Bertrice Small - The Twilight Lord

“My lord! Nay! How can you even ask such a thing of me?” Vilia protested, shuddering with open distaste. She stared directly into his dark eyes as she denied it.

His strong thin fingers pressed hard against her cheeks. “I would have to kill you, Vilia, if I knew another had had you, my love.”

“You are jealous, my lord,” she taunted him. “But without reason. If I had been ravished I should have killed myself rather than bear the dishonor. Remember the noble house from which I spring, Jonah. Is it possible, just possible, that what began between us as an alliance of ambition has turned to love?”

A ripple of something passed so quickly across his face that she wasn’t even certain she had seen it. “Love,” he said coldly, “is for fools.”

Vilia laughed. “You were always a bad liar where I was concerned, Jonah, but I will leave it at that. The danger from the Twilight Lord has passed. The Terahns have left us to our own devices. Now, my lord, what are we to do next?”

“We will build our alliances, my love, while we wait for Gaius Prospero’s promised demise. It should not be long, Vilia.”

She smiled at him. “I agree. So let us go home. You could probably use a nice bath, some food, some wine from our vineyards. And then perhaps we may spend the night taking pleasures with one another. I have missed you while all of this has been going on, my lord. I long to have your manhood within me making me weep with delight. Are you not eager, my lord, for our reunion?” she purred, her tongue running provocatively over her lips.

“Aye,” he said. “I am hungry for you, my love.”

Thank the Celestial Actuary, Vilia thought. His suspicions were allayed. The thought that he would have killed her had he known of her encounter with the Wolfyn angered her. How in the name of holy Hetar did he think a woman escaped a situation like that in one piece? Were all men fools? Gillian was right. It was time for the women of Hetar to take over.

Life slowly returned to normal, but the poor were poorer and the economy did not improve. Small grumblings were beginning to be heard in the public squares of The City. There was even some talk of removing the emperor, but no one dared move further. One morning the news flew through The City that the young empress had disappeared in the night. The emperor had fallen asleep in her arms and when he had awakened she was gone. A search of the palace was made, but no trace of Shifra was found. It was as if she had simply evaporated into thin air.

Gaius Prospero was convinced that his wife had been kidnapped. He offered a great reward for any information leading to her safe return but no one came forward to claim the bounty. And then to everyone’s surprise the emperor began to have nightmares that Shifra was calling to him from the Dream Plain. He would awaken covered in sweat and shouting her name. The physicians were called and they dosed the emperor with sleeping medication so he would have no dreams. Drugged at night and drunk on Razi most of the day, Gaius Prospero began to sink deeper and deeper into depression. He wept for his lost wife during his conscious moments. His children came to see him. His daughters brought his grandchildren but the emperor did not care. He kissed them absently and then sent them away. The most beautiful of The City’s Pleasure Women were brought to him yet he was not in the least interested, which amazed everyone, for Gaius Prospero had always been noted for his appreciation of a beautiful woman.

His other appetites declined, as well. He was no longer interested in the rich foods he had always loved. The palace cooks did their best, but other than a forkful or two his meals were returned untouched. His desire for fine wine was gone. Gaius Prospero, always a man of grand proportions, grew thin and wan. His hair fell out. He suffered great pains in his joints. And now even his need for Razi left him, for when he drank it he no longer dreamed of glory but suffered from terrible head pains. And he continued to weep for his lovely young empress who had been the only creature in all his life that the emperor had loved. Then one stormy, moonless night, as his faithful slave woman Tania sat weeping softly by his side, Gaius Prospero died, his lost love’s name on his parched blue lips.

Lord Jonah knew first, for Tania, though heartbroken, was wise in the ways of her late master. She left her master’s dead body and hurried to find the emperor’s right hand. There were new alliances to be made now even for a slave. She was amazed when Lord Jonah told her that as the keeper of the emperor’s will, he knew its contents. Tania would now be free and given a small pension for her years of devoted and loyal service to Gaius Prospero.

Tania immediately knelt before Jonah. “Then it is as a free woman, my lord, that I offer your house my small services,” she said.

Jonah nodded. “And I accept them, Tania,” he told her. “You will watch over my wife for me, will you not?”

“Does Kigva not watch over the lady Vilia?” Tania said slowly.

“Indeed, Kigva is Vilia’s most loyal servant. But you, Tania, will be mine,” Jonah said meaningfully.

Tania arose from her subservient position before him and bowed from the waist. “As I loyally served my late master, Gaius Prospero, so will I loyally serve you, my lord Jonah,” she promised him, her face serious with her intent.

He gave her a nod of acknowledgment. “Go back and sit with the body so that no one else knows yet that he is dead. I will put my plans into motion.”

“Yes, my lord,” Tania said and hurried from his presence.

Kigva was crossing the far end of the broad hallway when she saw Tania coming from Lord Jonah’s library. She ran quickly to tell her mistress.

“The emperor must be dead,” Vilia said softly. “It is the only reason that Tania would go to my husband in the middle of the night. The clever creature is currying his favor. Quickly! I must send a faerie post to Lady Gillian. My husband must not be allowed to seize power. At least not until the women of Hetar have entrenched themselves in the ruling body. We will have no more of the men taking us into war and impoverishing our people. There must be change.”

Kigva brought her mistress her writing box and Vilia scrawled a message to Lady Gillian. The faerie post messenger, given the rolled parchment, dashed off to deliver the message. It had no sooner gone than Lord Jonah entered his wife’s apartments.

“Gaius Prospero is dead,” he told her without any preamble. “I am gathering my allies so that I may be given charge over Hetar before the High Council can meet to debate the issue to death and in the end do nothing.”

“You would be emperor then?” Vilia asked him.

“Nay, Gaius Prospero has given the title emperor a bad reputation. I would be called the Lord High Ruler of Hetar,” Jonah said.

“And I will be?” she pressed him.

“You are my wife,” he said to her. “You are the wife of the Lord High Ruler.”

“It is a great honor you do me,” Vilia murmured, but he did not, to her surprise, pick up on her sarcasm.

“Aye,” he muttered, his mind obviously somewhere else. “You have always been a perfect wife, Vilia. It is your forte.” Then he kissed her absently. “I must go, my love, there is much to do to cement my position. Of course, my first act once I am declared Lord High Ruler will be to plan a glorious funeral for my predecessor and beloved friend, Gaius Prospero. His contributions to the welfare of Hetar have been many.” He hurried off without another word to her.

For several long minutes Vilia stood silent and still. Once again she had been cut off from the power. Jonah had many times promised her that when he became emperor that she would be his empress. But now he would arrange a different title, Lord High Ruler, and she was again thwarted in her quest to rule. She would be relegated to nothing more than wife. Then Vilia laughed. Jonah was right. Love was for fools and she had been a fool for falling in love with him. He thought of her as all Hetarian men thought of all women. They were good for pleasures, for bearing children, but little else. Why had she believed he was different? Because until now he had treated her as his equal, but that had only been a ruse to help him climb the ladder of success.