Twelve Realms Ch. 05-06

Chapter 5: Born Friends

Jacob was going over troop deployments with Malcolm on his flagship orbiting D-702 when a herald marched in and announced the king had arrived and was waiting in the council chamber for a briefing.

"I'll bring Edward back here after we talk," Jacob told his brother.

Malcolm, a dark-haired version of his younger half-brother, was also normally the more gregarious of the two brothers, but in this case he just nodded. He knew his brother was anxious about seeing the king, but Jacob wouldn't explain why.

"Elias, please stay with Mal. I won't need you during my audience with Edward." The boy nodded in response, nervous for his Duke. He had more inkling of the cause of Jacob's anxiety than anyone.

The herald lead Jacob to the king and announced his presence,

"Jacob CCCIX, His Majesty's First Subject, The Premier Duke of the Twelve Realms, Duke of Citadel, Marquess of Sparta, Earl of Fortress Moon, Baron of the Black Kype, requests an audience with the King!"

"For the sake of the new Gods! Just let him in. I summoned him," Edward said from where he sat in the middle of the room, clearly annoyed.

"Your Majesty," Jacob approached his king and best friend and bowed low to him before straightening into his full height. He studied the king carefully for any signs of anger, but all he saw in his deep brown eyes was curiosity and worry. The king was of average height for a man, his build muscular but not excessively so. His dark hair was streaked with gray, his facial hair styled into an elaborate goatee by his valets. Laughlines creased the corners of his rich brown eyes and full mouth.

"You have been incommunicado since you told me you were taking Fiona to Citadel," Edward said, motioning for Jacob to sit with him. "Then Queen Maeve talked to your mother and the next thing I know, she's off to Citadel to gather my sister and take her back to Academy.

"So what the hell happened?"

"Ahhh... ." Jacob's eyes darted around the room at the various hangers on. "Could we speak privately, Your Majesty?"

Edward's eyes bore into him for a moment and then he nodded. "Everyone out!"

They waited for the room to clear, Edward's eyes never left Jacob's face.

"How is the queen?" Jacob asked as they waited.

"About to pop. I won't be staying out here having fun with you for long. She is due late in the next cycle. She has told me if I am not present at the birth, she will bar me from her bedroom until the child walks."

"The Twelve Realms rejoice," Jacob said, a huge smile on his face. "I'm sure Her Majesty is just joking."

"I'm sure she isn't. And in any case, I'm not going to chance it."

Edward looked around the room and assured himself they were alone.

"Okay, Jake. Tell me what happened."

Jacob stared off into the distance before meeting Edward's gaze. "My mother caught Fiona sharing my bed."

"What the fuck, Jake!" Edward burst up so fast that his chair tipped over behind him with a loud crash. "You fucked my baby sister!"

"NO!" Jacob, too, jumped up to defend his beloved if not himself. "We made love. I love your baby sister. We love each other."

"Sit down, Your Grace!" Edward bellowed, pointing at Jacob's chair.

Jacob slowly sank back down, his eyes wide as he stared at Edward who was pacing back and forth like a caged tiger.

"Edward... ."

"Shut up! I'm thinking."

Edward bent and righted his chair then sat back down.

"Damnit, Jake. I want to be happy for you. Why the fuck didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Edward... . You know it's forbidden. It's Crown Law."

"Fuck Crown Law." Edward stood again abruptly and walked over to his wet bar. He made himself a drink and sat back down. Jacob watched him apprehensively as he moved about the room.

Edward stared at Jacob for a moment, sipping his drink, and then seemed to find something fascinating about the wall behind him. Not meeting Jacob's eyes he asked "Why did my father send Fiona to Academy so suddenly all those cycles ago? I know you know."

Jacob pressed his lips together and flared his nostrils, taking a deep breath.

"Tell," Edward demanded.

Jacob's eyes darted around the room in search of an exit before fastening back on the king's face.

"You remember your great idea to play hide-and-seek all over the castle?"

Edward nodded and a small smile crossed his lips.

"Fi and I had an even better idea to hide in your stepmother's bedchamber. No one but you would have the balls to go in there without permission. It was the perfect place."

"As I recall, no one did find you."

"No one but your father and stepmother." Jacob could feel his face and ears get warm as he blushed at the memory, knowing that the blush would just egg Edward on to ask for more details.

"So they found you fucking? You were just kids!"

"NO! No. Not fucking. Kissing. Mostly kissing."

"Mostly?"

"Ah... We had hours. More like mutual manual... ."

"Gods dammit Jake!"

"You shouldn't ask if you don't want to know, Ed!"

"This is my baby sister we're talking about!"

"I thought your father was going to throw me out the window. Instead he sent Fi away without even letting us say goodbye to each other. Then he made sure I knew how disappointed he was in me and sent me back to Citadel for my father to deal with. And he sent you with me to make sure I wouldn't forget where my duty lay.

"Our parents wouldn't even let us write to each other. I was told to forget her. In no uncertain terms. I thought she was successful at forgetting me. I'd only seen her three times since she went to Academy. She refused to speak to me all three times."

"Let me guess. At my wedding, at our father's funeral, and at my coronation?"

Jacob nodded, miserable.

"So at my wedding? I know for a fact she left the ball early claiming illness. I saw her crying and didn't know why. Now I think I do. Her mother was keeping her on an extremely short leash.

"And you know very well she was absolutely crushed when papa died. She wouldn't speak to me, either.

"And at my coronation you had that bitch on your arm. What was her name?"

"Eleanor, Lady of Emerald Chase. You know I stopped seeing her after she let her true colors show. She had the nerve to call Fi a 'mongrel' in my presence."

"And you wonder why Fi wouldn't talk to you?"

"I know...," Jacob moaned in response.

"And then not knowing any of this, I sent you in to rescue her from monsters and keep her safe."

"Yes."

"And you took her to your home and to your bed and spent the week fucking her."

"Gods dammit Ed, no. It wasn't like that. You know very well that I've fucked plenty of willing ladies. Fi isn't like that. Making love to her is the most glorious thing I've ever experienced. When I'm with her I feel... complete."

"I really don't see how I have any choice in this matter. I'm pretty sure fucking the king's baby sister falls under the heading of 'treason'."

"Seriously, Ed?"

"Seriously? No. It's probably not actually treason, even if I do feel like you should have told me about this a long time ago. You've been hiding this for literally dozens of standard cycles. I think Baby Girl and I need to have a chat. If she feels for you the way you say she does, I will do everything I can to make it happen for you. I promise."

Jacob looked at his friend for a long time before he spoke.

"Thank you, Edward," he whispered. "I have lost hope of finding a way. Your father himself told me it was impossible. The queen dowager and my mother have both made it abundantly clear that it doesn't matter how we feel about each other. The stability of the Twelve Realms is at stake."

"The dowagers lack imagination, I think. And are apparently lacking in romance, too.

"We'll figure something out. I want my best friend and my baby sister to be happy.

"Okay, Jake. Let's talk about the other thing that's on my mind. What's the status of the beacons in the border sectors? Do we need to increase ground troop deployment?"

"Let's head over to the War Room so we can talk. We need to look at the maps."

"Lead the way."

***

"The Empire is concentrating their attacks in the Outer Margins," Jacob explained to Edward. "Specifically in the Citadel and Fortress sectors, with some sorties into Alcazar. The Aelfir have been able to defend themselves, but that is exposing weaknesses in the Fortress defensive shield. It would only take disabling thee of our beacons to open a gap in our defense big enough for one of their capital ships to get through."

"Hence their offensive on D-702."

"Yes. And E-1210, E-1135, F-11... ." Jacob agreed. "And several others. We are trying to determine how they are picking their targets. It doesn't seem to be random. It does appear that they are avoiding frontal attacks on the Warrior Dukedoms."

"So do you think we need to change troop deployment?"

"I do. I have a hunch that they are going to try to punch through to the Inner Belt and they are just feeling us out to find a soft target.

"I would like to try baiting them with a faux soft target to get them to overcommit so we can come down hard. But setting that up will take some time. We need to re-enforce the defense of the beacons unilaterally in order to have the time to set the trap."

"I like your thinking. I don't have any desire to attack them in their own territory in order to get them to leave us in peace. There is a lot of appeal to giving them a resounding defeat in our own territory."

"I actually got the idea from sparring with Fi. You know she couldn't lie her way out of a wet paper bag, but she is a really good tactical thinker."

"I had heard that my baby sister took down the mighty Duke of Citadel in a fight. Your assassin... what is her name?"

"Amber?"

"Amber. She sent some video. Ended with you flat on your back and Baby Girl triumphant! Papa would have been proud."

"Yes, well. To be fair, I was trying not to hurt her. Her arm was injured and..."

"That doesn't make it any less embarrassing, you know? A little girl with an injured shoulder defeated my Premier Duke in combat!"

"I admit she outsmarted me," Jacob responded with a smirk. "Not to mention I was hardly going to go full berserker on the woman I love.

"In any case, letting them in our defenses in order to bring them down seems a good strategy. We just need to do it in a way that minimizes the actual risk to your subjects while maximizing the Empire's perception of the spoils."

"Agreed. Think we should coordinate with the Aelfir on this as well. They will be the Empire's next target should we be defeated. Vanguard has already made overtures for mutual defense but the Aelfir have been strangely silent."

"Perhaps Maeve can be of some assistance?"

"Perhaps. But the dowager queen is even less interested in politics than is her daughter."

"It wouldn't hurt to ask."

***

"Your mother was here earlier giving me some 'instructions'. She expects me to keep you out of trouble," Maester Vincent, University Chancellor, said to Fiona, his blue eyes cold and mouth set in a frown.

She watched him, wide-eyed and silent. She kept smoothing the fine linen of her white acolyte's robe over her thighs then folding and refolding her hands in her lap.

"If I recall correctly, you were sent here to Academy originally because you got into trouble right under the noses of the king and queen," his eyes pierced Fiona. "I don't know how the queen dowager expects me to do any better!"

Again Fiona kept her own council. She didn't feel like her Maester was looking for a conversation in any case.

They sat and stared at each other for a long time, not talking. Fiona was again struck by the Maester's resemblance to the brother she adored. Vincent was slightly taller and a decade or two older, but their builds were the same as was their hair color and facial structure. They even styled their facial hair similarly. Fiona often wondered who inspired who. The biggest difference was that where Edward had deep chocolate-brown eyes, Vincent's were an icy blue. Even considering that Vincent was their grandfather's younger brother's son, the resemblance was striking.

"So, my dear, this is how it's going to go...

"Your mother gave strict instruction that you are not to travel from Academy without her permission. I think we can agree to that, can't we, Your Highness?"

"Yes, sir," she responded in a small voice.

"Excellent. Most students don't leave even the University, let alone the planet, before they earn the Stellein. You have full run of the University and the Kype, which is more than most students. I don't feel like this restriction is too much to ask."

"No, sir."

"She also said that you are not to be in contact with His Grace, the Duke of Citadel.

"I do not pretend to understand why, but I presume you know," he growled at her.

She just nodded.

"I think this prohibition is ridiculous for a grown woman."

Fiona's eyes lit with some hope.

"However, perhaps for at least the next few months - at least until her Majesty's temper has cooled - we should heed her instructions. Can we agree to revisit this in perhaps three months?"

"Yes, sir," she sighed, resigned.

"I understand that you used the Labyrinth to leave Academy. I expect you to make a blood oath to not do that again. You are too young. It is an indication of your strength that you did not come back to us with your mind separated from your body. Walking the Labyrinth takes preparation unless you want to court disaster."

"Yes, sir."

"And no use of your concealment glamour in and around the University. If you want to use it in the Kype, I won't try to stop you. The Duke can restrict you there if he deems it appropriate. But I can't abide the practice when it's used to get out of your school assignments."

"I never...!" the Maester stared her down before she could defend herself. "Oh, okay," she said, deflated.

"I think that about covers it as far as your mother's directions are concerned. You may go, but I expect you to report to me promptly after your meditation time in the morning."

"Yes, sir. Thank you Maester."

"Bother me no more this day, Your Highness," he said, turning away from her.

She fled.

***

"This is your chance to direct your course of study, Your Highness," Maester Vincent told her the next morning, staring at her over his arched fingers. "Normally we wait until students have taken the Stellein, but in your case you are academically ready but not mature enough physically for the Trials. So we will let you do postgraduate studies before you graduate."

"I... uh... I... Thank you?" Fiona stammered.

"Don't thank me, cousin," Maester Vincent rebuked her. "This is precisely why we have strict age requirements for incoming students. But your parents insisted I allow you to start your studies when you were still a child, just over 200-standard-cycles-old. So now we come to this. You have the knowledge and skill to be a great mage, but you are at least 60-standard cycles from the physical and emotional maturity to pass the Trials. I suggested to your mother that you go home until you are ready, but she will not hear of it. She thinks the king will let you run rampant if you are let on Terra.

"So tell me, what area do you wish to study in depth?"

"Uh... I was thinking that I'd like to study... I want to study the spells that are on the bloodlines, specifically the Land Law. Mother says that their are generations of spells that weave the High Houses with the Royal House. I want to study them."

Maester Vincent stared at her for a further few minutes, considering her request.

"Certainly that will be adequately complex. And will keep your nose in books of spell history for quite some time," he said finally. "Very well, I approve.

"You will have an area reserved for you in my personal library. You will study there. Any books from the major arcane library cannot be removed from this building."

"Yes, sir."

"You will meet with me for an hour each day so we can discuss what you have learned and so that I can direct your study."

"Yes, sir."

"Follow me. We will gather some of the books that I think will help you with an overview."

***

Fiona sat in the Maester's personal library, surrounded by stacks of books, reading and taking notes. The room was high above the rest of the University buildings and the Kype, only the University belltower was higher above the city. She heard the chair on the other side of the table squeal as it was dragged across the wood floor. She didn't look up from what she was doing. People came in to use the Maester's library all the time. It didn't have anything to do with her. Since she wasn't allowed to use her glamour, the next best thing was ignoring other people.

"You certainly are intent on making yourself invisible, sister."

She stood up so suddenly that a stack of books toppled over.

"Edward?" she squeaked.

She flew around the table and into his arms. She buried her face into his shoulder for several minutes before sitting back on the table and dashing her tears away with the back of her hand.

"You are the calm center in the middle of chaos as always, Baby Girl."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that your mother is making my life difficult. And I don't need that on top of Melissa being so close to birthing my heir, not to mention the little fact we are at war."

"I don't have any control over what my mother does."

"And none of us have control over you fucking Jake."

"Gods Edward! Don't be vulgar!"

"So you don't deny it, Baby Girl?"

"I don't deny that Jacob and I are in love. And we have been intimate. I don't regret it one bit!"

"Would you regret it if I told you that fucking the King's baby sister is treason? I already told Jacob."

"I would regret it... if it were true. But I know you and I know you aren't actually mad or you wouldn't be here teasing me about it."

"Ah, Baby Girl, you're on to my wiley ways," he grinned.

"However, it is actually treason to have sex with the Princess Royale before marriage, though," Edward clarified. "I discovered that when I had my lawyers start digging into the Crown Law that forbids marriage between the House Royale and Citadel. It is true that I don't have any intention of trying Jake for it, but it is something you should know."

"That's both archaic and barbaric," Fiona frowned. "I don't like that there's a law that takes away my autonomy specifically, either."

"Well, we'll see about repealing that law when we fix what's preventing you from being allowed to marry Jake."

"Thank you, Ed.

"Mama forbade me to contact Jake and Maester Vincent is standing by her demand.

"Can you... Can you tell him I love him? And that once Maester Vincent allows it, I'll write."

"Dear sister... I told Jake that I'd do everything in my power to help you two, if you felt for him as he does for you. And you clearly do. I can do better than give him a message. Give me a few days and I'll make sure you can see each other.

"What other rules has your mother demanded?"

"I'm not to leave Academy without her permission. Maester Vincent seems to be more than happy to enforce that one. He reminded me that most students don't leave the University before they take the Stellein. I am also allowed the Kype so I already have more freedom than most students."

Edward nodded his understanding. "What else?"

"Maester Vincent's other restrictions have nothing to do with mama.

"I had to make a blood oath not to use the Labyrinth. It was for my safety. He and my mother both assured me that using it again before I am mature enough will leave me a mindless husk."