would be people really back him?
He stopped pacing, sat down in his desk chair, leaned back and closed his eyes. Could he live with himself if he did this? He let out a breath. Yes. Would he like it? Probably not.
He threw open the lower drawer in his desk and snatched a piece of golden parchment from it. Then, he signed away Mathias’ fate.
He rolled the piece of paper that would change Mathias’ life once again, took a piece of red satin ribbon from a drawer in his desk and tied it around the parchment. Then, he leaned back.
One day, he hoped, the boy could actually live without someone always trying to kill him.
* * * * *
Speaker Tallus was tired. All of the planning and scheming had taken its toll. Even, now, he was pacing. Always pacing. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to wear a depression into the floor. The walls of his chamber were covered in dark wood and full of bookcases. The focal point in the center of his sitting room was a massive burgundy leather chair. He almost never received visitors, so extra seating seemed so very pointless. Besides, he liked his chair.
He laced his claws together. The light from the fireplace reflected off them, making them seem to shine like glass. Interwoven, they resembled the underbelly of a large crab—alien and beautiful.
He didn’t like waiting. It was a necessary annoyance, but necessary didn’t mean pleasing. The messenger should have been there by now, shouldn’t he? If the deed was not done, he was not going to be happy. Too much was at stake for this to fail. He shuddered. He didn’t even want to think about the ramifications if it did.
He stopped pacing and sat down in his chair. He forced himself to stop dwelling by staring at the flames in the fireplace. The colors dancing in front of his eyes were almost mesmerizing with orange and yellow undulating amid red sparks. Within them, he could see the crowds of people cheering just because he graced them with his presence. It was going to be so perfect. Soon, they would know what it is like to be led by a real leader.
A short time later, he heard a faint knock at the door. This was it. It was about time. He sprung up from his chair and almost knocked it over with his wing in the process. He chuckled to himself. He needed to be in better control of his emotions. He righted his chair and headed over to the door. No need to let the underlings see him out of control. He opened it a crack.
“Yes?” Tallus asked. He had to still himself to keep his body from quivering in excitement.
The messenger bowed. The man was dressed in a black waistcoat and grey stockings, the standard uniform. His dark hair was contained under a grey velvet cap. This was not the one he was expecting. The messenger he knew had blond hair, but no matter. “Message from Master Tepes, sir.”
Tallus opened the door wide enough to accept the scroll he was being handed. He froze. The scroll was gold. His worst fear had just materialized.
He swallowed hard, accepted the scroll, and closed the door in the messenger’s face.
No sense in putting up appearances now. It didn’t matter if he acted rude or emotional. Vlad had beaten him. How, he wasn’t sure. With the way things were going, Tallus had a feeling that sheer dumb luck was involved.
He let himself drift back over to his chair. He knew, at this point, messengers would be carrying scrolls just like this one announcing the name of the new monarch. It couldn’t be anything else. Gold was only used for this purpose. His plan, his dream, was ruined.
He steeled himself and sat back down in his chair. Maybe, if he could publicly say the person Vlad chose was not strong enough to lead, then he’d have a voice. Tallus needed to grasp on to any crumbs he could. He stripped the red satin ribbon off the scroll and slowly unrolled the parchment.
As was custom, there was only one thing was written on the page: a name.
Mathias
* * * * *
Nothing like being stuck Father knows