Yuen shuffled through papers. He was arranging treaties and trading agreements with the Shimmering Court and their constant revisions and new demands were giving him a headache and making his blood boil.
Of all fae courts theirs had to be the most pretentious. For centuries they had been up in arms about the Imperial influence and control of the other courts. Always sighting their ancient blood, like it wasn't only maintained by incest and sprouting charms.
He was angered just thinking about it.
"How're the revisions?" Delta stood nearby, a glass in hand.
The night fae stared out over the plateau, across the training grounds, beyond the temple of the sun and the palace gardens, to the city itself.
Kisiian, the imperial capital, was majestic and stately with pale homes and buildings set within great walls.The districts of the city wrapped around the bend of a mighty lake, stretching out and falling off into the expanse of the twilight realm. One of the many traveling suns reflected off its waters and beneath the surface, merfolk and docile serpents met portal ships traveling for trade.
At its center, visible from the great palace to the shabbiest of alleyways, towered an obelisk. Countless varieties of plant carved into its pale white surface. At its top, five boulders, glowing in glyphs, lazily traveled in a circle.
Embedded in ancient magics, it was the Imperial Sentinel, and it held the lands together in the very liquid and everchanging Twilight Realm. Each of the fae courts had such sentinels, different in structure and design, but all holding material substance together. Most had been created during the first migrations to the twilight from the material plane. The imperial obelisk was the newest of them. The night courts the oldest.
Delta swirled the nectar in his glass aimlessly, only really half interested. Thinking instead about the silk sector, and mapping out which of his little agents was where.
Yuen sighed, straightening out ropy coils of mahogany brown hair. "This time they have complaints about the shipping and taxes on lapis and jade imports, minor grievances overmilitary training programs, among other things. Oh, and they added another request; or twenty percent of the Black Grove Forest …for relocation of wood nymphs!" The problem with that was it was a section containing a secret gate to midworld. The ancient portal his newly acquired minion should be making her way through right now.
He cussed under his breath and Delta chuckled.
"That old wench is just doing this to fuck with me." Yuen hissed, slightly upset at his advisors' chuckle. "Don't just stand there sipping your drink! Advise me!"
Delta sighed and sauntered up to the desk. Beyond being his advisor, he was his friend. And this was work that Yuen had brought home. These issues were meant to be discussed and debated in official meetings. Delta had come to enjoy a drink, not review paperwork and discuss political relationships with his workaholic friend. But it was what usually happened anyway so he did not fight it.
Yuen waved around the papers in annoyance and Delta took them from his hands. He didn't read them, just used them to fan his face which earned him a deep frown. "It's clear that the Shimmering Queen is walking you in loops."
"Then what do I do?!" Yuen exasperated. The inbred queen had been at her filthy tricks for nearly a year now. He was at his wits end.
They'd discussed this several times before, in closed offices over nectar and sweet leaf. They were both aware that his Imperial Majesty would do nothing to help his son because he was indebted to the Shimmering Queen. And since that debt helped to create Esali, the heir to the throne, she felt entitled to whatever want she imagined.
And seeing as how the Shimmering Court was insufferable about lineage and blood, she definitely looked down on Yuen for being first born yet cast aside for the true heir. The Imperial Court was the only patriarchal court, and only male sons born with the power of the emperor would inherit the throne. A power his little brother possessed that he did not.
"Before His Majesty handed you the management of international affairs, her desires would be resolved and granted fairly quickly within rational terms. We've consulted past records to make agreements to His Majesty's standards. She hasn't conceded to any of your resolutions without prolonged resistance." The men looked at one another.
Yuen's face hardened and his expression said, so what's the solution?
"Be petty." Delta shrugged nectar to his lips. "We've been trying to figure out the best way to succeed. Let's turn our efforts towards finding the cleverest ways to fail." Yuen valued Delta's ability to cast aside noble righteousness without coming off as rebellious. Finding sneaky ways to put people's own shortcomings on display for the upper echelons of society to criticize. Always removed from accountability with a line of pawns to take the fall. He was crafty. Sometimes for better, but mostly for the worst.
Yuen thought on his friend's words and Delta made his way to the bar, grabbing another glass and the decanter of pearlescent golden liquor. It was a beverage potent and unique to the fae called nectar.
"Fine." He agreed after a moment, Delta already at his side pouring him a drink. If he didn't do something the sour old weed would never respect him. Especially if she thought he'd eventually give in and keel over.
Where one knew the other was conniving- the other thought the one sometimes foolish. Delta thought Yuen tried too hard to be just, a quality rarely valued by fae. In their world he feared that it may work against the benefit of his friend. "If you are going to improve your standing among the courts, you'll need to play by their rules." Yuen had already helped a prisoner escape to enact a plan twenty two years in the making.
He had forfeited some of his morality and he didn't want to sacrifice more.
"They don't even play by their rules." Yuen groaned, tossing back the drink Delta slid in his direction. He gulped it down greedily, desperate to quell his agitation, melding little cracks in his armor.
"You're thinking of the wrong rules. Those rules, the ones they make for the people, the ones your father issues, are not for them." Delta clarified. "Just those they lord over. Those with no power who have no choice but to follow them. You need to wake up, Yuen, and realize those rules aren't for us either."
He poured the prince another drink. "The Queen has plenty of room for nymphs," The nymphs were a tertiary fae, usually congregations of shrubs, ferns, small woodlands, or orchards. They were less powerful than the highfae, who were more powerful incarnations of every plant of a kind. "The Shimmering high fae can be quite prejudiced against their less powerful court members. This isn't the first time she has attempted to get rid of extra nymphs and gynmors under the guise of not having enough space. If I recall correctly, she was previously accosted by your grandfather for her blatant hostility towards lesser fae. A queen who stands against her own court can easily be put in line if her people are used against her. A court is, afterall, everything to a fae," Deltas voice dropped, hints of something sad and lonely dripping into his words. Reflections and parallels spoken that both men recognized and saw not only in the shimmering court. "If its members feel alienated in their belonging, with a little encouragement, they will eventually turn on their matriarch."
It was a dangerous game to play. Imperial power relied on the hierarchy of their kind and the service of the subsects of fae known as 'lesser'. Treading the line of ethics and pseudo support while actively holding a population down was a hard thing to master as an agent of the controlling court.
.
A series of rhythmic knocks ended the conversation.
In came a cloaked figure, footsteps silent as the door quietly fell shut behind them.
A young fae entered and came to stand in front of the desk. "My task is complete." His voice was stiff, each syllable catching on the next.
Yuen stood coming around to face the boy. "Remove your cloak." He commanded in a gentle soothing voice and music played in his words.
"Yes."
Yuen took the cloak and passed it off to Delta, told him to destroy it.
The fae was a new recruit, still learning the ropes and his way around. A little clueless and awestruck at his new life in the fae capital. The perfect candidate for Yuen's needs.
His eyes stared directly ahead, empty and devoid of thought. Yuen leveled with the man, silver eyes met hazy green ones. A cool current entered the air, wet and mycelial. Slowly the irises of the recruit became fluid, a foreign substance pooling in them. Iridescent liquid bubbled forward like glimmering tears being pulled from the surface of the young fae's eyes.
As it pooled between them Yuen spoke in an even tone, "You will remember nothing of this day, only that you were out enjoying nectar and sweet leaf in the entertainment district. You are heavily intoxicated and got lost trying to find your way to the barracks."
Every last drop streamed and twisted in the air between them, then it washed over Yuen's face, seeped into the pores of his skin, and brought with it the memories of taking the assassin through the forest.
Focus came into the boy's eyes as he blinked, attempting to grasp where he was.
Upon seeing the prince, who grabbed his shoulder gently, the boy stumbled back, drunkenly swinging in a low bow. "Your- hic- Majesty! Please forgive me. I seem to have gotten lost!" He swayed before quickly correcting himself. His body was heavy with drink and the flush on his face deepened with embarrassment and fear.
"Rise, new recruit." Yuen laughed and clapped the boy's shoulder. He was a chameleon when he needed to be. Good at making friends and gathering allies. And continuously getting better at hypnosis. "I enjoy seeing the guardians of our esteemed court enjoying their down time. By all means work diligently and let the nectar flow."
The boy grinned and made a smaller bow with his head. "You are indeed very kind, your highness."