Enlightened Empire

Chapter 54 A Moment of Peace

When Corco stopped his escape and looked at his surroundings again, he realized that he had left the banquet far behind. Instead, he had reached a walkway next to one of the mansion’s side courts. Once he had calmed down, he crossed the walkway, leaned his arms on the railing and looked up at the sun about to disappear behind the rooftop across the garden. Then he looked down at his arms and pulled his knife out of his left gauntlet. When his brother had come towards him with all of his imposing presence, he had almost reacted on reflex. Luckily, Sonco had stepped in and allowed Corco to regain his senses long enough to get away. Otherwise, he might have done something irreversible. Drained, he looked up to the sky.

"Why would he do that? Why would he say that?" He asked himself questions he knew he would find no answer to. Though even when he ran, he couldn’t find solitude. A sudden sound of footsteps spurned Corco back into action. With practiced movements, he hid his knife again and turned his head towards the intruder. Some distance away, a young girl had entered the court and walked through the garden with slow, wistful steps. It seemed like he was not the only unhappy person at the banquet. Not long after, the girl had also spotted the prince and recognition formed on her face. She went up to the walkway and bounded towards Corco, before she came to a stop just two steps away.

"Brother!" she called out, "Welcome home."

"Prima?" Corco asked, after an uncomfortable length of silence. "I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you."

"That is unsurprising. You left when I was eight after all. Back then, you would not have much to do with some little girl," Prima smiled.

"You’ve grown up well," Corco answered. It was his attempt at small talk. It truth, Prima had inherited her mother’s physique, tall and stout. Not exactly his type, but as Yaku women were meant to birth a powerful heir, her looks were considered an ideal for many Medalan nobles.

"Thank you, brother. I am joyous to see you back safe. Although disconsolate, I did not bring a gift." With impeccable form, the girl bowed in apolgoy. Though her words were stiff, Corco could find genuine joy on her kind features.

"That’s fine. I think this is a better present than anything else I’ve gotten today."

Confused, she looked around in search of the hidden present. She hadn’t brought anything, after all.

"What might this present be?" Prima asked at last.

"Someone who seems happy to see me, and a genuine family moment. I was starting to lose hope, to be honest," Corco replied with a clouded smile as he looked out into the courtyard. With how the rest of his family had greeted him, Prima’s reaction was almost surreal. He heard the rustling of robes as the girl leaned on the railing next to him. Neither of them spoke as the atmosphere turned peaceful. After a while which seemed to last forever, Corco broke the spell.

"So what are you doing here anyways? Why are you not at the banquet?"

"It is an attempt to get away from Empress Mother. Futile, I am sure. She was less than amused at your chiding of her favorite son. And she let anyone within earshot know how she felt."

"Must have been rough. Sorry."

"You know brother, I doubt Pacha actually meant badly. Just..."

"How could you possibly excuse what he did?" Although he should have blown up again by all accounts, somehow Corco felt a calm he seemed to have ost over the past days. Maybe his sister’s frank kindness made him more curious than he had been agitated before.

"I watched Pacha grow up," Prima continued. "After his early years, he did not have any brothers around to support him. As the only prince in the palace, he thought that all around him would be his. And why would he think different? Empress Mother spoiled him, the teachers were not allowed to correct him so he would not get upset. One time, I would sneak out and hear a teacher get whipped for it. ’Daring to find fault in the future emperor’s divine notes,’ they said. I was too afraid to look and ran to escape the screams. The teacher never appeared again. Prince Pacha has believed for years that he is the chosen hero of Yakuallpa. Now suddenly these two strange brothers show up. Today might have been the first time I have seen Pacha get scolded by anyone, with how polite and reserved Amautu has been. Now that he is confronted with reality for the first time in his life, it might be a bit much for him."

You don’t seem affected by your mother’s education though." In surprise, Corco looked over to his sister, but the girl still stared out into the garden. He hadn’t expected any member of the imperial family to be this level headed, especially not the youngest one.

"empress mother would not care much for a girl. Only now that I can be useful has my existence been remembered."

"Why does that not surprise me? So what use has your mother found for you?"

"Empress Mother has decided on my marriage partner just days prior. You barely missed my engagement ceremony, brother."

"Congratulations. What name will you take?" Unlike the boys who could choose their own names when they turned sixteen, Yaku girls would get pick new given names when they were married off.

"Empress Mother has decided on Occidena in honor of my partner. I liked Yasami."

"So go with Yasami then."

At last Prima looked over and faced her brother. After a few seconds of silence, she turned back to watch the flowers.

"I couldn’t possibly. Empress Mother says it is too flighty."

"Then I’llcall you by it in private, if that’s fine."

"Of course, brother," she replied with a shallow smile.

"Once you’re away from the palace you can name yourself whatever you like anyways. No one’s stopping you, you know?" Corco felt like the girl should at least be able to choose her own name. After all, she wouldn’t get the chance to choose anything else in her life.

As Corco turned to look at the clouds as well, silence fell over the garden once more. For a while, the siblings only stood there and soaked in the quiet, until Prima mumbled, more to herself than to Corco.

"Sometimes I wonder if I am part of the same family. Pacha, father, mother... you as well, all of you can always do whatever you want."

Again Corco looked at his sister and raised an eyebrow. "Did you really just compare me to the furia?"

"I know you would rather not hear it, but it is the truth. All of you are always so aggressive, always so loud. Always so sure of yourselves. I could never do that."

"Well, it didn’t do me any good back then." With a sad smile, Corco followed Prima’s eyes, to try and see her view on things. By now, the place would be filled with gossip about his impossible attitude towards his brother. He really had screwed up with his outburst.

"Only because you are not strong enough. Empress Mother or Prince Pacha have been allowed to get angry however much they want. At least they have been since father died."

"I know I have to control myself, but it’s tough. How could you just stand there and ignore the kinda stuff that little bastard just did?" Corco really didn’t like Pacha.

"Just... try to be somewhere else."

"...that’s not helpful."

A smile as light as the clouds above played around the girl’s mouth.

"I would not ask you to run away from your troubles. But sometimes, when I have to endure... I can get away in my head. To any place I would rather be. And find peace there."

"Like where?"

"Like here," the princess motioned her head towards the front, "I like this yard. I can always be alone here, that was why I came to escape Empress Mother."

Again the two stared out and observed the garden in silence. No noise from the banquet reached this place. Nothing but the calm murmur of a distant fountain disturbed them. It truly was a place of peace. Awkward that he had occupied his sister’s place of retreat, he tried to make more conversation.

"Have you met your husband? His family? At least they can’t be worse than the mess that is House Pluritac, right?" Small talk wasn’t Corco’s strong suit.

"I am to be wed to a local Chutwa lord. It seems brother has made a promise to establish a trade route with the Chutwa. My future husband will provide a port for Prince Pacha’s trade fleet."

"...which doesn’t answer my question."

"I will be but a concubine. Lord Huemac did not deem it necessary to come to the engagement in person. He simply sent his servant to make sure his future bargaining chip did not grow two heads," Corco heard a calm voice from the side. Through her mask of composure, he couldn’t tell if his sister had accepted her fate or resigned to it.

"Still better than here, isn’t it?"

"Far from home in foreign lands and used as a tool, I cannot share brother’s enthusiasm."

"If your husband doesn’t like you, at least he won’t bother you too much. On top of that, you’ll be directly responsible for the man’s wealth. If he’s on the eastern coast of Chutwa, he should be an impoverished rural lord. Not like there’s anything in the Verduic Sea other than pirates. Just how much money will that trade route bring your future husband? You seem like a smart cookie. If you leverage your position and play your cards right, you’ll have wealth, comfort and leisure all at once. To me that sounds a whole lot better than having to deal with the furia."

"Thank you for this, brother. Truly."

As Corco looked over, he found his sister still focused on the yard, her smile as clouded as his own. Although they each were alone with their thoughts, the siblings shared in the soothing glow of the evening sun as they leaned on the railing at the edge of the courtyard. However, reality would not stop for the two. The arrival of more unwanted guests soon broke the peace of the moment.

"Prima! Come over to mother!" the shrill voice of the empress mother resounded in the halls. In response, the siblings shared a secretive grin before they turned around to welcome hurricane Spuria. As always, the woman traveled with an entourage large enough to fit her ego. Surrounded by various ministers, servants and bootlickers, she closed the distance to the two. Unlike her daughter, she stopped her feet several steps away, too far to hold a comfortable conversation.

Years within the palace had trained Prima to take hints. As such, she walked up straight away and with a short "Greetings, Empress Mother," she entered the row of followers. Without a complaint, Prima positioned herself next to a haggard man who wore his hair short and his nose up in the sky. Corco, on the other hand, watched the assortment of dregs Spuria had surrounded herself with, while he considered how to confront the woman on her self-importance. In the end, he decided to play by the rules. There was no reason to make any trouble for his sister out of pure pettiness.

Two large stepsclosed the distance, before he hinted at a bow.

"Prince Corco greets Lady Spuria."

At his lack of submission, the dregs geared up to respond in outrage, but the empress mother beat them to it.

"Scandalous! First you slander your own brother in front of Medala’s entire lordship and then you disrespect your mother!? How could one with so little decorum dare call himself prince!"

The more he was subjected to Spuria’s shrill voice, the more Corco’s shoulders scrounged up in reflex. Still, he wouldn’t give in to torture. He would stand his ground.

"Then go on and tell me where exactly I slandered your precious boy. Was anything I said untrue?"

"It is not what you said, son. Your tone itself is impossible! You will embarrass our whole family with your attitude!"

"He might be better off for it, you know? It’s called righteous fury, Spuria. With all the practice you get in, shouldn’t you be an expert on anger? Your brat mocked his own father’s, your own husband’s, death! That brother of mine really deserved a little dose of reality."

"Prince Corco! You should consider your own filial piety first! How will the elders of the Ancestral Hall think about a prince who cannot honor his parents? At least you will have to address your mother with her proper title!" Spuria fired back.

"Etiquette means nothing outside of court. Right now we are in the private mansion of the Pluritac clan, so I have the freedom to call you whatever I want. I don’t know how you’ve sneaked your way into this laughable ’empress mother’ title, but your fake position will garner no respect from me, Concubine Spuria."

The old woman gnashed her teeth so hard Corco thought they might just burst. Even though it was a shame, she managed to compose herself before his dream could be fulfilled. Out of nowhere, Spuria put on a faked smile and began to introduce her followers.

"Corco, my son, let me introduce to you. This is Master Mazatl. He has come all the way from the grand Chutwa Empire as a dignitary of Great Duke Huemac. Master Mazatl honors us with his presence to examine Prima, the duke’s prospective future bride."

His eyes still faced with the ceiling, the haggard man next to Prima stepped forward to stand in front of Corco. Without a word, the servant waited for the first prince of the empire to greet him first. So long as it would make things easier for his sister, Corco was happy to indulge the man’s vanity.

"Prince Corcopaca Titu Pluritac greets Master Mazatl."

"Hm, very good. It seems the princes of your country still know to behave in front of a superior." Mazatl replied back in Chutwa, so Corco also switched over to the foreign language.

"This prince has heard of the wonders of Chutwa and would love to see them one day. Sister Prima thinks the same. Surely she will make a worthy bride for Duke Huemac."

"Yes, it would be surprising for her not to admire the greatness of the Chutwa Empire. I am sure she willll try her hardest."

When Corco was about to explode at the man’s self-important attitude, he found relief from the most unlikely of places. Before he could fire back a nasty comment, Lady Ichilia shoved more people into his face.

"My son, this Empress does not want to interrupt your chat, but there is someone you need to meet. This is Prince Wacoca, son of Taoco Hulpatec, green king of the verdant isles."

"It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Prince Corco. That was quite the spectacle back there." Prince Wacoca was a tall, lean man who looked to be in his twenties. Unlike all other faces in the crowd, he showed a frank smile as he congratulated Corco on his savage rant.

"So long as Prince Wacoca found my brother’s foolishness amusing," Corco replied. For now, he would assume that Wacoca’s positive attitude was genuine.

"This prince brought a gift for the occasion as well." Before Corco could be surprised, Wacoca had handed a bag to Corco. Once the prince had opened his present, he found a white powder inside. Unable to identify the substance, he looked up at the foreign prince in question.

"Saltpeter. We have an entire ship load’s worth prepared for Prince Corco’s return," Wacoca said with a self-satisfied smile, his fists pressed into his hips.

"That is... genuinely useful. Where’s the golden grapevines?" Corco was baffled.

"Haha, the Verdant Isles don’t like to play games."

"Maybe I should consider moving then." Just as the two princes were starting to get along, a shrill sound interrupted his conversation once again.

"And this, my dear son, is Prince Wacoca’s sister, Princess Sumaki." To Corco’s surprise, he was already acquainted with the girl. They had met two nights ago, when he had threatened her at gunpoint and she had tried to stab him to death. Corco had expected someone as cold-blooded as his accomplice to be anything, but certainly not a princess. On the other hand, Sumaki offered a proper greeting as she pretended to meet him for the first time.

"Princess Sumaki Hulpatec gives her greetings, Prince Corco."

"Prince Corco greets Princess Sumaki," he answered back with trepidation.

"Princess Sumaki is to be engaged to second prince Amautu. Her brother has come along to meet the groom and to negotiate the dowry," Spuria buzzed in again. Right away, Corco understood Spuria’s plan.

"From the Huaylas Estate of House Ichilia into the Verduic Sea, through the Verdant Isles with the support of the local ruler and then into Chutwa through a dukedom on the east coast. Looks like you’ve built up a nice trade network for Pacha. I just wonder whether or not my second brother will be obedient and play along with your plans."

"As the child’s mother and the official family head of House Pluritac, this Empress has any right to find a suitable match for her children, even without their approval. In fact, maybe it is time to find a partner for you as well, my son. Maybe somewhere nice and remote, to calm your nerves. I can see that the accident two night ago has been terrible on your spirit. You were right, my son: Here might truly be the Pluritac mansion. In here, you may truly call me as you wish. But nevertheless, in here, this Empress is the master of the house."

With her speech finished and her self-satisfied grin established, Spuria turned and left, before Corco had a chance to respond. Always eager to impress, her lackeys followed on her heels. Only Princess Sumaki stayed behind. Her brother, who had already turned to leave, looked back and to see what his sister had planned. Although Prince Wacoca seemed uncomfortable with Spuria’s attitude and gave Corco a troubled look, the princess had enjoyed the show.

"I understand the joke now, Prince Corco," she said, "In this family, one truly needs to forget one’s shame."