As Lyse, Sidis, Alcede, and Egbert flew homeward on raptorback, all was peaceful up until they spotted what appeared to be inky splotches upon the landscape.
“Are those...” Lyse began.
“Monsters,” Sidis said, confirming her suspicion. “Alcede, let us attack from the air! We’ll halve their numbers before they reach the capital.”
“You got it,” Alcede responded.
Lyse could do little but watch as the imperial men hurled magical lightning and flame to devastate the swarms of monsters below. The airborne monsters, however, were a different story. When they struck, Lyse unleashed her own tame avian monster to counterattack. Working together, the party cut down even more of the monstrous swarms than they’d hoped. Only two hordes reached the city walls, where imperial soldiers were ready and waiting for them. After a volley of spells from the palace, the monsters were no more.
“Looks like we’re all good here, but...” Sidis sighed as he glowered toward the palace. He’d spotted another flock of flying monsters, which was smaller than the hordes on the ground but still cause for concern.
Egbert and Alcede made a beeline for the flock, breaching the swarm where the imperial soldiers couldn’t reach and launching large flourishes of magic to clear out swaths of the avian monsters. Sidis and Lyse followed their lead and headed straight for the wretched birds. Sidis fired lightning from his fingertips, frying his targets to a crisp. The palace knights quickly moved into position to offer their assistance as well. The monstrous flock quickly dwindled from sparse to nonexistent, finally allowing Lyse and the men, followed by all the knights on raptors, to land in the courtyard.
“Your Majesty!” shouted Lasuarl as he came rushing.
“Any damage to the palace?” Egbert inquired.
The duke looked somewhat troubled. “I’ve only received word of minor collateral damage, so I shall have it repaired right away. However—”
Amidst Lasuarl’s report, they overheard a knight grumble, “When are they going to figure this crap out? Gods, it’s never been this bad before.”
It was hard not to be sympathetic, as monsters were flooding the palace nearly every day now at twice their usual strength. The soldiers were understandably exhausted. Lyse couldn’t help noticing that this particular knight had his uniform slightly out of order and deduced that he was a fresh recruit. The moment Lasuarl whipped around, the young knight started and turned pale.
“Get those repairs squared away,” said Egbert. “And Duke Lasuarl, I’ll get you details about improving the situation very soon.”
“Truly, Your Majesty?” probed the surprised Lasuarl. Lyse wondered how Egbert was going to justify himself. Sidis, meanwhile, looked displeased, and Alcede looked concerned over what was to come. “When shall I expect to hear from you?”
The emperor looked at the stern duke and replied, “I’m going to pull some strings tonight. If it goes well, I’ll have an explanation for you then.”
“Very well, Your Majesty.” Lasuarl then left the scene following a valedictory bow.
“All right. We’ll be setting things into motion tomorrow, so let’s hurry up and get to work,” Egbert declared as he turned to the prince. “Sidis, you come with me. We’ve got lots to talk about, don’t we now?”
The emperor beckoned for his cousin to follow along, and Sidis obliged. Lyse saw the two of them off, which was really all she could do under the circumstances.
It was the middle of night, yet Lyse couldn’t sleep a wink. She gave up on trying and crawled out of bed to sit on the sofa. The cause of her restlessness was obvious—the discussion between Sidis and Egbert still weighed on her mind.
“What are they going to decide...?”
She was hopeful for a resolution that wouldn’t involve Egbert abdicating. It wasn’t as though they were out of other options. He simply saw this as the perfect opportunity to shed his shackles, and disregarding his wishes in all this would pain Lyse just as much.
“As the saying goes, heavy is the head that wears the crown. Perhaps it’s too heavy after all.”
As the previous emperor’s son, Egbert had been born under the expectation that he would one day ascend the throne. Had that tormented him all this time? Lyse felt guilty for not being more considerate. As she heaved a sigh, a knock came at her bedroom door. She shot up from her seat and rushed over, but to her surprise, Sidis let himself in before she could reach it.
“You’ve been awake this whole time, haven’t you? Here I was thinking I’d update you if you had already fallen asleep...” Sidis had apparently knocked, not expecting her to answer.
“How could I?” she said. “Come, Lord Sidis.” This conversation wasn’t one to be had whilst standing around, so Lyse promptly ushered her fiancé inside. She offered him a seat on the sofa and something to drink, but all Sidis wanted was to sit and hold her hand. “So? How did the talk with His Majesty go?”
Sidis stared at the floor. “His Majesty has made up his mind...” he began, then recounted the details of their conversation to Lyse.
That afternoon, Sidis had followed the emperor to the villa to get away from any prying ears. They settled into Egbert’s room, where he brewed a pot of black tea for the two of them to share.
“Allow me, Your Majesty,” Sidis offered.
To this, Egbert replied, “My room, my rules.”
The two of them thus sat down together, each with a cup of tea in hand. It made Sidis realize how long it had been since they’d had the chance to enjoy one another’s company in private. The last time was when Egbert had dismissed his guards and taken a stroll with Sidis instead during the inspection in Olwen. And before that, it was likely before Egbert’s coronation.
When the late emperor had decided to abdicate, it had cast the palace into a hectic flurry of preparations for all the appropriate rituals and ceremonies. The exhausted Egbert had been lucky to find a moment to himself, and since Alcede had been busy at the time, he’d decided to enjoy it by having a spot of tea with Sidis. He’d even dismissed all of his attendants so he could have some pure peace and quiet with his cousin. Things had been comfortable then, unlike the awkward silence that permeated the room now.
“Remember the last time we had tea together, just the two of us? Must’ve been right before I took the throne,” Egbert said to break the ice, likely intuiting the unease.
Sidis was touched that he remembered it as well. He thought of Egbert like a brother, always there by his side when the going got tough. That was why he wanted to keep supporting Egbert as emperor, and also why he took his desire to cede the crown so poorly. He wished for a way to make it known to everyone that he wanted Egbert to remain on the throne.