The
rest of the trek back to Visnea had been simple after Viola’s team had got
through the Wall. They had walked south until they had hit the Great West Road.
Then they had travelled west until a patrol had intercepted them; after that
they had had an escort all the way back to the capital.
Once they were there Viola was treated as a
hero; the elf from the east who had helped destroy the White Devil. The others
were not as well received, for a variety of reasons – Lucius had come back from
the dead, Potentilla seemed a little strange, and Kath was a human. They were all
treated well enough, though, except for Lucius, who was spirited away back to
his scholarly career after careful questioning. None of them missed him – he’d
not yet fully recovered from being stuck for several months in the Wall’s
spheres.
They had wanted to take Potentilla away for
‘debriefing’ and reassignment but Viola had insisted on retaining her in her
squad. No-one objected to this because Viola had a powerful political bargaining
tool: her little group were the only
ones who knew how to get through the Wall.
That was the main reason why the Emperor had
given the heroic team a luxury suite in the officer’s barracks, one that was
normally reserved for minor field commanders.
The rooms were sparse but very comfortable and they had servants and a
cook. Even Hardacre might well have been impressed. The treatment contrasted
greatly with that meted out to Kath the first time she had been in Visnea, when
she and her colleague Fred had waited months in grotty accommodation waiting
for permission to embark on their expedition to Melloreis.
Much to their surprise they were granted an
audience with Pallatian on the day after their arrival: It was clear that he
thought their arrival to be of exceptional importance. Viola would have
preferred several days more to prepare for such a terrifying and august encounter,
but there was nothing she could do about it – there was no way to turn down an
interview with her Supreme Ruler. They had a brief discussion about what they
should do and it was agreed that Viola would do all the talking, except when
someone else was addressed directly. They also agreed that they would tell the
entire truth about what had happened, in Ortia, Melloreis and everywhere else. It
never turned out well if one lied to the Emperor.
***
The
Emperor’s palace was the grandest structure in all Skiophos: its white mass
spread out over one of the five hills that made up the ancient city of Visnea.
It was built in classic archaic elven style, with a central dome and a series
of terraced buildings radiating out from that core. It was lightly guarded but
could be fortified very easily by flooding the ponds and canals that formed a
network at its base. Fortunately in all the 36,740 years of its existence it
had never once come under attack. The palace engineers secretly suspected that,
despite decadal inspections, the structures that activated the flooding were
probably now too old to work effectively. No-one seemed to think that this was
a problem.
Viola’s group was taken into the palace
through one of the three imposing gates and into a series of ante rooms that
led to the Emperor’s audience chamber. They were briefed on etiquette by the oldest
of the Emperor’s equerries, who made it clear that the meeting would be
‘informal’, which meant that they would be allowed to sit somewhere below the
Emperor’s dais and that they would have to answer questions. Viola alone would
be permitted to ask ‘a rather small’ number of questions of the Emperor herself.
Viola was left to assume that that meant three or fewer, but that was really
just a guess.
After they had been given their instructions
the equerry led them into the audience room. This room was split into three levels,
connected by wide steps: a lower one, which had no chairs; an intermediate one
that had three wooden chairs arranged on it; and an upper level, rather like a
stage, about two feet above the second level. On this top level was the
Imperial Throne, a massive golden structure, with rich purple cushioning.
Either side of the throne were two large comfortable chairs, this time
upholstered with luxuriant red cushioning. It reminded Viola a little of the
Ortia courthouse, where the proconsul sat on a higher level when acting as city
judge, but this was on a much larger scale.
The equerry guided them up the four steps to
their seats, with Viola sitting in the middle. Then they waited, trying to stop
themselves from squirming nervously on their chairs.
Eventually a herald appeared with four
trumpeters. They played a flourish on their instruments and then the herald
spoke in an exceptionally loud voice.
‘All rise for Pallatian, twenty-fourth
Emperor of all Visneoria ’
The Emperor strode in. He was a tall, white
haired elf in early middle age, handsome enough but with more lines of worry on
his face than time alone should have etched. He was dressed in full Imperial
regalia, with purple toga and cloak; he wore a garland of olive leaves in his
hair.
He turned to look out at Viola’s group,
smiling as he did so. His smile was extraordinary, cutting through to the heart
of all who witnessed it. It was his greatest weapon and one he used very
sparingly. They all felt like a great benediction had been bestowed on them. They
stood.
‘Captain
Viola’ said Pallatian, in a strong, but surprisingly high, voice, ‘let me greet
you first’
The Emperor came down the steps and walked
across to Viola. Kath could clearly hear the equerry, who was discreetly hidden
in the shadows in the entrance to the lowest level, sigh loudly. She suppressed
a smile.
Viola bowed down very low on one knee and the
emperor touched her shoulder. Potentilla followed her example, while Kath bowed
awkwardly from a standing position, wondering what the correct etiquette was
for an Ethian citizen who was part of a Visneorian army unit – well, sort of
part of one.
‘How did you know that I was about to promote
you, Major?’ the Emperor said, laughing gently.
Viola was completely disorientated. She
stayed exactly where she was and squeaked.
‘It’s Captain Viola, my Lord’
Pallatian waited patiently for the penny to
drop. Kath put her head in her hands.
‘No it’s not, my brave and clever Major!’
Potentilla began to clap until she realised
that this was going too far. The Emperor glanced at her but didn’t say
anything.
‘Please feel free to stand, Major Viola’ he
commanded.
Viola scrambled to her feet looking in equal
parts exceptionally proud and extremely embarrassed.
The equerry coughed from offstage. Pallatian
looked irritated.
‘I think that Postulus would have liked me to
go through the process of promoting you a little more fully; a bit more by the
book, perhaps.’
Pallatian glared into the darkness and then
glanced at Viola. Viola could feel her knees beginning to knock.
‘I
assume that you feel completely promoted now, Major, don’t you?’
Viola could think of no words that were worth
saying, so she just nodded. Pallatian nodded back in satisfaction and then
caught Potentilla’s eye and then Kath’s, very briefly. He then made his way
back to his throne, occasionally peering back disapprovingly at where he
assumed the equerry was hiding.
Once
the Emperor had settled down upon his throne he turned to nod to the herald. He
in turn nodded to someone waiting in the wings. A very large elf, dressed in an
Imperial Field Commander’s uniform walked in, bowed to the Emperor and then sat
at Pallatian’s right hand. Just behind him was a much shorter, slimmer elf, in
a white toga, who sat to the left of his monarch.
‘I thought it prudent to ask two of my
advisors in to discuss this matter’ explained the Emperor, ‘this Is General
Titanius, Supreme Commander of the Visneorian army, and here is Proconsul
Antonius, one of my closest and dearest,
political advisors’
Pallatian gave the newcomers a few seconds to
settle down and then he addressed them all.
‘First, I will ask Dr Fielding, with help, if
necessary from Private Potentilla, to give a full account of the extraordinary
things that she has done in the east since she left here six months ago. I will
then ask her to retire so that we can discuss military matters securely with
Major Viola. Is that clear?’
They all nodded, but Potentilla looked
completely crestfallen. Viola had no idea how she got the courage to do what she
did next, but somehow she did.
‘One thing, my Lord’ she said, softly, ‘Potentilla
has been promoted during the time she has served in East Visneoria, and she has
gained a commission’
Pallatian looked surprised, and caught
General Titanius’s eye. They had clearly examined Potentilla’s previous military
record before this meeting. Titanius shrugged.
‘So, it’s Lieutenant Potentilla, now, is it?’
said the General, ‘let me congratulate you on this rather unexpected
advancement…’
Potentilla grinned from ear to ear, while
Viola prayed that Aurelian would forgive her.
Pallatian looked a little impatient. He
stared straight down at Viola, indicating very clearly that he expected only
her to speak.
‘This may take some time’ he said, ‘so, if
you have any questions, it would be good to get them out of the way now’
Potentilla, who had completely missed the
Emperor’s meaning, decided that she would ask a question. Kath and Viola ached
with embarrassment.
‘My Lord, you introduced the General very
clearly but you didn’t tell us which province Antonius governed. May ask which
one it is?’
The Emperor smiled again, despite himself.
‘Of course you may’ he said.
‘So, which one?’ asked Potentilla, wondering
why the Emperor wasn’t answering her question directly.
Pallatian’s smile turned to a half frown – he
appeared rather puzzled.
‘Ortia, of course’ he said, and then bade
Kath to speak.
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