Enlightened Empire

Chapter 295

With a suspicious look towards the captain, Inchi left the room. However, Tayali only had eyes for Lady Sisu. As soon as the maid had left, the captain put on a grin. At the same time, the lady's own soft smile disappeared and was replaced by winter frost.

“What do you want, Captain Tayali?” she asked in a tone as cold as her face. There was nothing left of the soft, weak lady in everyone's impression.

“Is this a new piece you have been working on, Sisu?” Tayali ignored her harsh tone and instead walked past her, towards the table behind her. Spread over her work table was the piece of rice paper the lady had been painting. The almost finished work only used a single color and the empty space around it, depicting the bleak atmosphere of a black, burnt out tree, half-buried in snow. However, the lady wasn't interested in a discussion on her newest work.

“Captain Tayali should realize his standing as a warrior of the Hulpatec family and address this lady correctly,” Sisu replied in a cold tone.

Yet Tayali didn't seem to care about her harsh words.

“I don't understand much about it, but it feels quite different from your other paintings, Sisu.” Since the lady didn't reply to his question, Tayali simply continued on his own. It was true that most of Sisu's paintings were of mild, calming spring or vibrant summer, but she had no interest in a discussion of her art.

“If captain has only come to critique this lady's paintings, then captain may excuse himself. This lady is not in the mood for chatter.”

When Tayali turned back around, there was a dangerous glint in his eyes, but it disappeared within a moment. Even so, the lady took half a step back before she caught herself and stopped.

“Since you have no mood to talk, Sisu, then I will be direct,” Tayali said. His respectful attitude from earlier was now completely gone. Now he portrayed a grave expression. “The Green Island is in dire trouble. The other colored kings have conspired against us, and tried to destroy us. Only under risk of my life and safety did I manage to save the king and prince's bodies and return home with parts of our fleet intact.”

He raised his bandaged arm before he continued.

“But our position is still critical. The colored kings will not give up like this, and all of them combined are superior to us in strength. Worse yet, the advisors and warriors are all wavering, unsure what the future will bring. What we need most in times like these is unity. We all need to work together if we want to survive the coming attacks of our enemies, yet it is now that our people are the most divided, and least courageous. In the past, the king would be the one to unite the people of Rasacopa. However, both the old king and his heir are dead. What we need now is a new ruler, someone strong and accepted, someone who can unite the people and stand up to our enemies. Even if we cannot defeat them, we can at least scare them off and make their attacks so costly that they will compromise. But we cannot do anything without a new leader”

Despite his long-winded speech, the last part was quite obviously the only issue Tayali cared about, and showed his true intentions.

“And warrior Tayali presumes to be that new leader, does he?” The lady asked her question with a derisive tone and stressed Tayali's lowly status as warrior and servant to the king, but the captain chose to ignore her and instead tried to put on a troubled smile. Though of course, his acting was shoddy and easily revealed his true thoughts.

“I have never striven for power or influence, you should understand that. I'm a raider at heart, not a politician. But at the moment, I don't see anyone else stand up and fight for our people. We need someone to take control, and to take the blame. And if I have to sacrifice my health and life for the sake of our home's glory, then I am willing to make that sacrifice. But I cannot do it alone. Sisu, I need your help.”

There it is, the real reason for your visit. I wonder, how long have you been a snake?

Despite her thoughts, Lady Sisu remained calm on the surface.

“Oh, and what is this lady supposed to do in order to guarantee the unity of the country? What sort of assistance does Captain Tayali need from this old widow?”

“Sisu, You've said it yourself. The people won't accept a mere warrior like me to lead them. I want to help carry a king's burden, but I can'. Not now, not with my lowly birth. I don't have the status to do so, but you do!”

As soon as she saw him stare at her with burning eyes, she finally understood the true reason for Tayali's visit.

“Once we get married, all problems will be solved,” he continued. “Together, we will have the strength and status to control the island and fight off the outside pressure. Together, we can save the old king's legacy.”

Confronted with such ploys, Lady Sisu's blood ran cold. Considering Tayali's control over the warriors of Rasacopa, it felt like he had planned this takeover for a long, long time. She didn't know whether the captain had always lusted after her, or whether she was only a tool for him to steal her husband's legacy. Either way, it didn't matter. She would never play along.

“That is outrageous!” she stated the obvious first, but she couldn't just reject him without a reason. At least for now, he was the most powerful warrior on the Green Island. They still needed him and the warriors loyal to him if they wanted to survive the year. Thus, she continued: “In the first place, this lady's husband died mere days ago. There is still the grievance period to observe, lest the royal family's status sink beneath the sea. This lady does not wish to be called a shameless woman. Any thoughts of marriage need to be put off until the grievance has ended.”

With this excuse, Sisu would be able to buy at least a few additional years of calm. By then, the war with the colored kings would be over, and the period would also give her more than enough time to weaken Tayali's influence. However, she had underestimated the captain's greed.

“Sisu, you need to understand,” he said as he stepped closer to her. “We all need to make sacrifices in the name of the island, in the name of the old king's legacy. These times are exceptional. We can't just let our own morals and reservations hinder us like this, or there will be no hope for us. I have no desire to rule, yet this role has been forced onto me by my men. You have no desire to marry, yet we to stabilize the hearts of the people. You know we do, so why make things difficult? I'm sure your husband would understand. This is for the good of the island, and for the sake of his legacy.”

In the face of such shameless claims, the lady lost even her outward calm. If Tayali was determined to barrel through her excuses like this, then she would just have to tell him straight up.

“Captain Tayali, servant of House Hulpatec, personal warrior under Green King Taoco Hulpatec,” she began. “Do not believe everyone has been blinded by your false face. You do not intend to rule? Then why have you done nothing but gather power around you ever since your return, even before then in fact? You say you intend to marry me for the good of the people only? Then why stare at me with those burning eyes, like I am a prize to be looted? Do not believe no one has noticed your gazes of greed throughout the years. As for saving the warriors at the Tullpuna Court and retrieving my family's remains? You should cease to decorate yourself with these false achievements at once. One and all, the warriors who returned from that court have become your loyal men, and they have all repeated the vague story of your heroics. Who would not find this strange? What is it that you have to hide, deep in your heart? Even without proof, I am not without eyes. Do you believe that I will become another pawn in your game? Do you believe your greed and lack of honor make you invincible? Then let me show you another truth, one where you cannot get whatever you wish for.”

“Enough!” With the outburst, the captain pulled out his short sword and forced it through the lady's painting, and the table, all the way to the hilt. All throughout, the lady didn't move a muscle, though her hands were always on the dagger hidden inside her robes. For now, she hadn't decided whether she would use the dagger on her enemy or on herself, but she was determined either way.

“If you don't want your face, then I will rip it off if I have to,” Tayali shouted. “Don't think these are still your husband's lands. Don't think you have any power over me just because your servants call you 'lady'. I am in charge here. My warriors hold all the blades, and I all the cards. If I say you will marry me, then that is the law. And there is nothing you can do about it. Just try to resist, lady. I dare you.”

“Captain is indeed correct,” Lady Sisu admitted. “Indeed, with the captain's strength, and his control over the city's warriors, this lady cannot resist. If captain wishes to marry this lady, then that is what will happen.”

For a second, she looked at Tayali's smug face, before she continued.

“However, I will do everything in my power to guarantee that the marriage will be as inauspicious for you as it will be for me. If you dare leave your businesses for me to manage, I will give away your wealth. If you dare confide your secrets in me, I will carry them straight to your enemies. If you dare eat at the same table as me, I will poison you. If you dare sleep in the same bed, I will cut your throat, with my teeth if I have to. And should you, against all odds, manage to force yourself on me, and make me bear your child, I will kill myself, and your heir, just to see you suffer as much as I have. I cannot prevent the marriage, but I can destroy you, or myself, and ruin all your plans. That is something I can do. Now go ahead captain, go ahead and force my hand.”

Lady Sisu stood in defiance, proud and straight, while Tayali's soul had been stunned out of his body. All throughout the speech, his face had fallen lower and lower, until it had reached paralysis. Maybe now he understood that the Lady of Green wasn't as weak as everyone thought. Still, an ambitious man like him wouldn't go down without a fight.

“But I'll still be your husband, I will still become king,” Tayali's face firmed up into stubbornness as he still argued.

“Captain, how would it look if a warrior upstart married the previous king's wife by force, mere days after the king's death, and then proceeded to torture her to death? What would the people think if the new king forced his wife into such a desperate position that a woman like the Lady of Green, known for her kindness and generosity, loved by all, would resort to such actions? Captain Tayali may control the blades of Rasacopa, but this lady controls the island's hearts. Do not presume that you hold the world in your hands on the back of your command over a few ships. There are still limits to what you can do here. Whether you aim to steal my husbands throne, or myself, I will not let you succeed. Not so long as I draw breath.”

For a few seconds, the calm lady and the brooding captain stared each other down, but the lady never flinched. In the end, the warrior was the first to blink.

“We'll see about that,” he grumbled with a snort, before he rushed out of the room.

As soon as he left, all strength left the lady. With a sigh, she sat down and rubbed her shaking hands to calm them. Her show of force had taken all her courage, and all her strength. At least for now, she had Tayali contained. Yet she knew not what the future would hold.

With no idea on what to do, she returned to her work table and removed the sword from the painting. It left behind a gaping wound in the black, burnt-out tree, as well as on the paper. After she had thought for a second, the lady took some bright red color that she rarely used, and put a red spot on the table, beneath the painting. As soon as the rice paper was put down again, the tree's hole had changed. Rather than an empty void, it now contained a fiery red, like the last embers of a dead tree. Yet now it hinted at stubborn life, where before there had only been death. The fire had yet to burn out.