"Did you hear about that kid's wife?"
Her drowsiness hadn't left her eyes or her mind that morning as the servants scuffled around layering their quarter's dining table with food. Was she even sitting on a cushion? Her hands only felt, oh, that omi osan smelled good. Her Imperial Mother must be in a good mood.
They only had leftovers when she hadn't drunk herself into a stupor.
"Huh," she must've mumbled. "What kid?"
"That--what's his name now--Khnum-Khufu! His wife is dead!" the Imperial Consort huffed as she waved off the servants and the steamed cloth used to wipe her hand. "Don't forget to rinse--"
She rolled her eyes and took the steamed cloth, following his lead. The smell of the disinfecting oils filled her nostrils, waking her up. "I don't see what the issue is."
Her omega father hissed, "Ainomoguisha now has an extra piece to use to prop his daughter on the throne. All her other children have their marriages, for the most part, squared away. But this one could open doors beyond the Empire. I wish I could break something. We'll have to speed up your wedding."
As her drowsiness inked out with a yawn, she realized the morning meal was a bit too extravagant, even the imported and crafted geometric plates were out.
She sighed with a tired slump. "Who is it?"
"Who is--who?" the Imperial Consort said innocently. "We're having a regular morning meal with just the two of us."
The door opened up to someone clothed in white, similar to a spirit healer, but she could see white hair peeking through the fringe. She slapped her hand on the granite table, seeing her omega father jump at the act, but glared still, "You were given orders never to enter these premises. Ever again. Are our rules too difficult for you to follow?"
"Child," her omega father said consolingly while patting her back as if to cool her anger. "Your grandfather only means the best for us. We wouldn't have survived to this day without him."
The anger flooded her veins and she exhaled sharply at those words but knew they were true.
"If I don't keep a balance, abani, you must realize how serious this is," she pressed even as her omega father pursed his lips. "Imperial Mother will punish us both and anything grandfather has done will be wasted."
"You're one to speak," the old man huffed and then waggled his finger at her. "I was there--at the al-Busiri's farmland. Angling to find someone to sneak in as a relieving servant to be my spy. 'Lo and behold I find my grandchild sneaking around those hidden housings. Is there something we should know about?"
Elijah was clever enough not to tell the man too much.
She remembered seeing guests out from her peripheral as she entered the place but was too focused on all the other areas to question who those people were. It took a few seconds for her mind to come up with an excuse. A second later to realize it didn't need to be one.
"Imperial Mother's scribe has been a thorn in our side recently," she said and her grandfather carefully nodded. "His son has married the Saavedra in order to smooth over relations between our land but what if I said that I found the younger Saavedra in those caverns. And I mean to make him one of my concubines."
"The Saavedra have competing trade contracts," her grandfather said thoughtfully. "Especially when it comes to food and medicine. If we let them know we have one of their heirs--"
"They will be split between catering to us or to the Empress' scribe," her omega father said gleefully. "It's an obvious choice."
Not quite.
Her grandfather came to same realization. He frowned and said, "Between you, who shows no interest in the throne, and Lawali, child of the Empress' favored consort," her omega father huffed at her grandfather's words but the old man continued on, "it's not a choice at all."
"I know."
"Child," her grandfather rubbed his forehead and then said, "do you wish to sit on the throne?"
"In truth," Jata Naira had thought about this long and hard throughout her life. It wouldn't be difficult to avoid this or even travel away to a border kingdom to live out her days in wealth and comfort. But Lawali was unfit to be Empress. "I don't wish to scheme, murder, and hurt anyone who wishes Lawali to sit on the throne, but I think, if things do not change, I won't have to make the choice. Lawali will hand the throne over."
Venom spilled from her lips at the very idea of it.
No.
Someone like Lawali should never be on the throne.
Her omega mother sent a concerned look at her grandfather but the old man was gratified by her choice. She knew letting them know her stance now that things would officially shift.
It was no longer a war of attrition but all out warfare from here on out.
"You should go," she told the old man. "I cannot say I thank you for anything you've done or that I've seen. All I can say is that my gratitude begins and ends with me surviving to continue our bloodline."
"That is all I've needed to hear, in fact," the old man said as a bone or two cracked in his turned motion to leave. "I will leave some messengers here in the city and formally leave my duties to you. Perhaps you will see how I think in time."
Her hand tightened around the mug of omi osan even as it turned cold. The Imperial Consort motioned for the servants to let the old man leave and began chanting, "Blessed be the gods! Thank your for prayers spirit healer!" so that all the other servants and passerby who noticed could hear.
He snapped the door shut sliding over to sit by her. Her omega father said, hesitantly, "Have I--I thought there was no reason for anyone not to want the throne, but, you appear as if you have no choice. If you don't want to do this, I won't stop you, my darling child. This road--it will not end when you win."
"When I win?"
"Of course," her omega father said with confidence. "You've always been the best out of Yaya's children. No bias. Little bias. Or the smallest of--"
"Abani!" she laughed and then patted his arms. "I understand. Immerse yourself in the wedding you've been dreaming of. I will marry and then let them think their eyesore is gone."
Her omega father flew up as if flames licked his heels with an excitable energy that she couldn't imagine carrying even at twenty years.
The wrong assumption her grandfather and omega father had been making the entire time was that Aino and Lawali were the main dangers, yet they were simple people. They didn't go out of their way.
Empress Consort, on the other hand, used them to distract, fight, and divide until so much time is wasted or one of them is executed giving Hurulari enough time to take the throne, even as a young Empress with the Empress Consort's backing.
The only way to stop that delusion is to end it at the start.
She nibbled on some more food before waving a servant over. "Send for a kajawa to take me to the Campgrounds, and send an invitation to my sister. It's time we met our nephew, officially."
Nestled in the kajawa with Lawali sitting in front, and, of course, Sylas with his paranoia close, the ride was quiet. The two siblings whispered between themselves but nothing discernable was heard.
There were days she wondered what it would've been like to have a brother or sister. Those days, from her omega father's words, were good days. It was the sort of lie that he repeated so many times that it became less and less believable as time went on.
A formal consort from the lowest caste in the empire, lacking any of the grace or beauty expected out of an omega, and none of the education, his life was pure hell. If not for her grandfather's viciousness, there was no doubt in her mind that both her and her omega father would've been long dead.
It could be said that the reason it was so hard on them was because they didn't deserve it. This was the kind of bullshit that led to her thinking less of the gods as glorified immortal figures but more as lessons, warnings. There were worse things than living forever.
"We're here!" Lawali was the first to leave. Full of awe, she said, "I didn't get a proper look the last time. How did they layer these floors like this? It doesn't even make!"
The initial buildings you see in walking through the Campgrounds are the barracks with an interweaving building holding up two dug in portions below ground level. It was a marvel in construction as it used the land to partially hold itself up in a zig-zagging shape.
Part of this construction was what led to her idea of sectioning the build, piece by piece. And the larger reason why she was here. There was someone she hadn't visited in many, many years.
Sylas snapped in her ear, "You should have had the guards survey first, Lawali, are you listening?"
The two wandered ahead while she took a detour towards the Captain's quarters. Guards stationed by the pathway stopped her. Both her and Lawali wore their Imperial necklaces for this outing, the guards reared back as if burned.
The golden plates hung loosely from her neck with the carvings of leopard paw imprints from their coming of age ceremony and the head of Horus for her, as an alpha Princess, but the head of Ra for her sister, as the Crown Princess.
"Let us inform the Captain that you've arrived, if you don't mind, your Highness, ma'am," the guard stuttered.
She waved him off but another familiar figure walked out from the Captain's quarters with an incredulous look stopping the guard in his tracks.
"Look what the cat dragged in," Captain Boucher laughed and clapped a hand against her back. "You haven't been by in years. I'm surprised you remembered how to get here."
"I'm mainly here for Imperial business,"
"Look at this now," Luciano furrowed his brows and then said, "Weren't you the one who said you were never coming back?"
"Until today, I never did."
"Hah." Captain Boucher said with sarcasm dripping in his tone. "You're also funnier than I remember. That must be new."
"And you're still as childish as you were then," she replied. "Here I heard about the scary mountain Captain with red hair like fire bugs. To think, they were only talking about you."
"I'm plenty scary!" Luciano said offended. "Ask anyone."
"All I have to do is ask Isaiah."
"Heh heh, wait, Isaiah was new when you were last here, and we just started our little pyrrhichios dance, recently, very recent," Luciano pointed out. He gave her a sideways glance and said, "You've been following us. You missed us."
"I missed my youth," she shrugged but didn't admit pure curiosity and a sprinkle of worry that spurred her on. "Hanging out with a bunch of Carolingians doesn't sound like a fun time to me."
"Right," Luciano smirked. "I have work to do but Roy and Enzo, who I imagine is who you're looking for, is in there. But be wary, yeah? Enzo's been in a shite mood for awhile now."
"I thought he would be elated. He's the future Emperor's advisor."
"Who knows? You know young people."
She snorted at that.
Enzo was several years older than her.
Entering the front of the Captain's barracks was familiar. Not much had changed from when she was a child and adored Enzo like her idol, except the obvious.
It was embarrassing to think about as an adult. There was a certain charisma about him that she only saw in her Imperial Mother.
The way things fell apart was expected.
As her father always said, she was always clever.
A bit too clever for a child living the life she was.
Her hands rapped at the door and she cleared her throat, "Jata Naira is here requesting an audience or appointment."
The door swung open and it was face flush with anger, nearly seething from his pores. Enzo hissed, "I don't have time to deal with this!" and pushed past her.
Captain Roy stood up, knocking his chair back as he saw what his brother had just done. He apologized, "My brother hasn't been in a good mood, and we received news from the Empire that didn't help."
"Is your wife and children fine?"
Roy laughed and then brushed his hair back. "Marina and Micah are fine. Angel married herself off last year and lives in the beautiful beach cities of the southern borders. I could only dream of such a thing."
"You seem," Jata Naira paused as she looked at him with the fresh eyes of someone who knew him ten years past. The edges of his hair were discoloring and crinkles pressed at his brows and around his eyes. His beard was longer, much longer than she ever remembered seeing him. "Tired."
"Would you believe me if I said things never slowed down the day you left?"
"We may have run but we didn't run fast."
"I argue we hit the ground running."
"Into a wall."
The two shared a grin and he let her in the quarters, gesturing to a stool in the middle of the room where another chair sat. Everything around the quarters felt bare and removed as if Roy no longer considered this place his home.
"You're here about the recruits," he said pointedly and then scratched his beard. "It sounds a bit purposeful. I can't imagine it won't antagonize your future father-in-law. He's the reason what little remnant of peace between our people broke."
Roy was nostalgic, likely because he was younger than Enzo and back then his children were still small. The Carolingian Empire hadn't been struck by plague or radical cults yet. Compared to the present day, it was peaceful.
It wasn't so for the Sonhrai people.
"Yes," she said, but was unsure how to follow up on his words, because, in full truth, as rare as it was, Minister Babatu was right. "But not for my people. In your Empire, how would you feel if a Prince or Princess ran around on adventures with the children of your people's foreign invaders? Worse, if they had no qualms with their disrespect in status and titles. I deserved his rebuke."
"Do you still--?"
"Yes, a few of them will join in as recruits, not Akin but Nwaijaku, " she added. "A few others will be freed slaves who need work and money. Let destiny do the rest. I'll be sending them over tonight."
"Is he sick?"
"He designated as an omega," she sighed. "I haven't heard much from him over the years but that was the last thing."
The weight of the Imperial necklace felt cold against her chest. She thought being here would be nostalgic or empty but instead she felt tight, wired like there was too much to do but not enough time. In the back of her mind, the proper action was to meet with the Prince but she knew that was the work of the Crown Princess.
Part of, sincerely and completely, hoped that her sister was not the person she thought she is.