"The supreme imperial city of Dardano is blessed to witness the return of its sacred son, Nikolonium, from the magnificent city founded by Doukar Hagia the Wise-"

Nik strode into the throne room, past the Majester of Entrances, without a second glance, not waiting for him to finish his ceremonial entrance liturgy. Nik wanted to try to catch Cordelian off guard as much as possible. Cordelian always did love his ceremonies, so interrupting this one might shake his composure a little. Behind him his strigulos and attendants trotted after him. He glanced back to make sure the man carrying the crate of apples hadn’t fallen behind. His position was precarious. He needed to go on the offensive in order to remove suspicion from himself and place it where it belonged.

Patros lined the throne room on either side waiting to greet him, or to call for his execution. Either was possible. At the end of the room Fornulus sat on the granite Stone of Doukar, flanking by the remaining siblings, all dressed in their formal robes. Nik stopped for a second at the sight of his elder brother. The Doukar looked awful, even compared to when Nik had last seen him, less than three months ago. Fornulus was bloated and slumped in his throne with red-rimmed eyes and a dull, vacant look in them. He looked nearer sixty than forty. One look at him was enough to conclude he would be going to Oma in the near future. Nik needed to open his eyes at least once before he died, make him see the snake he'd kept at his side for the last couple of years.

Nik ground his teeth before proceeding up to the rest of his siblings, in front of the throne. He saw little welcome in the looks his siblings gave him. Pelagius was looking at him intently, Helastus seemed to be looking through him into the distance, and Ophelion and Theodorian were looking down at the ground, not meeting his eyes at all. Cordelian, from his position nearest the throne, was looking at him with unconcealed hostility, which was as honest as he'd ever seen the man.

"Umm..." Fornulus began to mumble, cutting off the Majester, who fell silent in the face of supreme authority. "So, about Euphastolon..." Fornulus trailed off, apparently unable to collect his thoughts.

Nik saw many of the Patros looking at him without the proper amount of respect. They wanted blood, did they? He'd give it to them.

Cordelian stepped forward. "The court has received the news of Prince Euphastolon's death, after a short illness. This illness seemed to begin immediately upon your arrival."

He wasn’t wasting any time. Nik clenched his fists. He'd known this was how Cordelian would present it.

"That's right, he fell 'ill' immediately after I gave him your gift."

Cordelian's eyes flashed. "The gift which was in your possession for many private days at sea."

"You've got some nerve, Cordelian," Nik snapped. "At least you're admitting the apples did kill Euphastolon."

"I'm sure the Eukrates did not mean to imply any such thing." Surprisingly, Pelagius said that. He took a small step towards Nik and held his hands up as if to soothe him. "Nobody is suspecting anybody. Euphastolon's death was merely a tragic act of Oma."

Ophelion agreed, ever trying to see the positive.

Cordelian took a deep breath, seemingly to calm himself. "No indeed, the Milem is right. Of course I would never suggest you had anything to do with our brother's death, Nikolonium. To accuse you of anything in front of so many witnesses without proof would be an egregious act. The same goes for all of us, of course." Pompous as ever.

Theodorian was slowly backing off from the rest of them, moving close to the throne. The guards didn't stop her: she had the right, as the Mekos.

"Why are we fighting?" Fornulus weakly tried to keep the peace. "We've suffered yet another tragedy. Someone should call the Majester for Funerals to begin the service. Do we have his body?"

An attendant quickly ran over to him to tell him that Euphasotlon's body was in Hagiatrocos. He gestured towards Theodorian who went over to him, gently placing her hand on his arm and bending over him so he didn't have to raise his voice. Nik just ignored him. Obviously Fornulus had barely any power left, which meant he had to act for himself. Cordelian had nine fingers on the Thirty Crowns; Nik had to stop him before he got that last finger on them. He couldn't allow Cordelian to get away with using him to commit murder.

He pointed to Cordelian in front of the whole court, and loudly made his pronouncement. He wanted everyone to hear this. This was the moment their long rivalry would finally play out in full.

"I do accuse you, Cordelian." He waved his slave over with the crate of apples. The slave opened the crate and placed it sideways on the floor a few feet in front of him, between him and Cordelian. A couple of apples fell out and rolled a few inches along the marble and porphyry floor, near his feet. "Your gift to Euphastolon, as everyone here knows. Poisoned."

Some of the patros gasped, while an older woman who Nik vaguely recognized as one of Cordelian's allies tutted loudly in disapproval. He didn't bother to look their way, instead focusing on his siblings and the Doukar, who would be the ones to decide what would happen here.

Cordelian hissed, now openly enraged at him. Pelagius quickly moved over to Nik, saying something about how he needed to calm down, but Nik only shoved him away. Theodorian and Fornulus were looking at him with horror, while Ophelion seemed to be shrinking into herself. Helastus alone had no reaction, only staring at him with wide and unblinking eyes, as if she didn't want to miss a moment of this.

"How dare you," Cordelian spat. "Everyone here knows Euphastolon and I were not just brothers, but close friends. Conversely, everyone here knows you and Euphastolon despised each other. Why, even at our father's funeral, bless his name, you entered into an altercation with Euphastolon. There are many here who can attest to these facts."

There was some nodding and whispering at Cordelian's deflection.

"This isn't...let's not..." Fornulus was pathetically trying to get control of the situation, but Nikolonium and Cordelian paid him no mind, barreling right over his protests.

"You used me to deliver your poison, Cordelian you scum! Meronion wasn't enough for you but you had to kill her younger brother too?" As Nik ranted, Ophelion flinched as if he'd struck her. Both her full siblings gone because of Cordelian. Even in his anger, his heart broke for her.

"You..." Cordelian was speechless with rage for a moment. Or perhaps genuine surprise at finally being publicly confronted with the truth of his crimes. "You accuse me of these crimes?! I had nothing to do with the former Milem's tragic death at the hands of those savages. How could anyone think I would kill my sister and brother? I loved them. All here know this, know how loyal I am to this family!"

Nik saw Theodorian glowering at him. She’d picked her side, it seemed.

Cordelian stepped back towards Fornulus, getting control of himself again, and stood up straighter to look down on Nik. "Don't believe these lies, your Exaltedness. I won't even dignify his claims about our sister with any further response. The truth of her tragic death is well known and beyond contestation: a Lorgorin raiding party."

Many of the patros voiced their agreement, huffing about Cordelian's noble character and other such rot. Fools, the lot of them. None of them could see the truth, only him. Pelagius, just a couple of feet away from him, was still, only darting his eyes between the two of them.

Cordelian was on a roll. "Tell me, Nikolonium, what proof do you have of any of these claims? If you have none, then I suggest you withdraw yourself from the presence of His Exaltedness at once to collect yourself. Later you can return with an apology for me, His Exaltedness, and indeed the entire court for putting on such a revolting display."

Nik had to knock Cordelian off his perch, shatter his composure. Fornulus was sitting there poleaxed, gawping at the two of them. Nik realized he was going about this all wrong. He shouldn't be ignoring Fornulus - if he could plant doubt in Fornulus's mind, he could wake the man up, get him to take back control. It wasn't too late. Then none of these squawking vultures in the court would count for anything, no matter how far into Cordelian's pocket they were. He knew how to do it.

"Here's a better question for you Cordelian. Why would you have Euphastolon killed?" He asked.

"Excellent question little brother. I have no motive to kill my beloved younger brother." Cordelian smiled.

"Unless Euphastolon knew something you needed to keep secret. Some crime he committed for you." With enormous satisfaction he saw a sudden flicker of concern cross the smarmy bastard's face.

"Exalted Doukar!" Nik called out. "Let me tell you why Cordelian wanted Euphastolon silenced forever, what it was Euphastolon did for him that he didn't want anyone to ever find out."

Cordelian started to say something, but before Nik could finish, Pelagius grabbed his collar cutting him off. Nik tried to protest but Pelagius outright growled into his ear through clenched teeth.

"Listen to me Nik!" Pelagius actually shook him. Nik was so taken aback he stopped and did listen to his little brother, who leaned in again to whisper into his ear.

"Cordelian cannot allow you to walk away after accusing him of Vicca's death in front of the court. If you accuse him here, in front of Fornulus and all the rest, either you or he will be executed before sunset, that's the only possible outcome. The court can't let such an accusation lie unresolved. Nik, Fornulus is totally dependent on Cordelian, Meronion is not here to shield you, this room is full of Cordelian's allies, and you have no proof, do you? You're already under a cloud because of Euphastolon. The court and Fornulus will side with Cordelian. "

Pelagius pulled him again, this time to look at him straight in the eyes, only a few inches away from his face. "Keep talking Nik, and you will die. Do you understand me?"

Oma it pained him, it made his stomach churn to admit it, but Pel was right. He had no proof, he'd gotten nothing from Euphastolon before he died. Even the church wouldn't be able to protect him right here and now. To accuse Cordelian of the Empress' murder here would be to play into his hands. He'd die and then nobody would be able to stop Cordelian taking the crowns for himself. He nodded slowly to Pel, and he let him go once he saw that Nik understood.

Ophelion was crying and sniffling loudly, while Theodorian shook her head at him. Helastus still had not said anything. Pel turned from him to look at Cordelian.

Cordelian had regained his composure and walked imperiously over towards him, before stopping by the crate of apples. "You've accused me, Nikolonium, of a heinous crime. Of poisoning these apples, was it?"

Nik nodded shortly, chewing his own tongue to try to keep his temper, his legs shaking. He couldn't let the man win. No wait, that's right, the apples. What a fool he was, the whole reason he'd brought them back was to be his proof! He could-

His thoughts ground to a halt as Cordelian bent over and picked up an apple from the crate, fastidiously avoiding those on the floor. He held it up in his hand, clearly intending for everyone to see. Silence fell over the court as the patros all stopped muttering, and even Fornulus sat forward on the throne. After a moment with everyone seemingly holding their breath, Cordelian calmly took a large bite out of the apple. The crunch sounded enormous in the dead silence of the throne room. The room was so quiet he could clearly hear Cordelian chewing the apple before swallowing. There was a pause as he looked levelly at Nik. Somewhere behind them one of the patros laughed and elsewhere he heard whispering between them.

Cordelian looked down his nose at Nik. "Would I be willing to eat this apple if I had poisoned them? If you like, I could happily take a bite out of every apple in this crate – they're quite delicious, although no longer particularly fresh, I must say. Of course, I'm assuming you haven't poisoned them, but, unlike you, I like to have faith in my family."

Nik opened and closed his mouth. He'd brought the apples back because he was sure Cordelian had poisoned them, but there'd been no way for him to test it. He couldn’t very well order one of his servants try one and die. How had Cordelian done this? He might have some kind of antidote. Were only a few of the apples poisoned? But then Cordelian couldn't be sure he'd chosen one of the safe ones.

"You must have done something to counteract the poison." He trailed off, unsure how best to proceed. Cordelian looked at the court triumphantly, while the mood in the room turned even uglier as the hostile muttering against Nik started up again.

Pelagius saved him. "Your Exaltedness," he addressed their elder brother, "please forgive His Highness Nikolonium for being so uncouth in your presence. He's had a long journey, and a very upsetting experience. Euphastolon, our beloved brother, died in his very arms! I'm sure he's tired, distraught, and not himself at the moment. It would be best for him to get some rest and collect himself."

Fornulus quickly nodded. "Yes of course, of course. Perfectly understandable, right Cord?"

Cordelian glared at Nik for a moment before plastering a smile on his face and turning to the Doukar. "Of course, Your Exaltedness, perfectly understandable. I hold no grudge towards my brother."

"Yes, grief, terrible thing. Does terrible things to the mind. I know that better than anyone. Get some rest Nik. You'll see, it will all feel better in the morning. Maybe have a drink or two to help you sleep." Fornulus waved magnanimously as Theodorian stroked his arm. Helastus was now comforting Ophelion, who was crying.

Pelagius hurried Nikolonium out of the throne room, while Cordelian ignored them, talking instead to some of his allies as if nothing had happened. Some of the patros threw jibes his way but he didn't hear them in his daze. This wasn't how he had planned it. Cordelian had gotten the better of him again.

Outside the throne room, Pelagius took him to a small storeroom nearby. The room was clearly not intended for royal use. It held stores of ceremonial incense; stacks of strong-smelling pithoi were lined up against all sides of the room, and the only light came from a small window. The smell was overpowering. It reminded him of many dull days stood listening to the Majester of Ceremonies. Pel snapped at their followers to wait outside, which Nikolonium seconded with a nod towards his own. Pel shut the wooden door behind them and turned towards Nik. It wasn't common for the two of them to be truly alone.

"Just what do you think you’re doing? You told me you were collecting evidence to take to the church," Pel said.

Nik shook his head. "I thought I had him."

"Well you didn't. He made you look like a fool with that apple stunt."

"How did Cordelian do it?” Nik said, mostly to himself. “Did he drink an antidote beforehand? But how would he know I'd bring the apples back? Or maybe the poison is weak, and he knew a bite wouldn't be harmful."

"Who cares!" Pel roared, snapping him out of his daze. He was starting to think the position of Milem was going to little Pel's head.

"Pel," he said, warning his little brother not to go too far.

"Do you understand what just happened in there?" Pel looked disgusted.

"Cordelian gets away with his crimes, again. I should have expected it."

"That’s not what I mean. You've destroyed your own credibility with the court! You've accused the Eukrates and have been shown to be a liar or a fool in front of two dozen witnesses. They'll be telling everyone they know about the little scene they just witnessed. In a week, there won't be anyone who takes Prince Nikolonium seriously. You're lucky Cordelian didn't think to pretend to have a stomach ache after biting the apple, or it would look like you'd poisoned them."

Pel was right. If he did get proof of what Cordelian had done, it would now be much harder to get a fair hearing at the court. He'd been so angry at Cordelian he hadn't been thinking straight.

"What should I do?" He asked Pel, unaware of how he sounded like the younger brother now.

Pel sighed, seemingly calmed by Nik's realization of his mistakes. "Stick to the plan," he said, more quietly. "Get proof for the church so they declare Cordelian apostate. It's a good plan Nik. It's the best way to attack him. Try to stay away from court for now, let things calm down, let the memory of that farce fade in their minds."

Nik nodded as Pel continued. "I'll try to smooth things over as best I can. Pass it off as a momentary attack of bile perhaps. Above all keep a low profile. People forget more quickly what they can't see, and there's always some new piece of gossip to catch their eye. Someone will do something scandalous sooner or later that will become the new topic of conversation. Maybe Fornulus will get drunk and stumble around the palace naked again, that always distracts them."

Nik slumped back against the wall. "I understand. Thank you, Pel. You saved me in there."

Pel smiled crookedly at him. "It would be nice if you didn't make me do it again, but I won't my hopes up. I'll give you this Nik, at least people aren't thinking you killed Euphastolon anymore. They just think you're an idiot. So maybe it worked out for the best."

"Great." Nik chuckled. "Thank you for not asking me whether I did it, Pel. It's good to know you, at least, have no doubts over me."

"Yes of course. I know you better than that, Third Prince." He patted his older brother on the shoulder.

Nik hadn't thought about how he was now the Third Prince – and Pelagius was now Fourth Prince. They’d both leaped up four places closer to the crowns with all these deaths.

"I wonder what Ophelion thinks. She knows I didn't kill Euphastolon, right Pel?"

"Of course not. She trusts you."

Nik nodded, not entirely reassured. Pel didn’t always understand Ophelion that well.

"Look, we better get out of here before my strigulos starts to think we're kissing or something," Pel joked. Nik shook his head. Pel had a strange sense of humor sometimes.

He had to go to Ophelion and make sure she knew he hadn't killed her brother. He didn’t want Euphastolon's legacy to be a rift between them.