AO 7 Ch 37

I had to bite my lip to stop from squealing in joy. The ambiance that the princess had set was absolutely, positively perfect for the murder mystery party.

The torches on the side were replaced with candles, and the much smaller flame barely lit up the room, casting long, flickering shadows all over the five long tables. Each of them glittered with gold and silver like a dozen knives flashing in the dark.

I was certain they would soon be filled with food and surrounded by a copious number of people. When people started dying, it was going to be ominous, spooky, and oh so perfect. 

Emlyn nudged me from behind. "Ard." 

"Hmm?" I perked up, realizing that Gabriella had said something that I had missed. She was seated at the head of the front table a wine glass in hand and lounging like the perfect villainess.

"Yes, welcome." I put a smile on my face. That was easy enough, especially considering how excited I was for this party. 

"It's good to see that you're in such a good mood." Gabriella smiled softly at me. "But I was hoping to have some of your time before this dinner and we formally interred my mother."

"Oh, right. We still have to do that," I said, having sort of forgotten that we still had to bury the queen. 

"Yes, it is easy to forget with how many other things are likely taking up your attention." If Gabriella was bothered by my casual speech in all of this, she didn't show it. Like the other Zenovs she had rich dark hair and royal poise, though she took it to another level with the dim candle lighting making her seem exceptionally dangerous right now.

"Well, I've had a few meetings today," I scratched at the side of my cheek, searching for an excuse.

"I've heard from the Val'shae. It seems you've had a number of visitors today."

I continued on, curious that the Val'shae were telling her everything. Given that they seemed to be easily brainwashed, and she seemed confident in her control of them, I wondered if she was the prime suspect.

This was simply too exciting. 

"Yes, well, we can't trust everything the Vel'shae say. Now can we? We must see everything for ourselves," I said, trying to test her. 

"The Vel'shae can be reasonably trusted, of that I assure you. While you are here, please use the Vel'shae for whatever you need." Damn it. The woman was a stone-cold poker player. I couldn't get a single read on her. 

"Certainly there have been some inconsistencies," I tried again. 

"Is there something the matter, Arden? I was hoping we could focus this conversation on what will happen next. After we put my mother to rest, having a representative of another kingdom acknowledge my claim to the throne would go a long way in resolving, well, everything."

"Yeah, yeah, that," I waved a hand dismissively. "If you win everyone over, you become queen. Happy to call you queen if that would make everything better. But do you understand, Gabriella, I'm not going to call you queen until that's decided amongst the Zenov family. After all, while I might have recently learned of my father's connection, I haven't been raised here and I'm not really part of the family. Which is something I wanted to talk about."

She opened her mouth to respond.

I ran right over whatever she was about to say, and she was left hanging with her pointer finger in the air. "I would really like to understand a little more about my father, especially if I'm to claim anything in this whole succession thing. It would probably be best if I could solidify some things about my father, in particular his final return to Zenovia."

Gabriella frowned. "His final return to Zenovia?"

"Yes," I replied. "From all of the records I've managed to collect, they say that he found something about a weakness in the Zenov's family soul magic training. He only discovered it because he found some old text beneath the Avente Palace, which was, as I understand, at one point the heart of the old Zenovian Empire."

"Correct," Gabriella nodded.

"He found something important there, of the utmost importance. Old records of soul magic training. Of which Eva told me differed from how you practiced today.”

“Of course, things are going to evolve over time." Gabriella quickly dismissed it. "But as I understand, he never returned to Zenovia from his assignment in Avente."

"Ah, but that's where things are strange. Because on the Avente side, they seem to think that someone from Zenovia helped him in the bog dividing our two countries as he fled."

"Well, perhaps someone did," Gabriella said. "Or perhaps whoever reported in Avente simply was unwilling to admit that they lost a wounded mage that died in the bog."

"Yeah, I'm not a fan of that theory, but I could be biased." I glanced over at Emlyn and Eva to get a read on both of their opinions. I would ask Maribelle, but she would just say whatever I wanted. Which was at times fantastic, and other times not helpful at all.

"Unlikely," said Emlyn. "The journals you found were hidden also with a layer of decoys. I think it would be ridiculous to lie on something you spent that much effort to hide. Even Carmilla wasn't that paranoid."

Gabriella snorted. "You can't trust a word that comes anywhere close to Carmilla. That woman was an insidious snake. If she was breathing, she was lying."

"Well, technically, we found this after I killed her. So, even up against that test, it could still be true." I smiled.

Gabriella looked nonplussed. "Could we, by chance, return to the matters of the present? While I do wish to entertain you to your heart's desire, Arden, I must also confess that there are a large number of guests that will be expecting things of me tonight, and there is a time limit on our conversation."

"Alright, this is where you offer me something in return for me doing what I said a minute ago that I would not do, right?"

Gabriella's previous facade as a caring older sister crumbled in the way she glared at me. No, this woman cared for nothing save putting that crown on top of her skull and dancing around with it in some sort of pride.

You know what, I bet the first thing after she coronated herself is she would go find a mirror and admire herself in it. There was a deep vanity seeded in her when I looked at the woman before me.

"Does he always talk this way?" Gabriella turned to Eva.

"Most of the time,” Eva said.

"Is there a trick to bearing with it?" Gabriella asked.

I waved a hand. "Hello, I'm right here.”

“Most of the time, I find it funny and even endearing. I have no problem bearing with it. Though there are occasions where it slips into the inappropriate, where I'm at least mildly embarrassed. But he is slowly becoming something greater than a mage, a being greater, a..." Eva didn’t finish her statement, letting it hang in the air.

“A God?” Gabriella didn't miss a beat. She didn’t seem to doubt Eva’s words or take them as anything other than a real possibility.

I frowned, all humor gone from my face. "How would you be aware of that particular revelation?" My mind immediately jumped to her having information from Freya.

"Of course, the old records," Gabriella said seriously, steepling her fingers. "And if you join me, I'd be happy to not only share them with you, but guide you through them. As the crown princess, my mother shared many of the old texts that our ancestor managed to bring with him after the revolution. In these, they discuss many of the unique powers of four sphere mages and applications of soul magic that they had access to far above our own." She grinned at me like I was prey caught in a trap now that she had my weakness.

"Oh, no that's not interesting. I just want to know who killed my father." My eyes turned hard.

Gabriella leaned back as if slapped. "You don't want to know the secrets of four sphere mages. How to become a god?" Gabriella looked at me in utter disbelief.

"Of course not. I wouldn't need to know, now would I?" I stared at her, doing my best to read her expression.

"You wouldn't need to..." She got halfway through repeating me before her eyes shot open in shock and surprise. That’s when it hit her, I was already on my way there.

"Well, pretty sure she's not talking to Freya," I said, pointing at the crown princess. "At least she's got that going for her." She’d know more about my situation otherwise.

"Freya?" The princess frowned, glancing to Eva to translate.

"Syr.” Eva added, "As we know her, Ard has done combat with the goddess who has dabbled in our history, as well as altering it." Eva said with a proud smile on her lips.

"Ah, I see," said Gabriella, "I must have appeared..." Before she laughed and held her head in her hands, "I must have appeared so arrogant and ignorant to speak that way to you." She dipped her head towards me. "If I may ask the correct way to address you?"

I puffed myself up, ready to give her something obnoxious.

"Arden if you wish to be formal, otherwise Ard, if you please," Emlyn said quickly. "He can be unfettered chaos at the best of times. Giving him highly lauded names only makes it worse."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow and glanced at Eva for confirmation.

"On this we agree," she pointed between herself and Emlyn. "While Ard is exceptionally powerful, he does come with a few quirks."

I cleared my throat. "If you keep talking about me as if I'm not here, I will show you some of those quirks."

While my two anchors weren't concerned with my words, the princess sitting across from me had no idea what I could or could not do. As a result she sat straight up and turned to me.

"Of course, Arden, I was only following the example of your women." The princess said quickly, checking for my reaction between each word.

I decided to put at least a little pressure on her, crossing my arms and doing my best glare. Really, I was practicing one of Emlyn's better examples.

Her attitude towards me shifted greatly as she started to give me information without any strings attached. "The family texts often say that even if one reaches godhood, it comes with its own problems. That you become hunted and your ability to interact with other mortals becomes extremely limited. So while I can believe your claim, I must also ask how you've solved the second?"

I stared at her. "You would ask such precious secrets with nothing to offer for them," I scoffed, doing my best upset-noble impression. 

"Well, of course, if you can still interact freely, then that would mean you are in the best position I could hope for, and there will be no shortage of Zenovia's support for House Aldis and whatever you may wish to do in the future. It was simply the question of an academic who has for years been taught otherwise." She smiled. "I only seek to understand."

"Well, when you put it that way," I found it hard to be too upset. "Truth be told, I'm in sort of a halfway point, I think. There's something in my soul that has to come to full maturity, at which point I will ascend to godhood."

"That differs from what I understand of the journey, and only gives me more questions.” Gabriella shook her head, “I'm afraid I don't have time for that. All I must insist, Arden, is that if you are not to pick a side. I have full confidence in my ability to take control of the family with minimal bloodshed. That is, assuming there are no highly powerful and unpredictable variants to my plan." She gestured at me. 

I smiled at the praise. "Like I said before, my interest lies in discovering more information about my father, and at least marginally making myself known to the Zenovian royal family." I wrapped an arm around Eva suggestively.

"That only makes perfect sense," Gabriella smiled and her attention shifted to Eva. "As for you, Cousin, I know our ages differ significantly and we've never been close, but please, from here on out, consider me a dear sister and come to me should you have any need within our country. If there is something out of your hands as a royal, it will certainly not be out of mine as queen."

I nodded, satisfied that she understood the assignment.

Eva was not to be touched, and instead to be treated spectacularly amongst the royal family. And unlike the other two factions, Gabriella seemed perfectly content for me to step aside.

I thought she had too much pride and perhaps no small amount of arrogance, though it seemed within any of the royal families asking for someone to have none of those was contradictory in of itself. Thus perhaps Gabriella was the best one for the job. 

At that thought, the doors behind me opened up and the guests were allowed in. 

"Wonderful. I'm glad we could come to an agreement, Arden," Gabriella said loud enough that it was going to ripple through the rest of the royal family in just mere moments. 

I narrowed my eyes at her, "Well played." With that she’d just made everyone else believe that I was on her side. Stepping back from the conflict would be the wisest action if I didn’t want to come under fire directly.

Gabriella smiled and took a small bow, "Well thank you. I like to think that this is one of my strengths, after all I've been raised my entire life to weave between the political mire that I am about to submerge myself within. It would be rather disappointing if I didn't have any skill at it."

In hindsight, I wish I'd shouted something absolutely obnoxious as if we'd made a deal for her to be my personal chambermaid.

Sadly, the moment had passed and the crowd were coming in for the murder mystery dinner extravaganza. Despite losing to the princess just now, I couldn't help the massive grin spreading across my face. This was going to be an incredible dinner.