Empires Fall

Return

Aquila again woke up in a bed that she had not gone to sleep in. She stood and looked around the familiar room until she heard footsteps pounding towards her. She quickly stepped behind one of the many bookshelves that dotted the room.

"You know, you don't have to hide from me," her best friend's voice rang out. "Unless you aren't actually here. Then I would be very disappointed in your husband. He told me you had returned."

"If I were fully clothed I would come out from my hiding place, but, as I am not, you will have to deal with disappointment." Aquila laughed.

"Come now, Aquila. We both know he would be unhappy just because I am in your bedroom without him being present," Corvis retorted jokingly.

"You are right. He would," Aquila looked toward the door and rolled her eyes. "Oriyn, if you don't trust me, you could just tell me."

"I have always trusted you," Oriyn glared at Corvis. "I am not sure I trust him."

"However, I trust him. Do you believe me to give my trust freely, to anyone?"

As Oriyn handed her a robe he responded, "Of course not. Of all people, I know how difficult it is to earn your trust."

"And how would you know that?" She inquired, slipping on the robe.

"I have had to earn it before."

"Hold on a minute," Corvis interrupted, "There was a point in time when you did not trust him?"

"There have been many times when I did not trust the emperor. Right now. For example." She replied, never once taking her eyes off Oriyn.

"Well," Corvis hummed, "lots of tension. So," He time to leave, "I'm going to go."

"You do that," Oriyn snapped.

When Corvis had left, Aquila turned away from Oriyn, "You could be polite to him. He very easily could have snatched me away in my grief," She laughed lightly.

"We both know that he respects you enough that he would never do that."

"And obviously you don't. You very easily could have moved on with your life and allowed me to move on with mine."

"And you know full well I will never be able to do that. You mean everything to me."

"Evidently not. You sacrificed our relationship to the human who decided that he was going to play judge, jury and executioner with your child and tried to do the same with your wife," she turned back and stared into his eyes, "and you let him. You did not even attempt to stop him."

"I couldn't try and stop him. Someone here told him how to kill one of us. If I had tried to stop him, he would have killed you."

"Someone told him how to kill us? Who?"

"If I knew that I would have them rotting in prison until one of us decide what to do with them."

"Why would I care?"

"Because it was your life that was threatened. I figured you would have harbored some resentment for the person who gave the human that information."

"I do harbor resentment for someone, not the person who gave the information, but the one who did not tell me that the human had the information in the first place and then decided that he would rather see me gone than fight for his family."

"You know that it isn't that simple. I had to let you go. You wouldn't have been safe otherwise."

"You cannot know that! I am extremely capable of taking care of myself. Or have you forgotten what my job was before I met and married you?"

"I have not forgotten, but he was stronger than you give him credit for. He woke me up by holding a knife to my throat."

"Now you have your inside man. Onee of the guards had to give him access there is no other way to get into your bedchambers."

"It was our bedchamber at the time, and you don't think I checked out each of the guards afterwards? I made sure every one of them was cleared to be here from that moment on. The only person that I didn't check out was-"

"Don't even say his name! You cannot possibly think he had something to do with this!"

"I can and I do."

"He has been nothing but kind to me since I was brought here."

"That does nothing to comfort me. He has done nothing to search for you either. Besides telling me that I had to bring you back."

"And that was more than you had ever done."

"I still don't trust him."

"You don't have to, but trust is a two way street. If you don't trust my judgement, I cannot trust you."

"If I prove to be correct, you will stay here."

"Absolutely not. I will not make any deals that may or may not be disadvantageous to me in the future, and nobody, especially not you, can ever make me do such a thing."

"It was not up for discussion. Do you think that I would let you leave if the person that is closest to you turns out to be a traitor?"

"I cannot believe you! you may not make me stay here against my will."

"I can and I will. I will do anything to keep you safe. Whether or not you appreciate it in that moment, or ever. As long as you are safe, I will be happy."

"If you attempt to force me to stay here, you will have a much bigger problem than a traitor."

"I do not doubt that, but I cannot allow you to leave, not with the-" Oriyn froze.

"The what? What is happening that makes you so afraid to let me leave?"

"Do not worry about it. It doesn't matter right now."

"If it causes you to fear, it is obviously something and if you attempt to tell me that it is nothing ever again, I will respond as such."

"You may not speak to me in such a way, Aquila. Do not forget that I am the emperor."

"Don't worry Oriyn. There is no chance of that happening." She walked out of the room and passed a young girl in the hall.

"My lord," the girl spoke.

"Get out, Mareessa, you are not welcome here."