opinion on this matter. Ah well, Cordelian was ever his faithful servant.

Vicca was pacing in the gardens outside her own chambers trying to calm down, having stormed out after a second fight with her husband. This one had been about her being thrown out of the capital so Fornulus could cavort with that tart. He'd given her some pathetic excuse about presenting her daughter to her father. Her face still stung from where he hit her, the bastard. Her plans to marry off Euphastolon were being hindered by Fornulus' obsession with this girl. For days now he had barely spoken to her, and whenever he did, they just ended up fighting. No need to ask where he'd gotten the idea to send her away from. It was so obvious Cordelian had brought that trollop to the capital with the aim of forcing her out, or at least of turning Fornulus against her. If he thought she would let him have his way, he was in for a big surprise.

Vicca stopped when a horrible thought occurred to her. Talomachus, Meronion's husband, had been lost at sea. What if Cordelian didn't just want to separate her from her husband temporarily, what if his plan for her to suffer the same fate?

What a fool she was! Of course that was his plan, it fit perfectly. He'd already gotten a replacement empress for Fornulus, one he could control. If Vicca met with an accident at sea, the sort that nobody would ask too many questions about, then his grip on the crowns would be nearly complete. If she went on this trip, she would die. Shortly after her death, her children would die too.

The time for sneaking around was over. She couldn't prove what he was planning, but she needed to send a clear message to him that she was the Empress, and he was just the Eukrates, and to know his place. Scare him into thinking she could remove him whenever she wanted. The longer she let this go on, the more dangerous it would be, as he would keep escalating his plans. Best to come down on him hard now and put a stop to it. That was the way her father always handled problems in Heimt – cut them out at the root, ruthlessly and with great force. If only she could have sent Cordelian to the Heartsman, she could sleep soundly again. Perhaps, with time, she could convince Fornulus to send him away instead. Let him lord over some province far to the south or east.

Oma must have been watching over her because barely had she decided this when the perfect means to hit Cordelian where it hurt dropped into her lap. One of her guards noticed something in the bushes, and they went to investigate. Lo and behold, they found Cordelian's closest servant Agathio sneaking around in a garden behind the royal quarters, just as she was walking there. Shadowing her, spying on her. Or worse. She ordered her guards to drag him back into her chambers, so they could have some privacy.

Once there, she looked him up and down coldly. The young man, barely more than a boy, was trembling between the grips of two burly strigulos who held him on either side. What had he been up to exactly? No doubt some dirty trick for his master. If master and servant was all they were to each other. Vicca had her doubts. Disgusting.

"What were you doing in the gardens this late, boy?" She asked.

The young tried to bow as best he could while being held up by her guards. "Just a simple errand for the Eukrates, Your Highness."

Vicca smirked. "So, you admit you’re acting on his orders."

"It is not forbidden to be in the garden, Highness," he said.

Vicca's mouth tightened at this defiance. "I decide what's forbidden. You were hiding in the bushes in the dark. You were doing something you wanted to keep secret from me, weren't you?"

The boy said nothing and wouldn't meet her eyes. What could he say? He was obviously hiding some secret for Cordelian. She didn't care, the point was how suspicious he looked.

One of Vicca's strigulos poked and prodded at him until she fished a knife out of one of his pockets. They questioned him on why he'd had a knife on him. Agathio, looking more worried now, said there was nothing unusual or illegal about owning a knife.

"So you have a weapon, and you're sneaking up on the Empress," one of the strigulos said. "Sounds like treason."

"I am a loyal servant of the imperial family!" The boy gasped. "Call for the Eukrates. I was following his orders!"

Vicca raised her chin. "Are you saying Prince Cordelian sent you out here with this weapon to look for me? Is he party to this treason?"

Agathio turned pale and went silent, just shaking his head, realizing that careless words could put even Cordelian in danger here. Vicca knew he wasn't lying: Cordelian would never have been stupid enough to send his own sidekick to assassinate her. But it didn't matter if she believed it, she just needed enough of an excuse to sell to the court and Fornulus. Too bad for this boy, but then again, who knew what filthy deeds he'd done for Cordelian in the dark. He probably deserved it.

"Tell me who ordered you to be there boy," she continued. "Tell us who commanded you to assassinate me."

"Nobody, Your Highness. I had just met with Prince Pelagius. The Eukrates asked me to bring the Decim to him, nothing more. Nobody was planning any harm."

"A likely story. Meeting in the gardens at night?" One of her more burly guards hit him across the back of the head. One of the other guards leant over and whispered in her ear that Pelagius had indeed been nearby when they'd arrested Agathio. He hadn't done anything to stop them though, hadn't vouched for the boy, just watched.

"It's true! Please Your Highness, I mean you and yours no harm."

She stepped closer to him. "Admit that Cordelian ordered you to assassinate me, and you'll be free. Just one word, his name, that’s all I need," she said. She doubted he would, but it was worth a try.

He shook his head, even though he was pale and shaking heavily. The boy clearly didn't want to give her an excuse to implicate his master. She had to admire his loyalty.

One of her strigulos tried. "Come now boy, we all know who you serve. Just say his name and that will be enough for a confession."

He wouldn't talk. She ordered them to summon the Majester of the Law.

Cordelian meeting with Pelagius; that was probably true. Outwardly there was nothing strange about that, but with Cordelian...was the Decim on Cordelian's side? She'd have to keep a watch on him. She had few interactions with the youngest royals and didn’t know where their loyalties lay. They were no great threat to her, and just a bunch of kids really, so she mostly ignored them. Pelagius hadn't stepped in to save this boy, so he couldn't have been a great ally of Cordelian's.

She almost felt sorry for Agathio. He was loyal, which she admired, and was just the hand and not the head. But it was the hand that would eventually stab her in the back. For all she knew, he might have been there to assassinate her tonight. Cordelian might have counted on people thinking he'd never use Agathio to do the deed. It wasn't impossible, as that was exactly the sort of doubled-up reasoning he liked. Or maybe Agathio would have been the one to order the sailors to throw her overboard once they were out at sea.

So she didn’t feel too regretful when she ordered his execution, even though the boy wept and cried for mercy.

It was a shame he hadn't implicated Cordelian and given her an excuse to have Fornulus send him away from court. Still, taking this boy away from Cordelian would make him realize she was not to be toyed with. If he wanted to take her down, she would make sure it cost him everything he had. She had all the power here. He served at Fornulus' pleasure, and, trollop or not, she was more important to Fornulus than Cordelian was. She would end this contest right here.