Michael Stackpole - When Dragons Rage

A knock came at her door, but before she could turn and invite whoever waited there in, the door opened. Three men and one woman, all of middle age and masked, filed in. They had donned fine clothes and clearly had discarded their cloaks elsewhere—all save Duke Thow, in whose palace she was standing.

The woman, whom Alexia was certain she’d seen before but could not recall, stepped from the group of her fellows and extended a hand. “For the love of the gods, Princess Alexia, you must listen to us.”

The duke grabbed the woman’s other arm and restrained her. “Princess, we regret this interruption, and we mean no disrespect, but we must speak with you.” He nodded toward the window. “As you have seen, the precautions we thought would save us are for naught. The city is burning. People are homeless. People are injured; they are dying.“

“Your city is under siege. Casualties cannot be avoided.”

“Granted, Highness, but we must do something.”

Alexia sighed. “I have been considering that very thing. The Aurolani will cease their shooting. They have not enough supplies to keep it up. Our sorcerers will rest and be able to do more.”

The duke shook his head. “They have too much to do. All the fires…”

She snarled. “Magick is not the only way to deal with fire, my lord. I have detailed troops to help organize firefighting efforts. This will leave our mages free for more important duties, like stopping the enemy.”

Alexia continued, not letting the duke get a word in edgewise. “I have considered a raid, but that would leave us worse off than before. It would sap our strength, so that when they came to take the city we could not oppose them. The slaughter would be unspeakable. Is that what you want?”

The woman tore her arm free of the duke’s grasp. “No, we want to avoid that. This is why we have come to you. We want you to negotiate a surrender.”

“What?”

One of the other men opened his hands. “You said yourself that the Aurolani are not shooting at the walls to preserve them against a counterattack. We could negotiate and let them come into the city. We would let them have it in return for the safety of our citizens. Surely they would see the wisdom of that exchange.”

Alexia snapped her mouth shut, then shook her head. “Do you know what you are saying?”

The woman’s head came up. “It will stop the slaughter.”

“You are insane. I know what it is for a city to be overrun by the Aurolani. Svoin was so poisoned that when it was liberated, it had to be burned. This city is home to twenty thousand souls, thirty perhaps? As it is now, so Svoin once was. When General Adrogans liberated it, fewer than five thousand people remained.”

The duke waved that idea off. “That was after twenty-five years.”

Alyx fixed him with a hard stare. “And you assume someone will come save you before another quarter century has passed?”

“No, we expect the Aurolani will abide by any agreement we make with them.”

“And why would they do that? If you surrender this city and if there were troops around who could rescue you, they’d not waste their time. They would just bottle you up in the city with the Aurolani, and when the gibber-ers ran out of rations, then you’d see just how long your agreement would last.”

The fourth man, a white-haired magistrate, let menace slip into his voice. “We have other things we can turn over to them. Valuable things.”

“Such as?” Alexia’s violet eyes narrowed angrily. “Me? The killer of a sullanciri? What are you saying, Magistrate?”

“You know very well what I am saying.”

“I don’t, Magistrate. Perhaps you’d better tell me!” Sayce stood in the doorway. Pure fury burned through her words. “Are you suggesting you would trade to the enemy two people who have come here of their own accord to save you?”

The magistrate looked down his long nose at her. “Princess, you would be safe.”

“Not with you, I wouldn’t.” Sayce strode through their midst, placing herself between them and Alexia. “You would sell me once the others had not been enough, and then others would sell you.”

The woman pleaded. “The alternative is death.”

“ Yes , it is!” The Murosan Princess’ hands rent the air. “What are you not understanding? The Aurolani have come here to destroy us. They swept through Sebcia like a summer storm, and why? What did the Sebcians ever do to Chytrine? Nothing. It is the same with us. We have done nothing to invite this invasion save to have a good nation with stouthearted people who work hard to make the best life they can for themselves and their families.

“Look at yourselves. You wear masks, but do you think you are truly worthy of them? Your ancestors would strip them from your faces, then peel back the flesh beneath them. You have become the very complacent sort of people we overthrew when our ancestors took the mask.”

The duke’s spine stiffened with indignation. “You mistake us.”

“No I do not, not at all, Duke Thow. I see you for what you are. Just as you are willing to sell Princess Alexia or Kerrigan to the Aurolani, claiming it is for the sake of the people, you would sell the people for your own sake. You would count that a suitable price to pay, and would praise those making the sacrifice, but would deem yourselves too important to the nation and the city ever to offer yourselves to the enemy.”

Sayce’s unbridled anger cowed the gang of four. Blood drained from faces and the woman covered her mask with her hands. Her shoulders shook as if she were sobbing, though Alexia thought the gestures exaggerated.

“This is what we are going to do.” Sayce’s lips peeled back in a fierce snarl. “I will guarantee your safety, since you are clearly worried about it. I will have some of my Lancers guard each of you. I assure you that if there is any chance that the enemy would take you, you will be slain and avoid the humiliation of a painful death.”

The magistrate’s eyes widened. “You cannot threaten us with murder!”

“No?” Sayce’s head came up and she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Better a threat of murder than a charge of treason. It is your choice. I prefer the latter, since then all your lands will be forfeit to the crown. Your children will be reduced to paupers, but at least they will be alive.”

The duke snorted. “Let the crown have my lands. Chytrine will have them soon enough.”

Alexia stepped forward and laid her left hand on Sayce’s right shoulder. “There you have it, Duke Thow. Chytrine will have your lands, your city, soon enough. The question is how much of a price will she pay for them? You can give them to her and you will get no gratitude in return. Or you can join us in opposing her. If you were to kill one gibberer you would be selling your life more dearly than you could ever imagine, and the price she would be charged would be greater than she will be able to bear.”

The flame-haired princess nodded. “There you have it. Live up to your mask and the fidelity to your nation it demands, or bare your face and slink into obscurity. Better death while free, than an eternity as a slave.”

The four of them—pale and meek—stared blankly.

Sayce pointed to the door. “Be gone.”

They filed out quietly, without a bow or an apology.

Sayce looked at Alexia. “I am mortified for my nation that you witnessed this.”

“You mean witnessing you tame a pack of cowards?” Alexia smiled slightly. “This is a new side of you, one I had not taken into account.”

The smaller woman nodded. “I know, when I arrived in Meredo, that I made a bad impression. You were not what I expected. Will was not. Nothing was what I thought it would be. You have, however, showed me that you are more than I could ever have expected.