Chương 38: Chapter Thirty-Eight: Chesterfield

Amelia blinked awake in the embrace of Serena's arms. She was warm, cosy, and wanted to do nothing but lie here for hours listening to her girlfriend's cute snoring. Serena, of course, denied snoring adamantly. That snoring had become yet another tool in Amelia's ever-growing repertoire of things to tease Serena about. Amelia stared at the creeping morning light bathing the room for a few minutes until the sound of footsteps reached her ears.

They were too energetic to be a servant and too light to be Dalinar's, Serena's father. There was only one person they could be. Lani! As the footsteps made their way down the hallway, Amelia elbowed Serena awake.

"Lani's outside," she whispered, prompting Serena to sit up frantically. Despite the situation, Amelia couldn't help appreciating Serena's bed hair and how the light bounced off her horns. A knock sounded, not at the door to Serena's room, but at the door to Amelia's room opposite.

"Amelia! Let's have breakfast!" Lani said cheerfully. When no reply came, Lani tried again.

"Amelia? Are you awake?" Bloody hell! What teenager got up this early!? Amelia turned to Serena and quickly mouthed, What do we do? Unfortunately, her normally reliable girlfriend seemed at a loss and simply shrugged back at her with eyes wide in fear. Although Amelia didn't think their relationship was anything to hide, she understood that perhaps this wasn't the best way for Serena's little sister to find out.

"I'm coming in!" Lani chirped and opened the door to Amelia's room.

"Huh? You're not here…" Hide! Serena mouthed. Amelia raised her palms upwards, widened her eyes, and shook her head quickly. Where!? she mouthed back. More footsteps and then a knock on Serena's door.

"Big Sister? Are you up?" Amelia scrambled out of bed, trying to be as light as possible on her feet. Where the hell was she going to hide!? There were no side rooms, the bed was too high off the ground, and for some reason, this was the only bedroom in Cascadia with no large wardrobes to hide in! She turned to Serena and wiggled her head to say, There's nowhere to hide!

"Door!" Serena whispered as loudly as she could get away with. Amelia looked at the door and then at Serena with a tilted head of confusion." Behind the door!" Serena hissed, and Amelia finally twigged what she was getting at. Darting across the room, she stood behind the door in the corner. Amelia was light on her feet but not light enough. The noise of the creaking floorboards encouraged Lani to open the door. Which she did, just as Amelia got into her position.

"Big Sister!" Lani called out, standing a few feet into the room. Amelia was hidden against the wall, the open door hiding her completely. Thankfully, Lani was lax regarding etiquette for her family because if Amelia remembered her lessons correctly, leaving a lady's bedroom door open was impolite!

"Lani," Serena coolly intoned. Amelia couldn't see what was happening, but from the rustling sounds, she could tell Serena had propped herself up against the pillows. The sound of paper being flipped reached her ears. It seemed Serena had grabbed the citizenship documents and was pretending to flip through them.

"Good morning!" Lani said in a sing-song voice.

"Where's Amelia? She promised she would help me with my workbooks!"

"You woke up early to do homework?" Serena said doubtfully.

"Lani! If you're looking for Amelia, I heard her heading to the kitchen for breakfast. Go find her there."

"Hmm…" Lani mumbled, "I just came from there…"

"Then you must have just missed her. Now, I'm very busy, so if you could…" Serena trailed off and Amelia could sense the glare that punctuated that sentence.

"Boo! Boring! Bye!" Lani bounced out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her. Amelia stayed utterly still, like a frozen hare. She and Serena looked at each other while listening intently to Lani's footsteps disappearing down the stairs. Once Lani was gone, Amelia broke out into a grin and Serena soon followed. She delicately hopped over to the bed and began putting on her clothes.

"That was close," she whispered.

"I swear," Serena said, shaking her head.

"She never gets up that early. You promised to help her with her work?"

"I spent an hour yesterday finding out exactly who has a secret crush on who at her academy," Amelia said with a smile.

"Being a teenage demon sounds exhausting! I was going to pull my hair out until she mentioned the workbooks! She struggles with mathematics, and that's my favourite subject!" Amelia finished dressing, and a quick burst of cleaning magic left her clothes and body feeling fresh.

"I'll head down," she bent forward, kissing Serena. Then, not entirely satisfied, she gave her another, longer-lasting kiss.

"See you there?"

"Tsk!" Serena tutted, but her rosy cheeks suggested she greatly enjoyed Amelia's affection.

"I'll be down in ten minutes..." Waving goodbye, Amelia bounced out of the room and down the stairs.

"Hello!" she greeted an old maid cheerfully.

"I'm looking for Lani! Which way's the kitchen?" The old maid bowed and offered to lead Amelia, which she accepted. Amelia was once again impressed by the politeness and professionalism the house employees displayed. She wasn't sure why, but she'd expected snide comments whispered in secret or glances with traces of dislike and distrust. There had been nothing like that. Amelia made a mental note to ask Serena about it later.

They arrived at the kitchen, and when she entered, all the employees stopped what they were doing and bowed to her. It was a little awkward, and Amelia wasn't sure exactly what to do, but Lani rescued her by taking control of the situation.

"Morning! I've been looking for you!" Lani exclaimed, grabbing Amelia's hand.

"You promised you were going to help me! Let's eat!" She dragged Amelia over to the head chef and listed off several dishes.

"Come on!" Lani pulled her to the dining room from yesterday, where Amelia was surprised to see Serena's father already seated.

"Good morning, Speaker– I mean, Amelia," Dalinar said, correcting himself quickly.

"I hope you slept well." Amelia awkwardly returned the greeting, wondering how much Serena's father knew about last night. Well, she would just power through any awkwardness like usual!

"Yup! Thank you for your hospitality, Dalinar!" Amelia beamed and sat down in the same chair as last night. Lani quickly followed and began bombarding Amelia with everything Lani wanted to do after breakfast.

"Lani," Amelia began when the girl had finally taken a breath.

"I have to spend this morning going over documents with Serena, and then at lunchtime, I have a very important meeting." Lani's face dropped and Amelia quickly added, "However, afterwards, we can hang out for the rest of the day! Maybe we can go through your workbooks in the garden?"

"O-okay! Do you promise!?"

"Of course! Here, pinky promise!" Amelia curled her pinky finger and held it out. Lani looked at it as if she didn't know what to do. Amelia mentally slapped herself. Once again, she had forgotten many things native to her world didn't translate well here.

"Here, copy me. Give me your pinky finger." Once Lani did, Amelia grasped it with her own.

"This is a pinky promise. It's an unbreakable vow between two women. I promise we can spend time later, okay?"

"Hehe… okay! Pinky promise!" Lani announced happily and Amelia suddenly had a dreadful feeling that pinky promises would soon be a widespread thing amongst the gossipy teenagers of the academy. Before any more awkward moments could happen, Serena appeared. She was dressed in her military uniform and once again Amelia was taken aback by how striking Serena could be. Her girlfriend exuded a natural feeling of command and confidence that Amelia could only hope to emulate.

"Father, Sister, Amelia," Serena greeted each of them before sitting down. Breakfast arrived, and Amelia found herself eating a tasty fish similar to but not quite as tender as sardis. When she made the comparison, Dalinar explained it was something known as a autumnfish that was frequently caught in high-sky during this time of year.

"When did you have sardis?" Dalinar asked.

"North of Kenhoro," Amelia answered.

"The Vengeance caught some. It was the most delicious thing I've ever eaten!"

"You're so lucky!" Lani chirped with an envious expression on her face.

"The fishermen can't get it here due to the ban!"

"Ban?" Amelia asked.

"The nearest schools of sardis fly about two hundred klicks south-west," Serena explained.

"That's far too close to the Shattered Isles. The arcwhales are protective of their feeding grounds, and no fishing ship will risk a five-hundred-metre behemoth ramming it out of the sky."

"Whoa." Amelia struggled to imagine a creature of that size. The one she had seen in the skies north of Kenhoro was only three hundred metres, and that dwarfed the Vengeance and sent the crew into a panic.

"How big is Rhaknam?"

"Hmm…" Serena looked up thoughtfully.

"He hasn't been seen for a while, but I remember reading about a sighting in the late eighth century, about sixty years ago. Then it was said he was a little over two kilometres long."

"That's ridiculous!" Amelia couldn't help blurting out.

"How is that even possible? Wouldn't signals from the brain take too long to move throughout the body?" Serena shrugged and explained that Rhaknam was a god, and things like that didn't apply to him.

"What other animal gods are there?" Amelia couldn't help but inquire, her childlike curiosity getting the better of her.

"There's Sven, the Winterlord!" Lani piped up.

"He brings the winter in the North every year! Apparently, there's so much snow you have to wear masks or you'll go blind from the sunlight bouncing off the ground!"

"In the Southern Terra-Firma, Urlan the Greatwurm resides under the blistering sands," Dalinar explained.

"There's also the Greatspider, although, unlike Urlan, it's never been seen. Nevertheless, it's worshipped by the desert tribes."

"What's the Greatspider called?" Amelia asked." Elana," Dalinar answered.

"Elana?" Amelia frowned.

"Isn't that…"

"The desert tribes believe the Greatspider is one of the Empress's forms," Serena explained.

"They hold that Urlan is her husband, and together they have spawned many other animal gods." This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. For the briefest moment, Amelia's mind turned to how a giant spider and worm could procreate. Then, she caught herself and quickly pushed the disturbing images out of her mind.

"Excellent warriors," Dalinar said, sipping his tea.

"The tribal demons. Not quite the society I would enjoy, but it has a certain simplicity to it." At seeing Amelia's confused expression, he explained, "The southern nobility is entirely defined by strength. Any position can be challenged at any time."

"Even the Overlord?" Amelia inquired.

"Even the Overlord," Dalinar clarified.

"Back to the animal gods," Serena began, looking suspiciously at Amelia as she changed the subject. What did she expect Amelia was going to do? Challenge the southern overlord!?

"There is, of course, the mysterious Orr." At Serena's words, her Father chuckled.

"What?" Amelia questioned the reaction." Orr's nothing more than a nighttime story for fathers like me to scare our misbehaving children," Dalinar explained." Orr is the hypothetical being responsible for the everlasting great storm system north of Cascadia and west of the human continent."

"Not just any storm; it's two thousand klicks wide, and any ship trying to break through has been destroyed," Serena explained.

"Under our weather models, it should be impossible. Something is providing the energy for that storm. Besides, there are rumours…"

"Rumours!?" Amelia sat at the edge of her chair.

"A terrible shadow, seen within the storm."

"Sailor's tales," Dalinar said dismissively, "superstition. A fantasy worshipped by the priests of Mur."

"Where's Mur?" Amelia asked.

"... Just west of Karligard, of course," Dalinar answered softly, meeting Amelia's eyes with an indecipherable gaze. Oops! Amelia slapped herself mentally. She had seen Mur on the maps Serena had shown her. She'd spent so much time memorising the locations of her supposed journey south that she'd forgotten about the neighbouring kingdoms in the other directions!

"Ah, yes. Of course…" Amelia muttered, scratching her nose awkwardly.

"I think it's time we went over these citizenship documents," Serena said plainly, casting Amelia a glance that instructed her to Stop talking, idiot!

"Father, can we use the study?"

"Not a problem. I have some work to do myself." With breakfast over, Lani was ushered away and the remaining trio headed to Dalinar's study where Serena cleared out a space and began going through Amelia's citizenship documents. Dalinar's words from yesterday rang true; the documents were quite generous, absolving Amelia of specific responsibilities that would expose her to too much Cascadian nobility.

"Looks like they still want her to take the oath ceremony next year," Serena said, looking up from the papers and casting an eye across the study towards Dalinar.

"Of course. Plenty of time for Amelia to become comfortable as both a citizen and Lord-Prospect."

"What's the oath ceremony?" Amelia asked, glancing at them both.

"Every four years, any new nobility are required to travel to the Capital to swear oaths before the Empress," Serena answered.

"Every four years? Why so long?"

"A holdover from pre-airship travel. Before, making the journey needed a tremendous amount of preparation. Now, you can hop on a cutter or take a train."

"Is there a problem with me taking the ceremony?"

"No… It's just…" Serena sighed, casting another look at her father.

"Occasionally, the Empress will request a private conversation with one or two of the oath-takers, typically newly crowned Greatlords or other powerful Speakers. With you"–Serena jabbed a finger at Amelia–"you will almost certainly be pulled into a room for a private conversation with her."

"Cool!" Amelia flashed a thumbs up.

"I bet she's really nice!"

"That is…" Serena muttered with a frown, "entirely the wrong way to go about it."

"Don't worry, Serena," Dalinar said from his desk.

"You'll have plenty of time for Amelia to learn all the required etiquette."

"... I hope so," Serena said, returning to read the documents. The minutes ticked by, and eventually, she put the papers down with a sigh.

"That's it. Surprisingly, there's nothing hidden. It looks okay."

"Awesome! Can I sign it then!?" Amelia grabbed a pen and eagerly looked at Serena.

"... I don't see why not. You'll need your signature here, here"–Serena flicked through the papers–"and here." Amelia quickly scribbled her signature at the required locations before placing the pen down.

"All done!" Amelia exclaimed.

"What now?"

"Now you're a citizen and noble of Cascadia." Serena tilted her head in a slight bow.

"Lady Thornheart, may you serve your overlord and the Empress with all you have to give." Serena paused, looking concerned.

"Maybe not all you have to give; I don't think the Empire's ready for all that …"

"Congratulations, Lady Thornheart," Dalinar said from behind his desk.

"I imagine it won't be long before we're calling you Lord Thornheart."

"Hehe…" Amelia grinned nervously.

"Thank you!" Before she could say anything else, the door opened, and the old butler called Johan appeared.

"Highlord," Johan announced, bowing to Serena's father.

"Highlord Corvus has arrived with a guest."

"Ah!" Dalinar stood up.

"Lead me to them. Serena…" He turned to Serena.

"I'll bring them here, so be prepared." Serena nodded and began adjusting her military uniform, her face suddenly becoming very serious. After Dalinar and the butler had left, Amelia asked, "You're nervous around the Dragon, aren't you?"

"Tsk! Obviously," Serena mumbled as she fiddled with her hair.

"The man's a snake, and like the most dangerous snakes, he has his own goals and the power to pursue them. If the ship didn't prevent him, he would have put us both in chains and, more likely than not, attempted to hang one or both of us."

"Hmm…" Amelia thought quickly.

"I'll try not to say too much then; let you take the lead."

"Perfect, thank you, Amelia."

"Mmm!" Amelia nodded happily.

"You're welcome." Serena had just finished adjusting her uniform to be perfectly straight when Father appeared with the Dragon and another man shortly behind him. When they entered, Serena swore the temperature of the room dropped. Once again, she was reminded how accurate the man's moniker was. The Dragon was crowned with multiple sets of horns, some of the most prominent Serena had ever seen on a demon. The plain-looking man who followed the Dragon was practically the exact opposite.

Where the Dragon's presence dominated the room, this man seemed unassuming and unthreatening. His horns were small stubs, a horn type found in some areas of Centralis, and his face was plain, neither attractive nor unattractive. Intelligence Officer, Serena thought.

"Lord Halen," the Dragon intoned as he stepped in, his deep voice filling the room and sending shivers down Serena's spine.

"And Lady Thornheart. I see you've seen fit to join our humble Empire." Amelia politely returned the greeting, and Serena quickly followed suit.

"Please, sit." Father gestured to the prepared chairs, and the Dragon and his guest slowly sat down. Serena, Amelia, and her father quickly followed. An awkward silence passed before the plain-looking demon spoke up.

"Some tea, perhaps?" he requested with a smile. Dalinar quickly rang a bell and, a moment later, an employee appeared. The guest raised a finger.

"A pot of mint tea, if you have it." The employee bowed at the request and vanished.

"I've always preferred conversation with tea," he said to the room.

"Having something to do with your hands makes those awkward moments almost bearable, doesn't it?" No one seemed to know how to reply to that statement, so Serena simply resigned herself to silence. She noticed that the Dragon's guest was carrying some kind of case, which made her uneasy for some reason. A suffocating eternity later, the tea arrived. While they held their cups in polite silence, the Dragon eventually began talking.

"We have matters of import to discuss," he said.

"This here is Mister Chesterfield, a representative from Centralis Intelligence. He will explain some of these matters, as they are above my pay grade." Oh? Now, that was interesting. As far as Serena understood, there was very little beyond the Dragon's pay grade. Additionally, he had referred to his guest as Mister, not Lord or Speaker. Who was this man exactly? He didn't appear to be any kind of mage or warrior.

"A pleasure to meet you, Lord Halen," Chesterfield said, tilting his head in Serena's direction.

"And a terrific pleasure to meet you, Lord-Prospect Thornheart." He smiled at Amelia for a period of time that was just a little too long to feel natural.

"Now, before we get onto the more serious stuff…" Chesterfield glanced at the Dragon, who pulled out a small box from about his person and passed it to Serena. She took the box. It was a little larger than her fist and covered in black cloth. On the top side, a familiar symbol was embossed in gold. A crown wreathed by horns. The emblem of Cascadia.

"Open it," the Dragon instructed, and Serena did. Within the box lay a bronze medal.

"Your Bronze Eagle," the Dragon explained.

"For your exceptional work capturing Port Highwind. It would have been silver if…" His eyes narrowed.

"... You hadn't ended up losing control of your Word and battling the commander of your ground forces to near-death." Serena felt a flash of annoyance but quickly quenched the feeling. After all, the Dragon was correct. What happened in Port Highwind was her failure; it was a miracle she hadn't been dishonourably discharged.

"Thank you, Highlord," she uttered with as much sincerity as she could manage.

"It's a great honour."

"Greatlord Oshiro also offers his congratulations and wishes he could have been here to hand it off personally," the Dragon said. He produced a cigar and lit it, inhaling and exhaling slowly out his nostrils. Now, he really did look like a dragon. Serena couldn't help but wonder if he did it on purpose.

"Speaking of the Greatlord, the Vengeance is being pulled out of the Eastern Fleet."" What?" Serena hissed, unable to control her displeasure at the sudden subject change.

"As you know, the Vengeance is leased to the Eastern Fleet on a contractual basis. That contract has ended, and Greatlord Oshiro has not sought to renew the lease from the Centralis Navy."

"You're taking my ship from me?" Seeing Chesterfield smile at her words, Serena struggled to keep herself calm and threw him a piercing glare. He held her gaze, and eventually, Serena looked away.

"Unfortunately, no." The Dragon puffed his cigar again.

"The ship has taken a liking to you, and as you know, without the consent of both parties to the original agreement, the Captain of the Vengeance can not be removed so easily." Another stream of smoke out of his nostrils.

"You and your crew will remain with the ship. You'll be doing important work, taking on missions directly from Intelligence. Chesterfield will be your handler, through whom your orders will be given."

"I would like to protest," Serena said with as much force as possible. She didn't want to be passed so quickly from Greatlord Oshiro, a man she respected, to some nameless face from Intelligence.

"Ahem." Chesterfield coughed into his hand.

"The instructions for this… shuffle come directly from the top."

"The top?" Serena asked.

"The Empress herself has commanded it." Serena bit her tongue, swallowing loudly. She forced herself to slow her breathing.

"Then, I accept," she finally said.

"Excellent!" Chesterfield clapped his hands, turning to Amelia.

"Lord-Prospect Thornheart, am I correct in my understanding that you intend to keep following Lord Halen, your employer?"

"Umm…" Amelia glanced at Serena.

"Y-yeah! I'll follow her!"

"Terrific!" Chesterfield's face broke into a warm smile that seemed genuine yet entirely out of place considering the atmosphere.

"Now then." He turned to the Dragon.

"Francis, if you could…"

"Sir." The Dragon nodded before standing up and gesturing for Serena's father to do the same.

"Highlord Halen, could you show me around your spectacular gardens?"

"Oh? Yes, of course!" Father stood up, his face looking a little confused. The Dragon politely nodded at the room and the pair of them exited, leaving only Chesterfield and his easy, out-of-place smile.

"Who are you?" Serena asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're not some paper-filing, pen-twirling middle-ranked Intelligence Officer. You're high up, aren't you?"

"Quite high up," Chesterfield said softly, sipping the mint tea.

"However, when you're as high up as I am"–he looked at Amelia briefly–"you come to understand there's always someone greater. Well then…" Chesterfield opened the box he had brought with him. From within, he pulled out two more boxes. One was about ten inches in all directions, while the other was about as big as Serena's medal box. The smaller box made her instincts scream. Whatever was in there couldn't be good. Chesterfield brought his hand to the lid of the larger box, hesitating.

"Would you like to know what the Vengeance really is?" He looked at Serena with a tense expression.

"... Yes," Serena finally answered.

"Wonderful," Chesterfield said, opening the larger box and pulling out a human skull and placing it on the table.

"Anathor, could you join us, please?"