Marcus of Duros Ch. 02

The long hall which led to the chamber of the Lords had always seemed to Marcus as excessive. The hallway was nearly 50 meters long, and served only one purpose: to intimidate those who had been summoned to the chamber.

Marcus strode purposefully along the hall wearing his dress uniform, which was nearly indistinguishable from his casual dress uniform, except that his sword now hung at his left hip, and one of his Officer's Pistols sat in a holster at his right.

He was escorted by his four captains, the most senior of which, Jarrod, walked beside him, leaving a space in the two by three formation for one lieutenant.

He had chosen Paxton for the honor as he had never visited the chamber before. As such, his anxiety was so strong that Marcus was sure he could hear Paxton's heavy breathing from where he stood at the head of the group. As they neared the end of the hall they could see the ornate doors which led to the chamber. They were massive affairs, with ornate golden inlay that looped and curled around the outer edge of the door, complementing the rich, dark, wood.

Flanking the doors stood two guards in ceremonial uniforms of the Lords' Guard.

One of the most prized positions available for retired soldiers was that of a guardsman, and judging by the number of golden cords around their shoulders, these particular guardsmen had been selected for their fighting skills.

As approached the door, the guards opened the door and announced their presence to the Lords inside.

"Commander Crassus of the 5th Battalion, my Lords." The guard on the right said in a respectful yet carrying voice.

Once inside the doors, Marcus and his officers quickly knelt down onto their right knee with their right fists touching the floor, and their left hands grasping the hilts of their swords.

"My Lords." All six men said simultaneously, awaiting instructions.

"Welcome Commander." Lord Feston called from the dais where the Lords' thrones sat. "Please rise and come closer. Your men as well"

All six men stood up smartly and approached the dais where the Lord's thrones stood in a semi circle. They stopped at the edge of the steps and closed into a line surrounding the open half of the circle of thrones. Marcus walked up the steps alone to greet the Lords, with the nagging trepidation that he always felt when he was summoned.

It was not that the Lords were cruel or unfair men, it wasn't even that they didn't like him. In Marcus's mind the Lords had a fairly good opinion of him. However, despite all this they wielded enormous power. One word from any of them could have his career destroyed, and they could even have men executed on the spot. Not that that had happened in 50 years, but the power still remained, and it was something Marcus intended to keep in mind.

"So!" Lord Covax said jovially from the center throne, "We understand that the campaign in south Africa went as well as could be expected, what with the lack of advance warning from the Mining Guild about the stiff opposition... We summoned you here to tell us a little about it ... things that weren't in the official report ..." he finished, smiling widely.

What they really wanted, Marcus realized, was battle stories. Sitting on a throne all day running the state without any sort of excitement must be extremely boring.

With this realization the atmosphere became much more relaxed and less austere. So for the next quarter hour Marcus regaled them with stories about the campaign and the final assault on the town.

As he was wrapping up his last story, he looked down to see Lieutenant Paxton swaying on his feet. The young lieutenant was so nervous that he had been standing stiffly the entire time, locking his knees. If he didn't alleviate the pressure, he would pass out in front of the Lords.

While this wasn't any sort of punishable offense, it would make Paxton look foolish and weak in their eyes; A damaging opinion for a promotable young officer.

"Well my Lords I don't have much else to say about the campaign, but perhaps you might like to hear my Lieutenant Paxton tell you about his assault on the east wall of the town. It was under his leadership that his platoon scaled the wall and seized two 105mm cannons, which they then turned on the remaining cannons and machine gun nests."

The Lords looked now with unbridled interest at Lieutenant Paxton, who had turned as white as a sheet at Marcus's words. A covert nudge in the back by Captain Jarrod saw him ascend the steps rather clumsily, what with his legs nearly asleep, to join Marcus at the top of the dais.

Paxton began the story haltingly and with the occasional stutter, but with pointed questions of tactics by the Lords he soon was discussing his offensive with them quite coherently, and enthusiastically.

The Lords spoke with him nearly as long as they had spoken with Marcus himself, until finally Lord Sinclair, recognizing that Paxton was running out of answers to Lord Feston's and Lord Covax's extremely complex questions, spoke:

"Well Lieutenant Paxton, thank you for that most engaging description of the culminating battle of what was a very successful campaign for you. I am sure I speak for all the Lords when I say that we are impressed by your leadership, and will be keeping an eye on you."

The four other Lords smiled and nodded in agreement, and Paxton, taking this as a dismissal snapped to attention, bowed, and retreated back to Jarrod's side.

Marcus could not help feeling a sense of satisfaction at how well his maneuver had worked. What had started as a means by which to keep Paxton from making a fool of himself, had turned around and put him in the good graces of the Lords themselves, the best possible place to be when it came time for promotions.

"And now Commander Crassus, we have one last matter we would like to discuss with you" Lord Feston said from the throne to the right of Covax.

"Yes my Lords?" Marcus asked questioningly. He had expected this to be a short audience, however it was stretching on past a half hour now, and this was not a normal amount of time to spend in the presence of The Lords of Duros.

"We understand that you never married, Commander" Said Lord Marshal from the far right in a measure tone, as if holding something back.

Marcus immediately went on the defensive. This was definitely not where he had expected the conversation to go. He felt the back of his neck begin to prickle with uncertainty.

"It's true that I never did my Lords. I admit that I have been rather busy the past few years and never had time to marry." Marcus answered as respectfully as he could.

This answer was acceptable he felt, it alluded to his loyal service and unwavering commitment, in case the conversation was headed in a negative direction.

The pressure on young men to marry, specifically officers, and to sire children, was well established in Durosian society. Perhaps The Lords felt that he was not conforming to Durosian norms, and it was a black mark against him.

He quickly looked over his should to where Jarrod was standing at the food of the dais. Jarrod's eyes were slightly wider than normal and his mouth, usually neutral or smiling, was now drawn into a thin line. Jarrod shook his head slightly to indicate that he didn't know what was going on either.

Marcus turned his head back to the Lords, waiting for one of them to speak.

"Well we hope you don't mind Commander, perhaps you had your own plans... but we have taken the liberty in arranging a marriage for you." Lord Marshal continued.

At this pronouncement, all of The Lords smiled as one and looked at each other conspiratorially, as if this were the great surprise they had been attempting to keep under wraps until the time had come to tell him. Clearly the strain to not blurt out the real reason for the audience had been great, and they were now relieved to be able to tell him.

Marcus felt the tension rapidly ease from his mind and body: they intended to reward him, not punish him.

As quickly as the previous tension eased, a new type of tension arose in him: he had never given much thought as to what he would say if he were offered a marriage by the Lords. He was aware that it happened, and while it was a rare occurrence, it was not unheard of, clearly, as his mother had been selected for marriage to his father by the Lords.

Marcus's mind raced as he thought of his options. Refusing such an honor was absolutely unacceptable. Despite his aversion to the idea of a marriage in which the woman had no say, to reject a gift from the Lords would certainly mean an end to his career, if not his life.

"My Lords..." Marcus began haltingly. "I am overwhelmed by your generosity, and gratefully accept your patronage. I am sure that my Lords acted with my best interests at heart."

A hearty chuckle from the thrones puzzled Marcus as he finished speaking.

"Your best interests?" Lord Montgomery laughed from the throne on the far left. "I believe we did indeed. She is by far the most beautiful young woman I have ever seen. If I were not already married I would have wanted her for myself."

At this pronouncement Marcus blushed slightly, wishing that he was wearing his battle armor so that his helmet could have obscured the embarrassing color that was rising in his cheeks.

"You will find her in your apartment, awaiting your arrival." Lord Covax said from the center throne. "Thank you for coming so quickly gentlemen. Commander Crassus. Captains. Lieutenant Paxton." Nodding to each man, with a wink to Lieutenant Paxton, he dismissed them.

Marcus and his men snapped to attention once more and fell back into the two by three formation in which they had come, and marched back out the door. Once they were clear of the long hallway that led to the Lords Chamber, Marcus turned to Jarrod.

"Jarrod please return to the barracks and see to the men. Make sure that the equipment is squared away and they've eaten. I have to go see to this... recent development." Marcus said, his voice betraying the anxiety that had bubbled up within him since they had left the chamber.

"Right away, Commander." Jarrod answered immediately. His voice was tinged with just the slightest hint of pity, as if somehow sensing the moral dilemma Marcus was grappling with inside.

Marcus watched as his men marched back toward 5th Battalion's main barracks. The younger officers had no idea of the internal struggle going on inside him, as they began to gossip as young men will.

Marcus rolled his eyes. He knew that as soon as they returned to the barracks, the story of what had happened in the Chamber would spread like wildfire. It was likely that the entire Battalion might know of his marriage before he even looked at his wife.

Turning on his heel in the direction of his apartment he began to ponder the situation he found himself in. While he admitted that he had been wanting for some female company recently, would it be worth it if she was resentful that she had no say in the matter?

What if she hated him?