Chapter seventy-seven

Ortia

 

Victoria was furious and there was a risk that she was about to cause a diplomatic incident. She had insisted that she should be present when Otto had had his audience with the Proconsul, and no-one had objected to that, particularly as she had agreed to speak only when directly addressed.  Everything had gone well to start with, Otto and Marthian had exchanged Imperial greetings, and they had discussed the general military position in some depth.  Victoria’s mind had wandered a little, as she was still really only interested in finding out where Lily was, and she had been looking out of the sliding glass doors into the gardens, where a rather gangly gardener was doing some weeding – it really was very beautiful. She only snapped back to attention when she heard a strange note in the Proconsul’s voice.  Otto had just mentioned his orders from the Emperor and Marthian had stumbled over her response.

‘May I ask… umm… what your orders said about Ortia, grandmaster?’

Otto looked surprised. Victoria wondered why.  Was it rude to ask?

‘That I should obey the proconsul and give him the fullest support that I can’ said Otto.

Marthian started slightly and then tried to cover it up by picking some papers up from her desk. Victoria was sure that Otto hadn’t noticed this response, but she had. Otto had other things on his mind, anyway – he hurried to correct himself.   

‘or ‘her’ of course, in this case’ he said

Marthian smiled sourly.

‘Of course…’

There was a brief awkward silence, the reason for which Victoria couldn’t really fathom.

‘Do you know where the Emperor is now?’ asked Marthian

Otto wiped a hand across his brow and looked, if anything, even more uncomfortable.

‘I’m afraid I do not, my lady; I have been given my particular instructions, but no more information since he handed them to me in Visnea six months ago’

‘And those instructions are what, general?’

Otto paused, surprised.

 ‘Why did you refer to me as a ‘general’, my lady?’

Marthian smiled again, equally tartly. She put the papers back down on the table.

‘My apologies - have I overestimated you rank?’

Otto squirmed in his uniform. It wasn’t a physical squirming, but squirming it was nonetheless.

‘No, no’ he said hurriedly, ‘it’s just that I think the correct term is “grandmaster”’

Marthian’s brown eyes flashed at him.

‘Ah, so is it now… Do you mean like your colleague Baron von Eisen?’      

Otto blinked and swallowed visibly. He wasn’t used to this treatment at all.

‘He has a much bigger army and much bigger ideas’ pointed out the proconsul, ‘I suggest that you remain content with the lowly title of general in the Imperial army, Mr Kantor. We all have to be realistic about our positions’

Otto was clearly wondering how he should respond to this. He looked over to Victoria, hoping for moral support, but she was transfixed by something she had seen in the garden

‘You little bugger!’ she shouted, in Ethian, and ran over to the glass doors. She wrenched them open and crashed her way through them. Erik dropped his trowel and began to retreat rapidly back into a shrubbery. Victoria still didn’t have a sword, but really she didn’t need one to inflict mortal damage on this prince.

‘What the hell have you done with her?’ she bellowed.

Erik held his hands up against his face, as if he were warding off an army of hornets. He was too scared to speak. Victoria grabbed his hand and pulled him towards herself.

‘Unhand him!’ commanded Marthian, as she hurried through into the garden. Her voice was very firm and it broke the spell. Victoria realised, with a sickening thud that she had gone far too far. She dropped Erik’s hand. He rubbed where she had grabbed him rather theatrically.

‘What by the Lady is happening here?’ asked Marthian in Visneorian, turning to Otto, who was just ahead of her. ‘Explain yourselves!’ she demanded.

Otto was almost completely at a loss, but he had a go.

‘We think that this boy has kidnapped Princess Lily…’ he said, ‘…and Victoria, I mean Miss Jenkins… is trying to find what happened to her’. 

After this the three humans started to talk all at once. The noise was unbearable.

‘Stop, fractious creatures…’ commanded Marthian loudly, lifting her hand to quieten them all,

‘In fact’ she said, quite calmly, after a brief pause, ‘this may come as a surprise to you all, but… I know exactly what has happened’

All the barbarians turned to look at her. For the first time in several days she laughed.

‘And I’ll be happy to explain…’  

 

***

It was all sorted out fairly rapidly. It became apparent that Erik had stowed away with Lily in Hardacre’s bag, that they had ended up in Ortia, that Boo had escaped and that Hardacre and Lily had teleported after her. It was all a mess, but it all made sense.  However, no-one had any clue where Hardacre and Lily had gone, so they had hit a dead end.

Once all of this had been established Marthian shook her head wearily and called for Campanula, who gently ushered Erik and Victoria out of the room. Marthian had surprised herself by keeping calm through the whole farrago, but inside she felt furious – things were bad enough without all of this.

Marthian pounced as soon as the door was closed.

‘General – this is an inexcusable mess that you seem to have been unable to avoid, and, what’s even more irritating, you’ve brought it here at about the worst time possible…’

Otto started to respond to this barrage, but Marthian cut him short.

‘I haven’t finished…’ she barked, ‘you can talk when I’ve finished, but not before…’

Otto slumped. After eighteen years without women he now appeared to have a surfeit of powerful, rude ones. But then he noticed something very odd – the Proconsul has tears in her eyes. Now he was at even more of a loss; why on earth was she weeping?

‘You and that woman have brought two minor royals into Ortia during a period of war: one of them is a half-wit son of a barbarous king and the other is the daughter of the only true ally that Ortia has…and now we’ve lost her. Are you completely incompetent?’

 Otto listened, wincing under the assault. He waited for more of the same.

Marthian paused, and turned to pick up a handkerchief. She tried, as surreptitiously as possible, to blow her nose.  She turned back to face him.

‘Well?’

Otto looked confused. He looked down at her handkerchief, it seemed very small – perhaps he should offer her another, larger one?

‘Have you finished, proconsul?’ he asked hesitantly.

‘Of course I’ve finished – that’s why I asked you a question…’

‘I thought it was rhetorical’ said Otto, weakly.

Marthian glared at him, goading him into speaking.

‘I take full responsibility for everything that has happened. For various reasons I let things get out of hand. I was complicit in rescuing Mr Hardacre, Miss Jenkins, Princess Lily and Prince Erik from the Crimson Flame Knights in Castle Uberwald…’

Marthian’s look softened, despite herself.

‘Well, come on, now’ she said, ‘I’m not planning to blame you for that - it can only have been a good thing. Mr Hardacre is a great friend of Ortia’s’  

Otto carried on grimly.

‘But I was not fully aware of Princess Lily’s character, or her ingenuity. From what I’ve heard now, it seems to have all been the her idea’

Marthian nodded, thinking of the gauche boy who loved her garden so much.

‘I can well believe that…‘she murmured. Her anger was dying and as it waned a cold sorrow took its place. She wondered if he’d noticed that she’d said, ‘Ortia’s friend’, rather than ‘the Empire’s friend’ when referring to Hardacre. Fortunately he didn’t seem to have.

‘So, do you have any idea where Mr Hardacre and the Princess are now, general?’

 ‘Miss Jenkins thinks that whoever Hardacre is tracking is with the Crimson Flame army and that if we follow them we will might just find him… and Lily, of course’

‘Who exactly is Miss Jenkins? She seems to be having a very large influence on your plans’

Otto suddenly remembered what he had told Gaius. What should he do now? Gaius had almost certainly been debriefed by now, so Marthian would soon know about his original lie. And it was abundantly clear that the Proconsul had a low opinion of him already, and that would not be improved by her finding out that his entire military strategy was being shaped by an Ethian governess. It looked like the lie would have to grow, as big lies always do.

‘Miss Jenkins is an Ethian intelligence officer’ he whispered.

‘What?’ said Marthian, straining not only to hear what he’d just said but also to believe it.

In a flash Otto realised that what worked reasonably well as a casual lie to a lieutenant, was a big mistake to an emotionally unstable Proconsul. He was now totally out of his depth.

‘She works for the High Lord and for me…’ he said, a little louder, but no less feebly.

‘Why?’ asked Marthian, her eyes widening and her lips thinning, ‘what’s any of this to Eth?’ 

Otto tried to make it look like he was pondering this important geopolitical question carefully, but in fact he was asking himself the same question.  

‘It’s the Crimson Flame knights…’ he said, answering for both of them.

Marthian looked puzzled, as befits someone who is listening to the sound of something being made up on the spot.

‘That’s why the Ethians are interested… is that what you mean? Your Visneorian is very good, but I’m afraid your response was a bit unclear’

‘Oh, right’ said Otto, happy to have his wild stab mistaken for poor idiom, ‘I meant to say that the Ethian government is very concerned about the Crimson Flame knights, and so, knowing that, they sent Miss Jenkins undercover, working as Princess Lily’s governess’

Marthian sighed. She looked tired.

‘This seems to get more complicated by the second’

Otto nodded but could think of nothing else very useful to say that wouldn’t complicate things further.

‘So, what is your plan now?’ asked Marthian

‘We could make our way to Monurbis, I suppose, although the Baron is unlikely to greet us with open arms. He’ll soon find out that we haven’t really been working towards the same goals. I was thinking, instead, that we might stay here for a while and help in the defence of Ortia’

Marthian shook her head. Her anger, and her tears, had now gone completely. She just appeared exhausted and a little sad. Otto could not even begin to understand what was wrong with her – were all female elves like this?

‘Well, much as we could do with the help, I think that both the Emperor and the High Lord would want you to go and find out what the Crimson Flame knights are doing – and try to help Mr Hardacre and rescue Princess Lily – and they would want that more than they would require you to help us. Anyway, we’re not under any direct threat – as you can see’

‘Is that your order then, ma’am?’ he asked

‘Yes, it is’ said Marthian firmly, ‘the Emperor is on his way, and now that I find that the High Lord has intervened it makes me think that the stakes very high. We must always consider the broader need’

Otto felt entirely deflated. He had hoped to be able to stop at Ortia because he had eagerly anticipated that the proconsul would need his army.  Now it seemed that he was caught up in something that somehow he had partially created himself. The sense of inadequacy that he had fought off for twenty years came flooding back – all the training, the meditation and the ethical exercise seemed to have been for nothing.  His voice dwindled almost to silence.

‘But my force is small, and I sense that you have no confidence in me’

Marthian peered closely at him, judging, but not unkind. She shrugged. 

‘No I don’t’ she said, ‘but you should go anyway – you’re the only group that can communicate, however indirectly or inefficiently, between the Crimson Flame knights and the Emperor. Looking at you I doubt that you will make any difference, but the one thing that I suspect you can do well is your duty…’

Otto breathed in deeply. This was a total mess but at least he knew what was required – he had to obey the legal representative of the Emperor.

‘I will do as you ask. ma’am’

‘I want you to do everything you can to stop the Baron from acting precipitately. I want you to try to stop him moving against the Tlaxacans until the Emperor arrives. Get him to stay where he is now and wait.’

‘Yes, ma’am’

‘And I’ll send instructions that you should make contact with Bellis, the proconsul of Monurbis – a messenger will find you on the road. You will need to take counsel with him’

Otto waited for further instructions. Marthian frowned.

‘Now, general, I want you to do it now. The war won’t wait for you to turn up…’

She dismissed him.

Otto stumbled out of the room in miserable dejection. He might have felt a little better, however, if he’d known that they had both been lying. Not once in their conversation did Marthian bother to mention that she would soon be removed from her post. One way or another, both of them felt that they were now living on borrowed time.